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Download link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/rx3ep57go442gy6/442_Spazio_di_Controllo.fmf/file Hello All,Big FM and football fan for many years, particularly on the tactics front. By far the most intriguing element of the game for me. I've spent countless hours understanding, research, and applying tactical concepts from here and from real world write-ups to continually improve my knowledge, whilst at the same time building my own tactical philosophy. I've created many tactics over the years in FM, and have done most of what the game has to offer, including long-term LLM saves. However, the tactic that I created in FM 20 for my beloved Milan has been by far the most effective, and it's not even close.What brought me so much joy about this tactic is not just the results, but the fact that it just makes sense from a fundamental standpoint - I am talking about intelligent and cohesive movement, opening up and exploiting of space, defensive cover and balance, and putting players in the best possible positions to succeed. The aim was to not only share the tactic, but also provide a write-up explaining how I built a tactic from the ground up, using concepts related to space, movement, supply, and demand that we should be thinking through. The tactic: a 4-4-2, with a modern twist. My tactical philosophies and how I used it to build the tactic 1. Build-up play: Variability. In short, I want a least three distinct routes to goal. Through the left flank, through the center, and through the right flank. I want each route to goal to be different - so, you'll never see me create a tactic that is symmetric across role and duty combinations on both flanks. I do this primarily to improve consistency of results, and make it harder for the AI to defend against me. When you have the same type of attacks going on in both flanks, it becomes much easier to defend against. Counter with fast wing-play? Sit back and defend. Possession based relying on overloading the central areas? Push up and restrict space. By varying routes to goal, it becomes much harder for the AI to game plan against you. 2. Attacking Philosophy: Attack Space. I believe in creating and exploiting space through the intelligent and cohesive movement of players, in a carefully drawn out manner, rather than a ball-to-feet possession based approach. More Klopp than Pep, if you will. To do this, you need 3 things 1)Players creating space for others to exploit 2)Players making runs into the space created 3)Having the right players in the right positions to supply the players attacking space Creating this requires a careful understanding of the movement of the players, who they function with each other, and how it affects the overall balance of the team. This is reflected by horizontal and vertical depth of players. 3. Defensive Philosophy: Zonal High-Block with horizontal and vertical compactness. As a Milan fan, Sacchi's high-pressing zonal 4-4-2 was certainly an inspiration for this tactic. In FM, I have used a control setting, with much higher defensive line and standard LOE (to create vertical compactness), and slightly narrower defensive shape (horizontal compactness. This is coupled with more urgent pressing (but not much more), to put pressure on the ball-carrier without being pulled out of shape. Tighter marking has not been used because this is a zonal press that utilizes the offside trap, and man marking goes against this concept. I have also not ticked counter-press, as I want this to be used situationally, and not at every opportunity - Sacchi's team sometimes retreated to position and sometimes did a "fake press" to make opponents move towards a certain part of the pitch - counter press wasn't used always. The offside trap is the final tool to aid the compact high block philosophy. Building the 4-4-2 1. I decided early on that I wanted to employ a Wide Playmaker, and build the tactic around him. To do this, I needed a few key elements to work out: 1)Create space for the WP to operate in 2)Provide enough runners off the ball, from different starting points and in different directions, to give him enough passing options. With the wide playmaker cutting inside, I knew I needed an attacking full-back to take advantage of the space he was vacating on the flank, and also to provide a threat out-wide. An attacking full-back was the ideal choice here; they work beautifully together, each creating space for the other to exploit. 2. With a wide playmaker and an overlapping attacking full-back on one flank, I knew I wanted a different route of attacking play on the left. The obvious and stable choice here was a winger supported by a less attacking fullback, to maintain balance in the team. A winger attack and full back support was the sensible option. Again, I was looking to balance support and attack duties on both flanks, and create variability in my play. 3. CM Pairing - this was key to get right. The RCM needed to do 2 things 1)Cover for the attacking full-back and 2)Combine effectively with the WP. A defend duty midfielder was the clear choice here. Firstly, he can cover for the marauding RB, and secondly and more importantly, he wouldn't step on the shoes of the WP, who likes to take up narrow, central positions. A support duty CM wouldn't give the WP enough space to operate in. I decided to go with the CM-d which is a balanced option. the RCM, WP and FB all function beautifully together, creating overlapping triangles that are very hard to track. For the other CM, I knew I needed a support role (from the pairs and combinations guide, so I went for a CM-s, although other support duties should work quite well also. His job was to 1)balance the central midfield 2)link up with the wingers and strikers. I wanted a fairly solid role without much movement (B2B/Mezzala ruled out), as this would leave his midfield partner alone to do the defending). 4. Striker Pairing: It was key to have one support and one attack duty striker, the question was which duty on which side. After some thought, I decided to go for the attack striker on the right slot, and the support striker on the left slot. The reasons, again, are related to creating and exploiting space. 1)The attack striker would push up, giving the WP plenty of space to operate in, and also making runs which the WP can feed 2)The support striker can drop deeper, and play in the onrushing winger on the left, or his attack duty strike partner. I decided to go with a standard DLF (s) and an AF (a) here. In essence, almost all of the players in the team have been deployed to help create space for teammates playing next to them and/or provide passing opportunities by making runs. For example, the RCM, RB and RCF are all designed to to get the best out of the WP. The whole system works as one.In short, I have built the tactic around the WP. In possession, he has 4 passing options: 1) Cross-field ball to the attacking winger2) Ball down the channel for the attack duty striker3) Overlapping ball to the fullback4) Safe pass to one of the CMs. Putting it all together: Whilst I undoubtedly have a world class team, this is a tactic that I expect to work well across all levels, which is why I wanted to share it and get your feedback. The reasoning is that, from a standpoint of fundamentals, it just makes a lot of sense and works well:1. 3 players making attacking runs, all from different stata (Demand)2. Each attacking player has at least 2 support/defend duty players to feed them (Supply)3. No one is running into each others' toes; everyone's movement is designed to give each other space to operate in4. Balanced defensive philosophy without any major weaknesses (save for the space between attack and defense)5. Large variability in play - Standard wing play on the left, midfield overloads and overlapping play down the right, and two strikers supporting each other in the center Sample results are below - I have been continuously tweaking the tactic since FM 19, but I can say with confidence that it works well and provides incredibly beautiful football. This is not an exploit tactic, it is not meant to break the match engine; instead, it is meant to help you tailor your squad towards a very measured and well-defined style of play which should bring enjoyment to long term saves, particularly in terms of squad building. Required player attributes/PPMs Note: The information below (including footedness) is based on the above screenshots. However, you could easily use a mirror image of the tactic instead with opposite footedness, if your players are better suited.GK: Nothing specificCB: In addition to normal key CB stats, good teamwork stat is key for an effective offside trap. If you have a good passing CB he can be BPD on the winger side. RB: Attacking RB with good work rate, passing, and crossing. PPM - Get forward when possibleLB: Defensive LB with a focus on good passing stats as he will get the ball a lot. Get further forward PPM should be avoided like the plague. CMs: Both CMs absolutely must be all rounded with high work rate (15+). This is the best way to make the 2 man mid work. In addition, the CM(s) will benefit from vision, flair, passing, and long shots to make an attacking contribution. The CM (d) will be more of a defensive player, while the CM (S) will be better at passing, vision, long shots etc. The CM(s) should have 13+ in marking/tackling/positioning as well - don't try to force an advanced playmaker into this role; he must be a work horse. I tend to get tall players if possible in all positions as well. ML: Left footed winger with crossing, dribbling, and finishing (he will find himself in goal scoring positions reasonably often) - height/heading is a bonus. MR: Left footed play maker. PPMs - Dictates tempo, tries killer balls often, cuts inside from right wingLeft striker: Support duty striker, with good balance and strength, in addition to finishing, first touch, and creativity attributes. Right footed player preferred. PPM - comes deep to get ball, plays one twos, tries killer balls often. Beats offside trap to be avoided for this role. Right striker: Right footed player required, no exceptions. He is the star of your team - I can't stress this enough, but a tall striker makes a massive difference. Look for someone with 15+ jumping if you can, and good all round AF stats (based on the level which you play). One of the hardest positions to fill as regen strikers all tend to be short. Overall there are quite a few requirements for the tactic to work - you want to build towards the right kind of players. This means that you will need to pass up on many high PA players who don't fit the tactic (example - short strikers, wrong footed number 10s) etc - but this adds to the fun of the long game, and creates a devastating tactic once you bring the right players in. This isn't a tactic that you can expect to automatically get to work well without the right types of players, compared to say a 352 or 4231 which typically has less requirements. Quite a few players had tried this tactic on FM 19 and results were good across varying skill levels of teams. If you want a good balanced tactic that produces beautiful, penetrating football, it might be worth giving this a go. PS - based on your players, you could also go for the inverted tactic (footedness/roles would be a mirror image of the tactic above) - left footed strikers, right footed winger and playmaker, etc. EDIT: Shut-up shop 4-1-4-1 tactic also added (can play using the same squad as the 4-4-2): https://www.mediafire.com/file/4f0mb8ccawi9mhl/4-1-4-1.fmf/file

Mike "Four-****ing-Two" Bassett has come out of retirement for one last go on the management merry-go-round. Coming to your stricken managerless club very soon! Just a bit of fun. Simple file which adds Mike Bassett and his assistant manager Dave "Doddsy" Dodds to the FM20 database. I've meticulously added as much detail from the film, TV series and failed reboot as I possibly can. Hope you can spot all the "easter egg" style content! STEAM WORKSHOP LINK

I have been a lurker mostly on this forum, during the last 2-3 versions of FM, and have tried to take what people post on the forum to my game and put it into practice but I am failing miserably. I am currently 8th in the championship with just 10 games left, I am seriously struggling to win games and make chances, on my Stoke City save. I am still on FM19, and I am reluctant to buy FM20 until I have mastered this version. Can anyone provide any advice? I currently playing a 4-4-2. My current setup is ; AFa TMs Wa BtBsu DLPd IWs FBsu BPCDde CDde WBsu GKde Starting 11 ; GK – Jack Butland DL – Josh Tymon DR – Moritz Bauer DCL – Bruno Martins Indi DCR – Ryan Shawcross MCL – Joe Allen MCR – Ryan Woods ML – James McClean MR - Thibaud Verlinden STR - Sam Vokes STL - Benik Afobe One thing I have noticed is both of my center midfielders have preferred moves as 'plays short simple passes' which i know isn't good, as I would prefer them to distribute the ball around the whole pitch. Mentality is Positive, sometimes I change it to attacking to try and get a goal back. In possession – shorter passing, play out of defence, high tempo. In transition – counter, roll it out, distribute to CBs and FBs (and counter-press against weak sides) Out of possession – standard d-line, standard LOE, use tighter marking, use offside trap Any help would be much appreciated.

I think this might be my first ever tactics upload and I've been a member on here for a good few years. As the title suggests this is a rock solid 4-4-2 for any level of football but I'm using it in the 10th level of English football. Your board probably won't give you any awards for entertainment but in terms of grinding out results they won't have much to complain about. Link below Rock Solid LLM 4-4-2.fmf The main principle behind this tactic was simplicity. My players are dreadful. My PF(a) has finishing of 4. Yes, 4. He's currently the division's top scorer with 18 goals from 18 games. The fullbacks stay back to protect the flanks. The RM is a winger with terrible dribbling so I've got him staying deep and tucking in but still utilising his decent crossing. He links quite nicely with the BBM who links the play and arrives late into the box. All of my BWM's have tackling of under 5 so when I tell you that we have the best defence in the league by far that tells you that this tactic is pretty decent. We win the ball and it usually goes straight over the top for the DF(d) to act as a pivot or it goes long and the PF(a) goes one on one with the keeper. His 25% conversion rate would be a disaster if we didn't create so many chances. Our other main approach is to get it out to the left wing where he gets forward quickly and combines with the two strikers. None of my midfield have more than 1 goal so this tactic is heavily weighted towards the strikers getting the goals. As often happens adjustments are needed. If you find yourself not breaking through (first of all, remain patient) I tend to go one of two ways. If we're getting into dangerous areas but getting outnumbered then I change my fullbacks to Support. If we're not able to get out of our half or the ball just keeps coming back then I move from Standard mentality to Positive mentality. If you're playing against a narrow side then also Go Wider (only if you're not having any luck), I also use this TI if the opposition has a man sent off. I start all games on Standard. I've found that that works well against all opponents. You can drop back to Cautious mentality if you're ahead and approaching half time or trying to see out a result at the end of a game, I do. the only PI's I'm using are Cross from Deep, Cross More and Sit Narrower for the Right midfielder. I'm not using OI's. You can if you want to but be careful, don't overdo it. If the opposition have a playmaker that's causing me problems then occasionally I'll press him harder but I prefer not to do that. In terms of what to look for in your players, I'll say it again, my squad is dreadful. That said, you want centre backs that are strong and can jump. Positioning is a must for all of your defenders. Your fullbacks need to be defenders first. If they have a little acceleration then all the better. In midfield you want acceleration, pace and dribbling for your left winger. Passing, Vision and crossing for the RM would be preferable. He doesn't need to be quick or good at dribbling. Your box to box works best if he can pick a pass and hit a long shot but failing that just someone who has stamina, teamwork and workrate. Your BWM would work best with good positioning and tackling but mine don't (unfortunately) so just play your most aggressive midfielder here. for your DF(d) you want your strongest striker here and preferably someone that has first touch. Your PF(a) just needs pace and acceleration. Dribbling, Finishing, Composure.etc are a bonus. As I've said my PF(a) couldn't finish his dinner let alone a 1 v 1. Something to bare in mind when looking over these results (League only) is that we were predicted to finish 17th or there abouts. Try it and let me know what you think.