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Introduction: I’ve been playing football manager since 2014 version and long-time following this forum. I finally decided to dip my feet in writing a series following my first long-term save in FM 2019. I plan to start a somewhat open discussion of Dynamo Kiev club and my tactics. I intend to post regular updates on my squad and results as well as welcome feedback on how to improve my tactics and training. You can follow the story at the site to which I contribute: https://dictatethegame.com/ I decided to start this save while still in beta for two main reasons. The tactic I intend to try out is not one relying on breaking the current game engine to overachieve but rather on tried and true concepts that would hopefully be applicable to any version of the game. So no 3 strikers nor strikerless tactics. Secondly, I intend to do it with a club that is not from the top 5 leagues. I noticed in the last couple of FMs that the attribute changes between beta and the first patch could be drastic in players in Premiership, Bundesliga or the other “big” leagues. For obvious reason those leagues are more thoroughly scouted. For that reason I reserve those kinds of big saves for later in the year, once I tested out my tactic with a less known side. This year I chose Dynamo Kiev. What attracted me to this club can also be viewed as the 3 Pillars of my 5 Year Plan: 1) Youth Development, 2) Domestic and Continental Success and 3) Implementing Hard Pressing Tactical System inspired by Valeriy Lobanovsky I hail from Ukraine myself so naturally I always followed clubs from this nation. My all-time favourite player growing up was Andriy Shevchenko. One of my earliest footballing memories was watching Dynamo Kiev’s systematic dismantling of Barcelona’s defense in Nov 1998 Champion’s league. Sheva scored 3 goals in that match. Dynamo went on to beat Barcelona 7 to 0 in aggregate. He was part of an elite class, all nurtured at same time by the club. Players such as Oleh Luzhny (later won the Premier League with Arsenal), Serhiy Rebrov (totaling 75 appearances for Ukraine) are just a few examples of the “Dynamo effect” – taking local youngsters and molding them into superstars through hard work and intense fitness conditioning. So to reflect this objective will be to develop a class of homegrown players over the first 5 intakes and then to integrate them into my first team over the following 5 seasons. So by 2028-2029 to have only youth academy products in the 22 player squad. On my way there I’m hoping to also have a positive effect on Ukraine’s National Team and become the foremost farm team for the National Team squads. Success in 1998 Champion’s League marked the revival of the club’s fortunes in late 90s when the manager Valeriy Lobanovsky took over for the second time. In total, he spent 3 decades with the club and its best years were undeniably with him. Becoming the fixture in Champions League and winning numerous domestic trophies were all part of this success. Lobanovsky relied on his signature hard pressing, direct style of play (what some might think of as Geggenpressing today). After dominating Ukrainian League from late 90s to early 2000s, Dynamo has had a bit of a decline due to the meteoric rise of its main rival Shakhtar Donetsk in late 2000s. In the last decade, Shakhtar has won 7 domestic titles in comparison to Dynamo’s 3. This is something that I intend to change, aiming for getting at least 4 titles in 5 seasons. Also Dynamo has not won a major continental trophy since 1985 (UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup) which I also intend to change by winning at least one continental trophy during my first 5 seasons with the club My final objective is developing a Lobanovsky style Pressing Tactic that is built around the player’s hard work, relentless physicality, stamina and disciplined selfless teamwork. By hitting my domestic and continental goals on time, I will know whether this tactical goal was achieved. As you might guess the mold of my ideal player will also be defined by this system (but more on this in future posts) Next: A little context on the Lobanovsky system

I usually use other people's tactics but after seeing my own might Ipswich Town rip into Reading a couple of weeks ago I was inspired to recreate that style of play in FM2019. First of all, this is very high energy, you will need players with high team work, work rate and fitness at FB, midfield and up front. The aim is to press the opposition into mistakes and create chances. I was using another tactic from here (unstoppable attacking) and another from Sigames (Quantum) which were pretty successful, but since I switched to my new tactic for the West Brom match I've been blowing teams away! Ipswich are predicted to finish 20th and have the 6th lowest budget in the division. It's okay to tweak player roles to suit your squad but keep the nature of the players role the same e.g. a deep lying playmaker set on defend can take on the role of the centre midfielder on defend. I would leave the pressing forwards alone though as their instructions and role are key to winning the ball high into enemy territory. Finally, be prepared to rotate, especially your fullbacks who cover acres of distance! Team talks I always encourage unless we're losing at half time. I never use opposition instructions. All the best, hope it helps some of you. 4-3-3 Blitzkreig.fmf

Hi everyone, I'm currently playing as the team I support, Aston Villa. So far it has been a struggle, despite currently being 3rd in the league, my front three are really playing below par and can't get into games, very rarely scoring or assisting, with most goals coming from midfielders long shots, corners or free kicks. I'm playing the tactical preset gegenpress with a few alterations and my only first team signing has been Joe Lolley to play inside forward on the right. Tactic We are consistantly failing to create good chances against any team and all of our games are very close in scoreline Fixtures Here are the stats of Grealish, Lolley, Abraham, Hogan and Kodjia Jack Grealish Joe Lolley Tammy Abraham Scott Hogan Jonathan Kodjia And here is how I'm setting them up, I've messed with how the forward plays a few times, as pressing forward hasn't really worked out and left them pretty isolated, I've also noted that all of my front 3 are being caught offside a lot every game. Here is how I'm setting my front three up Striker Inside Forward - Right Inside Forward - Left Any help and advice would be much appreciated, if any more screenshots or information is needed then please let me know. Thanks

I’m finding this year’s FM too easy. I am using the gegenpressing 4-2-3-1 tactic (tactics not altered) but I have tweaked the roles. I finished second in the premier league with 2 points away from winning the league, I went to two cup finals in one season. I am even losing all my best players due to injuries I am still winning matches. I barely ever lose.