2-3-5

[robin_trott_hoof]

Do you think it's possible to play an old school 2-3-5 formation in Football Manager?

At some point, I'll give it a go but what would you suggest? I'm guessing that the two centre-backs would have to play very high up the pitch and be incredibly quick to give the defence any security at all, and their passing "plan" would be to simply lump it forward at every opportunity.

But what to do with the midfielders? The tactic would be extremely vulnerable to opposing wingplay, but three central midfielders - particularly industrious, defensively minded types - might be relatively solid.

And, of course, how to make the most of five attackers? Keeping them onside would surely be hard, but across the five of them you'd surely have a speedy striker, an aerial threat and someone more creative.

An almost equally tricky problem is what to do when you have a lead - you'd be unlikely to have the players on the pitch to be able to adapt to a more conventional formation.

[SRL88]

I think you will be leaving yourself very open for defeat, but you will need a workhorse team full of power, speed and stamina.

GK

CB - CB

WB........... WB

DM

CM

AM - AM - AM

FW

That is how I would go if it was me.

I would play a higher back line but the CB's will have to be very, very quick and strong. Good in the air as well. The wing backs will have to be Gareth Bale esc. A holding midfielder to break up any play they may have. A centre midfielder who can just unlock defences and allow the front four to just influence how they like.

[LlamaZA]

I would say it would go something along the lines of:

GK (Sweeper)

2x Ball Playing Defenders (in a line, I'd probably go with Stopper to bring them closer to the mids)

The centre of the 3 would be a Deep Lying Playmaker (Defend), with the outside two as WBr/l also on defend

The front 5 should technically be in a line but I'd probably go with the Italian version with two AMCr/l as Inside Forwards

2 Wingers up top and a Complete Forward (high finishing, passing and a header of the ball).

Overall you'll need high passing across the team since you're going to need to keep ball

Defenders will need high Positioning as a must.

The DLP is the key player as far as I recall, so he'll have to have extremely high defensive and creative attributes to control the game.

[Cleon]

This formation, also known as the Pyramid, or the classic formation, as it was used for 50 years after its invention, has only two defenders. Three midfielders and five forwards should be sufficient evidence to show that this is an attack-oriented formation. Attacking plays generally began from the center-half, who had usually two options: to pass to one of the five forwards or to dribble forward himself. The defence is manned solely by the defenders (naturally) and thewing-halves, the two outside midfielders, helped out by marking the opposing wingers.

The Danubian style, based loosely on the 2-3-5 and used successfully by the Austrian, Hungarian and Czechoslovakian national teams in the 1930s, was only different in one aspect. The passes used by the players were strictly kept on the ground, and no aerial passes were used.

Advice on the 2-3-5: This formation requires defenders that have good stamina, good sense of positioning, and good tackling skills, as they have to do the defending of the goal alone. The wing-halves should be able to run fast and pass well, and possess some amount of trickery, for they will have to outwit the opposition wingers. The centre-half should have a great control of the ball, superb sense of positioning and good passing. Wingers have to be creative, have a decent aptitude in dribbling down the flanks, and be able to beat defenders with ease, for they are the suppliers of the goals, and must beat the opposing wing-halves to do so. Great passing is another important asset for the winger, as he has to find the centre-forward in good positions to enable him to score. The centre-forward must be one man who is able to get the goals; people who can put the ball over the bar from two metres out need not apply. The centre-forward must also have a strong shot and good passing, so that in case he gets into trouble, he can pass it out to the wingers to try again.

[dribbler]

This formation, also known as the Pyramid, or the classic formation, as it was used for 50 years after its invention, has only two defenders. Three midfielders and five forwards should be sufficient evidence to show that this is an attack-oriented formation. Attacking plays generally began from the center-half, who had usually two options: to pass to one of the five forwards or to dribble forward himself. The defence is manned solely by the defenders (naturally) and thewing-halves, the two outside midfielders, helped out by marking the opposing wingers.

The Danubian style, based loosely on the 2-3-5 and used successfully by the Austrian, Hungarian and Czechoslovakian national teams in the 1930s, was only different in one aspect. The passes used by the players were strictly kept on the ground, and no aerial passes were used.

Advice on the 2-3-5: This formation requires defenders that have good stamina, good sense of positioning, and good tackling skills, as they have to do the defending of the goal alone. The wing-halves should be able to run fast and pass well, and possess some amount of trickery, for they will have to outwit the opposition wingers. The centre-half should have a great control of the ball, superb sense of positioning and good passing. Wingers have to be creative, have a decent aptitude in dribbling down the flanks, and be able to beat defenders with ease, for they are the suppliers of the goals, and must beat the opposing wing-halves to do so. Great passing is another important asset for the winger, as he has to find the centre-forward in good positions to enable him to score. The centre-forward must be one man who is able to get the goals; people who can put the ball over the bar from two metres out need not apply. The centre-forward must also have a strong shot and good passing, so that in case he gets into trouble, he can pass it out to the wingers to try again.

somebody's read Inverting the Pyramid Id do lots of man-marking with this so the wing-halfs mark the wingers and the ball-playing center-half tracks central midfielders...bet it's a nightmare for you though

[Dr. Hook]

Great read, Inverting the Pyramid- I can't see how this formation would work, you'd get ripped apart every time you turned the ball over in the opposition half. There's a reason why formations developed- to exploit the obvious defensive weaknesses of the pyramid without being badly exposed by the five man forward line. I hope you try it though, and post your results in here. I have thought about it, but my careers are always strictly lower league and I never have the players to even pull off a quality 4-5-1 let alone a 2-3-5.

[jimbobBRFC]

Great read, Inverting the Pyramid- I can't see how this formation would work, you'd get ripped apart every time you turned the ball over in the opposition half. There's a reason why formations developed- to exploit the obvious defensive weaknesses of the pyramid without being badly exposed by the five man forward line. I hope you try it though, and post your results in here. I have thought about it, but my careers are always strictly lower league and I never have the players to even pull off a quality 4-5-1 let alone a 2-3-5.

Yeah I have to agree there, can imagine the only way you could win would be scoring lots and lots of goals. Other than that I can see goal after goal being conceded. might fire up a save tonight and see if it could work.