A Formation Inspired by Rafa

[shaunwwfc]

Have you released this tactic pal? Or plan to? Wouldn't mind trying it!

[SRL88]

Have you released this tactic pal? Or plan to? Wouldn't mind trying it!

Im not sure what you mean by released?

If you want to use the tactic then by all means just copy off it .

[shaunwwfc]

Im not sure what you mean by released?

If you want to use the tactic then by all means just copy off it .

Oh right, fair enough.

I thought there would have been individual settings tinkered with which wont be seen in the screenshots such as width, tempo, indivdual player settings etc.

Il give this a bash and report back pal.

[SRL88]

Oh right, fair enough.

I thought there would have been individual settings tinkered with which wont be seen in the screenshots such as width, tempo, indivdual player settings etc.

Il give this a bash and report back pal.

The width, tempo etc is in the OP, but I will PM you the individual player instructions which I have changed.

[SRL88]

Boca -v- Colon

So this is the game which kicked off our league campaign. It was a cracking win and I love the statistics. The number of shots we had compared to them, our dominance of possession. It all shows how good we were and it allowed for our team to push further forward and also wider as well, as shown in the heat map.

Goals Scored

A bit of variation in our goal scoring exploits, but mainly from central positions. We worked the ball very well into attacking areas and then managed to take advantage.

Total Passing & Anchor Man Passing

The total number of passes screenshot shows the difference between our attacking threat on both the left and right. Its clear, and obvious that because of an IF on the left hand side that we tend to go narrower where as we try to work the ball to the byline on the right.

I love the anchor man screenshot as well. Last season we had an anchor man who favoured the right hand side of the pitch. Sadly, I had to sell him and decided to give a youngster the chance and this was his first game as my 'number one' anchor man (he was a back-up last term). There was a massive difference in variation of passes, and he even managed to pop up on the left hand side of the pitch on the odd occassion.

[ivans]

could u pm me the individual player instructions which u have changed plz?

[SRL88]

could u pm me the individual player instructions which u have changed plz?

Sent .

[ivans]

cheers going to play with newcastle will let u nah what goes on

[SRL88]

cheers going to play with newcastle will let u nah what goes on

You will let me nah will you? ha.

No problem anyway!!!

[SRL88]

Banfield -v- Boca

This game was a truely excellent away performance from my side. I like to see how when we completely dominate games like we did here and in our previous game, just how far we push up and how much wider we play. Our expressiveness is completely different compared to when we play the likes of All Boys away from home. I also love to see how close the front three are together. Just look at that!!! Number 9 (CF), number 7 (AM) and number 11 (CM). That is a truely excellent thing to see.

Tackles & Interceptions

I look at this double screenshot and think this is one of the reasons we managed to claim victory in this game. The amount of times that we won tackles and intercepted the ball is fantastic. We barely them a chance and we were always on their case. I love seeing how hard my teams work to get the ball back.

[SRL88]

All Boys -v- Boca

You know, this game was only our third league game of the season, but this probably the biggest win of the season to. All Boys are a side who I have had a competitive rivalry with in my two seasons in Argentina so this was a valuable win. What I love looking at in the heat map, is how compact we are, but also willing to get forward and I feel that shows. Its a completely different heat map to the previous two games, but it just shows how we adapted to our surroundings. Brilliant!!!

All Boys -v- Boca

Shots at Goal

I just want you to look at the circled. Yes, that is meant to be a shot. Giggle, because I did!!!

Moving on, I love looking at how we just made it difficult for All Boys that their shots at goal just look inneffective. Yeah they scored (green), yeah they hit the woodwork (orange), but there just wasnt anything of real worry. Looking at ours though, we just played our way through them. Two goals and three good chances (yellow). We are really improving under this formation.

Headers, Tackles & Interceptions

Im not going to say to much here, but I just wanted to show you this. I know there is a lot of red on the headers screenshot, but the bottom half of the screenshot shows our defensive headers. I think its fantastic to see how many headers we won defensively to nulify their attacking threat. Its the same for tackles & interceptions.

[davewig1980]

Ha! That shot was a bit wild! Will it let you view the shot if you click on the dot?

[SRL88]

Ha! That shot was a bit wild! Will it let you view the shot if you click on the dot?

Yeah you can. Weird really because it was classed as a shot, but it was an attempted flick header. As you said, wild!!!

[SRL88]

I know they are both on page 1, but check out my other thread:

Giving you a bit of Brazilian Magic

[SRL88]

Newell's -v- Boca

This was a very tough away fixture. I think it shows in the heat map with how narrow we were. Look at the circled image. That is our AML, AM & AMR. How narrow!!! The defence has a perfect shape to it with our Anchor Man and CM sat perfectly infront of the back 4. It worked an absolute treat as we scored a 52nd minute penalty to grab all three points.

Headers, Tackles & Interceptions

I love this. I think its great!!! If you look at the headers won it shows that we won pretty much every cross which came into the box. Our defence were on song this game. I like to compare that to the tackles which shows we just didnt let them get anywhere near our box. All the tackles were made outside the box so we didnt have to make any last ditch tackles.

[JOSEPH!]

Top thread mate - fantastic energy and commitment in the regular updates. Like you, I have found looking at these areas post-match really help solve any tactical problems and result in a refined tactic like yours. Good stuff!

Been playing FM since 07/08, not too long relatively, and just started looking at the game in a much more in depth way thanks to posts like this from others like Furious, SFraser, Cleon etc. Interesting to see your title as I took some inspiration from Rafa's 4-2-3-1 on my own save. I did start with Madrid, arguably one of the easiest saves possible, but wanted a quality team to ensure my tactical analysis and though processes were sound before I tried it on a more testing stage.

Couple questions: In terms of your Boca teams aspirations, where do you stand in your league? Are you favourites for the title, contenders or...? I ask because, despite some very convincing results, sometimes the stats tell an even story in terms of the game but you grab a win. By your own admission you like to stifle opponents attacks first and foremost; is this because you feel your squad don't have the quality to dominate a league say like Madrid/Barcelona do? Obviously, irrespective of this your tactic is sound and you've refined it to a point where they do as you want!

Will post you some screenshots in due course regarding my save, see how it correlates. I too find my DM (anchor) as a pivotal point in my team, however I feel I probably am a bit more free to utilise tactics I want as obviously Madrid's squad is ridiculous and the players will at times compensate for a poor tactical decision. Trying to nullify that though! Again, good stuff mate

Edit

So my next fixture is against At Madrid. Big rivalry as you all well know! As always, a visit to the analysis tab on their previous few games revealed a lot about their tactics. Beating Levante recently 3-0 they, without exception, attacked and scored down the left. This I can't quite get my head around. They may just religiously attack one flank which is fine but, if anything, their players actually present themselves as a team with a strong creative force; left, right and centrally. If anything, favouring the right. Their right back loves to bomb forward on his PPMs and he is the more attacking of the full backs. Their left back is more a centre back, with no stats that suggest attacking. All the central players are strong on both feet and quite creative (lowest is 14 I think) and with a great focal point in attack with Falcao they have a lot of variation available. It just so happened that your tactic SRL would suit this game.

I placed my DM(anchor) on the central-right hand side to cover attacks down the At Madrid left and Alonso as a CM central-left. Pepe makes a very good Limited CB (strong physically, decent enough mentally and technically) and L. Diarra, who has been a sensation for me, was perfect in a defence full-back position on the right. Carvalho nicking the starting place ahead of Ramos as I needed a more intelligent player to help better protect a slightly exposed left flank for me and compensate for the attacking Marcelo (whom I instructed to attack, At Madrid leave a lot of space on their opposite flank to where they attack).

The game started as expected with me just sitting back, nullifying attacks, and scoring on the break. 2-0 up so no worries. I notice At Madrid switch attack down the right; I don't change anything. I want to see how your set-up can cope here. This was either a direct response from their manager to my defensive set up or because their attacking FB has a niggly injury so not as effective, who knows, either way they switched it up. This resulted in me conceding. My fourth goal against my team so far in the season (tend to base my teams on a defensive set up). After changing Alonso's personal instructions I found their attacks down the right carried less weight however, as a consequence, MY attacks carried less weight. Alonso wasn't in such a perfect position to link play between my very tightly controlled defensive line and my more fluid attackers.

So my question is this. Obviously our personal instructions, play style, teams and opposition all behave differently but how do you compensate for a slightly more exposed central-left side of your defence? I see that on your movement maps, at times especially when under pressure, your DM(anchor) crops up in that defensive triangle (two CBs one DM) that is so so important in modern day football or even your DM and CM line up to form a very solid two CBs two DM defence. Clearly this is down to your personal instructions so you've recognised a flaw in this and tweaked it. However, a keen opposition manager will see the frailties in your original formation and attack down the side your DM isn't. Perhaps utilising a good Inside Forward to exploit space behind your CM; therefore dragging your DM out of position, opening space on your weaker right side of defence for wide players to exploit. If this is the case it would seem you would drop your CM deeper and cover that therefore finding, as I did, that your attacks don't link up as well.

Sorry I know that may be a confusing paragraph. I found my CM losing his attacking potency when asked to drop deep. Just wondering how you might cope with this, which you clearly do as its a successful tactic but, with your CM deep, do you find you lose potency in attack? Interesting to hear your thoughts on this and your personal instruction and how they deal with these threats.

[MeesterCat]

Loving this thread and it's opening my eyes to the Analysis available, something I will admit I neglect. I continue to struggle tactically with my Lille team and I think I need to sit down and look at things in a similar way to how you have posted to try and iron out where I'm going wrong.

[JOSEPH!]

This, in my eyes, is where your shape is superior in attack to the traditional deep 4-2-3-1. Very simple but a fantastic example of what a CM with the right settings can do for your team when paired with a creative force in AMC.

Ok so for the image above: Pretty much straight from kick off. Higuain passes to Ozil from the spot, Ozil to Asamoah, Asamoah to Di Maria who, being well covered down the flank, has come inside. The At Madrid attacking midfielder has pushed up ahead of Ozil giving him space. Higuain is just drifting forward however the key movement here is Alonso. At the moment Higuain is well covered by Godin and Miranda. The move progresses...

Ozil is attacking space after Di Maria decided to use him. Di Maria being the instinctive wide player he is does his natural movement of attacking the right flank ensuring Higuain enough space. Alonso's movement again is key. Not only is he occupying a very dangerous attacking position (the channel between CB and RB) he has managed to occupy both albeit Miranda a bit more. The RB does have Calléjon covered, fair enough, but if Alonso were to receive the ball he'd keep them both on their toes. Ozil has split the two defensive midfield players and Higuain has turned his man, played onside by a dozy Miranda thanks to Alonso's key movement.

The ball I always trusted Ozil to play has been played. The damage is done and Higuain is left one-on-one. Very one dimensional movement from my wingers and a simple pass has split open a Champions League side simply due to a well timed and fantastically positioned run from Alonso. This wouldn't be possible in a traditional 4-2-3-1 as it happened quite quickly and with Alonso's movement.

As it happened, Higuain hit the post. My top scorer with 15 in 15 messed it up. Oh well, the game has turned into a bit of a nothing game anyway. At Madrid havent had a shot since I changed tactics with my CM, they can't penetrate the defence or deal with attacking movement! Happy days.

SRL: Do you find similar movement with your CM?

Edit

Why thank you

[SRL88]

Arrrrrg, so much text for me to reply to .

Loving this thread and it's opening my eyes to the Analysis available, something I will admit I neglect. I continue to struggle tactically with my Lille team and I think I need to sit down and look at things in a similar way to how you have posted to try and iron out where I'm going wrong.

Cheers fella .

I have to say that I havent looked so in depth at my tactics/formation before, but when I decided to start this thread I dwelved into it a bit more and I find it really helpful.

SRL: Do you find similar movement with your CM?

Yeah I get that. He gets pretty far forward. Quite often in line with my CF, but more so my AM.

Cracking wright-up though .

[SRL88]

Boca -v- Independiente

It is quite obvious from this game that our dominance on the pitch allowed for us to be a lot more expressive, hold a higher line and play much wider. I love how tight and compact we are in the centre of the pitch and how perfect our back line is. Its a fantastic thing to see how well your team works together and I think the heat maps show that.

Shots at Goal

We generally had to rely on shots from distance in this game, but we made it work brilliantly. Even with most of our shots outside the box, we worked the ball into positions which would trouble them.

Positioning

I just want to point a few things out here.

1. Centre backs - I watched them throughout the game and they were generally quite wide when we had the ball, but as soon as that was broken, they instantly made themselves more central and a unit.

2. Right back - All game our RB bombed directly up the pitch and just ran through their defence.

3. Left back/AML - I love how as our AML tucked in, our LB bent his run and attacked up the left hand side, overlapping him.

[SRL88]

Olimpio -v- Boca

This was one of them games which we were playing a side who were struggling in the league so I changed personel a little bit. Having done so I have to say that I am absolutely delighted with this performance. The dominance shown was fantastic. I love how once again we played much wider and higher up the pitch.

Crosses & Chances Created

I have decided to post about the crosses because this is without a doubt the most crosses we have attempted in a game. I know a lot werent won, but a few were and its nice to see that we have changed our game by doing this.

The chances created show that we favoured the left hand side, but also that we created a lot more chances which could have resulted in a goal.

[JOSEPH!]

Yeah I get that. He gets pretty far forward. Quite often in line with my CF, but more so my AM.

Cracking wright-up though .

Cheers fella Another two cracking games there mate. Back four is definitely holding its own. In terms of your adaptability when facing opposition you make it sound like the team just adapts itself to the games. Give yourself more credit! Obviously you're changing it up. Shots from distance aren't bad if they work hey

Got Barcelona in a couple games time at home. This should be fun.

[SRL88]

Cheers fella Another two cracking games there mate. Back four is definitely holding its own. In terms of your adaptability when facing opposition you make it sound like the team just adapts itself to the games. Give yourself more credit! Obviously you're changing it up. Shots from distance aren't bad if they work hey

Why thank you!!!

Yeah its amazing to see how our team adapts to each game and how they change their own style to nulify our opponents.

[SRL88]

Boca -v- Racing Club

First of all guys, I would like to apologise for my lack of updates in both this, and my other thread. I havent played on FM as much as I would have liked in the last couple of days and I am just getting back into it......sort of.

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This was a truely excellent team display at home Racing Club. I had to change our side somewhat due to tiredness and I have been given food for thought. I actually put a poacher upfront and this was the result, a hat-tricl. Brilliant performance from him!!! We were brilliant all game, passing and moving throughout.

Passing

I love how we passed the ball about this game. We were just so calm and composed on the ball.

Crosses

This really pleases me. I know there are a lot of incomplete crosses (red), but the number of crosses we attempted is fantastic as it really shows our ability to change our play.

[rarara]

PM me the player instructions? Or could you upload the tactic? Thanks

[Cleon]

PM me the player instructions? Or could you upload the tactic? Thanks

No. You could simply read the thread anc reate it yourself rather than been lazy.

[tomtuck01]

To add to what Cleon said and what I said in my own thread; it's in the Discussion section of the Tactics Forum for a reason, and not the Download section.

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Still enjoying the analysis SRL. One thing I have noticed, though not related to the tactic, is that you make use of your substitute much more than me.

[rarara]

The width, tempo etc is in the OP, but I will PM you the individual player instructions which I have changed.

No. You could simply read the thread anc reate it yourself rather than been lazy.

The OP mentioned he had changed the instructions and was open to PM those interested the new instructions.

No need to rule with an iron fist.

[Cleon]

The OP mentioned he had changed the instructions and was open to PM those interested the new instructions.

No need to rule with an iron fist.

Then do as he said and PM him. This is the discussion part of the forum, if you are looking for a download link then use the download sub forum up top. This part is for discussions.

[Cleon]

To add to what Cleon said and what I said in my own thread; it's in the Discussion section of the Tactics Forum for a reason, and not the Download section.

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Still enjoying the analysis SRL. One thing I have noticed, though not related to the tactic, is that you make use of your substitute much more than me.

Subs are vital and are a game changer imo.

[tomtuck01]

Subs are vital and are a game changer imo.

I agree of course, just don't seem to do it all that much.

I trust the boys on the field.

[SRL88]

PM me the player instructions? Or could you upload the tactic? Thanks

Send me a PM and I will forward you the player instructions I have changed.

No. You could simply read the thread anc reate it yourself rather than been lazy.

Cleon laying the law down .

No need to rule with an iron fist.

Thats how Cleon roles!!!

Still enjoying the analysis SRL. One thing I have noticed, though not related to the tactic, is that you make use of your substitute much more than me.

Subs are vital and are a game changer imo.

I agree of course, just don't seem to do it all that much.

I trust the boys on the field.

I tend to make my subs around the 60 minute mark. I dont like making three at a time but usually bring a couple of players on at once.

[SRL88]

Boca -v- Quilmes

This was a comfortable win over Quilmes in which we done all the hard work in the first half, and just saw the game out in the second. It always annoys me when that happens on FM so if anyone is a guru at making players actually score another 2-3 goals in the second period tell me how. Anyway, I find it a little weird how the heat map shows that we are drifting to the left a little. Its odd that we have an IF on that side and an winger on the other side. I do like how high up the pitch the team is though as despite the rigid philospophy and the fact that I have the defensive line set to deep, our dominance in games allows us to push much higher up.

Shots at Goal

We created some good chances in this game which was a pleasure. I enjoyed the fact that we worked the ball into very dangerous areas before we finally had an attempt at goal, rather than just shooting on sight.

Interceptions

When watching the match, this is something I noticed throughout. The number of times we pressurised them into making mistakes allowed us to intercept the ball which meant we completely dominanted. The lads pressed them high up the pitch and they couldnt handle it. It was a fantastic defensive display as much as it was brilliant attacking. Such a good blend.

[SRL88]

Boca -v- Olimpia

This particular game was a very one sided affair and a very confident performance from ourselves. We massively dominated possession and completely stopped our opponents from having any influence on the game. The heat map shows that we were much wider against our opponents and also pushed up due to our dominance.

IF Shots at Goal

So five shots at goal for our IF (AML) and they all came from a tucked in position which shows the effect of having an IF on the left hand side of the pitch. The AML was on fire during this game, scoring a hat-trick all from similar positions and quite similar goals.

[GaryMegsonJr]

I'm using this tactic at Wigan, (like I mentioned before), and despite initial success I couldn't really get it to work. I tried to use the formation as a base and then tweak it to how I wanted my side to play and how the players I had at my disposal. I've read the whole thread but would appreciate it if you could pm me the player instrcutions? I've already set what instructions youve mentioned in the thread and some of them I'd alreday done in my own tweaks (e.g. LB set to run with ball often) but I'm yet to really get it to work. Still convinced it's a great tactic though!

[SRL88]

Ive read your PM GaryMegsonJr and unfortunately, my save has moved on from Boca and I dont use the same formation, so I am posting here as anyone else who asked for me to PM them the player instructions which I had changed for this formation, could you please forward them to GaryMegsonJr. Cheers .