how many of you play 4-2-3-1 ?

[Albion Rover]

Well, as you know, this tactic has become the tactic that is 'in' in real life. Most teams in my FM09, though, play 4-4-2, as do i. I have almost always played 4-4-2, right up to the year 2030, in which i am playing now.

I am just wondering how many of you play the 4-2-3-1, and if you do, do you play with 2 MCs, or one DM and one MC?

I am asking, because I am facing the sack - it is too late to turn things around, and i am thinking of what to do at whichever club makes the mistake of appointing me as their manager

Thanks, guys

[newguy243]

I have been playing 4-2-3-1 all the way through my long term save, i have both CM set as defend with them being ball winning and deep lying playmaker, score plenty of goals also playing the striker as a poacher

[Codename47]

SK/D

WB/A

CD/D

CD/D

FB/S

CM/D

DLP/S

IF/S

AP/S

W/A

P/A

Note: The WB/A is overlapping the IF/S and the FB/S is on the same side of the W/A. Also, the CM/D is always on the nearest side to the WB/A.

[Bluebird123]

4-2-3-1 with 2 CM's in 13 is very difficult to get working consistently. I have played 4-3-3 in my 10 year save with Southampton but I have changed to 4-2-3-1 with DM's on occasions.

[Santa Claus]

4-2-3-1 with 2 CM's in 13 is very difficult to get working consistently. I have played 4-3-3 in my 10 year save with Southampton but I have changed to 4-2-3-1 with DM's on occasions.

It works for me, I sort of tried to emulate Bayern's formation and tactics under Heynckes and if I don't mess up team talk, it works.

[janesy20]

it highly p*sses me off to be honest. the player on the ball is so slow on the ball that any runs that the wingers/attacking midfielders make mean they're basically playing 4 up top and any good movement is ruined. no matter which team you go. I play 4 2 3 1 but i'm considering going back to 4-4-2 or maybe even 4-5-1 with a DM CM CM LM RM just because any players further advanced just run into the oppositions back line.

[blinkblue]

I play 4-2-2-2 most of the time in my current save. Though I do use 4-2-3-1 against the best teams or change to it if I'm looking to shore up defense.

[soccer.joel]

I've played a 4-2-3-1 with CM's with success on both 10 and 13

[blinkblue]

I always use BWM-DLP for my midfield two. Seems to work the best.

[le_crab]

I use it and have been I'd say quite successful. 2 DMC 1 set to defend I also use a high pressing game for quick ball retention with a short controlled passing game when in possession , AMC is set to playmaker , forward is AF.

[bigman]

won everything with my attacking, very fluid, zonal marking 4 2 3 1 at arsenal

....................af

if/a................ap/s...........w/s

..............dlp/s..dlp/s

fb/a.........cb/d...cb/d........fb/s

....................gk/d

[Domus Clamantium]

I used it last season the majority of the time, in the centre i used a CM(s), BWM(s) or DLP(s) with a BWM(d), depending on the player. You have to play with at least one holding midfielder to screen the defensive line (think Sandro, M'Vila, Lars Bender, Arturo Vidal). In AMC I used either AP(s/a) or Trequartista, again depending on the player. You have to change the role depending who fills the place as you rotate your squad; for example very often I would have a dwarven AMC who was excellent at passing and creative but no good going forward, so for this he was AP(s). Good examples are Ezequiel Cirigliano or Ruben Yttergard Jenssen. But I gave up on using them because then all the burden is on the striker to score. Shows that finishing and long shots are an important attribute for an AMC.

A 4-2-3-1 with 2 DMCs and 1 CM is a good defensive variant.

This season though I am trying something different with a 3-4-3 diamond with a AMCL and DMCR and defensive wingers, which I will be posting about in the tactics forum.

[Soccer]

I use 4-2-3-1 occasionally. One of my CMs would be a ball-winning midfielder, the other a deep-lying playmaker. The third would be an advanced playmaker, followed by two wingers.

[ommerson]

I mostly use the 4-2-3-1 system as I like to play with a creative AMC in the '10' position and wingers. Furthermore I always give my wing backs attacking duty.

I put two MC's in the central midfield-slots of whom one can also play DM to have some defensive weight in the middle of the park (ball winning midfielder mostly). I don't use the DM-slots ever.

My teams usually score a lot, but concede quite often also.

[Flohrinho]

I use a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-5-1 as a backup tactic. Works quite well I would say.

*shamlesboast* *cough*

[le_crab]

I use a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-5-1 as a backup tactic. Works quite well I would say.

*shamlesboast* *cough*

*cough* lose quit reload play again til win. *cough*

[Flohrinho]

*cough* lose quit reload play again til win. *cough*

Yeah took me quite a while to get all those 7-0 in a row. About 1000000 reloads later I finally got what I wanted and it was totally not boring.

I don't know what happened with that Tottenham game, I must have blacked out and forgotten to reload again.

[sriracha]

@Flohrinho

Dresden and 1860 in the Bundesliga ... which year is that - 2079?

[Flohrinho]

2022.

Of course the result is my team was able to achieve mainly due to a very bad standard of the league atm. Even Dortmund and Bayern seem to be more then happy to let PL clubs like Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal raid them for their best players which means my competition pretty much gets weaker and weaker every year while my extremely talented youngsters are now pretty much world class players.

Btw I use very average TC 4-2-3-1 without any individual tweaks apart form long shots being limited to rarely for everyone.

[vasilli07]

I use a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-5-1 as a backup tactic. Works quite well I would say.

*shamlesboast* *cough*

What font is the word bundesliga in?

[hluraven]

I still use 4-4-2, as do most real life teams in Conference South. 4-2-3-1 isn't that universal yet.

[MeesterCat]

4231 did me well in FM10 and FM12, but I've found the formation I've liked the most in FM13 is 4411.

[foofighter23]

post 12 is almost identical to my most successful 4-2-3-1 with the 2 dlps in midfield but the 4-3-3 in post 2 has been the best all around in fm13 for me.

sadly i used to change tactics every season after i won the league but in fm13 some formations just die on their ass. i pretty much stick to one type (with backup) for each career i start now.

4-4-2 diamond used to own in past versions but is massively hit and miss in 13 and 5-3-2 with wingbacks i used to love but struggle too now.

[Flohrinho]

What font is the word bundesliga in?

I have no clue. The skin is called Nuu Skin though.

[Kenco]

I usually prefer the 4-2-3-1 and used it for a couple of seasons with decent results. But I decided to drop my AML/R back to ML/R and play it as a 4-4-1-1 for away games and home games against tough opposition. It made a huge difference, making my team much better defensively but not reducing my attacking threat and I won the league.

[rayr27]

I'ev not had much luck with it so I tend to play a 4-4-1-1 and set up the midfield so it functions like 4-2-3-1. If you get it right it can be very effective going forward without the defensive frailties of having 3 AMs. On 13.3 my set up has been W(s)-DLP(s)-CM(d)-W(a) with a T and a TM(a) ahead. I switch the wide play instructions of the wingers so that the (a) has normal and the (s) hugs the touchline and give the treq licence to make fwd runs sometimes. Been quite successful with that. Particularly good for getting the best out of an AM C with an eye for goal.

Thinking back to FM09 I think I flitted between that and a 4-3-2-1 (3 x MC, AMR, AML) which was quite effective.

[Winto]

I used 4-4-2 religiously right up until FM13.

Then I started with West Ham and I didn't have the players to use it.

So I created a 4-1-2-2-1 formation, with two wingers right up the pitch. 4-5-1 away from home, but once I dominated Europe it's the attacking version home and away.

It's essentially this:

------GK-------

RB--CB--CB--LB

------DM-------

----CM--CM----

RW----------LW

------ST-------

Works a charm if you allow your centre mids to get forward, and allow the DM to spray the passes about. Full backs are important too.

[Midnight Rob]

Well, as you know, this tactic has become the tactic that is 'in' in real life. Most teams in my FM09, though, play 4-4-2, as do i. I have almost always played 4-4-2, right up to the year 2030, in which i am playing now.

I am just wondering how many of you play the 4-2-3-1, and if you do, do you play with 2 MCs, or one DM and one MC?

I am asking, because I am facing the sack - it is too late to turn things around, and i am thinking of what to do at whichever club makes the mistake of appointing me as their manager

Thanks, guys

I actually play it with 2 DMs and an AMC. The game's description is 4231 Deep. Great formation as it can defend both wide and narrow oppositions as well as presenting them problems at the other end with 2 wide players and a guy operating in the 'hole'.

[crisrko]

---------------GK------------

FB/D----CD/D---CD/D----FB/d

--------DM/Anchorman-------

--------------CM/AP-----------

Winger/S----AM/S---------Winger/S

------------Poacher/AF---------

that's how I play it

[ShirazS]

I usually prefer the 4-2-3-1 and used it for a couple of seasons with decent results. But I decided to drop my AML/R back to ML/R and play it as a 4-4-1-1 for away games and home games against tough opposition. It made a huge difference, making my team much better defensively but not reducing my attacking threat and I won the league.

Is there any way to get an MR or ML to play how an Inside Forward would play? Aside from editing Individual instructions of course.

[Domus Clamantium]

Having 2 DMs and an AMC would open up some more space for the AMC to operate in, but would it have an effect on passing between your DMs and AMC? The DMs would of course be the main supply to the AMC and against a 4-4-2 you would play against a 2 man screen there. Is there a noticeable diference in results between 2 Dm's and 2 MC's?

[Kenco]

Is there any way to get an MR or ML to play how an Inside Forward would play? Aside from editing Individual instructions of course.

It helps if they have PPMs -"likes to cut inside" would be the best one, then they will do it naturally.

[ShirazS]

It helps if they have PPMs -"likes to cut inside" would be the best one, then they will do it naturally.

Thanks, I've been testing with both players set to Winger - Attack and it looks like when one of the players has the ball, the opposite winger comes inside toward the ball and behaves similarly to an Inside Forward

[forameuss]

I often play "The Crucifix" as I've called it. You can probably guess what it looks like from that, but...

--------------------------
--------------------------
------------SC------------
--------------------------
--AML-------AM-------AMR--
--------------------------
------------MC------------
--------------------------
------------DM------------
--------------------------
---DL----DC----DC----DR---
--------------------------
------------GK------------

You could argue it's a 4-2-3-1 of sorts, but probably more accurately a 4-1-1-3-1. Works surprisingly well given the vast swathes of space on the flanks. I've since moved to something more conservative, although this is probably due to not really having very good AMC players, and having too many Anchorman/Ball-winning midfielder types. In my head, they're breaking up play and pinging passes to each other in little triangles. In practice, they're not. Works though.

--------------------------
--------------------------
------------SC------------
--------------------------
--AML----------------AMR--
--------------------------
------------MC------------
--------------------------
---------DM----DM----------
--------------------------
---DL----DC----DC----DR---
--------------------------
------------GK------------

[JimbobWWFC]

4-2-3-1 has been the most effective formation for my teams on FM13 more than any other formations. Sometimes there are very small alterations due to the opponents or their tactics (and sometimes if I'm playing wingers instead of inside forwards), but my formation is generally like this:

------------------ST (A)------------------

--AML (IF, A)-----AP (S)-----AMR (IF, A)--

-----------DLP (S)-----BWM (D)-----------

--WBL (S/A)--CB (D)--CB (D)--WBR (S/A)--

-------------------GK--------------------