Liverpool: A Quest for Tactical Success

[stu_3145]

Firstly, I should say a massive thank you and shout-out to the moderators, whose in-depth advice started me on this (hopefully) successful quest. Their advice can be found stickyed on the top of the tactics forum but I found these articles particularly useful; Building A Tactic From The Beginning And Maintaining It Long Term, and the Pairs & Combinations Guide.

From reading the Building the Tactic post, I realised that I needed to work out what I wanted from my tactic, or more likely tactic(s). I read a number of articles but I found this Tactical Analysis from the Tottenham v Liverpool 0-3 game and this article reviewing Liverpool’s tactics particular useful, probably as it was Liverpool's best game all season.

The key points obtained where:

- Liverpool’s most effective game was with 2 strikers

- The midfield functioned well in a diamond and with Sterling dropping deep to get the ball

- Against Tottenham, Gerrard dropped between the CB’s when in attack

Working from these key points, Liverpool’s Premier League team comparison rankings and from what I wanted from my Liverpool save, I decided to build my tactic with following goals:

1. 2 strikers

2. Use a midfield diamond, that takes advantage the squads top 3 rankings in passing, vision & decisions

3. Having the DM dropping between the CB’s and the AM dropping deeper to receive and create

After using a 4-1-4-1 away to Man City that resulted in dominate performance for the home team, and an extremely comfortable 3-0 win, I decided to start trying to achieve the goals stated above.

While only giving my squad 2 days to learn the new tactics is not ideal, I felt that change was necessary to get two of my squads better players, Balotelli and Sturridge, on the pitch in at the same time. I decided to get with a formation that Liverpool used to great success last season.

Starting from the back, like all good teams at least claim to do , my left backs had greater attacking qualities that my right backs so they were going to be the designated ‘attack’ wing with CWB. Two Standard CB’s defend, with a Wing Back support on the right to provide some attacking threat but to cover my midfield.

The DM choice was the most difficult as I wanted them to drop in between the CB’s – pointing to a Half Back role – but I wanted the player to push up to support the attacking maybe indicating a DM on defend. In the end, I settled on the Half Back but was open to change.

In regards to the midfield, CM defend for the left-sided midfielder was an obvious choice, as they would be needed to cover for the extremely attacking left CWB. Box-to-Box and CM support were the choices for the right-sided midfield, as they could push further forward with the RB providing greater cover. I originally chose to have the furthest forward midfielder in the AM slot but wanting greater defensive solidarity, I dropped him back to create a mini-diamond in midfield, and decided on Attacking Playmaker Attack as I have envisaged Sterling and Coutinho in this role, both of whom have 17 dribbling and I wanted them to run with the ball to create havoc and movement.

I felt that a deep-lying forward was required to help bridge the gap between the midfield and the strikers, with the left sided slot being chosen as that should provide the most space with the equivalent midfielder in a CM defend. An Advanced Forward was decided on for the remaining striker spot to provide balance and to (hopefully) give the CB’s a decision to make between closing down the DLF and not letting the AF get in behind.

I decided to keep my Team Instructions simple and go with direct passing and high tempo to have the team transition the ball quickly from defence to attack. I planned on reviewing my team instructions and particular my defensive line once the games start.

First up was Burnley, a team I should comfortably beat especially since I was at home. With almost a full team to pick from selection wasn’t a major concern. From an opposition stand point, Burnley were likely to line up in 4-4-1-1 which should allow my DM to effectively mark the AM, though I was concerned with my wings getting overwhelmed with the opportunities to possible outnumber my fullbacks.

My team has recovered possession, and after recycling the ball between my deepest players on the pitch, Gerrard begins to move forward with the ball. As you can see my Left CWB has pushed a long way forward as we are comfortable in the attacking phase, and my LCM (D) has pushed across to provide some cover.

We have shuttled the ball forward to Balotelli who has come deeper to get the ball, as expected. As you can see, my left CWB has pushed well ahead of him and even Sturridge who is playing in the AF role. Also Henderson (B2B) has started to push forward as we have moved into the attacking half, as Allen (CM-D) has pushed across to take up an auxiliary left back role in cover.

With the ball pushed out wide, my AF has startd to make a run in behind, the DLF has pushed forward and the B2B has taken up a position outside the box, requring the midelfieders to mark him. I am not happy that that I happened to have 3 midfielders close enough to hold hands, as I would prefer to have the HB further across and AP (Sterling) pushing further forward harder to support that attack which is clearly happening. Am unsure whether this is a by-product of tactical unfamilarity or the roles that I have selcted for them –further investigation is required here.

In this attack, Moreno puts in an excellent cross to match the excellent run and only an outstanding close range save prevents an opening goal.

With my first goal being scored from a corner that got worked around in the box, there was not much to review in regard to my tactic. My second goal provided a better opportunity to observe and hopefully learn.

With a goal kick to restart play, I feel that I can look out how my team lines up when in defensive formation. I am pretty happy, with my HB screening the back 4, and my CM’s taking up positions to in the middle of the pitch. In this play, Henderson wins the header that falls to Sterling. Sterling then passes forwards to a forward rushing Sturridge, who in turn cuts back in side, drawing two defenders and crucially one of the Burnley midfielders, which opens up space for Balotelli to run into.

In this case, Balotelli with his ‘shoot from distance’ preferred move, elects to shoot from range but you can see that he had options with the CWB streaming down the wing, the B2B providing an easy back ball to keep possession (who in turn has the CM and HB as easy, short options). You can also see the AP trying to get forward to fill the space left my striker who cut inside. Again in this case, Balotelli scores a screamer from 30 yards into the top corner.

My third came from a corner that was worked around the edge of the box, so again not much opportunity. My forth goal started from a throw in deep in our attacking half.

Gerrard (HB) and Henderson (B2B) exchange passes before Henderson is found open closer to the middle of the pitch. You can see Balotelli (DLF) has pushed further forward dragging the defensive line deep into their own box. Henderson finds Sterling (AP-A) who runs forward with the ball, as you can see, drawing three defenders – exactly what I was hoping the position would do; create movement and havoc. He has options out wide, but crucially Balotelli has a 1 on 1 in the middle of the box, due to Sturridge drawing the other CB and Moreno drawing the Burnley right back. In this case, Balotelli is found in the middle, turns his defender and finishes comfortably into the bottom corner.

With my fifth goal coming from a Gerrard free kick, then came is well and a truly over. And I need to praise my set piece coach as that’s 3 goals scored. Time to look at the defensive side.

While the stats at the end of the game show Burnley having 2 clear cut & 2 half chances, to my 1 and 4 an analysis of their chances show that 3 of their best scoring chances came from throw ins – time to rethink that set piece coach praise! Their lone cut chance from open play came from a turnover by my right back on the edge of my box that allowed their striker to get open down the wing. After a missed tackle by my covering CB there was a cross that fell to an unmarked Burnley player – fortunately my keeper matched his opposite number’s save from the start of the game to keep the clean sheet. I feel confident that this was down to 2 and possible 3 individual errors that won’t be a regular occurrence in games.

This shows a large majority of the defensive transitions for Liverpool. With Moreno pushed so far forward, there is acres of space left on the wing, especially with the ball turned over cheaply. However, Allen has pushed across to cover the space that the Burnley attacker was trying to exploit.

With the ball slowed due to no quick options for Burnley to push forward, Moreno has time to recover his position. This in turn, allows Allen to close down the ball, where in this case he wins it back with an excellent tackle. You can also note that Gerrard has picked up the Burnley AM to shut down the short option, Henderson has picked up the Burnley midfielder who was trying to push forward and Sterling has pushed back to help with the ball, a result I feel, of him being in the midfield role as oppose the AM role.

And there it is, an comfortable 5-0 victory that would have still been a good win without the prowess at set pieces. An analyse of the match stats, yields some interesting information. Of note is the 5 long shots from 15 - 30% long is not a great result and might lead to a ‘work the ball into the box’ shout. However, I am not convinced how successful this would be as Lambert, Balotelli and Borini (3 out of my 4 strikers) all have ‘shoot from distance’.

Of glaring note is the 51% pass completion fom the defence. However, further analyse indicates a large part of the poor completion might be linked to the 56 crosses and 10 corners that Burnley put in for the game – resulting in a large amount of clearances, and therefore not especially accurate passing. On the flip side, the 72% midfield completion shows that my midfield did a reasonable job of pressuring the ball, and cutting off the options.

So just my thoughts and opinions on my first game using the 2 striker formation. I will post further games when they happen.

[Kyle Seddon]

Interesting read. I look forward to further analysis of this.

[crossbarchallenger]

This is the Rodgers diamond that I tried to replicate in my first season, but I struggled with consistency in the league so I eventually switched to a more defensive 4-4-2. I won the European Cup, FA Cup, and UEFA Cup in three consecutive seasons, but only managed 6th, 4th, and 2nd in the league. If you manage to get better results in the league then I might go back to trying these tactics again.

You sound more diligent and methodical than I am, so wishing you all the best!

[jackane24]

Think about Sterling as a CM-A. It's a brilliant role and one that might work very well with the DLF-S. Ball gets played into Balotelli and then he can either lay it off to the on-rushing Sterling, or Sturridge, or the CWB-A.

But your set-up is excellent on the whole. Looks very sturdy. Maybe add 'play out of defence' though? They'll pass it to Gerrard who'll then pass per your 'more direct passing' TI. Not sure though if they'll try and pass it to one of the CMs instead though given Gerrard's playing HB. Might be worth experimenting with.

[stu_3145]

As you can see, struggling for some results both home and away.

Losing games=tactic broken right?. However, analysis of the goals leaked points to more of a problem with the set piece defending as oppose to open play goals. In fact, two of the three open play goals conceded were both screamers from distance including this frankly beautiful strike from Sigurðsson.

Further goal breakdowns:

Newcastle: 3-1 = 20 yard hit from Cissé after I had switched to my shut-the-game-tactic. Evidently, not as effective as I had hoped = work needed here and research has I have always struggled to shut games down when the opponent is pressing for the goal.

Swansea: 0-2 = The 30 yard hit from above, plus a poor corner clearance

Arsenal: 1-1 = Penalty loss with a goal given up from a corner header

Chelsea: 2-3 = Two goals from poor corner clearances and an run behind the fullback goal that brought back memories of FM14.

As you can see, results aside the goals are coming from corners. Time to research (or if anyone has any helpful suggestions ...) some set piece defending.

Also noticeable when reviewing the goals was the amount of dominance that both Arsenal and particular Chelsea enjoyed before I switched tactics - both these teams, while also full of quality players, both have wingers in the wide AM slots. While I know the tactic gives space down the wings due to the narrow midfield, the seems to be an abundance against teams with wide AM's and fullbacks that get forward - I need to develop a tactic to use in against these type of teams, possibly even player a striker in the MR/ML slots to keep both Sturridge and Balotelli on the pitch but more on that later.

[stu_3145]

Think about Sterling as a CM-A. It's a brilliant role and one that might work very well with the DLF-S. Ball gets played into Balotelli and then he can either lay it off to the on-rushing Sterling, or Sturridge, or the CWB-A.

But your set-up is excellent on the whole. Looks very sturdy. Maybe add 'play out of defence' though? They'll pass it to Gerrard who'll then pass per your 'more direct passing' TI. Not sure though if they'll try and pass it to one of the CMs instead though given Gerrard's playing HB. Might be worth experimenting with.

Thanks. Sterling is definitely excelling in the role especially compared to Coutinho and Lallana - which might have something to do with Sterling's superior acceleration as he burst away from the defensive midfielders (but like real life Sterling now that I think about it).

I haven't noticed Gerrard being bypassed but will investigate the 'play out of defense' as it seems to be logical with me wanting to have Gerrard hit the killer ball. I have noticed that when Gerrard is not playing (and I have turned off the 'more direct passing for Lucas or Can) we are not as effective getting players into space - will try experimenting with them having this instruction. I have noticed that when Gerrard hits a poor ball (which to be fair is not frequent) it is nearly always turned over and we can get extremely exposed on the counter with my B2B and 2 wing backs forward - something to keep an eye on

[alinp]

I don't actually think you need to have the direct passing on for Gerrard as his PPM will make him more expansive anyway...

With regard to the philosophy of your tactic, if you're using the Spurs game as a template (which was probably the most similar this season to how they played back end of last), you have to press more and be more positive (IMO).

[stu_3145]

I don't actually think you need to have the direct passing on for Gerrard as his PPM will make him more expansive anyway...

With regard to the philosophy of your tactic, if you're using the Spurs game as a template (which was probably the most similar this season to how they played back end of last), you have to press more and be more positive (IMO).

While Gerrard does have 'tries killer balls often' I like the idea of him being super aggressive when pushing the ball forward - hence why it is on.

What did you mean by more positive?

[alinp]

Your playing with a Standard Mentality as far as I can see, so how about being more positive and starting from a more aggressive position, e.g. Attacking, and take the game to the opposition rather than just seeing how it pans out and reacting. Furthermore, why have 2 mid's on a defend duty. The reason LFC scored 100+ goals and let in 50 last year was (again IMO) because they went for the game and pretty much everyone bar the GK, 2 CD's and sometimes Gerrard himself were trying to create and score goals.

It maybe just me, but I often see people explain how they have an idea about how they want to play but then do something contradictory in their tactic. In your case, I'd say to take your idea and go for it full out.... no need for the cautious what ifs. For example, you explain your reason for the CMd as covering for the CWB, but if you recall the Spurs game, Liverpool won a penalty because Allen was in the box, attacking space - would he have been there if he was playing as a CMd??

[stu_3145]

So after a restart due to a crash that corrupted that game file, I had re-start the save. Luckily, I always save before creating a manager (to avoid loading times if I wanted to play as a different team) which meant that I re-started back into the exact same database.

Some tweaks were made from the original tactic. The Mentality was made more aggressive with Control. The team instructions have a minor update. I now use ‘pass into space’ and ‘play narrower’. I also have ‘low crosses’ as I’m intending to have my AF get on the end of these.

First up was Man United – I mean what an easier game for a Liverpool manager to ease into job with! A draw first up even though it was at home – but to be honest I was disappointed, we were in control of the match from the outset.

14 shots for 1 clear-cut and 3 half chances doesn’t seem too bad – especially combined with the number of headers we had that didn’t register as a chance. While we managed to create a few chances you can see there was also an extremely large amount of crosses – the overwhelming majority provided by my wing backs. Not sure what this means yet as all but 1 were in play though they were nearly all intercepted or blocked.

I’ve never paid much attention to crossing percentages before so I am unsure if this is good thing or not. But there is certainly a lot of them!

The passing shows a good use of the AP (s) when moving the ball forward but his view shows no chances created and a number of passes sideways.

Mata managed to open this scoring with this effort from right on the edge of box – not sure why I only had a two man wall (evidently need to review the set piece set-up) and with no wall from that close Mata does what he should and puts the ball into the back of the net.

After the score, I decided I needed to up the ante to give me the best chance to score – I switched the CM (D) to a (S), the AP (S) to a (A) and the B2B to a CM (A). These changes had my midfield pushing forward when we were in control of the ball.

The changed allowed my attack to look a little different – with almost four players in and around the box and Moreno (out of picture) pushed heaps further forward on the left wing.

Johnson in this case puts a cross in – which is good option as my AF, now Lambert, is between his marker and the ball while the remaining CB is forced to cover the other striker in the box and the Man U midfielders have to mark my midfield pushing into the box.

While Johnson’s cross was poor this time and cleared to by the CB his clearance goes straight to my advanced Wing Back whose cross back into the box is met by Sturridge, who jumps above his marker to head home. As you can see, there is no fewer than 5 players in or very close to in the box providing plenty of targets.

After my review of the game, I decided to make a few minor tweaks to the tactic to see if I can draw some improvements. I change the midfield to the roles I gave them towards the end of the match – CM (S), AP (A), CM (A) – I am thinking that this midfield will push forward more and provide opportunities for my strikers. I'm keen to see how these changes may or may not impact the way we play.

[peleJunior]

I have a version of this for FM14 that counter attacks like a hot knife through butter. I will post it up later on when I get home.

[Aari]

This is my first post so please be gentle...

Excellent post stu. I love the 2 strikers! It doesn't always work out for the best in FM or RL but that's part of the fun and challenge. I am using some similar tactics (4-1DM-2-1-2 and 4-3-1-2) on my save with ManU. We just drew Liverpool away as our next in the FA cup- that's going to be a monster game. I have a couple ideas for you to consider.

I know you said GOAL "3. Having the DM dropping between the CB’s and the AM dropping deeper to receive and create" but in case you hadn't considered it already and ruled it out because of GOAL 3 then you could try Gerrard as Regista if the offense needs a boost. You may see some improved movement going forward and very little loss in defending.

In my 4-3-1-2 I played Di Maria as Roaming Playmaker (left, narrow) in the 3 man midfield. He was player of the year with AVG rating over 8. I know you are happy with how Sterling is doing in the middle but consider someone else can do the middle almost as well and then Sterling may destroy people Roaming down the right. Or maybe it only worked so well for me because Mata was also playing great in the AMC.

As for defending corners I read somewhere on these forums to try putting some players on 6 yard zonal (I use 3) and it seems to help.

Anyway, good luck and have fun (except against ManU)

[stu_3145]

This is my first post so please be gentle...

Excellent post stu. I love the 2 strikers! It doesn't always work out for the best in FM or RL but that's part of the fun and challenge. I am using some similar tactics (4-1DM-2-1-2 and 4-3-1-2) on my save with ManU. We just drew Liverpool away as our next in the FA cup- that's going to be a monster game. I have a couple ideas for you to consider.

I know you said GOAL "3. Having the DM dropping between the CB’s and the AM dropping deeper to receive and create" but in case you hadn't considered it already and ruled it out because of GOAL 3 then you could try Gerrard as Regista if the offense needs a boost. You may see some improved movement going forward and very little loss in defending.

In my 4-3-1-2 I played Di Maria as Roaming Playmaker (left, narrow) in the 3 man midfield. He was player of the year with AVG rating over 8. I know you are happy with how Sterling is doing in the middle but consider someone else can do the middle almost as well and then Sterling may destroy people Roaming down the right. Or maybe it only worked so well for me because Mata was also playing great in the AMC.

As for defending corners I read somewhere on these forums to try putting some players on 6 yard zonal (I use 3) and it seems to help.

Anyway, good luck and have fun (except against ManU)

Firstly, it's a shame that you barrack for Man U - otherwise what an excellent first post

The DM as a Regista is an interesting option - i will give it a go and see how it plays.

I assume if you had Di Maria as a Roaming Playmaker then you had a defensive midfielder in the middle and What was the 3rd mids role?

I am curious about your whole tactical set up actually as i have some continuing difficulties with the tactic - especially against a 4-3-2-1 set up - i imagine this struggle is due to the space the wingers have and the overload created when the opposition full backs get forward.

If you could give me some more details on your success and tactic it would be greatly appreciated

[alinp]

It's probably going to be worth your while training Sterling to play as an MC - he makes a brilliant Central Winger (which if you haven't checked out, is worth looking up).

[Chlorice10]

in my liverpool save, i started with a similar formation like yours, but its inconsistant as i only get my goal from crosses by both moreno and flanno which has only 18% complete cross the whole game which i consider bad and mostly 1 dimensional in attacks. my problem lies with my player overloading the box and it force the AI to defend the box deep which cuts the space for through ball by coutinho/herderson etc and it force them to pass it backward to gerrard which then pass it to the flanks for moreno/flanagan to cross and most of the time it got blocked or went astray. now i reverted to a 4-1-2-2-1 control counter formation and now im in january 1st season and did well enough to not rage quit and start new save lol.

[stu_3145]

in my liverpool save, i started with a similar formation like yours, but its inconsistant as i only get my goal from crosses by both moreno and flanno which has only 18% complete cross the whole game which i consider bad and mostly 1 dimensional in attacks. my problem lies with my player overloading the box and it force the AI to defend the box deep which cuts the space for through ball by coutinho/herderson etc and it force them to pass it backward to gerrard which then pass it to the flanks for moreno/flanagan to cross and most of the time it got blocked or went astray. now i reverted to a 4-1-2-2-1 control counter formation and now im in january 1st season and did well enough to not rage quit and start new save lol.

im finding the exact same thing - crossing is almost the only way we score!

however, im super determined to make this 2 striker work and will persist until i can. I am sure there is a way to get the goals from multiple points

[stu_3145]

It's probably going to be worth your while training Sterling to play as an MC - he makes a brilliant Central Winger (which if you haven't checked out, is worth looking up).

Have you got a link to thread that contains some information?

[alinp]

Have you got a link to thread that contains some information?

http://strikerless.com/2014/04/20/utilising-the-central-winger/

[Chlorice10]

im finding the exact same thing - crossing is almost the only way we score!

however, im super determined to make this 2 striker work and will persist until i can. I am sure there is a way to get the goals from multiple points

lol im not the only one then, hows markovic doing in your save ?

the only way i think that this narrow formation would work is during counter attack as what we see from liverpool last season, cause since we are overloading the midfield with player, its unlikely that we will be able to score from the middle unless the AI make mistakes.

i did consider using a treq and false 9 or DLP to pull defender out of postion but the lack of available players with suitable PPM discourage me from doing it.

[stu_3145]

http://strikerless.com/2014/04/20/utilising-the-central-winger/

Interesting idea but from the articles I read that central winger fills the space created by the DLF - I'm not sure that the space wld be there with the two strikers as the remaining striker wld be clogging everything.

However, I will definitely be trying this in my one striker formations as sterling suits the perfectly

[stu_3145]

lol im not the only one then, hows markovic doing in your save ?

the only way i think that this narrow formation would work is during counter attack as what we see from liverpool last season, cause since we are overloading the midfield with player, its unlikely that we will be able to score from the middle unless the AI make mistakes.

i did consider using a treq and false 9 or DLP to pull defender out of postion but the lack of available players with suitable PPM discourage me from doing it.

With this formation he almost never plays - there is no role for him that I can see. How's he doing I'm yours?

Counter might he the only option - and we are pretty much trying to recreate the same style from liverpool a second half of the season where nearly all their goals were on the transition.

I was using the dlp for a bit but found a defensive forward with move into channels showed showed promise. Tracked back better as well as shooting less (though with ball, lambert, and borini all shoot from distance this sometimes former work

[alinp]

Interesting idea but from the articles I read that central winger fills the space created by the DLF - I'm not sure that the space wld be there with the two strikers as the remaining striker wld be clogging everything.

However, I will definitely be trying this in my one striker formations as sterling suits the perfectly

Far from it IMO. Your DLF would drag the defence forward creating space for him to run into... anyhow, the idea's certainly one that's worth pursuing at some point, even if not in your current tactic.

[stu_3145]

Far from it IMO. Your DLF would drag the defence forward creating space for him to run into... anyhow, the idea's certainly one that's worth pursuing at some point, even if not in your current tactic.

I have experimented with the Central Winger in the right midfielder spot and a Roaming Playmaker in the center midfield spot - i found that the Central Winger struggled to get forward and drive to the wing as regularly as i would like (even with 'get further forward' and 'run wide with ball'). However, from what i loved the idea of the central winger and the potential impact it could have. Thanks

[Torskus77]

CM (a) doesn't appear to get as far forward in general as they did in FM14

[llama3]

Good thread going here Stu, you do seem to be tweaking things appropriately (and not everything at the same time, which is much more methodical). Hope the success keeps rolling.

[Loversleaper]

I tried a Liverpool save for fun, so looking at their squad I think the 4-1DM-2-2-1 suits the team pretty well:

League Table: http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/35230376734982488/2B20F809E9DA5232EA628BF5D7E6E646666C97F5/

Game Status: http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/35230376734966540/E2484238FA859749E69A3849F620C7C6AC94CC04/

I added the game status page just to show I am not reloading...

I started learning 3 tactics (Attacking/Standard/Counter). Mainly, I played Attacking Strategy at home (all matches) and away I shifted a little here and there (I am still in the learning process). I mostly played Standard and Counter away but did change to Defensive (against the other big teams) and Control (against the real weak teams) in the Match with some really simple tweaks from the original Strategies.

NOTE: Attacking and Standard (Control) was the 4-1DM-2-2-1 formation and Counter (Defensive) was a 4-1-4-1 formation.

I kept things simple playing GK (D), two Center Backs (D), two Full Backs (Auto), Defensive Midfielder (D - less risky pass), one Advanced Playmaker (S), one Central Mid (Auto - more risky pass), two wingers (A - roam from positions) and a Complete Forward (S).

Two signings: Romero (DM) and Balanta (DC) and sold Toure.

I am still on the Demo and haven't tried Liverpool with the latest update - but I don't think that has made any changes to the way the game is played. I think the latest update changed a little with Closing Down and things are a little off balance in that area, so am looking forward to yet another update before I venture into a new Liverpool save...

[stu_3145]

CM (a) doesn't appear to get as far forward in general as they did in FM14

Probably the main reason i wasnt overly thrilled with the Central Winger was the somewhat deep position that he took up

[stu_3145]

Good thread going here Stu, you do seem to be tweaking things appropriately (and not everything at the same time, which is much more methodical). Hope the success keeps rolling.

Thanks appreciate - always good to hear feedback

[stu_3145]

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone!

So further tactic tweaking has resulted in the tactic now taking on the following:

As you can see - I've switched the midfield (again).

I didnt like the Central Winger in the right hand midfield slot as i felt that he wasnt having as big an impact as i would like - especially as i was hoping to see him push wide and draw defenders and with Sterling earmarked for the role a natural fit you would think.

I am now using the CM (A) role in the middle of the midfield (usually an attacking player like Coutinho, Sterling, Lallana) and a roaming playmaker in the right mid slot (usually Gerrard, Henderson, Allen though I have used Coutinho and Lallana). The CM (A) has dribble more PI.

Now I feel that in the effort of full disclosure that I should mention that I have been unable to tweak this tactic to be successful in every game and in fact have even used different formations completely when the situation has required - mainly based off the formation that the opposition is using. For example, at home to Man City who lined up in a 4-3-2-1 with 3 CM and 2 AM i felt that i would be be midfield battle and one that i wouldnt necessarily win as City have some world-class mids. I switched to a 4-1-4-1 to use the space on the wings - for the record a somewhat lucky 1-0 win with 3CC and 1HC for Liverpool and 2CC and 4HC to City so in hindsight my decision not might as clever as i thought i was

The next game for tactic was against Swansea team that lined up in a 4-4-1-1. I thought that with no DM my CM (A) would contribute enough defensively to outnumber the Swansea midfield while pushing forward hard enough to to exploit that space in the DM strata.

As you can see, i feel that my tactical change was a success, especially when you few Swansea's shot chart with only 1 shot on target and all their shots from outside the box (or really close to outside the box)

I couple of observation regarding the Swansea game.

As you can see in this clip - my wingbacks have pushed forward causing the Swansea defense to be pulled out of position, leaving my DLF in space. Meanwhile, my midfield has done what i hoped they would do with the CM (A) in and around the box, while the CM (S) has also found this space - not so happy with that. You can also see my Roaming Playmaker has pushed over to offer an outlet.

As you can see, Gerrard (as he should!) finds Sturridge wide open in the middle of the box. As a results, Coutinho pushes into the box forcing the defender to make a choice between marking him and Henderson on the edge of the box while the other defenders are occupied with my CF.

With the defenders worried about Sturridge, Coutinho is left free in the middle - in this case his shot is spectacularly saved by the goalkeeper, but that is almost inconsequential as it's the movement that i'm most pleased with.

As I said, the low score and the missed chances dont bother me as much because at least i'm creating those chances. As stated above, i was really pleased with the opportunities that this created as well as how it restricted the quality of Swansea's shot.