Bababooey Goes To Inter. To Save Them. Hopefully.

[bababooey]

Inter are a bit of a mess in real life, yeah? Luckily Mancini is now the new man in charge (sorry but Mazzarri didn't have it...) and he's going to right the ship, I'm sure. Ever since Mourinho left Inter have looked like a team in trouble. I believe they've gone away from their roots. The core philosophy of hard working italian footballers. Now it is a team littered with average players, average workrates, and bloated salaries. Also, what is with all the eastern european players?

Anyway for my first FM 15 thread I want to go back in time a bit. I want to utilize the classic 4-3-1-2. This formation is basically a 4-4-2 diamond variant. Rather than literally using a diamond, we push the DMC to the MC strata. The idea here is creating a flat line trio in the MC strata which, in theory, should push the outer CM's (CML/CMR) into better defensive positions for coverage of the flanks than they would be in if we were playing a typical diamond with just the 2 CM's in front of a DM and behind an AMC.

Okay so here's what it should look like, and I'm obviously going to explain everything in further detail after the jump.

I'll just do a simple rundown of why I've picked what I've picked.

GK: pretty standard choice here. I don't like sweeper keepers, and I don't plan to play a high line anyway.

CD's: very simple and easy choice to make. Inter have CD's with okay pace, again im not going to be playing a high line. I'm not concerned with stopper/cover things at this point. There is no need within my system for that.

WB's: Both on attack. Yeah, i mean the key here is we need the width. But we also need the runs from deep. Defensively speaking these guys will be more solid than complete wingbacks or inverted wingbacks. I also feel like because we've got guys with great stamina that this won't be a big issue.

CM's: So the diamond in midfield that isn't really a diamond is the most important part of this formation. If you don't get this right the entire thing falls apart. Obviously if a manager is choosing this formation he is doing so because he wants 1. central midfield dominance, and 2. the ability to spread the jobs of central midfield players out between 4 rather than 3. This provides for an extremely potent set up. Now instead of relying on 3 midfielders to carry out four critical jobs (linking play, holding, winning the ball, and creating chances) you can literally have 1 player doing each job. But doing so means you've lose a man elsewhere. So we don't have any MLR's or AMLR's. No big deal though.

The main idea here is that we're going to distribute those four key tasks and it's going to start to really link this whole tactic together nicely. The most central midfielder is a ball winner on defend. I want someone to break up attacks but also kind of hold position. The reason why I say "kind of" is because he doesn't need to be static. He just needs to not venture too far forward. And chances are he wont be able to anyway because I'll have an AMC and 2 strikers closing down ahead of him. So this should be fine. Ordinarily you'd find me on these boards saying: "Don't use a BWM as your only holding player!" But in this scenario, using a diamond, we can get away with it. I think.

Then we've got the two outermost CM's. One attack, one support. Very simple. One player to make those nasty little forward runs, create chances, etc. The other to link play together.

That brings us to the AMC... I love the trequartista. This guy is going to (hopefully) be a huge pain in the rear for opposing teams. They'll have to mark him specifically, but if they do they'll be pulled out of position because he loves to roam about. This is going to (again, hopefully) create space for either of my outer CM's to run into. Or pass into. The trequartista in this system does not need to score goals, but he likely will contribute some.

Then we've got the strike partnership. This is really just a simple and classic choice. I want a goal scorer and a creator. But I also want to take advantage of a "big man, little man" set up. The idea there is that we can have a bigger guy as our CF, and a smaller/quicker player as a poacher. If I can sign players like that it would work beautifully. Inter currently have Palacio out injured, so for now I'm stuck with Icardi and Osvaldo (on loan). Right there is a solid big man / little man partnership. I'm looking to sign at least 2 more strikers on the cheap. Maybe someone like Dybala or Paloschi. I can probably get away with a smaller player as a CF as well, as long as he can pass the ball.

In terms of team instructions and all that jazz....

Standard mentality. Why? Because I don't want to be committing to one aspect of the game too much right now. Inter have a weird squad that I don't like. It's not well balanced, and it's weak. So I want to play a very SIMPLE game. None of that tiki taka possession stuff. None of that Mourinho counter attacking stuff either. This is simple football. See a space? pass into it. See a guy with the ball? Tackle him.

Structured team shape. I've got 3 specialist roles (the CF is like a half specialist, so maybe it's really 3.5) and this seems to fit nicely. I also would like to see the team keep shape, so this is a logical choice.

Team instructions: Pass into space, low crosses, close down more, and be more expressive. I want to encourage plenty of through-balls. I want crosses hit low because we have smaller strikers at Inter, and they're pretty pacey. Italy is also littered with center backs who can jump and head the ball. It just makes sense to keep the crosses low, I think. I want the team to close down more because 1. I hate not pressing, and 2. I want to dictate things if we can. AND 3. I really really cannot stand giving the other team too much time on the ball. In FM the defending has never really suited standing off, and I believe until that becomes the case I'll keep on pressing. And finally I want the players to be a bit more expressive. This is simply because the overall team shape is quite structured, and I want to tweak that. We've got some seriously creative guys, but only a few. This may help them flourish. I hope.

And that's all I got folks! Bababooey to ya'll.

Update #1

So the preseason is coming to an end and things are going great. Here's some changes I've made to the system..

- We are now using a baseline mentality of "control."

- We have the following TIs: pass into space, work into box, low crosses, close down more, be more expressive.

- I changed the BWM-D to CM-D. The BWM was being caught out of position too often (I know I said this wouldn't be an issue but I was wrong..)

The reason for the above changes is this.. I want to create a set / defined "style" via TI's. Then, I want to adjust team mentality according to the situation. So if we're at home to Grasshoppers in EUROPA league then there is no point in lowering the team mentality. But if we're away to Spurs, maybe going "standard" or "counter" will be more appropriate.

The key point to remember is that when you adjust team mentality, your TI's are going to be more or less relevant. If you're already super attacking, and then change your team mentality to "Attacking" then you may be overdoing things. Perhaps that is better suited for a desperation period looking for a goal, than a starting strategy.

I'll keep this updated further as the season goes on.

Update #2 can be seen further down in the thread

[19MiRkO91]

I would play like Mazzarri and be sacked in a couple of weeks.

Looking forward to this!

[Guest]

Interesting as ever Bababooey. Are you not worried about the lack of cover for your CD? The bwm is going to chase the ball and you have two attacking fullbacks so there seems to be a wee bit of a lack in cover?

[rune_star]

What he said ^^^

You say, that you want the team to keep shape, but the BMW will do exactly the opposite? Why not an 'ordinary' CMD? In FM15, they tend to sit slightly deeper than in FM14, and he'd cover for the CD's, as well as help maintaining shape...

Could also try to use "Close down less" TI. I know it's probably one of the least used TI's in the game, but this time 'round I've found that it really helps defensive compactness, and makes your side really, really tough to break through! It's not like your players will never tackle or engage, but they'll wait untill they have a more than 50/50 chanche of winning the ball Good for keeping shape, but requires patience as it's obviously not so good for breaking up play high and fast

[Broskoslov]

After a good start with Inter, I am struggeling at the moment with 5-3-2 not getting enough goals in. I ll have a go at your tactics as well, Bababooey.

I did buy Bony, which should be oke as CF/Poacher as well i am sure.

Why dont you do "Use Tighter Marking" as instructions?

[rune_star]

Tighter marking will bring your team out shape. If the players that your players are marking, are roaming, then your guys will follow them around (at least to some extent). They'll also risk being skinned more easily.

[Dan24/7]

I started my Inter file a couple of minutes ago. I plan to play a 5-3-2 and my 4-3-2-1 as a backup file with Icardi up top. Looking forward to revitalising this team.

[coupdhaha]

Love this formation to bits. Used to great success myself in FM14. Keep us updated!

[bababooey]

Right so in regards to the BWM-D not keeping shape, you guys are right. He does move about and he is aggressive. But I think we tend to forget that a holding player doesn't need to literally be static. He just needs to be reasonable in his positioning and isn't going to bomb forward.

Also, the CD's should be fine. They've got good tackling attributes, and good anticipation (thanks, Vidic!). If I feel that in a certain match we will be caused trouble I could always change the formation and put a DM in front of them. Or I could switch to an entirely different set up.

First "real" preseason game was a bit of a downer I must say... Frankfurt beat us and we didn't do much right. I'll have to sort things out.

[mikcheck]

I'm currently this formation. The setup is similar, except for the 3 midfielders.

I use a setup with BBM DLP(d) BBM. I start to use this combo when i've read a few furiousuk posts about that formation.

[jackane24]

I'd put the right sided WB on support instead of attack. I'd also use a CM-D instead of BWM-D. I'd also 100% concentrate on building the team around Kovacic.

[bababooey]

Updated the thread

[NotONYourNelly]

Looking forward to this..

Decided to try an Inter Save - I grew up watching the classic Goalazzio thing on channel 4 on Sunday's I think it was back in the day. The day's of Ivan Zamorano and Ronaldo and all that goodness.

For some reason on my other playthrough in the Bundesliga, Genoa seemed like a real force - in 4 seasons they won 2 titles and finished second twice.

So I'm gonna try with their cray 3-4-3 diamond wide formation.

Gonna be fun with Inter, and may need quite a bit of restructuring player-wise.

Oh, and who are you planning on offloading to get those players you mentioned in? We've got no wage budget T_T..

I sent Osvaldo back, just because he's a d-bag. Trying to sell some of those players on huge salaries. Gonna be interesting.

[mikcheck]

bababooey dont you have a player capable of playing DLP role in the middle? It would be a great upgrade.

[bababooey]

I do. But I prefer to use a playmaker behind the strikers with some support from CM's behind him.

[Str0aK]

How's this going? I'm playing a very similar 4-3-1-2 with Southampton and it's producing good results. Before the latest update the majority of our goals came from the wing backs bombing down the flanks and supplying crosses. I wasn't a big fan of that even though it was working really well because I want us to primarily focus on quick passing moves through the middle, and since the update it seems like the system is working much more like how I want it to. Since the wing backs can't get a million crosses in like they did before the update they often work it centrally to a midfielder or striker and some of the football has been great to watch.

I'm set up like this:

Control/Structured

GK-d

CWB-a

DC-d

DC-d

CWB-a

CM-a (more risky passes)

CM-d

RPM-s

AP-a (roam from position)

AF-a

CF-s

Play Out Of Defence

Work Ball Into Box

Whipped Crosses

Close Down More

Prevent Short GK Distribution (not sure if I'm still using this)

So a few slight differences to your setup. I'm using CWBs as opposed to WBs and they've been very effective. I'm sure attacking wing backs would work just as well. I want the roaming of a Trequartista but I also want my attacking mid to help defensively and do some pressing so I'm using an AP-a with roam from position. AF-a rather than a Poacher but it's the same idea.

[imabearlol]

I've used this formation a few times, and enjoy it.

Personally, I feel the essence of this formation is to have a free roaming front 3 and a solid back 7 with some support coming from them. This means I would only use this formation with 3 very good star attackers.

From this description therefore I use a Fluid mentality to have a clear split between my attackers and defenders.

I also must have an Enganche with this formation, as it's the classic Argentinian way of playing. It's hard to implement this in the modern game as a single link between the attack and midfield can be shut down. Therefore I think the choice of CF(s) or Treq as one of your strikers is good as it provides a second option in case the Enganche is marked tightly.

I'm also a huge fan of the diamond so I've always treated the central CM as more of the base of the "diamond" and thus always had him in a static role. How do you find the BWM(d)?

The midfield for me in this formation are about 3 hard working players behind an outstanding playmaker, so I think this tactic really chooses your players. How are you finding it with your current personnel?

[Guest]

I wonder if he's had a Bababooey?

[isignedupfornorealreason]

- I changed the BWM-D to CM-D. The BWM was being caught out of position too often (I know I said this wouldn't be an issue but I was wrong..)

I came in to jump on this, but it seems you found it out anyway!

[bababooey]

Something worth noting...

The CF-S, P-A, and T-A front 3 combination can be problematic. So I think the issue there is the CF-S drops into space, as does the Treq. That leaves the Poacher all alone up top.

So changing the CF-S to an AF-A makes a lot of sense. Loads more goals being scored now.

[Stian1234]

Digression: Having a lot of non-Italians at Inter is a bit of a tradition. That's why they're called Internazionale, if I'm not mistaken.

[bababooey]

^ Basically yes

[Ivan787]

Digression: Having a lot of non-Italians at Inter is a bit of a tradition. That's why they're called Internazionale, if I'm not mistaken.

Yes. FC Internazionale Milano was founded by a group of AC Milan board members which were in support of signign foreign players as well as italians.

Also the articles of association, writtend in 1908, claims about foreing players as "brothers of the world".

[bababooey]

Part of my post was going to be about rebuilding the squad but, I left that out.

Quick summary:

Inter are currently a team full of average players, lots of them being from eastern europe. To get back on top of world football Inter need to continue to bring through young kids, as well as spend some damn money on talented players.

[Contexx]

Yeah, not like the likes of Stankovic, Jugovic, Mihajlovic, Mutu in all their averageness played for Inter in the past.

Among those pesky Eastern Europeans you've got Kuzmanovic (pretty average but reasonable DLP), Klin (below average but I sold him for 2.5 mil), and Kovacic, who becomes massive and is a really intriguing player.

The thing with Inter, as with many Seria A sides, is you've got to get through the first season and get some of your loaned out players back. Young players like Benassi ensure a bright future and their youth system churns out great talent consistently. For the time being, Bonazzoli at 17 is already good enough for some nice cameos in the Euro league and improves very quickly. As to why they ended up in the jam they did is probably a microcosm for why so many Italian teams are struggling to keep up - money, TV, and internal politics. But I digress....

I like your set up, and I use a similar one, although due to injuries I've had to switch to 4312. I also use a roaming playmaker in the CM slot (Kovacic/Guarin/Hernanes) and have them swapping positions with the TQ. It leads to some really nice interplay that sometimes looks like a basketball style "pick and roll" with the RP dribbling through the middle and getting delicious amounts of space to work with. The PPM's of Kovacic and Guarin certainly help.

The main issue seems to be dealing with teams which attack along the flanks, especially those that hit early crosses, as the likes of Vidic and Ranocchia simply don't have the accellaration to deal with them. Halfway through the season and unbeaten and conceded only 8 goals. Some of the football was a bit dour, especially against the smaller teams which play very deep and use a DMC, and I wish we had a bit more flair in the fullback/winback positions, as in those cases you sort of live and die by the flanks at least until the first goal scored.

Relative to the rest of the league, Inter are pretty strong and have some exciting young players. The fun thing about the Seria A, is that it's pretty bonkers with some funky formations and teams on wild swings for form (except that nasty old hag), which makes things interesting.

As a side note, is it me or is there a dramatic difference in quality of play once your team's familiarity reaches "Accomplished"?

[bababooey]

I can't speak to that last bit because I'm playing on FMC so there is no tactical familiarity to deal with (which is one of the things I love about FMC).

Granted I wasn't talking about the eastern european players of the past who were great for Inter.

The idea of a RPM in central midfield is really intriguing, I may try that out. What I've been doing with Inter so far is basically having 2 plans. At home we tend to play a direct game / passing into space and I keep the base system. Away or in tough matches I like to change the Treq to an AP-S, and then drop the CM-D to DLP-D. So I create a diamond. Then I change instructions to be much more possession oriented. Mentality is lowered a notch or two as well. Seems to work well enough.

We're conceding very few goals, but not scoring quite as many as I'd like. Still doing better than Inter in real life though!

Season 1 in Italy is always a huge pain with all these players out on loan / co ownerships.

I'm also still struggling to decide what style I'm going to go with moving forward with this team. Possession based, or more direct / counter based? It's hard to say considering that the match engine will continue to change and be updated for the time being. That certainly has some effect.

On the other hand I have to consider the quality players I have like Icardi and Kovacic. Perhaps they suit more of a possession based system moving forward. Guarin as well. As he gets older he'll be an ideal deeper playmaker rather than a hard working CM-A or CM-S.

[bababooey]

9 league games played. 5 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss (Juve...) 15 goals for, 8 against which is second behind Juve's 6. Not exactly the perfect start. But I'll take it. Juve and Lazio are scoring goals for fun, and they'll be hard to catch. I think part of the issue was in the first few matches we had too much passing around and not enough incision towards goal.

Since changing from a CF-S / Poacher / Treq front three (st - st - amc) to an AF / Poacher / Treq (st - st - amc) we've seen much better chance creation. Has to be down to the AF-A pressing onward and pushing the defense back more than the CF-S. I think the Treq and CF-S are too similar in some cases. I don't know.

[mikcheck]

I dont see why Treq CF-S and Poacher shouldn't work. Seem like a good setup to me

[bababooey]

So after 9 games played I wanted to tweak things even more. I love tweaking.

The current system was a 4-3-1-2. Control. Structured. AF-A/Poacher. Treq. CM-D/CM-S-/CM-A. WB-A/CD-D/CD-D/WB-A. GK-D

Simple yeah? Some key issues: MANY offside calls. Too many instances of the front three staying forward at all times / not tracking back / the Treq being kind of isolated from behind.

Simply put, we aren't scoring enough goals! Defensively things look solid enough. So here's the newER system.

Changes

- AF-A to a support striker. Likely DLF-S. Someone who will come deep but not a strictly creative player.

- CM-S to Roaming Playmaker. Credit goes to Contexx for suggesting this. Seems like a dynamic addition to the tactic. Not sure if I'll swap positions with the treq though, as he does.

- team instructions will be set to just a few things. Shorter passing, Work ball into box, close down more, prevent keeper distribution, low crosses.

Simple gameplan yeah? Keep the crosses low for quicker strikers. Shorter passing / work ball into box for a more possession based style. Closing down more and preventing short distribution to benefit my possession style AND obviously defend aggressively.

The Result

First game played with this newER / updated system: 4-0 thrashing of Cagliari.

Why it works

As you'll see in the diagram above the DLF-S, Poacher, and Treq create a ridiculous problem for the opposition. Granted, the opponent has 3 players positioned well (DMC, CD, CD) but that's only true if nobody moves. The DLF-S comes deep, which draws one of the CD's out. The Poacher sticks on the shoulder of his marker, the other CD, and now the CD's are both being split apart. This is ESSENTIAL. I'll say that again. ESSENTIAL. If you want to create chances you have to create spaces and disrupt the shape of the other team.

Then the Treq occupies the DMC. This is now a filthy position to be in. The defense's center halfs are split, with a gaping hole inbetween, and the DMC isn't going to drop deep in there to cover. He has to mark the Treq. Our first goal of the match occurred in this exact scenario. The Treq gets the ball, passes to that DLF-S who then slides a perfect ball into the poacher for the goal.

Then the opposite happened. Our second goal was the DLF-S running onto a ball from the Poacher, a move started by the Treq again. So the strike partnership kind of swapped, which is nice.

[mikcheck]

bababooey what about a combination of play wider and through the middle? Seems to be the perfect formation for that

[bababooey]

bababooey what about a combination of play wider and through the middle? Seems to be the perfect formation for that

It can benefit this formation for sure. But I prefer to start matches with the fewest instructions possible, and then make adjustments from there. It's just a way for me to keep things relatively consistent and in order. Perhaps 1 week that approach won't work if we play a team who also likes to play through the middle. Or maybe we come up against a team who is better than we are, and playing through the middle is suicidal because the flanks will be vulnerable. See what I mean?

I think a lot of the team instructions are things that shouldn't be used from the get-go. I think a lot of them are purely situation-based. Also playing FMC tends to help because I can change things without any familiarity problems. Granted, in FM15 the penalty against familiarity seems to be reduced a lot.

[bababooey]

Funny game FM is. Smash Cagliari at home 4-0. Go away to Malmo (swedish team) and I ended up rage quitting after going down 2-0 and generating zero shots in 25 minutes with the same tactic.

Word of advice: have a plan B! Although I think I can chalk that up to the AI basically using all defend duties in the back 4, plus an anchor sitting in front of the back line.

[stu_3145]

Funny game FM is. Smash Cagliari at home 4-0. Go away to Malmo (swedish team) and I ended up rage quitting after going down 2-0 and generating zero shots in 25 minutes with the same tactic.

Word of advice: have a plan B! Although I think I can chalk that up to the AI basically using all defend duties in the back 4, plus an anchor sitting in front of the back line.

I use a very similar tactic and reckon that your struggles against Malmo would be more to do with formation/role differences - if the opposition moves the ball wide, say with a winger or attacking fullback the three midfielders get pulled out of position. Also from you picture i take the the CM (D) is part of the CM slot rather than in the DM slot - the CM D has a 'close down more' PI always on - meaning that your midfield would be left open more often as the RP could be anyway and the CM (A) would have pushed forwar so if the opposition midfield quickly moved the ball then it would leave your back line exposed - even more so since i just noticed that your full backs are WB (A) so they will also be in the attacking half.

Just some thoughts

[imabearlol]

Yeah the problem with this formation (and any narrow diamond formation with 2 strikers) is that no-one picks up the opposition fullbacks. If they double down one flank then you are left exposed, and if the outer CMs cover then you've lost the main benefit of this tactic which is the 3-man midfield. I think that's the reason this formation (and the 4-4-2 diamond) fell out of fashion as the 3 attacker formations are now standard in the modern game.

I've started trying to get a 3-4-1-2 working, sacrificing a man in defence for an extra man on the press and more presence on the flanks.

[SKBrann]

Nice thread.

I use this formation myself and find it to be really effective, scoring goals and solid at the back. I have a few suggestions that you may or may not want to try out.

Perhaps change places for your RP and CM-A. This should see your DLF-S and CM-A link up real nice and also the CM-A should run beyond the DLF and make use of the space he creates when dropping deep. For me this leads to quit a few goals and assists from the CM-A and helps breaking down stubborn defences (like perhaps Malmo) who tends to park the bus.

I would also consider changing the CM-D to a DLP-D. I find the DLP-D holding his poss. better and is not as aggressiv closing down. Also helps with distribution from the back seeing as you like to play possession game.

I play against the classic 4-4-2 formation alot. As they dont have a DM I love playing an Enganche instead of a Treq. He still has great of the ball movement but stays "in the hole" all the time and is lethal with his trough balls. (against formations using a DM i also play a treq.)

I also play with a control mentality, but find that against teams that sit back and are taking every opp. to counter attack (like Malmo probably as you are the stronger team) we are sometimes a little too aggressive and dont have enough players behind te ball. Changing to Standard or even counter mentality I find helps alot. Its easier to find space against these teams as you would be possistioned a bit deeper.

Just a few thoughts, dont know if its helpful or not;)

[Str0aK]

Nice thread.

I use this formation myself and find it to be really effective, scoring goals and solid at the back. I have a few suggestions that you may or may not want to try out.

Perhaps change places for your RP and CM-A. This should see your DLF-S and CM-A link up real nice and also the CM-A should run beyond the DLF and make use of the space he creates when dropping deep. For me this leads to quit a few goals and assists from the CM-A and helps breaking down stubborn defences (like perhaps Malmo) who tends to park the bus.

I would also consider changing the CM-D to a DLP-D. I find the DLP-D holding his poss. better and is not as aggressiv closing down. Also helps with distribution from the back seeing as you like to play possession game.

I play against the classic 4-4-2 formation alot. As they dont have a DM I love playing an Enganche instead of a Treq. He still has great of the ball movement but stays "in the hole" all the time and is lethal with his trough balls. (against formations using a DM i also play a treq.)

I also play with a control mentality, but find that against teams that sit back and are taking every opp. to counter attack (like Malmo probably as you are the stronger team) we are sometimes a little too aggressive and dont have enough players behind te ball. Changing to Standard or even counter mentality I find helps alot. Its easier to find space against these teams as you would be possistioned a bit deeper.

Just a few thoughts, dont know if its helpful or not;)

Upfront I have a CF-S rather than a DLF-S in my system and I was thinking about doing what you said about switching the CM-A with the RP. Do you think that would produce the same kind of link up as your CM-A/DLF-S? I'm worried that they'll take up similar positions and get in each other's way. Also not sure if the CM-A will really get beyond a CF-S like he would a DLF-S.

Agreed with your last point. I don't change mentality in those situations but I do use the Drop Deeper TI to give us more space to play in.

[SKBrann]

I honestly dont know as I havent tried that combo in this system before...

[anorthernboy]

Have you tried a strikerless Flat 4-3-3-0.

GK

CWB CB/D CB/D CWB

CM/A DLP/D CM/A

SS TQ SS

This creates unbelievable space in the opposition back line for my Liverpool save. I use the CM/A as central wingers. Henderson is a beast in this role and Joe Allen is surprisingly competent. when in possession it lines up like a 4-1-2-1-2 Diamond.

[bababooey]

So many responses so little time!

1. Definitely the difference in formations causes trouble. When I play (away from home specifically) teams that use 4 wide men I'm usually in a bit of trouble. I've got to either change formation in these cases or figure out another way to defend the flanks better. My current "plan B" is a 4-4-2 but I didn't think I'd need it against Malmo lol.

2. I also agree that these kind of diamond formations have fallen out of favor for that reason (3 attacker formations like 4-2-3-1 and etc.) In some cases 4 attackers if the AMC is pushing on like a second striker.

3. I'll definitely have to look into playing the CM-A behind the DLF-S. Originally my thought was that because the poacher is already pushed up, that the CM-A would be a good player behind him to move into space. But maybe linking up with the DLF-S is going to be more effective. Also, the RPM is such a dynamically awesome thing. The CM-D definitely does close down a little more than I'd like, but ultimately I'm trying to press high (although not TOO much) and I think if I set him to close down less we would be blunting our advantage in the middle of the park.

4. I definitely agree about the overall mentality. However, I'm trying to play based more around the instructions changing rather than the team mentality. The reason being is that if I change the mentality I'll also need to tweak the instructions twice to get what I want. If the other team is sitting back I can always just lower the tempo, retain possession, drop deeper, etc etc. Sometimes dropping the overall mentality can cause other issues that I don't want.

5. A flat 4-3-3 does sound interesting but Inter haven't really got the players for it. Plus, I signed 2 strikers so I really want to stick with a 4-3-1-2 for the time being.

[SKBrann]

Sorry to go OT here but wanted to ask you where I can find this tool.

[bababooey]

The Inter project has been canned. Too much inconsistency. Horribly unbalanced squad. Too many results where we lost, yet dominated. On to better things.

[Jambo98]

Thats a shame to hear bababooey. Was an interesting and well thought out thread and concept. Be great to see if it could be made to work in the longer term, over at least a full season. I am almost tempted to fire up an Inter save myself Some nice ideas in the thread though that can apply to other formations/systems

[bababooey]

Serie A is like stepping through a mine field, honestly.

I think what happened with Inter is a combination of many things. First being tons of bad luck. Second being a lot of buggy goals, as the match engine is obviously still being worked on a bit. Third being that my tactical choices probably didn't suit the team well enough. The main system of a 4-3-1-2 worked well at times, but it was inconsistent and we couldn't defend crosses to save our lives. Fourth, any type of plan B just couldn't work. Inter don't have enough wide players to adequately cover the flanks. So I was forced into using a 3-5-2 type of set up to help defend the flanks, but that didn't work well.

So all in all it was kind of a disaster.

[Jambo98]

I always found Serie A one of the easiest to crack on 14. With middling teams like Parma and Fiorentina it was quite possible to put together a challenge, as outside of Juve there is not the quality at the top you will find in Spain/German/England/France. The squad management side of things is a complete ballache, with so many players out on loan and co-ownership, and the massive overall squad size (i think in 14 i took over Parma with 89 players on the book across the age groups!).

I guess one of the big challenges is that to build and impliment an effective system, it often takes time. Sometimes you have to be prepared to accept a good half or 3/4 season of less than stellar results as you work towards your end game and tweak and learn. The buggy goals annoy me a lot, but i guess on balance it happens to both teams (I score almost as many rebound goals as i concede).

I think you should keep going fella. The system itself is a really interesting one. Would be great to see some screenies of how it worked out and how it translated. Reading it was enough to inspire me to give this set up a go in Italy. I had a save stashed away where Sassuolo got a "tycoon" take over between season 1 and 2, so i added myself to manage them (some tycoon...transfer budget of 17mill!). I set things up slightly different to you, but incorporating some of the same ideas.

I didnt strive to create a diamond. I went for something a little differnt. To make it work, i had to cheat a touch. Although it is still 4312, its a touch asymetric with the AM pulled to AMRC and the strikers set up as STC and STLC. The menality and team shape are not touched, start out simple there and tweak as required. Fluid suits how i want this to work though.

TI i have:

Shorter passing - I want interchanges between my narrow midfield.

Push higher up - Compress the space between the midfield and defence, and support the pressing game

Press more - With the volume of bodies in the middle of the park, lets make it count and harrass the other teams midfield. It also might drag a midfielder out to close down wide men if needed

Exploit the middle - Well we have lots of people in the middle, so lets focus the passing there a bit

Higher Tempo - Personal preference. Although i want interchanges i dont want wasted passes. We press high, we win the ball and we move quickly.

My take on roles/duty

GK - Keeper (Defend) - I usually go with a sweeper keeper, but forgot to change it honesty. With the high line will see if i want a sweeper keeper

DL - Full back (support) - I want him solid, keeping shape at the back. He gets a support duty as we are a good enough team that we will sometimes be on top, and want him to venture to the midfield strata but never leave space in behind

DC x 2 - Centre Back (Defend) - Nothing unusual, intentionally signed one guy who is great in the air to help defend crosses, which i always try to do

DR - Complete Wing Back (Attack) - This guy is our main width. Want him bombing forward and getting as far advanced as possible. I want Dani Alves. I am not that rich so i have Allan Nyom

MCR - Centre Midfielder (Defend) - This is the sitting player. Set to close down less manually, i want him covering the CWB. I dont want a DLP as i only want him to cover, i dont want him being creative or being a main passing outlet.

MC - Centre Midfielder (Support) - A bit of a link man and all round. Just does a bit of everything, without too much of anything. Always available for a pass and tracks back as much as required

MCL - Centre Midfielder (Attack) - The runner from midfield, and also gives us some width on that side. he links well with the DLF

AMRC - Treq (Attack) - Offset so he can use this space vacated by the CM(d) and also the space ahead with the strikers offset. he can also link up well with the CWB who goes past him. Ben Arfa is a lazy genuis, had to be a Treq

STRL - Deep Lying Forward (support) - Drops off and wide to give us some width on the left, but also gets in around the box and can link with the CM(a) behind.

STC - Complete Forward (attack) - I toyed with a poacher, with Chicharito being such an out and out goalscorer but the CF gives me just a bit more variation in the role.

[mikcheck]

Jambo, you seem to have your ideas pretty well defined.

Since the width is only given by fullbacks, dont you think would be better to change the left one to an attacking role? With supporting you'll lose width in that side.

Exploit the middle seems to be logical given the setup but sometimes that can make you predictable, i guess

[Jambo98]

Thanks mikcheck, its working fairly well so far. We won the first 6 games in the league, including Juve. We are currently in a mini dip tho, 2 defeats and a draw. All 3 games we at least matched the opposition, and in the draw absolutely battered them. My CF has lost his scoring touch and is missing sitters, which isnt good as he is my main goal source.

The left back is deliberately not attacking - You need balance in any side, and if you have a back 4 with 2 attacking fullbacks, and no DM, your not going to have balance. Thats why i set the CM(a) in the left slot, and the DLF(s) in the left slot - they combine to give us enough width. Not the extent we get on the right, but thats good. I want variation down the flanks. Not predictable.

I think you might have a point on the "exploit the middle". It might also explain why after 6 wins, suddenly we are struggling a bit. We might be too predictable. I might try dropping that for a game - Cheers for the thought/idea

[bababooey]

Jambo have you started your own thread for that? It looks like a great set up to me. Honestly, I've never done well in Serie A in FM14 or now in 15.

However I am currently destroying Ligue 1 with PSG

[Jambo98]

I didnt want to start up yet another thread, just thought if people looking at the 4312 formation my thoughts might add something, or even inspire you to keep going.

PSG is verging on cheating surely

[bababooey]

It is pretty insane. Managed to lose my first champions league match to Arsenal after blowing like 4 CCC's. They scored on a corner kick counter attack. 1-nil. Typical FM style loss lol.

[mikcheck]

Jambo that's good.

Maybe playing wider with exploit the middle could be a good combo for a formation like that.