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Apex Predator V2 - Tuned for 15.3


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**** UPDATE APRIL 2015 - I'M NOW ROLLING WITH THE 'NEMESIS' VERSION OF THE TACTIC. SEE LAST PART OF THIS POST ****

Ok, post 15.3 my Apex Predator 15.2 tactic took a bit of hit, adding retain possession recovered some of the magic but it was not as dominant as before.

I tried a few different formations but couldn't get 'that feeling' i get when i know i've nailed it. Winning and dominating at home is one thing but doing so away against the big boys would be the marker of an excellent tactic.

I didn't think there was much wrong with the attacking play of AP, the Wide Midfielders cutting inside, supported by 2 central midfielders and 2 strikers seemed to be the best attacking set up i could get this year with the seeming demise of the Inside Forward and 1 Striker Tactics.

There were a few things bugging me though and i set about changing them.

The deep striker role, I originally opted for the Complete Forward support role as I wanted the most advanced of the Support Strikers as i figured there will be a lot of players already operating behind the Advanced Forward and i didn't want my Support Striker too deep getting in the way.

The fact that Complete Forwards are hard to find (impossible in lower leagues) grated and I noticed runners from the Central Midfield strata could be quite slow to get into advanced positions so there was loads of space for a deeper Striker to flourish, so i've gone with a Deep Lying Forward. As well as assisting a lot those later runs from a bit deeper are deadly and mine have been bagging loads of goals.

The Central Midfield pair, previously we had 2 Ball Winning Midfielders one support, one defend. They worked really well under 15.2 but under 15.3 they were all over the place closing people down leaving a great big hole in front of my back 4.

Decided to re-think this, i wanted 1 deeper holding position, closing down less. His role defensively is to 'stall counter' attacks allowing our team time to get into position. He does this by obstructing opposing players causing them to pass backwards or sideways rather than rashly going for a death or glory tackle! We could utilize the Deep Lying Playmaker role with more direct passing for him to dictate play and launch some counter attacks which are now very potent.

The 2nd role was a no brainer, Box to Box midfielder hammering up and down the right channel, supporting attacks yet able to get back and put in a defensive shift. The DLP stalls 'em, the Box to Box gets into 'em with some big tackles.

Outside of the player roles, i wanted the team to keep its shape better. I dropped the team pressing ethic a little which gives me control over who presses, where and when. Some players still press hard, other retain shape and hold position.

I also changed to structured to ensure we keep our shape in more situations and are less 'gung ho'.

Another major change is upping the Tempo to HIGH, this also increases the passing range and makes us a little more direct.

The upshot of this is were are winning the ball a bit deeper, with our opponent more committed to attack and out of position.....which means........ THE COUNTER ATTACK IS FIRMLY ON!

Someone smarter than me said football matches are won and lost in the transition phase, when the ball 'turns over'. So the idea behind improving the tactic was to be in better shape to defend when we lose the ball and be set up for deadly counter attacks when we win it.

My results seem to suggest its working.

CRYSTAL PALACE - SEASON 1 - ORIGINAL SQUAD

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Media prediction was last. 90 goals with that team is exceptional. Dwight Gale was leading Premier League scorer with 31 goals. +31 goal difference is significant for the weakest team in the division.

43 points at home, 23 points away. With the home bias in the match engine, happy with 23 points away with Palace.

Lost in Semi's of League Cup on Penalties to Arsenal. Lost in FINAL of FA Cup to West Brom (was shafted)

MAN CITY - SEASON 1 - ORIGINAL SQUAD

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Media prediction 2nd. Walked the league by 21 points. 131 goals is nearly an average of 3.5 per game. 40 more goals than the next highest scoring team. No one can live with that. Defence was ok, i actually made a couple of tweaks before the Palace test which tightens things up. If i ran the City test again i'd expect a better defensive record.

THE SQUADS

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Goals galore.

THE TACTIC

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DOWNLOAD

https://www.mediafire.com/?5555t6fcueg975z

***** UPDATE APRIL 2015 *****

I am now running with the NEMESIS version of the tactic which is a Counter Attacking version of the tactic, high tempo, direct and none of this Tiki-Taka business.

I've gone from the Conference to the Premier League in 6 seasons (4 promotions) with the mighty Weston Super Mare.

I'd recommend it for Non League/Lower Leagues for sure.

I ran 20 games with Man City and it was excellent, think it could work well for lower/mid table Premier League teams.

Player roles/attributes still valid, you may now consider a Target Man (type) for the DLF to take advantage of the more direct play.

Anyway here you go....

Apex Predator - Nemesis

https://www.mediafire.com/?n4nan6g6ook14i6

**** PS - CORNERS - Set your FULL BACKS to take them (Attributes don't matter for this routine ;)) ****

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Thought I would breakdown the player roles into ‘units’ as the individual roles need to complement each other to get the best out of the tactic.

The Attacking Unit.

By this I mean both Strikers and the Wide Midfielders.

This is our core attacking ‘Quartet’ although obviously the Central Midfielders get involved as well as the Full Backs but these 4 will assist and score the bulk of the goals.

I think the Key Player in all this is the Deep Lying Forward. Outside of Counter Attacks, everything goes through him. When he’s on the ball the Wide Midfielders will normally be well in advance of him up with your Advanced Forward, he does in fact play really deep a lot of the time, once he’s delivered what he considers to be a ‘key’ pass he’ll bomb forward and see if he can get on the end of a return pass.

So essentially I view our attacking Quartet as 3 ‘Runners’(ML,MR,AVF) and 1 ‘Passer’ (DLF). Things are obviously never as clear cut as that but when thinking about what type of players would work best that’s the base from which I start.

Key attributes;

Midfield Right/Midfield Left: With the right players you’ll see some immense mazy runs cutting inside from the flanks, especially when countering, its great to watch. A big part of the success with Palace comes from them having 2 great wide players in Bolasie & Zaha ready made for this tactic. Quick, agile and can run with the ball at their feet.

I’d look for;

Acceleration

Dribbling

Balance

Finishing (if possible)

Deep Lying Forward: A technical, static passer here is fine. So if you have an old boy who can’t run anymore but is a good passer and very creative that’s will work out well. However, if you can throw someone in here who has all of these skills AND is highly mobile he will add more goals to his return. In the City save I was dying to play Aguero as the Advanced Forward but resisted as I knew I could use a fairly blunt instrument here (Bony) and get more out of Aguero playing in the deeper role. He scored at a rate of more than a goal a game from deep and racked up the assists as well.

I’d look for;

Passing

Vision

Flair

Technique

(Upgrade to someone who is mobile as soon as you can, if your gonna blow your budget on 1 man, make it your DLF!)

Advanced Forward: Completing our ‘Triangle of Pace’ is our Advanced Forward. We have very straight forward requirements. Quick, Agile, Composed and can Finish. Anything else is gravy. Dwight Gale was the Premier League’s top scorer in my Palace save with 31 League Goals. He is pants. But he is quick.

Look for;

Acceleration

Dribbling

Finishing

Composure

Once you throw in some other good stuff, flair, vision, creativity, passing etc he’ll rack up a lot of assists and you goalscoring will pick up.

So we have destructive pace cutting in from wide, our AVF poised to run in behind and a creative force pulling the strings behind. Sounds like a plan ;-0

The ‘Engine’, our Dynamic Duo in midfield.

Clearly we have 4 in midfield but due to the behaviour of the MR/ML it made sense to include them in the Attacking section.

Duties aside, I consider these 2 our support troops. They do get involved in initiating and supporting attacks, the DLP doing much of the initiating attacks from deep, the Box to Box working in tandem with the DLF feeding our front 3.

In defence only 2 in central midfield is concerning but we play narrow, the MR/ML tuck in and are set to close down. They do a lot of good defensive work helping our guys out.

The DLP closes down less, holds position whereas the B2B along with the MR/ML deny time and space.

Attributes;

We want our DLP to be primarily defence focussed with the caveat of being good on the ball and a great passer, he has increased passing range and with 2 strikers up field a direct pass is sometimes on.

I’d look for;

Passing

Positioning

Concentration

Tackling/Marking

Vision would be very nice……

I think we need to be demanding of our Box to Box guy as behind the DLP I’d say he’s our 2nd most influential player.

He needs to hit stringent Physical/Mental requirements just to function, then when you layer on some technically ability he really starts to contribute everywhere. I played Fernandinho here for City and he contributed 13 goals and 23 assists, the most assists in the team! Gave Jedinak the role at Palace and although he banged in 15 goals (was on penalty duty) he contributed only 3 assists but winning 8 tackles a game he’s an example of someone doing the physical side of the role well but lacking the creative spark.

Entry level attributes

Work Rate

Stamina

Determination

I’d aim for 15+ in these, even lower down the leagues you can aim high with physical & mental attributes.

2nd Tier attributes – when players can start running games.

Passing

Technique

Vision

In a way, both our midfield guys need to do be a bit Jekyll & Hide, proficient in the dark defensive arts yet providing a spark of creativity in the centre of the pitch which enables the tactic to blossom.

DEFENSIVE UNIT

With our Attack & Midfield sorting out our goal scoring we are in the luxurious position of being able to commit 5 players (inc GK) almost exclusively to defence. None of your attacking Wingbacks needed here. During sustained attacks the back 4 pretty much provide easy backwards out balls enabling possession to be re-cycled comfortably. The FB's occasionally push on but more often than not they will make a run into space pick a pass or a cross before heading back into defensive position.

This opens up a few possibilities which i have not yet been able to explore over 1 season 'tests', but you could go with a very 'big' back four choosing Full Backs who are dominant in the air or really focus in on strong mental attributes Determination, Leadership etc or just monster tackling Full Backs.

Without the need for high attacking, technical attributes required by 'modern' full backs we can go old school.

Example Full Back 'builds'

RATTER

Aggression

Work Rate

Determination

Tackling

BEAST

Jumping Reach

Strength

Tackling

Marking

KAISER

Leadership

Determination

Positioning

Marking

NOBLE

Positioning

Team Work

Concentration

Work Rate

The Centre Backs are much simpler, make sure 1 is quick and use him in the left, cover position.

Jumping Reach

Tackling

Marking

Positioning

And finally the Goal Keeper.

I look for Aerial Ability, Reflexes, Handling, One on One's.

Just a few of my ideas of course. :thup:

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Have you tried it with more adventurous fullback role/duties? Since both WM are instructed to sit narrow and cut inside, more width would be beneficial.

I really like you balanced the midfield duo now, the BWM combo of the first version was way too risky and gung-ho.

The amount of conceded goals is still high(ish), even for Palace. I suspect in the lower leagues it's going to be a 3-2, 4-3 etc. fest. However, that's how things work in this ME unless you're ready to tweak tactics match-to-match and in matches themselves.

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Have you tried it with more adventurous fullback role/duties? Since both WM are instructed to sit narrow and cut inside, more width would be beneficial.

I really like you balanced the midfield duo now, the BWM combo of the first version was way too risky and gung-ho.

The amount of conceded goals is still high(ish), even for Palace. I suspect in the lower leagues it's going to be a 3-2, 4-3 etc. fest. However, that's how things work in this ME unless you're ready to tweak tactics match-to-match and in matches themselves.

'Control' is still pretty aggressive even when combined with 'structured' so the Full Backs still get forward and support attacks well, although they cross from deeper and not normally the byeline.

As you pointed out the defence is ok but not stellar and i don't want to weaken it further by having the FB's push on. Besides, we're getting enough goals.

As you also pointed out the ME doesnt favour overly defensive tactics so i think the 'were gonna score one more than you approach' will have to be the way to go.

That's why i pointed out the +31 goal difference with Palace, its large enough to keep you well out of trouble even though you concede a few.

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The match engine is the same in both versions so no issues importing the tactic into full fat FM.

Classic is arguably a better testing platform for tactics as there are less influencing factors on match results outside of the tactic itself.

Seem to remember quite a big thread on this last year.

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Do you plan to play your "main" save just by using this as plug and play, Mr U Rosler?

Yes, just restarted my Weston Super Mare save on Classic.

Looking solid early on, no silly scores and the tactic is functioning as it did in the prem.

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I'm in the year 2025 with Celtic. Applied the tactic about 5 games into the season and so far there has been a noticeable difference in the amount and indeed quality of chances. For the better I might add. Mostly wins, but the odd draw as well (though I put these down to the fact that I have all four strikers out injured.

Celtic is an interesting club to manage in terms of the disparity between games. Most, if not all, league games are expected to be won and the only games where we are up against it is the Champions League. The first two games against Partizan and Sevilla, we won comfortably - 7-0 and 4-1 respectively (at home). Away to Man City however and we were on the recieving end of a 5-1 thrashing. I'm going to look at adapting the tactic to soaking up extreme amounts of pressure while making the most of counter attacks and set pieces. Perhaps it's just a gulf in class of players but I am determined to not concede 5 again, whomever the opposition.

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Away to Man City however and we were on the recieving end of a 5-1 thrashing.

Have you created chances, though?

The common theme of this year's plug-and-play tactics is they lose away to big guys easily while creating a decent amount chances (albeit wasted).

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Have you created chances, though?

The common theme of this year's plug-and-play tactics is they lose away to big guys easily while creating a decent amount chances (albeit wasted).

I'll need to check when I get home but I do remember the stats as being 50/50 possession with them creating about 25 chances and us about 17. The thing is though, for us to over-achieve, we need to beat the big guys. Easy enough if you are in the Premier League and have the room and cash rewards to grow, but really difficult in the SPL with a relatively small budget and players moaning that they want to join Barcelona every week.

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Great to see a new tactic from you Mr Rosler. I am on a break from my FM save with Leeds as didnt want to build for the new season without having a tactic I am happy with. I'm looking forward to the player roles which is my favourite part of your tactics, that and the attention to detail you put in are what keeps me coming back and just what I have been waiting for.

Many thanks

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do you think this will work at lower leages Rosler?

i'm wanting to start a Conference North team up tonight?

I've just taken a team in Conference South, a terrible one obviously (Weston Super Mare) so far its holding up well.

If you take a mid or top level team it should go really well i think.

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I've just taken a team in Conference South, a terrible one obviously (Weston Super Mare) so far its holding up well.

If you take a mid or top level team it should go really well i think.

I took over at Concord Rangers midseason after they lost five straight. I've won five home games in a row, drew the first two away, lost the next two then switched to Counter for away games and have won three straight away games 4-0, 4-0, 3-0.

I found it a bit susceptable to the long ball over the top away from home, but dropping the mentality has given the CBs that extra yard.

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so i decided against Conference North and continued my 24/25 season, Kaiserslautern are in freefall and in the German 3rd division

a relatively big club in Germany, especially for the 3rd and 2nd Division, i took them over in 19th place, i'm currently in 11th

played 6 won 5 drawn 1

great start with this tactic

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I took over at Concord Rangers midseason after they lost five straight. I've won five home games in a row, drew the first two away, lost the next two then switched to Counter for away games and have won three straight away games 4-0, 4-0, 3-0.

I found it a bit susceptable to the long ball over the top away from home, but dropping the mentality has given the CBs that extra yard.

Am I right that your tweaks are: counter strat for away games & dropping mentality CBs in all games? How much did you drop their mentality?

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Never seen such a dominate tactic, absolutely destroying teams, Im barca and yes i know they have a brilliant squad but still this tactic against the strong teams in La Liga and even in Europe, i have dominated both home and away, record points/goal, my goals per game ratio is 4.0 and conceded is 0.5, not lost a game in the league.

Great Tactic

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seeing a massive pattern now Rosler, winning easily at home despite teams being better or worse than me, but no matter who it is away i cannot win, i always draw but yet the stats are saying i'm dominating

anyone else seeing this?, i have it set to key moments but away i never see any except superb saves from the opposition goalkeeper, i usually draw 0-0 but sometimes i get a 1-1 which is very frustrating!

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when you say no oi's i take you ask the assistant? how would you set up with arsenal i.e where would Ozil fit in?

No OI's AT ALL..... ever..... on any of my tactics.

Don't see the point in setting up and testing a tactic and then have your Assistant tell them to behave completely differently.

Not played with Aresnal, but once i'm home i'll take a look at him although with retraining to the Striker position he should be a shoe in for the DLF.

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seeing a massive pattern now Rosler, winning easily at home despite teams being better or worse than me, but no matter who it is away i cannot win, i always draw but yet the stats are saying i'm dominating

anyone else seeing this?, i have it set to key moments but away i never see any except superb saves from the opposition goalkeeper, i usually draw 0-0 but sometimes i get a 1-1 which is very frustrating!

changed it to counter for 1 away game, and won 2-1? maybe it was coincidence but i hold out hope it might actually be better for me set on counter away and control at home

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seeing a massive pattern now Rosler, winning easily at home despite teams being better or worse than me, but no matter who it is away i cannot win, i always draw but yet the stats are saying i'm dominating

anyone else seeing this?, i have it set to key moments but away i never see any except superb saves from the opposition goalkeeper, i usually draw 0-0 but sometimes i get a 1-1 which is very frustrating!

I wont argue with easy home, difficult away.

Funnily enough, i was thinking this morning the 50/50 games seem to go with the home team nearly all the time.

Palace picked up 23 points from 19 games in my test, doesn't strike me as unrealistic and pretty good return to be honest.

I had a 100% record at home with City which meant i got 43 points away, again pretty good return.

I think we could agonize for weeks on creating the perfect away tactic, perceived improvements when changing to Counter I think are temporary/illusory, if not let me know and we're onto a winner.

There clearly has to be a bias in the ME to influence Home/Away form, perhaps its a little strong on 15.3.

We benefit from this at home, i think we have to accept that's the way it is, be grateful for our hard won away victories and trust at the end of the season we are where we need to be.

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Am I right that your tweaks are: counter strat for away games & dropping mentality CBs in all games? How much did you drop their mentality?

Just a switch to counter. Nothing else was changed.

I'm getting pretty much what everyone else is. Dominant at home (8-2-2). Bossing games away but drawing mostly (3-6-4).

Most goals conceded are coming from long balls (Conference South and my CBs are like snails) and oddly, central free kicks from just outside the D (at least 10% of total goals, always given away by the DLP)

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Superb work Mr Rosler, tactic has got the Hammers on fire, and even when we don't win, the football is still a joy to watch.

I particularly like the fact that you have got an attack minded tactic working so well, I did manage to get West Ham into 4th in my first season, but the tactic I had developed was attrtitional and although successful was boring to watch as it spent too much time stopping the opposition playing and not enough attacking.

Really got me enjoying the game again

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Just a switch to counter. Nothing else was changed.

I'm getting pretty much what everyone else is. Dominant at home (8-2-2). Bossing games away but drawing mostly (3-6-4).

Most goals conceded are coming from long balls (Conference South and my CBs are like snails) and oddly, central free kicks from just outside the D (at least 10% of total goals, always given away by the DLP)

Knocking off 'Play offside trap' seems to have helped my CB's not get caught out by long balls too.

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I wont argue with easy home, difficult away.

Funnily enough, i was thinking this morning the 50/50 games seem to go with the home team nearly all the time.

Palace picked up 23 points from 19 games in my test, doesn't strike me as unrealistic and pretty good return to be honest.

I had a 100% record at home with City which meant i got 43 points away, again pretty good return.

I think we could agonize for weeks on creating the perfect away tactic, perceived improvements when changing to Counter I think are temporary/illusory, if not let me know and we're onto a winner.

There clearly has to be a bias in the ME to influence Home/Away form, perhaps its a little strong on 15.3.

We benefit from this at home, i think we have to accept that's the way it is, be grateful for our hard won away victories and trust at the end of the season we are where we need to be.

well mr Rosler, i've had my away tactic set to counter for over 20 games now and won 15 and drawn 5, i thinki you will agree that is a superb away record

before i switched to counter for away games i had drawn every single game regardless of opposition

i should state it could still be my team, i'm in the German 3rd division (well not anymore as i smashed it without losing) my Kaiserslautern team is good enough for Division 2 without a doubt, so i could have been over powered

Control for home, Counter for away is the only change i made to this fantastic tactic

i urge everyone struggling away to simply switch to counter and monitor the difference, if you aren't struggling away simply don't fix what isn't broken

Match prep is simply Match Tactics all the time 30% , NO OI's, teamtalk is if it's 0-0 at HT, Agressively say not happy, or wheres the passion

now onto tougher opposition in Division 2

occasionally it is 0-0 in the 70th minute i use a shout saying passionately "get creative" then i usually win 1-0

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i should state it could still be my team, i'm in the German 3rd division (well not anymore as i smashed it without losing) my Kaiserslautern team is good enough for Division 2 without a doubt, so i could have been over powered

That's the reason it worked for you, I'm sure. When you eventually get to Bundesliga, your team won't be up to par and you'll struggle when you concede space and ball to superior teams with Counter.

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That's the reason it worked for you, I'm sure. When you eventually get to Bundesliga, your team won't be up to par and you'll struggle when you concede space and ball to superior teams with Counter.

still working in Division 2 with practically the same players

top of the league after 12 games

won 6 at home won 4 away and drawn 1 and lost 1

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