Building My Style Of Football

[BadAss88]

I've managed to be rather successfull every Football Manager edition but in FM16 and FM17 I was/am struggling! In FM16 I found the solution based on @Ö-zil to the Arsenal! Very Fluid Team Shape, which brought me the football I wanted to see from my team to work! But in recent games I'm struggling yet again to get it working decent and consistent!

So I started my own topic, where I can place my evolution, thinking, experiences and ask for help and feedback from you guys! So off we go!

My Style of Football
On the ball I want to see a fast paced game with a lots of chances created from a great variety of ways (crossing, through balls, passing combinations, ...) when we lose the ball I want to see high pressing to get the ball back as soon as possible and I want a solid defense that don't give many chances away.

Formation
I haven't picked a team yet (I'm gonna try to figure out a working tactic first with Ajax for a couple more games before starting all over) but my preferred tactic is 4-2-3-1 Wide, but maybe a 4-1-2-3 DM Wide, a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-4-1-1 is better suited for my style of football.

Team Shape
In FM16 I began to be a big fan of the Very Fluid Team Shape, but maybe it's a bit too fluid. So I still consider Fluid as a Team Shape. Both Team Shapes make me press more as well, which I like.

Mentality
My personal favour goes to Control as I like to take a risk! And it compliments my style of football by playing at a higher tempo, moving my D-line up, press slightly more and play a bit wider. But I don't like giving up possession too easy so Standard and Counter or still posibilities. 

Team Instructions
I don't want to overcomplicate things for starters so I won't any TI's, except for Close Down Much More as I want my players to be very agressive in winning the ball back. This TI makes my D-line move up even a bit more too, so I'm gonna stick with a normal D-line for now. But I'm considering to move them up even more if necessary. Other TI's I'm considering to use are Higher Tempo, Higher D-Line, Use Offside Trap, Use Tighter Marking, Play Out Of Defence, Pass Into Space, Be More Expressive, Work Ball Into Box and Dribble Less but because I'm not sure if they'll contribute to my style of football I'm leaving them for now.

Player Roles (Duties) - Player Instructions
GK: Sweeper Keeper (Defend) - Distribute Quickly
He just needs to make saves and win games! I can't spot a difference between Goalkeeper(d) and Sweeper Keeper(d) for now, but I'll go for the Sweeper Keeper because my D-line is fairly high upfield but not that high to use him in a supporting or attacking duty. I also want him to distribute the ball quickly in play to anyone who is free.
DR & DL: Full Back (Support) - None
Both backs need to do their defensive work in the first place, but I still want them to be a passing option when we're attacking. And occasionaly put in a cross from deep.
DC's: Central Defender (Defend) - None
Both DC's just need to do a solid defensive job. That's all I'm asking. Maybe a couple of goals from set pieces that would be nice.
MRC: Box To Box Midfielder (Support) - None
I want him to make himself avalaible as a passing option across the field when we're in possession and making late runs in the box if possible.
MLC: Deep Lying Playmaker (Defend) - None
He must provide us with defensive cover but has to be able to pick up the ball from deep and pass the ball to players in advanced positions.
AMR & AML: Winger (Attack) - None
Both wingers need to provide my lone striker with crosses, through balls and cause chaos in the box with dribbles and shots. They need to be in the box when the other winger crosses as well. When we're without possession they need to press hard in getting the ball back.
AMC: Shadow Striker (Attack) - None
He has to team up with the lone forward and giving him good scoring chances on through balls, play 1-2's, dribbles/runs past opponents, get in the box for crosses.
SC: Deep Lying Forward (Attack) - None
He has to be our main scorer, but also has to be involved in the passing combinations if possible.

I'm not sure of any role,duty or PI on this so if you have any advice on which works better for my style of football that would be great!

Summary
I've tried to make my style of football as clear as possible, and all the rest is just a starting point for me so any suggestions, tips, feedback, advice to accomplish my style of football would be great!

[tyler16]

Just a general suggestion - be flexible with shape. The best managers take the opponent and desired overloads, mismatches, etc., and are never content. You absolutely should be striving for a cohesive squad that compliment each other. Even PPMs can be more or less universal. Just want to stress that sometimes you may want to change things up here or there. An example would be adding an additional central defender vs. a team who plays with two strikers as 1) you'll have a free man in defense in the case he has to close down/drift wide etc., and 2) you'll have a 3v2 in the initial build up phase (simplifying things but you get the point!) 

[yonko]

At first glance I suspect that you might have problems with the front 4 all on attack duties. Add to that the fact that one of your midfielders is a BBM. The DLP-D is the most conservative and limited playmaking role. What kind of options is he going to have linking the defense with the attack? Both fullback are conservative too. I just fail to see how your players will connect with these roles and duties. 

You have to create connections and options for the players to pass and move quickly. Otherwise they will just kick the ball forward and lose it pointlessly. It's good that you have an overall vision of play, but now you need to visualize how the players will interact and execute that on the field.

Just to give you example. Your MCL is going to be a DLP-D. Surround him with better options. DL should have an attacking duty - start with FB-A. The AML should have a support duty - start with W-S. Your playmaker has to have multiple options to pass, because his roles isn't the type that will dribble the ball like RPM or be adventurous like AP or RGA. As I said, it is the most restrictive playmaking role (on Defend duty) and thus needs multiple close proximity options around him. So that means you need to visualize how the DL, AML, MCR and AMC will provide him that. I would try the following: DL = FB-A, AML = W-S, MCR = stays BBM, AMC = AM-S. On the right hand side you can leave things as is.

With the 4-2-3-1 wide formation you have to be very careful regarding the pressing. The formation itself is already a good basis for high pressing due to have 4 players high up the field. Add to that the Control mentality that increases the pressing further. I would advise to start simple, watch matches on full and analyze the pressing of your players. Use Prevent Short GK Distribution and Tighter Marking Tis, but leave the Close Down and D-Line default. Instead use individual pressing options - the most aggressive for the front 4.

By wanting to press very highly with this mentality and formation, you risk having your team lose their shape too much. And this may be dangerous with just 2 MCs, one of which has roaming role (BBM). Pay attention to that.

Good luck

[BadAss88]

After playing two matches with Ajax (4-0 and 3-1 wins against Go Ahead Eagles and AS Roma) I early realised that my wingers won't trackback with the attacking duty so I changed them to support and let my full backs attack. I also added the TI 'Work Ball Into Box' which countered the many long shots my wingers and midfielders were trying. For now I was satisfied with what I saw and will start a new game with probably Internazionale. I will keep you guys informed and continue the finetuning of my style of football!

[jorgvandervloed]

@BadAss88

Why have another runner from deep (BBM) when you already have four players in front of him? I would probably go for something as CMd and DLPs in midfield...

Havent had the time to play with a ShadowStriker, but it always interests me so I would keep this role. As mentioned by @yonko, I would probably give the DL an attacking duty (FBa) and change the Winger on the left to an Inside Forward support. You create natural overlapping this way and will have another runner into the box. On the other side I would just keep the winger. 

[BadAss88]

I've already made a few changes to my tactic. I made a couple of tweaks and ended op with this, which I'm gonna try now for a couple of games :

Tactic:

- Control Mentality
- Very Fluid Team Shape
- TI's : Play Of Of Defence, Work Ball Into Box & Close Down Much More.
- PI's : GK - Distribute Quickly, AMR/L - More Risky Passes, AMC - Roam From Position.

Thoughts behind the idea:
I wanted my playmaker higher upfield and be a passing options all across the field, so I changed my BBM(s) to an RPM(s). The other role on my 2-men midfield needed to be on a defensive duty, but I wasn't sure that 2 playmakers next to each other would work effectively so my only other two options were BWM(d) and CM(d). I'm going for the first one for now, but I'm willing to change to a CM(d) if the BWM(d) doens't hold position right. I was thinking of making my AMC and AP(a) but then I was affraid that when he's marked out of the match my team wouldn't play well. So I stuck with the SS(a) role, but had the PI Roam From Position attached to him, as I hope that he'll make himself available more as a passing option allover the final third. I'm struggling with too little crosses getting completed. It's not that the intention of my wingers is bad, because they make good crosses, and most of the time my striker and amc are in the box but there's just too many defenders to clear the ball. Any suggestions?

 

[BadAss88]

I'm gonna try and pick this one up again! I started a new save with Olympique de Marseille! I'm going for a couple of changes as to how I want to play:

My Style of Football
Fast paced passing game with fluent combinations and lots of goals!

Formation
4-1-2-3 DM Wide

Team Shape
Fluid

Mentality
Control

Team Instructions
Pass Into Space
Play Out Of Defence
Work Ball Into Box
Close Down More
Higher Tempo

Player Roles (Duties) - Player Instructions
GK: Keeper (Defend) - Less Risky Passes, Play to Backs, Play Short, Distribute Quickly
DR: Full Back (Attack) - Stay Wide
DC's: Central Defender (Defend) - None
DL: Full Back (Support)
DMC: Ball Winning Midfielder (Defend) - None
MRC: Box To Box Midfielder (Support) - None
MLC: Advanced Playmaker (Attack) - None
AMR: Inside Forward (Support) - None
AML: Winger (Attack) - None
SC: Deep Lying Forward (Attack) - None

Any feedback or suggestions are welcome!