goqs06 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 The Art of Doing it Your Own Way "Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes." - Brian Clough Introduction Brian Howard Clough (1935 - 2004), was an English football player and manager. He is always associated with Peter Taylor, who served as his assistant manager at various clubs from the 60s to 80s. In 1975, Clough joined 2nd division Nottingham Forest. It was here where Forest were to the promoted to the top flight and subsequently won the league (the 1st ever in the club's history). Forest also won two CONSECUTIVE European Cups and two League Cups. Great football managers see the game differently. Clough saw the game in ways that channeled his stubborn but yet witty approach to the beautiful games. When speaking of his tactics Clough would be at pains to downplay the complexity of the game - “You get the ball, you pass it to a Red shirt”. Tactics A bit of background knowledge ... The year is 1973. Clough left Brighton to sign for Leeds United to replace the outgoing Don Revie, who was the new England manager. Revie was a club legend, winning multiple league titles and cups with The White Roses. Clough managing Leeds would be a daunting task - this would either make or break him. It could be remarked that the ambition of Clough was huge. He yearned to be heard and respected. Revie’s style could be the type that has been associated with British football for a long time. Long balls and hard, abrasive tackling. Contrary to this, Clough was not sold into this type of philosophy. He demanded that his sides, play attractive and possession-based football. Thus criticism did not sit well with with board and the players. Eventually, Clough was out of the Leeds job in 44 days. However, this was a catalyst for future success in greener pastures. His sizable payout have him ample time to re-calibrate and reassess his future in football management. Jump to 5 years later... BAM! 1 league win 2 league cups 2 European cups You might wonder, how the f*** did that happen in 5 bloody years? Clough's Formula to Great Teams A commanding goalkeeper Solid centre-halves Forward thinking full backs Diligent central midfielders Creativity on the wings Forest often liked to (counter)attacking and proactive football. They would often like to soak up a bit of pressure and score with lightning quick breaks. His teams compromised of hard working sides that were a pleasure to watch. What else was there? Quirky defenders who can outpace forwards? Check ✅ Hardworking BBMs who would work their ass off? Check ✅ Long balls were strictly limited to goal kicks or crossfield passes. Clough wanted his team to cover every blade of grass on that pitch. Formation Throughout his entire time at Forest, Clough was very tactically astute, setting up in what at first glance appeared to be a 4-4-2, but could also be a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3. This will be the base formation, a good 'ol flat 4-4-2. But how do we make it into a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1? Player roles, mentality, TIs & PIs First of, lets look at the team. GK - Shilton: A commandeering and techinally astute goalkeeper. RB - Viv Anderson: The beta attacking fullback. He wasn't afraid to overlap the winger in front of him. LB - Frank Clark: Player more of a supporting role. He did get forward but not in great amounts, although. CB(x2) - Kenny Burns & Larry Lloyd: Solid rocks at the back. Both played with the intention of stopping anyone getting past them. Burns was a converted centre forward, so he was slightly more comfortable going forward. RM - Martin O'Neill: Could also play up front, but was mainly tasked with carving a line down the touchline with his runs. Had a habit of arriving late at the far post to knock in the crosses. LM - John Robertson: Determined. He spent most of his time ploughing up and down the flank. He would often cut inside at the last moment and take shots or assists in the box. CM - John McGovern: Holding Midfielder. Sat slightly deep, linking the back 4 with the midfield and attack. CM - Ian Bowyer/Archie Gemmill: Bombed forward, looked to support the front 2 and arrive in the box. AMC/ST - Tony Woodcock: He would drift back and attempt to link up the play. ST - Garry Birtles: The focal point of the team's attack and would often create and score chances. And now for the mentality and shape ... "quick support to attacking players" "getting the ball forward quickly" "aggressive full-backs and wingers" "all players are expected to contribute to all phases or play" "free-flowing football" "high levels of creative freedom" Lastly, the PIs and TIs. (I'd like to say first that Clough took a minimalist approach to tactics and more of man-management, so there won't be much PIs and TIs) Retain possession + Shorter passing - to encourage short passes to be made to facilitate possession-based football Be more expressive - allow players more creative freedom LM: Stay wider RCM: Get further forward Now that we can get quick counterattacking, possession based and expressive futbol, how do you translate this into FM? THE FINAL PRODUCT Our desired effect! Conclusion The success of Clough at Forest saw him evolve from an ambitious manager with the guile to handle the press and players to a footballing genius. Clough’s sides beat the likes of Liverpool, Hamburg and Malmö to capture two European Cups in 1979 and 1980. In addition to conquering Europe, Forest also went unbeaten for a run of 42 games. Sadly, in Clough's final managerial years, he struggled with relegation battles and alcoholism. In his final game, Forest were relegated. A man who was defined and worked through football’s old First Division simply couldn’t maintain what was required to succeed in the newly-created Premier League. Clough made the ordinary feel extraordinary and privileged feel rather average – a quality and skill honed by a lifetime of self-competition, critical analysis and unrelenting ambition. In one of his most iconic interviews, Clough described himself perfectly: “That might be aiming for utopia. And that might mean being a little bit stupid. But that is the way I am. I am a little bit stupid regarding this type of thing. I am a bit of an idealist. I do believe in fairies. And that is my outlook.” Brian Clough was outspoken and polarizing figure. His biggest asset was his ability to play the roles of footballer, manager, critic, comic, husband, father, psychologist, hero, and villain. Like or hate him, he can be regarded as the pioneer of revolutionising British football and may his name ever be written in the football history books. Resources https://www.reddit.com/r/nffc/ Quora https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/oct/10/brian-clough-miracle-nottingham-forest-european-champions-film-jose-mourinho The Dammed United (2009 film) - trailer here! RIP Brian Clough (1935 - 2004) "The best manager England never got." ~ @goqs06 ~ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robson 07 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Nice interpretation. Just a couple of observations on the players and how they played. I don't think Martin O'Neil was in any sense a winger. I think he was basically a central midfielder asked to played on the right. His tendency to play his natural position saw him in the centre a fair bit and this left the right side open a lot for Anderson to overlap him. Robertson on the other hand may have been a winger. This is a 70's team and too old for most of us to remember but I had it in my head Frank Clark was a centre back? Maybe he was converted like O'Neil. Great job though. You clearly enjoy these and you cite your research. I also like the fact this is an old team you've covered, not easy I'm sure, hats off for your contribution(s). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goqs06 Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 3 minutes ago, Robson 07 said: Nice interpretation. Just a couple of observations on the players and how they played. I don't think Martin O'Neil was in any sense a winger. I think he was basically a central midfielder asked to played on the right. His tendency to play his natural position saw him in the centre a fair bit and this left the right side open a lot for Anderson to overlap him. Robertson on the other hand may have been a winger. This is a 70's team and too old for most of us to remember but I had it in my head Frank Clark was a centre back? Maybe he was converted like O'Neil. Great job though. You clearly enjoy these and you cite your research. I also like the fact this is an old team you've covered, not easy I'm sure, hats off for your contribution(s). Thanks for the feedback and kind words! I did actually watch some footage, in this case the 1979 European Cup final between Forest and Malmo. It was kinda difficult to watch as the screen was blurry (well HD didn't exist back then). However, I found this as a good experience as I have never researched on a tactic from that late before (the 70s) as I'm born a looong time after that . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armistice Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Ok so how does it work in game? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawae Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 On 12/07/2018 at 21:05, Robson 07 said: Robertson on the other hand may have been a winger. This is a 70's team and too old for most of us to remember but I had it in my head Frank Clark was a centre back? It could be argued that Robertson was a inverted winger as he did indeed cut in at the last minute and take some shots. @goqs06 has done well by adding the PI "stay wider" to create the effect of him being a winger who does stay wide and only cut in the last moment. Nope, Clark was a fullback for the entirety of his career. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goqs06 Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 On 12/07/2018 at 21:30, Armistice said: Ok so how does it work in game? I'll be posting some results soon mate, do stay tuned! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraftberk Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Good recreation. I've always been a massive fan of Clough and I'm using a Clough inspired 4-4-2 at the moment. It works fantastically, got me 3 back to back promotions to the Bundesliga and 6th, the DFB-Pokal in my first year and 2nd and the UEFA the next year (along with another Pokal). Much like the real side getting an excellent winger and DLP really brings the tactic together. I considered putting this in the few team instructions challenge as like you said Clough kept them simple! I would considering adding "work ball into the box", as well as hitting on the counter when Forest were dominating they'd score lots of goals from good passing around the box. The book 'I believe in miracles' has been a good resource (as well as a great read). I have a counter version very similar to yours as well. Current results in my 6th season (3rd year in Bundesliga, 1st year of CL football!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blehq12 Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 20 hours ago, kraftberk said: Good recreation. I've always been a massive fan of Clough and I'm using a Clough inspired 4-4-2 at the moment. It works fantastically, got me 3 back to back promotions to the Bundesliga and 6th, the DFB-Pokal in my first year and 2nd and the UEFA the next year (along with another Pokal). Much like the real side getting an excellent winger and DLP really brings the tactic together. I considered putting this in the few team instructions challenge as like you said Clough kept them simple! I would considering adding "work ball into the box", as well as hitting on the counter when Forest were dominating they'd score lots of goals from good passing around the box. The book 'I believe in miracles' has been a good resource (as well as a great read). I have a counter version very similar to yours as well. Current results in my 6th season (3rd year in Bundesliga, 1st year of CL football!) Looks great but I think the BBM should be a CM (S), I don't think Bowyer actually roamed that much on the pitch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goqs06 Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 20 hours ago, kraftberk said: Good recreation. I've always been a massive fan of Clough and I'm using a Clough inspired 4-4-2 at the moment. It works fantastically, got me 3 back to back promotions to the Bundesliga and 6th, the DFB-Pokal in my first year and 2nd and the UEFA the next year (along with another Pokal). Much like the real side getting an excellent winger and DLP really brings the tactic together. I considered putting this in the few team instructions challenge as like you said Clough kept them simple! I would considering adding "work ball into the box", as well as hitting on the counter when Forest were dominating they'd score lots of goals from good passing around the box. The book 'I believe in miracles' has been a good resource (as well as a great read). I have a counter version very similar to yours as well. Current results in my 6th season (3rd year in Bundesliga, 1st year of CL football!) Maybe I should try out an Attacking mentality ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraftberk Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 20 minutes ago, blehq12 said: Looks great but I think the BBM should be a CM (S), I don't think Bowyer actually roamed that much on the pitch. You're most likely right but I went for an 'inspired by' rather than proper recreation I did used to have CM(S) but once I got my hands on a very good SVish DM and retrained him I went with a BBM. 22 minutes ago, goqs06 said: Maybe I should try out an Attacking mentality ... Haha I do have a counter version too, which I mostly use at home (go figure) I suspect a lot of our success has been down to being predicted for relegation for 4 seasons straight... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goqs06 Posted July 18, 2018 Author Share Posted July 18, 2018 On 12/07/2018 at 21:30, Armistice said: Ok so how does it work in game? So far, so good Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blehq12 Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 On 18/07/2018 at 21:08, goqs06 said: So far, so good How would you do it on FM 19? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goqs06 Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 On 06/11/2018 at 15:02, blehq12 said: How would you do it on FM 19? I'll be doing it and uploading here soon. On 12/07/2018 at 21:05, Robson 07 said: This is a 70's team and too old for most of us to remember but I had it in my head Frank Clark was a centre back? Maybe he was converted like O'Neil. Yes, Clark was a former fullback before being converted to a CB. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bezzy1970 Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 On 10/11/2018 at 04:10, goqs06 said: I'll be doing it and uploading here soon. Yes, Clark was a former fullback before being converted to a CB. Hey goqs06, Any news when your Forest tactic for FM 2019 will be out ?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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