How Does my 4-2-3-1 Tactic Work?

[Dewar]

I'm playing as the Morecambe Shrimps, who start near the bottom of the Sky Bet League Two. When I started, I ran through the  tactics tutorial and picked Control Possession 4-2-3-1. I adjusted a few of the positions to better match the green circles for the players I had available, then I let the game roll. With very few player changes, I managed to make the playoffs my first year, and it looks like I'm heading there again in my second.

So here's an interesting change from the normal "why doesn't my tactic work" post. My tactic is going great, my problem now is that I don't understand how my tactic works. I've tried to make minor changes to better fit for certain players or cover for injuries, and it explodes in my face each time. I feel like the whole thing is so fragile I can't make changes.

Here's my tactic

 

And here's my starting 11, at least what would be my starting 11 without injuries

[denen123]

1. I'd like to ask what was the intention of setting this up(from your TI's i can assume what you want) but i can't really tell.

2. I'd advice you go through some interesting threads on here to nick of some ideas.

A 4-2-3-1 is a top heavy tactic as it has 4 players usually pushing into the opposite 3rd & usually has  a 'shuttler' running from deep in attack transition & covering the back in defense phase. Usually a calmer head sits & holds the middle, recycling possession and allows for everyone to push ahead. It's a tactic most don't venture cause it makes it hard for peeps to recover if ever a loose pass/shot/drink is made. You'll usually find space in the middle left by your players that the opposition will exploit.

If i were the opposition team, i'd :

1. Enjoying playing against your middle pivot(You don't have one to be honest). No ones sitting. But pairings that could work can be "DLps - CMde" or "DLPde - Carsu" etc. One holder or two, at least.

2. Your striker will be isolated(occasionally) because of the role & duty. Can be helped with a striker on support duty.

3. Defend wider? Maybe watch the games more, especially, on Comprehensive to make additional changes.

 

[Dewar]

This is only my second FM campaign, so I generally took what the tutorial handed to me and then altered it a bit to fit what players I had. In my mind, I'd like to control possession and attack the box from the wings, working or crossing it into my striker. My middle indeed feels week at times, which Is why I added the counter instruction to try and get possession into the final third a little better.

I've definitely been looking through threads on here, but I'm not in the position to bring in a lot of players so the advice of setting up a tactic that I want to play, then getting the players to match is a bit tough.

 

1. I like your ideas about the midfield. I'll try these pairings out and see how they go

2. I've also not been getting the greatest performance from my striker, so what you're saying about the striker getting isolated is definitely a problem. 

3. I'm... honestly not sure when I should be using defend wider or not. Generally, after 20 minutes into the game or so, I check where the attacks are coming from and slim it down if most are from the center.

 

Thanks for your input.

[lam]

Your tactic may be surprisingly working for you (and this is the point) because teams are underestimating you. Despite your balanced approach your team is really attacking. Two x BBM's, IF(S), AF(A), AP(A), W(A).

If you gain promotion this may continue to work for you in the high league as again teams will underestimate you. However once you start to be considered a threat I think you may find that teams will be a little more cautious and do two things:

1. Sit deeper and that means they will have lots of players in the box and you are also flooding it which means no space.
2. Hit you on the counter and with two BBM's there is a risk there. If their team work is decent they should support each other a little but I'd be a little worried.

Your defence looks decent in terms of roles. So often you'll see two WB's on attack or something. However as Denen said, I imagine you have quite a gap between defence and midfield that could be exploited..... Here..... think counter attacking team with a DLF(S) or something like that.... tons of space for him to sit in.

Short answer..... I think you're just surprising the opposition.

[samwilzrhcp]

Ignore the green circles, focus on attributes.  So change one of your BBM to a more defensive role, a DLP is always a good option as he sits deep and recycles the ball.  With the amount of players you have on attack duty I would switch your mentality to positive,  and I would also switch your IF and Wingers mentality.  IF on attack & W on support, that way your IF is acting as a second striker & an extra player for your AP to look for.  

[Experienced Defender]

On 18/05/2019 at 21:36, Dewar said:

I adjusted a few of the positions to better match the green circles for the players I had available

Green circles are not particularly important. Instead, look at the player's attributes and traits (in some cases also footedness) to see if he is suitable to play a particular role.

[Experienced Defender]

On 18/05/2019 at 22:30, denen123 said:

Your striker will be isolated(occasionally) because of the role & duty. Can be helped with a striker on support duty

Not so much because of the role and duty, but rather because of how the rest of his tactic is set up. For example, if his tactic was set up for a counter-attacking style, then having an AF with an attack-duty AP (or AM) behind him can work very nicely. But the problem is that his tactic suits possession football in terms of team instructions, but that is not matched by his setup of roles and duties. 

From a logical perspective, the tactic is pretty much shaky and potentially very vulnerable (as you rightly pointed out ) .But since he said he is pleased with how the tactic works, I guess he should not make changes (at least for now). 

[Dewar]

Thanks for your help everyone. I'm experimenting with a few different setups for my midfield while keeping most of the rest constant for the moment. Don't want to change too much at once in case I break something.