LLM - No Frills 4-4-2 (Very solid!)

[Atarin]

I think this might be my first ever tactics upload and I've been a member on here for a good few years.

As the title suggests this is a rock solid 4-4-2 for any level of football but I'm using it in the 10th level of English football.

Your board probably won't give you any awards for entertainment but in terms of grinding out results they won't have much to complain about.

 

Link below

Rock Solid LLM 4-4-2.fmf

The main principle behind this tactic was simplicity. My players are dreadful. My PF(a) has finishing of 4. Yes, 4. He's currently the division's top scorer with 18 goals from 18 games. The  fullbacks stay back to protect the flanks. The RM is a winger with terrible dribbling so I've got him staying deep and tucking in but still utilising his decent crossing. He links quite nicely with the BBM who links the play and arrives late into the box. All of my BWM's have tackling of under 5 so when I tell you that we have the best defence in the league by far that tells you that this tactic is pretty decent. We win the ball and it usually goes straight over the top for the DF(d) to act as a pivot or it goes long and the PF(a) goes one on one with the keeper. His 25% conversion rate would be a disaster if we didn't create so many chances. Our other main approach is to get it out to the left wing where he gets forward quickly and combines with the two strikers. None of my midfield have more than 1 goal so this tactic is heavily weighted towards the strikers getting the goals.

As often happens adjustments are needed. If you find yourself not breaking through (first of all, remain patient) I tend to go one of two ways. If we're getting into dangerous areas but getting outnumbered then I change my fullbacks to Support. If we're not able to get out of our half or the ball just keeps coming back then I move from Standard mentality to Positive mentality. If you're playing against a narrow side then also Go Wider (only if you're not having any luck), I also use this TI if the opposition has a man sent off. I start all games on Standard. I've found that that works well against all opponents. You can drop back to Cautious mentality if you're ahead and approaching half time or trying to see out a result at the end of a game, I do.

the only PI's I'm using are Cross from Deep, Cross More and Sit Narrower for the Right midfielder. I'm not using OI's. You can if you want to but be careful, don't overdo it. If the opposition have a playmaker that's causing me problems then occasionally I'll press him harder but I prefer not to do that.

In terms of what to look for in your players, I'll say it again, my squad is dreadful. That said, you want centre backs that are strong and can jump. Positioning is a must for all of your defenders. Your fullbacks need to be defenders first. If they have a little acceleration then all the better.

In midfield you want acceleration, pace and dribbling for your left winger. Passing, Vision and crossing for the RM would be preferable. He doesn't need to be quick or good at dribbling. Your box to box works best if he can pick a pass and hit a long shot but failing that just someone who has stamina, teamwork and workrate. Your BWM would work best with good positioning and tackling but mine don't (unfortunately) so just play your most aggressive midfielder here. for your DF(d) you want your strongest striker here and preferably someone that has first touch. Your PF(a) just needs pace and acceleration. Dribbling, Finishing, Composure.etc are a bonus. As I've said my PF(a) couldn't finish his dinner let alone a 1 v 1.

Something to bare in mind when looking over these results (League only) is that we were predicted to finish 17th or there abouts.

Try it and let me know what you think.

[rmills2000]

Managing Wycombe in the Championship, managed to stay up last season but started this season with a run of 1 win, 1 draw and 4 defeats so I'm going to give this a whirl and see what happens - can't get much worse at this stage!

Edited December 22, 2019 by rmills2000
Error

[CarlosEsDios]

1 hour ago, rmills2000 said:

Managing Wycombe in the Championship, managed to stay up last season but started this season with a run of 1 win, 1 draw and 4 defeats so I'm going to give this a whirl and see what happens - can't get much worse at this stage!

So.. has it got any worse?!

[Atarin]

Okay, so first season is in the bag.

Promotion is accomplished.

It was very tough in the second half of the season. Injuries hit us hard so we had to dig in and accept some draws that should have been wins. Squad depth was something I just didn't have. A couple of things to mention, first of all you'll notice our fantastic Goals Against column. Only 30 goals conceded all season, the best in the division. We also had the top scorer in the division with 27 goals in 38 games. The really interesting statistic, though, is that he should have had three or four times as many. His conversion % was so appallingly bad that he didn't even make it onto the division's top 20 list for conversion rates which means his Percentage was at least below 16% because that's what number 20 on the list has. We created so, so many chances every game. He's a superb all-rounder and can make things happen but his final ball/shot is just rank. I'm contemplating moving him out to the right flank where there will be less pressure to finishing 1 v 1's. We'll have to see though.

Basically though this tactic has been a beast for me. We're rock solid defensively and cut teams to ribbons on the break. You essentially create a front three of your strikers and your left winger bursting into space supported by your BBM and your WM on the right. That's a lot of bodies arriving in the box. The defensive structure works like a charm as well.

There's absolutely things you could adapt about it. Don't be afraid to experiment. This is a simple foundation to build off of although with very few changes I've taken a team expected to finish 16th/17th and won promotion despite the struggles with injuries in the second half of the season, and as I alluded to in a bug report on that subforum I also lost two very important players to sudden retirement (with no warning) with three games of the season remaining and promotion still very much on.

What I love about this tactic and what it has over lots of other tactics that I see is that its so basic that pretty much any side can use it. You don't need Inverted Wing Backs or False 9's or Segundo Valante's or any of that jazz. Just common or garden, run of the mill, bog standard, bloke down the pub roles and duties. Everyone should be able to field a team with a goalkeeper, a central defender, a limited defender, two defensive fullbacks, a defensive ball winner and a box to box midfielder,  a wide midfielder on support and a winger on attack and a couple of defensive forwards, one on attack and one on defend.

[Hamzin67]

Hi

Does this tactic work under 20.2?

Thanks

[Atarin]

Absolutely. It should work on any version, really. I developed the tactic in 20.1 and it doesn't use any ME exploits at all so nothing should have changed.

Just remember that its not plug and play. Plug and Play tactics are exploit tactics. No tactic should be immune to changes in opposition tactics. You have to watch the match (you don't have to watch it on Full, I watch in on Comprehensive but you can even watch on Extended.) Just pay attention to where and why your transitions are breaking down. If the opposition are pinning you back then raise your mentality, if the opposition are sitting in then put your fullbacks on support and go wider. If you're behind and need a goal quickly then fullbacks on support, WM(s) to Winger support, mentality on attacking, BBM to CM(a) or AP(s), go wider and you can also use counter-pressing. If you've had a man sent off then sacrifice one of your strikers, the deeper one if the opposition are pushed up and the more advanced one if the opposition are sitting in. If your advanced striker is constantly getting caught off side then change them to DF(s) or DLF(a). These are just some of the things that I do.

Edited December 26, 2019 by Atarin

[Robson 07]

@Atarin I like simplicity of it all.  A laid bare, common sense tactic without gimmicks.  Nice approach.

[timcliffsmith]

Just downloading FM20 now. This is gonna be my base to begin with. Love solid tactics. I'll let you know how it goes.

[thehig2]

@Atarin

This is my kind of tactic, not to disimilar to what I played at my first team IFK Helsenfors in my journeyman game.

When I moved to Krasnodar I adapted it by lowering my line of engagement and adding "pass into space" 

This was because my forwards were very fast(along with my right winger on attack duty) all pace and acceleration of 15 and above.

So if someone is using this tactic and they have pace upfront, thats a potential adaption to make which will make counter attacks even more effective.

[Atarin]

A couple of updates.

Okay, so first all my save corrupted, which is a real shame. No fixtures loaded for the second season. It does give me a chance to try this tactic with some other sides though. I think I'm going to try Alfreton of the Vanarama North next. For some reason I'm always drawn to Borrowash, Alfreton and Mickleover. All three are Derbyshire teams. I'm not from Derbyshire so I have no idea why.

The other thing I wanted to talk about is fullbacks. Fullbacks have always been a problem for me in FM. They're usually the weak link in any of my teams. They're in a crucial position, facing the paciest and trickiest player in the opposition team, the winger. They're also usually behind the least supportive player in my team (our winger, who usually isn't known for his teamwork and work rate). So they're isolated and under huge pressure. So, how does this tactic address that issue?

First of all I tend to think of fullbacks as fitting into one of three defensive categories. First, you have your good fullbacks, next you have your okay fullbacks and lastly you have your useless fullbacks. Everyone gets to put into one of those defensive categories. Useless fullbacks need constant support and babysitting. Okay fullbacks need support some of the time and good fullbacks can be mostly left to get on with their job.

Applying that scheme to my tactic works like this. If I have a good fullback then he goes behind the attacking winger to lock down that flank. If I have a useless fullback then he goes behind the WM(s) because that way we have a double banked flank and my fullback gets full protection. If you have two useless fullbacks then just try to do the best you can, play the slightly better one behind the attacking winger.

[thehig2]

@Atarin

I now use a similar tactic as my secondary tactic, I use when I hit a dip in form this style of tactic stops the losses (normally or at least stops goals flooding in) let me grind a win or two out then revert back to more expansive football.

About full backs, I do this as well if I have a full back who isn't a good athlete ill pair him behind a hard working Wide midfielder on Support duty (so he doesn't get to far forward) If the opposition are still having joy down this side setting the wide midfielder to hold position helps.

This effectively shuts down one side of your team as a viable attacking option but at least its unlikely to be weakness defensively, sometimes you gotta do these things if you are stuck with a woefull fullback you don't trust.