How I made an AMC shine (featuring a blast from the past)

[davidbarros2]

Prologue:

 

I've seen many threads here and on the bug's section about the buggy behaviour of the AMC in this year's edition of the game - aswell as in former editions.

Many complaint about the performance of one (or many) AMC's, the poor ratings, the lack of assists, the lack of goals, and so on.

Perhaps the behaviour of an AMC might be different or might be better, I am eager myself to see more through balls from him, but my no means it's broken.

As a non english native I will try my best in this thread to show you an in depth, and hands on pratical approach, to make our beloved number 10's cause impact and show how they can still be realiable and shine with consistency.

Please do feel free to criticize and correct me whenever I'm wrong, but here's a sneak peak from what I've planned and hopefully will try to release (at least the mort part) during this weekend:

 

1. Reality check
2. Back to basics (a blast from the past)
3. The number 10 in a sort of 4-2-3-1
4. The number 10 in a wingerless formation

Edited June 5, 2020 by davidbarros2

[davidbarros2]

Reality check:

 

I will be scarse on words. I do like to summarize my ideas and that's what I'll do, so forgive me in advanced if you thought the "in depth approach" would mean countless words so you can dwell in front of your screen non stop (I will post some pictures and quotes tho 'cause I'm a lazy person).

I'm hoping to pass my message with concise ideas and you surely will agree when I say this to you:

The breed of the true number 10's has past their time !!!

Football has evolved, formations wise from the 2-3-5, the WW, the WM, to the 4-2-4, 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and so on. Players have evolved too, as so did coaches, football styles and requisites to play this beautifull game.

Don't just take my word for it, if you're old like me you can remember how football was and how it is now. How many top teams do rely on a typical number 10 on a consistent basis and give him what he needs - sacrificing some (defensive) aspects of their game?

Here you go some context:

And another one:

And another... :

If you google it for a few minutes you'll find dozens of articles saying the same stuff, and all true deep down in their core... Obviously any player (FM or real life) can shine giving him proper conditions and that's what I'll show in the nest post.

 

Summary:

 

• All things football related have evolved through time
• Modern playstyles and formations don't rely in the number 10 anymore
• The profile of the number 10 have changed (anyone remember Fellaini or Naingollan?)
• Attacking wingbacks, the dying of the pure winger, the "drop deep" hability from the strikers, all have contributed to this
• Having played football till the age of 18 on the youth academy of a first league club, I watched first hand how skillfull players are being told to act on the flanks as what we all now call "inside forwards"

Edited June 5, 2020 by davidbarros2
Introducing content

[davidbarros2]

Back to basics (a blast from the past):

 

This forum is filled with precious information - great threads and great content writters - but sometimes I think we can never trully appreacite what's right in front of us.

I do reply to some threads where people complain about not being able to extract the best of an AMC and I often see the same advices:

" ...you gotta give him some space, you gotta give him room to operate, you won't want to overcrowd that area of the field, create movement, it's all about suply and have someone to aim to ..."

All good and sound advice if you ask me. But it's all kind of vague isn't it? What I do feel is that people heard the message but don't know how to translate it to the game.

I'm by no means an expert, I play the game since the 99/00 edition (yeah, I'm old...) so I'm not the best person to "tell you all the nitty gritty about how to rock a 4-2-3-1" , I know that would be what most of you would want. In fact I don't like 4-2-3-1, I favour the 4-3-3 AKA 4-1-4-1 DM Wide, 4-1-2-3 DM Wide or whatever it's called nowadays... So I dug out my memory and dusted off some precious bits of wisdom, to, once again, give proper context.

Browsing one of many amazingly brilliant @Cleon threads I found this:

I couldn't agree more, but I know some of you might not think the same way and that's ok. These really translates well why I don't like the 4-2-3-1 as a formation, adding up to the space left between defense-miedfield and full backs-wingers.

Once again, this "create space and movement" stuff I always read in countless threads... Just read it again, pure words of wisdom aren't they? No irony here, still up to date and in all honesty one of the best reads I had in here... So, how can we create this space and movement?

Well, as everything in life, I like balance. A balanced tactic may not work all the time, but I guarantee you it will work fine many more times than an unbalanced one. In fact, a balanced tactic will endure in time, the match engine can change or not but here I present to you a tactic from FM 13 (I think...), courtesy of @Rashidi:

That's what I call balance (thanks @Rashidi for the good work through the years). This is taken from his first blog, and it's an amazing article that I won't link to due to the rules of the forum. I do suggest a visit 'cause in all honesty, I wouldn't be able to do it justice even if I tried.

So... I was saying that this tactic from FM 13 would still work in FM 20 and produce the kind of performances we want to see our AMC achieve? Yes, you heard me right!

But how's so? The match engine have evolved, the game is bugged, my AMC won't perform with consistency... and the reason is - I told you - (lack of) balance. This tactic is based in sound principles and it incorporates all the advice we read frequently. As in real life, there's many ways to achieve what we want, so take this as a framework, take it as something to build upon.

Sometimes we don't even know what we really want, do we? Do I want my AMC to score goals? To only spray passes (assist to an assist)? Do I want him to help me hold up ball and escape the pressure? Do I want him to make goals and assists? Yeah, I do believe that all can be done - in FM 20 or any other version of the game - you just need to set up things right.

So, this is the only way? No, it isn't. Watch closely... how is the space created in the example above?

• The AMC is the only player on the AM strata
• The players behind him start deeper and not venture further forward
• The wide players won't crowd the center of the field

Surely you can apply these principles (and others) with some other formation/tactic/roles/duties/whatsoever...

How about the striker? Well, our number 10 is left alone in the AM strata, you gotta give him someone to combinate with... seems kinda logical right?

In the next post I'll show you an example updated to FM 20 that personally gave me great success.

 

Summary:

 

• The popular advice about how to make an AMC shine is usually spot on, but it's not always easy to know how to implement this in the game (everyone struggles, I know I did)
• I don't like the 4-2-3-1 and I'm sorry if that's what you've been looking for
• Most real life teams don't play the 4-2-3-1 as we do in FM (the miedfielders are played in the DM strata)
• A balanced tactic can resist the test of time itself - sounds principles will always work whatever the match engine version is

Edited June 5, 2020 by davidbarros2

[davidbarros2]

The number 10 in a sort of 4-2-3-1

 

Well, this is the time where I show you what I did. So, how did I translate that tactic from FM 13 to FM 20?

Disappointed much? It's basically the same... Why those subtle changes?

Well, for starters I have an acceptable GK to put him in support... I have Hummels who is good on the ball to be a BPD (I can't remember if BPD even existed in FM 13...). I changed the DLP(S) to CM(S) due to Witsel having too many key passes as the game flowed much through him... Nothing wrong with the original roles, it worked and it worked good, but would be a shame if you saw my DLP vastly outperforming my AP in the key passes league rating right? I give my CM(S) the "Hold position" PI, and that was the only PI I used in this setup.

I know mentality and fluidity are controversial topics and I'm not here to join that debate so... think of mentality just as a risk-reward ratio.

I'm Dortmund, I have a good team, I'm predicted to be 2nd in the league, my formation is kind of deep-ish and I do like to take the game to my opponents. "Take short kicks" and "More urgent" are just personal preferences. The beauty of balanced tactis is that you do have it all... you have runners, you have defensive cover, you have supply, you have players holding position, you have players drawing the opponents out, and so on. When you do have a balanced tactic you should be confortable fine tuning the team instructions to achieve the playing style you desire. I'm a simple man and that's what I did.

I don't know why this isn't showing up in the "In possession" instructions but I do reduced a notch to our attacking width. Again, not necessary, just personal preference.

So... how did this all turned out?

This was never about results but it worked quite good. I'll show you some others stats, but first, full disclosure:

• I ended up having one of the lowest average possession in the league. Possession wasn't my goal but I'm okay with it.
• Having Haaland up top I tried him as DLF (S), DLF (A) and Poacher. DLF was absolutely fine, in support he'll get the AP more into play and on attack he'll give him someone to aim more frequently. As a Poacher Haaland was scoring like crazy, but with good pace and off the ball, he was always on the shoulder of the last defender and having a team blessed with vision and passing (coupled with the Attacking team mentality) led my team to try though balls from everywhere, thus hurting the impact of my AP.
• As I said earlier, I'm a 4-3-3 kinda guy and I'm a proud manager of Barrow in League Two. I just created a save as Dortmund 'cause I do like them and know their squad, and I give everything to my Ass Man (except for OI's)
• I holidayed the whole season but I did resume to play for myself more games than I was aiming for, so take this with a pinch of salt.

Now, finally my number 10! Julian Brandt is the man, you all probably know him. He's not even natural at the AMC position and don't have the player traits I look for, but he is better than Gotze so he got the spot. 10 goals, 9 assists and a 7.41 average rating in the league... not too shabby right? This all not including set pieces - I left them all by default and usually Reus and Guerreiro took care of them.

There's something I never payed too much atention but now I will bring it... anyone here remember the tactical sliders?

I outlined in red this "run from deep" PI. For most of you that do remember, have you ever seen that the AP role is the only attacking role without "Get further forward" by default? I haven't so shame on me.

As I said, take this as a framework. An AM (A) or a TREQ will work just fine, but there's a reason (more than one) that I selected an AP(A) instead of any other roles:

• I wanted him in attack - to make use of a very attacking mentality giving my Mentality/Fluidity.
• I wanted him to balance goals/assists - any other attacking role with "Get further forward" by default would probably make him take more advanced positions and score more
• I wanted him to be a ball magnet AKA playmaker

Now I will just drop here some more player stats:

This game is about attributes so again, not too bad from a non natural AMC with just 13 at passing.

Finally some team stats for those interested:

No more context required so I'll switch the "Summary" for some "FAQ".

 

FAQ:

 

• Is it okay if I change some team instructions?

Yes, if you know what you are doing.

• Can I change some player roles?

Yes, you can. For instance, IW(A) will be more attacking than WM(A) but will leave your flank more exposed. It's all about risk-reward, and there are many more player roles that can be changed for anothers.

• How many goals did Haaland scored?

He topped up the league in goals scored, I don't remember exactly but I would say around 27 (I can check that out later).

• Did the assists from the AMC came from set pieces?

No. Reus and Guerreiro took the set pieces.

• Why did Witsel have more key passes than Brandt?

I played Witsel as a DLP(S) for half of the season. Nothing wrong with the role, it worked wonders. I just swapped him to CM(S) to make my AP shine even more, but Witsel is a player with great passing, vision and technique so he will rack up key passes no mather what role.

• Did you use OI's?

No I didn't.

• Did you use any PI's?

Yes, when I changed Witsel from DLP(S) to CM(S) I gave him "Hold position" 'cause I didn't want him to venture forward too much in order to let my AP breathe.

• It's easy with Dortmund, why didn't you chose a mid table team?

I already knew Dortmund squad, and teams in Germany usually press a lot, which was good as a proof of concept that an AMC can shine even if  he's being harassed by the opponents. But most importantly, if you check real life examples of player stats that line up for mid table teams you would see that 5 or 6 assists per year is considered a great output. Wouldn't be much thrilling if I showed you how I can make an AP get 5 assists in a full season...

Edited June 5, 2020 by davidbarros2

[davidbarros2]

The number 10 in a wingerless formation

 

It's time for a wingerless challenge!

I have no experience with such kind of formations but I do love a good diamond in miedfield, my team (Porto) actually won a Champions League while using such a formation so, oh boy, it brings me back memories. Once again I resorted to @Rashidi - this time in FM 15:

Wait... 2 tactics? Well, this thread is about different options to achieve the same goal - give the AMC space to perform. I wrote about the different AMC's and what you can be expecting from them, so, once again this is a good framework to fiddle around with the AMC role and decide what do you want from him. For example, you can use a scorer role like SS and squeeze goals out of him if that's what you want your AMC to contribute.

I ended up using both tactics just to get acquainted with the formation itself as I am a rookie in wingerless formations. Perhaps I ended up playing the first one a little more than the second one.

These are the tactics revisited for FM 20:

Team instructions are again just to suit my personal tasting, and you can see that not many changes were made from the original tactic. If you look at the players behind and in front of the AMC you can see that I used the same principles I applied to the 4-4-1-1. I would love to see how other people are "creating space", so feel free to comment/criticize, I'm always eager to know more about the game.

Now... the 4-3-1-2 is actually tricky. There's much space on the flanks and between defense-midfield, so not every player is suited to these roles. It's kinda obvious that the full backs and midfielders will run a lot - with and without the ball - so if you don't have these kind of attributes in your squad, you're much better using a different formation. I've chosen Sampdoria for this challenge, and I did good (better than I was expecting) but I always felt my players were not good enough for these requirements. I really need to thank set pieces, and perhaps my Ass Man as I was holydaing through the season, for the position I ended up at the league table 

The most interesting league stat for me was this, I liked my squad but I never felt they were capable of this:

Let's meet the number 10 ... ladies and gentlemen I give you Gaston Ramírez! Decent player traits, natural AMC, and fairly inconsistent if I might add. I don't know if it's player related, formation, the opponent's quality or the deep formations I faced.

He had a good season - to my standards at least - and here's more stats:

Even when not scoring/assisting, he was always there to spread our play and ended up getting higher ratings even in games with no direct influence in the result. These are not his best performances, but you can see he's heavily involved within our play to make an impact:

(Gotta love those 10 key passes )

I leave the rest to the FAQ's, and feel free to judge and comment 'cause I do believe this work can be fine tuned even further with your contribution.

 

FAQ:

 

• Is it okay if I change some team instructions?

Yes, if you know what you are doing.

• Can I change some player roles?

Yes, you can. On purpous I showed two different variations of the same formation just to show that it's possible to change player roles and even duties. @Rashidi used an AM instead of an AP to a great effect and there's no reason why that can't still work.

• How were the goals spread up to your team?

Both my strikers were my top performers goals wise, seconded by the AMC. Full backs and midfielders also contributed.

• Did the assists from the AMC came from set pieces?

Some did. I scored a lot from set pieces, mostly direct free kicks 'cause both Gabbiadini and Quagliarella were up to the task. But I did see Gaston Ramírez assisting from corners a few times.

• Who's the most important player?

Believe it or not I would say everyone minus the front three. Sounds contradicting but this formation have heavy requirements and I did feel my players were not the most adequate for it. But if you can't have decent full backs and ball winning miedfielders you're front three won't be fed 'cause the ball won't get to them, simple as that. The downfall of this system relies on the flanks, so, attacking attributes are quite nice to have but the full backs need to be good defensively aswell, and you must pay attention to what is happening on the pitch and restrict your flanks to deal with the opposition attack, such as changing the roles to FB (S) - just an example - when the AI is throwing everything at you down on that flank.

• Did you use OI's?

No I didn't. But this is the kind of formation where I probably should've used. Having obvious flaws in the flanks and no CDM I could use OI's to mitigate those risks.

• Did you use any PI's?

Yes, the wider players on the MC strata have "Hold position" and "Stay wider". The strikers and the AMC have "Close down more" and "Tackle harder". If your AMC has good finishing and your strikers can dribble and cross it might pay off the tell your strikers to "Stay wider" aswell.

• Why Sampdoria now?

Italy is the home of the Trequartista. The italian league gave me what the german league could not, teams that sat deep and usually lined up with deep formations, this time the challenge would be not to see if my AMC could perform while being harassed but instead see if he could perform when there are opponents parking the bus ahead of him.

Edited June 8, 2020 by davidbarros2

[Djuicer]

I feel the 10 can work in the game. To be fair its really hard for 10s to shine irl too. How many teams actually use true 10s as 10s? Not that many if we are totally honest. Most are shuffled out wide or play as strikers/F9 or are moved deeper down to get more time on the ball.

example of a ”modern 10” - Jesse Lingard, good runner and presser.

example of a player moved down - Miralem Pjanic. A true classical 10 often fielded deeper.

example of a player moved to the wings - Jack Grealish, a traditonal 10 often deployed on a flank.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Djuicer

[davidbarros2]

I do agree with everything you just said @Djuicer.

I feel the 10 can work in the game and my aim is to show - at least one of the many possible ways - the WHY and the HOW. These few first posts are just to give people some context.

Identify the issue, then formulate a theory, and at last prove it (hopefully right).

Edited June 5, 2020 by davidbarros2

[Zendahl]

Great thread, i have myself played a 4231 where the AM is performing really well. Although my goal for him was to be a player that created space and got on the end of things. Basically its a bit of a recreation of the Ajax 4231 of the 18/19 season, not completely accurate ofcourse as you cannot replicate the way De Jong played in that side on FM. But it looks a bit like this on a positive mentality:

DLF (Su)

IF (Su)   AM (At)   IW (Su)

Regista (Su)   DM (Su)

CWB (Su)   BPD (Co)   BPD (De)   CWB (Su)

SK (De)

So basically what i get out of this is i get kind of a False 10 - False 9 (didnt choose the F9 role due to the roles hardcoded behaviour not holding up the ball) relationship which creates space in itself for the players on the wings and my central midfielders to get into aswell as the opposing backline not knowing whether to follow my striker dropping deep or my AM moving into space. Also what is very important is that i chose my central players to play in the DM strata which makes their starting position deeper than if they were in the CM strata. Couple the AM on attack with 2 support roles who are willing to go up the pitch (especially the regista) creates a huge space in which my primary playmaker can operate. In front of that playmaker I have 4 players who are capable of both scoring and creating which is exactly what has happened.

Sorry if I hijacked a bit. but I wanted to chip in with another way you can use the number 10

[davidbarros2]

26 minutos atrás, Zendahl disse:

Great thread, i have myself played a 4231 where the AM is performing really well. Although my goal for him was to be a player that created space and got on the end of things. Basically its a bit of a recreation of the Ajax 4231 of the 18/19 season, not completely accurate ofcourse as you cannot replicate the way De Jong played in that side on FM. But it looks a bit like this on a positive mentality:

DLF (Su)

IF (Su)   AM (At)   IW (Su)

Regista (Su)   DM (Su)

CWB (Su)   BPD (Co)   BPD (De)   CWB (Su)

SK (De)

So basically what i get out of this is i get kind of a False 10 - False 9 (didnt choose the F9 role due to the roles hardcoded behaviour not holding up the ball) relationship which creates space in itself for the players on the wings and my central midfielders to get into aswell as the opposing backline not knowing whether to follow my striker dropping deep or my AM moving into space. Also what is very important is that i chose my central players to play in the DM strata which makes their starting position deeper than if they were in the CM strata. Couple the AM on attack with 2 support roles who are willing to go up the pitch (especially the regista) creates a huge space in which my primary playmaker can operate. In front of that playmaker I have 4 players who are capable of both scoring and creating which is exactly what has happened.

Sorry if I hijacked a bit. but I wanted to chip in with another way you can use the number 10

Nothing to be sorry about, that was precisely what I was after.

I didn't spoke about the deep 4-2-3-1 because it's explained in detail in the @Cleon thread, but i do love the formation and it's always helpfull to have some ideas of how other people are addressing (and fixing) the same issues. Really appreciate your input.

[Zendahl]

2 minutes ago, davidbarros2 said:

Nothing to be sorry about, that was precisely what I was after.

I didn't spoke about the deep 4-2-3-1 because it's explained in detail in the @Cleon thread, but i do love the formation and it's always helpfull to have some ideas of how other people are addressing (and fixing) the same issues. Really appreciate your input.

Exactly, I feel too many complain without having read through what people like @Cleon @Rashidi aswell as @Ö-zil to the Arsenal! has written. Cleon and Rashidi are more technical in their explaining than Ö-zil is but I personally enjoy reading his more loose way of explaining things as I can relate that to real life football more easily. But as you said Cleon has explained it before but I think its being overlooked too much by players that has recently got into Football Manager as they simply do not know these guides and explanatory threads exist.

[kandersson]

Great thread! Love No.10's and hate wingers so waiting for your 4th post 

[camoulton21]

Really good thread @davidbarros2 on possibly the hottest tactical topic in FM. I'm looking forward to your take on the 10 in the wingerless installment as I'm using a narrow formation in one of my saves and I'm sure you will give me something informative to think about. 

My opinion on the AMC position has a lot to do with what role you give them. The AMC position is synonymous with a playmaker role which means that it's vital they have attacking runners ahead of the to deliver those killer balls. The False 10 roles (AM-A and SS) need this less as there job in the team is less about creating opportunities for others and usually systems that use False 10s creativity comes from elsewhere. 

[Zendahl]

13 minutes ago, camoulton21 said:

Really good thread @davidbarros2 on possibly the hottest tactical topic in FM. I'm looking forward to your take on the 10 in the wingerless installment as I'm using a narrow formation in one of my saves and I'm sure you will give me something informative to think about. 

My opinion on the AMC position has a lot to do with what role you give them. The AMC position is synonymous with a playmaker role which means that it's vital they have attacking runners ahead of the to deliver those killer balls. The False 10 roles (AM-A and SS) need this less as there job in the team is less about creating opportunities for others and usually systems that use False 10s creativity comes from elsewhere. 

Whilst you make a good point in that the creativity comes from somewhere else when playing a False 10 I would want to suggest that he is creating as much for others as a regular 10 does, what does change is how he creates for others. Ajax's Donny Van de Beek is a perfect example of how a False 10 isnt the main creative source of the team but his off the ball movement is crucial in that he created space for De Jong, Tadic and Ziyech to be the driving forces when it came to creativity. But as I said, you make a valid point in that they have less creative responsibility than a normal 10.

[davidbarros2]

2 horas atrás, camoulton21 disse:

Really good thread @davidbarros2 on possibly the hottest tactical topic in FM. I'm looking forward to your take on the 10 in the wingerless installment as I'm using a narrow formation in one of my saves and I'm sure you will give me something informative to think about. 

My opinion on the AMC position has a lot to do with what role you give them. The AMC position is synonymous with a playmaker role which means that it's vital they have attacking runners ahead of the to deliver those killer balls. The False 10 roles (AM-A and SS) need this less as there job in the team is less about creating opportunities for others and usually systems that use False 10s creativity comes from elsewhere. 

You make a valid point @camoulton21. I'll hopefully release the next post in the next hours, but I will give you something in advance... wingerless formations are trickier. It's been a tough challenge, not only 'cause I choosed a mid table team this time, but mostly due to the natural flaws of the formation itself - the splace on the flanks and the overcrowdment of the center of the pitch.

But...what if... it isn't vital to have attacking runners ahead of the AMC for him to develop killer balls? The main challenge again, is to create space. The same principles I used in the 4-4-1-1 are still valid, but this time I lack width. If I can explore width I will disrupt my opponents horizontal compactness, which means, I will create space on the center. As long as I have space in the center, even support duties can be released on one-on-ones against the keeper. But yeah, that's just one approach, obviously yours is common sense and a pretty valid one.

[Guest]

I personally think the 10 worked in an unrealistic way in past iterations which has distorted some people's perceptions of its limitations.

[Jack722]

@davidbarros2 excellent post mate.

You had interesting thinking behind chooisng a DLFs to link up with your CAM, I would've chosen a more attacking role, to give the CAM an option for a through ball. 

One thing I always think about when building a side around a certain position is 'how much do I want the ball?'. On the one hand, you would want your technical CAM to have lots of touches on the ball and not have to be wasted defending, suggesting playing a possession based style. Whereas on the other hand, you would want to have as much a space as possible for your CAM to play through balls to Halaand, suggesting a counter attacking style with little possesion. How did you decide on your instrunctions?

So did you ever think about playing out of defence, in order to get the ball to your CAM's feet more instead of clearing to him? Or shorter passing in order to keep the ball more and give your CAM more touches on the ball? Or maybe you thought about 'pass into space' + 'more direct'? to encourage more risks and potentially get your CAM more key passes, and also allowing you to move the ball further in shorter time to catch the defence off guard?

[jozza800]

Looking forward to the write up about the AMC in narrow formations. I posted on the AdvPM thread that my new signing in my Sampdoria career was an utter disaster.

So much so that I am likely to go out and sign a winger and maybe move him into a deep lying forward.

[davidbarros2]

2 horas atrás, Jack722 disse:

@davidbarros2 excellent post mate.

You had interesting thinking behind chooisng a DLFs to link up with your CAM, I would've chosen a more attacking role, to give the CAM an option for a through ball. 

One thing I always think about when building a side around a certain position is 'how much do I want the ball?'. On the one hand, you would want your technical CAM to have lots of touches on the ball and not have to be wasted defending, suggesting playing a possession based style. Whereas on the other hand, you would want to have as much a space as possible for your CAM to play through balls to Halaand, suggesting a counter attacking style with little possesion. How did you decide on your instrunctions?

So did you ever think about playing out of defence, in order to get the ball to your CAM's feet more instead of clearing to him? Or shorter passing in order to keep the ball more and give your CAM more touches on the ball? Or maybe you thought about 'pass into space' + 'more direct'? to encourage more risks and potentially get your CAM more key passes, and also allowing you to move the ball further in shorter time to catch the defence off guard?

Thanks mate. Be aware that DLF(a) worked just as fine as DFL(s), they just produced different things. My instructions were just what I wrote on the thread, I tried to be faithfull to the original tactic just to show how a balanced tactic can be timeless, and I added pressing and distribution according to my personal liking.

But I do like the attacking mentality 'cause I'm accostumed to manage top teams, so I'm confortable with it and knew what it could give me. I didn't thought about it but there isn't any reason why it woudln't work in a more shorter passing/possession style. But I can tell you this, in an attacking mentality and with so many space in front of the midfield, no reason for pass into space, my players were already doing that  but I reckon that could be helpfull situationally or with combination with some team instructions led to produce a different football style.

Edited June 6, 2020 by davidbarros2

[davidbarros2]

Post 4: The number 10 in a wingerless formation -> updated 

Edited June 6, 2020 by davidbarros2

[davidbarros2]

NOTE: Can someone point me how to embed youtube videos inside a post? Looking forward to it in order to update this post...

What really grinds your gears?

We all like to see stuff like this, at least I know I do:

But not everything always goes according to the plan, and sometimes I see this:

Okay, it was a goal, I liked the play overall, but why not a through ball? My number 10 seems to have time on the ball, he seems to have space (AC Milan playing 4-4-2 surely helped for that), he has players ahead of him, he is on a high mentality and so does the player ahead of him, he is instructed t otry more riskier passes...

I'm not complaining 'cause I'm overall satisfied, but sometimes we can get nervous at the game for a playing not doing what he's instructed to do... but, the same happens in real life. Wouldn't it be boring if every player did (just) what the manager told him to?

Either way, I would like to hear your opinion... when something like this happens, who/what do you blame? The player? The attributes? His companions ahead of him? The tactic itself? The opposition? Player traits? Bad luck? Or... it just happens sometimes? I'll stick with the later 

Edited June 8, 2020 by davidbarros2

[Djuicer]

31 minutes ago, davidbarros2 said:

NOTE: Can someone point me how to embed youtube videos inside a post? Looking forward to it in order to update this post...

 

remove the s in https

 

[davidbarros2]

32 minutos atrás, Djuicer disse:

remove the s in https

 

Done now. Thank you for the help mate.

[Experienced Defender]

3 hours ago, davidbarros2 said:

But not everything always goes according to the plan, and sometimes I see this:

Okay, it was a goal, I liked the play overall, but why not a through ball?

When exactly did you expect him to play that through (killer) ball (in which second of the video)?

[davidbarros2]

I would say at 00:40?

[Experienced Defender]

Just now, davidbarros2 said:

I would say at 00:40?

That's exactly what I supposed you'll say 

Now, if you take a careful look, you'll notice that the potential recipient of that unplayed killer pass was clearly offside. Therefore, your AMC actually made an intelligent decision not to attempt the killer ball in this situation 

[jozza800]

I've been a critic of the through balls from AMC on this version of the game but I would say this isn't one of those situations. I've deffo seen worse.

It was a nice goal either way. Patiently worked.

[davidbarros2]

Indeed true  and thank you for pointing that out. Either way I can be glad 'cause giving space and time to the number 10 will eventually lead to good things, so I'm okay with it.

[OJ403]

Really enjoying this thread mate. In my save I've recently switched from a 442 to a 4411 to get more control over the game. However my AMC, like many people's, is inconsistent at best. You've given many ideas that will hopefully improve his output. Cheers!

14 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

17 hours ago, davidbarros2 said:

But not everything always goes according to the plan, and sometimes I see this:

Okay, it was a goal, I liked the play overall, but why not a through ball?

When exactly did you expect him to play that through (killer) ball (in which second of the video)?

You said you'd have expected the through ball at 0:40, however as rightly pointed out he was offside. Could he not have either:

• turned on it, took a couple of steps towards the goal and slipped through the right striker, assuming he made a run of course,

• or spun it out wide to the left back for him to square into the middle, similarly to how the goal ended up being scored?

[davidbarros2]

22 minutos atrás, OJ403 disse:

Really enjoying this thread mate. In my save I've recently switched from a 442 to a 4411 to get more control over the game. However my AMC, like many people's, is inconsistent at best. You've given many ideas that will hopefully improve his output. Cheers!

You said you'd have expected the through ball at 0:40, however as rightly pointed out he was offside. Could he not have either:

• turned on it, took a couple of steps towards the goal and slipped through the right striker, assuming he made a run of course,

• or spun it out wide to the left back for him to square into the middle, similarly to how the goal ended up being scored?

Glad I could help in any way.

I would go with your first option, having time to turn and space to run ahead, being is on an attacking duty. At least that's what I would do if I were playing, run with it till I no longer can 

[OJ403]

1 hour ago, davidbarros2 said:

Glad I could help in any way.

I would go with your first option, having time to turn and space to run ahead, being is on an attacking duty. At least that's what I would do if I were playing, run with it till I no longer can 

Its really refreshing actually to see a thread on the AMC that isn't all doom and gloom.

I feel like the fact he didn't do that is my major complaint with AMCs generally. They feel very static with the ball, except for in counters its quite rare I see mine dribbling despite me asking him to dribble more. I'm not sure thats what I'd do - if only I had the mobility 😂😂