After releasing IL DEVASTO, I slowly started developing what I wanted to be THE killer tactic. I didn't want to develop any old tactic though. I wanted the tactic to completely resemble my own personal footballing philosophy. I am a big fan of counter attacking football and what I call transitional formations (when a formation changes depending on whether your team has possession of the ball or not).
The formation employed is a 4-2-3-1 in my eyes, however you can call it whatever you wish. Let's call it THE TROOPER formation, because it counter attacks rapidly like the song 'Iron Maiden - The Trooper' and if you haven't yet realised, the formation too looks like a plane.
You want strong, solid center backs who are good in the air.
Good full backs who can tackle as well as run forward and make crosses into the box.
Your two defensive midfielders have to be good in the air and are your ball winners.
The central midfielder finds himself often making runs from time to time as well as acting as the catalyst of the side. He connects the defence to the attack.
The wingers track back and help out the team. They have to be pacey and must be good crossers of the ball.
The lone striker has to be an all rounder. He needs pace, finishing ability and it would help greatly if he was good in the air as well.
You will find your team playing some nice 'on the floor' football when they have possession. However, when off the ball every player knows their defensive duty and a mixture of - 1) zonal & man marking, 2) pressing & standing off - is used to effectively pressurize and simultaneously confuse your opposition. You will get the ball back and your team will counter attack beautifully. Each player too knows their role when going forward and after a season or two of enforcing this philosophy upon your players, you will find that they do it with their eyes closed.
An example of a bog standard everyday counter attacking goal with this tactic can be viewed within the video below. There are two reasons I used this clip. One, because it happened on my FM save whilst writing this. Two, the initial assist by Mendez (the amazing back pass at 0:15) was beautiful to watch. It emphasized how fluid the tactic's philosophy is upon the players and how little effort it takes them to score a goal after the opposition fall straight into their trap.
THE TROOPER FM13 - YouTube
I won't go on for too long regarding this tactic. The results speak to themselves. I rotated this tactic with IL DEVASTO in my first two seasons where it was beneficial to play with two strikers. However, after establishing myself as a top side, my two midfielders would struggle against teams who had three in midfield... and so THE TROOPER came to existence.
- Large pitch size.
- Tactics Only training until 1-2 weeks after 100% familiarity. Teamwork for about 2-3 months. Once you approach December/January, let your assistant take control of training. 2-3 months later switch back to Teamwork. Continue this loop.
- No opposition instructions.
- Make sure you have the right player types. I've won two Premier Leagues, two Community Shields and reached a Europa league final with a mediocre squad which should be mid table at best.
Results:
Here is the mediocre side that won the PL:
Consecutive PL titles:
Jordan Rhodes has won too many awards to count in all honesty:
Second season squad, still nothing compared to the £60M+ that Utd, City, Chelsea spent (apologise for the cut off image):
The formation employed is a 4-2-3-1 in my eyes, however you can call it whatever you wish. Let's call it THE TROOPER formation, because it counter attacks rapidly like the song 'Iron Maiden - The Trooper' and if you haven't yet realised, the formation too looks like a plane.
You want strong, solid center backs who are good in the air.
Good full backs who can tackle as well as run forward and make crosses into the box.
Your two defensive midfielders have to be good in the air and are your ball winners.
The central midfielder finds himself often making runs from time to time as well as acting as the catalyst of the side. He connects the defence to the attack.
The wingers track back and help out the team. They have to be pacey and must be good crossers of the ball.
The lone striker has to be an all rounder. He needs pace, finishing ability and it would help greatly if he was good in the air as well.
You will find your team playing some nice 'on the floor' football when they have possession. However, when off the ball every player knows their defensive duty and a mixture of - 1) zonal & man marking, 2) pressing & standing off - is used to effectively pressurize and simultaneously confuse your opposition. You will get the ball back and your team will counter attack beautifully. Each player too knows their role when going forward and after a season or two of enforcing this philosophy upon your players, you will find that they do it with their eyes closed.
An example of a bog standard everyday counter attacking goal with this tactic can be viewed within the video below. There are two reasons I used this clip. One, because it happened on my FM save whilst writing this. Two, the initial assist by Mendez (the amazing back pass at 0:15) was beautiful to watch. It emphasized how fluid the tactic's philosophy is upon the players and how little effort it takes them to score a goal after the opposition fall straight into their trap.
THE TROOPER FM13 - YouTube
I won't go on for too long regarding this tactic. The results speak to themselves. I rotated this tactic with IL DEVASTO in my first two seasons where it was beneficial to play with two strikers. However, after establishing myself as a top side, my two midfielders would struggle against teams who had three in midfield... and so THE TROOPER came to existence.
- Large pitch size.
- Tactics Only training until 1-2 weeks after 100% familiarity. Teamwork for about 2-3 months. Once you approach December/January, let your assistant take control of training. 2-3 months later switch back to Teamwork. Continue this loop.
- No opposition instructions.
- Make sure you have the right player types. I've won two Premier Leagues, two Community Shields and reached a Europa league final with a mediocre squad which should be mid table at best.
Results:
Blackburn Rovers
1st Prem Winning Season
1st Prem Winning Season
Here is the mediocre side that won the PL:
Consecutive PL titles:
Jordan Rhodes has won too many awards to count in all honesty:
Second season squad, still nothing compared to the £60M+ that Utd, City, Chelsea spent (apologise for the cut off image):
Last edited: