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343 CONTEBALL (STRIKERLESS)

For example you see Trippier getting inside too easy and folowing Rasford*IF* in to the middle and we losing our 5 at back shape too easy for them to open us and score imidialtely i conceded 3 goals in 25 min.

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I see what you mean but it's because he is following the ball... easy fix for this would be to have the WB set in a back 5 rather than a 3 and a 2... WB would be deep enough to not follow the IF inside... in fact that's not something I've tried yet as I don't like how it looks on the tactic screen but theoretically would function better in the ME
 
Biggest problem is I think so that even narrow system doesn't work well,once you see that someone made crazy good narrow system like in previous FM then you will know that should work 😉
I
I see what you mean but it's because he is following the ball... easy fix for this would be to have the WB set in a back 5 rather than a 3 and a 2... WB would be deep enough to not follow the IF inside... in fact that's not something I've tried yet as I don't like how it looks on the tactic screen but theoretically would function better in the ME
i am telling myself all the time the same thing but I cant just see flat 5 on the screen 😀
 
Not posible to defend properly with 3 at back with this match engine

It's all dependent on what is happening with the CM/DM and CB roles and what your asking them to do... a back 3 works works in the ME as long as the pressure is applied to the opposition defence when the ball is lost to force it long and as long as there is a reliable method for you to get the ball out and forwards... this tactic does both but like with any tactic there will always be shapes and styles it doesn't like same as in real football... I have faith that the back 3 works this year
 
Biggest problem is I think so that even narrow system doesn't work well,once you see that someone made crazy good narrow system like in previous FM then you will know that should work 😉
I

i am telling myself all the time the same thing but I cant just see flat 5 on the screen 😀

I will play about with it tomorrow and see if it makes any difference to the defensive shape and if it makes it less or more effective... like with the cheat code of the WCB taking the throwing...

Side note... 2d is the only way to play FM
 
I will play about with it tomorrow and see if it makes any difference to the defensive shape and if it makes it less or more effective... like with the cheat code of the WCB taking the throwing...

Side note... 2d is the only way to play FM
Yeah I am trying some new things also to minimised errors and made 3 at back enjoyable as many of us want 🤞
 
I've been using this tactic for 6 months with a very average Coventry in the second half of first season in Prem (stayed up but very streaky, some terrible hammerings) and first 6 months with Atalanta in Serie A (pretty good squad, quite well suited to the system too). I found three major issues for me:
  1. So many goals conceded from players dwelling on the ball or playing passes around the high back line being intercepted.
  2. A lot of chances conceded from direct balls over the top.
  3. Some games the two midfielders too far from the front three, who don't get involved and we don't score.
I made a few changes that are working very well so far for me at Atalanta - I feel it still is the same type of system, and it's massively dealt with [1] and [3] from my problems. [2] has improved, but that's more that I've been far more aggressive in play and the opposition haven't been able to attack in the same way, but I do think that still seems unresolved.
  • I pushed the centre SS into AF with Take more risks, Dribble more and Mark tighter. I felt this gave me a more focus point up front for through balls and wing-back crosses. Whilst I think Conte would be a target or presser, I have been very pleased with this adjustment.
  • I broke up the central pairing by
    • making the left-side a BBM, still just with Dribble more, Run wide, Move into channels and Tackle harder
    • leaving the right-side as DLP(s) but only with Tackle harder instruction.
    • I've found this helps bridge the gap between the flat 2 and flat 3 up front.
  • I changed the left WB to WB(s) to deal with the midfielder being further forward.
  • At the back, I
    • changed the right-side to CD(d) with just Tackle harder
    • changed the centre to remove Short passing
    • changed the left-side to remove Short passing
    • This seems to have fully dealt with my [1] issue above (which I think is also partly a match engine thing).
  • Maybe the WB and back-3 adjustment have also dealt with [2] a bit, with slightly less attacking bits on both sides.
Things I'm still considering:
  • Given the very high line, perhaps a Sweeper Keeper (d) would help mop things up a bit more for the long balls over, without causing them to start hitting long passes out?
  • Some players that I think should be good in the two SS roles don't perform well at all. I inherited Ismaila Sarr who I thought would be amazing, but he's awful in that role (but deadly as the AF!) Any input on types of players who have done well in those positions would be greatly appreciated (Woo-Yeong Jeong and Ademola Lookman are both in good form since my last tweaks, so maybe I'm getting there though)
Overall I really like your tactic, and I always want to play a back 3, maybe it's just my current squad but some of these tweaks may help out a bit.
 
Andy J
Can you share your tactic?

I love this basic tactic but I'm curious to try your corrections!

With this tactic I won the 2022 World Cup with Switzerland, very nice game!
 
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Andy J
Can you share your tactic?

I love this basic tactic but I'm curious to try your corrections!

With this tactic I won the 2022 World Cup with Switzerland, very nice game!

I'm struggling to get it exported (I'm playing FM23 Touch on Mac through Apple Arcade), it seems to not have permissions to let me export the tactic other than saving to the Cloud (which I then can't find the folder anywhere). If anybody has any suggestions that would be great!...

Otherwise, just take V2 and do the changes I put above, I have since added moving to a Sweeper Keeper Support but not sure that's made a huge improvement, I was thinking it gives another options for the back 3 to pass rather than short (and losing) or long (and risking losing).

New ME update, one game played won 4-0 away against mid-table so no massive negatives immediately obvious. The log says they've fixed some of the defensive mistakes so maybe the Shorter options could return at the back, but I'll give it a while.
 
I won Serie A with Atalanta, we were expected to finish 7th so it was very good. Some of my best players were getting very old so I decided to bring in younger options with the aim of top 6 and building. The match engine update coincided with the start of the new season.

Half-way through the new season I'm 1 point off top, with a good gap above 3rd place. It seems a realistic tactic, it's not exploiting the ME, just very good football and nice movements. I'm the top scorers in the league by some distance, and defensively pretty solid. I seem to concede from crosses or outside the box, but no major pattern that is overly concerning.

I've kept the Sweeper Keeper Support, I do think it is helping with an option for the defenders and hasn't got caught out yet.

I would love to change the central defender to a Libero Support to move out of defence as the midfielders push up, but I may be tinkering just for the sake of it.
 
I won Serie A with Atalanta, we were expected to finish 7th so it was very good. Some of my best players were getting very old so I decided to bring in younger options with the aim of top 6 and building. The match engine update coincided with the start of the new season.

Half-way through the new season I'm 1 point off top, with a good gap above 3rd place. It seems a realistic tactic, it's not exploiting the ME, just very good football and nice movements. I'm the top scorers in the league by some distance, and defensively pretty solid. I seem to concede from crosses or outside the box, but no major pattern that is overly concerning.

I've kept the Sweeper Keeper Support, I do think it is helping with an option for the defenders and hasn't got caught out yet.

I would love to change the central defender to a Libero Support to move out of defence as the midfielders push up, but I may be tinkering just for the sake of it.

Lovely stuff... the tactical shape does encourage lovely football at times and ball retention... I like the idea of a sweeper keeper on Support to help if needed when the press is high from opponent... currently have the 2x DLP in the DM slots and that's helping... ill release it at some point as made other tweeks too lol... as for Libero I wanted it to work so badly but it doesn't work as the gap he leaves is too big for the other CB to cover
 
as for Libero I wanted it to work so badly but it doesn't work as the gap he leaves is too big for the other CB to cover

That's good to know, you've saved me a lot of pain as I would've really tried to find a way to shoehorn it in whilst breaking everything else to accommodate it!

You've made such a great tactic here, really appreciate it!
 
I've been using this tactic for 6 months with a very average Coventry in the second half of first season in Prem (stayed up but very streaky, some terrible hammerings) and first 6 months with Atalanta in Serie A (pretty good squad, quite well suited to the system too). I found three major issues for me:
  1. So many goals conceded from players dwelling on the ball or playing passes around the high back line being intercepted.
  2. A lot of chances conceded from direct balls over the top.
  3. Some games the two midfielders too far from the front three, who don't get involved and we don't score.
I made a few changes that are working very well so far for me at Atalanta - I feel it still is the same type of system, and it's massively dealt with [1] and [3] from my problems. [2] has improved, but that's more that I've been far more aggressive in play and the opposition haven't been able to attack in the same way, but I do think that still seems unresolved.
  • I pushed the centre SS into AF with Take more risks, Dribble more and Mark tighter. I felt this gave me a more focus point up front for through balls and wing-back crosses. Whilst I think Conte would be a target or presser, I have been very pleased with this adjustment.
  • I broke up the central pairing by
    • making the left-side a BBM, still just with Dribble more, Run wide, Move into channels and Tackle harder
    • leaving the right-side as DLP(s) but only with Tackle harder instruction.
    • I've found this helps bridge the gap between the flat 2 and flat 3 up front.
  • I changed the left WB to WB(s) to deal with the midfielder being further forward.
  • At the back, I
    • changed the right-side to CD(d) with just Tackle harder
    • changed the centre to remove Short passing
    • changed the left-side to remove Short passing
    • This seems to have fully dealt with my [1] issue above (which I think is also partly a match engine thing).
  • Maybe the WB and back-3 adjustment have also dealt with [2] a bit, with slightly less attacking bits on both sides.
Things I'm still considering:
  • Given the very high line, perhaps a Sweeper Keeper (d) would help mop things up a bit more for the long balls over, without causing them to start hitting long passes out?
  • Some players that I think should be good in the two SS roles don't perform well at all. I inherited Ismaila Sarr who I thought would be amazing, but he's awful in that role (but deadly as the AF!) Any input on types of players who have done well in those positions would be greatly appreciated (Woo-Yeong Jeong and Ademola Lookman are both in good form since my last tweaks, so maybe I'm getting there though)
Overall I really like your tactic, and I always want to play a back 3, maybe it's just my current squad but some of these tweaks may help out a bit.
tried this but noticed the AF wasn't doing too much, changed to pressing forward and it just clicked, was smashing teams 4-0 and 5-0 on average, couldn't believe how well the tactic was working.
 
tried this but noticed the AF wasn't doing too much, changed to pressing forward and it just clicked, was smashing teams 4-0 and 5-0 on average, couldn't believe how well the tactic was working.
Hey, would you mind passing me your tactic because I don't really understand English much and I get lost with the translation, thanks
 
Thanks for the upload!

I tested it on a few games, it's quite interesting as a variation but the original tactic still seems to work better. (at least for the moment).
 
Been using the V2 and tweaked the 2 CM to DM with Segundo Volante on support and so far it seems to be working incredibly well. Looking forward to a V3 if it drops ;).
Will carry on testing and if it carries on being successful then will share results and recommend!
 
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