4-2-3-1 How to play this form. to have a solid balance between defence and attack???

[vandamme84]

Hello guys

This would be probably my last thread, If I dont get any help or advices from you...

Main Issue:
Since I play FM 13 I had always problem with my defence, no matter what roles or duties I use, Its not good enough to be satisfied

I wanna explain shortly the situation:

I play with real madrid and I am in fifth season. Achievements till yet: Won 1 X spanish league (first season), 3 times second, won 2 X times the spanish cup, reached one time the cl-final.

The problem is I dont know how to set up the 4-2-3-1 formation to have a solid defence and attack???

@home I get very good results, score a lot but still concede every match one, against smaller teams, and similiar reputation teams.

Tactic @home:
Fluid, control, short passing, pressing, hard tackling, zonal marking, drill crossing and all the other settings are on default

formation: 4-2-3-1
neuer (gk defend)
danilo (FB automatic), ramos (cd defend), hummels (cd defend), alex sandro (wingback automatic)
gündogan (dlp defend), khedira (cm support) both ared used in the midfield center
di maria (winger support), özil (apm attack), ronaldo (IF attack)
higuain (af attack)

shouts:
look for overlap, play wider, work ball into box, play through defence, push higer up, retain possession

@away:

Really struggling away, doest matter small, middle or strong team,

fluid, standard or counter depens on the opponent, zonal marking, every other setting is on default
formation: 4-2-3-1
danilo (FB automatic), ramos (cd defend), hummels (cd defend), alex sandro (FB automatic)
gündogan (dlp defend), khedira (cm support) both ared used in the defence midfield
di maria (winger support), özil (apm attack), ronaldo (IF attack)
higuain (af attack)

shouts:
play narrower, exploit the flanks, work ball into box, run at defence or play through defence

Observations:

If I play a little bit more attack in the away games, then the opponent hit me on counter, or I concede more goals.
If I play more cautions, like my shape at the moment, then the opponent have more time and can do what they want, my players have then a too biding attitude!!!!

What could you recommend me to have a solid defence and at the meantime a good working attacking football with this 4-2-3-1 formation???

 

[Andras99]

I had the same problem with my version of the 4-2-3-1. It's true, most of the times i scored more than i conceded, but i struck gold when i tried out Raikan's Borussia tactic. I tested it with Bayern ( ) in the 3rd season. In the 1st 2 seasons i won 2 Bundesliga's 1 Supercup and 1 German Cup, and got knocked out of UCL in the 1st knock-out stage and in the quarter final.
In my third season, using the tactic i mentioned, i won the Bundesliga with 0 defeats, the Cup, and UCL. So my suggestion is to give it a try, and see if it improves your team. It sure worked like a charm for me.

 

[vandamme84]

Yeah probably, but with FC Bayern its more easy in Fm 13 isnt it?

I need help for my team and tactic... what can you recommend?

 

[Andras99]

At a quick look, i might suggest that you change Ozil to support and maybe have Khedira or someone else play as a BWM.
My version of the 4-2-3-1 had a DPL/BWM in the center. I used this tactic about 80% of the time with Chelsea, which is my main career. I tinkered with the BWM's instructions, and reduced his mentality bar to minimum (defensive). I started to receive less goals than way.
1 other thing i used for a while, was an asymetric 4-2-3-1. The 2 in the center were 1CM(DLP) and 1 DM( anchor). I used this mostly against stronger foes or on away games. The DLP, even with a defend role, moves a lot forward, so if you don't want to change anything with the tactic, you should probably reduce his forward runs and mentality.
ALso it might be the fullbacks. I was always caught on the counter because they went too many times forward.
You know the best why is your team receiving goals and how. Hope this helps, if now, share the tactic you use, some more experienced players can give you a hand too.

 

[united762000]

checkout this site by Eds. It is a great read and will give you incredible insight on how to set up your team with a 4-2-3-1 formation
Tactical Analysis: crooked 4-2-3-1 | The Coffeehouse: FM Discussion

Hello guys

This would be probably my last thread, If I dont get any help or advices from you...

Main Issue:
Since I play FM 13 I had always problem with my defence, no matter what roles or duties I use, Its not good enough to be satisfied

I wanna explain shortly the situation:

I play with real madrid and I am in fifth season. Achievements till yet: Won 1 X spanish league (first season), 3 times second, won 2 X times the spanish cup, reached one time the cl-final.

The problem is I dont know how to set up the 4-2-3-1 formation to have a solid defence and attack???

@home I get very good results, score a lot but still concede every match one, against smaller teams, and similiar reputation teams.

Tactic @home:
Fluid, control, short passing, pressing, hard tackling, zonal marking, drill crossing and all the other settings are on default

formation: 4-2-3-1
neuer (gk defend)
danilo (FB automatic), ramos (cd defend), hummels (cd defend), alex sandro (wingback automatic)
gündogan (dlp defend), khedira (cm support) both ared used in the midfield center
di maria (winger support), özil (apm attack), ronaldo (IF attack)
higuain (af attack)

shouts:
look for overlap, play wider, work ball into box, play through defence, push higer up, retain possession

@away:

Really struggling away, doest matter small, middle or strong team,

fluid, standard or counter depens on the opponent, zonal marking, every other setting is on default
formation: 4-2-3-1
danilo (FB automatic), ramos (cd defend), hummels (cd defend), alex sandro (FB automatic)
gündogan (dlp defend), khedira (cm support) both ared used in the defence midfield
di maria (winger support), özil (apm attack), ronaldo (IF attack)
higuain (af attack)

shouts:
play narrower, exploit the flanks, work ball into box, run at defence or play through defence

Observations:

If I play a little bit more attack in the away games, then the opponent hit me on counter, or I concede more goals.
If I play more cautions, like my shape at the moment, then the opponent have more time and can do what they want, my players have then a too biding attitude!!!!

What could you recommend me to have a solid defence and at the meantime a good working attacking football with this 4-2-3-1 formation???

 

[vandamme84]

At a quick look, i might suggest that you change Ozil to support and maybe have Khedira or someone else play as a BWM.
My version of the 4-2-3-1 had a DPL/BWM in the center. I used this tactic about 80% of the time with Chelsea, which is my main career. I tinkered with the BWM's instructions, and reduced his mentality bar to minimum (defensive). I started to receive less goals than way.
1 other thing i used for a while, was an asymetric 4-2-3-1. The 2 in the center were 1CM(DLP) and 1 DM( anchor). I used this mostly against stronger foes or on away games. The DLP, even with a defend role, moves a lot forward, so if you don't want to change anything with the tactic, you should probably reduce his forward runs and mentality.
ALso it might be the fullbacks. I was always caught on the counter because they went too many times forward.
You know the best why is your team receiving goals and how. Hope this helps, if now, share the tactic you use, some more experienced players can give you a hand too.

What would you set for the fullbacks for the away games? I have both on automatic with the standard strategy...

 

[Andras99]

Mine are on Defend against strong teams. Maybe man marking certain players like Bale, Walcott. It depends of the opponent.

 

[AVB on the rocks]

I cannot make any suggestions concerning the attack, i have never played with Real Madrid, but the best defence I managed to pull this far goes like this:

2 fullbacks (set on defend or support, depends on how hard the opposition is; never let them on default)
1 CB set on cover duty (mentality normal much closer to defensive, creative freedom the same, closer to little)
1 CB set on stopper duty (defensive, little creative freedom)

play deep defence so you let little space for the opposition strikers to move around, zonal marking always because if you use man-marking the stopper/cover team won”t work, and never play the offside trap for the same reason.

I don”t exactly know how Real defenders look like...usually I play with Tottenham.
The cover defender must have great pace, stamina, tackling and passing. The stopper could suck at passing, but this is the guy that should have high marks for marking, tackling and don”t ignore positioning and bravery. Heading high attribute is a must for both.
Works better if you have a defensive midfielder in front of them, could be a DLP, but always put him on defend duty.

Vertonghen and Pique would make great cover defenders, while players like Subotic, Papadopoulos and Boulahrouz are perfect stoppers. I am sure you have players like that at Real, or you should be able to buy some.