Disclaimer:
First of all, despite the name, this is not an anti - football tactic. It can score enough goals to win games and some can be really aesthetic as well. It is however a tactic that primarily aims at having a water tight defense. This does not mean you will never concede. You will still concede through set pieces, extraordinary skill from your opponents, gigantic mistakes from your defense or sheer bad luck. The tactic does however ensure that it offers proper defensive cover at all times on all areas of the pitch without making you offensively impotent. It does require that you watch your matches at least in key highlights and that you do a minimum amount of preparation before each match. If you are not willing to put even the slightest effort it might not work as expected. A detailed explanation of the philosophy, framework and specific slider settings will be provided later on (for those who care for such things). For now, let's take a look at the formation itself and some key points since I don't want to bore everyone with details that only a few might be interested in:
Download Link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?i8ujddlmfbfdfd4Version 2: Check if your right DM has RFD set to sometimes, if not set it or re-download this version
http://www.mediafire.com/?fktf1sa7latwnj4Version 2 Classic:
Update: The "Version 2" is, by popular demand, simply a more attacking version of the original tactic. There is only one change in roles, the striker from a complete forward/support (or false nine if you like) becomes a complete forward/attack more or less. Basically he has a considerably higher mentality and he will often act as the spearhead of your attack, but will also open space for the attacking midfielders. Since he won't be dropping deep that often the emphasis on his attributes shifts a bit from creative/technical to being more of a poacher. Since I had many requests for a version that was not in classic format, I provided both versions. Something I feel worth pointing out is that it is very important to know when to switch between the two versions. After a while your team becomes too predictable and you need to change between the two versions to keep your opponents on your toes. This can make a massive difference.http://www.mediafire.com/?lxfi448m44t4fz8
Formation:
http://img139.imageshack.us/i/formationh.png/
As you can see it is a "deep" 4-2-3-1 formation. The player roles are almost identical to real life Real Madrid, with the exception of how the two DMs work.
Results:
1. Arsenal (no transfers
http://img543.imageshack.us/i/arsenalfinal.png/
2. Wolves (sold a few players, made a few transfers)
http://img843.imageshack.us/i/wolvesfinal.png/
(This was easily one of the most exciting games I've had in any FM. The title was decided in the very last match of the season. Sadly, my team completely
imploded under the pressure and registred their greatest defeat of the season when it mattered the most, a shamefull 4-0 loss to title rivals Arsenal an the Emirates.
Had we won, we would have been champions but it was a great season nevertheless, and we managed to beat United, City and Tottenham away amongst others.)
3. One of my best matches with Wolves:
http://img189.imageshack.us/i/againstchelsea.png/
Main Features:
- Compact formation that leaves little space between the lines, solid defensively against most formations and styles.
- Short passing, relatively high tempo with an emphasis on counter attacking and intricate passing patterns.
- Ball retention. The tactic aims to only take a shot when there is a real chance of scoring, and move the ball forward when the opposition's defense is vulnerable instead of gifting the ball through rushed attempts.
- Against quality opposition the possession is usually 50-50, against weaker teams it can go to 60-70% in your favour depending on your team and the oppossition.
- It does not require a very high overall team quality, provided you understand how it works and what players to use (more on this later).
- Uses inverted wingers. This is crucial for the current attacking setup.
- Constant, fluid movement by the forwards and patient build up play can be quite beautiful to watch at times.
Stuff You Must Do Before And During Games:
1. It is mandatory that you use OIs to always close down and show on weaker foot for the oppossition wingers.
2. If you are playing against a team with extremely agressive fullbacks or you see that the opponent is moving his fullbacks extremely high up the pitch in order to cross from
the byline, go to the tactic screen and set your wingers to specific mark their respective fullback.
3. You can use the show on weaker foot OI for other players you might deem usefull, but never use the closing down or tackling settings as it can jeopardise your
defensive function.
4. Always watch games in at least Key highlights. Personaly I watch important/difficult games in Extended but to each his own. It is crucial to lower the tackling settings to normal or easy (depending
on how brave you are) for any player that gets booked. It is equaly important to watch out for any changes in the opposition's formation and adjust your OIs immediately.
5. Since the corners are aimed at the far post make sure you always use a left footed player for right corners and right footed player for left corners. This makes a huge difference and even players with low corner attribute but with the "wrong" foot will work a lot better.
Match Preparation:
I always have it on the highest workload untill my team are accomplished in most areas, then lower it a bit. Since the main threat for your defensive record will be set pieces, I reccomend leaving it on Defending Set Pieces at all times, unless you sign new players and need your team to gel. It is very important for your team to get accustomed to your tactics, so arrange as many pre - season friendlies as possible. In my Wolves game for instance, in the first half of the season I really strugled to score and conceded many soft goals. Once my team became accomplished in most areas of my tactic I stoped conceding and starting playing really well up front. In the second part of the season I had only two defeats, conceded half the goals I previously had, and went from 7th position to title contenders.
Pitch Size:
Either minimum or narrow, or long and narrow I haven't tested all these combinations yet. Generally try and limit the width of the pitch as much as possible.
Team Talks, Mind Games, Media Handling and Chatting With Players
This is easily one of the most important areas of FM '11, possibly even more important than the tactic itself. There are a lot of guides out there so I would only like to state the obvious: use common sense. Always be honest with your team. When the team or a player is not performing, let them know it. When he is doing well, praise him. Always try to put pressure on the other managers. Make sure your team does not become complacent if you are a top side, or loose confidence after a few defeats (this especialy is a horrible scenario and it's quite hard to turn around). Be strict but fair. All that stuff. One can not stress the importance of man managment and morale in FM '11 - quite often it is what makes or breaks a team, provided you are using a moderately reasonable tactic.
Players You Need
First of all make sure you have a large enough squad, and that you train players in as many positions as possble according to their attributes. I would generally reccomend taking a look at SFraser's excellent team building posts. A qucik glance at players roles and what attributes to look for:
ST: This is basically a "false nine", or in other terms a Complete Forward. He needs to be able to drop deep and roam to create space for others, dribble and turn the defenders to create chances for himself, attempt killer passes, hold the ball and score though any means possible. There are not many strikers who can fullfil all these criteria perfectly. Personaly, I would prefer a "jack of all trades" here than a specialist striker like a target man or poacher. Fletcher for my Wolves team and Van Persie (at least on the few occassions when he wasn't injured) were brilliant in this role.
AMC: needs to score, pass, dribble and move into space off the ball
Wingers: go for the AM/ST type of winger, they need to dribble, pass, move into space and score. If they have low finishing teach them to round the keeper. The most important thing is that they are inverted wingers - left footed if they play on the right wing and vice versa. You can retrain any players you think suitable for this possition though.
DM left: all that matters is that he can defend.
DM right: should be a bit more technicaly gifted than the other one but the emphasis is still on the defense. Having a high score in the Long Shot attribute will get you a considerable amount of goals.
DL: an offensive wingback
DR: a more defensive fullback. Should still be fast, never use slow fullbacks no matter what their other defensive qualities may be. Also, if your fullbacks are not horrible in the air it will save you from conceding a few goals from crosses aimed at the far post.
DC left: a quicker, more agile player with good positioning and anticipation (the Cravalho role in Mourinho's Chelsea side or Ferdinand's role at United for example)
DC right: an aerial powerhouse and good tackler (the Terry role at Chelsea or Vidic at United)
GK: a good shot stopper that can deal with crosses. He won't be doing much sweeping.
What You Can (and are encouraged to) Tinker With
The offensive part. You might like a more direct aproach, or you migh have a thing for attacking down the flanks or you have this DM in your team with a great long shot attribute. The Tempo and Time Wasting settings are the default TC settings for short passing/control. The passing length I shamesly copied from Mr.Hough's winger tactic for FM 10 (with an exception or two), just because I really liked how it looked on the pitch, and because it worked well for my tactic. I have experimented with both shorter and more direct passing settings and it can still work, but I like the current setting from an aeshetic point of view and it really worked well for me. So credit here to Mr.Hough and his beautiful tactic.
Generally, feel free to tinker with any of the attacking settings (passing, RFD, RWB, crossing etc) for the wingers, strikers, fullbacks and DMs if you feel like it, although personaly I remain a big fan of the short passing school of thought for a variety of reasons. The core of the tactic really is the mentality framework, closing down, and defensive settings.
First of all, despite the name, this is not an anti - football tactic. It can score enough goals to win games and some can be really aesthetic as well. It is however a tactic that primarily aims at having a water tight defense. This does not mean you will never concede. You will still concede through set pieces, extraordinary skill from your opponents, gigantic mistakes from your defense or sheer bad luck. The tactic does however ensure that it offers proper defensive cover at all times on all areas of the pitch without making you offensively impotent. It does require that you watch your matches at least in key highlights and that you do a minimum amount of preparation before each match. If you are not willing to put even the slightest effort it might not work as expected. A detailed explanation of the philosophy, framework and specific slider settings will be provided later on (for those who care for such things). For now, let's take a look at the formation itself and some key points since I don't want to bore everyone with details that only a few might be interested in:
Download Link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?i8ujddlmfbfdfd4Version 2: Check if your right DM has RFD set to sometimes, if not set it or re-download this version
http://www.mediafire.com/?fktf1sa7latwnj4Version 2 Classic:
Update: The "Version 2" is, by popular demand, simply a more attacking version of the original tactic. There is only one change in roles, the striker from a complete forward/support (or false nine if you like) becomes a complete forward/attack more or less. Basically he has a considerably higher mentality and he will often act as the spearhead of your attack, but will also open space for the attacking midfielders. Since he won't be dropping deep that often the emphasis on his attributes shifts a bit from creative/technical to being more of a poacher. Since I had many requests for a version that was not in classic format, I provided both versions. Something I feel worth pointing out is that it is very important to know when to switch between the two versions. After a while your team becomes too predictable and you need to change between the two versions to keep your opponents on your toes. This can make a massive difference.http://www.mediafire.com/?lxfi448m44t4fz8
Formation:
http://img139.imageshack.us/i/formationh.png/
As you can see it is a "deep" 4-2-3-1 formation. The player roles are almost identical to real life Real Madrid, with the exception of how the two DMs work.
Results:
1. Arsenal (no transfers
http://img543.imageshack.us/i/arsenalfinal.png/
2. Wolves (sold a few players, made a few transfers)
http://img843.imageshack.us/i/wolvesfinal.png/
(This was easily one of the most exciting games I've had in any FM. The title was decided in the very last match of the season. Sadly, my team completely
imploded under the pressure and registred their greatest defeat of the season when it mattered the most, a shamefull 4-0 loss to title rivals Arsenal an the Emirates.
Had we won, we would have been champions but it was a great season nevertheless, and we managed to beat United, City and Tottenham away amongst others.)
3. One of my best matches with Wolves:
http://img189.imageshack.us/i/againstchelsea.png/
Main Features:
- Compact formation that leaves little space between the lines, solid defensively against most formations and styles.
- Short passing, relatively high tempo with an emphasis on counter attacking and intricate passing patterns.
- Ball retention. The tactic aims to only take a shot when there is a real chance of scoring, and move the ball forward when the opposition's defense is vulnerable instead of gifting the ball through rushed attempts.
- Against quality opposition the possession is usually 50-50, against weaker teams it can go to 60-70% in your favour depending on your team and the oppossition.
- It does not require a very high overall team quality, provided you understand how it works and what players to use (more on this later).
- Uses inverted wingers. This is crucial for the current attacking setup.
- Constant, fluid movement by the forwards and patient build up play can be quite beautiful to watch at times.
Stuff You Must Do Before And During Games:
1. It is mandatory that you use OIs to always close down and show on weaker foot for the oppossition wingers.
2. If you are playing against a team with extremely agressive fullbacks or you see that the opponent is moving his fullbacks extremely high up the pitch in order to cross from
the byline, go to the tactic screen and set your wingers to specific mark their respective fullback.
3. You can use the show on weaker foot OI for other players you might deem usefull, but never use the closing down or tackling settings as it can jeopardise your
defensive function.
4. Always watch games in at least Key highlights. Personaly I watch important/difficult games in Extended but to each his own. It is crucial to lower the tackling settings to normal or easy (depending
on how brave you are) for any player that gets booked. It is equaly important to watch out for any changes in the opposition's formation and adjust your OIs immediately.
5. Since the corners are aimed at the far post make sure you always use a left footed player for right corners and right footed player for left corners. This makes a huge difference and even players with low corner attribute but with the "wrong" foot will work a lot better.
Match Preparation:
I always have it on the highest workload untill my team are accomplished in most areas, then lower it a bit. Since the main threat for your defensive record will be set pieces, I reccomend leaving it on Defending Set Pieces at all times, unless you sign new players and need your team to gel. It is very important for your team to get accustomed to your tactics, so arrange as many pre - season friendlies as possible. In my Wolves game for instance, in the first half of the season I really strugled to score and conceded many soft goals. Once my team became accomplished in most areas of my tactic I stoped conceding and starting playing really well up front. In the second part of the season I had only two defeats, conceded half the goals I previously had, and went from 7th position to title contenders.
Pitch Size:
Either minimum or narrow, or long and narrow I haven't tested all these combinations yet. Generally try and limit the width of the pitch as much as possible.
Team Talks, Mind Games, Media Handling and Chatting With Players
This is easily one of the most important areas of FM '11, possibly even more important than the tactic itself. There are a lot of guides out there so I would only like to state the obvious: use common sense. Always be honest with your team. When the team or a player is not performing, let them know it. When he is doing well, praise him. Always try to put pressure on the other managers. Make sure your team does not become complacent if you are a top side, or loose confidence after a few defeats (this especialy is a horrible scenario and it's quite hard to turn around). Be strict but fair. All that stuff. One can not stress the importance of man managment and morale in FM '11 - quite often it is what makes or breaks a team, provided you are using a moderately reasonable tactic.
Players You Need
First of all make sure you have a large enough squad, and that you train players in as many positions as possble according to their attributes. I would generally reccomend taking a look at SFraser's excellent team building posts. A qucik glance at players roles and what attributes to look for:
ST: This is basically a "false nine", or in other terms a Complete Forward. He needs to be able to drop deep and roam to create space for others, dribble and turn the defenders to create chances for himself, attempt killer passes, hold the ball and score though any means possible. There are not many strikers who can fullfil all these criteria perfectly. Personaly, I would prefer a "jack of all trades" here than a specialist striker like a target man or poacher. Fletcher for my Wolves team and Van Persie (at least on the few occassions when he wasn't injured) were brilliant in this role.
AMC: needs to score, pass, dribble and move into space off the ball
Wingers: go for the AM/ST type of winger, they need to dribble, pass, move into space and score. If they have low finishing teach them to round the keeper. The most important thing is that they are inverted wingers - left footed if they play on the right wing and vice versa. You can retrain any players you think suitable for this possition though.
DM left: all that matters is that he can defend.
DM right: should be a bit more technicaly gifted than the other one but the emphasis is still on the defense. Having a high score in the Long Shot attribute will get you a considerable amount of goals.
DL: an offensive wingback
DR: a more defensive fullback. Should still be fast, never use slow fullbacks no matter what their other defensive qualities may be. Also, if your fullbacks are not horrible in the air it will save you from conceding a few goals from crosses aimed at the far post.
DC left: a quicker, more agile player with good positioning and anticipation (the Cravalho role in Mourinho's Chelsea side or Ferdinand's role at United for example)
DC right: an aerial powerhouse and good tackler (the Terry role at Chelsea or Vidic at United)
GK: a good shot stopper that can deal with crosses. He won't be doing much sweeping.
What You Can (and are encouraged to) Tinker With
The offensive part. You might like a more direct aproach, or you migh have a thing for attacking down the flanks or you have this DM in your team with a great long shot attribute. The Tempo and Time Wasting settings are the default TC settings for short passing/control. The passing length I shamesly copied from Mr.Hough's winger tactic for FM 10 (with an exception or two), just because I really liked how it looked on the pitch, and because it worked well for my tactic. I have experimented with both shorter and more direct passing settings and it can still work, but I like the current setting from an aeshetic point of view and it really worked well for me. So credit here to Mr.Hough and his beautiful tactic.
Generally, feel free to tinker with any of the attacking settings (passing, RFD, RWB, crossing etc) for the wingers, strikers, fullbacks and DMs if you feel like it, although personaly I remain a big fan of the short passing school of thought for a variety of reasons. The core of the tactic really is the mentality framework, closing down, and defensive settings.
