rocheyb
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In my previous thread, I explained that to become successful in FM14 with a team of modest means, like my Southampton save, you need to employ three sets of tactics and choose the most appropriate one to take on each opponent match-by-match:
http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...ics/158222-you-need-more-than-one-tactic.html
In this post, I'm going to expand upon the details of the 4-4-1-1 formation in particular. I will identify how it helps you to:
- Control and maintain possession
- Effectively deal with the transition from defence-to-attack
- Pose a multi-faceted attacking threat
- And highlight the importance of the Shadow Striker and Deep-Lying Forward in breaking the opposition's lines.
WHY TAKE MY ADVICE?
During the 2018/19 season, my Saints team really came into its own and after reaching the top of the table by the middle of the season, we then won 17, drew 1 and lost 1 of the back 19 fixtures to take the Premier League title by 11 points. We also won the Capital One Cup and the Europa League, beating Genoa (runners-up in Serie A) 5-1 in the Final at the Parc des Princes.
My role of honour in the game so far reads:
Premier League Champions: 2018/19
3rd Place: 2014/15
Europa League Winners: 2019
FA Cup Winners: 2016, 2018
League Cup Winners: 2019
League Cup Runners-Up: 2014, 2018
Community Shield Winners: 2016
View attachment 402744 View attachment 402743 View attachment 402742 View attachment 402741
Obviously I have improved my squad each summer. I now have 28 quality players (U21s don't have to be registered) plus a few youngsters who I use sparingly, mostly from the bench, in order to give first choice players a rest in preparation for the next match.
YOU NEED MORE THAN ONE TACTIC - BUT 4-4-1-1 IS KING
In that previous thread, I wrote about selecting tactics according to whether your team are favourites or underdogs. But as we progressed through the Treble-winning season and maintained our winning streak, we were increasingly touted as favourites, even against the traditional top four sides. So while I continued to switch from game-to-game, more often than not I settled on 4-4-1-1 or switched back to it if the match wasn't going to plan by half-time.
View attachment 402740 View attachment 402730 View attachment 402738
I set them up to play possession football; short passing instructions at the team level with chosen players trusted to go more direct or take more risks. The team is tasked to CONTROL possession and maintain BALANCED fluidity:
- GK (Defend) - Distribute to defenders; Pass it shorter
- RB (Support) - Close down more; Cross aim target man; Pass it shorter
- LB (Support) - Close down more; Cross aim target man; Cross more often; Pass it shorter
- CD (Defend) - Close down more; Pass it shorter
- CD (Defend) - Close down more; Pass it shorter
- BWM (Defend) - More direct passes; Mark tighter
- DLP (Support) - More direct passes; Close down more
- W_L (Attack) - Get further forward; Cross from byline; Cross aim target man
- W_R (Attack) - More risky passes; Cross from byline; Cross aim target man
- SS (Attack) - Move into channels; Pass it shorter; Shoot more often
- DLF (Support) - Pass it shorter; Move into channels
...AND INTRODUCING JAMES WARD-PROWSE ON THE TRIANGLE
One of the reasons this system works so well, with my squad of quality passers with good stamina throughout, is that it encourages the two central midfielders to dictate the play and to initiate passing triangles with their teammates all over the pitch:
- They collect short passes from the two centre-backs and use each other to find a way through the midfield to work the ball out wide;
- They link up with full-backs and wingers all along the wings, looking to create crossing opportunities, play through balls into the channels or switch the play to the opposite flank when defenders block the way;
- They exchange passes with the Shadow Striker in central areas, looking to work the ball to the edge of the opposition penalty area or spread the play to the flanks;
- And with the two front men going one-short-and-one-long, they have the option to play more direct passes into the channels or between the opposition centre-backs.
View attachment 402737 View attachment 402736 View attachment 402735 View attachment 402734
It is significant that the attributes of both my first choice central midfield players - Morgan Schneiderlin (BWM) and James Ward-Prowse (DLP) - list their preferences for long range passes and switching the play to the opposite flank. They are also my captain and vice-captain respectively. Ward-Prowse is the team's best set-piece taker, with 16 assists this season, so he is prone to achieving higher than average match ratings.
AUTOMATICALLY VERSATILE
The 4-4-1-1 is among the most versatile systems, in that the team will morph from 4-4-1-1 to 4-2-3-1 and on to 4-4-2 as they transition from defence to attack - primarily because a good Shadow Striker will recognise when he has no further part to play in the build-up; he now needs to get into the box alongside the Deep-Lying Forward and try to meet the winger's cross with a header or volley, effectively converting himself from an Attacking Midfielder to a Poacher, in-game.
Although your wide men are detailed as attacking wingers, when defending they will drop into their starting position on the outside of the horizontal midfield four, and players with good stats for Work Rate and Team Work will track back and help their full-back. They are then well-placed to take part in triangles to transition back to an attacking stance.
BREAKING THE LINES WITH THE REAL 4-4-2
When playing a traditional 4-4-2 set-up in FM, a common problem is one that has often afflicted the real-life England national team; they end up playing in straight lines, with very little connection from defence to midfield to attack. But with the 4-4-1-1 system, with central midfielders sitting deep, wingers pushing up and the two front men going one-deep-and-one-long, your team will either pull the opposition's midfield and defence into areas they don't want to go and create gaps to exploit in the process, or gain an advantage by occupying the spaces between their defence and midfield.
View attachment 402733 View attachment 402732
The Shadow Striker and the Deep-Lying Forward both have the seemingly contradictory instructions to drop deep (see the in-game positional descriptions) and to make runs into the channels (via your own individual player instructions). With players well-suited to these positions, they pull the opposition centre-backs apart and link with each other and the central midfielders to get through on goal, either down the centre or in the channels.
But when you think about teams that operate a 4-4-2 today, the two front men always operate with one behind the other, even if the deepest of the two doesn't have the kind of skills and range of passing that would identify him as a No.10; consider how Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez link up in the real Southampton team, or Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic for the new look Hull City. The best examples from history would have to include Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten for Milan and The Netherlands (on the few occasions that both players were fit); Hristo Stoichkov and Romario for Barcelona; Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes for Manchester United. In this formation, the Shadow Striker is the main goal threat, bursting beyond the DLF when playing through the centre or getting on the end of crosses during more dominant periods of possession.
Occasionally, particularly during fast counter attacks, both the front men will be in deep positions at the same time. This provides an opportunity for wingers to make runs into the channels between full-back and centre-back to attempt diagonal shots on goal.
TEMPO, TEMPO, TEMPO
You haven't experienced FM14 until your team has dominated possession from start-to-finish, hit every inch of the opposition's woodwork and ridiculed their defensive tactics, only to fail to score a goal and get picked off on the counter attack for an unlikely 0-1 defeat!
View attachment 402731
With the 4-4-1-1 formation, failure to score is most often because the wingers are getting to wide positions but constantly having their crosses blocked. Switching to ATTACK and FLUID, with a higher tempo and being more expressive, while turning off the retain possession option, will encourage your team to play one-and-two-touch football, move the ball quicker and look to create gaps in the opposition's defensive lines. When you get the goal(s) you need, you can switch back to controlling possession and seeing out the match.
FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
The best formations will help your team to pose goal threats from all angles, both for tactical advantage and as a form of insurance against injuries and the need to rest individual players from time-to-time. When competing on several fronts at the same time, you have to rotate constantly, so it's important to have as many different players that you can rely on to score a goal as possible. In this Treble-winning season, I had five players whose goal tallies reached double-figures, playing 4-4-1-1 most often but also 4-5-1 Assymetric and 4-5-1 V-Shaped Midfield:
24 - Jay Rodriguez (Shadow Striker)
21 - Christoffer Jorgensen (Deep-Lying Forward) [regen]
17 - Erik Gomez (Deep-Lying Forward) [regen]
14 - Tom Ince (Left Winger)
12 - Sercan Calik (Right Winger) [regen]
Two more players, including Jonjo Shelvey who is now a squad rotation player, got 8 goals each. All four of the wingers in my squad weighed-in with plenty of assists, with James Ward-Prowse getting the most from central midfield as my set-piece taker.
...BRING ON THE CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE!!!
http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...ics/158222-you-need-more-than-one-tactic.html
In this post, I'm going to expand upon the details of the 4-4-1-1 formation in particular. I will identify how it helps you to:
- Control and maintain possession
- Effectively deal with the transition from defence-to-attack
- Pose a multi-faceted attacking threat
- And highlight the importance of the Shadow Striker and Deep-Lying Forward in breaking the opposition's lines.
WHY TAKE MY ADVICE?
During the 2018/19 season, my Saints team really came into its own and after reaching the top of the table by the middle of the season, we then won 17, drew 1 and lost 1 of the back 19 fixtures to take the Premier League title by 11 points. We also won the Capital One Cup and the Europa League, beating Genoa (runners-up in Serie A) 5-1 in the Final at the Parc des Princes.
My role of honour in the game so far reads:
Premier League Champions: 2018/19
3rd Place: 2014/15
Europa League Winners: 2019
FA Cup Winners: 2016, 2018
League Cup Winners: 2019
League Cup Runners-Up: 2014, 2018
Community Shield Winners: 2016
View attachment 402744 View attachment 402743 View attachment 402742 View attachment 402741
Obviously I have improved my squad each summer. I now have 28 quality players (U21s don't have to be registered) plus a few youngsters who I use sparingly, mostly from the bench, in order to give first choice players a rest in preparation for the next match.
YOU NEED MORE THAN ONE TACTIC - BUT 4-4-1-1 IS KING
In that previous thread, I wrote about selecting tactics according to whether your team are favourites or underdogs. But as we progressed through the Treble-winning season and maintained our winning streak, we were increasingly touted as favourites, even against the traditional top four sides. So while I continued to switch from game-to-game, more often than not I settled on 4-4-1-1 or switched back to it if the match wasn't going to plan by half-time.
View attachment 402740 View attachment 402730 View attachment 402738
I set them up to play possession football; short passing instructions at the team level with chosen players trusted to go more direct or take more risks. The team is tasked to CONTROL possession and maintain BALANCED fluidity:
- GK (Defend) - Distribute to defenders; Pass it shorter
- RB (Support) - Close down more; Cross aim target man; Pass it shorter
- LB (Support) - Close down more; Cross aim target man; Cross more often; Pass it shorter
- CD (Defend) - Close down more; Pass it shorter
- CD (Defend) - Close down more; Pass it shorter
- BWM (Defend) - More direct passes; Mark tighter
- DLP (Support) - More direct passes; Close down more
- W_L (Attack) - Get further forward; Cross from byline; Cross aim target man
- W_R (Attack) - More risky passes; Cross from byline; Cross aim target man
- SS (Attack) - Move into channels; Pass it shorter; Shoot more often
- DLF (Support) - Pass it shorter; Move into channels
...AND INTRODUCING JAMES WARD-PROWSE ON THE TRIANGLE
One of the reasons this system works so well, with my squad of quality passers with good stamina throughout, is that it encourages the two central midfielders to dictate the play and to initiate passing triangles with their teammates all over the pitch:
- They collect short passes from the two centre-backs and use each other to find a way through the midfield to work the ball out wide;
- They link up with full-backs and wingers all along the wings, looking to create crossing opportunities, play through balls into the channels or switch the play to the opposite flank when defenders block the way;
- They exchange passes with the Shadow Striker in central areas, looking to work the ball to the edge of the opposition penalty area or spread the play to the flanks;
- And with the two front men going one-short-and-one-long, they have the option to play more direct passes into the channels or between the opposition centre-backs.
View attachment 402737 View attachment 402736 View attachment 402735 View attachment 402734
It is significant that the attributes of both my first choice central midfield players - Morgan Schneiderlin (BWM) and James Ward-Prowse (DLP) - list their preferences for long range passes and switching the play to the opposite flank. They are also my captain and vice-captain respectively. Ward-Prowse is the team's best set-piece taker, with 16 assists this season, so he is prone to achieving higher than average match ratings.
AUTOMATICALLY VERSATILE
The 4-4-1-1 is among the most versatile systems, in that the team will morph from 4-4-1-1 to 4-2-3-1 and on to 4-4-2 as they transition from defence to attack - primarily because a good Shadow Striker will recognise when he has no further part to play in the build-up; he now needs to get into the box alongside the Deep-Lying Forward and try to meet the winger's cross with a header or volley, effectively converting himself from an Attacking Midfielder to a Poacher, in-game.
Although your wide men are detailed as attacking wingers, when defending they will drop into their starting position on the outside of the horizontal midfield four, and players with good stats for Work Rate and Team Work will track back and help their full-back. They are then well-placed to take part in triangles to transition back to an attacking stance.
BREAKING THE LINES WITH THE REAL 4-4-2
When playing a traditional 4-4-2 set-up in FM, a common problem is one that has often afflicted the real-life England national team; they end up playing in straight lines, with very little connection from defence to midfield to attack. But with the 4-4-1-1 system, with central midfielders sitting deep, wingers pushing up and the two front men going one-deep-and-one-long, your team will either pull the opposition's midfield and defence into areas they don't want to go and create gaps to exploit in the process, or gain an advantage by occupying the spaces between their defence and midfield.
View attachment 402733 View attachment 402732
The Shadow Striker and the Deep-Lying Forward both have the seemingly contradictory instructions to drop deep (see the in-game positional descriptions) and to make runs into the channels (via your own individual player instructions). With players well-suited to these positions, they pull the opposition centre-backs apart and link with each other and the central midfielders to get through on goal, either down the centre or in the channels.
But when you think about teams that operate a 4-4-2 today, the two front men always operate with one behind the other, even if the deepest of the two doesn't have the kind of skills and range of passing that would identify him as a No.10; consider how Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez link up in the real Southampton team, or Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic for the new look Hull City. The best examples from history would have to include Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten for Milan and The Netherlands (on the few occasions that both players were fit); Hristo Stoichkov and Romario for Barcelona; Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes for Manchester United. In this formation, the Shadow Striker is the main goal threat, bursting beyond the DLF when playing through the centre or getting on the end of crosses during more dominant periods of possession.
Occasionally, particularly during fast counter attacks, both the front men will be in deep positions at the same time. This provides an opportunity for wingers to make runs into the channels between full-back and centre-back to attempt diagonal shots on goal.
TEMPO, TEMPO, TEMPO
You haven't experienced FM14 until your team has dominated possession from start-to-finish, hit every inch of the opposition's woodwork and ridiculed their defensive tactics, only to fail to score a goal and get picked off on the counter attack for an unlikely 0-1 defeat!
View attachment 402731
With the 4-4-1-1 formation, failure to score is most often because the wingers are getting to wide positions but constantly having their crosses blocked. Switching to ATTACK and FLUID, with a higher tempo and being more expressive, while turning off the retain possession option, will encourage your team to play one-and-two-touch football, move the ball quicker and look to create gaps in the opposition's defensive lines. When you get the goal(s) you need, you can switch back to controlling possession and seeing out the match.
FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
The best formations will help your team to pose goal threats from all angles, both for tactical advantage and as a form of insurance against injuries and the need to rest individual players from time-to-time. When competing on several fronts at the same time, you have to rotate constantly, so it's important to have as many different players that you can rely on to score a goal as possible. In this Treble-winning season, I had five players whose goal tallies reached double-figures, playing 4-4-1-1 most often but also 4-5-1 Assymetric and 4-5-1 V-Shaped Midfield:
24 - Jay Rodriguez (Shadow Striker)
21 - Christoffer Jorgensen (Deep-Lying Forward) [regen]
17 - Erik Gomez (Deep-Lying Forward) [regen]
14 - Tom Ince (Left Winger)
12 - Sercan Calik (Right Winger) [regen]
Two more players, including Jonjo Shelvey who is now a squad rotation player, got 8 goals each. All four of the wingers in my squad weighed-in with plenty of assists, with James Ward-Prowse getting the most from central midfield as my set-piece taker.
...BRING ON THE CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE!!!
Last edited:
but what training and stuff? OI?