4-4-2 tactic with Benitez flavour

[Zebedee]

Hi guys,

this is the first time I've ever posted tactics for others to use despite having played football management games since Noah was a boy.

The reason I'm posting them is that it seems FM 2009 is increasingly confusing and annoying people. It is no longer a case (if it ever was) of one tactic even for one match seeing you through to glory and success.

One crucial collection of wisdom is the TTF download on tactics. It's absolutely invaluable in explaining how things work. My tactics are very basic models based upon that. Any similarities with other people's tactics are purely that - I have never downloaded anyone else's tactics in my life. I can however thoroughly recommend Tug's training schedules which I have used since their first appearance.

Some Important Notes

For the moment I'll just post them one at a time as I'm having to make them more 'generic' for other people to use - things like dribbling and long shots, even sometimes passing are very much player specific and need to be adapted for your own team, however the tactics I post will give your team a sound base from which to tinker. There are 6 variants of the 4-4-2 I use - ultra-defensive, defensive, standard, control, attacking and ultra-attacking. It's worth keeping in mind that you may need to switch within matches for success. The tactics are also currently designed for lower league teams - you will be able to lower passing a few notches for Premiership standard clubs should you wish. I tend to check my assistant's report every 10 minutes or so of a match as his ability to spot potential threats and problems is excellent but if the standard variant is getting you nowhere then switching to attacking for a 10 minute spell could get your nose in front, or if you're being swamped then switching to defensive and hitting on the break is a natural antidote. I'm not promising you a magic one shot solution for every occasion.

The philosophy of the tactic is easily explained. 5 players on the pitch are primarily defenders, 5 are primarily attackers. This means you'll be fairly tough to beat which means even an average team can grind out 1-0s. When on form, or with the right players and the right variant for that day, you will see 6-0s and more. Do not expect miracles straight away. Your team may well struggle for a few games initially before things 'click' for them. If you are introducing these tactics into the middle of a season, play the defensive formation as your initial formation to minimise this problem. Pre-season is probably the best time to do this.

The five defenders are your back four and a centre midfielder with a defensive mindset. The two fullbacks in the standard setting, while retaining a defensive mindset, are encouraged to get forward as much as possible. Fullbacks able to play as wingbacks love this formation and when on top of a team you'll see them overlap to create chances.

The five attackers are split between the two wingers and your 'finisher' and the support striker and the attacking midfielder. I use a target man, but allow him to change position with the other striker, and tailor how I feed him to specific match situations and his own specific skills. In more defensive variants the wingers tuck in and are allowed less freedom with more emphasis placed on the attacking midfielder and the support striker being able to create chances.

One formation the opposition will play against you which requires considerable use of Opposition Instructions is the 4-2-0-3-1. This formation is the AI's usual response in the second season. Otherwise OI should follow both the philosophies in the TTF download when listening to your assistant manager.

Any questions, comments and other general feedback is greatly appreciated, but for now here is the standard 4-4-2 with others to follow soon.

 

[Zebedee]

Defensive Variant

This is a counterattacking variant which keeps the fullbacks back home, tightens up the wings by removing the wingers free roles and makes the central midfield a bit tighter (not overly as your main attacking fulcrum will tend to be the attacking midfielder) while attempting to play your forwards into space behind the defence.

Adjusting the strikers forward runs may well be necessary because if you're under sufficient pressure to have to play this tactic then the chances are the opposition will be pressing up. Keep an eye on how many offsides are being given and against which striker and then lower the setting as required.

It's usually my default tactic for matches against superior opposition, going to standard if the match is going better than I expected or going ultradefensive if they are creating too many chances even against this tactic. It's also a useful tactic for those matches you are winning comfortably but wouldn't mind any breakaway goal you can get without continuing to push forward.

As with the standard form of the tactic, this has been designed for a league 2 team with regards to passing settings. Better quality and worse will require adjustments either towards shorter passing or longer.

 

[Mally]

Sounds good mate.

 

[Zebedee]

Sounds good mate.

Hope it's of some use. As I say in the opening post, all I am doing is providing basic frameworks from which you can then go on and experiment with for the individual players of your own team. All credit really goes to the TTF guys.

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Attacking Variant

This is the standard high pressure attacking variant. Be aware that the defensive line moves up and so you will be vulnerable to balls over the top - exceptionally vulnerable if your keeper is not good at coming off his line to sweep and/or your defenders have no pace.

Better teams will, if you use this tactic for too long in a match, ultimately tear you apart. Or cave in totally and you'll see match reports about them being 'totally demoralised' and 'shell shocked'.

As ever, passing is set for a league 2 standard team so adjust accordingly. Note too that in order to aid ball retention your central defensive trio and keeper have a much lower passing range than normal. Truly awful passers of the ball will make mistakes - risk vs reward.

 

[nickoh_lvp]

Sounds good, i will try it with QPR.


I have some defensive problem and i don't score much.

 

[Zebedee]

Sounds good, i will try it with QPR.


I have some defensive problem and i don't score much.

Hope the tactic and variants help you out mate. If you've got level appropriate players then once the 'settling in' period is over, you should be able to hold your own in the league. Please let me know how it's going and if you have any questions, by all means ask

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Ultra Attacking Variant.

This is the 'last five minutes of a cup tie and you're one goal down' tactic. Overuse of this variant will get you beaten handily by even teams well below your level (most of the time....). But for a 5 - 10 minute last gasp effort and an attempt to throw the piping as well as the kitchen sink at the opposition, then it's worth a shot once all other options have failed.

The defence pushes so far forward your central defenders get nosebleeds, your wingers and fullbacks end up with chalky boots whilst your forwards push as far forward as they possibly can.

It can work as a shock tactic to overwhelm even the tightest defence when they're still in the starting blocks (cup ties against much higher opposition just after kickoffs) - as some old wise man said, if you don't buy a ticket, you can't win the raffle. But use with caution

This was designed for a league 2 team, so once more, adjusting the passing would pay dividends for better quality players. You might also wish to have your keeper playing in the classic Columbian mode, but worth remembering Roger Milla too

 

[nickoh_lvp]

The problem in my team es that i bought many players (8 in first team + one regen for U.18)


I test the attacking variant and works very good, thanks

 

[Anton86]

Yeah I love this tactic it's very solid. I don't win all my games but it's just bad luck. I'm switching between this one and sometimes the DPMM tactic from the other topic.

 

[Zebedee]

The problem in my team es that i bought many players (8 in first team + one regen for U.18)


I test the attacking variant and works very good, thanks

I did something similar in my first season with Newport, but mixing up the different variants of the tactic had me scrape winning the Blue Square North (edit: duh! south meant) on the last day by goal difference with a team meant to have finished mid-table.

Glad at least one of the variants worked for you. As you can probably tell, I'm quite defensively minded as a manager so even the attacking version is fairly solid. With QPR's players, you might want to increase creativity a little too and see if that unlocks defences a bit more easily.

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Yeah I love this tactic it's very solid. I don't win all my games but it's just bad luck. I'm switching between this one and sometimes the DPMM tactic from the other topic.

You do have to choose the right variant for the team you're facing on that day but I'm glad whichever variant you've chosen to go with your DPMM tactic has worked ok for you . These tactics (other than the ultra attacking variant) are probably a little more defensively minded than the DPMM one and so if you're using that as your base to unlock defences, then even the standard one will help tighten your defence up when you're ahead. Hope the mix continues to work well for you

 

[Trophy_Whorder]

well sound sgd m8 am usin spurs at the mo and defoe one man army top league scoer 30 goals

but leek lots f goals any tips

 

[Zebedee]

well sound sgd m8 am usin spurs at the mo and defoe one man army top league scoer 30 goals

but leek lots f goals any tips

Are you switching to a more defensive variant when you're under pressure mate? Are the goals coming from one place more than any others indicating a weak link in the side? Decent fullbacks are needed by the system, so if your fullbacks are a bit iffy then pulling their forward runs down a step for each system above defensive will tighten things up. Are you using Opposition Instructions (guided by your assistant) to neutralise the oppositions' threat players? A bit of man-marking with a bit of OI will make this formation a nightmare to play against with the opposition tending to score the odd 30 yard screamer but not much else. How's your keeper? Is he clearing up through balls? Do you have at least one central defender with decent pace? Is your defensively minded midfielder doing his job and closing down space between defence and midfield? Are you closing down too much or too little (ie are the opposition playing through you or around you?)? How's your ball retention? Are you giving it away in silly places (meaning your defenders need to have passing moved more to direct/long)?

Glad that the attack is working as it should be, just sounds like you may need to look at your 3 central defensive players and fullbacks and set their instructions a little more individually. Checking the keeper out may also be worthwhile as I had a nightmare until I figured out that my keeper was only barely good enough for the level and wouldn't come off his line to clear things up.

I'd imagine Defoe will love that more advanced striker position. Will certainly bring the best out of a nippy forward player who can finish. If you're playing a player rated FC in the other striker's position, you could also add a free role to him - trying it to see if your team can carry one more free role and if not, removing one from elsewhere (eg central attacking midfielder in attacking formations). That would tighten things up for you in midfield a bit more too.

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Control Variant

This lies somewhere in between the standard and the attacking variants. It's aim is to stifle the opposition whilst also encouraging them to try to push out so you can hit them when they do.

It's a very typical 'we're on top and not letting go of the ball' approach although it also is worth trying against very defensive teams who you're not scoring against as you'll see them losing defensive positioning in order to try and cut out your possession.

Your strikers both become attackers whilst the rest of the team tighten up, losing your attacking midfielders but retaining the fullbacks' ability to move forward when appropriate. If you want to tighten up at the back some more, change the forward runs by the defensive central midfielder to 'rarely' and use the central defenders players' settings for your fullbacks too.

Once more, its passing is for league 2 team so altering that for the level of your own team would pay dividends.

 

[Zebedee]

Ultradefensive Variant

This is the 'backs-to-the-wall' variant. You're unlikely to score many as your central midfield and back four focus solely on clearing the ball as far forward as possible, while your wingers and support striker also focus more on defensive duties. The 'finisher' remains quite high up to try and keep the defence honest and keep them on their toes, although you can't expect him to retain possession with regularity.

The defensive line and mentality remain the same as the defensive variant to try and prevent too much pressure building up on the defence.

It has its place as a tool for those tight one goal wins or away draws against superior teams, but extensive use will ultimately see the defensive formation broken down by more creative teams.

 

[Zebedee]

Some final thoughts

All six variants are now posted. I hope they are of use to players who like ye olde 4-4-2. Think of them less as a 'I'll play this tactic today' but more of a 'I'll play this variant first, see how it goes and change to another if the match isn't going as well as I'd hope'. It's a toolkit approach using the right variant for the right job, rather than trying to sledgehammer teams into submission with just one variant.

Though you should have some success with the 'lesser' teams at Premiership level, I'm personally going to be using a 4-2-0-3-1 tactic once I'm at the stage of 'European domination' in my career game, whilst retaining the 5x5 mentality system. 4-4-2 in real life is starting to look outmoded and noting how my tactics can struggle against that kind of formation without extensive OI, I'm thinking that this is modelled somewhat in the game.

Benitez 5x5 approach is very efficient, but without forward players of better quality than the opposition, results will be quite tight and not be of a 'free-flowing' type of football which is held up as what all teams should aspire to. Increasing creativity for the attackers (those with runs set to forward often) within a variant will see much more attacking football, at the cost of some defensive structure. Better players will benefit from more freedom but too much will negate all the advantages of the mentality system. Benitez likes Kuyt for a reason

I'd heartily recommend the TTF documents to people who have not read them. The 5x5 mentality system suits my style of play, my team talks, my way of motivating and disciplining players. It might not suit yours. It's very easy to change mentality structures and still use the tactics - it's only altering one slider for 11 players after all.

 

[Lee]

All looking very good.

Add them to a zip/rar archive if you like and upload them to here. Will get a few more people to take notice of your fine work.

 

[Zebedee]

All looking very good.

Add them to a zip/rar archive if you like and upload them to here. Will get a few more people to take notice of your fine work.

Thanks Lee Will upload them later this evening.

Was reading the thread of your tactics and noticed you've switched to the 5x5 mentality system with your excellent 4-1-3-2 tactics. One day I will have a team which will be able to play something other than 4-4-2 so I can have a try of them.

 

[Mally]

Going to test it for a few games with Reading while I am bored. Will give you some feedback mate.

 

[Mally]

First game against Coventry. Comfortable 1-0 win.

 

[Zebedee]

First game against Coventry. Comfortable 1-0 win.

Thanks for the feedback Mally That's a decent result.

 

[Mally]

Isn't doing well now but I have changed the tactic 7 games into the season lol. Went to penalties against Cardiff in the Carling Cup and then lost 1-0 at home to Blackpool and drawn 1-1 at Southampton. All games I should be comfortably winning.

 

[Zebedee]

Isn't doing well now but I have changed the tactic 7 games into the season lol. Went to penalties against Cardiff in the Carling Cup and then lost 1-0 at home to Blackpool and drawn 1-1 at Southampton. All games I should be comfortably winning.

Switching to defensive as the starting variant for a 4 or 5 more matches will help. Once you see your team dominating a match, step up to standard or control. Two months is the worst I've seen it take for the tactic to 'bed' down. You might want to pull the fullbacks runs forward back a step too if you're being done down the wings.