Antonio Conte l 3-5-2 and 3-3-4 l ::by ARTISAN::: 14.3 UPDATE
14.3 Update
PLEASE READ NOTES IN THE SPOILER!!!
ONLY THE 5-3-2 TACTIC UPDATED FOR 14.3. WILL UPDATE THE HIGH PRESSURE WINGER TACTIC SOON. Tactic called antonio conte in download section.
Testimonial so Far
Tactical Description
Introduction
Hello FM fans, this will be my first tactical post on the forum. I felt it was about time that I made a contribution to the site after all my years of just coming here and downloading/reading about other peoples tactics. Some people on this site have such a deep understanding of the FM game and its mechanics and I hope to be as good as them in the future
.
View attachment 415877
I have been playing football simulation games since Championship Manager 03/04 so I am by no means a novice at the game. I have had a lot of success with various tactics over the years but the last two Football Manager instalments have been especially difficult for me. I guess I could blame the ME being a bit inconsistent/broken but all in all thats not an excuse right? I mean other people upload tactics that work so why cant I.
After a lot of tactical tinkering, I have managed to achieve some success.
I have noticed that a lot of tactical uploads on this site play with no strikers (using AMCs instead) and that seems to be the most effective way of playing on this patch but in my opinion, that is a match engine (ME) exploit and I decided steer clear of this.
The Juicy Bits
Before I go into any more discussion, I have posted a few screenshots of the results of my tests. I played with Liverpool (strong team) and Southampton (weak team). I know how much people on this website enjoy their stats and screenies so enjoy. I chose these teams because they had the players that suited the formations I was trying to recreate.
Liverpool
View attachment 415957View attachment 415956View attachment 415955View attachment 415954View attachment 415953View attachment 415952View attachment 415951View attachment 415950View attachment 415949
Liverpool performed to my expectations and were unbeaten all through my test. It must be said though that Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson got injured really early in the season which meant I had to play Kolo Toure out of position for a few matches and he looked vulnerable.
The screenshots which come after the league table screenie are of the matches I did not win and I'm sure after looking at the stats, you will agree with me that I was unlucky. The Manchester City Game was so one sided, at the Etihad as well but my players could not find the net.
View attachment 415948
It is also worth mentioning that I did not use any corner tactic with this test and a lot of the time, my CBs were taking my corners (they were terrible). I stopped the test early as I felt the team was too strong to test with hence why I moved on to southampton. The results with that team also impressed me beyond expectation
Signings:::: Non (Transfers Disabled)
Southampton
View attachment 415947View attachment 415946View attachment 415945View attachment 415944View attachment 415943View attachment 415942View attachment 415941View attachment 415940View attachment 415939View attachment 415938
As you can see, my southampton team were extremely overachieving in my test save. They by far surpassed my expectations and I was scratching my head in disbelief. Corner Tactics were applied.
ALL CREDIT FOR CORNER TACTICS GOES TO JASAR.
View attachment 415937
The screenshots that come after the league table screenie are of my defeats. With the exception of the Norwich game which was just a bad day for strikers on both teams, I feel I should have won the others. I mean the Newcastle match was beyond a joke but its understandable as FM tries to make the game realistic by not letting underdogs over-overachieve.
Signings :::: Doria & Eder Alvarez Balanta
Tactical Inspiration
View attachment 509266
When I first started playing FM 14, I was having absolutely no luck with any formation I created so I decided to take a break from the game entirely. There were just too many hair pulling events that made me curse at my laptop and I felt I was going to break it.
A few weeks ago however, I was watching a short career profile video of Antonio Conte on Euro Sport and how his tactics at Juventus had evolved over the years which intrigued me. He seemed to have created a complete tactical setup that could, counter attack, keep possession, play short quick passes and play long balls with effectiveness. Conte's Juventus in the 2011/12 season went through their entire campaign in Serie A unbeaten with the fewest goals conceded and the second most goals scored just behind AC Milan. I just had to attempt to recreate the tactic on FM 14.
Tactical Adaptation in Football Manager Engine
Being able to perfectly recreate a real life tactic on football manager is impossible. No matter how hard you try to make your team play like Pep's Barcelona or in this case Conte's Juventus, you will never get an exact representation of the tactic :'(. The A.I. is just not as smart as real people . Despite this painful fact, we all still strive to get as close as possible to the actual tactic which is what I have done. So don't bash me if my Pirlo-esque player does not make 100 passes a game .
My tactical Setups in FM are shown below:::::
View attachment 415915 View attachment 415914
Most of you will be familiar with the formation on the left (3-5-2) with the Wingbacks as this is primarily what Conte used during his unbeaten season. The formation on the right however (3-3-4), you might be thinking is not Conte-esque. People who keep up to date with Juventus however will have noticed that Conte has experimented with this tactic recently and I will go into more detail in the next section.
How the Formations Play
With the 3-5-2, the players will sit behind the ball to form a rock solid unit that is difficult to break down. Basically 5-3-1-1. The only players that stay forward are the strikers who wait in anticipation of counter attacking opportunities.
The video shows a quick counter attack against Arsenal with Sturridge and Aspas working very well together.
[video=youtube;DAwdNwNyNKE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAwdNwNyNKE&feature=youtu.be[/video]
With the 3-3-4, the formation looks to overwhelm the traditional four man defences usually played in Europe. With each of the attackers applying pressure on their man, it is hoped the team will always be in the attacking phase of the game. When possession is lost, it can be won back by the forwards or the two wide players or recycled by the central midfielders. With the team suffocating their opponents up top, the lack of defensive cover on the flanks won't provide too many problems.
There are three different tactics; with two of them having the same tactical setup. The team instructions for the three tactical philosophies are shown below. They are very similar but different enough to complement the player individual instructions.
View attachment 415918View attachment 415917View attachment 415916
CentreBacks
When attacking, the DCR and DCL move out wide into fullback positions in order to deal with opposition defenders clearing the ball to the flanks. They basically fill the gap that the offensive wide players leave when they bomb forward. They help recycle possession and play simple passes to more advanced players. The most central defender does not have much of a role in offensive play and once he passes the ball to more advanced players, his involvements ends. He will also be your defender with the best heading ability as he will deal with the most air balls.
When defending, the centre backs work together to try and win the ball back quickly and prevent opposition counter attacks. If the opposition is however building an attack from the back, the CBs will sit deeper with only one defender closing down at a time leaving the others to cover. This is however not reflected in the player instructions but nonetheless happens during the game.
The attacking phase positions are shown below
View attachment 415919
Wide Players
When attacking, wingbacks will look to bomb forward and add width to the attack. They deliver crosses from wide positions and will also find themselves in goalscoring opportunities in the box.
When defending, the wingbacks develop partnerships with the DCR and DCL which is vital to stopping opposition play. Because they are so far up the pitch, they will need CBs to cover for them to prevent quick counter attacks down the flanks. When they return to position, they will put pressure on opposition wide players by closing down.
When attacking, the AMR/L will aggressively attack the wider areas of the pitch and will act like old-fashioned wingers in that they will try to beat opposition fullbacks with skill and pace before delivering a cross. They will also find themselves in goalscoring opportunities in the box.
When defending, the AMR/L will track the opposition fullbacks leaving the DCR/L with more work to do on opposition wingers. They will look to put pressure very very high up the pitch in order to keep the team in the attacking phase.
The screenshot below shows the defensive phase positions
View attachment 415923
Midfield Trifecta
The three midfielders are the transitional players who will most heavily be involved in both phases (attack and defence) of play. They will be the main ball winners on the pitch and hence will do the most work. In the defensive phase, they will all perform the same duty which is to constantly put pressure on opposition central players.
When attacking, the Regista will sit deeper (Pirlo) and act as a fulcrum for the attack. He will also arrive late in the box to take long shots. The central midfielders are box to box midfielders and they do what it says on the tin. The go from defensive to offensive phase constantly in the game. They offer support to the forward players and flood the opposition box.
Video Shows midfield player and wide player working hard to get the ball straight from the first whistle before launching a devastating counter attack.
[video=youtube_share;BLAsDZCynBg]http://youtu.be/BLAsDZCynBg[/video]
Strike Partnership
The False 9 and the Advanced forward will have to work together for themselves to create goalscoring chances. The false 9 will receive the ball to feet in deeper positions before delivering killer passes to the AF. This move could also happen vice-versa. The false 9 basically prevents the forwards from being isolated and also helps with the defensive phase. The first video is a perfect example of the two forward working well together.
When I Play the Formations
I start with "Artisan Starter" against most teams, either home, away, as the underdog or the favourite. After scoring two goals I switch to "Artisan Hold".
Against teams that I am the absolute favourite, teams that play without wingers and when I am slight favourite and in excellent form, I start with "Artisan APhase" (Tactics are Named Correctly in Download). When I sore a goal, I switch to "Artisan Starter" and if I score again, I switch to "Artisan Hold"
Switching of formations like this would mean it might be useful to have wide players who can play both AMR/L and WBR/L. These types of players are difficult to come by but you could also train players to play new position at the start of the season.
Training
I had two different training regimes; one for pre-season and one for during the season which are displayed in the first screenshot and the second screenshot respectively.
View attachment 415926 View attachment 415924
Intensive Team cohesion and Tactics training during preseason in order to allow players to become as competent with the tactics as possible. During the season, attacking movement is the focus for match training as the tactical setup already lends itself to defensive stability.
I did not sign any back room staff and this could be looked at as a potential area for improvement if you decide to hire people.
New Position Training
You do not always have to sign players for every position. In my Southampton save, I trained Nathaniel Clyne to play AMR and Wanyama to play WBR as he did not have the stats to fit anywhere else in my setup e.t.c.
NOTE: I do not set any opposition instructions. It may be beneficial to show wide players to the centre. So show players on the left onto right and vice versa. The reasoning behind this is that I would rather have wide players running into my crowded midfield than running 1-on-1 with my wingbacks. Use at your own risk!!! I have not tried it.
Recommended Players
I will post screenshots of a starting outfield 10 that I feel would be competent in this formation. I have not used all these players in the formation but their stats look like they would fit the positions plus they are not expensive at the start.
View attachment 415936View attachment 415935View attachment 415934View attachment 415933View attachment 415932View attachment 415931View attachment 415930View attachment 415929View attachment 415928View attachment 415927
Player Preferred Moves
It is not necessary that your players have these ppms but they could be beneficial hence why I have decided to include them.
Centre Backs: Play simple passes, Stays back at all times
WingBacks: Runs with the ball down left/right, Gets forward whenever possible, Hugs line
Regista: Tries killer ball often, comes deep to get ball, Tries long range passes, Dictates tempo
Box-to-Box Midfielder: Get forward whenever possible
AMR/L: Runs down right/left
False 9: Comes deep to get ball, Plays one-twos
Advanced Forward: Plays one-twos
If you have managed to read through all that then well done. Hope the tactic works for you. I know I'm not Jassar, or any of the other top posters but some feedback would be much appreciated :wub:.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this tactic is not perfect and there is room for improvement and I will list areas I have identified:
1: Too many Longshots....Don't understand why
2: Seem to concede from freekicks when I am 2 or 3 goals up.
I'm sure with further testing, more could be found out and worked on.
THANKS FOR READING AND HAPPY TESTING !!
PLEASE READ NOTES IN THE SPOILER!!!
ONLY THE 5-3-2 TACTIC UPDATED FOR 14.3. WILL UPDATE THE HIGH PRESSURE WINGER TACTIC SOON. Tactic called antonio conte in download section.
SOUTHAPMTON TEST
Test was carried out using southampton for only a few games as time has not allowed me to test much longer
Transfers
I made a few transfers on my save as you can see due to loosing Schneiderlin to Monaco and Alvares Balanta being injured for 8 months. Also there was no Pablo Osvaldo so I needed another striker.
View attachment 412069
Results
The results were decent but I was not really happy with the quality of football both defensively and offensively. You could blame that on the ME however as it is consistently unpredictable. At least 14.2.2 had a few problems that could be easily prevented using the tactic creator. This patch just seems a bit meh!
View attachment 412075
My strikers just seem to miss chance after chance
View attachment 412074View attachment 412073View attachment 412072View attachment 412071View attachment 412071View attachment 412070
Test was carried out using southampton for only a few games as time has not allowed me to test much longer
Transfers
I made a few transfers on my save as you can see due to loosing Schneiderlin to Monaco and Alvares Balanta being injured for 8 months. Also there was no Pablo Osvaldo so I needed another striker.
View attachment 412069
Results
The results were decent but I was not really happy with the quality of football both defensively and offensively. You could blame that on the ME however as it is consistently unpredictable. At least 14.2.2 had a few problems that could be easily prevented using the tactic creator. This patch just seems a bit meh!
View attachment 412075
My strikers just seem to miss chance after chance
View attachment 412074View attachment 412073View attachment 412072View attachment 412071View attachment 412071View attachment 412070
Testimonial so Far
Tactical Description
Introduction
Hello FM fans, this will be my first tactical post on the forum. I felt it was about time that I made a contribution to the site after all my years of just coming here and downloading/reading about other peoples tactics. Some people on this site have such a deep understanding of the FM game and its mechanics and I hope to be as good as them in the future
. View attachment 415877
I have been playing football simulation games since Championship Manager 03/04 so I am by no means a novice at the game. I have had a lot of success with various tactics over the years but the last two Football Manager instalments have been especially difficult for me. I guess I could blame the ME being a bit inconsistent/broken but all in all thats not an excuse right? I mean other people upload tactics that work so why cant I.
After a lot of tactical tinkering, I have managed to achieve some success.
I have noticed that a lot of tactical uploads on this site play with no strikers (using AMCs instead) and that seems to be the most effective way of playing on this patch but in my opinion, that is a match engine (ME) exploit and I decided steer clear of this.
The Juicy Bits
Before I go into any more discussion, I have posted a few screenshots of the results of my tests. I played with Liverpool (strong team) and Southampton (weak team). I know how much people on this website enjoy their stats and screenies so enjoy
. I chose these teams because they had the players that suited the formations I was trying to recreate.Liverpool
View attachment 415957View attachment 415956View attachment 415955View attachment 415954View attachment 415953View attachment 415952View attachment 415951View attachment 415950View attachment 415949
Liverpool performed to my expectations and were unbeaten all through my test. It must be said though that Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson got injured really early in the season which meant I had to play Kolo Toure out of position for a few matches and he looked vulnerable.
The screenshots which come after the league table screenie are of the matches I did not win and I'm sure after looking at the stats, you will agree with me that I was unlucky. The Manchester City Game was so one sided, at the Etihad as well but my players could not find the net.
View attachment 415948
It is also worth mentioning that I did not use any corner tactic with this test and a lot of the time, my CBs were taking my corners (they were terrible). I stopped the test early as I felt the team was too strong to test with hence why I moved on to southampton. The results with that team also impressed me beyond expectation
Signings:::: Non (Transfers Disabled)
Southampton
View attachment 415947View attachment 415946View attachment 415945View attachment 415944View attachment 415943View attachment 415942View attachment 415941View attachment 415940View attachment 415939View attachment 415938
As you can see, my southampton team were extremely overachieving in my test save. They by far surpassed my expectations and I was scratching my head in disbelief. Corner Tactics were applied.
ALL CREDIT FOR CORNER TACTICS GOES TO JASAR.
View attachment 415937
The screenshots that come after the league table screenie are of my defeats. With the exception of the Norwich game which was just a bad day for strikers on both teams, I feel I should have won the others. I mean the Newcastle match was beyond a joke but its understandable as FM tries to make the game realistic by not letting underdogs over-overachieve.
Signings :::: Doria & Eder Alvarez Balanta
Tactical Inspiration
View attachment 509266
When I first started playing FM 14, I was having absolutely no luck with any formation I created so I decided to take a break from the game entirely
. There were just too many hair pulling events that made me curse at my laptop and I felt I was going to break it.A few weeks ago however, I was watching a short career profile video of Antonio Conte on Euro Sport and how his tactics at Juventus had evolved over the years which intrigued me. He seemed to have created a complete tactical setup that could, counter attack, keep possession, play short quick passes and play long balls with effectiveness. Conte's Juventus in the 2011/12 season went through their entire campaign in Serie A unbeaten with the fewest goals conceded and the second most goals scored just behind AC Milan. I just had to attempt to recreate the tactic on FM 14.
Tactical Adaptation in Football Manager Engine
Being able to perfectly recreate a real life tactic on football manager is impossible
. No matter how hard you try to make your team play like Pep's Barcelona or in this case Conte's Juventus, you will never get an exact representation of the tactic :'(. The A.I. is just not as smart as real people . Despite this painful fact, we all still strive to get as close as possible to the actual tactic which is what I have done. So don't bash me if my Pirlo-esque player does not make 100 passes a game . My tactical Setups in FM are shown below:::::
View attachment 415915 View attachment 415914
Most of you will be familiar with the formation on the left (3-5-2) with the Wingbacks as this is primarily what Conte used during his unbeaten season. The formation on the right however (3-3-4), you might be thinking is not Conte-esque. People who keep up to date with Juventus however will have noticed that Conte has experimented with this tactic recently and I will go into more detail in the next section.
How the Formations Play
With the 3-5-2, the players will sit behind the ball to form a rock solid unit that is difficult to break down. Basically 5-3-1-1. The only players that stay forward are the strikers who wait in anticipation of counter attacking opportunities.
The video shows a quick counter attack against Arsenal with Sturridge and Aspas working very well together.
[video=youtube;DAwdNwNyNKE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAwdNwNyNKE&feature=youtu.be[/video]
With the 3-3-4, the formation looks to overwhelm the traditional four man defences usually played in Europe. With each of the attackers applying pressure on their man, it is hoped the team will always be in the attacking phase of the game. When possession is lost, it can be won back by the forwards or the two wide players or recycled by the central midfielders. With the team suffocating their opponents up top, the lack of defensive cover on the flanks won't provide too many problems.
There are three different tactics; with two of them having the same tactical setup. The team instructions for the three tactical philosophies are shown below. They are very similar but different enough to complement the player individual instructions.
View attachment 415918View attachment 415917View attachment 415916
CentreBacks
When attacking, the DCR and DCL move out wide into fullback positions in order to deal with opposition defenders clearing the ball to the flanks. They basically fill the gap that the offensive wide players leave when they bomb forward. They help recycle possession and play simple passes to more advanced players. The most central defender does not have much of a role in offensive play and once he passes the ball to more advanced players, his involvements ends. He will also be your defender with the best heading ability as he will deal with the most air balls.
When defending, the centre backs work together to try and win the ball back quickly and prevent opposition counter attacks. If the opposition is however building an attack from the back, the CBs will sit deeper with only one defender closing down at a time leaving the others to cover. This is however not reflected in the player instructions but nonetheless happens during the game.
The attacking phase positions are shown below
View attachment 415919
Wide Players
When attacking, wingbacks will look to bomb forward and add width to the attack. They deliver crosses from wide positions and will also find themselves in goalscoring opportunities in the box.
When defending, the wingbacks develop partnerships with the DCR and DCL which is vital to stopping opposition play. Because they are so far up the pitch, they will need CBs to cover for them to prevent quick counter attacks down the flanks. When they return to position, they will put pressure on opposition wide players by closing down.
When attacking, the AMR/L will aggressively attack the wider areas of the pitch and will act like old-fashioned wingers in that they will try to beat opposition fullbacks with skill and pace before delivering a cross. They will also find themselves in goalscoring opportunities in the box.
When defending, the AMR/L will track the opposition fullbacks leaving the DCR/L with more work to do on opposition wingers. They will look to put pressure very very high up the pitch in order to keep the team in the attacking phase.
The screenshot below shows the defensive phase positions
View attachment 415923
Midfield Trifecta
The three midfielders are the transitional players who will most heavily be involved in both phases (attack and defence) of play. They will be the main ball winners on the pitch and hence will do the most work. In the defensive phase, they will all perform the same duty which is to constantly put pressure on opposition central players.
When attacking, the Regista will sit deeper (Pirlo) and act as a fulcrum for the attack. He will also arrive late in the box to take long shots. The central midfielders are box to box midfielders and they do what it says on the tin. The go from defensive to offensive phase constantly in the game. They offer support to the forward players and flood the opposition box.
Video Shows midfield player and wide player working hard to get the ball straight from the first whistle before launching a devastating counter attack.
[video=youtube_share;BLAsDZCynBg]http://youtu.be/BLAsDZCynBg[/video]
Strike Partnership
The False 9 and the Advanced forward will have to work together for themselves to create goalscoring chances. The false 9 will receive the ball to feet in deeper positions before delivering killer passes to the AF. This move could also happen vice-versa. The false 9 basically prevents the forwards from being isolated and also helps with the defensive phase. The first video is a perfect example of the two forward working well together.
When I Play the Formations
I start with "Artisan Starter" against most teams, either home, away, as the underdog or the favourite. After scoring two goals I switch to "Artisan Hold".
Against teams that I am the absolute favourite, teams that play without wingers and when I am slight favourite and in excellent form, I start with "Artisan APhase" (Tactics are Named Correctly in Download). When I sore a goal, I switch to "Artisan Starter" and if I score again, I switch to "Artisan Hold"
Switching of formations like this would mean it might be useful to have wide players who can play both AMR/L and WBR/L. These types of players are difficult to come by but you could also train players to play new position at the start of the season.
Training
I had two different training regimes; one for pre-season and one for during the season which are displayed in the first screenshot and the second screenshot respectively.
View attachment 415926 View attachment 415924
Intensive Team cohesion and Tactics training during preseason in order to allow players to become as competent with the tactics as possible. During the season, attacking movement is the focus for match training as the tactical setup already lends itself to defensive stability.
I did not sign any back room staff and this could be looked at as a potential area for improvement if you decide to hire people.
New Position Training
You do not always have to sign players for every position. In my Southampton save, I trained Nathaniel Clyne to play AMR and Wanyama to play WBR as he did not have the stats to fit anywhere else in my setup e.t.c.
NOTE: I do not set any opposition instructions. It may be beneficial to show wide players to the centre. So show players on the left onto right and vice versa. The reasoning behind this is that I would rather have wide players running into my crowded midfield than running 1-on-1 with my wingbacks. Use at your own risk!!! I have not tried it.
Recommended Players
I will post screenshots of a starting outfield 10 that I feel would be competent in this formation. I have not used all these players in the formation but their stats look like they would fit the positions plus they are not expensive at the start.
View attachment 415936View attachment 415935View attachment 415934View attachment 415933View attachment 415932View attachment 415931View attachment 415930View attachment 415929View attachment 415928View attachment 415927
Player Preferred Moves
It is not necessary that your players have these ppms but they could be beneficial hence why I have decided to include them.
Centre Backs: Play simple passes, Stays back at all times
WingBacks: Runs with the ball down left/right, Gets forward whenever possible, Hugs line
Regista: Tries killer ball often, comes deep to get ball, Tries long range passes, Dictates tempo
Box-to-Box Midfielder: Get forward whenever possible
AMR/L: Runs down right/left
False 9: Comes deep to get ball, Plays one-twos
Advanced Forward: Plays one-twos
If you have managed to read through all that then well done. Hope the tactic works for you. I know I'm not Jassar, or any of the other top posters but some feedback would be much appreciated :wub:.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this tactic is not perfect and there is room for improvement and I will list areas I have identified:
1: Too many Longshots....Don't understand why
2: Seem to concede from freekicks when I am 2 or 3 goals up.
I'm sure with further testing, more could be found out and worked on.
THANKS FOR READING AND HAPPY TESTING !!
Last edited: