ARussell's 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 (Rock Solid Defence)

A Russell92

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If you some of you remember me from last years fm forum you probably remember my Aston Villa team and the tactics i created for them, will i have been alot less active on this years forum because i havent really got into this years fm. This has been down to several reasons, firstly i havent been able to implement my possession style of play on this years game as effectively as previous games, secondly i think my villa team kinda spoilt everything for me, meaning with that team i could pretty much develop any tactic and it would have been a success due to the insaneness of my players and my better knowledge and understanding of the fm 12 match engine and finally im not sure if i was the only one who has had this problem but for the most part defenders and goalkeepers are just plain stupid. Well basically this thread is to show that sometimes if you persist with something it is possible to get some kind of enjoyment and even implement everything i want from the game.

So this is were we get onto my season, I have had a Man Utd save since the day i brought the game and ive had many great successes on the save winning pretty much everything there is to be won sometimes easily and sometimes not, however ive always stuck to my philosophies from last years game but one thing i havent been able to do i regularly get a steady defence. However i have made 2 tactics that i rotate depending on how they perform and they have managed to achieve both, i will now give you a short insight to how my season has gone.


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As you can see I won 34 out of the 38 possible game and drew the other 4 so in this aspect it wasnt perfect winning all the games would have been special but the stand out stats are really the 108 goals for and the miserly 11 goals for meaning i ending up with a incredibly goal difference of 97 which is the highest goal difference i have personally seen in any of my games or seasons.

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As you can see the stand out games were 2-0 away to Chelsea ( who have a Falcao who has finished top goalscorer in what seems everything all the time) 2-0 at home to Spurs, 2-0 at home to Man City, 4-1 against Liverpool, 10-0 at home to Leeds and 4-0 to Chelsea. Also at certain times during the league season i kept 7 clean sheets in a row twice and once kept 9 clean sheets in a row.

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As you can see i had a pretty easy group but the knockout stages was alot harder. But as you can see keeping cleansheets in both legs against Dortmund and Madrid. Also the 5-0 first leg match against Spurs proves it scores goals aswell as clean sheets. Finally the final keep a clean sheet against Barcelona (who have Messi and Aguero) is a big achievement.

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As you can see it didnt start all that well with us needing a replay to beat Chelsea but in both matches we managed to keep a clean sheet, after this we also managed to keep a clean sheet against Spurs and Blackburn but the last few games we didnt manage to keep the clean sheets but still got the results.


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As you can see i only coincided 1 goal on the way to lifting the cup and even beat Arsenal 5-0 in the second leg.

The Two Tactics:

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As with what seems to be the norm of this years fm i went with a wide 4-2-3-1 with a winger on one side and an inside forward on the other. As with my tactics from last years tactics it implements a short passing possession style of play but with a more crossing oriented attack.
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This tactic is alittle different to the other because it implements two inside forwards and an anchor man, it also has a higher defensive line, plays down the wings and through the middle instead of just through the middle and is also alot slower in the play.

The Players:


As far as the players needed for the two tactics I will show you screenshots of my players and there stats and you should try to get players as close as you can to these players.

Defensive:

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Midfield:

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Striker:

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Just a side note on my striker I realise he is very good but he did miss any exceptional amount of opportunities.

Match Prep:

I had it on defensive until they were fully trained with it then changed to attacking, as for pitch dimensions mine is on normal however the tactics work well on big pitches aswell I am not to sure with small so use at your own risk.

Disclaimer:

As with any tactics please give your team time to adjust, so this is not a 'plug and play' tactic.

The Tactics:

4-2-3-1:
Russell 4-2-3-1.tac

4-5-1:
man utd 4-5-1.tac
I look forward to hearing any input anybody has and would love to hear on any improvements you may make.
 
playing the game in 2019 with loads of world class regens in your team isnt the best way to test and introduce a tactic mate, best way to see the tactic full potential is to use it in the 1st & 2nd season
 
the point of the tactic is the defense and there are no regens there, but i can see what your saying but barring my inconsistant striker and the right winger i wouldnt class the others as world class
 
How often do you switch between the 2 tactics mate? Or do you use one for home games and the other for away?
 
How often do you switch between the 2 tactics mate? Or do you use one for home games and the other for away?

I usually use the 4-2-3-1 unless its struggling in game then i switch, thats for both home and away
 
A Russell92,

will this work even with a lower ranked team? Wich one of your tactics are the most solid one?

cheers :)
 
A Russell92,

will this work even with a lower ranked team? Wich one of your tactics are the most solid one?

cheers :)

Honestly im not sure i havent tried it with a lower league side, and as for which is more solid i would go with the 4-2-3-1 just because it creates more chances and would suite lower leagues due to the wingers crosses
 
Honestly im not sure i havent tried it with a lower league side, and as for which is more solid i would go with the 4-2-3-1 just because it creates more chances and would suite lower leagues due to the wingers crosses


Ok thanks, will it work with any team in the premier league then? Was a bit unclear there :) maybe QPR?

changing anything away from home do you?

cheers
 
Ok thanks, will it work with any team in the premier league then? Was a bit unclear there :) maybe QPR?

changing anything away from home do you?

cheers

no reason why it wouldnt work for them, maybe a little hard first month or so because of all the new players need to gel but they have the right kind of players. As for away games i dont change anything
 
no reason why it wouldnt work for them, maybe a little hard first month or so because of all the new players need to gel but they have the right kind of players. As for away games i dont change anything


Ok, cheers! I picked Inter at last ;) Anything else i should think of when using? Shouts, OI etc...?

thanks
 
I can confirm this is a very good tactic indeed!

I'm currently top of League 1 with Gillingham, 11 points clear of 2nd with a goal difference of +59

Been using a similar tactic from this site that was really impressive but out of no where the opposition seemed to get used to it and kept drawing/beating me so i decided to give this a try as its a similar tactic to what i was using before and fitted well with my squad.

Got me back on the winning front, infact i've won 8 and drawn 1 since i changed to this. Defence is very solid and still manage to create lots of chances. Kept 5 clean sheets in them 9 games.

Keep up the good work :)
 
I can confirm this is a very good tactic indeed!

I'm currently top of League 1 with Gillingham, 11 points clear of 2nd with a goal difference of +59

Been using a similar tactic from this site that was really impressive but out of no where the opposition seemed to get used to it and kept drawing/beating me so i decided to give this a try as its a similar tactic to what i was using before and fitted well with my squad.

Got me back on the winning front, infact i've won 8 and drawn 1 since i changed to this. Defence is very solid and still manage to create lots of chances. Kept 5 clean sheets in them 9 games.

Keep up the good work :)

Great to hear, glad its working for you and at a lower level aswell
 
Just started using these tactics. I have really really struggled with many different tactics from these forums although some of them were good enough to get me promoted from Sussex County to the BlueSquare Premier with East Grinstead Town. Last season though we really struggled and ended up getting relegated to the BSS. I started the season with the Brobs tactic and it just didn't work and I had to change after a preseason and 5 league matches.

These tactics have been amazing although it is early days. I am about 6 games in with these and have lost only 1 by 1-0 (I tried the attacking one because I was at home). All the other results have been 2 or 3 nil (no goals conceded). I am using the match odds to decide which tactic to use. If I am odds on favourite I use the attacking one and if not the more defensive one. It has worked wonders. The defence really is rock solid and we are far from being fluid in the tactics.

Fingers crossed that this fantastic form continues. If it does then I have to thank you for creating the best tactics on this forum. I will keep you updated.
 
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