Hey guys! Been a long long time since I've posted here. Don't think you'll remember me but I was a regular poster in the good ol days of FM10 and FM11. Despite my inactivity on the forum I've been as big a fan of FM as ever, and it brings me great pleasure to be posting a tactic here again. Being a fan of the Dutch National Side, I've always been fascinated by the Ajax Champions League winning team under Louis van Gaal. The team played a very peculiar 3-3-1-3 formation, could almost be classed as a 3-4-3 diamond, initially made famous by the master, Johan Cruyff. So I have recreated or atleast tried to recreate the very formation and style on FM17, and I'd say I've been largely successful with my attempts, a season and a half with AFC Bournemouth.
Here is the famous Ajax formation in the Champions League final against Milan:
View attachment 99936
3-2-4-1 Total Football
Shape: Fluid
Mentality: Counter
Formation:
View attachment 99950
This is the overall formation and the lineup, in which each player fulfils the role identical to what the players would in the Ajax side of 95. Have set the strategy to Counter for balance purposes, Control and anything more attacking than that spoils the balance of the tactic and doesn't ensure good football. When I list the player roles below I will also mention the corresponding player in the Ajax lineup as well, to simplify things and to explain how they worked then as well as in this formation.
Team Instructions:
View attachment 99951
Like any Total Football team, the emphasis is on playing attractive positive football, right from the back. Hence we have the instruction Play Out of Defence. Also a team who tends to play attacking football will always want to have the ball. Closing down more and getting stuck in ensures that the ball is won whenever it can be, but at the same time, Being More Disciplined ensure that we don't go too over the top with our tackles, not earning any foolish bookings in the process. We aim to build up play through the middle, with our heavy midfield and inverted wing-backs, Exploit the Middle helps with this perfectly. Haven't played around with the tempo as it helps for the team to play with no set tempo, as they look to slow it down or increase the speed of the move on a situational basis.
Player Roles:
Goalkeeper - Sweeper Keeper (Support)
We keep a Sweeper Keeper as with a light defence, it might be possible that a ball in behind may send an opponent through. Having a sweeper keeper alert will alleviate this problem as he can rush out quickly to claim the ball or to clear the danger.
Player for Ajax- Edwin van der Sar.
Attributes to look for- Standard GK attributes + Rushing Out and Decisions
Right Back - Inverted Wing Back (Support)
When in possession of the ball, this player will go narrower a little in front of your center-back, searching for midfield options to pass to. This player should be competent defensively, would prefer him not to be too attack-minded, Simon Francis of Bournemouth is the perfect example. Should have decent passing stats.
Player for Ajax - Michael Reiziger
Attributes to look for - Passing, Tackling, Marking, Composure, Positioning, Decisions. Decent crossing is a bonus if the player does find himself on the overlap on rare occasions.
Center Back - Central Defender (Defend)
Your regular solid centre-half. Passing stats is a bonus, look for 11+ passing atleast. Shouldn't be too slow either, in case he needs to make a recovery against a fast striker who has gone through. With respect to the formation, this player is pretty much a Sweeper for you. So any player who is a great sweeper, will be a great player for this position.
Player for Ajax - Danny Blind
Attributes to look for- Tackling, Marking, Heading, Decisions, Concentration, Positioning, Strength, Pace.
Left Back - Inverted Wing Back (Support)
The same as your right back. It isn't necessary that you must have a right-footed player at left-back and vice-versa.
Player for Ajax - Frank de Boer
Attributes to look for - Passing, Tackling, Marking, Composure, Positioning, Decisions. Decent crossing is a bonus if the player does find himself on the overlap on rare occasions.
CDMs - Half Back (Defend)
These two players are your defensive cogs. I prefer to have a specialist tackler and a specialist distributor, like Ajax had in their system, but both players shouldn't be too adventurous and do their main job of marshalling the defence first. John Obi Mikel (tackler) and Andrew Surman (distributor) were my two main players in this position for Bournemouth.
Players for Ajax - Frank Rijkaard (Tackler), Edgar Davids (Distributor)
Attributes to look for- Tackling, Marking, Passing, First Touch, Anticipation, Positioning, Composure, Concentration.
RM and LM - Wide Midfielder (Attack)
These two players have been given the complete freedom to attack as they wish. Their magic on and off the ball, speed to burn and amazing technical abilities make them the entertainers of your team, but they should have a decent level of work-rate to go with it as well. They have been given individual instructions to match the extremely attacking roles of their Ajax counterparts.
Players for Ajax - Finidi George, Marc Overmars
Attributes to look for- Dribbling, First Touch, Off the Ball, Flair, Acceleration, Agility, Pace, Vision. Crossing and Finishing are a bonus, as these guys provide an insane amount of goals and assists in the team. Probably your biggest contributors along with your attacking CM.
RCM - Roaming Playmaker (Support)
This man is your engine. He is probably the most hardworking player on the pitch, and stamina is a key attribute. You can choose from two types of players here- A Central Winger, or a box-to-box beast with amazing physical stats, but creative as this position slots in with its fair share of assists as well. The most ideal player I can think of for this role is Mousa Dembele from Spurs, he has simply everything for this role. Another very good future option is Naby Keita from RBL.
Player for Ajax- Clarence Seedorf
Attributes to look for- Dribbling, Passing, Off the Ball, Vision, Stamina, Work Rate, Teamwork, First Touch, Technique.
LCM - Central Midfielder (Attack)
He is your most creative central player, it is his passing ability as well as a knack of getting into goalscoring positions that will provide your team with great contributions in terms of goals and assists, as you'd see in the screenshots I will post below. I'd rather have a passer here than a dribbler, leaving that job to the Roaming Playmaker. I played Fantasy Draft with two dribblers, Di Maria and Thiago and observed that it didn't work as well as when I played with Dembele and Fabregas.
Player for Ajax - Jari Litmanen
Attributes to look for - Passing, First Touch, Vision, Off the Ball, Finishing, Composure, Stamina.
ST - Poacher (Attack)
This man has one job. Goals. The main thing to focus on is his goalscoring ability, however based on your team level you can afford to have a more all-round striker as it can only help your cause. Shouldn't be too selfish as they can tend to shoot from impossible angles, you'd rather have them hold up the ball for a bit and look for a teammate arriving to support them in that instance. Can almost call this role a "False Poacher" as he will stay on the shoulder of the defender, but does much more than just be a fox in the box, getting a decent amount of assists for your CM and your wingers too.
Player for Ajax - Patrick Kluivert
Attributes to look for - Finishing, Off the Ball, Composure, Acceleration, First Touch, Technique, Strength.
RESULTS:
Of course, no tactic is good enough with the results it provides, so here are the league tables from the first season and the first half of the second season with Bournemouth.
2016/17- 2nd on Goal Difference
Halfway through 2017/18 - 2nd.
View attachment 99941View attachment 99942
As you can see, for a team of the stature of Bournemouth, we are punching well above our weight, thanks to this tactic. We've had some good results on the way, but I'll post a select few, my personal favourite being a 90th minute 4-3 win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the group stage.
View attachment 99955View attachment 99940View attachment 99943View attachment 99944View attachment 99945View attachment 99946View attachment 99947View attachment 99939
Best Performing Players-
Here are my best players for the team, Harry Arter and Jordon Ibe winning accolades for their performances as well, whereas Max Gradel won the African Player of the Year on two occasions. Leigh Griffiths and Callum Wilson have been regular providers of goals each time either of them is called upon.
View attachment 99952View attachment 99953
View attachment 99921View attachment 99920
So that's a wrap from me. All that's left is to present the tactic. I hope you have a good time with it and do post your amazing feedback. Thanks.
View attachment 99919
Here is the famous Ajax formation in the Champions League final against Milan:
View attachment 99936
3-2-4-1 Total Football
Shape: Fluid
Mentality: Counter
Formation:
View attachment 99950
This is the overall formation and the lineup, in which each player fulfils the role identical to what the players would in the Ajax side of 95. Have set the strategy to Counter for balance purposes, Control and anything more attacking than that spoils the balance of the tactic and doesn't ensure good football. When I list the player roles below I will also mention the corresponding player in the Ajax lineup as well, to simplify things and to explain how they worked then as well as in this formation.
Team Instructions:
View attachment 99951
Like any Total Football team, the emphasis is on playing attractive positive football, right from the back. Hence we have the instruction Play Out of Defence. Also a team who tends to play attacking football will always want to have the ball. Closing down more and getting stuck in ensures that the ball is won whenever it can be, but at the same time, Being More Disciplined ensure that we don't go too over the top with our tackles, not earning any foolish bookings in the process. We aim to build up play through the middle, with our heavy midfield and inverted wing-backs, Exploit the Middle helps with this perfectly. Haven't played around with the tempo as it helps for the team to play with no set tempo, as they look to slow it down or increase the speed of the move on a situational basis.
Player Roles:
Goalkeeper - Sweeper Keeper (Support)
We keep a Sweeper Keeper as with a light defence, it might be possible that a ball in behind may send an opponent through. Having a sweeper keeper alert will alleviate this problem as he can rush out quickly to claim the ball or to clear the danger.
Player for Ajax- Edwin van der Sar.
Attributes to look for- Standard GK attributes + Rushing Out and Decisions
Right Back - Inverted Wing Back (Support)
When in possession of the ball, this player will go narrower a little in front of your center-back, searching for midfield options to pass to. This player should be competent defensively, would prefer him not to be too attack-minded, Simon Francis of Bournemouth is the perfect example. Should have decent passing stats.
Player for Ajax - Michael Reiziger
Attributes to look for - Passing, Tackling, Marking, Composure, Positioning, Decisions. Decent crossing is a bonus if the player does find himself on the overlap on rare occasions.
Center Back - Central Defender (Defend)
Your regular solid centre-half. Passing stats is a bonus, look for 11+ passing atleast. Shouldn't be too slow either, in case he needs to make a recovery against a fast striker who has gone through. With respect to the formation, this player is pretty much a Sweeper for you. So any player who is a great sweeper, will be a great player for this position.
Player for Ajax - Danny Blind
Attributes to look for- Tackling, Marking, Heading, Decisions, Concentration, Positioning, Strength, Pace.
Left Back - Inverted Wing Back (Support)
The same as your right back. It isn't necessary that you must have a right-footed player at left-back and vice-versa.
Player for Ajax - Frank de Boer
Attributes to look for - Passing, Tackling, Marking, Composure, Positioning, Decisions. Decent crossing is a bonus if the player does find himself on the overlap on rare occasions.
CDMs - Half Back (Defend)
These two players are your defensive cogs. I prefer to have a specialist tackler and a specialist distributor, like Ajax had in their system, but both players shouldn't be too adventurous and do their main job of marshalling the defence first. John Obi Mikel (tackler) and Andrew Surman (distributor) were my two main players in this position for Bournemouth.
Players for Ajax - Frank Rijkaard (Tackler), Edgar Davids (Distributor)
Attributes to look for- Tackling, Marking, Passing, First Touch, Anticipation, Positioning, Composure, Concentration.
RM and LM - Wide Midfielder (Attack)
These two players have been given the complete freedom to attack as they wish. Their magic on and off the ball, speed to burn and amazing technical abilities make them the entertainers of your team, but they should have a decent level of work-rate to go with it as well. They have been given individual instructions to match the extremely attacking roles of their Ajax counterparts.
Players for Ajax - Finidi George, Marc Overmars
Attributes to look for- Dribbling, First Touch, Off the Ball, Flair, Acceleration, Agility, Pace, Vision. Crossing and Finishing are a bonus, as these guys provide an insane amount of goals and assists in the team. Probably your biggest contributors along with your attacking CM.
RCM - Roaming Playmaker (Support)
This man is your engine. He is probably the most hardworking player on the pitch, and stamina is a key attribute. You can choose from two types of players here- A Central Winger, or a box-to-box beast with amazing physical stats, but creative as this position slots in with its fair share of assists as well. The most ideal player I can think of for this role is Mousa Dembele from Spurs, he has simply everything for this role. Another very good future option is Naby Keita from RBL.
Player for Ajax- Clarence Seedorf
Attributes to look for- Dribbling, Passing, Off the Ball, Vision, Stamina, Work Rate, Teamwork, First Touch, Technique.
LCM - Central Midfielder (Attack)
He is your most creative central player, it is his passing ability as well as a knack of getting into goalscoring positions that will provide your team with great contributions in terms of goals and assists, as you'd see in the screenshots I will post below. I'd rather have a passer here than a dribbler, leaving that job to the Roaming Playmaker. I played Fantasy Draft with two dribblers, Di Maria and Thiago and observed that it didn't work as well as when I played with Dembele and Fabregas.
Player for Ajax - Jari Litmanen
Attributes to look for - Passing, First Touch, Vision, Off the Ball, Finishing, Composure, Stamina.
ST - Poacher (Attack)
This man has one job. Goals. The main thing to focus on is his goalscoring ability, however based on your team level you can afford to have a more all-round striker as it can only help your cause. Shouldn't be too selfish as they can tend to shoot from impossible angles, you'd rather have them hold up the ball for a bit and look for a teammate arriving to support them in that instance. Can almost call this role a "False Poacher" as he will stay on the shoulder of the defender, but does much more than just be a fox in the box, getting a decent amount of assists for your CM and your wingers too.
Player for Ajax - Patrick Kluivert
Attributes to look for - Finishing, Off the Ball, Composure, Acceleration, First Touch, Technique, Strength.
RESULTS:
Of course, no tactic is good enough with the results it provides, so here are the league tables from the first season and the first half of the second season with Bournemouth.
2016/17- 2nd on Goal Difference
Halfway through 2017/18 - 2nd.
View attachment 99941View attachment 99942
As you can see, for a team of the stature of Bournemouth, we are punching well above our weight, thanks to this tactic. We've had some good results on the way, but I'll post a select few, my personal favourite being a 90th minute 4-3 win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the group stage.
View attachment 99955View attachment 99940View attachment 99943View attachment 99944View attachment 99945View attachment 99946View attachment 99947View attachment 99939
Best Performing Players-
Here are my best players for the team, Harry Arter and Jordon Ibe winning accolades for their performances as well, whereas Max Gradel won the African Player of the Year on two occasions. Leigh Griffiths and Callum Wilson have been regular providers of goals each time either of them is called upon.
View attachment 99952View attachment 99953
View attachment 99921View attachment 99920
So that's a wrap from me. All that's left is to present the tactic. I hope you have a good time with it and do post your amazing feedback.
Thanks.View attachment 99919
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