I may get people saying that what I'm staying is rubbish but to be totally honest I don't think that your formation & tactics actually matter as much as some people believe. It is important to pick a formation that suits your players positions (or bring in players that suit the formation that you want to play). Of course if you are a big underdog & playing away form with very attacking tactics then you are likely to get a hiding. I think that as long as your 11 players are better than the 11 on the other team then you will do well. I spent a lot more time trying to find & bring in the best young players that I can to the club that I am at.
In saying that when I was In the lower leagues I played a far more conservative game home and away. It is only when I think that I have a really good squad (far better than the rest of the teams that I'm playing regularly that I start playing more attacking & try & score as many goals as possible). In the lower leagues Physical attributes count for a lot. If you find a player with less than average Technical/Mental stats but their physical attributes are good then they will prob do pretty well.
I like to get a formation that I like (normally a fairly straight forward 4-4-2) and stick to it. I have played the same formation all the way through the leagues. I did change a few times in my 1st season in League 1 when I finished rock bottom as I was loosing so many goals. Tried one up front extra man in midfield. The prob was not the formation, it was that my squad was really young inexperienced & not good enough. I went back to League 2 & 4-4-2 formation brought in some better players improved the squad & it was promotion after promotion.
The big prob in the lower leagues is a severe lack of funds. There is a way round this however it has its consequences. I would play loads of pre-seasons friendlies against as big clubs as possible to generate money & when I say loads I mean as many as possible. 5 games each week! This of course increases the risk of injury which will happen, you spend the whole pre-season getting smashed off bigger clubs & by the end of the season your relatively small squad have played an outrageous amount of games. I was sometimes even playing friendlies mid-week throughout the season as I was so stuck for cash at times. I think went you way up the pro's & con's it has to be done. I dont thing I would ever have got into the Premiership if I hadn't done this. If you do decide to do this you can ask you Assistant to take control of friendlies as it takes time to play all these friendlies although he might get your star player in the Blue Square injured for 6 months. I & took the risk asked my Assistant to take control to save time. Remember though to take control of friendlies for the last couple of games & give your players a full weeks rest before the first game of the season. The last thing you want is a tired squad before in the massive season opener!!! Hope that helps.
I have lost of other tips I can give if anyone likes.
Cheers
