Chrissy Ross

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FourForTwo uses IWBS, TraditionalFourFourTwo FB's.

LOAD THE TACTIC UP TWICE IN THE SAME SLOT FOR SET PIECES TO WORK THEN ASSIGN THROW IN TAKERS (DL AND DR ONLY) FOR BOTH TACTICS. (Make sure your RB, LB,MCR, MCL are not your best corner takers, as the corner will not work then).

Welcome to this thread folks. Hopefully you find what you are looking for. The tactic download is at the bottom of the post but I’d advise you refer to this opening post for any guidance. If you have any questions feel free to post in the thread and I’ll get back to you.



P.S. if you could give my page a 'like' on FB i'd be very grateful, seeing as I should be writing jokes instead of ******* about on this game so much. At least this way i'll not feel so guilty about it, thanks
https://www.facebook.com/comedychrissy/

I have also included a video explaining how to use the tactic and play the game in conjunction with this thread;

[video=youtube;k45ZGpeZu4s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k45ZGpeZu4s[/video]​

1. Introduction

This tactic is the result of the community throwing all its ideas out there and myself just sorting them into the most efficient tactic. Therefore no credit by myself is being sought. The rationale behind this thread and post was to create a tactic that not only plays dynamic attacking football which is fun to watch but is also very effective. If you are not keen on the attacking and defensive set piece exploits/efficiency then take them out, you’ll still get great results regardless.
This is what I reckon is the best plug and play tactic that can be made I reckon using a 4-4-2 standard formation. It is set piece efficient both attacking and defensively. You can use all the set pieces for any other tactic and they will work fine.

I have included instructions and links on how to play the game and I have tried to make this opening post as expansive as possible by diluting my 20+ years of CM/FM playing into a guide for you all.


2. How to play

This section will endeavour to explain how to play the game to get the most out of the tactic.


2.1 Background issues to resolve

You need to stack the variables in your favour to win in this game. To do so off the pitch I advise you do the following;
  • Keep the morale of the squad high and communicate with the players. This is massively important as an unhappy squad or player will not perform. Many have joked that this game is at times HR Manager 2019 due to the nature of this being so vital, I’d concur. Therefore do not “holiday between games” and follow the advice in this link - https://www.guidetofm.com/squad/morale-relationships
  • If players are not in form do not play them. Have a chat with underperforming players and warn them they will lose their place in the team, if they don't shape up, bench them.
  • Keep your squad number low. No more than 25 players in the team, two for each position and three keepers. This is to help with morale and to also to ease off training pressures to help lower risk of injury. If you have reserves or an under 23 team that shares coaches, get all those players out on loan or into the appropriate age group side. You want to optimise the training of your first team squad.
  • Get coaching staff in if you are short handed. Aim for 4 stars minimum across all disciplines and have the training for each area set at ‘light’. I have attached the filters for finding these coaches alongside the player filters.




2.2 Players to pick.

You want players that have decent all round physical stats and decent determination, bravery and work rate (all around 14+) as a baseline for all outfield players. The following information is other desirable stats per position. Using this information, you can make your own filters as for some reason they don’t seem to upload onto here as fmf files. What I'll also say is pick players suited to the positions in terms of what foot they prefer, that includes the IWBs.
GK - Either,
DL, DLC, ML, MLC, FLC - Left
DR, DRC, MR, MRC, FRC - Right

Determination and Work Rate are huge. Do not field players with low stats in either.


Filters per position
Here are the filters per position, ideally you are looking for players with 14+ for each stat.

I have linked the staff and player filters directly below;

Staff Filters - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aifsqkk50ij3vfb/AAAt0sZf5JsLzx6PncWnIlOSa?dl=0

Player Filters- https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q88mfu2estdse13/AABY2ke7Ts6QWFfEswT7z5JNa?dl=0

Sweeper Keeper -
Example in game - Manuel Neuer


Inverted Wingback (support) –
Example in game - Jonny Castro Otto

Inverted Wingback (attack) –
Example in game - Trent Alexander-Arnold

Ball Playing Defender –
Example in game - Leonardo Bonucci

Winger –
Example in game - Matt Ritchie

Deep Lying Playmaker –
Example in game - Fabinho

Box to Box Midfielder –
Example in game - Blaise Matuidi

Pressing Forward –
Example in game - Edinson Cavani

- Play players 93% fitness or higher.


2.3 Team Talks
  • Say nowt pre match,
  • half time if winning by 3 or more (state calmly happy with performance)
  • if winning by less than 3 (state calmly unhappy with performance) - don't do don't let performance levels drop as you'll get hammered unless your team is all 7+ rated.
  • If draw or 1 goal+ behind (state aggressively unhappy with performance)
  • Post Match - if you've won state calmly well done, if draw or loss, calmly unhappy.

2.4 Training


Team Training, use the attached schedules found in the link directly below and at the end of this post alongside the tactic download. Pre-season and match plan. You will noticed vast improvements in the tactics performance and in player development and team cohesion as a result. The link explaining their use is found directly below;

https://community.sigames.com/topic...ission-from-the-couch-to-the-training-ground/

Ok this is going to be controversial but sod it. You folks want honesty yeah? Don’t bother retraining to a position, play the player in the position, they pick it up over time. If you mess about with individual training you increase the rate of injury and it’s not worth it.
I’d state this is different for youth players and youth development, as they won’t get a lot of game time initially. Anyone in that first team squad, have no individual training.
If your training has 4* minimum coaches and is set to light across the board, the players will improve regardless if the training using the schedules linked.

If you are super ******* keen and think I might be wrong, I’d direct you to the fantastic guide on the official forums;
https://community.sigames.com/topic...cially-official-training-and-mentoring-guide/




2.5 Mentoring


When trying to influence the players the game looks at the following things;
  • Age of the potential influenced player
  • Career first team appearances of the potential influenced player
  • Difference in the club hierarchy between the two players
  • Social group standing between the two players (i.e how compatible they are)
If a player fills the criteria above, the more likely the influenced player is to have their personality skewed towards that of the mentoring player. If the player who is being mentored doesn’t fulfil any of the criteria at all, then there's no chance of a personality adjustment occurring. If there is a chance of a personality adjustment occurring then this chance is further boosted if they're in the same mentoring group and training unit.
So my advice is to have maybe 3 or 4 mentoring groups in your squad. Each group should have one team leader or a highly influential player. This player should have good determination and not be a ******* *******. If this is the case the determination stat of the other players in the group will rise in time. I’ve found this hugely beneficial across long term saves.


Cleon from Twitter/SI forums has a great guide on it here;
https://community.sigames.com/topic/469309-mentoring-on-fm19/



2.6 Additional tips;


  • If a player gets booked ease off tackles for that player. If he is booked early and is then injured slightly sub immediately as this is a warning that he’s on tilt.
  • Shouts - demand more as standard every 15 minutes in the game.
  • Substitute any player less than 6.6 if you can at 60 min mark. If under 6.2 take off at halftime.
  • A player with 15+ Freekicks, will make a huge difference to goals scored or assisted with Freekicks.
  • Do not mess about with player positions in set pieces, leave as they are. Likewise don’t add a corner taker AT ALL!
  • Play a consistent side and listen to players problems and reassure or explain why they are not playing (generally because another player is playing well).
  • The RB is your star player in this tactic. Have one with decent finishing and longshots and you'll get lots of goals and assists.
  • No OI’s. That’s right no Opposition Instructions.

2.7 Set pieces


Corners
Don't change the taker. (credit TTF)
- ML takes left corner
- MR takes right corner


Throw in’s
The pyramid style works, don’t **** about with it. (credit Rego08)
- DL should take the left throw-ins
- DR should take the right throw-ins




3. Results


The tactic was tested with Bournemouth with an unchanged squad and likewise Everton for the video. IN both saves the teams massively overshot expectations and challenged for the league.

The results are impressive. The tactic is not set piece reliant but alot of goals came from them regardless. Defensively the goals lost were all unstoppable, sometimes you get the AI deciding its time.

Here is a breakdown of the goals for (62) and against (20) in 20 matches leading up to the new year for the tactic. So roughly scoring 3 but losing 1 per game. It is Bournemouth though, the better the team, the better that ratio will become.



For / Against
  • Open Play - 29 / 17
  • Throw ins - 21/ 2
  • Corners - 4 / 1
  • Freekicks Direct - 1 / 0
  • Freekicks Indirect - 4 / 0
  • Penalty - 4 / 1
Note these results were before the corners were fixed. The tactic now has a corner set up averaging 0.5 goals per game (FourFourTwo)


4. Traditional FourFourtwo

Hi folks,

So corners, the old tactic was averaging 1 every 5/6 games at best. This new tactic averages 1 every game (ish). I have tweaked the DL and DR positions to be fullbacks and the result is a more set piece offensively sound tactic but a less dynamic one. A more traditional fourfourtwo so to speak.

Instructions of note. Do not allocate a corner taker. as long as the AI doesn't allocate one of those players nominated to go short or the DL/DR, you will average a goal a game through that. You'll also average a goal a game through throw-ins minimum, one every two/three games from three kicks and 1/2 from open play. So to win at FM19 using this tactic you need to not concede four or more goals. Hopefully the change in DL/DR's aids with that. The rest of the tactic plays as before.

The team won the Premier League with Bournemouth first season, no transfers using this tactic, results of which and the save game can be viewed directly below;
http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/share-download-fm19-tactics/379780-dyj-6.html#post3210943




4.1 Tips on on playing a long term save, using the Traditional FourFourTwo

Tips on how to convert players, rejuvenate an old team to a young team with success right away and build long term can be found in the linked post below;

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/share-download-fm19-tactics/379780-dyj-6.html#post3211092



NOTE;

Also I have noticed a slight glitch when uploading the traditional tactic.

The first time you load it up, take off all players from set piece duties (the AI will automatically assign them), then reload the tactic on the tactics screen and you are good to go to thereafter add throw in takers, freekick takers but NO corner takers!

If you don't, even if you remove the set piece takers initially, the tactic will still read those players as initially having been allocated.

This should clear up why folks aren't getting alot of corner goals. I found this out after looking at someone's save.



5. Conclusion

Any questions fire below. Any moans about it not working etc will be patched if you haven't followed all the above or at least referenced it.
 
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I'm going to do the test with a top level team like Man City just to see how ridiculously good the results can get for the first half of a season. Will upload by the end of today.
 
Right from the off i'm going to say this is a bastardised version of tactics iv'e seen from Korea, TFF and others on here. Therefore zero credit is being claimed. Likewise the set pieces are from FMGuru & Guido on twitter, TFF and Red Wing on here. Iv'e added my own wee twists to these as I felt appropriate. Basically I have taken best practice from elsewhere and applied it to one tactic. That's all.

So this is what I reckon is the best plug and play tactic that can be made I reckon using a 442 standard formation. It is set piece efficient both attacking and defensively.,

Iv'e road tested it with Bournemouth in the Prem who in real life finsihed 14th and in game were tipped for 14th. In real life they conceded 70 goals. Iv'e tested with them up until January as then transfers etc effect everything. By the end of the tactic test we were 3rd, within 3 points of the top, with easily the most goals scored and 3rd least conceded. With a top team it would be a ******* cake walk.


Ok so how to use this;
- Have players who are physically in shape (stats 13/14 plus physical stats and determination/workrate/bravery) -iv'e added a filter for you to amend to suit you league.
- Play players 93% fitness or higher.
- Keep morale high between games. For info on how - https://www.guidetofm.com/squad/morale-relationships
- If a player gets booked -ease off tackles for that player. If he is booked early and is a defender or MCR, sub at halftime if he is less than 6.8 rating.
- Team Talks - nail.
Say nowt pre match,
  • half time if winning by 3 or more (state calmly happy with performance)
  • if winning by less than 3 (state calmly unhappy with performance)
  • If draw or 1 goal+ behind (state aggressively unhappy with performance)
  • Post Match - if youve won state calmly well done, if draw or loss, calmly unhappy.
- Shouts - demand more as standard every 15 minutes in the game.
- Substitute any player less than 6.6 if you can at 60 min mark. If under 6.2 take off at halftime.
- RB takes right hand side corners and throw ins, LB takes left hand side corners and throw ins.
- A player with 15+ Freekicks, will make a huge difference to goals scored or assisted with Freekicks.
- Do not mess about with player positions in set pieces, leave as they are.
- If players are not in form do not play them. Have a chat with underperforming players and warn them they will lose their place in the team, if they don't shape up, bench them.

- Get coaching staff in if you are short handed - aim for 4 stars minimum across all disciplines and have the training for each area light.
- Let the assistant take training (unless you are a whizzkid) as I find in this game training is the one thing I **** up otherwise. One thing I did do was train players to play the position but iv'e found they become natural overtime if they play the position regardless.
- Play a consistent side and listen to players problems and reassure or explain why they are not playing (generally because another player is playing well).
- The RB is your star player in this tactic. Have one with decent finishing and longshots and you'll get goals. Mines didn't in the tactic test and the results as such show a more balanced reflection but in previous games using it iv'e found he'll get goals.
- Obviously this is a tactic test with no active transfer window. I'd ideally have a squad with 2 players for each position if possible. Starting 11 unchanged unless players are unfit or injured. Keep the numbers of your squad to 24 or less. Anyone else in this squad or reserves/U23's get out on loan to ease the pressure on the training staff.


Now I have to say this Bournemouth side were a great fit for the tactic. I wouldn't have done as well if the team didn't already have players perfect for it. I lost key players to injuries as well such as Callum Wilson for a 1/4 of the testing. Only game we were not the dominant team was the Liverpool away game, it was balanced. The Newcastle result was one where our keeper had a 4.7 rating after throwing the ball into the net twice. Man City, Man Utd, and Liverpool were all due at home the second half of the season, could I have won the league with Bournemouth, possibly, but i'd say without signing anyone and the others strengthening the depth of the squad would get shown up with injuries etc come the end.


Here is a breakdown of the goals for (53) and against (17) in 20 matches.
For / Against
Open Play 28 / 9
Counter 1 / 1
Throw ins 12/ 1
Corners 5 / 1
Freekicks Direct 1 / 2
Freekicks Indirect 1 / 1
Penalty 5 / 3

Please take into account the fact the team had no starting freekick taker of any worth.
So what do these stats tell us? Well the tactic is for one not set piece reliant, which is great but it is efficient. You get a goal every 4 games from a corner, a goal from a throw every 2 games or more and you hardly concede to set pieces, proving set piece efficiency at both ends.

Any questions fire below. Any moans about it not working etc will be patched if you haven't followed all the above.



And what would you say in the next match (motivational speech) after such a match?and if we lead 3 gates to the break or more, why not let them drop? Because I said that I was happy with the result of 4-0 and it immediately became 4-3
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can you put a link to your player filters please
 
Ianis Hagi is awesome at freekicks for me, almost into double figures in his 2nd season. I'll have a look at the setpieces for this later, I use Guru/guidos & TTF throw in in rotation during the game already (always forget you can have a few at a time doh!)

In a side note: seen any decent 6yr box corners (got a near/far/short sorted already)

will throw this into my Rangers game. :)

 
can you put a link to your player filters the link in ttf thread doesnt work
 
And what would you say in the next match (motivational speech) after such a match?and if we lead 3 gates to the break or more, why not let them drop? Because I said that I was happy with the result of 4-0 and it immediately became 4-3

You still won. Wheesht.
 
any change of mentality for away games or against big teams?
 
Has anyone got any recommendations for players in this tactic??
 
aren't you suffering from counters? mostly when pressing high my players are always leaving the opposition striker alone and suffered abit of goals like this
 
aren't you suffering from counters? mostly when pressing high my players are always leaving the opposition striker alone and suffered abit of goals like this

If your players are comparable for the level they are at, fast and fit you will not suffer from this. Do not play with this tactic is you have slow or unfit players in your side.
 
can i use corners/throw-in/free-kicks from this tactic for Gladiator v1?
 
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