Cheers mate. I also like the idea of a dedicated defender so im going with what you said to have Fletcher as my ball winning mid on defend. Im not sure how well sneijder will fit in as a centre mid on defence so i will try him as an advanced playmaker support or deep lying playmaker support?

You said you like the rest of the team to attack so do you set rooney's duty as attack? and im guessing complete forward support or deep lying forward as the role ?

As for Uniteds passing i am conviced that it is default in fm as they play short in the middle and direct on the wings? is this correct?

Also, sell berba, i got rid of him first season for 20 mil to malaga. Get some more all round forwards in like cavani.

I have Rooney as a trequartista (tweaked) for sometime now but the stats for this save are 20 apps, 11 assists 15 goals and average rating of 8.24 but you could use him as a complete forward attack.

I have that set to short but you could use default, you could have short when trying to control the game and default when attacking.

Got Cavani already want to see want he was like for my last game because in all my previous saves he's a beast of forward constantly winning best striker european top marksman award so I want to see what he be like under my management luckly he been good, got 24 goals out of 28 games.
 
I have Rooney as a trequartista (tweaked) for sometime now but the stats for this save are 20 apps, 11 assists 15 goals and average rating of 8.24 but you could use him as a complete forward attack.

I have that set to short but you could use default, you could have short when trying to control the game and default when attacking.

Got Cavani already want to see want he was like for my last game because in all my previous saves he's a beast of forward constantly winning best striker european top marksman award so I want to see what he be like under my management luckly he been good, got 24 goals out of 28 games.

So i take it you play your two forwards and your two wingers with attack duty? And you have your 2 centre mids with defend/support duty?
Also do you have your fullbacks set to support or attack?
Yeah ive bought cavani for a number of teams ( barca, united, arsenal) and wherever he goes he bangs in goals.
 
So i take it you play your two forwards and your two wingers with attack duty? And you have your 2 centre mids with defend/support duty?
Also do you have your fullbacks set to support or attack?
Yeah ive bought cavani for a number of teams ( barca, united, arsenal) and wherever he goes he bangs in goals.

I use a 4-2-4 when playing against teams that I should win and a 4-2-3-1 when against tough opposition, with one winger with attack and one in support with same creative freedom as attack like what mike said above, my centre mids I change depending on oppositon if a team plays a AMC I use 2 DMC instread. Fullbacks are on auto LB is a wingback RB fullback.
 
I'm currently working on a similar tactic and so far my results have been:

GK = Regular Goalkeeper - VDS in FM, De Gea IRL - Does not really matter

DR = Full-back (support) - Smalling IRL, Rafael in FM, Reserves for this are O'Shea and Wes Brown (Evans can be trained for it later on) if they get to play they should be limited to a defend duty as they are not very good at the offensive attributes (Crossing, Dribbling, Pace, off the ball etc.)

DCR = Ball-playing defender (defend) - Rio Ferdinand - Backup for this is Jones and Evans, Jones is a bit underrated considering his technique in fm though so it might not be such good idea to play him in this role.

DCL = Central defender (defend) - Nemanja Vidic - Backups being same as above smalling can be played here as well, he too is a bit underrated in FM as well, imo. I choose to play my center-backs with defend duty because they are so good that they will be able to make the call of going forward or staying back themselves due to their high mental attributes.

DL = full-back/Wingback (attack) - Patrice Evra - Besides being a superb player in defence Evra also shines in attack due to his ability to dribble and his mental attributes plus his immense pace, his crossing ain't so good though so i'd limit this to sometimes / rarely, he can also be played with support duty due to his PPM's in this case I’d limit his through balls to sometimes. I'm sad to do this since Evra is so good in offense IRL but in FM his distribution is horrible so it's sorta needed.

MCR = Ball-Winning Midfielder - Darren Fletcher - I've chosen this role due to Fletchers limited technique in FM, IRL i believe he plays a sort of box-to-box role or maybe just a regular midfielder role, but this role allows him to do what he's good at, pressing the opposition, intercepting passes and getting those tackles in high up the pitch. I've chosen to limit his runs with ball to rarely, since he is no dribbler but more of a hard worker, reason for support role is that we do see him join some attacks and operate higher up the pitch than his midfield partner.

MCL = Deep-lying playmaker (defend) - Carrick / Scholes - This is the recent role Ferguson have been playing these two players in, where they always stay back, rarely entering the box, always being available for a pass and distributing nice passes around the pitch as well. Considering this I’ve tinkered with putting the passing range up to full, but haven't really chosen to go with it yet.

AML = Inside-Forward (attack) - Nani in FM, IRL = Young - These are the new modern wingers seen in many teams and now also Manchester United, these two swap position and will aim to cut inside the pitch and fire off a shot or passing along to a team mate if no space is open. Besides the option going inside they are also allowed to trick the opposition defender, thereby going towards the touchline making a cross, probably a drilling one into the feet of Hernandez.

AMR = Inside-Forward / Winger (Attack) – This one depends, in the game you will mostly likely have to use Valencia meaning a winger role, but in real life Fergie is currently using Young + Nani cutting inside, but this fits well into FM because if you play either O’Shea or Brown on the right back you will probably lack width if playing inside forwards as they do lack attacking attributes.

STR = Deep-Lying Forward / Complete Forward (Support) – Rooney/Dimitar – Adjust him to maximum creative freedom and he will be working wonders up front creating chances for his teammates and scoring goals himself at will. I also use Dimitar here due to his lack in pace and great distribution ability in FM.

STL = Advanced Forward / Poacher (Attack) – Wellbeck/Hernandez/Rooney – The spearhead of the attacks played very differently depending on the player used. Rooney could eventually be used as complete forward (attack) due to his great all round ability, but he works fine as advanced forward as well, I wouldn’t recommend using him as a poacher though, since this would probably hold him back, unless given a lot creative freedom.
Wellbeck and Hernandez should probably be used as poachers in the start of the game as their passing/teamwork ability isn’t really that great, so the aspect of their game to utilize is their pace. Later on after a few seasons they both develop a lot and thereby they can join the game more, hence playing the role as Advanced Forward.

Philosophy = Fluid, this is due to the recent fluidity Ferguson have been allowing on the team, meaning his usual solid back four is being given more creative freedom, which shows by their runs up the pitch as seen in Barcelona (Pique & Puyol). It also shows up front where we’ve seen in the recent matches, that the attackers and wings have been taking defensive runs to cover up for full backs being caught high up the pitch for an example.

Starting Strategy = Control, with Counter Attacks ticked on. I will not go into depth with this as I find it obvious that united will mostly look to control their games and punish oppositions overextended with great counter attacks.
Team Instructions

Passing Style = Here I’ve been going in between shorter and default, ending up with default due to United playing a bit more direct than Barcelona, Arsenal etc. This is probably also needed due to their typical off the ball not being as high, meaning they won’t move around the pitch as well as the above mentioned teams.

Creative Freedom = More expressive, explained at the philosophy section.

Closing Down = Press More, this is like many of Fergusons recent changes in the tactic, a more global tactic used by offensive sides such as Spain, Argentina, Barcelona, Real Madrid etc. Aiming to recapture the ball fast after losing possession, preventing the opposition from building up attacks.

Marking = Zonal or Default, rather hard to determine due to it changing depending on the opposition.
Crossing = Drill crosses or default, in reality it depends on from where they set in the cross and who’s in the box, if you wanna cross to dimitar you might send in a balloon, but if you wanna distribute to Hernandez you’re gonna want a hard cross to the front post.

Roaming = More Roaming, due to the new inside forwards this is pretty obvious, ain’t worth much cutting inside if you’re supposed to stay at the flank.

I’ve ticked playmaker to none, due to united having no true playmaker, unless you consider rooney as one, though I myself do not consider the team to have a true playmaker, since Scholes has retired.

I've done quite well with the tactic winning the Champions league a few times, the league at all my attempts. At the other smaller competetions i've been using my youth players to help them develop.

My couple of few cents ;)

Edited for more "clarity" ?

Sorry for bad english in advance.
 
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I think that we can all agree that the formation is a cross between a 4-2-4, 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 IRL you can see a hint of all of three but on FM I think its down to the players preference.

Philosophy: Fluid - I think we all agree this Fergie approach now.

Starting Strategy: Control - This is true without a doubt because of importance of keeping possession in the modern game.

Passing: Default - Agree with Colakim3 united are more direct when compared to barca and arsenal how many times have united been knocking the ball then scholes hits a wonderful diagonal pass to the wideman or when rooney a switches ball to other the flank.

Creative Freedom: More Expressive - Fergie like his players to play to their strengths
Closing Down: Default - Think it be a mixture of both depending on opposition again up to the player on FM
Tackling: Default
Marking: Zonal
Crossing: Default
Roaming: More Roaming

I have been wondering this for a while I thought I would ask on here instead of starting a new thread.
How would you emulate man united from the 98/99 and man united team from 07/08
 
I use it for Euro and games like liverpool away games were it might not be straight forward win

ESPN Gamecast is not a bad tool to look at when look at players average position

1st picture starting position
View attachment 193838

2nd picture is the average position
View attachment 193839

Looking at the average position their is the stopper/cover partnership it also slightly resembles a 4-2-3-1 asymmetric

Very good observation about the resemblense to 4-2-3-1 asymmetric, which is something Fergie has favoured in the past. I think it's an excellent starting point.
 
I am still not sure how to set up my cm's in a 4-2-4 (aml/amr) formation.
I have sneijder and fletcher in my midfield, what roles and duties would suit them best, but also provide balance for the tactic?

Should i play support-support? Support-Defend? Attack-defend? or Attack- support?

Also would it be ok if i played my starting strategy on attack or will this mess up the tactic?
 
I am still not sure how to set up my cm's in a 4-2-4 (aml/amr) formation.
I have sneijder and fletcher in my midfield, what roles and duties would suit them best, but also provide balance for the tactic?

Should i play support-support? Support-Defend? Attack-defend? or Attack- support?

Also would it be ok if i played my starting strategy on attack or will this mess up the tactic?

My CM's at the moment are set to DLP - defend and Advance Playmaker support or DLP support , but for you I would go support/defend

No setting attack as your starting strategy will not mess up the tactic
 
Cool. So how does this sound:

De Gea- Goalkeeper-Defend
Maicon- Full Back- Support
Musacchio-Ball Playing Defender-Defend (Not sure if i should go for the stopper/cover here?)
Vidic- Central Defender- Defend
Evra- Full back - Support

Sneijder- Advanced Playmaker- Support
Fletcher- Ball winning mid- Defend

Nani- Inside Forward- Attack
Young- Inside Forward- Attack
Rooney- Deep lying forward- support (Still unsure what role or duty to play rooney?)
Cavani- Poacher- attack

Team Instructions
Fluid-Attacking
Default passing
Default Freedom ( As attacking strategy gives enough freedom i think?)
Default tackling
Zonal Marking
More Roaming (Though i dont think that effects anything as im playing with roles that already have roaming on)

Is there anything you would suggest i should change?
 
Cool. So how does this sound:

De Gea- Goalkeeper-Defend
Maicon- Full Back- Support
Musacchio-Ball Playing Defender-Defend (Not sure if i should go for the stopper/cover here?)
Vidic- Central Defender- Defend
Evra- Full back - Support

Sneijder- Advanced Playmaker- Support
Fletcher- Ball winning mid- Defend

Nani- Inside Forward- Attack
Young- Inside Forward- Attack
Rooney- Deep lying forward- support (Still unsure what role or duty to play rooney?)
Cavani- Poacher- attack

Team Instructions
Fluid-Attacking
Default passing
Default Freedom ( As attacking strategy gives enough freedom i think?)
Default tackling
Zonal Marking
More Roaming (Though i dont think that effects anything as im playing with roles that already have roaming on)

Is there anything you would suggest i should change?

The only things I would suggest is set your fullbacks to auto and change your starting strategy depending on your opposition or how confident you are at winning try Rooney as a complete fwd support
 
I'd say you should play Sneijder as Deep-Lying playmaker since Ferguson prefers playing his two midfielders deep eventually allowing fletcher to take rushes forward but having carrick remaining deep, this has been changed recently due to the nature of Cleverly, so not really sure what to do here, to me having two staying deep gives more balance since the wingers are pushed so high up the field.
 

The formation looks good, looks interesting maybe worth a try, however the defensive line looks too high for united and playing through the middle would take away two of uniteds strengths and that is the widemen. I must say it does look like one of the many barcelona style tactics I have seen
 
In reality United has started to play more and more through the middle perhaps due to the current modern tendencies, though i do nok agree with fletcher in the anchorman defensive role whatever, he is playing more like a box-to-box or ball-winning midfielder, in the last few seasons mostly alongside Carrick, Scholes and Giggsy, this season we will probably see more of Cleverley and Anderson in these positions, i agree with that.
 
both Cm's are on a support role if you want to relate it back into Fm terms... Wingers are support and Rooney is support, the only attacking role is really the right hand side striker, Hernandez/Welbeck...
 
Why do you think so?

I see them as attacking roles, but due to the fluid / (very fluid in some games) tactic, Rooney for an example sometimes will join the defence and the full-backs and now sometimes even the center-backs will join the attack :)
 
my point exactly, he supports the midfield and defence! Anderson or Cleverley do not run with the ball constantly, they create space amongst themselves by the quick/short passing!

they support the wingers and strikers
 
It's hard to say really in my opinion, Anderson and Cleverley wasn't played very much last year, currently it looks like they are the first choices, all though i believe fletcher (when he's back in full fitness) and carrick will be the midfield combo/duo used in the big games or the ones where Fergie dosn't want to do any gambling on youngsters (if there are such games ;) ).

I gotta disagree with you on cleverley not running with the ball though, i believe he runs with it waaay more than carrick / scholes and also cleverley takes a lot of forward runs, which dosn't really fit with the midfielders staying deep thought, but i guess it's just another way of playing the midfielder not staying deep, meaning it's either an offensive one (cleverley) or a more defensive/ball-winning minded one (fletcher) it's hard to narrow it down and simplify IRL tactics into FM especially Fergies.
 
Anderson or Cleverley do not run with the ball constantly
operative word being constantly...

I never said they don't, of course they run with it more than Carrick and Scholes as it is a completely different approach Fergie has taken this year and it is working extremely well! Carrick and Fletcher are going to have a tough time getting back into the team at the moment, Fergie does not care how old players are, if they play well they will be picked! Simple!

It is going to be a different style when Carrick and or Fletcher come back as they are completely different players to Anderson and Cleverley. I doubt we will see Carrick and Fletcher starting, one will start with either Anderson or Cleverley to keep the style we have formed this year so far...

Check my tactic I linked above, I never said anything about them being deep! both of the Cm's do pretty much the same role, the only difference is that one moves into channels and one sort of holds the shape while the other Cm is looking/moving into space just like in real life, to make it even more realistic, you can set the two Cm's to swap positions as well which will rotate them :)
 
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