Tactics
Here is the tactic for the upcoming season which will be the basis for our system. It’ll change on a game to game basis depending on the threat/weaknesses of the opposition.
I dabbled with the idea of the CM-D being a DLP-D, however we want the ball to get forward as quickly as possible and the DLP slows the play down to retain possession, which we’re not really bothered about.
The left back will be slightly more adventurous, Wishart is the first team choice here. He’s decent at crossing, so he’ll be asked to cross the ball more often from deep. The rest of the defence are no nonsense defenders.
The left winger is set to support duty, meaning he’ll get into crossing positions and stay wider more often than the attacking right winger. We’ll be playing Frear on this flank who’s a good crosser of the ball, so it makes sense to keep him wider and have him floating in the crosses.
As I explained in an earlier post, the CM with support duty has ‘get further forward’ to aid attacks and help cause an overload. Since we’ve got decent players who can dribble in this position, such as Traoré and Noble, I’ve selected ‘dribble more’. This ensure they really drive the team forward whilst attacking. However, with this player instruction we run the risk of committing the sinful act of losing the ball in the centre, meaning we’ll be exposed. When we’re shutting games down and playing even safer, this will be removed.
The right winger is set to Winger with attack duty, he’ll get further forward to play off the Target man and to arrive late to get on the end of the left winger’s crosses.
Up front we’ve got the classic TM & poacher combo. If the opposition is overloading the midfield, the TM will mark their deepest midfielder, cutting him off from the rest of the attack. Essentially, it’ll transform the target man into a defensive forward whilst we’re defending. This’ll mean he’ll get knackered easily, he’ll be running a fair distance and fighting for the ball in the air, so he’ll probably be substituted for some fresh legs in the closing stages.
Team Instructions
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Our tempo will be set to normal so that we can adjust it accordingly as the match develops. We’ll slow it down whilst we’re winning and defending. We’ll speed it up when they’re defending deeper and we’re struggling to get through. We’ll also select be more expressive in these scenarios.
A slightly deeper defensive line will be adopted, giving us the freedom to drop even deeper when required. I dabbled with the idea of getting stuck in to really bully teams which is part of our philosophy, however getting stuck in means going to ground and compromises our defence structure, so we’ll be selective when using this.
Building up, we’re exploiting the flanks to make the most of the wingers and to lose the ball in less dangerous areas. If we’re more rampant on a certain flank, exploiting the other flank can be removed to channel more attacks down their weakest flank. More direct passing will get the ball forward quicker. We’ll also be passing into space to get balls in behind.
I haven’t selected any attacking instructions. Hit early crosses will be selected when the opposition is pushing higher up the field. We’ll also be floating crosses in against small teams, allowing Palmer to position himself and make the most of them.
All in all, it’s a pretty simple tactic that can be adjusted to adapt to various situations. I’ve found in FM with tactics that sometimes less is more. I’d appreciate any thoughts on these tactics and any glaring mistakes/ weaknesses.