From Villans To Heroes

[rawket]

Really good thread here mate. Will be a good challenge as Villa and I like the style you are working in, I never really bother reading all the fleshed out "story" bits in stories anyway haha

And I made VERY similar signings in my first year (at Man Utd though)

If it's not too late, see if Dino Halilovic is available (I got him free I think). I put him in games I thought were win-able for Utd and he was class as AMC, at 16 he got 10 goals and around 5 assists in 16ish appearances.

Yeap he's free. Thanks for the heads up. Managed to sign him just before the window shut. My staff seem to think he doesn't have too much potential though. (3.5 stars)
I'll see how he develops then decide his future at the club. Much better than half my youth team anyways.

When I set a team out I sometimes look at what the opposition formation will be and adjust instructions for them. No wide players = exploit the flanks. Things along those lines

I see. What about stuff like their passing style?
And if the report indicates they tend to concede in the first 15 minutes is it wise to go out attacking them from kick off?

 

[Average Joe]

Tidy , hes developing at a decent rate for me and is rated 4.5* potential at Utd.

Plus he always seems to score cracking goals from range for me!

I tend not to focus too much on what those reports say really, i just try to focus my tactic around the players I have.

At the moment Im playing a false 9 ahead of a shadow striker in AMC, my thoughts being if the false 9 drags the defense away, the SS can get in and my inside forward can cut in from the left.

If a player has low finishing, give him the instruction to shoot less etc.

I worry more about how I want my team to play than what the oppositions weaknesses are as you never know what players they used during those periods etc.

 

[rawket]

Tidy , hes developing at a decent rate for me and is rated 4.5* potential at Utd.

Plus he always seems to score cracking goals from range for me!

I tend not to focus too much on what those reports say really, i just try to focus my tactic around the players I have.

At the moment Im playing a false 9 ahead of a shadow striker in AMC, my thoughts being if the false 9 drags the defense away, the SS can get in and my inside forward can cut in from the left.

If a player has low finishing, give him the instruction to shoot less etc.

I worry more about how I want my team to play than what the oppositions weaknesses are as you never know what players they used during those periods etc.

Cool, thanks for the tips mate!

 

[rawket]

Transfer Update
I managed to snap up the young Dino Halilovic (Alen's brother) as well as secured Simone Pepe on loan for 60% of his wages. Will be looking to develop Dino's pace and technical ability while Simone would bring some useful depth on the wings, as well as serve as a tutor to Grealish.

Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham

So my winning streak comes to an end against a pretty solid Spurs team at home. I had a 2 week break thanks to the international games, but I arranged a friendly for those who weren't called up, to maintain match fitness.
Spurs have a talented midfield of Lamela, Lennon and Yarmolenko. Their midfield pivot of Fernando and Paulinho can probably best my midfield three on any day. Plus their full backs like to get involved in the attacking play.

I set Romero (DM) to mark Lamela, while instructing Agbonlahor and Grealish to mark Walker and Davies. Lamela was significantly quieter and wasn't given a lot of time on the ball to work his magic. Davies didn't get forward as much as I had expected (which is good) so Hutton was able to get forward more to provide some crosses. The main threat was and continued to be the Spurs right flank no matter what I did. Walker seemed to constantly lose Agbonlahor (if he was ever marking him) and together with Lennon was constantly putting in crosses, which Vlaar and Balanta always managed to clear. I changed Agbonlahor to a support role and Cissokho to a defending fullback role, but there wasn't any real difference. Soldado got his head on the ball a few times but never really provided the end product. By 30 mins I had Balanta mark him as well.

Just before half time, Hutton put in a cross to the far post and a surging Agbonlahor managed a shot which deflected off Lloris into the goal. But Spurs got one back through Yarmolenko after Guzan blocked a shot from Eriksen. (Who came on for the ineffective Lamela) Eventually managed to hold Tottenham back till the whistle.

A good point which I'll gladly take, but I'm rather ****** that Delph picked up a groin strain from and unnecessary tackle on Soldado. He'll be out for three weeks and his box-to-box ability will be missed.

Benteke Returns!
Christian Benteke is back from injury and is getting his fitness up to standard. I'm excited, but he's rather inconsistent on FM.

Club Takeover!

I see Lerner finally has a buyer. Looking forward to a new board who hopefully will be willing to spend more to invest in the club. Would really like to up the standards of our youth facilities.

Aston Villa 4-1 Leicester

With the league cup game against Liverpool 3 days later, I made some changes to the usual XI. Not sure if it's because Leicester chose to crowd the midfield with a 4-5-1 or because I'm fielding backups. Simone Pepe got his first start for the club though and was excellent as a Ramdeuter, evident from his hat trick. All 3 goals were scored at close range, and he did a pretty good job at popping up in threatening areas. Gabby netted a goal as well, after I aggressively demanded that he put in more effort. All in all a resounding victory marred by Cambiasso's lucky shot from outside the box. Haven't been able to rack up clean sheets with goals like these. Not sure if it's down to my defenders.

Liverpool 0-2 Aston Villa (League Cup)

Glad I rested some of my players. With a near full strength side we managed to best Liverpool in the League Cup. Vlaar netted one after Grealish's free kick rebounded off Brad Jones. Grealish later scored from another free kick to make it 2-0 for us and sending us into the next round against...

Chelsea. Just great.

Sunderland 0-0 Aston Villa

Frustrating match after Romero decided it was a good opportunity to get his digital **** sent off just before half time. The team was still in control of the match but couldn't break a resolute Sunderland side despite pouring men forward for the last half hour.

Romero's out for 3 matches, and so marks the beginning of the game's plans to ruin my success thus far.

Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa

Cleverley isn't allowed to play against his club. Delph is still recovering from his groin strain. Romero is suspended. That leaves Sanchez, Westwood and Richardson to hold United's Fellaini, Herrera, Di Maria and Mata at bay. Didn't work out too well. Mata was extremely elusive even with man-marking and closing down. At least Rafael and Shaw didn't put in good games after being marked and harassed by Gabby and Grealish. We were holding our own pretty well and managed to equalise but Rooney's goal late in the game killed it.

Then again nothing I can complain about. Fair result really, considering the stats above. There goes the unbeaten run that we never really deserved.

Sanchez twists his ankle 2 days later and is out for 4 weeks.

Aston Villa 2-1 Brentford
International break here, so giving the other guys in my squad some game time to maintain fitness. Let my *** man do the job as well.

Westwood gets injured. Fractured ribs, out for 7 weeks.

Q.P.R. 1-3 Aston Villa

So I started the game without a holding mid. Tweaked my midfield 3 to a flat line with Delph as Box to Box, Cleverley as AP and Richardson as BWM. Richardon had to be taken off in the 27th minute anyway, forcing me to bring on Cole and shift my midfield a bit.

We went behind after a Charlie Austin header. That was poor defending and marking really. Cissokho fired home a poorly cleared corner on 50 minutes. Agbonlahor netted another after Benteke's header was blocked. And Robert Green just had to round up the night by fumbling Weimann's header into his net. Comfortable win in the end, but Benteke continues his pathetic return with a 6.40 rating, hardly doing anything that match.

Aston Villa 0-2 Hull City

By far the most frustrating match I had to endure. Again I had to start with Delph, Cleverley and Richardson. I decided to give Benteke another shot ahead of Weimann, and I would regret it. He was ineffective as expected. Jores Okore was pestering me for some game time as well (despite having played the previous match). He scored a 7.90 though and seemed pretty solid so I picked him again. Bad decision. He put in a terrible performance.

And so the game continues its campaign against my good form. Hull scores in the first minute and we had to play catch up the entire match. I switched between attacking and overload but we didn't net an equaliser. Our crossing was especially poor. Grealish's corners somehow were all low crosses even though the team instruction was to whip them. (Not that it should affect I think)

So I vented my anger on the team and sent them out again. Still no equaliser. But Hull decided to injure Delph so I had to replace him with Bacuna, who in all honesty had a decent game but really wasn't good enough. The AI then decided that wasn't enough so it let Hull score after a cross from a corner bounced about like 4 times before entering the net. Didn't help one bit that Cleverley got injured. As was Gabby later, and I had used up all 3 subs so by 78 minutes we were 10 against 11, leaving us in a pretty poor position to mount a comeback. To conclude the terrible display, Cole was injured in the 90th minute as well.

Should've seen that one coming. A team in 19th position is always going to threaten.

Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa (League Cup)

Ok this was never going to be winnable. But it does little for the morale. I'm lucky none of those injured against Hull were actually injured. Bar Cole. He has a broken foot and will be out for 4 months. Andi Weimann though managed to strain his thigh in training and will sit out for a week or so.

Chelsea was too good going forward and amazingly organized when defending. The game does very well to replicate their transition from 4-2-3-1 to a flat 4-5-1 when defending. It's like they have two formations set, one for attacking and one for defending. Would be cool if I could set up something like that. Is it even possible?
Cleverley's own goal and Andre Schurrle's late goal pretty much settled the deal. It was a very one-sided match, quite like against Man Utd.


And that concludes an average September and a very disappointing month of October.

Ohh wait, did I mention...

Good news? No, I couldn't possibly think of a worse time to enforce a transfer embargo. I had just agreed contracts with some African regens and the transfers got cancelled.
This takeover better be worth it.

 

[Average Joe]

In my Utd save Villa always get linked with a takeover that never ends up happening!

 

[rawket]

In my Utd save Villa always get linked with a takeover that never ends up happening!

Oh dear... Could really use some funds after I splurged (somewhat) in the last window. :c

 

[rawket]

An Update On The Club's (Failed) Takeover
Title says it all. I blame the virtual Lerner for all this.

We finally have a buyer. Which is near impossible irl. And just like in real life, the club always finds a way to push back the frontiers of incompetence, to widen the scope of ineptitude, to prove that failure has no boundaries.

On with the story:

On the bright side my transfer budget is no longer in the red after this whole embargo and disembargo!
And then I had to play Sanchez in his 10th league game, thus forcing the club to pay Elche 150k. Now I'm in debt again.

 

[rawket]

I ended October with back to back 2-0 losses to Hull and Chelsea, and the morale was dipping. My early successes with the club had fooled the players into thinking that they were a leading Premier League side. Now they're coming to terms with the fact that they're pretty average. Or below average.

Stoke 0-3 Aston Villa

They then decide it's a great time to further confuse everyone about the club's true abilities by resoundingly beating Stoke 3-0 away, despite stats suggesting that it was a pretty even match. (No really, it wasn't)
Goals from Benteke (finally!), Vlaar and Grealish sent us into the top 4, overtaking Man City.

Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham

We continued our return to winning ways by struggling to put down a second-best West Ham side, only netting 2 of our 19 shots. A win is a win though, and the 3 points meant we moved to 3rd place, displacing Arsenal. Not particularly reflective of our abilities though.

Manchester City 3-2 Aston Villa

Then the real test came as we faced City away. City started with their 4-4-2 as expected. I carried on with our 4-3-3 to dominate the centre. Wasn't happening. Then Fernando was sent off in the 16th minute, we had 3 men in midfield against their one. Still wasn't happening.

We had 2 goals called for offside before Romero finally scored from 20 yards. Aguero managed to nick one a few minutes later from a good cross. Toure then put City ahead with a solid header at 61 minutes, before Benteke equalised a minute later. It was pretty even, until Nasri scored from the edge of the box to seal the 3 points. Weimann, who just returned from injury, picked up another and has to sit out another week.

The lack of midfield dominance still puzzles me. :/

Aston Villa 2-3 Arsenal

So off the back of the City match, we faced Arsenal at home. We took 17 shots but most of them missed the goal. Starting to doubt the Benteke and Agbonlahor's finishing. Again, against a 4-4-2 the midfield 3 failed to dominate their opposite duo. Cleverley put in a terrible game and had to be subbed at half time but still it didn't work out. Alvarez's own goal was probably the turning point in the match, giving Arsenal a comfortable buffer and encouraging them to push forward and pin us back as we tried in vain to claw back. Hutton's header gave us hope but our finishing let us down as we poured forward in search for that equaliser.

Though to be honest I didn't expect to pick up anything against City or Arsenal. We've dropped to 5th though, but we're still on target for that Europa League spot. Lol.

 

[rawket]

December was a busy month and frankly I quite hate the fixture congestion and injuries have thinned the squad a fair bit, though most of my players were on their way back to recovery. Still, their lack of match fitness is a problem.

Everton 2-1 Aston Villa

We kicked started the string of games with a 2-1 loss to Everton.

Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle

Drab match with Newcastle probably the better side, boasting Cabella, De Jong, Gouffran and co. Tim Krul had a blunder so we came out on top.

West Brom 2-0 Aston Villa

Statistically we had the ball in their half much of the time, but we couldn't get shots or find the net. Eventually we conceded two quick goals in the space of 2 minutes and surrendered the match to West Brom. There are only so many times that I can tell the team that we were unlucky though. It's starting to get repetitive.

Aston Villa 19-0 Brymbo

For the lols. Since morale was low I thought why not.
Still, pretty cool.

Aston Villa 4-1 Southampton

I thought maybe a change of tactics would help the losing streak. Employed the 4-2-3-1 that I had set up just so I could shut my *** man up about match preparation. Cleverley as trequartista put in a fine game and was key to our dominance and eventual victory. Agbonlahor and Pepe played as Raumdeuters with Weimann as false nine. Romero was in the deep lying playmaker role while Sanchez was the ball winner.

Burnley 0-2 Aston Villa

Since the 4-2-3-1 worked, I tweaked it slightly but employed it again. Weimann put us ahead with a strong header. We then gave away a cheap penalty when Lowton was caught holding on to Boyd in the box. Guzan made a brilliant save though and funnily enough, popped up at the other end to slot away a penalty in the 48th minute. Benteke is my designated taker, but since he's not on the field and I didn't select a backup (I'm lazy that way), the AI thought it'd be a good idea to have the keeper take the kick.

Unfortunately it wasn't all good. I received a report from the physio after the match. Pepe will be out for 3 months with a torn hamstring, which is pretty long. January window's round the corner so I guess I'll be seeking a replacement for him. I can't afford to keep paying his wages if he'll be out that long though, so I'm going to have to terminate his loan. What a pity, I had only just figured out how to fit him as a raumdeuter with a false nine and it seemed to be working pretty good. At least better than usual.

Aston Villa 1-0 Chelsea

Lucky result. We should have gone ahead when we got a penalty but Benteke decided that he relished a challenge. He put in a **** of a performance that match and we needed Agbonlahor's strike from the edge of the box from Grealish's cross after some rare intricate passing in the midfield to win. So much more complicated. I'm starting to think I should offload Benteke when an offer comes in. Tottenham are rumoured to be interested.

Aston Villa 3-1 Crystal Palace

Off the back of 3 straight wins in the league (4 if you count the 19-0 game) we were on great form once again. I let my team know in the team meeting and there was a sharp boost in morale, which was an advantage going into the Palace game.

Grealish's header put us ahead, only for Chamakh to equalise just before the break after a scramble in the box. A similar situation from a corner gave Hutton the chance to score, before Grealish put the game beyond further doubt by scoring off a Benteke rebound.

Pretty solid game where we were certainly the better side throughout. But I thought we could have prevented some opposition chances if our defense knew what they were doing half the time.

Westwood wins the ball eventually but it rolls into that space there and Chamakh almost gets a shot on goal. Fortunately Okore made it back in time.
Legendary defense.

Newcastle 3-2 Aston Villa

I don't particularly like getting knocked out of cups, even though I had zero chance to win it. But Newcastle were surprisingly strong, as they were the previous time we played them. At least fixture congestion won't be too big a problem now.

Anyway, as you can see, my away form is terrible. Something to work on.
On the bright side, the January Transfer Window is here. I can get a second shot at selling Clark.

 

[rawket]

January Transfer Window Update

I've terminated Simone Pepe's loan following his injury. I was fortunate to be able to secure Munir on loan from Barcelona. A quick and agile striker who can offer a different option from Benteke, and will probably be more reliable than the very inconsistent Agbonlahor.

I've also been tracking two young Brazilians my scout had recommended, and they've recently been released by their clubs. Not world beaters, but decent enough potential to make a profit from. Plus their wages are pretty low. Managed to sign them but neither earned a work permit so they can't even feature in my reserves. Bummer. Going to desperately try to get them out on loan.

Since my transfer budget is still in the red, and I've no idea if Lerner will provide enough the next season, I decided to look at some players whose contracts are expiring. And I've found some pretty good talents that I've managed to snag from their clubs.

There's a known issue with the game where you can offer a much better contract than their current club, but they'd choose the 1k/w over the 20k/w salary, which really defies logic and SI should look to correct this.

Nevertheless, as long as I offer a "very acceptable" contract to the player, they will sign immediately, thus giving their current club no chance to put in an offer. I will have to offer more than what they're asking though, which isn't always peanuts. And since I'm broke and cannot pay anything out of my budget, I have to convince them not to include sign on fees and agent fees. High salaries and bonuses then.

Anyway, on to the players:

Nicola Leali (GK)

Juventus' loss here as I'd like to think he can improve more on his handling, kicking, one on ones, aerial ability and command of area. Perhaps the long term replacement for Brad Guzan? I've yet to decide if I should send him out on loan or keep him at the club and maybe rotate. He'll get much fewer games if he stays though.

Zakaria Bakkali (AML)

Excellent dribbling, technique, flair and off the ball with good enough pace and acceleration. Shooting can be worked on. Will definitely boost the squad's attack. Would like to have him play opposite Grealish on the left wing, though I could use him as a striker as well. His strength and stamina though, is meh. And he's really lazy. Not sure how much I can pull up.

Matteo Bianchetti (CB)

Good heading ability, and defensively very sound with good marking, tackling and positioning. With his strong mental stats, especially his bravery, concentration and leadership, he'll go far in his career, and he's only 21. Might be the direct replacement for Ron Vlaar, if any clubs are still interested in buying him after he signed a 4 year contract. Only obvious issue with Bianchetti is his lack of pace, which is a real bummer.

Antonio Barreca (LB)

Still much potential to fulfill but at 19 I think he will improve a lot. His positioning will need some serious work, but his crossing looks good. Will have to get him a tutor to pull up his determination. Looks like he can develop into a good header and he is naturally fit. Composure also looks great.

Patric (RB)

Unwanted Barcelona graduate who at just 21 has very good tackling, marking and positioning stats, making him very solid defensively. Other mental attributes like anticipation, bravery and concentration are great as well. His quickness leaves more to be desired though, as well as his crossing and as he's close to his full potential I'm not sure how much more it can increase. But still a good upgrade in the right back department, where I am looking to offload Lowton or Hutton at the end of the season.

Mour Samb (ST)

Young 20 year old Senegalese striker with a determined personality, which should help him develop faster. Has decent finishing, first touch, heading, technique, off the ball and anticipation which I hope will increase. Only issue is he is physically weak with low strength and jumping reach. Would like to improve his work rate as well.

I'd like to approach to sign Cleverley as his contract runs out in June as well, but I think because he's on loan now I can't put in an offer. He's been a consistent performer in midfield and I would like to keep him, especially since United have zero interest in using him.

I also let Senderos and Richardson out on loan till the end of the season, with future fees included. Hopefully Chievo and Crystal Palace will buy them eventually, since no other club seems to be interested. Did the same to some other reserve team players whom I have little interest in keeping.

I've tried to sell Kozak this window as he isn't featuring in the squad but Feyenoord and Club Brugge felt his wages were too high.

Also, Tottenham's interest in Benteke led him to push for a transfer, claiming he doesn't think Villa will make it continentally and isn't willing to wait. So I told him I'd accept offers if they matched our valuation, but interest from Tottenham, OM, Porto, Lazio and SLB never materialized. Now he's unhappy that I didn't fulfill my promise. Seriously. Maybe if he had scored more instead of putting in 6.20 matches clubs might actually really consider buying him. Did I mention he missed two penalties?

And as the window draws to a close, I continue to desperately push Clark and Cole. But as they're currently injured, they're not going anywhere.

 

[Average Joe]

That Patric looks a decent player, get his acceleration up and he is a decently rounded right back or anchor man.

And Rooney is the same as Benteke! Moans he wants to leave, I say okay, offer him out, nobody wants him and then hes annoyed!

I play him and he plays **** so thats why he barely gets any games!

I had 16 year old out performing him in the same role and position season 1...

 

[rawket]

That Patric looks a decent player, get his acceleration up and he is a decently rounded right back or anchor man.

And Rooney is the same as Benteke! Moans he wants to leave, I say okay, offer him out, nobody wants him and then hes annoyed!

I play him and he plays **** so thats why he barely gets any games!

I had 16 year old out performing him in the same role and position season 1...

Lol Rooney... I always felt he was more a problem than solution for Utd and England. Not a Rooney hater; one has to admit that he is a great player.
His character is a little undesirable, kicking up fuss over wages. Aggressive and temperamental. Off field antics as well (though he's better now).
Tactically he's not exactly the best choice as the lone forward. RvP and Falcao would perform better. I get the feeling Rooney needs to play off somebody, so two-striker system. That means a disadvantage in numbers in another part of the field though, most likely the midfield. He can play as an AM, but he isn't known for his playmaking. He's more a second, deep striker. His neither here nor there role is a problem, at least imo.

And his appointment as captain for Utd and England cements his place in the XI. Despite above. And his occasional inconsistency.

Not surprised no one wants him.

 

[rawket]

Since I'm out of all the domestic cups, fixtures are far less congested now. We train six days a week, then go out every Saturday for a beating. I suspect my tactics are becoming ineffective. Might post them here for advice.

In any case, We had 3 matches in January against Swansea, Manchester United and Tottenham. I'd have liked to at least secure 4 points, with a win over Swansea and at least one draw against the other two if we defended hard enough but the AI had some other ideas. So, here's how it went...

Swansea 1-1 Aston Villa

The Swansea match was there for the taking imo. At that point Munir hadn't yet confirmed his loan so I decided to go with the 4-2-3-1 and add some width to our game since Swansea plays a distinct 4-5-1 that packs the centre of the field. Unfortunately, my tactical nous aren't as astute as I believe them to be (and I believe them to be very low). Despite calling for more play on the wings, much of the game stagnated in midfield. Statistics show 60%.

When we did get through the midfield, we couldn't get crosses in for Benteke. I had set float crosses and hit early crosses to maximize his threat in the air, especially considering that Swansea doesn't rank the highest in the league for their heading. But that didn't work out and I switched to low crosses to freshen things up after half time. As you'd probably guess, that didn't work either.

We won a penalty in the 33rd minute. Benteke though managed a tame shot at the keeper. It was early in the game, we weren't trailing, there was hardly any pressure and his Composure, Finishing and Penalties were 15, 14, 15. You'd expect something better. Even Guzan could score.

Agbonlahor put us ahead 5 minutes later with a tidy finish and we headed into the break one goal up. As expected, Swansea began pushing aggressively after the break and I duly switched to counter, hoping to hit them on the break, though it never really happened.

As the game wore on Swansea didn't seem like letting off and instead appeared to push forward more with their fullbacks joining in. I had my wingers mark them at the start of the game, and Sanchez mark Sigurdsson, their AM. Gomis was identified as a threat pre-game so I had Okore mark him too. But Swansea managed to find an equaliser late on with Gomis popping up at the near post for an easy header.

Gutting, but not unexpected by now.

Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United

Oh SI, you flatter me so much.

Not much to say on this one. We did pretty well in holding back United in the first half, but Rooney eventually managed to net one before the break. We went out and maintained the counter strategy, which worked and allowed us a couple of chances against the Premier League leaders. Eventually, our hard work paid off when Ron Vlaar's header seemed to equalise the game. And I got all excited and cheerful and encouraged my players passionately by clicking my mouse.

Note "seemed". Because van Persie managed to score one in the last minute of injury time to steal the game from us. I think everyone saw that coming.

A point would've been a fair result as we dominated possesion 56-44 and shots were 18-22 which one has to admit is good effort against United.

I did use the "Concentrate" shout, if anyone is wondering.

Tottenham 2-1 Aston Villa

We were severely outclassed once again by Tottenham's exciting attacking midfield trio. This was Munir's second game for the club, but he didn't put in the performance expected of someone of his calibre, turning in an average 6.40 game.

Scout reports suggested that Tottenham leak goals from 15-30 mins into the match. So at 15 minutes I switched from counter to control and encouraged my players to push forward. Which was a bad idea as just after I did that Lamela had one of those wonderstrikes from outside the box. I wish Benteke could do one of those. Or Agbonlahor or Weimann. The club seems to have pretty good attacking talent, but never has the finishing bit. Not even Munir.

So my genius plan was proven flawed. In retrospect I should have known that to base my tactics on such statistics would be rather shallow but oh well. We reverted to counter and proceeded to hold off Tottenham and threatened once or twice on the break, before Kaboul's header put the ball into our net again. Grealish came on to try and make a difference, and he did, setting up a goal for Agbonlahor which was called for offside, and eventually grabbing a consolation goal so that on paper we looked like we put up a fight. Of course our 10:19 shot ratio proves otherwise. Once again, floating crosses to Benteke didn't work as well as I had pictured it to be and he hardly got on the end of any crosses.


Perhaps it's the wingers' crossing and not Benteke. :/ Hmm... Food for thought.

 

[Average Joe]

I find inside forwards to be brilliant on this game. In my tactic my goals are very evenly spread through the AML, AMR, AMC and ST.

Do you have anyone that may be good for an inside forward?

 

[rawket]

I find inside forwards to be brilliant on this game. In my tactic my goals are very evenly spread through the AML, AMR, AMC and ST.

Do you have anyone that may be good for an inside forward?

I suppose Agbonlahor and Weimann could fill that role. They're both natural strikers so IF could suit them well. Tried it once or twice but never stuck to it. I'll give it a go.
Would support or attack role be better? Iirc on attack the IFs don't provide crosses etc, which would make Benteke less of a threat. Not that he is now anyway...

 

[rawket]

Have been rather busy these days. Decided to take a break from FM. In the meantime, I'm posting my tactics here. As mentioned in previous posts, it seems the effectiveness has worn off and the biggest problem I have identified is going forward. Crosses can't find Benteke, Benteke can't find crosses. Idk which. We're creating decent chances, but not finishing them. Could be a technical thing, though these are the same guys who were putting in a solid number of goals earlier in the season.


4-3-3

So this is the standard go-to formation I employ against most sides, since everyone is better than Villa. It's almost always on counter mentality, unless I feel we're controlling the game well or it's important to push forward so we can get back in the game. For the team shape, I'm considering moving towards fluid. Not sure if that'll disrupt the defensive side of our game.

You'll probably notice I've reverted to a conventional 4-3-3, rather than stick to the one I started the campaign with. I've found that BPL teams seem to be too threatening on the attack to have a back 3 and a wing back rather than a back four. Besides, the second striker, usually Gabby, seemed ineffective against BPL teams. I do still use that when I'm against weaker opposition, especially when they're particularly weak on one flank. But it hasn't been as great as before and so I've opted for more defensive stability.

Player Roles
Guzan is a Sweeper Keeper on Defend. His kicking is decent, tons better than his throwing which is weak. His anticipation is also good, so he's a good choice to come off the line and sweep up balls, which is useful since I use the push higher up tactic.

The left and right backs are Wing Backs on Support, but against stronger opposition who threaten down the flanks I put them as Full Backs on Support or Defend. Centre backs are conventional CBs on Defend duty.

The DM, usually Sanchez, is a Defensive Mid on Defend, supporting the other mids in attack but closes down opposition in defence and helps the back four. The second midfielder, usually Romero but occasionally Delph, is a Box to Box. Romero is an all round mid and I felt it's best to capitalise on this. Plus it makes great use of his energy. Lastly we have the Advanced Playmaker in Cleverley. Against teams I expect to dominate (but usually don't somehow) he's on Attack, going forward and creating chances. Otherwise, he'll be on Support duty.

The front three comprises Benteke as an Advanced Forward. His report recommends target man but I felt he could do more. I also occasionally play him as False Nine, to limited success. The wide forwards are usually Grealish and Agbonlahor as Wingers, but with Munir in I'm hoping to use him and Grealish as Inside Forwards on Attack as has been suggested. I usually see tactics where the front three are not symmetrical, e.g. if one IF is attack the other is support, or some other role. I'm also worried that Benteke won't get as much support from IFs as wingers, but support has been poor recently anyway.

Instructions
It's a counter tactic so I use More Direct Passing. I also use Pass Into Space as I think this makes the team hit high through balls over the opposition defence. I may be wrong. In fact I think I'm wrong as I don't see much of this in matches. Could someone kindly advise?

I use Play Out Of Defence as when there's a turnover in possession I don't want my players to immediately hoof the ball up the field, because there usually isn't much support up top. Rather I want them to stay calm and string passes and move forward, before launching the attack.

When attacking, I use Hit Early Crosses and Float Crosses to take advantage of Benteke's ability in the air. I also use Run At Defence as I think my wide forwards can threaten with their pace. Grealish and Munir also have great dribbling.

I use Play Narrower and Push Higher Up to compact the field, giving the opposition less space on the ball and more chances of us winning the ball back etc. I also use Tighter Marking and Prevent GK Short Distribution. I don't set Closing down under team instructions as I only want certain players to close down (mentioned in earlier posts). I find that the back four will be dragged out of position. So I've set it under player instructions instead, for all players except the back four.

Please do offer suggestions how I can improve this tactic. I foresee myself using it a lot for the foreseeable future so it would be great to have a tactically sound tactic to use. Please do correct any misconceptions I might have on the tactics. Like I've mentioned in my first post I'd like to learn more about the tactics side of the game and how to be better at it.

Cheers guys, and I appreciate the 3000 views so far!

I'll post my backup 4-2-3-1 tactic when I have the time. I don't use it as much so it's not as urgent.

 

[DonVilla]

Hey man, you still continuing with this story? Loving it so far. Great start to the season.
I've just started a Villa save as well. 1st game vs Everton away, I'm 1-0 up and Everton score in 85th minute for 1-1 draw. 2nd game vs Utd away, I'm 2-0 up and Utd score twice in last 5 minutes to earn 2-2 draw. 3rd game vs Sunderland home, I'm 1-0 up and Rodwell scores a screamer with the last kick of the game, 1-1. 4th game vs Hull away, I'm 2-0 down early on, get one back before half time and score the equaliser late on. So I'm sitting on 4 draws out of 4, plus a win victory over Cambridge Utd in Carling Cup.

 

[rawket]

Hey man, you still continuing with this story? Loving it so far. Great start to the season.
I've just started a Villa save as well. 1st game vs Everton away, I'm 1-0 up and Everton score in 85th minute for 1-1 draw. 2nd game vs Utd away, I'm 2-0 up and Utd score twice in last 5 minutes to earn 2-2 draw. 3rd game vs Sunderland home, I'm 1-0 up and Rodwell scores a screamer with the last kick of the game, 1-1. 4th game vs Hull away, I'm 2-0 down early on, get one back before half time and score the equaliser late on. So I'm sitting on 4 draws out of 4, plus a win victory over Cambridge Utd in Carling Cup.

Glad you like it.
I'm still continuing, but right now since it's mid season, thought I'd do a revision on my tactics. No point rushing through the save and losing all my games. I did promise Lerner a Euro spot lol.

You might want to relook at your tactics too. 4 draws out of 4 isn't normal. :/

 

[DonVilla]

Awesome, look forward to the update.
My season got much worse after those 1st 4 games, still struggling to get a grasp of this years game.

 

[rawket]

I'm back! It's been a while since I've played my save properly. Was doing a lot of tactics tweaking and reloading and while I won't dare say I've found a world-beating tactic, I think I've stumbled upon a solution to fix my current form. And hopefully I might still secure that impossible Euro spot. Lol.

So I've moved away from the Counter mentality and I'm adopting the Standard for now, with the aim of moving towards the Attacking mentality when my team adjusts better. And maybe when my team actually consists of good players. I have so many at the moment who aren't that bad and are actually decently good for the BPL but won't be top class. See my forwards and full backs for example.

I've held some very very wrong misconceptions about the Team Mentality and I'm certain I'm not the only one (or at least I hope I'm not the only one). Fortunately, a fellow forumer helped clear things up for me and so I'll clarify things here as well. Apparently, the Counter mentality instructs your team to take a cautious approach to the game, putting more men behind the ball etc. compared to the Standard mentality. But it doesn't exactly make the team counterattack. The Team Mentality actually has little to do with instructing your team to counterattack. Counterattacks happen on all mentalities. But how they defend and go about counterattacking etc is determined by the mentality. So all this while I had gotten it wrong and was trying to play an aggressive pressing style with a cautious mentality. Hence my switch to Standard and aim of reaching Attacking, which might be more similar to Dortmund's more aggressive gegenpressing. Hope this helps!

Moving on to the new instructions!

Instructions
I've kept the pass into space instruction as those (high) through balls are still key to my style, but I've decided that I'll have my team play short passing, so that we lose possession less. This should cut out those direct balls from our half which end up finding no one. Instead, I've done what I did with the closing down instruction - Micromanage! I pick out specifically which players I want (and are capable) to hit those direct passes, i.e. my wingers and my Advanced Playmaker. Cleverley has that instruction as well since he's got pretty ok passing stats at 15, but it only applies if he isn't the AP.

I turn on Retain Possession and Work Ball Into Box as when necessary. Depends on how the team is faring in the match, or the opposition I'm going up against. Run At Defence is still on.

For crossing, I'm using Whipped Crosses for now. They're harder to execute though and my team doesn't exactly have excellent crossers (Lowton has 15 though). I'm still tentative on this. Will see how things go. If I'm not using Benteke up top though, I'll use Low Crosses. Weimann, Munir and Agbonlahor aren't particularly great in the air.

It's back to pressing high by using Push Higher Up. I'm trying out Offside Trap now as well since I believe my back four should be familiar with each other. Only the CBs ever really change and it's Vlaar, Balanta or Okore.

I use Play Narrower usually, to compact the field as I usually do. But against teams playing 4-5-1 or anything that congests the midfield, I might switch to Playing Wider and Exploiting The Flanks to move the game to the wings.

Prevent GK Short Distribution is always on since I have 3 attackers up top and that's good enough to fan out across the opponent's back four and cut off a short pass. I think anything less than 3 might be ineffective.

Lastly I'm using Low Tempo. It was suggested to me and frankly I think it's okay.

Player Roles
Player roles have changed a little. I'm employing two Inside Forwards - Grealish left and Munir right. They will cut inside though, so I need Wing Backs in Cissokho and Hutton to maintain the width. Other than that, everything is more or less the same, subject to tweaks depending on situations.

I've had suggestions to use Benteke in a supporting role e.g. CF Support. I've tested it a few times, and while I do like that this gets him to knock down balls or bounce passes to the surrounding attacking players, I believe he is our main attacking threat and should maximize that going forward. Perhaps if my wingers were more competent than Gabby and Weimann, or when Grealish reaches his potential (he's at 2.5 ★ atm and progressing well). Munir is still trying shots from range and sometimes they're pretty threatening. Most will miss though.

So that wraps up my new tactics and I'll be posting how my February went soon.