I created a tactic to suit the talented squad of Southampton, and take advantages of its strengths and make the most out of its weaknesses. My first season went great, and I finished second in the league and also reached FA Cup semi-finals where I got beaten by Newcastle after Wanyama got expelled after 10 minutes.
Lets start with the squads strengths
Saints has a lot of young great talent. First of you got 2 (3) amazing young complete wing backs; Shaw, Clyne and Chambers. You also have lots of creative, attacking midfielders; Lallana, Gaston Ramirez, Ward-Prowse, Jay Rodriguez. You also have a solid and experienced striker with great mental and technical attributes in Rickie Lambert.
And now for the weaknesses
The squad are lacking wingers. Actually, you don't really have any traditional wingers. You could play Lallana and Rodriguez out wide, either as AP?s or Inside Forwards, but then again you?re lacking debth, and they're not ideal positions for these kinds of players. And your biggest challenge: Center backs. Lovren is decent, but he is lacking some crucial mental attributes like composure, and could potentially make some costly mistakes. Your other choices would be Jose Fonte, Yoshida and Hooiveldt. Hooiveldt is basically ****, and the other two aren't very good either. Your first priority as a Saints manager: Buy a new CB, or two if you're able to. A new goalkeeper is also something you should look at, at least after the first season.
The tactic
It is a somehow possession-based tactic, fluid and with a control mentality. The idea is to play fluid, high-tempo attacking football, and to dominate games. By doing this I could take advantage of the great creative, flair and passing attributes of my AMCs, letting them roam from positions and expressing themselves, trying to work the ball into the box by retaining possession. I am also playing with a supporting striker as a False 9, kind of like Barca. Since Saints has such amazing, young wing backs, I have made them contribute a lot to the attacking: they pretty much work like wingers, providing width and crosses for Lambert to finish, they also work as a great counter-attack threat with their amazing pace.
I chose to pull the two CMs in the classical 4-2-3-1 formation down to DM?s, providing more balance to the midfield, to cope defensively with my very attacking style of play. Wanyama is a total monster in the role of a Ball Winning Midfielder, so I chose to go with a BWM, which has has worked out good so far. I also use Schneiderlin as a Regista. Basically the idea is when the team wins the ball in midfield or defence, they quickly give the ball to the regista, who works kind of like a deep lying playmaker, but the regista role suits this tactic better, because he supports the attacking midfielders when in possession better than the DLP.
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Results:
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View attachment 397812
OI: Ive been using OIS at all times, I have my assistant doing them. Get an assistant manager with 15+ tactical knowledge and let him do them.
PLAYER TYPES
Well, if youre playing Saints, first season youre good to go with a new CB. Generally:
CB: Pace, Positioning, Marking, Passing, Tackling, Composure, Heading, Concentration
CWB: You need backs with both good attacking and defensive skills. Pace is important to be able to follow the play up and down the flanks. As well as tackling, positioning and decent technical stats.
Regista: Tackling, Passing, First touch, Creativity, Teamwork and positioning are key stats. This is is an important player for the tactic. Schneiderlin is great for this role. Cork is also decent.
BWM: Strong, defensive minded midfielder with good tackling, marking, stamina, work rate and positioning. Wanyama is amazing, don't sell him, and if you're another team, buy him.
AMCs: Creativity, Flair, Passing. Finishing and long shots are also good, depending on the different roles. Just look into it. Teamwork is also important.
False 9: This one has a quite similar role as the AMCs when in possession, but he has also got to be able to hold on to the ball to wait for the AMC?s to come, and key striker attributes like finishing is important- he will get the most chances, and will also get crosses from the CWBs. First touch, creativity, passing, long shots team work and finishing.
My first season transfers:
After accepting season expectations (pick mid table finish, you wont get any additional funds anyways); talk to the board and request a bigger transfer budget, they will give you about 15M pounds. Then at least get a new CB, and maybe some more attacking options in midfield. I bought Doria and Ryan Gauld.
Please try it out, Saints is a really fun team to manage. And if you wanna try it with another team thats great too. Feedback and ideas on how to improve the tactic are very much appreciated. I will be updating the tactic once I successfully tweak it.
Lets start with the squads strengths
Saints has a lot of young great talent. First of you got 2 (3) amazing young complete wing backs; Shaw, Clyne and Chambers. You also have lots of creative, attacking midfielders; Lallana, Gaston Ramirez, Ward-Prowse, Jay Rodriguez. You also have a solid and experienced striker with great mental and technical attributes in Rickie Lambert.
And now for the weaknesses
The squad are lacking wingers. Actually, you don't really have any traditional wingers. You could play Lallana and Rodriguez out wide, either as AP?s or Inside Forwards, but then again you?re lacking debth, and they're not ideal positions for these kinds of players. And your biggest challenge: Center backs. Lovren is decent, but he is lacking some crucial mental attributes like composure, and could potentially make some costly mistakes. Your other choices would be Jose Fonte, Yoshida and Hooiveldt. Hooiveldt is basically ****, and the other two aren't very good either. Your first priority as a Saints manager: Buy a new CB, or two if you're able to. A new goalkeeper is also something you should look at, at least after the first season.
The tactic
It is a somehow possession-based tactic, fluid and with a control mentality. The idea is to play fluid, high-tempo attacking football, and to dominate games. By doing this I could take advantage of the great creative, flair and passing attributes of my AMCs, letting them roam from positions and expressing themselves, trying to work the ball into the box by retaining possession. I am also playing with a supporting striker as a False 9, kind of like Barca. Since Saints has such amazing, young wing backs, I have made them contribute a lot to the attacking: they pretty much work like wingers, providing width and crosses for Lambert to finish, they also work as a great counter-attack threat with their amazing pace.
I chose to pull the two CMs in the classical 4-2-3-1 formation down to DM?s, providing more balance to the midfield, to cope defensively with my very attacking style of play. Wanyama is a total monster in the role of a Ball Winning Midfielder, so I chose to go with a BWM, which has has worked out good so far. I also use Schneiderlin as a Regista. Basically the idea is when the team wins the ball in midfield or defence, they quickly give the ball to the regista, who works kind of like a deep lying playmaker, but the regista role suits this tactic better, because he supports the attacking midfielders when in possession better than the DLP.
View attachment 397815
View attachment 397814
Results:
View attachment 397813
View attachment 397812
OI: Ive been using OIS at all times, I have my assistant doing them. Get an assistant manager with 15+ tactical knowledge and let him do them.
PLAYER TYPES
Well, if youre playing Saints, first season youre good to go with a new CB. Generally:
CB: Pace, Positioning, Marking, Passing, Tackling, Composure, Heading, Concentration
CWB: You need backs with both good attacking and defensive skills. Pace is important to be able to follow the play up and down the flanks. As well as tackling, positioning and decent technical stats.
Regista: Tackling, Passing, First touch, Creativity, Teamwork and positioning are key stats. This is is an important player for the tactic. Schneiderlin is great for this role. Cork is also decent.
BWM: Strong, defensive minded midfielder with good tackling, marking, stamina, work rate and positioning. Wanyama is amazing, don't sell him, and if you're another team, buy him.
AMCs: Creativity, Flair, Passing. Finishing and long shots are also good, depending on the different roles. Just look into it. Teamwork is also important.
False 9: This one has a quite similar role as the AMCs when in possession, but he has also got to be able to hold on to the ball to wait for the AMC?s to come, and key striker attributes like finishing is important- he will get the most chances, and will also get crosses from the CWBs. First touch, creativity, passing, long shots team work and finishing.
My first season transfers:
After accepting season expectations (pick mid table finish, you wont get any additional funds anyways); talk to the board and request a bigger transfer budget, they will give you about 15M pounds. Then at least get a new CB, and maybe some more attacking options in midfield. I bought Doria and Ryan Gauld.
Please try it out, Saints is a really fun team to manage. And if you wanna try it with another team thats great too. Feedback and ideas on how to improve the tactic are very much appreciated. I will be updating the tactic once I successfully tweak it.