Just played a friendly and thought I'd use it as a mini guide to the way I alter things during a match. We went into the away trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina as huge underdogs (not sure why although they have battered a lot of weak oppostition recently)
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2' - We made an excellent start to the match as Artem Milevskyi put us ahead with a simple tap in.
10' - I notice that Pjanic (MR) is destroying my defender (DL) and putting in some dangerous crosses. I ask the fullback to
mark him tightly and
show him onto his weaker foot. I also ask the team to
play narrower so that there are more bodies for him to run into when he's forced inside.
14' - Yarmolenko finishes a lovely counter attacking move after selfless play by Milevski. We have been losing the battle for possession and wasting chances by shooting too early, so I instruct my team to
retain possession,
work the ball into the box and
play through the defence.
We see out the half comfortably as they only threaten from a set piece.
48' - Yarmolenko counter attacks with pace, scoring a magnificent solo effort. I
change the central midfielder (attack) to a box-to-box midfielder (support) to go more defensive and see out the game. I tell the players to
hassle the opponents.
57' - Dzeko pulls one back for them from the spot after a stupid tackle from Konoplyanka (who isn't playing too well).
75' - I notice that they have changed formation to a wide diamond, exposing thier central midfield. I
change the central midfielder from box-to-box to advanced playmaker (attack) and tell the team to
exploit the middle. I also
tell the central midfielder (defend) to man mark their AMC.
84' - Substitute Devic goes through 1 vs 1 after a pass from the advanced playmaker Garmash, and slots home.
89 - Khacheridi wraps up the win with a headed goal from a corner.
We ran out 5-1 winners after exposing their weaknesses and nullifying their strengths, with excellent counter attacking, good possession, and control of the game once we were ahead.
View attachment 310250
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So, you can see that I am constantly changing the dynamic of the tactic with shouts and other instructions to help my team expose the opposition. I think this is a vital part of FM13, and although I found it difficult at first, general understanding of the game and a bit of trial and error has vastly improved my performances.
