Lower League Tactical Discussion

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LepidusXVI

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Obligatory disclaimer: Not looking for a download, want to (finally) learn to do tactics myself.

That said, my usual tricks seem invalid in FM2014. So what advice do people have for a lower league manager such as myself?

I'm starting out with Whitehawk in Skrill South.

Much of the advice in 2013 was about 4-5-1 and counter attacking, so I started from that as a basis, but have been consistently losing to teams that the oddmakers were sure I was going to beat. Clearly that isn't working.

General suggestions and ideas?
 
I'm using the 4-2-3-1 (deep) formation with the wingers being inside forwards and the striker being a false 9 and its been successful for my team albeit it a top team in their country but there is no harm in trying.
 
Good old 4-4-2. Defensive central midfielders. Direct style with target man and poacher. Sometimes switch to 4-4-1-1 with a defensive DLP and a trequartista playing behind an adv forward for games Im heavy favourites for. Standard and normal. Nice and simple. 3 draws from opening 3 games in league2. More solid than spectacular but early days and plenty of room for tweaking.
 
I've started with Leamington of the Skrill North & was finding tough until 5 or 6 games ago where I had an overhaul of my tactics & formation. After 30 games sit comfortably above the relegation places with a 7 point cushion. A recent winning run seems to coincide with instructing my wingers to "man mark" & "support". Rather than concentrating on attacking I've tried to nullify their wing threat. Using a 3-4-1-2 & seem to be getting a lot of joy from my attacking midfielder in the hole & my 2 strikers exploiting the channels.
 
In the lower league, i think you have to play on your players strength.
I play with Skedsmo in 2.Div Norway and only have players on amature contracts.
The team is 4-4-2, but with the left winger high up as an Inside forward
 
Lower league divisions are great to play a possession style. You might think you will have problems with this style, but you just have to remember that despite your players are weak the other teams player are also weak. So, their pressing and closing down will be very weak allowing your team to play a more possession style.
 
Hey i'm also playing with Whitehawk!

I managed to get them promoted up after my second season (1st season i lost in playoff-finals). I use the basic 4-4-2 with a control or attacking playstyle. I am struggling really badly though in my first season in the skrill premier. I am sitting right outside relegation zone and barely fighting to stay afloat. I have now tried a 4-1-2-1-2 and it works okay. I am running out of money and worried that I will not be able to stay up because I have the same team that played in the skrill south and cannot buy new players
 
I actually restarted a second time with Whitehawk (I made some crippling contract decisions in attempt #1) and gained promotion in my 1st season. I finished second, won the playoff.

I ended up using a variation of 4-1-2-2-1 (4-5-1) with a DMC, two MCs, two wingers... It worked great. The major difference from my first game to my second was better player choices and I simplified the tactic a bit. In my first game (I think I finished 13th), I had lots and lots of instructions and played Counter. In the second one, I removed almost everything. I played balanced, with short passing and floating crosses. That was all. In a league without Eastleigh winning every single freaking game (not quite, but it sure felt that way), I'd have probably won the league.

I'm just about to embark on Prem, but I imagine I'll suffer the same fate as you jraper13 :)
 
Lepidus, I have managed to find a tactic that works pretty well with me. I was in last place and in the relegation zone for the first quarter of the season but I changed tactics and my team seemed to have meshed really well and now I am 12th! about halfway through. I got the basis from a post on reddit and changed it around a little bit. View attachment 463328




View attachment 463327


Side note: Danny Mills and Sam Gargan are awesome as strikers. Danny had the goal scoring record in season 1 and Sam lead the team in season 2.
 
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Hilariously, I immediately got rid of Gargan and stuck with Robinson. It's amazing the differences two of us took with one team ;) Since I'm only using one forward, I've generally used Mills as a left winger. Robinson got 14 for me in 37 matches.

The strength of my approach appears to be ludicrous defense. I've used Moses Swaibu and Tom Cadmore (and free agent Gethin Jones) and the average ratings they're putting up are absurd. Swaibu was a 7.77 in Y1, Cadmore 7.32.

In my first year now in the Prem, I'm 11th at 18 games. I doubt I go far this year, but it's not hopeless. I did bring in a lot of fresh faces though. Cadmore has become the Swaibu of Y2 (7.73).

I think a tactic like yours is a bit tough for my current team, though. I've invested heavily in wingers.
 
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So after a few dreadful seasons of not quite getting relegated with Whitehawk, I resigned prior to getting fired.

Then I went down to South and snagged a job with Dartford. I immediately got them promoted.

Now I'm once again back in almost relegated ville in the Skrill Prem.

Any theories?
 
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