lupefiasco

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
58
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Introduction
I created this tactic by incorporating philosophies based on two tactical idols of mine; Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. This would mean having physically gifted players in defence that are able to cope with both speed and strength and also technically gifted players spearheading the attacking line with creativity, movement etc. Before I carry on babbling, have a look at my first season with Newcastle FC, to see the success I had with this tactic.
screenshot20120916at232.png


Apart from the league, I won the carling cup, FA Cup and Europa League :cool:. (Trust me, I was surprised as well). I'm sure by now, some people are saying: "oh, he cheated?", "oh, why is Reading, Southampton and Westham in the premiere league?", Blah, Blah, Blah. I can assure you however that I did not cheat/engine exploit and as for the teams, I am playing an updated database with the recent promotions, relegations and player transfers that have taken place in the footballing world and thats why they are there. I tested the tactics with Swansea on the official FM 12.2.2. patch as well and got amazing results. Now that we cleared that up, lets move on to the tactics.

The Formations

I use four main tactics depending on the situation but that will be discussed in more detail later. For now lets just look at the tactics. The unique feature to these tactics are the individual player instructions I have set and my very good man management of the team. Because of this it is important not to pay too much attention to the player roles seen in the images.
screenshot20120916at194.png


Three of the four tactics are simple variations to the 4-5-1 tactic above (Attack, Balanced & cautious). The last tactic is however a bit different as you can see. It must however be said that the cautious tactic is by no means a completely defensive one. It is a patient formation, looking to build attacks from the back, with possession.
screenshot20120916at194.png


Im sure people again are saying;" oh these tactics are the same as everyone else's", oh these tactics are not eccentric enough. Well these tactics are very effective and they got me results so stop complaining and enjoy the read!!!! :p :).

How the formations work

I will only be discussing the player roles associated with the balanced formation as this will be the most used tactic of the four. It should be noted that this is not a barcelona; 100% possession; 10 goal a game tactic. The tactic looks to create clear cut chances (CCCs) without forfeiting too much possession.You also need the right players in the right positions. The formation uses short simple passes at the back to retain possession and more direct passing amongst the attacking players to get into offensive situations quicker.

screenshot20120916at202.png


The Defensive Trifecta (CBs and DM)
The Defensive midfielder is very important to the team closing down the ball at all times and putting pressure on opposition midfield. When he wins the ball, he will look to play short simple pass to the more creative players or back to the defender to retain possession. He will stay back at all times in the balanced and cautious formation but will support attacks in the attacking formation. He cannot afford to lose the ball.
screenshot20120918at094.png


DM Stats
Strength, Work rate, Stamina, Natural fitness, Tackling, Marking, Aggression Determination, Anticipation, Acceleration, BraveryPref. MovesMarks opponent tightly.

The centre backs sit deep and mark the strikers and only come out to win headers and also retain possession whilst creative players find space. As a result of this, the player needs to be composed and good in the air

screenshot20120918at095.png


CB Stats
Heading, Marking, Strength, Positioning, Concentration, Acceleration, Agility, ComposurePref. MovesPlays simple passes, Marks Opponent Tightly & Stays on feet

The Defensive Bomber (DR)
This player offers width down the right hand side to compensate for the AMR who cuts inside. He is one of two very important players on the team due to the need for both defensive and offensive qualities. He will deliver crosses from both deep positions and the byline and form a fluid partnership with the AMR. Physical stats are crucial to his

success.
screenshot20120918at095.png


Stats
Tackling, Crossing, Acceleration, Pace, Stamina, Work rate, Determination, Agility, Strength, HeadingPref. MovesGets forward whenever possible, hugs touchlineDefensive Full back (DL)This player aims to sit back behind the ball offering defensive stability to the left hand side. This is necessary as both the MCL and AML are both heavily involved in attacking duties and remain in offensive position. He however can be involved in some attacking play but will most times look for the simple pass to the middle or to the AML.

screenshot20120918at095.png


Stats
Heading, Marking, Tackling, Position, Strength, Concentration, Acceleration, Decision, Strength.

The Mastermind (MCR)
This player is as important.....scratch that, more important than any other player on the team. He has very important offensive and defensive duties. He will look to find space, dictate the tempo, win the ball by putting pressure on the opposition midfield, deliver killer through balls and hold up the ball . He is the main link between the attack and defence and requires all round stats. This would mean supporting both the attacking players and the DM.

screenshot20120918at095.png


Stats
Passing, Technique, Long shots, Tackling, First touch, Off the ball, anticipation, Decision, Teamwork, Work rate, concentration, creativity
Pref. Moves
Comes deep to get ball, Tries killer ball, Tries long range passes, Dictates tempo*(important)

The Technical Beast (MCL)
As the name would suggest, technical skills are this players strong-point. He will not be very involved in defensive duties but will instead look to beat players with skill and deliver killer passes to the three most advanced players. He also arrives early in the box thereby pulling defenders off the striker.

screenshot20120918at100.png


Stats
Dribbling, Passing, Technique, First touch, Decision, Crossing, Finishing, Flair, creativity
Pref. Moves
Runs with ball through centre, Tries Killer balls often.


The MessiEsque Runner (AMR)
Yes..... I was thinking of Messi when I decided on this players role. Also quite an important player. This player is usually involved in the attack in three ways. The first and most predominant is to run in behind the opposition full back and centre backs and receive the ball with a goal scoring opportunity (Finishing ability is important). Second is to receive the ball to feet, cut inside and beat players before delivering a pass to either the striker or the AML. Third and least frequent is to cross the ball from the byline. Technical ability is important.

screenshot20120918at100.png


Stats
Dribbling, Passing, Technique, Acceleration, Pace, Finishing, Crossing, Agility, Flair, Creativity
Pref. Moves
Cuts inside, Runs with ball often

The complete winger (AML)
This player also needs technical ability. He will mainly offer width down the left hand side, producing crosses, through balls and goals. He will look to exploit the space created by the technical beast (MCL).

screenshot20120918at100.png


Stats
Dribbling, Passing, Technique, First touch, Crossing, Finishing, Off the ball, CreativityPref. MovesHugs touchline, Curls ball

Finally......The Goal Scorer (ST)
This player has two main roles, the most important being scoring goals (quite obvious. I know!!!) . He will also receive the ball to feet and hold it up, allowing the AMR and AML to find space. He can then deliver killer passes to them in space. For weaker teams, Pace and acceleration are very important

screenshot20120918at100.png


Stats
Finishing, Composure, Technique, Acceleration, Pace, Passing, Long shots, strength, off the ball

Team Instructions
There are only a few team instructions that affect the team play due to most player instruction being manually set. In order to maintain the team shape when without possession, it is important to mark zonally. Man marking also works if you are using a top team that with better defensive and offensive players. The team width is normal (10) and tempo is slow (13). Focus passing is set to through the middle as that is where we have the most player numbers. The team is set to counter attack and the playmaker and target men are the MCR and the STC respectively.

screenshot20120918at101.png



The Strikerless Formation
I developed the striker-less formation when the game decided to injure every one of my usable strikers (I had 5 ). I found that the formation could be useful for teams that did not have strikers that could finish or sufferd injuries as well. In that case, it could be used in the place of the balanced formation It plays similar to the main balanced formation but instead, the wide players and the MCL get most of the goals.

When to use the Tactics
Top Team on Form (including Rival Away)
Start Cautious away and Balanced at home. Balanced at Half time if goal-less or a goal down. Attacking if you are still a goal down at 70minutes.
Top Team off Form
Same as top but start balanced

Similar Team on Form
Start Balance and alternate as needed
Similar Team off Form
Same as above for away matches. Start Attacking for home games and balanced after two goals. Cautious after 80 mins

Weaker Team on Form
Start Balanced/ Attacking depending on you form.
Weaker Team off Form
Start Attacking and change to Balanced/Cautious after 75minutesIf the opposing teams plays without wingers, you should assign your wing-backs to man mark their fullbacks(tight marking).If the opposing teams packs the centre of the midfield, change focus passing to mixed.NOTE: These things are not written in stone and it is up to you to use your indiscretion when needed. It is still a tactical game and I cannot budget for every variation the game can throw your way.


Other Important things of Note
Training: Try to get quality coaches and sack the ones that are dead weight. Get all your training star categories to at least 3.5. The image below shows my first season training level. I left the training regime as default, but it is up to you to use any custom training system that you have
Recommended Coaches
Owens John, Bruno Demichelis, Arthur Albiston, Anthony de Avila, Nicola Gian Nicola, Steve Black, Jim Blyth

screenshot20120916at220.png


Match Preparation
You team needs time to learn how to play a tactic before they can play at their best and that is why match preparation is important. If you use this tactic half way through the season after going on a 10 game loosing streak, I cannot guarantee results. Give your team time to settle into it

Pre Season
: Very High on Teamwork until familiarity is at least 70%. I found that the better the coaches, the sooner you learn tactics.
During season: Low Defensive Positioning. If you start to concede goals use Very High Defensive Positioning for two weeks and then return to Low. If you are not scoring goals, then do the same thing but this time with Very High Attacking Movement
Last 5 Games: Very Low Defensive Positioning or Attacking Movement Depending on your situation

Pitch Size
Use standard pitch size if you are not a top 6 team and maximum if you are. There are also one tactical alteration that needs to be made depending on the opposition team pitch size. If the opposing team has a short wide pitch, change the focus passing to down both flanks and make the AML a winger, and the DR duty to support. There should not be any problem with other pitch sizes.

Opposition Instruction
The only time I use it is if a particular player is terrorising my defence. In that case, wingers should be tight marked and shown to weaker foot. Deep lying strikers should be tight marked and tackled hard. I usually target the most creative player. So for Liverpool, target Gerrard. For Chelsea, Target Mata, etc

Team Talks
Please use other recommended team talk guides. GOOGLE and THIS FORUM ARE YOUR FRIENDS.

Tactical Mirroring
This should be done if for example you have a left footed mastermind, a left footed defensive bomber etc. In order to Get the most out of them, you simply need to mirror the tactic. The tactic would then look like this:::::

screenshot20120917at172.png


When trying out Swansea, I used Ze Roberto as the mastermind (left foot) so I had to mirror the tactic. It also helped as Guti was right footed. It should be noted that doing this is not absolutely necessary but is useful for attacking fluidity


Recommended Players
.

A tactic a lot of the time is only as good as the players that play in it. There is no point trying to play like Barcelona if you have Stoke or Westham like players. As I mentioned earlier, The attacking players need technical ability and defensive players physical. I will only be recommending players that either I have used, are cheap and accessible to most teams either on loan or as a purchase. Stars next to their names mean they are excellent in that position. If any one finds any more recommended players based on experience, I will add them

CB: Sergey Ignashevich* (CSKA Moscow), Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City), Leonardo Bonucci* (Juventus),Sebastien Bassong (Wolves)
DR: Sime Vrsaljko* (Dinamo), Davide Santone* (Newcastle), Mathieu Debuchy* (LOSC Metropole), Carlos Diogo (Free Transfer)

DL: Davide Santone* (Newcastle), Leighton Baines* (Everton)DM: Cheick Tiotte* (Newcastle), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Gaby Mudingayi (Inter)
MCR: Yohan Cabaye* (Newcastle), Ze Roberto (Free Transfer) Jonathan Dos Santos (Barcelona), Renato (Botafogo), Maniche (Free Transfer)
MCL: Ze Roberto* (Free Agent), Juan Roman Riquelme, Ruben Yttergard Jenssen (Tromso), Guti (Free Agent)

AML: Alessandro Del Piero (Free Agent), Nene* (PSG), Ze Roberto* (Free Agent), Pinga (Free Transfer)

ST: Danny Welbeck (Man. Utd)


My Team
I cannot emphasise how important squad depth is. With lower table teams, I believe the game tries to destabilise you especially when you are doing very well. Your star striker has been banging goals for fun and then all of a sudden decides to miss one-on-ones against the last place team, your most in form player gets injured for two months, you get an inexplicable red card when you are leading a game etc. Squad depth will help you deal with this. Screenshot of my winning team below. I also used some reserve and younger players during the early stages of the FA Cup and Carling Cup.


screenshot20120917at005.png



Swansea Test

I have tried these tactics with Swansea. I played the game on the most recent official FM patch. I soon realised that a pacey striker was paramount to success against bigger teams and away from home. I played Sinclair upfront.

Players in
Due to the very limited budget the Swansea board provided me, I had no choice but to sign free agents in order to achieve some squad depth. I was unable to find a quality DM that fit my tactic. I signed Carboni but he was not good enough. This further emphasises how important getting the right player for this postion is.
screenshot20120917at192.png


First Few Results
The best result is definitely the one against Liverpool away. The team was devastating on the counter. After these run of results, I decided to go in holiday for the rest of the season. I asked the assistant manger to use my tactics (Balanced). This would enable me to find out how well the tactic would perform over a whole season but also meant that I would be unable to micro manage tough games. I watched some games back and discovered that the DM was directly or indirectly responsible for a lot of conceded goals.

screenshot20120917at191.png


Final League Table
I am sure you will agree that finishing third (two points behind first) with Swansea in the first season is pretty good, especially since I left the games to my assistant manager. I am pretty sure that I could have won the league if I played the entire season.

screenshot20120917at213.png


Results

screenshot20120918at164.png
screenshot20120918at164.png
screenshot20120918at165.png


screenshot20120918at170.png



And Finally.......................I would appreciate some feedback and constructive criticism. Good luck

DOWNLOAD LINK

Lupe's Amazing Tactics.zip download - 2shared
Lupe's Amazing Tactics.zip - Speedy Share - upload your files here
 
Last edited:
One of the best opening posts I've seen. Well done. Looks like a top tactic set as well.

Any chance you could upload the mirrored versions of the tactic? If so, that'd be great.
 
Last edited:
Man this a piece of good work .. very professional post.

but **** I hate this formation .. i might give it a try
 
great opening post mate :) one of my favourite formations as well!

I might try this at a later stage as I am busy with a save at the moment and am not having any problems!

I will follow this to see the feedback though, I hope its as good as your post :)

well done and thank you
 
thanks everyone. Looking forward to getting some feedback. I posted it on other websites and so far, it is working wonders for people
 
used the attacking one, only created 1 ccc and to be honest, was a poor game against a weaker team! 3 shots on target out of 14 to their 15 shots and 4 on target... 1:0 win!

its just as fluid as my 433 tactic as well!

A win is a win no doubt :) but was expecting a tad more!

will try it out (maybe) in the future again if I have another save

all the best, will keep checking in to see others feedback :) nice job
 
I'm happy you got the win, but disappointed with how you won it. I never tried the tactic with a top team but other people said it was amazing when they did.

Were their chances counter attacks, did they dominate possession, how weak was the other team, did they pack the midfield,etc
 
Last edited:
I'm happy you got the win, but disappointed with how you won it. I never tried the tactic with a top team but other people said it was amazing when they did.

Were their chances counter attacks, did they dominate possession, how weak was the other team, did they pack the midfield,etc

my team is by no means a strong one mate :) I have a few good players but nothing amazing!

they dominated the game, we were more on the counter ;)
 
That's one fantastic opening post, it sure will attract a lot of people. :)
 
my team is by no means a strong one mate :) I have a few good players but nothing amazing!

they dominated the game, we were more on the counter ;)

Ahh right. I found my team having to counter attack sometimes especially away from home. At home though it was never

really the case though. The attacking formation does not retain possession. When I am being dominated, I switch to the cautious

tactic and it helps keep the ball and build up play and it works for me. Thanks for the feedback so far dude
 
Solid game against Stoke (who are usually difficult customers)

dominated the game and created 7 ccc's which is really good :) pity I could not finish off more! My AML who is Adam Johnson has not been that great out wide.. two poor performances.. might use Shaqiri there instead!

Not bad at all mate ;)

View attachment 276378
 
I was completely dominated! never been so dominated in a game before :(

Hahaha! wow! not a very good tactic away from home! (think I will stick with mine rather)

View attachment 276380
 
I was completely dominated! never been so dominated in a game before :(

Hahaha! wow! not a very good tactic away from home! (think I will stick with mine rather)

:O I think this could be down to it being a rival game away from home against a top team. I never had it that bad before though. The stoke game was unfortunate, 7CCCs and only one goal oO). That sucks

The tactic does not guarantee absolute success every time though and it is expected that you loose a few. With my Swansea test,

they lost a few games to the top teams as well away. I never had a serious problems away from home with Newcastle though.

Quite suprised
 
Why do you write "no Exploits"? This tactic uses the corner-exploit. How many goals do you score by corner?
 
Its not a corner exploit, its just a good corner tactic. An exploit would lead your striker to about 40 goals or more a season. I only

got 10 goals from corners with Newcastle if I remember correctly and 11 with Swansea (below Man Utd with 14, level with

tottenham and 1 above arsenal and Man city). By no means an exploit. If you class that as an exploit then there will never be any

good corner tactics.
 
Okay, it was just a question. So you think it's possible to change the corner settings the way I want them to be and still get good results? I was just asking, because lots of tactics use the same corner setting and mostly win the games because of them.
 
Okay, it was just a question. So you think it's possible to change the corner settings the way I want them to be and still get good results? I was just asking, because lots of tactics use the same corner setting and mostly win the games because of them.

Yh you should still get results. Considering the fact that I scored 94 goals and only a few of them from corners, you should be fine. So, yes feel free to change them :). Thanks for checking the tactic out.
 
Yeah, I think I'm going to give this a try with a new FC Santos save.
 
Trying this tactic with a new promoted small team from Vigo called Coruxo in the spanish first division. First match won 0-3 in Mallorca (mirroring the tactic to fit my squad). Anyway, i don´t think i´ve understood very well how you switch between tactics during the matches, can you please explain in a more detailed way? thanks in advance and GREAT opening post
 
Top