My Tactic and How It Could Be Improved

[RoryM]

Hello,

I have been playing Football Manager for the past few years on and off, but this year I have really gotten into Football Manager. I have made a tactic that seems fairly successful. However, I say it seems successful because I am not entirely sure of its true weaknesses and strengths, and any changes that I could make. I will explain my tactic as best as I can and then ask some questions and see what the experts think.

Firstly, I suppose I should tell you my what I am trying to achieve with this tactic and, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure if my tactic is best for achieving this. As I will demonstrate below, I am trying to play fairly aggressive football by playing high tempo football, pushing higher up, exploiting the middle, working the ball into the box and passing into space, using a 4-1-2-1-2 Narrow Diamond.

View attachment 297893

The formation uses a very limited defense with all defenders playing as limited defenders, other than one supporting fullback. However, the midfield and attack is a different story. My defensive midfielder is a supporting ball winning midfielder and my two central midfielders consist of another supporting ball winning midfielder and an attacking advanced playmaker. On top of that, my attacking midfielder is a shadow striker and my two remaining strikers are both set to attacking, one a target man and the other a poacher.

View attachment 297898

Before I list my concerns with the formation I will show you this tactic's mentality and, lack of, fluidity and structure. As you can see below, I am currently playing on control, but am unsure what the best structure is for my aggressive, pass-through-the-defense style of play.

View attachment 297889

I suppose that is all I can do to explain my aims and the tactic itself. In terms of results they really haven't been great, however, I really like the idea of this tactic and this is why I will really appreciate any advice or explanation on how to further develop this tactic. What I have noticed with this tactic is, most remarkably, the great amount of goals scored in only the first half during some matches, usually more attacking teams (I assume). However, during the second half they tend to score a lot, two or three during the second half, but thankfully I tend to score more. Then, there are those matches where I never looked like winning and these are the teams I should be beating. This leads me to believe that the aggressive style of an attacking midfield and attack is very good at exploiting teams that come out to attack, leaving gaps at the back by pushing men forwards against an organised defense with the support of a ball winning defensive midfielder. Now, my concerns:

1) The fullbacks - do they, as I think, help to provide a solid defensive line against the bigger teams and should be used as limited full backs in this care, or maybe they should be used in a more attacking role against weaker teams to help provide width so that I can control the game?

2) The defensive mid - is another ball winning midfielder really necessary or could he be used in another role, or maybe he should be defending as an anchor man, to simply provide the vital balls into the midfield?

3) The attacking mid - I am assuming that the attacking mid is useful for the team instructions I have set, however, is he best employed as a shadow striker, what are your thoughts?

4) The target man - is he best employed as a target man to provide balls to the poacher in the box and surrounding players or is he best played as a deep lying forward?

5) The mentality - Do you think control is the best mentality for this or should I choose counter, or even attacking?

6) The shape - Should I chose a more flexible shape, to try and allow for more creativity, or chose a more structured shape, for reasons I cannot fathom?

7) Team instructions - Firstly, are any of the team instructions unnecessary, should I slow it down or maybe when on control or attacking not push higher up when or control or attacking and, secondly, are there any extra instructions I could give to the team to develop the tactic.

Any feedback or advice is greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[WJ]

1 - IMO, fullbacks in such a narrow system should always have a support duty at least. They need to provide width and be available as a passing option.

2 - This is a tricky question. You can have as many ball-winners as you want, but him being one in the DM position and especially on support duty, he won't be protecting the defence. That's okay at the moment, since your DR has a defend duty, so you have 3 men back to protect against counters. In general, an AMC might still tear you to pieces though.

3 - This is completely up to you. Having a Shadow Striker isn't an issue.

4 - This is where you have an issue. Everyone is bombing forward. Poacher, Target Man and Shadow Striker. You need one to drop deep, to create gaps for the Shadow Striker.

5 - That's completely up to you, surely? Is it working for you? If you find you're too attacking, Control isn't the correct option and you need to drop down to a Counter or Standard mentality.

6 - You have quite a few specialist roles. To keep them doing what you've asked, you're better off sticking to either Rigid or Very Rigid.

7 - Again, it's up to you to decide this. It needs to fit with how you want to play.

 

[RoryM]

Thank you for your reply, some interesting answers. Given your advice, I'll switch to supporting fullbacks for now, switch my DM to a defending BWM, maybe switch the target man to a DLF and change my structure. I may have to watch some of the matches to see what the problem was against certain teams and why, in one of the matches, I was able to create 10 clear cut chances, but only score one. I hope your advise can provide stability to the team, thank you.

 

[JohnR55]

Thank you for your reply, some interesting answers. Given your advice, I'll switch to supporting fullbacks for now, switch my DM to a defending BWM, maybe switch the target man to a DLF and change my structure. I may have to watch some of the matches to see what the problem was against certain teams and why, in one of the matches, I was able to create 10 clear cut chances, but only score one. I hope your advise can provide stability to the team, thank you.

i would suggest trying a half back in the CDM role as you have no holding midfielder.

 

[RoryM]

Unfortunately, at the moment I have no players capable of playing as a half back, however, it sounds like a very good idea and I will look to bring in a half back, possibly on loan, as soon as possible. Thanks for the advice.

 

[WJ]

Thank you for your reply, some interesting answers. Given your advice, I'll switch to supporting fullbacks for now, switch my DM to a defending BWM, maybe switch the target man to a DLF and change my structure. I may have to watch some of the matches to see what the problem was against certain teams and why, in one of the matches, I was able to create 10 clear cut chances, but only score one. I hope your advise can provide stability to the team, thank you.

John's point was that even on a Defend duty, the Ball Winning midfielder could possibly leave gaps in front of your defence. The reason is simple - he has maximum closing down, as he should, because he's trying to win the ball. That's his job, after all. Have a look at the matches though. In a narrow diamond, this might not be as much of an issue, as you're over-stocked with midfielders in the middle.

The other point I want to raise, is why are you saying you have nobody capable of playing as a half-back? How do you determine whether they can play there?

 

[JohnR55]

John's point was that even on a Defend duty, the Ball Winning midfielder could possibly leave gaps in front of your defence. The reason is simple - he has maximum closing down, as he should, because he's trying to win the ball. That's his job, after all. Have a look at the matches though. In a narrow diamond, this might not be as much of an issue, as you're over-stocked with midfielders in the middle.

The other point I want to raise, is why are you saying you have nobody capable of playing as a half-back? How do you determine whether they can play there?

Thanks for expanding on my suggestion, didn't have time to myself!

 

[RoryM]

John's point was that even on a Defend duty, the Ball Winning midfielder could possibly leave gaps in front of your defence. The reason is simple - he has maximum closing down, as he should, because he's trying to win the ball. That's his job, after all. Have a look at the matches though. In a narrow diamond, this might not be as much of an issue, as you're over-stocked with midfielders in the middle.

The other point I want to raise, is why are you saying you have nobody capable of playing as a half-back? How do you determine whether they can play there?

Firstly, thanks for your explanation and yes, in that case, I will have to watch the matches. Secondly, with regard to assessing the capability of either my two defensive midfielders to play as halfbacks, they both have very poor technique (2) and either poor composure and concentration (4,5) or poor vision (2). Furthermore, all scouts give them both a half star rating in the role, but I'm not sure if this is more a reflection of poor key attributes or not being trained in that role (if this is a thing).

I'll watch the matches and see how the DM was doing, thanks.

EDIT: Would you be able to explain the practical difference between an anchor man and a halfback? Thanks.

 

[WJ]

Firstly, thanks for your explanation and yes, in that case, I will have to watch the matches. Secondly, with regard to assessing the capability of either my two defensive midfielders to play as halfbacks, they both have very poor technique (2) and either poor composure and concentration (4,5) or poor vision (2). Furthermore, all scouts give them both a half star rating in the role, but I'm not sure if this is more a reflection of poor key attributes or not being trained in that role (if this is a thing).

I'll watch the matches and see how the DM was doing, thanks.

EDIT: Would you be able to explain the practical difference between an anchor man and a halfback? Thanks.

Okay, as long as you're judging them by their attributes and not just purely on star rating.

An Anchor Man just screens the defence. He has low closing down, because his job is just to protect the "hole" between midfield and defence. In possession he keeps it simple with short, sure passes.

The half back is a little more aggressive without the ball, but his unique trait is that he drops in between the centrebacks in possession. That, in theory, enables the fullbacks to be really aggressive with their runs.

 

[JohnR55]

Firstly, thanks for your explanation and yes, in that case, I will have to watch the matches. Secondly, with regard to assessing the capability of either my two defensive midfielders to play as halfbacks, they both have very poor technique (2) and either poor composure and concentration (4,5) or poor vision (2). Furthermore, all scouts give them both a half star rating in the role, but I'm not sure if this is more a reflection of poor key attributes or not being trained in that role (if this is a thing).

I'll watch the matches and see how the DM was doing, thanks.

EDIT: Would you be able to explain the practical difference between an anchor man and a halfback? Thanks.

i personally see an anchor man as fernando for Man City, and a half back as gerrard of last year. The anchor man intercepts passes and just plays it on to the more creative players, whereas the half back drops between your central defenders and helps with possession as he is a good outlet.

 

[RoryM]

Thank you both for your replies, I shall inform you tomorrow of any improvement/deterioration in results.