Project 4-4-2 By Jake

[Jake]

Project 4-4-2 by Jake

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This is an ongoing project, not just a tactic that i will upload once and abandon. It will be almost like a story seen through my tactics, i do like to ramble on a bit, but for those of you who just want some pretty pictures, I've included screenshots too.

As my save continues and my tactic adapts, i will post tweaked and adapted versions. I'm hoping that anyone who downloads the tactic will get back to me with any changes that have worked for them too.

PLEASE NOTE, whilst i think i have a pretty good knowledge of all things FM, I do not claim to be tactical genius, nor is this tactic a diablo of any kind, it doesn't exploit any match engine faults and isn't going to get you 5+ goals every game. If you want to win without any input from you as a manager, then there are plenty of tactics out there that rely totally on match engine exploits to get the results you desire. I am using this tactic as Man Utd, so please don't **** the bed when it doesn't work for you as a mid table BSP team. Once i get stuck into my La Cultu save i fully intend to release my smash and grab tactic that is suitable for underdog teams.

Please keep any criticism you have limited to constructive only, if you whine, moan, say the tactic is **** etc etc then i will just delete your comment and probably ban you for a week or two for good measure. Yes. I can ban you, so don't troll my thread please.

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I have contributed quite a bit to the site over the years, a lot of it has been technical help with the game rather than things like tactics, wonderkid lists etc so i fancied a change. I uploaded my smash and grab tactic but this was mainly for followers of my La Cultu story, which i am strongly considering bringing back for another ride through the spanish league system. But never before have i ventured into uploading or sharing 'mainstream' tactics.

Anyway, my first file on every FM is always with Man Utd. I like to challenge myself with lower league management once i have had a go at dominating with a successful team.

My aim is to create a tactic that's easy enough for people who aren't into tactics to be able to plug and play, as well as being simple so newcomers to the game can understand, but also giving a good starting base for serious tacticians to tweak their little hearts out. Thus, i opted for a 4-4-2, the classic bread and butter, foolproof formation.

This tactic is designed to work with Man Utd, there are many parts to it which may cause negative results if used with other teams, the different winger roles being an obvious one. It's only intended to be a plug and play/beginners tactic if you are Man Utd, or perhaps another big team with versatile, interchangable wingers, Man City maybe. Feel free to test it and get back to me though.

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V1.0 - The rough cut

Link: Project 4-4-2 by Jake - Downloads - Football Manager 2012 Tactics, Wonderkids & Cheats
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As mentioned above, this tactic will evolve and be updated as my file progresses. At the moment it is November and i am convincingly top of the league. Just to note, my only two signings within a sniff of first team action are Ross Barkley and Lucas Andersen.

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I decided to ensure i kept the oppositions goalscoring to a minimum, and allow the forward players natural attacking ability shine through. The pace, flair and creativity Utd possess on the wings is complemented perfectly by the pure predator that is Chicharito, and of course, the cherry on the cake is a world class creative forward in Rooney.

I haven't lost a game since a narrow 1-0 loss in the community shield. My hopes for the defensive part of the tactic have been fulfilled, conceding only 5 league goals so far. The back four is fairly self explanatory.

Both CB's are set to the default CB role with defend duty, none of this stopper and cover rubbish. I have set both of them to be very defensive mentality wise, with little creative freedom. The full backs are encouraged to get forward with support duties, but as Evra, Fabio and Rafael are superb athletes, there is rarely a problem defensively.

My central midfield pairing is Fletcher and Anderson. Fletch does a box to box role that only a few players can manage, Essien, Alex Song, De Rossi spring to mind. I've set his mentality pretty defensive and assigned a support duty, meaning the emphasis is largely on the wingers and strikers to create. Anderson is set to CM - attack but i've not gone crazy here, his personal instructions mean he keeps his shape alongside his midfield partner, but he will join in attacks when the opportunity presents.

I chose to 'advance' the wingers to AMR and AML positions to create what FM refers to as a 4-2-4, however in my humble opinion this formation is the epitome of the classic 4-4-2.

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As of yet i haven't got the best out Rooney, with Berbatov performing better in the same role when given a chance. Hernandez is scoring for fun and all of the wingers are scoring/assisting/having a good season so far, so i will concentrate on maintining the excellent performances from the widemen in V1.0 with improvements elsewhere coming later.

The 4 'wingers' i have are Nani, Valencia, Young and Cleverley, with Cleverley also rotating in one of the CM spots. All 4 are capable of playing on either flank (Valencia needs some position training to become accomplished) and as you can see the 2 winger slots in this tactic are very different.

AMR - Winger - Attack - Hug Touchline - Valencia starts
AML - Inside Forward - Attack - Cut Inside - Nani starts

I set the wingers to swap positions during a game, preventing an opposition full back from getting used to whats in front of him, thus creating more chances. Nani, Valencia and Ashley Young are very adept at either role, and despite Young being 'better' than Valencia on paper, Valencia's performances mean Young is warming the bench at the moment, Cleverley is backup.

Chicarito is assigned a classic poacher role, with Rooney alongisde him as a Trequarista. Chicharito is getting goals and Rooney is often heavily involved in some wonderful build up play, unfortunately his match ratings don't reflect this.

My best moment so far is a convincing victory over a hugely talented, if inexperienced Dortmund side that i really expected a tough game from.

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I am the first to admit that i haven't played many 'big' games yet, which makes my achievements less impressive, however, i am glad as this means the second half of the season will be tough, which will hopefully force me to tweak this tactic (meaning v1.1 isn't too far away )

Anyway, enjoy the tactic, i look forward to your responses and also to releasing V1.1 in the coming days.

 

[Redders]

TL;DR



lul, joking. I'm Man Utd and has a pretty good first season (Including thumping Citteh 4-0 in the comm shield). I play 4-2-4.

Also, Welbeck is brilliant, don't forget about him. He got 12 in 25 in the league for me but a load more in the cups, great player and was often chose ahead of Chicarito - until he got injured in April for 3-4 months . EDIT he got 19 in 29 and 7 assists.

Might upload my tactic!

Ps. thanks for ignoring me on Steam, chump.

 

[JP Woody]

Got beat 15-0 by Barnet in my first game. Im Manchester City btw. Why is this happening?

 

[Steve*]

Got beat 15-0 by Barnet in my first game. Im Manchester City btw. Why is this happening?

Because you suck

Similar to my own 442 Jake, will have a detailed look at it at some stage

 

[AgentVinz]

How is Berbatov doing? Whenever I play with United I always struggled to get him to perform. He miss lots of chances and because of his laziness, he rarely finish a game with more than 15 pass.
Also how your players score from Valencia's crosses?? In my save he has lots of crosses but my forwards struggled to score from them!

 

[Jake]

How is Berbatov doing? Whenever I play with United I always struggled to get him to perform. He miss lots of chances and because of his laziness, he rarely finish a game with more than 15 pass.
Also how your players score from Valencia's crosses?? In my save he has lots of crosses but my forwards struggled to score from them!

He is outperforming Rooney in terms of average rating. Embrace his 'laziness' and accept that his is never going to be storming around the pitch closing down, neither is he likely to make a 30 yard run to burst into the box late. BUT, he is preferctly suited to a Trequarista role, provided you are prepared to carry him defensively. When you don't have the ball, he won't attempt to win it back, but look for positions and spaces to be found when you do win it back, allowing quick and effective counter attacks to be launched.

As for Valencia, i'm not entirely sure how many crosses he actually puts in. But by using the following touchline shouts:

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i am aiming not so much to swing a ball into the back post, but get the wingers to look for something different, whether thats a one-two, a cutback or a ball accross the face of the goal, it seems to achieve better results than just lumping it into the box and seeing rooney get dominated by the likes of Shawcross in the air.

With regard to strategy and shouts. I start with a control strategy and the shouts seen above. If i am expected to win the game i usually up to attacking or overload pretty early in the game, and add the following shouts:

Run at defence, retain possession and take more risks.

If it's a game against a strong opponent then i switch to counter (only if we are not getting enough possession) and use the following shouts:

Hassle opponents, clear ball to flanks and get ball forward.

 

[BALDERS]

i dont have the option to take more risks? is there any reason as to this

 

[Jake]

i dont have the option to take more risks? is there any reason as to this

Take more risks is only available when you are playing with an overload mentality

 

[Jake]

V1.1
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OK, so it's been a while, but here's a little Christmas update on project 4-4-2. I tweaked the tactic again slightly after a defeat to Man City in the New Year, as a result we kicked on and won the league at a canter.

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The disappointing part of the season was the semi final loss in the champions league.

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Javier Hernandez ploughed through almost everything in his path, scoring for fun all season, he really is a pleasure to manage.

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4-4-2 V1.1: View attachment 212250 - This is from midway through the 12/13 season, but i haven't changed it since January 2012.

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This is now my fairly settled first choice lineup. Ashely Young really has failed to progress, and with my squad only boasting a couple of top top world class performers, i am considering Gotze (expensive i know...) as a replacement for the hardworking Valencia. Well technically Nani will replace Valencia and Gotze will take Nanis Inside Forward role.

Anybody been using this tactic? How have you found it? Have you tweaked it?

 

[PafcLad]

Will give this a go after christmas