Good day to you all, since Fm12 came out I have made the Short and Sweet tactic that focuses on retaining possession as well as creating chances and scoring goals
As many of you are intrigued by possession based tactics I thought I would start this thread so that we could discuss possession tactics and how to go about creating them for yourself without having to download anyone else's
Some people make specific Barca tactics for Barca only but possession is not all about replicating Barca or making a tactic that resembles their formation etc, its about retaining possession and creating scoring chances:
The four part system consists of the following components which are being integrated at the moment:


As many of you are intrigued by possession based tactics I thought I would start this thread so that we could discuss possession tactics and how to go about creating them for yourself without having to download anyone else's

The four part system consists of the following components which are being integrated at the moment:
- Posession (not adament on getting 1 player over 100 passes, the more passers of the ball the better)
- Creating CCC's (clear cut chances) while remaining in possession of the ball
- Operating defensively while incorporating points 1&2
- Playing in the opponents half
In this thread we will look at player roles, formations, team instructions, opposition formations, home or away, pitch dimensions, touchline shouts and many many more factors that influence possession tactics 
Please note, this is not a thread for anyone to post and show off their possession stats, feel free to post them please but this is not to promote your tactic or show off it is a discussion thread and if you would like feedback from myself or anyone else, feel free to post anything you would like advice or assistance on
this is also not a competition to see who has the most passess as passess are extremely easy to get, its what you do with possession that counts 
Things to keep in mind when creating possession tactics:

Please note, this is not a thread for anyone to post and show off their possession stats, feel free to post them please but this is not to promote your tactic or show off it is a discussion thread and if you would like feedback from myself or anyone else, feel free to post anything you would like advice or assistance on


Things to keep in mind when creating possession tactics:
- you dont always have to play extremely narrow and slow, the wider and quicker you play, depending on formation and the players you have will increase passess and possession
- you dont have to have a primary playmaker or target man selected with ball to feet, possession is about team possession, not single players passess
- full backs are always going to be involved no matter what you do! the best is to take advantage of them and use them correctly, I have them set to hold up ball, this helps in retaining possession and not giving it away cheaply
- PPM's play a major role in players performing certain tasks during the game, if a player has run with ball often, shoots from distance, switches ball to other flanks, these go against possession tactics and should be avoided, PPM's like: plays one two's, dictates tempo, comes deep, looks for pass rather than shot, simple passes, tries killer balls, moves into channels are all very good to have for your players
- getting passess are easy, you will have to start by getting the possession and that will start from the back like normal, your cb's, keeper and fb's will have the most passes etc, dont worry about that, tweak the formation and instructions as you go to get the ball further up the field, you want to have possession but in their half, not your own as you will not create any chances, the SS below is how it is going to start, as I said, getting the ball higher up in the opponents half is one of the main objectives:

- getting your main players involved like Messi for eg: alot of possession *Barca* tactics I have seen barely have Messi involved at all, 12 passess max a game, try and get each player to have similar amounts of passes, not just one and neglecting the others
the more passers of the ball the better
- dont feel as though you need to get the striker/s involved with the build up play, in order to score goals they need to be the focal point of your attack and should be made to hold up the ball or involved to heavily in build up play
- pass and move is the foundation of possession, so this means, playing through balls sometimes and run from deep always should be used for your mids/attackers! instead of running with the ball they need to create space by running off it into spaces and channels. This needs to be played around with to find the correct balance for your players and your team
- you dont have to focus passing through the middle either, using the whole pitch creates more space and passing options!
- when it comes to the passing slider, imagine a circle around the player, 1 click being for eg: 1m passes, the further the slider goes the further and more direct the passes will become!
- all players invloved in the triangles or passing sphere should have move into channels and even roam from position on to create open spaces to receive the pass, do not use this for central defenders, fullbacks can also be given this option, but be aware of the consequences on defence!
- goalkeeper distribution should be defender collect and your best passing defender as the receiver
- of course no long shots should be given and run with ball should also be used lightly/sparingly
- full backs should be set to support or attack, imagine support being in line with the Dm position and attack being in line with the Cm position, this will be the position of your fullbacks. (get what I am saying)
- In order to create more chances, you have to be prepared to sacrifice some possession in order to get the ball in the box for someone to bury it, this is important to understand and accept, it is easy racking up passess but the hard part is converting the possession into goals!
- Possession tactics take a while longer to gel with your team, allow for at least 20 games for your team to become accustomed to the tactic
- The more passess the player does and the more successful they are increase his average rating! I have tested it countless times, players with over 80 passesss and a pass percentage of 87% plus will always be over 7 regardless!
- Playing a very high defensive line is important, you want to peg the opponents in their own half as that is where you should be wanting to play the ball! at least 3/4 of the way up is a good start!
- With a high defensive line you dont have to play the offside trap, as most of the time your cb's will be sitting on the halfway line, neither do you have to play counter attack as it is not that effective playing with a high line! the deeper you are the better it is playing on the counter and quickly/directly as well!
- Possession is not all about making "triangles" either, having players move into spaces will create these triangles, not actually trying to create them with the formation (even though I do with the Amc)
- creative freedom should be used extremely sparingly as for one, it will counter the personal and team instructions you have given! this however should not be set to 0 as it also has a part to play with free role's as it allows the player to move around more freely as well! so use it wisely for the players that will be the main area of your passing!
- Time wasting is also important, I use it sometimes, the more you use of it the more your players will hold onto the ball, this will actually prevent passess being made and instead of going forward they players will most of the time play it backwards which is not what you want! so keep that in mind! As well as it being counter productive, it also can be detrimental as players can be caught in possession easily and the opposition can create easy chances!
- Holding up the ball should also be used sparingly, have no more than 3 players holding up the ball, this is due to the fact that instead of playing the quick ball that could create a chance, they hang onto it which allows the opposition to get back into position!
- there is a lot more to say, hit a bit of a blank now, going to update is as I remember etc
A few SS of my work in progress possession tactics: Short and Sweet:
913 passes, 88% possession, 2 CCC's! the best result I have had to date
Suggested team instructions:
913 passes, 88% possession, 2 CCC's! the best result I have had to date







Suggested team instructions:
*this is for the classic tactics, this is what I currently use for my teams
Modern Tactic's Suggested team instructions:
Philosophy: Balanced or Fluid (it does not have to be very fluid, thats a farce)
Strategy: Control or attacking
(going to update the SS with the modern tactic's suggestions)
playing Zonal marking and pressing will ensure the team will keep its shape, I ensure that tight marking is also selected in player instructions!
For closing down (the thing most people have issues with) I have a simple solution that works really well for me, have every player (save for your out and out goalscorer) to close down exactly the same, I have it set to own half but right on the border of whole pitch, this will ensure your team really keep their shape and close down together as a unit and dont get dragged out of position...
Suggested touchline shouts:
*I do not use most of these except hassle, work ball into box when playing modern tactics, the possession tactic I use is made in classic mode and does not use shouts
Retain possession
Work ball into box
Pass to feet
Play out of defence
Play through defence
Hassle opponents
Recommended formations:
*I personally use a 433 with two central cm's who drop deep to get the ball and the playmaker Amc with two wingers and a striker
4-3-3 (Amc or Dm)
4-1-2-1-2
4-2-1-2-1
Pitch dimensions:
Well this is up to you, I find that using normal or standard works the best, as mentioned, its not all about playing narrow and on the smallest pitch, please note this plays a large role in possession tactics and should be not be taken lightly.
Opposition Instructions:
*you can leave this to assistant manager but make sure you do the following:
Show all strikers, central mids (cm's and am'cs) on to weaker foot and close down
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please feel free to ask anything regarding possession tactics here, please feel free to use anything from any of my tactics for your own and I look forward to seeing your progress in creating a great possession tactic
thanks, Neil

Modern Tactic's Suggested team instructions:
Philosophy: Balanced or Fluid (it does not have to be very fluid, thats a farce)
Strategy: Control or attacking
(going to update the SS with the modern tactic's suggestions)
playing Zonal marking and pressing will ensure the team will keep its shape, I ensure that tight marking is also selected in player instructions!
For closing down (the thing most people have issues with) I have a simple solution that works really well for me, have every player (save for your out and out goalscorer) to close down exactly the same, I have it set to own half but right on the border of whole pitch, this will ensure your team really keep their shape and close down together as a unit and dont get dragged out of position...
Suggested touchline shouts:
*I do not use most of these except hassle, work ball into box when playing modern tactics, the possession tactic I use is made in classic mode and does not use shouts
Retain possession
Work ball into box
Pass to feet
Play out of defence
Play through defence
Hassle opponents
Recommended formations:
*I personally use a 433 with two central cm's who drop deep to get the ball and the playmaker Amc with two wingers and a striker
4-3-3 (Amc or Dm)
4-1-2-1-2
4-2-1-2-1
Pitch dimensions:
Well this is up to you, I find that using normal or standard works the best, as mentioned, its not all about playing narrow and on the smallest pitch, please note this plays a large role in possession tactics and should be not be taken lightly.
Opposition Instructions:
*you can leave this to assistant manager but make sure you do the following:
Show all strikers, central mids (cm's and am'cs) on to weaker foot and close down
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
please feel free to ask anything regarding possession tactics here, please feel free to use anything from any of my tactics for your own and I look forward to seeing your progress in creating a great possession tactic

thanks, Neil
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