Raikan007's Possession tactic discussion & creation centre: Hints & Tips

Raikan007

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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 :)

WUHS.BSFormation.In-Possession-DM.png


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:








  1. Posession (not adament on getting 1 player over 100 passes, the more passers of the ball the better)
  2. Creating CCC's (clear cut chances) while remaining in possession of the ball
  3. Operating defensively while incorporating points 1&2
  4. 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:








  • 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:
199855d1319724233-short-sweet%99-d.c.-united-v-barcelona-analysis_-analysis-.png






  • 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 :)

206250d1322550404-short-sweet%99-ajax-v-partizan-analysis_-analysis-.png


205280d1322141869-short-sweet%99-santos-v-goi-s-analysis_-analysis-.png


201999d1320663645-short-sweet%99-man-utd-v-leeds-analysis_-analysis-.png


205298d1322147725-short-sweet%99-santos-v-atl-tico-goianiense-analysis_-analysis-2.png


205293d1322146371-short-sweet%99-vasco-v-santos-analysis_-analysis-.png

206010d1322480344-short-sweet%99-ranheim-v-cska-moscow-analysis_-analysis-.png


Suggested team instructions:






*this is for the classic tactics, this is what I currently use for my teams

206028d1322482834-short-sweet%99-zenit-v-cska-moscow-cska-moscow_-team-instructions-.png


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

 
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Wow, just wow. The effort you put in is astounding. Brown nosing aside, the 2 CM's what would you say there role is, if you could give a name to it. I'm by no means a tactical expert but my best Possession tactic in FM 12 revolved around a deep set midfield triangle. An anchorman sits at the bottom of my triangle with the shortest passing instructions (to ensure he sends the ball to the 2 midfielders in front) the 2 midfields in front are a Deep lying playmaker and an Advanced Playmaker.

I messed around with individual instructions to ensure they held possession well and in most games the system held about 65% possession this was mind you in the BSP with Mansfield. But I'm certainly gonna take a few tips on board to see if it improves my system at all.
 
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the two Cm's are my Carrick roles (well the classical version of them) I ask them to drop deeper when not in possession who then feed it to the central Amc who plays it around at will :) the fullbacks I have pretty much sitting on half way 90% of the game to offer width, the two cm's break up/intercept pretty much anything that gets passed, if one misses my two central defenders deal with it and the fulbacks drop back very quickly too!

most of the time as soon as the opposition steps into my half the entire squad move in and press so much the only thing they can do is hoof the ball back to me! the Carrick roles are the main component to this, as in real life, he marks the zones to prevent passess instead of man marking, tight marking, so with the rest of the squad closing down around them they move around preventing any passess :)

how are you lining up Jono?
 
You have thought in depth far more then myself on the roles of the players and making the individual instructions then myself, although the objective goal we seek is the same.

MansfieldTownTactics_Overview.png


I've got my wingers set to support, and I've pretty much got the midfield maxed for how much of the pitch they close down (I'm encouraging a Barca work ethic in terms of getting the ball back) The idea of one midfielder doing zonal marking had not occurred to me and has certainly (in my mind at least) a fantastic chance of working.
 
updated the OP with a few more hints and tips :)

looks good Jono :)
 
updated the OP with a few more hints and tips :)

looks good Jono :)

Yeah it's alright, I'll definitely be taking some tips on board to improve the tactic itself, you have thought of things I haven't(I'm still a novice at doing my own tactics) but yeah thumbs up great thread Raikan.
 
where is the link for the last version of the tactic please ?

hey bud, this is not a tactic thread, it is a discussion thread :) however if you would like to test it out, the SS above are from the Short and Sweet tactic linked above :)
 
Ah Neil, forgot to ask, You use Hassle Opponents like myself, but you do not use get stuck in. I do as it works in tandem with the Hassling(I believe so anyway :p) Any particular reason why you do not?
 
I have a question, as i would like tho develope my own tactic :)

I would like to have a team playing possession but that doesn't plays too much slow. I youre opinion is it possible to play with short passes and normal tempo?

Let's make an example in real life. Barcelona plays short passes but they play not that slow and i would like to recreate such a style of playing. This is the basis of what i would like to do apart from the scheme 442, 4231, 41221, 433 ecc
 
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hey bud, follow the hints and steps above then :)

most definately, I play short and quick sometimes, having too many people holding up the ball will slow it down though, think about it, if the players instructions are to pass and move then the quicker the tempo the quicker they will release the ball and find space ;)

it sort of allows them to play one two's permenently in a way if you get what I am saying? also the quicker the tempo the more chances you will most likely create :)
 
Hey Neil just read this thread and id like to say thankyou as this will help me and im sure others in understanding and creating are own tactics.

This is a good read and well thought out and put together i for 1 will be using this when i want to make a tactic for 1 of my saves
 
Hi,

This thread is really interesting and helpful. Just started making a possession tactic because of it. :)

Quick question though, if I set my midfielders to roam, but reduce their creative freedom to slightly under half way (the only way I had much success in FM2011) will the players still look for space freely or does their creative freedom effect this (or is it just shooting and passing that this effects)?
 
Hi,

This thread is really interesting and helpful. Just started making a possession tactic because of it. :)

Quick question though, if I set my midfielders to roam, but reduce their creative freedom to slightly under half way (the only way I had much success in FM2011) will the players still look for space freely or does their creative freedom effect this (or is it just shooting and passing that this effects)?

yes they will :) it has very, very little to do with the movements (however it does have a slight impact) its just ensuring they stick to instructions :)

I look forward to your update
 
brilliant thread! I am working on possesion based tactics two years and I've never had 913 successful passes! great work!
 
Thank god for this thread just about start a thread about possession football I was going to use this video below as a guide and ask members on this site to help but now I'll use this thread great work

[video=youtube;I6A_K8oWqfk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I6A_K8oWqfk[/video]

I stuggle with the player instructions I notice that most "Barca" tactics every players instuction has been tweaked is their any tips you give on player instuctions
 
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Playmaker

heey raikaan does u knw who should be the playmaker and target man in this new formation ?
 
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