Solid & Efficient Football
So this is my very first tactic that I'm posting publicly on the forum and I wanted to share with you all the very tactic that i've got right on my own. This tactic was inspired by the style of Mourinho, Hiddink, Capello and Rafa Benitez. Very tactical and defensively solid managers. This tactic has been effective from patch 14.2 to 14.3. (It actually looks much better in 14.3 as well.)
One of my personal joys is seeing my team record solid 2-0, 3-0 wins with minimal CCC's for the opposition and This tactic that I've created utilizes a solid defensive shape as well as efficient attacking, resulting in those beautiful scores which include the much desired clean sheets.
Tactic:
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As you might have noticed, I play a classic 4-2-3-1 with the key of my play being the Tight Marking, Hassle Oppenents and the use of a high line to press the opposition back. The attack varies from drilled crosses into the box to beautiful through balls through the middle with the striker running onto it for a CCC. The CBs and the CMs both has player instructions that including: Closing down More and Mark Tigther. This insures that whenever a opp. player receives the ball, my middle players bite into them and force them back or win the ball. When they don't have the ball, the Defend role for my midfielders form a wall infront of my back four which makes it hard to penetrate my 18 yard box, resulting in wasteful long shots.
Players:
Centre Backs: Centre backs with high anticipation, high marking, and concentration will excel immensely in this tactic. If you have CBs like Vidic, Terry, Kompany and other commanding CBs you should be golden. The PPMs Mark Opponents tightly and Dives into Tackles are almost a must. As you can see in this SS, my CBs were in TOTY in the EPL.
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Attacking Mids: These players should be very good with the ball at their feet and should be able to take on a player when required. Ozil, Coutinho, Gotze, Isco and Silva type players will rack up assists for you in the AP role, mean while the wingers are really of your choosing. If I were to recommend some wingers, I'd say players in the mold of Robben, Hazard and Pedro will do you wonders, They normally score a good amount of goals.
Striker: To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to say on the strikers, Any type of striker can fit into this tactic, but if I were to pick one, i'd go with a drogba-esque striker. Lewandowski is so bi-polar with his finishing so i'm not sure about him, but I reealllyyyyyy wanted Mitrovic for this role, sadly i couldn't agree a WP for him and Bayern swooped in a took him on deadline day. (Still Crushed by that). Suarez does really well for me though so everything is not lost.
GKs and FBs: Your keeper must be adept at passing the ball from the back and one-ones. Courtios has been a god for me in net so I recommend keepers in his mold. (e.g Cech, Neuer, and Hart). As for fullbacks, its more of a no brainer really. Solid attacking and defensively will get the job done. (e.g Alves, Alaba, Lahm, Clichy, Sagna)
Results:
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Gorgeous Clean sheet victories. Also, pay close attention to the lack of CCC's for the opposition and the shots on to off target ratio. I've seemed to have solid possession of the ball as well. Only conceded 22 goals in 38 matches. Also realize that during the 14.2 patch, conceding from a corner was almost a given so most of the goals conceded were just the ME being an *******. Won a treble this year as well. (EPL Title, FA Cup, Community Shield). I was knocked out of the QFs of the CL. by Real Madrid by a bullshit penalty in the last minute so they could win on away goals 3-3. They went on to win the Champions League so i guess its okay.
Special Notes:
- This tactic needs to be fluid as should be expected with most tactics.
- Its not a plug and play tactic, you have to be aware of your situations here. For example, whenever i'm up 1-0 or 2-0 I tend to switch instructions to drop deeper, no offside trap and sometimes I lower the tempo and retain possession more to kill the game off. (ONLY DO SO in the second half around the 60th minutes)
-I use no Opp. Instructions as this tactic requires the team to defend as unit instead of nullifying singular threats, HOWEVER use common sense with Opp. instructions when required. (e.g. a striker player is right footed only, show him to left)
-Switch the formation up a bit by changing the AP CAM to DM Anchor for extra protection in the middle and more control of the game.
-Don't be afraid to tweak the tactic and player roles, they'll win you games.
-If you can buy Alonso, DO IT ASAP! He will change your life with how well he fits into this role. If you can't buy Alonso, find someone like him or groom one.
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PLEASE GIVE ME FEEDBACK WHEN YOU TRY IT. I'd greatly appreciate advice and constructive criticism.
P.S. I named the link after my fancy Dutch Tactician Name for my next save Sebastian Van Heijder
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