The idea
Well, the idea. The idea was to create something beautiful, something the fans would appreciate, something that would make the manager and everything and everyone within the club, something destructive, something powerful. Something between the two more popular tactics of the modern football: the 4-5-1/4-3-3 and the 4-2-3-1 (which, by the way, is my favourite tactic) and having as inspiration José Mourinho (why not? hehe), the tiki-taka and Sir. Alex Ferguson.
So, it was time to pick a team and to start working on that formation. For this purpose I chose Chelsea, mostly because of Lampard and Ramires, to be honest. I just love to have a powerful attacking midfielder who can score and assist, as well as helping the team defensively and a box-to-box midfielder, let's be honest, it's orgasmic to see playing - nothing else to say really about that -.
The process
As a base, I used 4-2-3-1 (of course) and I was thinking about transforming it into a 4-2-4, having all the attacking players very close to the box, but then I realized that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted possession, crosses, as well as an attacking midfielder scoring lots of goals; I wanted an inside forward who could make wonders; and most of all, I wanted to see Ramires run and run and run, as well as Bosingwa and Cole.
With that in mind, I started studying the positions and the two positions that were scaring me the most were the inside forward (who could make wonders, remember? hehe) and the defensive midfielder. Ramires and Fellaini, huh? Some would say a fantastic combination, others would say the worst, still I wanted that. But I couldn't have that, what was ok. After all I had Obi Mikel and Raul Meireles, right? They would do the trick, without any doubt.
The tactic
Formation
View attachment 207278
Not the usual formation, huh? Yes, I know, it's a little weird, but if you see it well, when defending, Lampard comes down as well as Ramires and Obi Mikel centers himself in front of the defense it starts to look a little bit like a 4-5-1 and maybe a 4-2-3-1. That's the indecision I wanted. I didn't want it to be a 4-5-1 neither a 4-2-3-1: I wanted a 4-1-1-3-1. Perhaps the 4-2-3-1 assymetric could do the trick, But I wanted something more specific, the closest possible to my idea.
Instructions
View attachment 207279
Well, this part has suffered many changes as the season progressed. This was the final result, but it will probably suffer some little changes.
The explanation for this instructions was actually simple.
Philosophy Balanced - I think this is self explanatory stuff
Strategy Attacking - Well, I was a lot of times in doubt between Attacking an Control, because, let's face it: this tactic was very offensive and starting the game at the attack wouldn't be that great, but neither did the control. I wanted goals and a lot of powerful attack, so I chose attacking. In the big games and most of the 4-4-2 4-4-1-1 games I changed it to Control.
Passing Style Shorter - Of course. You want possession, you play short passes.
Creative Freedom More Expressive - Another self explanatory choice.
Closing Down Press More - If you're going to play with a defensive line as high as the one I chose, you have to press lots, obviously.
Tackling Default - I didn't want too much yellow cards, still I wanted aggressivity, so this choice is also obvious.
Marking Zonal Marking - Because I'm not a fan of Man-to-man marking. I think it's a lost of time.
Tempo Slow - This could be actually a little higher, as it was a very attacking tactic, but I prefer to give time for my players to play carefully.
Time Wasting Sometimes - If you want possession, you have to loose time sometimes, but not all the time.
Focus Passing Mixed - I think that with this system probably the ideal would be to play in the middle, but I wanted a good cooperation between all the sectors in the team.
Counter Attacking Yes - Of course. You wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to score, would you?
Play Offside Yes - Obviously. High defensive lines are meant to play offside.
The Download - External Mirror
The Download - FM-Base Mirror in moderation
Important note - this isn't yet my tactic, just some kind of a study about this formation. I think it has lots of potential, if well played.
The Results
This was a very recent approach I made, so this tactic is still on its first steps, having some failures and a lot of fixes to make, but the idea is right in the point and something was already made - win the Premier League with a lot of goals.
View attachment 207277
View attachment 207267View attachment 207268View attachment 207269View attachment 207270View attachment 207271View attachment 207272View attachment 207273View attachment 207261View attachment 207274View attachment 207275View attachment 207258View attachment 207260View attachment 207276
Well, the idea. The idea was to create something beautiful, something the fans would appreciate, something that would make the manager and everything and everyone within the club, something destructive, something powerful. Something between the two more popular tactics of the modern football: the 4-5-1/4-3-3 and the 4-2-3-1 (which, by the way, is my favourite tactic) and having as inspiration José Mourinho (why not? hehe), the tiki-taka and Sir. Alex Ferguson.
So, it was time to pick a team and to start working on that formation. For this purpose I chose Chelsea, mostly because of Lampard and Ramires, to be honest. I just love to have a powerful attacking midfielder who can score and assist, as well as helping the team defensively and a box-to-box midfielder, let's be honest, it's orgasmic to see playing - nothing else to say really about that -.
The process
As a base, I used 4-2-3-1 (of course) and I was thinking about transforming it into a 4-2-4, having all the attacking players very close to the box, but then I realized that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted possession, crosses, as well as an attacking midfielder scoring lots of goals; I wanted an inside forward who could make wonders; and most of all, I wanted to see Ramires run and run and run, as well as Bosingwa and Cole.
With that in mind, I started studying the positions and the two positions that were scaring me the most were the inside forward (who could make wonders, remember? hehe) and the defensive midfielder. Ramires and Fellaini, huh? Some would say a fantastic combination, others would say the worst, still I wanted that. But I couldn't have that, what was ok. After all I had Obi Mikel and Raul Meireles, right? They would do the trick, without any doubt.
The tactic
Formation
View attachment 207278
Not the usual formation, huh? Yes, I know, it's a little weird, but if you see it well, when defending, Lampard comes down as well as Ramires and Obi Mikel centers himself in front of the defense it starts to look a little bit like a 4-5-1 and maybe a 4-2-3-1. That's the indecision I wanted. I didn't want it to be a 4-5-1 neither a 4-2-3-1: I wanted a 4-1-1-3-1. Perhaps the 4-2-3-1 assymetric could do the trick, But I wanted something more specific, the closest possible to my idea.
Instructions
View attachment 207279
Well, this part has suffered many changes as the season progressed. This was the final result, but it will probably suffer some little changes.
The explanation for this instructions was actually simple.
Philosophy Balanced - I think this is self explanatory stuff
Strategy Attacking - Well, I was a lot of times in doubt between Attacking an Control, because, let's face it: this tactic was very offensive and starting the game at the attack wouldn't be that great, but neither did the control. I wanted goals and a lot of powerful attack, so I chose attacking. In the big games and most of the 4-4-2 4-4-1-1 games I changed it to Control.
Passing Style Shorter - Of course. You want possession, you play short passes.
Creative Freedom More Expressive - Another self explanatory choice.
Closing Down Press More - If you're going to play with a defensive line as high as the one I chose, you have to press lots, obviously.
Tackling Default - I didn't want too much yellow cards, still I wanted aggressivity, so this choice is also obvious.
Marking Zonal Marking - Because I'm not a fan of Man-to-man marking. I think it's a lost of time.
Tempo Slow - This could be actually a little higher, as it was a very attacking tactic, but I prefer to give time for my players to play carefully.
Time Wasting Sometimes - If you want possession, you have to loose time sometimes, but not all the time.
Focus Passing Mixed - I think that with this system probably the ideal would be to play in the middle, but I wanted a good cooperation between all the sectors in the team.
Counter Attacking Yes - Of course. You wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to score, would you?
Play Offside Yes - Obviously. High defensive lines are meant to play offside.
The Download - External Mirror
The Download - FM-Base Mirror in moderation
Important note - this isn't yet my tactic, just some kind of a study about this formation. I think it has lots of potential, if well played.
The Results
This was a very recent approach I made, so this tactic is still on its first steps, having some failures and a lot of fixes to make, but the idea is right in the point and something was already made - win the Premier League with a lot of goals.
View attachment 207277
View attachment 207267View attachment 207268View attachment 207269View attachment 207270View attachment 207271View attachment 207272View attachment 207273View attachment 207261View attachment 207274View attachment 207275View attachment 207258View attachment 207260View attachment 207276
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