The MK DONS SUPER CANNON (The DONS HAVE LEFT CADIZ) 4-3-1-2 Wingerless

[Peach]

Premise: An excellent tactic for teams without wingers. Formation is a 4-3-1-2

Most updated game and match engine so far.


So I plopped into my long term MK-Dons save, and I noticed I had one, possibly two players capable of playing as wingers/wide players. So this tactic is inspired by trying to milk the best out of the players I had in season one at MK Dons. I had a lot of midfielders although I did splash the cash (300k) on another one, plus a left back where we needed cover. I leave the opposition instructions to my assistant. For training I use Mike's Best ever Training Schedule, available through steam workshop. This training yields wonderful average performance, is well rounded, and almost guarantees solid team cohesion half way through your season. I also use his pre-season schedule and his two match per week schedule. This tactic took me a few months in game to perfect, and there were bumpy results at first but the final tactic as uploaded her suits my MK Dons team perfectly. We went from languishing in the bottom half of League one to play offs in March.

What to expect?

Tactic Strengths: This tactic emphasizes playing through the middle of the pitch and defends narrowly. This might give your opponent many shots, but generally speaking not many good chances, provided you center backs and goalkeeper are good. Width comes form the full backs, but also the strikers who are set to stay wider and run wide with the ball. This opens of space for the midfield, and stretches the defense enough for you to create chances. My Shadow Striker has good long shots and has scored a few bangers even with shoot less often applied. Every player on the pitch is instructed to shoot less often, and my midfielders are instructed to play more direct passes, because we are a lower league side and I don't want the ball ******* about in the midfield or being given away cheaply. The combination of the highline, intense pressing, and direct passing make this a wonderfully sharp narrow gegenpressing tactic. It keeps a lot of clean sheet and scores a good amount of goals, especially once the players become familiar with it. My manager has the same qualifications as I do in real life (none) and he still has found success with this tactic. Expect to sometimes be outshot, but generally speaking goal difference will remained balance or in your favor, unless the other team is significantly better. This team is very competitive and I even gave Liverpool a game in the FA Cup, losing only 2-0 and one of those was a set piece.

Set pieces are uncomplicated near post, scores a decent amount. Usually my roaming play maker takes the corners, but this might vary for you.

Overall: Good goal conversion, can win you games against the odds. Good entertaining football. Good results, satisfying to watch.

Tactic Weaknesses: If your opponent has good crossers and good arial players, they can hurt you. Because this is a gengenpress, your players will get tired, especially if you have a lot of fixture congestion. Squad rotation is key. Thankfully this tactic has allowed me to make bad strikers looks good and manage double figures. It is a very competent plug and play tactic, but adjustments are always needed depending on the needs of your team.

Type of Players needed: Players with high work rate, stamina, and high intelligence, but duh that's every tactic, especially a high pressing one like this. Midfielders should be decent technically, Fast strikers, who have good off the ball movement and finishing, although aerial prowess is good too, especially since goalkeepers love to hoof it long despite your instructions sometimes. Basically you want to buy players that fit the instructions and play positions. You can check these out in the screen shots. Again, a few plug an players can work provided you have a good team. My solid midfield allows my terrible strikers to be half decent.

Overall I think this tactic can succeed with any type of team. It also offers lots of versatility in play style. I initially tried to make it a tiki-taka tactic and that might work well for the top teams.

Final Recommendation. Make sure in your code of conduct you impose high penalties for yellow cards. Don't leave it your assistant. This actually does seem to stop them from picking up as many cards. I've only had one red card all season, and it was that frustrating game against Liverpool in the FA Cup.

Again my bad start to the season is reflected in the league stats. This tactic is even better than it shows. The league results shown are the results after implementing the final version of the tactic.