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Hey guys, I've been playing Fm12 for a few weeks now and FM in general since FM05.
This year I have found it tough to win games and I've been finding more and more that my FM11 Tactics were not working.
I also haven't found success with some of the more popular tactics out there, despite learning them until fluid.
I decided to make my own and incorporate some things that I have found other tactics do really well and have my team play the way I want to.
So I bring you TK's Wrecking Ball
Here is what is required to make the most out of this tactic:
Goalkeeper:
The goalkeeper just needs to be good. I haven't really seen the need for the goalkeeper to be really outstanding in any particular area. Good distribution would be an asset so look for decent kicking and throwing. But that will only come in handy when you're being pressed by the opposition, in which case your goalkeeper's kicking and tactical awareness may even get you an assist and ease the pressure.
Full Backs:I'll admit that this is a role that I do not know how to utilize effectively and you will see that my FB instructions are fairly basic and simple. They need to be fairly speedy and have decent stamina. They need to be good in the tackle and have good passing and decisions. That way they can get the ball to your more creative midfielders. Crossing is an asset as they will get a lot of opportunities to send in dangerous crosses. If your full back is extremely good at crossing (15 or over) you may want to give them more creative freedom or increase their crossing to often. I have not had such a FB so I can't vouch for it's effectiveness. You you find it hard to bring the ball out of defense and you find your FBs, CBs and GK are exchanging a lot of passes, try increasing your FB's creative freedom and their 'run with ball' to 'sometimes'. 'Plays ball out of trouble' is a good PPM for this role
Centre Backs:
Your CB's need to have good tackling, marking and heading. Strength and Jumping - basically anything that would make a good CB. I Find that speedier CBs perform better in this formation. Good decisions and passing are also useful for bring the ball out of defense, which can be a problem if you're facing a team who is very aggressive and pressing high up the pitch. If you have a player like Pique, Luiz or Hummels, you can even make them a Ball playing Defender and increase their creative freedom and passing range.
Defensive Midfielder:
This player needs have good tackling, strength and work rate. He is going to be chasing down loose balls and pressuring the opposition's central playmakers. I have had world class DM's when using this tactic (De Rossi, Mikel) so I don't know how a weaker DM will perform. If your DM is truly world class you will may even see them influence the score directly with assists or goals. If you've got a DM like Fellaini expect them to score from corners and be an aerial threat.
Central Midfielders:
This is your Xavi/Iniesta combination. A Deep-Lying Playmaker alongside an Advanced Playmaker.
The DLP is going to stay deeper and pick up the ball from defense, then redistribute to the forwards. Generally, you don't want this player dribbling the ball, but you want good tactical awareness (Creativity, Decisions) and Passing ability. His primary role is to transition from defense to attack phase. Good anticipation is also a bonus as he will be able to pick up loose balls and send in through balls when the defense is still not organized. This player is usually not going to get an amazing rating, so if you've got someone like Ganso, you'll be wasting them at this position. If you find that BoxToBox or Central Midfielder works better for you, you may change this role. However, make sure you restrict their passing to short and keep their forward runs and dribbling to 'sometimes' at most - as it could throw the rest of the team off sync. 'Plays shots simple passes' and 'Dictates Tempo' are good PPM's
The AP is really your creative force. Look for players like Fabregas, Ganso, Xavi, Iniesta - I have used Pjanic and even Totti and Lampard in this position, so you are flexible if your playmaker is not really world class. Key stats are: First Touch,Passing, Creativity, Flair, Anticipation and Decisions. As bonus look for good Dribbling, Technique and Long Shots as this player will often find himself in scoring positions at the edge of the area where he can choose between making the pass or taking the shot. Even though long shots are restricted the high creative freedom of this player combined with their tactical awareness will cause them to take the shot when they deem the opportunity is there. If you find that your AP has a good long shot, but is not taking enough shots to utilize that - set their Long Shots to 'Sometimes'. 'Tries Killer Balls Often' is a good PPM for this position.
Inside Forwards:
These is where the goals come from. Not that these guys will score the majority of the goals, but their trickery on the wings is what will lead to the goals. Playing on their strong foot inside will result in more goals from these positions. I played Sturridge and Hulk on the right and they scored a lot more. Lamela(left) and Mata (left) on the left still scored (Mata of course scored more, because of his attributes) but their assists were higher. The Key Attributes for these positions are: Acceleration, Pace, Dribbling, Technique, Flair, and Decisions. If you're playing them on their preferred flank (Left footed on left) - then look for Passing, and Crossing over Finishing. If you're playing them on their opposite foot look for Finishing. Passing is still quite useful. Composure is useful, because they will get some pretty good chances, but I would emphasise Finishing over Composure for this Position.
Central Forward:
This player will be finishing off the team moves and will get the majority of the goals. Advanced Forward works fairly well but feel free to experiment. I don't think a Target man would work well, so if you've got Dzeko you may want to use wingers instead of IF's or get rid of him altogether. This player won't score many headers, so heading and jumping are not essential. He does need to be Quick and be a great finisher. He also needs to be a good dribbler and be fairly creative. So all the key attributes are: Dribbling, Pace, Acceleration. Finishing, Composure, Flair, First Touch, Decisions, and Technique. I realize that's demanding a lot but, if you get this player right, it could be the difference between losing 1-2 or winning 5-0. With that being said, I've used Borriello, Drogba, Osvaldo, Kalou and Lukaku in this position and they have all done quite well, but not as well as players like Hulk, Mata and Torres (pre cruciate injury).
Tactical Tips:
If you're being pressed very aggressively and you see your players constantly dally on the ball and get tackled, increase the tempo.
If you are angry about being hit on break, the bad news is you can't do anything about it. You can't have a tactic that is ultra offensive and at the same time sound defensively. This tactic provides a nice balance of attacking flair and good defense. You will get clean sheets believe me, but as much as you have it inevitably you will play a game where absolutely dominate then lose to a team that got one shot the entire game and scored. It's football. It happens.
If you are being very tightly marked and are having trouble bringing the ball out of defense, give your FB's more runs with the ball, that should force the opposition to close them down and open some passing lanes.
If you are down and chasing a game - (unlikely with this tactic
set the tempo up the mentality to attacking and check counter attacks on.
This tactic is not for small clubs. It's an attacking, short-passing tactic, which requires technical players with good tactical awareness. If you are Wolves and you are wondering why you can't win, just ask yourself 'Does this tactic suit the type of players I have?' Don't jump to conclusions about the tactic - I have had great success with it. With that being said, you don't have to be Barca or Real Madrid to use it. As long as you have players which are of average or above average standard for the league you play in you will find some success with it. You can be in the Championship, but if you're West Ham or Southampton you will still smash teams in your division. I have tried it with Fulham and even Evian and won quite a few games.
If you can't talk to your team, be prepared to blow a lot of leads. Team-Talks are a lot more important this year, so know how to motivate your players. If you are Man Utd or Bayern, be a lot more demanding of your team. if you are Bolton be more encouraging.
Here are my Results:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
Stats:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
I tested this with Chelsea as well - I got hired after 22 games and moved from 8th to 4th. Won CL - Beating Hannover 9-2, PSG 7-1, Barca 4-3 and Bayern on penalties in the Final. Also won the League Cup and I was already knocked out of the FA Cup.
Will upload images later.
With Roma I had an 11 point lead with 8 games to go and had basically wrapped up the title by that point. I had to wait until Matchday 36 however as Inter were on a 22-match unbeaten streak and won 9 straight until that point. I Lost narrowly to Milan in the Italian Cup and was knocked out by Palermo in Europa League despite utterly dominating them.
Leave me feedback about this tactic. I always look to improve.
Here is how Chelsea were doing when I took over:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-07
Here is the same squad after 16 games with my tactic. Mind you, they were fluid with this tactic even at the end of the season.
By tk1129 at 2011-12-07
That's a rate of 35 points in 16 matches, or 2.1875 pts/match. This would put me at about 83 points over a full season, but like I said the team never got used to the tactic fully and I had to play the other big 5 (Liverpool, Man Utd, City, Tottenham and Arsenal) teams and lots of CL games in that stretch. I anticipate a much better performance over a full season.
Here is my performance:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-07
As you can see I very rarely lose. I gave pretty a pretty good thrashing to PSG, Hannover and Sunderland in the process. My only loss was to Man City and their squad is incredible in season 2. The only game where I was decisively outplayed was by Man Utd and I still got a draw.
But like most people who know FM well will tell you, these isn't a miracle tactic and things like this will happen unfortunately:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-07
You can run a team ragged all day and still get hit on the counter. That's football.
Closing Thoughts:
I believe that you will have a lot of success using this tactic and if you find out any modifications that help I would most certainly test it. Just so you know I don't reload my games to make my results better, what you see is the results I actually got the first time around. I go through matches at full speed and don't tweak it at all based on performance, opposition, pitch size. I wanted to test it out against all kinds of opposition.
Have fun and score lots of goals.
DOWNLOAD HERE
Hey guys, I've been playing Fm12 for a few weeks now and FM in general since FM05.
This year I have found it tough to win games and I've been finding more and more that my FM11 Tactics were not working.
I also haven't found success with some of the more popular tactics out there, despite learning them until fluid.
I decided to make my own and incorporate some things that I have found other tactics do really well and have my team play the way I want to.
So I bring you TK's Wrecking Ball
Here is what is required to make the most out of this tactic:
Goalkeeper:
The goalkeeper just needs to be good. I haven't really seen the need for the goalkeeper to be really outstanding in any particular area. Good distribution would be an asset so look for decent kicking and throwing. But that will only come in handy when you're being pressed by the opposition, in which case your goalkeeper's kicking and tactical awareness may even get you an assist and ease the pressure.
Full Backs:I'll admit that this is a role that I do not know how to utilize effectively and you will see that my FB instructions are fairly basic and simple. They need to be fairly speedy and have decent stamina. They need to be good in the tackle and have good passing and decisions. That way they can get the ball to your more creative midfielders. Crossing is an asset as they will get a lot of opportunities to send in dangerous crosses. If your full back is extremely good at crossing (15 or over) you may want to give them more creative freedom or increase their crossing to often. I have not had such a FB so I can't vouch for it's effectiveness. You you find it hard to bring the ball out of defense and you find your FBs, CBs and GK are exchanging a lot of passes, try increasing your FB's creative freedom and their 'run with ball' to 'sometimes'. 'Plays ball out of trouble' is a good PPM for this role
Centre Backs:
Your CB's need to have good tackling, marking and heading. Strength and Jumping - basically anything that would make a good CB. I Find that speedier CBs perform better in this formation. Good decisions and passing are also useful for bring the ball out of defense, which can be a problem if you're facing a team who is very aggressive and pressing high up the pitch. If you have a player like Pique, Luiz or Hummels, you can even make them a Ball playing Defender and increase their creative freedom and passing range.
Defensive Midfielder:
This player needs have good tackling, strength and work rate. He is going to be chasing down loose balls and pressuring the opposition's central playmakers. I have had world class DM's when using this tactic (De Rossi, Mikel) so I don't know how a weaker DM will perform. If your DM is truly world class you will may even see them influence the score directly with assists or goals. If you've got a DM like Fellaini expect them to score from corners and be an aerial threat.
Central Midfielders:
This is your Xavi/Iniesta combination. A Deep-Lying Playmaker alongside an Advanced Playmaker.
The DLP is going to stay deeper and pick up the ball from defense, then redistribute to the forwards. Generally, you don't want this player dribbling the ball, but you want good tactical awareness (Creativity, Decisions) and Passing ability. His primary role is to transition from defense to attack phase. Good anticipation is also a bonus as he will be able to pick up loose balls and send in through balls when the defense is still not organized. This player is usually not going to get an amazing rating, so if you've got someone like Ganso, you'll be wasting them at this position. If you find that BoxToBox or Central Midfielder works better for you, you may change this role. However, make sure you restrict their passing to short and keep their forward runs and dribbling to 'sometimes' at most - as it could throw the rest of the team off sync. 'Plays shots simple passes' and 'Dictates Tempo' are good PPM's
The AP is really your creative force. Look for players like Fabregas, Ganso, Xavi, Iniesta - I have used Pjanic and even Totti and Lampard in this position, so you are flexible if your playmaker is not really world class. Key stats are: First Touch,Passing, Creativity, Flair, Anticipation and Decisions. As bonus look for good Dribbling, Technique and Long Shots as this player will often find himself in scoring positions at the edge of the area where he can choose between making the pass or taking the shot. Even though long shots are restricted the high creative freedom of this player combined with their tactical awareness will cause them to take the shot when they deem the opportunity is there. If you find that your AP has a good long shot, but is not taking enough shots to utilize that - set their Long Shots to 'Sometimes'. 'Tries Killer Balls Often' is a good PPM for this position.
Inside Forwards:
These is where the goals come from. Not that these guys will score the majority of the goals, but their trickery on the wings is what will lead to the goals. Playing on their strong foot inside will result in more goals from these positions. I played Sturridge and Hulk on the right and they scored a lot more. Lamela(left) and Mata (left) on the left still scored (Mata of course scored more, because of his attributes) but their assists were higher. The Key Attributes for these positions are: Acceleration, Pace, Dribbling, Technique, Flair, and Decisions. If you're playing them on their preferred flank (Left footed on left) - then look for Passing, and Crossing over Finishing. If you're playing them on their opposite foot look for Finishing. Passing is still quite useful. Composure is useful, because they will get some pretty good chances, but I would emphasise Finishing over Composure for this Position.
Central Forward:
This player will be finishing off the team moves and will get the majority of the goals. Advanced Forward works fairly well but feel free to experiment. I don't think a Target man would work well, so if you've got Dzeko you may want to use wingers instead of IF's or get rid of him altogether. This player won't score many headers, so heading and jumping are not essential. He does need to be Quick and be a great finisher. He also needs to be a good dribbler and be fairly creative. So all the key attributes are: Dribbling, Pace, Acceleration. Finishing, Composure, Flair, First Touch, Decisions, and Technique. I realize that's demanding a lot but, if you get this player right, it could be the difference between losing 1-2 or winning 5-0. With that being said, I've used Borriello, Drogba, Osvaldo, Kalou and Lukaku in this position and they have all done quite well, but not as well as players like Hulk, Mata and Torres (pre cruciate injury).
Tactical Tips:
If you're being pressed very aggressively and you see your players constantly dally on the ball and get tackled, increase the tempo.
If you are angry about being hit on break, the bad news is you can't do anything about it. You can't have a tactic that is ultra offensive and at the same time sound defensively. This tactic provides a nice balance of attacking flair and good defense. You will get clean sheets believe me, but as much as you have it inevitably you will play a game where absolutely dominate then lose to a team that got one shot the entire game and scored. It's football. It happens.
If you are being very tightly marked and are having trouble bringing the ball out of defense, give your FB's more runs with the ball, that should force the opposition to close them down and open some passing lanes.
If you are down and chasing a game - (unlikely with this tactic
set the tempo up the mentality to attacking and check counter attacks on. This tactic is not for small clubs. It's an attacking, short-passing tactic, which requires technical players with good tactical awareness. If you are Wolves and you are wondering why you can't win, just ask yourself 'Does this tactic suit the type of players I have?' Don't jump to conclusions about the tactic - I have had great success with it. With that being said, you don't have to be Barca or Real Madrid to use it. As long as you have players which are of average or above average standard for the league you play in you will find some success with it. You can be in the Championship, but if you're West Ham or Southampton you will still smash teams in your division. I have tried it with Fulham and even Evian and won quite a few games.
If you can't talk to your team, be prepared to blow a lot of leads. Team-Talks are a lot more important this year, so know how to motivate your players. If you are Man Utd or Bayern, be a lot more demanding of your team. if you are Bolton be more encouraging.
Here are my Results:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
Stats:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-05
I tested this with Chelsea as well - I got hired after 22 games and moved from 8th to 4th. Won CL - Beating Hannover 9-2, PSG 7-1, Barca 4-3 and Bayern on penalties in the Final. Also won the League Cup and I was already knocked out of the FA Cup.
Will upload images later.
With Roma I had an 11 point lead with 8 games to go and had basically wrapped up the title by that point. I had to wait until Matchday 36 however as Inter were on a 22-match unbeaten streak and won 9 straight until that point. I Lost narrowly to Milan in the Italian Cup and was knocked out by Palermo in Europa League despite utterly dominating them.
Leave me feedback about this tactic. I always look to improve.
Here is how Chelsea were doing when I took over:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-07
Here is the same squad after 16 games with my tactic. Mind you, they were fluid with this tactic even at the end of the season.
By tk1129 at 2011-12-07
That's a rate of 35 points in 16 matches, or 2.1875 pts/match. This would put me at about 83 points over a full season, but like I said the team never got used to the tactic fully and I had to play the other big 5 (Liverpool, Man Utd, City, Tottenham and Arsenal) teams and lots of CL games in that stretch. I anticipate a much better performance over a full season.
Here is my performance:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-07
As you can see I very rarely lose. I gave pretty a pretty good thrashing to PSG, Hannover and Sunderland in the process. My only loss was to Man City and their squad is incredible in season 2. The only game where I was decisively outplayed was by Man Utd and I still got a draw.
But like most people who know FM well will tell you, these isn't a miracle tactic and things like this will happen unfortunately:
By tk1129 at 2011-12-07
You can run a team ragged all day and still get hit on the counter. That's football.
Closing Thoughts:
I believe that you will have a lot of success using this tactic and if you find out any modifications that help I would most certainly test it. Just so you know I don't reload my games to make my results better, what you see is the results I actually got the first time around. I go through matches at full speed and don't tweak it at all based on performance, opposition, pitch size. I wanted to test it out against all kinds of opposition.
Have fun and score lots of goals.
DOWNLOAD HERE
