ledi Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Hello tactics forum chaps! I haven't been posting here much, read the tactical threads every now and then though, whenever I'm struggling in the game pretty much. Anyways, I've been completely addicted to my low league game with Woking for the past couple of weeks. I started out with a normal 4-4-2, ended up winning the Conference south on my first season and finished fifth in BS Premier on my second season. Somewhat decent success for a basic tactic, but I wasn't satisfied. I just can't seem to come up with a 4-4-2 that is solid in defense but still threatning on attacks. So, in the end I decided to start experimenting. As a note I don't use loaned players at all, since I don't find them to be realistically implemented, it's so easy to keep climbing the leagues with free super loans. For my third season I decided to sell my wingers and risk it by going with a true 4-3-3 with three strikers, as my wide midfielders were absolutely terrible anyway. Luckily I had somewhat decent attacking fullbacks for the level I was playing at, so it was easy to come up with a tactical plan. I would use attacking fullbacks to keep width on attacks and utilize a very defensive anchor man to balance out defense. My attacking plan was to have two fast advanced forwards as my wide forwards and have a deep lying target type player as the middle man between the attack and midfield. So far it's been working surprisingly well, I'm rigid in defense and the three strikers are really quite threatening. My squad's been average at best in every season and I still seem to keep climbing up in the leagues. My main problems have been with set pieces, I can't seem to score from corners and free kicks (may be an issue with players though, haven't got many set piece experts, and best corner takers at these levels tend to be wingers, which I don't obviously have...). So this is an area I'd like some feedback on if someone has the time to test it out! Results so far: (First season using this tactic is 2011/12) Formation: Instructions and key attributes: GK: Sweeper keeper (defend) - I value communication and command of area alot. Pace and acceleration is useful for him, as most defenders on this level will have brain farts and aren't usually very fast. Rushing out is another key attribute. DL/DR: Wing back (automatic) at home, full back (automatic) when against a difficult opponent or an opponent with very advanced wing forwards. - Pace, stamina, crossing, tackling, concentration etc. usual attributes. I tend to have two players in rotation for either side, one attacking minded with good technique and one stronger, defensive full back with decent jumping. Rare to have it all in one player. DCL: Limited defender (stopper) - This is the big guy who wins all the headers and deals with the crosses. Key attributes: jumping, strength, bravery, positioning, concentration and heading. DCR: Limited defender (cover) - This guy is here to stop the threat from through balls and handle small fast forwards. Key attributes: acceleration, pace, strength, jumping (12 minimum for me), heading, marking, tackling, positioning, anticipation, concentration. DMC: Anchor man (defend) - Stays deep and makes sure we aren't compromised defensively when attacking and to be available for a safe backpass when needed. This guy should be at least somewhat decent in the air, I found I was quite a bit more vulnerable defense wise when I had a player with jumping attribute of 5 on this position. Key attributes: tackling, marking, stamina, strength, passing, anticipation, determination, work rate. Doesn't have to be fast really. MCL: Deep lying playmaker (support) - The playmaker. This is the guy who keeps us going. You should use your most creative player here. Stamina is important as the central midfielders also tend to cover the flanks when needed. Key attributes: passing, creativity, stamina, technique, decisions, first touch... MCR: Central midfielder (support) - This guy is everywhere where needed. He's there to balance defense and attack. You'll want a good all around player with stamina, passing, strength, tackling, work rate, determination etc.. long shots is a plus, I've had this guy score quite a bit. FCC: Deep lying forward (support) - JUMPING. This guy needs to win those headers between the attack and midfield. He's the link and probably the single most important player in the pitch. I don't use target man option, but I suppose it could work just as well. Key attributes: jumping, strength, finishing, composure, passing, determination, work rate, bravery. FCL/FCR Advanced forward (attack) - These players need to be fast, they are there to stretch the opponent's defensive line and finish our attacks. They tend to play quite wide and get some decent crossing opportunities too, so crossing is definitely a plus for these players. I noticed two-footedness is a major plus here as well. I usually have these guys swap places between each other. Key attributes: pace, acceleration, finishing, composure, stamina, technique, off the ball, crossing. Most important thing: This tactic really depends on your team keeping it's shape properly, so gelling is important. Try to avoid buying too many players at once. I've had squad harmony at over 80% for years and at least a strong understanding between players according to my assistant manager. Team instructions: My current squad: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_4V7xQArqh9Y/TEwoQFfWXxI/AAAAAAAAABQ/jD_Q3nenkdA/squad.jpg DOWNLOAD: http://www.filefront.com/17144405/!4-3-3 Woking 1.1 (Woking, Sep 2014).tac Alternative download location: http://89.27.122.210/misc/!4-3-3%20Woking%201.1%20(Woking,%20Sep%202014).tac - NOTE this is my own server and may not be available 24/7, also this link will be removed if it gets hammered more than I can handle. Use the filefront if it works for you please So there we go. I'm personally happy to have something other than 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 that works for me. Feedback and suggestions for improvements much appreciated, especially on set pieces. Thanks for your time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
heathxxx Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Nice work. Always good to see something worked out in the lower leagues. Out of interest, did you create the tactic using just the Tactics Creator options, or did you use any of the "classic" sliders? Worth mentioning, as this can make a difference with shouts during matches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
loughranb Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Is this a modified version of Mr Hough's 10.3 tactic? It is obviously the same shape, but I notice a few differences mainly in central midfield. Am interested in 4-3-3 type formations, but have already used Mr Houghs so not sure if I want to use just a modified version of that tactic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledi Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 Nice work. Always good to see something worked out in the lower leagues.Out of interest, did you create the tactic using just the Tactics Creator options, or did you use any of the "classic" sliders? Worth mentioning, as this can make a difference with shouts during matches. Cheers! I only use the defaults by tactics creator and tweak with shouts and team instructions really. The only advanced tweaks I've used so far are the wide forwards swapping places and set piece instructions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledi Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 Is this a modified version of Mr Hough's 10.3 tactic? It is obviously the same shape, but I notice a few differences mainly in central midfield. Am interested in 4-3-3 type formations, but have already used Mr Houghs so not sure if I want to use just a modified version of that tactic Nope, I never download tactics! Just a coincidence if it happens to be similar, since I don't have a clue about Mr Houghs tactic - Mine's pretty basic though, since I don't want to use classic tweaks much so it should be easy to modify further. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
loughranb Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Cool I will have a go and keep you posted on any results, changes etc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
heathxxx Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Nice to see someone working mostly with the Tactics Creator then. As someone who was more than comfortable tweaking the sliders over the years, I've really enjoyed the ease of use of the TC. Certain things, like set-pieces and players set to swap position, can only really be done properly through the advanced options. In a system such as yours though, setting those two forwards playing in the "advanced forward" roles, can be particularly effective. Especially if you have two players with different attribute qualities and different PPM's. Keeps opposing defenders on their toes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledi Posted July 31, 2010 Author Share Posted July 31, 2010 A quick update. I haven't had much time to play lately, my first championship season is getting to the closing stages now. It's been a tough season tbh, my defence kept falling apart against the better teams. It's quite evident my squad isn't really good enough for the level. I've had to play more carefully, basically I lowered closing down to default and changed marking to zonal. Now I find we are rigid in defence again and seem to keep our team shape well enough. With the quality of my players I feel the 8th position after 36 matches is fairly decent. Next season should be better already. Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Leicester 35 21 4 10 63 35 +28 67 2nd Sunderland 35 20 7 8 55 35 +20 67 3rd Q.P.R. 35 18 10 7 51 35 +16 64 4th Southampton 35 17 11 7 59 40 +19 62 5th Reading 35 18 8 9 64 47 +17 62 6th Derby 35 16 10 9 63 39 +24 58 7th Huddersfield 36 14 13 9 47 36 +11 55 8th Woking 36 15 10 11 48 41 +7 55 My first eleven is: GK: Daniel Fernandes DL: Steven Hammell DCL: Rory McArdle DCR: Matty Hughes DR: Tom Johnson (newgen) DMC: Lukasz Piatek MCL: Gregory Schaken MCR: Shane Williams FCL: Nikola Saric FCC: Calvin Zola FCR: Lefteris Matsoukas Not exactly promotion material.. can't do much about the quality Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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