Reading and Countering The Match Engine

[RedBlueEagle]

I thnk I have a good understanding of most aspects of Football Manager and with this version (2011), for the first time I am creating my own tactics albeit with some help from various forums. I believe I have a good tactic, I know I have good players and I am pretty certain that I have no issues with team talks and motivating my players. 75% of the time I seem to get my in match tactics and shouts right and we win. This is quite straight forward in my current league the BlueSquare Bet South. Most teams play a possession based counter attacking style using 4-4-2.

I have read countless threads and documents but am still struggling to find anything that explains how to read how the AI is playing and then how to beat it. What I'd like to do is get something together in this thread. It should be easier at the lower levels but I would then hope to expand it for playing at a higher level.

Example 1

I am at home and am favourite against a side who likes to play 4-4-2 counter attacking possession based style -

I could start either balanced or control but I should try and hassle them and maybe get stuck in. If they tend to focus their passing down the wings I can play wider and of course narrow if they play through the middle. I could even try pushing up if they have too much space in midfield.

Apart from that what should I be looking for from the opposition? I tend to have the scanner on and watch the fullbacks of the opposition. I'm fairly sure that both will push forward if the oppo is attacking but what if only one pushes forward?

Example 2

I away and the opposition tend to like playing 5-3-2 counter attacking possession. They start wth a completely flat back 5 (no wingbacks). I would tend to do the sae as in example 1 but it never seems to work.

So what I'd really appreciate is what to look for and what to do about it. I would then be happy to summarise in a post or doc to help strugglers like me to enjoy the game.

[Romanista1994]

For Example 2 I tend to get one of my fullbacks to push up and use the huge amount space he gets against those formations. The other is told to stay back at all times so that we have a spare man at the back.

In Example 1 I'd probably try to hit them early on by attacking or I'd try to keep possession myself with the shouts "retain possession" and "pass to feet" before going more direct nearer to the end when their players are tired from chasing the ball.

[RedBlueEagle]

Example 3

Woking play a high tempo 4-4-2 and look to get the ball wide whenever possible. Woking don't play a particular passing style and like to mix it around a bit. Their midfield are good on the ball and can create chances. Finally it will be important to defend deep or use fast defenders as their attacking pace may cause problems.

I guess I will play wide and drop deeper. I know I shouldn't try closing them down as they will try and move the ball quickly. I am favourite but don't know how to play this one.

The other thing I'd like advice on is what to look for while watching the 3d match engine in order to tell me what stategy the opposition is using.

[jozza800]

For me having your players rating on screen and the opposition's fomation is extremely useful.

For example (and this happens quite frequently for me) I play 4-4-2 which is pretty much set up to match the league standard 4-4-2. But sometimes i'll notice that the AI have changed shape to say wingerless formation say 4-1-3-2 and my fullbacks ratings have dropped. This tells me that i need to change my fullback's settings. They were set up with Man Marking and Tight. Well this is a problem as there are no wingers for them to mark. So I change them to Zonal and Tight. (Meaning they will mark anyone who comes near them rather than specifically looking for someone to mark) and their ratings go up.

Ive also found that listening to your assistant mangager with regards to passing is extremely helpful. My reults have improved massively since i started listening to him. If he's telling you that passes are connecting well, then the passing spot on and matched to the weather and pitch conditionas and size. Misplacing too many short passes, then your tempo is too high ect.

One final thing i started doing over the last couple incarnations of the games was to force my game onto the opponent, rather than worrying about them.

[RedBlueEagle]

For me having your players rating on screen and the opposition's fomation is extremely useful.

For example (and this happens quite frequently for me) I play 4-4-2 which is pretty much set up to match the league standard 4-4-2. But sometimes i'll notice that the AI have changed shape to say wingerless formation say 4-1-3-2 and my fullbacks ratings have dropped. This tells me that i need to change my fullback's settings. They were set up with Man Marking and Tight. Well this is a problem as there are no wingers for them to mark. So I change them to Zonal and Tight. (Meaning they will mark anyone who comes near them rather than specifically looking for someone to mark) and their ratings go up.

Ive also found that listening to your assistant mangager with regards to passing is extremely helpful. My reults have improved massively since i started listening to him. If he's telling you that passes are connecting well, then the passing spot on and matched to the weather and pitch conditionas and size. Misplacing too many short passes, then your tempo is too high ect.

One final thing i started doing over the last couple incarnations of the games was to force my game onto the opponent, rather than worrying about them.

Thanks Jozza800

I kinda thought the same thing with regards to taking the game to them. I played the game 3 times and this is what worked for me.

It was raining and to add to this my home pitch is awful and always has big muddy sections in the goalmouths. I dropped deeper due to their fast attackers (one of my defs only has 6 pace). I played wide because I assume they focus on the wings. I Exploited the wings because of my pitch and got ball forward due to the rain. I decidied to go Control as well. It really seemed to work early on and we were comfortably 1-0 up at halftime. They managed to grab a goal back after I had gone counter and I noticed they were more attacking. Their wingers were roasting my full backs so I selected Defend (they were on Auto) This seemed to help. I had added the pump ball in the box shout because of the space they were leaving and a classic long ball forward got me the vital goal.

I don't think it was perfect but I have learnt a few things. I will definitely look at what my assistant manager says about passing.

[mrdorf]

For example 2 I'd push both my full backs up or try exploit the flanks.