Creating a Lower League Tactic

[Fond Foat]

Thread Updates:

• An Admission to a Rookie Mistake: A

new save begins with the same team here.

• Newest Post

here

-------

I am using this thread to discuss ideas about tactics in the lower leagues. This first post will discuss how I developed the tactic and my theory behind it. Now, I hasten to add that I am no tactical expert. so I really hope to get advice and ideas from those on the forum. Please remember though we are dealing with lower level clubs with weak players!

My Team

I have been playing as Killymoon Rangers in the basement league of Northern Ireland. I have been doing okay, but I have decided to sit down and build a new tactic from scratch. We are weak in comparison to other teams in the league and have been predicted to finish 13th out of 16. Currently we have started the season with a WWXLL.

Formation and Roles

I have decided to use a 4-4-2 formation. The theory behind this is that a 4-4-2 is understandable to all player and my lads do not need anything too complicated. Also, I think the 4-4-2 works well in the lower leagues because it can be more attacking or more defensive depending on the setup. My team has cover across all positions in a 4-4-2 which makes it even more suitable for my purpose.

I have assigned the roles based on the theory of keeping things simple. As you can see, I have mostly made generic roles except for the deep-lying playmaker. I hope that my players will perform best with simpler instructions. Also, I will be able to move players in and out of the team without danger of them struggling in the role assigned. I have one player who looks a nature deep-lying playmaker and I will train a youngster to back him up in that role.

I designed the tactic based on 4 quarters of the pitch. The left side will be tighter and deeper than the right side which will be more attacking. This should mean we will have a asymmetrical look when we go forward.

Mentality and Philosophy

As we are considered one of the weakest teams in the division, I want to ensure we keep a fairly tight disciplined formation. I have decided to set a defensive mentality with a fluid philosophy as I want my players to be able to contribute at all times to the game plan. I am happy to admit, that I am still not sure how mentality and philosophy link together, but I will keep a close eye on the team over the next few matches to see how it works out.

Team Instructions

Things that stand out to me when I go through my squad is that the defenders are among my best players and the wider midfielders are better than those in the middle. With that in mind, what I am looking for is some control of the tempo from defence. I want them to use the ball wisely and move into the midfield in a considered manner. This may be risky but I hope my back four and central midfielders will be able to control the ball and not turn it over in dangerous positions.

Because my midfield is stronger out wide, I want to keep a narrow shape for defensive purposes, but let the play develop out wider generally as we go forward. I hope to gain most of my scoring chances from crosses or passes originating from wide on the pitch.

I have also asked the team to tight mark but not over-commit in tackles.

Player Instructions

My focus here was to try and develop instructions that fitted the general ability of my squad. I did not want to ask players to do too much, but it is not easy once you start.

Sweeper Keeper

I understand the keepers are not working as they should in the beta, but I will stick with how I want my sweeper keeper to play. I hate my keepers giving away possession with long balls.

Defender Left

I want my fullback to push out a little to close down opposition winders. When he has the ball, I would like him to carry it for awhile before passing off. As this side of the pitch will be deeper in general there is an opportunity for him to take the ball past the opposition around the halfway line.

Central Defender (Cover)

I feel my CDs should be able to tight mark after all they are defenders. I want him to hold position as he is my covering defender, so I don't want him to be pulled out of position. It may be risky to ask him to short pass but i feel he should have options available to him on that left side. This will be something I have to monitor.

Central Defender (Stopper)

All I am asking of my stopper is to do it more. I may be asking him to come out too far, so again I will have to keep an eye on this.

Midfielder Left

The wide midfielder is being used here to link the play from defence to the center of the pitch looking to move the ball from left to right. He will still be expected to move up towards the corner of the oppositions penalty box, but I hope to encourage him to get in some early crosses if he sees the chance to do so.

Continued in Post #2

[Fond Foat]

Central Midfielder Left

It was tempting to ask more of my deep-lying playmaker, but in the end I decided just letting him do his thing with more emphasis on tackling would be enough. The player I will have there for the majority of matches does have a tackling of 10. I feel a big part of my success or failure will depend on the performance of my DLP. A lot of the theory behind my tactic is that he will be receiving a lot of the ball before recycling it on to my more attacking players.

Central Midfielder Right

Again, I decided to leave my advanced playmaker alone without burdening him with too many instructions. I would like him to move around a lot though and find spaces in front of the oppositions defensive line, so I will try out the roam more shout. If he ends up becoming a liability when we turn the ball over, I will reassess that instruction.

Midfielder Right

This guy is going to be my break out player. Most of what I am trying to achieve is a low-tempo low-risk game plan. The winger though is expected to shake it up a little. I want him to run deep and fast along the touchline and threaten the opposition with well hit crosses. Whether my players will be able to pull that off remains to be seen.

Forward Left

I am asking my deep lying forward to move into channels hopefully away from my advanced playmaker. I expect that he may get a little wider on the left side as he looks for space. I would love for him to form a good relationship with my advanced striker so I am asking him to keep his passes shorter.

Forward Right

My advanced forward will be the main scoring threat. I am asking him to take shots whenever he wants, and by not trying risky passes, I feel he will keep the ball more. I may be putting too much responsibility on his shoulders, so I will need to keep a watch on how we use him.

Training

I set up my training to focus on teamwork and the individual roles I would ask any players to play.

Firstly, I set up my team training schedules.

Putting so much focus on ball control may not be the best idea, but I feel if I can develop my team to get an edge in this area of the game, we can only improve. We are pretty solid with the 442 tactic, so I am asking the players to focus on teamwork in their match preparation

The individual training simply looks at which role in my current formation each player would function best in. Once I identify that, I train them for that role. I tend not to use PPMs at this level though if a young player does seem to have something needed, I will consider it. I have added a very short example of the individual training.

Future Analysis

That is the fundamentals of my tactic and setup. As I said at the beginning, I am very interested to hear what people think. As I play my next few matches, I will analyze the results and statistics here, as well as some screenshots from the games themselves.

[Fond Foat]

Analysis v PSNI

In general, I thought that we played well. Unfortunately, we did lose the game 3-4.

The first thing to look at is the heat map. As predicted, we did look asymmetrical.

Statistically we had more shots and more of the play. Our final ball was often poor, but to be fair, I do have two 16 year-old lads playing on the wings.

If we look at a couple of the goals we can see it was defensive positioning that cost us dearly. In this first picture my right back (Coulter) had drifted inside when a free kick was given, but he never returned out to the right so their player found too much space.

This picture shows us that the left back did not close down his man at all. McComb passed the ball across the defensive line and found Picking who had plenty of time to score.

In this final picture McComb scores a fantastic goal from just outside the box to win PSNI the game. My players were in the vicinity but again gave the opposition too much space.

Next Match

I am not too disheartened by the game in general as we played well. I did not use any opposition instructions as I wanted a clear idea of our shape. In my next match I will ask the team to close down the opposition wingers and tight mark the strikers. I will not change anything else, but it is clear I need the defense to be tighter. I also have to accept that I have a lot of young players and mistakes will be made.

[AnarchyAnt]

Love the thread. Great job of showing how a tactic is created using a vision, and then analyzing that vision in match. Can't wait to read more!

[ajsr1982]

Really nice thread. The first thing I noticed though is that you have a DLP and an AP in central midfield. If you really want to channel your play exclusively through the DLP, you might want to try switching the AP to a generic role, like CM.

Others will know more than I will, but you've obviously gone into a lot of detail here in terms of team and player instructions. Given that your players are (no offence) a bit rubbish, I just wonder if you're perhaps overloading them with instructions. I'll leave that for others to decide, as I genuinely don't know.

[Colorado]

Will be following this closely, good luck!

I'm no expert but think having the advanced playmaker roaming in a two man central midfield will soon become an issue.

I'm most interested in how you establish your defence. I often concede and think I know the problem but then struggle to counter it.

[burrowss01]

Really great thread, thank you.

I'd be tempted to have my attacking wide midfielder on the same side as the supporting full-back, rather than the attacking full back. I'm no expert but I'd be worried that by overloading that right side you're creating too much of an imbalance.

[Fond Foat]

Really nice thread. The first thing I noticed though is that you have a DLP and an AP in central midfield. If you really want to channel your play exclusively through the DLP, you might want to try switching the AP to a generic role, like CM.

Others will know more than I will, but you've obviously gone into a lot of detail here in terms of team and player instructions. Given that your players are (no offence) a bit rubbish, I just wonder if you're perhaps overloading them with instructions. I'll leave that for others to decide, as I genuinely don't know.

Thanks ajsr1982. Yes, I understand what you mean with the midfield two. I also think my AP was not that effective in this match. I did hope that they may operate as key players in the different halves of the pitch. For my away game I think i will change his role to a standard CM.

Will be following this closely, good luck!

I'm no expert but think having the advanced playmaker roaming in a two man central midfield will soon become an issue.

I'm most interested in how you establish your defence. I often concede and think I know the problem but then struggle to counter it.

Defence is a worry. I am interested to see how the update worked out, so i may not make any defensive changes other than OIs for the next game.

Really great thread, thank you.

I'd be tempted to have my attacking wide midfielder on the same side as the supporting full-back, rather than the attacking full back. I'm no expert but I'd be worried that by overloading that right side you're creating too much of an imbalance.

I am not too worried about that as I want to keep players within near range of each other. I thought we looked good going forward, and defensively we were not caught out anymore on the right than the left. In fact, it was nice to see a lot of build up player originating in the left quarter than the ball would often be whipped across to the right and a quick attack ensured. Also, my left midfielder did hit some nice crosses from deep but unfortunately he often just missed my man.

[Fond Foat]

Changes Made

• The advanced playmaker support now becomes a standard central midfielder support. Still kept the roaming instruction.
  
• Opposition instructions to tight mark both strikers
  
• Opposition instructions to close down both wingers
  

Analysis v Ballymoney United (A)

Ballmoney United lined up with a 4-4-2.

They scored an early goal because my defender actually stepped away from the striker as the ball was passed leaving too much space.

There were a lot of problems up front. My two forwards were not getting a look at goal as we can see from the half time shots analysis.

Half Time Changes

I decided to change my deep-lying playmaker from defend to support. I need him to be more effective further up the pitch, but I am concerned this may leave our back 4 exposed more. I decided to change my deep lying forward to a false 9. He is more suited to that role, and I want to see if it improves our movement just outside their box. I did not add any instructions to the false 9 role

Second Half

Ballmoney scored a second against the run of play in the 65th minute. Their striker ghosted in between my DC and DR, but my DC ran away from the striker as I guess he believed the DR was going to deal with it. In the end, it was an easy run into the box.

I am trying not to make major changes to how we play during a match, but at this point I decided to remove lower tempo, play narrower, and stick to positions from my team instructions. I also changed from defensive to control and from fluid to balanced.

I switched to attacking in the 85th minute and we clawed one back in the 91st minute through my advanced attacker. He was given some space to run and struck a lovely long goal. It was not a goal to build a tactic around however.

Full Time Analysis

A tough loss away from home. We fought hard but they were the better team.

One thing I feel is going according to plan is the impact of my right winger. He had some great chances and really should have scored during this game. It is interesting because he is a left footer playing on the right side. I am instructing him to stay wider and cross from the byline, but he is often cutting inside into dangerous positions. This is making me consider changing his instructions or even pushing him up to be an inside forward.

Issues

The front two do not look comfortable. I think the false 9 role looked more effective than the deep-lying playmaker role, so I will probably make a change there. It is also time to remove the shoot more often instruction from my striker I think, as he obviously is not that great a shooter. I am not sure that I need to change anything with the back 4. I have thought about using specific marking for my two central defenders, but I am worried in their ability to carry out this instruction.

I am not sure lower tempo is working out that well with play out of defence. I think it may be best to remove the tempo team instruction because my players are often trying to play long passes from deeper positions which are mostly wasteful.

Team morale is on the way down as well, so a team meeting may be needed.

Fingers crossed we can get something worked out before the next fixture!

[Cleon]

I'm really enjoying watching this thread develop, you've put some real effort in and I can appreciate threads like that. Nice work

[Fond Foat]

Thanks Cleon. Your threads are an example to us all. I am enjoying making the posts as well and look forward to some active discussion.

[Sanford&Son]

I am a big fan of this thread and will be following. Thank you.

[Defensive]

Great thread. Would it be possible to post some more of these post match stats from your matches? Im very curious about the shots, CCC and possession.

[Peljam]

Love the thread. Specially seeing as I'm playing at a similar level.

I've been tweaking my tactics (with mixed results) and I've found going back to the 2D match engine for the main highlights has been really useful when you're trying to bed in a tactic. You can really see the shape and movement of the team.

How are your team doing for fitness? And what is your work rate like? Just thinking if they're tired or bone idle you might not be getting the movement from them that you want.

[Fond Foat]

Great thread. Would it be possible to post some more of these post match stats from your matches? Im very curious about the shots, CCC and possession.

Thanks. The stats are in the posts.

Love the thread. Specially seeing as I'm playing at a similar level.

I've been tweaking my tactics (with mixed results) and I've found going back to the 2D match engine for the main highlights has been really useful when you're trying to bed in a tactic. You can really see the shape and movement of the team.

How are your team doing for fitness? And what is your work rate like? Just thinking if they're tired or bone idle you might not be getting the movement from them that you want.

I watch the full match in 2D classic. I only use the 3D for goal highlights. It only takes about 45 minutes. Fitness has not been too bad. The majority of players finish the match at about 68-71% fitness.

[Peljam]

I watch the full match in 2D classic. I only use the 3D for goal highlights. It only takes about 45 minutes. Fitness has not been too bad. The majority of players finish the match at about 68-71% fitness.

Full! I've got 2D and then 3D for goals but it's just extended for the 2D. I'm thinking though, for the first time playing FM, I might go to full to get a better tactical insight.

I am not sure lower tempo is working out that well with play out of defence. I think it may be best to remove the tempo team instruction because my players are often trying to play long passes from deeper positions which are mostly wasteful.

I started off playing with a low temp as well and I had similar problems. I also found that when we were keeping possesion that is was largely 'safe' possession. Nothing very creative was coming from it even if it was being passed short (or mixed). I switched things and went to high tempo instead and managed to keep possesion and get more chances.

BTW, on my game Killymoon approached to loan one of my players, in honour of this thread I accepted

[phnompenhandy]

Great topic. I'd welcome responses to my thoughts here. As a lower league manager myself, I cut my cloth according to what I have at my disposal, so formations, roles and duties change every campaign, and indeed every season. However, there are certain common features that are distinctive to lower league management that come up every save-game.

Firstly, I build my squads' limitations into my tactics. Be they part-timers, declining warhorses or kids, they tend to have low stamina; furthermore, due to finances, squads tend to be small with little adequate cover for first-choice players. Therefore, for me it is critical to keep injuries to a minimum, and this means conserving energy on the pitch. I have my groundsman lay out a pitch with minimum specifications, and home and away I play narrow, have DCs with good pace/accel so we can play a high D-line (sweeper-keeper is thus very handy if you can get one), keep possession, pass short and go easy on the pressing. My possession-based strategies range between contain, defend and counter.

Secondly, there are common features concerning the oppositions' weaknesses. At this level the vast majority of central defenders are slow (in fact many are slow and tall). Therefore my priorities in bringing in new players are, as I've mentioned, speedy DCs, and a speedy striker. He tends to get loads of chances early in the season, although once I start getting successful, opponents sit deeper and his speed is less effective. But that's okay, due to my next suggestion.

My third point really goes against the grain, and might leave you unconvinced. The received wisdom is that at this level physical attributes are key, so you train fitness above all, building speed, strength and stamina. They are very important yes, but my view is that with poor facilities, too much emphasis on fitness training results in injuries and as I've mentioned, I can't afford to risk that. What I do with training is start with team cohesion until the squad know each other, my formation and tactics, and then bang in with tactics training on high for pretty much the whole season (also ensuring my best coach is the tactics trainer). What this does is increase mental attributes such as decisions that fit in very well with my tight-pitch tactics; my players win games by out-thinking fitter opposition. Matches are rarely memorable or high-scoring, but by adhering to these templates I always over-achieve unless we're nobbled by an injury crisis.

[bigdaddydave]

Interesting thread, be careful though of overanalyzing things, just because things look dodgy in one game doesn't mean they wont work out in the next one, teams need to gel and every player will have a bad day. So far in the beta i've noticed fitness really deteriorates fast from about November onwards with part time teams, so keep that in mind. Will be keeping an eye on this thread though as it has the potential to be a goldmine of usefulness.

[kazm]

Interesting thread, be careful though of overanalyzing things, just because things look dodgy in one game doesn't mean they wont work out in the next one, teams need to gel and every player will have a bad day. So far in the beta i've noticed fitness really deteriorates fast from about November onwards with part time teams, so keep that in mind. Will be keeping an eye on this thread though as it has the potential to be a goldmine of usefulness.

Omg so true. First 2 seasons of my save I only had part time players, so many tired players.

[Peljam]

...Firstly, I build my squads' limitations into my tactics. Be they part-timers, declining warhorses or kids, they tend to have low stamina; furthermore, due to finances, squads tend to be small with little adequate cover for first-choice players. Therefore, for me it is critical to keep injuries to a minimum, and this means conserving energy on the pitch. I have my groundsman lay out a pitch with minimum specifications, and home and away I play narrow, have DCs with good pace/accel so we can play a high D-line (sweeper-keeper is thus very handy if you can get one), keep possession, pass short and go easy on the pressing. My possession-based strategies range between contain, defend and counter....

I take a similar approach in the lower leagues. Partly inspired by Inverting the Pyramid, oddly from the Total Football chapter I think. I can't remember the quote off the top of my head but it basically stated:

When in possession teams aim to make the pitch as big as possible (adding width), when out of possesion teams should aim to make the pitch as small as possible.

My team aren't good enough to do both well, and they're not good enough to do them without some help. So I make the pitch literally as small as possible to make defence easier and hamper teams trying to attack/expose with width.

It stops me from using width as effectively and hinders my attack in that sense but then I just play narrower or use wide players that sit or cut inside like Inside Forwards rather than using out and out wingers.

EDIT: Should have mentioned this as well...

I try to play possesion football. Not because my team are amazing technically but because if I can force the opposition to run around I can tire them out and then attack. I've noticed quite a few goals at the end of half or game.

[phnompenhandy]

It stops me from using width as effectively and hinders my attack in that sense but then I just play narrower or use wide players that sit or cut inside like Inside Forwards rather than using out and out wingers.

Yeh sure. Every tactic is a matter of trade-offs, and you gain the advantage by trading 'in' your strengths and 'out' your weaknesses. In this case at lower league level I perpetually have wingers who can't cross and nippy strikers who are a foot shorter than the oppo central defenders, so width is far less use to me. I do use the 'exploit the flanks' shout a lot which thereby uses the width of the pitch in question, but without tiring out the players too much.

[Fond Foat]

Was away until today. Thanks for the responses, some very good ideas.

Changes Made

I made a few changes to the individual instructions.

I decided to lesson the thinking requirement of my stopper defender. I decided to try to get my deep-lying playmaker to be considered in his passing, which aligns to asking my central midfielder to stop roaming, but I do want him to run with the ball a little more. I took away the shoot on sight call for my advanced forward and have instead asked him to move into channels. I also reduced my shouts for the winger as I think he has been looking dangerous and just asking him to get forward may be productive.

I added work ball into box and removed lower tempo from my team instructions. My front six now looks like this in formation.

I held a team meeting during the week which improved morale a little, and I assigned soom PPM training to my 16 year old recruits (4 of them).

Analysis v Lurgan Celtic

At home against Lurgan Celtic, i definitely wanted a win. They were on 7 point as well but had been leaking goals. They lined up with a 4-4-2. I was very tempted to make my winger an inside forward at home, but I decided I would see how we started the game.

Pregame, I set my two central defenders to specific marking off their strikers and asked for their two wide midfielders to be closed down. One of their strikers on the bench has made 11 key passes so far this season. He has a strength of 2 and composure of 3, so i decided to set hard tackling on him as well as closing down.

First Half Analysis

Early on we were very lucky to not have conceded. My two central defenders completely lost their men, and I mean completely, and it was a miracle they did not score. Thsi was enough for me to remove the cover role from right central defender and just set him on defend. We seem to be very poor at marking!

We conceded in the 11th minute. Murnin drops behind our defense (again) and is played onside by my fullbacks. My highlighted player (Bogan) is meant to be man marking but he is a mile away. The ball is played through and we can see now that my players appear to have got back, but Murnin still gets the shot away and makes it 1-0.

I decide to make changes to the defence again. I remove the specific man marking from my central defenders. I remove the sweeper keeper role. I push my winger up to an inside forward role hoping that will force their fullback to stay deeper. I also decide to change fluidity from fluid to balanced. I am at the scratching head phase, however.

We got an equaliser in the 18th minute as my False 9 played in a nice ball to my Advanced Forward. He was up against a solitary defender and he went past him nicely to score. The ball movement has been a lot better over the last 10 minutes.

We were absolutely bossing the game and unlucky not to be in the lead, but yet again we were opened by a ball over the top. Once more my fullbacks seemed to be playing much deeper than the central defenders.

I decided to ask my players to try to play the offside trap. I have never liked asking lower league players to do this, but it seems it may help with keeping some sort of defensive line.

Half-time Stats

Second Half Analysis

I changed my mentality from defensive to counter and assertively asked for a better second half showing.

We again controlled the match, but our finishing was poor. We hit the post again but could not find the net. In the 66th minute Lurgan literally got the ball into our box for the first time and were awarded a penalty. Thankfully our keeper made a great save.

Nothing was really happening for us, but I needed something from this match. In the 72nd minute I went to attacking and raised our tempo in the team instructions.

We could not get the equaliser and that is now six games without a win. To me we should have won considering how we played, but we could not take our chances.

Future Analysis

I am thinking of switching to a 4-1-4-1 next start. I really need to find a way to keep my two central defenders to stay in a better line and my forwards to work together. Generally, our play looks good.

[Fond Foat]

I started off playing with a low temp as well and I had similar problems. I also found that when we were keeping possesion that is was largely 'safe' possession. Nothing very creative was coming from it even if it was being passed short (or mixed). I switched things and went to high tempo instead and managed to keep possesion and get more chances.

BTW, on my game Killymoon approached to loan one of my players, in honour of this thread I accepted

Yes, I think I will try a high tempo game next start.

Therefore, for me it is critical to keep injuries to a minimum, and this means conserving energy on the pitch. I have my groundsman lay out a pitch with minimum specifications, and home and away I play narrow, have DCs with good pace/accel so we can play a high D-line (sweeper-keeper is thus very handy if you can get one), keep possession, pass short and go easy on the pressing. My possession-based strategies range between contain, defend and counter.

Secondly, there are common features concerning the oppositions' weaknesses. At this level the vast majority of central defenders are slow (in fact many are slow and tall). Therefore my priorities in bringing in new players are, as I've mentioned, speedy DCs, and a speedy striker. He tends to get loads of chances early in the season, although once I start getting successful, opponents sit deeper and his speed is less effective. But that's okay, due to my next suggestion.

What I do with training is start with team cohesion until the squad know each other, my formation and tactics, and then bang in with tactics training on high for pretty much the whole season

Great ideas. My scouting only allowed me to sign a few 16 year olds. I could not get anybody else. They are physically fast and strong as that is a base attribute I want at this level. Your small pitch idea is well thought out. I don't do much fitness training either. I focus on ball control and teamwork.

Interesting thread, be careful though of overanalyzing things, just because things look dodgy in one game doesn't mean they wont work out in the next one, teams need to gel and every player will have a bad day. So far in the beta i've noticed fitness really deteriorates fast from about November onwards with part time teams, so keep that in mind. Will be keeping an eye on this thread though as it has the potential to be a goldmine of usefulness.

My team has ongoing problems

[Fond Foat]

Changes

Okay, I decided something had to change. I decided to switch to a 4-1-2-2-1.

I wanted a DM and I wanted my best players (wingers) higher up the pitch.

I wanted my defenders in particular to hold position better, so I decided to use a balanced system. I also upped the tempo but changed our mentality to contain. I have found contain can produce some nice football at the lower levels. Players are far more cautious but will still follow the gameplan moving forward.

New formation and team instructions

Individual Shouts

Zilch, none, zero. As I watch the full game next start, I will add shouts if required. I think I need to make sure I see exactly what everybody is doing without any instructions to begin with.

Match Analysis - Ballynahinch United: Intermediate Cup

I set up my match training to focus on attacking movement.

I picked players who needed some first team football.

They set up with a 4-4-2.

I did not give any opposition instructions.

First Half

We scored in the 14th minute. I was happy with the goal as it came from my AMR running wide and then pushing into the box late. We had three bodies in the penalty area and the ball eventually rebounded to my AMR who scored. Some defensive mistakes helped us score, but we were holding steady all over the pitch.

The heat map shows that we were quite deep in that first half, but that is to be expected with the contain philosophy. My false 9 was playing well and had hit the woodwork twice. MY AMR was without doubt my best player and his crossing was dangerous.

Statistically I was happy with that half. I decided again not to add any individual instructions.

Second Half

We scored a deserved second in the 65th minute from a corner.

Our third goal again came from good wide play from the AML. He started the move by passing into the box to our false 9 who played the ball back out to the AML. This created some space and a perfect cross followed.

The fourth came in the 88th minute and was a superb solo effort from my AMR (Sub). He ran passed one, jinked inside into the box around another, and struck a lovely left foot shot into the corner of the net.

Fulltime

A strong win against admittedly weak opposition. The formation allowed my two wingers to have a lot more say in the game and I hope that will continue. I was very happy with my 16 year old DMC who will have to carry the load a lot this year. You can see just how busy he was from his passing and interception stats.

Here are the final match stats.

Nothing will be changed for the next start. I will again use no shouts and no opposition instructions. Of course league opposition will be tougher so changes may be required on the fly.

[Fond Foat]

Changes

None. We did well against cup opposition, so lets see how it will work against league opposition!

Match Analaysis v Wakehurst (A)

Wakehurst are in good form and are 4th in the table.

• I set my match training to focus on defensive positioning.

• No opposition instructions, individual shouts, or tactical changes made from the last match.

• Wakehurst 1-6. Draw 5-1. Killymoon 10-1

• Pre-match teamtalk: Cautious - Good luck lads.

• Wakehurst formation: 4-4-2

First Half

A great start! A 3rd minute goal to my AML. He passed the ball from just outside the box to my FBL. You can see from the screen shoot that my FB(3) has the ball out wide and my AML(10) has continued into the box unmarked. A pinpoint pass led to a well taken shot that snuck in at the near post. Notice how many bodies are in the box!

It became a very even contest after that. We were sitting back a little but still looked in control. Unfortunately in the 44th minute my FBR gave away a penalty, so we went into half time 1-1.

Again the heat map shows how deep we sat in the first half. I am not concerned about that as I think it fits our overall level and ability. Wakehurst on the contrary were pushing high up the pitch. The one change I decided to make was asking my team to use more direct passing.

My half time teamtalk was a calm "pleased with how things are going; keep it up."

Second Half

The first 15 minutes of the second half were tough. Wakehurst were pushing hard. I made two substitutions to replace some tired players and changes my AML from W(S) to DW(D). I also decided to change from contain to counter to see if we could catch them on the break.

I was elated when we took the lead! My F9 had a free kick from a long distance. He hit the crossbar but my DC was there unmarked and tapped it in. 2-1! But wait, the goal was crossed off. Eventually a pop up told me the defender had been offside!!! Very disappointed with that call from the ref!

Of course straight from the freekick they scored. Long ball from the keeper and their striker ran away from my DC to put them in front 2-1.

We had been outplayed to be honest in the second half, and as the clock ticked over to the 80 minute mark I knew I had to do something. I switched from counter to control. I changed my AML back to W(S) and my CM(A) to AP(A). I removed the team instructions of be more disciplined and more direct passing. I added an instruction to my DMC to play more direct passes. Finally I replaced my F9 with a like for like player to get fresh legs up front.

It didn't come together and we really did not look comfortable with the changes to our style. So, yet another loss. Even though the statistics show we should not have won, I feel hard done by not to have at least gained a point.

I feel my starting gameplan will come together, so I do not think I need to make any changes before then next match.

[Fond Foat]

I am feeling good tonight, so decided to do another match analysis. I have to admit I am hoping to see some results soon! I was expecting a struggle with this Killymoon team, but I think things could be going a lot better.

Changes

• Contain to defensive
  
• Changed DM(D) to BWM(D)
  
• Removed higher tempo team shout
  
• Added mark tighter to BWM(D)
  
• Changed CM(A) to AP(A)
  
• Added play narrower to team instructions
  
• Added exploit flanks to team instructions
  

Analysis v Newington (H)

Newington 1-3, Draw 3-1, Killymoon 7-1

Newington started with a 4-4-2 with two high wingers. An attacking away formation!

After 20 minutes I tight-marked their AMR who looked likely to use the space he was getting to score.

In the 25th minute we scored from a corner. My F9 gained the ball and finished well (1-0). I hoped to see us hang tough!

Half-time

Things were going well. The only change I decided to make was changing my left fullback from attack to support as Newington's AMR was frankly scaring me.

I gave the don't get complacent team-talk which confused three players, but motivated five players.

Second half

By the 63rd minute, I was chewing my nails. Newington were pushing hard, but there wasn't much i felt I needed to do. It seemed to pointless to change formation or philosophy at this point. I subbed my BWM and F9 as they were carrying injuries.

As we clicked in to the 83rd minute, I switched to contain/fluid.

Joy! We moved the ball very nicely down the left side and my F9 finished off the play (2-0).

Newington came at us in the second held but we held together defensively.

An interesting thing to note is on the heat map that two of the players who played in the F9 position played it very similar. Later, when I moved #14 to left back and brought #16 on to play F9 he was a lot further up the field, though this was only for about 6 minutes. I wonder if it just means we were pushing up in that last 6 minute period, or if this players attributes mean he plays higher up the pitch naturally. One to keep an eye on.

A must win game for us and I hope the start of things to come.

[Fond Foat]

Okay. SO, I am hoping to get some consistency in our performance and secure back to back wins.

Changes

None from the last post.

Analysis v Moyola Park (H)

Moyola Park are bottom of the table, and I therefore expect we should be able to overcome them at home.

The team report showed that Moyola Park score their goals through the middle of the pitch. This play with an attacking 4-2-2(wingers)-2 formation. I fell my 3 man midfield should be able to handle that, and I hope my wingers will stretch their back 4.

We are rivals, so I will gee up the lads in the prematch talk. In the press conference, I built us up and had a go at the opposition manager who said he felt some nerves before the game.

No opposition instructions given

Killymoon 1-6, Draw 5-1, Moyola Park 10-1.

I was furious when in the 47th minute of the first half we allowed them to score. They had started well, but from the 20th minute we had started to take control of the game and to me it just seemed like a matter of time until we scored. What I was angry about was my defenders just walking about and failing to put any pressure on the opposition around our own box. Look at the space given to number 10 and 11.

At half-time I switched to control/fluid because we had dominated large parts of the game. I aggressively questioned their passion and everybody got fired up.

The second half continued to frustrate me. We had good possession. We were passing it well. We had some great chances. But we could not score! I changed to Attacking/Rigid. and subbed on some fresh legs in the 73rd minute. I removed the be more disciplined team shout. I asked my right winger to get forward more, and my advanced playmaker to try more direct passes.

My players have never looked that comfortable with an attacking philosophy and today was not any different. A devastating loss against a very poor team.

I think the stats show we did not deserve to lose that game.

This result is a kick in the teeth because I had hoped we had turned the corner.

I need to figure out how to get better scoring chances, and I need to accept that I do not have very good players. I do not think the formation needs to change, but I do need to consider how we work together on the pitch. As this point, anything other than defensive or contain seems woeful.

I also have to wonder if my press conference assertiveness was a bad move!

We have a couple of cup games coming up next.

[Fond Foat]

A Rethink

It is still early enough in the season for me to have a change of heart and philosophy. I have rethought what I want to see from this team. After watching them play 10 matches now, and with two cup games coming up, I feel I have an opportunity to change how we go about things.

Creation

• I decide to create a defensive 4-2-3-1 Deep. I think I have players who will fit this system better than what I had previously.
  
• I chose Rigid philosophy as it is important we keep our shape
  
• I will set Standard as my starting mentality allowing me to switch to either Defensive or Control depending on the match
  
• A flat back four of WB (S), LD, LD, FB (S).
  
• My two DMs will be a DLP (S) and an Anchor (D). Looking to have one creative outlet and one defensive rock.
  
• The three behind my striker will be a DW(S), AP(S), and a WTM(A). I consider the WTM to be the only risk I am taking.
  
• My striker will be a DLP(A) as I want him to look to score as well as pass off. I am considering a DF(S).
  

Team Instructions

I feel I have not gotten this correct thus far. I decided I wanted to see more direct passing as we need to move the ball reasonable quickly to the front four. I also want the clearances to go out to the flanks and not inside.I want us to float the crosses in to give players a chance to get into the box. I decided to ask them to push higher up as well to constrict the space between the DMs and the AMs. I have asked the team to play at a higher tempo so that we can try to get forward quickly. Finally, I decided I wanted to use an offside trap. It is something I want to see happen in the future, so i will let them have a go at it now.

Player Instructions

• WB(S) - Get further forward. Needs to support the forward play.
  
• Anchor Man - Close down more.
  
• AP - Hold up ball. I want him to give other players a chance to set up.
  

Training

I will stick to Heavy Ball Control training combined with Tactics Only. I will also continue to have players train for the role I will expect them to play.

So this is my rethink. I will follow this up with a match shortly.

[Mikal]

Great thread, I'll be keeping an eye on this especially as I'm playing in Serie C2 so some of the lower league ideas will be useful.

[Fond Foat]

Analysis v Downpatrick (A) - Intermediate Cup

Downpatrick lined up with a 4-4-2

Downpatrick 6-4, Draw 2-1, Killymoon 13-8.

First Half

I was pleased with how the first half went. Defensively we looked in control and eventually in the 42nd minute we got the ball in from out wide, across the top of the box, and then into my DLF to score from inside the six yard box. (1-0)

Killymoon / Downpatrick

Second Half

At the 50th minute mark I changed from standard to control as I felt we needed a second.

It turned out to be a bad decision as Downpatrick found a little more space. They scored when we their striker found space and even though my FB came across the striker hit a great shot on target (1-1)

I switched back to standard.

In the 60th minute I removed the "hold up ball" instruction from my AP. We had created a couple of nice chances but my striker could not beat the keeper.

Again we were in control when they beat us with a strong counter attacking play. I still don't think we did too much wrong, but it is difficult to stop goals that are being scored from outside the box. (2-1)

In the 81st minute I went further behind as they score their third goal from outside the box. Just a unbelievable shot into the top corner.(3-1)

It became embarrassing when they jumped on a ball that was deflected from a sliding tackle and went directly to the striker in the box (4-1)

Full Time

The statistics showed we did not deserve to lose 4-1. I can only assume that it is going to take some time to get familiar with the new tactic. I will be sticking with this formation!!

Checking on the performance of my WTM. He just had the one shot that was saved, but was heavily involved in the play. He made 58/70 passes, but only put in 1 cross

If anybody has some suggestions feel free to add them.

[Fond Foat]

Great thread, I'll be keeping an eye on this especially as I'm playing in Serie C2 so some of the lower league ideas will be useful.

Cheers. It is not going that well so far, but I am hoping that this formation and style will come good once the team gets used to it

[Fond Foat]

Changes

• Made both fullbacks have the wingback support role. I want a little more work forward as well as a better defensive line.
  
• Made the defensive midfielders as standard. One support and one defend.
  
• Changed striker to DF. This is mainly because it is part of my vision.
  
• Changed WTM to Winger (A). Don't think the player who will start today can handle the WTM role.
  

Analysis v Banbridge (A) - Mid Ulster Cup First Round

Banbridge are heavy favourites for this match. They use a 4-4-2 formation.

Banbridge 1-6, Draw 5-1, Killymoon 10-1.

First Half

A steady start to the half, but once again I am left feeling extremely frustrated. Another long range effort goes in! In the firt screenshot notice that the ball has been cleared by McMullan towards Young. In the second screen shot we can see that Young has actually retreated away from the ball and allowed their player to collect it. No sooner has it collected it strikes it (first time) past the keeper for another brilliant goal (1-0)

Banbridge score their second in the 31st minute. It was a simple cross from high on the right to about a meter in front of my keeper and their striker got to it first. (2-0)

I changed my AP(S) to AP(A).

In the 40th minute, I changed from standard to defensive. I also removed higher tempo and more direct passing.

We conceded a 3rd on the brink of half-time. The goalkeeper kicked it long and my defenders seemed to be attracted to the ball. The flick on resulted in a clear run in on goal (3-0)

Half Time

I decided to keep the formation going. I changed to short passing and lower tempo. I also removed the clear ball to flanks and added play out of defence. I gave the unlucky team talk.

The heat map showed we were a lot higher up the pitch than Banbridge. I decided to remove the push higher up call. I am determined to control the ball

My defenders had ratings of 4.6, 5.2, 5.5, and 5.2

Second Half

They scored a 4th goal in 60th minute. It was an exact copy of their. The flick on from a goal kick to the player unmarked and running into goal. I have to work this out!! (4-0)

I put my DCs on specific man marking off their two strikers.

As their 5th went in in the 69th minute, I could only cry. They played about six lovely first touch passes around our box until finally their CM blasted one in from outside the area. Again, I don't think there was I could have done. (5-0) This formation may well be going out the window!

78th minute, I changed my AP to a Trequartista.

Full-Time

We can see that their shots were well taken compared to ours.

I am watching the matches in full, and also by the stats, I just cannot see why we are getting caned. It appears that they score some cracking goals from outside the box, or the goalkeeper long ball, and we are unable to cope. I really need to understand how to get the back four operating reasonably before worrying about anything else. I may well return to the 4-4-2, but I do want this formation to work.

[Fond Foat]

Changes

• AP to Trequartista. Player is more suited to the role.
  
• DMs to DLP(D) and DM(S)
  
• Rigid to Fluid / Standard to Control
  
• LD to cover and CD to stopper.
  
• Both wingers to DW. Left side support, right side support.
  
• DF asked to dribble more and hold position.
  
• Right sided DW given instructions to push up, run wide, and try risky passes.
  
• Left sided DW given instructions to pass shorter, sit narrower, and less risky passes.
  
• No other instructions for any other position except for Keeper (Quick throw)
  

Team Instructions set to: Retain possession, work into box, stay on their feet, and lower tempo.

Analysis v Bryansburn (A) - Northern Irish Cup Second Round

Bryansburn play with a 4-4-2.

The game was only 3 days after the last so my team is a bit of a makeshift side today.

Bryansburn 6-4, Draw 2-1, Killlymoon 13-8.

Set OIs to tight mark both strikers.

First Half

They scored in the 18th minute when they placed a free kick into the box. It bobbled around before they smashed it home (1-0)

We equalized in the 21st minute from a corner that my DF controlled and put away. (1-1)

Half-Time

A dour game, but that's what I wanted. The heat map looked okay, except perhaps the TQ and the DF were a little close to each other. I decided to switch the TQ back to the AP role.

Second Half

52nd minute added short passing. We nearly got burnt from the goal kick long again but their striker hit the post.

We took the lead in the 55th minute. Simple my DC kicked it long to my DF who moved slightly to the right and then buried it from inside the box. (2-1)

By the 67th minute it was obvious Bryansburn were on the offensive. I switched from control to defend and added the play narrower shout.

They scored immediately (2-2) They crossed the ball and my defenders cleared straight to their MC who buried it from just inside the box. I switch back to control and add exploit the flanks.

75th minute I changed my DW on the right to an IF(S).

The match was 2-2 at full time so we went into extra-time. I decided to remove the work ball into box shout and let hem have a go a little more.

97th minute, I changed both my wide players to W(A) as their defense looked to be tiring. Also removed the narrower and exploit flanks as to many passes were being being blazed over the touchlines.

In the 102nd minute we conceded against the run of play. You can see that Beattie had hit a ball that made its way to Halliday who looks to be well contained. He gathered it in under pressure and took two steps under pressure before blasting it past my keeper under pressure. (3-2)

Changed to attack. Changed my DF to AF. Pushed my DMs up to CMs.Changed WBs to attack.

In the 105th minute they put the game beyond doubt as we again did not mark their striker in the box. At this point I made no changes because I had lost the will to live (4-2).

Thankfully, we responded straight from the kick off with a nice pass from my AF to my IF who beat the keeper at the near post. (4-3)

We hammered away for the rest of the game hitting the bar from 1 meter out and having a goal disallowed that looked fine, but in the end it was another loss.

In the end we were probably deservedly beaten. I really think it is time to return to a 4-4-2 and stay steady for the rest of the season.

[Fond Foat]

I am a little unsure what to do with this right now. I know my team is not good, but I am seeing too many defensive issues. I am thinking that I will end this thread here, and wait until the next major patch and try again. I am not attempting to blame the match engine for all the issues but after reading through some threads there is some doubt in my mind. I feel I do not want to change the style of play I am looking to play because I feel I have to make changes to suit the match engine:)

[THX1138]

I think you should keep it going, really enjoying the updates. Although it can't be much fun for you on the wrong end of results every week Why not try long ball football and see if that gets better results? Don't know if you have the striker for it though?

[Cleon]

If you're playing at a really low level then you'll still be frustrated with the defenders at times even when the bugs are fixed. It'll still look buggy as hell due to the poor players so you'll still think its the same even when patched.

Carry on I say

[Fond Foat]

Thanks guys. I agree with the comment about low level defending. I have decided I made the mistake of sacrificing my vision to try to play against the match engine. Rookie mistake. In saying that I feel that I need to start again with this team and get back to my original approach. So, this thread will continue but as a new save.

[Fond Foat]

Introduction to the New Save

I lost my way in my previous attempt with Killymoon Rangers. I abandoned my original intent as I battled the match engine rather than focused on what I wanted to get from my team.

My Team

I have been playing as Killymoon Rangers in the basement league of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is the only playable league. We have played all our friendlies and are ready for our first league match.

We are predicted to finish 13th out of 16. Odds of 25/1 - relegation considered a real possibility

I have been given a wage budget of £626 a week (currently spending £626) and a transfer budget of £0

Formation and Roles

I have decided to use a 4-4-2 formation. The theory behind this is that a 4-4-2 is understandable to all player and my lads do not need anything too complicated. Also, I think the 4-4-2 works well in the lower leagues because it can be more attacking or more defensive depending on the setup. My team has cover across all positions in a 4-4-2 which makes it even more suitable for my purpose.

I created three tactics all based on the 4-4-2 and 4-4-1-1; defensive, balanced, and attacking.

I designed the tactic based on 4 quarters of the pitch. The left side will be tighter and deeper than the right side which will be more attacking. This should mean we will have a asymmetrical look when we go forward.

Mentality and Philosophy

As we are considered one of the weakest teams in the division, I want to ensure we keep a fairly tight disciplined formation. I am happy to admit, that I am still not sure how mentality and philosophy link together, but I will keep a close eye on the team over the next few matches to see how it works out.

Player Instructions

My focus here was to try and develop instructions that fitted the general ability of my squad. I did not want to ask players to do too much. I decided to focus on my standard tactic first.

• CM(D): Less risky passes
  
• CM(S): More risky passes
  
• WA(A): Get further forward, stay wider
  
• DLF(A): Dribble more, move into channels
  

I will make adjustments to the other formations as I get more experience with them.

Training

Firstly, I set up my team training schedules. (Match Training: Tactics / General Training: Fitness (High). At the end of preseason, I will keep tactics for longer until the formations are fluent. My individual tactics are all set up per roles I have in my standard formation on average.

Team

Here is my team strength for each player role.

My transfer targets will be a winger for the right side, a full back, and a central midfielder.

Transfer Activity

• IN - John Gilian (DR - 16 years old) Good player at this level, potential for C1. Free / £45 per week
  
• OUT - Davy McMullan (MC - 31 years old) - Free
  
• IN - Stephen Glen (DC - 16 years old) Decent player at this level, potential for C1. Free / £0 per week
  
• OUT - Trevor Brownlee (ST - 27 years old) - Free
  
• IN - Mark Sterling - (ST - 34 years old) LOAN from QUB- £20 per week
  
• IN - Colin King - (ST - 16 years old) - Free / £0 per week
  
• IN - Shane Clarke (MR - 16 years old) Free / £0 per week
  
• IN - Peter Whyte (MC = 27 years old) LOAN from Portstewart - £15 per week
  

Friendlies

• Away v Shorts: 7-2(W)
  
• Away v Woodvale: 5-2(W)
  
• Home v Downpatrick: 5-3(W)
  
• Home v Drumaness Mills: 7-5(W)
  
• Home v Chelsea U21s: 0-3 (L)
  

A lot of goals in the friendlies, so I hope the regular season settles down.

[oobro]

Nice thread m8,

I started in the Slovenian 2nd division, but I had alot of defensive issues; what especially caught my attention:

- Crappy defending, even when closing down or putting more pressure, the opponent was allowed to put up combinations into my sixteen with great ease,

- I was very vunurable with corners, with the opponent getting in front of it's man easily.

[Fond Foat]

Nice thread m8,

I started in the Slovenian 2nd division, but I had alot of defensive issues; what especially caught my attention:

- Crappy defending, even when closing down or putting more pressure, the opponent was allowed to put up combinations into my sixteen with great ease,

- I was very vunurable with corners, with the opponent getting in front of it's man easily.

Yeah. I think I started to focus on those issues rather than how i wanted my team to play. I hope to correct this the second time round.

[oobro]

I started with a LL team straight away, but decided to go with a bigger team (my fav: Heerenveen) first, just to try out some basis mechanics with some better quality players and see how things work out.

Going for 4-2-3-1 now.

[Fond Foat]

I started with a LL team straight away, but decided to go with a bigger team (my fav: Heerenveen) first, just to try out some basis mechanics with some better quality players and see how things work out.

Going for 4-2-3-1 now.

Cheers. I have been playing this since 2003 with lower teams. I actually hoped to do better than I did. I will stick with Killymoon again

[THX1138]

Good luck Fond Foat

[Fond Foat]

Analysis v Tobermore United (H)

Formation: I have chosen to start with my balanced 4-4-2 formation. Tobermore also are using a 4-4-2

Odds: Killymoon 6-4, Draw 2-1, Tobermore 13-8

First Half

5m: Smith (DLFA) one on one with the keeper just didn't release the shot and got shut down by the goalkeeper. Felt we should have had an early goal.

7m: Tobermore opened their account. It was a standard goal with Lynch crossing to McLaughlin who appeared to have too much pace for my defender Chesney (CDC). (0-1)

12m: My full back Martin (WBS) had been skinned a couple of times already. I asked him to mark tighter but to ease off tackles.

22m: Direct passing wasn't working out for us. We just kept kicking it to their keeper. Removed that instruction. I also added the stay on feet instruction as we seemed to be over committing in the challenge.

25m: We equalized when Young (CMS) played a ball over the top to Smith (DLFA) who finished nicely with his head. (1-1)

30m: Right midfielder Watson (WA) picked up a yellow card. I set his instruction to ease off tackles.

35m: We had a disallowed goal when a tight offside call ruled Donaghy's (F9S) strike out. We had taken control of the match at this point.

45m: We nearly got caught out from the oppositions goal kick. I do not know how to make this less of a threat. Their keeper hits a long ball, one striker flicks on to another striker , and bang. Fortunately my keeper made a great save.

Half Time

The heat map is interesting. My fullback with the wing back duty on the right is not getting forward much at all. This is because Tobermore are coming down that side more than the my left. I also have created my triangles on the left and right, but I worry that my DLFA is a little isolated. Tobermore are not getting the full backs forward much at all. I am considering asking my left midfielder to get forward more.

I don't think the statistics are telling the full story. Whilst Tobermore have had more shots and slightly more possession, I don't think they have looked to dangerous beside their goal.

Here is what I mean about the shots taken. We can see that Tobermore are having to settle for long shots.

Changes: My left full back Purvis had a knock so i substituted him with Crooks. I asked my left midfielder Ferguson to get further forward as their full backs are sitting back and it may help with some link play for my DLF Smith.

Second Half

51m: MY CDS Rea was playing well (6.8) whilst my CDC Chesney was struggling (5.8). I switched them around as Chesney can play as a DM so may be more comfortable as a stopper.

53m: Smith (DLFA) was put through on goal by Donaghy (F9S) and was denied by a great save.

63m: We broke the deadlock when Watson (WA) crossed the ball into the box. Their CD headed the ball straight to Young (CMS) who finished wonderfully well (2-1)

68m: Watson (WA) was starting to look tired. I brought on Clarke and made him a DWS and removed all player instructions.

78m: Tobermore were coming forward and a great save stopped them scoring from a pinpoint cross. I switched to my defensive formation. I brought Donaghy back from the enganche role to left fullback where he is suited. I moved Crooks from FBL to FBR as Martin was tired and brought on Whyte to play as the enganche.

80m: Our very first play after that change was a corner and it was a joy to see Chesney play it in and Crooks (FBS) score. (3-1)

85m: Typically things do not go easy. Clarke (DWS) had to be taken off, so I had to switch to a 4-4-1 formation. I moved Whyte to the DLPD role and Young out to the DWS role.

88m: My CDC Rea took a big hit that knocked him down to 30% fitness. He could stay out there but we were wobbling.

Full Time

It was relief when the whistle sounded, but in all honesty I was pleased with the general play and structure throughout the match.

Tobermore were clearly kept to long shots which is pleasing.

One match down. I will only focus on league games, not cup games.

[DreamsDefined]

Great thread, and good to see how someone develops their thinking/team/tactics as the game progress.

Keep it up!

[kmcmillan19]

Glad to see you're still going. I like all the detail and effort put into your posts. It's fun to follow. I think in your first attempt, you may have made too many changes too often. I'd suggest to try and stick to the same formation while just making tweaks to the team/individual instructions. When I started my game on fm14, I started in the skrill south. I tried some similar formations as yours with no success. Mostly my defense was terrible and a big part of that was the fullbacks. What I did was just get rid of the fullbacks. I use kind of a 3-6-1 (or maybe 3-1-4-1-1) possession tactic which is what I did with great success in fm13. It didn't really do well at first but after a little time and some tweaks, I've had great success since. I'm sure you would like to do your own tactics but this is an option if you need a change up. If I knew how to get a screenshot in here, I'd be glad to share.

[Fond Foat]

I think in your first attempt, you may have made too many changes too often. I'd suggest to try and stick to the same formation while just making tweaks to the team/individual instructions.

Yes, I totally agree with this. I started to read about ME deficiencies and started to think about how to deal with them. My original intent was to build a solid tactic that would see me through the season. Because of this, I want to stick with my 4-4-2 as I feel it will work in the long run. Your tactic looks interesting. I have to admit I love having fullbacks or wing backs though.

[SkillfulSpence]

Great topic. I'd welcome responses to my thoughts here. As a lower league manager myself, I cut my cloth according to what I have at my disposal, so formations, roles and duties change every campaign, and indeed every season. However, there are certain common features that are distinctive to lower league management that come up every save-game.

Firstly, I build my squads' limitations into my tactics. Be they part-timers, declining warhorses or kids, they tend to have low stamina; furthermore, due to finances, squads tend to be small with little adequate cover for first-choice players. Therefore, for me it is critical to keep injuries to a minimum, and this means conserving energy on the pitch. I have my groundsman lay out a pitch with minimum specifications, and home and away I play narrow, have DCs with good pace/accel so we can play a high D-line (sweeper-keeper is thus very handy if you can get one), keep possession, pass short and go easy on the pressing. My possession-based strategies range between contain, defend and counter.

Secondly, there are common features concerning the oppositions' weaknesses. At this level the vast majority of central defenders are slow (in fact many are slow and tall). Therefore my priorities in bringing in new players are, as I've mentioned, speedy DCs, and a speedy striker. He tends to get loads of chances early in the season, although once I start getting successful, opponents sit deeper and his speed is less effective. But that's okay, due to my next suggestion.

My third point really goes against the grain, and might leave you unconvinced. The received wisdom is that at this level physical attributes are key, so you train fitness above all, building speed, strength and stamina. They are very important yes, but my view is that with poor facilities, too much emphasis on fitness training results in injuries and as I've mentioned, I can't afford to risk that. What I do with training is start with team cohesion until the squad know each other, my formation and tactics, and then bang in with tactics training on high for pretty much the whole season (also ensuring my best coach is the tactics trainer). What this does is increase mental attributes such as decisions that fit in very well with my tight-pitch tactics; my players win games by out-thinking fitter opposition. Matches are rarely memorable or high-scoring, but by adhering to these templates I always over-achieve unless we're nobbled by an injury crisis.

some genuinley good advice. Great stuff. Would you then buy players that have good decision making? How much does Natural fitness and workrate play a part in your teams you build at lower league? at what point do you break this mold as you go up the divisions?

[Fond Foat]

I tend to look at determination and high physical stats in the lowest leagues and then begin to add more skilled players as as we go up through the divisions.

[phnompenhandy]

some genuinley good advice. Great stuff. Would you then buy players that have good decision making? How much does Natural fitness and workrate play a part in your teams you build at lower league? at what point do you break this mold as you go up the divisions?

Thanks for your response. Like Fondfoat, I look for good Determination in any player I being in - if it's low (under 10) I won't consider him any further. After that, Decisions is very important; however, it is usually very low in youth players. Unlike Determination, however, it can be improved with training as I mentioned above. Whilst I focus on developing youth, I do have a smattering of old warhorses who do tend to have good Decision attributes. Of the six over-25s in my current squad, 3 can play in the DM position which in my tactic is the key one for good decisions.

Natural Fitness and Workrate - important yes, but at this level with no transfer budget beggars can't be choosers and I've already ruled out low Determination. It's frustrating when you see your player not tracking back, chasing a ball or putting in a tackle but again, I try to build these limitations into my tactic - short snappy passing over a minimum-dimension pitch lessens the effects. My wingbacks are the only squad members who get in the top 50 'run around a lot' divisional league table.

Break the mould? Well the whole point of my 'career development plan' is that my squad of kids mature over the years. The hope is that their attributes improve year by year a la La Masia-stylee. I do tend to get bogged down in Skrill Premier and haven't yet got beyond League Two, but that's largely due to lack of time because of work commitments. Mine's therefore very much a work in progress. In my current FM14 campaign I'm not even up to Christmas 2013 yet and am a bit off the pace, but that's because my one tactic is taking an age to get to fluid even though I can see things starting to gel on the pitch.