Darrow - Another Puny Attempt At Accomplishing A Thing or Two in FM '14 (14.1.4)

[Pretended]

So here it is.

My first go at FM 14, with the team I am a true fan of, Fenerbahçe, for the first time in years now.

I'm a rebel at heart, may it be politics or some software I get immersed in for 20 years.

So I HATE WINGERS CUTTING IN WITH A LONE STRIKER. I'll love it when every other club on the surface of the earth stops implementing it. What Barça did should've been limited to Barça and Barça only -it spread like plague and my ears tingle with joy if I see a team layout with two strikers.

However, since the quick and running-through forwards are a popularity, I brought in an ancient application in football -the sweeper, that is- into the game.

The player roles and duties are as follows:

GK: Goalkeeper (D) - No need for a sweeper keeper that rushes around since there is a sweeper supposed to keep off those drifting dangerously close

SW: Sweeper (D) - The guy is supposed to be the fuse of the tactic's defensive barebone -no need to venture forward

DC: Central Defender (X) - Since the lone wide-men would leave lots of space after surging forward, I wanted them to look out for the vulnerability left behind

DC: Central Defender (X) - Same as above

WBL: Wing Back (A) (My favs in a tactical layout!) - I had an mid-lane attack concentration however attacking wings would draw a lot of attention, if not productive at all on the ball, relieving the midfielders' marking, I thought

WBR: Wing Back (A) - Same as above

DMC: Half Back (D) - The stoppers patrolling the wide areas would have to be looked after too - hence the half back's crucial role to settle matters with assaulting centre opposition

MC: Central Midfielder (S) - As far as the philosophy broken down into its basics goes, the true attitude of a team as a whole comes with players executing roles in transitions so somebody has to sit around the midfield to create the number advantage and offer himself as a simple short passer who is always underrated for such role

MC: Advanced Playmaker (A) - Here goes our choices of MC's and AMC's with attack in mind. Somebody has to push through as two strikers wander around and the wing backs overlap.

ST: Deep Lying Forward (A) - Having read the awesome guide by llama3, and as stated in forewords being a fan of partnerships, I wanted go for a biggie-smalls kind of partnership and since I want a tactic that needs least possible level of player specialization, our "target guy" happened to be this

ST: Advanced Forward (A) - So this is the quick, agile, explosive guy with the ability to strike cleanly. As I said, however, instead of a poacher, I preferred this more rounded-up version as a role.

So here it is, an amorphic 3-5-2 with normal passing that likes to act comparably quicker than it is supposed to in calmer passing tactics.

I am supposed to be an attacking team as the board's requirements suggest and since spreading out like a homogenic blob of jelly over the pitch is what I like, a very fluid formation of players was preferred as well. This is also in coherence with the choice of player roles and duties - players are supposed to contribute to all aspects of play.

I hardly have any money to spend. I lack in depth of sweeper and WBR department, also Salih Uçan -my beloved wonderkid- got a loan offer from Twente being considered as a key player so since I, too, consider him as a key player of the future where he will be dominating the Central Midfielder (S) spot, I let him join the Eredivisie club for the season ahead (got a "can be recalled" clause squeezed into the agreement though in any case).

Foreign player restrictions are another problem -they are supposed to be tightened further season by season (currently 6 in match squad, another 4 can wait outside and feel obsolete)- so I've been investing into Turkish gems, I wish money was not an issue.

Before this turns into a story thread, I shall leave it here.

Looking for results, suggestions and good wishes.

Thank you.

[RTHerringbone]

I like this a lot, it's always good to see something more interesting than a 4-2-3-1.

Three questions from me:

1. Are there any issues with the Half Back and Sweeper trying to occupy similar space?

I've not actually used a Sweeper for a long time on FM13 (although I copied Cleon's use of a Libero in FM13!)

2. One potential risk is the shape of your midfield when you defend. When the Half Back drops between the DCs, I'm not sure how much help your MC line will give you. Do you find the CM (S) helping out much? I assume the AP (A) doesn't at all.

3. What is the thinking behind the forward combination? Ordinarily people will advise that you need one Support Role up front, but presumably the DLF (A) will still contribute some link up play. I'm interested to hear (and maybe see some heat maps) if that works out, or if they get a bit isolated.

Great thread!

[Pretended]

Why, thank you, sire!

1- I've yet to experience it on a serious level. I won a match 4-1 against an almost non-existent reserves, that's all. However, that was a concern of mine too, though. I'll watch and see.

2- Oh yes, you're right there too. In case things look to go söre, I may switch to a Defensive Midfielder (S).

3- I'll report with their productivity, sure.

[displaced_seagull]

I like the setup and the explanations - how about an Anchor Man though, rather than a half back? - If you are worried about congestion with the Sweeper and Half Back in the same areas, but still want someone to sit in there and hold, maybe an AM would be a decent option?

[Pretended]

So, it was a Süper Kupa (en. süper cup) match against Galatasaray, one of the most fierce rivalries in football, hence the first true test opportunity of the season.

Since there were questions raised as to the roles and duties assigned of the midfielders -because that's where the tactic's defensive and offensive capabilities directly stem from- I tinkered with various Player Roles and Duties for my 3-men DM-triangle midfield.

It took around 4 hours to test, re-load, watch etc. to bring out these charts -there are a couple more matches I omitted from the analysis.

There are of course a ton of other decisive factors that contribute to the game, from the starting morale of the players to individual coincidential performances and their eventual follow-ups.

Still, I have gathered some certain ideas about what I'm about to do. They are appendixed following the graphs below. I must let you know that the score of the match of each match is added in parantheses of the labels of each line.

So, here are match stats divided under categories:

What I noticed is, almost in every instance, the DC and WBs come together to close down the opposition winger. For a minute I thought how that could turn out to be a problematic clashing of players however such play, unexpectedly, ensured that the winger could not make a clean cross, if not lose the ball at all.

Another problem I noticed with my initial layout of Half Back - CM Support - Advanced Playmaker Attack was that the team was almost getting buried within their own area creating an effective zone of marking meanwhile leaving lots of space around the area nonetheless, enough space to be bombarded. AP A was too lazy, CM S was too embedded into the block that filled the penalty area.

As the graphics suggest, whether I use a DM or a HB, a B2B makes it up for the pressing fight needed as the team stands off the opponent. He actually performs better rather than a AP (A) linking up the attacks since the fight and the eventual turnover in front of my penalty area means more possession for me too.

I ordered CM (S) to "close down more" to remedy the too-drawn-back placement that exposed enough for long shot takers from around the area.

Moral of the story: Most powerful team of TSL can be destroyed only when I have a HB preferably and B2B for sure. Conceding 5 from my side for Cim Bom is a disaster and I relish on the idea.

I can provide Personal Stats too, if need be.

[Pretended]

I like the setup and the explanations - how about an Anchor Man though, rather than a half back? - If you are worried about congestion with the Sweeper and Half Back in the same areas, but still want someone to sit in there and hold, maybe an AM would be a decent option?

Tried that to no avail. Whenever I used an Anchor Man, the team struggled. Please check 2 scenarios where I used an Anchor Man.

[displaced_seagull]

Tried that to no avail. Whenever I used an Anchor Man, the team struggled. Please check 2 scenarios where I used an Anchor Man.

Posted before your last post. Intriguing.

I imagine the problem is the AM sitting too deep - perhaps he is too static for this system?

[Pretended]

Posted before your last post. Intriguing.

I imagine the problem is the AM sitting too deep - perhaps he is too static for this system?

No worries, I noticed the time of your post. ^^

I don't know, I couldn't figure out actually. The DM has to be either adventurous or be sitting deep where DCs emptied.

The number of shots taken by the opposition is usually higher though. I'm thinking that the area-full sharing forces them to shoot on sight.