Developing my own 4-4-2 narrow diamond tactic

[Mogget]

This is a long thread, mostly because writing it all out helps me think through things. I've asked for input later in the thread and would welcome any and all feedback (including, but not limited to, "you have no idea what you are doing!"). Thanks in advance.

MOTIVATION

OK, so I've been using a tactic with great in-game success, but it has two problems: 1) I downloaded it from the Internet (credit to Rodrigo 4073) instead of creating it myself, and 2) it is very complicated, with lots of TIs and PIs. I don't really understand how all the pieces fit together, or how to tweak it based on the conditions and context of a particular match. I have successfully recruited a squad to fit the tactic and have had huge success in the game but it has been unsatisfying because I didn't create it.

Based on Cleon's excellent thread, Building a Tactic, I'd like to invest the time to develop my own tactic from the ground up. I still don't see things the way the pros on these forums do, and I'd appreciate any and all help in thinking through this so that I can learn.

EXISTING TACTIC

First, the tactic I'm using is this:

FM14 - Will upgrade to FM15 after my home-grown wonderkid Striker has his best playing years, which will be in about 8 seasons

Mentality: Counter

Fluidity: Very Rigid

Team Instructions: Drill Crosses, Look for Overlap, Play Out of Defense, Drop Deeper, Exploit the Middle, Be More Disciplined, Stick to Positions, Lower Tempo, and Hassle Opponents

GK - Sweeper Keeper (Attack). Player Instructions: Distribute to Defenders, Pass it Shorter

DR/DL - Full Back (Attack). Player Instructions: Close Down More, Dribble More, Pass it Shorter, Cross from Byline, Get Further Forward, Stay Wider

DC/DC - Central Defender (Cover). Player Instructions: Hold Position, Mark Tighter

DM - Half Back (Defend). Player Instructions: Mark Tighter, Shoot Less Often

MC/MC - Box-to-Box Midfielder (Support). Player Instructions: Get Further Forward, Mark Tighter, Shoot Less Often, Close Down More, Roam from Position

AMC - Shadow Striker (Attack). Player Instructions: Mark Tighter, More Risky Passes, Roam from Position, Shoot Less Often

STC/STC - False Nine (Support). Player Instructions: Mark Tighter, Shoot Less Often, Roam from Position, Man Mark opposing DR/DL

Here's my (rudimentary and potentially incorrect) understanding of how the tactic works, and what I love about the style of football it produces. The tactic's base is the Sweeper Keeper and the Defensive Midfielder. I know from reading HandofGod's The Mentality Ladder that the Sweeper Keeper produces the Controller Effect, which moves my other players up a notch on the mentality ladder. The DM disrupts attacks and cycles the ball quickly to the MCs. My DMs have some of the highest pass completion ratios in the Premier League because they are world class players and passing short to the MCs right in front of them. They also stiffen the defense considerably, shifting across the box to provide support where needed.

In defense, the 2 DCs and the DM cover the center quite well. I get a lot of interceptions (I love interceptions!) on breaks, and a lot of headed clearances. My fullbacks do track back to cover the opposing DL/DR, but slower than normal because of their instructions to get further forward. Here the marking instructions for the False Nine strikers are important: they are man-marking the opposing DL/DR, and the strikers actually play an important role in defense. I will often be doubling-up the opponent's wide players with my fullback and a striker. The real weakness of this approach is when the opponent switches the ball to the opposite flank, which is often only protected by a striker. The opponent usually has acres of space on the wide opposite flank and they can get some good runs. This is mentioned by Cleon in his thread, and I wince when this situation that Cleon describes arises: "The team is vulnerable to fast changes of play and can get caught out of position especially if the opposition use the width of the pitch". But the covering central defender and DM can switch over relatively quickly to smother that up.

My fullbacks do a lot of running (they're number #1 and #2 on the distance covered per ninety minutes in the league) so I need players with high stamina and reasonable pace. Pace is actually my #1 strongest team attribute, which makes sense because of the fullbacks and also the counter attacking style. (I didn't recruit for pace, I think that just through dumb luck of keeping players with high ratings and getting rid of ones who have lower ratings I sorted my team to to the top of the Premier League in pace).

In transition from defense to offense, it almost always starts with short passes from defense. Every once in a while, the Sweeper Keeper or the DM will play a long through ball, but this is rare. I'd say the play is about 60% through the middle and 40% up the flanks. The great thing about the transition from defense to offense is that I will often have many players breaking with absolutely lovely through-balls, and incredible triangle passing in the midfield, and great interaction between the AMC and the F9s. My F9s are trained as Complete Forwards so they have great passing and target-man capabilities. A typical successful fast-break attack will involve through balls from the DM to the MC to the AMC who either shoots or plays in one of the F9s who are acting like Inside Forwards at this point. A typical slower attack will involve lovely passing around the edge of the box between the fullbacks and the MCs, with a through ball to the AMC or the F9s. I get a lot of back passes whipped from the F9s in the box back to the AMC and then over to the other F9 to switch flanks. It really is lovely football. Despite the crossing instructions, I don't get a lot of goals from crossing, probably because my Fullbacks don't have good crossing attributes. When they do cross, it does create a bit of mayhem for the opponent, because the F9s scoop up the ball and shuttle it back to the MCs, who then whip the ball around the box to another player to score.

One drawback from transition from defense to offense is that plays which start from the Goalkeeper always go up the left flank. I haven't been able to figure out why, but it may be that my GK prefers his left foot (though wouldn't that imply he likes to pass to the right?). The DL/DR both have a passing ability of 12, so I don't really understand why almost all the attacks go left. I'd like some to go start by going up the center, or even the right. The most common attacking sequence is GK > DL > MC (L) > AMC, though sometimes it will be GK > DL > MC (L) > DM or MC® > DR etc.

In offense, I typically outnumber the opponents 2:1 in shots, and 4:1 (or even better) on clear cut chances. I believe that from watching a lot of games that most of the clear cut chances are created on the fast breaks, and through the above mentioned whipping the ball around the box between the F9s and the MCs. My AMC, despite having an attack role, is actually one of my primary creators, with 25 goals and 13 assists. One of my F9s, despite being in a support role, had 33 goals and 11 assists while the other F9 had 22 goals and 12 assists. The main creator is on of the box-to-box midfielders, with 16 assists. As you can see, the attacks often involve a lot of players in both scoring and assists, and I love this.

PREFERRED STYLE OF PLAY

OK, so now to use Cleon's framework from Building a Tactic to develop my own tactic. I have a top side. My club (Cheltenham Town) has the #1 reptuation in the world, having won the Champions League twice in the past three years. We're rich and well stocked with leading/star/world class players at every position and even every backup position. We have a huge pipeline of talent, so we're a "Top" side.

I'd like to keep the shape (Narrow 4-4-2 diamond) the same because I have so many star/world class players for this shape. I also find the type of football it produces fun for me to watch. Based on the description of the current tactic, I can see that I love:

• Counter attacking mentality
  
• Solidity provided by the DM
  
• Through balls
  
• Interceptions from the defensive line
  
• Build up play from the back
  
• Involving many players in assists and goals
  
• Bombing up the middle
  

As an aside, bombing up the middle to me is not equivalent Route 1 or direct play, I get a lot of intricate passes and movement in midfield which I love.

BETTER PAIRINGS?

I know from reading the Pairs and Combinations thread that the tactic I'm using has some strange pairings. For example, the tactic has Cover-Cover for Central Defenders, and BBM-BBM for Central Midfielders.

I do have one Central Defender whose suggested role is Ball-Playing Defender. That would get me more attacks started by going up the middle, and this CD will have some protection from the DM Half Back. I could also switch to Cover-Stopper instead of Cover-Cover. In Midfield, I could switch from BBM-BBM to BBM-Advanced Playmaker, but honestly I am having no trouble with linking the midfield to the attack and already one of my BBM midfielders has 16 assists. I like the way the two BBMs sit on the edge of the box withe Half Back DM behind them provide a backpass outlet, and am not sure if an Advanced Playmaker would change this dynamic.

I honestly don't know what to make of the AMC Shadow Striker / F9 / F9 partnership. Clearly it is working, but I'm not exactly sure why. I think the current tactic does follow the Pairs and Combinations advice, with the Half Back and BBM as the defensive pair, and the other BBM and Shadow Striker as the offensive pair.

The F9/F9 pairing is odd. I sort of feel like this is a bit of a strikerless formation since the F9s with their Man Marking instructions on the opposing DL/DR act like AML/AMR inside forwards. So I feel like the formation is kind of AML (F9) /AMC (Shadow Striker) / AMR (F9). If so, I worry that the formation is successful because of quirks in the Match Engine, and not because it is a "good" formation that any real life team would use. I need some help thinking of a better attack pairing for this tactic. I do know that I would like to have two strikers in the formation because I have so many great strikers on my squad. I also know that one game I played my AMC out of position because of injuries (please remind me to NEVER sign injury prone players ever again!) in the F9 position and he scored a hat trick. The AMC is trained as an Inside Forward, so this lends credence to my theory that I'm kind of playing the game with zero strikers and three AMs. I thought about switching the a Complete Forward / Deep Lying Forward.

I see that Fullbacks on Attack are suggested by both Pairs and Combinations and Building a Tactic as appropriate for single widemen, and I like the Controller effect from the Sweeper Keeper.

So the potential changes to the pairings include:

• Changing Central Defense Pairing from Cover-Cover to Cover-Stopper, or Ball Playing Defender-Cover
  
• Changing Midfielder Pairings from Halfback-BBM and BBM-Shadow Striker to Halfback-BBM and Advanced Playmaker-Shadow Striker
  
• Changing Striker Pairing from F9-F9 to Complet Forward-Deep Lying Playmaker
  

Which of these pairings should I try first, and in what order? I don't want to make more than one change at once so I can see its effects since I can't see things as well as others, and also I need to carefully experiment to learn. I know I could just try each change and watch a few matches to see what impact it has (this is what Cleon suggests) but I'd like to have a theory about what the change might do because I don't trust my ability to really see what has happened, so if anyone has some suggestions on what I could look for to see if these changes are helping, that would be great.

BAROQUE INSTRUCTIONS

I honestly have no idea what the net effect of all of those Team and Player Instructions is. For example, do I really need the Pass it Shorter PI with the Counter mentality? Do I really need the Be More Disciplined TI with Very Rigid mentality? Do I really need the Shoot Less Often PIs? I'd like to simplify the TIs and PIs so later I can add them in one-by-one as needed, but I really don't know where to start. Help would be appreciated. I could just delete them all and then add them in one-by-one but I'm very results focused and I want my fans to experience the thrill of winning! I thought about creating an experimental "fork" in my saves where I just play around with tactics to see what happens rather than playing sequentially through a season. But that seems a little tiny bit like cheating.