Gol Lazio!!! - trying to create the Arsenal invincible tactic with Lazio

[Liamgannon]

This is something that i've wanted to do for a while, my main interest with FM lies with trying to replicate iconic tactics of the past.

Now before someone pulls me up on this, it's the team shape i'm trying to replicate and as you can see, some of the player roles have been changed to suit the players that i have at my disposal. So this tactic doesn't include a destroyer, e.g Gilberto. Instead i've opted for a DLP instead.

As well as trying to replicate the formation, i'm also trying to mimic certain traits that the invincibles were remembered for - for instance the way that Cole, Pires and Henry linked up. I just want to throw this out there though, the main purpose is always to win. If replicating the tactic means i suffer points wise then certain ideas have to be put on hold in the pursuit of trophies, otherwise what's the point in playing a football simulator. I envisage it might take me many seasons to even come half way close to how they even played IRL.

I've chosen Lazio as it would be boring trying this experiment with a leading Serie A team. Don't get me wrong, Lazio are still pretty amazing compared to most sides but they are predicted to finish in 6th place, coupled with the fact that they don't have a bucket load of money so winning the league in the first season would still be an achievement, especially when you consider i'm up against Juve, A.C Milan, Inter, Roma, Napoli, etc

Now to start off i'm just going to post formation and team instructions - more to come soon.

Team formation

Team instructions

All other player instructions haven't changed apart from my wingback and fullback have the cross more box ticked.

My 1st season is nearly finished so i'll post the league table when I am complete.

Just finished my first season and I must say i'm very surprised with how it went. Juventus just didn't start very well, probably mainly due to the injuries they have in the game at the start of the season. Even though Milan finished 2nd, they still weren't a threat and didn't challenge me at all.

Champions league.

This went really well for me too. I managed to progress from the qualifying leg but was then drawn in a really tough group, Bayern, Real Madrid and Celtic.

Utd were very lucky to progress, I had a nightmare in the finishing department but still, it was quite a good performance for a team like Lazio. Reaching the quarter finals is very respectable. Playing CL football did tell me one thing though, buy a new CB with very good pace.

Tactical insights

By ticking the 'exploit right wing' option it allows me to ensure i can still get a good few crosses in when the opportunity arises.

When creating a tactic I like to mix up how the goals are scored, in this instance, the right side is predominantly used for crossing with the left side focusing on the fancier side of things, dribbling, passing interlay, through balls etc. I knew I wanted to have an advanced player in the IF role but I didn't want to isolate him from his team mates, hence why I moved the full back into a wing back position and altered the DLP (D) to DLP (S). The wing back is designed to hold his position, which allows the IF to pass the ball back if he runs into a dead end so we can recycle possession.

The fulcrum of my attack is Keita in the F9 position. I did experiment with DLF but it wasn't as effective. I needed a player who would draw defenders out of their area as well as someone who could also work the channels to draw defenders wide.

[RTHerringbone]

Presumably you've read Cleon's interpretation?

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/449252-Project-Invincible-Recreating-the-Arsenal-Invincibles

[Liamgannon]

Presumably you've read Cleon's interpretation?

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/449252-Project-Invincible-Recreating-the-Arsenal-Invincibles

I haven't actually seen that. thanks for the info though, i'll give it a read to see how it stacks up against mine.

[Liamgannon]

I must admit, I am trying to work on a solution to make the wing back more attacking, although i can't seem to bring myself to change the mentality of IF position, mainly because i like to have a balance between attack and defence with players who operate on the wing.

And as Anderson did this in my first season!! my rationale is, why make the wingback a little more attacking to possibly get a few more assists and maybe a goal or two vs what you see below.

This is how my false 9 performed in the 1st season (Keita). Very happy with that, 50% goal ratio is decent for a F9, let alone someone who hasn't fully developed yet and is only 20 years of age.

Here are the stats for my 2 complete forwards, I often rotated them as the position is very demanding from a physical perspective.

Djordjevic

Matri