Abandoning your tactical style.

[Grimboslice]

Just wondering how you guys handle your ‘tactical style’ when playing against bigger clubs.

Say you’re a low/mid table team and you want to build a slow possession style tactic, would you abandon your tactical philosophy when playing better teams? 

[Snorks]

My tactical style is to beat the opposition by exploiting their weakness while overpwering them with my strentghs.

I have three 'tactics' in my TC, but will tweak and adjust each for pretty much every game - attack wider/narrower. Exploit the middle/wings. 

I don;t have a home and away approach either - although would tend to more cautious when away.

[axelmuller]

As the great Cleon said. Never adapt to opposition. Dont focus on the opposition ever. Otherwise you lose your style of play.

 Instead, force your style down the opponents throats. Thats what he does and if it works for him..

[Experienced Defender]

12 hours ago, Grimboslice said:

Just wondering how you guys handle your ‘tactical style’ when playing against bigger clubs.

Say you’re a low/mid table team and you want to build a slow possession style tactic, would you abandon your tactical philosophy when playing better teams? 

My approach is to first analyze my squad in order to see which tactical style (or styles) would optimally suit their strengths and weaknesses. So if my players are not good enough to (consistently) play a certain style of football, I am not going to impose that style on them (even if it may be my "favorite" style). Because the more your tactical (playing) style suits your players, the fewer changes (tweaks) you'll need to make to adapt to different types of opposition.

[Grimboslice]

3 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

My approach is to first analyze my squad in order to see which tactical style (or styles) would optimally suit their strengths and weaknesses. So if my players are not good enough to (consistently) play a certain style of football, I am not going to impose that style on them (even if it may be my "favorite" style). Because the more your tactical (playing) style suits your players, the fewer changes (tweaks) you'll need to make to adapt to different types of opposition.

How exactly do you go about analysing your team? There seems so many ways to do it but I can never look and go “yep that’s how we should look to play”. 

[Experienced Defender]

1 hour ago, Grimboslice said:

How exactly do you go about analysing your team? There seems so many ways to do it but I can never look and go “yep that’s how we should look to play”. 

The first thing I do is look at media prediction and board expectation, in order to see how my team is viewed in relation to the league we compete in. That gives me some basic (and rather vague) idea on whether I should look to play generally more defensive or more positive style of football (or perhaps something "in between"). Then I go through the Comparison section of the Team Report to see where we stand compared to the rest of the league in all aspects of the game (defensive, attacking, technical, mental, physical), and if there is/are any area(s) where we are particularly strong or particularly weak. The next thing is analyzing the squad depth, which helps me decide which areas (positions) of the team I need to strengthen in the transfer/loan market to improve the (quality and/or quantity) depth of my squad. Here of course I have to consider my financial capacity. For example, if I cannot afford to have at least 4 strikers in my team, I am not going to play in a two-striker system (unless I have a non-striker who can be successfully retrained as a striker and has all necessary attributes for a striker role). And then, finally, I analyze all my players - the entire first team and youngsters/hot prospects with particularly high potential - which helps me make a final decision on which style of play I should opt for and which particular formation I should use to achieve that style with the players I have at my disposal. So I really tend to spend a lot of time analyzing the team at the beginning of a save, but when that pays off later in the game, the feeling is really great.

[Rashidi]

"Adapting" now this is a word that has a lot of connotations. To say one should not adapt at all seems strange.

- You could be playing against a side that is generally poor but have great central defenders who are strong in the air, but poor at handling players with pace who cut inside. Do you stick to going down the flanks and dropping in crosses or do you change a role slightly so you see players cut inside? 

-  You are up against it again a team that is fantastic at moving the ball around in the middle of the pitch, do you persevere with moving the ball around the middle against a team that is superior to you or do you take advantage of their height weakness in defence by playing a more direct game towards a target man, thus bypassing midfield altogether?

- You are rampant in the league being the best team, so there is obviously no need to change the way you play which is direct football down the flanks, but when you get to Europe you discover  a different approach will be better 

Now all three of these situations were encountered by famous managers in the real game. The last scenario is very interesting, cos this applied to United, who changed their style of play in Europe compared to how they played in England. Some managers make small changes to the way they play, Klopp adapted to teams playing differently to Liverpool by changing the way they press. Other managers like Pochettino have actually abandoned their 4231 formation to favour a back 5 against teams with fast strikers. Then you have managers who make tactical changes in games because they need to break down oppositions more effectively who have decided to sit back and just not play.

Adapting can mean different things. You could play a 442 and change your roles and adapt it slightly differently to take advantage of a specific weakness in a side by playing with a TM/Poacher combo. You could adapt to a side playing defensively by changing some duties and going more attacking. Or you could adapt by playing a completely different system. There are different styles of football management, we have rigid managers like Van Gaal who do not change their approach at all. You have other managers who chop and change their style of play based on the opposition. They make small changes based on information they glean on opposite sides and then prepare their sides to play slightly differently. 

Personally speaking if you side is very good and only if they are very good, can you go into games and play your own style of football  without making any changes. In FM this is very easy to do provided you have the players for it. However if you are an average side wanting to overachieve, you probably will need to adapt slightly to opposition sides. Perhaps you may go into some matches opting to field a side of ball winners against teams that are stronger than you and you opt to play to your strengths. Against weaker sides you could play your normal system.

In any case, there is no right or wrong answer, but the way I see it. You will end up having to adapt if you want to overachieve. I don't think one should have to adapt to every tactical system thrown at them by coming up with a system to counter that. I just think you should be able to identify weaknesses in the opposition and adapt you system slightly to take advantage of them, and this can sometimes be as simple as a player change.

[Footix]

7 hours ago, axelmuller said:

As the great Cleon said. Never adapt to opposition. Dont focus on the opposition ever. Otherwise you lose your style of play.

 Instead, force your style down the opponents throats. Thats what he does and if it works for him..

I've not read Cleons post where he supposedly said this, so you might very well be right. It sounds a bit strange though. Maybe a misunderstanding? If your opponents are better than you and easily can nullify your usual approach, it makes sense to adapt yeah? 

Let's say your usual style is to play down the wings, but your opposition's defenders have no issues at all dealing with your wingers. They simply won't let you play your style. Surely no one is stubborn enough to keep losing the ball down the flanks instead of trying to identify where the opposition can be exploited? 

Maybe if you're one of the top teams..? 

[axelmuller]

On 29/06/2019 at 18:54, Footix said:

I've not read Cleons post where he supposedly said this, so you might very well be right.

https://community.sigames.com/topic/407978-adapting-to-the-opposition-how-do-you-approach-this/?tab=comments#comment-10938689

in that topic he says exactly that. 

[Footix]

So I see. Interesting. I struggle to understand how to play "my style" if my opposition doesn't allow me to. 

Probably why he's good at this game and I'm not! 

[sporadicsmiles]

I actually tend to take a very different line to Cleon on this. I will look to play "my style" against teams where I think I can. Teams similar or worse than my side. Playing at home in general. Or if I am a top side almost all the time. I will make small changes during a match to counter specific things I see, but there is nothing major here that disrupts how I want my sides to actually play.

I used quotation marks above because I have a very different style I play against better teams. Or when I think it will work better than my regular tactics. This is a much more counter attacking approach. I abandon the high press, I sit deeper, and I play with the fastest (and preferably technically gifted) players up front. And we then look to draw in the other side and counter them. This is more or less my second style of play. I do not make changes on the fly or randomly. I have a well defined style that I used when playing like this. It is a modification of my base tactic to make it less possession oriented. At the moment I am playing as Manchester United, and even with such a good side I will play like this a good 10-15 times a year. It is not even a question of "better" teams. It is a question of exploiting managers I know like to attack and leave space at the back. At some point I will develop something similar for breaking down stubborn defensive sides more effectively than my base tactic as well.

My point overall is that rather than "abandon" your core playing style to make changes, you should try to develop a plan B which you use often and understand. Then it is an extension of your playing style, rather than a complete change to something different.

[johnnyyakuza78]

I never really liked that bit of advice from Cleon. I mean I know that is how he plays, but I think it also can put people into the wrong mindset. I think I spent far too long playing the game convinced by his words that I shouldn't adapt or pay attention to what the opposition is doing, and I lost a lot of games by doing it. Its easy to misinterpret what he said and just stick with something that isn't working and then get frustrated. It also put me in a bit of a 'plug and play' mode of just expecting to turn up and win games. 

Of course you need to adapt your tactic and approach slightly against some teams, all managers do it. The extent to which its important is based on how good your players are. A lot of good FM managers tend to be able to bring in incredible players within a couple of seasons as well so that could make things a lot easier, meaning you can stick to your game plan. 

These days I have a plan B or a more offensive / defensive version of my tactic that I will switch to if I see problems. Or I will push up or drop back, waste time or push a fullback up. Those sort of things. 

[Rashidi]

Basically in a nutshell the game has been designed for you to adapt. I don’t see why people want to plug and play themselves to success.

You can adapt by making substitutions, flipping your tactical system, changing your mentality, changing your line of engagement etc. There are so many ways .

i am not a big fan of swapping tactics in and out for different opposition. The beauty of this game is simple - you can find success playing in different ways and everyone has a right to enjoy it the way the want to. And for each person the way they enjoy it could be the best way for them. So it becomes entirely subjective.

[yolixeya]

I try to change and adapt more when I'm weaker side as I feel it is needed. When I'm strong side I have my base tactic and I start every match with it, but change if it's not working well. Sometimes I will change early in the match and play the whole match differently but the next match i will again start with my default tactic.

[Warrenwwr]

I'll never have enough time or enough patience to tweak tactics game by game. What's great is this version makes it so simple to create a balanced tactic.

[FMunderachiever]

i would definitely tweak a tactic with small role changes and mentality changes, but not overhaul the tactic completely.

I think too many changes can be a problem even for a weaker team, as youll most likely be playing to a big strength you have as the weak team, like pace or physicality, so i dont think you can completely overhaul but certainly modify

 

[Gee_Simpson]

What if, like me, you are bad at knowing/seeing what's wrong during a game? How do you get 'better' at FM? Is it possible for a tactical novice to develop the ability to spot things during a match? This is my biggest problem. 

[Snorks]

1 hour ago, Gee_Simpson said:

What if, like me, you are bad at knowing/seeing what's wrong during a game? How do you get 'better' at FM? Is it possible for a tactical novice to develop the ability to spot things during a match? This is my biggest problem. 

To be fair, the 3D can be difficult to follow as a tactical thing, I have never enjoyed watching in 2D either.

Do you watch on Highlights? I use Comprehensive, I get a decent feel for the game in how many highlights are of my team and how many of the opposition. I use the info screen that pops up between highlights as an 'at-a-glance' indicator, will often pause it to look at it in more detail. Possession? Shots? On Target? etc as well as individual player performance. If, for example their DL is dropping ratings, I would focus play down his side and push my AML/R on to Attack, maybe even overlap that side.

If things aren't going my way after 20 minutes (ish) pause and go to the Analysis > Team> Opposition.  Look at their Passes information, which players are involved in the passing combinations? Where on the pitch is it happening? Set pieces, where are they being delivered to? 

If they have scored or have had a high number of chances,  I use the 'Show linked events' option to see where they are getting through us. 

From that I can adjust OIs - close down the players who are high in passing etc.

Any major change in the match - a goal, opposition changing tac to more attacking/more defensive or formation change (I have their formation front and center of the info screen between highlights) I will dive in and have another look at what's happening.

Of course, if we are winning, look comfortable and in control I sit back and enjoy the football!

 

[Gee_Simpson]

49 minutes ago, Snorks said:

To be fair, the 3D can be difficult to follow as a tactical thing, I have never enjoyed watching in 2D either.

Do you watch on Highlights? I use Comprehensive, I get a decent feel for the game in how many highlights are of my team and how many of the opposition. I use the info screen that pops up between highlights as an 'at-a-glance' indicator, will often pause it to look at it in more detail. Possession? Shots? On Target? etc as well as individual player performance. If, for example their DL is dropping ratings, I would focus play down his side and push my AML/R on to Attack, maybe even overlap that side.

If things aren't going my way after 20 minutes (ish) pause and go to the Analysis > Team> Opposition.  Look at their Passes information, which players are involved in the passing combinations? Where on the pitch is it happening? Set pieces, where are they being delivered to? 

If they have scored or have had a high number of chances,  I use the 'Show linked events' option to see where they are getting through us. 

From that I can adjust OIs - close down the players who are high in passing etc.

Any major change in the match - a goal, opposition changing tac to more attacking/more defensive or formation change (I have their formation front and center of the info screen between highlights) I will dive in and have another look at what's happening.

Of course, if we are winning, look comfortable and in control I sit back and enjoy the football!

 

I watch highlights yes. I have tried both 2D and 3D and I usually watch on comprehensive. I try to watch the first 15 mins on full as per Cleon's advice but I'm not great at spotting things. 

That's an interesting take on how to adapt to the opposition, and possibly one which will make it easier for me to start off with. Going by stats and analysis may help someone like me get to grips with tactically adjusting during games, thanks for your input 

[Snorks]

NP - I have been trying to remember where i got the advice from myself,  I seem to remember Fox in the Box and Rashidi (Bust the Net) on you tube - but it was a good while ago now.

[Gee_Simpson]

Are you good at spotting things during a game or do you use that method because you find it difficult like me? 

[Snorks]

18 minutes ago, Gee_Simpson said:

Are you good at spotting things during a game or do you use that method because you find it difficult like me? 

I find it difficult as well.

I can't help but get drawn into 'fan mode' when watching in 3D (which is one of the things I enjoy about the game) but I do try and pick up on things, although it is more a 'gut feeling' while watching - ie 'they seem to have control of midfield', or 'that's the third highlight of them crossing from the right', or 'holy crap - where was my defence?'

 

The analysis can confirm what I think I am seeing, or not.

[yolixeya]

9 hours ago, Gee_Simpson said:

What if, like me, you are bad at knowing/seeing what's wrong during a game? How do you get 'better' at FM? Is it possible for a tactical novice to develop the ability to spot things during a match? This is my biggest problem. 

Of course you can develop your ability. What is important is that you understand what you want to do and then judge on that. If you trying to hit opposition on counter and there is no single highlight where you intercept the ball and try fast counter clearly it's not working. If you trying to play from defence and your players are having trouble or even losing the ball you know you have to change it. It's not that hard to spot if you you know what to look for. Just look at your style and see how it's working. There are probably some things that are harder to spot but the basics are easy but still a lot of people struggle with it because they just throw in bunch of TI without clear idea on how it should work. I'm not saying that this is what you do, I'm speaking genrally.

It goes without saying that you will able to spot things earlier and easier if you play at least on comprehensive.

[Gee_Simpson]

@Snorks Yeah I do that as well  I tend to sit back and watch like I'm watching a game for entertainment purposes.

@yolixeya Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it  One of my main problems is I don't particularly enjoy the tactical side of the game, which obviously isn't ideal for a game like FM  I tend to get bored trying to spot things, but I refuse to go back to plug and play tactics which is what I used to do. I enjoy all the other elements of football manager, especially the transfer market and developing youth. Obviously if I'm not going back to P&P tactics, I'll have to put more effort in. 

[Lord Rowell]

If you're playing a team that is, quite simply, better than you, you have to adapt to some degree, esp. if playing away from home, or you're going to get thrashed. Though that said, you may have core principles that you hold on to.

In my current save with Sunderland, I've got us from L1 to the Prem and now the champions league. I've mixed and matched a few approaches for fun as much as anything else but right now, in 2025-26 season, I have 3 tactics.

1. 4231 which is aggressive for when playing at home, a game I expect to win

2. 4231v2, slightly more cautious in terms of mentality  and player duties

3. 41221, this is my most defensive set-up, as with a holding midfielder I have more stability, for games where I'm the underdog, or maybe I think I can win but I need to do it from a defensive base, and we're more compact so less pressing, and a less aggressive line of engagement i.e. I show respect

There are common themes with all 3 tactics though. Sweeper keeper has freedom to distribute where he likes, we play out from the back, high tempo and quite direct (tweaked according to mentality and sometimes specific situations), and counter attack (sometimes not in 3. if we're really struggling). We're not really by nature a high-pressing / counter-press side as I don't have the players for that.

In terms of player selection, again common themes and in my case at present these include; defenders who are comfortable on the ball, midfielders who are strong and work quite hard as well as being technically competent, and creative players in the final 3rd who can wreak havoc, again that's with all 3 formations.

[johnnyyakuza78]

I think you can play the game at whatever level you want to and get decent results even if you don’t want to micromanage or watch all the games.

At one point I was playing with a reasonably balanced tactic and just changing the overall mentality of my side depending on whether we were winning or losing or under pressure. It worked surprisingly well. See also recent thread about just using shouts.

By microing everything you can get good results but it’s not necessary to do well or enjoy the game 

[Jean0987654321]

Sometimes I get a bit aggressive with the Get Stuck In TI but for the most part, I keep the same tactic no matter who we play...