Reo | Tactics | Set 1 | 4-2-3-1

[lfc7]

Reo what tactic would of you started with based on these odds Liverpool evens(fav) (my team) draw 9/4 Arsenal 9/4 i started with balanced went 1-0 down then got 1 back just before half time wasnt happy so went to control (was going to go with attacking but wasnt sure) the match ended 1-1

[reo hustler]

Reo what tactic would of you started with based on these odds Liverpool evens(fav) (my team) draw 9/4 Arsenal 9/4 i started with balanced went 1-0 down then got 1 back just before half time wasnt happy so went to control (was going to go with attacking but wasnt sure) the match ended 1-1

Were you home or away? If I was controlling the game with balanced at halftime, I would of switched to a higher mentality tactic as well.

[lfc7]

I was at home so youre saying i should of went to the attacking tactic for the 2nd half

[reo hustler]

I was at home so youre saying i should of went to the attacking tactic for the 2nd half

Control is a higher mentality tactic than balanced. It was a fine play . . .

[lfc7]

Thanks reo good tactics BTW just played Olympiakos away in CL the odds said it was a tight match so went with balanced (big mistake) was 2-0 after 10 mins so switched to attacking and got it back to 2-2 then in the 2nd half put 3 more past them:)

[Brachers]

Reo i have a problem, i get match odds for that im slightly favourite or slighty not favourite so i play balanced with my man city at home to newcastle which slightly favoured me. The match ended 2-2 on balanced but i had like 2 shots and they had 11 clear cut chances, they completely battered me, any suggestions? plus ive had this same problem when i played west ham away i was slightly unfavoured so went balanced and again was completely battered and didnt manage a shot since the 48th min. Please give me some advice?

[nemanja90]

Fantastic. Regarding your question, try control and lowering the tempo of play. That's one option available. You could try the same with attack as well. It won't be as easy as years pass due to them going ultra defensive on you.

Thanks, I'll try that.

BTW, Lost against Barca. 1-1 at home and 0-3 at Nou Camp. Stupid Bojan, How dare he score 2 goals against one of his father's favourite clubs! Doesn't he respect his Serbian roots? Still, SF are pretty good for a team that was expected not to get a point in the Group Stage.

[Proteus]

Hey,

I'm doing well with Rangers using your tactics, Reo. So thanks for that. I'm in March '09 and I've only lost and drawn once. I've won every other game in the SPL.

I just scrapped through the CL group stages thanks to a draw at the Camp Nou in my last group game against Barcelona. I should have won the game, however. I played Lyon in the 1st knockout round and beat them 4-0 on aggregate, winning 2-0 at home and in France. That was very impressive given the quality of Lyon's team.

I use your OI against the strongest teams. But against teams like Inverness I usually just leave things be. It hasn't been detrimental so far.

I have a question about your OI. Should we use the updated OI you listed at the end of the first page on this thread? You know, the one that deals with all the different type of strikers you encounter.

Thanks

[lfc7]

Reo was wondering if you could help played Man united away they were favourites the odds were 5/4 Man utd (fav) and mine where 7/4 so i went defensive controlled the game and was the better side yet they scored in the 76th min and i lost should i have used balanced ?

Just played Chelsea away the odds where Chelsea 7/4 and mine where 5/4 (fav) so i started with control bossed the game again and they scored a header in the 79th min again should i went a different tactic? or should i go defensive wants it gets to the 70th min?

Also Torres had 4 CCC against Cech and he hit all 4 straight at the keeper

Stats from Chelsea game

[vindapop]

Brilliant tactic, been looking for something different to use with my league two Bradford City side, and this tactic fits perfectly.

One problem though. My AMC is consistantly getting around 5.5 every match, ive tryed swapping him for a few matches but each player averages about the same after 5-8 matches. Any idea why? Ive dropped creative freedom to around 14 and after about 10 matches unticked free role to see if that made a difference but no effect yet. Could it be the players around him, as in the passing options??

Btw, i have at the moment Mark Randall from arsenal on a season-long loan, and have also tryed Lee Bullock and Paul McLaren

[formsko]

Reo was wondering if you could help played Man united away they were favourites the odds were 5/4 Man utd (fav) and mine where 7/4 so i went defensive controlled the game and was the better side yet they scored in the 76th min and i lost should i have used balanced ?

Just played Chelsea away the odds where Chelsea 7/4 and mine where 5/4 (fav) so i started with control bossed the game again and they scored a header in the 79th min again should i went a different tactic? or should i go defensive wants it gets to the 70th min?

Also Torres had 4 CCC against Cech and he hit all 4 straight at the keeper

Mate, I don't know about the tactics - I would go same (def and control).

The lone striker in this tactic is one on one with the keeper quite a few times in most matches, and like you I struggle to make Torres put away the chances. My brother, however, has succeeded by asking him to place shots instead of lobbing the keeper (he scored a hat-trick in his first match after completing the training). I asked Torres to do the same after I'd been in the Liverpool hot seat for two days, but then he refused my proposal. Now, one year later, with the EPL Champion Trophy in the cabinet, he accepted:) I consider making all my strikers place shots, if they can (Heskey couldn't place a shot if it was a needle and him arm).

[formsko]

Brilliant tactic, been looking for something different to use with my league two Bradford City side, and this tactic fits perfectly.

One problem though. My AMC is consistantly getting around 5.5 every match, ive tryed swapping him for a few matches but each player averages about the same after 5-8 matches. Any idea why? Ive dropped creative freedom to around 14 and after about 10 matches unticked free role to see if that made a difference but no effect yet. Could it be the players around him, as in the passing options??

Btw, i have at the moment Mark Randall from arsenal on a season-long loan, and have also tryed Lee Bullock and Paul McLaren

As you can see further above, you are not alone:) I tend to rely on half time team talks now, when it comes to the (often) dreadful first half displays of my AMC. About 50% of the time he straightens up, and sometimes even scores.

I've considered moving him to MC or even SC, but as I watch the matches I notice that he helps out other player quite a lot with passing options. So I just keep him where he's at, and give him a hard time in the dressing room during half time:)

[lfc7]

Mate, I don't know about the tactics - I would go same (def and control).

The lone striker in this tactic is one on one with the keeper quite a few times in most matches, and like you I struggle to make Torres put away the chances. My brother, however, has succeeded by asking him to place shots instead of lobbing the keeper (he scored a hat-trick in his first match after completing the training). I asked Torres to do the same after I'd been in the Liverpool hot seat for two days, but then he refused my proposal. Now, one year later, with the EPL Champion Trophy in the cabinet, he accepted:) I consider making all my strikers place shots, if they can (Heskey couldn't place a shot if it was a needle and him arm).

Thank you did you ask Torres to get rid of the likes to lob keeper ppm or just asked him to place shots?

[formsko]

Thank you did you ask Torres to get rid of the likes to lob keeper ppm or just asked him to place shots?

I just asked him to place shots. My brother also asked him to stop lobbing, and after that he's been outstanding, so I suppose I'd recommend that as well. Moves into channels I'd keep.

[Farhad21]

I've gotta be honest, I'm getting bored of this new FM pretty fast as there's no consistency at all to all the aspects of the game. Lots of injuries, lots of unusual results such as winning 1 match 5-1 then losing the next at home to a minnow even though the tactics are kept the same.

I find that using Reo's tactics helps only when I play without using the OI sets. The moment I tell my players to man mark or show onto left foot etc, it all goes pear shaped. I'll keep experimenting.

If I'm winning, even teams who are 19th decide to play 4-2-4 and score, even if I try to counteract it in whatever way possible, and I have tried lol.

I'm playing as Villa by the way, struggling in bottom half of the table.

[lfc7]

Same here these tactics were going great now am lucky to get a win its p*****g me off

[Xs]

I'm testing it with Go Ahead Eagles. Dutch "Eerste divisie". Only halfway in my second match. Some things i noticed:

Playing away against FC Zwolle. They were slight favorites, but went for balance and lowered CF a bit because i have no high flying team.

Posession was about 50% and both didn't get much chances. The downside of tackling hard in OI was ofcourse, many Free Kicks against ... so i conceded a Free Kick.

The Second half i went for the attacking variation and with more succes. Scored the 1 - 1, finally created chances and even after the equaliser i was the better side, but no goals.

Now i'm playing away against Excelsior. They are slight favorites again and chose defensive. Changed the backline to a little more up and changed width to normal to balance it out a little and not only holding out for the 0.

Strange thing is i get more chances this way, but also depends on opponent tactic ofcourse.

The most noticable thing is that with crosses / through balls into the box which get cleaned by their defenders always end up in their possession. So the 2nd ball is always lose of posession, So i'm trying to fix this by having my 2 MC's position in a more controlled position so we can keep the pressure.

Besides that it looks like a good potential tactic which might work after some gelling and tweaking to my side. Will keep you posted.

[samsonite_1]

this tactic is quality.

using it with stoke and beating top four teams and teams that are alot better than me...

[formsko]

Yeah the tactic is quality. However, just lost at home to 19th Wigan after wasting a ridiculous amount of chances. Reo, have you considered making an "All-Out_Attack Gung Ho"-version of the Attacking? I play 80 minutes against Wigan with Attacking, and after they score (79th) I feel like Attacking does not quite have what it takes to get the late equalizer.

[Gooner Goblin]

I'm in my first season with Hull and I've played 28. I'm currently sitting in 17th with 22 points, only one point clear of the drop. My team has played inconsistently and I'm switching to these tactics to see if I can score goals against evenly matched teams. Will update with results.

[Gooner Goblin]

First result was a dominant 2-0 thumping of West Brom at KC. I had Willians Santana (who is right footed) playing the LAM position and he cut inside in the box and took a chance in his right at the near post for probably the best goal of my season so far.

[!n$oMniA]

well playing with a aston villat team that should be challenging for champions league. 6 games in and only have a draw at home against wba. lost 6-1 to portsmouth. this games winding me up if im being honest.

[reo hustler]

Thanks for tactic.

No problem.

Thanks reo good tactics BTW just played Olympiakos away in CL the odds said it was a tight match so went with balanced (big mistake) was 2-0 after 10 mins so switched to attacking and got it back to 2-2 then in the 2nd half put 3 more past them:)

Did they switch tactics after going up two nil? It's probably just variance. Unless this happens every time, I wouldn't change how you approach it. I'd still go balance if the odds are close.

Reo i have a problem, i get match odds for that im slightly favourite or slighty not favourite so i play balanced with my man city at home to newcastle which slightly favoured me. The match ended 2-2 on balanced but i had like 2 shots and they had 11 clear cut chances, they completely battered me, any suggestions? plus ive had this same problem when i played west ham away i was slightly unfavoured so went balanced and again was completely battered and didnt manage a shot since the 48th min. Please give me some advice?

Are you using opposition instructions? You'll notice in my initial post that if the opposition is getting behind your defense, you'll need to drop the defensive line a couple notches. I can't simply go by those stats. Were you controlling the game? Sounds like they had the majority of shots but how did they go about it? Were they controlling your half or were they just counters? If they were destroying you that bad, why didn't you drop to defensive?

I'm doing well with Rangers using your tactics, Reo. So thanks for that. I'm in March '09 and I've only lost and drawn once. I've won every other game in the SPL.

I just scrapped through the CL group stages thanks to a draw at the Camp Nou in my last group game against Barcelona. I should have won the game, however. I played Lyon in the 1st knockout round and beat them 4-0 on aggregate, winning 2-0 at home and in France. That was very impressive given the quality of Lyon's team.

I use your OI against the strongest teams. But against teams like Inverness I usually just leave things be. It hasn't been detrimental so far.

I have a question about your OI. Should we use the updated OI you listed at the end of the first page on this thread? You know, the one that deals with all the different type of strikers you encounter.

I'd use the updated OI. I haven't updated the initial post since I haven't updated the tactic yet. I don't have much time at the moment and I doubt I'll get to another set of tactics until March. I may just release new tactics without testing. I haven't decided how I'm going to go about it.

Reo was wondering if you could help played Man united away they were favourites the odds were 5/4 Man utd (fav) and mine where 7/4 so i went defensive controlled the game and was the better side yet they scored in the 76th min and i lost should i have used balanced ?

Just played Chelsea away the odds where Chelsea 7/4 and mine where 5/4 (fav) so i started with control bossed the game again and they scored a header in the 79th min again should i went a different tactic? or should i go defensive wants it gets to the 70th min? [/img]

If you were controlling the game but couldn't score, I would of switched to a high mentality tactic after 45 minutes.

Brilliant tactic, been looking for something different to use with my league two Bradford City side, and this tactic fits perfectly.

One problem though. My AMC is consistantly getting around 5.5 every match, ive tryed swapping him for a few matches but each player averages about the same after 5-8 matches. Any idea why? Ive dropped creative freedom to around 14 and after about 10 matches unticked free role to see if that made a difference but no effect yet. Could it be the players around him, as in the passing options??

Btw, i have at the moment Mark Randall from arsenal on a season-long loan, and have also tryed Lee Bullock and Paul McLaren

Try an individual team talk. If that doesn't work, try placing him next to the ST. I haven't experienced this but a few people are and I'm not sure how to go about it yet. The AMC plays as an FC/a. What I've done in the past is decrease creative freedom with success. You've done that and are still having issues. Based on your side, I'd decrease the creative freedom for the majority of players. Dropping attacking roles to 10 and all defending roles to 5. You can keep MC/a at 10-15. MC/d and FBs can be played 5-10.

Moves into channels I'd keep.

Try to get all your attacking roles this PPM. It's fantastic. I'm a fan of placed shots as well.

I've gotta be honest, I'm getting bored of this new FM pretty fast as there's no consistency at all to all the aspects of the game. Lots of injuries, lots of unusual results such as winning 1 match 5-1 then losing the next at home to a minnow even though the tactics are kept the same.

Try rotating your players. I always get 22 solid players. You don't need the best. Just if you're playing in Euro competitions, it's recommended to have two sets of teams. You can just one keeper but your backup will be disgruntled if he doesn't get a game or two. This will prevent your players from getting complacent and also keep them at top condition.

Same here these tactics were going great now am lucky to get a win its p*****g me off

Read my last response.

Besides that it looks like a good potential tactic which might work after some gelling and tweaking to my side. Will keep you posted.

Can't wait to hear about it.

this tactic is quality.

using it with stoke and beating top four teams and teams that are alot better than me...

Fantastic. Thank you.

Yeah the tactic is quality. However, just lost at home to 19th Wigan after wasting a ridiculous amount of chances. Reo, have you considered making an "All-Out_Attack Gung Ho"-version of the Attacking? I play 80 minutes against Wigan with Attacking, and after they score (79th) I feel like Attacking does not quite have what it takes to get the late equalizer.

I've gotten a few requests and it's being worked on.

I'm in my first season with Hull and I've played 28. I'm currently sitting in 17th with 22 points, only one point clear of the drop. My team has played inconsistently and I'm switching to these tactics to see if I can score goals against evenly matched teams. Will update with results.

Good luck!

First result was a dominant 2-0 thumping of West Brom at KC. I had Willians Santana (who is right footed) playing the LAM position and he cut inside in the box and took a chance in his right at the near post for probably the best goal of my season so far.

Nice.

well playing with a aston villat team that should be challenging for champions league. 6 games in and only have a draw at home against wba. lost 6-1 to portsmouth. this games winding me up if im being honest.

Ouch. Are you using opposition instructions? What tactic did you start with? Did you read the readme?

[reo hustler]

Thanks, I'll try that.

BTW, Lost against Barca. 1-1 at home and 0-3 at Nou Camp. Stupid Bojan, How dare he score 2 goals against one of his father's favourite clubs! Doesn't he respect his Serbian roots? Still, SF are pretty good for a team that was expected not to get a point in the Group Stage.

Nice. Can't be disappointed with that. At least you put up a fight!

[reo hustler]

Update:

- Added training schedules.

- Tweaked team instructions and player instructions on all tactics.

- Added two more tactics (pyramid and counter).

- Added staff filters.

- Added / Tweaked opposition instructions.

[reo hustler]

I just realized I need to update implied probability. I forgot to add discussion with the new tactics I added. I'll update the zips / readme when I get home.

[reo hustler]

Made a couple changes and reuploaded zips. I'll get to the text later. The two new tactics had improper goalkeeper distribution.

[Timbreach51]

Thanks for the tactic, its great, but Ive tried various quick strikers or poachers such as Robinho and Owen, and they have terrible goal scoring records so I have to go back to a traditional strong targetman like cardozo or santa cruz. Ive just spent alot of money on Pato for my Man City team and he's playing rubbish. Ive switched supply to feet and ill try that semi targetman approach u mentioned but so far no effect, are there any other tweaks that I can implement to get the best out of the them?

[Eiler]

I'm in my fourth season and decided to give this a try since it seems very well thought-out.

I've had mixed results so far but I've been playing around with the different versions to get to know the tactic so that might be the reason.

So far: P: 6 W:2 D: 3 L: 1

The attacking play is brilliant though. And for the first time I seem to get the best out of my wingers (Albin and Marquinhos). I'm encouraged by the tactic and like to have all the different versions to pick from during the games.

I have a few problems though.

My biggest concern is that I seem to leak an insane amount of goals. 12 in six games to be excact. I have a really strong defence (Chrétien, Gioda, Zapata, Mattock) but they refuse to mark and tackle which is quite annoying. It seems really easy for opposition wingers to go around my full backs and put the ball into the area where the strikers aren't marked for some reason.

Any tips?

Another concern is that I seem to get a lot of injuries after switching to these training schedules. Sometimes two per game. Anyone else had this problem?

[Eiler]

Haha, just spent 10 minutes setting up OI's against Arsenal to make sure everything was perfect.

2 minutes into the game and I'm 2-0 down... At home.

Oh well. Perfection takes some practice I guess.

[Xs]

Ok, some feedback on my Go Ahead Eagles quest

In my second season i started from scratch with this tactic and mainly used the balanced version which worked great, probably because there's not too much difference between the teams.

3/4th of the season i was on top with only a few draws and one loss, but then i got the end season slumber with mixed results. I think they somehow got my tactic figured out, so i used the various versions more to surprise them a little, but still with mixed results and mainly a lot of draws.

I ended up 3rd and was eligible for the playoffs. And yes, i won 2 rounds ... so i got promoted.

Now in my 3rd season things will be more difficult ofcourse. No money for big signings (they won't come anyway) so i invested a lot in youngsters.The main downside is that i lost my 2 TM. So i had a hard job finding new ones and failed. I've got some good players now, one of them has strength 12, balance 5, jumping 15, heading 16, so i think i have to switch to "supply to head" setting because he doesn't seem to be able to hold the ball. Also i'll remove the "Hold the ball" setting to see if things go better.

So far i've played 6 games, won 1, drawn 2, lost 3.

My main problem, also in my second season, was my defense. Ok, they were young players but with pretty good attributes. Now i have 2 new signings.

The main problem is that 3 of my defenders are pretty fast, with low jumping and high heading attributes. So i'd say, play with a high defensive line and play offside, but i get punished for that.

When i use the defensive tactic things get better, but it doesn't sound logic, but ok ... thinking logic is something i dropped with the last few FM's as it all doesn't seem to make much sense.

Anyway, i'll try some tweaking.

I also have the same problem with the AMC/FCA position. Before i used attacking AMC's or FC which worked fine. Now i use a ST which i trained for playing AMC as well to make him fit more.

Still he doesn't play very well especially using the defensive setup and has problems with scoring (0 so far, 3 goals last season in 13(16) matches These are his Key Attributes:

Pace: 16

Agility: 16

Acceleration: 17

Teamwork: 17

Composure: 15

Work Rate: 14

Technique: 16

Passing: 15

Long shots: 16

Heading: 16

First touch: 16

Finishing: 16

Dribbling: 13

Low attributes:

Crossing: 7

Marking: 6

Tackling: 5

Bravery: 8

Positioning: 8

Balance: 10

Jumping: 6

Strength: 8

The rest is between 10 - 14.

Also i trained him in "Move into channels".

He already had:

- "Curls balls

- "Likes to beat the offside trap"

So maybe i have to place him on the ST position and let the TM drop like he does to launch him with a through ball.

Will let you know what i came up with and if it worked.

Some key experiences:

Watch out with OI settings. Don't take the document settings for granted as it gave me some problems. Especially closing down "always" can be dangerous if used too many. Sometimes i played against sides with 3 or 4 (D)CM's and using closing down, together with the wingers as well, screws up your team positioning.

For wingers i tend not to use closing down, especially if they are fast. I even use never if he's really fast (like pace / acc 16+).

Closing down on theit TM is very effective.

Using Weaker foot can't go wrong as far as i could make anything out of it.

Watch out using hard tackling on strikers when you use the defensive tactic ... as they are in the box more often and can end up in penalties against.

Actually i look at their bravery attributes, if it's low i use hard tackling. If he's low strength i tend not to use hard tackling as they lose the battles without it more often as well.

Cheers

[reo hustler]

Thanks for the tactic, its great, but Ive tried various quick strikers or poachers such as Robinho and Owen, and they have terrible goal scoring records so I have to go back to a traditional strong targetman like cardozo or santa cruz. Ive just spent alot of money on Pato for my Man City team and he's playing rubbish. Ive switched supply to feet and ill try that semi targetman approach u mentioned but so far no effect, are there any other tweaks that I can implement to get the best out of the them?

I'm confused. Did you try semi target man or not? I use semi target man for Tevez and he got an 8.5 the last game he played in. Some of the players you mentioned are fantastic at counter attacking. However, they may be better suited for the AMC role since that player is running with the ball and making forward runs often.

The attacking play is brilliant though. And for the first time I seem to get the best out of my wingers (Albin and Marquinhos). I'm encouraged by the tactic and like to have all the different versions to pick from during the games.

I have a few problems though.

My biggest concern is that I seem to leak an insane amount of goals. 12 in six games to be excact. I have a really strong defence (Chrétien, Gioda, Zapata, Mattock) but they refuse to mark and tackle which is quite annoying. It seems really easy for opposition wingers to go around my full backs and put the ball into the area where the strikers aren't marked for some reason.

Any tips?

Are you using opposition instructions? This is a concern for me too. Give me a bit more information. What tactic you picked, where you were playing, odds. If you can't provide that, no problem. Just provide what you can. Those players should be able to play a high line and would be suited perfect for the attacking tactics.

Another concern is that I seem to get a lot of injuries after switching to these training schedules. Sometimes two per game. Anyone else had this problem?

Are they injured in game or during training? My players do get nicked up a bit during games because of tempo. The opposition will get a lot of yellow cards. You should be doing a lot of damage late in games.

Haha, just spent 10 minutes setting up OI's against Arsenal to make sure everything was perfect.

2 minutes into the game and I'm 2-0 down... At home.

Oh well. Perfection takes some practice I guess.

Damn.

Now in my 3rd season things will be more difficult ofcourse. No money for big signings (they won't come anyway) so i invested a lot in youngsters.The main downside is that i lost my 2 TM. So i had a hard job finding new ones and failed. I've got some good players now, one of them has strength 12, balance 5, jumping 15, heading 16, so i think i have to switch to "supply to head" setting because he doesn't seem to be able to hold the ball. Also i'll remove the "Hold the ball" setting to see if things go better.

If you want the striker to be more attacking oriented, try this . . .

- Remove target man tag from ST.

- Give AMC playmaking or target man tag. If you give him the target man tag, give him appropriate supply.

- Swap mentality / player settings for the two positions. In TTF theory, ST will now be FC/a. AMC will be FC/d.

- Don't forget to give AMC hold the ball tag now. Remove hold the ball tag from ST.

My main problem, also in my second season, was my defense. Ok, they were young players but with pretty good attributes. Now i have 2 new signings.

The main problem is that 3 of my defenders are pretty fast, with low jumping and high heading attributes. So i'd say, play with a high defensive line and play offside, but i get punished for that.

When i use the defensive tactic things get better, but it doesn't sound logic, but ok ... thinking logic is something i dropped with the last few FM's as it all doesn't seem to make much sense.

A middle ground will be counter now. Have you downloaded the new set? I included a counter because I felt my tactic set beforehand was too attacking. I had two attacking tactics but only one defensive. That middle ground is counter now (between defensive and balanced). You experienced better defensive results because the tactic had a lower mentality (the players were more inclined to defend).

I also have the same problem with the AMC/FCA position. Before i used attacking AMC's or FC which worked fine. Now i use a ST which i trained for playing AMC as well to make him fit more.

Still he doesn't play very well especially using the defensive setup and has problems with scoring (0 so far, 3 goals last season in 13(16) matches These are his Key Attributes:

Try the settings I posted above. Based on league and his attributes, he should be fine in that position. Let me know how this goes. Don't forget to save one of each tactic. Otherwise, you'll be tinkering before each game.

[Xs]

Hi Reo,

Just tried the counter tactic. I was against a better side, but home (Vitesse).

They used a 3-4-3 formation with 3 ST so i had a hard time figuring out the OI to keep things organised and tight.

I started out with OI settings only on the 3 ST to keep them out of the game, it worked pretty good, but did concede one goal. Later in the game i decided to CD the CM's as well and it seemed to be a bit better, allthough i scored from a free kick. Then i conceded again, but it was an error of my RB.

So all in all i think my half new team just needs some gelling still, or maybe they are just not good enough (yet) to compete at this level.

Anyway, i'll try out your suggestions and will let you know.

Allthough letting the AMC holding the ball is something he's not able to do because of low physical attributes. But maybe in the AMC position he has a little more space so it might work. Will keep you posted

[reo hustler]

Just tried the counter tactic. I was against a better side, but home (Vitesse).

They used a 3-4-3 formation with 3 ST so i had a hard time figuring out the OI to keep things organised and tight.

I'd just focus on the outside mids and strikers initially. You'll need to watch the game to determine how they are using their center mids. At that point, you can determine how to approach them.

Anyway, i'll try out your suggestions and will let you know.

Allthough letting the AMC holding the ball is something he's not able to do because of low physical attributes. But maybe in the AMC position he has a little more space so it might work. Will keep you posted

Please do!

[Eiler]

Are you using opposition instructions?

In some games, but to be honest I don't really see a difference when I use them. With OI I conceded 4 against Arsenal, 2 against Boro, 3 against Marseille. Without them I conceded 3 against Sunderlund, 2 against Porto and 2 against Man City. So now I mostly just skip them.

I've only kept one clean sheet in the first 13 games and that was against a Championship side in the cup.

So far: P:13 W:6 D:4 L:3

My defensive form seems to have improved recently though. I've only conceded 3 times in the last 4 games (all without OI).

Are they injured in game or during training? My players do get nicked up a bit during games because of tempo. The opposition will get a lot of yellow cards. You should be doing a lot of damage late in games.

They're always injured during games. I currently have 4 of my 11 regular starters out injured. It's mostly my attacking players who get injured by the way. And always for a month if I leave them to the physio. Two months if I give them an injection.

Despite the mixed results I'm really enjoying the tactic though. I'm currently sticking to balance and defensive as they seem to give me the best results. I then switch to attacking if I go behind. Haven't tried counter, control and pyramid as I'm a bit unsure of when to apply them.

As I'm writing this I just beat Chelsea 1-0 away using balance and no OI. Very happy with that result. 3 points AND a clean sheet.

[reo hustler]

In some games, but to be honest I don't really see a difference when I use them. With OI I conceded 4 against Arsenal, 2 against Boro, 3 against Marseille. Without them I conceded 3 against Sunderlund, 2 against Porto and 2 against Man City. So now I mostly just skip them.

I've only kept one clean sheet in the first 13 games and that was against a Championship side in the cup.

So far: P:13 W:6 D:4 L:3

My defensive form seems to have improved recently though. I've only conceded 3 times in the last 4 games (all without OI).

I never ran a whole season without using opposition instructions. I've had people run tests with and without opposition instructions for an extended period of time and the consensus was that they improved results drastically. However, I'll try doing this myself and see what I can come up with. I think a lot of people have trouble determining how to approach them. I'll see what I can do in my next update.

They're always injured during games. I currently have 4 of my 11 regular starters out injured. It's mostly my attacking players who get injured by the way. And always for a month if I leave them to the physio. Two months if I give them an injection.

Despite the mixed results I'm really enjoying the tactic though. I'm currently sticking to balance and defensive as they seem to give me the best results. I then switch to attacking if I go behind. Get mixed results with that though. Haven't tried counter, control and pyramid as I'm a bit unsure of when to apply them.

As I'm writing this I just beat Chelsea 1-0 away using balance and no OI. Very happy with that result. 3 points AND a clean sheet.

Don't fall asleep on counter. It's given me some fantastic results against better opposition. Also, beating Chelsea at the Bridge is a hell of a step in the right direction. I'll see what I can do regarding tackling and opposition instructions for future sets. Please keep me informed in how things go. I can always use information.

[Xs]

Please do!

Ok, first experience:

Home against a better side: Heerenveen

Result: 1 - 1

I used the playmaker option. Placed my TS there as he is excellent for Playmaker role.

Placed my AMC on ST position.

Used the attacking tactic and used my fast CD's (one is 16 pace, 15 acc.) Other is 13/13. So played offside with high line.

Set AMC to mixed all and TB to often.

TS FR often and RWB often, the rest mixed.

Swapped the mentalities of AMC and TS.

Scored 1 - 0. Hold out pretty easy but generating no chances, besides one and scored, so fine by me And yes, my TS scored thanks to his pace.

Playmaker was man of the match.

Allthough to bad that i conceded in the 86th minute. But they generated way more chances.

I found out that setting CM/a to mixed (like with balanced) worked better in this game.

So, in the end, a good result with better ratings for my forwards, allthough the lack of chances concerns me a little.

I will look at it game by game what suits best.

[reo hustler]

Scored 1 - 0. Hold out pretty easy but generating no chances, besides one and scored, so fine by me And yes, my TS scored thanks to his pace.

Allthough to bad that i conceded in the 86th minute. But they generated way more chances.

I found out that setting CM/a to mixed (like with balanced) worked better in this game.

So, in the end, a good result with better ratings for my forwards, allthough the lack of chances concerns me a little.

I will look at it game by game what suits best.

After going up 1 nil, I would of dropped to a lower mentality attack. This is assuming that you couldn't hold onto the ball and weren't generating any chances. It sounds promising though. By the way, after 75+ minutes, did you use shut up shop?

[Xs]

Well, normally i change tactic depending on scoreline, but this time i was so focussed on making the tactic better i forgot about it.

I did chance some mentality and player settings to get more control and make use of the space to make another one, but without success.

Next time i'll be more carefull Allthough the chances they created were mostly powerless efforts from long range, so i thought keep things as they are and keep them away from goal since their forwards lacked pace. They scored from an insane angle header from about 16 yards near my LB ... so i'm not sure if that's something i can blame my tactic or team/player.

I'll try and master it more and use stop shop next time

[Eiler]

Thanks a lot reo. I'll keep you updated.

I'll also play around with OI and report back. I score a lot of goals so if I can sort out my leaky defence, which seems to be improving, I might be on to a winner.

I finished 4th last season and promised my board a title challenge this season so I better kick my arse into gear.

Last three games have looked better. 1-1 against Barca (h), the 1-0 win against Chelsea (a) and 2-2 against Liverpol (a). All without OI. A win and two draws against three really good teams and an improved defensive display. Good stuff.

[reo hustler]

Well, normally i change tactic depending on scoreline, but this time i was so focussed on making the tactic better i forgot about it.

I did chance some mentality and player settings to get more control and make use of the space to make another one, but without success.

Next time i'll be more carefull Allthough the chances they created were mostly powerless efforts from long range, so i thought keep things as they are and keep them away from goal since their forwards lacked pace. They scored from an insane angle header from about 16 yards near my LB ... so i'm not sure if that's something i can blame my tactic or team/player.

I'll try and master it more and use stop shop next time

My goal is to get the opposition to take low percentage shots. So, I wouldn't feel too bad about allowing a goal like that. Good to hear that it's going well.

Thanks a lot reo. I'll keep you updated.

I'll also play around with OI and report back. I score a lot of goals so if I can sort out my leaky defence, which seems to be improving, I might be on to a winner.

I finished 4th last season and promised my board a title challenge this season so I better kick my arse into gear.

Last three games have looked better. 1-1 against Barca (h), the 1-0 win against Chelsea (a) and 2-2 against Liverpol (a). All without OI. A win and two draws against three really good teams and an improved defensive display. Good stuff.

Interesting results without OI. If you get those results without OI, at least that shows a solid base. Hopefully, we can get you in the right direction with OI.

[reo hustler]

Update:

- Made tackling a global setting now.

- Made a few changes to the readmes.

- Obviously, reuploaded zips.

[Eiler]

I wanted to wait with my next update until I was half way through the season but I just had to share these latest results.

After the three results I posted above I decided to skip OI's all together. Since that results have been great. Here are the ten games I've played since I stopped using OI's.

That's 8 wins and 2 draws and a goal difference of 19-7 in the last 10 games. There's simply a world of difference between this and the mixed results I got in my first 10-12 games. The biggest improvement is my defensive record. All of a sudden I'm not conceding much which means I win most games because of the great attacking play that this tactic provides.

The only thing've changed is that I don't use OI's.

I've looked back on the goals I conceded when I used OI's and have realised that a lot of them came when I showed wingers on the outside. My full backs almost invited the wingers to the byline and gave them plenty of time and space to put crosses into the box using their stronger foot. I still want to try and make OI's work with this tactic since it seems to be working for everyone else, but what I'll probably do is change "show outside" to "show onto weaker foot". Or nothing at all.

I'm still getting a lot of injuries during games, mostly to wingers, striker and centre backs, so I might need to change back to my own schedules as my squad depth is not too impressive.

Just wanted to share this. Great tactic.

[reo hustler]

I've looked back on the goals I conceded when I used OI's and have realised that a lot of them came when I showed wingers on the outside. My full backs almost invited the wingers to the byline and gave them plenty of time and space to put crosses into the box. I still want to try and make OI's work with this tactic since it seems to be working for everyone else, but what I'll probably do is change "show outside" to "show onto weaker foot". Or nothing at all.

I'm still getting a lot of injuries during games, mostly to wingers, striker and centre backs, so I might need to change back to my own schedules as my squad depth is not too impressive.

Which type of winger were you showing outside and being killed with? One poster by the name of millsy1982 had a great idea. If they're creative, allow them to just cross instead of eating you up in the midfield. After testing this, I found success with it and have used it ever since. The problem is if they're technical.

Just wanted to share this. Great tactic.

Thank you!

[Negorath]

Should be carefull using Weaker Foot on players who have good aerial ability, as they are more likely to be the target of high passes, and with something I'd consider a bug this gets annoying.

The bug is that if a ball is being passed high towards a player in the opposition, but you have a player who is positioned better and is very likely to be intercepting, your player will actually run around the opposition player to get onto his weaker side if you have put that in the OIs, loosing his advantegous position, and that's just plain ******** in my book.

[Eiler]

Which type of winger were you showing outside and being killed with? One poster by the name of millsy1982 had a great idea. If they're creative, allow them to just cross instead of eating you up in the midfield. After testing this, I found success with it and have used it ever since. The problem is if they're technical.

I followed the instructions in the text document included in the zip. I probably didn't set them up correctly though.

Two questions:

Most of the wingers I come up against seem to have 12-15 for creativity. Do you rate that as a creative winger?

And when you determine wether a winger is technical, do you look at all his technical attributes or just "technique". I realise now that I only looked at "technique" which means I might've invited wingers with excellent crossing to cross all day. Doh!

Anyway, the "show outside" thing deffo didn't work for me the way I set it up. Maybe my centre backs (Zapata/Gioda) simply aren't good enough to deal with the amount of crosses that came in or maybe my team just hadn't gotten used to the tactic yet. Who knows. For now I'll stick with no OI's as it's working wonders for me but once I hit a slump I'll have another look at them.

And thanks a lot for the replies. I appreciate it.

[reo hustler]

Should be carefull using Weaker Foot on players who have good aerial ability, as they are more likely to be the target of high passes, and with something I'd consider a bug this gets annoying.

The bug is that if a ball is being passed high towards a player in the opposition, but you have a player who is positioned better and is very likely to be intercepting, your player will actually run around the opposition player to get onto his weaker side if you have put that in the OIs, loosing his advantegous position, and that's just plain ******** in my book.

Didn't know that. Thank you.

Most of the wingers I come up against seem to have 12-15 for creativity. Do you rate that as a creative winger?

And when you determine wether a winger is technical, do you look at all his technical attributes or just "technique". I realise now that I only looked at "technique" which means I might've invited wingers with excellent crossing to cross all day. Doh!

If the player is 14+, I'll consider him a threat in terms of creativity. Don't forget flair as well. Also, I consider a technical player, someone who can dribble, pass, and shoot. I rather show him towards the touchline because that gives him just one option. Usually, my player will block his cross which gives them a corner. I don't remember the last time the AI scored a corner on me.

At this point in time, I'm having a tough time with quick players. They eat me up badly in midfield, and I've only had success showing them to the outside. I don't want to have a deep line when attacking because that leaves a gap between attacking and defending roles. Although I can contain them nine out of ten times, that one time is usually an offside trap break which results in a goal. You can't complain about nine out of 10, I guess. Strive for perfection.

Anyway, the "show outside" thing deffo didn't work for me the way I set it up. Maybe my centre backs (Zapata/Gioda) simply aren't good enough to deal with the amount of crosses that came in or maybe my team just hadn't gotten used to the tactic yet. Who knows. For now I'll stick with no OI's as it's working wonders for me but once I hit a slump I'll have another look at them.

No problem, I understand.

[chaijie_1988]

great tactic i must say.

i tweaked a little, i put one of the MC back to the natural DMC position as the deep lying playmaker. It seems working even better.

[TL]

The new set seems even greater than the last. Good work

[reo hustler]

great tactic i must say.

i tweaked a little, i put one of the MC back to the natural DMC position as the deep lying playmaker. It seems working even better.

If you want this tweak, I'd recommend putting the MC/d further back (the RMC).

The new set seems even greater than the last. Good work

Thank you!