A Promotion Winning Tactic - With NO Tweaking At All - Home or Away!

[andysafc]

I'm sure i won one of the North American competitions with the USA, but i couldn't remember the name of it so i didn't include in my list.

[micro-ice]

i trying it with chelsea. i have a very strong squad so i hope the tactic can bring titles.

i just beat liverpool 4-0 in the C.shield.

this is my team.

DL. W.bridge/ A.cole

DR. P.ferreira/ Geremi

DC. terry/boulahrouz/metzelder/carvalho/juan

MC. lampard/cambiasso/mikel/essien/makelele/diarra

TM. Drogba/ballack(the best TM in the game)

CF. Kalou/sheva/palacio/robben/yakubu

just beat liverpool 4-0 ( good start i guess).

[andysafc]

I have this poor attention span that means I dont get past 2-3 seasons without getting bored.

I've done that a lot myself. I would start a new game, and then so far into it i always thought i could do better, so i would start again... and again... and again.

This tactic has created my best ever achievements in recent versions and by winning those trophies i clocked up about 4 or 5 seasons. I know that's nothing for some people, but it's a record for me.

[jornada]

Originally posted by andysafc:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I used this for my Fulham side towards the end of the first season; all my wingers were injured so I decided to go with the three up front to get some better fire power. we cemented our place in 2nd, which was where we were when I first started using it.

However, start the 2nd season, and disaster. My squad was easily strong enough to break into Europe, yet we ended up finishing 14th. Could never get a run together, never got into games and rarely scored goals. After narrowly slipping through to the Champions League knockouts I switched back to WWfan's formations, where the League form still didn't pick up but we won the CL.

So no idea on what happened really. at the end of the season it was good, not great but good. I used it right up until February in my second year until we got taken over and the new chairman wanted to hire a new manager, so I switched back to what I was using before to avoid the sack.

I know this sounds a little obvious, but did you use suitable players?

The reason i ask is because i feel this tactic is suited to teams like Fulham. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Aye, followed your instructions. Liek I say, it started off well, but as soon as the new season kicked off we were being battered.

I'm going to try it again, because I'm at my wit's end. Tried almost everything to try and get us performing, even spent the entire 40mil transfer kitty, but we're still in 12th, inconsistent and getting knocked out of the league cup by bloody Leicester

[micro-ice]

try changing the name of the tactic.

[CelticWiseman]

Ha! Its all about blending guys, keep the signings to a minimum, make 3 or 4 max quality signings.

[glynnbob]

Originally posted by CelticWiseman:

Ha! Its all about blending guys, keep the signings to a minimum, make 3 or 4 max quality signings.

couldnt agree more than with this statement i used to sign 10-15 players every pre season until i read the bit about keeping the same squad happy so they gel together. it really works as the first season i really struggled but persevered and second year using this tac i finished 2nd with sunderland and i hasten to add a very very weak squad.just make sure of the obvious like set peices are all set up correctly and you try and get a left footed striker for left st

[andysafc]

Originally posted by CelticWiseman:

Ha! Its all about blending guys, keep the signings to a minimum, make 3 or 4 max quality signings.

couldnt agree more than with this statement i used to sign 10-15 players every pre season until i read the bit about keeping the same squad happy so they gel together. it really works as the first season i really struggled but persevered and second year using this tac i finished 2nd with sunderland and i hasten to add a very very weak squad.just make sure of the obvious like set peices are all set up correctly and you try and get a left footed striker for left st

This is good advice, ignore it at your peril!

It is crucial to let your team gel if you want any kind of consistant results. Bring a couple of top quality signings in during the close season and they don't upset the team harmony that you have created.

[andysafc]

It is much more effective buying 3 x 10m players then 6 x 5m players. If you spend 40m on 5+ players you think you have improved the team but in fact you have ultimately destroyed the spirit you have built up.

[micro-ice]

report after 10 games:

p=11 w=9 L=1 D=1 F=24 A=5

nice! although i do struggle away from (having said that i beat inter 2-0 away from home) so i have tweaked the tactic to be much more sound away.

[glynnbob]

andy or anyone a great signing for this tactic available at a very good price of(ooops i forgot!) is pavlyuchek the belarus dlc,wbl,dm get him on near post for corners and also to take your free kicks(17) he is a f****** phenomenal player and my club captain and loving it!!!!!

[andysafc]

andy or anyone a great signing for this tactic available at a very good price of(ooops i forgot!) is pavlyuchek the belarus dlc,wbl,dm get him on near post for corners and also to take your free kicks(17) he is a f****** phenomenal player and my club captain and loving it!!!!!

Tried to get him in for my Crewe game as he is very cheap, but although i agreed terms with him, the work permit and the appeal was turned down.

[jornada]

That's very true, but I felt I had to buy in order to progress. I usually buy a squad of youngsters to either rotate or train up in the reserves, and then have a first team made up of the best left over from the old squad and free transfers.

Right now I can go for about 10 seasons without signing anyone, because I have the base of the team sorted. But then that means sacrificing some players in order to fit this formation.

I'll report back, I'll use the 4-4-2 until the end of the season and then decide whether to give it another shot.

[crazyscotsman]

Andy:

Another update. I'm now in my sixth season and just won the League Cup against man u 2-1. as I mentioned earlier I rotate between your 1st and 2nd tactic each season which has worked well. I have found that now I am bringing better skilled players into my squad the formation is getting a little too one dimensional for my taste. I have a squad with the average age of 21. I like to sign youngsters and bring them up through the ranks. For this current season I have stopped playing with a TM and removed all directions to get the ball to him. I have also pushed the two outside forwards wider to play more as traditional wingers and set the width of the team to 18. Formation still the same but for the two wingers I have also changed the passing to short on all players. When I defend I play to a 5-4-1 and when I attack it is an awesome 3-4-3. So far scoreing an average of 4 goals per game and have only conceded 1.1. Obviously I have had to bring in players to suit this style of play, wingers, DL/DR and pacy stiker. I'll keep you posted on how I finish the season.

[ManU@oldtrafford]

Wrexham 25 games update

1st PLD 25 DRN 7 LST 3 FOR 46 AG 24 GD +22 PTS 52

Campbell top scorer with 19 out of 29 overall but he just got injured between a month and 2

[Chewy2006]

Alreet all,

how long do u need to give tactic to settle as not sure as whether to use it or not as looks as if midfield cud get exposed wit only 2 mids but looks as if lots of people had succes wit it

[andysafc]

Alreet all,

how long do u need to give tactic to settle as not sure as whether to use it or not as looks as if midfield cud get exposed wit only 2 mids but looks as if lots of people had succes wit it

Goto the club screen and look down towards the left, On ASSISTANTS ADVICE - choose Teamtalk Feedback. In here it tells you how the squad is developing together. Once it says the team is gelling together it should be a matter of a, b or c.

A) The trophies are coming

B) Your using the wrong players.

C) It doesn't work with the team your using. Choose another team or a different tactic.

[Drewstar]

I just wanted to thank you andysafc.

I am one of the many Xbox360 football manager players. I am getting Football Manager 2008 on the PC but for now I using the console version. Your tactic is perfect for me. Now I can concentrate on bringing better players in, knowing that the tactic I am using is sound.

Having read through the various tactic threads on the forum I have found your views refreshing as you just let the results of your tactic speak for themselves and have not once called your tactic a 'super' tactic.

Thanks for the screen shots as I can't download tactics yet.

[StripeySCFC]

D/L this tactic last night.

I'm manager of Notts County and have just got them into League One after 3 seasons of struggle. Last year I used a basic 4-4-2 with global settings and one striker on high attacking mentality (from an AI experiment thread on here). It worked well but started to fail at the end of the season despite me trying to tweak it around a little.

I decided to play it after reading this thread and seeing that it is good for "underdogs". I'm guessing i'll be that next year!

So far, i've played one friendly and hammered Championship Birmingham 5-2. It looks to be direct, very direct but good if, like me, you have an outstanding target man for your level and two nippy players alongside him.

My Team:

GK Chris Weale

RB Jurgen Colin

LB Tony Craig

CB Jerel Ifil, Richard Keogh, Ryan Garry

CM Floribert Ngulala, Simon Lappin

TM Marc Nygaard (brilliant for League One/Two. Wins every header and has high finishing stats)

ST Darryl Knights, Patrick Agyemang

[andysafc]

D/L this tactic last night.

I'm manager of Notts County and have just got them into League One after 3 seasons of struggle. Last year I used a basic 4-4-2 with global settings and one striker on high attacking mentality (from an AI experiment thread on here). It worked well but started to fail at the end of the season despite me trying to tweak it around a little.

I decided to play it after reading this thread and seeing that it is good for "underdogs". I'm guessing i'll be that next year!

So far, i've played one friendly and hammered Championship Birmingham 5-2. It looks to be direct, very direct but good if, like me, you have an outstanding target man for your level and two nippy players alongside him.

My Team:

GK Chris Weale

RB Jurgen Colin

LB Tony Craig

CB Jerel Ifil, Richard Keogh, Ryan Garry

CM Floribert Ngulala, Simon Lappin

TM Marc Nygaard (brilliant for League One/Two. Wins every header and has high finishing stats)

ST Darryl Knights, Patrick Agyemang

I'm not sure how this will work myself. Getting back to back promotions is very difficult, but it should be possible. I believe someone has taken Nottm Forset from Div 1 to the EPL with this tactic. But Nottm Forest are a bigger name and that makes it slightly easier. Good luck as i think it is a difficult challenge!

I tried it with Crewe as a saw them as a small club, but i was embararessed at how easy it was with them. They have good quality players and the best TM in the division. In the end i give up for a harder challenge and chose Wycombe.

Although i'm confident i'll get them up i'm not sure what will happen after that.

[displaced_seagull]

Been using this with Shrewsbury, and doing well - 19 played, 8 wins, 7 draws, 4 defeats.

I've also noticed that if your target man is, for whatever reason, struggling to get into the game, then a barrow to the AMC position is a good idea - it sees him dropping back into space as well as being up there for the direct balls.

[joe4444]

I'm enjoying this tactic alot, both with Man City and Scunthorpe.

As Man City I'm comfortably sitting 3rd in the table losing 4 upto february with only one signing.

And with Scunhorpe I'm 12th, using Andrew Carrol as target man, he's immense. By the way, that's in the championship.

Working a treat! (Y)

[Paggioram]

OK update time.

Played against Liverpool on the last day at Anfield and they beat me 2 - 0 so I began to sweat as all the teams below me were winning or drawing which means I would finish 18th and relegated. Then to my happyness already relegated Birmingham scored a 93rd Min winner against Reading sending them down as well so I finished 17th Yay survival.

So to Season Two -

I made three full time signings which was two strikers and a new centre half and I bought in a new loan striker as well (I would name names but not sure if that breaks the rules)

So then onward to December 1st of Season two and the Rams are sitting THIRD!!!! Let me say that again THIRD!!!! with 22 points I am out of the League Cup and have lost 4 this season but things are looking up but can we keep it going.

Oh I was also offered the Venezuala job but I turned it down. As only Beckham is that stupid to travel that much for one game.

[CelticWiseman]

Haha Paggioram, have had my fingers crossed for you for a while!

Nice one!

Dont let the success fool you into signing loads of amazing players come the end of the season as continunity is what you need!

[The Might Ricoher]

Coventry City update. After finishing 12th in the EPL last season I have used your tactic for the rest of this season. Again it has been succesful with some memorable wins. Notably 3-1 at home to Chelsea when they needed to win desperately to secure the title.

Anyway the point well I had a period of 5 or 6 games when the tactic stopped working completely out of the blue. No chances created. It was completely out of the blue. I tried your tweak of setting defenders a bit deeper, to no avail. In the end the tweak that worked for me was to adjust the level of attacking to just above normal.I put it back again when the form improved and hey presto everything is fine. This worked a treat and stopped the rot getting me a draw against Aresnal and a win against Chelsea.

I will finish 8th or 9th. All set for next season. P.s I now have a new contract and 14 Million to spend.

Hoorah

[The Might Ricoher]

Another update. I'm now in my sixth season and just won the League Cup against man u 2-1. as I mentioned earlier I rotate between your 1st and 2nd tactic each season which has worked well.

Another update. I'm now in my sixth season and just won the League Cup against man u 2-1. as I mentioned earlier I rotate between your 1st and 2nd tactic each season which has worked well.

Picking up on this quote from Crazy Scotsman I haven't had time to read the whole trhead what does he mean by your first and second tactic. I though there was only one.

[Paggioram]

Cheers CelticWiseman never been so happy.

I will look to add maybe one or two backup players in january for when the injuries and tirdness set in as I am picking up knocks now and the quality I have in reserve is well no where near the standard we will need.

But I will keep you all posted.

[andysafc]

Pleased to see you are enjoying this tactic.

Joe4444: Getting Scunthorpe into mid table in the Championship after promotion is a great feat. Keep it up.

Paggioram: You kept us waiting! They say there is a fine line between success and failure - i think you've proved it.

Sitting 3rd in the EPL with Derby is fantastic. And yet if you had got relegated you may well have given up on the tactic.

[andysafc]

Picking up on this quote from Crazy Scotsman I haven't had time to read the whole trhead what does he mean by your first and second tactic. I though there was only one.

The difference between the two is very slight. One of the C/DEF had a different setting to the other two and i changed the corner routine.

Or could it be because they are named differently? Some people think you should change the name of the tactic which has been discussed in several threads. The theory being that the AI THINKS you have changed tactic but you haven't.

[Paggioram]

I think I would have tried it to gain promotion and one final push on the prem. But what this has tought me is that for the first season up if you have not got the quality you need so first season just try and survive and then second season is the season to go for it.

[kroshot]

just coming to the end of my first season in the prem with birmingham currently sitting 5th.had some cracking results includind 4-1 wins over both chelsea and arsenal on the flip side got hammered 6-1 by man u.i will let you konw where i finish

[andysafc]

Started new games lately, one with Sunderland and one with Wycombe (not together). With Sunderland i went against my own advice and signed quite a few players. This caused some inconsistant results, mostly some great wins but a few to many defeats for my liking. Just scraped 2nd place on the last game of the season on goal diiference, mine was 20+ better than 3rd place.

Emile Mpenza was the TM i bought, and a massive success he was, 33 goals from 45 games.

I choose Wycombe because i wanted a different challenge. But amazingly the bookies had me down as joint favourites to win the title.

I think in this case they were wrong. I had a small squad and the only player of any value was Jermaine Easter. But i didn't rate him si i dropped him into the reserves.

I requested a parent club and choose Reading. When i took over the board expectations were a resonable mid table position with a transfer budget of only 10k.

To make it worse, Wycombe have a loan of 550k. But that challenge suits me. I've only signed a few players and i'm in the top 6, it's eraly season though but i'm hoping to pull off an automatic promotion spot once my team settles together.

Paggioram: I think you are right - the first season in the EPL for promoted teams is the hardest because you need to sign quite a few players to 'bridge the gap'. This causes inconsistancies. The 2nd season is when you need to go for top 6.

[kroshot]

after being tipped for relegation with birmingham i finished 5th which im very happy with missed out on 4th palce by 3 goals.like paggioram said i had to sign quite a few players to make the step up so this pre season im hoping to a maximum of three or four players.i`ll update later.

[kroshot]

just completed my first sigings of the pre seaon man u offer me ben foster for free i snap their hand off secondly in comes jermaine defoe from spurs so hopefully we will score more next season.

[andysafc]

after being tipped for relegation with birmingham i finished 5th which im very happy with missed out on 4th palce by 3 goals.like paggioram said i had to sign quite a few players to make the step up so this pre season im hoping to a maximum of three or four players.i`ll update later.

If you keep your promise here i firmly believe you can better this position next season.

[bootle]

I'll give this tactic a go too, Im just about to start my second season with Spurs (last year 7th/Uefa finalists using one of the other tactics off this forum).

I'd completely overhauled my squad in pre-season, luckily I'd already bought Zigic before seeing this thread. There must be about 7 new first teamers starting this season so judging on other posters experience I'm not expecting too much as this tactic "beds-in".

Team (from memory)

gk Akinfeev

rb Srna

lb Baines

cd Kompany

cd King

cd Agger

mc Lucas

mc Krancjar

tm Zigic

st Keane

st Young

I spent about £80m and am perilously close to being broke so I can see myself being sacked quite quickly if we don't hit the ground running. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Paggioram]

Bootle I really do wish you luck you do have quality there and you might be able to stumble your way there but I really would not expect alot to happen before November once they start to bond THEN it will kick in but again stick with it and keep us updated.

[CelticWiseman]

Originally posted by bootle:Team (from memory)

gk Akinfeev

rb Srna

lb Baines

cd Kompany

cd King

cd Agger

mc Lucas

mc Krancjar

tm Zigic

st Keane

st Young

I spent about £80m and am perilously close to being broke

Only 2 Spurs players left? Wow, thats a hell of a clean out! Stick with the formation though, it will come good even if the results to start are iffy. In the beginning, I normally take over the Team Talks and keep morale high, hoping to help them settle faster. No proof it does though, but morale is always very good or above.

[andysafc]

I'll give this tactic a go too, Im just about to start my second season with Spurs (last year 7th/Uefa finalists using one of the other tactics off this forum).

I'd completely overhauled my squad in pre-season, luckily I'd already bought Zigic before seeing this thread. There must be about 7 new first teamers starting this season so judging on other posters experience I'm not expecting too much as this tactic "beds-in".

TBH i think if you had used this tactic in the first season without to many changes then you would have improved on that finish.

Good luck for this season though, as you may need it. Lost just one game and Matin Jol was almost away!

[kroshot]

think i have completed my signings billy jones arriving followed by steven davis.as you can see im trying to keep my side british with a quality overseas signing

[valete86]

ppl how can i post a picture here to show to you my results with this tactic?

[CelticWiseman]

You need to upload the tactic first to

www.imageshack.us

Copy the "direct link to image" path, and then reply to this topic, click the image box next to the envelope that will ask you to enter the path, so finally paste the "direct link to image path" in the box. Should work then!

[valete86]

here is my results

[valete86]

[andysafc]

I believe that what valete86 is trying to show is this...

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Thanks valete86 we can now add the Liga Portuguesa to the growing list of competitions won with this tactic and also confirm this this tactic works effectivly with that teamn.

[StripeySCFC]

andysafc,

If you wanted a challenge you should have taken up Notts C like I did. Anyhow, an update to my Notts C game.

Having thashed Birmingham 5-2 I remained unbeaten in Pre-Season gaining further victories over Thurrock, Hearts reserves and Norwich and a draw with Burnley.

I've since started the season with a 3-0 (could and should have been 6) away at recently relegated Preston and a home 1-0 win over Bristol City.

Stevie Howard has replaced Marc Nygaard as my target man. Right Winger Cleveland Taylor plays alongside him on the right of centre (it works really well - scored a hat trick at Deepdale) with Agyemang on the left.

Really enjoying this tactic, but strugging to work out why it works so well!

[andysafc]

andysafc,

If you wanted a challenge you should have taken up Notts C like I did. Anyhow, an update to my Notts C game.

Having thashed Birmingham 5-2 I remained unbeaten in Pre-Season gaining further victories over Thurrock, Hearts reserves and Norwich and a draw with Burnley.

I've since started the season with a 3-0 (could and should have been 6) away at recently relegated Preston and a home 1-0 win over Bristol City.

Stevie Howard has replaced Marc Nygaard as my target man. Right Winger Cleveland Taylor plays alongside him on the right of centre (it works really well - scored a hat trick at Deepdale) with Agyemang on the left.

Really enjoying this tactic, but strugging to work out why it works so well!

andysafc,

If you wanted a challenge you should have taken up Notts C like I did. Anyhow, an update to my Notts C game.

Having thashed Birmingham 5-2 I remained unbeaten in Pre-Season gaining further victories over Thurrock, Hearts reserves and Norwich and a draw with Burnley.

I've since started the season with a 3-0 (could and should have been 6) away at recently relegated Preston and a home 1-0 win over Bristol City.

Stevie Howard has replaced Marc Nygaard as my target man. Right Winger Cleveland Taylor plays alongside him on the right of centre (it works really well - scored a hat trick at Deepdale) with Agyemang on the left.

Really enjoying this tactic, but strugging to work out why it works so well!

Notts County are one team i couldn't manage, any team in black n white are to close to home but they are called the Magpies also!

[CelticWiseman]

I tried Notts Co, simply cos I love the fact Juventus modelled their kit on Notts Co. I started with Jason Lee as the TM, but he was pants. Got as far as Novemeber, was hovering above relegation and as usual, got bored! Couldnt be arsed with waiting for the team to gel! Nygaard was too expensive for me, I only had 6k to spend.

[CelticWiseman]

Nice one valete86!

Good luck with sorting out your IP Conflict thats showing too in your work tray!

[grossen]

Hi andy. Quick update on my Barnsley game. Got relegated on final day of season which disappointed me but hoping to bounce back straight away. Got the funds to do so now so hoping to get some better players in.

In the mean time i have decided to start a game as Ajax using this tactic and yet again so far so good. Won the super cup against PSV 3-0 and completely dominated from start to finish. As for the league i'm 10 games undefeated winning 8 and drawing 2 scoring bags of goals and conceding just twice. Not played Feyenoord or PSV yet in the league but already 7 points clear of PSV and 11 clear of Feyenoord. To be honest i was expecting to win the the league anyway but it was the Champions League that i was wanting to make progress. Played twice in the Champions League and won at Shakhtar and lost at home to Man Utd. Will keep you posted.