[Total Control: FM21]

Could I bring the 2nd AP down into the CM strata keeping the same pi’s without it negatively affecting the tactic? 
 

or could I even offset the F9 to the left rather than central? 

[Playing On The Edge: Dominating Possession with only one CB]

22 hours ago, crusadertsar said:

Most recent results, Jan 2023, my 2nd season using the tactic with Real Sociedad.

Feeling much more confident against other top LaLiga teams. Although there are still times when we have more difficulty against ultra-attacking sides like Real Mardid. Especially AWAY from home. But then beating Barca AWAY like this gives me a lot of hope and excitement going forward. After alot of tweaking and some frustration it finally starting to feel like the best tactic I ever developed or played with on any FM game. And an absolute pleasure to play even when we lose. Seeing the kinds of performances it is capable of. Before now I never really watched matches on anything more than extended or comprehensive mode but now I sometimes even switch to full highlights, like in that Barcelona match. Was on the edge of the seat for the whole 90 minutes. Especially when we won it in this fashion. Many good things to take away from it. Especially the interplay between our striker and the AMC. It doesnt show in his ratings but Marcos Antonio made several nice passes to help with both Oyarzabal and Camara goals. All of our goals came from open play too. In the end, we dominated xG and possession against one of the elite possession-hungry teams in the world. While only using one true CB  Feels great.

Thanks to all you, like @Impacto , @RenegadeMaster and others who have been giving me suggestions and tweaks on this thread all this time. I integrated many of your suggestions in this improved version below. It is probably never going to be "final" as it's looking more and more like a long-term project/"labour of love". But this new version now definitely feels way more efficient and dangerous than it was in the beginning.

As I mentioned above I'm trying to strip down some of the "possession overkill" instructions that played too much to the defensive side's advantage. So now it still plays a possession-focused Total Football tactic but more edge and intent. And I try to give more control to my players on deciding what kind of passes and tempo to play. So as @Impacto mentioned above, having very intelligent players with great mentals such as Anticipation, Decions, ect will help alot. As well as having "one-twos" for all of you attackers and midfielders. And even IWBs too will benefit from this great trait. 

You expletive, this has drawn me back in after your original post got me to buy the game. I don’t have much time to play the game and I was becoming incredibly frustrated with the stupidity of the goals conceded. 
 

Going to wait for the winter patch to try again.

[Playing On The Edge: Dominating Possession with only one CB]

2 hours ago, crusadertsar said:

Regarding the False 9, true it is a very demanding role. Yet you shouldnt write it off. Maybe once you have a suitable player. For me I am lucky to have aging David Silva there (and a kid from the last youth intake who looks like he might be a good replacement). 

I do love how its been "fixed" from FM20. No I notice much smarter movement from False 9. He actually drops deep and gets other players involved just like his "false" advanced playmaker role suggests. PPMs play a role here too though. I will be covering those soon.

Also the synergy that my False 9 has with a Shadow Striker is really nice. He brought out the best out of Portu this last season. And Portu has okay attributes for the role but is definitely not best SS. So far that reason I am even more excited to see how this pair will work when my new Brazilian acquisition makes it here for season two and makes Shadow Striker role into his own. He looks like a natural Shadow, except for "Comes Deep to get Ball" PPM, might need to untrain that one. 

 Sociedad's Dream Team is starting to take shape 

This is Marcos Antonio isn’t it? I’ve bought him for £19.5 mil to be my future false nine.

[Everything TOTAL Football (From Cruyff's 343 to Guardiola's Overloads) - UPDATED Feb 28, 2023]

19 hours ago, aritra14 said:

Maybe I should have started playing this 5 seasons ago. Legit fun tactic 

No Pedri,Fati or De Jong?

[Everything TOTAL Football (From Cruyff's 343 to Guardiola's Overloads) - UPDATED Feb 28, 2023]

4 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

Thats great  Enjoy!

While it can help, it is not necessary. A player with very good "Total Football" attributes can perform very well in the role even if playing on the same side as his dominant foot. In fact I have two players who perform great in this role. Igor Zubeldia, natural DM/BPD actually plays very well while on left flank and he is right footed. But then on the Right Flank I use Nelson Semedo who performs equally well and he is naturally Right-Footed. So both can work is what I'm trying to say. More importantly make sure they have the right attributes for the role. 

At the minute I’m using AWB and Luke Shaw on there natural positions but I am looking for replacements for Shaw, yeah I’ve always used attribute search even if they can’t play that position. 

but that’s great to know, so thanks. 
 

P.S I’m looking for a few positions and in all my attribute filter searches Mikel Oyarzabal is in every single one, what a complete player. imagine him playing for Pep/Bielsa in real life. 

[Everything TOTAL Football (From Cruyff's 343 to Guardiola's Overloads) - UPDATED Feb 28, 2023]

Fantastic thread, it made me pick up a copy.

I’ve  started with Utd (who aren’t entirely built for this tactic)

but I was just wondering do IWB really have to be played on the opposite flank to the strongest foot?

[Arrigo Sacchi's 4-4-2 (Very Fluid)]

Hi Man, @Ö-zil to the Arsenal!

Great thread, I don't know if your still seeing this but I was wondering if with the new roles on fm 18 you might change anything ?

 

Nice one.