BJT

Grats mate, takes bottle getting the team over the line! Historically a Prem club - do you envision staying with Pompey for a while?

To be honest when I create a tactic, I will generally tend to have a run through with the profile of team and standard of football they are most suited / designed towards rather than see whether it's a tactic that supposedly trumps / defeats the ME, as I don't create any of my tactics with that objective. That said, I was browsing some careers on the forums and I stumbled into one guy that was giving this Pulis Ball system a go, he's with Spurs - here's a link to it so far. I think that sort of defensive football can do okay but, it will have its limitations at the highest level. I'm actually about to release a Jose Ball styled tactic very soon, and one of the variants again will likely work better at the lower levels - but playing against teams that have real offensive quality, it simply won't work so well against.

The fella has so many! Well, I am looking to produce a number, which is why it may take a while. It probably won't be the most effective either, but for the purposes of achieving a style its looking promising. I think the tactical set when ready will be more suited to the lower levels, because I think at the elite level teams possess too much quality to play more negatively. But what I'm working on at the moment will be a few variants across Real Madrid and Spurs in a 4231 shape. If you thought Pulis ball was bad, then things are about to get a bit worse...

glad you guys seem to enjoy using this. the tactics i tend to make are always more about style than substance and take a bit of work to use but hopefully a bit more rewarding - it's also nice that defensive footy is more feasible this year and can be used more as a tactical blueprint. I've actually been working on a Jose styled tactic. need another run through but hopefully it'll be another nice style / option to play with.

Good luck, nice to see the defensive side of the game appreciated - hope the 442 works alright but I think you've picked the wrong team and style of football to not get sacked again though! (this plays non-entertaining football so I expect the supporters will start booing you imminently lol)

Had a chance to catch up - best of luck Emozil, hopefully I don't cause you a second sacking! If you need a few tips for in game management do give me a buzz - hopefully your new club doesn't mind boring football, as the tactic does cause unrest to supporters by way of playing non-entertaining football, so you have been warned!

Yeah sorry cheers @Сука, always name my file that - they tend to be big games, and it generally tries to disrupt the opponent's a bit, but without too much detriment of how the team currently plays. Guess it's just being able to call in-game what constitutes one, when you figure out the sort of teams that cause you problems you'll tend to suss it out.

Tactic isn't designed for West Ham - so I expect it will not work well with them.

BJT 3421 Dreamz - Late 90s / 00s - My Galacticos (POST #9) Tactic Download BJT-3421.Dreamz-Neutral.v2.fmfBJT-3421.Dreamz-Home.v2.fmfBJT-3421.Dreamz-Away.v2.fmfBJT-3421.Dreamz-Away.B1G.v2.fmfBJT-3421.Dreamz-Timewaste.v2.fmf Video Clips - Style of football / goals **Team Goal** **Ronaldinho Cheek, Beckham Assist** **Pinpoint Ball, Clinical Finish** -- **Importantly Note** – this is a highly tactically naïve system, but created solely for self nostalgia and viewing the style of football I envisioned these players playing. Okay all, this is my personal 3421 system that I often try to create for myself each year that often struggles in the FM MEs. But with the new ME I’ve tried to create it on this year’s FM23, and although it is a weak tactic in part due to its deliberate design, it is more useable to use in this year’s game and I think it plays some really nice football that I often enjoy watching in full match mode, which is why I’ve decided to upload it. Due to it’s highly weak tactical design it’s really only going to ever be best used at a club like PSG, Real etc where you will have far superior players to all the other teams. You could get away using it with teams superior relative to their division, as long as the players do have a degree of individual skills / capabilities. The aim of the tactic for me is purely to create football I want my Dream Team of players between the late 90s and late 00s to play. This being full of flair and creativity, with results not at all the priority. And so if you want a chance of winning the ECL, you’ll need the very best players in every position on the football pitch – and need a bit of luck too. So before you consider downloading this tactic, you probably need to consider: -Is football style more important than results? -Will you be looking to build an elite squad and use this at superior teams only? -Are you happy to be extremely challenged for all honors irrespective of having superior players in a competitive league? If the answer is yes to all the above, then do read on this post. If not, then I would not at all recommend you using this tactic. For those that give it a try, then I hope you will find it as much of a fun tactic to use as I do. Also below are a few clips of the style of football on offer when playing the tactic, with some nice team goals, flair and vision on show. BJT 3421 Dreamz / My Galacticos Late 90s to Late 00s Featuring: SK-D – Buffon CB-D – Puyol LIB-S - Cannavaro CB-D – Maldini CWB-A/S – Roberto Carlos REG-S– Pirlo DM-D – Gattuso WM-A/S - Beckham AP-A – Ronaldinho SS-A - Zidane AF-A – Ronaldo Luiz Nazario -- As advised previously, this will generally only work with superior elite teams with the best quality players available. It also generally doesn’t test well in sims, so you’ll need to play this hands on. Besides, this is also the sort of tactic I could watch a complete season using the full match mode and designed to allow my favourite world class players the freedom to express themselves, all whilst playing an elegant style of football on the pitch. Brazil / Italian Oldskool Hybrid 3421 Using the Brazilian box and more elegant roles, this is a 3421 system that although generally considered more negative, with the roles and more advanced midfielder on the right it is now a lot more expansive – but at the significant cost of defensive solidity. So only the cream of the crop of player quality in every single position on the pitch will do for this system to work, because as a system by itself, it is weak / highly fragile and reliant on individual brilliance. Creativity / Elegance / Individual Brilliance It is centered around the Regista Pirlo and Advanced Playmaker (Trequartista PIs) Ronaldinho in midfield, and with these roles you really do need talented players on the pitch to use these more exquisite roles – in the modern day using one is frowned upon, but using two is suicidal. Additionally it uses a Shadow Striker Zidane with the Advanced Forward Ronaldo Luiz Nazario the solo man up top. But with all this attacking talent and some of the midfielder roles generally quite lazy / not so good defensively on the pitch, someone needs to try their best to hold the fort. This is the DM-D in Rino Gattuso, whose role is to provide that steel whilst laying off simple balls to the more creative players that immediately surround him. Rather than the ball-winner, I need him in this system to be a bit more disciplined when covering the right area of the pitch, which this role does adequately. Beckham the WM on the right uses both attack and support duties (timewaste / trickier away game variants). This particular position also allows for the more direct ball that could free up Ronaldo in one vs one situations with the keeper. But generally everyone else in the team uses shorter passing to maintain possession of the football. On the other flank, Roberto Carlos (also using CWB attack / support duties) will be bombing up and down the left, at every opportunity looking to get himself in dangerous positions to feed balls to Ronaldo up top. Defensively, 2 world class CBs + a Libero will be needed to try and keep things as solid as possible at the back. However they will also need to be highly capable of playing the ball out, especially against teams that press high up (which there are many in the modern day). And to finish off, with the side expected to be weak defensively that can be easily exposed, a world-class keeper is most certainly needed as the last line of defence. So what are the flaws of this system? The Flaws This tactic has problems that would struggle to cope in the modern game – unless you do have players of such quality above to try hide them as much as possible. -Both flanks are extremely open to be exposed from quick counter-attacks, and a right midfielder who likely won’t have the best defensive attributes and with the role, will be even more so exposed on the right flank often getting caught higher up the pitch out of a defensive position. -The more roaming midfield roles the Regista and Advanced Playmaker (Trequartista PIs) will generally be less hard working , and with these midfielder roles roaming around the pitch allowed to express themselves, will mean the structure / solidity of the formation just won’t be there, leaving huge pressure on the DM-D to cover all the gaps they leave open. (I did want to use the Trequartista role, but the system simply became too fragile – so I’ve used Trequartista PIs for the APA who will at least look to offer a little more defensively, but at the expense of slightly more possession.) -Due to the system’s reliance on superior individual quality to win games, it can only really be used at the very top clubs in their respective divisions with capable players. Also away from home / neutral venues will always be a tricky affair, given it’s not so easy for each player to perform well away from their natural habitat. -And with no real formation and roles solidity, grinding out a result isn’t really doable in this system – again, reliance on pure individual brilliance is the method to grind out a result / in the hope of winning these tighter and tougher games, and you will probably a bit of luck at times. Suited Teams I would say there are only a few teams that may be an ideal fit: -PSG are the perfect fit for the system after investing in some depth, and they should dominate their respective division, and have the financial backing to try compete for the ECL. They also have the players in the final third of the pitch to shine offensively -Man City have a lot of talent with players that could fill the roles well, although a natural world class CWBL left footed would be ideal (although with a lot of premiership competition, if you don’t have world class depth it will be harder to achieve league consistency in the Prem) -Real Madrid, as they’ll have the finances and some high quality players already amongst their ranks. Vini can be retrained into a SS role and the defensive side and there are already DMs usteable for a number of year’s at the club. It will be a case of finding replacement for the ageing players such as Benzema / Modric etc. However I was able to achieve title wins with Fenerbache at Turkey and Sporting with a couple of investments in Portugal – but with great difficulty, luck and stress! So it is possible to use this with players a little less talented but are still able, providing they are a top team in their division, that can compete but are ideally superior to the rest. Tests Generally I found the away tactic the best for Sims, but I think for this particular tactic they are highly unreliable, and you need to play hands on with the different variations for the tactic to work well. Also after Sims in Spain, this tactic seemed to struggle there for some reason – so I did run this hands on eventually, and it actually works fine winning the league with 96 points. So it isn’t a tactic you can reliably sim to gauge it’s effectiveness. However here are a few which shows the potential of this system working relatively well: City (Home/Away Sims) This away particular run achieved 100 points with Man City winning all trophies. The home variant also achieved 98 points and all trophies too. The home had a better xG with 86 compared to 80. Screenies of the home, as we had a harder ECL final. Norwich Sim (Away Sim) I had tested it with Burnley and it achieved a 3rd place with winning the playoffs on penalties. I further wanted to test it with Norwich as they seemed the strongest team in the Championship – it achieved 101 points finishing first and a promotion. Not the best but, trying to play this style of football in this division I was surprised it still worked relatively well. So it does look like it is possible for it to work at a slightly lower level to the top, providing your players are indeed superior and are decent footballers able enough to play a technical game reliant on brilliance to win you games. Chesterfield (Away Sim) I did this just to see whether with relative superior players in this low league with poor players if it could actually work, which to my surprise it did. I initially tried to use a Trequartista as mentioned above, but the change to the AP-A has made it more useable as a whole – and was why I eventually centered the tactic around this, but using Trequartista PIs. ** Well I hope some peeps will appreciate this and enjoy the football I’ve tried to create, albeit as a tactic it’s not going to be a strong by itself. For now, I’m just happy that on this ME I’ve finally been able to produce the football I’ve wanted to in this eccentric design and glad it works to a decent degree. -- OIs in Post 7#

(POST #8) Luis Enrique Barcelona - BJT 2323 Barca (MSN) "Positive" BJT-2323.Barca-Neutral.fmfBJT-2323.Barca-Home.fmfBJT-2323.Barca-Away.fmfBJT-2323.Barca-Away.B1G.fmfBJT-2323.Barca-Timewaste.SP.fmf The Tactic We all know a pure Pep Barca on FM, without counter-attacking and a slow tempo predictable in it’s build up simply doesn’t work, not well anyhow. It appears to be a similar story for this year’s engine. Instead I’ve ended up basing this tactic quite heavily on Luis Enrique’s Barca. I wanted to produce this formation in a Tiki Taka style, that is more useable in this year’s FM and enjoyable to watch, so this is what I’ve ended up with. Enrique was very similar to Pep when he also managed a Treble with Barca, but also very different. His side whenever there was an opportunity would frequently counter-attack by way of direct balls from any one of the central trio, with the aim of getting the ball forward as fast as possible to Messi and Neymar on the flanks and attack their opposing full-backs. Suarez remained a threat in the box but still dropping deep regularly to link the play like Messi previously did in an F9 role for Pep., and at times would still look to create chances for himself. However despite the above, Enrique's side still remained highly possession based that is often associated with Barca. His side also were more varied at times in the pace that they played, rather than the constant slower tempo Pep employed to purely control possession. (I have left this at a high tempo by default given it’s most effective, but you can easily manipulate the tempo at points in the game and this system is good to utilise this.) Another difference was Pep’s side often looking to break teams down more frequently through the middle. Enrique’s side was a lot more balanced, looking to explore both central and wide areas when looking to create openings. The top 3 forwards also played narrow in Enrique’s system. Initially receiving the ball wide, they would always move into the central areas creating room for the two CWBs Alba and Alves to overlap beyond them. It would often result in Neymar and Messi eventually positioned much closer to the box to strike at goal. It’s not easy to replicate this, but to regularly ensure this room is provided for the CWBs to attack, I’ve set both players in the IF roles to stay narrower. Busquets also played as a DLP rather than a half-back in Pep’s Barca – although at times he may revert to this role. (Which I employ when time-wasting and in the trickier away games.) It may be less fluid than Pep’s side going forward, but with individual quality on each flank allowed to express themselves and make the difference in games, with the right players it can work well. Although it will not be a highly effective tactic in the game given it still being more possession based and highly reliant on quality players, with the additional variety of counter-attacking and midfielders playing more direct at the right times, I think it’s a tactic that can still bring success on this ME and more importantly play in what one could consider a more effective Barca style, and their last team to win an ECL – and why I thought I would share this tactical set. Tests This is definitely more a tactic where it is important using each of the x5 tactical sets. Given the extremities of the instructions, the home tactic can work well at home but struggles more so away and it’s reflected in the home sims I made. (With City, I would get maximum 57 points at home but a significantly lower total away). Using the away / home tactics respectively to sim instead which I did out of curiosity at lower levels, this seemed to work better away as a standalone tactic in the more competitive Championship which resulted in Burnley achieving 102 points playing this Tiki Taka Game (lower using the home by 10 points), and Chesterfield the home version fully in the VNL North achieving 111 points. So to play this riskier tiki taka game, you do need to optimise the tactic in the different game scenarios, which I've tried to do in my x5 versions uploaded here. The OIs as usual, highlighted in Post #7. (Away / Home Sims) AEK - Run Through However I felt like a hands-on test would be the best way to judge how well it can work as a whole. I decided to pick AEK Athens and used their default squad to play through a season, with the hope there are a good few Greek teams that would provide a challenge, especially having players of lesser quality to play with. They also have the rule of splitting the top teams playing 10 games against each other after the regular league season ends for the Euro spots. This went extremely well. There were a couple of games we went down to 10 men that I needed to compensate for as well as the usual in game tweaking to manage the game, but we went through the year invincible winning the league with 96 points (breaking the previous record of 94 points) and also the Greek Cup. And so we also didn't lose a single game all season in all competitions. So I think the variety in this tiki taka styled tactic makes this useable in this ME, with the possession % count still quite high, at this Greek level of football anyhow. So I think if you want to watch a more possession based game in trying to break teams down, but still provide a variety / smarter threat from quick direct counter-attacks at more opportune moments, then it’s a nice tactic to watch at work. (Hands-on Playthrough) --

(POST #7) - OIs Tactics Applicable -442 Pulis (Force Wide) -235 Pep FCB Inverted Pyramid (Force Inside) -2323 Enrique Barca MSN (Force Inside) -4222 Real Madrid Galacticos (Force Inside) -4231 JOSE Ball (Force Wide / DMC Trig) -433 BJT BALL (force inside) -4132 Pep Gungho FCB -3421 Dreamz

(POST #6) Tony Pulis Styled Hoofball - Defensive Mentality (Beta - Released 22.10.22) - Route One BJT-442-Hoofball-Home.fmfBJT-442-Hoofball-Timewaste.SP.fmfBJT-442-Hoofball-Away.fmfBJT-442-Hoofball-Away.B1G.fmf With the new ME, I was actually very keen to give this a quick run through. I initially ran a home and an away test in the VNL (using Chesterfield). The home tactic test brought 57 points with the away tactic test giving 53, a respectable total of 110 points. I have since had a quick hands on go with “HK” in the second tier of Iceland. I was intending to give it a full year but, a cup kick starts the Iceland season that includes all teams from the first tier - perfect opportunity to see how it played. We ended up winning the trophy, beating a few teams in the top tier – so it definitely seems capable of causing an upset. I was also able to test out all x4 variations uploaded. The home tactic I would use if favourites on a neutral venue, with the away if underdogs. (so this tactic only has x4 base variants) The tactic being a 442, will be exposed between the lines – so I think at the higher levels of football, this will be less effective. But in lower tiers where the gulf in quality isn’t as huge, it appears defensive football can work. And so I recommend this used at the lower tiers of football. And it's a tactic that can win with minimal possession: The Tactic Itself, the game classifies this as a Gegenpress. However this uses extremely direct passing, and although weak nowadays, I have setup longthrows with the tactic (which I haven’t really looked at yet too heavily so could be improved). So this is a route one gegenpress style of game, in the mould of Pulis’ original Stoke City, who were a hard working side that would make things awkward for teams by pressing higher up the pitch. The PF-D plays an important role here as well, with his job to place pressure on the opposing DMC if one is employed. With the formation at hand, it’s not going to be the best to sit deep and soak up too much pressure, but rather with the aim to turn the opponents round and utilise the forwards to try and make things uncomfortable for the opponents playing out from the back. So defenders need to be capable of making the right call whether to hold the line, or if more prudent to drop deep. Hopefully this style will appeal to a few of you – it’s not been tested yet extensively, so if anyone does give this a try it would be good to know how it fared. It isn't the strongest tactic that I've created this BETA, but I hope it's a nice alternative for anyone wanting to play Defensive and Aggressive Route One football. In game tweaks as with all my tactics are important – so ensure to slow the pace down and time-waste at the appropriate moments to manage / see out games effectively. (OIs will soon be available in post#7) --- **442 Pulis Ball Run Through** Completed my tier 2 Iceland run through. Made another cup final, but lost that final. We had a midweek game the other side didn't, and going into ET we didn't have anything left. The winners finished runners up by a point in the first tier. Otherwise, it looks pretty solid defensively. HK were predicted 2nd, and I wanted to see whether a team considered a front runner for promotion could get away with playing negative football - and it looks like it does, which is good. Nice job so far I think with allowing this style of football to now be feasible to use as a tactical blueprint - as long as you don't mind boring your own fans in the process that is. Not really any long throw action though this season, only a few moments. But if you can find a Rory Delap from somewhere and train the long flat bullet throw, hopefully it will provide a more Stoke City feel to the play and make it more enjoyable to watch.

(POST #5) 433 BJT BALL (Jose / Sir Alex / Klopp Hybrid) – Attacking Mentality / Gegenpress BJT BALL-433.Neutral 2.0.fmfBJT BALL-433.Home 2.0.fmfBJT BALL-433.Away.B1G 2.0.fmfBJT BALL-433.Away 2.0.fmfBJT BALL-433.Timewaste.SP 2.0.fmf My Creation - Effectiveness the Aim This is my own tactical style / vision that incorporates elements from Sir Alex and Jose’s best Chelsea and Man Utd sides, with the addition of Klopp's modernised style of gegenpressing / counters high up the pitch. The aim was to create a highly effective tactic that has both style and solidity that could be utilized at all / most footballing levels. When I think of what is needed to achieve this, I wanted the team to contain the following: -A front line that have roles allowing them to express themselves and be match winners, whilst still working cohesively together -A midfield trio that is both solid and hard working in the centre, whilst having enough creativity and a player able to dictate the play when in possession (something Klopp's side lack) -The ability to score goals consistently from the midfield -The ability to counter-attack from deep -Enough offensive support from the flanks whilst maintaining a solid enough defensive balance -The ability to grind out a result both being solid enough as a team, and having match winners in a number of areas So when I picture an XI from both Chelsea and United, the players listed would fit these roles that would all work best in an Attacking Mentality based system, much in the way Sir Alex approached most of his games in charge. SK- Cech FBR – Neville WBL – Evra BPD – Carvalho BPD – Terry DLP – Carrick BBM – Essien CMA – Lampard IFL – C.Ronaldo IWR – Robben DLF – Tevez I always try to make this style of system in each FM, in the hope the game will allow such a system to work effectively as with my logic, it really should. And at this moment, it seems to be working nicely in this FM. Test I wanted a team capable of playing this football, but in a highly competitive league. So I picked Antwerp, predicted 3rd in the Belgium top division. It’s a funny league with how it’s structured, but I was able to win the title with all bar the first match played in the second stage playoffs. Otherwise in my run through, in the main league stage we won 30 games and drew 4 out of the 34, winning the league stage by 27 points which I thought was good in this particular league. This in addition to the Belgium cup, where our injury hit side still grinded out a result against Brugge in the final. If the tactic works on the ME, then it’s often my go to tactic when looking for a good style but also effective results. However it’s not without it’s flaws, as if the opponents are able to stifle our midfield especially the deep lying playmaker, then we become reliant on being just about solid enough and brilliance to see us through, as our ability to control the game would be negated. Also with the attacking style, it’s not the most solid defensively – so a good back line and solid keeper to support the remainder of the team that is naturally more offensive is important to get the best out of this tactic. It will work best with a more capable side, but it should still be solid enough to grind out results with teams less able and so should be useable at many footballing levels. -- OIs will be in Post #7

(POST #4) 4231CM / 4231DM formations – Classic Jose Ball "Cautious Mentality" - Park The Bus BJT-4231.Jose-Away.B1G.fmfBJT-4231.Jose-Home.Start.fmfBJT-4231.Jose-away-B1G.low-TW.fmfBJT-4231.Jose-away-B1G.low.fmfBJT-4231.Jose-Away.Start.fmf Okay well this is my attempt to create a nice feel of Jose ball. I’m a Jose fan, and with the new ME I’ve decided to try and create a tactical set that follows some principles he has historically used under the standard Jose Cautious Mentality. I did originally want to include elements of Real in this set, but to keep it simple – I’ve kept it Spursy. So if this goes horribly wrong…. Just saying! It’s a mix of gegenpressing to take the lead, and then parking the bus passively but with intent to “kill the game”. It also uses both 4231 shapes with 2 centre mids for the high block, and 2 deeper mids for the lower and mid blocks. Player roles will also slightly differ, so make sure the players in those are adaptable / capable of playing the positions and roles pretty well. A Hands On Tactic – x5 Variants Due to his style and also the sort of football that will be more effective in this ME from the start of the game, it will need a good degree in-game tweaking especially in turning games around. So if you enjoy a more hands on style of managing your game this should be fun to play with. The 5 variants span across all 3 blocks of high, mid and low. I’ve also set the starting home formation up, with the mindset you have a capable squad that are able to play a higher defensive line and be more pro-active in their approach to obtain the first goal. **Note that the low block passive style of defending I find works best when the side has taken the lead in a game, with the expectancy the team behind will play with a bit more risky both with space at the back, and by trying to force the pass - leaving themselves more susceptible to being hit on the direct counter. I also think this tactic will work best at lower levels where the teams you face lack the quality to take their chances. With this style of passive defending when playing teams with superior quality, they will be more clinical in taking their chances. You’ll need a world class squad especially in defence at the higher levels for it to be feasible. I’ve also found playing the tough world class teams away from the off this passive defending isn’t working well – and is what prompted me to create a mid-block version. How to Utilise the Tactic Jose generally starts his games very aggressively, pressing high and intensely to try and obtain a lead. He will then play more conservatively and look to kill games off more on the counter from a deeper position, luring the opponents forward to create space behind the opposing back line. A simple way he does this, is happy to continually give the ball away by playing very direct and if it comes to nothing, the team are already well positioned to allow the opponents to slowly work their way back up the pitch. So the way I’ve set this up, is once I score the first goal I immediately revert to the passive low black tactic cautious mentality. This is how I’ve created my tactical set, which by default is on the Cautious Mentality: -x1 Home Starting Tactic (to obtain a 1-0 lead) -x1 Away Starting Tactic (to obtain a 1-0 lead) -x1 Low Block Tactic, passive defending extremely direct (attempts to kill the game – Cautious Mentality, immediately switch to this tactic after going a goal up) -x1 Low Block Tactic, Time Wasting (Defensive Mentality – hold onto the lead late on) And… -x1 Tricky Away Tactic (Mid-block, to avoid the back-line being placed under too much pressure) – Use vs Superior Teams away where you can’t soak up pressure and counter. *If you fall behind away, you’ll need to chase the game at a certain point and can do this by way of increasing the defensive line. In the same way if you need to chase a goal late on at home, you can move this up a notch. *For Neutral games, I would suggest using either home or away based on whether you’re favourites or underdogs – but the away will be safer if you aren’t too sure and is perhaps more suited for the neutral venue. The style of defending employed will require you to have good centre backs aerially, where we are forcing the opponents wide and allowing them to cross the ball into the box. This is also a tactical style I would recommend you needing to manipulate the tempo at points of the match (as I do with all highest tempo tactics used from the start). Tests BVB My early testing with BVB in the Bundesliga, but it used other tactical variants I haven’t uploaded here. So it’s probably not the most reliable to judge this solely on – especially as my variants were still looking to maintain a degree of control of the game, avoiding soaking up too much pressure on the backline. However the home and away starting tactics were utilised. Our away form was the biggest problem and expect not having a world class back line a cause, but winning 16 and drawing 1 game at home was enough to lead us to a Bundesliga title with 83 points. Riga I then decided to go to Latvia to a team that finished 4th last season but again a media prediction of 2nd. But I think this tactical style is more useable at this level where teams are more equal both in standard, and a general lower standard of football where you aren’t facing players with top quality finishing – which will be more effective for the passive low block. It ended up being quite an easy run through compared to BVB. (I had to tweak a fair amount at times at BVB, not as much here). The away form also wasn't a problem at this standard. So the tweaking here was a little easier to manage and at this level was effective where we won the league with 100 points and no losses, and the domestic cup (although that needed a thrilling turn around in ET away to RFS in the semi's currently the top team in Latvia) -- So here's my created Jose style. I haven't done extensive testing, but seeing how things work you're best advising using this at the lower levels - as I'm not sure a passive low block is very consistent used at the elite footballing levels - not in this beta at least. That said, if anyone gives it a try would love to know how you get on. --- OIs will be available again in Post #7 which I always recommend to optimize the defensive strategy, which in this tactical set is forcing the opponents wide / to the touchline.

(POST #3) 4132 – Gungho Pep FCB - Tiki Taka BJT-4132.FCB-Home.fmfBJT-4132.FCB-Away.fmfBJT-4132.FCB-Away.B1G.fmfBJT-4132.FCB-Timewaste.SP.fmfBJT-4132.FCB-Neutral.fmf I only created this personally very late at the end of FM23 and never released a version. I was actually wondering if Pep had potentially used any other out of the box formations during his Bayern stint, and I bumped into something – a formation I never considered could potentially be used in the modern day, but well it had been! He also apparently used 9 different formations at Bayern– crazy. Well this is an even more offensive formation than the 235, it instead utilises 2 strikers. Unfortunately it was hard to find any clips of this system at work, but from those I had, there was a good deal of fluidity going forwards. It was clearly designed to try and break down teams that park the bus. As there wasn’t a lot of information to base this from, I've used my own vision, the current engine and chosen roles that will reflect some of Pep's finest players during his few year stint there. Definitely a system where you’ll need talent all over the pitch – and I actually really like the football in this one, a fun tactic that will score some great team goals and enjoyable to watch especially with a bunch of world class players assembled together. So the style remains of Pep's Bayern, higher tempo very short passing possession based football. A quick sim at City using the home formation brought all trophies with 97 points in the league. So with tweaks away from home, you should hopefully be able to slightly improve on this. --- OIs will be in Post #7

(POST #2) 235 – Inverted Pyramid / Pep FCB (Beta - Released 23.10.22) - Vertical Tiki Taka Original - BETA (Regista) BJT-235.FCB-Away.fmfBJT-235.FCB-Away.B1G.fmfBJT-235.FCB-Timewaste.SP.fmfBJT-235.FCB-Neutral.fmfBJT-235.FCB-Home.fmf 23.2 (DM-S / SP tweaks) BJT-235.FCB-Away-V2.fmfBJT-235.FCB-Away.B1G-V2.fmfBJT-235.FCB-Timewaste-V2.fmfBJT-235.FCB-Neutral-V2.fmfBJT-235.FCB-Home-V2.fmf Last year it was nice to see my possession based 235 inverted pyramid system finally given some love which worked well in the engine and it proved quite a popular one. So I’ve tried to reinvent it for this year's version. Not a whole lot has changed, just with the additional defensive instructions, I've followed the Pep method of defending - which is to avoid defending. Very reliant on technical players, top defenders and a goal scorer, if you have the right blend of players it should produce some really nice flowing football all the way from the back to the front. At time of upload this, possession on this year’s version is a problem so far. Formations and style of play that rely on possession as a form of defence isn’t working, because the possession numbers are a lot lower than they should be. And with this formation very top heavy and not naturally set in a solid block, it does get exposed more, further with the more counter-attacking friendly engine – it struggles, especially vs the better teams. It is also a lot harder to play out time by way of keeping the ball. This in turn increases the chances for conceding late goals. I’ve tried my best and altered this slightly, a bit more conservative in trying to retrieve the ball, but still looks to try to maintain the ball to see games out. With any luck, if possession is fixed hopefully it will work a little better. But I would say in most instances, it still works well enough - but vs the better and more aggressive sides, it struggle more. (It may be wisest to revert to a 433 formation in this instance given the more solid structure if you have players capable.) So with this tactic I think you will need a top quality side to use this system, or be a superior team relative to your division. Test runs as a sim I had 106 and the FA Trophy with Chesterfield, and a play through / in-game tweaking with Barca giving 105 points winning a domestic treble. Both teams were predicted 2nd in their leagues, so in each case it can still overachieve playing this brand of football. (OIs will soon be in Post #7) **235 Inverted Pyramid Pep FCB Run Through** In contrast to Pulis Ball, this tactic is designed for elite teams and Barca predicted second with Lewandowski perfect to play the Complete Forward role was my choice this time around. A much more possession and entertaining based tactic, that will score goals - but ship them in too. Domestically we achieved the title with 105 points and both domestic cups. A couple of games we were quite lucky in needing to manage things in game to turn some hard away ties around, notable against Villareal, Bilbao and an in-form Almeria. Each were thrillers that we came out on top of, so expect some high scoring games with this tactic - both scoring and conceding! In the ECL however we lost to eventual winners Man City. So it’s not the best system vs superior opposition especially away from home. We lost 5-3 at their place and could only draw 2-2 at home vs a lethal Haaland. I think with a top side it’s a fun formation to play and it continues to play good football. However with possession as it currently is, given possession based systems are a form of defense, with it harder to keep the ball so far this FM and get exploited on the counter it is weaker compared to last year.

FM 23 – Thread Updates (Pre 23.2) - Tony Pulis 442 Defensive Hoofball (Post #6) / 22.10.22, Beta - 235 Inverted Pyramid Pep FCB / 23.10.22. Beta - 4231 Jose Ball / 28.10.22 Beta - 433 BJT Ball / 28.10.22 Beta - 4132 Pep Gungho / 29.10.22 Beta - 2323 Barca MSN / 11.11.22 - 3421 BJT Dreamz / 25.11.22 *** Patch Update (23.2 / latest) -3421 BJT Dreamz / 31.12.22 (Tweaked w/set pieces updated) - Post #9 -433 BJT Ball / 03.12.22 (Tweaked all Versions 2.0 + x1 role change) - Post #5 -4222 BJT RM.GAL / 25.12.22 (New System, set piece tweak) - Post #1 -235 Inverted Pyramid Pep FCB / (Tweaked w/set pieces updated + x1 role change) - Post #2 FM23 Tactics (Any Updates Highlighted Above) Hello all, this will be my thread for FM23 tactics. I’ve decided to create a thread earlier this year, where from the start I’ll look to produce some of my favourite systems that I will more likely use myself so it’ll be easier to keep these updated. For those that haven’t tried my tactics before, I create and play the game in a more realistic manner – so these aren’t plug and play tactics. A bit different but, I hope a nice alternative. They also reflect the style of football I like to watch and play. (generally Pep style, and I’m not a great fan of the most extreme forms of gegenpressing front either, preferring a more measured form – in other words, trigger pressing the full backline just isn’t something I like to employ) With that in mind, they may not be the most effective tactics, but hopefully they’ll be quite fun to play with during matches and also watch on the pitch, whilst hopefully working relatively well. --- (For now, the tactics I’m more comfortable sharing at this earlier stage will be Pep higher tempo based ones, given I expect the engine should generally accommodate for this style relatively well, and hopefully less tweaking will be required for each patch – although with the current counter-attacking a current emphasis, they may not be as effective until a greater ME balance is struck. Currently 3atb systems and maintaining possession on this BETA is bugged and needs fixing, with these possession based systems also lacking possession % numbers. Also the out of possession tactics are easy to set for Pep’s systems – we all know Pep’s defensive strategy, is to avoid defending) --- Tactics Info (Important / Please Note) -Given how I create my tactics, these systems will require a degree of logical tweaking in game, typically manipulating the tempo and time-wasting. -I also use OIs to try support the defensive strategies employed. -I always like my teams to play a particular style, so I’ll tend to create a tactical set using the single formation. (although it would be more effective to change formations to suit the opponents, if that’s your style of management – admittedly I’m too lazy to micro manage to that extent). -Most of my systems will generally utilise 5 base tactics, being a Home, Away, Tricky Away, Neutral, and Time Wasting Versions, which tries to keep things as simple as possible for you to use / switch to. **(Note I will upload the 4, as I generally only change the Creative Freedom of the home tactic to “Mixed” when playing at a neutral venue)** I’ve reserved several posts which will hopefully be enough to use throughout the year for any tactics I do feel like creating (listed below), and any OI instructions. --- Current Tactic List x8 Eccentric Pep –Die Bayern – Higher Tempo (Post #2) - "Vertical Tiki Taka" 235 Inverted Pyramid (positive) – elite teams Eccentric Pep –Die Bayern – Higher Tempo (Post #3) - "Tiki Taka" 4132 Gungho Pep (positive) – elite teams JOSE Ball (Post #4) - "Park the Bus" (passive low block) 4231 Jose Ball (cautious) – Spurs – all levels BJT BALL (Post #5) - "Gegenpress" 433 BJT Hybrid (attacking) SAF / JM Influenced – all levels PULIS Hoof Ball (Post #6) - "Route One" 442 Pulis Ball (defensive) – lower levels LUIS ENRIQUE Barca - MSN (Post #8) - "Tiki Taka" 2323 Luis Enrique Barca (positive) - elite levels, potentially lower BJT DREAMZ - Late 90s / 00s Inspired, My Galacticos (Post #9) 3421 BJT Dreamz (attacking/balanced) - super elite teams BJT RM GALACTICOS - Late 90s / 00s Inspired (Post #1) 4222 BJT RM.GAL (attacking/balanced) - super elite teams -- **OIs (Post #7)** I’ll mark the OIs on this post. -- =========================== (Post #1) BJT - Real Madrid Galacticos (2000s) - Ronaldo / Zidane & Co BJT-4222-RM.GAL - Home.fmfBJT-4222-RM.GAL - Away.fmfBJT-4222-RM.GAL - Away.B1G.fmfBJT-4222-RM.GAL - Neutral.fmfBJT-4222-RM.GAL - Timewaste.fmf My Galacticos - Part 2 I have to admit I haven’t enjoyed the latest patch release. I always look to create systems that play nicely and are fun to use but I’ve found the latest ME has removed that element of enjoyment, for me at least, and I haven’t really played much FM at all lately as a result. However with this being the hand dealt and with my main interest this year trying to create tactics from my favourite period of football from the past that are a little different (and have been more feasible to create this year), I have been able to make a system I actually really enjoy playing with even on this latest ME - so I’ve decided to share this one. I also wanted to create a 2 striker system that I’d personally enjoy playing with to use. Whether it’ll work in the next update I don’t know, but it’s probably the system I will look to try maintain (I hope). Another thing of note is I have looked at and tweaked the set pieces a little from my previous systems to more suit the ME. **It’s also of course not plug and play as my usual tactics, and also it won’t sim great so you’ll need to manage hands-on for this to be most effective.** Here’s perhaps the ideal Real Madrid first XI, taking players spanning from around this period: SK-D – IKER CASILLAS FB-S – MICHEL SALGADO CWB-A – ROBERTO CARLOS BPD – FABIO CANNAVARO BPD – WALTER SAMUEL DM-D – CLAUDE MAKALELE REG-S – DAVID BECKHAM AP-A- ZINEDINE ZIDANE IWR-A – LUIS FIGO DLF-S – RAUL GONZALEZ AF-A – RONALDO LUIZ NAZARIO -- The Tactic / 4222 Asymettrical As usual this has 5 variants for immediate use to make things easier to you guys to tweak. It is designed for the world’s best players again (much like my 3atb system on the last patch), but this is heavily based on Real Madrid’s Galacticos of the early 2000s, a team I loved to watch with the ball. Many said this squad was one of the best Real ever assembled. They were definitely football’s greatest entertainers, and at times the football they produced was absolutely sublime – but it was an imbalanced side and poor defensively that they never were able to lift a Champions League. The major key element they were missing was Claude Makalele. That side desperately needed a solid DM that would allow everyone else in the team to play and showcase their abilities. They also needed better quality CBs. In general is probably won’t be the most effective system, and against the top teams that have a more structured formation such as the 433, this system will of course struggle a bit and rely on the brilliance of your players to be the match winners for the team with clinical finishing greatly important. The tactic is not super high possession, but you will have a considerable amount of the ball so it is significantly possession based. With that in mind, when in possession the tactic looks to create high quality chances rather than having many shots. A highly technical and creative team with players in the offensive positions having a lot of flair is what will be needed for this tactic to work well. -- PSG Test (Hands on) At the start of the game PSG was probably the most suitable team and that I’d most enjoy watching this tactic with, so I ran a hands-on season with them. The team lacked a real quality DM which as above, is essential to the system. Out went Sanchez and in came Declan Rice who I felt could do this job. Also brought in was Pedro cheap guy from Brazil (Flamengo) to play up front with Mbappe, and Pavard recruited for some much needed depth at the back. For me this tactic with the squad additions would need to be capable of winning the ECL whilst dominating everything domestically for this to be worth sharing. -- In Ligue 1, we went through the year invincible winning 37 out of 38 games and drawing 1, amassing 112 points. We won both domestic cups with little trouble – and we also did win the Champions League (with a little luck vs Real winning Semi’s on penalties), beating City 3-0 with highly clinical finishing the difference. Chesterfield (Away Version Sim) VNL I gave this a couple of runs using the away system probably more suited at this level (less expressive than the home) to see how it would fare with teams of lower quality, and it still fared well. The second / better run achieved 109 points in the league and the FA trophy, so it was a really good season. So it has the potential to work okay at the lower levels too. -- This won’t be the most effective tactic both by way of style and the structure of the formation, and it will work far better if you have a superior side in the division. But I think it’s a fun tactic to watch especially if you have the talent in the creative and offensive roles on the pitch. It will be susceptible at the back so you’ll need a top keeper and cbs and will at times get over-run in midfield vs the top sides. It will also struggle most in the away games vs the big sides so you’ll need a top side and ensure to man manage them well. But as long as you have the quality to support the idea & tactical vision / design then it should work well and be enjoyable to use. OIs strategy will be forcing the teams into the middle in support of the high / mid block strategies used. (Post 7). And ensure to make in-game tweaks to manage games effectively.