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Perhaps what you're experiencing is that a WB(s) has reduced mentality to a WB(a). Attack roles are a good way of indicating to players who you want to surge forward when possession is won back. However, what @warlock is saying is correct...it is all down to the play style you want to achieve. Utilizing support roles can help you achieve a more even buildup phase of play That sounds like a great starting point Learning with good players is an excellent way to do it. That way if things aren't working you know it's the tactical setup itself and not the personnel. One thing I would remember when watching how roles play is that a player uses all his attributes to execute the role (not just the highlighted). The profile of player you put in the role is just as important as the role itself when figuring out your tactical setup. If you're struggling to get things to work I would start with your striker profile and figure out how you'll get him into positions to score goals. The physical profile is particularly of note of a striker. That's usually the first thing I do when I take over a club and look at how I'm going to set up a tactic to fit the squad.

Interesting, thanks @HanziZoloman

You have a lot of roles + Tis designed to progress the ball quickly through the thirds, try toning things down and working on your defensive shape. A simple 3-2 in possession will go a long way, I'd also recommend trimming the TIs.

Hmm playing too much is a good way Mostly the roles + the PIs will tell you what's going on for the basic ideas, but there is hard coding under the hood. I would play on data analysis view so you can see what's happening and then switch back and forth between comprehensive highlights and full match on a higher speed. That approach sounds like a good way to see what's going on with a specific TI or role. Just keep in mind that the mentality you're playing on will impact everything in your setup. Mostly when you're putting together a tactic I would just look at: Space on the pitch Who Provides Width Who stretches the pitch vertically How do you score goals How do you progress the ball through the thirds How do you stop the opposition from scoring goals You can also do searches on the forum for how things work as there are years of experience on here. It's probably easier to learn from others to start off rather than attempting to draw your own conclusions from watching the games. Here are the stickied threads where you can see how others approach things: Here's a link to the manual:

You'll want athletic, hardworking players while playing on a narrow width w/counter-press for a Klopp-esque approach. Klopp's system worked very well circa 2018-2020, so I would look at the setups around then. That should serve as a good starting point!

lol, it's literally the first thing you read when you open the page. Similarly you can read the responses above and they will give you the specific examples for what you're asking. No one is asked about anyone playing plug and plays or not and everyone's been quite polite actually. This section simply does not do plug and plays...you can go over here though and they'll walk you through it: https://community.sports-interactive.com/forums/forum/67-tactics-sharing-centre-uploaddownload/ The poster wanted to know if the plug and play that they download was overturned and the answer is yes, discussing it any further is frankly incredibly dull. I'll share if I get some time to put an actual write up together, player profiles/traps would require some extra going into I think. I need to actually play the system more too sitting in about match week 5 so far and it's got a few rickets in it still. I wanted to try something different than the typical 4-2-3-1 style you'd see in a vertical Nagelsmann style so I went w/ a 5 at the back actually...although the wingbacks just sit deep and force the opposition centrally. I also wanted to maximize my passing options when building up from the back as I'm using Play out from Defence rain or shine. When building up from the back...you can see both wingbacks all the way at the touchline, but they won't go forward (although sometimes they go off on an adventure anyways). In possession they primarily just participate in this buildup phase (so we have no natural width like a Nagelsman system once we progress through the lines). You can then see how the play is designed to progress up the pitch w/Sardella (Libero(s)) as the main outlet. Notice how narrow/central the other 8 players are on the pitch and the space given to the two players in front of Sardella.

Has another ever turned an inconsistent player constant (red to green) in a save and how long did it take to do it? I have always discarded inconsistent players from my scouting pool but am curious what could be expected as improvement on the attribute over the course of a career.

I think everyone has already done that in the replies. To reiterate: From FM arena, which makes it by nature a plug and play Tactical setup designed to overload or brute-force AI/ME in ways it struggles to deal with, not create a style of play As @crusadertsar mentions above, there is not a fluidity or cohesive plan from the TIs and several are contradicting. It is simply an attempt to flood the AI w/ things it won't be able to handle. The tactical forums are for creating style of plays, not plug and plays And you can play however you like, if you want to run plug and plays that is totally up to you Fundamentally the intent of the tactic above is not to play the game, but to break it..and changing a few roles doesn't alter that. If you are tinkering around on your own in creating a style of play and find something you like, I would encourage you not to care if it's busted or not. However, that's entirely different than trying to find meta approaches or intentionally setting up in ways that the AI will struggle to deal with. Creating overloads is fundamentally different from overloading the AI. This forum can help you in creating a style of play. If you enjoy running a high pressing gegenpress and are looking to optimize the system...that's a completely different situation than the tactic above which is pulled from a plug and play site. I've been putting together a few high pressing systems on my own time as I watch the Euro's progress. Southgate's negative tactics have put a sour taste in my mouth for the defensive blocks at the moment. I've been particularly interested in Nagelsmann's (one of the only real coaches at the Euros) entirely vertical approach that features no natural width at all. In FM terms these approaches can be quite easy to pull off, so I've been trying to utilize vertical high presses + multiple pressing traps and minimalist TIs to avoid a simplistic and overturned approach. Bielsa's Uruguay team (a reminder that Copa America is on as well) deploys its unique and charismatic, almost suicidal approaches to matches. This may be another style to take a look at and try to emulate if you're looking to run a frantic high press.

Wrong section of the forum Check out over here if you're interested in plug and plays: https://community.sports-interactive.com/forums/forum/67-tactics-sharing-centre-uploaddownload/

A player with good balance is more difficult to influence, it's useful under pressure on the ball: An agi/balance combo can be a substitute for strength A BWM w/ a good agi/balance combo can dive in quite easily Players who will look to run with the ball Players who will challenge in the air or holdup the ball Playmakers who play on the turn, in tight spaces Press resistant players

It's from a website that creates plug and play tactics. Whether you want to call them exploits or cheats it doesn't really matter, the result is the same. You're relying on a tactic that works due to the limitations of the AI or ME (unrealistic overloads/forward runners, asymmetrical tactics, striker less formations etc.). In the case of this tactic, you're brute forcing the AI w/tons of tactical instructions instead of TIs that work together to create a systematic high press. You can set up a high press w/out running into these exploitation issues...but I would recommend avoiding these websites altogether and "meta" discussions. Ultimately the tactical form is for creating styles of play, not about churning out 100 point+ seasons and bags full of trophies. If you can achieve success alongside a style of play, that's a bonus The last patch did not see any match engine changes. Your players are more than good enough to win the Champions League so in this sense it's not "unrealistic," but the tactic you're setting up is designed to over performed at the expense of realism or actual tactical ideals.

Here you go: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c6ppyw9yj12o

Here's a player I signed specifically to test things out myself a bit: Signed at age 24 w/PA to grow + good mentals. Here is his progress from 24 to 27. He had only made a handful of appearances for Villa over the first two seasons of the save, which had severely limited his development before that. You're not going to be able to make up for these early windows of development later on in their careers...but you count on high PA players to fill out their mentals in the more advanced window regardless. Prioritizing technicals early on is therefore highly recommended for a player you want to develop properly. The personality element is quite important for this growth, I've seen players with "Balanced" stagnant in this window more frequently (although it's difficult to say if they've just reached their ceiling and that's why they're not developing).

Spain press high as well, just look at this graphic. It's not like they play tiki taka anymore. In fact, almost all good teams at the Euro's engineer some type of high press. PPDA means opposition passes allowed per defensive action, indicating that you were unable to interrupt defensive buildup play with a higher number. Nagelsmann's Germany, who play with no natural width, excel at this vertical style. England are horrific at the moment, partly because they can't put together a press at all...and sit at 23.1 on this list. Aging strikers (Kane) can struggle in modern systems w/out the ability to lead the press from the front. Spain's striker, Morata, a striker w/less quality Kane, has the physical attributes to stretch the defensive and trigger the press as mentioned. Spain's wingers are both played on their off foot. A high press does not necessarily struggle against a low block, that is more a problem for the vertical German systems (and is the question for Nagelsmann's vertical style). Man City's style have typically butchered teams than have overly sat back against them, although a counter attack w/quick front players will always be a threat to systems that control the ball. Playing through the opposition press is simply part of the modern game, which is why a press resistant technical DM is so highly valued (see Rice's struggles). France are one of the few big teams who will be comfortable playing without the ball, relying on their strong defensive unit and talent/pace up front. They similarly employ a long ball option (Giroud) and deep lying technical players who are capable of breaking the lines out of a press. Deschamps played in Italy for Juventus and is a disciple of the old Italian approach. If anything we are seeing the continued rise of High Press football and the demise of the old Italian styles. It's worth remembering that the Italian team who won the last Euros deployed a possession based, high pressing system.

It's difficult to draw conclusions from an individual match but I think what you are seeing is that the Man City setup is really poor for the matchup. They are deploying their second team, and a very physically weak version of it, while still trying to control the game against one of the best sides in England who excel at transition football. More importantly the key positions in the 4-3-3 are errors from City ie. Striker and DM. Kovacic doesn't have the height to cut out a direct ball in transition and has a mistake in him w/his defensive mentals. This is a huge problem for a solo 6 against a side playing transition football. This choice alone is probably game losing for City? I would just up to a very direct counter attack after seeing this + the IWB and put it on key highlights. The IWB leaves a gap to get after on transition. Another big win for you. Their typical Libero + 3 central defenders is much harder to play against in a mid block. The whole team is short and weak, they're very easy to bully. Hard tackling is very effective here, which you employed well. Alvarez has no height as a solo 9, which leaves him ineffective at challenging for crosses. Both 8's lack height/physicality to attack the box. I would just use the OI for "show onto weaker foot" on them to restrict their long shots. Ordinarily you have height from Haaland up top so this isn't a big deal, but w/out his physical presence there it compounds the issues that the wingers shown wide will be ineffectual in their end product. All these factors make this game an incredible matchup for a Man United team setting up in a mid block w/options like Hojlund, Rashford, and Garnacho up top. On the Tight Marking question: I think the main reason their wingers are so lackluster this game is due to the structural problems I detail above. You don't need to go all in w/tight mark on the wingers if you're quicker than them. You can just show them wide and if your fullbacks are quicker than them, what are they going do about it? In this situation there is no downside as the opposition lacks aerial threat to convert from crosses.