GCVS00

Been using this tactic a lot more, and it has been amazing. Good against bad teams and defensively solid against big teams. Just outplayed a good Liverpool team

Also you can use CF(s) to emulate Higuain's role, or F9 to emulate Mertens

Not sure if anyone is still interested in this thread, but I recently found myself wanting to test this tactic with a team that didn't have a god squad, as @Bird_SA pointed out. I decided on using Napoli but wasn't happy with the results I was getting, as the tactic just could not create chances. I decided on changing up the tactic to something I thought would still emphasize quick passing play, while also creating chances. This is what I settled on: These are the Player Instructions: GK: SK-S/A w/ pass shorter LB: WB-A CBs: CD w/ stay wider, pass shorter, take more risks, and close down less RB: FB-S w/ stay wider and run wide with ball DM: DLP-S w/ Tackle Harder and Pass shorter RCM: CM-S, w/ tackle harder and pass shorter, close down more LCM: MEZ-S w/ pass it shorter and close down more LW: IW-S w/ stay wider and aim cross at far post ST: CF-S or F9 w/ move into channels/roam RW: RAM w/ tackle harder As for the team instructions, I chose to up the tempo to attacking to get a more vertical style of play, but also dropped the tempo a tick down so my players don't just boot it. I took Dribble Less off because I thought it made my team far less creative, as players in Sarri's system would advance the ball forward through dribbling. I also added Focus Play Down the Left to further emphasize this area of the pitch. Has anyone else had luck emulating this system? After changing to this version of the tactic I've won three games by a score of 4-0, 2-0, and 2-0 creating way more chances.

That's one of the main reasons I find Ten Hag's Ajax so fascinating. He changed his system multiple times and still produced gorgeous football

Given the information in @Drake's comment, I've decided to tweak the tactic a little. I've changed the van de Beek role to an AM-A with move into channels selected. The de Jong role is now a RPM-S with Dribble More selected. I recommend putting comes deep to get ball and brings ball out of defense on this role. I've also changed Schöne's role to a HB-D, as per this article, Schöne would often form a back three by dropping between the CBs, whereas De Jong tended to come deep on the left side (https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/tactical-analysis-ajax-ten-hag-analysis-statistics). Additionally, I've removed stay wider from the wingers. The instructions have also been tweaked to make the tactic slightly more direct, as well as narrower.

I was thinking brings ball out of defense and comes deep to get ball

Thank you for the reply! I've always been fascinated by this 18/19 team and unfortunately wasn't able to watch any games, this tactic was just stuff I gleaned from online posts. I was stuck between much shorter and shorter passing because it seemed like possession (as you stated) wasn't necessarily the goal, especially in big games. As for the width, that actually surprises me. Would you say that the wingers still stay wide, or are they narrow as well? As for van de Beek, would moving him down to CM-A or AM-A with Move into Channels be a better fit? And yeah, finding a role for de Jong was almost impossible to figure out , might make more sense to use a DM-S or other customizable role and try to get the player traits right.

Here is how the team looked, played, etc.

As a fan of progressive, fun football, there are many teams that I have found myself drawn to over the years. Pep’s Barcelona, Sarri’s Napoli, and Poch’s Spurs (I’m a Spurs fan so that helps as well obviously). One other team I’ve found myself drawn to is Ten Hag’s 18/19 Ajax team. Not only was the football amazing to watch, but what they accomplished in making it to the UCL semi-final was incredibly impressive. I’ve wanted to recreate this system in FM for a while, so today I’ll try to recreate Ten Hag’s Ajax into FM23. Tactical Shape: The tactical shape of Ten Hag’s Ajax can be best described as a hybrid between a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. For this tactic, I have opted for a 4-2-3-1 with two defensive midfielders because I believe it best represents the shape Ten Hag used. For the in possession shape, I want the team to build-up in a 3-3-1-3, as highlighted in this video I used for inspiration (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orn9r3c7kgM). Keeper: SK-A For this role, I have opted for a Sweeper Keeper on Attack. I believe this role best represents Andre Onana’s play style. He is an aggressive keeper who looked to involve himself in buildup and take risks, as well as get himself on the ball frequently, availing himself to the backline as a passing option and positioning himself to aggressively claim crosses. Both Fullbacks: FB-A with the PI of Sit Narrower For both fullbacks roles, I opted for the role of FB-A. I chose this role to achieve the aforementioned 3-3-1-3 build-up shape, as the fullbacks will position themselves narrower in the midfield, while also not starting too high up the pitch. In attack, the fullbacks will becoming part of the attack, looking to naturally over or underlap depending on the positioning of the wingers in front of them. Both Centerbacks: BPD-D This role, performed by de Ligt and Blind, aims to move the ball forward aggressively, breaking lines with their passing and dribbling into midfield to collapse the defense and open up more space. Left DM: HB-D with the PI of Take More Risks This was the role I had the most difficulty deciding on. To emulate Frenkie de Jong’s play in Football Manager is impossible. He was all over the pitch, vital to Ten Hag’s vision for how Ajax built up play. He was able to receive the ball deep and progress it forward with both a dribble or a pass. His positioning and intelligence were second to none and unfortunately cannot accurately be recreated, like for like. In my opinion, the role most similar to de Jong is the Libero, as the Libero will look to progress the ball out from the backline and progress play. The problem is, using this role will shift the tactic into a back three in defense, which is not how Ajax played. As a result, I settled on using a Half-Back for this role, with Take More Risks added. This way, we still get the back three in possession, while keeping the back four in defense. The only issue is that this role has “Dribble Less” hard-coded, but it’s a sacrifice I’m ok in making. Right DM: DM with the PIs of Hold Position, Dribble Less, and Take More Risks The Schöne role, I wanted this position to sit in front of the back three, acting as an easy passing outlet and looking to be the bridge from defense to attack. I chose Hold Position and Dribble Less to force this role into one that passes more than dribbles, and chose Take More Risks to get those line breaking passes into the front four. LW: IF-S with Stay Wider This role is meant to emulate David Neres as the more direct and aggressive of the two wingers. I chose to add stay wider so that he stays high and wide during the build-up, after which he’ll naturally drift infield and look to pick out pockets of space. AM: SS-A This role, performed expertly by Donny van de Beek, looks to attack the box from deep, picking out pockets of space and moving intelligently off-ball RW: IW-S with Stay Wider I chose this role to emulate the behavior of Hakim Ziyech. I opted against using the AP-S on the wing because it has Cross Less hard-coded. I think that this role is a more creative, passing role, while also looking to chip in goals from outside the box, which is a perfect description of Hakim Ziyech’s playstyle. ST: F9-S with Roam From Position and Move into Channels Dušan Tadic was absolutely lethal in this False 9/free striker role. Racking up 40 G+A in 34 games, he was unplayable. I’ve opted for the False 9 role as a result, as it takes advantage of his intelligence and playmaking. This role will roam around the final third, looking to exploit space and create overloads. Instructions: The instructions aim to facilitate a high-pressing, possession based style of play. By using the Attacking Mentality, paired with slightly higher tempo and much shorter passing, I look to move the ball aggressively forward, while also emphasizing keeping possession. I also selected Be More Expressive to encourage my team to take risks and play with flair. The rest of the instructions are pretty self explanatory. Thank you all for reading!

Maybe a CM-S would work better? Very customizable role

Yep, same set-up, and thank you!

If anyone was still wondering about the tactic, it is incredible. This might be the most dominant game I've ever played in FM. Not often that you can say that you under-performed your xG while scoring 6. Also, 80% possession!!

I may be mistaken, but if you go to the tactic screen, you can personalize which position you want that player and only that player to play. That way, when they switch in game, they should be playing a new role

Just updated to add the 3-4-2-1!

Maybe direct wasn't the correct word. I just meant our possession style wasn't dominated by short passing and low tempo. I actually googled it, for the 17/18 season we were third (I think?) in long balls played.

Thank you. We were so fun to watch. Here's hoping Spurs and Dele get back to their best!

3-4-2-1: The other main tactical setup Poch utilized during the 16/17 season was the 3-4-2-1. Towards the middle of the season, Poch began experimenting with using a 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 as the base formation. This transition was very easy, as the 4-2-3-1 shares a lot of similar principles and shape in possession as the 3-4-2-1 did. Keeper: SK-D Same justification as the 4-2-3-1 LCB: WCB-D or WCB-S So for this role I chose to pick two possible choices. The outside CBs in this system stay wider to cover the space vacated by the attacking fullbacks. For Vertonghen’s role, it is very dependent on the opposition formation. If the opposition is playing with two strikers, keep this role on defend, to offer more defensive solidity. However, if the opposition is only playing with one striker, there is no point in keeping a 3v1 when a 2v1 is still an advantage in Spurs’ favor. In this case, put this role on WCB-S so that the LCB will play more in the midfield and give us a further advantage there. Add dribble more as a player instruction here. CCB: BPD-C The deepest point in the back three, Toby was an absolute anchor here. Much like in the 4-2-3-1, he is not expected to progress the ball through dribbling, so select dribble less as a player instruction. RCB: WCB-D For similar reasons in the LCB explanation, the RCB is expected to stay wider. This is the role in the play three that Eric Dier would play, and as he is less adept at passing the ball, he was expected to progress the ball through dribbling in wider areas. Both Wingbacks: WB-A The main source of width in this tactic, both wingbacks will look to be extremely aggressive in wide areas. Thus, WB-A works well for both of these players, especially given the cover the back three provides. Also, add close down more for these players to get them more involved in the press. Right Pivot: BWM-D, BWM-S, DM-S I struggled picking one specific role for this position. Wanyama’s role in the back three was to be a destroyer, the deepest midfielder who provided cover to the three centerbacks. I thought a BWM-D could replicate this well, especially given that it’s more defensive than the other two, but I feel like a fourth defense role is a little overkilled. Thus, I feel like a BWM-S or DM-S could work well as well, but might leave too much space vacated in front of the back three. I feel like you can tinker with this role a bunch, but player instructions should be close down more and tackle harder. Left Pivot: SV-S Exact same rationale and player instructions as in the 4-2-3-1 explanation RAM: AP-S Again, same rationale as above. Make sure to add move into channels, as well as training the player here to try killer balls more often LAM: SS-A This role was played by both Dele and Son in the 3-4-2-1, as Poch typically dropped one of his attackers to get all of Dier, Wanyama, and Dembele onto the pitch. ST: DLF-A I wanted to make sure our attack kept the same number of attack duties as in the 4-2-3-1, so I chose to make this role a DLF-A instead of on support. Instructions remain the exact same as for the 4-2-3-1. Thank you all for reading and if you want to learn more about Poch’s Spurs, these are the sources I used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EkcNB2AEsc https://breakingthelines.com/tactical-analysis/tactical-analysis-mauricio-pochettinos-tottenham-hotspur/ https://breakingthelines.com/tactical-analysis/peak-pochettino-analyzing-the-tactics-behind-tottenhams-2016-17-season/

As a fan of Spurs and someone who loves learning about different coaches' tactical styles, Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure at Spurs is extremely impressive. Not only did he do a phenomenal job considering the resources afforded to him (getting to the UCL final being his most impressive achievement), he did so playing an incredibly attractive, tactically astute brand of football. In this recreation in FM23, I will be recreating Poch’s 16/17 tactics at Spurs, our most dominant season in the Prem during his time. I’m also recreating his tactics in hopes that he returns, but anyway, let’s get into the tactics. Tactics: During the 16/17 season, Poch clearly preferred the 4-2-3-1, using it in the majority of our games, while also using a 3-4-2-1. However, the fluidity of the 4-2-3-1 and versatility of our players meant that we could switch seamlessly between systems in game. Even though this is the case, there were some key differences in the personnel selected for each tactic. I will be looking at the 4-2-3-1 first. 4-2-3-1: So there are minor differences in the various ways the 4-2-3-1 was played, but they mostly come down to the personnel selection in the double pivot, as the rest of the principles remain mostly the same. Keeper: SK-D I selected the SK-D role for this tactic. I deliberated about whether or not this should be a G-D, given Lloris’s noticeable deficiencies with playing with the ball at his feet and claiming crosses/controlling the box, but I opted for SK-D because of the possession-based principles that Poch emphasized. However, this role won’t look to take too many unnecessary risks so I feel it fits well. If you have a better keeper, I would recommend making this a SK-S or even a SK-A if they can play it. LB: WB-S The Danny Rose/Ben Davies role. One of the hallmarks of Poch’s system is how high and wide the fullbacks got. Both Danny Rose and right back Kyle Walker were known for bombing up and down the pitch and wrecking havoc. For this position, I have opted for a WB-S, as this role will get further forward than a typical fullback, while also having more defensive responsibility than some of the other, more offensive roles. I also feel like this role gives the tactic some more defensive stability. CBs: BPD-D The Belgian Duo. How I wish we had more defenders like Jan and Toby in our defense right now. These two defenders were absolutely vital to Poch’s system. Fearless in putting their bodies on the line and reliable and comfortable in possession, I feel as though having both defenders as a BPD makes sense. However, I have decided to add dribble more to the LCB (Vertonghen’s role) and dribble less to the RCB (Alderweireld’s role), as Jan was better at carrying the ball and Toby was better at progressing the ball through his long balls and diagonals from the back. Additionally, both CBs have stay wider on them, largely due to a specific role in the double pivot which I will get to later. RB: WB-A I have given the RB the role of WB-A. I feel like this is self-explanatory as Walker and Tripper were known for being the more offensive set of fullbacks on the team and adhere to the aforementioned fullback principles Pochettino has. Pivot: I have decided to talk about the two roles of the pivot in the same section, as their behavior depends greatly on who is playing where. Spurs had three pivots who were in blistering form this season: Mousa Dembele, Victor Wanyama, and Eric Dier, all of whom behaved differently from one another. Mousa Dembele, one of my favorite players in this team, was known for his incredible dribbling ability, providing Poch’s Spurs an outlet to progress the ball if our normal build-up play wasn’t working. For the Mousa Dembele role on the left of the pivot, I have decided on a SV-S with Tackle Harder and Dribble More Selected. Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier were also ever present in the team, with both performing different roles in the right DM slot. For Wanyama in the right DM position, I have opted for a BWM-D role, as even though he would stay deeper and hold position, he would also be a more mobile DM who would look to press and win the ball back. For Eric Dier, I have chosen the HB-D role, as he would frequently drop between the CBs to form a back three in possession. For when Wanyama and Dier played together, I selected Wanyama to play as the left pivot, with a BWM-S role, with dribble more selected. Personally, I think the Dembele-Dier pairing works best in this match engine, but there are options in this system. LW: IF-A For Son’s role in the team, I have chosen the IF-A role. I feel like this role perfectly describes Son, willing to make darting runs into the channel and playing very direct soccer. CAM: SS-A For the Dele Alli role, I have chosen the SS-A. This role encapsulates what Dele offered to this Spurs team: intelligent movement off ball, combining with the striker, and pressing aggressively. RW: AP-S My other favorite player on this Spurs team, Christian Eriksen, was absolutely world-class playing out wide. For this role, I have selected the AP-S. It captures the movements Eriksen would make in possession, coming deeper and more central to pick up the ball, allowing for the creative RB to naturally overlap and have space to cross the ball or cut it back. I deliberated on whether to put a couple player instructions on this role, but ultimately settled for Cross from Deep. I feel like this replicates the early crosses and killer balls that Eriksen was known for (seriously, look up Eriksen compilations, the man was insane). This player needs to have the “tries killer balls” trait. ST: DLF-S This season, Kane won the golden boot with 29 goals. Known for his devastating finishing, his ability in the air and his hold-up player were vital for this Spurs team. Additionally, his inter-play with the rest of the front four made Spurs’ attack extremely dangerous and fluid. I settled on the DLF-S role here, as I think it makes the best use of Kane’s hold-up and passing ability. However, I also have “shoots more often” selected, as I want this role to score goals, not solely be a creative role. Instructions in Possession: I have selected instructions I think will best represent Poch's possession based but also direct in-possession play and his aggressive, counter-pressing transitional and out of possession play. For in-possession, I chose fairly narrow because Poch liked the front four to be very narrow, allowing the wingbacks to naturally provide width. I decided to on shorter passing with a slightly higher tempo and playing out of defense to recreate the possession based but also direct build-up play. Finally, I chose run at defense to reflect the emphasis on 1v1 dribbling and aggressive take-on's that Spurs were also known for under Poch. In Transition: For In Transition, I chose take short kicks and distribute to CBs and FBs to reflect Lloris's inability to distribute the ball further up the field, playing it safe and retaining possession by getting it to the backline. Counter and counter-press are self-explanatory, as they were hallmarks of Poch's system. Out of Possession: For this tactic, I have selected a higher line, with step up more, and much more intense pressing to capture the electricity of Spurs' press under Pochettino. I also have get stuck in selected to reflect the aggressive mindset Poch wanted to enstill (Battle of Stamford Bride anyone?)

I think these are all valid points. I think either changing the wb-a to wb-s or dlp-s to dlp-d could fix the issue with counter attacks, although I’ve found if you have hard-working attackers the press stifles opponent attacks. As for the striker, I’ve also noticed this issue. I wonder if DLF-A would work better. And for the raumdeuter, I’ve found if you put an IF-A type player, it really works. They make good movements and score loads

The Raumdeuter is easily my most productive player. These are his attributes: Because of his height and movement off ball, he scores loads of goals losing his man off-ball and heading it in back post. On the ball, I think because of his traits, he actually maintains width pretty well. I love how this role plays in this tactic, especially because of the left-sided dominance giving the Raumdeuter more space to move in and out of. Also, weirdly enough, even though Raumdeuter have cross less ticked, he actually squares the ball in the box really often. In most games he drops anywhere from a 7.8-9.5 form with at least a goal or assist.

Oh yeah, it's all coming together now. This tactic (while not perfect), has all of the hallmarks of Sarri's Napoli side. Quick, vertical passing while also emphasizing keeping possession. Completely dominant against worst teams, team has less of the ball against better teams while still pulling off these quick triangles of passing.

Just had a game with 82% possession against 9th placed Genoa in a 2-0. This tactic is looking really nice!

Okay I think we're getting somewhere. I made some tactical tweaks, now it looks like this: I added take more risks and pass it shorter to both CBs, in addition to stay wider. RB: Stay Wider, Tackle Harder, Run Wide with ball DLP: Pass it shorter, tackle harder CM-S: Tackle harder, pass it shorter Mez-a: Pass it shorter IF-S: Aim Cross Far Post, Stay Wider RMD- Tackle harder, mark tighter I've played a couple of games with this version of the tactic and wow. We've been able to keep the ball really well (although that may be because my team is better than other teams in Italy) and I've really liked our shape and the goals have looked good. Pass Map looked great, we kept I think 67% possession with 3.2 xG and 0.01 xGa against 5th place Lazio on the road! I am not sure how to upload videos here, but one of our goals was incredible. The LB, LCM, LW, and ST all connect to overload the left wing and channel, which then opened my left back up to cross the ball into the RW, who made a great move off-ball to head it in at the back post!

I've done that with a lot of my saves too, but I really want to focus on creating a tactical emulation of Sarri's Napoli side. So the long balls can be pretty frustrating lol

This is Tato 23