Football Manager 2011 general questions

[Mist]

This one works just fine, I'll have a look at the contents and write down some impressions tomorrow.

[Mist]

[SIZE="5"]Impressions part 1[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Formation[/SIZE]



[SIZE="4"]Going from the back[/SIZE]

You're using attacking mentality and offside trap on a flat back three. That means a high def line that occasionally gets caught out of position and is vulnerable to balls over the top to fast wingers ( inside forwards ). Why is the keeper not set to sweep?

[SIZE="4"]Problem #1[/SIZE]

Flat back three on the same instructions is interpreted by match engine as a ^ shape. The central DC is behaving more like a stopper and plays higher than the other two, becoming a kind of anchor man. That's fine when you have wingbacks or defensive side midfielders, they fall back to play fullback role when your team looses the ball.

Your wings don't track back. At all. Which leaves you with an anchor-DC two flat DCs playing as they would with four in the back and two huge gaping holes in the side.

Either explicitly set your DC line to Stopper-Cover-Stopper or manually set your middle DC to lower mentality than his partners to make him stay deeper and force the other two to the sides.

[SIZE="4"]Problem #2[/SIZE]

Because of how the central DC is interpreted by match engine he takes *almost exactly* the same positions on the pitch your anchor man does. Which makes both of them ineffective in open play. One of the two needs to start doing something else on the pitch.

[SIZE="4"]Problem #3[/SIZE]

Back to wingers and holes on your sides. If you don't want your wingers to help in defense, both of your central midfielders *have* to track back and preferably close down the sides. Either pull back both wide AMs to normal M position or change the Attacking Playmaker to more rounded role like Box-to-Box.

[SIZE="4"]Problem #4[/SIZE]

Advanced Forward - Attacking Target Man pairing has no right to work. First one is tasked with working channels and dragging defenses out of shape, second one is tasked with disrupting defenses and laying the ball off into space created. Sum of both gives you mauled defense with ball laid off into space with noone to put it into the net. If you need an example, it's like playing both Darren Bent and Andy Carroll on the same team simultaneously. Interesting, but not really wise.

[SIZE="4"]And finally[/SIZE]

I'll touch on this while writing about players in he squad, but you're really sure you want to give them so much creative freedom ( Fluid style + More expression ) ? Because I'm not certain they can handle it.

[Twinkletoes89]

Any more thoughts Mist?

[Mist]

[SIZE="5"]Impressions part 2[/SIZE]

So how would I go around making a shape like this?

[SIZE="4"]Team Instructions[/SIZE]

Firstly, I would not go Fluid style. Three at the back is very vulnerable to bad positioning on the back. There's constant danger of overload, and one defender out of position opens highways for through balls, runs and crosses. The more fluid your team plays, the more chance your defenders are out of position. So no Fluid, or Very Fluid. But since we do want our midfield to help in defense, not Very Strict either. Therefore either Standard or Strict. Your players might not be titans of intellect, but they can think for themselves, I'd set them Standard.

Secondly, mentality. You're not Manchester United playing early cup stages, you do have a slight edge in quality, but it does not for most part warrant starting and playing mainly with Attacking mentality. Start Standard at home ( or Control if you're a heavy favorite ) and Counter away ( Defensive if you're a strong underdog ). Adjust depending on match progress.

Thirdly, do not override team width with a custom setting, it disables shouts and prevents needed change when you change mentality.

Fourthly, press on attack, stand off when defending. This is an often misunderstood instruction, but this simple rule makes plenty of sense when you think about it.

Fifthly, *mark zonal*. I can't overemphasize this for the shape you want to play. If some/all of your players start running around man-marking people in 4-4-2 you'll have a completely shot formation that's in no position to lunch a counterplay.

[SIZE="4"]Player Instructions[/SIZE]

From the back. This shape leaves a lot of space and time on the flanks for wingers to cross often and with some precision. Therefore

The Goalkeeper - Sweeper Keeper ( Defensive )

Needs to have strong command of area and good ability in the air. He should also be able to rush out and claim any ball that goes over or through your overworked defense.

Out of your keepers Cerny is worse than Weaver in the air but better on the ground. Play Cerny when you're against small but fast strike force and Weaver against tall and strong one.

Side Defenders, DCL and DCR - Central Defender ( Stopper )

These guys are so out of luck, they need to run, and run, and then run some more to close those pesky wingers to deny them time for a cross. And when they are not running, they need to jump and head incoming balls away. You want them to work hard. You want them to be fast and jumpy. You want them to head the ball in a proper direction. And you want them to be able to put in a tackle. Ah, and did I mention they are a part of back three, so Positioning and Decisions are a must?

You want to play Beevers here. You really, really want to play Beevers here. He's the best all-rounder defender you have in the squad. Reynolds is the pick number two edging Sonko by virtue of not being dumb as a brick. Sonko is your sub if opposition plays a muscle-monster forward, Morrison when other guys need a rest or when enemy strike force is lethargic.

Middle Defender - Ball Playing Defender ( Defend )

This is the smart guy with authority, he's here to keep the other two together, position himself to cut off any through balls and generally provide some brains to the proceedings. He needs Influence, Positioning, Decisions and Marking. Some Passing and Creativity doesn't hurt. Also, since he's the last obstacle on the way to your goalie, high Concentration and good Tackle is a must.

This is where you play your smart, but slow as molasses guys. Booth and his poor cousin and sub Nibombe.

T.B.C, there's a lot of midfielders and strikers to write about

[Mist]

[SIZE="4"]Player Instructions ( cont. )[/SIZE]

Defensive Midfielder - Deep Lying Playmaker ( Support )

There is a strong temptation to play a destructor here ( There's only three defenders! They'll certainly need help! ) but that's a bad idea. You have more than enough bodies in the middle, any half-intelligent team will play through your gaping holes in the flanks instead trying to beat the crowd. You will also find out, that a destructor would tend to take very similar positions on the pitch to your middle DC and having two players in the same place means one of them is redundant. So if not a destructor, then who? The answer is a ball recycler a guy that will make sure that when you have the ball, it keeps moving. He'll make a lot of passes, they won't be technical masterpieces of great vision, but they will reach the target with near certainty. You want him to have high Passing, Teamwork and excellent ability to read the game ( Creativity, Decisions ). Being able to hold the ball ( Strength ) and make himself available at all times ( Positioning, Off the Ball ) are a bonus.

You really only have two options here - Jake Livemore and Mark Reynolds. Former is a more rounded and intelligent player, but the latter provides more solidity in defense. Play Livemore as a first option and Reynolds when opposition has a dedicated AM.

Central Midfielder Right - Ball Winning Midfielder ( Support ) *or* Box to Box Midfielder
Central Midfielder Left - Ball Winning Midfielder ( Defend )

The blues brothers, they make the same job your stoppers do in defense, namely making sure the space on the flanks behind your wingers ( who don't track back a whole lot ) gets closed down if required. They are also the reason you don't need a destructor at DM. Because of how your wingers will be set up one of them can play less conservatively and be set as BtB if you feel you need to fit a player with attacking talents into the midfield lineup.

Connor Clifford is your first pick here with Guy Moussi filling the second slot. That said, you don't have a lot of backup for these two. Jordi Gomez could play Box-to-Box if you fell you can't ditch him from the team, but he's a slightly awkward fit and won't excel.

Right Winger - Winger ( Support )

This is the better of your two wingers, the one that knows how to do stuff above running fast and putting in a half-decent cross. You want him to be more involved in buildup, do late runs from space and draw his defender forward out of position. Having him slightly withdrawn adds another dimension to your forward play, you might be surprised at how many goals this guy will tend to pick up.

Kazenga Lua-Lua. End of story. Ludovic Giuly as a backup and footnote. Anichebe is to one-dimensional to play this role.

Left Winger - Winger ( Attack )

The weaker of your wingers with a simple role - pin the defense back and run, run, run at them. He's a feint and decoy that will often not achieve a lot personally, but fills a very useful role nevertheless.

Simone Del Nero and Graham Carrey. If Lua-Lua is not playinng, have this wing play Support role and put Anichebe as attacking winger on the right.

[Twinkletoes89]

I've been putting the defense & midfield stuff into action along with revising the team instructions and striking options and the results are still a little mixed.

I'm doing fine against the lower teams, but against the bigger teams (Charlton & Sheff Utd) I am still getting torn apart annoyingly.

So basically, is this a stupid system I have created and you have just made it acceptable?

FYI - I have been playing strikers as Miller (Adv Forward) and Rochina (Complete Forward - Support) which again seems to be working best, though I worry that Madine is too good to be left on the bench but I can't find a system for him. I set Miller as Target Man on the Team Instructions with 'Run On To Ball' as well as Livermore as designated playmaker.

Hmmm....

[Mist]

So basically, is this a stupid system I have created and you have just made it acceptable?

I'm not posting the final conclusions yet, because I want to play to the end of the season, but from what I can see I wouldn't call it a stupid system. But it's a very hands-on and volatile system that can't be left alone t get the scores. You need very careful morale and fitness management, be active during the games ( shouts, mentality changes, targeting opposition players that have a bad day ) and some bit of luck.

From the point you posted the save I won next three games 1-0, 4-0 ( against Charlton ) and 1-0, so it can be made tight. It just needs a lot of effort, because it's inherently weak against prevalent flat 4-4-2.

[Mist]

As an aside about strikers -

Miller and Madine are similar type of a player, both working best at Target Man role. My gut feeling based on stats though is that Miller would be better fitted to a single striker shape while Madine works really well with a partner. The best results I've seen so far come from Madine ( Target Man Support ) and Schmelz ( Poacher ) pairing.

[Twinkletoes89]

Would you be able to suggest a simpler system that doesn't require intensive game-by-game tweaking?

I mainly came up with formation as I was awash with CBs and not many great FBs so wanted to use 3 CBs.

[Mist]

I mainly came up with formation as I was awash with CBs and not many great FBs so wanted to use 3 CBs.

Well then, 3-5-2 is no good, because your central midfield is uninspiring and you're also awash with good strikers.

I'd try Chilean ( Bielsa ) style 3-4-3

That's Very Fluid,
Standard at home and Defensive away

Standard passing
More Disciplined creative freedom approach
Press More in closing down
More Cautious tackling
Zonal Marking
Default crossing
Stick to Position in roaming instructions

The idea is to have the lines play close to each other ( thus not leaving space for AMs and DMs ) but keep the overall shape ( disciplined play and sticking to position )

Goalkeeper - Sweeper Keeper ( Defend ) with Cerny as first pick

Defenders in DC ( Stopper ) - Ball Playing ( Defend ) - DC ( Stopper ) lineup with personnel and reasons as described previously

MR and ML are Defensive Wingers ( Support ), they play deeper and do much more in defense so you leak less through the flanks.

CMs are a Ball Winning ( Defend ) CMR and Advanced Playmaker CML ( Attack ) former as previously latter with Jordi Gomez as first pick and Mark Randall or Ludovic Guilly as backup

Forwards line up in a Shane Smeltz as Poacher STL, Madine as Target Man ( Support ) STC and Miller as Target Man ( Attack ) STR. Anichebe can replace Madine, Rochina can play a backup to Smeltz and Miller ( but change STR to Advanced Forward when he plays there ).

This should be a fairly safe and low maintenance once the team learns how to play it. You will have to rotate heavily though, constant pressing will be very draining on condition.