Hello

Recently I've been getting a lot of questions about tactics on msn and on fm-base, so I've decided to
create a thread where I'll give out help to people in certain situations when I'm online, and also will give a
basic tactical guide for people wanting to create tactics. I will cover the formations I use most and which I
can give more help on, but feel free to ask about other formations and positions outside of these formations.
*Key parts of the information are highlighted in bold*
*The 4-4-2 will be done today, and other formations will be added soon*
The 4-4-2:
So, the 4-4-2, the most basic formation there is to use on the game, and is usually very successful in England
for me, and was successful in Spain and Italy for me also. The 4-4-2 can be used in many different ways, I
personally use it by trying to make each position link with each other, e.g CM's, wingers, strikers, CB's etc, but
you can do it by trying to completely balance out your team with a few attacking players, and enough
defending players to cover you on the counter attack, e.g 5 attacking players, and 5 defending players at all
times. This can easily be used on FM10 now, with the setting choosing if you want them to 'defend', 'attack', or
even 'mixed'.
It's quite simple when you think about it, looking at your 4-4-2 formation, the players you'll want to get on the
ball in attack would obviously be your 2 strikers, your 2 wingers and probably at least 1 of you centre
midfielders, usually a playmaker. Defend is obviously used for pretty much your centre backs, full backs and
usually 1 centre midfielder, formally known as a "ball winning midfielder".
GK:
Not much tactical advice needed here really, although if you're wanting to use a sweeper keeper, then
you'll need to look out for the stats such as Rushing Out, Agility, Acceleration and Decisions. If those stats
aren't above 13/14, I would just stick to the regular keeper position. If you're looking for key stats for
'keepers, then reflexes, one on one's, aerial ability and also command of area helps a lot too as 'keepers will
organise their defence for set pieces sometimes quite efficiently.
LB & RB:
In a 4-4-2, full backs are quite important. Depending on what kind on ML/MR you're using, e.g winger or a
wide midfielder, will change how much of an attacking or defensive position they will take up when you
are in possession of the ball.
Personally if I've got my ML/MR as a winger, I will set my full back to defend, especially when you're a mid
table/top half team in your division, this is mainly because the winger will attack the flanks enough, and
shouldn't need to much support, but of course with the defend setting, the full back will be there to pick up
the ball from the winger if needed and will make a simple pass to another player, however if you're one of
the better teams in your division, sometimes putting this on automatic (especially if you have very good
full backs) is a good idea as they full backs can dictate the pace of the game if they have enough
composure and technique on the ball, and will attack when their team does, and defend when their team
does.
Natural fitness is needed for this setting though as he will probably be doing a lot of running all game up and
down the flank.
CB's:
Centre backs in a 4-4-2 don't need to be amazing at through balls, or to have a great long shot, all they need
to do is be able to complete the basics of defending. For example, Vermaelen is a ball playing defender,
with his composure and technique on the ball, he can makes strides forward and join the midfield in attacks
to try and overload the opposition, and there are players like Sol Campbell, who don't have great passing or
technique on the ball, and will just complete the basics of defending, by tackling and marking the opposition
striker, and passing the ball into midfield, to the other centre back, to the full backs or back to the keeper,
basically nothing fancy.

Of course, if you're trying to play like Arsenal in their style of play with world class players, then this may
change for you, and you might want your centre backs to join the midfield in possession of the ball, although
a mix of a limited defender, and a ball playing defender is important, incase the ball playing defender
loses possession in a dangerous area, the limited defender will be there to try and regain possession for
the team. Key stats for a limited defender are heading, marking, tackling, concentration, and all physical
attributes at atleast 13 helps a lot, with them then being able to deal with a more wide variety of
strikers, for example the blinding pace of Agbonlahor, or the superb aerial threat given by players such as
Peter Crouch, all in their own way will give you problems throughout games, so a wide variety of good
physical attributes help, especially agility.
I would not recommend using a ball playing defender in a 4-4-2, personally I don't buy them as I want my
centre backs to defend and nothing else really.
RM/LM:
Wingers are an integral part of the 4-4-2 system, with their ability to create chances for the strikers, and
if they are not on form, your team normally struggles. There are 3 types of RM/LM's, a defensive winger, a
wide midfielder, and a winger.
They all have different jobs, with the defensive winger tracking back more than getting forward, and
helping out their full back. This is a good idea if you've got a below par full back vs a world class winger, as
doubling up on the winger could stop his impact on the game. Obviously with a defensive job, he will need
to be able to tackle, mark, and anticipate through balls to the opposition wingers, so tackling, marking
and anticipation are all important stats, along with stamina and natural fitness as he will be running after
the opposition winger quite a lot. Also team work and work rate are important.
Wide midfielders will try and track back, and also join in attacks, but sitting in their midfield position is
their man job, and they will look to skip past their marker quickly and cross the ball early into the box,
and will also look for through balls a lot, so a technically sound player is good to have here, but work rate
and teamwork are also needed.
A winger will focus on attack and will not have any plans to help out his full back with the opposition winger,
and will therefore focus more on exploiting the full back for either a lack of concentration, technical
ability, or on pure pace down the wing. Key stats for any winger, are crossing, dribbling, acceleration,
positioning and work rate. These stats will all make the winger a more dangerous threat, and will therefore
give your team a better chance of winning the game.
CM's:
CM's can balance out the whole teams efforts to go forward sometimes, with one usually being defensive
and one a playmaker who will make late runs into the box (as mentioned earlier). I usually have a mix of a
ball winning midfielder/box to box midfielder, and a deep lying playmaker, this is mainly because it gives
a good balance to the team, and with the ball winning option, it's more for away games where you'll want
to win the ball, hold it up and let your wingers and strikers make dangerous runs and then give it to your
deep lying playmaker to make that sublime pass you need.
Therefore the box to box option will usually be for home games, he need to have a good work rate, good
team work, good fitness and stamina, and also good tackling and finishing really helps in this role. I used
Martin Rowlands in a box to box role before (in my Goalscoring tactic) and he scored 20 league goals in the
season, with about 12 assists, which underlines the importance of this role.
A deep lying playmaker needs to be able to create chances and find the gaps in defence for pacy wingers
and strikers to get in behind the opposition defence, therefore will need good stats in creativity, passing,
technique, decisions, composure and concentration. Although the deep lying playmaker will have to be able
to defend in certain situations, as he will be lying deep in midfield and will usually be closed down as a
playmaker a lot as he is seen as a big threat to the opposition, and therefore will need to be brave in the
tackle, and also accurate too, and a good deal of strength never hurt anyone.

If you would like me to underline the importance of any other midfield roles, I will happily do it, but these
are my personal choices and favourites for my playing style.
Strikers:
Strikers are the final process of your teams build up, but they need to do more than just shoot, one will
need to link up play, and one will look for scraps and get goals for the team. A 'big and little combination'
has always been a thorn in the opposition sides, with them still unable to cope with the combination to this
day. An example of this combination is with Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent, with Jones not being the best
technically, but his physical ability in the air is a massive threat to any defence, and he usually headers the
ball down to his strike partner Darren Bent, or to a centre midfielder making a run forward to support the
attacking move. Key stats for a "target man", are strength, jumping, balance, first touch, passing and
finishing. Mostly physical stats are needed, but technical ability like first touch and passing will allow the
target man to bring more people into play, and will result in a better chance of a goal for your team, and of
course with him being a striker, he needs to be able to finish chances when the opportunity arrives for
themselves to score.
Whereas Darren Bent will look to pick up the scraps from the flick on's from Jones, and will look to grab goals
where he can from one on one's position usually, this is called a "poacher" role. To be a poacher, you'll need
anticipation, finishing, composure, off the ball, positioning and a bit of pace is a great thing to have as
the player will get in behind the defence for flick ons and through balls more often.
Having strength as a poacher won't do much good as you won't be looking to hold the ball up and will
usually be looking to get in positions where you're unmarked by the opposition inside the box, although
strength can help when going head to head with a centre back on your way through to goal.

Team instruction help (As requested by Joe):

Team instruction settings are one of the things people struggle with, trying to get the correct philosophy for
their team, the right sort of approach to each different match, and the style of play they should be adopting
for their chosen team with the correct settings along with it. It's more than just choosing your philosophy
style for the upcoming match, and the match approach, choosing whether to go for a countering style, or to
try and attack the opposition straight away, it needs to be more tactical than this.
The basics of getting a tactic to work is to make the team instructions link with each other, for example, if
you're attacking/countering, a direct passing approach is needed as direct football is linked with attacking
football, and short passing is linked with a slow approach which is not so attacking, e.g the defensive and
balance options. If you're going to play attacking direct football, if you're team is good technically, it's a good
idea to give them creative freedom on "more expressive" as more attacking football = more creative
freedom to create chances. Although, of course if you're team isnt technically sound at passing etc, then this
would not be the best idea, and would be a smarter idea to keep it at "default" if you're attacking, and if
you're sitting back with a weak team technically then "more disciplined" is a good choice for you and your
team.

Closing down:
The "closing down" option is something that will link with your opposition, if you're playing a weaker side, you
might want to close them down due to their poor concentration on the ball, and so you can take the ball
off them quickly and create a goalscoring opportunity, and if your facing a better team than yourself, or a
team just on par with you, you still may want to "press more" if you're attempting to counter the
opposition, as this will result in your team countering more often due to them pressuring the opposition
so much. I usually have it set to "press more" in all of my tactics, as I like the option of turning defence into
to straight attack by countering the opposition. The only time I'd recommend changing it to "stand off
more" is when your protecting a lead against a better side in the last 10 minutes (not before the last 10
minutes or so though) and you will sit back and soak up pressure, the reason I say this is because when your

pressing the opposition, gaps will appear in your defence/midfield which better teams will take
advantage of due to their higher quality of players available to them.

Tackling:
The "tackling" option is once again down to your opposition, so this can also vary each game you play. I
personally only use it on "more aggressive" away from home, to break up the home teams possession and
slow the game down, which is what your aim should be away from home, to slow the game down and
frustrate the home opposition, and their fans. Although at home, it's different, I would have it on
"default" or "more cautious". This is mainly because at home, you'll be expecting your team to play a
better style of football, and to create more chances, and aggressive tackling will only break up the play
and slow it down, and you may well struggle to create chances with all the fouls you are making, especially if
you're wasting a lot of energy by using "press more" as previously mentioned, because your players will be
chasing down a lost cause due to their fouling against the opposition.

Marking:
Marking, well this is an easy one for me. Man marking all the way. Zonal marking certainly results in more
goals conceded from set pieces, especially corners but crosses from free kicks also cause problems, so in my
opinion by using zonal marking your just giving your team a better chance of losing, whereas man marking will
give you a better chance of winning due to everyone being assigned to one player when marking, and less
intelligent players can stick to the plan easier compared to zonal marking where they will often end up
marking nobody out of 3 players due to their lack of quick thinking. It's up to you, but man marking can win
you games.

Crossing:
Crossing, there are two options for this, "drilled" or "floated". I decide on this due to the height of my
strikers, and also if I'm at home or away and what my game strategy is like. If my players are taller and
dangerous in the air, I will naturally ask my players to "float" in crosses because it will give my tall
dangerous strikers a chance of scoring in the air and causing loads of problems for the opposition
defence. If I decide I want my team to counter the opposition, I will use the "drill" option, due to it linking
with the counter option as it is still fast paced and with a good crosser, a fast striker and a slow
opposition centre back, it is rather deadly on the counter. If I'm at home, it will be "float" no matter,
except if I'm countering, because it flows with the game more, and if the target man connecting with the
cross isn't at a good enough angle to score from the header, he can knock it down to his striking partner
to give the opposition even more problems. Once again, this is something that will vary for home and away
games, and if your countering the opposition.

Roaming:
Roaming, there are also two options for this, "stick to position" or "more roaming". This is also something that
will vary if your playing at home or away, and who the opposition is. At home against a side with the same
sort of ability as my team, or weaker, I will choose "more roaming", as I will want to exploit gaps in their
team by letting players have a sort of "free role", e.g letting a full back act as another winger so we have
2 there at once.
The roaming option is basically the equivalent to a free role, so use it carefully as if some players given
the free role and don't use it correctly, e.g a centre back with poor concentration and technqiue goes into
midfield and loses the ball you could end up conceding from the mistake, so it must be used with care and
caution.
If away from home, it's always "stick to position" no matter who the opposition is, due to me not wanting
the opposition to be able to find gaps in my team to put their strikers/wingers in on goal to score. This

also gives players just one job to do and keeps it nice and simple for them which is what you want to aim
for away from home, nice and simple.
So, thats about it for team instructions. If you want to know more or feel I've missed something out, feel free
to ask. I left out target man supply and playmaker etc as I felt people can assign their own players to those
roles, and the wide variety of target mans and playmakers would be far too much to cover, but if you give me
a players name, I will happily help you.
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I will add more to this, e.g tactical changes during a match, touchline shouts and other formations soon