Updated 24/03/14 to suit patch 14.3 — This post has not been changed, but the changelist for the updated tactic can be found near the bottom of this post, just before the download link. Minor tweaks and enhancements have been made so this will be just as effective with the new patch.
Hey guys and welcome back to our series of best FM 2014 tactics. Its been a while since I could update you with something new, mainly due to this years tactics and match engine been so tough to master. However, after many hours of testing I think we’ve found one of my best FM 2014 tactics yet, at least I hope so. :)
For some time now you’ve been asking us to create a 4-2-3-1 tactic for Football Manager 2014. Well now we have, the holy grail of FM 2014 formations has been unlocked. I call it Darren’s dynamic 4-2-3-1, Darren because of my name, dynamic because its fast paced and well you get the rest. :) Enough of the jokes, lets jump into it as there’s a lot to explain.
Let me begin by saying this is tested for patch 14.2.2 and I can’t say if it will work beyond that patch. Also, if you are struggling with this tactic and haven’t read the full post before using, then don’t complain, its your own fault. Below should explain all you need to know in order to use this properly.
This tactic is suitable for almost any team in the top flight or second tier of almost any country. However, bare in mind you must have the correct personnel for all the best FM 2014 tactics to work, if you don’t this tactic will be an epic fail. I tested it with Swansea to great effect and a friend did so with Chelsea, West Brom and Atletico Madrid. That should give you an idea of the sorts of teams that are primed and ready to play. I recently tried it in Italy, not as effective there due to its fluidity but with patience and good signings it should work.
Best FM 2014 Tactics: 4-2-3-1 formation
Important! The philosophy is very fluid and must stay that way, the strategy should vary on who you are. As a guideline, when playing with Swansea I used counter for every single match bar the incredibly easy ones. My friend Dan used control strategy for every single match when playing with Chelsea, bar the very difficult away games to the likes of Man Utd and City etc. Basically if you are not a top top side then stick with the counter strategy, but you’ll have to gauge yourself where your strategy should lye.
I actually created this tactic while watching Chelsea beat Manchester United. All I did was examine every role Jose played and how they moved, hassled and all their general play, then tried to replicate the roles and instructions in FM. So if you are considering who to sign, just consider Chelsea’s starting XI and use them as inspiration for the types of players you will need. Again, this will work with underdogs, but you do need to make sure the squad is suitable and its worth noting that speed is quite important but we’ll cover that later.
Best FM 2014 Tactics: 4-2-3-1 Team Instructions
The instructions are designed again to try and emulate Chelsea’s game. I noted in the United victory that they seemed very expressive, closed the opposition down fast and most of the play was at a high tempo (note AMC is instructed to hold up ball as to try and be more calculated with his passing options.) Due to their superior wingers they exploited Hazard and co on the flanks and the full backs liked to overlap as did the box to box MC.
I also noted that most of the passing was short as they tried to work an angle into the box and they liked to run at the opposition with the ball as well as drill their crosses in. The only instruction that doesn’t resemble their general style is the pass into space, but that is just to try and combat the difficult match engine.
This tactic does feature a number of player instructions, of which I won’t go into detail. But none effect the roles or general duties you’d expect the players to fulfill…they just enhance what the players are already asked to do like the inside forwards are told to dribble more for instance.
Best FM 2014 Tactics: 4-2-3-1 Roles
GK: goalkeeper — defend — Nothing special required, sometimes your keeper may be left a little stranded with long balls over the top, so one on ones and running out may be a bonus but not a necessity.
DR/DL: wing back — support — Very important players, they give the inside forwards support and overlap going forward. Speed is very important, stamina too and the obvious defensive attributes. But the better these guys are at crossing and dribbling the more chances you will create.
DC: ball playing defender — defend — You should look for all the usual defensive attributes, but also passing, composure and acceleration are very important. If the pace and acceleration are below 12 for top flight teams this guy may cause problems. The faster the better.
DC: central defender — defend — Same as above, he will be vulnerable to balls over the top so needs speed to avoid being caught out. Don’t worry about the passing for this guy though as he isn’t expected to play out of defence. Look more for someone good in the air with jumping and heading.
MC: ball winning midfielder — defend — This guy will need to hunt down possession and then lay it off to a team mate. Good physicals are a bonus, work rate and tackling are very important alongside the usual attributes for this role.
MC: box to box midfielder — support — We want someone with acceleration, dribbling and great work rate for this role. He will run up and down the pitch, good shooting ability will be a bonus too.
AMR/AML: inside forward — attack — Very important players, they will get the goals when your forward can’t. We must have flair, plenty of pace and acceleration and the better they are in front of goal the more they’ll score. Most importantly we need good dribblers. These two will transform you from average to great if picked correctly.
AMC: attacking midfielder — support — The AMC is your link, he should connect everything together so great technical ability is a must. Also the better his mentals in general the better he’ll perform, teamwork and work rate could be a real bonus but look for creativity and try to avoid slow players.
ST: deep lying forward — support — This guy needs to be a bit of an all rounder, the best example for this role would be Bony. But don’t pick someone slow as they will not work. Try for a minimum of 12 in pace and acceleration, again more is better.
General player tips: I can’t stress how important speed is in this tactic, namely out wide and at centre back, slow defenders will be caught out due to the fluidity and number of players in attacking positions.
Best FM 2014 Tactics: 4-2-3-1 In Action
With the right players as I have laid out above, this tactic should play fairly solid at the back and very dangerous upfront. When the opposition press against you as opposed to counter, your back four should stay compact while the two MC’s, AMC and all other attacking players press and hassle, making it difficult for the opposition to break through.
When against lesser opposition who would rather sit back and play on the counter, the team will press much higher up as shown below. The pressure is great, but this is why you need fast wing backs and centre backs as they can be drawn out of position and that is when the long ball over the top will hurt you most and lead to annoying losses to lesser sides.
The build up play can see every one of your players involved. The screenshot below is from a counter attack against Man City that lead to a penalty. The ball winning midfielder picks up possession and finds the marauding wing back who plays a quick threaded pass to the left sided inside forward, Dyer speeds away and is brought down. As you can see there are a lot of attacking options.
The AMC is set to hold up play and pass more direct, this is to further enhance his playmaking options, while the box to box midfielder tends to get up alongside him offering a flat passing option, this helps open play and further passing options. Meanwhile the ST, AMR and AML pry around the opposition defence in search of an opening.
Below are some highlights from my Swansea save which show how clinical this can be with the right players. Please watch in 1080HD for the best viewing.
Results with Swansea
Europa League — We enjoyed a good run in Europe, but were unfortunate to lose against French side Marseille in the semi-final. We had more chances but they took the few they created over both legs.
Premier League — While we suffered early exits in the domestic cups we did incredibly well in the league. Missing out on the title thanks to a last minute Baines fee-kick in the last game of the season!
Squad ratings — Bony was key with 25 goals, so were the wingers. Hernandez and Dyer chipped in with 22 goals between them and 18 assists. You’ll notice the defence had high ratings, they were superb while Michu wasn’t always on form but he always linked up play well and scored 11 goals to boot.
Dan’s results with Chelsea
League Cup — While I tested with Swansea, my friend Dan Davidson tested with Chelsea to great success. He won the League Cup beating United, Liverpool and City on the way.
FA Cup
Premier League — Dan won the Premier League, unfortunately he deleted the save before sending me the screenshot of the table but below are all the results.
Champions League — The quadruple was wrapped up with a win against Juventus in the final of Europe’s elite competition.
Dan also played with West Brom and finished 7th in the Premier League and won the League Cup, showing this can work with the underdog providing you have the right type of players.
Important notes
- I prepared this tactic through pre-season. I had training set to team cohesion and high intensity throughout pre-season and the match prep as tactics only. Through the season I changed to average intensity and balanced training. The match prep should change based on your next opponent and what may have been a problem in the last match.
- Give this tactic time, it will not start working perfectly straight away. I am currently testing with Napoli and only after about 8 games do the team start looking like they can make the tactic work. There’s lots of fluidity and freedom, which can take longer to adapt to. Just see Dan’s first few results for evidence of this.
- You must sign suitable players for this tactic, or it will not work. Remember the faster your side the better they’ll play.
- When two goals up against tough opposition or desperately trying to hang onto a lead at the end of a match, it may be best to switch to my 4-5-1. This tactic will be more stable defensively and help close out the match, you can download it from here.
- For opposition instructions just ask your assistant manager to set them every match, he tends to know best. Your AM won’t always be right, but unless you know what to look for in his errors, leave the instructions to him. Without these instructions been done properly the tactic won’t work.
- There are no specific pitch dimensions I’d recommend.
- This tactic has been tested in patch 14.2.2 and I can’t guarantee it working in later patches.
14.3 Tactic Changelist
As mentioned at the top of this post, I have adjusted and tweaked this tactic to suit the most recent patch, 14.3. Below are all the changes made to suit the new patch, while almost all the information above still applies in using this tactic, just note that the control strategy is best to use in general.
- Strategy — always use control
- Team instructions — Added instruction ‘much deeper defensive line’.
- DCL changed from ball playing defender to central defender.
- MCR changed from box to box midfielder role to central midfielder with support duty.
- MCL changed from ball winning midfielder role to central midfielder with defend duty.
- AMC changed from attacking midfielder to advanced playmaker with support duty.
The download below is for the new revised tactic.
Best FM 2014 Tactics: 4-2-3-1 Download for patch 14.3 and beyond
If you like what you see, then just click the download image below and download the file from mediafire. Then follow the instructions.
- Once download is complete, move the file to the following folder documents>sports interactive>football manager 2014>tactics
- Now load the game as normal and enter the tactics screen.
- Click the button to add a tactic and look in ‘archived tactics’, then select ‘Darren’s Dynamic 4-2-3-1 v2’.
Well that is my best FM 2014 tactic to date. Thanks for reading and please do share this post on Facebook and Twitter…sharing our site will help us grow and I’d really appreciate it. For those trying this out I hope it works as well for you as it did for me and Dan.
Brucey
26 января, 2014 at 14:07
Looks really good on my game so far! Defensively brilliant (which is all important this year) and pretty good offensively. The only thing I could suggest would be changing the AMC from an AM-S to an enchange, which I have found works brilliantly with a BBM.
Darren Smith
26 января, 2014 at 14:55
Thanks, well if you test this tactic with the enganche and it works let us know.
Mufaddal
8 марта, 2014 at 09:33
Thanks for the tactics Darren, but am having a terrible time with man city in my 1st season i have played 15 games but not have won a single game, am going to apply your tactics, can u just help me whom should i keep in which positions…your reply will be appreciated darren
Darren Smith
8 марта, 2014 at 12:16
Just see what the best players main roles are and the squad should pick itself. I haven’t used Man City so I wouldn’t be giving you any first hand experience.
Ainvar
27 января, 2014 at 11:14
Will try as soon as I can! And I was happy to see Brucey commented the same thing I wanted to post, that maybe an Enganche for the AMC position would be perfect, as Darren says the AMC is told to hold the ball and in general be a more stable man up there, linking the marauding WB-IF and striker!
Darren Smith
27 января, 2014 at 11:50
Let us know how it goes.
Ainvar
29 января, 2014 at 13:11
20 games into the season, 17 win 2 draw and 1 lose, with the negative results coming within the first month of season. Also my pre-season was not good, I only won the internal match against the reserve team, but I sticked to it and at some point it bloomed and it’s going very good! I tested it with Newcastle in the EPL.
Many times during the season I wanted to switch my training focus but from the moment the results started to come I don’t want to break the spell, so I stick with my Balanced on High or Average!
Kristoffer
29 января, 2014 at 17:00
Are you using the Enganche role? :)
Ainvar
30 января, 2014 at 14:04
Ah, forgot to mention it. I started using it but reverted back to the original Darren file midway through the save, after 10 games. The reason is that despite I was getting results, my EG had a not shiny average (6,2-6,5) and I had the feeling he was never key in our offensive sets that led to a goal. Back to an AMC and I kept the same results going (proof that a little change cannot make the whole tactic fail) and my AMC is now around 6,7-6,9 ratings, I look at it as it has improved his role in the team.
Darren Smith
29 января, 2014 at 17:48
Well done, glad to hear its working for you and hope it continues.
kevin62
27 января, 2014 at 12:29
Hey Darren
Great write up as always and of course an impressive tactic as well. Probably not suitable for my Canadian SC side though I may give it a go based on the results so far :)
Darren Smith
27 января, 2014 at 20:27
Thanks Kevin, it can be a particular tactic but I guess it can be relative to the clubs in your league. So even if you don’t have the best players, along as you are better physically than your opponent then it could still work, worth a try :)
Max
27 января, 2014 at 13:53
I’ve been using your 4-5-1 with Spurs, I’ve finished 3rd, 4th and 1st and won the league cup in my third season. I’m coming to the end of the 4th season where I’m currently second in the league.
I am going to use this tactic in the 5th season I play. I will probably by another striker for this formation but I have Lamela, Eriksen and Di Maria who should suit the attacking midfield positions.
You mention balls over the top being a problem for the defence. Would it be worth changing thge GK to a sweeped keeper especially as I have Lloris who is perfect for this?
Darren Smith
27 января, 2014 at 20:38
This should certainly work with Spur’s. TBH the sweeper keeper is logical but haven’t tested it as yet…the problem is the gap thats left seems too big even for a sweeper keeper to cover, I feel like he may be left in no mans land. But it would be worth a try.
Max
7 февраля, 2014 at 10:11
I’ve been using the tactic and I like how the players work the ball around the box and that the team is constantly attacking.
The only downside is I now pick up a lot of bookings, did this happen to you when testing the tactic? Sandro seems to start with a yellow card and my centre halves are always running the risk of being sent off.
Darren Smith
7 февраля, 2014 at 11:42
I personally didn’t notice that with Swansea, however have had those issues more recently in other saves. Its just the nature of the tactic because it is risky and the players are told to hassle the opponent it can lead to these issues depending on the players personalities.
Max
7 февраля, 2014 at 13:35
Yes, player personalities do seem to play a big role in how the instructions are followed in this game. I’ve been using the sweeper keeper for this tactic and it works well with Lloris especially as he is good at one on ones but not so well when I play my backup keeper.
I do like the tactic. Your 4-5-1 tactic got good results but this tactic has good results and makes the team play with more style.
Gaurav Chaddah
27 января, 2014 at 16:42
Woooooooo finally someone has cracked the formation of nightmares, finally we’ll be able to use the most common real life formation in FM, thanks a lot Darren, only you could do it ;)
Darren Smith
27 января, 2014 at 20:40
Yeah its a really tough formation to play with but I think we’ve cracked it here, with the right players of course. Just hope the next patch doesn’t knacker that up as it has with my other tactics.
Poobington
27 января, 2014 at 19:15
Hey are we going to see a revival of the tactics review from last year? It was great last year
Darren Smith
27 января, 2014 at 19:44
We will do mate. Just waiting for SI to release the next patch so we don’t have a tonne of questions about whether tactics will work in the next patch.
jackson
28 января, 2014 at 17:02
Great guide Darren. Dan’s results with Chelsea looks fantastic. Michu performed quite poorly though, so do you think changing him to have a role of AM-Attack or even Trequarista (which goes on attack automatically) could make him perform better?
Darren Smith
28 января, 2014 at 18:20
TBH I haven’t tested it with that role so not sure it would work…the AMC serves a duty to the whole tactic not himself, that is why the av ratings weren’t fantastic. I think the trequ would drop too deep in all honesty.
Dalep86
28 января, 2014 at 18:17
have you tried using this tactic with 2 wingers instead of inside forwards?
Darren Smith
28 января, 2014 at 18:21
No I haven’t.
Jonny
28 января, 2014 at 20:52
This tactic is amazing with Southampton at moment!!
Darren Smith
28 января, 2014 at 21:01
Good to hear, hope the run continues.
Matt (Great Matsby)
30 января, 2014 at 15:46
Hi Darren. Just to reiterate Jonny’s point above, I’m riding high with Saints using your tactic. The subtle mix of counter attack mentality but with team and player instructions more widely used with attacking tactics seems to balance things just right. I have Osvaldo and Jay Rodriquez pulling off some incredible solo efforts from IF and Ramirez is a player reborn in the AM role. Many congratulations mate, truly your best tactic to date.
As you have mentioned, the only weakness appears to be conceeding regularly from long balls from the back or jinked through balls from opposition AM’s/DLF’s. I’m getting hit time and time again by this and results are inconsitent (beat Man Utd 2-1at Old Trafford, then welcomed Spurs to St Mary’s, who pummelled me 5-0…Defoe hat-trick), so have been thinking of a way of countering. Possibilities include dropping the BWM into a DM position and withdrawing the AM into CML as an attacking AP (making a 4-1-2-2-1), or dropping both BWM and BBM into the DM slots and experimenting with roles. I’ll let you know how I get on.
Darren Smith
30 января, 2014 at 19:00
Thanks Matt, its all about finding the right mix to avoid those annoying goals and poor defeats. You need to find the right time to switch to the flat 4-5-1 tactic I created, but that is a very fine line to judge.
Mike Bennett
30 января, 2014 at 16:27
having problems downloading with media any other way please help
Darren Smith
30 января, 2014 at 18:39
Just sent you an email with the tactic attached, that is if the email address you used comment is correct.
richie
30 января, 2014 at 19:09
Do you use team instructions by any chance fella? Looks good btw
Darren Smith
30 января, 2014 at 19:14
Yes, they are shown and talked about in the post.
richie
30 января, 2014 at 21:13
Haha ye sozz bout that m8, realised seconds after i posted lol buying a laptop soon, trying ur tactic first.fingers crossed it’ll work
Darren Smith
30 января, 2014 at 21:24
No problem, hope it works for you.
Martin Gnebus
30 января, 2014 at 21:40
Wow, this one is really fantastic so far in my game with Montpellier(currently October 2013). I had tried it few moments ago, played matches with wins 5-2 and 8-0 ! I’m not sure if I was lucky in that second game against Lyon, but the tactic definitely improved the offensive performance of my players…I’m definitely gonna try this later with different teams, big thanks for that :)
Darren Smith
31 января, 2014 at 11:53
No problem, just happy this is working for so many, hope it continues.
Kristoffer
31 января, 2014 at 07:58
Hi, a general question to everyone using this one, are you guys using the AM role for AMC or the Enganche role someone mentioned higher up in the comments field? :)
cheers
Darren Smith
31 января, 2014 at 11:56
No it doesn’t work with the enganche, someone has commented saying so. It should just be used as it has been created by the original author for the full effect.
MZ
1 февраля, 2014 at 01:51
Not having a great time with this tactic so far with arsenal. 8 competitive matches and only 2 wins to show for it. Did all the very high intensity tactics training in the run up but i just doesn’t seem to do the job. Any advice?
Darren Smith
1 февраля, 2014 at 08:44
Its difficult for me to diagnose where its going wrong without seeing what you are doing in game. In theory if you have followed all the instructions and understood the types of players that make this work then it shouldn’t do so badly. What strategy are you using and which CB’s? One key problem with Arsenal is slow defenders, Mertesacker and Vermaelen are far too slow for this in my opinion, as indicated in the post.
magicalzonkey
1 февраля, 2014 at 09:10
Thabks for the reply. I thought exactly the same with the defenders. I sold mertesacker and brought in balanta to play alongside koscelny. I use control against weaker teams and even or hard games I use counter.
Darren Smith
1 февраля, 2014 at 09:17
What have your results been and please put next to the result what strategy you used.
magicalzonkey
1 февраля, 2014 at 10:51
> Hull 1 — 4 Arsenal — Control
> Arsenal 0 — 2 Southampton — Control
> Juventus 0 — 0 Arsenal — Counter
> Arsenal 1 — 1 Everton — Control
> Arsenal 3 — 0 Leicester — Control
> Sunderland 1 — 0 Arsenal — Counter
> Arsenal 1 — 1 Schalke — Control
> West Brom 1 -1 Arsenal — Counter
Darren Smith
1 февраля, 2014 at 11:16
Weird, I’d maybe just stick to control all the time and just try something different with the squad, chances are the inside forwards aren’t converting enough so maybe move Ozil to one wing if he’s at AMC right now.
Looking through the results again, I think the easy games you are drawing could be as a result of the opposition parking the bus, when this happens maybe try switching during the game to counter strategy, but in general I think the control strategy should suit Arsenal as you want to press the opposition higher up, including the better teams.
Andrew
1 февраля, 2014 at 10:33
The tactic is working for me. I’m playing Man U, so the player material is obviously top notch. Still I offloaded a lot of the ‘old’ guys — vidic, rvp, nani, carrick etc. — just to try something different with some of the talent from your Best player-list.
I went om a 16 game unbeaten run…trashed man City 5-0 on the way. The run came to an unfortunate end last night losing 1-0 away to Tottenham. No tweaks to the tactic except using the ‘control’ mentality as your Chelsea mate also has done with succes. Also moved both IF’s up during defensive corners to pull back some opponents and provide a threat on the counter.
Some observations: the tactic is very effective against defensive sides — even maneged to beat stoke, southampton, and Sunderland away which are traditionally pesky teams in fm14. Also the defensive is very solid with only 8 goals conceded in 17 games. Kept man City to 0(!) shots at goal and only 3 attempts. If your players has the stats the tactic seems to bring out the best in the them…Ryan giggs is still going strong as my amc :-) and you get a very varied and entertaining type of football to watch.
The tactic does need a good keeper and quick cb’s as it gives the opponent quite a few runs alone with the keeper — a fact you have covered in the tactic description. De gea is apparently world class for me in that area. I really hope the February patch doesn’t mess this tactic up.
Cheers
Andrew (Danish fan of your work and waiting impatiently for your coming fm14 tactic index)
Darren Smith
1 февраля, 2014 at 10:47
Thanks Andrew, you pretty surmised my experience with better sides too. The key flaw is the opposition through ball and lobbed pass when against better opposition, problem is in fixing it you destroy key aspects of the tactic so its just one of those things I guess.
Like yourself I am hoping that the next patch doesn’t make this tactic ineffective which is what happened to my last two, just want to play the game so sick of having to battle with tactics everytime they bring out a new patch…lets hope that doesn’t happen this time. We are waiting for the new patch to settle in before we start the tactics index, as to avoid issues with tactics not working in the new patch, so should come soon hopefully.
richie
1 февраля, 2014 at 12:09
Just wondering if there was a way to combat the opposition through ball and lobbed through ball problem against higher opposition
Darren Smith
1 февраля, 2014 at 16:22
I haven’t found one yet without effecting the tactics attacking play TBH, the key would be to know when to switch tactics to my flat 4-5-1 which there is a link to in the post.
richie
1 февраля, 2014 at 17:47
Good man, cheers
Duncan Wraight
1 февраля, 2014 at 17:05
I’m struggling to get this tactic to work with Southampton. Your 4-5-1 works really well, especially away from home, but I just don’t score goals using your Dynamic variant.
I’ve played 22 in the first season, but I’ve ended up using 4-5-1 for most of the games. Schneiderlin has scored 6 as my top goal scorer! I’m still managing to sustain 8th in the Premier League thanks to not conceding too many away from home with the Untouchable tactic but I feel like I should be doing better with the Dynamic.
At home I tend to get 20+ shots but score goals and *always* concede; away from home I tend to manage very few shots at all and regularly lose to «lesser» teams that I can beat fairly comfortably with the Untouchable tactic.
All of my players suit the roles of this tactic — Schneiderlin (BBM), Wanyama (BWM), Osvaldo (AM L IF), Ramirez (AM R IF), Lambert (ST C) — so I don’t know where I’m going wrong. Followed your instructions pretty much to the letter.
Interestingly, this is the fourth tactic I’ve tried using two central midfielders, two inside forwards and one striker (with variations on DM C or AM C and obviously mentality/roles etc) and NONE of them appear to be effective with Southampton or Newcastle…
Darren Smith
1 февраля, 2014 at 17:19
I think its just about getting the right mix for when to use which strategy really, it does vary from team to team.
Duncan Wraight
1 февраля, 2014 at 17:34
You would think, with both teams having good players for each position (excluding NUFC’s lack of a natural IF for the AM L position) that your tactic would be really effective.
I feel like SI are trying to «nerf» the IF tactics somewhat.
Appreciate your effort with these tactics though. If you get a chance to play with Southampton or NUFC and manage some success, please let me know. I’m going to continue playing with your Untouchable tactic until I can find a *really* good, quick ST C to try with the Dynamic.
Farsklarv
2 февраля, 2014 at 13:41
Watched some of your stream yestarday, and decided to have a go with this tactic on my brand new At. Madrid save. After a rocky pre season and a hard earned 2-1 win away at Sevilla, I was gonna take on Barcelona in the Supercup! I thought «Well shiiiet, if I struggle to beat Sevilla, I’ll be trashed by Barca! Well, that did not happen! I managed to keep 46% of the posession, a great feat against them! I had 22 shots, they had 8! Took some time to score, but in the end I won it 2-0 from Miranda and Arda Turan. Seems like Turan fits great in the OM role, looking forward to testing this tactic even further! :D
Darren Smith
2 февраля, 2014 at 14:01
Good to hear, Dan also tested with At. Madrid and had only positives to draw from it.
Josephn97
2 февраля, 2014 at 17:16
I have been goin well in my Dortmund carreer i have wont the title twice now and the champions league once however i find it hard to get results in the knockouts of the champions league and away to the top german teams even wen i use the counter method against them p.s- i use control for most my games
Darren Smith
2 февраля, 2014 at 17:38
Well done, thats a good record. Unfortunately at times this can be a little open at the back and when against really good opposition you can be exposed, that is why I think its best to have another tactic loaded to use for those scenarios.
gazatron
4 февраля, 2014 at 22:31
hey im using you tactic as arsenal but i cant get the best out of ozil:(, is it worth playing him in AMC as a adv.playmaker/support, he is getting 5-7 ratings at most and has only got 2 goals and 5 assists in 24 games, the IF work well with walcott AMR and cazorla AML but i want to see the best from ozil to warrant the high wages and transfer fee paid in real life.
gazatron
4 февраля, 2014 at 22:38
btw if it helps my current team is as follows
—szcezesny—
sagna—mertsacker—koscienly—baines
ramsey(BBM)—arteta(BWM)
Walcott(IF)—OZIL(AMC/Support—Cazorla(IF)
GIROUD TM/support
i have changed the striker role to accommodated giroud more as holding up the ball, also wilshere is injured for 9 months :(((
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2014 at 12:05
TBH I don’t always get the most from my players in that position either, its there for a reason though. I wouldn’t recommend changing it. Sometimes you need to sacrifice one players ratings to benefit the tactic, its just how it is. Others thought it would be smart to attempt the enganche role but that apparently tanked, the AMC is setup to sit there and orchestrate play, not be the star player, attempting to make him the star player by changing his role won’t work and therefore wouldn’t help his ratings anyway.
gazatron
5 февраля, 2014 at 23:22
thanks for the reply darren,
i think i may tinker with it next season to see if i can get him to dictacte the play more but for now with your tactic im 1st in the league and in semis of euro cup (knock out in champions league as i was pitted against AS monaco,as roma and barcelona in groups, very hard ask to qualify from the groups)
Martin
4 февраля, 2014 at 22:49
I know you mentioned this wouldn’t be too effective for lower leagues, but I was thinking about using it with my sheff utd, I have quick, clever players compared to league rivals, could it work? I just want to get more out of my wingers, and nothing I do seems to work!
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2014 at 12:12
As mentioned I don’t know if it’ll work in the lower leagues, generally because the players don’t suit, I can’t answer any different to a question I’ve already put into the post, all you can do is try it.
Martin
5 февраля, 2014 at 20:58
Thanks for the reply. I used it with my eastleigh team. I had 2 promotions with my old tactic then started to struggle. Since using your tactic I have won 5 out of 6 so can’t complain. I just switched the BPD to a CDD because didn’t have any decent players. Top of my list in January!
By the way this was only with 75 percent familiarty!
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2014 at 21:30
Well hopefully it will continue to work, if you have the right types of players then it could certainly work long term, its just hard to get those players in the lower leagues.
Andrew
5 февраля, 2014 at 14:12
Having tried the tactic wih huge succes with Man U for one season I got bored and tried it out with Southampton. It tanked. Then I tried with Everton…and tanked. To be fair I didn’t even play half a season before I quit, but I just couldn’t make it work at all with mid-table player material.
I’ve started a save with Newcastle, and the tactic works fine with a few new faces to the squad. It is essential that you have quick players pretty much throughout the squad. especially IF, WB and DC. Sammy Amoebi is doing surprisingly well as IF with pace and dribbling being the only stats worth mentioning. Og and a more than decent GK is important. My GK in the Southampton save was clowning around and making comical mistakes in every other match (a small ME-problem perhaps?).
Andrew
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2014 at 18:36
Yes as mentioned in the post it is very important to have the right types of players in your squad for this to work. Bit surprising it was so bad with Southampton and Everton but they are two I’d see as on the borderline depending on who you played in the team and bought.
Andrew
5 февраля, 2014 at 19:44
«Borderline» just doesn’t cut it for this tactic ;-)
It is demanding but very rewarding once the team has gelled. The through balls from AMC to IF’s is a joy. As is the deadly wing back support.
I Should mention I continue to use control per default and only use counter when against big guns.
btw you usually turn to Newcastle yourself. Have you (also) noticed that Santon is okay going forward but has a big problem defensively in this tactic? going to offload him soon for 20 mil or thereabouts…
Andrew
Darren Smith
5 февраля, 2014 at 21:28
I haven’t noticed him performing too badly defensively but then again I have only used him with this tactic after 2016 so he’s developed a bit in my game.
BKMK
5 февраля, 2014 at 21:53
Hey Darren, I am currently using Swansea and i started brilliantly, smashing teams in euro cup and was putting in a few upsets in the premier league, I did go through a dark patch mid season, i used all my spare players for a match as my starting XI were tired, after the spare team lost my XI were losing too and we didn’t get a win for 6 games, but we turned it around with a 2-3 win away from home against Liverpool and we kept going from there, I have almost finished the season and i am in 6th spot on Goal difference, have had a lot of injuries more than usual during the season that has not helped. all in all this tactic is really good, thanks for this bud, been wanting a good 4-2-3-1 for sometime.
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2014 at 18:14
Glad its working for you so far…when I managed Swansea there weren’t too many long term injuries and that can really make the difference especially as this tactic needs the right type of players to work.
BKMK
6 февраля, 2014 at 21:52
Quick question, i was thinking about splashing the cash and buying 1 or 2 of these youngsters, on my shortlist i have — Nathan Redmond, Tom Ince, Ravel Morrison, Zakaria Bakkali and Viktor Fischer. I am curious to know what u recommend as u have used Swansea in this formation. Cheers bud.
Darren Smith
7 февраля, 2014 at 11:39
I’d just scout them all and go from there, most of them have flexible PA so they will vary in how far they can go from save to save. But probably the last two are most feasible to look at.
wujiajin4883ames
6 февраля, 2014 at 15:14
I’m using bayern Munich with your tactic and so far it has been great , 15 wins from 15 matches in all comps. I’m using the counter strategy but should I change to control to get more from my players?
Darren Smith
6 февраля, 2014 at 18:16
Well when somethings working I’d usually suggest not changing it, but I personally would expect more with the control strategy so may be worth a go.
John
8 февраля, 2014 at 00:49
Nice tactic :) but what training would you recommend ?
Rich
8 февраля, 2014 at 13:02
Hi Darren I agree with a lot of people here that it’s a great attacking tactic. I’ve used it for a season and a half with Liverpool and it’s served me pretty well. It took a while for the players to adapt to it, but that was expected and like a few others here I noticed a fair few yellow cards to begin with, but this settled down as players got used to the tactic. I also noticed the tendency to struggle against balls over the top and after going down 3-0 to Man Utd. (all from balls over the top to Hernandez) I thought I’d have a look at trying to solve it. I’ve found by switching the duty of your ball playing centre back to cover and the centre back to stopper seems to give you those extra few seconds needed to cut out an over the top through ball. It’s working really well for me so far (6 games without conceding) and it would be interesting to see if this works for anyone else
Darren Smith
8 февраля, 2014 at 15:59
I haven’t tried changing things up at the back yet but may take a look at it myself in the near future, what you suggest does make sense. My only concern would be the stopper tends to be drawn out of position very easily.
Rich
8 февраля, 2014 at 20:39
Yeah the stopper can get pulled out position a bit but having a fast defender in the ball playing cover role (Agger and Martin Kelly have worked well) seems to be able to cover. Not perfect I know but it does highly depend on picking the right players in the right roles just like the rest of the tactic. Thanks again for giving us such a good set up to work from though man
TheHunter
9 февраля, 2014 at 07:54
Heh Darren, thanks for thr great work, been a fan of your site for some time now.
I was wondering, what other role can the striker fill? I am playing with Arsenal and Robert Lewandowski is my main striker but he isn’t comfortable with playing as a DLF (I haven’t tried to train him).
Appreciate any help you can provide :)
Andrew
9 февраля, 2014 at 08:09
Hi
Depending on my st prefered role I have tried both poacher and adv forw with great succes. But then again I have really only have succes with the tactic with top 6 teams (including Newcastle). Also I use control setting. I guess the dpl role is more important with the counter setting.
Andrew
TheHunter
9 февраля, 2014 at 09:26
I see. Any idea on whether an Advanced Playmaker can replace the Attacking Midfielder? I want to make the best out of my main players (Ozil, Wilshere)
Darren Smith
9 февраля, 2014 at 09:31
For me personally the roles all play a part in the tactic and its functionality, changing them will change the tactic so even if I have a poacher like Adam Campbell for instance, I still play him as deep lying forward. I found using roles with the attack duty seemed to see the striker marked out of the game.
TheHunter
9 февраля, 2014 at 09:57
So it’s just better to (re)train a player into said role? (Lewa into a DLF, Özil into an AM).
Darren Smith
9 февраля, 2014 at 10:29
You don’t need to retrain them, they’ll still be capable in those roles, and they’ll perform better in a role they’re not quite as good in that suits the tactic then a role they are the best in but doesn’t suit the tactic.
TBH The AM serves a purpose for the tactic to work and doesn’t always perform brilliantly well so whomever your play there won’t get great ratings anyway, but without it the tactic doesn’t work.
Andrew
9 февраля, 2014 at 14:41
Hello again
Did a little experiment with the tactic using chelsea. After having 4 wins and 1 draw (damn west bromwich) I met Arsenal away. Played the same match 3 times — once with the Classic darren setup with counter setting and DLF, once again with darren Classic but using an ADV F, and once with a control setting and an ADV F. The latter has given me succes before with mufc and Newcastle. Team talks and start-11 were identical. The results were 1-3, 2-4 and 2-0. In both games with counter I was demolished…in the win using control and ADV F the tables were turned…arsenal was never close. This is not science, but it does hint at something when meeting top teams…counter setting has som difficulty stopping quality attacks. It almost seemed like Arsenal was playing a counter strategy hitting me on breaks time and again (apart from a couple of annoying goals from corner). Playing with the control setting the Arsenal fast break play was crushed.
I know is corresponds with your mates Chelsea game. Just wanted supplement the player role discussion.
A little bonus info: I actually played the same Arsenal match 3 times more testing two other very well known ‘competing’ tactics. Got a couple of losses and one 0-0, so the ‘Darren’ tactic is still top of the class.
I’m really looking forward to your upcoming fm14 tactic index. Maybe you could consider testing the tactic with both counter and control seeing it can produce vastly different results.
Andrew
Darren Smith
9 февраля, 2014 at 15:25
Hi,
I too found that counter attacking against top teams seems to be asking for trouble and control strategy works well, seems to press them and keep the opposition from your own half. However, I’m still not convinced by the adv forward role personally, I just don’t see it working long term.
We’ll be doing the tactics index once the latest patch is released. Most of the time a tactic is made to use a particular strategy so we will just be testing the tactics in the manner they are created I guess.
Will
9 февраля, 2014 at 18:16
Hi I’ve just started using this tactic with West Ham, second season. Is Andy Carroll suited for this tactic? My other option is to use Driussi as DLF, he’s only 18. What would you recommend?
Darren Smith
9 февраля, 2014 at 18:40
You won’t know for sure until you try him our but I’d say Carroll isn’t suited, faster players are better in my opinion, Driussi should be good for it once developed.
Olaf Dziewirz
9 февраля, 2014 at 22:41
Brilliant tactic! Was struggling for a good tactic with Chelsea after finishing third in my first season, decided to download this and won the league on my second season! Made sure the team knew it well during pre-season and I was pretty unstoppable during the season. When I played tough opposition I changed the mentality to standard and that worked pretty well as I was more solid defensively. Overall a great tactic, highly recommend it!
Darren Smith
10 февраля, 2014 at 11:55
Thanks Olaf, glad it worked for you.
Faud Jama
10 февраля, 2014 at 19:25
this tactic wont open.when i click on it a how do you want to open this file notice appears. can someone please suggest a solution to my problem.
Darren Smith
10 февраля, 2014 at 20:20
You need to follow the instructions. You don’t open the file, just move it to the file shown in the instructions and then it will be available in screen. If anything needs clarifying let me know.
cameron
11 февраля, 2014 at 09:09
nice tactic Darren i just wondered when your done creating a tactic how do you test it?
Darren Smith
11 февраля, 2014 at 12:02
Just start a game with different teams and watch the match engine really, needs to be in comprehensive mode really.
Andrew
11 февраля, 2014 at 16:16
Hi again
How much patience was needed when you tested the tactic with swansea before getting results. And did you supplement the squad? I’m very impressed with your results above.
I know it seems strange but I have tried your tactic with 5-6 different teams mostly with good results. Swansea does seem to be on a very slow learning curve though ;-) and michu is really not contributing compared to his fantastic stats.
Andrew
PS. Very nice podcast btw. Balanta is not (the only) god in the game…lacks consistency imo.
Andrew
11 февраля, 2014 at 16:23
The results are not «strange»…me testing the tactic with so many teams is. Just to clarify my post ;-)
Darren Smith
11 февраля, 2014 at 18:43
It did take patience in some sense but to be honest we kind of hit the ground running, so it was obvious to me this worked from day one…it wasn’t like we had a couple of bad performances straight off the bat which could have made me question whether this would work or not. But I could imagine that coming down to a bit of luck and good player selection. I didn’t strengthen the squad no, only in January did I sign Mane to help cover the left wing.
TBH Michu took some time to start becoming effective for me, but that is just the nature of that position in this tactic, I am a believer in having to sacrifice performance of an individual for the greater good. I’m sure he’ll pick up for you though.
Glad you liked the Podcast, there are of course plenty of must have players this year but Balanta is the only one thats affordable and has -10 potential. He can be inconsistent but that evens out as he gets more experienced.
jakob
12 февраля, 2014 at 18:38
Hi! I´ve been using this tactic with F.C. Porto and I just won the ligue and reached the semi-final in the Champions League, lost 4-3 on aggregate to Chelsea. I used your 4-5-1 away in Champions League and it worked wonders! Thank you for sharing.
Darren Smith
12 февраля, 2014 at 19:58
No problem, glad its working for you.
Johannes
13 февраля, 2014 at 16:02
Hi! Great tactic, but i have a few questions. I’m currently playing Everton in my 2nd season, and im 2nd in PL thanks to this tactic. I control almost every game, but my team has a big problem scoring goals. Especially the IF’s. Do you have instructions on these players? Im playing Pienar and Musa, but they have scored 2 goals combined in 15 games…
Darren Smith
13 февраля, 2014 at 18:43
There are instructions yes, you need to download the tactic to get its full effect, instructions to do so are at the bottom of the post. Other thing to note is you maybe don’t have a strong enough IF in Pienar.
Mariyan
14 февраля, 2014 at 14:02
Hi, Darren. Just wanted to say your tactic is BRILLIANT! I used it on my mandatory Man Utd save and first season I won the Premier League with a record point record of 97!!! Ended up 15 points ahead of City in the end :D Also got the League Cup and reached the Final of the FA cup where I lost on penalties to Tottenham after going a man down. In the Champions league I went out at the quarter finals after losing 4:1 at home to Chelsea when I beat them earlier 3:0 in EPL (just defence was a mess in this game). In the group stages I was with PSG and Dortmund in a group and I finished 1st with 16 point only drawing at Dortmund! But it just shows how great your tactic is and with little luck it can even perform much better! The only signing I did was got Lucas Romero for a proper box to box midfielder and got Corchia for a right back cover so I havent done any major overhaul of the team! Looking forward to next season with a few quality signings.
The only problem I have is the AM position where Ronney/Kagawa/Januzaj rarely get above 7 rating. I will try and experiment, but are these players not suitable for this formation? Thanks a lot!
Darren Smith
14 февраля, 2014 at 19:10
Thanks Mariyan, I’m glad this has brought you some success. As for your question, the AMC position is for transisitonal play, I see it as the piece in the jigsaw that brings everything together. Unfortunately such roles don’t lead to massive performances nor great av ratings, so I think you may be expecting a bit too much from it. I’d say those players are suited to it, but Rooney and Kagawa would be better upfront and on the wing respectively I think.
Gaurav Chaddah
14 февраля, 2014 at 20:01
I fancy starting a game with Spurs, what would you go with, this or your 4-5-1?
Darren Smith
14 февраля, 2014 at 21:10
I’d go with this one using control strategy and maybe use the 4-5-1 after going two up or when you need to hold on to a narrow result late on.
Leon
16 февраля, 2014 at 03:27
Hey, I’m at the midpoint of my first spurs season using this tactic and I definitely recommend using it.
The 4-5-1 should also be a very important tactic to have along side this one I have found. If used in counter you can really get some results against the big sides. I’ve also found going away to a team like stoke, good passing side with 4-3-2-1 while they have Hughes, it’s best to switch to a counter 4-5-1. Don’t try and use control in those games as you will not be able to have an edge on possession at their grounds.
Thanks Darren for a fantastic tactic.
Another note: Eriksen — my AM — has one of the best ratings in the team which is contrary to what most people have found for players in that position
Darren Smith
16 февраля, 2014 at 09:01
Thanks Leon. The AMC slot does seem to suit someone like Eriksen but it can be a tough role to fill.
jimbobby30
15 февраля, 2014 at 22:03
HI Darren! your tactic has got me in the premier league with Leicester but now I struggle to keep possession and keep getting caught on the break. My away form is also really bad as well. I’ve tried both counter and control. I have 10 games to avoid relegation… any pointers would be much appreciated!!
Darren Smith
15 февраля, 2014 at 22:09
This tactic does rely on the right players and by the sounds of it you don’t have that for the type of opposition you’re facing. Within the post there is my flat 4-5-1 mentioned as a good tactic to use when going ahead. I’d use use that for the rest of your games.
Dimitri SO (@dimisof)
17 февраля, 2014 at 15:08
HI darren! i set this tactic with liverpool and i finish second in premier but the next sason is not working and i have only bad result after 11 games i have only 13 points (13th positions) !my team is stegen-corhia-zouma-sahko-jonathnan silva-lucas leiva-schneiidrlin-hughes-coutinho-sterling-suarez SUB: nedelev-thauvin-vietto-cassasola-bernard-aspas-jay rodriguez-Lorenzo Crisetig-kelly-henderson-mavinga…season 2016-1017!i don’t know what to do….
before the match For opposition instructions i ask assistant manager to set them every match and i have many yellows and sometimes red card and penalty.
Darren Smith
17 февраля, 2014 at 19:56
I’d suggest that you might be trying to put too many new players into the side at once. The other thing is I think you should be using control strategy if you aren’t already.
John
17 февраля, 2014 at 23:11
Why do you let the assistant set OI? Most of the times they tend to set stupid shit such as tackle harder against fast wingers and strong players. They also tend to set tight marking in the midfield which is just really bad I think when we have a bwm. You want the bwm to chase down players and not mark someone. Same goes when your playing against a 2 strikers or a setup with AMC.
He sets closing down and marking for the striker and AMC. So your defenders will close down the AMC and leave too much space for the striker or they will close down one of the strikers and leave space for the other or for the AMC. Is this maybe why everyone tends to get concede a lot from through balls? You are a genius Darren btw thanks for the tactic but I think you are wrong with the assistant setting OI.
Darren Smith
18 февраля, 2014 at 11:48
While you have a point you have to consider that when I make tactics and write about them I do so for the readers not myself. Based on the fact that the majority of readers are looking for a tactic because they can’t create one, I have to also assume they won’t be able to capably assign opposition instructions. So I always recommend asking the AM to do this as its better than screwing it up yourself when you don’t know what needs doing and its way better than having no instructions at all…not to mention I have always had reasonable results when using the assistants advice in this area.
John
18 февраля, 2014 at 11:59
Ok but maybe you should add as note that the AM isn’t always right? Im sure most people have problems because they don’t know what the AM is doing. One wrong OI can sometimes make you lose against very weak opponents or not dominate the way you want to.
Darren Smith
18 февраля, 2014 at 12:06
I have slightly modified the text.
Alex
17 февраля, 2014 at 23:22
Hi Darren just starting with Chelsea, i wondered if you have changed the striker role at all or persevered with dpl supp
Darren Smith
18 февраля, 2014 at 11:49
No kept the same as in the post.
ASLE
18 февраля, 2014 at 20:23
Can you make a 4-1DM-2-1-2
Darren Smith
18 февраля, 2014 at 21:04
It takes a long time to test and make a tactic, I don’t have the time at the moment I’m afraid.
chris
18 февраля, 2014 at 21:26
Can i be a till pain and ask what player instructions you used
Darren Smith
19 февраля, 2014 at 18:52
It would be much quicker for both of us if you’d download the tactic. Link at the bottom of the post with pretty simple to follow instructions.
Wardie
19 февраля, 2014 at 08:52
During pre-season did you train with your 4-5-1 and this tactic with control as alternate tactics? I’m finding its slowing down the familiarity with the main tactic? Also do you train individual players in the particular roles and positions to fit this tactic? Any fitness training in pre-season?
Darren Smith
19 февраля, 2014 at 18:54
I trained with both tactics loaded yes. Some teams will take longer to learn certain tactics though, its natural. I just train my players to develop them as individuals, so if I feel someone is short on finishing I train that…if I don’t see particular weakness’s then I will select the role they’ll feature in for training yes. As mentioned in the post just team cohesion training during pre-season.
Wardie
21 февраля, 2014 at 13:09
Would you use the same pre-season for following seasons even when the tactics fully learnt? Still seems pretty solid apart from the odd result against lesser teams and not having much joy against the big teams home or away. I’m guessing that’s just down to their quality of players and will compete more as I improve mine
Darren Smith
21 февраля, 2014 at 18:40
I would keep the same training yes. As for the results against top teams it does count for players but I’d actually recommend making sure you use the control strategy, I found it to work better in those game in the end.
Gaurav Chaddah
19 февраля, 2014 at 10:09
As you said in the post you think this tactic will work in a country like Italy if given time so I was interested to test this out and went for Napoli. I’ve attached my results, we started really poorly and thought it just wouldn’t work but as you said if it’s given time it will, some really good results so just in case anyone is wondering it will work in Italy, just have to give it time. The results are here if you want to see: http://i58.tinypic.com/14wy64k.png
Darren Smith
19 февраля, 2014 at 18:56
Well done Gaurav, I too had a similar experience where Napoli struggled in the beginning, due to the Italian style I think but then as they settled really hit their stride.
Gaurav Chaddah
22 февраля, 2014 at 09:38
And just to confirm we finished the season and won the title which for Napoli is pretty good :) http://i58.tinypic.com/2a5nju0.png