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Download Barcelona Tactic for FM 2012

I am pleased to report that my first (and probably best) tactic for Football Manager 2012 can be downloaded! As the title shows I had Barcelona in mind when I created this tactic and that’s quite normal since I believe that today’s Barcelona is playing the best football ever. The tactic was tested with Barcelona in the demo version of the game and then with both Barcelona and Viitorul Constanta in the full version of FM 2012. Now let me explain what this FM 2012 tactic is about…

The Formation

The formation that I chose is not really identical to the real-life Barcelona, the main difference is that I don’t use a defensive midfielder like Guardiola does and that the wide strikers have a more central position in my tactic. You can see the roles and mentalities for each player in the screen shot below so I guess going into details is not necessary. Well, maybe just a quick run-down: sweeper keeper, full backs, central defenders, 2 box to box midfielders, one deep lying playmaker, 2 defensive forwards and one trequartista.

The Team Instructions

As you can notice from the image below the team has a fluid philosophy and an attacking starting strategy, it plays the offside trap along with a high defensive line and the players have to use short passing, press their opponents and use their imagination ;) The central deep-lying midfielder is designed as the team playmaker.

Tactical Analysis

The average positions screen shows a bit more about the players movement during a game, the most important aspect for me is that the team stays compact both on and off the ball.

And that takes me to my favourite shape in football: triangles! When I watch a game I always look for triangles and that is because if three of your players are forming a triangle with reasonably-sized sides then they will have a much easier task in taking out an opponent through short passing. The screen shot below shows two things:

1. My atrocious design skills.

2. The triangles that are formed when my team attacks. The distances between my players are reasonably small and that means they can use short passing to eliminate their opponents, maintain possession and eventually create scoring chances.

I think that the trequartista is the key player in this tactic, mostly because he will often have space to receive the ball between the defensive line and the midfield line of the opponent. That man has to be creative and skilful and Barcelona have the very best man for the job: Lionel Messi. As you can see in the image he has received the ball between the lines, made a quick turn and then had plenty of time and space to play a through pass for the left side striker who then… scored.

The full backs are also very important in this tactic and that is because the opponents tend to cover the middle of the pitch a lot more than the flanks given the threat of our three strikers. That leaves plenty of space for the full backs to exploit, like you can notice in the following picture. The trequartista passed the ball to the right back who had acres of space in front of him, advanced to the byline and then crossed the ball low into the middle of the area creating a good scoring chance.

When we don’t have the ball there’s only one thing we have in mind: get it back as quickly as possible! The players will press their opponents all over the pitch, as you can see two of the strikers doing in the picture below. The result? The opposition right back was under pressure and passed the ball straight to one of our midfielders. Remember this: when you capture the ball in the opposition half you will have a far better chance of creating a dangerous attack than when you get the ball inside your own half and that is because the opposition defence will have a lot less time to get organized.

The Results

I have played almost a full season with Barcelona using this tactic and I guess the league table speaks for itself: we won the title with four games to spare, won 33 games, drew 1 and lost none, scored 110 goals and conceded just 13.

The most pleasing fact is that we have beaten arch rivals Real Madrid six times out of six, scored 16 and conceded just 3 in the process. I’m so sorry José :)

One of the best matches of the season was away at Atletico Madrid, a strong team, but we managed to beat them 5-0 away from home at the end of a game that we dominated on all aspects. In fact, there were just a few games in which we had less than 60% ball possession.

However, I have noticed that we were having some problems in some away games and that’s what pushed me to create an away version of the tactic. I have employed this version against Man City in the Champions League and, as you can see, we were not as flamboyant in attack but we still had very good possession and kept the opposition fairly quiet.

The main change in the away tactic is the strategy which goes from attacking to counter, the defensive line is pushed a bit deeper and doesn’t play the offside trap any more, the tempo is slower, the team is a bit wider and does employ time wasting sometimes.

Last but not least, the set pieces approach is mostly borrowed from Darren’s excellent guide, not entirely but the main things are there. You will need players with good passing for this tactic, that is essential, and I also suggest loading the counter version as a backup tactic in match preparation. Here are the download links:

Attacking Version

Counter Version

After downloading the files you have to place them in the Documents>Sports Interactive>Football Manager 2012>tactics folder and then you will be able to find them in the game tactics screen under «archived tactics».

That’s about it, enjoy the tactic and please ask any questions if you have them or provide feedback in order to improve this FM 2012 tactic. Oh, and enjoy three videos of Barcelona playing this tactic: click here to watch, click here to watch, click here to watch

P.S.: I have to say that Messi is fabulous in FM 2012, fabulous! :)

UPDATE

— I also won the Champions League and Spanish Cup with Barcelona

— I won the Romanian Second Division title with Viitorul Constanta in my first season (read all about that here)

460 комментариев

460 Comments

  1. vaibhavc

    27 октября, 2011 at 14:07

    Wow, 100 points and four games remaining. In the screenshot, where is Xavi? And Villa starts instead of Sanchez most of the time right?

  2. Martin Pickard

    27 октября, 2011 at 15:04

    yep I think you’ve created a ‘MONSTER’ of a tactic! awesome work yet again Johnny :)

    • Johnny Karp

      27 октября, 2011 at 15:14

      Thanks, I hope it will give me results with my small Romanian team too.

  3. Stromson

    27 октября, 2011 at 18:27

    The triangles! I see them everywhere! *cowers in a corner* So many triangles…

  4. Darren Smith

    27 октября, 2011 at 19:01

    Very nice tactic Johnny and the results say it all…I find it hilarious when people make negative remarks to tactic posts saying its easy to do etc etc but I think we all know its tough to make your team play a precise style and make them win at the same time, certainly seems like this tactic has that and no one can argue with the results.

    p.s. I share the same obsession with triangles, especially when watching real life matches.

    • Johnny Karp

      27 октября, 2011 at 20:36

      Thanks Darren, I’m relieved to find out that I’m not the only one seeing triangles :)

  5. Kevin

    28 октября, 2011 at 00:59

    What an impressive looking tactic. I’m sure people who are playing with resonably good teams will be downloading this one.I really like the triangle pictures, reminds me of my school days and how we use to play when my class won the School championship 5 consecutive years!

    Great stuff!!

  6. tom

    28 октября, 2011 at 08:24

    My first thoughts…WHAT NO XAVI??….but then I realised the screenshot was showing the formation not the line up…

    Very interesting…i would not have thought to play two box2box midfielders…but now ive read it it certainly makes sense…the same with defensive forwards…but again its logical…may i ask…why not pique as a ball playing centre back?…

    The reason i like this website is that its a real eye opener…this has made me think alot more about how to play…i would have flooded the midfield with playmakers if i was barce…but now i see that that is not the only option…so thank you :)

    Seeing as your a tactical genius…what are your thoughts on ‘never changing a winning formation’?…im 22 games in (19 Wins) and havent lost…whilst the team are still not playing the passing game i want i’m reluctant to make any changes to a side that keeps winning…I’m Man Utd…and my highlight was a 4-0 win against man city…playing a 4-2-2-2 formation that i have not changed since i started FM12…just your opinion would be great…

    A mention to Eden Hazard who has tore up the prem…so far hes won every young player of the month award…and is top of the assists with 19….

    (sorry for the long post — coffee overload)

    • Johnny Karp

      28 октября, 2011 at 08:44

      Thanks for the long post :) Now on to your questions… About Pique, I didn’t feel the need to change his role because I was quite satisfied with the whole back four. About the formation, I think that you shouldn’t make radical changes during the season because that might give you bad results but you can surely tweak it slightly to achieve the passing game that you want. However, you have to keep an eye on match preparation and see if your lads fully understand the tactic, you can’t really judge the way they play until they reach reasonable familiarity levels on all aspects of a tactic.

  7. Luis

    30 октября, 2011 at 14:24

    men I have a bet with a corduroy xavi who manages to consistently throughout the season over 100 completions sometimes I succeed I wonder if you did want to do with that tactic

    • Johnny Karp

      30 октября, 2011 at 15:50

      No, that wasn’t my aim. However, we did get good passing completion percentages for all players overall.

  8. Quiggles

    30 октября, 2011 at 15:10

    Does this tactic work with any other teams, or is Barcelona the only tried and tested team?

  9. Matt Clark

    30 октября, 2011 at 17:18

    brilliant tactic johnny though not one i would personally use with barca (though it replicates their play perfectly) but thats purely because i would want inniesta on the left in order to play xavi and fabregas in cm.
    i tried this with chelsea (who seem perfect for this tactic) and amassed 103 points in the first season having made no transfers
    simply amazing results the highlight definitely being 6-0 at the emirates which actually secured the title
    though i was a little surprised you hadnt set players to rotate just to add that extra bit from barca about not knowing where they’re gonna come at you
    once again brilliant johnny, brilliant

    • Johnny Karp

      31 октября, 2011 at 06:50

      Thanks Matt, this tactic is not a 100% replica of Barcelona’s tactic, that was not my goal. But I’m happy to see that you’re getting good results with it. About the player rotation, allowing them much creative freedom and also freedom to roam from position had a good enough effect and that is why I didn’t consider setting them to swap positions.

  10. Cs.Sándor

    1 ноября, 2011 at 10:38

    HY!
    Thanks for the upload!
    I have a problem with the download: don’t work…

  11. Bob Peters

    2 ноября, 2011 at 09:10

    first of all, your tactic looks very impressive! Second, I was wondering if you use any side-line instructions?

    Im currently using the tactic with fc Twente and so far I have won all my matches but im not really domination at this moment,… guess I have to wait untill the team is used to the formation :)

    Keep on going mate!

    • Johnny Karp

      2 ноября, 2011 at 09:16

      Thanks mate. I generally don’t use any touchline instructions but sometimes I do tell them to retain possession when we’re already 2 or 3 goals ahead. Regarding the domination, that happened to me with Barcelona until the players got fairly familiar with the tactic so I hope you will have the same experience with Twente.

  12. Rod

    2 ноября, 2011 at 17:56

    I must say that this is the best Barcelona tactic i have ever tested. I tried it without signigns and the team looks marvelous, 30 wins, 3 draws, 0 losses. 115 scored, and only 5 conceded. I made a very few tweaks, minimum. Then, surprised, i tried it with a not so good team, and worked very well, you definitely are a tactic genius.

    • Johnny Karp

      2 ноября, 2011 at 18:13

      Thanks for the compliment mate, I’m very happy that you enjoyed good results and good football with this tactic. Feel free to share the tweaks though, those might help other fellow managers ;)

  13. NIclas

    3 ноября, 2011 at 08:58

    Your tactic seems really incredible, I’ll try it as soon as i come home! (:
    I have some questions though.
    how did it go in the champions league, and who turned out to be your topscorer? (;
    great work!

    • Johnny Karp

      3 ноября, 2011 at 12:47

      Thanks mate. We won the Champions League and the Spanish Cup and Messi was the top scorer with around 45 goals in 38 apps (not exactly sure about the numbers but they are around those figures).

      • NIclas

        3 ноября, 2011 at 14:50

        sounds really good, seriously amazing!(:

  14. TC1982

    4 ноября, 2011 at 22:43

    Using your tactic with Aston Villa. In my first season & initially had a bit of success sitting top after 20 games. However I’ve experienced a poor run of form recently & noticed that I am conceding a lot of goals (53 in 30 games!). Any advice would be appreciated.
    I’ve mainly used the home tactic as my players rarely play well using the counter tactic.
    PS Darren Bent has been on fire!
    Thanks for the hard work Johnny, going to keep persisting with the tactics.

    • Johnny Karp

      5 ноября, 2011 at 10:44

      Thanks mate. Those are quite a few goals conceded but you have to tell me how those goals came (set pieces, open play), otherwise it would be next to impossible for me to guess what goes wrong there.

  15. TC1982

    5 ноября, 2011 at 11:06

    The goals seem to come from mainly open play, often on the counter attack with a ball over the top of my defence. I think in part in may be due to the pace of Dunne & Collins!
    Going through a real strange period on my game, won the first 10 matches including a 3-0 defeat of Man City. Now can’t buy a win, the team has stopped passing the ball as much & the opposition are having as many chances per game as me.
    Great tactic but something has gone wrong with my team somewhere.

    • Johnny Karp

      5 ноября, 2011 at 11:21

      If your defenders are slow then it’s quite normal to concede lots of goals like that. You have to use a deeper defensive line if you have slow defenders, otherwise you will be quite exposed to counter attacks and long balls behind the defence. Now your players might also experience a confidence problem if the results are not good, check their morale and try to improve that aspect with a team meeting or encourage them via team talks.

  16. JPereira

    6 ноября, 2011 at 15:01

    Hi there. I’m using your tactic with Sporting Clube de Portugal and i have a doubt concerning the players to use. I have many midfielders and players like capel, jeffren, matias fernandez, izmailov, bojinov. Do you think a winger could play on front, or should be only a striker?

    • Johnny Karp

      6 ноября, 2011 at 15:11

      I have retrained a couple of wingers as strikers and they did well. I think that Capel or Jeffren could surely do the job as defensive strikers but you should train them for this position, just like I did with Pedro for instance.

      • JPereira

        6 ноября, 2011 at 15:19

        I’ll do that. Hope it helps, cause it would be a shame to sell these players. Thanks

  17. hamzaivian

    6 ноября, 2011 at 17:51

    this is a good tactic that i win with it the super cup spanish and european ,but messi is always missing occasions and he hasn’t score any goal in 6 matches, and pedro is unconvincing in the defensive striker position. Plz help me!!

    • Johnny Karp

      6 ноября, 2011 at 18:09

      It can’t work right away but if you keep going you’ll see the results. You can also try to encourage your players and boost their morale, even Messi needs a pat on the back now and again.

  18. Jamie Lewis

    8 ноября, 2011 at 04:02

    I really like all the advice I’m getting from this site!
    I’m curious about how it all ties together. Is it pretty much mix and match, or do some parts work better together than others?
    Like for instance with this tactic; Did it matter what kind of training schedule you used? Other than good passers, did you need (or want) to pick up any other type of players to make this work well when not using it with Barcelona?

    • Johnny Karp

      8 ноября, 2011 at 07:15

      I’d say it’s mix and match, yes. I used the default training schedules so I don’t think that a training schedule will affect the way the team plays, at least not on short term. I’d also say that you also need fast defenders but that’s quite obvious since this tactic has a very high defensive line.

  19. Jonny Harb

    8 ноября, 2011 at 09:23

    This tactic is the best ive ever used on the game! im swansea city and giving teams the run around with this tactic!! Swansea try to base their tactics on Barca in real life, so chuffed with this tactic!!

    Download it fellas!!

    jon

    • Johnny Karp

      8 ноября, 2011 at 09:41

      Thanks for the enthusiasm mate, I’m very happy that you are getting the results with this tactic.

  20. Mike Dodgson

    8 ноября, 2011 at 19:47

    Hi Johnny — well done on a great post and very good results!

    I’m going to use this in a new save in the Premiership… not sure of the team yet.

    Few questions for you:

    Do you use any shouts for any of the tactics?

    Do you use any opposition instructions at all… either by you or your assistant?

    What match preparation do you use?

    As for the Counter tactic, do you use this against bigger teams purely away?

    Sorry for all of the questions! :-)

    • Johnny Karp

      8 ноября, 2011 at 20:42

      No problem mate, I’m here to answer your questions so don’t worry about that. On to the answers now: I didn’t use any shouts on a regular basis, I always used the opposition instructions suggested by the assistant and also left him to handle match preparation. I used the counter tactic only in the second half of the season and only in away games, regardless of the opponent. However, the attacking tactic works well even away from home in most cases but I felt that the counter tactic offered a bit more safety at the back in away matches.

      • Mike Dodgson

        8 ноября, 2011 at 21:23

        Brilliant, thanks for your reply.

        What type of players would you recommend for the wide strikers… in a perfect world I’d love sanchez or pedro but with Newcastle it’s sadly not possible. Do you have say 3 recommended attributes for those positions… as a guide?

        Any other advice would help too, thanks!

        • Johnny Karp

          9 ноября, 2011 at 07:29

          I’d say that any type of striker would do the job but I prefer fast ones (good pace and acceleration) and good flair could be a nice bonus.

          • Mike Dodgson

            9 ноября, 2011 at 11:21

            Thanks again.

            Questions keep coming :-)

            What kind of player would you have where you play messi… I’m guessing someone with a good first touch and creativity? Do they have to be a striker?

          • Johnny Karp

            9 ноября, 2011 at 18:41

            A creative player would do best there. I have used Iniesta in that role as well, so I guess a non-striker could work but that player should be more or less familiar with that role.

  21. poolash

    12 ноября, 2011 at 06:08

    Seems i had a problem to import the tactics..i put the TAC file into Document>Football Manager 2012> tactics but when i wanted to import the tactics there were nothing inside the folder..help!

    • Johnny Karp

      12 ноября, 2011 at 08:50

      If the file is in that folder you should be able to find it under «archived tactics» in the game, no need to import it.

  22. Mike Dodgson

    12 ноября, 2011 at 13:52

    Has this been tested in the premiership?

    Would you advise to use the Counter tactic in away games or games against higher opposition?

    • Johnny Karp

      12 ноября, 2011 at 14:00

      No, I haven’t tested it in the Premiership but some of the previous commentators did. I only used the counter version in away games regardless of the opposition but you should test and see which way works best for your team.

  23. Mike Dodgson

    14 ноября, 2011 at 14:40

    Working brilliantly with me so far as Spurs in the 1st season, as below:

    Premiership So Far: http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9218/premiershipsofar.jpg
    Euro Qualification: http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1803/eurosofar.jpg

    Your a genius — the play is so good to watch, solid at the back and slick as ever going forward…

    Have you release at any other forum? Would you mind if I did so for you?

    • Johnny Karp

      14 ноября, 2011 at 14:55

      Thanks mate, I’m happy to hear that you like the way your team plays with this tactic. As for the other forums, you can mention the tactic if you want but please link back to the original post.

      • Mike Dodgson

        14 ноября, 2011 at 20:04

        I will, but to make the most out of it I will wait till the end of the season to see what success I have.

        Are you still using the tactics as they are?

        • Johnny Karp

          14 ноября, 2011 at 20:13

          Yes, I’m still using the same versions. If I’ll make changes I will post updates ;)

  24. Mike Dodgson

    16 ноября, 2011 at 12:47

    Hi Johnny,

    I’ve posted on 2 other forums, and detailed my success in there too so you can have a read: http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2012-tactics-training/86873-%5Bfm12%5D-433-fa-cup-winners-league-cup-winners-euro-cup-winners-4th-prem-spurs.html#post1362640

    Thanks again, it’s worked wonders as it is for you — a big well done!

  25. Papaille

    16 ноября, 2011 at 20:50

    Hi Johnny Karp !

    First of all, I want to thanks you for sharing your tactic ! But I have one question. Can I use a slow striker in your tactic? I have a wonderkid regen, but he’s slow (11 pace, 14 speed)

    And i’m playing with Lille OSC, do you think Eden hazard can be a good playmaker? He’s poor on team work…

    • Papaille

      16 ноября, 2011 at 21:42

      Just find the answer by myself. Hazard in the Messi Role seems to be perfect. Defensive striker status is not suitable for my squad. The left Striker is now a «Pivot» in french (Target striker?), and the right striker is an Fast striker.

      For now, it works well.

      • Johnny Karp

        17 ноября, 2011 at 08:03

        I’m glad that your tweaks are working, adapting the tactic to your players is a good choice.

    • Johnny Karp

      17 ноября, 2011 at 08:01

      Hazard would be good as a trequartista in my view. And that striker should do well, he’s not too slow.

  26. Rashmi Ranjan Patra

    20 ноября, 2011 at 15:34

    hi jhonny i m a fan of ur blog dude, i m from india , i m nt a regular blogger and i have started playing fm from 11 version ,i m kind of a new to this ,i used to play fifa game a lot ,and i m now trying my hand over fm . i love reading blog by u and danny ,ur guyz r great man..

    currently i m using ur bracelona tactics both home and away . i m manging malaga of spanish league …..
    i m having a problem with defensive forward players , i m quite confused whats the attribute i should look for a player whom i could play in that position .
    i guess defensive forward players need marking and tackling attribute too but i cant find a player who has a min of 10 in those attribute , i m currently using benitez and schiebler as df
    would u plz give some suggestion about it …….

    • Johnny Karp

      20 ноября, 2011 at 17:28

      Thanks for the kind words mate. You don’t have to look too hard for defensive forwards, most good strikers should do pretty well there and you definitely don’t need men with good tackling or marking as those positions don’t really require those attributes.

  27. Rashmi Ranjan Patra

    24 ноября, 2011 at 19:34

    hey jhonny i have finshed 4th in spanish league using ur tactics . ur tactics is great man .simply brilliant ……. i have signed verratti for deep playmaker role ..
    juanmi /matavz r my terquesta …
    would u give me some gud striker name whom i could play in defensive forward role ..
    i m about to start my 2nd season ,it would b great help for me ……

  28. jon

    26 ноября, 2011 at 20:08

    not hard to win with barca

    • Johnny Karp

      27 ноября, 2011 at 08:44

      I agree but how you win is also important.

      • Eddie

        13 декабря, 2011 at 02:17

        I disagree. It is not so easy to win with Barca. I played two seasons without having access to this brilliant tactic. So, I won the two Spains. In one, made ​​108 points and the other 90 (saving holders in the final games). However, falls in two Champions League and had trouble against Real Madrid. Test this tactic and it looks wonderful. Indeed, congratulations to the creator.

        PS: Sorry, I am Brazilian, and I used google translator.

        :)

  29. Rashmi Ranjan Patra

    27 ноября, 2011 at 10:02

    hi thnks man for that link its help me a great i found gud striker and midfilder and defender from that list
    i have signed eric torres,carlos fierro for my defensive forward and they r playing great
    i m playing kovacic in bbm role and verratti as my deep lying playmaker
    currently in my second season i m on top of league in spanish league

  30. Shtazian

    29 ноября, 2011 at 22:22

    Johnny Karp I’ve tried your tactic with Steaua Bucharest and I seem to leak loads of goals… The results are awful after first 4 matches:
    Otelul — Steaua 2-2 Supercup
    Steaua — Dinamo 0-6 !!!!
    Otelul — Steaua 3-1
    Steaua — Mioveni 1-0
    Vaslui — Steaua 3-1
    Please help me. I need some instructions.. I mention that even though i’ve played this game for some years, i’m not capable to make my own tactic…

    • Johnny Karp

      30 ноября, 2011 at 06:00

      It’s difficult to say what happened there, you have to pay attention to the matches and see where the goals care coming from and then try to find solutions to these problems. The team has really conceded a lot but it hasn’t scored enough either so I guess you didn’t even have good possession which makes me think that either the players are not familiar at all with the tactic or they are not adapted to it (they have poor passing skills for instance). Bottom line: watch the matches and try to see what happens and think with your own head, it’s difficult for me to give you a solution when I don’t know the team and haven’t seen the matches.

  31. Harv

    30 ноября, 2011 at 09:00

    Wow Johnny! This looks amazing. People might say it isn’t hard to win with barca but like you say its about the way you play. Barca in real life would probably be easy to manage with the World Class players they have but the way Guardiola sets up the team is something that no other manager could probably do. I have made some tactics with my team scoring 150 goals a season but none with this kind of movement. Great work!!

  32. Liam

    30 ноября, 2011 at 11:10

    Johnny, the attacking part of the tactic is great but i’m having trouble defensively. I beat Fulham 9-5 with your tactic. With my own tactic I had only conceded 9 goals in 20 games. :/ My defence is Johnson Shawcross Agger Jose Enrique. Any suggestions?

    • Johnny Karp

      30 ноября, 2011 at 12:20

      I have to repeat what I have said a few times already: see if there is a pattern in the goals you are conceding (most of them on counter attacks for instance or from set pieces and so on) and then try to address that problem either through match preparation or tactical tweaks. You can also try to use the counter version and see if that gives you better results.

  33. Joao Pacheco

    8 декабря, 2011 at 15:11

    hey, what about busquets? defensive midfielder?

    • Johnny Karp

      8 декабря, 2011 at 16:02

      Busquets was a reliable backup but I admit I don’t like him too much, mostly because he keeps diving…

  34. HBK

    10 декабря, 2011 at 04:51

    What are your pitch dimensions? I understand that short passing often works best with minimized dimensions in FM although that’s not necessarily the case in real-life.

    • Johnny Karp

      10 декабря, 2011 at 08:39

      I always use the standard pitch dimension but I don’t think that has much of an impact.

  35. Danke

    10 декабря, 2011 at 19:12

    I’ve noticed that changing only a single position in this tactic, I make less than many, I use the 3-4-3, I earn less than against, or will be so I have a run anything else, I should stick with the side the original tactic or take 3 permanent central?

  36. Danke

    10 декабря, 2011 at 23:51

    What I mean playing with 3 central defenders line Will Become the team much less Than 4 defenders.

  37. Danke

    10 декабря, 2011 at 23:56

    Mejor te lo exlico en español, el sistema 4-3-3 , lo que hago es modificar una sola posicion, dejo 3 centrales y agrego un cd en el medio, dejando 4 mediocampistas, y 3 arriba sin tocar las funciones que implementaste.

    • Johnny Karp

      11 декабря, 2011 at 09:48

      I guess it could work with 3 central defenders, I haven’t tried it. But doesn’t that leave too much space down the flanks?

  38. Daniel

    11 декабря, 2011 at 11:04

    Hi Johnny,
    Just wondering, obviously youve had success with a romanian lower league side, so it would be safe of me to presume it would work well with a lower league english side, provided i recruit the right type of players?

    • Johnny Karp

      11 декабря, 2011 at 11:30

      I guess it could work, I can’t see why not. I’d be quite curious to see if it does though so if you try it please keep me posted ;)

  39. Danke

    11 декабря, 2011 at 11:17

    Mi pregunta es si a la tactica original 4-3-3 le saco la opcion de entradas agresivas y le dejo suave, cambia mi forma de juego?, tengo mas posibilidades de perder?

  40. Manu Le Coq

    11 декабря, 2011 at 23:03

    hello im frensh sorry for the language pastore in trequartista is good for psg please

  41. Danke

    12 декабря, 2011 at 03:14

    mi pregunta es sobre los delanteros o atacantes, creo muchas situaciones de gol, pero muy poco se anota, uno o nada

    • Johnny Karp

      12 декабря, 2011 at 07:16

      Strikers miss with any tactic, if you create chances they will start scoring sooner or later.

  42. Manu Le Coq

    12 декабря, 2011 at 07:20

    a votre avis pastore pourrait il faire un bon Trequartista
    et ou je pourrais faire jouer nene aide moi

    • Johnny Karp

      12 декабря, 2011 at 09:22

      Je pense que Pastore pourrait faire un bon trequartista mais it pourrait jouer bien comme milieu central, Nene pourrait etre un bon «defensive forward».

      • Manu Le Coq

        12 декабря, 2011 at 13:23

        JE REMERCIE DU CONSEIL ET DE MA VOIR REPONDU JTE TIEN O COURANT DE MA SAISON BIENTOT

  43. Manu Le Coq

    12 декабря, 2011 at 07:38

    hoareau pastore gameiro
    nene martin menez
    tiene sako toure jallet ? the position is good for the milieu

  44. asido

    12 декабря, 2011 at 08:33

    can we use it for 4-4-2 formation?

    • Johnny Karp

      12 декабря, 2011 at 09:20

      You can tweak it for a 4-4-2 formation but since I haven’t tried it I can’t really tell you how or if it will work.

  45. Danke

    12 декабря, 2011 at 10:49

    Una ultima pregunta, que trequartista o enganche delantero como caracteristicas principales deba tener?, muchas gracias!.

    • Johnny Karp

      12 декабря, 2011 at 15:22

      You can see those in the game in the player attributes screen by selecting the respective role.

  46. Danke

    12 декабря, 2011 at 18:30

    Tengo mayor posesion, tengo mayor disparos al arco, mis jugadores con moral alta y en su posicion correcta, pero porque me ganan partidos, que estoy haciendo mal?

    • Johnny Karp

      12 декабря, 2011 at 21:42

      I’m sorry mate but I think I have given you all the help that I could give considering the language barrier. I do understand a bit of Spanish but not too much.

  47. Danke

    12 декабря, 2011 at 22:04

    I have more possession, I have more shots on goal, my players morale and its correct position, but because I win games, I’m doing wrong?

    • Danke

      12 декабря, 2011 at 23:18

      Drawing conclusions your other tactics, the Arsenal, I have been more effective, I won most of the parties

  48. Mark

    17 декабря, 2011 at 10:56

    Hi Johnny, thanks for the tactic, you’ve clearly put a lot of time and energy into it, and I’m pretty amazed that it is possible to get a team to play so close to the way they do in real life.

    I am currently trying it out with Barcelona, and though the stats are okay (11-3-0 in the league, 3-2-1 in the Champions Cup group stage) I’m a bit puzzled by a couple of things.

    First off, Xavi (and for that matter Iniesta), how do they perform when you’re in the manager seat? They’ve had a tough time under my wings, none of them managing to get above 7.00 in average. I’ve used Xavi as the playmaker, Iniesta as the left Box to Box mid. I’ve also had some problems getting Mascherano to fit into the Box to Box role, which isn’t really an issue though, seeing as the general douchiness of his being make him (and Busquets) obvious items on the transferlist in January.

    Secondly the left Defensive Forward, when you use David Villa, do you really play him that way too? To me it doesn’t seem that he’s really capable of that, neither attribute-wise or in the games, where he hasn’t been convincing in that role. Instead I’ve played him as a Poacher, where he’s been lethal and as such that shouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that I feel, it is necessary to use Defensive Forwards due to the attacking mentality of the tactic in general.

    • Johnny Karp

      17 декабря, 2011 at 11:06

      I have experienced the same issues early on but once the players get more and more familiar with the tactic their performances should improve, at least they did under my reign at Barcelona.

      • Mark

        17 декабря, 2011 at 11:17

        Thank you for the quick reply.

  49. Cristi

    18 декабря, 2011 at 22:55

    Match preparation? OI? Pep talk? Thank you.

    • Johnny Karp

      19 декабря, 2011 at 06:18

      I left all those matters in the hands of the assistant manager, the only thing that you have to make sure of is that you have both versions of the tactic in match preparation.

  50. Harv

    19 декабря, 2011 at 12:02

    Johnny do you think this would work with Valencia?

    • Johnny Karp

      19 декабря, 2011 at 22:18

      It should work with any team as long as you have good players and a bit of patience.

  51. Ivo Javi Almeida

    20 декабря, 2011 at 17:25

    U say that you play in demo version. Dem version goes till December. How u have 34 games played in La Liga?

    • Ivo Javi Almeida

      20 декабря, 2011 at 17:29

      sorry! U paly the full version too. My bad! I will try this tactic in Chelsea!

    • Johnny Karp

      20 декабря, 2011 at 17:38

      I started in the demo version and then continued the save when I got the full game. Good luck with Chelsea!

      • Ivo Javi Almeida

        20 декабря, 2011 at 18:19

        Thanks man. My trequartista will be Fernando Torres.. lets see ;)

        • Johnny Karp

          20 декабря, 2011 at 18:55

          He should do well, let me know ;)

          • Ivo Javi Almeida

            22 декабря, 2011 at 19:39

            Humm. Drogba do it better. The others 2 (DF) change between Torres, Mata or Hulk!

  52. leleo

    22 декабря, 2011 at 20:15

    i cant seem to download this tactics i put it in the tactics folder but it still doesnt show up on the tactics. please help!

    • Johnny Karp

      23 декабря, 2011 at 06:26

      If you placed it in the correct folder you should be able to see it under «archived tactics» in your game tactics screen.

  53. Gabriel Lima

    28 декабря, 2011 at 00:41

    Johnny esta tática ela foi feita especialmente para o Barcelona ? Pode Usar em outras equipes, abraços.

    Português -> Brazilian
    Inglês -> English

    Johnny this tactic it was made especially for Barcelona? Can Use on other teams, hugs.

    Portuguese -> Brazilian
    English -> Português

    • Gabriel Lima

      28 декабря, 2011 at 01:25

      Queria saber tambem uma coisa, eu comprei um jogador na Liga BBVA (Espanhol) so que coloquei ele no banco e faltava o número da camisa e não da pra tirar ele do banco e nem consigo colocar o número da camisa e mandar pra Liga e agora o que faço, abraços.

      Português — > Brazilian
      Inglês -> English

      Also wanted to know one thing, I bought a player in Liga BBVA (Spanish) so I put it in the bank and the shirt number of missing and not to get him out of the bank and can not even put the number of the shirt and send to the League and now I do hugs.

      • Johnny Karp

        28 декабря, 2011 at 11:51

        The Spanish league has a registration window when you can register a 25-man squad, that player has to be registered if you want to use him. The first window closes in September I think and the next one is in January.

    • Johnny Karp

      28 декабря, 2011 at 11:50

      I am using it with another team and many others do so it definitely can work with other teams as well.

  54. Manu Le Coq

    28 декабря, 2011 at 11:04

    i have finished my season with the psg I have to end the first one with 87 points 27 victories 6 invalid(nul) and defaites 2.
    And big surprise, jai to gain(win) the eurapa league against city Manchester 2 1 my Trequartista javier pastore my satisfied he has to mark 37 goal in 57 match I congratulate you on your tactics bravo.
    But i have a probleme with my 2 aggressors defensif, (hulk ,néné, menez ,gameiro 10 GOAL EACH ) he does not stand out enough and rarely centers in front of the goal line could you m help?
    I do not know if I have to put Midfielders and Wingers or striker has their positions thank you!!!!!!

    • Johnny Karp

      28 декабря, 2011 at 11:53

      That was a pretty good season, well done! I don’t have an answer to your question though, you should try the players in various positions or change their roles if you are not satisfied with their performances.

      • Manu Le Coq

        28 декабря, 2011 at 13:11

        Have to end my season he remained in me 3 match and pastore my Trequartista has of it to take advantage to mark 7 purposes he finished better striker with 23but better boatman with 16 master keys(passes) and any confused(merged) comeption 41but in conclusion your tactics really emphasizes your Trequartista

        • Manu Le Coq

          28 декабря, 2011 at 13:17

          Do you know the tactics devasto? If yes you think that your tactics can make the weight against her?

          • Johnny Karp

            28 декабря, 2011 at 14:03

            I do know that tactic, it’s quite attacking so I would use the counter version against it.

        • Johnny Karp

          28 декабря, 2011 at 14:02

          I’m sorry but I can’t understand much of this Google Translate blabber.

  55. Manu Le Coq

    28 декабря, 2011 at 11:07

    i have finished my season with the psg I have to end the first one with 87 points 27 victories 6 invalid(nul) and defaites 2.
    And big surprise, i win the europa league against city Manchester 2 1 my Trequartista javier pastore my satisfied he has to mark 37 goal in 57 match I congratulate you on your tactics bravo.
    But i have a probleme with my 2 aggressors defensif, (hulk ,néné, menez ,gameiro 10 GOAL EACH ) he does not stand out enough and rarely centers in front of the goal line could you m help?
    I do not know if I have to put Midfielders and Wingers or striker has their positions thank you!!!!!!

  56. Mariano

    1 января, 2012 at 18:36

    Looks amazing, I willl have it as a back up tactic:)

  57. Eoin Cowen

    2 января, 2012 at 12:02

    I was wondering, could I use this with Arsenal with 2 wingers and a complete forward ?

    • Johnny Karp

      2 января, 2012 at 14:07

      That sounds like a good idea and it could work but you can’t know before actually trying it. So I’d say give it a go and let us know ;)

  58. hanks

    2 января, 2012 at 18:53

    what a tactic !!… I must try this tactic for my team, manutd. TQ mate..
    Now i use 4-4-2 formation, and won the all title we can reach,community shield ,EPL,carling,FA, n Champions league (not europa league,hahaha LOL).. And chicharito made goal record in word.. And win bestplayer in world, messi in 2nd (sorry mate).. Hmm, so all of you must bring chicharito to your clubs. Hahha..

    P.s. Im from indonesia,forgive me if my english is worst. Sorry.

    • Johnny Karp

      2 января, 2012 at 19:36

      Congrats on what you’ve won so far!

      • hanks

        3 января, 2012 at 03:54

        TQ mate. now i want to try u tactic.. and expect rooney can be trequartista.. who the best be a DLP in manutd? can my winger be a defensive forward?? such as nani anad valencia. TQ

  59. hanks

    3 января, 2012 at 05:32

    its not working with united. I use u team instruction but i use my formation. use 2 wide mid, 2 bmm, 1 dlf and 1 af (chicharito). the result is i beat valencia in champions league with score 5-0 in OT. Fletcher sent off in 48. check this SS http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/4374/manutdvvalenciainformat.png

  60. rjmaster

    3 января, 2012 at 15:00

    im now starting a new game with psg.
    i hope this tactic will work for me

  61. hibee63

    3 января, 2012 at 17:32

    Hi, I’ve started a season with Liverpool using your tactics. I am currently sitting 4th in the league, the problem is when I play away from home. I use the counter tactic but I always end up getting beat 3-0, 4-0 etc. When I change to the attack one it’s just the same. Is there anything you can suggest to help me? Cheers.

    • hibee63

      3 января, 2012 at 17:35

      I just played at home and lost 1-0, I don’t know what went wrong, I won my first four games.

      • Johnny Karp

        3 января, 2012 at 18:13

        I don’t know what to say because I don’t know your squad or how you have prepared them during pre-season.

        • hibee63

          3 января, 2012 at 18:19

          I haven’t changed the squad at all. I don’t actually think I used your tactic right from the start of the season, maybe that had an effect?

          • Johnny Karp

            3 января, 2012 at 19:38

            Well, it probably had an effect because it takes time for the team to get used to a tactic. I suggest setting it as a backup tactic for a while and then start using it when the players get a bit more familiar with it.

          • hibee63

            3 января, 2012 at 19:39

            Both of the tactics actually have full match familiarity.

          • Johnny Karp

            3 января, 2012 at 19:44

            Really? I thought you played just around 10 games with these tactics, from what I’ve seen my team needed half a season to reach full familiarity.

          • hibee63

            3 января, 2012 at 19:51

            I’ve played 32 matches, 6th in the table.

          • Johnny Karp

            3 января, 2012 at 20:56

            How long did it take you to play 32 matches? If you’re fast-forwarding through the game you will never be able to see if a tactic works or not or the aspects that you can correct in order to make it work. My point is that you can’t expect just to splash a tactic on a team and expect it to win every game, you have to watch the games and see which player does good in which role, tweak the tactic if necessary and so on. If you want a plug and play tactic I’m sorry to say that I don’t have it.

  62. Marc

    11 января, 2012 at 03:16

    Starting a new save with Santos, will try to implement this tactic in my squad because I love this style and I adore possesion in match.

    One question, mate, will natural wingers be able to play in DF role? For example, someone like Robben or Ribery?

    Thanks in advance, keep up the good work mate!

    • Johnny Karp

      11 января, 2012 at 10:22

      I can’t know if Robben or Ribery would do well there but I can tell you that Pedro did pretty well but I also started training him as a striker. So I guess you can try ;)

  63. Andrew Ilori

    11 января, 2012 at 14:00

    Excellent work Johnny!!
    I started a new game using your sexy football tactic (pass, pass, pass) as my previous tactics used in FM generally never really worked. Eventually got employed by Derby County of the championship who were struggling and in 21st position in the table. I must say that I didn’t have much to do as far as making changes before and during games other than making sure that the most creative midfield player I have in the team plays in the central role and avoided using a striker in the Trequartista role. Other than that, I also made sure I applied the Attacking tactic for home games and Counter for away.
    I also «didn’t use any shouts on a regular basis, I always used the opposition instructions suggested by the assistant and also left him to handle match preparation»
    I have made no signings as the club does not have any money. Also made sure that my player’s morales is regularly checked. I don’t want to piss them off. Tried my best through press meetings to pass messages on to the players that I don’t tolerate complacency.
    The result is amazing. Considering that I was offered the job in October and the team was in 21st position in the league, I was able to climb the table all the way to 2nd in the table so far (current month in the game — December 2011) beating West Ham 3-0 in the process.
    In my history of playing the game, I have never come across any tactic as easy and as rewarding as this. I believe that I will win the Championship considering how well things are going at the moment. You are truly a genius. Well done!

    PS. I will keep you posted as to where and how I finish the season as Derby manager. I hope Chelsea, my favourite team offer me a chance to manage them. AVB is currently having a nightmare. LOL!

    • Johnny Karp

      11 января, 2012 at 14:15

      That’s great to hear, I’m always very happy when I hear that other players enjoy success with my tactics. I surely hope that you will win the Championship and then land that dream job. What kind of player do you use as a trequartista, an attacking midfielder?

      • Andrew Ilori

        11 января, 2012 at 14:36

        I am currently using any forward player suggested to me by my assistant manager as long as they are not just Strikers (ST). I found that in one of the early games I played using a striker as my Trequartista, during the game, my assistant manager pointed out that he was misplacing his passes back to the opposition. Therefore, I used that information and never looked back since. Quite interesting!

        • Johnny Karp

          11 января, 2012 at 18:10

          I understand, thanks for the info. I tend to use versatile strikers in that role too.

          • Andrew Ilori

            13 января, 2012 at 10:07

            Hi Johnny,

            There is a little problem with my Derby team conceeding goals through corner kicks away from home using the counter tactics. These silly goals are costing my team a bit. I now find myself on the fringe of play-off place. Birmingham are ahead of my team Derby by over 20 points. I therefore do not think I will win the Championship as I am now 7th on the table with about 10 games left and 8 points between me and Portsmouth in 2nd place. I still think I will get the promotion to the Premier league.
            Team morale is good overall, the board are pleased with how my team is performing and I could not sign any player in the window because of no cash made available.
            Do you have any suggestion for me on how to reduce the goals my team keep conceeding away from home? Thanks

          • Johnny Karp

            13 января, 2012 at 10:40

            You might have noticed that on defending corner kicks the three strikers remain forward. My suggestion, which I’m also trying at the moment, is to pull one or two of them back (preferably the defensive forwards) and that should improve the corner kick defending.

  64. hammers07

    11 января, 2012 at 14:42

    great tactic, the only tweak I’d suggest is switching from DF to AF, I find that you get slightly more goals and that it is more suited to Barcelona’s squad

    • Johnny Karp

      11 января, 2012 at 18:12

      Thanks for the suggestion. I think I’ve tried that at some point but those strikers were less inclined to pass the ball so that is why I chose the DF roles.

  65. BCFCJAMES

    15 января, 2012 at 13:20

    Thought it would be a good idea to experiment with your tactic in the lower leagues so I’ve been trying it with Huddersfield. Only a few weeks in but the football is sensational — watching all those triangles with a league 1 side. Had to make a few tweaks of course to suit the league and players, but Danny Ward in the trequartista position is amazing. Signed Andrea Orlandi on loan for the playmaker, he’s been unreal. Just trying to work out how to get Jordan Rhodes to start firing for me! Think he may be a bit under rated on FM. Thanks for the tactic I always do well on FM but can never get the ‘sexy football’ I want.

    P.S — Still can’t beat the real thing thought — Millwall 0-6 BCFC yesterday — amazing!

    • Johnny Karp

      15 января, 2012 at 15:19

      Thanks for the comment mate, I’m happy that my tactic has brought you «sexy football». I also appreciate the fact that you made tweaks to the tactic to suit your team, I always say that there is no «plug-and-play» tactic that works for all teams under all circumstances.

  66. Pingback: Bringing Barca to Blackburn!

  67. Football Menager 8

    19 января, 2012 at 23:22

    Your tactic is very good.

  68. Ned

    20 января, 2012 at 08:52

    Johnny, your tactic is realy awsome. Tryed with 3 different teams and all the times my team smashed the other(usually 62-70% possession). The only things I would like to share(wich is not weaknes but may be other way is better) are :
    — Almost there is no difference if turn from attacking to overload(cause of too much personal setings).This could be problem if opponents «park the buss»…
    — There is better way to structure set pieces and attack corners — my oppinion is that using near post or far post crossing provide much more goals ..
    All other is more than «good» ^^
    May be if correct and make some improuved version, will be unbeatble !

    • Johnny Karp

      20 января, 2012 at 09:31

      Thanks Ned, I’m happy that you liked it and that you also made a few personal tweaks to improve it. I never tried to switch from attacking to overload because I feel that the attacking version is offensive enough even if the opponent parks the bus. You might be right on the corner kicks, I will probably try that change and see what happens.

  69. leo messi

    20 января, 2012 at 12:25

    i have use that tactics and reach 103 won 1 draw and 0 lose
    but, i change pedro with villa and mascherano with xavi
    i put pedro and mascherano in subtitution

    • Johnny Karp

      20 января, 2012 at 13:01

      Nice to hear that you had good results. I rotated the players a lot, Pedro and Mascherano were not fixed members of the starting eleven.

  70. Football Menager 8

    20 января, 2012 at 14:14

    17 games played, 17 games won.

  71. Football Menager 8

    20 января, 2012 at 14:15

    17 games played, 17 games won. With this tactic.

  72. Football Menager 8

    20 января, 2012 at 23:01

    Thanks

  73. Nicolae

    24 января, 2012 at 09:16

    Hi,

    Ive been playing fm for a few years now, and usally id rather build my own tactic then use a tactic made by someone else. However, this year I had some trouble making a proper tactic, so I decided to use this one.

    The reason why I came here to post a comment is because this tactic its absolutely amazing. Ive started in the lowest English league and have promoted every single year and currently I find myself in my first season in the English Premier League in the 6th place. This tactic has exceeded all my expactations and its joy to play with it. Thanks a lot for that :)

    • Johnny Karp

      24 января, 2012 at 09:39

      Thanks for the feedback mate, I’m very happy that you had good results with this tactic.

  74. Ned

    24 января, 2012 at 11:39

    Hi again , Johny. Let you know — I have almost finished my season in one Multi with Milan and almost all my home games played with your tactic. Still on my oppinion — vs «park the buss» need some changes. 1st of all — other team usually play tactic like : 5-4-1 ; 4-1-4-1 ; 4-5-1. Cause of much of their players formed 2 defensive lines, may be is better if trequartist come lill back in AMC possition and player like Siggurdson from Hofenheim would make so much pain on tnem ^^. My main idea is : if play vs «park the buss» — try some player with good long shot and drop lill deeper trequartist to do that . Then formation will be most like 4-3-1-2, and FB should be more offensive. I will try soon and let you know whether work or no ^^

    • Johnny Karp

      24 января, 2012 at 14:18

      Thanks for the feedback. I haven’t identified the same problem to be honest, actually it seemed a lot easier when playing against very defensive teams.

  75. Sean

    24 января, 2012 at 15:56

    fantastic formation! i am liverpool and just nailed tottenham 4-0. going well in the season but the only thing im trying to achieve is to get my passing up into the 80/90s with any of the midfield. any suggestions??

    also how did you find the amount of passes you made?

    • Johnny Karp

      24 января, 2012 at 18:10

      Thanks Sean. My midfield gets above 80% passes completed in each game, I guess the main thing that you need are players with good passing to achieve that. The number of passes can be seen in the analysis screen.

      • sean

        24 января, 2012 at 19:22

        yeah im the same, even in the premiership! the thing that im getting at and maybe im being greedy is to get my midfield upto 80 passes made not 80 percentage. keep tweeking a bit by bit but most i can get out of my DLP is 58

        • Johnny Karp

          24 января, 2012 at 19:25

          Ah, I understand now. I don’t see the point though, if the team is winning and playing well why would you care about the number of passes? My DLP gets around 60-70 passes per game by the way but I have only checked that after you mentioned it.

          • sean

            24 января, 2012 at 21:45

            its because xavi etc. get around the 100 mark during games thats all. cheers anyway, good tactic

          • Johnny Karp

            24 января, 2012 at 22:15

            Yeah, I know. My purpose is to keep possession and score goals, I don’t really care if it’s identical to the real Barcelona in all the aspects of the game.

  76. Joshua

    24 января, 2012 at 23:32

    Hey Jonny,
    First of all AMAZING tactics!!!!! best I’ve seen, absolute genius!

    One thing i am noticing is Iniesta in the left box-to-box mid position, he is not performing that well compared to other players. Im only halfway through my first season and i will wait longer to see how he does, but i was wondering how Iniesta did for you ??? did you come across anything like this?

    • Johnny Karp

      25 января, 2012 at 05:26

      Thannks Joshua. About Iniesta, I remember I re-trained him for the CM position since he’s not a natural CM from what I remember and he did a bit better in the second part of the season.

  77. Mike Dodgson

    25 января, 2012 at 19:40

    Johnny,

    Hows the tactic performing with the latest patch?

  78. Rossmac

    29 января, 2012 at 07:56

    Hey great tactic really happy with it winning most games passing is gd chances created are great but struggling to score winning most games 1-0 2-0 I’m man city I’ve got kadlec balotelli dzeko aguero and tevez as my forwards. tried changing the forwards duty but still struggle to score alot still any suggestions

    • Johnny Karp

      29 января, 2012 at 08:51

      If the team creates chances then I guess they will score more at some point, if a striker misses a clear cut chance it’s not because of the tactic.

  79. Barce Pro

    30 января, 2012 at 01:27

    As you say it’s not identical to Barcelona… This is the complete opposite of how they actually play, this is more like madrid ball.

    Barcelona are extremely rigid with creative freedom while they don’t truly play counter football…

    • Barce Pro

      30 января, 2012 at 01:52

      however.. it seems to be a very good tactic, seems to have worked very well for you and has done for me in my first few games using it : )

    • Johnny Karp

      30 января, 2012 at 07:33

      I tend to disagree, in my view saying that this tactic is the complete opposite of the real Barcelona is way off. I also think that the Barca players have lots of creative freedom, at least in midfield and attack.

  80. Football Menager 8

    30 января, 2012 at 16:10

    Do you have player instructions for this tactic?

    • Johnny Karp

      30 января, 2012 at 16:31

      If you mean opposition instructions I use those that are suggested by the assistant manager.

  81. Football Menager 8

    30 января, 2012 at 17:37

    No, I mean player instructions for your players.

    • Johnny Karp

      30 января, 2012 at 18:06

      Of course there are instructions for each player but it would take me forever to write all those. Just download the tactic, load it up in your game and you will be able to see those instructions.

  82. Carl

    31 января, 2012 at 11:15

    Hey mate i’m playing as Barcelona with this tactic, so far… 2 min… 4 draw…1 loss
    it just doesn’t seem to be working like yours?
    Any idea on focus training? ideal squad etc?

    • Carl

      31 января, 2012 at 11:19

      I currently have training workload on high and teamwork to get the formation to «gel»…
      but Messi out of 7 games has scored 2 (unlike him) .. and my DLP pass are like 30… not the 60 you said you manage to get out of your DLP in a post above somewhere :(

      Heeeelp! lol

      • Johnny Karp

        31 января, 2012 at 11:24

        Focusing on teamwork in match preparation doesn’t make sense, unless you have signed lots of new players. I left the match preparation in the hands of my assistant by the way. When I first used the tactic with Barcelona the results were not too good, but that was during the summer friendlies. Then the team got used to the tactic and the results improved.

        • Carl

          31 января, 2012 at 12:21

          and the passing? comes with time?

          • Johnny Karp

            31 января, 2012 at 12:25

            It should because the players surely have the necessary skills.

          • Carl

            31 января, 2012 at 12:31

            Hmmm i just can’t seem to fathom it, tried tweaking etc.. but max is like 40 passes for my DLP

          • Johnny Karp

            31 января, 2012 at 12:36

            Is that number so important to you? I haven’t even checked that before somebody asked me about it, I look at possession, chances and goals first :)

          • Carl

            31 января, 2012 at 12:46

            lol fair enough, but my shots/chances equal that of the opposing team too, possession is usually 59 -60%
            and as i said Goals… 1-0 :P lol

  83. Eoin

    1 февраля, 2012 at 07:36

    just want to say great tactics! after managing liverpool and tweaking tactics formations and players after bad start 0 wins 2 draws 1 loss it just kept getting worse! after 10 i had 1 win 6 draws and 3 losses in the relegation zone i got the sack, so i looked up the internet for some help and stumbeled upon your post! although i couldnt download them i wrote them down and inputted them myself, 4 games in im 4 wins from 4, 3 in the the premiership with 12 goals scored none conceded, possesion always 60% plus and so many chances created! i got in cavani and doumbia on monthly installments for 48 million combined, i have suarez in the center of the front 3 cavani on the left doumbia the right, cavani is 4 goals in 4 ,doumbia 4 goals in 4 and suarez 2 goals in 4 and the mids are helping out to,thanks a million for the help things are looking up, GREAT TACTICS !!!!!!!!!!!

    • Eoin

      1 февраля, 2012 at 07:40

      by the way its 12 goals in 3 games in the premiership, average of 4 a game, in the cup it was also 3 nil, so 15 in 4 and none conceded. thanks again :)

      • Johnny Karp

        1 февраля, 2012 at 09:50

        Thanks a lot for the feedback, it’s nice to hear that you got good results with this tactic.

  84. Rod man

    1 февраля, 2012 at 15:03

    Hey Johnny,

    Great stuff man, I have been using this tatic with Chelsea and the Brazilian national team and love it so far..I got a couple questios for you and wanted to know what would you recommend on those situations,

    -When playing an away game,do you set your FB in support mode or you keep it automatic?
    -Who would you play as trequartista on the Chelsea team?? I put Mata so far but he has had some ok games,would you recommend Torres or Drogba??or should I give Mata a little more time to get used to the tactic and Premier League??

    Thanks again,good stuff and so far I’ve only lost one game during pre-season, a friendly game when my team was getting used to this strategy.

    • Johnny Karp

      1 февраля, 2012 at 16:09

      Thanks for the comment mate. I use the counter version of the tactic in away games and never changed any roles or duties in it. About the trequartista, I’d say either of the three would be good enough but I’d prefer Torres or Mata.

      • Rod man

        1 февраля, 2012 at 16:51

        Thanks for the quick reply and suggestion, I’ll keep trying with Mata and see how he does but may try Torres as well. I will keep you posted how the season ends and let you know how It went. I have played 3 games so far, won all 3 but have a big game coming up against Man City at home….talk to you soon and again great Tactic.

  85. nikthebest

    3 февраля, 2012 at 19:11

    thanks man really nice tactic. one question though. which players in each positions are considered good to buy and fit in this tactic? i dont think money is a problem at all. i saw that you bought hamsik. is he responding well? which others u recommend? thanks a lot mate

    • Johnny Karp

      3 февраля, 2012 at 19:30

      I don’t have a list of players to buy but I can recommend two that I bought and did well: Marek Hamsik and Eden Hazard.

      • nikthebest

        3 февраля, 2012 at 20:00

        and u use hamsik as a bbm and hazard as a df? i bought tevez who i thought will perform well as a df but he is not. which attributes u need to look for a great df?

        • Johnny Karp

          3 февраля, 2012 at 20:48

          Yes, I used Hamsik as BBM and Hazard as DF or trequartista. Tevez should do well as a trequartista too I guess, DFs need high work rate along with the usual striker attributes (finishing and so on).

  86. Timidmonkey

    4 февраля, 2012 at 03:26

    Hey,

    Great tactic it worked flawlessly for me first season, really great results, pretty much as everyone before said. I recently bought aguero with barca and was wondering if you’d ever tried playing two treqeristas and if you had any idea whether it work orif you thought it would be too much. Basically the same formation but with two treqs and then another player.

    Any advice would be really appreciated!

    Thanks

  87. TimidMonkey

    4 февраля, 2012 at 03:31

    Hey,

    Great tactic it worked flawlessly for me first season, really great results, pretty much as everyone before said. I recently bought aguero with barca and was wondering if you’d ever tried playing two treqeristas and if you had any idea whether it work orif you thought it would be too much. Basically the same formation but with two treqs and then another player.

    Any advice would be really appreciated!

  88. ANKUR

    7 февраля, 2012 at 08:02

    Hi Johnny Karp.
    THANKS MATE I HAVE UR TACTICS WHILE MANAGING PARIS S.G. IT WORKED WONDERFULLY WELL I’D ONLY LOSS 4 MATCHES WITH NARROW MARGIN.
    THANKS A LOT MAN,

  89. Liam

    9 февраля, 2012 at 00:19

    Hi Johnny, first of all this is a brilliant tactic and I’m currently doing really well with Aston Villa. I’m considering signing Gael Kakuta from Chelsea and just wondered whether you thought he’d do well in the Messi role?

    • Johnny Karp

      9 февраля, 2012 at 16:14

      I think Kakuta would do fine there, yes. But you can’t be 100 percent sure before you try :)

  90. eddieaddae

    10 февраля, 2012 at 20:58

    hey johnny i have been wondering, what is the best way to do team talks with this tactic.

    • Johnny Karp

      10 февраля, 2012 at 21:00

      I don’t know which would be the best way, all I know is that I have always left that task in the hands of the assistant manager.

  91. Qays

    11 февраля, 2012 at 07:42

    do you know any player who plays like xavi to buy?

  92. syukur

    11 февраля, 2012 at 07:57

    How about the player instructions?.
    I have a problem to download your link..
    Thanks~

  93. Petros Tzouvelis

    11 февраля, 2012 at 13:51

    Hey Johnny. I found your tactic really incredible and brilliant! Definitely i will try it! :D

    PS : I was using a similar one at my Bayern Munchen.
    The central defenders’ duty was one cover and the othern one stoper, MCR as advance playmaker(S), MC as BWM(D) and the MCL(Auto).
    My attacking line was with two Advance Forwards with a Target Man(AF swapping positions).

    Cheers

    • Johnny Karp

      11 февраля, 2012 at 14:30

      Your tactic does sound quite similar apart some of the player roles. Let me know what you think after you try it.

      • Petros Tzouvelis

        11 февраля, 2012 at 17:53

        OFC mate i will start a new Barca game trying your tactics.

        I will feed you back after i finish my 1st season !

  94. eddieaddae

    13 февраля, 2012 at 14:54

    nice tactics mate but i have been wondering though, do i have to let my team get used to the tactic before they start playing well and another thing is do i have to leave my assistant to handle the team talks to get the best results.

    • Johnny Karp

      13 февраля, 2012 at 19:39

      Every team has to get used to any tactic, it’s not something that is correct only for this tactic. As for the team talks, if you think you can do them better than the assistant then please do so, I’m satisfied with the assistant’s talks.

  95. Jurry

    16 февраля, 2012 at 01:04

    I started a new game with Feyenoord. They used to be a top 3 team for many years in Holland. Last years they got into financial problems, lost a lot of players and ended up 10th in the league.
    I have a very young squad (average 22 years old), no money to buy any players and been struggling to keep my best ones. Interesting it’s going to be…

    Anyway. I was thinking about the tactics. My team seems to fit a 4-3-3 but I couldn’t get it quite right. To be honest I do not really like all those «Barcelona» tactic’s and the stories how good they are. To me Barcelona seems to kick ass with any tactic in FM. But this looks like a nice 4-3-3 and I had never thought of 2 BBM’s and a DLP.

    I started with this one from pre-season and only lost 2-1 from Werder Bremen and won 2-1 from Aston Villa. Coached by my assistant. Not bad at all!

    First league game was against Heereveen at home. Figures show me the teams are similar strength but the odd’s are against me. Guess what. We crushed them with 5-0! Defense line was solid. My DLP (Otman Bakkal) outstanding and the two BBM’s (Jordie Clasie and El Ahmadi) working like dogs! The strikers were working together very well and creating lots of CCC’s.

    Still a long way to go but well done Johnny! This tactic seems to fit my team very well.

    PS. Don’t mind my English. I’m just a Dutchman…

    • Johnny Karp

      16 февраля, 2012 at 07:28

      Thanks for the comment Jurry, I’m happy that you had good results so far. If any team can fit a 4-3-3 it’s a Dutch team :)

  96. eddieaddae

    20 февраля, 2012 at 21:12

    Hey johnny i just dont get what i am doing wrong, i am managing chelsea i dont have a big transfer budget so i have to use the same players. Chelsea are almost fluid with every aspect of the tactic, i beat marseille a hard opponent 3-0 then i face arsenal and i lose 3-1 i left my assistant manager in charge of team talks like u said. My team played so well arsenal didnt deserve to win. i had so many chances. Typical fm

    • Johnny Karp

      21 февраля, 2012 at 04:53

      You can’t win them all Eddie, but if your team constantly plays better than the opponents then I guess you are on the right path. However, you should pay attention to the goals that you concede and see if there’s any pattern, for instance if you concede most of the goals on corners then you might want to try tweaking that aspect of the tactic.

  97. Mattie

    21 февраля, 2012 at 00:31

    Hey Johnny, just wanted to say love the tactic, been using it with Middlesbrough and it got me promoted at the first try. Now comfortably in the premier league.

    There are a couple of questions I have though; that I was wondering if I could get your opinion on.

    1st: The tempo you have set is quite high; isn’t a slow tempo better for the short passing style, or is a quicker tempo best for this?

    2nd: I always seem to dominate possession but rarely create clear cut chances, my BBM’s and DF’s constantly seem to be shooting from 18-20 yards out; rather than trying to pass through the teams.

    3rd: While I dominate possession, the other team always seems to have similar shot totals to me (I just had 65% possession against Rubin Kazan and they managed more shots than me — 9 to them, 8 to me, both 2 on target, neither of us created any CCC’s and the game ended 0-0)

    4th: Am I not scoring as many purely because my strikers aren’t as cool and composed as the Barcalona lot? (Currently trundling along with Lukas Jutkiewicz, Jay Rodriguez and Robert Lewandowski as my DF’s and Lucas Andersen as my Trequarista)

    I had similar problems in the Championship too; one game I’d bag 4 or 5 and then I’d score 3 in the next 3 and win 1-0. Thing is I had enough squad quality to cover up my goalscoring inconsistencies, but there are games when it’s just being highlighted now in the Premiership.

    Any potential advice would be severely welcomed, it’s really frustrating watching my BBM’s constantly blasting over and wide, even though they’re set to LS = Rarely.

    Thanks: at least I don’t lose often with this tactic; only 2 defeats this season and one was entirely orchestrated by Loic Remy.

    • Johnny Karp

      21 февраля, 2012 at 05:00

      Hi Mattie, thanks for the feedback. Now let me try to answer…
      1. I played around with the tempo quite a lot and eventually found the current setting to be the best balance for my team but you can alter it if you want to and see how it goes.
      2. I think that those midfielders are the kind that like to shoot regardless of the specific instructions. The only thing you can do is select «work the ball into the box» from the in-game touchline shouts. Check the «preferred moves» of those midfielders and see if shooting from distance is among them. If the touchline shout option doesn’t work then I suggest replacing those midfielders.
      3. I guess that’s because your midfielders throw away those balls with long shots.
      4. I don’t know the answer here but I guess first you should worry about creating chances and then about scoring.

      • Mattie

        21 февраля, 2012 at 05:05

        I actually did think about the PPM thing like an hour or so after I posted. I checked, and sure enough both of my regular starting BBMs have shoot from distance as PPMs. Both are learning other things at the moment so I can’t even get them to unlearn it.

        Although Darren Gibson is pretty good with his long shots, so I might let him keep it and take it off the other one, or only play one of them at a time; it seems to be when they both play together that things go wrong.

        Cheers for the help man.

  98. anou711

    21 февраля, 2012 at 15:49

    hi nice tactic i tried with barca and it works!! does this tactic work with van persie in the same position than messi?

    • Johnny Karp

      21 февраля, 2012 at 16:13

      I guess Van Persie would be a good choice in that position but you can’t know exactly before actually trying.

      • anou711

        21 февраля, 2012 at 16:16

        ok thx i’ll try tonight !

  99. franky

    23 февраля, 2012 at 12:17

    Nice tactic!!

    I choose Vitesse for my game but i need a left and a center striker.

    What kind of strikers i need for this tactic?

    • Johnny Karp

      23 февраля, 2012 at 17:09

      Any regular good striker would do I guess but I prefer forwards with good passing, first touch, off the ball, speed and creativity.

  100. Jacob Højgaard Lund

    24 февраля, 2012 at 21:48

    I really don’t know how to download this tactic? Can anyone tell me how to fix it? :)

    • Johnny Karp

      25 февраля, 2012 at 12:29

      Just click the download links and then follow the instructions, that’s about all you have to do.

  101. Football Menager 8

    27 февраля, 2012 at 16:10

    I beat Zurich 9-0 with GNK Dinamo in Zurich. With away tactic, sensational.

  102. Johny

    6 марта, 2012 at 16:55

    Hy i play with my mate,we are in second sezon of fm 2012 I’m playng witm my fav team Arsenal him with Totenham.I change almost all my team…I have Van Persie,Hulk<aguero,Cavani<walcot in front,i got ganso vidal hamsik wilshere song eden hazard at the midle,in the back i have chielini musacchio vrmalen sagna papadopoulos and another left back…i have akinnfeev and a young golie…Hou do you think tgis tactic will work with my players??? Chears

  103. Rusdy

    7 марта, 2012 at 11:58

    Hey, I’m using this tactic with my AC Milan and it feels good. Facing AS Roma, and our team comfortably win 5-0. Really, that’s amazing. I think Milan have a very good player in striker department, but not in midfield. I have 28 shot meanwhile Roma only 6 or 7. LOL. But the problem is, they’re commiting too many yellow card.

    Is it because aggresive tackling and pressing?
    And one more question, the ball posession is 50-50. That’s because we’re not Barcelona or it’s just about time? Familiarity in tactic?

    Thanks you very much for the tactic!

    • Johnny Karp

      7 марта, 2012 at 17:13

      I didn’t have the yellow cards problem so I guess that’s caused by individual players and their personalities rather than the tactics. About possession, that should improve with time but you should also make sure that your players have good passing, especially the midfielders and strikers. First touch is a good attribute to have as well.

      • Rusdy

        9 марта, 2012 at 04:23

        Even though, I’m already making the tackling to default, they still have a problem with yellow cards, so I’m guessing it’s about my player. I just realized that my kind of player is Nocerino, Flamini and Boateng which is robust player lol.

        I’m using the tactic a lot now thanks. Btw, if I want to adapt this tactic with 1 Attacking Midfielder and 2 Striker with DF, is this tactic still works?

        Thanks!

        • Johnny Karp

          9 марта, 2012 at 04:50

          Any modification could work, you just have to try and see. Making or adapting a tactic is a trial and error process, you can’t have the answers before actually testing.

          • Rusdy

            13 марта, 2012 at 12:03

            I already do a modification, and I guess it is not working with 1 AMF as the Striker will be too center (because they assigned with DF)

            When I’m facing strong side, usually I dropped 1 of my striker and add some defensive force in defensive midfielder and playing pacey striker upfront. I counter attack them with speed (because I have Pato, Robinho and Doumbia upfront)

            Problem using this formation, you need to have strong midfielder and great stamina. I’m signing Fernando Gago (cheap) and Poli from Sampdoria and does a good job.

            Thanks for the tactic mate!

  104. hanks

    9 марта, 2012 at 06:45

    buy s.doumbia … he good in treq. position.

  105. Andy

    9 марта, 2012 at 08:57

    The tactic look wkd! I’ve been looking for a new 433 tacti as I’ve got to many cm and too many striker, so this tactic looks like a winner.
    I’m currently gillingham and got the to the premier league and ok in the league sitting in the middle of the table. I’ve downloaded both ur tactic, and made my team train both them up so when I do play it the wont lose. After a month of training with your tactic I had a cup game against a rubbish league 1 Side so thought this would be a great time to try it and I lost 3-1. I wasn’t expecting amazing result after one game but coz it was against a team 2 league below me I thought it would sail past them.
    So my question is how many game will it take till it start playing good and winning football?
    Cheers in advance andy

    • Johnny Karp

      9 марта, 2012 at 12:58

      I don’t think that there’s a fixed number of games to take into consideration but I believe that at least 10 games are needed to get good results out of a team with a new and unfamiliar tactic.

      • Andy

        9 марта, 2012 at 15:28

        Cheers I will try this out and hopefully other the coming games I will see a vast improvement.

  106. Adi

    12 марта, 2012 at 01:16

    Hi Johnny, I must say that your tactic is simply fabulous. It has help me won a lot of trophies. I’m currently managing Man Utd by the way. But currently, I’m having a problem. Ever since the latest update to 12.2.0, my results are not that good. Example, I’m playing home vs West Brom. I had shot on goal 28 vs 0, possession 60% vs 40% and the final score guess what 1-0. In my previous version, with that kind of stats I can easily trashed them 4 or 5 goals and with the players that I have in my squad like Rooney, Hernandez, Hazard, Kadlec 1-0 is a disappointing scoreline.
    My question to you is, did you notice/experience the changes to your game results? What version are you currently using? If you have the latest tactics for version 12.2.0 please upload.
    To readers, do you guys also had the same problem as mine. Please share and whether you have tweaked the tactics.
    Thanks alot!!

    • Johnny Karp

      12 марта, 2012 at 05:40

      I haven’t experienced any major differences with the new patch so I don’t think that there’s a problem. Players can miss quite a few chances now and again, it happened to me before and after the latest patch.

      • Adi

        12 марта, 2012 at 07:29

        Great. I will see how it goes in my subsequent matches. Hopefully, it’s not a computer glitch. Tnx mate!!

  107. Matt P

    12 марта, 2012 at 10:11

    Just a quick question regarding player moves… is there any you would recommend for this tactic to shine? and on the flipside, any you would say to stay away from?

    Cheers!

    • Darren Smith

      12 марта, 2012 at 11:56

      Johnny is currently away but I know he looks for pace, determination, work rate and as far as I’m aware the two bbm’s need to be very well rounded with excellent stamina, also the full backs do a lot and without good stamina for them they’ll lag near the end.

  108. Andy

    12 марта, 2012 at 16:58

    I wrote to you the other day about losing to a league 1 team. Well I’ve stuck with the tactic and played 11 games, winning 2, drn 4, losing 5. Every time I lose it by about 4 goals. I’ve downloaded your tactic. Any advice would help.

    More info on the last 11 games.
    Stoke away lost 2-4 possession 53%.
    West ham home drn 1-1 p 51%.
    Burnley away lost 1-4 p 60%
    Man utd away lost 0-4 p 51%
    Aston villa home won 3-2 p58%
    Arsenal home drn 2-2 p 60%
    Fulham away drn 0-0 p 58%
    everton home won 1-0 p 55%
    Blackpool away lost 1-3 p 55%
    Wolves home drn 1-1 p 60%
    Newcastle away lost 2-3 p 53%.

    As you can see my possession is fine in most games but just don’t seen to get a good result.

    • Darren Smith

      12 марта, 2012 at 18:37

      Johnny is away at the moment but have you tried just using the counter version of the tactic as it would seem you are struggling with team talks or your players maybe, but the counter version of the tactic worked better for me when my side didn’t suit this tactic.

  109. Andy

    13 марта, 2012 at 10:11

    I just leave the team talk to my assistant manager to do like johnny said. I will try just using counter all the time.
    What if I’m at home and they predict me to be favourite, then should I use the more attracting one?

    • Darren Smith

      13 марта, 2012 at 11:52

      No just use counter no matter what as your issue seems to be attacking and then getting caught out…you need more men behind the ball to stop this happening.

  110. Andy

    13 марта, 2012 at 12:17

    Ok il try the counter attacking football and hopefully results will change. And your right Darren, every time I attack the seem to score from me being so open on the wings!!

  111. Andy

    13 марта, 2012 at 18:20

    I’ve been playing with just the counter attacking and seem ok drn 2-2 with man city. Then drn 2-2 with spurs. Had cup game at home against a crap team and drn 4-4. And just now got smash by Chelsea 5-0. Really don’t know what I should do!?

  112. Andy

    13 марта, 2012 at 21:30

    Cheers for your help darren. Bit gutted as sold my wingers as I thought il only need cm and strikers!!

  113. hanks

    19 марта, 2012 at 11:51

    can anyone tell me, why tactic familiar decrease after end season?? and how we keep it always stabile??

    • Johnny Karp

      19 марта, 2012 at 20:13

      Because the players go on holiday and also because you probably bring in new players every summer. You can’t keep it always at the maximum but playing as many friendlies as possible does help in regaining the level of familiarity from what I’ve noticed.

      • hanks

        20 марта, 2012 at 03:49

        yapp… I agree with you, but it’s too weird if every season should be reduced … LOL

      • steefcb2311

        28 июля, 2012 at 12:57

        your tactic is shit its flawed ive had 5 players sent off in 4 games my owns better im unbeaten in 3 league seasons i win almost everygame so for anyone who is thinking of using this tactic it is shit !

        • Johnny Karp

          29 июля, 2012 at 09:49

          Hahaha, you are very funny. Carry on.

        • Darren Smith

          29 июля, 2012 at 12:50

          If he’s only used it for 4 games and is prepared to come on using that language then I think it says a lot about him Johnny…at the end of the day tonnes of people have used this tactic, the ones that actually bother to use specific types of players to suit it have had success, besides if his tactic is so amazing then whys he trying someone else ;)

  114. hanks

    20 марта, 2012 at 16:13

    how make «DF» to not playing selfish…??
    they rarely cross to middle (treq or BBM)

    • Johnny Karp

      20 марта, 2012 at 18:56

      You can alter their individual instructions for crossing, passing or running with the ball.

      • hanks

        21 марта, 2012 at 05:23

        i did..
        but they still selfish … always try to finish for themself.. never cross to middle..
        (like barca)

        • Johnny Karp

          21 марта, 2012 at 08:10

          Maybe your strikers are selfish, have you checked their attributes for «team work»? I always try to get players with high attributes for team work.

          • hanks

            21 марта, 2012 at 15:49

            hmmmm nice answer .. thanks mate..
            i will check my striker..

            i forgot this one.. :)

  115. Chip Thompson

    23 марта, 2012 at 00:25

    I’m going to give this tactic a try with my Man United team. I’m just starting the 2016/17 season and I figure this tactic would be great with my strike force of Rooney, Hernandez and Neymar with Rodwell and Mascherano in the middle and a very quick defence! This might well be perfect :)

    A quick question (sorry if you’ve covered this already), do you play attacking home and away, or use the counter tactic for all away games? And what about neutral games, like cup finals against similar opposition?

    Thanks mate, all the best

    Chip

    • Johnny Karp

      23 марта, 2012 at 07:17

      I use the attacking tactic at home and the counter tactic on all away games. As for the cup finals, I often used the counter tactic but I used the attacking one as well on a few occasions. You will have to test and see which combination suits your team best.

  116. Mike

    26 марта, 2012 at 01:39

    Sorry to say I haven’t had the best of starts with this for my Man United side. Lost 1-0 to Arsenal, beat Peterborough 2-1, drew 2-2 with Aston Villa and just got beaten 1-0 at home by Wigan. All seemed to go well with the formation in pre-season and perhaps I need to give it more time. We seem to have a lot of possession but make little chances. Have you had any similar feedback?

    • Johnny Karp

      26 марта, 2012 at 08:39

      I remember having a rather slow start with Barcelona as well when I first tested the tactic. But that’s not necessarily relevant. The team should start creating chances and having good possession is the first step towards that goal. You might also want to pay attention to how you concede goals, if most of them are coming from set pieces you might want to tweak those and get more men in defence for corners or free kicks.

  117. Ram

    1 апреля, 2012 at 07:17

    Mate.. there are no real wingers in your formation.. mostly sanchez/villa and Pedro start on the wings and move into channels. and messi plays centrally dropping deep. also busquets plays between defence and midfield . and alves and lb should be used as wingbacks

    • Johnny Karp

      1 апреля, 2012 at 10:43

      Mate, I didn’t want to create an exact replica of Barcelona’s tactic, and I believe I’ve explained that in the post as well. I wanted to create a good possession tactic that could work well for other teams as well, even lower league teams.

  118. Pingback: Barcelona tactic help!!

  119. Zack

    4 апреля, 2012 at 06:37

    Hi Johnny, thanks for the great in-depth description on your tactic. I don’t know if anyone else asked this in the comments section, but do you need to do anything with the opposition instructions? Also do you have to input any shouts like «play to feet» or others? If you have different answers for the home and counter tactics, please say so.

    Thanks!

    • Johnny Karp

      4 апреля, 2012 at 16:25

      I have always used the opposition instructions that the assistant suggested and rarely used shouts. That goes for both versions of the tactic.

      • Zack

        4 апреля, 2012 at 19:03

        ok thanks for the advice.

        Another question (sorry!): I know that the tactic puts all your midfield player’s long shots slider to «rarely», but if my player has a long shot rating of 17 or above, should i change the sliders? This goes for other attributes as well. I know it changes your tactic, but i’m just wondering.

        Thanks for your help.

        • Johnny Karp

          4 апреля, 2012 at 19:53

          Don’t worry, you can ask as many questions as you like. About the long shots issue, I want my players to move the ball around and obtain clear positions before shooting but I encourage you to experiment and see which settings suit your players best. And that goes for other settings as well, if you have an idea just try it out, that’s the only way to find out if an idea is good or bad :)

          • Zack

            4 апреля, 2012 at 21:10

            ah.. thanks again.

  120. Zack

    5 апреля, 2012 at 03:40

    Hey Johnny, have another question for you. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m always being dominated when I play away, even to smaller teams! I’m managing Porto right now and we won 5-0 using your tactic against Ajax (brilliant!) but in the away leg (champions league) we get dominated and «lost» 3-0 even when using your away tactic. Am I not doing something right? If you could help me, that would be great.

    Thanks!

    • Johnny Karp

      5 апреля, 2012 at 04:32

      That is strange, you should dominate with the counter tactic as well. Maybe the players are more familiar with the attacking version? Secondly, each team is different so if the counter version doesn’t work you could try to use the attacking version in away games too and see what happens.

      • Zack

        5 апреля, 2012 at 17:52

        Maybe.. Also I’ve only started using the tactic in mid April, so that’s probably the main reason.

        Haha!! It’s funny that you mentioned the second point because I was losing 2-0 to Bayern in the champions league final at half time and I thought about changing to the counter tactic since Bayern seems to be always getting forward, but I stuck with the «home» tactic and I won 3-2! Great comeback! Funny thing is, we had more chances than they did even though they seem to «attack» more often. So I guess you are right!

        Thanks for the help.

  121. Zack

    5 апреля, 2012 at 17:57

    This is totally irrelevant to this tactic but since you seem to be very knowledgable on fm matters I have a question about the match preparation bars. Are you suppose to rotate through the options throughout the season or stick on one. I had my team work on defensive positioning, but then they started conceding on set piecees so I put the match prep. on defending set pieces. Then however, we started conceding goals through open play! What should I do? Any advice would be great thanks!

    • Johnny Karp

      5 апреля, 2012 at 18:20

      I played with the match prep for a while but then I decided to leave it to the assistant manager and focus on more important things, like scouting for instance.

      • Zack

        5 апреля, 2012 at 20:41

        okay thanks for the advice.

  122. stevo

    27 апреля, 2012 at 21:42

    hey man im trying to download the tactics but it saying there damaged ;(

    • Johnny Karp

      27 апреля, 2012 at 22:18

      I am willing to help you but you have to tell me exactly what’s wrong there: download, extraction, import, error message?

      • stevo

        27 апреля, 2012 at 23:16

        its an error message saying unknown or damaged format

        • Johnny Karp

          28 апреля, 2012 at 12:30

          You don’t have to open the files mate, just read the post and you will find out that you have to put those files in a folder and then import them in your game. It goes like this:
          After downloading the files you have to place them in the Documents>Sports Interactive>Football Manager 2012>tactics folder and then you will be able to find them in the game tactics screen under “archived tactics”.

          • stevo

            3 мая, 2012 at 13:29

            CHEERS M8 GOT IT NOW GUNNA TRY WITH PORTO THEN MOVE AROUND TRYING WITH OTHER TEAMS CHEERS M8

  123. Wan

    1 мая, 2012 at 06:06

    This tactic for what version ? ? ?

  124. lo

    6 мая, 2012 at 15:38

    this is a nice tactic, i’m using the tactic on my wycombe game. it is brilliant offensively, but i’m prone to concede alot, most of it is from counter attack whereby opponent float the ball to the flank and they through pass to the center or cross the ball. my defenders have at least 10 on pace, so i’m not sure what is the problem.

    • Johnny Karp

      6 мая, 2012 at 17:14

      You might want to use the counter version of the tactic, it provides a bit better coverage on the flanks and the whole defence sits a bit deeper. Then again, a player with pace 10 and acceleration 10 for instance is quite slow.

      • lo

        7 мая, 2012 at 05:15

        hm..ok, will give the counter version a go. i thought such pace and accel will be sufficient for nower league 2, i will try to find better free ones.

  125. sam

    6 мая, 2012 at 21:18

    how do I download the file? do I use winrar ? because i cant find a file to open it please help :’)

    • Johnny Karp

      6 мая, 2012 at 21:27

      You don’t have to open the file, please read the post for instructions on how to import it in your game.

  126. Adnan

    8 мая, 2012 at 14:35

    Great tactic!
    I just have few questions, where’s Xavi position when he’s starting?!
    and also I have Vidal, Ganso and Hamsik in the midfield.. where do you suggest I should put them?
    Thanks!

  127. Shaun

    8 мая, 2012 at 22:51

    Tell you what, this tactic so far for me is flipping unreal! I have started a game with Wolves and kind of liked the idea of changing the philosophy/brand of football at the club. So far I have played 11, won 7, drew 3 and lost 1. In that I have scored 26 and conceded 9. The football we have produced has been incredible and should this continue then god knows what I could achieve — currently sitting top with 24 points. It may well filter out because of lack of quality in the squad but I am well on for at least a top 10 finish which given the start of season expectations/real life performance is incredible.

    • Johnny Karp

      9 мая, 2012 at 07:47

      I’m happy to hear you are getting good results and nice football, let me know when you win the Premier League :)

  128. JackLorant

    10 мая, 2012 at 22:47

    I have to say, this is class. I’ve done it with Bolton & made the Reebok a fortress. But I switch to the other one for games away from home, & a couple of times I’ve tried sticking with the original one, but I seem to struggle a lot away from home

    • Johnny Karp

      11 мая, 2012 at 07:46

      You should identify the exact problems that you encounter away from home and maybe tweak the counter version in order to solve those problems. Also make sure that you prepare both versions in match preparation.

      • JackLorant

        11 мая, 2012 at 14:12

        Cheers for the reply. I’ve changed one or two things, & we’re looking better defensively away from home. For anyone else using this tactic, I think you need a good finisher. I create about 17/18 chances a game, but I struggled in my first season to score goals. I’ve brought someone from the reserves into the senior squad & he’s scoring for fun

  129. KEE

    11 мая, 2012 at 12:02

    Bravo!!!!

  130. Shamomoa

    15 мая, 2012 at 19:14

    i cant download it!!!!!!! booooooooo!

    • Johnny Karp

      15 мая, 2012 at 19:47

      The download links are working just fine. So you can stop booing and see if there’s anything wrong on your end or at least provide details of what’s going wrong if you want to get help.

  131. 79andy

    18 мая, 2012 at 22:29

    This is a fantastic tactic!! I`m only in pre-season with barcelona, but they are allready swaping other big teams aside. 3-1 against Man City, 5-1 against Juventus. D.Villa on the left side, L.Messi in the centre and A.Sanchez on the right side. Just a killer combo!!I For the first time after playing FM2010 and FM2011, L.Messi looks like hes in the right position. What also impresses me is Barcelonas midfielders. I use C.Fabregas, Xavi and Iniesta. Their passing game is of another world. They keep mixing it with short passes up too Messi or Villa and long passes up too Sanchez catching the opposition defenders completly off guard.

    Thank you!!

    • Johnny Karp

      19 мая, 2012 at 06:57

      Excellent, I’m glad that you like the tactic. I didn’t create it to emulate Barcelona’s style 100%, although there are quite a few similarities. And I agree about Messi, he’s a killer in the trequartista role.

      • 79andy

        19 мая, 2012 at 16:56

        In FM2011 you created a tactic to emulate Barcelona`s tactic. it was very effective with the wing backs attacking roles. I only played for half a season, but all I had to do was change from short passing style and direct passing style depending on oppositions. Barcelona was unbeatable. Messi did a greate job as an inside forward, but it allways felt like I didn`t use him in hes favorite role. But with this new tactic in FM2012, Messi is without a doubt in hes favorite role. He dribbles, assists and scores like a machine. And he makes opposition defence make a lot of misstakes. While centre backs are focused on stopping him they don`t realise they are leaving Villa and Sanchez unmarked behind their lines. Check mate!! D.Villa still has his killer instincts and Sanchez has the speed of lightning.

  132. Liverpoolfan1993

    19 мая, 2012 at 17:24

    Hi Johnny

    Brilliant tactics mate. Do you think I’ll be able to reap its benefits on a Liverpool team? I’ve not made many transfers. Just some youth players brought in. I’m quite puzzled as to who to put as the other defensive forward. Any ideas?

    • Johnny Karp

      20 мая, 2012 at 09:09

      I think it can work with any team, provided you have good players. Kuyt would be a good defensive forward for instance.

      • Liverpoolfan1993

        20 мая, 2012 at 17:04

        Hmm .. I used this tactic and I ended up winning the FA, League and Europa league. But I ended 4th in the league and I got fired. Bollocks.

  133. 79andy

    19 мая, 2012 at 18:38

    Today I`ve started a new game. I chose a few random countries and all their lower leagues. Starting the game unamployed with two languages: Norwegian and English. My reputation is national. I managed to land a job as a manager for Guarany SC, brazilian third division.

    I`m exited to see if this tactic of yours works with a lower league team.

    Did you use the exact same tactic and team instructions with your Romanian team, or did you have to tweek it a little to adjust?

    • Johnny Karp

      20 мая, 2012 at 09:08

      I use the same tactic with Viitorul, the only tweak I made was to the counter version, but just for the defending set pieces where I simply moved more men in defence for those situations.

  134. 79andy

    19 мая, 2012 at 23:25

    Just beat the crap out of Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup. 4-1 away and 2-0 home. possesion 70-30%

  135. Mohammad Sadek

    21 мая, 2012 at 11:12

    Hi Johnny I am thinking of change to this tactic Although I am doing great with my tactic now , but my question is why not playing fullbacks in wingbacks role ?!

    • Johnny Karp

      21 мая, 2012 at 11:22

      Of course you can try that and it might work as well. However, changing those roles might leave your team a bit more exposed to counter attacks on the flanks. But that’s just in theory, you can’t know until you try it :)

  136. Peter Rhyu

    21 мая, 2012 at 17:01

    Hi Johnny,
    just logged in to say, «YOUR TACTIC IS BRILLIANT!!!»
    I decided to manage 1860 Munchen, a team which is only predicted 33-1 to get promoted to Liga 1 in the Bundesliga. Of course, I didn’t have any money, so I decided to raise money by playing a friendly with Bayern Munich….and using your Barcelona counter tactic, we won 2-0, with ten men! Of course, it’s rather a fluke result, but even so it would be impossible without your tactic, we ended up with more shots on goal and more possession! This against a side which featured their best XI (M.Gomez, Kroos, Ribery, Robben, Gustavo, Tymoschuk, Badstuber, Boateng, Lahm, Rafinha, Neuer)! Kudos to you, man!

    • Johnny Karp

      22 мая, 2012 at 08:09

      That’s great, I’m pleased that you liked the tactic and that you grabbed that very good result.

  137. Lee Seng Hwai

    23 мая, 2012 at 10:30

    how long does it takes for the team to get familiar with the tactics? i used this on my bath city team which i got them promoted from blue square premier to premier league, i was finnishing in the top half for 2 season in premier league, then i use your tactics and now im in a relegation battle, only managed to have 3 or 4 shots in a game while opponents makes 10+ shot. and im conceeding like crazy.

    • Johnny Karp

      23 мая, 2012 at 13:03

      It takes about six months for a team to get fully familiar with a tactic, depending on the coaches you have and how much you use those tactics in actual matches. However, the situation you are describing might not have much to do with the familiarity levels, I suspect that you don’t have good enough players.

      • Lee Seng Hwai

        23 мая, 2012 at 17:40

        thanks for the reply, im gonna try to continue use your tactics and see how it works after 6 months, as a low reputation club its hard to attract good players to play for the club. but i will continue with it and see how it goes

  138. IL DIAVOLO

    1 июня, 2012 at 13:16

    This tactic is not good for me,very good in attack,but weak in defence.I think,that fullback need to be more defensive and man/tight marking,i also suggest deeplying playmaker in deeper position on DMC duty.

    If you have better solution please share!

    I play with milan :D

    • Johnny Karp

      1 июня, 2012 at 18:24

      I encourage you to tweak the tactic to suit your players. The current tactic does work for me though.

  139. IL DIAVOLO

    1 июня, 2012 at 19:02

    Yes,but o am afraid that things will be worse if i change anything.

    BTW attack is deadly ;)

  140. 79andy

    2 июня, 2012 at 23:50

    after 8 league games barcelona is unbeaten. 8 wins 0 losses and 0 draws. It`s solid wins as well…8-1 against At.Madrid, 7-1 against Sevilla, 6-0 against Villarreal etc. Won all my european cup matches as well (3 matches so far). Messi is up 25 goals in 14 apps.
    A. Iniesta went crazy against Sevilla and scored 3 goals and 2 brilliant assists!! laughed my ass of as it looked like he was trying to do it like Messi does it. One of the best and most intressting players on the team in my opinion!!

    • Johnny Karp

      3 июня, 2012 at 14:39

      Iniesta is one of my favourites as well, his skills and intelligence are sensational.

  141. IL DIAVOLO

    3 июня, 2012 at 11:37

    have anyone tried with top team like milan,man united,arsenal….with «GOD» team like barca is not so hard,but yeah, still amazing results ;)

  142. mikonos

    3 июня, 2012 at 12:37

    Great tactic, using it in my 3rd season with Liverpool. Needed the first season to bed in as manager, won the Premiership in 2nd Season using the 4231 tactic and now want to play «Rogers» football so switched to your tactic. Its going well expect I have awful discipline problems. Played 6 games, Daniel Agger 2 yellow cards(YC), 1 Red Card (RC) Aggression only 10, K.Asamoah 3 x YC, 1 x RC, S.Gerrard, 1 x RC.

    In total team has 14 YC & 3 RC in the first 6 Fixtures !! Will change tacking to Default but have you experienced this?

    • Johnny Karp

      3 июня, 2012 at 14:41

      No, my team doesn’t get too many yellow cards and just a few reds during a whole season.

  143. marcell

    4 июня, 2012 at 21:21

    i used this tactic and messi socred 86 goals in the first not to mention he only played about 60 games and in the second season he scored 76 goals

  144. Ryan Pratama

    6 июня, 2012 at 10:39

    hay johnny can you create tactics if i have leandro damiao , edinson cavani in forward
    and i have eriksen , jack rodwell , and mateo kovacic

  145. yaşar

    7 июня, 2012 at 08:18

    did you use any shouts ? if yes which one do you suggest ?
    very good tactic .Do you suggest a cheaper trequsta ?

    • Johnny Karp

      7 июня, 2012 at 08:28

      No, I don’t use any shouts. As for the trequartista, any striker with good technique, speed and creativity/flair should do pretty well there.

  146. Barcafan

    14 июня, 2012 at 13:49

    quick question, how about the player instructions?

    • Johnny Karp

      14 июня, 2012 at 19:49

      There are individual instructions for each player, if you use the tactic you will see which they are.

  147. James

    29 июня, 2012 at 09:37

    Hi Johnny, I was just wondering, instead of 2 defensive forwards, could you have one poacher and one complete forward ? Thanks in advance !

  148. dale

    1 июля, 2012 at 04:13

    i was on a good run with malaga and i tried this tactic against levante and got beat 1-0 great tactic mate

  149. dale

    1 июля, 2012 at 04:30

    just got beat again 5-2 this tactic is not good atall i just had my first 2 defeats of the season my side was good enough to get draws against real madrid and barcelona but since i used this tactic i am on a 2 lose streak no thanks to this tactic

    • Johnny Karp

      1 июля, 2012 at 07:22

      You can’t expect good results when you change the tactic in the middle of a season with no prior preparation. Secondly, if your tactic was so good, why try another one? And last but not least: there is no tactic that can win you games just like that, you need to have the right players for a tactic and so on. Try to understand the game first and then judge other people’s work.

      • dale

        1 июля, 2012 at 07:49

        i tried this tactic in september not the middle of the season i am now in january and sitting 3rd place and i never said my tactic was so good i said i was on a good run and i wanted to try out different tactics to see how the team played and this one was the worst tactic ive used since i started playin football manager ive never been beat that bad playing against a worse team than mine you really need to sit and think before you post on the internet saying BEST tactic and realisticly teams change there tactics all the time

  150. steveen

    2 июля, 2012 at 14:35

    Hi! Johnny Can You Tell me a good team and a tactic :) and what i need to do ? pls

  151. Shaun

    2 июля, 2012 at 15:10

    Right, i have had this tactic plugged in for 6 years now and to great success. I am now ready to post my achievements with Wolves

    Season 1: 13th finish, F.A Cup Semi Final, Carling Cup Winners.
    Season 2: 3rd finish, F.A Cup 6th round, Carling Cup Winners, UEFA Cup Semi Final
    Season 3: 3rd finish, F.A Cup Winners, Carling Cup Winners, Champions League Semi Final
    Season 4: 3rd finish, F.A Cup 5th round, Carling Cup Quarter final, Champions League Winners!
    Season 5: 2nd finish, F.A Cup Winners, Carling Cup fifth round, Champions League Semi Final
    Season 6: 4th finish, F.A Cup Semi Final, Carling Cup Semi Final, Champions League Final losers

    At this point i have decided to «jump ship» and move to Chelsea where i can continue this Barcelona/keep ball philosophy with much better resources too. I desperatly wanted to win the league with Wolves but it just wouldnt happen, but jesus, look at the success! In my six years at Wolves i managed 5 top 4 finishes, 2 F.A Cup winners, 3 Carling Cup wins and an amazing Champions league 3-1 victory in the final over AC Milan, one of those immense FM moments you will never forget.

    Johnny you have created a top tactic here pal. The best advice i would give to people is to kind of ignore some of the role instructions. I think this was my inital problem as i was going for box to box midfielders and defensive esque forwards, however as Johnny explained this were the roles that implemented all those fantastic diamond scenarios. You really do out-football sides with this tactic. I felt like Brian Clough with the achievements with Wolves and i really feel now i can go on to win the league with Chelsea, something i was dying to achieve with Wolves but just couldnt quite crack it. With Chelsea resources and players coming through i think i can do it.

    Johnny, i want to thank you for my longest save on a FM game for 2 entries!

  152. steveen

    2 июля, 2012 at 15:12

    Can you give me a good tactic for barcelona ?

  153. Dane Heineman

    9 июля, 2012 at 10:40

    I just completed a 37 pass move to score a goal with Barnet in League 2. Sadly still lost the game but i dominate every match with this tactic its great. Congratulations on winning the Champions League by the way.

    • Johnny Karp

      9 июля, 2012 at 18:37

      Thanks mate. 37 consecutive passes is something that’s very nice to watch, that’s why I love this tactic ;)

  154. IL DIAVOLO

    9 июля, 2012 at 18:28

    I was doubted about this tactic,but this tactic really working,not only for top teams.With this this tactic i will start my 1st «long term save».

    So guys,if you have good trequartistas and deep lying playmakers,you MUST tried :D

    • Johnny Karp

      9 июля, 2012 at 18:38

      Thanks, I’m happy it’s working for you.

      • IL DIAVOLO

        9 июля, 2012 at 18:48

        I only make some changes on fullbacks man marking/tight marking.Much more reliable at the back.

        • IL DIAVOLO

          10 июля, 2012 at 16:21

          Oh,yeah,i am using opposition instructions,maybe sometimes too many yellow cards,but is better to reach a yellow card instead to concede cheap goals :D

  155. Saksham

    12 июля, 2012 at 23:20

    Hello Johnny. Nice tactic. Loved it. One problem I am having is that I am conceding quite a few goals from set pieces as in long throws and corners. Any suggestion mate?

    • Johnny Karp

      14 июля, 2012 at 11:49

      You can put more men in defence for corners and set pieces. You can also prepare defending set pieces in match preparation.

  156. Mantorras

    13 июля, 2012 at 03:58

    Hey Johnny….great tactic…question about the defensive striker position’s…..I’m guessing we’re not really looking for strikers who can tackle but you have them playing this role to help keep the shape/purpose of this tactic. Having said that, what kind of striker’s should be looking for? poacher’s? Advanced forward’s? Inside Forwards?

    Thanks bro!

    • IL DIAVOLO

      13 июля, 2012 at 18:57

      You will lost balance if you add instead defensive forward poacher,advanced forward etc

    • Johnny Karp

      14 июля, 2012 at 11:49

      I prefer strikers with good pace, work rate, team work and passing for this position. They should have good finishing as well but that’s a must for any striker.

  157. Mantorras

    14 июля, 2012 at 07:22

    Pedro isn’t a defensive forward

    • Johnny Karp

      14 июля, 2012 at 11:50

      I used Pedro as a defensive forward and he did well, no complaints.

      • Mantorras

        14 июля, 2012 at 17:05

        I was responding to IL DIAVOLO who said i should use Defensive forwards instead of other types of Striker’s.

        You answered my question though as we don’t need to find strikers who can man mark and tackle which is what a defensive forward does. Basically it’s search for Inside Forwards who like to work!

  158. s

    16 июля, 2012 at 00:14

    thanks

  159. Shaun

    17 июля, 2012 at 12:40

    Hey johnny. Still having good success with this tactic. One question though, do you think it would make much of a difference if I made defensive forwards cross to mixed or even often? Or have you for a reason left this on rarely? Reason I ask is because I often find those two df at the byline with people waiting in the penalty area but they are reluctant to cross because of the settings and instead turn back and pass to full back by which point the chance has gone — probably my only gripe with the tactic tbh.

    Would you recommend this change? Or did you purposely not want them to do this for a reason you haven’t said?

    Looking forward to your reply!

    • Johnny Karp

      18 июля, 2012 at 20:33

      I set the crossing to rarely because I wanted the team to play the ball around like Barcelona and don’t attempt crosses too often, especially when you don’t have strikers that are good in the air. But you can try to experiment with that setting and see how it goes. Then, if you like what comes out, stick to it :)

  160. Brian Dalrymple

    17 июля, 2012 at 17:14

    Love the thought put into this tactic Johnny! I am starting my last long term save before FM 2013. I am going to see how far I can take Southampton in English Football. Should be wild…

    • Johnny Karp

      18 июля, 2012 at 20:33

      Thanks mate and best of luck with Southampton!

      • Brian Dalrymple

        23 июля, 2012 at 22:37

        What a season. I trusted the tactic, never changing. Pre-Season loaded up friendlies and brought in just a few players.I floated between 2nd and 6th place all year finishing in 3rd. I won in the playoffs and made it through to the Championship final with Birmingham. We went 0-0, added time and into extra penalties (sudden death). I won, I think on like the 8th shooter! Crazy way to make the Premiership!!!

        So I am now in season 2 and sticking to tactic doing same. Added more Premiership quality players and so far am just 1-1 in young season. I do have a few questions:

        In the Championship, I stuck pretty religiously to Attack tactic at home against most teams, save maybe a top 3 opponent and the Counter tactic on road for most except for maybe a bottom 3 opponent. It served well for most part. What about Premiership when say 75% of the time I will or should be underdog? I trained the counter tactic pretty hard in preseason after bringing in some new players and so far I have decided to follow that strategy of using counter in probably 75+% of games, maybe only using Attack tactic at home against a bottom 3 type opponent? Thoughts?

        As for retraining players. Typically how long does it take to retrain say a winger to DF?

        Thanks again mate!

        • mantorras77

          25 июля, 2012 at 00:31

          Hey Brian…when retraining a player for a new position it all depends on the player himself. Some player’s take much longer than other’s. There’s no way to pre-determine this visually in the game. Only a 3rd party utility can determine this for you.

        • Johnny Karp

          25 июля, 2012 at 10:27

          Mantorras is right, it depends on the player’s versatility. As for using the counter tactic, I did that too in my first season with Viitorul Constanta in the top flight. Then, once your team gets better, you can use the attacking version in most home games.

  161. stephen

    21 июля, 2012 at 15:42

    yo the download links don’t seem to be working, can you fix please, really wanna try this, thanks

  162. silva

    23 июля, 2012 at 01:18

    #Great Tactic.

    Where would you put Sergio B in this tactic.

    • Johnny Karp

      23 июля, 2012 at 10:05

      I used him as a box-to-box CM, while training him to become natural on the CM position.

  163. Fábio Gomes

    23 июля, 2012 at 04:12

    Hey Johnny your tatic is awesome, im using on F.C.Porto and its smooth
    ! Just needed some adjust on corners but the rest is 5 stars really. Wanted also to leave this print here of this player from my schools :) http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/7946/antoniogarofalo.jpg
    Cheers

  164. Tobias

    25 июля, 2012 at 16:51

    I tried this tactic with Hansa Rostock and could not make it work. A new game with Arsenal and the tactic works like a charm. Maybe the tactic is best with top and middle teams…

    • Johnny Karp

      26 июля, 2012 at 20:24

      It all depends on the players I think. If it worked for a second tier Romanian side then I guess it could work for any team.

  165. Luiz

    26 июля, 2012 at 09:16

    I loved your tatics Johnny, but i use them as secondary tatics, my usual, and very effective also, is the 4-1-2-1-2, rotating everytime, but with Valdes-Puyol-Pique-Alves-Abidal-Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta-Messi-Pedro-Villa as my best equipé haha! Your tatics helps me a lot in away games. But i would like an advice about good players who fits in these formations and are likely «the Barça´s way of playing», ´cause many players are hurt now!! Plz help! And how can I avoid injuries in my team? Thanks a looooot! :D

    • Johnny Karp

      26 июля, 2012 at 20:25

      I don’t think that a particular tactic has anything to do with injuries. Some players are injury-prone, some aren’t, but injuries will always occur in football.

      • Luiz

        27 июля, 2012 at 04:35

        Thanks! I agree, but could u plz suggest some player that fits in these tatics? I just bought Diarra (Free, not the one from Real Madrid haha), but I still need some other players.. to play as playmakers or defensive forward.. Thanks again! :D

        • Johnny Karp

          27 июля, 2012 at 11:56

          I have already said what type of players you need for every position but I’m afraid I can’t give you any specific names.

          • Luiz

            1 августа, 2012 at 22:46

            I bought NEYMAR! Pretty expensive, but he is already giving great results!!!

  166. Schmidty

    28 июля, 2012 at 00:00

    i can’t find «archived tactics» in the tactics screen. Where should I be looking?

    • Schmidty

      28 июля, 2012 at 00:23

      also I went to football manager 2012/data/tactics instead of footballmanager2012/tactics. im new at this and i really want to use your tactics but I just dont no how. Help

      • Johnny Karp

        28 июля, 2012 at 10:41

        Please follow the instructions and put the files where they are supposed to be, not in a different folder.

  167. Mantorras

    29 июля, 2012 at 19:22

    found these great touchline shouts and added to this tactic and it worked great with this tactic!

    http://www.theawaystand.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/6303-adopting-touchline-shouts/

  168. Mike Bogaert

    14 августа, 2012 at 19:59

    helo johnny can you make a tactic for kaa gent in belgium please????

    • Johnny Karp

      14 августа, 2012 at 22:23

      I don’t make tactics for a specific club. This tactic can work at any club, provided you get the right players and train them well.

  169. Mike Bogaert

    15 августа, 2012 at 08:05

    ok i’m gonna try

  170. Jammo

    16 августа, 2012 at 00:14

    I am managing Shrewsbury.Just started using the tactic, I was on a bad streak before I came across this tactic. Just played 2 games with it, won 1, drew the other. Not bad. :)

  171. Darren

    16 августа, 2012 at 01:20

    would you be able to find me a link to see darrens manchelona tactic? i cant find it anywhere. thanks

  172. saltwater

    20 августа, 2012 at 18:44

    I tried this out for the first time with Spain and … wow! I made some minor changers (Deep line, kept getting caught out, moved one CM to the holding role) but one big change I did make was with the middle front man role, I changed the Tranquistarista role to TM as I thought it suited Llorente better. This worked really well as we were getting players into the box, keeping possesstion, playing direct when we need to. Really brilliant tactic, although I’ve made it closer to Stoke than Barca cos of Llorente. Doing FM13 with L’pool so this will work with Carrol and Allen and Gerrard will keep possession well.
    Thank You! This was exactly what I was looking for!!!!!

    • Johnny Karp

      20 августа, 2012 at 19:20

      Good to hear you tweaked it into something that suits the players that you have, from what I can understand you did the right changes there.

  173. Lance Armstrong

    25 августа, 2012 at 14:03

    tell me if this is a good lineup to use for this tactic: suarez, neymar, fierro ((( midfield: shelvey, mvilla, wilshere(((( defense: robinson, coates, papadopolous, vrsaljko, ter stegen.

    • Johnny Karp

      25 августа, 2012 at 18:00

      Sounds excellent, this eleven should win plenty of games once they get used to the tactic.

  174. paul clarke

    4 сентября, 2012 at 18:53

    hi johnny none of the links work can u put a other one up what works plz

  175. paul clarke

    4 сентября, 2012 at 19:02

    also does it work on a iMac

  176. Jack Kelly

    8 октября, 2012 at 09:10

    Hi just wondering would this tactic work on a low league club thinking of using it for my millwall (championship) save

    • Johnny Karp

      8 октября, 2012 at 09:33

      I have used it with a second-tier Romanian club and went on to win the Champions League eventually, so I guess it could work.

  177. Ezzat

    26 ноября, 2012 at 00:42

    johhny, how about the player instuctions?

    • Johnny Karp

      26 ноября, 2012 at 07:02

      How about them? There are specific player instructions but too many to include in the post, just download the tactic and check them out.

  178. Chu H

    21 декабря, 2012 at 03:44

    Hello Johnny,

    I’ve read your post and immediately downloaded your tactic. I’ve won my first two games and I was on a bit of a slump before this so thanks for that. I just have a few questions and I hope you have the time to indulge me.

    1) With the player instructions do I use the ones from the tactic or the recommendations from the assistant manager?
    2) I tweaked the tactics slightly to look more like the traditional Barca tactic with wingers as opposed to 3 strikers but the question I have is, does the striker have to be a trequartista? Or can he be a AF, P or TM depending on their abilities?

    • Chu H

      21 декабря, 2012 at 03:49

      My apologies if you’ve already touched on these issues but your input where they’re concerned would be greatly appreciated.

    • Johnny Karp

      21 декабря, 2012 at 09:08

      1. The assistant has nothing to do with the player instructions.
      2. I have assigned the roles in order to keep a reasonably small distance between the players so that they would be able to display a short-passing possession game. That said, you can play around with the roles but my suggestion is to keep an eye on the distances between the players on the pitch.

      • Chu H

        21 декабря, 2012 at 10:44

        My apologies, I meant player recommendations from the scout for instance the scout reports could say that the player plays well as a covering centre back but the players actual ratings are more suited to a stopping centre back…what do you do in that instance?

        • Johnny Karp

          21 декабря, 2012 at 10:59

          I look at the attributes myself and try to think with my own head, regardless of the scout recommendations.

          • Chu H

            21 декабря, 2012 at 13:10

            Thanks for taking the time to respond to my concerns. Also may I add to the already lengthy chorus of praise for your tactical genius? Started using your tactics and I’m undefeated in 7 matches. A job very well done!!!

          • Johnny Karp

            21 декабря, 2012 at 13:17

            Thanks, I’m glad that you have good results. But that’s not only thanks to the tactic, just as bad results are not only because of a tactic.

  179. Nikola

    17 января, 2013 at 17:32

    Hi,

    I am using your tactic and suddendly i have problems that i never had before :/

    With Anji and Dinamo Zagreb (Russian First and Croatian First Division) i had success and that is O.K.

    Now I am coach of Juventus and i have big big problems..

    Main problem is consistency.. One game is OK and one game is total disaster :S

    My team:

    On Goal i have Lloris or Ziegler (high attributes for sweeper keeper)

    Defence also some regens and wonderkinds with very high attributes which suits your tactics..

    Midfield also and Attack also..

    Every player that i bought has high attributes and even hidden attributes (consistency,injury proness etc..)

    Coaches and Assistan Manager (all coaches are between 4.5 and 5 stars and assistant has also all atributes which are necessery for assistant are between 15 and 20)

    I really need your help because this team is capable wining CL every year but they are making me nerveous..

    Thank you very much in advance..

    • Johnny Karp

      17 января, 2013 at 17:38

      I don’t know how to help you mate because I don’t know your team, I haven’t seen it in action to know what works and what doesn’t. You should watch the games carefully, notice what goes wrong and do the necessary adjustments.

      Btw, high injury proness is not a good attribute to have.

  180. Nikola

    17 января, 2013 at 19:40

    Heh..

    I can tell you that injury proness for all my players are below 10.

    Maybe you can give me hint or two :)

    Maybe i use wrong type of player for some positions.. (Forwards i think :/)

    This is my main concern..

    I will give you some picture info on my players which may help you to understand my concerns :)

    My best choice of 11:

    http://imgur.com/fZ8JT

    http://imgur.com/PGQGP

    http://imgur.com/tHErk

    http://imgur.com/N6JpC

    http://imgur.com/OSLwS

    http://imgur.com/GzR88

    http://imgur.com/7jlTr

    http://imgur.com/L1Kwq

    http://imgur.com/IXIf5

    http://imgur.com/62H7K

    http://imgur.com/m4ix4

    This are my players,heh..

    Only one coach which is for attack training has determination (8) and all other attributes for all staff (motivation.level of discipline.determination + category attributes are 14+ )

    Can you also suggest mi some PPM?

    Do i need CUT INSIDE attribute for my attackers?

    Back 2 you :)

    • Johnny Karp

      17 января, 2013 at 19:47

      Those are very good players, you should be winning games on a regular basis I think. But I repeat, you should identify the exact problems. Maybe your team isn’t creating enough chances, maybe they squander possession through long shots, maybe you concede too many from set pieces, maybe most goals come from a particular area of your defence, and so on. That’s what you should be looking at.

      Generally PPMs shouldn’t have a major impact on how the team plays overall.

      • Nikola

        17 января, 2013 at 22:35

        You are absolutely right in 2 or maybe 3 things,heh..

        In some matches i saw that my players do shoot a lot from distance but they are not accurate and on some matches they don’t create a lot of chances,just some shots but not in the keeper doors..

        Most goals i concede on counter attacks and some from set pieces..

        What can i do to fix those things?

        • Johnny Karp

          18 января, 2013 at 07:07

          To avoid shots from distance you can use the «work ball into box» shout. For defending set pieces, you should work on those in match preparation training for a while.

  181. Nathan Zarin Caan

    4 февраля, 2013 at 06:49

    How do i download this tactic everytime i try it says that windows dosent recognise the files please help cheers

    • Johnny Karp

      4 февраля, 2013 at 10:09

      You don’t have to open the file in Windows, you have to import it into your game. The post explains how to do that, please read it and follow the instructions and then let me know if you have any problem.

  182. olly

    7 марта, 2013 at 13:46

    i have joe allen, jordan hendersen, steven gerrard, willian, milan badelj, ruben jenssen, jonjo shelvey, suso, lucas leiva. which players should i keep and who should i play as the middle three? i have been thinking of playing willian as a DF but heard he can be a very good box to box aswell. suarez is my trequista. any help would be greatly appreciated

    • Johnny Karp

      8 марта, 2013 at 06:58

      Willian is good as an inside forward, I wouldn’t put him to work as a box to box midfielder. Lucas should be good as a DM, Allen and Gerrard should do well as CMs. But I guess you can compare the players better since you have them in your team.

  183. dodo31

    1 сентября, 2013 at 04:50

    Hi Johnny, I am playing fm 2012 and would like to use this tactic, do you have any recommendations for young, cheap players for the defensive forwards positions? Thank you and have a nice day.

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