Welcome to my latest tactic in the Best FM 2016 tactics series. This tactic has been tested with Swansea City in the premier league during 2015/2016 season and the results are exceptional. This is a solid tactic which dominates possession, creates chances, scores goals and keeps it relatively tight at the back. If you like the sound of this tactic check out below for further details.
Best FM 2016 Tactics: Formation
You may call this a 4-1-3-1-1 or something else but I’m calling it a 4-4-2 because it started out as a typical 4-4-2 and works as a 4-4-2. The formation as shown above is different from a typical 4-4-2 with one central midfielder deeper than the rest of the midfield and one striker withdrawn into the attacking midfield position. I opted to use a defensive midfielder to reduce the space in front of the two central defenders and provide a defensive shield. The second striker was withdrawn into attacking midfield to provide a link between midfield and striker.
Best FM 2016 Tactics: Team Instructions
The team instructions above were used for all matches during the season with Swansea. I used the control mentality because I enjoy watching my team dominate matches and having the majority of possession. I also wanted to be solid at the back so I felt control was the best option. The flexible team shape was used as I usually play with fluid or very fluid but this time I wanted the team to keep its shape more often but still have the possibility for some fluid movement when opportunties arise. The rest of the instructions are self explanatory really, they are what I found to work best in this formation.
Best FM 2016 Tactics: Players Roles
GK — Goalkeeper (defend) — Usual goalkeeper requirements.
DR/DL — full back (attack) — must be capable of defending (tackling & positioning) and have the energy and desire to get up and down the pitch (stamina, workrate & teamwork). Good crossing ability would also be advisable.
DC — central defender (defend) — get defenders with the typical attributes for central defenders, tackling, positioning, strength and heading.
DMC — ball winning midfielder (support) — deepest lying midfielder who helps snuff out opposition attacks. Must be hard working, have good stamina and tackling ability.
MC — box to box midfielder (support) — similar to the DMC, staminia is important to get up and down the pitch, but should also be capble of creating and scoring goals. Basically an all round midfield player.
MR/ML — wide midfielder (attack) — very important players, score and assist loads. I recommend using left footer on right and vice versa but not vital. Also if you have a lack of players with a good rating for ML/MR don’t worry, you can just retrain AMR/AML to play here because I find the attributes are more important than positional ability.
AMC — shadow striker (attack) — bucket loads of goals and assists, Sigurdsson was awesome in this role. Important to have a player who will score and also be capable of creating goals in this position.
ST — complete forward (attack) — This will be your main goalscorer, should have good finishing, technique and composure.
Best FM 2016 Tactics: Training
Pre-season
During Season
The above graphics show the training regimes I used during the test with Swansea and it seemed to work quite well. Many of the players developed well and showed considerable attribute improvements by the end of the season. During pre-season I suggest changing the focus each week between team cohesion, fitness and tactical. For individual player training I trained players for the position/role they were playing in the tactic.
Best FM 2016 Tactics: Results
A great result winning the league with Swansea. My focus was on the league so no significant cup runs this time around as we were knocked out in the earlier rounds after fielding the second 11 for each cup game.
Best FM 2016 Tactics: Tinkerman’s Top Tips
These tips are really important if you want success with this tactic you must take these on board, but don’t worry they are really simple.
- Get the tactic fluid as quick as possible – play at least 5 friendlies in pre-season and don’t have other tactics in the slots until this one is fluid. Placing this tactic in two or more slots will improve time until it becomes fluid.
- You need at least two players for each position, so build your squad with this in mind, if you have a small budget, players who can play two positions are invaluable.
- Use a player with strong right foot ability on LM and vice versa.
- Use your AM or best coach with high tactical knowledge attribute for opposition instructions.
- Set your AMC or MR to take corners. This corner routine could be improved so if you have a better one, you can implement it yourself into the tactic.
- Indvidual player instructions are crucial so you must download the tactic to get the best results.
Best FM 2016 Tactics: Download
If you would like to give the tactic a go, please follow the instructions below.
1. Click the download link above and download the file.
2. Once the file is downloaded move it to the following folder documents>sports interactive>football manager 2016>tactics
3. Now load the game as normal and enter the tactics screen.
4. In the tactics screen, click the tactic you currently have loaded then select ‘load’ from the drop-down menu
5. Select ‘Tinkerman’s Winning 4-4-2′ and click load.
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment or feedback. Enjoy!
The Tinkerman
Gareth Corey Taylor
3 января, 2016 at 14:07
hi darren mate can this tactic work with a championship side like qpr an would it work if i get them promoted thanks :)
Darren
3 января, 2016 at 21:02
This is Tinkerman’s tactic not mine so I’m sure he will offer his advice soon. I’d say it should work with them providing you have the right players though.
Gareth Corey Taylor
3 января, 2016 at 23:22
ok thanks for your help darren mate
TheTinkerman
4 января, 2016 at 10:43
Hi Gareth, as Darren said I think it should work but will depend on having the right players.
Gareth Corey Taylor
4 января, 2016 at 15:52
Nice one lad your the best keep up the good work your making me a better manager haha
Dom Betts
5 января, 2016 at 05:03
Great tactic so far for me in spurs save. Unbeaten in first 10 or so. Kane bagging for fun. Thanks Tinkerman. Any chance of a goalscoring strikeforce tactic being recreated this week?
TheTinkerman
5 января, 2016 at 10:03
Glad it’s working for you. Not this week but I’m sure it will appear again at some stage
tgooders
5 января, 2016 at 15:54
Another great tactic. Any ppm’s?
TheTinkerman
6 января, 2016 at 08:31
Hi tgooders, I think try killer ball is good for SS and WM’s. Also cut inside is useful for WM’s.
Craig Wardropper
5 января, 2016 at 18:02
Finished my first season with newcastle using this tactic and won the premier league and capital one cup and the only negative i got knocked out of the fa cup in the fifth round by sunderland
TheTinkerman
6 января, 2016 at 08:33
Hi Craig, that’s a great season for the toon. Glad its working for you and thanks for your comment
Marijus Kulvietis
6 января, 2016 at 12:57
i play this as southampton in a big save against computer managed and human managed teams. Really difficult save, but first results are rather good. What is the problem-southampton as many similar teams has no clear wide midfielders as ML and MR. I use Dusan Tadic as ML and Sadio Mane as MR. Also bought andrija zivkovic as future MR. Not sure if it is really good. Would be grateful for advice of who can be cheap and young english ML and MR in this formation. Maybe somebody try this with southampton and know how to improve the team and team with this formation. Thanks.
TheTinkerman
6 января, 2016 at 13:50
Hi Marijus, these three should be fine in WM positions, Zivkovic works really well I have used him as WM before, after a few seasons he is awesome. D.Gray from Birmingham is available for 5Mil release clause and is really good.He can also play both sides. Although this might change when game is updated now he has been transferred to Leicester in real life.
Main thing is to check players have good attributes for position then train them to learn the position/role and they will be fine.
Marijus Kulvietis
6 января, 2016 at 16:28
Thanks. This must solve WM problem. Where is real mess in Southampton-their forwards. They have them many-G.Pelle-rather old, Shane Long-not good enough i think-need some other future striker. Better english or young one. Juanmi and Jay Rodriguez-who are they-strikers? As if we have 4 of them, but none is at high class. As a shadow striker i try Gaston Ramirez, who is doubtful for me and i bought Adam Maher from PSV as a shadow striker. I had to hurry, but he seems to be a talent. For today i believe G.Pelle as complete forward and A. Maher as a SS main and others mus be sold. but whom to buy then after season. Replacement forward and SS.? I`m watching Zach Clough from Bolton…
TheTinkerman
7 января, 2016 at 10:54
Personally I’m not a big fan of Pelle in the game because I like a striker with good pace. Gabriel Barbosa is obtainable first season even on a small budget if you use instalments and appearance fees. in SS Ramirez and Maher should do ok for you. Sigurdsson wasn’t perfect rating for the role but was amazing and by the end of the season his transfer value was huge. As I said before look for key attributes instead of rating in the position/role.
FMAddict
6 января, 2016 at 14:13
I have a question. Whenever I start the game with Swansea, ki sung young and Sigurdsson always want to leave, i can prevent it, but their morale drops. Did this happen to you, or did you prevent it? Please reply
TheTinkerman
6 января, 2016 at 14:24
Hi, Yes it happened to me as well, just responded carefully, I think I said that they wouldn’t get much playing time elsewhere so its for their own good to stay, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. In general be careful what you say and you will be fine. If they do get upset, they should be fine after transfer window closes as long as you haven’t completely fell out with them by that stage. Enjoy the game with the Swans I’m in second season now :)
Kenny Laurie
7 января, 2016 at 15:06
What do you usually tell your players during team talks in various situations?
TheTinkerman
7 января, 2016 at 16:18
Usually follow AM advice. If we are losing at half time I use aggressive or assertive — expect something else in second half and it seemed to a big help. Don’t use it too much or it will not get a response, only use a few times a season. Generally just encourage and praise players, with the occasional reminder to not get complacent. Keep it fresh as well, hope this helps
Kenny Laurie
8 января, 2016 at 10:38
Great thanks. That’s what I usually do but hadn’t noticed any clear patterns in the new game. Great formation btw, top at New Years with Everton. Loved the 3-1-3-3 in the last game, best I’ve known, took Wrexham from conference to Champions League winners in less than 10 years
TheTinkerman
8 января, 2016 at 13:38
Great stuff!!
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Marijus Kulvietis
8 января, 2016 at 14:39
It may sound funny, but very difficult to find good complete forward, especially from younger players and who will not cost like messi or suarez:) But at least a scoring guy, who has good pace. Top clubs have all wonderkids. I also miss some talents like Carlos Fiero here, who played very well for me in FM 2015. As playing this tactics i miss more goals, often playing 0-0 with low team or losing 0-1 to some strong aggresive opossition
Marijus Kulvietis
8 января, 2016 at 21:39
p.s. what match focus do you use?
The Tinkerman
27 января, 2016 at 15:34
Its all in the post..
Fletch
17 января, 2016 at 17:41
Absolutely love this tactic. I am top of the league with Wolves and have not looked back since plugging this tactic in around Sept. Really hope the inevitable Feb/March patch doesn\’t ruin the effect of this as I intend on keeping this as my long term tactic.
The Tinkerman
27 января, 2016 at 15:32
Glad to hear it Fletch
Richard
26 января, 2016 at 18:14
Do you change to defensive or counter to see out a match at all?great tactic by the way
The Tinkerman
27 января, 2016 at 15:33
No I don’t mate, used the same tactic throughout test. However it would be a good idea to use a tactic to close out a match when needed
Richard
28 января, 2016 at 12:07
Cheers for the reply dude.I’m using your new tactic now, bale and yaramalenko as playmakers
Chip Thompson
31 января, 2016 at 00:52
Has this been tested with the newest patch? (16.2) I’m having a poor season with my West Ham side and would like to switch things up next season. Cheers!
The Tinkerman
5 февраля, 2016 at 08:48
Yes it has indeed :) enjoy
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NFFC
10 февраля, 2016 at 08:35
Used this tactic from pre-season on a new Forest save, so far so good. Sitting 3rd in the Championship after 16 games.
Creates a fair amount of chances whilst limiting the opponenet’s. Hoping that this tactic should be more effective when I can bring in own players suited to it (currently in embargo and unable to loan/buy players).
The Tinkerman
19 февраля, 2016 at 15:41
Thanks for your feedback. Suited players will help you even further :)
xgrotesc
15 февраля, 2016 at 00:13
I’m using this tactic and is working really well with my Leicester save. I started using after about 6 or 7 games into the first season and it really made a difference. Currently I’m almost at the end of the first half of the season, on 4th place in the league and 5 points down from Chelsea, who’s currently leading and I’m also on the semi-finals of the FA Cup, having already defeated Chelsea meanwhile.
I do have one question though regarding your corners defense settings: why have you removed players from the posts? I really haven’t conceded any goals so far on this situation, so I don’t have a complain about it, but honestly that idea would have never really crossed my mind, so I was wondering if you could give me a hint on what made you think about doing so.
Anyway, excellent tactic, thanks for sharing it!
The Tinkerman
19 февраля, 2016 at 15:40
I’m glad your having some success with the tactic. Thanks for your comment. It just seemed to be sound defensively without the players on the posts contributing a lot so I freed up these two other players to defend corners either by man marking or zonal.
Liam
17 февраля, 2016 at 19:54
Appreciate your work on the tactic — but it’s not going too well for me with Southampton. Followed the guidance exactly and I’m currently at played 9 (W2, D1, L6) — not sure what i’m doing differently to you guys?
The Tinkerman
19 февраля, 2016 at 15:42
Hi Liam, send me your starting 11 please
Marijus
21 марта, 2016 at 01:41
Still one of the best tactics in FM 2016, which is extremely difficult version:) Thanks.
I had sucess with Swansea and Southampton. Thanks, i was always a fan of Tinkerman. Always tactics very well explained and having good ideas. Now, as some time passed just 2 questions: 1-is this tactics working the same well on the latest patch 16.3 ?
2-in my statistics i have very little goals from corners. Maybe you have some solutions,experience how to help your corners work better?
rickowens
2 апреля, 2016 at 15:43
Hey tinkerman won the league in my first season at West Brom, but toward the end of the season the results were inconsistent, any tips
The Tinkerman
6 июня, 2016 at 15:21
Hi there, winning the league first season with West brom is fantastic, regardless of a dip. It cant have been too major if you still topped the table :)
Ricardo
15 апреля, 2016 at 21:44
Hi. Doesn’t working for me in my first 4 games at Schalke. Preseason was great but in Bundesliga 3 draws and 1 loss versus small clubs. The manager version is 16.3. Any advice? Thank you!
The Tinkerman
6 июня, 2016 at 15:19
Hi Ricardo. That’s unusual with this tactic but its part of the game now where they seem to have incorporated more variability into the match engine to try to reduce the effect of brilliant tactics. You could try some of my other tactics and Darren has a couple of good tactics on this site as well which might work for you.
Ricardo
6 июня, 2016 at 15:36
Yeah, after 5 games I switched to your Phenomenal Playmakers tactic, and surprisingly won the Bundesliga (1 point over Bayern). I bought Zivkovic, but, in your opinion, is it better to use Zivkovic and Sané as Advanced Playmakers or as winger or inside forward?
Special one
23 мая, 2016 at 22:43
Need Help Tinkerman I want to know why my SS and MR don’t take free kicks on this tactic they just pass the ball to the player closest l really need help on this since they have both have brilliant free kicks stats i could get alot of goals from this position?
P.S brilliant tactic newly promoted with Charlton 3rd in Premier League looking to use this long term so need help on free kicks.
The Tinkerman
6 июня, 2016 at 15:16
Check if the free kicks are set to play/pass short?
Ben Wood
26 мая, 2016 at 12:28
When i try and load the tactic it is not in the folder on FM? Any suggestions
The Tinkerman
6 июня, 2016 at 15:16
Not sure Ben. It should be there if you have saved into correct folder. Hope you get it working.
Hayden
9 июня, 2016 at 12:35
My players are more suited to wingers then wide midfielders, would it make much different if I played them as wingers?
Cheers
michael
23 июня, 2016 at 16:39
hey can you show me your manager of the month awards i don’t belive these tactics work if you actually play the game only if you go on holiday
TJB
28 июня, 2016 at 20:36
Hi Darren,
I was just wondering whether you only used ‘def. positioning’ as a match preparation during the season (as shown in the screenshot) or not?
Thanks!
TJB
28 июня, 2016 at 20:41
*Tinkerman (sorry!)
The Tinkerman
29 июня, 2016 at 11:27
Hello. Yes I used def positioning throughout the entire season :) enjoy!
Jake
10 июля, 2016 at 19:34
hello mate — tried downloading the tactic but keeps being downloaded as an fmf. Any idea on how to get it? cheers
Darren Smith
17 июля, 2016 at 08:00
Have you actually followed the instructions on how to download it step by step, should be straight forward…it is meant to be an fmf file.
mance
24 июля, 2016 at 05:04
hi tinkerman did this tactic working well on patch 16.3? btw can u tell me what is ppm stand for? im just newbie
The Tinkerman
25 июля, 2016 at 07:40
Hi, yes I don’t see why not, should work well for you, what is your team? PPM stands for preferred player move. You can ask your coaches to train a player to learn a habit/move in player training. There are many options such as play one-twos, types of shot etc. They can be very useful in enhancing player performance.
mance
26 июля, 2016 at 08:10
my team is burnley and im in premier league for first season. care to give any tips?
The Tinkerman
26 июля, 2016 at 08:30
When using your transfer budget which i suspect in limited, I would focus most importance on recruitment in the following order:
Fullbacks > Wide midfielders > BBM > SS > CF > CD > BWM > GK
All the best for the new season!
mance
27 июля, 2016 at 08:34
thank you so much for your help tinkerman. wish u all success
mance
11 августа, 2016 at 08:52
this tactic is working well for my burnley side. first season i got promoted to EPL. first season at EPL i can only finish half table but im winning FA cup. second season im winning epl with just only 5 lost. thank you very much tinkerman this tactic suit my team well.
S19
31 августа, 2016 at 14:31
I can’t download with uTorrent,why…Indvidual player instructions are crucial,and I can’t see them
Darren Smith
4 сентября, 2016 at 09:00
You don’t need utorrent. Just follow the instructions.
James Andrew
22 сентября, 2016 at 19:07
Great tactic, had really good results with athletico madrid and Southampton. My main issue though is the crazy number of bookings the bwm (normally wanyama or camacho) picks up so I go down to 10 a lot. Any thoughts on how changing to a dm (support) to ease off the tackling to would affect the tactic?
The Tinkerman
22 сентября, 2016 at 22:31
Hi, The first thing I would suggest is to substitute the BWM when hes on a yellow if you have a good back up — this is what I done when using the tactic. If you want to change the role, try to mirror the individual instructions the BWM has as much as possible except for tackle harder. All the best
Pete
27 октября, 2016 at 18:04
is the formation available for mac?
Johnny Karp
31 октября, 2016 at 07:19
The game is the same on both Mac and Windows, so yes.
TEEMY TWO
16 мая, 2017 at 02:56
Please i need more explanation about the tactics for example the team width;can i set it to wide when playing with samaller teams to stretch the play? And the tempo can i set it to normal or higher when playing asainst a better team And also the passing style why is it shorter? Lastly in which kind of matches can i use fluid?