Those of you who have been following my stories during the last year surely are familiar with the Notts County 4-4-2 tactic that has served me (and quite a few others) so well in FM 2010. But since there is an impressive amount of new people coming to the website lately searching for a Football Manager 2011 tactic I thought that it would be helpful to put the tactic that I’m currently using in the game up for download.
First, a quick description of the formation and the philosophy. I am a fan of the 4-4-2 set ups, that’s no secret, so I tried to re-create such a tactic in Football Manager. The formation is a standard 4-4-2 with a high defensive line.An important thing is that you should have pacey defenders, otherwise the opponents will always exploit the space behind your defense. Having a good quick goalkeeper also helps because the goalie’s role is set to «sweeper keeper», that means he has to rush out and intercept when needed. Here are the player roles:
Goalkeeper — Sweeper Keeper (defend)
Full Backs — Full Back (defend)
Centre Backs — Limited defender (defend)
Wingers — Defensive wiger (attack)
Right Central Midfielder — Deep Lying Playmaker (defend) — this one is the team’s playmaker, you should have a midfielder with good passing and creativity for this role. He should have good defensive attributes too.
Left Central Midfielder — Central Midfielder (support)
Right Striker — Complete forward (support) — this forward often tracks back to give a hand in midfield but also links up play when attacking.
Left Striker — Defensive forward (attack)
The philosophy that I chose is fluid, giving players more freedom to create and express themselves on the pitch. As you can see I want the team to be aggressive and attacking, the team should press the opponents when we don’t have the ball and pass it shortly when we do. This can produce a rather spectacular style of play with short passes and quite a few scoring chances created every game. Normally the tactic will give you better ball possession than your opponent. Go to the next page to read more details and download the tactic.
Go to the next page to read more details and download the tactic.
ravenie
8 ноября, 2010 at 17:01
Still waiting for my copy from Amazon. Your tactic last time out was excellent. I have no doubt that this one will be just as good.
Johnny Karp
9 ноября, 2010 at 09:19
Thanks Ravenie, I hope that your copy will arrive soon :)
Mariano
9 ноября, 2010 at 09:05
I tried this tactic in FM 2010 and it´s brillant.
Nice of this post to go more in depth about why you set it up the way you do, very educational!:)
Johnny Karp
9 ноября, 2010 at 09:19
Thanks for the kind words Mariano, I just felt a bit more creative yesterday :) It might have been because I was running a fever :)
Paul Zammit
9 ноября, 2010 at 18:49
I never played 4-4-2 before, but after constant draws, my team wasn’t a big success. FM2010, 4-2-3-1 and 4-5-1 was such a success, I didn’t have the right players to do so starting in FM2011.
I decided to go a simple 4-4-2, playing Juventus like last year, and start tweaking from there. Currently looking at ideas from other 4-4-2 systems. My team is doing just fine now, biggest win is 5-0 against Milan. Never had such a big win not even in the past.
Will look into more detail about this tonight. Thanks for the share, and nice blog you go here :)
Johnny Karp
9 ноября, 2010 at 19:37
Thanks for your kind words Paul. I’m looking forward to receiving some feedback on the tactic from you :)
onur
10 ноября, 2010 at 16:37
wonderfully so thanks a lot
Jake
15 ноября, 2010 at 02:51
Hey im just wondering if you guys always stick with the same tactics for every game or do you change it around a lot i cant seem to find a formation i like… please help
Johnny Karp
15 ноября, 2010 at 08:03
Jake, I tend to stick to this tactical framework for most games but I do make some changes sometimes depending on the match. For instance, if the opponent switches to 4-2-4 desperately trying to score in the last minutes of the game I pull the whole team back by changing the strategy from «attacking» to «counter». Other people have different tactics for home and away games but I use the same on for both.
Jake
16 ноября, 2010 at 18:26
Thanks for your feedback… ill try stick to one formation in future.
Evan
19 ноября, 2010 at 02:28
Have to admit this tactic does wonders, especially going out of your way to rebuild a blue square squad around this tactic. I like the way you’ve set it up so the defense is pressing the majority of the time, all the games I’ve had I’m out-tackling my opponents by a huge margain. Cheers man. :D
Johnny Karp
19 ноября, 2010 at 09:03
Thanks Evan, I’m happy that you like the tactic. The players might need some time to adapt to the mentality and closing down but once they get the hang of it the team should be playing pretty well.
JohnJohn
21 ноября, 2010 at 17:26
how do i download it mate?? cud just be computer like but its not working
Johnny Karp
21 ноября, 2010 at 19:13
There is a download link inside the post, in the second page of the post to be precise. And it works just fine, I have just tested it again.
johnson
22 ноября, 2010 at 10:56
This is the suckest tactic i ever see
Keithtjw
23 ноября, 2010 at 08:15
Hving tried the countless «best» tactics available on the net, I have to say this tactic is one of the rare few that actually does work for me! I am averaging 15 shots per game and while it is tricker against the bigger teams (I would either draw or grind out a one goal winner), I am practically tearing smaller teams apart!
Good job and hope to see more tactics from you!
Johnny Karp
23 ноября, 2010 at 08:52
Thanks for the compliment Keith, I’m happy that the tactic is working for you. I’m quite satisfied with it myself so I guess I won’t be creating any new one soon :)
SteveS
27 ноября, 2010 at 14:33
Hi everyone, I’ve been reading this wonderful website for several weeks now and I must say, you guys do a great job! I was wondering if the other posting managers could add their tactic to this thread. It’s difficult to locate the tactics for each team looking at past posts, so it would be nice to have them all in one location. Thanks!
Johnny Karp
27 ноября, 2010 at 14:44
Thanks for the kind words Steve and also for the suggestion. Actually I was thinking to ask the other authors to post their tactics and I hope to make that happen sometime next week.
Mark
9 декабря, 2010 at 03:24
Hey Johnny Karp, Really wanna use your tactic but just wondering what’s the pitch size for this tactic, many thanks. & also keep up the good work.
Johnny Karp
9 декабря, 2010 at 05:47
I always use the standard pitch size.
Arron (Bury Fan)
16 декабря, 2010 at 14:36
looking at the top picture on page two, how do you achieve a tight unit like that? is that through playing short pass’s and obviously a tight playing style opposed too a wide one?
Johnny Karp
16 декабря, 2010 at 19:15
You are right, the short passing does have an impact on the position on the pitch. That was my main goal when I created this tactic, to have a compact team that presses the opponents and plays short quick passes.
slik
11 января, 2011 at 10:51
Brilliant Tactic mate. Its destroys almost all the small teams i meet. 7 — 0, 6-0, 5-0, 4-0, etc against small teams. And 1 — 0 and 2-0 against the bigger teams. The good thing about this tactic is that, you rarely conceede goals. But I have noticed just one downside thing about it, i don’t know if it just happened by chance or not. But when i used a first 11 consisting mostly of my reserve players, i got whooped 4 — 0 by Bayern munich(Strong starting 11) . So i guess, if you use a weak side to play this tactics, you might get whooped by a very strong team. ?
Johnny Karp
11 января, 2011 at 10:57
I played quite a few games against stronger opponents but rarely got «whooped», maybe the worst beating was a 5-2 at the hands of Newcastle in the League Cup (we were in League One and they were in the Championship).
Mark H
25 января, 2011 at 19:23
Fantastic tactic Johnny, i am unstoppable at home but just cant seem to get a result away from home. i have tried changing to standard away from home or even counter but nothin seems to work. What do u do for away games?
Johnny Karp
26 января, 2011 at 06:54
I don’t make any changes for away games, I want to dominate both home and away. I guess sometimes it’s a bit more difficult to get the results away but so far the tactic has worked very well for me both home and away.
Mark
27 января, 2011 at 14:04
Im in the same position as Mark H, Destroy teams at home but always loose away. is there anything you can do to improve this ?
Johnny Karp
27 января, 2011 at 14:27
Since I’m not having this problem with my team while using the same tactic I never thought about making a different version for away games. How many games have you played with this tactic?
Mark
28 января, 2011 at 11:21
half a season at least, won almost every home games but struggle to even get a draw away,strange:(
Johnny Karp
28 января, 2011 at 11:28
I guess it is strange but the outcome of the game doesn’t depend entirely on the tactics you use: team talks can make a difference sometimes, opposition instructions and also the line-up that you select and the substitutions.
Mark
28 января, 2011 at 17:03
thanks for that johnny, but what opposition instructions, team talks, match prep do you use.
Johnny Karp
28 января, 2011 at 19:13
I leave the match preparation to the assistant manager and I don’t have a «one size fits all» opposition instructions recipe. About the team talks, you can have an idea about myh approach by reading my Vauxhall story, all the team talks are mentioned in there.
Mark
25 марта, 2011 at 20:30
Johnny can you make a new tactic for the 11.3 patch
Johnny Karp
25 марта, 2011 at 20:45
I don’t think that I need a new tactic for the new patch, the old one still seems to work just fine.
Mark
26 марта, 2011 at 13:35
Are you playing on the new patch ?
Johnny Karp
26 марта, 2011 at 14:19
Yes, I am. My game is running through Steam so it’s updated automatically every time there is a new patch available.
Papaille
11 апреля, 2011 at 21:12
Hi Johnny
I found your website randomly when i was searching new idea of tactics for FM 2011.
I’m a fan of the LOSC, and I usually play in a 4-3-3, like the barça’s disposition. I wanted to change and find a really good tactic with 2 strikers, keeping an heavy defense basis, and with nice teamwork gameplay.
I tried you tactic, and for me, it’s awesome. I have an «average» team, with some great players, like Hazard, Gervinho, Cabaye. And your tactic really works for me. With the original team (no transferts), i won preparating matches versus Milan AC, Atletico, Juventus. And in Ligue 1 (French championship), my team plays very well.
I wanted to thank you for your nice work, and I hope I’ll be able to give you a really good tactic too, maybe on FM 2012? ^^
Sorry for my english, I’m a French people
Johnny Karp
11 апреля, 2011 at 22:17
I am very happy that your team did well using my tactic / Je suis trés heureux que ma tactique a fonctionné bien pour ton équipe. I just had to test my French, it’s getting a bit rusty since I haven’t been using it for a while :)
Papaille
14 апреля, 2011 at 15:56
Hi !
I have just a question about the defense organisation. In your tactics, the team plays high in the field (they are not smoked, I hope ^^). And I think I take goals because my defenders are not the speedest, particulary when I play away.
So i’m wondering if i can play with a line defense lower without disorganize the teams, and without create an «hole» between defenders and midfielders.
Else, your tactic still working for me =)
Thanks !
Johnny Karp
14 апреля, 2011 at 17:41
The best option would be to get quicker defenders, that’s what I do. Otherwise, if you drop the defensive line deeper you might leave too much room between defense and midfield. But you can tweak and find the best balance, trial and error is the way to success :)
Ryant
7 мая, 2011 at 13:06
Hello Johny! I found your site through google, you do a hell of job!!! nice job my friend!!!
Right now I am using your tac for my team which is Fulham, the result is good!! most of the time I win by 1 — 0 or 2 — 1 in home game, however in away game the odds is like 40% win and 60% lost.
Do you think this is because of the Opposition and Team Talk? or just the player. If it is the player, can you give some guidance for «Player Stats Guide»? like for each position what attributes should if focus on? can you give some highlight for it?
thank you so much!
Johnny Karp
7 мая, 2011 at 13:58
Hi and thanks for your kind words. Now about the tactic, opposition instructions and team talks can influence a result but the players that you have are very important as well. As a general rule for this tactic the players should have good passing as the whole philosophy is based on possession, then you will need quick defenders because of the high defensive line and the offside trap and also a good quick sweeper keeper (good rushing out and speed). Those are just a few things, I recommend downloading and reading our FM 2011 guide for more details and tips: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2011/04/fm-2011-handbook-your-way-to-victory-in-football-manager-2011/
Jura
8 мая, 2011 at 20:00
Hey i am playing with your tactic and i found it solid so far. I can see your tactic is based on «offense is the best defense» because defense doesn’t seems so safe and good for me,opponents get in chances easy,i am playing with Juventus,maybe this is the problem,they don’t really have quick defenders,Chiellini is great and Bonucci and Barzagli are good but they are not so fast,also,midfielders,i think aquilani,melo and marchisio are good but i suppose passing rating should be higher,i would try to buy some deep lying playmaker,do you have any suggestion,i am thinking about Defour or Andrea Poli,and the final question,which training schedules are you using,i think they could have a big part in team results…
Johnny Karp
8 мая, 2011 at 20:36
You need quick defenders for this tactic, otherwise the opponents will always create chances by playing behind the defensive line. You can try to move the defensive line deeper but you will also have to look at the midfielders and drop them deeper as well if there would be too much space between the lines. Defour is a great midfielder but Poli should be a better choice since he is younger. About the training schedule, this is the one I’m using: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/11/download-good-training-schedule-for-football-manager-2011/
Jura
8 мая, 2011 at 23:07
I can’t download it,it says invalid file id,could you upload it so i can download it?Thanks
Johnny Karp
9 мая, 2011 at 06:44
Try this link: http://www.mediafire.com/?q8t6y668y9s00bd
Ian
12 мая, 2011 at 09:27
Hi Johnny Karp
What sort of results have had with this with Vauxhall??
Cheers
Johnny Karp
12 мая, 2011 at 09:38
You can check out the story here: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/category/motormen-story/
Just a quick recap: consecutive promotions from Blue Square North to the Premier League, finished 9th in the first Premiership season, then 3rd and won the Europa League.
Mariano
28 мая, 2011 at 14:52
Hi Johnny,
I´ve been using yout tactic through all my Havant & Waterlouville game, I´m in 2022 and take the team easily to premier league and always finised qualifyng to CL. What I find strange is that in any of the seasons I recall any of my fowards scoring more than 15 goals except for league 2……
Plus very often my player with the highest rating is the central left defender, not becaue he plays better than the rest but becaue he scores so many goals after a header from a corner kick…..
Do you have any theory why is this?
The attributes of my fowards are high…….
Cheers
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 16:50
Hi Mariano. First thing: my DCL always gets higher ratings as well and the reason is quite obvious, the corner kicks. Now about the strikers, it is quite strange that yours are scoring only 15 goals per season, as you know mine tend to score a lot more than that (at least 20 apiece, the backups often get 10 to 15). I can’t really tell why that is but you might help me to understand by answering a few questions. Do they get enough chances (at least one or two per game)? Do your midfielders try lots of shots from distance instead of playing through balls for the forwards?
Daniel
22 июля, 2011 at 09:40
Jonny, can you give me specific key attributes needed for each position please, or at least the attributes you look for,
cheers
Johnny Karp
22 июля, 2011 at 11:23
This post can help you with that: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/12/how-to-find-the-right-players-in-football-manager-2011-the-key-attributes/
Daniel
22 июля, 2011 at 11:36
yea i read that, but I just would like to know what Key attributes you look for, should i do them then, although it makes it much harder to find good players at my level. An example is like the wingers position, do they really need to have good marking and tackling attributes? So thats what i’d like to know, just the Key ones, or do you suggest using everyone in the above mentioned post for each position?
cheers
Daniel
22 июля, 2011 at 11:41
also, i know i started using it right in the heart of the season, but im getting smashed on the scoreboard and key stats, i assume it becomes lethal once all levels are fluid? Its a silly question becuase it worked for you in same league im playing, but i just want to make sure that its normal i struggle until it becomes fluid
Johnny Karp
22 июля, 2011 at 11:48
I would advise against starting to use it in the middle of a season, the players will need time to learn how it goes. However, one key aspect is to have fast defenders, otherwise you might concede loads of goals. Wingers should have good work rate, pace, acceleration and it would also be good to have players with good passing throughout the squad, from the defenders to the strikers.
Daniel
22 июля, 2011 at 11:51
So do i use every attribute suggested in the Key Attributes post?
What would you call fast? 13+ for acceleration & pace?
Appreciate all the help too btw :)
Johnny Karp
22 июля, 2011 at 11:54
It will be tough to find players that will have good numbers for all those attributes in League Two, you will have to find the best compromise between quality and affordability. 13+ is good enough for League Two, over 15 would be awesome.
Daniel
22 июля, 2011 at 11:56
Alright cheers, thats why i was asking sort of what attributes are the ones you cant really afford to comprimise on?
Johnny Karp
22 июля, 2011 at 15:39
It’s not a secret or something too complicated, for instance a centre back must have good marking, tackling, heading, jumping plus good speed for this tactic. For the CMs you need lads with good work rate, tackling, passing plus creativity, strikers should have good finishing plus flair and also passing, wingers should have good speed and crossing. I always try to sign players with high work rate and determination, regardless of their position. But again, it’s you that should look at the players, compare and then decide.
Daniel
24 июля, 2011 at 06:48
Jonny, the only issue im finding is that the opposition are making so many more chances than me, i have fast defenders also?
Johnny Karp
24 июля, 2011 at 09:30
Hmmm… How are you doing in terms of possession?
Daniel
27 июля, 2011 at 08:53
Hey mate, after numerous seasons with the Manchelona tactic, and not providing consistent results ive decided to try yours. Obviously it can work with lower league teams and im in League 2(still :P ). can i just ask, what team talks do you use?
Johnny Karp
27 июля, 2011 at 09:38
The team talks that I use are not too complicated, mostly «you can win tonight!» or «for the fans!» for important matches. Then, depending on how the team plays, you can either encourage or praise them at half time if they play well or criticize if they seem to be playing below their potential.
Daniel
28 июля, 2011 at 02:48
so you believe the tactic would work also?
Johnny Karp
28 июля, 2011 at 10:30
It could work but it depends on your players, they are even more important than a tactic.
Daniel
30 июля, 2011 at 12:46
hey mate, obviously you had plenty of success with your tactic, but im amazed how you got consecutive promotions. Im finding the tactic very inconsistent. ill give you a rundown of my basic structures: Match Prep — Assistant, Team Talks — For the Fans. Did you use any shouts or anything becuase im amazed at how you got succesive promotions. Any tips would be appreciated
cheers
Johnny Karp
30 июля, 2011 at 13:40
Again, it’s not a tactic that wins games, the players win games. Or, to be more precise, using the right tactic to get the best out of your players. You can try any tactic in the world but if your players can’t slot into it then you will struggle to get results.
Johnny Karp
30 июля, 2011 at 14:11
And another thing: there are more than 4,000 people who downloaded and used this tactic and quite a few of them reported that they achieved consecutive promotions like I did with Vauxhall, so that isn’t so amazing I guess. You might want to have a look at opposition instructions too, among other things. My suggestion would be to read our FM 2011 Handbook, there are loads of tips in there.
Darren Smith
30 июля, 2011 at 16:47
I agree Johnny, we get these questions day in day out despite writing hundreds of posts that take hours on end to create. I love helping people but I’m afraid some people just want a quick fix and unfortunately those people will forever be asking the same questions. You need to read through guides, peoples stories and tonnes of posts to fully understand how someone has achieved something. A tactic is just 10% of your success on FM. If people don’t take the time to actually play the game properly as opposed to pressing continue, continue, continue then they’ll never get anywhere no matter how good the downloaded tactic, training etc. You need to understand the game better and the players that can fit into certain systems which takes research as opposed to a one comment answer. I personally spent two years of asking these similar questions and never got anywhere looking for a quick fix. It wasn’t until I read peoples actual stories and also spent hours on the game itself, researching how we performed with certain players in certain tactics, roles, that it all made sense. Its such an addictive game, but it does require tonnes of time to get really good at.
Miguel
4 августа, 2011 at 13:00
Hi Jon, all the levels for the tactic are fluid and I set my match prep to assistant and get my assistant to do team talks and Oi. How long would it be until I get results like you did, I love your story and notice you make 5-0 CCC for eg. Is it okay leaving so much to my assistant? Should I always do Oi or just away games or even never?
Thanks love your work, very good
Johnny Karp
4 августа, 2011 at 20:50
A tactic is not the only thing that you need to win games, the players are more important than the tactic itself. Regarding the assistant, make sure he has high attributes for motivating, determination, level of discipline and preferably tactical knowledge too. It’s also preferable to have an attacking-minded assistant but that’s optional. You can always change the team talk that the assistant selects if you think it’s not good, the same goes for the opposition instructions.
dodiputra
30 августа, 2011 at 04:46
hi bro..i just wanna say…you are awesome..your tactic very very very usefull….i even cannot say anyword at first time i try your tactic…..btw,thaaaaaankksss…..broo….
Johnny Karp
30 августа, 2011 at 07:32
Thanks, I’m glad that you like it.
Kami$io
31 августа, 2011 at 17:57
does not download, please give other link:)
Johnny Karp
31 августа, 2011 at 18:03
The download link works just fine, I have tested it a few seconds ago. So please try again.
Kami$io
31 августа, 2011 at 18:13
I do not understand how to download one link. Please other link easily :(
Johnny Karp
31 августа, 2011 at 18:18
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ketc79kspn03drm/Magpies_442_version4.2_fluid%20%28Notts%20Co%2C%20Jan%202016%29.tac
Easy enough? :P
Kami$io
31 августа, 2011 at 18:22
Yes, thanks :))
Freddie
4 сентября, 2011 at 14:39
Can’t seem to find the download link for this tactic.
Johnny Karp
4 сентября, 2011 at 14:54
There is a nice flickering green picture saying «DOWNLOAD» in the second page of the post.
Nigel
12 октября, 2011 at 15:49
Hi Johnny
Do you change the Philosophy for lower league teams with this tactic ?
Johnny Karp
12 октября, 2011 at 19:04
I didn’t change the philosophy but that could be an option, I did that in FM 2010 with the older version of this tactic.
Florian
15 апреля, 2012 at 20:08
This doesn’t work at all mate.
I am on the last spot after 12 games with Leicester while i am among the favorites to win the championship.
This is bullshit.
Johnny Karp
16 апреля, 2012 at 16:19
Some might disagree, especially after winning quite a bit of stuff with this tactic. Then again, you can build your own tactic to win stuff, since you know so much about the game and you’re so sure of yourself.