Here we go folks, the time has finally come to reveal my new super attacking FM 2o11 tactic, a 4-2-4 formation and probably the best Football Manager 2011 tactic I have ever created. You already know about the results that it has given me with Vauxhall Motors last season but I am sure that you are quite curious to find out more details about it. Here goes:
The formation is a rather simple 4-2-4 with a flat back four, two central midfielders, two inside forwards and two strikers. But I think that the player roles and duties make the difference here, let me explain what each player is supposed to be doing on the pitch.
Player Roles and Duties
GK (Role = Sweeper Keeper, Duty = Attack) — You already know what a sweeper keeper is, he is required to rush out of his goal and sweep up any through balls. I have set an attacking duty for my keeper because that makes him a bit more likely to travel further outside his area and that is important when you have a very high defensive line.
DR,DL (Role = Full Back, Duty = Support) — The full backs are required to do their usual job, defend the wings and come forward to support the attack when needed. They are allowed to cross the ball into the penalty area but not too often, I don’t want to waste possession.
DCR, DCL (Role = Limited Defender, Duty = Defend) — The two centre backs are required to dominate the opposition strikers, anticipate their moves and intercept the ball very often. These two have to be fast because the opponents will try to play the ball behind them.
MCR (Role = Ball Winning Midfielder, Duty = Defend) — This lad is in charge of the dirty work, most of the running and tackling in midfield is his responsibility as he will have a slightly more defensive position than the other central midfielder. However, he has to support the attack as well but mostly through passing and not through shooting or running with the ball.
MCL (Role = Box To Box Midfielder, Duty = Support) — The left central midfielder is the heart of the team, he should be all over the place: both at the back to support the defence and upfront to help the attack. When attacking this player often exploits the space that is created by the movement and the two strikers and, if he’s a good finisher, can score quite a few goals.
AMR, AML (Role = Inside Forward, Duty = Attack) — The two wingers are the opposition defenders’ nightmare, they will run straight at their opponents, cut inside and create panic inside the penalty area. They are also given freedom to roam from their positions and that makes them even more dangerous because they can create numerical superiority in other areas of the pitch.
STCR (Role = Deep Lying Forward, Duty = Support) — The central right striker is the link between midfield and attack, he sits a bit deeper than the other striker and often combines with the midfielders and the wingers. But that doesn’t mean that he will not score, after all this was Zé Carlos’ position last season and he scored 47 goals!
STCL (Role = Defensive Forward, Duty = Attack) — The defensive forward is in charge of harassing the centre backs through pressing, he has to work a bit more than the other striker but he will also have his moments of glory inside the penalty area. He often gets into one-twos and combinations with the other attacking players and can provide quite a few assists along with the goals.
Team Instructions Explained
Fluid Philosophy — Because I want flowing football and this gives the players a bit more freedom to express themselves.
Attacking Strategy — Because I think that the opponent should always worry about facing us and not the other way around.
Short Passing — Because I think that having the ball is required to play football :)
More Creative Freedom — Because I like to be surprised by my players but not more than the opposition will be :)
More Pressing — Because I want to get the ball as quickly as possible and as far away from our penalty area as possible.
More Roaming — Because intelligent players will move from their usual position and surprise the opponents by creating numerical superiority in other zones.
Slow Tempo — Because I wanted to minimize the risk of losing the ball through rash choices of passing.
Pressing
The picture above shows how the pressing is performed inside the opposition half: the STCR backtracks after pressing the goalkeeper while the right winger closes down the opposition left back who had just received the ball. At this point the opponent has just two options: pass the ball back to the keeper, but that would be risky, or throw the ball forward hoping that something good would happen. In this situation the left back threw the ball forward and we intercepted it quite easily. The idea is to defend inside the opposition half, pressing them and pushing them to make mistakes rather than waiting for them inside our own half.
Defensive Movement
The opponents will often throw the ball forward because of our pressing and that’s when our centre backs come into play with their interceptions. As you can see from the above picture Danny Wilson anticipates the opposition striker inside their half after the goalkeeper desperately kicked the ball forward, gets the ball and has at least four viable options to pass. This is the most exciting defending I know but it can backfire: if Wilson would have missed the ball here then the opponent would surely have had a clear cut chance. And that did happen in a few games but not too often.
Attacking Movement
This is the best part, the part in which the opponents have to worry. A lot! As you can see here the right winger roamed from his position and moved into the middle of the pitch. The MCR moved slightly to the right to cover that area while the other midfielders and attackers hold their usual positions. The beauty of it is that the centre back that was marking our left striker moves in to close down on right winger Gilson and that leaves the striker unmarked. And that wasn’t the biggest problem: as you can notice Gilson had no less than five good options for a pass. Because he is a very arrogant Brazilian he chose the blue arrow, which was a cheeky back-heel pass in front of left winger Tiago who then… scored! :)
Statistics
As you remember from the last post this tactic has just won me the Premier League title with Vauxhall as we recorded more than 100 points and more than 120 goals scored. I have tracked other numbers too, check out the table below:
| Category | 1st half of the season | 2nd half of the season |
|---|---|---|
| Goals For | 3.38 per game | 3.30 per game |
| Goals Against | 0.88 per game | 0.45 per game |
| Clear Cut Chances For | 4.72 per game | 4.05 per game |
| Clear Cut Chances Against | 1.22 per game | 0.65 per game |
| Average Ball Possession | 57.77 % | 60.55 % |
As you can notice our defensive performance has improved dramatically in the second part of the season as the players became fully familiar with the new formation and the defenders then played the offside trap correctly on most occasions. Ball possession has also improved and that is another reason that led us to concede less goals than in the first half of the season. As for goals scored and clear cut chances created… we had plenty of both! I think that these words could describe what this tactic can give you: sexy football, plenty of goals, quite a few wins and only… frustrating and highly undeserved defeats :)
Essential Player Attributes
I don’t have any specific requirements for each role, maybe except the defenders which should be quick. But I do have some general requirements for all the players regardless of their position on the pitch:
Good Passing — We have to move the ball around and keep possession so every single player has to pass the ball correctly.
High Work Rate — The opponents usually run more than us simply because they don’t have the ball but I want players that are not afraid to work and chase their opponents all day if needed.
High Team Work — This helps both at the back and upfront. In defence good team work usually means that your players will synchronize better when playing the offside trap and also help each other when needed. In attack team work leads to team moves, a team player will pass the ball to a team mate instead of blazing it over from 30 yards or running with it into a defender.
Before wrapping up I want to point out a few things that this tactic doesn’t have:
— A playmaker — In this set up the player who has the ball is the playmaker at that given moment, we don’t have a «designated» one.
— Shots from distance — I have set the long shots to rarely for each player, in my view shooting from distance would be a waste of time as long as we can get the ball inside the penalty area quite often.
— Players who hold up ball — My lads have to pass the ball as quickly as possible, holding it is not an option as it could lead to losing possession and giving the opponents chances to launch counter attacks.
Oh, and before you ask: I always used the opposition instructions that the assistant manager suggested before and during the games.
So, this tactic did get me lots of goals and a very good season but I was still unsatisfied because there was a questions that was still bugging me. I have wonderful players at Vauxhall and they could probably win the league with any tactic so the question was: would the Bulldozer work for a weaker team?
When I have an unanswered question I can’t get much sleep so I used most of last night and part of this morning to test the tactic on a new save, I took over the recently departed Universitatea Craiova, a mid-table team in the Romanian League at the beginning of the season. I didn’t have time for scouting so I quickly signed whichever player I could grab to add some strength in numbers and played half a season. The results? 11 wins, 7 draws and one defeat, 42 goals scored and 19 conceded. And we are top of the table before the winter break, that’s pretty good I guess ;) However, I really don’t know if it would work for a Conference team, I hope you will try and tell me.
I hope that the facts and figures that I presented were enough to persuade you to buy this tactic. If that was the case then you must not worry, you can download it for free, as always :P
I don’t know if this tactic will give you the results that you are expecting but it will surely give you one thing: entertainment! I hope you will try it out, looking forward to your feedback and questions!
How to Install
Move the downloaded file to Documents\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2011\tactics, then in the game go to the tactics screen and load it from the «archived tactics».
Nicholas Phipps
27 августа, 2011 at 21:37
Great attacking tactic and I look forward to trying it out :)
Johnny Karp
27 августа, 2011 at 22:22
Thanks, looking forward to some feedback ;)
Sears
27 августа, 2011 at 21:41
Really interesting tactic mate, hope it works out successfully for everyone who downloads it.
Johnny Karp
27 августа, 2011 at 21:46
Thanks Sears, I hope so too.
vaibhavc
27 августа, 2011 at 22:04
Great tactic Johnny, the attacking movement is really good, as there are so many options to go for.
Johnny Karp
27 августа, 2011 at 22:09
Thanks mate, I guess the attacking part is the best thing about it.
Darren Smith
27 августа, 2011 at 22:23
Very nice post Johnny, I have been looking forward to this and the best part is we both think differently. I’d never consider using a defensive forward, box to box midfielder or even a deep lying forward. But your tactics always work like a gem and make me re-evaluate my way of thinking. To be honest your old 4-4-2 was what sparked part of my Manchelona tactic and hopefully I can gain more from this one. Great work.
Johnny Karp
27 августа, 2011 at 23:04
Thanks Darren. I’m sure that this tactic can be tweaked even further, especially when it comes to player roles and duties. I have experimented quite a few roles for the midfielders and eventually settled to the box to box for the MCL. The deep lying forward is a favourite of mine as it has always produced good results and nice combinations with the other players.
Laxeyman
27 августа, 2011 at 22:24
A very attacking tactic Johnny, and also entertaining :) It’s a lot different to the sort of tactics I use (I use a direct passing style at a very high tempo, to try and catch the opposition unawares), but it obviously works for you, as the results of last season show :)
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 09:16
The earlier versions had a higher tempo but I decided to make it slower because we seemed to give possession away quite cheaply on some occasions. However, the style is pretty direct even with short passing and the slower tempo, the team still gets the ball forward quite fast.
Excessive
27 августа, 2011 at 23:34
Inspired by the FMS tactic I presume? ;)
Anyway, 4-2-4 is always an entertaining formation and i’m sure it will help many on here struggling to find the back of the net. Great tactic Johnny, thanks for sharing!
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 09:17
Haha, not really but the FMS tactic was largely entertaining :)
PTManager
28 августа, 2011 at 00:25
Great tactic!
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 09:17
Thanks.
Kevin
28 августа, 2011 at 00:46
Hi Johnny
You «constructed» a very nice post about the «Bulldozer» tactic and it seemsto have done really well with an «on-the-fly» save with Craiova. That must have been emotional to play.
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 09:18
Hey Kevin, it was quite weird managing Craiova, fairly emotional but pretty strange overall.
Mariano
28 августа, 2011 at 08:30
Very nice post to help understand tactics even deeper!
Thanks
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 09:18
Thanks Mariano, glad you liked it.
MajorMash
28 августа, 2011 at 10:38
I am trying it out with a BSS/BSN team now so i shall keep you updated, the tactic looks amazing however :)
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 11:49
Thanks a lot, looking forward to some feedback from the lower leagues :)
Ste
28 августа, 2011 at 11:15
Would this work if i changed the Defensive forward into a poacher?
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 11:48
I don’t know but in theory the poacher won’t be as keen on pressing the defenders and on passing the ball to his team mates as the defensive forward. You could give it a try though, it might work better than my version.
Ste
28 августа, 2011 at 13:22
I only suggested as I don’t have any players suitable to play as a defensive forward.. Will any other player roles work just as good?
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 13:37
Again, I have found these roles to provide the best balance between attacking football and reasonable possession and defending. But if you feel that your players can’t suit those roles you can experiment, I just can’t know whether those experiments would work or not.
cak
28 августа, 2011 at 19:39
so this would be the all conquering bulldozer tactic, although the shape is simple the different instructions and duties that have been used transformed a simple tactic into a sexy-football tactic
Johnny Karp
28 августа, 2011 at 22:35
Thanks, I hope you will try it. Most of the tweaks were made through individual player instructions.
cak
31 августа, 2011 at 19:23
I started a new save with Rotherham brought in new staff and some new players mostly on frees and loans, tested this formation up to the January transfer window and these were the results for me:
won 13, drew 10 and lost 7
currently 5th in the league, knocked out of the 1st round of the Carling cup, have a 3rd round FA cup tie against liverpool and knocked out of the 2nd round of the Johnston’s paint trophy, as well as scoring 50 and conceding 36 goals
so final assessment on the bulldozer, a very good tactic and one that I’m considering using in my original save cause the season is going poorly, this Rotherham save was on where i could test the tactic without destroying my team further lol, so yeah good job on the tactic :D
Johnny Karp
31 августа, 2011 at 19:34
Thanks for taking the time to test it and to share the results. I guess defence remains the main weakness but that tends to improve once the team manages to master possession and pressing.
Sears
28 августа, 2011 at 22:51
Hey Johnny,
Take a look at this:
http://i.imgur.com/lhgZG.png
I downloaded your new tactic, and tested it with Darren’s Newcastle save … As you can see from the picture, we hammered Man City 12-1 :D Must admit, it’s one hell of a tactic. Will test it more mate!
Johnny Karp
29 августа, 2011 at 06:27
Woohoo, that’s a nice result! And I guess the team wasn’t fully familiar with the formation, otherwise the possession should have been better.
The Green Army
29 августа, 2011 at 11:33
I play a similar tactic already with my fm games and I score every game and rarely conceed more than 1 goal a match. I play the same formation with the defensive line, width and tempo similar with short passing and more pressing but mostly different roles for the players though
Johnny Karp
29 августа, 2011 at 11:39
Thanks for sharing the info.
matox
30 августа, 2011 at 05:36
excellent attacking… but defending is awful, almost every attack its a goal, i played 4 games, lost 2 of them, 2 goals against at average, 2-4 vs arsenal last one… my defenders have 16 and 19 on speed, one of my mids is arouca, i have lamela forward… my centreback is micah richards, so they are good, but they put no «eggs» and dont put the leg hard
matox
30 августа, 2011 at 05:47
annoying game, winning 2-0 then my team equalized himself, and after that a long ball, my keeper just sat and wait to the opp striker to get the ball and score… how u get such a results? im a conceding machine, my centre backs are fast, my team has good stamina, i fined all defensive players due to low ratings and kept doing bad, i used the manchelona before… defenders did better
Johnny Karp
30 августа, 2011 at 07:36
I had some setbacks when first using the tactic and I think that is normal because the players need time to adapt to the new formation. You might want to set it as a secondary tactic in match preparation and then use it only after the players reach good familiarity levels. However, there are a few more things to consider:
1. Defending is not only about the defenders, your attacking players and midfielders should do their job and close down the opponents inside their own half.
2. Opposition instructions. Do you use them?
Calin
30 августа, 2011 at 10:15
Seems like a really solid, offensive tactic, Johnny! I will definitely give it a try since I never seem to be able to create a completely offensive, «bulldozer»-type of tactic :)
Johnny Karp
30 августа, 2011 at 12:40
Thanks mate, looking forward to hearing some feedback after trying it.
Rod
1 сентября, 2011 at 01:15
Sorry man, i tried using it in a new save with a team from Venezuela, the predictions were 1st, and I had 3 wins, 5 draws, 2 losses. I also boosted the team with a few transfers covering all the needs. :(
Johnny Karp
1 сентября, 2011 at 10:15
Sorry about that. However, there are several other things to consider in this game, fortunately it’s a lot more complicated than sticking in a tactic and expecting to win all the games.
Rod
1 сентября, 2011 at 18:04
Yes, absolutely, what i tried to say is that i built a team that suit the tactic. Maybe the level in Venezuela isn’t good enough for this tactic. I’m sure that if i use it with a strong team, it will be a demolishion. Cheers!
taufan
5 сентября, 2011 at 09:13
Hi Johny,
I really love with you tactics. Although sometimes it can backfired but that is the beauty of football. Anything can happen. Finding a good player to suit the tactics should be my biggest challenges. The tactics directly fit what I trying to achieve before this. Maybe only little bit tinkering with the set-piece.
Well done. Keep the good job men.
Johnny Karp
5 сентября, 2011 at 09:17
Thanks mate. The tactic does give you the feeling of «living on the edge» sometimes due to its defensive flaws but it also offers good entertainment upfront.
Nathan
19 сентября, 2011 at 02:04
Downloaded it — used it for Liverpool 2014 with Neymar and suarez up front. Loved it!
6-1 home game vs Fulham, shoulda been 10, and the forwards combined well. Neymar scored a hattrick, and AMR (Pjanic) got 2. Think this’ll take over from Manchelona, as I have some good wonderkids coming in up forward. Goal conceded was a set piece but that can be sorted with some match preparation.
Johnny Karp
19 сентября, 2011 at 17:11
Nice, glad to hear you’re enjoying some attacking football :)
Liam
28 сентября, 2011 at 01:58
I have tried this tactic with man city, and aston villa. It hasn’t worked at all, i’ve been sacked both times for poor league position. Any ideas as to why this is happening, and what i can do to make it work better?
Johnny Karp
28 сентября, 2011 at 06:51
I can’t know what went wrong there but I guess a wise approach would be to set it up as a secondary tactic in match preparation and then only use it in games once the team reaches more or less acceptable familiarity levels with it.
Paine
2 октября, 2011 at 09:03
Some interesting settings upfront, how many goals did your defensive forward score last season?
Johnny Karp
2 октября, 2011 at 09:05
The defensive forward bagged around 30, the complete forward 42.
paine
2 октября, 2011 at 15:03
I thought your combo was Deep lying forward/defensive forward?
Johnny Karp
2 октября, 2011 at 15:16
That is right, I meant deep lying forward instead of complete forward.
fred135
2 октября, 2011 at 13:56
Do you think it would work with standard strategy?
Johnny Karp
2 октября, 2011 at 14:56
I don’t know, I haven’t tried it. It should be a bit more cautious with that strategy, at least in theory that is.
Erki Bledh
9 октября, 2011 at 15:27
I tried with Herenveen in Eredvisie and it hasn’t worked. I only got 6 wins in my first season, i used your tactic but my players just couldn’t pass it right, but when they did, the goals where really cool! I think it is just my ordinary luck. :P
Erki Bledh
9 октября, 2011 at 15:28
The only two players that where good where Elm and Jelle Vossen (wich i bought).
Johnny Karp
9 октября, 2011 at 15:52
Sorry to hear that mate but if you don’t have players with good passing I’m afraid it can’t work.
Liam
9 октября, 2011 at 15:37
I’ve got it on full familiarity for each thing now. It’s very inconsistent, one game i will win by lots, and another i’ll lose by lots. It does get me lots of goals but i tend to concede lots too. I wondered if you thought perhaps if i moved the defense line deeper slightly it might be less risky?
Johnny Karp
9 октября, 2011 at 15:55
I never tried to move the defensive line deeper because that might leave a big gap between defence and midfield and attacking midfielders could have a lot of fun playing in that gap. Sorry that you didn’t have good results, I’m not sure why though.
Liam
9 октября, 2011 at 15:57
Ok then, i’m not going to give up on it just yet though, because most people on this page say it works, so I have a feeling it’ll work eventually. I’ll keep trying and let you know what happens.
Erskine James
10 ноября, 2011 at 02:33
Have you tried this bulldozer tactic with fm12 yet? How is it working? I loved it in FM11, but my tries to adapt it to 12 have not been as successful.
Johnny Karp
10 ноября, 2011 at 07:17
Nope, I haven’t tried it in FM 2012 because I have created a new tactic for the new game: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2011/10/download-barcelona-tactic-for-fm-2012/