Tactics Callum's 4-2-2-2 / EME

[Callum Lummy Giles]

I introduce to you my 4-2-2-2, which is a fluid yet defensively solid tactic tested in the lower leagues:

This is the best tactic I have yet tested when it comes to League 1/Championship games. It got me out of League 1 (as champions) in my first season and I'm about to go up to the Premier League as champions at the first time of asking (this is despite being one of the smallest teams in the division, with one of the smallest wage budgets):

You need two solid and hardworking midfielders to make this work - a Ball-Winning Midfielder works best to clean-up any midfield mess (in my case it's been the excellent free agent Lassana Diarra) while the Central Midfielder is free to help out with the attack, providing incisive through balls to the forwards. I chose an Advanced Playmaker to play in the AML position, who will provide a lot of assists to the Poacher up front, while the Deep-Lying Forward sits back and drifts out wide allowing the Inside Forward to drift inside and score/assist an insane amount of goals. This formation "shares the love" between the front 4, with everyone able to get in on the action:

As you can see, if you have a good left-footed Inside Forward he will shine in the AMR position. What you also need is a no-nonsense Limited Defender with green Tackling, Arial, Positioning and Strength, paired with a more technical Central Defender with at least blue passing, allowing him to play out of defense when needed. You do not need Wing Backs with this tactic as the final third is already quite congested and fluid and you'll need to maintain a back four as there are only two midfielders. It is noted though that they will venture forward if you are playing with an Attacking Team Mentality, which leads me to...

Use these instructions when starting a match, home and away. You will usually bang in one or two goals before half time, at which point you can switch Team Mentality to Defensive. I will usually switch Pressing off at around 60 minutes to conserve energy. Some common sense is needed though as you will need to organically adjust these settings depending on how the match is going.

[NJGreen]

This tactic looks absolutely quality mate, congratulations on back to back promotions. I always find it difficult to get out the championship, so it's nice to see someone do it at the first time of asking. I look forward to testing this beastly tactic out. Keep up the good work mate ?

[Massey127]

Super job and thanks for sharing

 

[Brenty92]

Looks good mate, gets the IF performing like a beast too! Great work

[AndersJ]

Looking really really good, Thanks for sharing, did you maybe try it in other leagues or/and with other roles :)?

[Callum Lummy Giles]

53 minutes ago, NJGreen said:

This tactic looks absolutely quality mate, congratulations on back to back promotions. I always find it difficult to get out the championship, so it's nice to see someone do it at the first time of asking. I look forward to testing this beastly tactic out. Keep up the good work mate ?

Cheers mate, I often worry about getting promoted to the Championship but some smart work in the transfer market goes a long way (it helps having just one league loaded as you can pick up lots of quality out-of-contract youth players from the Prem teams).

45 minutes ago, Massey127 said:

Super job and thanks for sharing

 

Thank you 

29 minutes ago, Brenty92 said:

Looks good mate, gets the IF performing like a beast too! Great work

Yes this tactic seems to turn on beast mode for the IF! He ain't even a superstar, I mean look:

4 minutes ago, AndersJ said:

Looking really really good, Thanks for sharing, did you maybe try it in other leagues or/and with other roles :)?

I haven't tested in any other leagues yet but I went through a few different roles before settling on these, for example I used to play with Wing Backs (which left me too open), and a Winger instead of AP, as well as an AF instead of a Poacher. In fact I recommend using a Winger instead of an AP as well as Mixed passing during the Winter season as the short passing style doesn't work as well then, but only in some cases.

[Rocket]

Did you ever try a DLP instead of BWM?

[Callum Lummy Giles]

9 minutes ago, Rocket said:

Did you ever try a DLP instead of BWM?

Not yet, but that's mainly because I believe a DLP is an "upgraded" version of a BWM. Let me explain...

BWMs work fantastically well in the lower leagues as they just need to be tenacious with their tackling, teamwork and aggression, which isn't that hard to come by in the lower leagues. When I get into the Premier League I will try to experiment with a DLP instead of a BWM. Deep-Lying Playmakers need a lot more technical skills such as creativity, passing, decisions and positioning, which will be more expensive to acquire.

[Rocket]

Just now, Callum Lummy Giles said:

Not yet, but that's mainly because I believe a DLP is an "upgraded" version of a BWM. Let me explain...

BWMs work fantastically well in the lower leagues as they just need to be tenacious with their tackling, teamwork and aggression, which isn't that hard to come by in the lower leagues. When I get into the Premier League I will try to experiment with a DLP instead of a BWM. Deep-Lying Playmakers need a lot more technical skills such as creativity, passing, decisions and positioning, which will be more expensive to acquire.

I understand mate, I'll give it a go tonight with a mid table team in the prem or something like that and I'll get back to you ASAP. 

[Callum Lummy Giles]

1 minute ago, Rocket said:

I understand mate, I'll give it a go tonight with a mid table team in the prem or something like that and I'll get back to you ASAP. 

Nice one I look forward to the results.