Tactics Fleetwood Town to Champions League 4-2-2-2 Attacking

[JarvisSoccer]

Hello! This is my first post here, and I thought introducing my current save tactic would be a good way to say hi. Only been playing since FMM19.

Started FMM20 with Palace, but was fired after a run of poor fixtures in my second season, even though I had secured us past Europa League Group stage. I now have a lot of fun poaching their players & staff now & then. 

Because I started out with no rep or coaching badges I couldnt find a job anywhere until I was hired by League 2 Wrexham in 2021; I secured them from relegation and then took a job with Fleetwood Town in League 1 as I wanted to work back up a little faster. Being American also, the immersion of being a small sea town League 1 manager was cool to me. 😄

Well we went up pretty fast and won first in the Championship two years later. First year in the Prem placed 5th; second year won the Euro Cup, placed 4th in league & lost to Man U in FA Cup Final, with a nice quarter-final run in the Carabao (I played mostly reserves in the cup games).

Im currently mid-season 2029, first in Premier & matched with R. Madrid for first knockout round of Champions League! (Excited, but nervous . . .)

Due to Fleetwood not having cash my player recruitment system relies heavily on my youth scouts, buying high potential players and sending them to my reserves, bringing them up very often for first team appearances. I have no problem ever taking risks. It makes it really fun because they usually shine, and its super rewarding. Also in Championship I restarted several careers of players who hadnt lived up to potential and become super cheap like Max Aarons, Luke Shaw & Jadon Sancho; I bought them for the name, but it worked out really well.

 

Okay, so sorry that was so long. Heres my tactics that I've had since we started winning in League 1:

4-2-2-2 attacking formation with inside forwards and WB's. Focusing on the wing play, with a midfield whose only job is to win balls and pass to flanks to create, closing down all over. I vary between Running at Defence & Through Balls depending on the opponent.

The system does not work unless one of the strikers is given an Advanced Forward role, 99% of the time paired with a Target Man. I have experimented with an AF with a Shadow-Striker behind him mid-game if we arent creating due to opponent tactics, and that usually gets us back on track.

We have the best defensive record & score tons of goals 4-0, 5-0 games to Leicester & Liverpool only recently. I'm having a lot of fun.

In the lower leagues I had the WB's playing more forward so effectively a 2-2-2-2? That didn't work at the premier League Level.

That's all I can think to type for right now, nice to meet ya.

EDIT: I tried this with my Dortmund save & we won the Champions League, League title & domestic cup in the first season.

Only thing I might change here is an AF by himself with a Shadow Striker in the midfield. (If so I would move passing focus  to Center).

Occasional I fiddle with Counter-Attacking, but that's just preference against some opponents or if Im playing with mostly reserve team members.

This never changes.

Through balls may be more suitable for hard-tackling opponents.

Hoping to clinch the title this year. Third year in Premier League, with relatively tiny budgets.

Some nice big wins like 5-0 Liverpool. Bumpier than I would have liked but Im playing a lot of youth this year.

Edited December 12, 2019 by JarvisSoccer
Formatting & Bundesliga result, silly typos.

[AndersJ]

Well delivered tactic and story! Thank you very much for sharing with us!

was the Dortmund save in the first season :)?

[JarvisSoccer]

16 minutes ago, AndersJ said:

was the Dortmund save in the first season :)?

Thank You! I was a bit nervous but I always wanted to share a save since I know nobody who plays FM or even watches football tbh.

Yes, it was first season Dortmund. The tactic was created out of necessity but it kept working so well that I thought I should try it with a big club going straight into european competition. It was like plug and play with Dortmund, so so easy. Most players didnt even fit the roles, but it worked anyway. Marco Reus as a shadow striker was excellent with an AF or TM in front of him, but obviously he worked well at the right wing too.

Cheers!

Edited December 12, 2019 by JarvisSoccer
format

[Schwantz34]

5 hours ago, JarvisSoccer said:

Thank You! I was a bit nervous but I always wanted to share a save since I know nobody who plays FM or even watches football tbh.

Yes, it was first season Dortmund. The tactic was created out of necessity but it kept working so well that I thought I should try it with a big club going straight into european competition. It was like plug and play with Dortmund, so so easy. Most players didnt even fit the roles, but it worked anyway. Marco Reus as a shadow striker was excellent with an AF or TM in front of him, but obviously he worked well at the right wing too.

Cheers!

Would it not have been a 4-2-3-1 if a shadow striker was present? Sounds like a different tactic as shadow strikers only play where an AP/AM would be, but you have two strikers in the post.

[JarvisSoccer]

12 hours ago, Schwantz34 said:

Would it not have been a 4-2-3-1 if a shadow striker was present? Sounds like a different tactic as shadow strikers only play where an AP/AM would be, but you have two strikers in the post.

Yes it would change to that, but the rest of the tactics remain the same.

[Yates626]

Hi, 

It’s nice to see a tactic that’s been tested with a lesser team in lower leagues as well. I hate when people post a “winning tactic” with Liverpool or Barcelona! Hardly a challenge!

Ive been using this with Burton Albion in League One. The first ten games I was using someone’s crap counter attack tactic. Then I switched to yours and things have been a lot better. I’ve gone from relegation zone to mid table. I’m about 5 points off the play off places with a quarter of the season to go. It’s definitely good but sometimes I get some real mixed results, and struggle to create chances. Jury’s still out on this one but so far I’d say it’s a good tactic. It doesn’t help that I pretty much ripped up the squad and brought in loads of new players, mostly youngsters. I think as they all adapt to each other and get better this tactic will really shine. Also I’ve just re-read what you said about changing to through balls for certain opposition, so I’ll try that. 

So far pretty good tho 👍