Tactics Attacking 433 - 4 Consecutive Promotions for Darlington

[Mike Dodgson]

Hey Everyone,

I'm a regular visitor here and I've lost count of the amount of tactics I've used... like many of us out there!

Anyway, in my hunt for one which got success and was fun to watch, I ended up stumbling on one within a Facebook group I joined and it has simply been the most consistent and successful I've used on this years game by quite a distance, so I felt I needed to share.

I started a new game as Newcastle (I always use Newcastle to test tactics as a good benchmark of a team with a decent squad, reasonable budget) - we won the league:

2nd season, we won the league again, 3rd season the league & the champions league.

But then, because my team was very very strong, it wasn't as enjoyable or a challenge anymore. That being said, it had proved it was effective with firstly a reasonable team and then a strong team. I'm confident that this tactic will hold its own regardless of the type of team you are.

Here is the Tactic shape and instructions:

*** One thing to note, especially in the first season - in AWAY games against the top teams (City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Utd, Arsenal & Spurs), I would start with 'Counter' and go Attacking if I was still in the game in the 2nd half. ***

**** If I'm winning, from about 82 minutes onwards I tend to tick Time Wasting to not give away any silly goals. ****

So, that brought me to trying my childhood team; Darlington.

Starting off in the Vanarama League North would be a challenge!

I have never, ever managed this far down the pyramid and it was eye opening.

One thing I'd like to recommend for people is to use https://fmmobile.net/2019/11/22/key-attributes-for-the-fm20-mobile-player-roles/ as closely as possible, this has been a really good marker to finding the right players, more so at this level. The first thing I did was to go through each of my current players and see who was good for each role, listing, demoting and then offering out the players I didn't need. At this point I wasn't fussed about any transfer funds (players are worth max 10k at this level), but freeing up wage budget was a priority.

I relied heavily on free transfers... but filtering using the guide above helped me get players in which I was happy with to rely upon.

As I'm in season 2, I don't have my transfer history from the 1st season to show you (unless someone can tell me how), but it involved spending a total of about 20-30k.

Anyway, here's how my first season ended in the VNL:

Here's my transfers in and out for the start of the 2nd season:

 

A net spend of 4.5k to prepare us for life in the Vanarama National League!

And here is how the 2nd season is at the moment (you'll note that I've given the subject '2 consecutive promotions' and maybe that's not accurate as the season isn't finished yet). But, we've got a playoff place secured and we're 19 points clear... 



Please feel free to give it a try if this fits your team, or you're looking to start a new game.

Final notes: I always ensure I have a mix of good staff (one attacking coach, one defending... one prevention physio, one rehab etc), be sure to praise players for a good game and dish out warning for players who get a 5 or below, keep asking you board to improve the training facilities, youth facilities and expand the stadium.

Any questions please feel free to ask - it has made me really really enjoy the game. I can't wait for us to take on League 2! I will update again soon.

Thanks for reading!

Edited May 6, 2020 by Mike Dodgson

[Mike Dodgson]

Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention which is a nice to have, but certainly not essential. 

For the left sided Box To Box Midfielder, try to get a left footed player - vice versa for the right sided one too.

I've found that having this helps.

[JamesVilla]

You seemed to score a lot of goals, are they spread across the team or one stand out position? 

Do you have goals/assists screenshots?

[Mike Dodgson]

Goals are mainly from the front 3. Here's the top scorers in the National League this season with 9 games to go:

That's my Poacher top, then IF(left) and then IF(right).

 

[Mike Dodgson]

Update: finished the 2nd season:

Bring on season 3 and League 2!

[Mike Dodgson]

League 2 update:




We'e had to spend some money this season, reluctantly. My striker (Uxio, released from Salamanca, 30) hasn't performed very well so I'm playing my very first every signing from the Northern league instead.

 

Not bad - certainly holding his own! However, I will be trying to get a striker in on loan in January because the Poacher is so important in this tactic.

Turned down job offers from Peterborough and recently relegated West Ham...

 

 

 

[Quaresma-7]

On 30.04.2020 at 14:27, Mike Dodgson said:

Selam millet,

Burada düzenli bir ziyaretçiyim ve kullandığım taktik miktarını kaybettim ... birçoğumuz gibi!

Her neyse, başarısı olan ve izlemesi eğlenceli olanı aradım, katıldığım bir Facebook grubunda biriyle tökezledim ve bu yıl oyunda oldukça uzaktan kullandığım en tutarlı ve başarılı oldu , bu yüzden paylaşmam gerektiğini hissettim.

Newcastle olarak yeni bir oyuna başladım ( her zaman Newcastle'ı taktikleri iyi bir kadroya, makul bütçeye sahip bir ekibin iyi bir ölçütü olarak test etmek için kullanırım ) - ligi kazandık:

2. sezon, ligi tekrar kazandık, 3. sezon ligi ve şampiyonlar ligi.

Ama sonra, ekibim çok güçlü olduğu için artık o kadar eğlenceli ya da zorlayıcı değildi. Bununla birlikte, önce makul bir ekip sonra güçlü bir ekip ile etkili olduğunu kanıtlamıştı. Eminim ki bu taktik, ne tür bir takım olursanız olun, kendi taktiklerini elinde tutacaktır.

İşte Taktik şekli ve talimatları:

*** Dikkat edilmesi gereken bir şey, özellikle ilk sezonda - en iyi takımlara (City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Utd, Arsenal & Spurs) karşı AWAY oyunlarında, 'Counter' ile başlayıp eğer hala 2. yarıda oyun. ***

**** Eğer kazanırsam, yaklaşık 82 dakikadan sonra aptalca goller atmamak için Time Wasting'i işaretlerim. ****

Bu beni çocukluk takımımı denemeye getirdi; Darlington.

Kuzey Vanarama Ligi'nde başlamak bir meydan okuma olacak!

Bunu asla piramidin çok aşağısında yönetmedim ve göz açıcıydı.

İnsanlar için tavsiye etmek istediğim bir şey, https://fmmobile.net/2019/11/22/key-attributes-for-the-fm20-mobile-player-roles/ adresini  olabildiğince yakın kullanmaktır.  doğru oyuncuları bulmak için gerçekten iyi bir işaretçi, daha çok bu seviyede. Yaptığım ilk şey şu anki oyuncularımdan geçmek ve her bir rol için kimin iyi olduğunu görmek, ihtiyaç duymadığım oyuncuları listelemek, düşürmek ve sonra sunmaktı. Bu noktada herhangi bir transfer fonu hakkında endişelenmedim (oyuncular bu seviyede en fazla 10 bin dolar), ancak ücret bütçesini boşaltmak bir öncelikti.

Ücretsiz transferlere büyük ölçüde güvendim ... ancak yukarıdaki kılavuzu kullanarak filtrelemek, güvenmekten mutlu olduğum oyuncuları almama yardımcı oldu.

2. sezonda olduğum için, 1. sezondan size transfer tarihimi göstermedim ( birisi bana nasıl olduğunu söyleyemezse ), ancak toplam yaklaşık 20-30k harcama yapmayı içeriyordu.

Her neyse, ilk sezonum VNL'de şöyle sona erdi:

2. sezonun başlangıcında transferlerim :

 

Bizi Vanarama Ulusal Ligi'nde hayata hazırlamak için 4.5k net harcama! Ve şu anda 2. sezon şu anda ( konuya '2 ardışık promosyon' verdim ve belki de sezon henüz bitmediği için doğru değil ). Ancak, güvenli bir playoff yerimiz var ve 19 puan açık durumdayız ...  Bu, ekibinize uyuyorsa veya yeni bir oyuna başlamak istiyorsanız lütfen denemekten çekinmeyin. Son notlar: Her zaman iyi bir kadroya sahip olmamı sağlarım (bir saldıran koç, bir defans ... bir önleme fizyo, bir rehabilitasyon vb.), İyi bir oyun için oyuncuları övün ve 5 veya daha düşük bir süre için, eğitim olanaklarını, gençlik tesislerini geliştirmenizi ve stadyumu genişletmenizi isteyin.









Herhangi bir sorunuz lütfen çekinmeyin - bu gerçekten beni oyunun gerçekten zevk yaptı. Lig 2'ye girmemizi bekleyemem! Yakında tekrar güncelleyeceğim.

Okuduğunuz için teşekkürler!

Deffance bad bro.

[Mike Dodgson]

It’s the National League we’re talking about, there’s not a lot of good defence about! 😂

[Mike Dodgson]

Promoted to League One in style! 

That’s 3 league wins in a row.

Based on my budget, I don’t think I’ll be anywhere near the title in League One, but we shall see!

[Mike Dodgson]

Update from me - just finished season 4, which was our first in League One:

Managed to squeeze promotion to the Championship via the Playoffs!

That's 4 consecutive promotions from National League North to the Championship, including 3 league wins.

Based on the form leading up to the end of the season, I wasn't expecting us to do well in the playoffs. Due to my weak defence I was shipping goals and I was kind of hoping to stay in League one to build up again for a better challenge.

I'm now faced with a bit of a monster task; not many players are interested in coming to me, free transfers from what I have seen so far are nowhere near good enough compared to what I already have and I don't have a lot of money to spend.

This is going to be a frustrating season!

 

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Mike Dodgson
typo

[gunnersaur]

Keep me updated on this monster task should have done a career post 

[bb]

On 04/05/2020 at 11:54, Mike Dodgson said:

Update from me - just finished season 4, which was our first in League One:

Managed to squeeze promotion to the Championship via the Playoffs!

That's 4 consecutive promotions from National League North to the Championship, including 3 league wins.

Based on the form leading up to the end of the season, I wasn't expecting us to do well in the playoffs. Due to my weak defence I was shipping goals and I was kind of hoping to stay in League one to build up again for a better challenge.

I'm now faced with a bit of a monster task; not many players are interested in coming to me, free transfers from what I have seen so far are nowhere near good enough compared to what I already have and I don't have a lot of money to spend.

This is going to be a frustrating season!

 

 

👍👍👍 Love the update

[Mike Dodgson]

Thank you!

Finished my Championship season, placed a respectable 14th. Quite hard to see that as a positive given our success the past seasons!

Defence was my huge issue, my CB's were not prepared for a tough league, nor my 3 midfielders and as such, we shipped a load of goals on a regular basis.

I didn't have many problems scoring, even though many of my forward players had seen me from League 2.

I cannot stress enough the importance of continually asking your board to improve the training ground, youth facilities and stadium capacity. I've Impressive training facilities now which helps players you already have become better, along with continually improving the likelihood of players joining.

I managed to get a couple of decent loan players when it came to January, but my squad still struggled with the quality. May of the players were 'nervous about playing xxx' before each game because of the big jump in quality.

Anyway, start of season 6 now and the 2nd season in the Championship. The board have given me 38m to spend and I've a capacity of 15000 in the stadium now, so I've a comfortable basis to work from.

I've let contracts expire for some of my loyal players, sad to see them go, but they are not good enough anymore.

Managed to get Jorginho, Peacock-Farrell & Angel Gomes in on frees, got Woodburn in from Liverpool after he requested to leave and 3 new defenders too. That's 4 new players in a back 5; I can't tell you how awful we were last season!

 

[AndersJ]

You should almost change the tag to career

[Mike Dodgson]

We did it, promotion to the Premier League!

I have to admit, about 10 games from the end we were holding our own in 7th but won all remaining games and clinched the title on the final day.

Been given 92m for a mid league finish and I’m optimistic about qualifying for Europe with the team I’ve managed to put together.

Also managed to acquire a regen who looks like he’s going to be top drawer, cost me £1.8m and is already a regular in the first few games of the premiership.

Still very strange to see my beloved Darlo competing with the big boys! 🙂

 

[Mike Dodgson]

First season in the Premier League completed;

 

 

[Mike Dodgson]

Not sure if anyone is reading this anymore, but here is another update.

Just finished my 2nd season in the Premiership with Darlington:

- 3rd in the League (Everton ran away with it on 91 points)
- Defeated in the F.A Cup Final (Everton)
- Defeated in the Champions League semi-final (Real Madrid, on away goals!)
- Defeated in the Carabao Cup semi-final (Everton!)

My board also stepped in and built us a new 45,000 stadium - Blackwell Meadows is no more and I insisted on the name 'Feethams' taking us back to the home we lost in 2003, which we had for over 100 years. We've George Reynolds to thank for that! 

I've got in 2 experienced CB's, I rely too heavily on youth sometimes and noticed mistakes were common in my youthful CBs, so hopefully that will stop any silly goals.

A few of my top young players which are getting better and better:

I constantly have my scouts in areas on youth assignments to pick up potential stars. Any ones who are affordable and not already at big clubs, I get them as soon as I can and loan them out.

A small tip for people - if I'm playing a top team and winning or away from home and winning, I take off my Poacher and bring on a CB, move him to the middle CB position, change my mentality to Counter and set Time Wasting on. I've found this to be brilliant at protecting a lead. I normally set this from 80 minutes and can't remember conceding a goal.

Thanks to anyone reading

[JohnChapman]

On 12/05/2020 at 11:19, Mike Dodgson said:

Not sure if anyone is reading this anymore, but here is another update.

Just finished my 2nd season in the Premiership with Darlington:

- 3rd in the League (Everton ran away with it on 91 points)
- Defeated in the F.A Cup Final (Everton)
- Defeated in the Champions League semi-final (Real Madrid, on away goals!)
- Defeated in the Carabao Cup semi-final (Everton!)

My board also stepped in and built us a new 45,000 stadium - Blackwell Meadows is no more and I insisted on the name 'Feethams' taking us back to the home we lost in 2003, which we had for over 100 years. We've George Reynolds to thank for that! 

I've got in 2 experienced CB's, I rely too heavily on youth sometimes and noticed mistakes were common in my youthful CBs, so hopefully that will stop any silly goals.

A few of my top young players which are getting better and better:

I constantly have my scouts in areas on youth assignments to pick up potential stars. Any ones who are affordable and not already at big clubs, I get them as soon as I can and loan them out.

A small tip for people - if I'm playing a top team and winning or away from home and winning, I take off my Poacher and bring on a CB, move him to the middle CB position, change my mentality to Counter and set Time Wasting on. I've found this to be brilliant at protecting a lead. I normally set this from 80 minutes and can't remember conceding a goal.

Thanks to anyone reading

I'm still reading! Love this and love the tactic. Took my Eastleigh team to the championship however I heavily relied on loan signings all the way up and was given no money therefore got relegated... Hopong I can bounce back to the championship and have another go.

 

Loving the tactic and this thread/guide.

 

Any other tips? 

[Mike Dodgson]

Thanks @JohnChapman, really appreciated.

Sorry to hear you got relegated buddy. I guess that's how successful this tactic can be, it gives success too quickly. That's how I felt when I got promoted to the Championship, we were not good enough and I didn't have the £ to sort it out.

Do you keep asking your board to improve the stadium and facilities? They both help make more money and improve your existing players as much as possible.

If you're struggling at the back, I would definitely suggest moving the Poacher to a CB and playing 5 at the back, going Counter and wasting time towards the end. This has helped me massively against bigger teams.

Hope that helps!

[Mike Dodgson]

Ended my 3rd season in the Premiership:

League:

FA Cup:

Carabao Cup: defeated in the semi final - again!!

Champions League:

Accolades:

Not too bad!

Then, to mark an additional chapter about to begin:

 

 

 

 

[bb]

4 hours ago, Mike Dodgson said:

Ended my 3rd season in the Premiership:

League:

FA Cup:

Carabao Cup: defeated in the semi final - again!!

Champions League:

Accolades:

Not too bad!

Then, to mark an additional chapter about to begin:

 

 

 

 

Would love to see how well you do in england

[KG4]

@Mike Dodgson how is the career going mate?

[Mike Dodgson]

Hey @KG4 - I haven't played this save in a while I'm afraid.

I'm always a big fan of more unorthodox formations, so I've been testing one on this forum which I think is maybe even better. Scores plenty and concedes few! It's the 5 at the back Wolves one.

If I ever come back to this one I'll let you know!

 

 

[Don-x]

I think I have been a fan of 433, the BBM role seems too powerful for this formation. 

One thing I'm still trying to figure out is left side CD is too open for opposition Attack, despite having a left footed CD. Right footed CD seems more capable to limit the attack than the former. Not too sure yet.

[Mike Dodgson]

I’m going to use the tactic I’ve converted to and carry on with this save! 

[Edereus]

what if you use other variations of midfielders eg 2 cms and a bwm or 3cms will there be problem in midfield?

Edited May 31, 2020 by Edereus

[Schwantz34]

1 hour ago, Edereus said:

what if you use other variations of midfielders eg 2 cms and a bwm or 3cms will there be problem in midfield?

Depends on your setup. Play around and see. For my Shearer challenge I'm using a DLP with two AP's either side of him in a 4-3-3 I made for myself and it's been lethal so far.

Much will depend on the group of players you have at your disposal and the signings you make.

[kaka8330]

Hello, can I have a look at the players in your team?

[ron1hy]

On 30/04/2020 at 12:27, Mike Dodgson said:

Hey Everyone,

I'm a regular visitor here and I've lost count of the amount of tactics I've used... like many of us out there!

Anyway, in my hunt for one which got success and was fun to watch, I ended up stumbling on one within a Facebook group I joined and it has simply been the most consistent and successful I've used on this years game by quite a distance, so I felt I needed to share.

I started a new game as Newcastle (I always use Newcastle to test tactics as a good benchmark of a team with a decent squad, reasonable budget) - we won the league:

2nd season, we won the league again, 3rd season the league & the champions league.

But then, because my team was very very strong, it wasn't as enjoyable or a challenge anymore. That being said, it had proved it was effective with firstly a reasonable team and then a strong team. I'm confident that this tactic will hold its own regardless of the type of team you are.

Here is the Tactic shape and instructions:

*** One thing to note, especially in the first season - in AWAY games against the top teams (City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Utd, Arsenal & Spurs), I would start with 'Counter' and go Attacking if I was still in the game in the 2nd half. ***

**** If I'm winning, from about 82 minutes onwards I tend to tick Time Wasting to not give away any silly goals. ****

So, that brought me to trying my childhood team; Darlington.

Starting off in the Vanarama League North would be a challenge!

I have never, ever managed this far down the pyramid and it was eye opening.

One thing I'd like to recommend for people is to use https://fmmobile.net/2019/11/22/key-attributes-for-the-fm20-mobile-player-roles/ as closely as possible, this has been a really good marker to finding the right players, more so at this level. The first thing I did was to go through each of my current players and see who was good for each role, listing, demoting and then offering out the players I didn't need. At this point I wasn't fussed about any transfer funds (players are worth max 10k at this level), but freeing up wage budget was a priority.

I relied heavily on free transfers... but filtering using the guide above helped me get players in which I was happy with to rely upon.

As I'm in season 2, I don't have my transfer history from the 1st season to show you (unless someone can tell me how), but it involved spending a total of about 20-30k.

Anyway, here's how my first season ended in the VNL:

Here's my transfers in and out for the start of the 2nd season:

 

A net spend of 4.5k to prepare us for life in the Vanarama National League!

And here is how the 2nd season is at the moment (you'll note that I've given the subject '2 consecutive promotions' and maybe that's not accurate as the season isn't finished yet). But, we've got a playoff place secured and we're 19 points clear... 



Please feel free to give it a try if this fits your team, or you're looking to start a new game.

Final notes: I always ensure I have a mix of good staff (one attacking coach, one defending... one prevention physio, one rehab etc), be sure to praise players for a good game and dish out warning for players who get a 5 or below, keep asking you board to improve the training facilities, youth facilities and expand the stadium.

Any questions please feel free to ask - it has made me really really enjoy the game. I can't wait for us to take on League 2! I will update again soon.

Thanks for reading!

I'm going to give this a try. Are there any stand out stats needed for the BBM's though?

[ron1hy]

On 28/05/2020 at 13:27, Mike Dodgson said:

Hey @KG4 - I haven't played this save in a while I'm afraid.

I'm always a big fan of more unorthodox formations, so I've been testing one on this forum which I think is maybe even better. Scores plenty and concedes few! It's the 5 at the back Wolves one.

If I ever come back to this one I'll let you know!

 

 

Are you planning to share the new tactic?