Chat Defensive Tactic

[Ruvio4]

Has anyone had any success with defensive tactics, styles such as Diego Simeone's Atletico, Jose Mourinho's Porto, Sean Dyche Low Block Burnley?

I have tried and tried but the game engine doesnt seem to like defensive minded tactics.

[Mr Phalanx]

          TERRORISMO ON FMM

 

Had some success with a RIGID 4-4-2 setup earlier this year. Took a team in the lowest division in Wales to the top division.  Strong finishes in the top 3, 4 league titles, a few cups, and a qualification to the UCL group stages where I lost narrowly to Bayern, Sevilla and Dynamo Kyiv. We went unbeaten in a season too.

You can see I placed emphasis on rigid. I made no room for creativity or intricate play.

-Contain mentality.

-Commited tackling.

-Deep defense line.

-Narrow width.

-Disciplined (in terms of creative freedom)

-Sit deep/Own half (switched between these two)

These were the base instructions for the rigid setup. Pure terrorismo. You can tell these instructions are for blocking space and frustrating the opponent. But I added more for transitional threat.

-Long passing.

-High tempo.

-Early crosses

-Shoot on sight.

The Formation

442. 

DFB NCB NCB DFB 

WM CM BW WM

TM      P

 

The Roles

You can tell from the back four that I was in for blood and bones.

I used Wide Midfielders instead of Wingers or Defensive Wingers. Wide Midfielders contribute to defending more without leaving too much space behind them. The other two are good for transitions but not for defending as a unit. They are happy to dribble to the touchline and cross. But Wide Midfielders consistently lay off to teammates ahead of them because they care about  the team's defensive shape. 

Ball Winner and CM. It worked well. One was the ravaging wild dog. The other, a simple man who was did his job well. 

The strike partnership is the obvious one. 

The Players

Playing terrorismo is not for the faint-hearted. You'll watch long highlights of opposition teams constantly banging the door of your defence. You'll have balls hitting the bar 200 times and your keeper saving shot after shot. But fear not. It'd be less terrifying when you have the right players. This tactic made me focus on the defensive aspects of the players. For the first time in FMM I wasn't looking for technicians, passers or any of those fancy players.  I was looking for bulls, Spartans, speedsters walking towers, and anyone who was happy to hack down anything in his sight. 

Aggression, tackling, strength,  Ariel, positioning, were key stats for my most defensive players. High Decisions will always be useful too.   I didn't use scouts for this. Specific searching is the way to go. Narrowing down to stats above 11/12 helped me find the situable players for terrorismo. Many of them lacked in other areas but they had high ratings in the specific stats suitable for their roles. 

My backline consisted of men on hard drugs. I even played full backs as wide midfielders due to their defensive nature. It helped in winning balls on the flanks.

The only player with a degree of technicality is the CM. He's the all rounder. He had good passing and technique but he could switch to a mad man when the situation required it.

 

The key player for scoring is the poacher. The poacher scored a lot because all attacks ended up at him. The target man racked up assists because he layed off to him many times. 

The poacher is key. He must be strong, fast, and a good finisher. Same with Target Man but with good teamwork. 

 

How Did We Play and Score?

As you can see from the setup. It's a low block with aggressive tackling around the area and less intense pressing all over.  We had possession in the 30s but more shots, more goals, more yellow cards, plenty offsides, and most importantly, least goals conceded. We also won many penalties.

As I said earlier, the poacher is key. He scored the same goal numerous times.

 Long ball from the defence to the poacher after winning the ball in our area. All he does after that is run into space and shoot. He scored 5 in a match in the same way. 

He's the outlet. We were always absorbing pressure from our opponents but that one time when we win the ball and send it over the opposition defence to the poacher. A goal is bound to happen.

We defended in a very narrow 4-5-1.  This is because the TM dropped to defend with the team. The poacher was always hanging around the last man. I was lucky to have a poacher who had a "Moves into channels" trait. He made chance creation very easy in a rigid setup.

We scored from crosses to the TM too. 

Conclusion

Buying the right players is key. The above system is to block space and defend for long periods. I valued clean sheets more but I knew the goal was going to come because I had a superhero striker. Ariel, movement, pace, strength, shooting, technique. He was built like a target man but I made him a poacher. He's what Vardy is to Leicester. Proper gunman. But with immense strength and the height of a tower. 

My back 4 had Ariel's above 13. You have to be specific with the stats. Even the goalkeeper's basic stats were very good.  You can't build a tactic like this with small, weak players. Even my CMs had Aerial and tackling above 12. Much emphasis on physical stats, height and stamina for almost every role

I know it's hard to play defensive tactics on a long term.  Maybe the Welsh division is just a weak league. But I got good results in the CL playoffs and narrowly lost to Bayern, Sevilla and Kyiv. Beat Everton in a friendly too. I was able to stop the TNS' reign of terror in Wales with terrorismo. 

 

Quick One on Pressing

Pressing all over is the default way to press in FMM. Most tactics have players swarming the opposition higher up the pitch. But sit back/ own half ensured we kept our shape and it's why we scored many goals from long balls over the top. Less pressing drew our opponents to our box and opened gaps behind their defence for my superhero striker to exploit and score. 

You will also concede goals. I conceded 16 goals in 32 in my best ever title winning season. Conceded 18 and 20+ in other seasons. But i always ended up with the highest clean sheets and lowest  goals conceded. My poacher scored 41 that season too.

But goals will enter. That's for sure. You're defending in front of your goal. You'll concede own goals, penalties, free kicks due to the raging BWM. Red cards and yellow cards too. 

It's dirty football. It will be frowned at in the football church. But with the right players and specifically a superhero striker. You'll definitely have positive moments that could lead to trophies. 

 

I haven't tried it in a top league. I did it in Wales. So I can't say if it's effective when playing in tougher leagues.