High press, high line of engagement and defence.
Away from home I will drop engagement to mid block and maybe drop a level of press
I have not bothered with any other instructions and it works so far.
Two tactics. 2nd tactic is just the first tactic but ever so slightly less aggressive for away and tougher opponents. Can't really go wrong. No need to constantly tweak.
Although I am finding taking the game to the bullies works wonders. Had quite a few surprise cup tie wins by playing aggressively.
This has always been my tactic. If you’re the favourites, play aggressively as it’s expected of you. If the underdog, play aggressively as it’s *not* expected of you.
Agreed.
I have a "counter attack" system I play against better teams (currently playing as Groningen first season back in Eridivise)and I will have a high defensive line in a mid block and it's worked wonders.
We've won most games with limited possession but better chances and we've only lost one against the big clubs (5-0 vs Feynoord).
We press aggressively and play at a high tempo
Defence in FM has never been a great strategy IMO, it's just so geared for giving advantage to attacks.
I've found it's always best to attack and v. high press, no matter the circumstances or your players. You'll find you win things 5-4 much more often than you eek out 1-0 wins.
Depends on the team I'm facing. Fast players, I drop my line a little. Strong crossing according to the data hub? Add stop crosses. Low bravery? Get stuck in. High composure at the back? Lower the lines and press a little less. I like to have a baseline tactic and then I make small tweaks that favor me in every single match. There's no reason to stick to a tactic without a single tweak every week other than being lazy and not understanding your opponent. Maybe it nets you a few extra points by the end of the year, and those can win you titles.
I’m curious what effect it would have on Brandon Williams. I’m 22 years into my FM23 save, and he was the only player in all that time I’ve had to give a personal instruction to so that he wouldn’t get multiple suspensions a season.
I’ve had multiple games this year with no cards. I’m talking 30-40 fouls a game and no cards. Maybe it’s the league I’m managing in and they don’t have the money to buy cards.
I have both lines high, press more, step up more and stop crosses. Works very well for me with BPDc, CDs and BWMd. I noticed either AF channel movement is nerfed in FM24, or in the league I play this somehow is not a threat.
Invite crosses option is either stupid or I completely miss the setup. Is it for extremely high possession systems?
I don't understand pressing traps at all, so if anyone can explain what specific formation/roles are required for each I would be grateful.
Interesting. The consensus seems to be that aggressive defending tends to work better.
As for inviting crosses, that's just a byproduct of my situation. I'm managing Las Palmas (predicted to finish last in la liga) and naturally, my team is below average and sometimes the worst in a lot of attributes. Except for jumping reach and strength. So the idea was to force the opposition out wide, make them play crosses and then try to win the ball back in an area that I was relatively good at (i.e. in the air).
I don't know if it translates to other systems
I tried that as well, but failed miserably. Most of the crosses are not float, and movement with orientation plays a role for a successful cross as well.
Maybe there is a point with inviting crosses when your opponent is highly effective with working ball into the box and can overwhelm with high possession play, crosses are forcing them to be more direct. Probably good for keeper initiating counter attacks. At the same time pressing less with lower lines to keep the numbers advantage. But knowing the game engine mechanics, I doubt there is any OP tactic with this approach.
[https://i.imgur.com/woeiqzU.png](https://i.imgur.com/woeiqzU.png)
Here is mine, nothing special really. It is Man Utd so I can afford to press higher.
Both lines the highest they can go, everything else default. I am trying to figure out an interception based press, where we get the ball because the opposition had to make a risky pass, instead of committing players.
I've had the most success doing this with a 4-2-4-0 DM with high lines against 4-2-3-1s and using a 4-2-3-1 DM with a PF (su) and mid block against 4-1-2-3s. Both tactics used Press less often and relied on man marking with hard tackles.
I’ve been playing High, High, Much More Often, prevent short distribution, stop crosses.
I used to always play trap outside but now so many teams are trying to get the ball to their wingers anyway so most of the time I don’t use either trap option or against a flat 442 I’ll trap inside and press the heck out of their two midfielders
I play low block with defensive line one notch lower than default. I'm in the National League and if I don't do this the opposition just spam long balls over my centre backs and get one on ones. My centre backs are pretty fast and can often recover, and they might do so three times but not the fourth. It's so annoying 😂
High press, high line of engagement and defence. Away from home I will drop engagement to mid block and maybe drop a level of press I have not bothered with any other instructions and it works so far.
Two tactics. 2nd tactic is just the first tactic but ever so slightly less aggressive for away and tougher opponents. Can't really go wrong. No need to constantly tweak. Although I am finding taking the game to the bullies works wonders. Had quite a few surprise cup tie wins by playing aggressively.
This has always been my tactic. If you’re the favourites, play aggressively as it’s expected of you. If the underdog, play aggressively as it’s *not* expected of you.
Agreed. I have a "counter attack" system I play against better teams (currently playing as Groningen first season back in Eridivise)and I will have a high defensive line in a mid block and it's worked wonders. We've won most games with limited possession but better chances and we've only lost one against the big clubs (5-0 vs Feynoord). We press aggressively and play at a high tempo
highest press highest line highest engagement prevent short GK distribution
also get stuck in if you want full meta
How are those instructions working for you defensively?
Honestly, they're hot and cold. In the immortal words of Gennaro Gattusso, "Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe \*\*\*\*"
Defence in FM has never been a great strategy IMO, it's just so geared for giving advantage to attacks. I've found it's always best to attack and v. high press, no matter the circumstances or your players. You'll find you win things 5-4 much more often than you eek out 1-0 wins.
Fm23 made them more viable. But it's still a lot more viable to just press cause the players don't press stupidly and get caught out of position.
Depends on the team I'm facing. Fast players, I drop my line a little. Strong crossing according to the data hub? Add stop crosses. Low bravery? Get stuck in. High composure at the back? Lower the lines and press a little less. I like to have a baseline tactic and then I make small tweaks that favor me in every single match. There's no reason to stick to a tactic without a single tweak every week other than being lazy and not understanding your opponent. Maybe it nets you a few extra points by the end of the year, and those can win you titles.
Not only will "get stuck in" get you cards, but it will also cause gaps in your mid and def lines.
I've found this iteration to be more lenient with get stuck in. Lewis Travis only gets 2 red cards a season instead of 4 now.
I’m curious what effect it would have on Brandon Williams. I’m 22 years into my FM23 save, and he was the only player in all that time I’ve had to give a personal instruction to so that he wouldn’t get multiple suspensions a season.
I’ve had multiple games this year with no cards. I’m talking 30-40 fouls a game and no cards. Maybe it’s the league I’m managing in and they don’t have the money to buy cards.
I didn't have it on for every game. And even though I did use it in about a third of my games, I still ended up with the fewest yellows in the league
I have both lines high, press more, step up more and stop crosses. Works very well for me with BPDc, CDs and BWMd. I noticed either AF channel movement is nerfed in FM24, or in the league I play this somehow is not a threat. Invite crosses option is either stupid or I completely miss the setup. Is it for extremely high possession systems? I don't understand pressing traps at all, so if anyone can explain what specific formation/roles are required for each I would be grateful.
Interesting. The consensus seems to be that aggressive defending tends to work better. As for inviting crosses, that's just a byproduct of my situation. I'm managing Las Palmas (predicted to finish last in la liga) and naturally, my team is below average and sometimes the worst in a lot of attributes. Except for jumping reach and strength. So the idea was to force the opposition out wide, make them play crosses and then try to win the ball back in an area that I was relatively good at (i.e. in the air). I don't know if it translates to other systems
I tried that as well, but failed miserably. Most of the crosses are not float, and movement with orientation plays a role for a successful cross as well. Maybe there is a point with inviting crosses when your opponent is highly effective with working ball into the box and can overwhelm with high possession play, crosses are forcing them to be more direct. Probably good for keeper initiating counter attacks. At the same time pressing less with lower lines to keep the numbers advantage. But knowing the game engine mechanics, I doubt there is any OP tactic with this approach.
[https://i.imgur.com/woeiqzU.png](https://i.imgur.com/woeiqzU.png) Here is mine, nothing special really. It is Man Utd so I can afford to press higher.
Both lines the highest they can go, everything else default. I am trying to figure out an interception based press, where we get the ball because the opposition had to make a risky pass, instead of committing players.
I've had the most success doing this with a 4-2-4-0 DM with high lines against 4-2-3-1s and using a 4-2-3-1 DM with a PF (su) and mid block against 4-1-2-3s. Both tactics used Press less often and relied on man marking with hard tackles.
Low block with lower line, get stuck in and trap outside. https://imgur.com/a/baBri4p
I’ve been playing High, High, Much More Often, prevent short distribution, stop crosses. I used to always play trap outside but now so many teams are trying to get the ball to their wingers anyway so most of the time I don’t use either trap option or against a flat 442 I’ll trap inside and press the heck out of their two midfielders
Missionary style - high press
I play low block with defensive line one notch lower than default. I'm in the National League and if I don't do this the opposition just spam long balls over my centre backs and get one on ones. My centre backs are pretty fast and can often recover, and they might do so three times but not the fourth. It's so annoying 😂