'Justdomes' guide of being successfull Manager Part 1.

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Re: JUST DO ME'S GUIDE TO THE MANAGER

Postby justdome » 08 Oct 2011 14:39
5. Formations.

5.1 Choosing the right formation & advanced formations.

Undoubtedly the most important part of winning a match, a carefully chosen and deployed formation is what separates the wheat from the chaff. While people spending tokens will have a much easier time winning, people who understand how formations work have a very good chance of competing.

Recently I was asked if I had (bought or found) a guide with all the formations and tactics. The answer was a categorical NO. As some experienced managers (myself included) have pointed out, there aren't magical formations that allow you to win every time. In fact, it's actually the opposite, the most important skill in Top 11 is the ability to adapt to different situations. Relying on ANY given formation only leads to disaster. So instead of trying to post a guide saying what formation to use VS another, I'll post tips that aim to teach how to choose your formation for each game. As the saying goes, "Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime".

While much better than the average player, I'm far from unbeatable, and with a little practice anyone can become better than me. It's all a matter of learning to use what I call "Counter and deploy". This concept, in it's purest form, means that you counter the opponent's attack and then deploy an attack that exploits his weak spots.

To understand what counter & deploy means, first we need to divide formations into 2 categories:

- Generalistic

- Specific attack

Generalistic formations: The Jacks of all trades but masters of none. They allow you to use them more often against a varied number of formations. The downside is that while they don't have major weaknesses, they don't target specific parts of the opponent's defense. When used in conjunction with zonal marking they become auto-pilot formations, ideal for those times when you won't be able to play for a few days or when you sincerely don't have the slightest idea how to beat an opponent.

4-4-2 , 4-4-1-1, 4-1-4-1, 4-1-3-2 wide, 4-1-3-2 narrow, 4-2-3-1, 5-3-2 motivated flat, 5-4-1 flat and 3-2-3-2 are some examples (but there are plenty more, specially if using total football philosophy).

..........4-4-2.................................. 4-4-1-1.............................. 4-1-4-1.............................4-1-3-2 wide...........



............ 4-2-3-1............................ 5-3-2................................5-4-1 flat..............................3-2-3-2..............



As you may notice, they are somewhat tilted towards defense, they are solid both in their flanks and in the middle, and any combination of attackers will have a relatively hard time scoring unless your opponent focuses on an all-attack formation, in which case he'll leave his formation open to a small but somewhat effective attack from your team.

On the other hand, you won't target an specific weakness and this kind of formation's attack is sub-par. You are also a little exposed to specific attacks. It's important to mention that in the long run, a well-managed team with specific attack formations will beat generalistic formations most of the time.

So, how do I set a Generalistic formation?

While it's possible to use man-on-man marking with Generalistic formations (GF), most of the time you'll be using zonal marking. The reason is simple: in order for a GF to work, your players need to be deployed in such a way that there are the least ammount of "uncovered" squares in your half of the pitch. Zonal marking allows your players to move 1 space around them to block an opposing player (A more detailed explanation about marking is explained in above in 4.6).

Use no less than 7 players between midfield and your half. Your midfield should be strong, (with and a special emphasis on flank defense) as you want to have as much possesion as possible . Most of the time this means deploying a ML and MR, but an exception can be made if you are using DML/DMR such as in 3-2-3-2. Short passing is highly recommended, also to increase possesion.

Your passing focus will generally be mixed, so attacking winger (AML/AMR) use is discouraged.

Pressing the whole pitch is the antithesis of general formations, as I said previously, this are cautious formations that grind and wear out your opponent and shouldn't be used for offensive tactics or mentality. I don't recommend using force counter, as this will lead to a loss of ball possesion, which I can't strain to say how vital this is for a GF to work.