Formations after UPDATE

[pcmacdaniel]

Ok, today I almost got ripped by a guy 12% weaker than me.
4-4-2 against my 4-3w-2w-1.
I started with normal/mixed/off everything except counter-attacks. % of completed passes was good after 10-15', so I switched to Long. Statistics at that point was slightly at my advance, but he scored with his 1st attack, and everything has changed.
I suspect he used high pressing and definitely short passes.
I switched off counters (AM told me they don't work), and set High pressing. No visible result.
At the start of the 2nd half he already had better statistics than me, except possession. I returned to low pressing, but set m2m instead, and also Short passes. I managed to score closer to the end of the game, and statistics was again slightly in my favour.


I suspected before that High pressing works good against Long passes, and m2m against Short, and I think it's true. I am not 100% sure, of course.

I had a good long conversation with a top 11 friend (he isn't a forum member) about a year back about this topic. We were trying to figure out which orders played well against a different set of orders.

If orders indeed can be countered, there is one thing is certainly means. Normal mentality and mixed passing are the two stable things in the game engine. Lets apply it to your theory on a relationship between pressing and passing type. If high press works well against long passes and m2m works well against short passes, then what works best against mixed passing?

Normal and mixed consistantly get stuck in the middle, being well umm... tactically neutral. They would have to be more resistant to troll results than others order pairs if orders can indeed be countered.