Any Request on topics to blog on will be noted and i will try my best to fulfil. Thanks

Domination with Barcelona

Domination with Barcelona

I am pleased to report that my first tactic for Football Manager 2012 can be downloaded! As the title shows I had Barcelona in mind when I created this tactic and that’s quite normal since I believe that today’s Barcelona is playing the best football ever. The tactic was tested with Barcelona in the demo version of the game and then with Barcelonain the full version of FM2012. Now let me explain what this FM2012 tactic is about…

The Formation

The formation that I chose is not really identical to the real-life Barcelona, the main difference is that I don’t use a defensive midfielder like Guardiola does and that the wide strikers have a more central position in my tactic. You can see the roles and mentalities for each player in the screen shot below so I guess going into details is not necessary. Well, maybe just a quick run-down: sweeper keeper, full backs, central defenders, 2 box to box midfielders, one deep lying playmaker, 2 defensive forwards and one trequartista.

The Team Instructions

As you can notice from the image below the team has a fluid philosophy and an attacking starting strategy, it plays the offside trap along with a high defensive line and the players have to use short passing, press their opponents and use their imagination The central deep-lying midfielder is designed as the team playmaker.

Tactical Analysis

The average positions screen shows a bit more about the players movement during a game, the most important aspect for me is that the team stays compact both on and off the ball.

And that takes me to my favourite shape in football: triangles! When I watch a game I always look for triangles and that is because if three of your players are forming a triangle with reasonably-sized sides then they will have a much easier task in taking out an opponent through short passing. The screen shot below shows two things:
1. My atrocious design skills.
2. The triangles that are formed when my team attacks. The distances between my players are reasonably small and that means they can use short passing to eliminate their opponents, maintain possession and eventually create scoring chances.

I think that the trequartista is the key player in this tactic, mostly because he will often have space to receive the ball between the defensive line and the midfield line of the opponent. That man has to be creative and skilful and Barcelona have the very best man for the job: Lionel Messi. As you can see in the image he has received the ball between the lines, made a quick turn and then had plenty of time and space to play a through pass for the left side striker who then… scored.

The full backs are also very important in this tactic and that is because the opponents tend to cover the middle of the pitch a lot more than the flanks given the threat of our three strikers. That leaves plenty of space for the full backs to exploit, like you can notice in the following picture. The trequartista passed the ball to the right back who had acres of space in front of him, advanced to the byline and then crossed the ball low into the middle of the area creating a good scoring chance.

When we don’t have the ball there’s only one thing we have in mind: get it back as quickly as possible! The players will press their opponents all over the pitch, as you can see two of the strikers doing in the picture below. The result? The opposition right back was under pressure and passed the ball straight to one of our midfielders. Remember this: when you capture the ball in the opposition half you will have a far better chance of creating a dangerous attack than when you get the ball inside your own half and that is because the opposition defence will have a lot less time to get organized.

The Results
I have played almost a full season with Barcelona using this tactic and I guess the league table speaks for itself: we won the title with four games to spare, won 33 games, drew 1 and lost none, scored 110 goals and conceded just 13.

The most pleasing fact is that we have beaten arch rivals Real Madrid six times out of six, scored 16 and conceded just 3 in the process. I’m so sorry José

One of the best matches of the season was away at Atletico Madrid, a strong team, but we managed to beat them 5-0 away from home at the end of a game that we dominated on all aspects. In fact, there were just a few games in which we had less than 60% ball possession.

However, I have noticed that we were having some problems in some away games and that’s what pushed me to create an away version of the tactic. I have employed this version against Man City in the Champions League and, as you can see, we were not as flamboyant in attack but we still had very good possession and kept the opposition fairly quiet.

The main change in the away tactic is the strategy which goes from attacking to counter, the defensive line is pushed a bit deeper and doesn’t play the offside trap any more, the tempo is slower, the team is a bit wider and does employ time wasting sometimes.

You will need players with good passing for this tactic, that is essential, and I also suggest loading the counter version as a backup tactic in match preparation. Here are the download links:
- Attacking Version -
- Counter Version -
After downloading the files you have to place them in the Documents>Sports Interactive>Football Manager 2012>tactics folder and then you will be able to find them in the game tactics screen under “archived tactics”.
That’s about it, enjoy the tactic and please ask any questions if you have them or provide feedback in order to improve this FM 2012 tactic.
P.S.: I have to say that Messi is fabulous in FM2012, fabulous!
UPDATE
- I also won the Champions League and Spanish Cup with Barcelona

Finding the game to easy try a challange....

Finding the game to easy try a challange....

1. Only buy players that are the same nationality as the country of the club you are managing
2. Do not spend any more than one million on an individual player. or....
3. Make sure your purchases dont exceed the money you gain through sales.
4. Try and bring as many players through from your youth team as posibble
5. Start a game at a club that is struggling with little money and wage budget available and try and turn them into as an heavyweight.
6. Try to win trophys in as many leagues and continents as possible.

Donating 99p will help enormously with keeping the site up and running in the long term. Any question or topics needed just ask

Starting with Newcastle utd

Newcastle United

FM Information

First Team Squad

The Goalkeepers

Steve Harper: 36 year old English keeper with a bagful of experience however with Tim Krul coming through Steve Harper isnt really needed as a second keeper can be brought in for a wage less than 30k a week either as number one or back up for Tim Krul.

 Tim Krul: 23 year old Dutchman, seems to the first choice so far this season in real life. Great in one-on-ones with opposition attackers and has good reflexes. He can become one of the best within three or four years if played regular therefore there are replacements in other positions that have a higher priority.

You also have Ole Soderberg and rob elliot however neither of these will make it and should be ofloaded as soon as possible.

Suggestions: With Krul and Harper able to cope with the demands of the premiership there are no urgent replacements however if you want to bring in a young keeper as back up there are plenty of good goalkeepers that dont have to cost the earth.
 Lukas Hradecky,Sinan Bolat, Scott Loach, Ciprian tatarusanu.

The Fullbacks

Danny Simpson - 24 year old English right back. He has good pace, stamina and work rate, but his concentration and decision making could be better. Ok in the short term however before to long a stronger replacement will definately be needed

Davide Santon - 20 year old Italian full back. Can play both right and left side and in fact the coaches rate him as the best option available at left back. Santon can only get better and is a great asset as he can provide cover at left back as well as playing at right back.
Ryan Taylor - 26 year old right back, has good long shots, long throws and free kicks however he is not good enough for newcastle and should be sold as soon as possible along with kadar if he isnt played regular as he is not the best of players and will not improve a lot unless given a fair amount of game time which may be difficuilt if you want instant results.


Suggestions? - Definitely, with Jose Enrique's departure to Liverpool there is no direct replacement at left back although santon can play there if desperate. Also some extra quality on the right wouldn't go amiss either.
Carlos Diogo is available on a free transfer and Sime Vrsaljko will turn into one of the best in the world within a few years at right back. At left back Robert canella can turn into the spanish replacement for Enrique and may even show some loyalty.

Central Defence

Steven Taylor - 25 year old English defender. Big, strong, good tackler, great in the air and with a surprising turn of pace. Just don't expect him to do any fancy passing or to concentrate for the full 90 minutes. Can play well however there are plenty of defenders out there that will leave him in the wilderness within a year or two

Fabricio Coloccini - 29 year old Argentinian defender and club captain. Probably the star of the Newcastle backline and even better on FM than in real life I think. He has a mjor drawback in that his wages are a whopping £80,000 a week, so it may be tempting to accept decent bids for him if you want to keep your wage budget down.

Mike Williamson - 27 year old English defender. Pretty similar to Taylor, strong, tough tackling and good in the air. Doesn't have the pace that Taylor does to help get out of trouble, but his concentration is better. Doesnt really have the ability to play for newcastle if success is the target get rid and bring in someone better.

Suggestions? You could probably use the money elsewhere, though I'd be worried about covering any unlucky injuries. Mental Marco Materazzi and Arne Friedrich are out there as free agents if you want some emergency cover (though Friedrich is recovering from injury so you might have to sign him a little later in season). Toby Alderweireld would be an excellent signing at just over 4 million as he is a similar mold of player as thomas vermealen
MC

Cheick Tiote - 25 year old Ivorian Defensive midfielder. Hard working, aggressive player, his presence in midfield should help screen your defence and free up the more creative players to work their magic. Happily on a long contract as well. For me a bit of money can be made by selling tiote and buying a similar player with better stats such as mohammed diame who can be purchased for 4.5m

Yohann Cabaye - 25 year old French midfielder.  Can play as a DM and isn't afraid to put his foot in, but probably best pulling the strings for you from heart of midfield. He's a great passer with a wicked shot, quality player and regular french international however it is important to utilise his strengths as ratings can dip otherwise

Dan Gosling - 21 year old English midfielder. Something of a utility man as he can also play at right back, defensive midfielder, right sided midfielder. Probably a back up player for first season and for me never really makes it as there are many player with tons more ability that can be snapped up on the cheap

There's also Danny Guthrie as a further back up option however he is also not good enough if you want to progress quick
Sugestions? Acouple of midfielders are needed as there is not enough quality in depth.  Milan Badelj, can be signed from Dinamo from between 3.5 to 4.7 million and turns into a world class player.

Wingers and Attacking Midfielders

Hatem Ben Arfa - 24 year old French midfielder, tricky, pacy player with some real flair. Newcastle fans didn't see much of him for real last year, but what they did see they liked. Unfortunately he starts the season injured again and could be out for up to 4 months. Could be a real handful for opposition defences in the AMC position, or on either wing. What Ben Arfa lacks in is work rate and similar players can be found with better stats all around in the long run

Sylvain Marveaux - 25 year old French winger. Good in the short term however a better replacement can easily be found

Jonas Gutierrez - 28 year old Argentinian winger. DDoesnt have the best of stats all around but consistantly delivers and adds goals to the team suprisingly.

Gabriel Obertan - 22 year old French winger. Couldn't quite find his way into the Man Utd team which is no disgrace, he has pace to burn and plenty flair. However his crossing and passing aren't the best. Will most likely be a back up for Ben Arfa, Marveaux and Jonas. With very little game time should be sold as soon as possible

Should I strengthen? You might want to draft in another winger Martin Zeman is a excellent left winger that can be brought in on the cheap with pace to burn and also the ability to assist plenty. Mateo kovacic and Erick Torres would be excellent long term replacements for Ben Arfa at AMC

Strikers

Demba Ba - 26 year old Senegalese striker. Physically he's a bit of a beast, strong, fast and he's brave so not afraid to stick his head where it hurts to get on crosses. Not the most composed of finishers but good player for a free signing. Will be needed for a year at least as the other strikers are hopeless for the premiership

Leon Best - 24 year old Irish striker. Not good enough

Shola Ameobi - 29 year old English striker. Not good enough

Peter Lovenkrands - 31 year old Danish Striker and winger. Not quite as pacy as he used to be Lovenkrands. Also not good enough

Strengthening? Christian Benitez, Darwin Quintero, Cedric Bakambu. Tomas Necid

Most of these players have been suggested with price in mind however there are other big Players available and top 4 should be achieveable in the first season just ask if you want any tips. 4 years in at Newcastle record:
2 Premier League titles
2 Champions League titles
1 F.A. Cup
3 League Cups

Donating 99p will help enormously with keeping the site up and running in the long term. Any question or topics needed just ask. Enjoy!

 

Weekend Betting tip

For those who want to earn a little extra money:

Manchester United
Manchester City
Brighton
To win
£20 Pays £89.76

10 Tips that may make you a better manager...

1. Dont just buy a player for buying sake. Make sure you set out your team and formation then identify the weaknesses in the team to improve.

2. If the team has a lot of poor players the best way to improve the team and finish higher up in the league faster is to buy players over 48 months. Although this is not a long term strategy as it can lead to huge debt once a good squad of players are gathered their can either be sold on at a profit or there will be less need to make drastic changes.

3. Do not make drastic changes to starting line ups every game as this will ruin the gelling of the team and create indifferent performances. Rule of thumb is to make 2 or 3 changes and try to base these changes on the players condition or a players morale as these often have a effect on an individual performance.

4. Try to upgrade a teams facilities and stadium as quick as possible as this will xreate extra revenue in the long run to be able to compete with the big european heavyweights.

5. If your team is prone to conceding last minute goals it may help to go defensive for the last 4 or 5 minutes when in the lead.

6. When looking at players to buy look for the main attributes that are going to make the team amazing. e,g, CB look for tackling, marking, heading and positioning. Striker look for finishing and composure and either sterength and heading or pace depending on if you want a target man or a poacher.

7. Only sell a top player if you have someone in mind that you know as the ability to cover the loss or you can see some other side is selling a top player for a really low price as the top clubs always tend to buy too many players and let excellent players go for next to nothing.

8. Make sure you are not stumping the growth of young players buy simply leaving them in the wilderness. Given them a game against poor opposition although dont put to many of them in at the same time as this will result in a struggle. try 1 or two young players at most to avoid a shock result. If you can see the player is not getting enough games try and loan them out as long as there are going to get first team football or try and find a feeder club the players can go to so their can develop together.

9. Try and tighten up when playing big sides away from home to prevent losing. I suggest maybes going rigid and hitting them on the counter depending on how their team is set out.

10. Try to avoid playing players out of position when posibble by making sure there is enough adequate cover for when other players are injured. Playing players out of position can reduce the effect their make on the pitch. If you find you are playing someone out of position often train him to learn that new position.


Donating 99p will help enormously with keeping the site up and running in the long term. Any question or topics needed just ask. Enjoy!

Bargain Buys

I thought i would kick off (excuse the pun) by helping all those managers trying to find players that have a bright future and value for money on the game. Whether it is a football heavyweight such as manchester united looking for the next wonderkid to come through or whether the club is restricted vastly with little money and looking for a players to propel them to the next level  by buying and selling at a profit to keep the club afloat here are some players that wont cost the earth but will provide great value in years to come:

Position       Name                           Club                        Value
GK              Lukas Hradecky           Esbjerg                    200k
GK              Sinan Bolat                   Standard                 1.9m
GK              Alphonse Areola           PSG                        775k
GK           Laurentiu Branescu        Juventus                   575k
RB            Sime Vrsaljko                Dinamo                    1m
RB            Serge Aurier                  Lens                          1.8m
CB            Funso Ojo                      PSV                          1.3m
CB          Tobias Figueiredo           Sporting                    425k
CB            Paolo Dametto               Cagliari                    700k
CB           Sebastien Toro                Colo Colo                1.1m
LB           Jack Robinson                 Liverpool                 2m
AMR       Matej Vydra                    Club Brugge            1.2m
AMR       Adnan Januzaj                 Man utd                   600k
AML       Yasine el ghanassy          AA Gent                  575k
AML       Martin Zeman                 FC Admira               350k
ML         Rodney Sneijder              Utrect                       80k
DM         Cheikou Kouyate            Anderlecht               325k
DM         Kara                                Tromso                    975k
DM         Lorenzo Cristeg              Inter                         800k
CM         Milan Badelj                   Dinamo                   1.4m
CM/AMC Marco Verratti              Pescara                    800k
AMC      Erick Torres                    Chivas                     900k
AMC      Lucas Anderson              AaB                         850k
AMC     Sebastien Maier               1860 Munich           800k
AMC     Muhammed Demirci       Besiktas                    800k
ST         Vaclav Kadlec                 Sparta Prague           1.2m
ST          Leigh Griffiths                Hibernian                 150k
ST          Vitinho                            Botafogo                  425k
ST         Facundo Ferreyra            Banfield                    875k
ST         Cedric Bakambu              Sochaux                   1.7m
ST         Miguel Medina                Udinese                    850k
ST         Yaya Sanogo                    Auxerre                   1.4m
ST         Carlos Fierro                    Chivas                      700k
ST         Mbaye Niang                   Caen                         1.7m
ST         Adam Campbell               Newcastle                1.2m
ST         Lenny Nangis                  Caen                          1.8m
ST         Anass Achahbar              Feyenoord                825k
ST         Anthony Lozano             Alcoyano                  1.1m

I will post some more bargain younsters when i have a bit more time. Enjoy!
Donating 99p will help enormously with keeping the site up and running in the long term. Any question or topics needed just ask