The Reapers

So this year on FM 17 people have been talking how 5-2-3 + narrow is way to go, some may disagree, I'm one of them. It got personal for an egomaniac like myself to employ a tactic which evolves heavily on as much attacking as one can get without leaking in defense, I started a game in mine good ol' ARSENAL....


Now Arsenal in FM vs Arsenal in real life are 2 different stories, attributes of players in Arsenal side are really good for multiple styles of play, I decided that I want to go attacking with some possession, main goal of mine tactics is to exploit the zone 14.
Zone 14, also known as Golden zone, is something that data analysts discovered after 1998 WC and French national teams amazing run and victory.It is a zone in front of oppositions 16m box. After analyzing the data from WC they discovered that 80%+ assists of French team came from that golden zone. Now France in that WC played narrowly, no doubt about it, but there are multiple ways to achieve the GOLDEN ZONE UNLOCK!
To exploit the given Golden zone the team must fulfill few conditions, one of them is positive possession stats, that means a lot of build up in Oppositions half around their 16m box, the other condition is pressure, now for pressure there are 2 ways, possession game and counter pressing game. Many of people will say Jurgen Klopp invented counter press and that Diego Simeone is some one who came up with his own idea of that style, I'm sorry to inform you but no, neither of them "invented" the high press, High press was used to most effect by Ajax and by Netherlands national tea during 70's. Now one can't compare modern football to 70's football but true origin of that style of pressing is there.

So now we know that we need high pressing and positive possession, what is positive possession?

Positive possession is a possession style game in which team does a siege of the side that is on defense, "negative" possession to put it that way would be passing between CB's-GK-FB's jsut for sake of time wasting for example.
Now positive possession can be achieved in few ways, I personally use these two:
-Play for the goal vs good sides with constant look out for a runner;
-Encirclement for the hole vs weaker sides.
Both come down to the same thing, scoring, now I won't bash out at time wasting tactics, but personally I don't like them, I don't use them, its a personal preference.

Now when we know what is golden zone we need to understand the "Half Space" meaning, Half space is the strip on the pitch between wide and central area of the pitch, people argue about where exactly this half space zone is but generally its inside this strip shown bellow:

The same rule applies to the other side of the pitch, now these areas are occupied by Attacking Midfielders and such, in these spaces attacking football tends to create possibility to exploit defense in there, a AMR can draw opposing FB on him and make his own FB free to run down the line for instance, he can draw out defender or Midfield player from opposing side leaving one of his teammates open for a pass, possibilities are infinite and it all depends on certain factors.
Now to successfully exploit these spaces a team attacking would need to have (in FM terms) Composure, Off the ball, Anticipation, Decision, Teamwork and of course acceleration pace combo to exploit the newly made gap.
(Acceleration - Pace isn't always a necessity)

So exploiting this a bit to the side area can give you great advantage attacking wise and unsettle even most stubborn defenses, its all about roles of your players, and their above mentioned stats.

When a team successfully performs a "drag out" of stubborn defenders that's where (most of the time) overload happens, Overload means that your players are pulling on them more bodies then they usually would, for example your 2 players pulling out a MC, other MC will step in to cover for him while rest of opposing team( for example FB's) might try to close down as well in order to help their teammate, that means your 2 players are being closed down and chased by 3 instead of 2 players, which effectively means somewhere in their defense is a gap and one or more of your players is free, that situation is called underload, basically you want to make overloads so that your players get in underload situations somewhere along their defensive line which you want to exploit.


Don't confuse overload with in game mentality setting its completely different thing.
The system I'm trying to achieve is based on exploiting those spaces over and over again and achieving goals from given situations.
I'm here to present you with a tactic well 3 of them which focus on doing what I previously described

The setup is the following:


Veles is mine initial idea of playstyle, wide man supporting forward with trough balls while creating overloads on flanks with surrounding players.

Roles:
SK(D): Standard goalie, the best one you can find;
Goalkeeper PI's:fewer risky passes, distribute to FB's;

FB(S): Look for all rounded FB's, they are dynamos, although this position isn't that much happy forward going try to find a player capable for both defense and offence, I'm using coentrao and gibbs, yeah gibbs works, the speed demon, perfect solution would be someone like Alex Grimaldo once fully developed, he has positioning, tackling, marking, Anticipation, first touch, Teamwork, Acceleration and pace ad he can cross;
FB(S) PI's: Shoot less often

CB(D): Standard no nonsense defenders set on high line with offside trap, you need some pace and acceleration on them along the regular needed for CB, make sure mental stats are in check, like anticipation, decisions, concentration, for me I ahve stadard 3 CBs from Arsenal and they are all performing really well, best defense in the league by far.
CB(D) PI'sL Pass it shorter.

WB(A): You can treat this player as dani Alves, bomb forward and then return, rinse repeat, so high stamina is a must, along the regular stats for WB, I would put emphasis on first touch, anticipation, decisions, Pace, aceleration and Positioning along the regular attributes, seek the higher you can in those and of course in crossing, mine WB's for this role are Bellerin and Layun, layun is fairly cheap at start of game and he is performing really well, taht high cross stat is a killer in attack.
WB(A) PI'sL Shoot less often.

DLP(D): This guy here is your Linch Pin, you will need him to recycle the ball when you are in offensive phase and to screen the back 4 in defensive phase, I would look for half back like type of player here, thing about having Hummels kind of player here or even better Busquets. I'm using Thiago Maia here and he is solid like a rock from first season, even Coquelin can get the job done.
DLP(D) PI's: Pass it shorter (he is a playmaker, but I don't want him to try out his sniper bullets when I'm playing a precise system)

RPM(S): Many people think that RPM is a playmaker role, well he is, in a sense, he is a option for a pass style of player, he will roam around where the fuzz is and offer a passing option linking your play that way, this guy needs some really good stats, he needs to be allrounded, someone like Emre Can, Rabiot, Pogba, Alli(Alli is more offensive tho) he needs to be able to sustain the high press and to cover in defense, player like Emre Can can be a real asset both in this and in DLP(D) positon, make sure his Anticipation and his First touch are good along with his off the ball, we are dancing around opposition here and he is your stringer. I;ve been using Lewis Cook here from 2nd part of first season along side cazorla, now cazorla offered me attacking options which also has its merits, but I'm more satisfied with defensive stability and medium offensive contribution, a link up play is all I need.
RPM(S) PI's: Shoot Less Often (In case of Pogba like player it can be removed since Work Ball into box is already active)

CM(A): A perfect player here is Delle Alli, he has insane attacking stats and pace and he is well rounded, If I ever get a chance to get him he will be mine. Other than him I've been using cook ramsey here also wilshere since he came back from a loan, can't help it he is one of mine fav Arsenal players, so its self explanatory role, he aims to strike from deep and that's it.
CM(A) PI's: Shoot Less Often (Same case as RPM a good long shooter can be used without this instruction)

IF(S):We all like to use IF from time to time and see him maraud from deep and wide into empty space and score some goals, but this is 2ndry task for this IF, IF on support duty has playmakerish role as primary role, he isn't playmaker ball magnet like your regular roles but he will look to support attacks and provide with trough balls from wide or after cutting inside and drawing opposition. Alexis is probably the best player in whole game for this role, he has high teamwork, passing, mentals first touch and on top he can perform his secondary role of a striker to perfection even from support role.
IF(S) PI's : Tackle Harder, close down much more and Stay wider, now this set of PPM's might look weird but I will come back at them

AP(S): this role self explanatory, a wide playmaker in AM strata with sole purposewith providing ball to surrounding runners, and mine choice of using Ozil here is also self explanatory I think.so look for a team player with all the stats Playmaker needs, think of Silva, e Bruyne, even James rodriguez.
AP(S) PI's: Tackle Harder, close down much mroe and sit narrower now these are confusing again same as IF PI's, one more role and explanation comes

DLF(A): THE scorer, your main threat, I'm using "Low Profile" striker, he isn't big or chunky although Giroud wrecked havoc in here too, most goals come by a pass and he needs to have good movement of the ball and good understanding of the teams play., so anticipation, decisions, teamwork, workrate, composure play a big role.
As I said I'm using dybala but any striker who fits in description of hard working teamplayer could fit.
DLF(A) PI's:close down more, tackle harder, also if playing vs teams with DM in front of back 4 you can consider using Roam from position.


Now we have covered all the roles, the remainig part is shouts:
Play out of defence: this means that I want a build up from behind instead of seeing mine players acting like ball kicking machines, also a note, this shout reduces passing risk of all players in CB and DM strata.

Whipped Crosses:Mine players aren't Lamberts and Crouches and these crosses are most unpredictable ones, I haven't noticed too much of a difference between these and low crosses but you can set it to any ones you want provided you got players for that, in general I would use Low as best pick for mine squad.

Push Higher Up: I'm applying a high press here, I want to contract them up the field and do pressing the moment I loose possession, so a Higher line is mandatory for mine style.

Use Offside Trap:High line needs protection, I call that Offside trap, players need intelligence for this, anticipation, decisions, concentration.

Close down more: we have 2 options here, a high press as set atm divided into 2 blocks, high block(front 3) and mine medium to low block provided by the rest of the players, the secondoption is high medium low block setup, for that setup you don't need close down more, you need close down much more on front 3, close down more on MC strata and leave everyone else as they are, the 3 block press is less risky and less rewarding, I'm confident in min team to play a full press on them.

Prevent short GK distribution:This shout means that your players in front(the front 3) will mark and cut the line of LB, RB and one CB(since I got only one striker) and force goalie to kick the bull up field, it can be good since you are cutting off their slow build up and forcing them into aerial battles in your half and facing your numbers , but on other side it may be good to allow the goalie to pass to his defenders and then try to pressure them for a mistake, the choice is yours.

I don't consider these 2 shouts mandatory tho they can help:

Work ball into box: this shout reduces the likelihood of players shooting from distance or crossing the ball unless in perfect position to do so, if that still happens(long shots it means your player decided he had no other options)

Roam from Position:gives players a bit more freedom of making themselves available for the pass or getting into position for the run, it can backfire if you are trying to keep hold of the ball since players will look for attacking positions.

Now this is how the tactic is setup, the goal of these roles, these PI's and these TI's is to create a style of game I spoke of at the start of the post, its been a long post so far so I ahve to explain how all of this works.

On left flank we have FB(S) who will rarely go forward and he is there to help you with possession in middle and with cover for MC(A) and IF(S), now IF(S) and MC(A) have a weird partnership, a deep run partnership, IF(S) is moved wider so that he opens half space for CM(A) by drawing FB to him, that makes the half space open for him to exploit and maraud into, the other side has RPM AP(S) and WB(A) now WB(A) is marauding forward in the space left by AP(S) who is sitting narrower, in truth his position will more likely be near AMCR then AMR and with himself he draws out players by his movement again opening the whole side for WB to run into, but thats not the best of it, by overlaping, the WB will probably draw someone to him and with WBIB shout he is more likely to pass back which makes the other player step up to chase AP(S) now here RPM(S) comes into play, he will come near he will offer himself for a pass while AP(S) is surrounded by 2 or more players RPM will draw someone to close him down, and that movement opens up the other side where we have IF and CM(A) but thats only 5 of our players we have 2 more, DLP is there for a safe backpass but DLF(A) is there to create and use taht havoc the AP(S) has made he will be free to try and make a run, and with his movement and with movement of CM(A) and IF(S) space is likely to open up for one of them, in most cases its the striker who gets the finishing chance, as for our marauding WB(A) if he decides to go for a cross he will be onside, his marker will be far behind him and your players onrushing in 16m box meaning a lot of targets to pick up.


So that's how I make use of Golden Zone.




Second tactic creates a different kind of movement which also exploits the golden zone, in this case we ahve a new role:
CM(S), we don't have RPM but we have him, he is there to provide cover and to link up play when Inside forward pushes forward and WB(A) marauds inside, he is your standard type of all rounder, I use Bazoer here the most, tho all of mine players who don;t have PPM;s like gets forward can play here, he needs to stay there, we can;t afford him going forward and exposing our whole flank.

The movement is different, in this case we have IF(S) on sit narrower, in truth this role should be IF(A) and wreck goals in, even Raumdeuter can work, not work, he can destroy anything, but, I want to try to achieve it experimentally with support role, so its highly advisable to switch this role to IF(A) and leave his PI's as they are .
Here we have a F9 on top instead of DLF(A) if I was to use Giroud type of striker I would go with DLF(S) and same PI's(again same rule for roam into position applies) he will drop deep but now we need different movement from our players to achieve the golden zone unlocks, in this case IF sits narrower and opens flank to WB, on other side AP sits wider for 2 reasons,1st reason is opening space for CM(A) and other reason is the combination of roles, in this case we have 2 roles next to each other who perform same duty in same area, those roles are F(S) and AP(S), even on Attack AP DOESN'T WORK WITH F9! Well thats what they told me, but he does, when he moves to the sides he again draws opposition but this time instead of opening flank for WB this time he opens halfspace for CM(A) who can run into it, but in this case he can run all the way, since the striker is also opening space for him with his droping deep, on other side we have IF opening whole side for WB and IF is also using the space that striker created, for staying stable we have CM who will link up sides adn we have DLP to recycle possession, down the right side we have FB(S) covering for our marauding CM(A).

That's how mien second exploit of the zone works, now don't forget the part of switching IF(S) to IF(A) or RMD(A) IF(S) is mine experiment for personal lets say joy, I'm trying to make MC score shitload of goals and bring back the Lampard days(Ik as a gunner I shouldn't like him, but the guy was a beast!)

-----------------------------------------------------TACTICAL ADVICE-----------------------------------------------

Now there is a 3rd option, a lot of people like to see a good winger, well if you use W(A) in VELES you get the width you need for CM(A) to work and on top of it you get the option of a insane dribbler who will make all sorts of hell for opponents on that flank, and if you have Diego Costa type striker who can tap in those crosses, you are all set.
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Now we have came to last tactic, the last tactic is a variation of the Veles:

This tactic is exactly the same as Veles, but with few TI modifications,

Now we have extra Ti's just for a sole purpose of achieving one goal, that's right, breaking down the wall,
how many times has it happened to you that you are playing a significantly weaker side and they go Mourinho buss on you?

Let's explain how is a wall broken first:

To break down a camping side you need 4 things:
-Finding and exploiting the space;
-Maintaining tempo;
-Maintaining balance;
-Penetrating the defense.

to find the space you have 2 options, you need vertical and horizontal stretching, now a lot of people say horizontal movement isn't possible in FM but we could prove them wrong just now,
by increasing the width of play, even roles can do(earlier tactical advice on using a winger, and setting IF to stay wider), or you can go full gung-ho and actually stretch the pitch to max, that way defenders need to spread out thinner so that they can cover all of the treats.
Vertical stretching can be achieved in by dropping your D-Line, if you drop the line you leave more place for their players to work in, by giving them that space you are actually luring them to you and then you enable your players to do what they do the best, to move between the lines, moving between the lines of defense in vertical manner is how a defense, especially low block ones fall apart, by creating that movement you ae forcing players out to close down players between the lines and that way you are opening space for yourself to exploit.

Maintaining tempo means that you use the above stretching methods(which can be done by simply using roles) and using a tempo setting to create holes by qucik left to right transition, or quick transition between their lines.

Maintaining balance is most important thing to remember, you won't get anything by sending more players forward, NEVER EVER CHANGE YOUR COVERING PLAYERS JUST FOR THE SAKE OF SENDING THEM FORWARD, if you do that you are playing right into their hands, by comiting more players forward, you become exposed and they can make you suffer.


Final step is penetrating the defense, this is doen by correct combination of roles which make room for each other and make supportive and off the ball runs which draw defenders out.

Of all the listed we are already doing most of them, so why don't we take it to the extreme?


Well this is set specifically to deal with those situations:

We have a group of 3 shouts which are used together:
WBIB (exlained in Veles section) + Retain Possession + Higher Tempo" this combination of shouts gives me high speed horizontal shuffles in which players are "forced" into passing around the box until they spot an opening, I'm not sure how is horizontal shuffle called in English, but its the thing that Ferguson used a lot, even now he uses it and guess what, Everton always gets ball in their net sine they make a hole.
I was already using WBIB and now I just added 2 more besides it and that's it.

Play wider This encourages a wide play and stretching over the pitch which increases space between players and opens up gaps


Drop deep by dropping deeper we allow them to come to us and we increase space between their lines



Stuational shouts:

If you are playing vs a team that presses you high on the pitch and tries to choke our build up play you can consider using same shouts that are used while breaking the bus, and on top of it you can add Pass into Space
Pass into space is a great shout to use vs high pressing sides provided your players have good off the ball and good pace and that your passer is good enough to make the move happen.

I personally play with normal tempo, some people like to have more ball in their feet and rack up possession stats, feel free to change the tempo to lower and control the game, if you want to choke the game and waste time consider lower tempo and retain possession

I never use exploit the middle/flanks, I feel that I'm limiting myself that way and on top of that it rises mentality of all players on that side which means covering players also get the buff
I never use Overlap shout either, that one reduces mentality of higher positioned players in this case AML and AMR and increases mentality of FBs, If it increased mentality of FBs and reduced mine AML and AMR I would be in a lot of trouble.

As for Training I use Attacking for all matches after tactics are fluid, in preseason get 2 weeks of fitness to prepare them for the long season ahead.

Try to avoid signing players with bad first touch for advanced positions, basically try signing even CBs with atleast 10-12 in there;
Avoid signing players with low teamwork, determination, work rate, you need those things to be able to efficiently defend with pressing, also try to have speed on CM(A) on front 3, even tho striker role can work with giroud type players if role is used accordingly as described above.

I use specific set of OI's, the aim is to clsoe down in final third and to harass MCs, MCs are usually creators of play so taking them out of game means taking out the rest of the team, if a creator is in AMC role consider closing him down, on default I decide based on his stats if I close him down, if he is too fast and they have too many players going forward I will prefer mine defensive stability

Final word:
Thanks to all people who write, talk and help around in game of FM, without people like Rashidi, cleon, THOG and sites like strikerless so people(incuding me) would've never understood the significance of right roles and right plyayes for the roles and systems

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