ShiftyPowers
Make America Great Again
Boys, with the implementation of the different tactical roles for each position that actually work decently without excessive fine tuning I can finally--FINALLY!!!!--create the Clockwork Orange Total Football Tactic. I need your help though because some of you (looking in your direction Zlatan) know more about it than I do, but I feel like I've created the basic framework tonight. All I ask from you guys is two things:
1) Realize that this is far from a complete tactic at this point, so do NOT come bitching about results.
2) Help me make the tactic work from this basic framework. I'm posting it here in SG instead of other forums because first, I know that there are quality FM players here that know tactics, and second... well because I don't want to post a **** tactic in a place like that without a lot of input and testing from different minds.
I'll explain what I've done and some of the philosophy behind Total Football.
At the heart of Total Football is the realization that possession is the most important part of the game. If you don't have the ball you can't score, but if you don't have the ball in dangerous areas you probably won't score either. As a result, Total Football is designed to keep possession as long as possible (exemplified by the first goal in the 1974 WC Final: no German touched the ball until they pulled it out of their own net), and win back possession in dangerous areas.
So how do you keep possession? Well first you play simple passes. That seems obvious. Secondly, when you win possession you go WIDE. The more space the defense has to defend means the harder it is for them to win the ball back, and therefore the easier it is to keep possession. So as a result this FM tactic team instruction on width is about as wide as you can get. It can go a few notches wider, so maybe we should do that. The best example of this in real life is Barcelona. They play short quick passes all game long and when you lose concentration for a second they play the killer ball. That's what we're looking for.
How do you win possession? By compacting the field of play. When the defense has the ball in their own third you pressure the hell out of them. First, because defenders are often not very good on the ball, and second, because combined with an offside trap set at midfield they only get half the field to play with. Brilliant, no? This is the part I'm having more trouble with than anything, getting the guys to run hard for all 90 minutes and also setting the offside trap at the half way line for as long as humanely possible. The famed Dutch and Ajax teams used stimulants to go so hard for so long, unfortunately in FM we do not have the luxury.
The formation is naturally the 4-3-3. This is gospel. You cannot run Clockwork Orange in anything other than a 4-3-3.
The most famous part of the Dutch Total Football was players switching positions. This was done vertically. For example, if the fullback went ahead the outside midfielder would drop back. If the outside midfielder went ahead, the outside forward would drop back. This is still difficult to approximate in FM, although for single positions (for example CM and FC) it seems like they might have finally gotten it right this year. I'll have to check some more, but I definitely saw my CM and FC swap and then swap back a few minutes later which was cool. The best way I think we can approximate this phenomenon is to use a touchline order to look for the overlap in the first minute of every game. It makes no sense to demand switching, you want to switch organically when it makes sense. This is also why the Team Instructions are set at "Very Fluid".
The second most famous part of the tactic was probably the creativity it allowed in players. For the most part I do not give any specific individual orders about where crosses should go, if guys should cut in or get to the end line, or anything like that; there are a lot of "sometimes" in the individual instructions. It's up to the players to make the correct read for the situation. Therefore MAKE SURE you have smart players, particularly in attack.
The other small problem I'm having with the tactic revolves around my lack of knowledge about Total Football (I'm going to have to re-open my book on historic tactics), so maybe one of you can enlighten me. What to do with the counter attack? When we gain possession in our own half I'm not really sure if we want to start blasting it up field and chancing a long ball that loses possession; in fact I'm positive we don't want to do that. However, if we seize possession from the other team in our attacking half, or better yet our attacking third, then I'm pretty sure we want to press our advantage. If a team loses the ball that far back their defense will not be set up; likely the midfield will be up field and helpless to assist the defense, and the fullbacks might even be too far up to help as well. In this case we want to go straight for goal. So I leaned toward no checking the counter attack box, but I'm open to checking it.
The central striker was Johan Cruyff and he is the reason why Total Football ran as well as it did. I dare say that no one else in 1974 could have done it, but in the modern game we have a few players who can. Basically it's your classic Trequartista role. He is also the target man (play to feet) and the playmaker. Furthermore, at the earliest possible time you're going to want to train your mini-Cruyff to "come deep to get the ball". It makes no sense to have your target man and playmaker surrounded by DMs and DCs all game; he needs the ball in space. Combining the work rate, the stamina, and also the technique and flair required to play this position is very rare in one player, but as far as I can tell the best player in the game is probably going to be Wayne Rooney. If I had a second choice I would take Ibrahimovic. After that I'm not exactly sure what I would sacrifice, so that is up to you. Without looking at stats I imagine Drogba is capable, and obviously Aguero probably is too, and probably Cristiano Ronaldo (actually he might be the ideal candidate).
The other crucial position that the dutch didn't really use all that much because of injuries, although it was present in the CL winning Ajax sides and adds another dimention to the formation is the Libero. Everyone had a Libero in the 1970s. He is the last line of defense and on offense he steps into the midfield to offer another option. Classic Libero is Beckenbauer. In order to get the SW to play how I want him to play I had to make him very attack minded, but he still seems to get back on defense most of the time which is good. I would guess that your best bet for Libero is Michael Essien; he seems like the perfect combination of technical ability, brute strength, and defensive acumen. Other candidates are Pique, Chiellini, and probably Veloso although I haven't checked his stats in this version of FM.
The other star of Clockwork Orange was Johan Neeskens, the only Central Mid on the field (except for Cruyff if you count him). As far as I'm concerned this is the hardest individual instructions on the field to get right. Neeskens was a work horse who could win possession, but he was also offensively gifted and capable of scoring many goals. Off the top of my head Steven Gerrard has got to be the best modern player to fit this role. Other candidates would depend on what you want to sacrifice, but I would warn not to give away too much work rate, determination, and tackling ability by plugging in a sparkplug like Diego or even one of the Barcelona guys. To be honest I would probably look English for this position because central mids everywhere else in the world seem to have become specialized instead of being that all around box to box midfielder. Ballack would work (although he's old), Barry would probably work, Lampard probably, Carrick, Cesc, Flamini. The DM/AM C types.
After that I'd say the rest of the team is mostly who can play in the position. The outside forwards you're going to want guys who can dribble down the flank, but also score like a striker. Henry and Ronaldo have to be the best examples. Higuain too. Messi will obviously be fine, but crosses definitely can come in fast with this formation (although I'd almost prefer if there were more 1-2's on the sideline to spring a guy cutting in) and Messi won't win headers. If we can get the team to stop crossing and instead look to beat defenders on the sideline in the final third with give and go's and dribbling then we would definitely want a little guy like Messi in the team because I can't think of anyone who could quickly combine and also dribble by defenders like him.
The fullbacks need to have some attacking ability, but aren't full on wingbacks. Obviously want the usual stamina and work rate. Also make sure you have guys who can tackle.
Outside midfielders are interesting because I can't get them right. In the Dutch formation they're basically central mids in disguise. They combine on the side when the ball is on the side, but when the ball is in the middle and opposite side of the pitch, and when we are on defense, they pinch in and act as CMs. I'm having a hard time getting this right in the tactic, so I need help with this among a lot of other things. My best initial guess is to try and accomplish this with very high closing down (already done) and preferred player moves like dribble through the middle or cut inside, but we don't really want these guys trying to skin everyone in front of them either, so I'm unsure right now. I'd say you want M C/R types, so like a Gourcuff would be ideal, or a Gerrard, Berry, or Flamini.
The Central Defender (singular) needs to know what the **** he's doing. Great tackling, jumping, heading, anticipation, etc. He's your defense. Rio, Vidic, Terry whatever. These guys aren't that rare at the highest level which is sort of odd. Either way, if you have a bum in defense you're probably going to get absolutely lit up.
Here is what the formation looks like
Here it is for download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/358746603/Total_Football__FC_Bayern__Jul_2009_.tac
Gentlemen, let's get to work.
1) Realize that this is far from a complete tactic at this point, so do NOT come bitching about results.
2) Help me make the tactic work from this basic framework. I'm posting it here in SG instead of other forums because first, I know that there are quality FM players here that know tactics, and second... well because I don't want to post a **** tactic in a place like that without a lot of input and testing from different minds.
I'll explain what I've done and some of the philosophy behind Total Football.
At the heart of Total Football is the realization that possession is the most important part of the game. If you don't have the ball you can't score, but if you don't have the ball in dangerous areas you probably won't score either. As a result, Total Football is designed to keep possession as long as possible (exemplified by the first goal in the 1974 WC Final: no German touched the ball until they pulled it out of their own net), and win back possession in dangerous areas.
So how do you keep possession? Well first you play simple passes. That seems obvious. Secondly, when you win possession you go WIDE. The more space the defense has to defend means the harder it is for them to win the ball back, and therefore the easier it is to keep possession. So as a result this FM tactic team instruction on width is about as wide as you can get. It can go a few notches wider, so maybe we should do that. The best example of this in real life is Barcelona. They play short quick passes all game long and when you lose concentration for a second they play the killer ball. That's what we're looking for.
How do you win possession? By compacting the field of play. When the defense has the ball in their own third you pressure the hell out of them. First, because defenders are often not very good on the ball, and second, because combined with an offside trap set at midfield they only get half the field to play with. Brilliant, no? This is the part I'm having more trouble with than anything, getting the guys to run hard for all 90 minutes and also setting the offside trap at the half way line for as long as humanely possible. The famed Dutch and Ajax teams used stimulants to go so hard for so long, unfortunately in FM we do not have the luxury.
The formation is naturally the 4-3-3. This is gospel. You cannot run Clockwork Orange in anything other than a 4-3-3.
The most famous part of the Dutch Total Football was players switching positions. This was done vertically. For example, if the fullback went ahead the outside midfielder would drop back. If the outside midfielder went ahead, the outside forward would drop back. This is still difficult to approximate in FM, although for single positions (for example CM and FC) it seems like they might have finally gotten it right this year. I'll have to check some more, but I definitely saw my CM and FC swap and then swap back a few minutes later which was cool. The best way I think we can approximate this phenomenon is to use a touchline order to look for the overlap in the first minute of every game. It makes no sense to demand switching, you want to switch organically when it makes sense. This is also why the Team Instructions are set at "Very Fluid".
The second most famous part of the tactic was probably the creativity it allowed in players. For the most part I do not give any specific individual orders about where crosses should go, if guys should cut in or get to the end line, or anything like that; there are a lot of "sometimes" in the individual instructions. It's up to the players to make the correct read for the situation. Therefore MAKE SURE you have smart players, particularly in attack.
The other small problem I'm having with the tactic revolves around my lack of knowledge about Total Football (I'm going to have to re-open my book on historic tactics), so maybe one of you can enlighten me. What to do with the counter attack? When we gain possession in our own half I'm not really sure if we want to start blasting it up field and chancing a long ball that loses possession; in fact I'm positive we don't want to do that. However, if we seize possession from the other team in our attacking half, or better yet our attacking third, then I'm pretty sure we want to press our advantage. If a team loses the ball that far back their defense will not be set up; likely the midfield will be up field and helpless to assist the defense, and the fullbacks might even be too far up to help as well. In this case we want to go straight for goal. So I leaned toward no checking the counter attack box, but I'm open to checking it.
The central striker was Johan Cruyff and he is the reason why Total Football ran as well as it did. I dare say that no one else in 1974 could have done it, but in the modern game we have a few players who can. Basically it's your classic Trequartista role. He is also the target man (play to feet) and the playmaker. Furthermore, at the earliest possible time you're going to want to train your mini-Cruyff to "come deep to get the ball". It makes no sense to have your target man and playmaker surrounded by DMs and DCs all game; he needs the ball in space. Combining the work rate, the stamina, and also the technique and flair required to play this position is very rare in one player, but as far as I can tell the best player in the game is probably going to be Wayne Rooney. If I had a second choice I would take Ibrahimovic. After that I'm not exactly sure what I would sacrifice, so that is up to you. Without looking at stats I imagine Drogba is capable, and obviously Aguero probably is too, and probably Cristiano Ronaldo (actually he might be the ideal candidate).
The other crucial position that the dutch didn't really use all that much because of injuries, although it was present in the CL winning Ajax sides and adds another dimention to the formation is the Libero. Everyone had a Libero in the 1970s. He is the last line of defense and on offense he steps into the midfield to offer another option. Classic Libero is Beckenbauer. In order to get the SW to play how I want him to play I had to make him very attack minded, but he still seems to get back on defense most of the time which is good. I would guess that your best bet for Libero is Michael Essien; he seems like the perfect combination of technical ability, brute strength, and defensive acumen. Other candidates are Pique, Chiellini, and probably Veloso although I haven't checked his stats in this version of FM.
The other star of Clockwork Orange was Johan Neeskens, the only Central Mid on the field (except for Cruyff if you count him). As far as I'm concerned this is the hardest individual instructions on the field to get right. Neeskens was a work horse who could win possession, but he was also offensively gifted and capable of scoring many goals. Off the top of my head Steven Gerrard has got to be the best modern player to fit this role. Other candidates would depend on what you want to sacrifice, but I would warn not to give away too much work rate, determination, and tackling ability by plugging in a sparkplug like Diego or even one of the Barcelona guys. To be honest I would probably look English for this position because central mids everywhere else in the world seem to have become specialized instead of being that all around box to box midfielder. Ballack would work (although he's old), Barry would probably work, Lampard probably, Carrick, Cesc, Flamini. The DM/AM C types.
After that I'd say the rest of the team is mostly who can play in the position. The outside forwards you're going to want guys who can dribble down the flank, but also score like a striker. Henry and Ronaldo have to be the best examples. Higuain too. Messi will obviously be fine, but crosses definitely can come in fast with this formation (although I'd almost prefer if there were more 1-2's on the sideline to spring a guy cutting in) and Messi won't win headers. If we can get the team to stop crossing and instead look to beat defenders on the sideline in the final third with give and go's and dribbling then we would definitely want a little guy like Messi in the team because I can't think of anyone who could quickly combine and also dribble by defenders like him.
The fullbacks need to have some attacking ability, but aren't full on wingbacks. Obviously want the usual stamina and work rate. Also make sure you have guys who can tackle.
Outside midfielders are interesting because I can't get them right. In the Dutch formation they're basically central mids in disguise. They combine on the side when the ball is on the side, but when the ball is in the middle and opposite side of the pitch, and when we are on defense, they pinch in and act as CMs. I'm having a hard time getting this right in the tactic, so I need help with this among a lot of other things. My best initial guess is to try and accomplish this with very high closing down (already done) and preferred player moves like dribble through the middle or cut inside, but we don't really want these guys trying to skin everyone in front of them either, so I'm unsure right now. I'd say you want M C/R types, so like a Gourcuff would be ideal, or a Gerrard, Berry, or Flamini.
The Central Defender (singular) needs to know what the **** he's doing. Great tackling, jumping, heading, anticipation, etc. He's your defense. Rio, Vidic, Terry whatever. These guys aren't that rare at the highest level which is sort of odd. Either way, if you have a bum in defense you're probably going to get absolutely lit up.
Here is what the formation looks like
Here it is for download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/358746603/Total_Football__FC_Bayern__Jul_2009_.tac
Gentlemen, let's get to work.
