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Tips about prematch preparation in ML (Part 2) (12/07/2006 19:01) |
WARNING ::
This blog entry was written 12 July 2006. There have been a lot of twakes and updates to the game since then, so some of the info you read here might be a bit old and out of date. - Gizmo
WARNING ::
Last week, in part 1, I made a blog about reading and understanding a match report for your own advantage. I also showed one of my most used events that you can't see in the match report. So when ever you read a match report you need to have an open mind and not just throw out that margin win is a fluke. Try to find a "hidden" event that might have changed the picture of the match.
Remember, "hidden" events contain changes on shooting, tackling and/or playstyle.
In this part i'm gonna write about the formations, tactics and picking your lineup. Much of this info will be basics for many managers, but when managers come to me and ask for an opinion many questions seem to go around from manager to manager. "How do you know what position your player gets on the field?" seem to be one of the most common questions. Thsi and maybe many more basic questions you might have can be answeared in this blog. If there's still something you wonder about don't be afraid to ask, either as a comment to the blog or you can send me a message on either the portal or ingame.
Formations and their structure:
I've made some pictures of all the formations so you can see how they look like and where your players gonna end up on the pitch. When you know the structure of the formations you might manage to make your lineup more powerful even though you're using the exact same players, but I'll get back to that later on. First i'm just putting out some small thoughts and info about the 11 formations availeble at the moment.
(click to enlarge)
 5-4-1: This is a very defencive formation, but can also be very effective. The formation needs a good attacker up front to score the goals for you. Your defence don't need to be the best since you have 5 defenders in the back line.
Playstyle: Continental should be the best one. Mixed can work, but not recommended. Longball is just plain stupidity.
Recommended use: Against teams with better average quality, where a draw would almost be the same as a victory for your team. Specially strong against formations with low amount of midfielders.
(click to enlarge)
 5-3-2: Concentrates a bit more on scoring goals, but is still a defensive formation. Watch out for teams with good midfield. You might lose because you aint getting your midfielders into the game.
Playstyle: Mixed should work best for this formation, continental comes in second and longball works a bit better in this formation then in the 5-4-1 since you got 2 attackers to aim the ball for insted of one.
Recommended use: Away matches where your opponent is about the same average Quality as you or at home against better teams then you.
(click to enlarge)
 4-5-1: Again a defensive formation. Compared to the 5-4-1 formation this is more voulnerable to opponents playing longball or mixed cause they play over your midfield so you will lose lots of defensive power. You defence need to be stronger and your attacker still needs to be good.
Playstyle: Continental should by far the best option. Mixed aint recommended as you there is to many midfielders to not use them. Longball is out of the option.
Recommended use: Against other manager playing continental with low a low amount of midfielders. Make also sure that their attackers aint too good.
(click to enlarge)
 4-4-2: Most common formation used in the real life worl today. It have both good amounts of defenders, midfielders and attackers. When it comes to this game you wont see many managers in div 1 or 2 use this formation. Mostly because they find other formations to be better.
Playstyle: All three playstyles work, but i would recommend mixed or continental a bit more then longball.
Recommended use: When you aint finding any other formations that works well this is the one to use in most if the times. More rcommended against defensive formations (above formations) then attacking formations.
(click to enlarge)
 4-3-3: An attacking formation that concentrates your play in front of the opponents goal to win the match. Voulnerable against teams with many midfielders.
Playstyle: Mixed and longball should be about the same. Continental is not recommended.
Recommended use: Can be used against any formation, but your decision of playstyle can be the reason why you either win or lose. If you have low amount of good mifielders and many good attackers this could be the formation for you.
(click to enlarge)
 4-2-4: An all out attack formation that only hopes it get more goals then the opponent. Very voulnerable to teams playing mixed or continental.
Playstyle: Longball is almost the only formation to recommend as the formation only contain 2 midfielders. Mixed could maybe work but not recommended while continental is the same as digging yourself 7 feet under.
Recommended use: A large amount of good attackers is important for this formation. Also your defence and goalie needs to be excellent to win you matches. There aint many teams in divison 1 that could pull this one off. Don't use it just to try it.
(click to enlarge)
 3-6-1: This a kinda odd formation in my head when thinking about real life. How would it actually be to play in a midfield as crowded as this one? Luckily this aint real life (remember that Woijteker). Normally i would say a formation with only 3 defenders is an attacking formation, but this only contain 1 attacker so it can't be that attacking.
Playstyle: I can't see any other then continental work in this one. Maybe mixed can work a little bit, but what is a lonely striker gonna do with a longball?
Recommended use: Well, although not all formations with only 3 defenders are attacking i would still recommend training up the offside-trap before using the formation. Never the less, it can still be used against teams playing mixed with a low rate of midifelders.
(click to enlarge)
 3-5-2: Yet again an attacking formation that needs excellent defenders to not let in to many goals. Voulnerable against teams playing longball with many attackers. For instance 4-3-3.
Playstyle: I would prefer mixed in this formation. Continental is of course good as well because the amount of midfielders, but since there's only 3 defenders they might get pushed by the attackers a bit much if playing continental so a couple of longballs every now and then won't hurt.
Recommended use: It's time to train your offside stat in the team training section cause playing the offside trap can help you a great deal with this formation. Also recommended against teams playing either mixed or continental with low amount of midfielders.
(click to enlarge)
 3-4-3: This is a deadly attacking formation, when it works that is. The bad part is that your opponent can easily find ways to beat it. Speaking from my own experiences, I have yet to produce a win with this formation. On the other hand i produce a smile every time i see that my opponent either change to this formation with an event or use it from start.
Playstyle: As i have no good experiences of own use with this formation i'm not to sure about the playstyle. But from my knowledge about formations and tactics i would say that any playstyle can work in this formation. Continental probably the worst choice.
Recommended use: Choose another formation is my recommendation, but of course if it works good for you, why not keep at it. Your defence need to be in very good shape compared to your opponent attackers. Also you goalie will probably get a lot to do. Again, good offside stat in team training is your friend.
(click to enlarge)
 3-3-4: The last formation is again an all out attack formation, just like the 4-2-4 formation. Remember that all these formation very voulnerable in defence so pick them with coution, not just pick to try. There are smarter offensive formations to choose.
Playstyle: Longball is the best playstyle again, while mixed should work a bit better with this formation. Continental is again to dig yourself 7 feet under with this formation.
Recommended use: Against other all out attack formation and you got the best average quality this could be a choice. In other situations than that i wouldn't recommend to use such a formation.
Picking your formation:
Everyone got their own way to pick their formation for a match. I'm gonna tell you the way i feel is best and also mention a mathematic way to decide which formation should be best. Of course mathematics might help you more in a computer game like this then it would in real life.
When i pick formation i always check what playstyle my oppoent use first. This is because playstyle can turn a match completely and you from my own experience the different playstyle options seem to work in a triangle.
Mixed seem to beat longball, longball seems to beat continental and continental seems to beat mixed.
1) So when i pick my formation i try to find out what playstyle my opponent gonna use by reading their match reports. From what they're gonna play i choose what playstyle i'm gonna use (see the triangle i mentioned above).
2) When i've decided my playstyle find the formations best suitable for that playstyle.
3) When i have a couple of formations suitable for my picked playstyle I check which formations are most suitable for my players.
My last point before choosing my formation contains some mathematics. Most times you would end up with the same choice you feel are best. At least I do. so to try explaining my mathematics in choosing formation i'll give an example.
Lets say your opponent use a regular 4-4-2 formation and you wanna find out which formation of 4-3-3 or 5-3-2 is the best suitable.
The way to do this is to divide defenders against attacker, middies against middies and attacker against defenders. After that you add all of them together so the formation getting the highest score is the best suitable. So lets check it out.
4-3-3 against 4-4-2:
Dividing your defenders against opponent attackers: 4/2 -> 8/4
Dividing your midfielders against opponent midfielders: 3/4
Dividing your attackers against opponent defenders: 3/4
Adding them together: 8/4 + 3/4 + 3/4 = 14/4
5-3-2 against 4-4-2:
Dividing your defenders against opponent attackers: 5/2 -> 10/4
Dividing your midfielders against opponent midfielders: 3/4
Dividing your attackers against opponent defenders: 2/4
Adding them together: 10/4 + 3/4 + 2/4 = 15/4
As you can see the result is marginal, but it reveals 5-3-2 as the best formation of the two to use in this situation. If you didn't understand what to do there is nothing to worry about. Youd should do finw with just the 3 first steps alone if you choose to try my way.
Lineup:
This is just gonna be basics for how to pick which player to what jersey number. Yet again lets use 4-4-2 as an example.
If you click the link you see the structure of the formation.
#1 is the goalie -- Your best goalie should play here, DuH!
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#2 is the left back -- One of your two best passing defenders should play here. Also speed is important in this position
#3 is the left central defender -- One of your 2 best defenders beside #2 and #5 should play here. If #2 have worse speed then #5, then #3 should have better speed then #4
#4 is the right central defender -- The other of your 2 best defenders beside #2 and #5 should play here. If #5 have worse speed then #2, then #4 should have better speed then #3
#5 is the right back -- The other of your two best passing defenders should play here. Also speed is important in this position
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#6 is the left winger -- One of your two best passing midfielders should play here. If #2 have better passing then #5, then also #6 should have better passing then #9
#7 is the left central midfielder -- One of your 2 best midfielders beside #6 and #9 should play here. If #6 have worse speed then #9, then #7 should have better speed then #8
#8 is the right central midfielder -- The other of your 2 best midfielders beside #6 and #9 should play here. If #9 have worse speed then #6, then #8 should have better speed then #7
#9 is the right winger -- The other of your two best passing midfielders should play here. If #5 have better passing then #2, then also #9 should have better passing then #6
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#10 is the left attacker -- One of your two best attackers should play here. If #6 have better passing then #9, then #10 should have better shooting then #11
#11 is the right attacker -- The other of your two best attackers should play here. If #9 have better passing then #6, then #11 should have better shooting then #10
This lineup structure puts your best passers in every section on the sides because it's easier for your backs to pass to your wingers then it's for your central defenders to pass to your central midfielders. also your wingers produce more assists then your central midfielders. So the better passing they have the more goals you'll score, hopefully!
Do you have 3 middies with the same passing skill? then put the one with best shooting or best tackling into the center. The central midfielders are more likely to score goals then the wingers.
Tactics:
This should be quite simple and i guess most of you already know what to do on most of the tactics options, but I'll take my time and explain them anyway.
Captain: The best captains are usually 27 years or older and they should have good perception. Your captain also gives a little boost to the section he's playing in. So if you for some reason feel either you defence or midfield aint good enough for your upcoming match you should pick your captin to play in this section. So if your captain plays in defence your defence will get a minor boos and play better then they would have done.
Freekick, own half: This is mor simple, just put your best passing defender to take these freekicks.
Freekick, opponent half: For these freekicks you should pick a midfielder with both good passing and shooting. If the same player also got good perception it's a postive thing as he would know better when to shoot and when to pass/cross.
Corner: Your midfielder with the best passing should be taking these.
Penlty kick: Your best shooting attacker should be taking these. Also perception is good for penalties.
Playstyle: You have 3 playstyles to choose from, continental, mixed and longball. Continental passing keeps the ball mostly to the ground and play through the midfield. Works best if you have many midfielders. Longball speaks for it self. the passes is in the air and with a distance. Best with many attackers and less midfielders. Mixed also speaks for itself. Your team try to play both continental and longball at the same time so your opponent won read you all to easy.
Tackling: Your 3 options is Soft, Normal and Hard. With soft you'll lose more important tackles, but you'll keep the fouls low and suspension is rare. With normal you'll win a bit more important tackles but both injuries and suspensions more likely to happen. With Hard it again increase the chance of injuries and suspensions.
Shooting: Again there is 3 options to choose from. Shoot at will, near goal and only when safe. Shoot at will gives you more shots, but they're more likely to not hit the goal as your players will shoot from where ever they want. Near goal makes it more likely to actually score on your shots, but both shots on target and shots total might decrease. the last option, only when safe, again decrease your chances as you won't fire a shot before you feel absolutly sure you're hitting the goal. The good part is that usually about 90% of these shots ends up as a goal.
Pressure: All three options speaks for itself. Attacking should be played mostly at home and against teams with lower or same average quakity as your lineup. Normal means that you play neither defending or attacking. Can be played in any match, although usually attacking or defending is more suitable. Can be first when you play away against teams with same or lower average quality then your lineup. Defending should not be played at home, at least that is my opinion. I'll explain why afterwards. Defending shold only be used away and against teams with the same or higher average quality then your own lineup.
Offside: You can either chose to play the offside trap or not to play the offside trap. If you play a formation with 3 defenders they're more likely to have a good offside trap then a formation with 5 defenders. The less defenders, the easier to communicate. Before you play the offside trap you should also train your offside skill in the team training section.
Home matches against away matches:
Home: You should play either attacking or normal pressure because when you play at home you're getting a little boost just for playing at home. If you have bought your under soil heating in the stadium section this will also give you a small boost since you have perfect pitch all season. Both these 2 advantages should be enough to play attacking at home and put the pressure on your opponent even though your opponent might have a better average quality in his team.
Away: Away you should be more careful about playing attacking because of the same reasons mentioned above. Only play attacking if you're average quality is much better then your opponent and you feel certain to win. Else you shold choose between either Normal or Defending.
Part 1: Reading and understanding the match report.
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))
5-4-1: This is a very defencive formation, but can also be very effective. The formation needs a good attacker up front to score the goals for you. Your defence don't need to be the best since you have 5 defenders in the back line. ))
5-3-2: Concentrates a bit more on scoring goals, but is still a defensive formation. Watch out for teams with good midfield. You might lose because you aint getting your midfielders into the game.))
4-5-1: Again a defensive formation. Compared to the 5-4-1 formation this is more voulnerable to opponents playing longball or mixed cause they play over your midfield so you will lose lots of defensive power. You defence need to be stronger and your attacker still needs to be good.))
4-4-2: Most common formation used in the real life worl today. It have both good amounts of defenders, midfielders and attackers. When it comes to this game you wont see many managers in div 1 or 2 use this formation. Mostly because they find other formations to be better.))
4-3-3: An attacking formation that concentrates your play in front of the opponents goal to win the match. Voulnerable against teams with many midfielders.))
4-2-4: An all out attack formation that only hopes it get more goals then the opponent. Very voulnerable to teams playing mixed or continental.))
3-6-1: This a kinda odd formation in my head when thinking about real life. How would it actually be to play in a midfield as crowded as this one? Luckily this aint real life (remember that Woijteker). Normally i would say a formation with only 3 defenders is an attacking formation, but this only contain 1 attacker so it can't be that attacking.))
3-4-3: This is a deadly attacking formation, when it works that is. The bad part is that your opponent can easily find ways to beat it. Speaking from my own experiences, I have yet to produce a win with this formation. On the other hand i produce a smile every time i see that my opponent either change to this formation with an event or use it from start.))
3-3-4: The last formation is again an all out attack formation, just like the 4-2-4 formation. Remember that all these formation very voulnerable in defence so pick them with coution, not just pick to try. There are smarter offensive formations to choose.
