Striker version:
Attacking midfielder moved to Advanced Forward. I'm not really sure if it's better than the  strikerless version (probably not), but it produces great goal numbers if you have a quality striker (Haaland 73 goals total in the season). Updated the main post with the file (Voila V3.5 AF).

Throw-ins of Pheonix, rest of set pieces of ZaZ Blue. Adding a bit of asymmetry to the current top meta set-ups.

Zippo said: Thanks for the notice.

The issue should be fixed now. Expand

Everything works now

Should I create a new thread for this tactic and delete it from here, or keep it here?

I don't know why but I'm not able to start a new thread, the website just refreshes when I try to make one (I've tried different browsers but nothing works).

Small tweaks, updated the main post.

V3.5 Update:

- Removed Pass it shorter from central defenders
- Added Get Further Forward to wingers and fullbacks

famulor said: It seems like a good tactic but holy hell is it hard on all the players during a match. Expand

Magician uploaded a condition-saving version of Pheonix as well. If you're up by 2+ goals and don't have to worry about result anymore, just switch to it.

salzby said: 3 defenders and 3 strikers. I'm wondering from whom you have taken inspiration for this Expand

Paulo Sousa style I've been trying to make a more faithful recreation as well, with high possesion rate, but shorter passing and lower tempo just don't really work in this year's FM.

Improving defense will be my main focus now for sure. Not having fullbacks/wingbacks and using just defensive wingers on flanks is the thing hurting the defensive performance the most, but I've tried moving them down to FB/WB and got worse results. Still pretty happy with the results of V2, as there weren't many viable tactics with 3 defenders at the back before, and this one is pretty good.

V2 Update, which is a massive improvement in terms of consistency and overall performance:

Deep Lying Playmakers changed to Roaming Playmakers (with Move Into Channels) and moved to DM slot.

This version is much more consistent (the previous version could get 102 points  with City in one test and then 88 in another, this one is a lot more stable), much better defensively while still really good offensively.

1st Lazio, 1st Benfica, 100 points City.

I've updated the main post with the file. Would appreciate a test because like I said, it is a really big improvement.

I've been trying to make 3 defenders at the back work, and this tactic has managed to get some decent results for me. Team instructions and set pieces are from ZaZ Blue (offensive throw ins from Pheonix), but the tactic has no fullbacks or wingbacks, defenders with stopper and cover duties, no offside trap, double playmakers and 3 AMCs so it should provide a bit different playstyle than the current meta tactics. I need to work on the defense because the tactic is a bit leaky but offensively it's pretty good.

V3 Update (I've updated the main post, tactic file is there):

- Updated set pieces (the previous ones were a bit outdated because I've kind of forgot about this tactic for a while)
- Removed Pass it shorter from wingers
- Removed Slowed pace down, throw it long and distribute to full-backs from distribution
- Added Roll it Out to distribution

As you can see it's quite consistent, only 1 point differnce between two runs, and both won FA and Carabao cups.

ZaZ said: Finished testing here, but it didn't work for me. It doesn't mean it's not better, just that for my method of testing, it didn't improve. Different methodologies give different outcomes, with the difference from fm-arena and fm-base being a big example of that.

I tested the suggestions individually, as well as all together (the version you posted). Expand

Should have probably expected that, because the only thing that changed between those two tactics from 21.3 testing table and the current one are throw-ins, and Pheonix then was #1 and ZaZ - Blue was #2 while right now is the other way around. Could be because of the number of tests run and ZaZ - Blue was better all way long, but it's probably a proof that the Pheonix throw-ins aren't that much better.

I'll still be experimenting with throw-ins because it's probably one of the only parts of the tactic that can be improved, everything else is most likely as optimised as it could get. Congrats on an amazing tactic

I've been playing around with the tactic a bit and I've found throw-ins to be a bit of weakness - I haven't really gotten any chances created from throw-ins. I've also used Pheonix for a bit and I quite like it's throw-in setup so I've plugged it here. Also I think tight marking is still good, just not on defenders (that's why tight marking TI is not that effective in my opinion). So I've changed wingers to defensive wingers, and added tight marking on all non-defenders, effectively combining Blue 3.0 with Pheonix. Here are some results of  this tweak but it still needs more testing, not sure yet if it's better than original Blue. I'll play with it in my own save now, and hopefully be able to share some more results soon.

City 107 points, Sevilla 99 points all cups.

crazyfmguy93 said: Are there anyone uses FMRTE or Genie Scout with this tactic? Can u give me some advice? Pace, acceleration important but some slow people have Bette ratings. It is very complicated this Year. Expand

In regards to percentage ratings in Genie I'd say it would be good to edit them a bit if you are planning to use them.

Go to Menu -> Rating -> Edit player rating and load this one (bottom right corner, click on rating) - https://www.mediafire.com/file/lfjspwyledytqn7/Hacker.grf/file. It increases importance of pace and acceleration for all positions, adds a bit professionalism, determination and consistency to rating calculations, and lowers the ratings of player based on their injury proneness (also changes a little ratings for other positions, for example I've increased composure by a little for strikers and lowered first touch, but these are really small changes, based on how I view the game, you can tweak it to your own liking).

Updated throw-ins for patch 21.4. Long throws still work well in my opinion, the difference being the throw-in taker - I find it's better to have a taker with high long-throw attribute over just using DL/DR all the time, that's why I removed default taker from the setup.

Hugo said: Hi! What are the proper attributes for SS and CM? Only the main ones.

Sorry my english...

Thanks! Expand

https://fm-arena.com/table/9-important-attributes/

The lower in the table the better (so Pace and Acceleration are the best).

Thank you very much for the test I'll try not to post anything to similiar to other tactics anymore, this one was an exception because I've been trying to use everything I know works in this meta. Thanks once again

Here is some more tests, from lower leagues, if someone was worried how it performs with weaker teams

Hi, I know this type of formation was already tested like hundred times, but I've been getting such great results with this tactic on this patch that I've decided it's worth posting it. It's a tactic I've been developing since last patch, putting all the knowledge I have about what works and what doesn't in this year's FM, but I believe it has hit its peak on this patch.
Eintracht predicted 8th win championship with big point lead over 2nd place, and get to final of DFB-Pokal. West Brom predicted last finish with 66 points and qualified for international competition, Liverpool 105 points.








I'd appreciate if it could be tested but I'd understand if you won't want to because of how many tactics with this formation there are. I encourage everyone to try it out regardless.


V2.1

- Updated throw-ins for patch 21.4

If you were to re-test it, here is a better version, results from 21.3 (I'll update the main post as well):