azuldan14 said: i play on console, but will have a look, iv usec your 4-2-4 tactics Expand

My plan is to test a 424 tactic tomorrow, to see if this improvement in defense can be applied to tactics without three defenders. If results are good, I will also add versions with strikers. I have decided to use one daily slot for trying to improve the top tactic, and another for creating different ones.

azuldan14 said: these strikerless tactics are getting boring now, there all the same Expand

You can use the table "Plug and Play" to find tactics with strikers.

Snoop said: I wonder whether there'll be another patches with ME changes for FM26 Expand

To be fair, I wish they had a UI patch, because the interface makes the game sufferable to play.

I am testing playing through the flanks instead of middle, with flank players cutting inside and underlapping, since I only tested this in the previous patch. The goal is to make the game flow to the middle, instead of through the middle, and see if starting plays in the flank gives any advantage.

TurboHips said: Congrats mate back on top ! The new meta is so different to most fms it’s crazy. Can you post the instructions for console players Expand

Thanks! I am just making the light version, then I will post the details.

Testing the trio of defenders pressing less. The idea is for them to delay the opponents so the others can recompose during counter attacks, from any side.





Player Instructions
All: Tackle Harder
BCB: Trigger Press Less Often
OCB: Shoot Less Often, Take More Risks, Trigger Press Less Often
AWB: Sit Narrower, Cross From Byline and Shoot Less Often
CHM: Make More Runs
IF: Stay Wider

Opponent Instructions: None, and only recommend people to use if they know what they are doing.

Light version when you have a comfortable lead: Ease Off Tackle for all players, Stay On Feet, reduce one step in Trigger Press and Tempo, set mentality to Positive, and change IFs to IWs. The goal of this version is to avoid injuries and cards, at the cost of performance. If you just want to become more solid on defense, simply change mentality to Positive and change IFs to IWs.

Set pieces and training are in the attachments. Training uses two schedules, one for rebalance (Physical x1) and one for growth (Attack x6, or 2x in three different days), and they are divided equally (alternate every week or month). Make sure to leave three rest sessions after every match, double intensity when full energy, and no pitch or gym training when below full condition. I also set everyone for Quickness focus, and train them in any role of their position with focus on pace and acceleration (highlighted attributes). Pictures for people on consoles are below.
Training and Set Pieces






Credits to everyone in FM-Arena who did small experiments which gave hints to what might be working well in this patch. Probably there will be a better tactic inspired by this one in the next hours or days, so I am just happy to contribute.

juliius said: Do we know how the oop roles/positions impact it now? Expand

I don't, but I would say only IP position counts.

Antal said: does learning new positions on the field and skills by a player consume CA? Expand

Each position has different weights for each attribute. When calculating the CA of a player, the game considers the highest CA weight from all positions, adjusted by the proficiency in those positions. That means they don not consume CA, but they make your attributes more costly, which results in higher CA for lower attributes.


juliius said: For most positions yes. Think wingers learning opposite side might be the only exception, not sure about fullbacks learning the opposite side. The others i'm pretty sure uses up CA Expand

Positions from opposite side have the same weights, so you can safely train players in those positions without affecting CA.

Testing if CHM moving forward more often benefits a very attacking tactic. This version does move forward, while Autumn 2.21 does.

Testing if drop off and central defender pressing less often improves the defense of a very attacking tactic.

isfrost said: Hey ZaZ, I really like your tactics, this one is very attacking and uses a high tempo, which works great. I was wondering if you have a variation of this tactic that’s more defence-focused or easier on the players once you’re winning (like 3-0)? Something that keeps a similar style but is stronger at defending and has a good ratio of GA rather than pushing lots of goals. Thanks! Expand

Light version when you have a comfortable lead: Ease Off Tackle for all players, Stay On Feet, reduce one step in Trigger Press and Tempo, set mentality to Positive, and change IFs to IWs. The goal of this version is to avoid injuries and cards, at the cost of performance.

For a defensive version, simply set mentality to Positive and IFs to IWs.

Stickmata said: With the autumm v2.11 tactic you sent before, I became the champion by far with 109 points and 149 goals with the leicester city team. However, with the same tactic, the Southamton team could only be 17. Team strengths are very close to each other. Could you please try the tactics with different teams? Expand

FM Arena tries the tactic three times, with five different teams.

Testing the impact of setting BCB to Trigger Less Often in isolation, without Drop Off More. This instruction makes sense since the BCB often defends counter attacks alone, so holding the line until other defenders arrive is a very good idea.

Testing the impact of drop off more in isolation, without setting BCB to trigger less often.

I noticed one of the AWBs was set to Shoot More Often by mistake, so I am fixing it. I am also testing CHMs Making More Runs again. I tested in the previous patch and it didn't give good results, but I have to check if it has influence in the good results of the current top tactic.

Good job!

A tactic that uses every single position, so any player can be useful. It can be mirrored if you want to use flank players of the opposite side.

The goal of this tactic is to use all positions (except CF), so any player in the market can be used. I am still trying a version of this using a striker too, but results were pretty unimpressive so far.

I have changed my Rebalance training to use 1x Physical instead of 1x Resistance (80 => 51). The reason is to give a boost to Jumping Reach and Agility. The schedule was updated in the first post.