Pro P.I.M.P said:
Actually, my above post was related more to WE8 rather than PS4. I tried PS4 couple of times, but WE8 is my speciality here.
I am not saying 3 at the back is bad at all in WE8. I am saynig that it is more risky, and if your opponent is really skillful, he is gonna give you a hard time. I played a lot with some good players having 3 at the back, and they were pretty solid at the defense especially with good zone press applied. But tell you what, I feel I can score at any time when I play against them, and eventually I do. Of course they get dangerous at the front with one extra player participating in the midfeild or in the attack. With my solid 4 at the back formation, I play my game slowly. Try to utilize spaces in his defense. Player Mentality (one of the player competencies) is a big factor in this game. If one of his defense is having a poor mentality or having a bad day (a white arrow down for example) he looses position easily. One mistake like this, I take a good advantage of it and I net the ball easily. That is the danger of 3 at the back.
The more I think about it now, I say use a 3 at the back formation but not as your default. switch back and forth to it. There are a dozen of good formations with 3 at the back. You can switch to it during the game ONLY when you feel you are on the top of your game or maybe your opponent is not good enough that day.
when you have three at the back, always have your defense system as "Sweeper", which is the one usually in the middle two steps behind the other two. Of course, a good sweeper (Tall, strong, mentality, stamina and defendinjg skills) is a must. Be ware, the sweeper keeps himself the last player in the feild, so he should be NEVER out of play. He is cool, guards the area, and keeps his eyes on the ball. When he is involved, he is soo focused to get the ball or end the attack (even with a foul). I always prefered Rickard in this position (Tall, fast, strong), and my old time favorite is Baresi from classis italy.
Using three at the back, always make their defense to "High". Important point here is to set "Back line" to "C". This makes them rarely participate in the attack. They just wait at the back, and don't participate in offense and when you win corners (to avoid counter attacks). This is extremely important. Actually more important than giving awareness arrows to the back.
The other 2 DF should be fast and strong, to be able to cover the huge area. Stam, Nesta and Krol are my favorite here. Another key here is to have a brilliant DMF (with "High" defense) when you have 3 at the back, preferably 2 DMFs. Davids, again Rickard, Beackuenbaur (sp?), Krol, veira, Gerrard and Guilt are my favorite.
The general strategy when you defend with the 3 at the back is to try to slow down the offense till you have the rest of your players back. Avoid confrontation if you are not sure about winning the ball, cause you can't afford to have one of them out of play. The three keeps their eyes on the ball, fence the penality area, waitnig for support from the rest of the team (hopefully DMFs & CMF). As they slow down the attack, I bring more players to the back (Set team defense to the far left or right). And if I have to confront, first use one of your 2 defenders . Then, when it is more critical, Mr. Sweeper should get the job done. I remember the major challenge for my friends was to pass Rickards or Bsresi, my sweeper
Be smart and choose your battle carefully.
My 2 cents !
