Formation Query

[Pikem4N]

Hi all


I play mostly on xbox live i've only been playing for a few months, and i do get a win on the odd occasion (247 games- 32 wins,12 draws, and erm 203 losses lol ), but atm i seem to get hammered a bit (got a few 7-0 losses under my belt in the last few days! ) and i think its down to formation.

I started with a 4-4-2 diamond formation and recently toyed with a 3-5-2 but since i've changed to the 3-5-2 formation i played 4 games, won 2 and lost 2, but i've had 6-7 more games since then and i've not won one!

Has anyone got any formation tips, especially for man utd?


Cheers from PikemaN

 

[paul2478]

The default 4-4-2 formation for man utd works well just keep trying, dont worry about defending too much and try and score as many as you can

 

[cotty182]

I guess it depends on what type of goals you are condeding. If it's the type where they slip a through ball in around the full-back position, then yes, 3-5-2 is not for you. But if they are getting balls to striker's runs in the middle of your defense because you are new to the game and not so confident with defending, then go 442 or 433 with 2 defensive midfielders infront of the 2 central defenders. And also select under strategy defense line: C, offside: C. This should give your defense a lot more structure!

I hope this information was helpful

 

[Pikem4N]

Yeah i think i will try the "back to basics" approach with a flat back 4, and either try 4-4-2 or as you said cotty 4-3-3, of recent time it appears that i have been letting in some foolish goals, but as most of you know, the majority of players (on xboxlive anyway) tend to have barca,inter,Ac and Chelsea as their teams and opt for 3 up front.

Thanks for the tips guys, i will try it in a bit, and post how i did later lol

Pikey

 

[Pikem4N]

Well i had 3 games, ok one of them was a default win, but i am unbeaten in 3 games now

I went for the standard 4-4-2 formation with utd, then i selected a 4-3-3 attacking formation and a 5-3-2 defending formation with the LT+A and LT+B tactic in game, and won 3-0 (default win) then a 1-0 against inter and 1-0 a win against AC I would play agin tonight, but i've had 1 too many ciders now lol

 

[dennyz_0106]

It depends on the goals you are losing; are they headers, or a through ball down the center, or just silly dumb mistakes like losing the ball next to your own goal, or stuff like that?
If you are losing in headers, you can: a)get tall center backs. b) try and stop their wings to cross the ball in. If they are in the wing, use your full back to block the path of the cross. Don't try to go in for the tackle unless you think you have a very good chance of getting the ball.

If you are losing via through balls, then try to anticipate at the balls they play and get ready. If they have a 1vs1, definitely do not try and tackle them unless necessary. Try and stay about 1metre (in the game, not real measurements!) from him. Always try to get your player between the opposition player and the goal, therefore denying him any chance for a shot on goal. If you do lose your position, and the opponent looks like he's going to shoot, then use slide tackle to tackle the ball. This is risky, and should be used as a last resort.

If you keep doing silly mistakes, try to not dribble as much and clear and pass the ball more. Also just stay calm and don't rush into the tackle. Try to be more conservative and not just launch your player at the opposition.

As for the formation, I recommend the Man Utd formation, as some others have already said (it pains me as an Arsenal fan to tell you this). But i prefer to put the left side midfield more inwards, almost like a AMF. Also, being an Arsenal fan, i like to use the Bergkamp-Henry attack, where Bergkamp does the passing, while Henry moves between the Left and and center. As for defending, try to use a back four that pushes up the pitch; you can do this by making back line to "A" and offside line to "C" (I know that most recommend to use "C" and "C"). The reasons for this are simple. For a start, when the defenders play with a "C" back line, a more withdrawn forward (SS) can exploit 'the hole' position. The hole position is from between the line of defense and line of midfield.

------GK-------
---DEFENSE----
-----'hole'-----
---MIDFIELD---
This makes it that if a CB goes to mark him, it will pull him out of position, but if he is left free, it leaves him unmarked. But if the defense line is pushed up, this hole will become much smaller, meaning its not very useful.

Another good side is that you will win the ball further upfield, so that you won't always recieve the ball in a danger zone (area close to the goal). And even if someone can break through the defense, there's still enough time to recover with a fast defender.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


My current modified 'best' team:
--------------Cech---------------
------stam-----------lucio--------
zanitti----------------------A.Cole
-----------------Essien-----------
---------Gerrard------------------
-----------------------Rosicky----
-Eto'o----------------------------
------------Bergkamp-------------
-------------------Henry---------

 

[dicky_t]

if your conceeding goals best to avoid 3-5-2 and the diamond 4-4-2 as both conceed areas for opposistion players to run into ,also using tactic c as your back line gives time for players to run or pick a pass in the "hole" as described by dennyz excellent post

try a flat back four with backward attacking arrows on your full backs ,with two DM ,this will give you a back 4 that covers all defensive areas and two players in front of the back 4 to stop players running at your back line, with a back line of B ,just dont use team mate pressure as it will pull players out of posistion

i find this works against varied attacks but when you win the ball you must play foreward or retain posession of the ball to take their players out of your half of the feild ,if you do go back line of c like this ,you run the risk of being overloaded in your half but you do have the option of a quick counter attack should you win the ball

also if its online against the "running" opponent try 5-2-3 this gives lots of bodies in close proximity around your box and usually tackles the lag issue but leaves you short of options in the attacking third

the way to get around this is to play a diamond formation but with a high back line using the full backs as described earlier but your centre halves must have pace and using the "pressure" in tactics (see advanced formations on this site) ,using this you can pen your opponents in their half ,but your passing must be quick and precise and your dribbling must be good because you dont get much time on the ball

either which one you play it comes down to the quality and style of your opponent ,using the tactics you have prepared to combat each style ,always best to go with your strongest way of playing and see how the game pans out then change it using tactics