Fm23 Tactics Against Big Teams

[Janne Desir]

Imcurrently using this set up - thanks to @Cult of Football Manager for creating a 2013 Ateltico Madrid tactic. This is for FM21.

I am now facing teams that stay deeper and hit us on the counter attack - i have no idea how to combat this. i moved the defensive line line to high while leaving the LOE to lower (so we have space to counter attack).

Can anyone provide me tips on how to tweak this to overcome teams that sit deep and counter me?

Conversely - I'm also looking for ways to make this tactic more attacking for when i really need some gols. would love help on this department also.

Sometimes there are tactics which I don't understand that work very well... I can't see in this setup who attacks the box. The only midfielder with an attack duty is a playmaker, CM/d and BWM/s are more conservative roles, and the WM/d too.

Your choice of roles makes no sense to me. Who is actually supposed to be scoring goals? Your WP who is on attack duty? Your Targetman? Or your BWM who seems to be your only runner from midfield. None of those are ideal choices in this kind of set-up.

Maybe. But why use BWM, a midfield destroyer role, when there are other roles that will perform the task better without too much custom instructions. Making BWM into your midfield runner sounds overly complicated. Why not just play CM (s) with instruction to get forward or BBM. Or even CM (a).

But if a team is sitting deep against me and I move my LOE or up. Then won't I have even less space to attack since their end is already congested? What role would you recommend to change the RM that would still provide some defensive solidarity?

Agree that lower LOE can open up some space to counter, but then you might still want to increase pressing a little to win the ball back and block passing lanes. Also, perhaps more direct passing to move the ball forwards more before they retreat into their shell.

Extremely high tempo is hard to pull off. Do you have the players with excellent decision making, anticipation and vision? Do you lose the ball a lot? Might work great but you might need to be a little more patient. Yes, this is contradictory to what I wrote earlier about winning the ball back and getting it forwards before they retreat but you might need some balance. Takes trial and error.

Both things can be true. The real definition of counter attacking to me is winning the ball back from the opposition and attacking them right away and that can happen anywhere on the pitch, it just happens that the gegenpress style is based on doing that high up the pitch.

What @ta11zx meant was by lowering you line of engagement, the opposing team will have to bring the ball out because you're not putting pressure on them. If you lower the pressing as well it will work great then you might use OIs to tight mark the wide players and tackle hard the central players

But if their on cautious mentality and "waste time often" and I drop my pressing intensity and my loe - doesn't that mean all their gonna do is "play out of drfensr" with very low tempo and short passing and just keep passing to their own players in an effort to waste time?

They may prefer to hoof the ball directly to the striker, who knows. Naturally if you set a lower LoE and less Pressing you will be positioned further back on the pitch but the opposition may still keep a direct passing game, not everyone likes to play out of defence.

Also, don't always link a mentality to a specific play style. Think of mentality as a level of risk, if a team is on 'cautious' it means they will not try too many risky actions (through balls, long shots, 1v1, etc), and it doesn't always mean they have a low defensive block.

I have a match coming against Borussia Monchengladbach, and they're the classic control possession, work ball into box, play out of defence, high pressing team. My question is how to play against them in a broad tactical sense. I know a lot depends on who's playing, but generally speaking, eg should I play a fast counter attacking style, etc. Thanks!

There are generally two school of thoughts to this problem. First is the German school of thought which aims to disrupt possession with high pressing and counter pressing to exploit transitions where the opponent is most vulnerable. However executing these type of tactics require good players that can go 1 on 1 with the other team since you will need to use some degree of man marking.

The other school of thought is to let the opponents have possession but control all the important spaces so that they cannot do anything with the possession while you threaten them with the spaces they left behind. The prime example of this will be the recent match between Chelsea vs Man City where Man City have loads of possession but never do anything with it while Chelsea constantly exploit spaces behind the defensive line eventually wearing down their backline. Both attacking midfielders Mount and Havertz were frequently tracking back to cover both half spaces and stifle man City attacks.

Hmmm. I think my team doesn't have the quality to go toe to toe with them, so I'm thinking sit deep and hit them on the counter. I hate inviting pressure though, I prefer to take the attack to them. DM powers - activate!

Thanks for the input y'all, it's much appreciated! I'm really trying to develop a deeper tactical sense of what to do when, but I'm still very much at the "thog make fire" stage. I want to find someone who's written/made videos about this sort of thing in depth. Do you have any recommendations?

Football Manager 2023 offers players the chance to take on the role of a football manager and guide their team to success. However, when taking control of an underdog team, it can be challenging to compete against stronger opponents. Here are some tips to help you create reliable underdog tactics in Football Manager 2023:

A strong defense is essential for underdog teams as it helps keep the scoreline close, giving you a better chance of winning. Consider using a deep defensive line, a compact midfield, and a well-organized backline.

By sitting back and absorbing pressure, you can use quick transitions to exploit the gaps left by the opposition. Encourage your players to play direct, simple passes and look for opportunities to break quickly.

By following these tips, you can create reliable underdog tactics in Football Manager 2023 and help your team compete against stronger opponents. Remember, persistence and patience are key in this game, so don't be discouraged if success doesn't come instantly. Keep working on your tactics and players, and you'll be well on your way to achieving your goals.

When creating tactics for an underdog team in Football Manager 2023, it's essential to select the right tactical instructions to give your team the best chance of success. Here are some of the best tactical instructions to use:

Encourages your defenders to play short, simple passes to build from the back and retain possession. This can help your team establish a foothold in the game and keep the ball away from the opposition.

Instructs your defenders to closely mark their opponents, making it harder for them to receive and control the ball. This is useful for stopping key opposition players from having an impact on the game.

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