Declan Heywood’s Possession Tactic for FM20 tweaked by RDF

RDF has been known to tweak the popular tactics out there in the FM Community. But as part of his Patreon services, now anybody who signs up can get their tactic tweaked by RDF if they wish too.

Declan Heywood has been kind enough to support RDF and send his tactic over and due to the success it got, it deserves it’s own download page.

This tactic is a possession based tactic. The aim is have possession in midfield whilst the wide men move about and get into advanced positions making it hard for the oppositions defence to deal with.


The midfield aims to be well balance. The midfield trio contains an Anchor Man who will sit in front of the defence, very rarely moving away from position so he can protect the back line. The Box to Box midfielder aims to have influence in both defence and attack, he will be important in transitions. The Advanced Playmaker will be the key in this team. He will be looking to dictate the tempo and keep the team ticking.

The wide men are also very important. The Inside Forward will help the striker to get goals, he will play a lot closer to the striker as the right Winger will look to stretch the pitch as wide as possible, creating chances out from wide and putting in crossest from the byline where the Striker, Left Winger and Box to Box midlander can all profit from.

The defence is very steady! Hardly concede chances and hardly concede goals. In 38 games, they managed to keep 28 clean sheets! very impressive defence work. Partly down to the Anchor Man being that protection but also the right back who is a Inverted Wing Back. By him sitting narrower, makes the team a little more solid and structured incase the opposition look to counter attack.

There will be a lot of pressing which will start high up the field so players need to be fit and have god determination to keep on going.

Players needed

WGs - good at both attacking and defending. Pace, Stamina, Positioning, Off The Ball, Marking, Anticipation Work Rate and Decisions will be key
CBs - Good ball playing defenders. strong in the air, good at tackling and not too slow. Heading, Bravery, Strength, Balance, Positioning, Marking, Teamwork, Concentration and Decisions will be key
DM - your anchor man to be good at defending but also at playmaking. Passing, Teamwork, Decisions, Anticipation, Positioning, Stamina, First Touch, Composure and Bravery are all good attributes
Wingers - To have playmaking skills with Pace. Passing, Technique, Vision, Crossing, Anticipation, Composure, Decisions, Pace, Work Rate and Teamwork will be key
LCM - Box To Box type midfielders. To be okay at everything. Okay at Tackling, Passing. Must have good Work Rate, Team Work, Agility, Stamina, Decisions, Anticipation and Positioning/Off The Ball…Play your better defensive midfielder as the RCM
RCM - Advanced playmaker. To have great creativity skills, Passing, Teamwork, Flair, Agility, Decisions, Composure, First Touch, Technique and Vision are all great attributes to have
ST - Good all round striker, your CF will be moving into channels and also will be the one dropping deeper so should have good creating skills. Pace, Off The Ball, Teamwork, Anticipation, Decisions, Composure, Balance, Finishing, First Touch and Technique will be key.

Shouts

Only used shouts with midfielder. Told them to be creative, demand more or encourage depending on the situation.

Tweaking Tips

* “Work Ball Into Box” can be added if taking too many risks in attack
* “Run At Defence” can be added to be a little more direct
* “Line Of Engagement” can be lowered to “Higher” to break down defensive teams

Opposition Instructions

NONE

Video Analysis

Testing Results