Dortmund

So, I'm playing with a friend in the German Bundesliga, he's Bayern and I'm Dortmund because I refuse to be the best team in the league... and I've put together quite a decent squad actually... two seasons in. The problem is that they just don't seem to perform unless A) Götze is playing or B ) The opponent isn't worthy.

I mean, I defeated Bayern at home and then drew in München later in the season, but I'm barely holding 5th 10 games from the end because of horrible draws when I needed wins against obscenely low rated squads. 3 of Bochums 6 points are from a home disaster which put me out of the leaders position 10 games in.

The bigger problem is that all the players love me, and their morale is superb, so I haven't the slightest idea what to do.

Here's the squad:

-----------------J. VOSSEN (P) -- T. NECID (TM)-------------------

-M. LEITNER (W) -----------------------------------X. SHAQIRI (W)-

----------------M. GÖTZE (DLP) -- M. V. BOMMEL (BWM)--------------

------------------------------------------------------------------

- M SCHMELZER (FB)- M HUMMELS (CB)-N SUBOTIĆ (CB) - A HINKEL (FB)-

---------------------------S HANDANOVIČ (GK)----------------------

I mean, I'm saving up for Andres Beck (Hoffenheim) and I nearly have the cash, and he is an excellent fullback to make up for my dismal backs, and I'm bringing in 18 year old Ivo Samardžić (Swiss/Argentine/Croatian) for my other back... but we'll only see that next season.

The irony is that, although I promised Champions League football next season (I was 5th last year too, and was kicked out in a heartbreaker where we all had 10 points in the groups) the board is thrilled because my transfers have been nothing short of spectacular, my cup performances are amazing (Valencia AGG. 4-0 at Mestalla), and I'm watching my team lose out to the worst teams in the league...

Any ideas?

BTW: Vossen is brilliant. He just needs to get rid of shooting with power. Because, as of this moment, at 23 or 24, he has 18 finishing, 18 composure, 18 off the ball, 15 positioning, and 19 teamwork... all he needs is first touch (12). An excellent buy...

Change the tactics.

It appears you are playin a 424 variation so maybe a more conservative approach would help.

Go with a 451 with a flat middle three (dm/cm/playmaker) and two inside forwards/wingers. Use Grosskreutz in the latter positions as he s amazing.

The above may seem absurd in the light of what you think your problem is but dont forget that FM12 seems to be about bossing the mf which is what the flat middle three will give you. With the quality and pace of the front 3 you will see that youll start scoring goals ...

#45265 MANUMAD : Change the tactics.

It appears you are playin a 424 variation so maybe a more conservative approach would help.

Go with a 451 with a flat middle three (dm/cm/playmaker) and two inside forwards/wingers. Use Grosskreutz in the latter positions as he s amazing.

The above may seem absurd in the light of what you think your problem is but dont forget that FM12 seems to be about bossing the mf which is what the flat middle three will give you. With the quality and pace of the front 3 you will see that youll start scoring goals ...

Scoring goals hasn't been the problem though... I'm scoring more than plenty, Necid tends to slide tackle his way to a goal, and Vossen picks up the rest. And then we have the occasional Shaqiri magic... By occasional I mean once every two games, from 30 metres.

Großkreutz was dismal, which is why he's been demoted... I think he's going in the summer to fund Beck...

Like I said, the problem seems to be that they're coming up my wings, and because Schmelzer and Hinkel aren't awesome... well... Handanovič can only do so much...

So... it all came through on the final days of the season. 8 rounds from the end, I was 9th, and looking in despair at the table, but then, one miraculous drubbing of Schalke in Gelsenkirchen (7-2) later, I was back on track, and, after making it to the final of the Europa League (defeating Lille to get to Sporting) I managed to get up to 6th in the league, after some heroics from... well... just about everyone. Especially Julian Koch, who I found in my reserves

In any case, in the very last round of the season, I needed both Schalke AND Freiburg to lose, AND I needed to beat Hoffenheim at home, so that I would be fourth. Well, I defeated Hoffenheim 2-0, and both Schalke and Freiburg lost 4-1 away, to Hannover and to Mainz respectively. So, with a little help, I'm back in the Champions League, but not before picking up the Europa League cup, after a 3-1 win with a few excellent goals from Necid.

And the German cup, against my Champions League winning friend (Bayern defeated City 2-1), was a moderate success, as I scored from two corners to pick that cup up as well, to end the season on a high.

The irony is that we will play each other twice before the start of the season, in both the European Super cup and the German Super cup...

You did well. But I still think that with the players at your disposal you could have done even better.

My point about the 451 (seems I didnt explain it too well - sorry) is that while you would still score goals it would also give you a solid defence. Dont forget that most matches are won in midfield. 3 central midfielders would ensure that.

Having said that I also usually use a 424 formation. Its not one I made, I downloaded it from somewhere (FMBASE?). Its called Mr D's win all and is pretty crazy. Its strategy is overload and is amazingly attacking resulting in a LOT of cccs per match.

I modify the formation somehow during matches - eg: the mf has two bbms support but if my opposition is strong or attacks through the middle I pull one back to anchor man defence sitting in front of my defence.

I would urge people to look for it and use it as it results in a very high percentage of wins.

#45715 MANUMAD : You did well. But I still think that with the players at your disposal you could have done even better.

My point about the 451 (seems I didnt explain it too well - sorry) is that while you would still score goals it would also give you a solid defence. Dont forget that most matches are won in midfield. 3 central midfielders would ensure that.

Having said that I also usually use a 424 formation. Its not one I made, I downloaded it from somewhere (FMBASE?). Its called Mr D's win all and is pretty crazy. Its strategy is overload and is amazingly attacking resulting in a LOT of cccs per match.

I modify the formation somehow during matches - eg: the mf has two bbms support but if my opposition is strong or attacks through the middle I pull one back to anchor man defence sitting in front of my defence.

I would urge people to look for it and use it as it results in a very high percentage of wins.

I'm not very fond of downloaded tactics, because a tactic really depends on the players you have available... My brutal Monaco tactic worked ONLY for that specific Monaco team. A downloaded tactic pretends like there's one constant solution. I'm not saying that it isn't. I'm just saying that it's not the best solution.

We'll see how this season goes... I've beaten my friend in the German Super Cup already, to grab my third cup of the year. If it doesn't fall into shreds again, I might be able to take the title home. I'll let you guys know how's it going.

I see your point. I agree that no tactics are constant. You have to adapt them to the particular team and even to the particular match you are playing ...

Lovely about the supercup!!!

So... update... it's been a truly fantastic season (not over yet) against all odds.

Bad news first:

Vossen, my top goalscorer, broke his leg in October, and was sidelined until about the end of the season... he's just come into light training now (April). Thankfully, he's a very smart, very unphysical player, so his main stats stayed as they were... off the ball even increasing. His "poacher" stats are now: Finishing-18. Composure: 18, Off the ball: 19, First touch is like 16 or something...

Götze was also injured for a few months in the beginning, he came back around February, after also being injured in November... As was Hummels.

Fortunately, I bought Petersen from Bayern for 2 million. He was German. He was a striker. My friend had him in the reserves. The only reason I bought him is because I thought "just in case someone gets injured"

So, with a largely pulled together squad, I came up with this:

----------------N PETERSEN (P/DEU)--T NECID (TM/CZE)----------------
---------------------------M LEITNER (AP/DEU)-----------------------
-I PERIŠIĆ (W/CRO)--------------------------------X SHAQIRI (W/SUI)-
--------------------------S BENDER (DM/DEU)-------------------------
Y NAGATOMO (FB/JAP)-R TOLOI (BPD/BRA)-N SUBOTIĆ (CD/SRB)-I SAMARDŽIĆ (FB/SUI)
--------------------------S HANDANOVIČ (GK/SLO)---------------------

Not great... Samardžić is 18... Toloi is 20... Shaqiri is 21. And Leitner, as the main playmaker, isn't 22.

With this, I passed this group:

BARCELONA
DORTMUND
SOCHAUX (2nd in Ligue 1)
NAPOLI...

Including an 8-0 loss to Barcelona and a 1-1 draw at home...

So... great... I got Real Madrid as my reward...

In any case, after the break, I didn't have any transfer activity. Lewis Holtby went to Bayern (my friend... on a free) at the end of the season. I wanted him... but ok. I got Ter Stegen for 4.2 million... as my second, first team, keeper. (Bayern has Adler and Neuer...)

But ok. So, after the break, my tactic looked like this:

----------------N PETERSEN (P/DEU)--T NECID (TM/CZE)----------------
---------------------------M GÖTZE (AP/DEU)-----------------------
-M LEITNER (W/DEU)--------------------------------X SHAQIRI (W/SUI)-
--------------------------S BENDER (DM/DEU)-------------------------
Y NAGATOMO (FB/JAP)-R TOLOI (CB/BRA)-M HUMMELS (CB/DEU)-I SAMARDŽIĆ (FB/SUI)
---------------S HANDANOVIČ (GK/SLO) OR M TER STEGEN (DEU)--------

And with this I lost to Real Madrid at home, 2-0...

But the season was looking up. I got a few huge results (2-0 against München in the cup quarterfinals) a 3-0 win against Wolfsburg, and a gorgeous 8-1 win against Schalke. Away.

And then played against Real Madrid again. I went for it... saying "I believe" multiple times. ESPECIALLY, after Nils Petersen nearly scored the very first attack...

I lost 5-0.

But still. In the league, I played against Bayern, won, for the third time this season, of four, with Necid scoring a wonderful goal in the 86th minute. (funny story. My 17 year old back-up right back was playing on the right side... he tried use that to his advantage, and focus passing on his left flank. The 17 year old stole the ball and assisted the goal), bringing the title back into play. Bayern currently has 50 points from 24 games, as does Schalke, while Leverkusen and I have 49 apiece. Fortunately, my run in is VERY difficult... which is good. Because the weaker the team, the worse I do. So, a few strong teams always do very well. I can effectively knock Schalke and Leverkusen out of the title race in the next few weeks, and we'll see how it goes. Perhaps I can pick up my first title... seeing as the press thinks I'm a bit of a cup specialist... hardly not true.

This is easily my best season yet... and it's so damned close. If this were real.. my players would be wearing a shirt that says "Believe"

Because I certainly should...