Season 6: SM23 (Tactics Page) Episode 9: CUSTOM FORMATIONS (2)

Hey there soccermanagerite! Thank you for coming back to yet another episode of this season as we take a look at our 2nd formation within this week’s mini series of creating different formations from scratch in a pursuit to switch things up during your managerial career. If this is your first ever blog with us, WECLOME ABOARD! We’ve been uploading these posts for quite a while now and I am certain that you will find the answers to any questions you may have pertaining Soccermanager gameplay.

In today’s episode, since we are all looking to become champions within our various competitions, I thought to myself: “ Why not explain a formation that only champions will know how to play?”. So that’s exactly what we’ll be doing today…

The 3-2-4-1 formation is one that is solely focused on total domination of possession of the soccer ball for as long as possible within a match. It requires you have players that are very good on the ball and it was first introduced to the footballing world by the genius himself, Pep Guardiola. This formation allows for systematic overloads in many areas on the pitch but mostly within the middle third where it tends to already be quite contested. By having quality players within these positions you can have your players using intricate link up play to navigate any form of pressure that the opposition is trying to place upon you. A truly spectacular and interesting formation indeed.

Just as in yesterday’s episode, we have to take a look at the player roles that I believe will work best for this formation and for the players that I have within my starting X1:

GOAL KEEPER AND DEFENCE

Just like the 3-2-5, our keeper must be a Modern Keeper since he will be required to get on the ball to be an extra man within the build up play from the back. The 3 Central Defenders don’t necessarily have to play in specific roles, but it is very imperative that they all have decent passing attributes since this formation only works well with an emphasis on short passing and possession based football. Manchester City already have a lot ofquality but the same is not true for most clubs so proceed with caution before using this quartet set up:

MIDFIELD

Here we have yet another look at a double pivot sitting in front of a back 3. Whereas in yesterday’s 3-2-5 the sole focus was not so much on ball progression from the midfielders, today’s formation requires that every player on the pitch has to be good enough on the ball to play within it so you must absolutely play them as Deep-lying Playmakers. Similarly to the 3-2-5 again, they do not need to be the most dynamic or mobile players but they have to be good technicians whenever the ball is at their feet. They keep the team ticking, as well as control the flow of the match from the middle of the pitch:

FORWARD

As always things tend to get pretty interesting the further up the pitch you get, and the same can be said here since the attackers within this formation start off slightly deeper but tend to cause all sorts of problems for the opposition due to the amount of rotations and movement that should be occurring ( especially from Floating Advanced Playmakers). The wide players ofcourse are the main source of width so tend to start off on the touch line, but they must be Technical Wingers since the team is playing a more possession based style. What this means is that both Technical Wingers will start out wide but then drift infield (especially when in possession) in order to link up with their teammates.

The Floating Advanced Playmakers are the roamers within this X1 who are free to roam about to find space for themselves or to open up room for their teammates. Now it is not mandatory to play with 2 Advanced Playmakers within these positions since there is always the option of playing a Playmaker or even a more technical type Box to Box Midfielder like a Ndombele or Zielinski, for example. Just ensure that whoever plays here has the ability to play as an AM(C).

Lastly, the anomaly of this formation is the choice of who to be your F(C). I know I said that every player has to be capable with the ball at their feet to perform within this formation, but the only exception to that rule is your ‘No.9’ as he can play either as an Explosive Target Man or a Finisher. He does not need to get involved in build up play as his sole responsibility will be to put the ball into the back of the net whenever chances come his way.

And that lads was our look at the second formation within this mini series. A very interesting formation that is backed by results since this is the current one Manchester City are using in their pursuit of winning the Treble. Tomorrow’s formation will surely be a first timer for almost every reader as we’ve decided to truly test our boundaries with it. So don’t miss out!!! ✌️