Subject: Champions!

Some very interesting results guys :)

Firstly, let me just say, the tactis implemented by alot of managers are starting to look really impressive. Much stronger than the default one's and a really solid base to work with! I'm sure we'll see a few upsets as stronger teams are beaten by good tactical managers.

In the S-League I thought Exterminatorz were really good value for their win. Definitely need to move your strikers much further up the pitch though Valgan. I'd never drop them below the halfway line and it's rare I even drop mine near the halfway line hehe. Had you played your strikers in more advanced positions I think you would have dominated the game!

Thought VIC UTD were unlucky not to come away with a win. Slaynax put out a very nice formation and his strikers were positioned perfectly in the gaps in Stormwind's formation. This was excellent evidence as to why it's important to keep your defenders fairly close together. Stormwind used a default 3-5-2 and the wider defenders were very ineffective in shutting down VIC's strikers. In saying that, VIC's strikers were very disappointing. Certainly had they more pace and tech it would have been a whitewash but an unlucky draw was the end result.

In League II.03 Sokker City and Heroes both recorded convincing wins. Both probably unlucky not to come away with more goals. Two good quality tactics on display there and two very different styles. Should be an interesting clash in week 6!

Holland United came away with a nice win in II.02 but his strikers were largely disappointing. You know when they're getting tackled from behind by the opponents midfielders their tech is simply not good enough :D! I think xyart might also need a little bit of work on the defence in his tactic but the midfield is looking good :)

Soul FC look good in their 1-0 win over Football4Cast. Really should have scored atleast 5 thoiugh. Once again though Herps was able to employ a nice solid tactic and Football4Cast barely had a sniff.

Nesti went down unluckily to the villers of rothian. A draw or a Nesti win would have been the fair result. But in saying this cakama is only new to the forum and his tactic is still one of the defaults. It's no surprise then that his team didn't really outperform their opposition whom also employed a default tactic.

Best of luck to everyone in the cup :)

=(No more cup for me...Anyway, less pressure for me now anyway...Thanks for those kind words, cloete...Im going to try and close down my defense even more so if you have any advise, feel free to share through sokker mail=)

Thanks for the review.. need to work on my tactic.. learn from mistake..

I don't think it's really a mistake. Every new manager uses the default tactics as it's what they're there for. But they're very flawed. You should normally go fine against bot teams as you'll win more than you lose. But really you should win every game against a bot (unless the bot is the team of an ex user and has alot of good players). Keep reading the forum and have a look at some of the questions the other users have asked as dth revan and oni-chi have provided plenty of answers and tips on tactics. I'll also gladly assist you should you require any help.

I personally didn't really think of changing my tactics until around season 2 or 3. Then all of a sudden where I struggled for ages to qualify after losing to bots or weak user teams I found myself winning every game and I qualified straight away. Then as I moved up into a higher league I managed to win virtually every game despite not having a team that was much better. It thanks to the tactics that I had and also a knowledge of which particular skills were important for players to have in order to play certain positions.

Thanks Cloete. I'm using my second team against Blaze, saving my first team for the cup match.

But I welcome any critics. What I should do with my defense?

I've said it before quite a few times on the forum. The key to defence is to ensure that your defenders are tight and well positioned.

Basically make sure that they are within one or two spaces of each other to ensure that there are no gaps. At the moment your wider defenders are pushed up a bit and are further away from your two central defenders. When the opponent kicked off I liked the setting of your defenders, however as the ball moved around they went to what looked more like a default setting.

I'd have a look back over your tactic and move the ball around. I'll bet your defence will move out of shape. It's important to set every square the ball moves to on the tactic. Otherwise it will be out of shape in certain plays.

Wat do you think of my tactics cloete? Somehow it seems hard to make a balanced tactic. Any way we can prevent our defenders from running back instead of going forward to take on the attackers?

^Push your defenders more forward to meet the attackers earlier.

Tried dat. But once there's a change in pocession, they'll automatically run back. Weird. Does it happen in your team?

You're right. I have missed out some square and they are still on default tactics.

Changed those now and reemploy your advise. I'll use them this cup match

Always happened.. just hope your central def got enuff def lvl to tackle back lor :P
If they go pass your def, hope your keeper can make a impossible save or your central def got enuff pace to run back and tackle

No worries.. the bot team will visit me after my match with Exterminatorz..
Hope I can kick the bot team off the perch :P

I thought my strikers were pretty forward already. Point noted. Improve more on my tactic!!

Well I think your midfield positoning is alright. I'd sort your DM positioning out though. In some areas they are in basically a straight line up the field while at other times they are side by side. Personally I'd go for the side by side option as having two players right on top of each other directly behind and in front is a bit of a waste as it means they are more open either side of 'the line'. I'll give a go at illustrating it

Yours at times:
....MC/AM....
......DM1......
......DM2......

What I think it should be:
...MC/AM...
..DM1..DM2..

As for the defence I think they're too far apart and the defenders on the side are pushed up too far. When playing 3 at the back I'd always keep my defenders in line otherwise it makes your middle defender very vulnerable. Also by leaving large gaps between each defender the strikers will sit in them and have far too much space on through balls. Placing the defenders closer together means the through balls may be intercepted or, at the very least, the damage will be reduced.

As for your problem, it's an interesting predicament. I normally prefer my defenders to run towards the player rather than sit back.

Is your problem that your defenders run up and then the striker runs round them? If that's the issue then I'd suggest dropping your defence deeper. Otherwise I'm not sure what you're after? :P

Edit: For what it's worth spankster, I actually think you have probably the strongest team in Singapore. If it isn't, it's gotta be top 2 or 3.
(edited)

Have a look at your tactic in defensive areas. I've noticed your strikers are well inside your own half. Have a look over your game again and try and sit your strikers to match where the defenders were positioned. As ReNiX uses a tactic where the defenders are about the average depth it should be a good guide as to where the strikers will be. The problem with your strikers too deep in defensive areas is that your mids will play them the ball too soon and they'll recieve it far too deep because they won't be able to run all the way up the field in time.

The problem with strikers recieving the ball in deep areas is that it means probably the best attacking weapon in Sokker (the through ball!) is virtually negated and it means your strikers will run at defenders who are sitting very deep. These defenders will be able to slowly advance and easily take the ball off a striker running striaght at them. Of course if your strikers are ridiculously good they'll probably be able to run round the defender anyway :P. But my point still stands! :)

Try your new tactics against me!! My def is very weak :(