Subject: Ireland Vs...

* Rubs hands Monty Burns style *

Excellent!

Pretty good game alright :D, Armstrong was particurlarly impressive

I think we started slowly but once we got into it we were in control. Our forwards made the difference and i'm very happy with the scoreline. I think that will be our most difficult game in this group.

Jim Walsh is going back in the squad. You wouldnt have thought that someone 26 could improve as much as he has.

That was an abomination. Disgraceful performance.

Argh i cant believe i did that. Docherty instead of Donegan. Well that explains a lot.

I was wondering what the masterplan was with Docherty there :) At least it didn't cost you the result.

What really annoys me is now i dont know whether the tactic was crap or it was because of that mistake. It's a wasted game and i cant test out the new tactic i've got waiting for next week now because qualification isn't 100% certain.

I wasn't too crazy on the formation tbh. Apart from my instant dislike of anything that looks like a 352 ;) I don't think it got the wingers into the game that well. It might have gelled a bit better with a proper playmaker in the hole though.

What you could try is an attacking 442 with quick fullbacks set to MID that push up and a midfield diamond. The DM could be your third DEF and you'd get the wing play and cover from deep from the fullbacks.

The problem i have with full backs is that theyre not full-time defenders and you're immediatly in trouble against counter-attacks or anyone with width. If you're playing what would be a 3 man defence and 1 defensive midfielder, anything wide of centre leaves you in a lot of trouble. I let them have that space today because i didnt expect them to do any damage.
What i'm working on at the moment is something similar to what you've said but it's a bit more defensive. I've got a 3 man back line with a forward sweeper and 2 full-backs that dont advance beyond the half-way point. It basically looks like a not-so-flat 6 man defence with my normal 2 mids in the centre and 2 forwards. The idea is to cover the entire back line and have the full backs (who should have time on the ball) sending long passes up to the forwards or to the mids. The only problem i see with it at the moment is a lack of players once we've advanced past the half-way line, particularly on throwins. I like how adaptable it is, i can easily switch it from 4-4-2 to 5-3-2 to 3-5-2.

--x-x--
--x-x--
x--x--x
--xxx--

Something like that
(edited)

Your version looks a bit stronger tbh; I might steal that ;) Against stronger teams I reckon that would be a great formation.

I think it would have been useful against Australia last season.
I think what i have to do with it once we're attacking is move up the full back on the side of the throw-in, have the opposite full-back retreat into the defensive line and move them across into either a 5 man defence or a 4-man with a sweeper. Of all the tactics i've gone though this is the one i really like the look of.

should we delete this b4 other intn'l team managers read what we're saying?

Nah i dont think this is specific enough to cause any damage and i'm not saying who i'd use it against.

ok. just checking:)

I just got my Playstation copy of FF VII running on my PC. See you all in 6 months time ;)