This is a football (or soccer) thread.

If you were a manager of a team, say the team you support, what formation would you play? Would it be the traditional 4-4-2? Maybe a 4-3-3? Maybe a Christmas tree approach? Or even the old style 3-2-5? Would you have a holding player in midfield? Have two flying wingers? Maybe wing-backs? Sweeper? Man-to-man marking? Flat back four? Tight midfield? How would your team play?

Well, it would depend on the players I have. Assuming I could choose them (like in manager computer games) I'd go for a 3-4-3 (I do in fact when playing such games), because I prefer offensive football over defensive one.
But as said initially, that would heavily depend on the players. In a 3-4-3 you need pretty good defenders, as the pressure on each of them is quite high. So if I hadn't either those or if I hadn't enough good strikers I would go for a conservative (in German terms) rather defensive system involving a libero (what's that in English?).
The holding player in midfield is something that would depend on availablity as well of course, but in general I'm not so fond of it. I'd like the team to be more balanced and therefore not easy to be stopped by focusing on single players.
Considering the flying wingers the answer is yes, wing play (?) is something I'd rely on quite alot.
I would prefer room marking (area marking?) over man-to-man but that's another thing you need adequate players for.

In general the team would play attacking football. Better a 3-3 than a 0-0 and better a 4-3 than a 1-0. This would be the same at home as well as away, no matter the cost. ;)

If I'd be the manager of the team I support, therefore Werder Bremen, I would play the system they do in fact play currently, as it is the best they have to offer. Three defenders, five midfielders (2 rather defensive) and two strikers. Overall a guarantee for goals, both for and against...

1-10.

One 'keeper, and ten in a 'roaming, go-everywhere-with-no-real-direction-role'.

Seems to work for England :rolleyes: :D

I was also going to say 1-10 cuz thats how it seems to be played in the states.:lol:

I know better really

totally depends on the players. A formation must be formed after the team, not the team after a formation (like Ajax is trying). I love the 4-3-3 Ajax thing, but the truth is there aren't that good wingers anymore. I could name only Andy van der Meyde and Marc Overmars as players that are wingers good enough on international level. In CM I usually play my own sort of 4-4-2 with a defending and attacking midfielder, or 3-5-2 with outter midfielders coming forward a lot, a sweeper, defensive midfielder, one central midfielder and a free role player betweem midfield and the strikers (Litmanen/Rivaldo/Van der Vaart/Figo kinda players)

In CM I like to use the traditional 1-3-3-0-3-1. So I have 3 central defenders, a central defensive and a central attacking midfielder, two attacking midfielders on the left and right and two defensive midfielders on the left and the right. Finally a goalkeeper and a striker. Its seen me do well with Porto and Portugal and also Cheltenham :)

I would play with the traditional 4-4-2 but would also employ the Dutch 'total football' approach.

Originally posted by Dell19
In CM I like to use the traditional 1-3-3-0-3-1. So I have 3 central defenders, a central defensive and a central attacking midfielder, two attacking midfielders on the left and right and two defensive midfielders on the left and the right. Finally a goalkeeper and a striker. Its seen me do well with Porto and Portugal and also Cheltenham :)


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When I ran a Sunday league team we played 5-0-5.

5 welliers at the back. Big guys. Could kick man and ball a long way.

5 welly-chasers. Small fast. Ran around and scored now and again.

Midfield. Who needs it? Too much runing around on a Sunday morning after Sat night.

When I ran a Sunday league team we played 5-0-5.

5 welliers at the back. Big guys. Could kick man and ball a long way.

5 welly-chasers. Small fast. Ran around and scored now and again.

Midfield. Who needs it? Too much running around on a Sunday morning after Sat night.

Olympique Lyonnais needed it against Ajax. Their coach replaced 2 midfielders for strikers (for a total of 4strikers). It costed them the matcg. With the midfielders the ball was only around Ajax's penalty area, after the subs came in it was on the midfield all the time and Ajax could even score the 0-2 :D

a 4 - 1 - 3 -2 formation always seems to work on champ man :D

Players should pick the formation, not the other way round. If you have 3 top class central midfielders then you play 3 or 5 across the middle. If you have only one decent striker then go with him up on his own with midfielders breaaking to support. etc.

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When you are a manager you do get some opportunities to buy particular players who will fit your strategy. Like I started with a really good Defensive Midfield right so I picked the above layout. However when he wanted to leave the club and I sold him, I brought another player who could take his place rather than changing the formation.

I prefer 5-3-2 attack! With two wing backs and the two off-centre players making diagonal runs to the corners and linking up with the wing backs. It works well in Champ Manager ;)

Wow, two more CM fanatics (pun intended)! I was wondering where we all were hiding :). I play this formation mainly:

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The lone striker will get 3-4 chances a game guarenteed if your two AMC's are good enough. If the SC's pretty good at heading he'll make 30 goals a season easy.

Originally posted by mordhiem
Wow, two more CM fanatics (pun intended)! I was wondering where we all were hiding :).

Its one of the best games ever! I have CM97/98 but i found an update for last season somewhere so it is pretty much up to date.

CM4 is gonna be so ass kickingly good I'm tempted to commit suicide to save time so I can lay it in heaven now. :D

Hmmmm I think a 3-4-3 should be a good one, plus its both mathematically and aesthetically pleasing, didn't you know? :p

Originally posted by Magnus
Hmmmm I think a 3-4-3 should be a good one, plus its both mathematically and aesthetically pleasing, didn't you know? :p
So true! :lol:
Die asymmetry! :mwaha:

Well now I know why this system's my favourite, thanks! :D

I play 3-5-2 at the moment, but used to play the formation mordhiem displayed above, only with a DMC.

It seems that nowadays 3-5-2 (or some variations of it) is the most successful formation. The question is how you order the players in it. Would you play with a libero, and if so, a german-like (Beckenbauer, Sammer) or an italian-like (Baresi)? Will the full-backs run the whole wing (Brazil 2002) or have a more cautius approach (Germany 2002)? And those forwards: 2 deadly strikers fighting with the defense (the traditional german way) or with a mobile and more creative one (like Italy for example with Totti/Del Piero and Vieri)?
Tha offcourse depends on the players you have.

a sweeper with a scoring guy (DMC) in front of him and two central defenders. Then two outer midfielders that cover the whole wing (so have defensive qualities as well), one central midfielder who I sometimes let function as a second "number 10" (in case I really need a goal), and an attacking midfielder behind the strikers. The strikers make a combination of the two you described: (I'm in the summer of 2016 now) Cherno Samba and Mikael Forssell. Forssell doesn't score a lot, but he is the one preparing a lot of goals, and Samba just puts em in. Overall I'd say it's closer to the creative way. I also have a Swedish young one from Chelsea named Benny Dahlberg: he had both 31 goals and 32 assists last season (injured now). :D

Yep Cherno Samba is a great player but he is at Celtic. Mike Duff is a great defender but he needs to be played to become premiership quality. John Walsh is another really good defender but I'm not sure when he appears. The first time I saw him was in 2009 when he was playing for Juventus and I took him to Cheltenham.

He's there from the beginning at Liverpool as a 17 year old. He isn't good then though, I think I bought him when he was 22. He left for 41,000,000 at his 27th. In the meanwhile I'm near the end of 2018/2019 season by the way. My second manager got fired at Charlton (after resigning from Holland), and then made Feyenoord champions of the first division, before moving to Arsenal making them champions (with star players Petri Forss and Peter Smart. Forss might be the one that replaced Forssell in the game and Peter Smart came in 2002/2003 at Manchester, replacing someone, maybe Kaene or something).