The Formation Education Thread!

[Matty Aqua]

Figured it would be a good idea to get a thread going for people to post there teams and there formations here, a great place to state why you like using a particular formation and what works well, maybe you have built up a great team in Manager Mode?

Think of it as a thread too just generally share some knowledge on formations to help people who are new to FIFA and maybe new too the game of football, help them and explain why specific formations work or don't work.

This could be the guide for people who have questions about different formations and there effectiveness!

[Resurrection403]

Great thread idea!!

I want to explore the 3-5-2 more in this years game, but always wondered about making adjustments later in matches. Normally I play a 4-1-2-1-2. If I wanted to go more defensive or more offensive I could adjust ... say I'm winning late I could sub out a striker for a defensive middle fielder etc.

[flo182]

Quote: Originally Posted by Resurrection403

I want to explore the 3-5-2 more in this years game

I wanna try that as well, give the lack of world-class LB/RB. Always tried it the last years but Wingers were just too powerful and not having LB/RB in my team made me super vulnerable against attacks. But I guess with FIFA 16 being a lot more about midfield play and not so much about pace this could change

Really hope EA fixes the tactics menu for FIFA 17. Just played a couple of matches in PES 16 and I just love the tactical options of the game.

[kaletore11]

3-4-2-1 is the way I'll be going in Fifa 16 now that midfield is more important than ever.

[Fabric]

I usually utilize the 4-1-4-1 formation with one of the central attacking midfielders playing a secondary striker role, making runs and trying to get in behind the opposition, and the other attacking midfielder is allowed to roam free while staying at the edge of the box looking for shots from long range. The primary striker is used mainly as a target man and sometimes in a playmaker-ish role for setting up the 'secondary striker.' Lineup:



I find it works really well when using Real Madrid, with Benzema as the striker, Ronaldo in the secondary striker role and Toni Kroos as the other attacking midfielder

[Zac]

A good site to use to illustrate your line ups for people is http://lineupbuilder.com/new.php
After you make your changes, you want to copy and paste the code on the second option "Paste HTML to embed in website:" directly into your post. This site will auto parse it for you once you hit preview post so you can see how it will look. You might have to then hit preview post a second time to correct position issues.

[Don Jon]

For the good of the thread: If you talk about a formation, I think most will have a better time understanding it if you provide a picture. For example a 3-5-2 can look like many things, as can a 4-4-2.

[Zac]

I've played around a lot with many formations in the past. The one I am currently doing and finding I really like is a custom 2-3-3-1-1. I know, it sounds odd, but let me explain.

First, here is what it looks like:



First, you need two athletic or quick center backs, as they can potentially get caught out on a quick counter. The two wide defensive middles are used as wing backs and defensive middle players. So I can slot a right or left back into them. Or a defensive middle, or any mid field player that can handle box to box. Also they play wider than the two upfront of them. And they need much higher stamina as they come up in attack and drop back all the way in defense. Also the center defensive mid is set to never go forward in attack, but he seems to anyways. I wish I knew how to make him not cross the mid field line. I would like him to act more as a sweeper. But if I set him to that, he doesn't come forward enough.

Then the central mid player also acts as a box to box player, dropping back in defense and coming up to the edge of the box in support. The two wingers play slightly inside and are set to always cut into the box, as the two behind them come up to stay wide.

And then up front I have CAM role but can be swapped with a decent CF player as well. And just the one striker roll. Who is always set to stay central and be a target man.

I started off giving up a lot of goals when first trying this out. But now that I have changed how I defend, based on how 16 plays, I give up much less. And I find it easier to create chances with so many players coming up in support on one side without overloading it. Meaning I am not having to bring them from left to right or right to left to get numbers.

I also generally use many through out my career, and I tend to change it up if I switch teams. I also like to use multiple sheets, and based on who I play I use different formations. For example on the above, if I end up having to slot in guys that don't have the stamina or pace to handle it, I move it to a 4-1-3-1-1. Keeping the wing backs all the way back, and moving the wingers wider. And if I have to play a winger that is lower I switch to a 4-2-3-1. I usually spend a lot of time finding formations I like and feel comfortable playing with. Using it for a season or two, and then trying something else based on what players I have or how they have progressed. Last year I went from a 5-3-2 to a 3-3-4. It was odd, but I made it work.