Tactical Advice

Was just looking for a bit of advice here for some match tactics. I’ve always played 4-4-2 (or sometimes snuck an extra DC in there against higher rated opponents), but I’ve noticed that a lot of players, particularly in higher leagues, are going for extremely narrow formations, often with 3 at the back and 3 to 4 players in attacking positions.

I guess it comes down to a lack of understanding on my part of the mechanics of the match sim, but I was wondering what the advantages of playing like this are, and if it is worth switching to?

Or in general what the meta for tactics is?

Trust me, pay no attention to formations. When teams can play with 1 defender and still win, it says a lot about the formations.

Arsenäl FC wrote:

Trust me, pay no attention to formations. When teams can play with 1 defender and still win, it says a lot about the formations.

That’s interesting, I just thought it was kinda weird that so many of the top teams used such a similar formation (one that you wouldn’t really find in a real football game).

Was this like a 5-4 win or did they just have a really good 1 defender?

CF Football wrote:

Arsenäl FC wrote:

Trust me, pay no attention to formations. When teams can play with 1 defender and still win, it says a lot about the formations.

That’s interesting, I just thought it was kinda weird that so many of the top teams used such a similar formation (one that you wouldn’t really find in a real football game).

Was this like a 5-4 win or did they just have a really good 1 defender?

Here ya go.

https://www.virtualmanager.com/new_matches/85333905/summary

Arsenäl FC wrote:

CF Football wrote:

Arsenäl FC wrote:

Trust me, pay no attention to formations. When teams can play with 1 defender and still win, it says a lot about the formations.

That’s interesting, I just thought it was kinda weird that so many of the top teams used such a similar formation (one that you wouldn’t really find in a real football game).

Was this like a 5-4 win or did they just have a really good 1 defender?

Here ya go.

https://www.virtualmanager.com/new_matches/85333905/summary

Their goalkeeper deserves an award lol

Arsenäl FC wrote:

Trust me, pay no attention to formations. When teams can play with 1 defender and still win, it says a lot about the formations.

I 2nd this. As long as you are not playing guys out of position (off the green spaces), formation seems not to matter at all in VM.

I thought there was some sort of penalty related to the number of midfielders, ie if you played with less than three.

Lowood Mohicans wrote:

I thought there was some sort of penalty related to the number of midfielders, ie if you played with less than three.

There is apparently but not seeing your point mate as we both played with at least 3 midfielders.

What about instructions (mentality, intensity etc)? How much do these affect the game?

I’ve switched a lot between long ball, short passes, shoot on sight and different mentalities, intensities and tackling levels but they don’t seem to change much about the actual games, other than the fact that when I increase the intensity, my players seem to lose stamina a lot more quickly.

CF Football wrote:

What about instructions (mentality, intensity etc)? How much do these affect the game?

I’ve switched a lot between long ball, short passes, shoot on sight and different mentalities, intensities and tackling levels but they don’t seem to change much about the actual games, other than the fact that when I increase the intensity, my players seem to lose stamina a lot more quickly.

Most teams play with shoot on sight... and I have to admit that this does seem to provide the best results - but in theory I hope/dont think the engine was designed this way, maybe add changes after x mins on the condition that you haven't scored to change this.

Higher intensity may be good for select 'big' games, but generally I keep this low throughout the season to preserve energy.

Edit: Also regarding your opening post; 4-4-2 might not be a bad shout in the lower leagues, as many teams are bots or use the default 4-4-2. In this case, when you have a superior team, why not just remove tactical effects by matching your opponents line up.

Does not specifically answer your questions, but this post has some interesting info regarding the match engine - https://www.virtualmanager.com/forums/topics/1146530-the-match-engine