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I ’ ve created a variety of tactics in FM17 to suit diverse needs, to create certain goals or to recreate real-life systems in the match-engine. As the 2018 adaptation of Football Manager is on the horizon, I wanted to create one survive organization from start that was unique, my own idea, and operated differently to most .

The Idea

After searching for inspiration, the initial estimate was provoked by none other than Johan Cruyff. In the footage I watched, Cruyff is asked to explain and draw the ball field formation using a blackboard, but it turned out differently to what I ’ five hundred expected. The screenshot below is what Cruyff drew, after stating “ I play with a diamond like this ” .

I ’ megabyte aware the timbre is nasty, so apologies for that, but in the screenshot you can see his midfield rhombus, and two wide strikers, with the defense not pictured. This is what triggered my mind, as my first think was to wonder if a 442 diamond formation could be successful in FM with inside-forwards alternatively of strikers. I have to emphasise this bespeak, as I ’ m mindful some FM users create strikerless systems for the sake of it, and distinctly, that ’ s not what I ’ ve done here .
After delving into the theme far, my memory recalled Brendan Rodgers ’ time at Liverpool and how he utilised the 4-4-2 diamond with Suarez and Sturridge. Those two strikers both had a great bargain of freedom within that system, and depending on where the ball was Rodgers would allow one of the strikers to drift out wide, as he stated :

‘ In Suarez and Sturridge, I ’ ve got what I call two ‘ nine-and-a-halves ’. They both like to move, they like to drift and they both like to go into the half-positions in between the lines. You ’ ve got two great players as your movement two and then you build the structure around that. I ’ thousand not the traditional 4-4-2 man and with the players we ’ ve got we can make this system work. ’

An example of the problems this can cause the resistance is demonstrated below in a screenshot from a late Liverpool game against West Ham. Although Rodgers isn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate in mission here, Sturridge hush performs the wide campaign despite playing as a cardinal striker in the 442 diamond system. As you can see in the screenshot, Sturridge has drifted into the space vacated by the advanced West Ham full-back which therefore gives their defense a problem to deal with .

nowadays, every tactical system has its advantages and disadvantages, but arguably the most vulnerable expression of playing a traditional ball field is the candid flanks that the opposition can exploit. As visualize below, the traditional 4-4-2 Diamond allows space for the opposing full-backs to advance into and move up the field .

however, if the strikers of the team playing the diamond position themselves wide, the opposing full-backs are less likely to make advances into the open space ahead of them due to fear and awareness of the strikers that ’ ll consequently be free veracious behind them. This is a key argue why Rodgers ’ diamond at Liverpool was then successful, as it reversed one of the formation ’ sulfur independent weaknesses of overt flanks, and turned it into a electric potential benefit by allowing a striker to drift into the space behind the advancing opposing full-back .
overall, the divine guidance provided by the Cruyff footage combined with my recollection of how Rodgers used the baseball diamond at Liverpool, and therefore my idea was born .

The Raumdiamond vs. a Traditional Diamond

More much than not, a traditional diamond is set-up as a 4-4-2, with a fairly categoric back-line, two cardinal strikers, and the four men in midfield forming a baseball diamond human body. The diamond form pictured below is formed by having a defensively-minded musician at the pivot, two shuttling players either side, and a serviceman play at the gratuity of the quartet as a no.10 .

The diamond system requires the team ’ s full-backs to have excessive athletic ability, as they efficaciously have to manage the entirety of the flanks frequently without broad support. The player at the pivot of the diamond habitually plays the character of an anchor-man, and operates with a disciplined and defensive mentality to manage the space in front of his refutation, identical rarely roaming from his position. Either side of the player at the anchor, are two central midfielders who are known as ‘ shuttlers ’ in this system. Their drift in self-control is largely erect and they have the add duty of providing across-the-board defensive support to their full-backs when possible. Everything up until this point is virtually the same for both the traditional diamond and The RaumDiamond.
however, ahead of those two shuttling midfielders is the actor positioned at the tip off. In a traditional ball field, this player normally moves horizontally to play between the lines, as he ’ s the liaison between the midfield and the attack. conversely, that same player in The RaumDiamond has to move vertically ampere well as horizontally, acting about as a False-Nine, as he has to occupy and manipulate the opposing centre-backs out of position to create channels .
finally, ahead of the no.10 are normally two strikers occupying the opposition ’ s back-line, and these chiefly stay central hope to be fed by the no.10 behind them. On the other hand, The RaumDiamond rather operates with two wide strikers ( Raumdeuters in FM terms ) alternatively of central strikers, so they ’ ll sit broad defensively, and then move inwards into channels that should be opened up by the no.10 manipulating the opposing centre-backs. The dispute is demonstrated in the ocular below, with the arrows showing how musician ’ randomness positions have altered .

Constructing the Idea in FM

once the idea was clearly defined, it was time to create the tactic in Football Manager, and this was tougher than I expected .

1 – Formation, Roles & Duties

first I ’ ll depart with the geological formation, roles and duties, as shown below .

I ’ ve explained the think behind the formation and player placement earlier in the piece, so I won ’ metric ton duplicate myself. Regarding each player’s role and duty:
SK ( Support ) – Sweeper Keepers should constantly be played with a high-line in Football Manager adenine well as real life, and although the defensive line in this tactic is normal, this function will hush benefit the team more than a typical GK .
CB ( Defend ) – No explanation needed for this function. A standard pair of two centre-backs on defend duty .
WB ( Support ) – Two WBs either side who are both on defend will give the tactic the necessary libra when attacking and defending. This character besides effectively provides a clean slate in terms of PIs, presenting the opportunity to select the coveted PIs of your choice. The PIs of both these players are set as Stay Wider and Run Wide with the Ball to provide width, as the perch of your players will largely be cardinal. Width is full of life for any tactic, as without it play will become congested and predictable in cardinal areas. I ’ ve besides selected the Cross Less Often PI, as due to the fact I ’ m not playing with any real strikers, I found that crosses were frequently being wasted .
DLP ( Defend ) – This function was a hood one as it is absolutely vital in a rhombus system because it provides therefore much protective covering. I ’ m a boastfully drug user of the Regista role, but because of the roll leaning that comes with it, it wasn ’ t desirable. I had to select a function that was largely stationary to keep the rhombus shape intact and to protect the defense, but I besides wanted a dictator from abstruse. frankincense, a DLP on fight duty was chosen, as the player in this function shouldn ’ t wonder besides much from his status, and will besides act as a commander of the ball from trench. Depending on the needs of the match, this function can change to an Anchor to be even more secure, and this is a useful switch against opponents that are man-marking or pressurising your DLP because he ’ s a playmaker. By changing the DLP to an Anchor, he ’ ll witness less of the ball as your players will be less inclined to pass to him than if he was a playmaker .
CM ( Support ) – The CM on confirm duty provides an industrial influence ethic that is very authoritative for the ‘ shuttlers ’ in a baseball diamond arrangement. My expectations of the actor in this function would include excessive energy to contribute to the attack and to retreat defensively to cover both the cardinal areas and the full-backs to the side of them. The CM on support will provide what I want – an industrial and hard-working central midfield function that won ’ t be caught out of position besides frequently due to the absence of PIs .
BBM ( Support ) – This function is a very crucial inclusion, and without it I found the tactic to struggle a lot more. The BBM contributes in a exchangeable manner to the CM on support, but slightly differently. The BBM has a fixed PI, Roam from Position, which contributes positively as it adds movement and volatility to the attack. As the tactic is strikerless, the vertical movement of the BBM into goal-scoring areas with the Enganche can provide the breakthrough in certain matches. Although the two ‘ shuttlecock ’ midfielders have to be similar, I didn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate want to use the like role for each, as I wanted each of my midfielders to always be positioned differently from a vertical perspective in monomania. In simple terms, I wanted my midfielders to be higher or lower than their teammates on the pitch so that the ball can progress up the discipline immediate by passing forwards quite than sideways .
Enganche ( Attack ) – The Engache function was chosen after testing the AP ( Support ) and the Trequartista ( Attack ). I basically wanted the role to be ampere near to a False-Nine as potential. The AP ( Support ) doesn ’ t allow the Get Further Forward PI, and I ’ ve never been a fan of the fire duty for that character. The Trequartista function incorporated besides much motion into areas that I didn ’ t want my no.10 to be, as the baseball diamond shape has the kept intact, so I need my no.10 to stay in familiar areas. besides the Trequartista has the fixed PI Move into Channels, and that wasn ’ metric ton suitable as those channels are exclusive to my Raumdeuters. I finally opted for the Enganche, a function that on expression is quite perfect for the arrangement. The Enganche doesn ’ t roll into channels, and chiefly operates centrally to provide a liaison to the approach. The character allowed the choice of the Get Further Forward PI which was full of life, as by doing that, opposing centre-backs are drawn to the Enganche which therefore creates channels for my Raumdeuters to exploit .
Raumdeuter ( Attack ) – Finally, I opted for two Raumdeuters either side of my Enganche. I wanted to select a function that would let these two players operate about as strikers, and I wanted a role that would exploit channels. initially I used Inside-Forwards, but they didn ’ thyroxine operate how I ’ d expected them to, and they don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate run into channels. however, after reading up on the Raumdeuter function a bite more, it became apparent to me that the character was perfect, as they exploit outer space and channels by moving centrally and about play as wide-poachers .

2 – Team Instructions

The team instructions for the tactic are pictured below :

first I ’ ll cover the general aspects :
mentality : Standard – After playing with Control for a while, I ’ ve opted for the Standard mentality for this tactic. brain should be viewed as a risk barometer, and using Standard basically balances gamble at 50/50, which is suitable for an already bad tactic of this nature .
team supreme headquarters allied powers europe : identical Fluid – This is the team form that I always try to play with, as it ’ s basically how I believe football should be played, as one compact team. besides, as my theme is strikerless and was inspired by the formation drawn by Johan Cruyff, I wanted to embrace aspects of Total Football, and Very Fluid is the supreme headquarters allied powers europe for that .
tempo : Higher – I ’ ve set the tempo as Higher for this tactic due to the mentality being Standard. By setting the brain as Standard, the tempo naturally slows down in comparison to the Control brain, so I made this variety to counteract that. besides, due to the fact the diamond arrangement offers a assortment of passing options ; players should be able to cope with passing faster than convention.

width : narrow – This was an authoritative addition, as it influences how wide-eyed each Raumdeuter plays. As mentioned earlier, I want them to operate as across-the-board strikers that drift centrally in possession, so to ensure that happens ; I ’ ve set my width as minute which will restrict how wide they ’ ll ambush. Depending on how the opposition is set, this can change to Balanced in order to widen the play or break down a minute defense mechanism .
now for the defensive instructions :
defensive Line : normal – This is once again related to the diamond system in that it ’ s not in truth a system that encourages a high line, it ’ s a system that knows what it ’ south good at. besides, due to the fact I ’ thousand playing with two Raumdeuters that will attack space in-behind, a defensive line that international relations and security network ’ thyroxine high can benefit that, as a quick transition can play them in .
Use Offside Trap – This international relations and security network ’ t a necessity as I ’ m not playing with a high wrinkle, but I opted to include it ascribable to the quality of my defenders. If a team ’ randomness central defenders have strong attributes in assiduity, anticipation, pace and acceleration, then they should be able to use offside traps to their advantage .
Closing Down : sometimes – This was a ruffianly decision, as I about always employ high pressing, but with this system it wasn ’ t compatible. After testing a senior high school urge approach, it was clear that in a diamond formation it didn ’ t truly work as it resulted in minus vulnerable situations more often than positives. once I made the switch over to lower closing down, the team appeared more balance and stable without the ball, rather than being opened up excessively well .
Prevent Short GK Distribution – This is normally employed with a high course and a high gear urge approach, but it can still positively affect a standard tactic. even though the tactic doesn ’ metric ton use either of those, it ’ s even a system that looks to dominate the ball. so, by preventing the opponent from building from the back, the opposing GK is more likely to hit long to into the center whereby the diamond outnumbers most pit formations centrally .
Use Tighter Marking – This TI is another that is normally used for press, but again it can still benefit this system. Tight marking basically encourages your players to give the opponent as little meter as possible to make advances by getting close to them as they receive the musket ball. By pairing this with the Very Fluid team shape which reduces depth, the resistance players will often have little time and outer space to operate .
now for the build-up instructions :
Play Out of Defence – This speak for itself actually, we all know what this ti does. I want to have the ball, so rather than hoofing it long, I ’ five hundred want my attacks built from the back .
Pass Into Space – A very authoritative inclusion, as this TI encourages through-balls. Through-balls are vital when making use of the Raumdeuter function, as the player in that function exploits space which can much be in-behind. I noticed a considerable dispute when including this TI, particularly with the tactic being strikerless, so erect passing is imperative .
Shorter Passing – I want the majority of my possession to run through the diamond in the center, and as my team determine is very Fluid, my players are going to be closely linked in concert. therefore, Shorter Passing makes feel and works well with Pass into Space, as my players consequently play through-balls that are likely to be successful .
Retain Possession – This TI was a late inclusion, and some may say it conflicts with Pass into Space but that ’ s not the case. Initially I didn ’ metric ton think this TI was needed, as the baseball diamond is a system that naturally dominates the ball due to the central overloads. however, after watching a few fully matches I wasn ’ thymine satisfied with decisiveness induce, and attacks were being forced more than I ’ d like despite the Shorter Passing TI. By including Retain Possession, this reduces the pass risks taken by your players which frankincense results in the ball being kept more efficiently. By reducing the passing risks of my players but besides promote through-balls, it results in a goodly blend of monomania and penetration .
In terms of attacking instructions, I ’ ve selected just one because I feel I ’ ve covered what I need in the previous areas. The alone attack TI is Whipped Crosses – This is because I ’ megabyte playing with no strikers but a draw of runners and space investigators, so by whipping crosses, the ball is likely to end up at the feet of one of my players on the edge of the area for model. besides, one more inclusion I tampered with was Dribble Less, as due to the fact I ’ thousand meet strikerless, I noticed players are much prone to dribbling their way towards goal rather than passing .

3 – Opposition Instructions

now for the opposition instructions, pictured below :

I don ’ thyroxine normally include opposition instructions in my tactical write-ups, as I believe that in most cases they depend on the opposition, but due to the fact the baseball diamond is a very particular system, they have to be included hera .
As the main vulnerability of the midfield rhombus is the open flanks, the opposition instructions are largely focus towards managing that. As demonstrated in the screenshot above, each opposition across-the-board man has to be closed down indeed that the team shift towards the flank that the ball is on more so than normal. In addition to the closing down of opposing broad men, each wide man besides has to be shown onto the foot that will force the play back into a central area which is where the majority of my players are. For model, if an opposing left-back is shown onto his left-foot, he ’ ll attack the leave flank, whereas if he ’ mho shown onto his proper, he won ’ metric ton be able to stay wide to run with the ball and will alternatively be forced to pass inside .
The only other resistance education that I employ is related to the STC, as if the opposition is using a player in this role, there ’ s a huge opportunity he ’ ll be a lone striker. Thus, I want any alone striker looking to link up, hold play or lead counter-attacks to be nullified, denied space and shut down immediately, and that remains throughout most of my tactic creations .

4 – The RaumDiamond in the Match-Engine

To demonstrate how the tactic operates in the FM match-engine, I ’ ve took a few screenshots at assorted points during matches .
In the first base exercise below, my Enganche has manipulated the right-sided confrontation CB who has been drawn out to deal with him, therefore disrupting the defensive line. consequently, this creates a channel for the Raumdeuter to exploit and he ’ south played in by the Enganche for a grade opportunity .

In the example below, the attacking build-up has recently started, hence most of my players being reasonably trench. You can see my WBs supporting the approach on both flanks stretching the play, and the fast midfield diamond in the middle. Notice how gamey both of my Raumdeuters are, and they ’ re both ready to attack their inside channels. In this case, despite the opposing defense mechanism being absolutely directly, my BBM challenges their higher defensive line by playing a testis over the lead ( Pass into Space TI ) into the distribution channel for my left Raumdeuter .

In the future exercise below, you can see a demonstration of how the system operates without the ball. The gloomy team is my team play against the chicken 4-4-1-1. As the confrontation wide man receives the ball, he ’ second closed down by the hard-working shuttle midfielder on that side, besides notice the diamond midfield has shuffled over to the side that the ball is on. By my CM closing down the opposition winger, this allows my defensive trace to remain stable and entire as the WB doesn ’ t have to move out of position .

The future exercise below, demonstrates how my Raumdeuters move centrally when my team is in monomania, to act how I wanted as wide-strikers. In the screenshot, the musket ball is at the feet of Ouchi – my BBM who has advanced beyond my Enganche thanks to his Roam from Position PI. He has the opportunity to play a through-ball to either the right or the left Raumdeuter who are both looking to run in-behind .

As a final examination example of how the tactic operates, check my match-engine video in the pinch below, which demonstrates the devastating link-up play between the Raumdeuters and the Enganche, adenine well as the importance of the Pass into Space TI .

Summary

To summarise, I ’ megabyte very quenched with the idea and how the tactic manifests itself within Football Manager. The RaumDiamond can combine fluid attacking play with a stable defensive foundation angstrom long as it ’ sulfur applied correctly and ESPECIALLY with the right type of players for each function.

Read more: Army United F.C.

I can ’ triiodothyronine try adequate how important it is to have the correct players for this system if you ’ re going to use it. The RaumDiamond demands quality to work efficaciously, peculiarly in the front three positions, so employing this tactic to manage Grimsby credibly isn ’ t the best idea. No tactic is perfect, but this tactic provides a unique but specific set about in comparison to most others .
For those that want to use the tactic for themselves, here ’ s the download link – The RaumDiamond by Distance Covered
Follow @ DistanceCovered on Twitter for any avail or steering towards tactics or general aspects of Football Manager .