Tactics: Quick and Dirty 4-5-1

4-5-1 is the new Narrow!

It used to be that narrow was the fashion in FM Live and most teams played it. I don't know why or when it fell out of fashion but 4-5-1 is now the popular choice. The BBC diagram actually give a good representation of how it can play with two midfielders making attacking runs.

High Defensive Line
You would have thought that a high defensiuve line works well here but it doesn't, my thinking was the danger is the through ball and with only one striker to aim for should be easy to cut out.

With their being five midfielders you'll lose the midfield battle if you take the fight there, it's simply a numbers game. Their players will have space and time to find the through ball. As the one striker is normally the star he has the intelligence / ability / raw pace and power to deliver the killer blow.

Another considertation is the wingers these will certainly also be looking for the ball over the top. A high line can work but check the striker he's fielding if there is a superstar with pace then forget a high line. If you take this option it's vital to play with a very flat back four ALL of the four should have Barrows (Backward Arrows).

Coming off the back of a 4-4-2 I tend to try a 4-4-1-1 changing a striker into an AMC so at least your now playing 4-5-1 of a sort. Once I get back playing and get the skills one of my more effective tactics can come into play. Basically it's two MC's with forward runs a deep line and counter attack. This tends to allow their midfield to pile forward but then catch them on the hop with a fast break.

To give you an idea of depth in the game I once played a team playing 4-1-0-4-1 which seemed like a dam silly formation to me. In fairness the guy had a heavily tweaked set up that relied totally on the DM, Xabi Alonso. His tactics were basically field him the ball and wait for him with his 20 passing to ping one of the AMC/AMR/AML, what a nightmare. The game then became about nailing Alonso, close him out of the game and they were doomed otherwise it was carnage.

I do hear complaints about 'there isn't enough to do' in FM Live here is another quick tip for you. You have AI rights to a game, click the team then look through his past results. Pick a game he lost badly, pick a game he won well, you now have a very quick idea of what to do and what not to do in your AI game.

Make sure you watch the games though what looks like a 4-4-2 might be a narrow / wide 4-4-2 or a 4-4-2 with a high line.

The other important thing with tactics is to remember it isn't the bottom line, luck, form, and the players all play their part, don't get cut up about it just always remember your just tipping the odds slightly in your favour.

Oh and took don't take my word as gospel as I feel out of my dpeth with tactics sometimes, these hopefully will just start you thinking.