To pass the time--and to keep the thread alive while I'm playing through the first half of Bristol Rovers' season--I've decided to take the time to write a few posts about the team and its players.
I don't consider myself an expert tactician when it comes to Football Manager by any means. I used to be terrible tactically, and I've gotten much better over time, but I'm not nearly as imaginative or as flexible as I'd like.
Anyway, here's a look at the tactic I've been using, first at Loughborough and now at Bristol Rovers. I'm going for a balanced tactic that isn't too complicated, so when things go wrong, I don't have a million things to have to try to fix.
I like my teams to play out of defense, rather than hammering the ball up the pitch and having to fight for the second ball. We play a slightly higher defensive line, so I have the goalkeeper coming out to sweep up balls behind the defense. The 'keeper is the only player with personal instructions; I have him making shorter passes and distributing to the center backs.
One of the center backs is a Ball Playing Defender, charged with making somewhat riskier passes. The other is a standard Central Defender. I have a Full Back on Attack duty on the left, and one on Support duty on the right.
My midfield trio consists of a Half Back, who drops between the center backs when we don't have the ball. With my full backs pushing forward, I like having a holding player covering my back four, but I also want him to be a decent passer who can recycle possession.
When I play with three central midfielders, I like to have one Defend, one Support, and one Attack duty. The Half Back is automatically on Defend. One of the central midfielders is an Advanced Playmaker on Attack duty; I want him to be the primary creative force in the team. The third CM is a "standard" Central Midfielder on Support duty. I need a well-rounded player here, one with a nearly symmetrical "attribute polygon."
On the left side, the one with the more attack-minded full back, I use a Winger with a Support duty. The attacking full back on his side overlaps with him, staying wide and delivering crosses into the box. On the other side, I've used a variety of roles. I have a player who is ideally suited for the Inside Forward role at Bristol Rovers: Ryan Gosling. He's left-footed, which is a plus when he lines up on the right wing.
I've also tinkered with the striker's role. Right now I'm using a Deep Lying Forward on Attack duty. Sometimes I switch him to Support and give the Inside Forward more attacking responsibility, so I need a center forward who can play in a teammate as well as finishing himself.
I'm sometimes tempted to use one of the more specialized, "exotic" roles, like an Enganche, a Regista, or a Trequartista. I'm also fascinated by the Raumdeuter. For now, though, I'm keeping things a bit simpler, and so far they're working out fairly well.