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Tactical tips and discussion. FORMATION QUESTIONS HERE!

OBBB said:
I used to abuse the 4-4-2 diamond until I played a random match with Greece against Spain at work...
Greece are using a 5-3-2 formation and it worked surprisingly well against Spain: I had most of the possession, got a lot of loose balls back and could make up for the lack of physical strength with outrageous fortune :)
Click to expand...

I did the same with the 4-4-2 diamond myself and eventually changed when I discovered that as good as it is in counter-attacking it's not so good in holding possesion.

5-3-2's can be very fun.
 
Eaton, I'm quite into dribbling lately. I only have Zambrotta for this though and to a lesser extent Del Piero and to an even lesser extent Maresca and Nedved. Although ofcourse passing is the way th play, do you have any suggestions for a usefull dribbler(s)?

- thanks in advance.
 
Don Domenico said:
Eaton, I'm quite into dribbling lately. I only have Zambrotta for this though and to a lesser extent Del Piero and to an even lesser extent Maresca and Nedved. Although ofcourse passing is the way th play, do you have any suggestions for a usefull dribbler(s)?

- thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Ah, you've found my passion. Dribbling is always my prefered method of developing good chances because its more fun for me, and tends to prove more dangerous in multiplay as well.

Before I go further, I want to point out that I play with Kezz's option file that converts the CM stats for all the players into WE stats. Essentially, this makes just about every player "better" and this changes the way the game plays. (There is no more "catch-up" where the CPU defender can catch up to your breaking forwards, and there are many more players (defenders) with high speeds to limit the speed advantage of certain players)

So if you aren't playing with this file... my suggestions may not be as useful for you.

Here is the order of importance of stats (as best I can tell) to find good dribblers:

1. Dribble accuracy - closeness of dribble
2. Agility - ability to pull off moves
3. Technique - how quick able to bring the ball under control

4,5,6. Dribble Speed/Speed/Acceleration - all about the same, how quick/fast player moves.

Since we may be playing with significantly different option files, my best suggestion is to search in game by "agility" and order the list by dribble accuracy. (Do a conditional search looking for players with 80+ agility (or 90+ if there are too many results) and order the results by dribble accuracy) This will give you the best "dribblers" in your game.

Obviously, you then need to look at different stats depending on position. If you want SBs, SHs, or WGs you should probably look for dribblers with high crossing ability (Long pass accuracy and Long pass speed).

Looking for OHs and CFs look for shot power/technique/accuracy (shot power and shot technique are vital to pull out spectacular shots after nice dribbling moves.) *Note that shot accuracy doesn't mean more shots on target, it means that shots on target are much closer to the corners.

For DMF, CBs look for jumping, defense, and short passing accuracy/speed as the next best stats.

Height doesn't seem to matter too much although sometimes I think that shorter players are quicker... but then again my taller players pull off plenty of moves as well.

Best dribbling players in my opinion (off the top of my head) in no order:

Ronaldinho
Saviola
Zidane
Shev
Henry
Owen
Pires
Kewell
Beckham (surprise)
etc.etc.

I don't like to have superstar teams so I don't have any of these fellas (well, Kewell) so I'd reccomend doing a search.

Hope this helps.
 
eatontj said:
Ah, you've found my passion. Dribbling is always my prefered method of developing good chances because its more fun for me, and tends to prove more dangerous in multiplay as well.

Before I go further, I want to point out that I play with Kezz's option file that converts the CM stats for all the players into WE stats. Essentially, this makes just about every player "better" and this changes the way the game plays. (There is no more "catch-up" where the CPU defender can catch up to your breaking forwards, and there are many more players (defenders) with high speeds to limit the speed advantage of certain players)

So if you aren't playing with this file... my suggestions may not be as useful for you.
Click to expand...

I'm not playing with this file obviously, as i'm playing pes3. I still appreciate your help and effort though.


eatontj said:
Here is the order of importance of stats (as best I can tell) to find good dribblers:

1. Dribble accuracy - closeness of dribble
2. Agility - ability to pull off moves
3. Technique - how quick able to bring the ball under control

4,5,6. Dribble Speed/Speed/Acceleration - all about the same, how quick/fast player moves.

Since we may be playing with significantly different option files, my best suggestion is to search in game by "agility" and order the list by dribble accuracy. (Do a conditional search looking for players with 80+ agility (or 90+ if there are too many results) and order the results by dribble accuracy) This will give you the best "dribblers" in your game.

Obviously, you then need to look at different stats depending on position. If you want SBs, SHs, or WGs you should probably look for dribblers with high crossing ability (Long pass accuracy and Long pass speed).
Click to expand...

Thanks, very true. Another thing which makes Zambrotta so usefull; his crossing.

eatontj said:
Looking for OHs and CFs look for shot power/technique/accuracy (shot power and shot technique are vital to pull out spectacular shots after nice dribbling moves.) *Note that shot accuracy doesn't mean more shots on target, it means that shots on target are much closer to the corners.

For DMF, CBs look for jumping, defense, and short passing accuracy/speed as the next best stats.

Height doesn't seem to matter too much although sometimes I think that shorter players are quicker... but then again my taller players pull off plenty of moves as well.

Best dribbling players in my opinion (off the top of my head) in no order:

Ronaldinho
Saviola
Zidane
Shev
Henry
Owen
Pires
Kewell
Beckham (surprise)
etc.etc.

I don't like to have superstar teams so I don't have any of these fellas (well, Kewell) so I'd reccomend doing a search.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

It helps a lot. I don't use superstars either (well with the exception of DP and Nedved). For me Recoba seems the best dribbler in the game, but he is a bit too good ey...

I might try Valeron in the future, at first he doesn't seem to much of a dribbler, but he is very usefull at dribbling + playmaking ofcourse.
 
A quick note, PES3 is a bit easier to dribble and I had a lot of fun doing so until I moved onto WE7:I (a bit more challenging)... however, the shooting is not as effective from range so I'd concentrate on more accurate shooters instead of powerful shooters.

Agility is still the best stat to use as your guide to dribble masters, though.

And just to suggest one player that has always been a great all-around threat off the dribble is Donovan from the USA. I enjoy him because he is a capable player without being a superstar... perfect for me.

Anyways, enjoy!
 
Thanks a lot again.

You know I had Saviola in the past he has a great agility, somehow he just always underperformed for me though. Zambrotta who has low agility compared to him is a way better dribbler for example, or even the seemingly 'slow' Del Piero is great compared to Saviola.
 
I have found the perfect dribbler for me. I have Stuttgart in my option file, and Stuttgart being one of my fav teams also have one of my fav players: the new laudrup, the new dribble king: Aleksander Hleb.
 
This is an advanced formation, utilising three alternate in game formations. This is a squad I would probably use against my mates.

StrongMidfield352.jpg
 
a lot of new formations since the last time i posted in this topic. being busy with working and studying i hadn't had much time to spend my time on this meaningless discussions ;). but now the hard times are getting more and more behind me and than i heard the dutch masters (cruijff/bruins slot) speak about several tactical issues. besides that i finished my work for the classicos patch and i became again exhited! so, i decided to try some of the formations and come up with a completely new one.

i tried to play with one winger and one cf. that didn't work out for me. recently i like to penetrate (is this a proper english word?) the defence to outplay the goalie. so no headers and such for me. i have played that kind of football ever since i became a real fan of the we (pes) series since pes1.

my current formation:

|-------------<SB-->---------|------------------------------------|
|======--------------------|----<--LH->-----------======|
|---------|---------------------|---------|-------------|-----------|
|===----|<CB----------------|-----------------------|----====|
|----|----|---------------------|----<--OH---------<--CF-->----|
|<GK|----|---------------<CM-->--------------------|----|------|
|----|----|---------------------|------<--OH-->------|----|------|
|===----|<CB----------------|-----------------------|----====|
|---------|---------------------|-----------------------|-----------|
|======--------------------|-----<--RH->---------======|
|----------------<SB----------|-----------------------------------|

deep breath. deep breath. i figured this all out yesterday night, so here we go. this formation highly depends, as some might have noticed, on a forward pressing strategy. i used it several times against my mates and i used to hate this strategy but it worked out really, really well. i beat spain 5 to 0 with croatia. they didn't hold a ball in the back and were forced to play it all forward where simic and tudor intercepted the ball.
unlike some other formations i've tried this one really works well in and without possession of the ball.

abstract:

when i possesion try to play as quick as possible towards your central half. from there you generally have 3 options, cause one of your other midfielders is usually not capable of recieving a pass. bring on the play and you might want to go for a quick back pass to create some space for your attacking players.
another thing you can do is to pick a team with a strong striker who can hold the ball. he must be able to deliver a nice pass to one of your offensive players who can scream the ball home.
when you lost possesion - usually far from your own goal - it is vital that you apply as much pressure as you can on the ball when you loose it up front. therefore it forces your opponent to play a high ball forward or go into a one-on-one situation with your attacker/midfielder. when you lucky or if you ran into the direction of the ball and got it back in possesion you can easily score a goal. your opponent is confused and the players are not in their ideal positions. go for a dribble, cause usually you only need to beat two players.
you also need tall defenders who can head the ball or retain obsession when the long ball is played.
the left sideback (or right, whatever you prefer) can make long runs down the side.

i like to play with croatia cause they got excellent cb's and a very decent midfield. only lacking a real good finisher but prso and mornar are tall and strong.

so:

advantages:
- ooooiii i never met any player who plays a forward defending system in multiplayer. i reckon it's great in tournaments. especially when your opponent plays an attacking formation. which most competitors do, at least here!
- you can create definately lot's of changes. it's good when you are a bit creative.
- great formation to dribble i noticed. now i'm a bit of dribbling lover myself so i can be a bit biased. ;) maybe someone who loves the passing game can try this formation out?

disadvantages:
- you are a bit weak in the zone between your defense and midfield. but because you don't play with defenders who stay at the back you must capable handling those issues.
- didn't notice anymore yet.

dom, did you have worked out your final juve formation?
 
@jmz, do you really enjoy playing with those worldclass players? your default formation seems nice though. gonna give it a try later on!

@dom, did you have worked out your final juve formation? and what about saviola? for me he is marvelous down the left wing. cut in to support kluivert/noraldinho or make a long distance shot!

@eatonj, manoleteloveman: yeah altering your formation too much will destroy your team. i usually change the position of a couple of players, but that's it.
other great dribblers are martins from nigeria and denilson from brazil.
 
Nah I haven't yet, Saviola on the left in midfield? or as a left winger? Do you mean in a 4-3-3? I'm open to suggestions for Juventus.
 
Okay I did work out something now, I played a friendly match with Juve against AC Milan and totally thrashed them 5-0 ! + I did miss some easy chances though..

Anyway I played the old 4-3-1-2 formation which worked wonders:

----------------------Trezeguet
-------Del Piero
------------------Nedved
--^---Maresca Tacchinardi Camoranesi
Zambrotta
-------------Montero Ferrara Thuram
--------------------Buffon

Nedved had 3 assists (1), very dangerous runs.
He was the best player.

Even Camoranesi was good, very dangerous on the counter. He is normally though the weak point, the defence is ofcourse in reallife :D.

Any suggestions/comments for improvements?


----------
I'm thinking about testing out the 3-4-1-2 formation, but I need a good balanced right midfielder for that, any suggestions?
thanks.
 
with barca i play saviola on the leftwing position. make him play like overmars in his best days. cut in and strike with his right foot in the nearest corner of the goal.

i would say try something completely different. i'll think something up!
 
Hello, this is my first post on here, just signed up and it's great to see that so many people play the game. I'm really shocked how many people use so many tactics, but i'd like to start to myself as I think i'm a decent enough player using just the basics. Anyway, my team is the Netherlands and I prefer to play with the emphisis on attack. At the moment I'm playin a 4-2-4(which I developed from the 4-3-3C formation to try and mimic the default formation from the previous 2 games)with the players shown below

Van Der Sar

Stam(CBT)
Frank De Boer(CBT)
Van Bronkhorst(LB)
Reiziger(RB)
I have moved all of the defence back 2 clicks each on position edit to just in front of the box, as when I was playing against my mate, he was havin a lot of success with lofted through balls where my full backs were.

Cocu(CMF)Moved him accross to the right of the centre circle and a further 10 - 15 metres back to give some protection to the back 4.

Davids(CMF)On the edge of the centre circle in the opposition half, on the left hand side.

Kluivert(CF)In the middle furthest back a Centre Forward can be.

Van Nistelrooy(CF)Up in the middle on his own

Zenden(LWF) & Overmars(RWF)Playing on the corner of the box on their respective sides.

As I was sayin', I've hardly messed with the tactics or strategies. Left the defensive arrows as they were(on normal) for all players, and i've got attacking ones on Van Nistelrooy and Kluivert(both going straight forward) as well as overmars and Zenden(both going diagonally left and right forward).

Any input would be much appriciated, I would prefer to keep the same starting 11 but i'm open to suggestions on all strategies and tactics, cheers!
 
just two things Danny, coz I have played with your formation and I saw It wasn´t effective against a human player as you have so many spaces in the middle...And the other do you have problems building up the play from the defence?
 
I don't really find it that difficult, even with the spaces in the middle, i find that i've usually got 6 men and the keeper back behind the ball when they start to build up their attack and when I break the play down, jus gettin it out wide to zenden and overmars usually works a treat, especially against my mate who plays 3-4-3. Find it slightly more difficult against a 4-4-2 formation, but still it's very much a case of hittin em on the counter attack, with pace down the wings, or playin long balls up from De Boer up to Van Nistelrooy to nod it into the path of one of the others up top. I can see where you are comin from tho, it's very much suited towards playing teams who also like comin forward rather than slowly building up play.
 
i think when you play with only 2 real midfielders any good skilled we-player can win from you. if you don't have a good control on the midfield you're lost. even when you have the strongest central back in your team! ;)

@dom, wow! i never play with worldclass teams but juventus really plays nice! i'll post some formations later on!
 
@Classicos.
I don't always use teams full of world class players, just when my mates have similar line ups. We sart with mediocre club teams, then good club teams, then mediocre nationals, then good nationals, then classic teams, then ML super squads. Works out nice over a night, you get to see who is good with what. Some of the lads can only win with really good teams, so it wouldn't be fair to make them use a bad team.
I have about 6 ML teams with different lineups, and for my pics, I just put the best I have from the lot.
If you want to win easily, these teams are the way to go. ML play and humans are totally different. I do the pictures for playing against humans.
 
Balanced442ML.jpg

Please don't complain about the super squad players. I wanted it to look really good, not filled with Diouf, Heskey, Lee Clark and whoever.
Change the players where required, but some will need to have a few positions.
The numbers represent specific players.

The default line up is a balanced 442 with attacking full backs.
Your right back needs to have additional CBT position.
Your left back must be able to attack on SMF.

In formation A your team will move into 352.
In formation B your team will move into 433.
 
My most effective formation: 1-3-2-2-2-1

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------SB-------------------------LMF----------------------CF--------------
-----------------------DMF--------------------------------------------------------
-GK----CB---------------------------------------OMF---------------CF----------
-----------------------------------CMF---------------------------------------------
-------------SB-----------------------------------------------------------------WF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
This may be a dumb question but in the formation settings, in INDIVIDUAl - Mark Settings, what is the difference beetween Zonal and Covering? wich one of the two do you use, and wich one is best to make the defenders stay in the position I have defined in the position edit...

I'm having problems with my sidebacks wondering off there position (and I have set the Attack Arrows for them to stay back)
 
P.Renato said:
I'm having problems with my sidebacks wondering off there position (and I have set the Attack Arrows for them to stay back)
Click to expand...

Have you set their Defense Arrows to High? ;)
 
Covering = is Man marking. The defender covers the attacking player.

Zonal Marking , The defender covers/defendes a certain area of the pitch.


I hope that helped.
 
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