Wide yet fairly narrow basic control 4-2-3-1 tactic for Football Manager 2016. Created by a dozen people on our Twitch chat after my 1st season with West Ham.
While this tactic may look like it's a Wide 4-2-3-1, it's actually using FM16s new 'Fairly Narrow' option in the team instructions. This means that the inside forward and the winger wont stay as wide as the default "4-2-3-1 Wide" and not as narrow as the default "4-2-3-1 Narrow" which was trickier to too in previous versions of Football Manager.
We use a Poacher with the individual instruction of "Roam From Position" to allow him to move around more compared to sitting on the last defender, which causes more havoc with the back line and more opportunities for through balls.
We use an Attacking Midfielder set to Attack instead of an Advanced Playmaker because we want the AM to be more disruptive and push forward pulling any Defensive Midfielders or Central Defenders with him while also looking for killer balls to the Poacher. This is also creates a gap where the Inside Forward comes into play.
With the the Inside Forward being in a narrower position rather than a wide position, the gaps left by the AM and the Poacher are easier to access, allowing for greater shots on goal.
You'll also find that while your players are passing the ball around and attempting to find a gap, your full backs will also push up and overlap your midfield and get in some crosses.
On the defensive side, the players will sit back a bit more before attempting to win the ball back. We also have a last ditch ball clearing Limited Defender as our last line of defense. The only exception is the Ball Winning Midfielder who is your main reclaimer of the ball in the center of the pitch, so it might be a good idea to have a very physical and good tackling player there.
FMScout Twitch Viewers' FM16 Tactic
FMScout Twitch Viewers' FM16 Tactic
FMScout Twitch Viewers' FM16 Tactic
