I Rate Your Absurd Tactics

There are a lot of ways to win on Football Manager but some of the tactics we just looked at seem impossible, like there’s no way they actually work… but I kind of want to try it. The FM community has conjured up some inspiration as I take Tom and Clayts through a list of tactics that might just change the way you play the game forever. I rate this video 10/10.
Much Love,
FM Senpai
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🙌 Thanks for watching & scrolling!
#FM24 #Gaming #Hashtags

[@gezblair]

“What do you want your keeper to do Brian?” “Just be a keeper please”.😂

[@simonwilliams567]

i wish they were more Brian's, but it takes Brains to be a Brian.

[@Jester-611]

like brainey brian from horrid henry​@@simonwilliams567

[@tmmw1975]

“Shape: Brian” killed me

[@Martyr216]

i am wearing headphones and had to hold in a very sincere chuckle at that.

[@Aldiyaz]

RULE BRITANNIA!

[@TomFM]

Brian Stewart for England Manager!

[@brianbks02]

I'll stick to Elgin Tom, but thanks for the glowing review! 🤣🤣

[@TheVanpablo79]

lol, Sven in FM

[@ianrae1546]

Mike Bassett: England Manager. Was the first thing I thought of 😂when I

[@Aldiyaz]

​​@@brianbks02 FREEDOM! EYES ON THE BALL REF! THE GAME'S GONE SOFT! - Brexitball, probably

[@brianbks02]

No no, I have called it "Brian Stewart - 4-4-2 Control Possession" on my save guys. It's a naming convention I've used for each of my tactics. (Manager Name) (Style). Thanks for the ratings guys, love it. 🤩

[@LupusImmortalis]

Game's not gone and you're proof of that. Well done sir! o7

[@Isekaizen6466]

Brian/10

[@simplesimonhadapie]

You have to appreciate simplicity and the Scottish lower leagues are super competitive. I played a 4-4-2 but with two advanced inside forwards with bonnyrigg rose and that was very successful and I also used a target forward of good height

[@nemotoad9315]

Brian.

[@tjsheihk9820]

You my friend are a man amongst men. Absolutely solid stuff mate

[@Clayts]

Brian

[@brianbks02]

Thanks Clayts, deeply appreciated. 🤣

[@catpoofa]

Top marks for not tryingggggg

[@jhplayz298]

Brian

[@nemotoad9315]

Shape: Brian

[@Mythriak_]

You can hear the Guardiolas melting at the mere sight of him

[@kreesmobeeruun]

The Brian tactic was a banger! Zealand mentioned that he could hear rule Britannia from that tactic really got me lmao lol.

[@deanmcdougall5331]

For a Scottish team with a Scottish manager? No thanks.

[@brianbks02]

@@deanmcdougall5331 Yeah, Zealand got that wrong! I'm more likely to be signing Flower of Scotland

[@h3nder]

It took me a moment to realize they loaded the tactics, instead of the saves, and I was surprised that everyone was signing the same players.

[@markusdeux1192]

Right? I don't know why it took me so long to work that out 😂

[@Will-sl1iv]

i was trying to work out why they were using van de ven as a winger in that first tactic for so long

[@Nayyy_08]

Player : Boss, We Got The Ball, What We Need To Do Now? Brian : Nah, Just Chill Out, We Good

[@charlesfairs1427]

Tom absolutely losing it at the end has sent me 😂

[@martynhunter6083]

My God. The years of going to watch Airdrie play in the Scottish lower leagues. Just 2 teams playing 4-4-2 with long ball to a target man. Brought back some horrible memories.

[@simplesimonhadapie]

Scottish football still has that warrior brutality down the leagues 🤣

[@Aldiyaz]

​@@simplesimonhadapieEYES ON THE BALL REF! THE GAME'S GONE SOFT!

[@franciscomarcelino1251]

Brian gets what proper football is like. Get in lads

[@brunoactis1104]

Proper geezer

[@ianrae1546]

Brian definitely wears a flat cap whilst on the touch line 😂

[@kliklaminaat]

Everything about the last tactic is amazing

[@SanFranFan30]

The 4-1-4-1 tactic is basically Erik Ten Haag tactics.

[@savaugee7322]

Nah ten hag plays a 4-6 rn

[@jafarsabbagh7914]

Thats a lie he doesnt have a tactic

[@KT-ki6gz]

The 1 at the top being Rashford on the left with the instruction “Always be offside” 🤦‍♂️

[@EpicRenegade777]

@@KT-ki6gz fills mctominay and garnacho full of caffine and tell them to just go nuts

[@laurynasbudinas4585]

Actually that tactic is stolen from ZAZ (quick fire) with few minor tweaks

[@emstett7488]

just sad, that there are no links to the shown tacticts to have a look at it ingame yourself :(

[@jacka8792]

Hi guys, Killnion here (the first tactic), thought I'd share some information It works very well (won premier league and on-course for champions league with Colchester when I go back to it), it was inspired by Pep at city as he uses this a variation similar to this in some games. It is also similar to Alonso's formation, tho I made this before this season so that's just by chance. Quite a few people was right with their interpretations such as the 4-man block of midfield, Liberio stepping up alongside dlp, etc. You need the right personal e.g. fast WCB, technical Liberio, high work-rate Wingers. I can't link the tactic in this comment so :( Honestly its so good for me so I hope people have fun ;) And thanks for using my pic as the thumbnail Z!

[@umbertorobotti6735]

Carlo Ancelotti's Milan was playing with this tactic, so called "xmas tree" and a couple of CL...

[@jacka8792]

@@umbertorobotti6735 Before my time but thanks for letting me know I'll check that out!

[@umbertorobotti6735]

don't make me feel old mate... 😅@@jacka8792

[@cv_luka]

From now on my answer to anything is simply Brian.

[@olitplays3523]

i never thought I'd be almost crying laughing at a FM tactics video but that last one sent me

[@bentarbuck6161]

We need a follow up were some of these get given 5 games and highlights are show and laughed at or praised

[@simplesimonhadapie]

This is something I would love to see. Even play them off against each other could be fun

[@kaizenFM]

This was very wholesome, loved this guys. God bless you Brian.

[@ravenshade266]

brian

[@jhplayz298]

Brian

[@ethanseldiakov7551]

Brian

[@damonimpact01]

Brian!!!! Well done. Good luck with your save out there. Everyone else in the video, great job and continue your journey on FM24.

[@lunardancer6047]

I remember Gung Ho. I think that goes FM07 or maybe earlier. Even back then it did the same thing where you'd switch to to it out of desperation at the end of a game you were losing and then nothing would happen.

[@Mythriak_]

Gung-ho was the button you'd push when you were almost losing, then you'd be sure you'd lose.

[@RareNotorious]

I just wanted to say I love this channel, been following for years at this point and gotta give some love I love seeing new videos pop up

[@MrRokkit]

This is soul-destroying!! When you do more of these _please_ try it out an add a clip or two.

[@toby4784]

Tom dying at “Shape: Brian” absolutely wrecked me man😭😭😭

[@Joseph-gp2fq]

The 4-1-4-1 is by far the best tactic seen on the channel. Its a 2-3-4-1 the IWB's are so overpowered doing 2 jobs at once, and sheer amount of goals those attackers score.

[@Derek-qu8qi]

1:29 I made up this 3-2-4-1 tactic in FM07 or about then. It didn’t have the positional roles, but it was the same players positions. I was San Lorenzo in Argentina and they were gash. They had decent players in these positions but no good CMs, so I got creative to use what I had and it also covered all the weak areas (or red patches). I jumped between 2-1 and 1-2 in the front 3, and it worked because we went on a mad unbeaten run.

[@andrewburgess3643]

Great commentary, love the shirt Z. So much in fact that I’ve just ordered it to be delivered to Australia.

[@jpmachado_]

i love the dynamic of this video and also Brian

[@davidgosden5443]

Fun video - I think it would have been even better if you'd also all actually played a few games with each tactic, then compared notes afterwards to see if it played as you thought it would, but realise that's probably a lot more time consuming

[@Nosceteipsum166]

0:52 I made almost the same tactic inspired on Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen, but I use two CMs instead of two DMs and I have 1 winger and 1 wide midfielder. The libero is very, very, very important, basically the heart of the team. It's amazing to press the opposition. Sometimes I end games with 80% possession, and goals from counterpressing are frequent. You just need to be very careful with your setup, though. I won the Premier League and lost UCL final with that tactic.

[@wherestheoptoutoptionmfs]

After hundreds, possibly thousands, of hours of tinkering on my tactics over several different careers (my favourite being taking Blyth Spartans from the bottom of the football league to being european champions), I've finally settled on my ultimate tactical set up...a kind of asymettrical 4-1-4-1, with two isomeric forms, which I'd dearly love to submit to your expert analysis but I've no idea how, as I play on the PS5. Nonetheless, it's insanely good, and I'm extremely proud of it :) Love your work, if I can call it that XD.

[@adampatterson2682]

im from Blyth, Croft Park is just down the road from where I live and work haha.

[@Harrison32413]

Ahh wish I would have known about this. I created a tactic in my Ajax rebuild based on a Xabi Alonso style of play. Defends in a 5-3-2, but attacks in a 4-2-4. Plays some beautiful football!

[@StretfordEndGaz]

first there was pepball, now its brian ball, even sean dyche is ringing him up

[@danielfersbeanto7942]

For the first tactic you can see 2 CM and 2 AM make the box midfielder. Winger on support will cover down the line and help in transition with Libero as the overload. That what I tought

[@HistoriadorGeek]

In the first tactic, Endrick is playing in this exact position in this exact tactic in Palmeiras right now, and we just score 5x1 in regional cup. IT WORKS, IT JUST WORKS.

[@BrasilianFury]

Yes, it very much does. AVANTI PALESTRA!

[@stefvalk7452]

'Nothing silly lads.' 'I just want my goalkeeper to be a goalie.' 'Slow the pace down lads.' Tears in my eyes.

[@Jasoncj099]

The 4-2-2-2 is one of the best starting comps to start a new save in FM, its not gonna work in the long run but when starting with a bad team its really good

[@ii-xz9ui]

i just play WCB with Libero all the time and its pretty defensively stable cause out of posession the libero just plays normally and if your WCBs are actually fast enough it just doesnt have any problems

[@EstariaValens]

Brian/10 LOL

[@brownie62]

I just wanna say thank you Z. Yesterday I won the Champions League a third time within five years. Your videos helped me a lot. (I play with OGC Nice and I’m currently in preseason 2021/32 for anyone who’s wondering)

[@hongki92]

You guys should have tried out and played a game with the tactics!

[@n0body550]

Along the lines of what i commented, the “ratings” seem so arbitrary

[@hongki92]

@@n0body550 Oh sorry there man, I didn’t see your comment! Right after they rated the first tactic, I went to the comment section to write this comment

[@ashr7307]

1st tactic is my formation from my Huddersfield save, except I had 2 strikers and 1 AM. Absolutely dominated.

[@user-ib3hk7rq3n]

2:45 - funnily enough I'm playing a 5-3-2 with wide centre backs and a Libero. Works most the time with my DM stepping back to fill that gap mentioned however good team can manipulate this gap so usually change the LB to a BPD or standard CB. Helps a lot in hard matches.

[@W417on]

That 442 was missing all defenders to be no nonsense, thats a shame

[@amethyphoenix]

That would make it better defensively, yes, but Brian has the right idea with his 4-4-2, you can't deny the man that.

[@waynehewitt8206]

Why do I think this is Tom and Clayts auditioning for the network game.

[@W417on]

I want a draft league. Games played/streamed every Saturday at 3pm to compete with soccer Saturday

[@sandergaasbeek5978]

Don't give me hope...

[@CompletelyCr]

Tom, Clayts, Z and Kev? Yes please.

[@conky83]

I remember "Gung ho". Maybe from FM2014 or earlier. Not 100% sure from where I saw and used it though.

[@schlongomcnugget9428]

Clayts and Tom on this video goes hard, love the collab

[@sebzilla89]

The point about the most interesting tactics coming from necessity is very true. For me that's why the first year of a save is often the most interesting, especially if you turn off first window transfer budgets. You get what you're given and have to make it work.

[@christopherbuehl4373]

Love that Forward Madison kit. Truly you are a man of culture.

[@moseswilliams1576]

I have a save with Aberdeen and am using a very similar 4-4-2 tactic. They've been doing very well. Unless you're playing with Celtic or Rangers a 4-4-2 will do well in a Scottish save.

[@paulathekoala1699]

I used a similar 4141 but with a cm as a dlp and it worked great, it was good to see a similar tactic examined here 😊

[@Spahici]

Brian in the pre match interview when he’s asked what he’s gonna do for the team : “we’re gonna get the ball and put it in the net mate!”

[@thechriscrowing]

That last one was just perfection. Totally willing to believe 'Brian Stewart' is actually some Scottish lower league legend like Dick Campbell, living his best life on FM24.

[@ianrae1546]

Dick Campbell and Terry Christie were the two managers that immediately popped into my mind when I saw Brian’s tactic 😂

[@michaelfarrow5817]

In CM 03/04, you could set the attacking intent of each player and override the team instructions so if you wanted any of the CM/RM/LM/LWB/RWBs to get up and down the field, you had to put them on Gung Ho with their arrow dragged one square backwards. Got me promoted out of the Championship with West Ham.

[@Kopakola732]

The first tactic is similar to my 3-1-2-3-1 (FM calls it 3-3-3-1 DM Wide) and ive wanted to tweak it a little more for defense, maybe switching a M to a DM. But this one is intriguing. My only issue is wanting to stay away from those players that can only play one side. It's why i eliminated fullbacks. I am less strict with AML/R due to wanting some width but i like my backup to be able to play both

[@dislexyc]

Well, if you think about the first tactic, the CBs and the GK make a diamond, perfect for creating passing lines to build up from the back

[@DaMarrsBar]

Zealand-TomFM collab? Fantastic!

[@andrewtaylor6263]

Get Brian on your videos 🙏🙏 We all want the life of Brian 😉

[@nathanguillaume1247]

I love seeing TomFM on here!

[@cynical-_-bunny7399]

Everyone should be like Brian.

[@lindogg9389]

Would be nice to see games involving this tactic

[@pedroparker2743]

Brian out of Ten. Brilliant.

[@tabletbrothers3477]

If you tell a player to "take more risks" that just means they'll put in more through balls

[@oldjoe182]

Feels like Z need to make some video about what is meta and what is not! They all talking so much about what is good THIS YEAR and what is not. I am confused on many details with all those previous tutorials in mind.

[@jackharmeling7947]

need to see a mustermann collab with his editing style. makes the best vids on fm for sureee

[@Derek-qu8qi]

11:47 I loved gung ho. Used whenever I was 3-0 down at half time. Usually with a change to 2-4-4 or 3-3-4 in the old games. Celtic came from 0-3 at ibrox for 3-3 and Partick thistle came from 0-4 to 4-4 at home to raith rovers.

[@Thatguyinyourclass]

4-4-2 reminds me of my school days. We only ever used a 4-4-2. Good ole days

[@thedemonscath]

The main tactic I've been using, with slight variations on the roles, is the 4-1-4-1. I have yet to find a single save / team that it has not worked. It is dominating FM24! Straight up promotions all the time!

[@Mythriak_]

Have played with 2WCB + Libero and can confirm: There's a HUGE gap in the middle of your defense, if your keeper is not Neuer or Allison, you'll have trouble, and even then, it will hurt you against very quick strickers. That said, if your team is good enough, you will probably score more than the other team. I fixed it by playing a BPD on cover or defense. Also, a Half-Back DM works amazingly with the 2WCBs.

[@hugobatista9541]

CM on Attack is still great. I have been using it to great results with Chaves in the Second and First Division of Portugal and then the Championship and Premier League with Conventry.

[@BoxinSquare_]

Great video guys . Hey Zealand why dont you try out older managers like championship manager 01/02 ? CM01/02 is the reason why i still play FM . Go Gung ho was "all out to score" and if i didn't score i said oh come on i was playing gung ho .. yeah good old days..

[@nickcaesar5833]

That last tactic is godly

[@JohnnyRadovic85]

Z, Tom and Clayts in a video. This was a pleasant morning, thank you guys

[@georgikolev8700]

1st one is actually used quite a lot by Pep (at some point of the game) last few years

[@cliffhamilton5075]

i believe stinger did a video about half back with take more risks can pull some really nice build up passes if they have the right stats but that may of been for FM 23

[@nicholasnugent1123]

Ran a similar tactic to the ARSE 4141. I used a DLP instead of a DM , wingers on cut inside with one on attack and one on support, and an AP on support instead of AM. I won the seria A 4 times in a row with a europa league and 4 domestic cups at inter. In game when you use high pressing with 4141 like this the positional play overloads the opponent as soon as the ball is turned over.

[@Davidbaratunk]

Hi! I sent in that tactic, and you're totally right. The toels for the DM and the two AM's were set to that because of the players I had available, and because I wanted different roles, so that I could incorporate players with different skills. And yeah, I forgot to mention that a lot of goals come from the opponent losing the ball in the middle of the pitch (often because one of the AM's are tackling back) and then the attackers just go forward like a swarm. usually one player gets the ball down the wings and by that point you often have 4 players crashing the box.

[@OverseerVizier]

@@Davidbaratunk any link for this tactic?

[@Davidbaratunk]

@@OverseerVizierI haven't uploaded it anywhere, but I can if you'd like. It is actually fairly simple, as most of the info can be seen in this video. As others have said, the shape is a really good base, and then you just tinker with the roles

[@Mrajs360]

@@Davidbaratunk would be great if you could, or potentially just break down the specific roles/instructions you've given. Just trying to make my own mock up of this and I'm assuming everyone is like that SS and has close down more/tackle harder? It was the only way I could get the intensity that high lol

[@OverseerVizier]

@@Davidbaratunk if you can upload it please that'd be really helpful. I'm new to the game and a template to tinker with will help a bunch. thanks in advance!

[@SomPrince]

Idea for the next video try some of these formations marking the lb using your winger with a high work rate helps shut down teams who cross alot

[@tywinlannister2137]

Brian is amazing, bring back the 4-4- DUCKING 2!!

[@matthewvaughan8192]

The ONLY way that first tactic works is if you put the DLP on Defence (ideally a pacey half-back,) or like you say, ditch the Libero - but I do love creating a good Libero system, which is why I know this doesn’t work. I’m not having that tactic works one bit. His sim is probably suffering from a classic case of Brain Drain where literally every player with good mentals and/or good attacker randomly all leave over a certain period, so no matter how much xG he concedes, no one in the league has the composure or finishing to punish him. Not a sustainable tactic at all.

[@ianrae1546]

Brian is an absolute legend 😂 That is a true, old school 442. I applaud you sir 👏🏻

[@tonyguyan9559]

Embrace the Brian! A tactic very much in my heart as I’m playing something similar in my AFC Crewe save and like Brian I’m clueless with tactics and I’ve no idea how’s it’s working as I’m as defensive and basic as that tactic with all my defenders and two DM’s on defend duty but for some reason I’m blowing teams away.

[@Robi2009]

I kinda hoped Zealand would put each one of these to the test and see how they work out in a match (use editor to put whole team to max tactical knowledge to rule that factor out) BTW, can you download these from somewhere? I wanna get them a spin of my own :)

[@shrimp99991]

I've run the 4-1-0-4-1 before, except with an RPM and two shadow strikers, it's an unstoppable formation at all levels. You can legitimately score 5 goals per game.

[@jonnypeacock3113]

I rate this video Brian out of 10

[@ianluck9412]

Brian/10 My new favorite rating for anything

[@jxcobxw3557]

Used a 433 striker-less formation this year and it’s acc incredible. SK got 24 clean-sheets and won the Italian league/ Cup and the UCL

[@RossLarson]

Love the Forward Madison FC kit.

[@kingbuzzo15]

I remember Gung ho. Also I remember when you could give win bonuses before a match in Champ Manager

[@georgemccann9141]

I ended up with some weird formations and tactics due to managing very low tier teams and when the transfer windows closed I found myself without a player to fill positions I wanted and changed to fit the players available

[@bonesknowspod]

That first one, I used to use something similar with James Ward Prowse and jack Wiltshire as the wingers playing on wide midfielder. But this was back in the day way before wide centre backs. Not sure how that would work

[@JohnnyRadovic85]

Brian has bent the fabric of spacetime

[@simplesimonhadapie]

The first is almost the same as mine but i use to dm's and twp wing backs and it's very solid. I also use a libero but to replace the volante when pushing forwards. I also would point out that with the players at the front the ball will go long from clearing and the libero will recycle the ball. The two wcb's dont go that wide depending on team position but i got Gibraltar side europa point to the champions league last 16 and Gibraltar to the worlds top 100 with donkeys

[@calvg12]

toms screens look so crisp and sharp

[@lonerspop]

God that Brian Stewart thing is magical

[@anardi7112]

Claytmunity represent

[@GoogleMeAgain]

Gung ho was earlier editions of football manager iirc. Like fm 09 etc

[@FPLMunz]

love the tom and zealand collab

[@TheRadPlayer]

Bonus points to Brian for playing Elgin City.

[@joaopires1761]

I also remember going Gung-Ho. :P