Think you mis-read my post there Dunph.
4-2-3-1
That IS all.
Generally speaking, I like to go with one out and out star striker, playing in the advanced forward role. I support him with two versatile attacking players, either playing out wide or tucked in behind him. I have my second biggest star playing as a link man in and attacking midfield role, anchored by a combination of an experienced and young midfielder, one of whom is expected to get involved in attacks. At the back I have the same balance with the centre-halfs, young and experienced, and have one of the full-backs playing a very attacking role, usually supporting the less flash of the two advanced wide players. Formation is normally 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1.
Questions relate to your opinions on philosphy, passing style, tempo etc.
What kind of a striker would you play in that system Pike? A target man or a small, nippy poacher type maybe?
I like to play two strikers myself. Funny enough iāve gone right off the standard 4-4-2 formationā¦
Quick lad upfront-supported often by the 2 wide men.
4-4-2 is good for away games.
Oh right. Well generally speaking i like to play a 4-3-1-2 formation as i have already mentioned. Any player i sign will be signed to fit into my system. I generally sell any wingers i inherit from previous regimes. As a rule of thumb as regards players, they must be good athletes. I go for players with good speed, agility, strenght etc and usually tall players. In terms of positions:
LB/RB: Must have good pace/agility and good to pass and cross. They will be required to bomb forward.
CB: Must be tall and good in the air. Pace and obviously tackling are necessary also. They donāt have to be technically any good as this is not what they are required for, it is important that they do their defensive duties properly.
CM: I go for a ball winning central midfielder in the centre of the park with two box to box midfielders either side of him. The ball winning midfielder must be strong, good tackler, good positioning, work-rate etc. He doesnāt have to be great technically. The box to box midfielders must have great stamina, agility, work rate etc and must be comfortable both going forward and staying back.
AM: This player sits in the hole behind the two strikers. Must be technically very good and creative. Is mainly there to link the midfield and attack, supplies through balls etc.
Att: I like to have a deep-lying forward and advanced forward. The former will often work the flanks and drop a bit deeper and comer into the box a bit later. The latter would be your out and out striker type, generally must be fast and crucially strong.
DO NOT underestimate the game.
i.e The game will know if your taking the piss by multi-tasking and not concentrating (eg. watching a bit of telly, studying etc.) and will often hit you with a penatly miss or an offside goalā¦ āPenalty for Swansea. Saved!ā 'ā¦ Britton scores!" āBut the linesmanās flag is upā¦ā
Awful feeling when your on the brink of the play offs in Mayā¦
Dunph if you could elaborate on your philosophy in relation to the hiring and utilisation of coaches it would be greatly appreciated
General manager me hole
Can you recommend an assistant manager dunph? In an unexpected turn of events Sammy Lee has been whisked off to Italy by Fiorentina.
Iām under siege on the coaching front at the moment. Barca have already robbed by best tactical coach and are now after one of my top fitness coaches. Replacements arenāt cheap either.
Iām such a quality manager that I like to give ex-players making their way on the coaching side of things a leg up but I prefer to hire ex-players who were technically proficient so they can gel with my pass and move style. I hired Dennis Begkamp to my backroom team at Celtic and he really flourished.
Who are you with, Liverpool? Sammy Lee is a loss, you should put your best staff on fat contracts to stop them from leaving.
In an assistant youāre looking for someone with a good reputation and high attributes in areas such as judging player ability, tactical knowledge, man management, motivating particularlyā¦ with working with youngsters and mental coaching as added bonuses. I wouldnāt necessarily be looking for an assistant with good coaching attributes, you will have coaches to coach, your assistant is required for other things. Man Utd have some superb coaches, some of whom make great assistants. I couldnāt recommend Brian McClair highly enough. Pako Ayestaran is another good one.
From what I understand tactical knowledge, motivation, judging ability and potential, man management, and determination are the main ones. I know the coaching stats arenāt that important but itād be good to have an AM with decent attacking or defending stats. Pat Rice, Baldini, Tassotti, or Massimo Neri are the ones I hear the most about. United, Chelsea, and Arsenal all have a few coaches who look pretty good as well.
I might promote internally for now and find a couple of good first team coaches. Just signed Dzeko and am after one more big player so paying out big compensation is a killer at the moment. As well as that you need a good wage budget for the top coaches and Liverpool are pretty skint.
Champ manager 01/02,enough said. 
What did Dzeko set you back? He usually gets unsettled after a season or two with Wolfsburg and is usually available at a reasonable price. Heās a good striker. Iād be both surprised and disappointed if you forked out any more than 20million on the Bosnian international thoughā¦
There was a young Irish lad (i think it was in that version of the game) by the name of Adam Fleming who was only 14 and played as a right winger who was available on a free and usually turned into a world beater. I wonder what ever came of himā¦
[quote=āThe Dunph, post: 397062ā]
There was a young Irish lad (i think it was in that version of the game) by the name of Adam Fleming who was only 14 and played as a right winger who was available on a free and usually turned into a world beater. I wonder what ever came of himā¦
[/quote]Cherno Samba was 15 when the game started,he was with Milwall but scored all around him after two or three seasons.Taribo West was always snapped up on a free straight away aswell!
Ah yeah i remember that, great times. I remember you could sign this centre half as well from Uruguay for 40k, he was an animal and could be signed easily and fit in to practically any team at any level. There was also a centre midfielder from Colombia who was available almost as cheaply and would often be bought by the real big teams, but again would join almost any team if you got in there early enough. And then there was the great Ivan Hurtado of Ecuadorā¦
Wolfsburg wanted 23.5m and I got him for 17.5m. He wanted to leave alright. The challenge now is to try and settle him into a new system beside Torres which will mean bringing some quality to play in attacking roles behind them. Dirk will be shown the door and most likely Benayoun after him. Iāll hold onto Babel because heās a useful attacking option despite his bitching and moaning.
What I need now is Balotelli or Jovetic to give me a Cristiano Ronaldo style attacking threat and hope the rest of the squad can repeat the first season form. Have you ever signed either of those two?
[quote=āThe Dunph, post: 397064ā]
Ah yeah i remember that, great times. I remember you could sign this centre half as well from Uruguay for 40k, he was an animal and could be signed easily and fit in to practically any team at any level. There was also a centre midfielder from Colombia who was available almost as cheaply and would often be bought by the real big teams, but again would join almost any team if you got in there early enough. And then there was the great Ivan Hurtado of Ecuadorā¦
[/quote] :lol: I remember it all,was i the only one who reset the computer twenty times trying to beat Roma in the Champs League final? Totti! GOAL!!! fuuuuuck it!!! :lol:
I wouldnāt use Torres and Dzeko in the same team as theyāre basically the same type of player. Also, be careful with Jovetic, i signed him before and he flopped in a big way. Then again maybe he needs more than one season to flourishā¦