The latest tactic I have tested is ‘Ultimate 433’ by ZimsMula. I have seen ZimsMula’s tactics on various sites, but I am not sure I have used any of them for tactic testing or my personal save before now.
The latest tactic ended that uncertainly, and the tactic produced solid results.
How did the tactic set up?
As always, with the tactic testing, I used Everton as our test team. As the title suggests, the tactic is set up in a 433 formation with an attacking mentality.
The tactical set-up started with a sweeper keeper on defend. In front of the goalkeeper were two ball-playing defenders on defend duty, flanked by two wing-backs on support duty.
Onto midfield, and an anchor on defend protected the defence, with mezzala’s in front on support duty. The attacking threat was provided from the flanks by two inside forwards on attack and an advanced forward figure heading the team’s attacking efforts.
Personnel-wise, the tactic suited the available resources at Everton and brought the best out of certain players.
How did the tactic perform?
Our team was predicted to finish 13th at the beginning of the season. However, it finished seventh place, which earned Europa Conference League qualification. However, the team finished just four points adrift of the Champions League berths.
This tactic produced really good attacking numbers, as only Manchester City could better our team’s goal tally of 82 during the season.
As is usually the case with tactics that produce a lot of goals, the defensive record wasn’t great, as we conceded 47 goals. It was still the eighth-best record in the league, so it wasn’t woeful either.
It was interesting to note that the team had the fourth-best away record in the league while only having the seventh-best at home. This suggests to me purely on numbers that this tactic is a better away tactic than a home one.
What stood out in the end-of-season numbers was the fact that the team finished the season strongly, winning their last five league games while scoring 12 goals and conceding just once.
The team didn’t have much joy in the cup competitions, as they exited the FA Cup with a 2-1 fifth-round defeat against arch-rivals Liverpool. A second-round exit against Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup was also underwhelming.
Who were the best-performing players?
It was the usual suspects that performed well in this tactic. Here are the best-performing players for season rating, goals and assists:
Highest average season rating
There were two players tied for the highest average season rating using this tactic, star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and winger Arnaut Danjuma, who both produced healthy 7.22 ratings over the season.
Full-back Seamus Coleman wasn’t a regular starter but still earned himself a respectable 7.11 rating. Meanwhile, on the other defensive flank, Ukrainian full-back Vitaliy Mykolenko was the only other player to get a score over 7, as he scored a 7.06 over the season.
Highest goalscorers
Judging by the goals scored, there was always going to be players who excelled in this tactic. The top goalscorer for the season was Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who scored 32 goals in 44 appearances. He finished as the Premier League Golden Boot winner, eight goals ahead of Manchester City’s scoring machine, Erling Haaland.
Danjuma was also prolific from his inside forward position, grabbing himself 20 goals in his 42 appearances. On the other wing, Jack Harrison scored 13 times in 40 matches.
Centre-back James Tarkowski and central midfielder James Garner also scored four goals over the campaign.
Highest assists makers
The player with the highest number of assists was inside forward Jack Harrison, who produced 11 assists. James Garner was also highly productive from midfield, creating ten goals.
Full-backs Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko were also effective at creating goals, producing nine and eight assists, respectively.
Danjuma added seven assists to his 20 goals for the season, making him a vital player for the team.
What is my conclusion?
The seventh-place finish is a highly respectable result from this test. However, I tested this tactic out because I used it on one of my personal saves, where I somehow finished as runners-up in the Premier League in the first season after making a few signings.
From personal experience, this tactic can have a team majorly overachieving, which the test may not accurately reflect. It is currently my go-to tactic on my personal saves.
It offers entertainment but also reasonably solid defensive displays. I actually won the Premier League title in my second season using this tactic. However, that was after I had strengthened my defence with the signing of defensive wonderkid Ousmane Diomande.
Overall, this is a tactic I highly recommend if you want your team to overperform, and it has brought me success.
Have you ever used ‘Ultimate 433’ by ZimsMula? If you have, let us know your thoughts on the tactic