We are back to tactic testing with our latest article. This time, we look at Schalke 04 Asymmetric Tactic by pramsay88. I must say I haven’t noticed this creator before on my FM rounds, but they deserve massive credit for this tactic.
The conditions of the save
For this test, I decided to manage Aston Villa. I set the tactic and simmed a whole season without any interference. The database I used had been updated with most of the summer transfer deals.
How is the team set up?
The tactic’s formation is a 4-1-2-2-1, which looks like it has been adapted from a 4-2-3-1 formation. However, it is not as vanilla as most bog-standard 4-2-3-1 formations. The mentality is attacking, which is reflected in the positive attacking numbers, which we will go into later on.
The formation starts with a sweeper keeper on defend duty. In the backline are two wing-backs on support, flanking a pair of ball-playing defenders in the heart of the defence.
Protecting the defence is a ball-winning midfielder on support. Further forward there is a box-to-box midfielder on support and an inverted winger in the left-midfielder position on attack duties.
Then we get to the attacking players, with an inside forward in the right-wing position and an advanced playmaker on attack duty. The focal point of the attack is an advanced forward who is on attack duty.
Looking at the tactic it created a strong partnership between the two central defenders. It also looks like the right wing-back has a good understanding with the inverted forward on his side of the pitch. The ball-winning midfielder and the box-to-box midfielder also have a decent understanding.
How did the tactic do?
The team was predicted to finish eighth place in the table, despite their surprise fourth-place in the table. However, the team finished third place in the table, just four points behind the eventual champions, shock horror Manchester City. The team was in the title race until the final few games of the season.
As previously talked about, the attacking play of the team was the standout positive. The team from the Midlands finished the season as the top goalscorers in the Premier League, scoring 88 goals, five more than the next most prolific team, Manchester United, during the campaign.
The attacking threat didn’t affect their defensive performances, as only runners-up Liverpool conceded fewer goals in the top flight.
Villa had the best home record in the Premier League, recording 17 victories, one draw and suffering just one defeat, picking up 52 points with a goal difference of 42, having scored 54 goals and conceding a league-low of 12.
The team made an excellent start to the Premier League campaign, winning 17 of their opening 19 games, setting a good foundation for their third-place finish in the table.
It seemed the team ran out of steam towards the end of the season, as they won just two of their last five league games while suffering three defeats in the poor run. A stronger end to the season could have seen the Villans win the Premier League title.
When it comes to the cup competitions, the tactic didn’t really help the team achieve success. The team exited the Champions League in the last-16, suffering a defeat against Bayern Munich.
They also suffered a fourth-round FA Cup defeat against Manchester United while finishing as runners-up in the Carabao Cup.
Which players were the top performers using the tactic?
As is usually the case with attacking tactics, the forward players were amongst the top performers for goals, assists and average season ratings.
Inevitably advanced forward Ollie Watkins was the team’s top goalscorer, scoring 28 goals and producing five assists and a respectable average season rating of 7.03.
However, the player with the highest rating in the team was Leon Bailey, who played on the right flank of the attack. The Jamaican international received an overall rating of 7.17 after scoring 16 goals and producing six assists.
The player with the second-highest rating was Jacob Ramsey, who was the advanced playmaker. His season rating of 7.14 was largely due to scoring 11 goals and producing 13 assists.
Another player who was highly productive when it came to goal contributions was youngster Morgan Rogers, who scored 14 times and produced six assists. The versatile former West Brom star played as the advanced forward, advanced playmaker, and inverted winger on the right flank.
Summer signing Samuel Iling also enjoyed a fruitful campaign, scoring eight goals and producing eight assists from the inverted winger role on the left midfield role.
Ian Maatsen was also utilised in the same role, scoring seven times and producing six goals, despite 11 of his 44 appearances coming from the bench.
When it came to assists, the king of production was left wing-back Lucas Digne, who produced 14 assists for the season. It was the second-highest assist tally in the league.
When it comes to assists, midfielder John McGinn cannot be overlooked, as the Scottish midfielder produced nine assists from the box-to-box midfield role. He also scored four goals.
Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans played in both the ball-winning midfielder and box-to-box midfield roles, scoring six goals but, maybe more importantly, producing eight assists.
Goalkeeper Emi Martinez had the third-most clean sheets in the Premier League, getting a season-average rating of 6.95.
What are my conclusions on this tactic?
I have to say the results of this tactic impressed me. I haven’t yet had time to test it out on my personal save, but from the results, I see that it is definitely a tactic I would use in the future.
When I saw that the mentality was set to attacking, I thought the team might sacrifice some of its defensive solidity in order to maintain its attacking threat.
However, this tactic came close to finding the perfect balance between attack and defence, which is what I am always searching for in a tactic.
I would definitely recommend this tactic to anybody who has a decent team and wants to overachieve on FM25.
Have you used Schalke 04 Asymmetric Tactic by pramsay88? If you have, let us know your thoughts via our socials
