We are back with our latest tactic testing, and this tactic was created by the highly entertaining YouTuber Zealand. Unfortunately, I am not sure whether it has a name, as it’s saved in my folder as ‘Zealand tactic’.
Although I have seen people refer to it as ‘Zealand’s Melilla tactic’, so that is what I will refer to it as in this article.
The tactic certainly produced some interesting results in our testing.
How are the tactic and the test set up?
As is usually the case with my tactic testing, I holiday for a whole season as Everton boss and check on how the tactic has performed at the end of the season. This is without signing any players or making any alterations to the original Everton squad.
The formation is essentially 3-2-2-2-1, playing a control possession style and a balanced mentality.
It begins with a ball-playing goalkeeper in between the sticks. In front of the last line of the defence are a wide centre-back, a centre-back and an overlapping centre-back in possession, but all three become just centre-backs when the opposition has the ball.
In the wing-back positions are two advanced wing-backs in possession, who become full-backs out of possession.
In the centre of the pitch are a central midfielder and a midfield playmaker in possession, with the former becoming a pressing defensive midfielder out of possession, and the latter a defensive midfielder.
Out wide, there is a winger on one flank and a wide forward on the other, who both just become wingers when out of possession. Up front is a centre forward both in and out of possession.
Looking at the formation, my first thought was that it was balanced, which it turned out to be. However, I didn’t think it would suit Everton, as the Toffees don’t have the best full-backs in the world. As we will find out in our next section, it worked out pretty well.
How did the tactic perform?
Everton were predicted to finish in 13th place in the Premier League table. However, they well outperformed that prediction, finishing 5th in the table and claiming a Champions League spot or a Europa League berth, depending on the league’s coefficient at the end of the season.
One notable facet of the tactic at the end of the season was the team’s defensive record, with a tally of just 37 goals conceded, the best in the Premier League.
The defensive solidity did come at something of a cost, though, as the team’s goal tally of 59 was only the seventh-best in the league.
The only other thing that stood out stats-wise was that the team won just one of the last five Premier League games, meaning the team ran out of steam.
Unfortunately, the formation didn’t bring the team any silverware, as they exited the FA Cup in the third round, while also exiting the Carabao Cup in the second round. Both were disappointing results.
Which players did the tactic get the best out of?
When it comes to the players who performed the best, not many players reached really high average ratings over the season.
The highest season average rating was midfielder James Garner, who got an average rating of 7.18, having scored seven goals and produced nine assists.
However, striker Thierno Barry deserves credit for his 16 goals and 7 assists, which contributed to his 7.05 rating over the season.
Left wing-back Vitalii Mykolenko was a threat going forward, as he scored three goals and more impressively produced eight assists. Further forward in the team, the two wide players produced decent attacking numbers.
Jack Grealish scored seven goals and produced six assists, while Iliman Ndiaye scored seven times and produced three assists. Veteran right wing-back also did his fair share when it came to attacking output, scoring four goals and producing five assists.
Centre-back Jake O’Brien scored four goals and produced three assists, while fellow centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite matched the Irishman’s goal tally for the season, but produced just one assist.
What is our conclusion on Zealand’s Melilla tactic?
This tactic is one of the most defensively solid ones that I have used and tested on FM26. Although the test makes it seem like this tactic is defensive, I have actually used this tactic with personal save, and it produced far better attacking results.
This is probably because I had the players who suited the tactic better than the original Everton squad. However, considering the available players, the tactic produced a decent result.
The tactic will be my go-to if I am going to use three centre-backs and wing-backs, as it is solid and delivers impressive results, especially with the right wing-backs.
I would definitely recommend this tactic to anyone looking for a solid formation that will help your team generally overachieve.
Have you ever used Zealand’s tactic on FM26? If you have, let us know your thoughts on the tactic
