It’s a rather biblical name for a football tactic, I know, but it just sounds cool, doesn’t it? The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are mentioned in the Bible in chapter six of the Book of Revelation, which predicts that they will ride during the Apocalypse. The four horsemen are traditionally named War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. However, the Bible actually only names one: Death. An alternate interpretation, likely based on differing translations, holds the first Horseman to represent War and/or the Antichrist, the second to represent Pestilence (sometimes called Plague), while the third and fourth riders remain Famine and Death, respectively. My Four Horsemen tactic is inspired on these biblical harbingers of doom and destruction, since the tactic features four of those proverbial doomsday bringers. So let’s have a looksy.
The basic concept
As I mentioned before, I dubbed the tactic The Four Horsemen because of the four bringers of doom and destruction employed within the tactic. I have taken a page from the book of @theenglishinspection and made it into my own work. Paul mentioned his Five and Five work. Five purely defensive players, five more offensive players. I’ve decided to play with his recipe, tweak the numbers, add a dash of strikerless and a pinch of customised player roles to create a Six and Four. The Four Horsemen were born.
The team lines up in a pretty generic 4-2-4-formation, with a strikerless twist ofcourse. The whole “six-and-four”-concept becomes pretty apparent just by looking at the line-up. Six defensive players, four offensive players, who are given a free role to roam and destroy opposing teams at will. The overall team-shape will show you a similar story.
During the games, we can see the same kind of formation being employed. The next image is clear, showing a split between the front and back bank of players, forming a clear six and four split.
The team instructions
Now let’s have a look at the style of play, which is largely determined by the team instructions. When we look at the team instructions, we can see a distinct new style emerging, especially when compared to my older tactics. We’ll look at each individual aspect and how this interacts with the player roles later, for now we’ll just focus on the whole of the team instructions.
The main difference between this tactic and my previous tactics is the shift from a Very Fluid to a Structured team shape. In the Very Fluid approach I used before, every played was expected to chip in, players ought to work together towards a common goal. A Very Fluid team shape creates a tight and compact formation. I wanted to opt for something else this time. Six defensive players and the four offensive players, my Four Horsemen, to roam free upfront. A Structured approach would be a more sensible option in this scenario, creating two distinct banks of players, both with clear instructions on what to do.
The defensive bank
The defensive bank of players consists of six players, four actual defenders and double pivot in front of those defenders. None of the roles have been customised, so these are the default roles FM offers. Two Inverted Wingbacks on the flanks, two central defenders on cover duty and a Ball Winning Midfielder on support duty and a Deeplying Playmaker on support duty. I will look at the double pivot in the next paragraph, because their importance warrrants some special attention.
The Inverted Wingback might be a bit of an odd choice in this tactic. Whilst a normal Wing Back will generally offer width to an attack, the Inverse Wing Back will make runs through the centre of the pitch, creating space for numerous players around him. These players need to be talented all-rounders, with the physical ability to make strenuous runs forward and also ensure they are not caught out of position, and the mental ability to know when to make those runs. Their cutting inside sees them form an effective bank of three or four in the defensive midfield area. Let’s see that in action.
The left wing-back hasn’t quite moved forward because he has no direct opponent, but the right wing-back moves forward and outside to combat the wide threat. The defensive midfielders immediately shuffle over to the side to help out, effectively forming a defensive midfield triumvirate, pro-actively dealing with the threat of opposing players threatening the defensive line. The remaining defenders can remain in position to deal with incoming early crosses. This was also the reasoning behind selecting the cover duty for the central defenders.
As I mentioned earlier, the Inverted Wingbacks main quality is that he cuts inside to keep the field narrow. This makes defending en bloc easier and in the next screenshot, we can see an example where the wingback cuts inside and helps out the central defenders in dealing with a threat.
As the defensive midfielder steps out to deal with an opposing midfielder, space opens up between the wingback and the central defenders. Normal wingbacks generally stay wide, which opens up the possibility of a through-ball between the two defenders and space for the forward to run into. The inverted wingback cuts inside and shuts down the passing lane towards the forward. If the ball is played towards the wing, he will simply follow his marker wide and try to block the cross.
The drawback of using these Inverted Wingbacks is that you actually cede the flanks to the opposing team. With the current Match Engine and crosses being as effective as they are, that might seem like a bad idea, even with a strong central block of six players guarding the penalty area. This is where the cover duty of the central pairing comes in handy. By selecting the cover duty, the defenders drop back slightly and try to cover behind the defensive line. The two inverted wing-backs and the double pivot in front of them are far more aggressive in closing down the opposition. This setting actively minimises the amount of crosses coming in, despite ceding the flanks to the opposition.
The double pivot
The glue that holds this tactic together is the double pivot, the deployment of two defensive midfielders, who are used to protect the defence in a deep block, to prevent the opposition space for counter-attacks, to keep possession by overloading in the first phase and by linking the defensive bank of players to the offensive bank. The standard duties of this double pivot are as follows; to operate in the space between the defence and the attacking midfielders, to initiate attacks by distributing the ball in an intelligent fashion, to be key players in circulation and to prevent dangerous opposition attacks, being disciplined in positioning and limiting space in between the lines. I have opted for a Ballwinning Midfielder and a Deeplying Playmaker, both on support duties, but the double pivot can be as flexible as you like and the two players may have totally different duties, all depending on what you want the players to actually do out there on the virtual pitch. Tweaking may be required to combat specific formations.
One of the main strengths of the double pivot is that one defensive midfielder can press the ball without leaving lots of space as the other pivot can stay in position, either marking the opposition number 10 or false 9 or maintaining a good position to react if the initial press is bypassed. The double pivot offers huge defensive stability and is an extremely useful tool to help teams maintain a structured shape. Having two defensive midfielders centrally prevents others being dragged out of position to press. Let’s just look at the interceptions, won headers and tackles for the pair.
As you can see, the ball-winning midfielder wins far more duels than his counter-part, who remains deeper and sweeps up behind the ball-winning midfielder if he advances on the opposition. This brings me to another advantage of the double pivot is the protection one of the pivots can offer the less defensively capable of the two. The ball-winning midfielder presses and charges, leaving the deeplying playmaker with time on the ball, protected to sort out the build-up phase of play. He can dictate play from deep, safe in the knowledge that he is protected. You can see that in the passing charts.
Whilst the ball-winning midfielder sees more of the ball, he gets the ball in deeper positions and generally opts for short, sideway passes, whereas the playmaker gets involved more and in more advanced positions as well.
The offensive bank
The final part of this part of the tactic is the namesake of the tactic, the offensive bank of the tactic. The four players upfront have a unique synergy upfront. You have an Inside Forward, a Withdrawn Targetman, a Shadow Striker and a Winger upfront and what they do is poetry in motion at times. I can explain best by showing you a random match situation.
That is, in a nutshell, what makes the tactic effective. The defensive line gets stretched both horizontally (by the wingers) and vertically (by the lateral movement of the withdrawn targetman), which in turn opens up space for the penetrating runs forward that characterise strikerless football.
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Guido is the founding father of Strikerless and main nutjob running the show.
33 Comments
Ben · April 10, 2016 at 6:55 pm
Downloaded straight away!
Southampton first season
What types of players for each position? Do you actually play strikers in these roles?
StrikerlessGuido · April 10, 2016 at 7:06 pm
Mostly just what it says on the tin. For your team, I reckon you can do reasonably well with your existing squad.
Forster in goal, Soares and Betrand as backs, Van Dijk and Fontes as your central pairing, Wanyama as BWM, Clasie, Davis or Romeu as DLP, Mané as IF, Tadic as the winger, Ward-Prowse as the WTM. Not sure if Rodriguez or Long could act as the SS, you may have sign a new player. Pellé could be retrained I suppose, same with the other strikers. You could sell them to raise money for extra attacking midfielders.
Ben · April 10, 2016 at 8:53 pm
Got Cauley woodrow doing a great job as IF. Zivkovic on loan from Madrid too. Need to sign someone big time in summer!!! Thanks mate!!!!
StrikerlessGuido · April 10, 2016 at 9:05 pm
Best of luck, brother 🙂 Keep us updated!
Big Al (@MrNP) · April 10, 2016 at 7:40 pm
Loaded up as my Plan B for my LFC side, but flipped (IF left (Coutinho), W right (Markovic)). Looks like it’ll compliment by main 4-2-3-1 well.
StrikerlessGuido · April 10, 2016 at 7:59 pm
Cool 🙂 Best of luck with that!
Shalitz · April 11, 2016 at 8:54 am
Interesting, since this is not your classic high pressing tactic, could it be the closest thing to plug and play you’ve ever created?
StrikerlessGuido · April 11, 2016 at 11:50 am
I never actually thought about it that way. It is a new style of play, an avenue that needed exploring 🙂
Cloista · April 12, 2016 at 2:20 am
Guido, what’s the most offensive role you’d put in the DM positions? Would a roaming playmaker be ok (replacing the DLP) or would it abandon it’s defensive duties too much do you think?
Also, what do you think of the idea of getting the AML/R to swap positions during the game?
StrikerlessGuido · April 12, 2016 at 12:59 pm
I tried a Roaming Playmaker. That works well against weaker opposition, against top sides, it’s a bit of a liability.
nickvogel15 · April 12, 2016 at 9:37 pm
Hi Guido,
A fan from Holland here but I’ll keep my post in English for all your international readers.
Been following your blog for some years now, love your tactics, love your style. Your tactics have been a part of my success, and I managed to bring Chemnitz up from the 3. Liga to the Bundesliga. Two times champion, in the 3. Liga en de 2. Bundesliga.I’m currently managing my second season in the Bundesliga. So thanks for that!
I have a question for you that may not relate that much to the tactics, but was wondering if you could help me out. It’s about the number of committed fouls my players make. I play the same tactic, your 4-1-2-3-0, and in the first seasons I played this tactic my team always committed not that many fouls. But since this season started, the fouls have gone up and it starts to annoy me. It’s easily around 15 fouls every game, and it lead to me getting a fair amount of yellow cards, whereas earlier in the game I did not get any.
Could this be a bug in the latest patch? I play with a lot of pressure and make my players stay on their feet when they tackle. Would really like to hear your point of view.
Keep up the good work!
Cheers.
StrikerlessGuido · April 14, 2016 at 7:40 am
Hi Nick, thanks for those words of praise. It sounds like you’re doing quite well. To answer your question, it’s mostly a matter of quality. You’re up against better players, so your players have to compensate by fouling more often.
John · April 16, 2016 at 4:07 pm
I’m in the middle of the season and I dont have enough AMC to use this. Can anybody suggest me a suitable role for ST and whicl player should I change for it ??
Thanks a lot. Keep going Strikerless. You ‘re doing a great job.
StrikerlessGuido · April 17, 2016 at 7:18 am
Re-train the strikers, loan players?
Alan · April 16, 2016 at 5:34 pm
Guido, Great job as ever but not for me. I have tried it out and revamped it for my own preferences. You can see my comments and my own tactic on Tifo under ronmanager if you have the time to take a look. If anyone else is interested Leeds United (using an old save) starting in season 17/18. Media prediction16th. Nine games in W7 D2 L0. Five points clear at top of league.
Cloista · April 17, 2016 at 4:27 pm
Loving the tactic in general, but must admit I’m struggling to get good performance from the SS. The other 3 AMs are playing awesome though. I’ve mirrored the tactic so it suits Arsenal better, and playing Alexis (AML/IF), Ozil (AMs), (SS) and Walcott (AMR/Winger). Ozil is creating tons, Alexis and Theo banging them away, but whoever I play as SS (Ramsey, Welbeck, Cazorla, Campell, Zack Clough, Iwobi) struggle to have any real impact on the game.
Cloista · April 17, 2016 at 4:33 pm
Should mention I play on FMT, so familiarity isn’t a concern, so it’s not the rotation at SS that’s the issue.
StrikerlessGuido · April 17, 2016 at 8:55 pm
Even if the SS isn’t scoring, his movement generates space for the other players.
Cloista · April 17, 2016 at 10:22 pm
He’s barely doing anything, ‘stat’ wise. Low AVG/Shots/Goals/Assists. Could you profile what you’d consider to be the perfect SS for the tactic?
edwardbomb · April 18, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Another good read. I’ve just had a chance to have a play with this (start of a new season) and a bit of a tweak. It’s inspired me to bring back my strikerless double pivot, my favourite tactic from FM15
Efe · April 24, 2016 at 9:57 am
Hi. I thought this tactic looks solid and decided to give it a go. I got Gladbach, which is cool because they don’t have a conventional striker in their squad. After struggling a bit, I decided to change my team shape to Fluid. It worked marvelously. (I’ve made some slight tweaks like unticking more creativity, roaming from position, changing mentality to standart, etc.) Anyway. The problem is with my players’ PPM. Almost every player in AMC position has “looking for pass rather than shot” ppm. It’s a cool ppm but whenever we launch a counter attack, players seem to be too generous to pass the ball to their teammates. How can I eliminate this situation apart from changing shape to structured. I don’t want to go structured because my players’ mental attributes are good enough to play even in a very fluid system.
StrikerlessGuido · April 24, 2016 at 11:50 am
Try to unlearn the PPM?
Sermokala · April 24, 2016 at 11:26 pm
I’m a big fan of your blog but the four horsemen are Conquest war Famine and death. Pestilence is just a modern pop icon refresh of the theme.
StrikerlessGuido · April 25, 2016 at 5:25 am
Pardon. I’ll do some editing. I never did pay much attention in Sunday school 🙂
Ian Rudy (@ianrudy) · June 10, 2016 at 6:04 pm
Have you tried this with Fluid/Counter instead of Structured? Same concept of a separate attacking and defensive unit and keeps with the Total Footballer theme a bit more. Has worked out pretty well for me with also adding a high press PIs to the AML, AMC, AMR. I flipped the formation with pretty good success as well since my AMR was winger and my AML was a IF. Good stuff as usual! I’ve been looking for a decent counter attacking concept that fits in with the Total Footballer mindset and this was just the ticket. Thanks!
Astérix · December 12, 2016 at 1:02 am
Hi master (:D),
Do you think you will update that masterpiece for FM17? I’m a big fan And love the Classic strikerless tactic but that tactic is truly a masterpiece !!!
StrikerlessGuido · December 12, 2016 at 9:02 am
Marc beat me to it and published it here.
//strikerless.com/2016/10/26/the-revival-of-the-four-horsemen-fm17-beta/
Jimmy · August 22, 2022 at 3:50 pm
You have to check out how Bayern is playing without strikers…
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