Maybe the Best Attacker in FUT: P2P Snacks - Issue #13
Hello my friends and happy early Thanksgiving to those of you joining me from the States. While I’m not thankful for the result against Wales, I look forward to being thankful for the W we’ll snag vs. England…jk. I don’t think I can confidently say that. In fact, I’ve been on team “Greg out” for a while. He lacks imagination, has poor match management, and doesn’t adapt his system to the player pool available. The US doesn’t have the luxury of an elite player pool to match the manager's system, so the system needs to match the player pool.
This is much like FUT. For the vast majority of this cycle, I’ve struggled with this internal debate: Do I stick with the wonderful untradeables I have and sit on a meaty coin total? Or do I spend on top talent to give myself the best chance to win?
Thus far, I’ve stuck with my untradeables, but this week marked a new era in the squad. I made my first big purchase and, without question, it was WORTH IT. Like, SO worth it.
If you guys are sitting on a fat stack of coins and are using “good” players but not great players, I’d advise you to consider the upgrade.
So who did I go for? As you know I have King Kenny up top. He is a great player, but not an elite player. I’ve been pairing him with King Kai Havertz, but Kai is what I would classify as a “good” player. I needed a truly elite attacker to take my squad to the next level. This is not to say the rest of my squad couldn’t use some improvements, but I found myself thinking most about my striker problem.
Enter WC Hero Rudi Völler.
The debate has ended. This guy is better than most icons I’ve used in previous FIFAs. He is everywhere, finishes everything, and has 0 glaring weaknesses (unless you’re a skiller).
I kid you not. He has scored 28 goals in 8 matches of D1 & FUT Champs qualifiers. WTF is that?!
The squad now looks like this after my baby Icon pack and some 80+ upgrades:
I’ve also gone ahead and updated my tactics. The play style is very similar to last week. I’ve included a refresh below, but the tactics have changed.
Formation: 41212(2)
Tactics
Defensive Style: Pressure on Heavy Touch
Width: 45
Depth: 65
Build Up: Slow Build Up
Chance Creation: Balanced
Width: 65
Players in Box: 6
Corners x FK: 1
Instructions
LS: Drift Wide, Stay Forward, Get in Behind
RS: Drift Wide, Mixed Attack, Come Back on Defense
CAM: Stay Forward, Get Into The Box, Drift Wide, Conservative
LCM/RCM: Drift Wide, Balanced, Cover Center
CDM: Stay Back, Cover Center
LB: Balanced, Overlap
RB: Overlap, Stay Back
GK: Come for Crosses, Sweepa Keepa
Playstyle
Short quick passes everywhere. I’ve added additional width this week to go along with the chances, and believe it is helping with the slow build up. Defensively, you line up with 4 man midfield all on Cover Center. This is still ye ole Prime Simeone craftsmanship. As you transition, your RS will make darting runs forward to support the CAM and the striker. Your CAM will sit close to your ST allowing for easy transitional combo play.
Other things of note:
You need a RS that operates as a Box to Box Attacking CAM. Kuyt operates beautifully in this role for 60 minutes. You’ll need a sub.
This is an extremely fluid attack. Because you have the RS moving from midfield to the attack and your ST drifting wide, there is a lot of movement even on slow build up.
Do not overly rush forward. You need to draw players out so other players can overlap.
Your CAM will get tired. Make sure you have an adequate sub on the bench for him. I often bring on Chiesa as his dribbling and playmaking ability will shine.
Your LB will need a sub too. I like to have a defensive sub to see out matches and an attacking one to really go for it.
That’s the update for this week. May your holiday be wonderful and your Champs go well. Feel free to pop into Discord to join the World Cup discussion and ask any questions you might have about the formation!
Best,
Japes