Sep.04
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At this point we should remind you that in our first two tests, we ended up once in the 11th and once in the 9th place. Anelka clearly dominated all statistical categories. The rules were still the same this time. However....
Bolton came fifth, losing the 4rth position which would have lead to Champions League on goal difference from Liverpool!
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We can't help noticing the huge improvement in the goal difference! For the first time we finish the year with a + sign, and a strong one! +14. Our defense has acted very well, being one of the strongest in the league, and our attack is still decent (though lower compared to the previous formation tested, something we should have expected, since this time we had chosen a non-attacking mentality).
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No wonder the board of directors is highly jubillant with our success.
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In order to explain the huge amelioration offered by this tactic, we took a closer look at players' stats. I am quite positive that, apart from the probable general superiority of 4-4-2 diamond, the reason for success has a name, and this is Kevin Nolan.
Thought the season started with the greek winger, Stelios Giannakopoulos, playing in the hole behind the two attackers, later on Nolan started playing in his natural position. Well, the result is quite obvious. 4-4-2 with the mid-4 in a diamond gave Nolan the freedom to move around and organize Bolton's game, resulting in him ending the league feeding 12 assists to his strikers -and getting the highest average rate.
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it's also been no wonder there have been three Bolton players ranked in the highest positions, based on average rating.
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Verdict: Though a tactic in Football Manager works best only if you do have the right players to support it (in our case a fabulous striker and an excellent AMC), 4-4-2 diamond has been so far the most successful tactic we have tried. We also got a further lesson: You should build your formations around your star players and not the other way round. A real star will shine most if in his natural position.
