Ian Evatt Possession 3-4-1-2 Tactic at Barrow AFC: FM20

Ian Evatt once said – “I believe that football is there as an entertainment industry. Supporters work hard, 9-5, five or six days a week, to be able to afford to come to football. If my team are just going to set up to win games by set pieces and long balls, it’s not what I would want to spend my hard-earned money to watch.” This makes us believe that attractive football can be applied to any league level. It’s just a matter of belief. So with great admiration, we at fmtrendgames have decided to showcase an FM20 Ian Evatt Possession 3-4-1-2 Tactic at Barrow AFC in this post.

We won’t forget to mention our fan, Conor, who brought this tactic to our attention. And it was a great idea that we couldn’t shake off.

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FM20: Ian Evatt Possession 3-4-1-2 Tactic

Build-Up

Just like most (if not all) attractive modern football style, the build-up always starts from the goalkeeper. The same thing happens in Barrow AFC build-up under Evatt. However, sometimes the keeper, who’s actually a sweeper keeper, quickly go direct with the ball by hitting it long to the opposition half to find an attacking teammate in space. Though, this happens when there’s too much pressure or when there’s a counter-attacking opportunity.

Barrow set up in a 3-4-1-2 formation. In the build-up phase, the two side centre-backs stay wide apart, while the defender in the middle stays at a distance vertically from the keeper. Then, the wingbacks push forward and wide for diagonal passing options. And finally, the two central midfielders will drop to create a numerical superiority against the opposition.

Attacking Movement

Barrow, under Evatt, prefer to attack through the middle. They use Rooney, who is the attacking midfielder, as a focal point to their attack – just like how Bayern uses Thomas Muller in Hans-Dieter Flick tactic. Moreover, irrespective of Evatt’s ball possession style of play, he still encourages his team to go for the counter when the opportunity surfaces.

In the final third, Evatt’s men usually use the “shoot on site” strategy. Although most possession tactics involve working ball into the box, Barrow players don’t usually engage in that. Working ball into the box requires high vision and mentality from the players – Barrow AFC just don’t have such squad. If they can’t find a shooting chance, they switch play to find a wingback in space. This wingback will then attempt a decisive low cross.

Furthermore, Ian Evatt allows his team to express themselves and roam from positions under a fluid team shape.

Defending

Barrow mostly defend in a 5-3-2 formation. However, the 6 seconds rule of ball recovery is applied in Evatt’s defensive strategy. This means they counter-press immediately they lose the ball. The team also has a way of pressing the opposition with a high line press, in high intensity. The defensive line then stays high to support the first line’s pressing.

Our beginners guide series on football manager 2020

Ian Evatt Player Roles

GoalKeeper: SK-S

Evatt uses the sweeper-keeper role in his tactic. As it works in possession tactics, the sweeper-keeper role has been the preferred role for Dixon, which he has been handling very well.

Defenders: Two CDs-D and CD-C

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Both the right and left centre backs are the normal central defenders. They are not actually ball-playing defenders because of their abilities. In other words, the middle defender operates on the cover duties. Thus, he can sweep up through balls from this deep position. However, he is also playing as the traditional central defender role.

Hird (in FM20, I used Elsdon instead) and Platt are usually the left and right centre backs, respectively. Then, Brough takes up the cover duty in the middle.

Wingbacks: WB-S

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The wingbacks hold the required width. They push forward to support the attack when necessary and return quickly when the team loses the ball. Kay (on the left) and Barry (on the right) frequently thrive in balancing their attacking and defensive responsibilities – they are not too attack-minded. This is why the WB-S suits their role in FM20.

Central Midfielders: BBM-S and BWM-S

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Both central midfielders in Evatt’s team have that stamina to work from box to box. They are more physical, rather than having the playmaking skills. However, their physicality has been an advantage, considering the type of league they are playing in. Though, they adapt well in playing the attractive style of play Evatt implements. While Hardcastle is mostly the box-to-box midfielder, Taylor is the ball winner (a pair of BBM and BWM is also present in our Ancelotti 2006 tactic with AC Milan). I used the same roles in this in FM20.

Attacking Midfielder: EG-S

This is where John Rooney is most effective. Part of his job is to find space in between the lines to connect the midfielders with the attackers. He operates as the playmaker and he has a certain passing range and mentality that is sufficient.

You can check our Bayern Munich tactic where we have an Enganche present and what he does in the advanced area.

Strikers: PF-A and PF-S

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Both strikers in Evatt’s 3-4-1-2 are pressing forwards. They are very vibrant. And they most certainly lead the team’s pressing. Quigley often drops to receive passes or assist in defending (that’s why he gets the support duty in this tactic). He can be aggressive on the opponent though. However, his partner, Angus, makes more forward-runs with the freedom to roam from positions.

You can check out Gasperini 3-4-1-2 Setup with Atalanta

Mentality

Picking the right mentalities can be very powerful. It can determine the success of your tactic in FM20. Unbelievably, the team mentalities is much more effective than Opposition Instructions.

While using this tactic in FM20, I have never started a match without using the Positive mentality. I leave it balanced, but I will change it to positive in the pre-match period before kick-off.

Another trick I use that works while playing at Home, once we are winning by one goal and the opposition switches to Attacking or Very Attacking, I switch mine to Attacking to prevent them from equalizing. This usually happens around 70 – 80 minutes.

However when on Away, I switch to Defensive when it reaches that time and the opposition switches to Attacking or Very Attacking; especially when we are winning by one goal or two.

Results and Statistics

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