Whew! Well, that was certainly something. Going in to this one I knew that it was going to be a pretty brutal experience and it didn't disappoint. There were highs, there were lows and there were loans! Plenty of loans! Let's talk about it.
The Squad
This is pretty much the team I've had for the past 2 weeks. The only newer additions to the team I believe were Mallory Swanson and Kyle Walker who I've pulled recently. Unsure of what formation I'd use this weekend as I'd been toggling between the 352, 433-5, and 4321, I felt that going into the weekend in a 5212 formation allowed me the greatest freedom in switching stuff up based on gameplay.
As you can see below;
ST: Erling Haaland and EVO Ferran Torres
CAM: POTM James Maddison
CMs: Frenkie DeJong and Kevin DeBruyne
LWB Fridolina Rolfo, RWB Trent Alexander-Arnold,
CBs: Mapi Leon, Ruben Dias and Ronald Araujo
GK: Alisson
SUBS: Wendie Renard, Joshua Kimmich, Mallory Swanson, Rose LaVelle, Marie Katoto, Alphonso Davies and Kyle Walker
Finding a Formation
I started off the first game in a 433-5 and just didn't feel great. Now granted, it was Friday and EVERYBODY was playing, so it was a little laggy and slow, but just couldn't get on with it.
In my first 10 games I went 2-8 and used the following formations:
433-5
4321
5212
352
That was enough for my Friday. Also, I went to Extra Time in 4 of those games and lost all 4. I was drained.
Back to the drawing board
I wasn't having fun. I tried using that 71 depth tactic to no avail. By no means am I an amazing skiller and I'm still learning the R1 dribbling technique, so I thought I would just go back to my favorite formation, the 433-5, and just try some new tactics and slow things down a bit. That's when I came across Alexion's tactics on YouTube.
These tactics would prove vital over the course of the next 10 games. I'm going to share the tactics below, but I encourage you to watch the video and support him.
DEFENSE
Defensive Style = Balanced
Width = 50
Depth = 55
OFFENSE
Build Up Play = Balanced
Chance Creation = Forward Runs
Width = 1 ( yes, 1 )
Players In The Box = 6
Corners = 2
Free Kicks = 2
PLAYER INSTRUCTIONS
CF = False 9, everything else DEFAULT
LW & RW = Get in the Box, everything else DEFAULT
LCM & RCM = Cover Center, everything else DEFAULT
CDM = Stay Back, Cut Passing Lanes, Cover Center
LB & RB = Stay Back, everything else DEFAULT
CBs = DEFAULT
The Last 10 Games
Games 11 and 12 both went to Penalty Kicks, where I proceeded to lose both. At this point I am 2-10. But I was pretty happy with the way my team played. I finally felt like I was in control. My squad then rattled off 5 straight wins to put me at 7-10. I then lost the next game in Extra Time, again! My goodness, that was the 7th time I'd been in Extra Time and have lost them all. SEVEN GAMES up for grabs up until now! Insane.
I remained steadfast as I knew I needed to win the last 2 games to achieve Rank 6. Welp, wouldn't you know, I was able to close out both pretty handily to finish 9-11 and achieve Rank 6!
Contributions
I kept track in a notebook before realizing that the FUT SCOREBOARD APP tracks everything really nicely.
Erling Haaland is unbelievable! As a Manchester City fan, I was absolutely stoked to pack this guy untradeable in the first week. He scores at will; Headers are almost guaranteed when you've got KDB sending them in perfectly. My 84 EVO Ferran Torres feels so good on the ball and can equally score anywhere with his 5 star WF.
Not only does he score, he's able to hold up play and dish out some sweet assists as well.
Squad Improvements
Again, unbelievable turnaround after 10 games by switching up the tactics, staying patient and most importantly, having fun. It's easy to get caught up in the chase for pack glory!
As for my Rewards, well, I pulled a beautiful Neymar in my Ultimate Pack and thought about keeping him for a moment and then quickly decided to cash out and take the coins. Sold him for 270k, which puts me at just over 500k in liquid coins and about 200k invested in some other cards.
What's next for the squad? I dunno. I'm super happy with the team composition right now. I will look at some archetypes of players that will fit my new system ( Thanks Alexion ! ) and go from there.
Until next weekend…..
