Online Football Manager – 2 weeks on
Ok guys, I need help.
For the last 2 weeks or so, I’ve been playing OFM – online football manager – and to be honest, I haven’t been able to crack the system.
I’m more used to the Fifa 07 type games, where you have to go on and win the game yourself. Football Manager I learned eventually, although the detailed tactics and training routines were a bit beyond me – how the hell do people find time for stuff like that?
Anyway, OFM is a fun game, although if you stick to one league at a time the game becomes a bit slow as it’s time-based (1 real day = 1 week of game time), so the better option is to create sub accounts and join other leagues. That requires you to purchase tickets, although those are quite cheap and IMO if you enjoy the management interface (I did) then getting the tickets and setting up multiple accounts to participate in different leagues at the same time is the way to go.
So, back to my initial question – any SL readers who are actively playing OFM? If so, shed any light on the tactics for me, I’ll be grateful.
And for those of you who want to play OFM, sign up here.
Please limit the conversation in the comments to OFM – if you want to suggest other footy management games, contact me and I’ll review them if possible.
Topics: Features, Online Football Manager
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hey ahmed i play OFM and will shed some light on the tactics
June 16th, 2007 @ 11:01Ur playing style should b normal
U should either play wide or down d flanks as they are the 2 attacking options(if ur playing down d flanks make sure 2 keep attackind mids down d flanks)
Keep ur mentality aither fully or just before full
Play man 2 man
Keep te defence pressing and offside trap off(4 tight defence)
Def should ‘stay back’
Mids should ‘support attackers’
Fowards should ‘attack only’
thats all i have 2 say 4 now
Best o luck in OFM Ahmed!
:p
Thanks mate.
I’m playing with Arsenal, so on one hand it’s funny to see them lose and on the other hand it’s me losing! – I don’t know what’s worse, Arsenal winning or me losing
June 16th, 2007 @ 11:03
I play with Celta De Vigo, play a 4-4-2, it works pretty well.
June 16th, 2007 @ 13:11Well i have done 3 seasons so far in ofm and am in my 4th with blakcburn.
1st season sheffield i came 10th the board wanted me 16 so good
2nd season fulham i came 8th the board wanted me 13
3rs season a villa came 6th the board wanted me to come 7 and now with blackburn.
My advice is to play attacking football thats what i do and if yr a mid table side change the side do be affrid to sell so then u can but if u sell 3 players that are 3 mil thats 9mil then u could get a player 9 mil of course i always upper the price anyways g luck m8
June 16th, 2007 @ 14:20all right mate, since i started my league with west ham, i’ve always used a spy to look at the opponent’s formation and tactics.
i almost always play with a 3-4-3 hard play wide. KILLER tactic.
if they play a 4-3-3, 3-4-3 works like a dream (west ham 4-0 chelsea!!) if they do this i guarantee you will win greatly.
if they play a 4-4-2, usually 3-4-3 gets a narrow victory, but the 4-5-1 hard counterattack kicks ass (west ham 3-0 arsenal).
if they attempt to copy your 3-4-3, use the 4-2-4 hard passing game (west ham 8-1 spurs)
and occasionally sticking a player out of position isn’t as bad as it sounds. andrea pirlo had an 8 rating last night as a central defender!!
advanced tactics are usually man to man, NO offside trap, NO pressing. 1 step down from full offensive, defence stay back, midfield neutral, and attack only.
unless you’re playing 4-5-1 – in which case midfield support defence and halfway on the offensive bar.
NOW you’re gonna do AMAZING
June 16th, 2007 @ 14:26i’ve been playing OFM for a while now and once you do get the right playing style i found out that sticking to it works best for yourself. my name on OFM is bocheese so you can tyep that in and look if you want.
June 16th, 2007 @ 16:05i play as a few people have said before attackingly, strikers should ‘attack only’ midfielders ‘support attack’ and defedners ‘stay back’ which is my personal choices. play wide, man to man marking, pressing on and offide trap off. well hope this helps some way, good luck in your OFM career lol
well its all about the transfers if you ask me, work your way into gettin good deals/swaps, and ur in there! i ended up with a top 4 team with manchester city and i had fabregas beckham gilardino and adriano, all in the transfers!
June 17th, 2007 @ 00:16Well, basically, you must experiment with the teams…High stats does not mean god player…My man with 85 attacking stat is third highest scoring plaer in my league behing toni and adirano…Buy players with good grades, not high stats.
June 17th, 2007 @ 10:17wow u guys such good teams i am reading playing 5-3-2 3rd in table after 14 games 30 points 20 goals scored and 1 conceded only lost 1-0 2 man u last night penalty
Playing Hahnemann in goal and train a keeper until he leaks loads of goals my league name is the premier of all leagues league number is 4307 if u don’t believe me basically sold all their plays all thats left r lita, convey, bikey, halford, ingimarson, and that keeper
June 18th, 2007 @ 15:34sold all their players lol soz*
June 18th, 2007 @ 15:36well – playing wide with 4-4-2 just leaves you open to massacre. Or maybe that’s just me
But I seem to have turned things around now, i’ll update you guys next week (or in a couple of weeks) on how things go.
June 20th, 2007 @ 01:02Play 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 if you want to play wide.Remember to place two high attacking stats midfielder at the wings.Also, place your defenders on stay back and offside trap off.That should keep your defence tight. Then in mindfield wither neutral or support attackers.Attackers attack only. Using that formation, i manage to win against Ac milan, inter and lazio…Draw with firotenia…4-5-1
June 20th, 2007 @ 05:50[...] were several strategies mentioned in the comments section of the previous report but I think [...]
June 29th, 2007 @ 12:24I PLAY AS ATHLETICO MADRID CHANGE HAW HARD U PLAY IE FAIR, NORMAL, HARD AND EXTREME DEPENDING ON HOW STRICT THE REF IS
July 6th, 2007 @ 21:54i am athletico change your style of play depending on how strict the ref is
July 6th, 2007 @ 21:55buy a spy and just counter your opponents tactic (keep in mind the tactics could change)
July 6th, 2007 @ 21:57How to play against 5 – 4 – 1, 4 – 5 – 1 and 5 – 3 – 2 i think these three formations are killing my teams!!!!
July 13th, 2007 @ 05:50Hmm, yeh the game is abit fucked.
First season i finished 6th with Westham AND i won the cup.
Now i have a premium account, i’m Bolton, i have a kick ass team, and i keep losing???
and my lazio team, this guy played 4-4-2, and i palyed 3-5-2, i got 14-5 shots on target, 70% posession, and i drew 0-0. I dunno its fkd.
4-3-3 play wide kicks ass
4-5-1 shoot on sight is OK against better team
i’m gonna try the 4-2-4 passing game against a 3-4-3, better work!!!
August 2nd, 2007 @ 14:27i really wan to know how to play against 4 – 5 – 1 & 5 – 3 – 2, counter atk. anyone can share the information,pls?
August 5th, 2007 @ 05:58Thanks
man i use completly different tactics to all you people. after this season i will try them (don’t want to risk changing good mix towards end of season). i play 4-3-3, play wide, play hard, off-side trap on, pressing off, midfield neutral, attack attack only, defence upcoming backs and mentality 1 to the attack side. works good for me but will experiment next season.
August 6th, 2007 @ 10:48um……4-5-1 shoot on sight is killing me….any suggestions??
September 13th, 2007 @ 22:293-4-3, passing
September 14th, 2007 @ 07:23damn….3-4-3 passing doesnt always work against 4-5-1 sos……i usually end up draw or sumtimes even lose….wonder if 4-2-4 passing works on 4-5-1 sos….
September 14th, 2007 @ 19:33i used 3-4-3 play wide as u suggested to chelsea, he used 4-3-3 play wide…………sumhow, i lost….weird….
September 15th, 2007 @ 06:46ive been playing Osm for a while now and adopted 3-4-3 play wide wayyy back. Since then ive becom a premium member and came 2nd with united in my 1st league(on goal difference lol) and 1st with AC milan-so up to this point 3-4- play wide seemed immortal. But im currently playing my 3rd league with man united again and ive lost the last 3 games to liverpool, chelsea and everton. I need helpful tactics like how to defend against training camps and whts the best attacking & defencive formation? im 9 points behind leaders liverpool and could do with some advice
September 21st, 2007 @ 21:33sorry for the double post but how do u play against 5-4-1 counter attack? Is there a decent tactic that counter-acts this? the last 3 teams ive played have used this against me-i won them all but im playing against the tougher opposition who r also using this on me. A few people are also having problems with this so could anyone shed some light?
September 26th, 2007 @ 00:18Some one’s been lying. 3-4-3, 5 games in and I ain’t scored no goals yet.
September 28th, 2007 @ 09:41it does genuinly work if u hav the right team and it depends on what the opposition are playing
October 1st, 2007 @ 02:37Hello everyone. good to see some serious topics being discussed her ere: OFM.
Can anyone tell how critical a factor fatique is in the performance of the team. I started off rotating heavily so I was playing only players with 0% fatique were possible but have since moved to playing my best squad, with the higher player grades and ratings. Obviously I am trying to keep the fatique in the green below say 5%. Any thoughts.
October 6th, 2007 @ 01:30I would like to know iz there any specific tactics to play against 4-5-1 and 5-4-1, alot of people using this formation so iz there anybody to help me out on this?!!
October 11th, 2007 @ 11:51I tried 451 sos (Barca) against 343 wide (Valencia) and got beaten by Valencia. Both teams were eually good (in fact, Barca had a better team) but Barca lost. Now how does that work?
I tried 442 against a 451 and could only manage a draw.
Any ideas how to play effectively against 451?
Also, how do you play against a good team that plays 433.
October 11th, 2007 @ 13:40(I had a home game against a very good 433 team and playing them 343, I lost – a home game!)
@Ben999
Does your Liverpool also use 433 wide?
I also lost (at home) against that formation (me playing 343).
Is it perhaps some conspiracy that OFM favours Liverpool lately?
Perhaps the best way would be to clone the 433 formation?
October 11th, 2007 @ 14:14the liverpool manager in my current league has been using a range of formations, he knows his stuff through experience. Every game he’s been changing his formation and tactics so its impossible to keep track. He has used 4-3-3 a lot (play wide) and it is working. I’ve also noticed he’s been playing 442 shoot on sight a lot. At the moment i have about a week left until the leagues over, im 3rd and 2 points behind liverpool. Problem is im facing them tonight away and theyre using a secret training camp so i hav no idea what im up against. The lesson here is obviously adapting your formation to your opponent.
October 13th, 2007 @ 03:09Playing against 4-5-1 and 5-4-1 is tricky and ive had to face lots of those buggers this season. Ive found using 3-5-2 shoot on sight very effective against this but i built my team around my midfield meaning this formation suited me greatly. Having high rated midfielders is probably the way to go wen using this formation so i dont recommend it for everyone. 3-4-3 did actually work on one or 2 occasions wen playing at home.
As for the fatigue thing ive been rotating my players around but not that much. I get worried wen players hit the 20% mark and usually rest them. It helps
well i lost 3-0 and he played 4-5-1. Wen i use that at home i always drop points so how it always works for him i dont know. I honestly dont understand this game, i dont even think tactics r involved i thinks its a matter of guess work
October 13th, 2007 @ 16:04Hello
I’m kinda new in OFM and the league that I’m playing in starts in 2 days. I’m the manager of Portsmouth and my first game is against Chelsea. I’m pretty sure Chelsea’s manager will play 4-4-2, 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 against me. Do I have any chance against them?? Any kind of tips that would help me do my lineup against Chelsea would be very welcome.
October 13th, 2007 @ 16:21…and formation tips of course…
October 13th, 2007 @ 16:23look at the above posts, sum of them can shed sum light. Gd luck!
October 14th, 2007 @ 03:30hey everyone i am liverpool in my league and ever since i realised which tactics to use with formations i have played amazing! the most successfull combination for me has to be 4-5-1 with shoot on sight…..works like a dream! i have played seven games so far counting 2 draws and 5 wins so i am second in the league, one point behind chelsea and i play them tonight! i am wrecking my brains trying to think of a good combination lol
October 14th, 2007 @ 20:19Here is my lesson for you today:
=======================
Favorite Attacking tactic is 4-3-3(A), Extreme, Play wide, Very Offensive!!!
Favorite Defensive Tactic is 4-5-1(B), Extreme, Counter-Attack, Defensive!!!
N.B.:
=====
Zonal is better used v/s attacking teams!!!
Man-to-Man is better used v/s defending teams!!!
Offside Trap OFF v/s Passing & Play Wide!!!
Offside Trap ON v/s Long Balls or Counter-Attack!!!
Pressing must be always ON!!!
Def.: Support Mid. in 4-3-3 & Stay back in 4-5-1!!!
Mid.: Support Att. in both formations!!!
Att.: Att. Only in both formations!!!
October 19th, 2007 @ 00:50i play since yesterday and i do`nt know when the matches will be played¨….pozdrav(hello)
October 19th, 2007 @ 15:51How can I win agains Team Formation: 4-4-2
November 10th, 2007 @ 23:13Style of play: Normal/Hard or Extreme
Overall tactic: Passing Game
Can someone tell me the best tactic which will assure lots of wins as Real Madrid? Has anyone won lots and lots of games?
November 12th, 2007 @ 13:18I had Arsenal and alwayz player 3-4-3 or 4-3-3 Hard – Play Wide and i was first in the league, second place was behind me 12 points… hope this helps out someone
November 14th, 2007 @ 14:27I found that (when you have a good team) you get very good results when swopping between 343 (home games) and 433 away games. Now I’m trying to figure out how to counter the 451 sos/counter attack (I now have a weaker team in Bolton. No good wide players, so my 433/343 is not that effective). The one dude want to buy one of my players. He seem VERY successful with his 451 sos tactic, so I’m trying to negotiate with him on sharing with me exactly how he does it, in return for my player. Hope it works
November 14th, 2007 @ 17:17If I know exactly what tactic he uses, perhaps I can work out a counter?
Hello everyone. It’sgood to see some serious topics being discussed here about OFM.
Can anyone tell me how critical a factor fatique is in the performance of the team? I started off rotating heavily so I was playing only players with 0% fatique were possible but have since moved to playing my best squad, with the higher player grades and ratings. Obviously I am trying to keep the fatique in the green below say 5%. Any thoughts?
November 22nd, 2007 @ 19:27My advice to you is to play them till they jump 10%, when my players jump 10% i give them a rest and it pays of i have to say even if my last 3 season arent gonig that well atm,but if u got a really big game and there over 10% play them
November 22nd, 2007 @ 20:08Hehe. I read through all that and not one person plays how I do. Considering OFM is very basic I think there’s only a few rules you need to follow:
1. Outnumber their forwards with defenders. If they play 2 up you play 3 back. Even 3 average defenders can deal with 2 star forwards.
2. Outnumber their midfielders with your midfielders. If they play 3 you play 4. If they play 4 you play 5. This way you have enough possession that they can’t make too many chances.
3. Play whatever you have left after last 2 rules, up front. Mainly this means I end up playing 3-5-2 (with the 2 attacking center mids, not the 1 attacking center mid and 2 wide ones. NB. if you play 4-5-1 always go with the three like I just said I don’t do with 3-5-2).
4. Having followed the last rules on formation selection then use these tactics:
a. Shoot On Sight
b. Hard Tackling (if ref is green), Normal (any other ref attitude).
c. Def: Stays Back, Mids: Support Attack and Forward/s: Stay Up.
d. No need to press ever with 3-5-2 but always press with 4-5-1.
e. No need for Off Side Trap with 3-5-2 but always Off Side Trap with 4-5-1.
f. Always play with Aggression set to the middle of the scale.
Exceptions are as follows. If they play 3-4-3 then play 3-5-2 and move the Aggression scale to the notch below middle. While the rules suggests playing 4-5-1, 3-5-2 will actually win you more games and get you plenty of goals, against such gung-ho 3-4-3 teams. Also, if they play 4-5-1 then meet it head on. If they’re better then they’re more likely to win than you, but most likely is 0-0 draw.
As I play unlike anyone else on the post you probablt all think I’m a muppet. To some extent you’d be right, but I’d like to offer my credentials as a relative n00b to OFM. First season I was Spurs. I can 3rd, 2 points off the top and won the cup. If I’d had my tactics ready at the start of the season I’d have won it for sure! Second season (the one I’m in now) I wanted to try a poor team. I went as Sunderland (target to avoid relegation/16th Place) and am currently in 5th place after 18 games with 40 points. Only 5 off the top and have removed the Gunners+Blackburn from the cup (both away matches).
If you don’t believe it can be that easy guys, then try those tactics for yourself. Added bonus is that you don’t even need many good players. My best Sunderland guy ATM is 85/82 midfielder. He has 7 goals in 13 games and he really is special compared to some of the players I have been using in other positions.
December 4th, 2007 @ 03:43I forgot to add one thing to my last post.
Rule 3.1: Always pick a goalkeeper. They help a lot. (Just incase anyone was confused by the goalkeepers omission)
As a response to the guy asking how to play 5-4-1 and 4-5-1. Against 5-4-1 just go for the 3-5-2 and you’ll be golden. As for 4-5-1. I suggested to play 4-5-1 also. That was a mistake on my part. Play 3-5-2 and you’ll do much better because the need for Off Side Trap will be so minimal.
On rotation due to fatigue I do what Matthew Caruana said in the post before mine.
Good luck to you all and I hope none of you turn up in my league, beating me with my own tactics.
BTW… I play as Mario Blunt on OFM.
December 4th, 2007 @ 04:08How should I play against a team that’s playing 4-3-3 Hard – Wide, does anyone has a clue about this?
December 25th, 2007 @ 10:46I have ben reading in this forum and found that good formation against a 3-4-3 team is either the 4-2-4 passing game or the 3-5-3 (no style mentioned). I am palying away against palermo (me being genoa but now I have better players due to transfers) Which formation do you suggest me to play with?Thanks
December 26th, 2007 @ 09:19Well im not so good at this but i would prefere u to play 3-4-3 Hard – Wide since u said u have better players then the opposite team or 4-3-3 Hard – Wide (if u play away).
December 28th, 2007 @ 13:49HELP HELP HELP! 4-5-1 SOS is comin to town!!! He’s going to give me a lot of BOMBS and my goalie ain’t big enough to hold them! Any suggestions? Including the tactics in detail?
December 29th, 2007 @ 17:55Currently I’m using 3-5-2 SOS…Any better idea other than its own formation of 4-5-1 SOS?
I’ve just finished a season with west ham and came third, playing 3-4-3 play wide the majority of the season, and my friend played the same formation with birmingham and came 5th, so that seems quite effective..whilst playing 4-5-1 against the big sides
man city came first playing 4-5-1 shoot on sight all season..they only conceded 5 goals all season and that was in the first 3 games :O
so yeah those tactics are quite good..am tottenham now and not sure whether to stick with 3-4-3
January 6th, 2008 @ 22:57I won 1st season with Fulham,I won also 1st place with Suderland,and now I’m playing with Birmingham I’m on 4th place now having problems against 4-5-1 and 5-4-1.I’ll try 3-5-2 with pressing ON ,Offside trap ON, Man to Man marking,I’ll see if it’s workin
March 11th, 2008 @ 02:30I’m going to tell u later if it worked
how do i play against 4-3-3??? its hard i am newcastle an i took over half way through the season an they were 14th and now iv got them up to 5 im playin top of the leauge (liverpool) and they seem to be kicking ass with that formation i dont want to uses a training camp ‘cos i wanna save it 4 the end of season wen i play bolton.. because i play bolton last day and they are in 4th place level on points with me ATM and it could be a crunch game 4 my target
wat shall i do ?
March 26th, 2008 @ 16:25The best tactis i can think of are either 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 and play ‘shoot on sight’ this way (provided you have a good forward) he will score many. It also beats tahtold favorate 3-4-3 ‘play wide’ tactic everyone seems to love.
Play 4-5-1 (good centre forward) at 85+ id recomend
Play ‘Hard’
Very offensive
Zonal marking
Play offside trap
‘Stay Back’
‘Support attackers’
‘Attack only’
i am playing as spurs and imraping the league.
YOUR WELCOME
April 18th, 2008 @ 06:31i played 3-5-2 and beat them but thanks for your help any way:D
April 20th, 2008 @ 23:03and owen and kalu and martins are 95+ strikers
April 28th, 2008 @ 20:40what to play against 3-5-2 passing game? thanks
April 29th, 2008 @ 21:30hey i was jst wonderin if som1 will just help me on how to counteract my opponets tactics. e.g. 3-4-3 wings will beat 4-4-2 passing.
May 6th, 2008 @ 23:51can anyone tell me in ofm hoe is best players 2 scout and can u tell me there positions.because every time i scout someone they don’t score or play well
May 19th, 2008 @ 22:04well im arsenal with evryone on my team above 95 and i lost 5-0 at home to birmingham
May 20th, 2008 @ 19:01u must rly suk
May 23rd, 2008 @ 07:51I am playing the Spanish league this season and the league leader is the guy playing Getafe. He has an ok squad but nowhere near as awesome as the Real Madrid team and the Athletico team.
He is top of the league playing 4-5-1 shoot on sight for 90% of his games and he wins most of the 1-0 or 2-0 against any other formation and most of the goals usually coming from a center midfielder or a defender.
Anyone got any ideas what the rest of his tactics might be? I have asked him politely to share his secret as I have not slipped to 8th through a succession of annoying draws and have no chance of catching him, but he has not shared.
June 3rd, 2008 @ 17:35Cheers
If you want to win the use Mario tactics @ post #47 & #48.
Use 3-5-2 for all tactics, shoot on sight, play hard, stay back, support attack and attack only, tactics bar at middle against all formations except 3-4-3 (put it a low-mid) and 4-5-1 & 5-4-1 (put it mid-high). Buy a centre forward and develop it at ~95 and a second forward with nice attack but also +30 defense rating, both of them less than 27-years-old (you can have also 2 substitutes, one second forward and one centre forward with 30-years-old, as Kanoute of Sevilla, for example). Anyway, the most important thing is having a squad of 4 attackers (2 second forwards and 2 centre forwards), 9 midfielders, 6 defenders and 2 goalkeepers (one of them young). The basis of this formation are a good midfield and then 3 good center backs, don’t buy people like Dani Alves who are wing backs with 50 attack rating because you don’t need them and your defense would be weak.
I do this since a lot of time and I’m almost allways the first of my league with 7th or 4th goal teams, and my players grades are very good (10 matches played this league and Cristiano Ronaldo has had a mark of 8 in all the four matches he has played).
Good luck and have fun.
June 7th, 2008 @ 13:33wat should i play against 5-3-2? 3-5-2? i always lose against 5-3-2
June 10th, 2008 @ 07:38wat should i play against 5-3-2? 3-5-2? i always lose against 5-3-2. help
June 10th, 2008 @ 07:51