What tactics do you use?

I just got the game and tried variations of 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 4-3-1-2. None of them had the consistency that I wanted, playing really well sometimes and utter rubbish the next.

I'm lazy when it comes to this game - I've always tried to find the Holy Grail of tactics that can work in any game and suit any team in any league in any country, and right now I believe I have found it:

F F
A A
\ /
M M M

DM

DL DC DC DR

GK

I have the attacking bar three-quarters of the way along, passing on very short, three-quarters creativity, tempo just to the right of normal, tackling on normal, and everything else as default.

I play using Counter-attack, and have one striker holding up the ball.

I stumbled across this by chance, and started using it when I had 10 games left to go in my first season, as Tottenham. When I started using it, I lost one game and went from 12th to 8th, tightening up my defence immediately while also scoring more as well, e.g. won 4-0 away at Birmingham.

Continued using this the next season, entered Intertoto (or UEFA Vase) Cup, beat Galatasary 4-1 away and Lens 5-2 away. In the league, beat Man Utd 2-0, and am currently top after 6 games, winning 5 and drawing 1, which incidentally was a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.

I think I'm onto something brilliant here - try it if you're at a loss for tactics.

Ian Rush: 'It was like being in a foreign country' (after moving from England to Italy)