No option for custom formations and tactics in online mode of FIFA 12: UEFA Euro 2012

I have been playing FIFA for such a long time. I have played this game from the year 2008 and since that version; this game has been providing option for creating custom formation and apply whatever tactics one wants. One can create an attacking formation and have all the attacking players but keep the main tactics oriented to the defensive gameplay. I mean FIFA used to provide the complete freedom for setting the game however the user wanted. I have been currently playing FIFA 12 and ten this new dlc for UEFA Euro 2012 came out for download. I was really excited and so I downloaded it. The best part that I like about it was that I can play Euro 2012 tournament online with the latest squad and also the online tournament seems exciting. But as soon as I connected to one of the game in and went in the squad settings, I saw that it is not possible to set the custom formations and tactics. One had to play with the presets that were provided by the developers. Also the formation presets that are provided are limited, that is 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 5-4-1, 4-5-1 and some others. There is no option to create custom formations like 4-2-2-2 or maybe 4-2-1-1-2. These tactics allow me to provide a better control over the gameplay. But this system seems to be missing from the dlc. Does anyone else to face problem due to this?

I too know what problem this non availability of custom formations and limited number of existing formations has done to the hardcore fans of FIFA series. My favorite formation is 4-2-2-2, where the attacking mid fielders would play along the borders of the field. Once they get the possession of the ball, they run across the field and as soon as they reach at same level as the penalty box they just lob the ball at the height and send it over to any attacker who has taken a proper position. It actually works when the attacking players have good header ability. If the developers have provided the feature to have the custom formations, I say, I could have won against any team however strong the player maybe with me playing as Portugal or Netherlands. In Netherlands, I would do this with Wesley Sneijdar in middle; he has good header ability and it never fails. But alas, there is no possibility for this in the online mode of this game.

Only tactics that are available for playing online are Attack, Defense, Wide, Narrow, Wing Play, Neutral and some other that are rarely used. Due to these limitations, I have been unable to set any player as a game maker or side sweeper. When playing using England, I like to use Glen Johnson for side sweeping and for that I need to create custom tactic that will allow Glen Johnson to move quickly from right side of the field as soon as Frank Lampard receives the ball. So when Wayne Rooney finds an appropriate position, Glen Johnson can either pass him or pass behind to Frank Lampard again as the situation demands.
But as the settings for custom tactics are not possible, I haven’t found any success in doing this. I tried it in 4-4-2 formation with gameplay tactics set to Narrow. But still it wasn’t possible as the positions of the mid fielders would attract opposing players to fill the gap. Trying this proved useless as it would leave a gap in defense on right side. I think that EA sports should take a look at this problem and try to solve it as soon as possible. They can at least provide a patch so that we can at least import the tactic and formations created in main game.

Another bad part of these limited numbers of tactics and formations is that developers have provided a formation 5-2-1-2 which provides a high level of defense. No issue if anybody wants to set a high level of defense, but when used with Wide tactics, the positions of the players are set so excellently that if one is good at passing, then he can pass the ball around without losing any possession.

I once played against an player, he was using this formation and at the end of the game, he had possession of 76%. Now when used while playing with team like Spain, this formation acts like a cheat. Almost anybody can win. All one needs is a player who can tackle properly and at least five to six players who can pass the ball in and out of tightest spot. Spain’s team has it all in form of Xavi Hernandez and Carlos Puyol as tacklers and Xavi Hernandez, XAbi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique with excellent passing ability. I think EA sports need to remove this formation as many people are abusing it.

You can’t call abusing of formation, but it is actually happening as lack of custom formation is stopping people from setting an appropriate team and formation which can successfully break it. 5-2-1-2 is just a sub-formation of 5-3-2 and the gamestyle that is being used by many people can be broken by using 4-3-3 formation. But the main problem is that you cannot break it using the standard tactics and gamestyle. You will need to differ the timings of the players in your team and will need some of your players to mark the opponent’s players. You can use players like Ricardo Carvalho from Portugal, Philip Lahm or Alberto Aquilani from Italy to mark the attackers of the opponent’s team.

I agree that lack f tactics and custom formations is depriving many players from giving their game a touch of their own. Also many players Like Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be utilized to their full extend as the players supporting him won’t set in a specific position or be made to play in a specific style. I am playing Euro 2012 using the Germany’s national team. I am having problem passing the ball to Thomas Mueller as he is unable to reach the penalty box while Mesut Oezil gets in the position faster than him. Till Thomas Mueller can get in position, I need to keep the ball defended using Mesut Oezil. But this is very difficult as Oezil is oriented towards attacking style of gameplay. The only alternative I found is to keep doing one-two one between Bastian Schweinsteiger and Msut Oezil or Philip Lahm or Mesut Oezil.

This is really creating a big problem and needs to be looked upon by EA sports. If this continues than I think that I’ll switch to playing Pro Evolution Soccer series instead of Ea Sport’s FIFA. I know they don’t provide EURO 2012, but at least they won’t provide some faulty dlc.