Unfortunately, the guides feature on Giant Bomb sucks, so I had to host it at my website here: http://www.nathanieledwards.com/2011/11/nba-jam-on-fire-edition-guide.html

Hey, let's start a new game of Football Manager 2012! Feel free to click any pictures for a larger view.

And to make it interesting, I'm going to see how successful I can be with a formation of 10-0-0. No midfielders, no strikers, just a goalie and ten defenders. The goal: To go through an entire season scoring more goals than I allow with a 10-0-0 formation. Let's see how we can do!

I chose Birmingham City because I want in-game logos, basically. Pretty arbitrary.

Making our formation.

For our first match against the Birmingham City Reserves Team, we're going to try this variant on the 10-0-0 (there are really only two variants I know of, but anyway) with 5 defenders and 5 sweepers behind them. Unfortunately, this game doesn't have many players who claim to be natural sweepers, for whatever reason. Just not a typical position in the modern game. But for our first match, let's just set our midfield and forward starters as sweepers and see how they do.

Here's a search for all sweepers within my area of scouting knowledge, that have a realistic chance of being obtained. There's only one guy, a 40 year-old from Sierra Leone. Seriously?

Welp, you're hired, mate!

Unfortunately, the club rejected our offer for the 40 year-old from Sierra Leone because we "don't need another assistant coach." I didn't even realize we were hiring him as one, but okay, we'll just offer him a player-only contract.... But he turns it down. This 40 year-old from Sierra Leone has standards that are too high for English football.

Time for our game versus the Reserves. You can see our creative formation again on the left.

Hahaha holy crap they actually all stay in one place.

When the ball's at midfield, one Birminghamer dares to step beyond the Reserves' striker!

Oh hell this is not going well.

Our goal kicks just get sent back to the opposing goalie, we barely get to midfield with the ball, ever. I don't think the AI understands how to play catenaccio, probably because half of the sweepers are natural strikers.

Whoops. 0-1 Birmingham Reserves.

I'll just tell them it's all their fault I guess.

Showing off the nice behind goal cameras in FM2012.

Bearing in mind that we've switched fields, HOLY CRAP WE HAVE THE BALL NEAR THEIR BOX!

Nothing doing.

So, basically, despite one heroic attempt at goal by our natural striker, dribbling alone deep in enemy territory, Birmingham City falls to its own Reserve team, 0-1. For our next episode I think it's time to sack all the strikers and bring in as many defenders as possible, and perhaps we'll try a slightly different formation.