OSM Crew War Guide: Professional Matchday Preparation
Manager Guide · 2026-10-06 · 10 min
A crew war is nothing like a league match. You are not facing a random side but real managers who read you and change their tactic against you. Every match counts toward your crew's total. This guide is the matchday routine of someone who has played crew wars for years. OSM Next Level's engine was built from these wars too: its battle evidence rests on 100 matches logged across two crew wars.
1. Three things that set a war apart
| League match | Crew war | |
|---|---|---|
| Opponent | A side you meet a few times a season | A manager who studies your past matches |
| Information | Limited preparation on their side | Both sides gather and hide information |
| Result | Your points | The crew's total |
So the biggest edge in a war is information: knowing what the opponent will play, and protecting what you play.
2. The war schedule: what to do when
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| The day before the war | List your opponents, look at each manager's recent matches, update their files |
| Matchday morning | Settle inside the crew who plays whom and who is available |
| Before the match | Check the opponent's current formation, take the setup from the engine, check the referee and squad |
| Right after the match | Log the score, shots and cards, share them with the crew |
| When the war ends | Add notes to the opponent files, talk about what worked |
3. The opposing manager file
Look at the opponent's squad screen and recent matches. Filling this table for each opponent saves hours in the next war:
| Field | Example note |
|---|---|
| Favourite formation | 5-2-3 A, counter attack |
| Different home and away? | Switches to 4-3-3 B at home |
| Variant | Moves between A and B |
| Starting eleven average | About two points above ours |
| Last meeting | 1-1 away, two players at card risk |
The A and B variants of one formation can behave differently, so writing just "4-3-3" is not enough.
4. Protect your own information: Secret Training
Secret Training stops your next opponent from reaching your tactical information: it blocks friendlies against you and the reading of your tactic. In a war that makes it harder for the opponent to prepare against you.
| When you use it | When the opponent uses it | |
|---|---|---|
| Friendly | They cannot play you | You cannot play them |
| Reading the tactic | They cannot read yours | You cannot read theirs |
| Analyst report | Their report may not arrive | Yours may not arrive |
If your analyst report does not arrive, the reason is usually the opponent's Secret Training. Then the past notes in your opponent file are your only source.
5. Pick the setup by the opponent
Enter the opponent's formation, the venue and the two elevens' gap into the Counter-Tactic Engine. In a war the "this worked last war" reflex is dangerous: the opposing manager has seen that tactic too. Answer each match with its own matchup.
As a starting point, the setup recommended away against every opponent formation when the squads are level:
| Opponent | Setup | Pressure | Style | Tempo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-3-3 A/B | 4-3-3 B | 68 | 69 | 54 |
| 4-4-2 | 4-3-3 B | 68 | 62 | 62 |
| 4-2-3-1 | 4-3-3 B | 64 | 70 | 54 |
| 4-5-1 | 4-3-3 B | 64 | 70 | 54 |
| 5-2-3 | 4-3-3 B | 57 | 60 | 47 |
| 5-3-2 | 4-3-3 B | 55 | 62 | 65 |
| 5-3-1-1 | 4-3-3 B | 66 | 61 | 54 |
| 5-4-1 | 4-3-3 A | 70 | 70 | 59 |
| 6-3-1 | 4-3-3 A | 50 | 60 | 75 |
For the real gap and the real elevens, use the engine; the table is the general three-step matrix.
6. Referee and squad checks
In a war, a red card can affect not just that match but the player's next ones. Set tackling by the referee's colour (referee guide). War days are busy; plan rotation ahead, not at the last minute:
- Find the low-fitness players and plan which match they rest in.
- Note the players one card from a ban; keep them out of card risk before the key match.
- Make sure the captain and the penalty taker are in the eleven.
7. Save the Training Camp for the right match
The camp is limited per league and its price rises with each use. Look at the war schedule and keep the camp for the match that matters most to the crew. Using it every match means empty hands in the match you need it most.
| Match | Camp? |
|---|---|
| A level match that will move the crew's standing | Yes |
| A match you are expected to win comfortably | No |
| A very strong opponent where points are hard to come by | Usually not |
8. Roles inside the crew
A crew war is not a one-person game. Even a small split of roles changes how the war goes:
| Role | Job |
|---|---|
| Leader | Settles matchups and availability, coordinates camp decisions |
| Intelligence | Gathers and shares the opposing managers' latest formations |
| Records | Collects results and notes, writes a summary at the end of the war |
Share notes on opposing managers: the formation one member saw yesterday can save another member's match today.
9. The most common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it costs | Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Replaying last war's tactic | The opposing manager has seen it | Answer each match with its matchup |
| Ignoring the opponent's Secret Training | You play on guesses without information | Go back to the notes in the opponent file |
| Spending the camp in the first matches | No camp left for the key match | Save it by the schedule |
| Not logging results | Every war starts from zero | Log every match in the Match Center |
| Not talking to the crew | The same mistake repeats across members | Share notes |
Summary
Read the opponent, protect your own information, pick the setup by the matchup, check the referee and the squad, save the camp for the right match, work as a crew and log every result. The site's Match Center supports the crew war type and keeps a file on each opposing manager that only you can see. No routine guarantees a win, but the crews that win wars are usually the ones that prepare better.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why is an OSM crew war different from a league match?
- You face a real manager who reads you and changes his tactic against you, and every match counts toward the crew's total. That makes information the biggest edge.
- Should I use Secret Training in a crew war?
- It stops the opponent from playing a friendly against you and reading your tactic, which is valuable in a war. But it works both ways: when the opponent uses it, you do not get his information either.
- When should I use the Training Camp in a war?
- The camp is limited per league and gets dearer with each use. Save it for the key match that will move the crew's standing.
- Where can I log crew war results?
- The site's Match Center supports the crew war type and keeps a file on each opposing manager that only you can see.
- Why is my analyst report not arriving?
- Usually because the opponent used Secret Training. That week you cannot reach his tactical information; the past notes in your opponent file become your only source.