Holding a lead (This is not a tactics question!)

im currently playin with man city using the new dictatorship tactics theyve proved to be some of the best iv used on fm, i am man city in my 4th season so i am expected to win most games. However and even more so recently i seem to struggle to hold a lead even if i dominate for 60 minutes and go 3-0 up, with some games completely turning on their head n me being dominated.

This is not a tactics question as it seems a similar problem whether or not i switch to other tactics to hold my lead but i know many will reply suggesting this even though i have stated that i know this is a possibility but one which i beleive is not the problem.

This seems to happen more often against the better middle of the road teams (villa totenham etc) however has happend with less accomplished sides in the past and generally ends up with me ending up with a 1 goal win or a draw rarely a complete turn around to a loss.

Any suggestions would be welcome ? (except suggesting i look on the tactics forum or that i adopt to become more defensive:p)

new dictatorship tactics???

anyway, I have this problem too and think the way to do it is to lessen forward runs and take less risks so actually it is to do with tactics.

these tacics include dfensive tactics for example against villa i was 3-0 not s hot against me completely dominating then after 60 min i conceeded a sudden goal switched to defensive and suddenyl villa were dominating and came back to 3-3 with a late equaliser.

However if i start defensive the same thing sometimes happens with a good start followed by a poor ending. Maybe my squad needs to gel more, iv got that something missing or the computer is used to my way of playing and for some reason has found a way to dominate last 30 min sometimes :S

Players with low concentration, low stamina making late mistakes - but most likely its tactical in terms of countering what the opposition does late on, it's not always a case of just going defensive.

I found on 09 going defensive is bad, on 08 however it was the way to go.

yes but the tactics work fine some matches and i generally dont go defensive, plus the defensive tactics dominate against tougher opposition in the same way before the same thing happens, its pretty much every few games i get the problem

by the way try out the dictatorship tactics if forum tactics is your thing made by a chinese fm player i would judge them as one of the best for 9.3 not quite the sexy football control of 9.2 but still very good

im currently playin with man city using the new dictatorship tactics theyve proved to be some of the best iv used on fm, i am man city in my 4th season so i am expected to win most games. However and even more so recently i seem to struggle to hold a lead even if i dominate for 60 minutes and go 3-0 up, with some games completely turning on their head n me being dominated.

This is not a tactics question as it seems a similar problem whether or not i switch to other tactics to hold my lead but i know many will reply suggesting this even though i have stated that i know this is a possibility but one which i beleive is not the problem.

This seems to happen more often against the better middle of the road teams (villa totenham etc) however has happend with less accomplished sides in the past and generally ends up with me ending up with a 1 goal win or a draw rarely a complete turn around to a loss.

Any suggestions would be welcome ? (except suggesting i look on the tactics forum or that i adopt to become more defensive:p)

I have seasons like this from time to time, it seems to have little to do with my tactics (largely the same from 2009-2030- I dont make sweeping changes, its more slow progression from defensive to attcking as my teams get better) and more to do with certain players bottling it.

edit: 2 seasons ago I had a season where 3-0 lead was nothing as Standard Liege (2017, I lost one game 5-4 from 4-1 up, and countless 3-3 from 3-0 up), I sold two defenders and a midfielder (their match ratings werent low but I could see errors they were making) and brought in some young talents to replace them and since i've won every game when I score first (except against Hertha in the UEFA Cup), my tactics are almost identical.

maybe its just the luck of the game not sure on changing my defence vargas chiellini fazio srna isnt bad and i havent seen many mistakes my looks just turned 3-0 against chelsea away and i held the lead althought seemed to switch off a bit after 60 min

these tacics include dfensive tactics for example against villa i was 3-0 not s hot against me completely dominating then after 60 min i conceeded a sudden goal switched to defensive and suddenyl villa were dominating and came back to 3-3 with a late equaliser.

I think this is your problem.

You gave them a way in. You probably should've checked out full match for a while to see how they've decided to come at you then make subtle changes to counter their tactic.

I tend to never go defensive. Instead I try holding on to the ball and move it around, keeping the same general shape because once I go defensive the opposition come at me til something eventually breaks.

well if i keep the same tactic then similar things can cometimes happen out of nowere, ether way this isnt a atctics discussion i was just wonderin if anyone had any other tips/suggestions. I did expect the tactic suggestion though seem to get it in any thread no matter what the topic, probably because of the importance of tactics in fm 2009 ( not sure what 2008 was i missed out on that season)

well if i keep the same tactic then similar things can cometimes happen out of nowere, ether way this isnt a atctics discussion i was just wonderin if anyone had any other tips/suggestions. I did expect the tactic suggestion though seem to get it in any thread no matter what the topic, probably because of the importance of tactics in fm 2009 ( not sure what 2008 was i missed out on that season)

It's either team talks or tactics.

Both I feel are equally important in this edition.

It's become a Mantra because plenty of people have been successful holding on to a lead when using the right team talks and tactics.

You're not supposed to keep the same tactic. Try to view the full match for 10 minutes (in game) when the game shifts to see how they're coming at you. Keep the same shape but tweak the tactic slightly to nullify the new threats.

For example I just finished playing Stoke away. I was dominating first 60 minutes and got 2 goals. Once they started attacking (65th minute) I changed to full match and noticed they brought in a fast CM who was sneaking in behind my CMs and dictating play/taking shots. I brought in a quick full back and played him in CM to tight mark the guy. Marked him right out of the game and nullified the threat. They had also brought in a tall guy so I countered with subbing in the slower but taller CB to mark that guy. My full backs/wingers blocked most of their crosses and those that got through were cleared by my defenders.

I'll admit the same thing used to happen to me until I started view the match for +-10 minutes in game to see why they've suddenly become the superior team.

I used to have this problem until I started switching to an even more attacking formation. I end up grabbing an extra goal or two while they are searching for the equaliser.