Can you have one shot and score please?!

I remember sarcastically using this phrase back on the old Champ Man series back at the end of the 90s - you would have 20 shots to the opposition's one and lose 1-0 on a regular basis.

Well blow me if it isn't happening all over again! Managing Chester, now in the Conference North. I keep murdering teams 25-30 shots to 2 or 3 and either losing 1-0 after hitting the woodwork 9 times and missing 2 penalties, or scraping a draw, maybe 0-0 or 1-1. I can accept losing the odd game you dominate, but it is literally every game, especially at home!

I have played the FM/CM series for 20 years, so I am no novice, but the reappearance of this is mystifying! Are Chester just a jinxed club?! Any one experiencing this? What did you do to stop the rot?

Oh, and why can't I terminate a loan any more???

I must admit that I've been having similar thoughts recently. I'm managing Plymouth in League 1 and so far (jinx alert) I'm topping the table comfortably in January. However (and this is my second season with Plymouth at that level so I've had a while to think about it) I am almost never comfortable watching a game because the AI has developed a habit which I last saw in 01/02 long saves of scoring with their first shot on target and scoring about 50%-70% of shots on target overall. I have seen comebacks (from both sides) from 3-1 and even 3-0 down multiple times and it means you can never relax because you never know when the AI is going to come at you and start firing goals from all angles.

All that said, a lot of it is tactics and I think this ME is particularly punishing to tactics that aren't quite right. Long shots are particularly wasteful for me, but are also nearly impossible to stop (ie. telling the culprits to use long shots rarely, using Control as a mindset and Work Ball into Box as a shout still only reduces the number a bit if the AI is packing the box). In your case you either need a predator to carry the scoring load or some tweaking to turn half chances into good ones. You don't mention Clear Cut Chances but if you're not getting many try to find a way to work it into the box more, if you're getting a lot are they 'good' CCCs or shots from a tight angle? If they are genuine good chances I would say you need a better striker, but I suspect you would know that already and I'm guessing you don't have a lot of cash to splurge with at Chester.

Heh, I remember a game back in '08 where I had no shots and won, against Chelsea no less. They battered me for the entire game, but I somehow kept them out, then around the 80 minute mark, my winger got free and put in a cross which John Terry obligingly headed into his own net

Anyway, as to the main thrust of the topic, I think a lot of people overrate the "number of shots" and "shots on target" statistics. A long range effort from 30 yards by your centre back is a shot, as is your striker attempting to squeeze one in from a very tight angle while being tackled and with the 'keeper perfectly positioned. In neither situation would you really expect a goal, even if the shot is on target. If your problems come mainly at home and against weaker teams, as it usually does when people have this problem, then it's likely that the opposition are parking the bus and forcing you to shoot from situations like these where success is unlikely.

What you need to do is to create "better" chances. The control strategy in particular is designed for this type of situation - it attempts to draw the opposition out and exploit the space - but other options include the "Work ball into box" shout. Trying to tire out the oppostion can help. If they're closing you down a lot, then attepting to play a possesion based game (which tends to go hand-in-hand with the aforementionned options), even a the cost of chances can be productive - by the 60 minute mark, the opponents might well be knackered, so will likely give you more space, and hence better chances, when you switch back to your normal "attacking" tactics.

Also, it helps to try to create different types of chances. If you're trying to pass through them and it's not working, and resulting in your players making long shots, try bringing on a big strong centre forward and play more direct/wide.

" You only get one shot, so make it count ! "

/music