Tackling

I have played FM for 3 years now, and I have still yet to have this simple questions answered, “Why Can’t Defenders Tackle?”

The atrocious finishing in this game usually negates the fact every player and there mom runs straight through my defense, but the games they do finish, it leaves me baffled.

I have every tactical setting regarding tackling and aggression as high as possible, but as in past years of FM, it is to no avail.

So please, why don’t defenders tackle?

I mean I know the makers of this game are just greedy money hungry people who could care less about the product they produce, let alone the consumer who plays it, but come on! Tackling is simple and basic to the game. You could make a match/tactic engine that incorporates it.

Has anyone found a trick to make defenders tackle?

Max attacking mentality and max closing down, hard tackling - and still they don't tackle?

if changing player's mentality to attacking direction provides more tackles and pressing, it doesn't make any sense to my point of view.. I completly back the OP.. its not only the case of tackles ME, and tactics part of the game needs revolution and I'm pretty sure that we will be forced to wait between 1-3 years for this change..

Yes I agree that the use of mentality is a problem. My view is that mentality should be divided into Defensive and Attacking mentality where the former affected defensive duties (taking the ball from the opposition) and the latter attacking duties (making yourself available for passes and taking risks in order to create chances). As it is now, most standard tactics have relatively defensive mentalities in the back and relatively attacking mentalities up front.

I can't stress how bad that really is!

It is much better the other way around...

On a Defensive mentality, the defender will not dive into tackles and thus risk being dribbled past - he will instead make sure there is little space behind him and set himself up to be able to block shots etc. He will in other words be passive! If you push up high, you cannot have defensive mentalities on your defenders, as they will then leave space behind them no matter what they do. Defensive mentalities are good when you defend deeply and narrowly, because then the opponents won't find space for through balls or shots, or runs.

On an Attacking mentality, the defender will give everything to win the ball back in order to create chances, so he will then go close and try to gain possession of the ball without worrying about stuff happening around him. If you push up high, this is absolutely necessary in order to achieve control of the match. As long as your players win the challenges the opposition won't create chances at all.

Conversely, on an Attacking mentality, the attacker will appear to be stressed or more desperate especially if the tempo is slow (which is necessary if the opposition plays defensively). On max attacking mentality, the strikers will shoot from any angle and generally play very selfishly. This is one of the major issues that many human managers struggle with when they have built a good team: you have tweaked the tactic to create as many chances as possible and ended up with a very attacking tactic that generates many shots. The result is that in most matches you will score many goals, but then you encounter a situation where you have 10 ccc's and don't score any goals. The guilty parties are too attacking mentalities and too high tempo. Thus, I have found that strikers thrive best with mentality 13-16 (out of 20). More than that and they will be too desperate.

This creates a problem: the tactics that the AI uses are all defensive-minded in the back and attacking-minded up front, and whenever they chase a lead they will change philosophy and mentality to create more chances. The result is that their strikers will have so high attacking mentalities that they shoot from bad angles; or if they are more careful then the defenders will be too passive related to the defensive line. Thus, the most dangerous opponents are those who defend deep and go for counter-attacks. Then the defenders will deny you space and the strikers will have relatively defensive mentalities which will make them more efficient.

I wish I could make tactics for the AI

Surprising as it may seem players don't make that many tackles in real life with 4/5 a match considered high.

Surprising as it may seem players don't make that many tackles in real life with 4/5 a match considered high.

Yeah but they would intercept or otherwise take the ball from the opponents up to several times a minute as a team. In the game, defenders on defensive duties stand there and watch unlless they are pushing up, then they back off and watch. High closing down only makes this worse, as they then rush towards the guy with the ball and then stop and watch, a sin which would have him dropped to the reserves for the rest of his career if he ever did such a thing once in RL...

Yeah but they would intercept or otherwise take the ball from the opponents up to several times a minute as a team. In the game, defenders on defensive duties stand there and watch unlless they are pushing up, then they back off and watch. High closing down only makes this worse, as they then rush towards the guy with the ball and then stop and watch, a sin which would have him dropped to the reserves for the rest of his career if he ever did such a thing once in RL...

Why?

Closing down, hassling the opponent without making a tackle is perfectly normal for a professional footballer.

Yeah, well, I guess what BiggusD was getting at is that closing the opponent down and hassling him doesn't exactly equal someone breaking ranks, running like mad at an opponent... and then doing nothing.

I wish I could make tactics for the AI

Im so glad you dont, they would be so illogical and impossible to defend against thanks to your crazy football ideas

Why?

Closing down, hassling the opponent without making a tackle is perfectly normal for a professional footballer.

Yes as TOUGHGUY said, what you say is perfectly normal and sensible, what happens in the game should also be that but is absolutely awful defending instead...