Why is this happening?!

Ok, I'm now in season 15/16 with Aston Villa.

The past 2 seasons I've been finishing very respectably in the EPL and in most cups, finishing 2nd in the league last season.

In this season, using the same tactics, with almost full familiarity my team can't do anything.... They can't pass. They can't get into space. Every shot either goes wide or straight at the keeper. Whenever the opposition has the ball in my area my defense seems to run away from it.

It's ridiculous. There seems to be absolutely no reason for it, and it's just completely put me off the game.

Please tell me what's happened.

Teams have become more defensive or wary against you which means your tactics have become less effective. So, before you predicted to do well and weren't expected to be as good, teams would be more open against you. Now they know how good you are they'll be less open and more defensive which means you may have to change your approach somehow so you are able to unlock opponents defences.

I just can't believe that can account for it.

Even CH sides in the cups are just having their way with me.

My team literally can't do anything.

Well don't believe it then. It doesn't bother me either way.

Lol, sorry. I didn't mean I didn't appreciate your input. Thanks.

I meant more in the way of... Well, if that's how it manifests it's a pretty ham-fisted approach. Very unrealistic that it could cause so much damage.

I mean, sure, I could find less and less space, that's realistic. My own players almost avoiding the ball is just stupid.

I'm not 100% sure. But too me that's what seems to have happened. Your best bet would be to go to the tactics & training forum and have a read of threads in there.

As well as opposing teams perhaps adopting a more defend & counter approach when playing your team, if you've not changed your tactical framework, it could be due to changes you've made to your squad.

Even though you may have made what you might consider to be improvements, some of your newer signings may not particularly suit your system, or simply need time to settle. It may not just be tactical issues.

Hmm, all I've lost is 2 back-up players and I've gained the same. They haven't had much use.

I've made less major change than you'd expect from a EPL club.

Teams have become more defensive or wary against you which means your tactics have become less effective. So, before you predicted to do well and weren't expected to be as good, teams would be more open against you. Now they know how good you are they'll be less open and more defensive which means you may have to change your approach somehow so you are able to unlock opponents defences.

How does that have anything to do with what the OP wrote about the players not being able to pass/shots going wide or straight at the keeper/also the defence running away from the ball?

It is fair enough people blindly keep on saying "its your tactics"<----this has now been some what banned from the forum but adding a few more words does not make it any different to what you are saying.

This has been said many many times in the past but everyone knows how the likes of Man Utd/Man City will play but that does not turn those teams into easy meat for every team just because "they know how good you are".

Such a poor argument.

The match engine is flawed and even the most avid fan can see that...although it seems some wont admit it either too themselves or on forums.

TBH there's really not enough information presented for anyone to tell you precisely what has happened. Could be a number of things such as team gelling, opposition changing their tactics to adapt to yours, player morale, bad luck, or a combination of other things. I wouldn't worry too much about your player's specific actions when watching the match, especially in 3d. If you watch enough of the games you're bound to see some weird player movements/actions as the match engine isn't or can't be perfect.

How are you looking overall in the league? Are you just having a rough strech of 2-3 games or is it far worse than that? I would recommend having a team meeting after a rough strech of 2-4 games to prevent a downward spiral, which can be caused by poor morale.

TBH there's really not enough information presented for anyone to tell you precisely what has happened. Could be a number of things such as team gelling, opposition changing their tactics to adapt to yours, player morale, bad luck, or a combination of other things. I wouldn't worry too much about your player's specific actions when watching the match, especially in 3d. If you watch enough of the games you're bound to see some weird player movements/actions as the match engine isn't or can't be perfect.

How are you looking overall in the league? Are you just having a rough strech of 2-3 games or is it far worse than that? I would recommend having a team meeting after a rough strech of 2-4 games to prevent a downward spiral, which can be caused by poor morale.

The core team has been together for about 3 years now, and were doing well before this season. So I don't think it can be "gelling". Only 2 fringe players left and 2 fringe players joined.

Moral is the right side of green.

9 games into the season now, lost 6 of them There were some tough teams in there but some I really shouldn't have lost to. After about 4 losses I did a team meeting which improved moral for most but made no difference to performance.

17th in the league now.

I'm facing thesame problem in all saves, but i have found solution, whenever i see that my team stops playing i'm changing marking system from zonal to man marking(or vice versa) mentality from standard to attacking(or vice versa) and passing style form standard to shorter (or vice versa) it's working for me so maybe it will work for you.

How does that have anything to do with what the OP wrote about the players not being able to pass/shots going wide or straight at the keeper/also the defence running away from the ball?

It is fair enough people blindly keep on saying "its your tactics"<----this has now been some what banned from the forum but adding a few more words does not make it any different to what you are saying.

This has been said many many times in the past but everyone knows how the likes of Man Utd/Man City will play but that does not turn those teams into easy meat for every team just because "they know how good you are".

Such a poor argument.

The match engine is flawed and even the most avid fan can see that...although it seems some wont admit it either too themselves or on forums.

I think what Nottingham Forest was implying is that teams are playing differently against the OP tactically, so before they would have played quite open, attacking football against his team, meaning his players were getting plenty of space to pass it around and able to have plenty of good chances to shoot at goal. Now the opposition are playing more defensively, perhaps playing narrow and closing down more, allowing his team less time to make accurate passes and forcing his players to rush their shots or shoot from range.

It means the OP needs to adapt his tactics accordingly, so the old "It's your tactics" line is probably true in this case, but it's a little more complex than that. It's hard to say exactly where the problem lies without more detail, but I'd suggest the OP visits the tactics forum for more help.

I'm facing thesame problem in all saves, but i have found solution, whenever i see that my team stops playing i'm changing marking system from zonal to man marking(or vice versa) mentality from standard to attacking(or vice versa) and passing style form standard to shorter (or vice versa) it's working for me so maybe it will work for you.

I think this is probably the OP's best course of action. I’ve had saves in which I’ve used a very successful tactic for several seasons and inexplicably my form just fell apart. Debates can be had as to whether tactic cracking exists. I think the majority of users, especially those very knowledgeable about the inner-workings of the game, claim tactic cracking does not occur, but the AI does change the way they play against you as your reputation changes.

It looks like you don’t have player gelling, morale, or any other big issues, so a slight tactical change may be needed.