Beating the slump?

What do you do to beat that inevitable bad run of form midway through a season? Went 15 games unbeaten and now I've not won in 4 and lost two winnable games from winning positions. Confidence is low, what do I do?

I aim to pick players with highest morale first even if it means fielding a side that is lower strength. Try to get those with highest determination possible and that are most consistent. Play sensibly on away games ( going defensive will generally end up with you getting a bashing although counter attacking can sometimes help) and push on in home games. If I think I have a good chance of winning I put some of the lowest morale on the bench and bring them on them on in the last 15 for a morale boost. Mostly you just have to fight through it unfortunately. It happens to me just like everyone else. It sounds like your coming to the end of the slump if my own experiences are anything to go by.

I just drew 2-2 with Chelsea (I'm derby in Feb 2016, 2nd season in prem). Hopefully things are looking up. I'm sitting in 3rd after 28 games so going to try and secure a european spot this season however things could go a lot better if the slump ends. Thanks for your help!

No worries. By the way don't be surprsied if toward the end of the season your morale drops again in the final few weeks. Especially if you end up in the the top two or three. Your performing above expectation and the players may wilt as the pressure rises. Good luck to you though it sounds like your doing well

Nothing frustrates me more than the slumps. I endured one this weekend that lasted for a dozen matches. Nevertheless, I have stopped them more quickly in the past by holding a team meeting or by scheduling an easy friendly to rebuild confidence. And whatever I do, I try not to flip out on the players with match day team talks. That just seems to make it worse.

When I got Huddersfield promoted in the first season, I was referred to as 'the tinkerer' by the press. Whenever it looked like I was entering a slump I would keep the same tactical structure but try a new formation. This often (maybe luckily) lead to a few wins on the bounce and morale stayed high. This game does seem to make life difficult if you have a settled system thats doing well, so I changed this around a little to keep the opposition guessing. Maybe have a couple of different systems in place ready when you need a fresh approach? There's also no harm in holding a team meeting to reboost the confidence before it gets too bad.

When I got Huddersfield promoted in the first season, I was referred to as 'the tinkerer' by the press. Whenever it looked like I was entering a slump I would keep the same tactical structure but try a new formation. This often (maybe luckily) lead to a few wins on the bounce and morale stayed high. This game does seem to make life difficult if you have a settled system thats doing well, so I changed this around a little to keep the opposition guessing. Maybe have a couple of different systems in place ready when you need a fresh approach? There's also no harm in holding a team meeting to reboost the confidence before it gets too bad.

I did hold a team meeting and it went kind of well.

In regards to changing formation, my friend told me to do that and he said it was the only way to beat the slump. I've usually come back from the slump strong (not in this case) so it never bothered me but I will try it from now on. Thank you!

Pre slump:

Slump:

League table:

Undoubtably this was a great season. media prediction was 9th so to come third is brillaint, especially considering the strength and depth of my squad, but you can see how badly the slump affected me, I could have won the league! Slightly irritating but still, champions league football next season to look forward to.

Glad it worked out. 3rd is no mean feat!

Arsenal Wenger has resigned and Gus Hiddink (Spurs Manager) has retired... oh the possibilities

Depends on the context. I was in a new league and we were overachieving (predicted bottom) and midway we started losing. I figured our tactics had been found out, so I changed it to address the problems I was seeing in the game. That soon turned it aroun. It's important to be able to see what the problem actually is tactically. If you're losing 1-0 and getting chances, it's not the same as losing 2-0 and 3-1 all the time.

Another time, it was the end of the season chasing the title and promotion. Form dropped, and I picked players with high morale still and those who were looking forward to the next match (due to PR) and avoiding picking very poor morale players and those who were nervous (PR). It's easy to fall into the trap of picking your good players when they're not in form rather than trying your crap ones who are feelin' fine.

Depends on the context. I was in a new league and we were overachieving (predicted bottom) and midway we started losing. I figured our tactics had been found out, so I changed it to address the problems I was seeing in the game. That soon turned it aroun. It's important to be able to see what the problem actually is tactically. If you're losing 1-0 and getting chances, it's not the same as losing 2-0 and 3-1 all the time.

Thats exactly what I do. A tactical change seems to do the trick most of the time.