No Tactical Consistency (Lower League Management)

Last season I took Dover from Skrill South to Skrill Prem using a standard 4-5-1, winning the league on goal difference. This season in the Skrill Prem I'm finding the tactic is no longer successful and when I change to my other backup tactics I am only winning 1/5 matches. Why is this and can anyone recommend good tactics for Lower League teams?

I'm still fairly new to the game and this is my first LLM, the club turned professional and my squad ranks highly on the comparison report screen, I'm at a loss to fix this and the sack is hanging over me. Help!

Can you post an image of your whole set up please? Mentality, Fluidity, Roles, Duties, Team Instructions.....

Hope this helps----->

OK, so as is the flavour of the day, you have a very attacking set up.

As a recently promoted side, it is likely that you are one of the weaker sides in the division, so a more pragmatic approach might be beneficial.

With regard to the set up of the image, I'd comment on:

1. You only really have the IF (A) suppporting the Target Man. The AP (A) will arrive late and play passes from the edge of the box, but you haven't got much penetration.

2. Automatic Duties - I hate them! They are effectively driven by your Mentality, so both your full backs are Attack Duty. You leave space at the back on each flank as a result.

3. Why two Playmakers on the same (right) side of the pitch? Genuinely interested to understand why you have done that.

4. Attacking Mentality but Push Higher Up and Play Wider. You are already High and Wide by default with this Mentality. Why stretch it further?

5. Why Hassle when your high line already exerts a high press?

6. Why Play Out Of Defence, when your defend duties already play short with this Mentality?

Apologies for all the questions, but I want to know why you have selected all the TIs you have. You need to know exactly why you pick each instruction you do.

Look closely how you concede goals and goal-scoring chances. I'd suggest pulling your wingers back so they help in defending every once in a while. 4-1-4-1 is one of the better weaker side tactics out there.

I've only got 23 hours into the game (it's fantastic), so I have very little idea. The TM's I used were effective last season but my inexperience is showing in my lack of adaptability, I didn't really consider my TM's that much. Suggestions?

My backup tactic was this last season, criticism welcome:

Well, the only thing I like about your backup tactic is the formation and I only like it because that's what I use. The formation by its very design is narrow and controls the middle of pitch. Yet, you are adding TIs to play narrower and exploit the middle. While you might think that you are strengthening the tactic by doing that, all you are really doing is exposing the formation's weakness even more: the flanks. I'm seeing visions of good wingers giving your team absolute fits. You are using hassle opponents and tighter marking. Again, this detracts from the strength of the formation as you will be pulling your players out of shape in the defensive phase. These two things in combination would be a gigantic opening for opponents who have someone on the wing who can kick a halfway decent cross in. I also don't like that you are using fullbacks. Wing backs or complete wing backs would give you more width on the attack, which should help open up things for the players in the middle.

It appears that you want to play a very attacking style of football. That's exactly the opposite of how I play, so I can't help you a lot. I'll just suggest doing a lot of thinking about the natural strengths and weaknesses of the formations you use. Then, think about how TIs might be able to help alleviate some of the weaknesses.

The basic problem here is that you defend very aggressively and now you have been promoted teams are exploiting it by playing balls over the top or dragging your defense out of position.

When you play attacking (high line, pressing), instruct your team to play a higher line and instruct your team to press more aggressively you are basically all over the opponent with little regard to the space left behind. All it takes is one composed player who plays out from under the pressure and plays a long ball to a striker sitting on your defensive line. All it takes is one player on your team not pressing soon enough to stop the opponent from finding a player in space (that is basically the motto of your defense, leave space everywhere). It's a valid way to defend but extremely risky especially against better opponents and in a league where long balls over the top a very common way to attack. On top of this your fullbacks will be high on the pitch most of the time when in possession (automatic = same mentality as your team mentality which is attacking in this case) which gives opponent wingers and wide moving strikers an absolute field day against your side.

On top of this you are also effectively ruining your attacking gameplan as you pin the opponent down on their half which reduces space. You have just been promoted and you are putting two attackers up against their defense with two playmakers to try and play them in and then reducing space to attack into. If you put your opponent that high up their own half you should at least have a player dragging defenders away from the defensive line because there is no space behind the defensive line to attack into.

Either drop to a counter attacking or defensive approach with a deep line and defenders who hold position and defend space or make your high pressing defense a little safer (I'm thinking FBs to support, CM to BWM(d), CM to CM(a), possibly your AML/R to ML/R, GK to sweeper, maybe A to DM to make him a little more mobile) and get your attackers to create space for themselves (TM(a) to DLF(s), F9 or TM(s) and AP to winger(a), IF(a) or keep as is as long as the CM on that side is on attack duty).