Struggling with Everton...

Hi chaps,

I'm fairly new here, but for a long time have been struggling to crack the Premier League, so I thought I'd make Everton my latest attempt and low and behold I'm still struggling.

I was wondering if somebody could steer me in the right direction, and help me out as I'm really running out of ideas. Here's my tactic, and normally Lukaku would play as TM support instead of Niasse!

I don't if I've got too many instructions, if I'm attacking too much or what. I just need help!

http://imgur.com/JtctkE1

Thanks!

At least you're keeping it realistic

First of all I'm looking at whether your DMC gives enough protection. You have two attacking full backs, along with a DMC that has high closing down, meaning he'll get dragged out left, right and centre. If you watch a game you'll probably spot a gap in front of your CBs. I would suggest an anchorman or a halfback as a start?

Second, there are a lot of creative roles in that lineup - two BPDs, two playmakers, an inside forward on support (also v creative) and a complete forward. That's a lot of creative freedom! You may want to tone that down a little

Finally, and maybe this is a stylistic choice for me, but when you have a lone striker with no AMC, i tend to favor a support duty and a more attacking wide player. You'll have t see in a game if this is a problem you're having but your striker might be a little isolated?

Hope it helps!

Well you gave your formation but the formation is the smallest aspect of a tactic... If you post a new screenshot with all the info on the tactic you'll get much more help.

What really matters is mentality, fluidity, TIs and PIs.

Can't even tell what you're doing role-wise because I don't know whether your system is fluid or structured. By the amount of "specialist" roles i gotta assume you're playing structured, though.

And i just felt i needed to tell you, the fact you use 2 playmakers and 2 ball-playing defenders makes me suspect you got the wrong idea about the ball-playing defender role

Quick tip #1: Never give Funes Mori a ball-playing defender role, he can barely hit a through ball.

Well you gave your formation but the formation is the smallest aspect of a tactic... If you post a new screenshot with all the info on the tactic you'll get much more help.

What really matters is mentality, fluidity, TIs and PIs.

Can't even tell what you're doing role-wise because I don't know whether your system is fluid or structured. By the amount of "specialist" roles i gotta assume you're playing structured, though.

And i just felt i needed to tell you, the fact you use 2 playmakers and 2 ball-playing defenders makes me suspect you got the wrong idea about the ball-playing defender role

Quick tip #1: Never give Funes Mori a ball-playing defender role, he can barely hit a through ball.

Thought it had uploaded, sorry!

Here it is: http://imgur.com/ix09upP

It's interesting what you say about specialist roles, I do have a few creative players in the side and that maybe cancelling each other out on the engine.

Thanks for the help guys. Just played Newcastle, played much better.

McCarthy a rock as a Half back, but still lost 1-0 in extra-time.

Stray pass - Newcastle counter and they march through.

My instructions are here: http://imgur.com/ix09upP (thought they'd uploaded originally)

Maybe try Barry as Anchorman and Mccarthy as BWM or B2B D then Barkley as RPM. This set really worked well for me. Also use Lennon on WS instead of Miralles his work rate and speed help cover for both Coleman and Stones penchant to move upfield. Moving moving Miralles to the opposite side and make him IFA lets him focus only on attack. Rotate Dele in as needed on either side but note that his stamina causes him to fade late in games or if he plays too many in a row also risking injury.

Also both Miralles and Dele really excel as RMD Right side with an F9 striker if you want to go crazy.

Cleverly subs in well for barkley land besic can play B2B/BWM and A all effectively if you run into yellow cards.

I would agree with what was posted as well CFS or F9 for striker and keep mori at home, I had him as LDD or cover and also kept galloway on FBS to compensate for my roaming right side. Galloway became my best CD after 3 years. He was awesome.

From my experience Everton played best using a mixed passing with neither possession or direct enabled. Overlap was enabled on weaker and mid table teams ad taken off against teams with world class wings and FB's. Coleman's natural get further more further allowed me to play him as FBA as opposed to WB or CWB and still get outstanding performances from him.

best of luck

Quick question what was your thinking behind selecting both retain possession and be more expressive they seem to contradict each other?

Quick question what was your thinking behind selecting both retain possession and be more expressive they seem to contradict each other?

I've had a lot of success with creative freedom and possession in the past - and I thought allowing the players to have more freedom might help us when we've not been able to break down the opposition etc.

Alright now I can give you some advice, be aware though that i'm not as good as any of the mods, but I do have success when playing FM. I'll write based on assumptions:

Your goal: Possession game.

Your key players: Lukaku (STC) and Barkley (MC).

What I think, only by guess: You're scoring too few goals. Maybe conceding a bit more than you should as well, but the latter should be a minor issue.

My thoughts on formation, roles & duties

+Fairly balanced formation when attacking. Your team works like a 4-2-3-1 when attacking

+The combination of IF/CF/W can work offensively. The IF probably needs an Attack duty, though, if you feel he should be scoring more.

-Though there is no problem on using 2 playmakers, you should know that an Advanced Playmaker shoots less often and focuses more on key passes rather than getting in the box, and you have few players doing that already. Though we all know Ross Barkley struggled inside the box this season IRL, IMO on FM he works best as a striker (IF/Winger/AM/SS). I say that on my own experience playing Everton saves. Note however that if I were to use him on the CM (which he is still very well suited to), i'd rather use a CM(A) role/duty, pretty much working as an attack-minded box-to-box midfielder

-Leon Osman isn't the best deep-lying playmaker ever because his stat distribution suggest a more offensive role for him, but he's still suited for it. I don't remember whether the player has a good Long Shots attribute, but I think its worth to say here that the main difference between a DLP(D) and a DLP(S) is that the DLP(S) tries a load of long shots. If you want to give him further responsability on unlocking the defense, use the "More Risky Passes" PI.

-There's nothing wrong in using a BWM(D) on the DM, but i don't like doing it. First because i don't like BWM on defense duty at all. That's directly related with my second reason: a BWM on the CM with a support duty can get inside the box to be a threatening runner from deep. Having more players on the box is your goal here, remember?

-Ball-playing defenders are not required to create a passing game at all. The role gives the "More risky passes" PI, meaning he will attempt to start counter attacks more often and put some through balls to create momentum in the transition, which tends to be slower due to the Retain Possession/Shorter Passing TIs. However you really need your defenders to be able to do that if you're giving them this role. And in my own experience playing with Everton, Funes Mori can't hit a through ball at all. Give him a standard CD and you'll still see him missing easy passes.

TIs:

+Play out of defence, Prevent short GK distribution and Close Down More is nowadays fever of the moment style of defending by pressing a lot. It helps you gaining the ball quickly and keeping it more.

+Roam from positions is a nice touch to give on that system.

+Play fairly wide encourages using the most out of the pitch when attacking, which suits an attacking oriented style. Note however that it's not really needed and it's possible to even play narrower, and keep in mind that it's an attacking TI, it doesn't make any difference in how your team defend. However you're using the shortest passing length in the game, so if you're going to keep both the passing instructions I strongly advise switching to balanced or play narrower. When playing narrower, your players will still look to stretch the play if the flanks are the only place with room to exploit.

-You're doing overkill on your possession TIs. Retain possession, shorter passing and work ball into box will make your play way too redundant and you'll rarely be dangerous, hence why you should be struggling to score. If you're not, i still advise taking out one of these. Or just ignore my advice, but i'm pretty sure you'll see more dangerous play with less horizontal passes.

-Higher Line can be good to restrict the space the opposition have when attacking, but you're playing Control which already has a high line by default and you're not using an offside trap. Funes Mori again has some issues fitting this style (Seriously, the guy is a great CB, but Martinez didn't really think so well when he signed him, he's the complete opposite of Stones and Jagielka) because to play a high line with an offside trap you need players with very high Decisions, Teamwork, Composure, Concentration, team-related mentals. What i'd do? I'd use a standard line with Stones or Jagielka on Cover duty. Maybe i'll use Funes Mori on Stopper sometimes and ask him to man mark a lone striker but that's not really needed IMO.

-I'll say beforehand that this is relative again. If you opt to play a very high line (Control+Push Higher Up can be already considered very high), you want your players to close down the most they can. This means, if you keep your line high, you want to close down much more. Keep in mind however that Mirallas and Deulofeu have very poor work rate for wingers, hence why i don't suggest going all the way on pressing with Everton. Simply put, when defending aggressively, you need to cut every pass you can, because if the right opposition player gets a hold of the ball, he'll play one of these 30 yard passes over the top and you'll concede a clear cut chance.

-Look for Overlap and Work Ball into Box are IMO, initially, situational TIs. Look for Overlap asks your full backs to be more aggressive, and your wingers to be a bit less aggressive when on the ball. True, Everton has good full backs, but depending on the opposition, they will exploit your flanks as soon as they can. Work Ball into Box makes your players cross less often and shoot less often. You're already retaining possession, which reduces the amount of risky passes, so you should either give up on one or another.

-Not a big fan of the Be More Expressive TI. Can be useful when you're desperate and need anything to score a goal, but honestly I don't really see this TI as something relevant enough to be ticked on default.

Things to consider:

+ Un-tick Retain Possession and Work Ball into Box, and add Pass into Space. Will help you giving Wengerball and Mourinhoball teams headache.

+ Hit Early Crosses can be a really good TI. Over the time people is starting to realize that even Guardiola, the king of possession football, crosses a real, real lot. That's because sometimes crossing is the best way to unlock the opposition defence.

+ Play Higher Tempo is a risky but very rewarding TI. I don't recommend having it by default, but it's useful to prevent deep sides from recovering their entire shape when you're attacking.

There are multiple ways to make your tactic more efficient. It all depends what path you want to choose. Also keep in mind that having a Target Man makes your team play more direct by default, so be careful with that. If **** happens, just ask for more help and give more details about what's going on, it's hard to help if you don't tell us exactly where you're struggling.

Hi chaps (again),

Started the season over again and took on your advice had some good success so far.

Unbeaten pre-season, which included a 2-0 win over Barcelona!! EPL started with a 3-2 win over Bournemouth. Shared a 4-3 thriller with Leicester, until Vardy scored a last-gasp winner!

And finally beat Norwich 2-0 at home. So far so good, here's my tactics and instructions, just to show you how I've taken your advice. I really appreciate it!

My plan is to fine-tune it myself over the season, but just wanted to thank you for all your tips.

Alright now I can give you some advice, be aware though that i'm not as good as any of the mods, but I do have success when playing FM. I'll write based on assumptions:

Your goal: Possession game.

Your key players: Lukaku (STC) and Barkley (MC).

What I think, only by guess: You're scoring too few goals. Maybe conceding a bit more than you should as well, but the latter should be a minor issue.

My thoughts on formation, roles & duties

+Fairly balanced formation when attacking. Your team works like a 4-2-3-1 when attacking

+The combination of IF/CF/W can work offensively. The IF probably needs an Attack duty, though, if you feel he should be scoring more.

-Though there is no problem on using 2 playmakers, you should know that an Advanced Playmaker shoots less often and focuses more on key passes rather than getting in the box, and you have few players doing that already. Though we all know Ross Barkley struggled inside the box this season IRL, IMO on FM he works best as a striker (IF/Winger/AM/SS). I say that on my own experience playing Everton saves. Note however that if I were to use him on the CM (which he is still very well suited to), i'd rather use a CM(A) role/duty, pretty much working as an attack-minded box-to-box midfielder

-Leon Osman isn't the best deep-lying playmaker ever because his stat distribution suggest a more offensive role for him, but he's still suited for it. I don't remember whether the player has a good Long Shots attribute, but I think its worth to say here that the main difference between a DLP(D) and a DLP(S) is that the DLP(S) tries a load of long shots. If you want to give him further responsability on unlocking the defense, use the "More Risky Passes" PI.

-There's nothing wrong in using a BWM(D) on the DM, but i don't like doing it. First because i don't like BWM on defense duty at all. That's directly related with my second reason: a BWM on the CM with a support duty can get inside the box to be a threatening runner from deep. Having more players on the box is your goal here, remember?

-Ball-playing defenders are not required to create a passing game at all. The role gives the "More risky passes" PI, meaning he will attempt to start counter attacks more often and put some through balls to create momentum in the transition, which tends to be slower due to the Retain Possession/Shorter Passing TIs. However you really need your defenders to be able to do that if you're giving them this role. And in my own experience playing with Everton, Funes Mori can't hit a through ball at all. Give him a standard CD and you'll still see him missing easy passes.

TIs:

+Play out of defence, Prevent short GK distribution and Close Down More is nowadays fever of the moment style of defending by pressing a lot. It helps you gaining the ball quickly and keeping it more.

+Roam from positions is a nice touch to give on that system.

+Play fairly wide encourages using the most out of the pitch when attacking, which suits an attacking oriented style. Note however that it's not really needed and it's possible to even play narrower, and keep in mind that it's an attacking TI, it doesn't make any difference in how your team defend. However you're using the shortest passing length in the game, so if you're going to keep both the passing instructions I strongly advise switching to balanced or play narrower. When playing narrower, your players will still look to stretch the play if the flanks are the only place with room to exploit.

-You're doing overkill on your possession TIs. Retain possession, shorter passing and work ball into box will make your play way too redundant and you'll rarely be dangerous, hence why you should be struggling to score. If you're not, i still advise taking out one of these. Or just ignore my advice, but i'm pretty sure you'll see more dangerous play with less horizontal passes.

-Higher Line can be good to restrict the space the opposition have when attacking, but you're playing Control which already has a high line by default and you're not using an offside trap. Funes Mori again has some issues fitting this style (Seriously, the guy is a great CB, but Martinez didn't really think so well when he signed him, he's the complete opposite of Stones and Jagielka) because to play a high line with an offside trap you need players with very high Decisions, Teamwork, Composure, Concentration, team-related mentals. What i'd do? I'd use a standard line with Stones or Jagielka on Cover duty. Maybe i'll use Funes Mori on Stopper sometimes and ask him to man mark a lone striker but that's not really needed IMO.

-I'll say beforehand that this is relative again. If you opt to play a very high line (Control+Push Higher Up can be already considered very high), you want your players to close down the most they can. This means, if you keep your line high, you want to close down much more. Keep in mind however that Mirallas and Deulofeu have very poor work rate for wingers, hence why i don't suggest going all the way on pressing with Everton. Simply put, when defending aggressively, you need to cut every pass you can, because if the right opposition player gets a hold of the ball, he'll play one of these 30 yard passes over the top and you'll concede a clear cut chance.

-Look for Overlap and Work Ball into Box are IMO, initially, situational TIs. Look for Overlap asks your full backs to be more aggressive, and your wingers to be a bit less aggressive when on the ball. True, Everton has good full backs, but depending on the opposition, they will exploit your flanks as soon as they can. Work Ball into Box makes your players cross less often and shoot less often. You're already retaining possession, which reduces the amount of risky passes, so you should either give up on one or another.

-Not a big fan of the Be More Expressive TI. Can be useful when you're desperate and need anything to score a goal, but honestly I don't really see this TI as something relevant enough to be ticked on default.

Things to consider:

+ Un-tick Retain Possession and Work Ball into Box, and add Pass into Space. Will help you giving Wengerball and Mourinhoball teams headache.

+ Hit Early Crosses can be a really good TI. Over the time people is starting to realize that even Guardiola, the king of possession football, crosses a real, real lot. That's because sometimes crossing is the best way to unlock the opposition defence.

+ Play Higher Tempo is a risky but very rewarding TI. I don't recommend having it by default, but it's useful to prevent deep sides from recovering their entire shape when you're attacking.

There are multiple ways to make your tactic more efficient. It all depends what path you want to choose. Also keep in mind that having a Target Man makes your team play more direct by default, so be careful with that. If **** happens, just ask for more help and give more details about what's going on, it's hard to help if you don't tell us exactly where you're struggling.

As an Everton fan and somebody who plays with Everton very often. Thats great advice, concise, to the point and fun of useful information. Many thanks

For your latest 4-1-2-2-1 DM Wide...

1. HB - I think this role is great for allowing your fullbacks to get forward, but you have given your fullbacks conservative roles. I think you could give Coleman a more attacking role or change the HB to a DLP or something a little less conservative than HB.

2. CF(s) - I like Lukaku in the game, but I think he has some PPM that limit his creativity (which isn't the highest anyway). I think he works best as an AF(a), which isn't great for this formation. If Lukaku is your best player, you may want to pick a different formation to get the best out of him.

3. BPD - If Stones' vision, creativity, passing, composure, and decisions rank really high on your team then the BPD role makes sense, but I think some of your midfielders beat Stones in those categories. Therefore, I'd rather restrict Stones' creativity and gear my attack through other players. Of course, this is something you can monitor in each match by checking Stones' passes.

For your latest 4-2-3-1...

1. BBM & BWM - I would want more stable roles in the middle. DLP, CM(d), CM(s)...those are the roles I think work best when you have three attacking midfielders on attack duty ahead of these two (and roam from positions ticked).