Zonal Marking = Ignore opposition striker?

[Porthos]

I'm Man Utd. I was playing with a back 4 of Chiellini - Vidic - Ramos - Rafael. At home to West Ham. Just lost 5-4. The entire game, I was in their area, so Vidic and Ramos were pushed up around the half way line. Ismael Bangoura of West Ham, stands pretty much on the center circle, and is completely ignored by both center backs. They are at least 20 feet away from him. 1 looped long ball (in which he reacts about 3 seconds faster than my CB's), and he's clean through, where he proceeds to score 5 goals past No-Arms-Buffon.

Why don't the CB's stand goalside of him, or even remotely close? Which part of the tactics tell my CB's to ignore the striker?

[SFraser]

The short answer is the part of your tactics where you played Ramos as a Centreback in a high D-Line against a pacey forward. Anticipation 13, Concentration 13, Positioning 15 are nightmare attributes for a CB playing in that system. It wouldn't matter what marking system you employed, Ramos would be in danger of being caught out by every long punt upfield.

If you are going to play a high D-Line you need defenders that can read the game, that keep their concentration, and have good positioning. This is a complete must because you cannot afford to be caught out even if you have pace. Chiellini would be an infinitely better choice alongside Vidic even though neither player has much pace. The reason for this is because Chiellini will rarely be caught out and has the attributes to effectively employ the off-side trap.

[phnompenhandy]

Why don't you put a man-marker on him?

[barry from eastenders]

its your tactic

[Zebedee77]

Switch the centre-backs to ingame Man-Marking will help cure this too if you're willing to alter the tactics. It will help mask the deficiencies in your current centre-back pairing. Expect the odd blooper though playing Ramos there against the level of opposition player Manchester United will regularly face.

[Porthos]

The short answer is the part of your tactics where you played Ramos as a Centreback in a high D-Line against a pacey forward. Anticipation 13, Concentration 13, Positioning 15 are nightmare attributes for a CB playing in that system. It wouldn't matter what marking system you employed, Ramos would be in danger of being caught out by every long punt upfield.

If you are going to play a high D-Line you need defenders that can read the game, that keep their concentration, and have good positioning. This is a complete must because you cannot afford to be caught out even if you have pace. Chiellini would be an infinitely better choice alongside Vidic even though neither player has much pace. The reason for this is because Chiellini will rarely be caught out and has the attributes to effectively employ the off-side trap.

I had some issues with injuries at the left back spot, and Chiellini was my only option. He'd be at CB every other time. I was at home to West Ham after winning the title for the past 2 years, and West Ham never breaking top 10. Figured even a Youth Player could have done the job with a clean sheet, let alone conceding 5.

I haven't kept a clean sheet the whole season, with a back 5 of Evra, Chiellini, Vidic, Ramos, Buffon. With pace being an issue, do you think playing deep would be far more effective?

When looking at the replays, it seems Vidic was far more of the problem than Ramos.

Why don't you put a man-marker on him?

I originally had man marking, but that resulted in my team being completely out-played by passes around them. I changed to Zonal and that stopped.