Drastic performance drop of the whole team

[Zardoz]

New saison, new luck ... I thought.

Team got 4 new players and some dead wood had to go.  My team was rated no 12 in the PL and in the last saison I reached no 6. Preparation was good leading to an 1:1 against Barcelona in Camp Nou and a 0:2 victory against Athletico Madrid i Madrid as the highlights. Then the new saison started with a weaker opponent in the beginning (i. e. newly promoted Fulham) abroad.

It was a 0:3 victory and the key was extraordinary good passing and forwards (finally) starting in the right moment to the channels. Never saw that before (offisdes, offsides ... I think you know that). Then at home against Tottenham who were no 14 the last saison, sacked their manager and invested a lot of money , especially 60 Mio € in a young striker from Manchester United (who I had leased in the last saison and did not wanted that in this saison because Manchester wanted an extraordinary high payment). So ... it was clear that Tottenham would still be a BIG SIX club.

We lost 0:1. The result is not extraordinary but the way to that result. The goal was a penalty caused by a younger CD who did that regularly  but seemed to have that craved out in the last saison. Even this was not so extraordinary. The main cause was extreme bad passing and shooting. To short, not precise enough, directly ínto an opposite player a couple metres away. I know that if morale is low. But morale was dark green (superb and very good). The whole team was suddenly awfull.

Then away against also newly promoted Huddesfield. 1: 1 and again very bad passing and shooting.

Has anyone an explanation for that sudden decrease?

There was no complacency visiIble for any player. I do not think that "its your tactics" is the key. In the first match I used a 41221 which is trained since several years and in the last 2 matches a 532 which is trained even longer.  I use the 532 in about 80 % of all the matches.I have the impression that there was an "overall dice-roll" saying "We decrease now the capabilities of the team 2 steps down to make it more exciting".

Edited October 18, 2019 by Zardoz

[HUNT3R]

8 minutes ago, Zardoz said:

I have the impression that there was an "overall dice-roll" saying "We decrease now the capabilities of the team 2 steps down to make it more exciting".

This doesn't happen. There are a few possible reasons.

1 - you brought in 4 players and let some go. How is the team cohesion / squad gelling? You may have a better squad, but there could be language or just general on-field understanding/communication issues.

2 - with new players coming in, how is the tactical familiarity looking? Again, with the new faces (and some older faces leaving) there could be players not quite yet having a decent amount of familiarity with the system, causing misplaced passes etc due to timing issues.

3 - You did better than expected last year. Teams may have adjusted how attacking or defensive you are. I don't think this is much of a reason in your case though.

4 - you had success with the 41221 in the first match, but changed to the 532 for the next 2 and had less success. Maybe that's part of the issue? The new players don't quite fit the 532? Or it's less familiar? Or it's just a poorer tactic for your situation?

 

Just a few points to think about. Apart from those, decisions made during matches can also win or lose matches for you.

Another thought - That young player who gave away the penalty... what was his Body Language like? Was he nervous against the top 6 team that it Tottenham? Is he the type of player that crumbles under pressure? Is he inconsistent? Team selection is an often overlooked, but important part of a football match and setup.

[Svenc]

As that's a spell of a couple Matches, may I also bring up this as a possible "cause" (which may be relevant in particular as to FM's "highlight watching" -- e.g. any highlight inevitably may include an error of Kinds, as else the game wouldn't have flagged that sequence in particular out of the many in a match a highlight). 

https://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2011/09/cognitive-biases-in-football.html
 

Quote

There's always a chance that a team will suffer from bad luck: its opponents' finishing will be unusually brilliant; refs and linesmen will make bad decisions* against it; or usually good players will make bad errors. These random events will sometimes bunch together - that's the nature of randomness. If they come in one game, the team will get a hiding. If they come over a few successive games, it could suffer a losing streak.
But the pundits won't appreciate this. Instead, we'll hear about the club losing form, or being in crisis or decline. But in fact, what might have happened is just an "accident."

That said, there for sure is a lot of "dice rolling". However, not to that extent. I personally imagine every shot/Chance as a dice roll, to start with. With some having significantly better odds than others; but on any given match day in particular, you may lose to 3 direct free kicks against the odds (**** happens -- but then won't continue… that is if it is just ****). In Football, the actual **** may last a good while longer, and even CR7 barely find the back of the net for 5 months despite dozens attempts, like in the 2017/2018 Madrid season (upon which he would start firing again).

 

Edited October 18, 2019 by Svenc

[Zardoz]

The younger player is not the issue. He did that before, so I accept that it happened again.

There are some points you mentioned which can give an explanation. A defender is new from Romania and one forward from Spain. I think that one of them speaks English but the language could be an issue.  Against Huddersfield some players were nervous, against Tottenham I am not sure. Maybe, my Ferguson-like slamming after Tottenham (and Huddersfield) was not a good idea .

Integrating new players can be an explanation but do not explain the good game against again Fulham. But ok .... It can be the other way around: The match against Fulham is the pink elephant and the other 2 matches the real performance.

 

Edited October 18, 2019 by Zardoz

[Zardoz]

I look the matches in the comprehemsive mode. So think that I have an impression to rely on whether the passing was good or not.

The perfect moves into the channels could be luck as that were 2 goals and that is, of course, not a reliable basis for a statement. The main reason for my impression is that my team is normally very good in passing because it is my instrument to keep the ball in my team, attacks slowly and to avoid counterattacks.

 

[Johnny Ace]

If you weren't happy with your team's passing, have a look through the player stats  & see who were the main culprits, was it one player, a few, the whole team? Pick out any on low pass completion %'s & hawk them. Are they being hassled, being given no time on the ball? Do they have options? Are they being too adventurous?   Use the analysis tool, watch any terrible passes from different camera angles to give you different perspectives

Go back & watch the Fulham highlights were it did work, compare the player stats to the Spurs game 

[Zardoz]

vor 23 Minuten schrieb Johnny Ace:

If you weren't happy with your team's passing, have a look through the player stats  & see who were the main culprits, was it one player, a few, the whole team? Pick out any on low pass completion %'s & hawk them. Are they being hassled, being given no time on the ball? Do they have options? Are they being too adventurous?   Use the analysis tool, watch any terrible passes from different camera angles to give you different perspectives

Go back & watch the Fulham highlights were it did work, compare the player stats to the Spurs game 

Yes ... good idea

[Svenc]

21 minutes ago, Zardoz said:

I look the matches in the comprehemsive mode. So think that I have an impression to rely on whether the passing was good or not.

Then for whichever reason your side may not have had as much space. Or they were having a poor day. I was just Talking personal experience likewise, as a "bad run of results" (we're Talking 2 Matches here, Right?) doesn't necessarily need to be linked to a drastic drop in Performance at all. Unless you are heads and shoulders above the AI's tactical decision making (or would be using an "exploit tactic"), a lot of Matches on FM can be Pretty close Affairs. Even the run of Goals in a match can make a big difference, and there is a (reasonable) variance in that. One match you go in front which Forces the AI out. You could reload that exact same match and never Change a thing, and have a totally different dynamic as the AI may take the lead this time (and even if by luck) and shuts up shop. It's for you to work out what's what.

 

Edited October 18, 2019 by Svenc