This game is absolutely infuriating, please help

[marcocepeda00]

I'm doing a Mainz save right now and honestly the shooting in this game is beyond broken. I create at least 3-4 clear cut chances per game and I'll be lucky to score one goal. Take my first game of the season - I play Freiburg and create SEVEN clear cut chances and six half chances and draw 1-1. My players miss about 4 one on ones in this game and I have no idea what to do. It's clearly not my tactic - it creates loads of chances. In the ONE game that my opponents created more chances than me, I lost 7-1 to Schalke. They created 4 clear cut and 4 half chances. These are the sort of numbers my team are putting up every game, but I haven't scored more than 2 goals in a single game this season. Does anyone have any advice on how to get my team to actually score? I've left screenshots of the stats from some of my games as well as my tactic, any help would be appreciated.

[pheelf]

Try not to use match stats to analyze your games as they can be very misleading. Instead watch your games in detail and use your eyes to determine whether the chances you are creating are clear cut or not.

Looking at your tactic I can see why you are conceding so many goals given how open you are defensively. You also are lacking depth and patience in the build up of your attacks. I don't understand the style of play you want to adopt based on your tactic so I think you need to establish that first before anyone can offer any meaningful help.

If you are finding it difficult to analyze the games perhaps you can post some .pkms on here.

Best Regards

Edited December 4, 2019 by pheelf

[marcocepeda00]

11 minutes ago, pheelf said:

Try not to use match stats to analyze your games as they can be very misleading. Instead watch your games in detail and use your eyes to determine whether the chances you are creating are clear cut or not.

Looking at your tactic I can see why you are conceding so many goals given how open you are defensively. You also are lacking depth and patience in the build up of your attacks. I don't understand the style of play you want to adopt based on your tactic so I think you need to establish that first before anyone can offer any meaningful help.

If you are finding it difficult to analyze the games perhaps you can post some .pkms on here.

Best Regards

I watch extended highlights, and they're as clear cut as they can get. My players miss about 4-5 one on ones per game. It gets to the point where I'm surprised if they score a one on one because they miss 90% of them.

[marcocepeda00]

Just to emphasise my point, just played bottom of the league Koln at home, had NINE clear cut chances and drew 1-1. This is getting ridiculous.

Edited December 4, 2019 by marcocepeda00

[pheelf]

Can you post a .pkm of that 1. FC Koln game?

Are you sure you aren't expecting too much from them in the first season? Aren't Mainz a lower mid table side in real life?

I'm just trying to assess how feasible it is to be trying to play the way you are. Does Mainz have top quality fullbacks for the Bundesliga?

[marcocepeda00]

Just now, pheelf said:

Can you post a .pkm of that 1. FC Koln game?

Are you sure you aren't expecting too much from them in the first season? Aren't Mainz a lower mid table side in real life?

I'm just trying to assess how feasible it is to be trying to play the way you are. Does Mainz have top quality fullbacks for the Bundesliga?

Yeah, Aaron Martin is one of my best players, he is a great LB. Brosinski has also been one of my best performers. They're playing really good football, the only issue is that my strikers will miss around 4 one on ones every single game. Also, how do I post a .pkm?

[pheelf]

From CJ Ramson on the match engine bugs sub forum.

"What is a PKM? - This is a saved copy of a match that has already been played, allowing us to watch back with the same outcomes you've experienced. You can get a PKM by clicking the 'Save Match' button on the match screen. This will create a file in your 'matches' folder, which can be found in '\documents\sports interactive'. In almost all situations we're going to want to see a PKM illustrating the issue. There is the ability to add PKMs directly into forum posts thanks to the fancy new forums. Please use this if possible."

Also, Aaron Martin may be a great LB relative to your squad but how does he rate relative to the best left backs in the Bundesliga? He'll need to be exceptional along with your RB as they have sole responsibilty for all the width in your team.

Edited December 4, 2019 by pheelf

[FMunderachiever]

20 minutes ago, marcocepeda00 said:

Just to emphasise my point, just played bottom of the league Koln at home, had NINE clear cut chances and drew 1-1. This is getting ridiculous.

Ignore clear cut chances. Its broken.

You can concede or create one on ones all day and hardly any of them will result in goals. 

The POMO on fm is the shot from the edge of the box give or take 5 yards left or right of middle.

Work it to there and then have someone who can finish and hit long shots in that position to bury it

[marcocepeda00]

15 minutes ago, pheelf said:

From CJ Ramson on the match engine bugs sub forum.

"What is a PKM? - This is a saved copy of a match that has already been played, allowing us to watch back with the same outcomes you've experienced. You can get a PKM by clicking the 'Save Match' button on the match screen. This will create a file in your 'matches' folder, which can be found in '\documents\sports interactive'. In almost all situations we're going to want to see a PKM illustrating the issue. There is the ability to add PKMs directly into forum posts thanks to the fancy new forums. Please use this if possible."

Also, Aaron Martin may be a great LB relative to your squad but how does he rate relative to the best left backs in the Bundesliga? 

Okay, here you go.

I'm pretty sure Aaron Martin is one of the best LBs in the league, I'd say at least top 5

1.FSV Mainz 05 v 1. FC Köln.pkm

[Polski97]

Do some attacking training for 2 weeks. 

Try setting up individual training for your attackers to shooting and finishing. Also, Set their training positions to the ones you have in your tactic. 

How often are you changing player roles ?

What is your familiarity with the tactic. 

Also, can you show us the attributes for your players. 

[pheelf]

I've had a look at that match and you did create a number of one on ones where the player should have done better but equally there were a number of one on ones from awkward angles (your goal came from such a situation) or where there were defenders in attendance adding pressure. A draw is probably a fair result given the balance of the game as the opposition created some great chances also and should have perhaps scored more goals. You did create some good chances late on to win it but by then your players were likely tired, frustrated and lacking in composure. Does Awoniyi have the PPM of 'Likes to beat offside trap'? He was caught offside repeatedly in this game.

A few things I spotted,

- The high press you adopted wasn't effective as 1. FC Koln were easily able to play out from the back and once they beat your front 3 you were gifting their central midfielders acres of space to operate in. Against a better pair and you would have been punished for that (like against Schalke 04). Also, once they beat your front three you were left short handed in defence as none of them came back to help defend meaning you were defending with 7 players for the majority of the game which against better teams is going to cause you problems. That's why I said your fullbacks have to be exceptional players as they aren't going to get any help to defend the flanks.

- You only have one real consistent route to goal, long balls over the top for your front 3 to chase. It was effective to an extent against 1. FC Koln as they were playing a fairly high defensive line but against teams which sit deeper which will happen if you start to improve then I think you are going to need to create more variety to your attacks. Your main way of attacking is dependent on whether the opponent gives you space in behind their defensive line which isn't a good idea in the long term.

- Your play in the final third was really congested and your players found it very difficult to find space. You need more depth to your attacks to draw defenders out of position and more patience to allow your fullbacks to get up the pitch and create the width.

My advice would be to add a bit more patience to your attacking play and get more players involved in the transition phase especially in your front 3 who seem to be operating as a completely independent block from the rest of your team. The long ball game is fine if that is how you want to play but given some of your TIs I'm not convinced that's what you want. You need to settle on a tactical style and build around that.

Hopefully, that has been of help.

All the best

Edited December 4, 2019 by pheelf

[Experienced Defender]

1 hour ago, pheelf said:

Looking at your tactic I can see why you are conceding so many goals given how open you are defensively.

 

 

1 hour ago, pheelf said:

You also are lacking depth and patience in the build up of your attacks. I don't understand the style of play you want to adopt based on your tactic so I think you need to establish that first before anyone can offer any meaningful help

 

 

2 hours ago, marcocepeda00 said:

In addition to what @pheelf pointed out (absolutely spot on), don't you think that your tactic is a bit too aggressive and adventurous for a team of Mainz' reputation? 

Btw, I also use the 442 narrow diamond formation with Man Utd, but my tactic looks entirely different (both in terms of roles/duties and instructions). 

[Zanman777]

5 hours ago, pheelf said:

From CJ Ramson on the match engine bugs sub forum.

"What is a PKM? - This is a saved copy of a match that has already been played, allowing us to watch back with the same outcomes you've experienced. You can get a PKM by clicking the 'Save Match' button on the match screen. This will create a file in your 'matches' folder, which can be found in '\documents\sports interactive'. In almost all situations we're going to want to see a PKM illustrating the issue. There is the ability to add PKMs directly into forum posts thanks to the fancy new forums. Please use this if possible."

Also, Aaron Martin may be a great LB relative to your squad but how does he rate relative to the best left backs in the Bundesliga? He'll need to be exceptional along with your RB as they have sole responsibilty for all the width in your team.

Does a PKM save the tactical changes made by the player? (inlcuding shouts)

[jc577]

I’m going to disagree with the general consensus on this thread; personally I don’t think there’s much wrong with your tactic at all. Arguably it could be toned down a tad, with the removal of the overlaps (considering you’re using two CWBs) and lowering the tempo and/or more direct passing. However, your aim is clearly to play direct football which is perfectly fine, and you want to generate these 1v1 opportunities for your strikers, but there is a known ME issue with these types of opportunities. Not all CCCs are all that clear, but if you’ve created 9 of them I’m sure at least 3/4 should be buried. Conversion rates for these types of chances are generally off, and that’s affecting your tactic. 

[JEinchy]

Putting aside the issue of 1v1 conversion rates in this ME, I feel it's worth pointing out the other factors which influence chance conversion besides tactics.

First, you've got contextual factors. Is your striker under pressure when he takes the shot? Does he have good composure and finishing ability? Is there a PPM effecting how he finishes (Rounds Keeper, Shoots With Power, Places Shots, etc.)? From what angle is he shooting? Not all 1v1s are equal. Most situations actually favour the goalkeeper rather than the striker.

Then, you've got personal factors. How motivated is the striker? How confident is he? If he's missed a few chances, he might be lacking a bit of belief in front of goal, which will be reflected in his morale and body language. There's also pressure, which can come from the importance of the match and how you've spoken to him during team talks. This is where knowing how your players tick really comes in handy. Some players react well to criticism and the assertive/aggressive tones, but others may need more encouragement. I've found being sympathetic after games where the ball just won't go in to be effective in keeping morale high in the squad without putting too much pressure on them for the next game. Equally, sometimes saying nothing can be good, too. 

Finally, there's training. Practising attacking movement before game can grant a small boost in all related attributes, which may help get at least one of those chances in the net. 

I get the frustration and the temptation to blame it on the ME, but note that you lost a game 7-1 to a team that "only" made 4 CCCs. If the AI can do it, you should be able to as well. If 1v1s aren't going it for you, I suggest looking at ways to create other types of chances. In reality, goals are more commonly scored from crosses and cut-backs and the diamond formation can facilitate that with its emphasis on the attacking full-backs. I think changing up your striker roles could help, too. The AF and PFa are very similar, so could be making the same type of movement (presumably, in behind opposition back lines to feed off a long ball), which doesn't help you create a variety of goalscoring chances.

Edited December 4, 2019 by JEinchy

[sporadicsmiles]

Looking at your match, I can break your chances down as following. 

Player 33 time 14 mins: This not a 1V1, there are defenders pressuring. The chance is wide, the keeper positions himself well to cover the goal.

Player 33 time 76 mins. The player is again wide, the keeper again positions himself well. He hits a first time shot.

Player 33 time 72 mins. This is clearly not a 1v1, since there is a defender making the block. This is just very good defending.

Player 33 time 90. This one came from a cross, it is just a poor finish.

Player 14 time 48. This is a 1v1, but it is also excellent goalkeeping. Look how he quickly rushes off his line to totally narrow all the angles. I assume Koln use a sweeper keeper based on this. 

Player 29 time 74. The player is under pressure from defenders, the keeper closes the angles very well again.

Player 7 time 46. This is a legitimately bad miss. 

Player 7 time 47. This is another example of good goalkeeping. It was out wide which makes the angles easier for the keeper. 

Player 33 time 86. This is another time your players are under pressure, and the keeper makes another good save.

I would say you are creating chances well, but they are not all that easy. Most of them are coming from relatively wide, and your players are often under pressure. In fact you created zero 1v1s from central areas. They almost exclusively come from wide of the goal (which is much harder to score from because the keeper has less angle to defend) or from outside/the edge of the box. In this instance the keeper also played very nicely, which makes sense since Horn is a good keeper. Watch how he is decisive in closing players down when they get through on goal. He always narrows the angles, making it very hard to get the ball past him. 

In this instance, I would also look to the players. Awoniyi has composure 11 finishing 12. Burkardt has composure 12  finishing 14. Quaison has composure 10 finishing 10. Kunde has composure 10 finishing 12. I think that is all the players who missed chances in this game (I closed it to go look at them in my save). These are bang average, and probably a bit poor for the level you are at. You are creating a bunch of chances for a bunch of not very good strikers. And they are unable to take advantage of it. People will often jump directly to tactics when trying to find a problem. I simply think your strikers are not good enough. Against good keepers I would expect them to miss. A lot. I mean, you could let me run and try to score on de Gea all day long without any defenders, and I would be lucky to score 1 in 100. The number one priority I would have for you is to sign a striker who has composure and finishing 15+ (if you can do that with Mainz, if not get the highest average for these two attributes you can). Then focus on putting him into the position that gets the most chances. And take care to note which foot his shoots with, to get him on the correct side of the attack. I would wager you start scoring a lot more. 

In terms of your tactic, it clearly works in creating chances. It absolutely overloads the crap out defences, and the AI is not the best at noticing and responding to this. As a user, I would be playing 3 at the back with a low line almost immediately here, and hitting you on the break. The AI does not think so advanced though. So honestly if you are happy with the attacking, do not change anything. As I said, I think players are at the heart of your problem here. I think this tactic will struggle a lot more if you manage to progress with Mainz and teams sit deeper against you, but you can deal with that as and when it happens. 

The only advice I would give  is to find an alternative way of playing when in the lead and wanting to see it out. This tactic is extremely vulnerable to any team who can sit deeper (or counter press hard) and hit you on the break. That, I assume, is what happened against Schalke. You will regularly have 6 players very high up the pitch, and counter press prevents them getting back into position. Direct or fast sides will exploit that space all day. No point to give it them when you are in the lead either. One thing could be to stop counter pressing when you have the lead. Let your players get back into positions and use PIs to encourage your strikers and AMC to press (your BBM if you really want as well). Using this as a default is too aggressive in situations where you need to defend. 

I hope that helps somewhat. 

[marcocepeda00]

1 hour ago, sporadicsmiles said:

Looking at your match, I can break your chances down as following. 

Player 33 time 14 mins: This not a 1V1, there are defenders pressuring. The chance is wide, the keeper positions himself well to cover the goal.

Player 33 time 76 mins. The player is again wide, the keeper again positions himself well. He hits a first time shot.

Player 33 time 72 mins. This is clearly not a 1v1, since there is a defender making the block. This is just very good defending.

Player 33 time 90. This one came from a cross, it is just a poor finish.

Player 14 time 48. This is a 1v1, but it is also excellent goalkeeping. Look how he quickly rushes off his line to totally narrow all the angles. I assume Koln use a sweeper keeper based on this. 

Player 29 time 74. The player is under pressure from defenders, the keeper closes the angles very well again.

Player 7 time 46. This is a legitimately bad miss. 

Player 7 time 47. This is another example of good goalkeeping. It was out wide which makes the angles easier for the keeper. 

Player 33 time 86. This is another time your players are under pressure, and the keeper makes another good save.

I would say you are creating chances well, but they are not all that easy. Most of them are coming from relatively wide, and your players are often under pressure. In fact you created zero 1v1s from central areas. They almost exclusively come from wide of the goal (which is much harder to score from because the keeper has less angle to defend) or from outside/the edge of the box. In this instance the keeper also played very nicely, which makes sense since Horn is a good keeper. Watch how he is decisive in closing players down when they get through on goal. He always narrows the angles, making it very hard to get the ball past him. 

In this instance, I would also look to the players. Awoniyi has composure 11 finishing 12. Burkardt has composure 12  finishing 14. Quaison has composure 10 finishing 10. Kunde has composure 10 finishing 12. I think that is all the players who missed chances in this game (I closed it to go look at them in my save). These are bang average, and probably a bit poor for the level you are at. You are creating a bunch of chances for a bunch of not very good strikers. And they are unable to take advantage of it. People will often jump directly to tactics when trying to find a problem. I simply think your strikers are not good enough. Against good keepers I would expect them to miss. A lot. I mean, you could let me run and try to score on de Gea all day long without any defenders, and I would be lucky to score 1 in 100. The number one priority I would have for you is to sign a striker who has composure and finishing 15+ (if you can do that with Mainz, if not get the highest average for these two attributes you can). Then focus on putting him into the position that gets the most chances. And take care to note which foot his shoots with, to get him on the correct side of the attack. I would wager you start scoring a lot more. 

In terms of your tactic, it clearly works in creating chances. It absolutely overloads the crap out defences, and the AI is not the best at noticing and responding to this. As a user, I would be playing 3 at the back with a low line almost immediately here, and hitting you on the break. The AI does not think so advanced though. So honestly if you are happy with the attacking, do not change anything. As I said, I think players are at the heart of your problem here. I think this tactic will struggle a lot more if you manage to progress with Mainz and teams sit deeper against you, but you can deal with that as and when it happens. 

The only advice I would give  is to find an alternative way of playing when in the lead and wanting to see it out. This tactic is extremely vulnerable to any team who can sit deeper (or counter press hard) and hit you on the break. That, I assume, is what happened against Schalke. You will regularly have 6 players very high up the pitch, and counter press prevents them getting back into position. Direct or fast sides will exploit that space all day. No point to give it them when you are in the lead either. One thing could be to stop counter pressing when you have the lead. Let your players get back into positions and use PIs to encourage your strikers and AMC to press (your BBM if you really want as well). Using this as a default is too aggressive in situations where you need to defend. 

I hope that helps somewhat. 

Thanks for your reply, I agree that my strikers aren't good enough, but it's my first season where I got given £2 million to spend so there's not a lot I can do about that. As well as that, I have Mateta injured and he's a much better striker than Burkardt and Awoniyi. For me, just putting the tactic on cautious works quite well - I beat Bayern 1-0 away and drew 3-3 with Leipzig away. However, ironically in those games my players were clinical and if they had the same chance conversion in my other games I would've won by 5/6 goals. In the second season a good striker is definitely my priority, but for now I'm gonna have to make do with what I have.

In terms of setting up an alternative tactic do you have any other ideas because as I said, simply switching to cautious seems to be doing the trick for me. What formations/roles do you recommend? I'm thinking of trying a 5-3-2, because my wing backs are the best players on my team so I really wanna exploit that. Thanks again for your advice

[marcocepeda00]

2 hours ago, jc577 said:

I’m going to disagree with the general consensus on this thread; personally I don’t think there’s much wrong with your tactic at all. Arguably it could be toned down a tad, with the removal of the overlaps (considering you’re using two CWBs) and lowering the tempo and/or more direct passing. However, your aim is clearly to play direct football which is perfectly fine, and you want to generate these 1v1 opportunities for your strikers, but there is a known ME issue with these types of opportunities. Not all CCCs are all that clear, but if you’ve created 9 of them I’m sure at least 3/4 should be buried. Conversion rates for these types of chances are generally off, and that’s affecting your tactic. 

Yeah, the team are playing pretty much exactly how I want them to, direct attacking football. The most frustrating thing is that the tactic works, and I'm not sure if it's because of the match engine, or my players, or both. Do you have any advice for how to alternatively create chances that aren't 1v1s? They're clearly not very efficient so there's no point in continuing to create these types of chances, or at least until I get any better strikers.

[marcocepeda00]

1 hour ago, JEinchy said:

Putting aside the issue of 1v1 conversion rates in this ME, I feel it's worth pointing out the other factors which influence chance conversion besides tactics.

First, you've got contextual factors. Is your striker under pressure when he takes the shot? Does he have good composure and finishing ability? Is there a PPM effecting how he finishes (Rounds Keeper, Shoots With Power, Places Shots, etc.)? From what angle is he shooting? Not all 1v1s are equal. Most situations actually favour the goalkeeper rather than the striker.

Then, you've got personal factors. How motivated is the striker? How confident is he? If he's missed a few chances, he might be lacking a bit of belief in front of goal, which will be reflected in his morale and body language. There's also pressure, which can come from the importance of the match and how you've spoken to him during team talks. This is where knowing how your players tick really comes in handy. Some players react well to criticism and the assertive/aggressive tones, but others may need more encouragement. I've found being sympathetic after games where the ball just won't go in to be effective in keeping morale high in the squad without putting too much pressure on them for the next game. Equally, sometimes saying nothing can be good, too. 

Finally, there's training. Practising attacking movement before game can grant a small boost in all related attributes, which may help get at least one of those chances in the net. 

I get the frustration and the temptation to blame it on the ME, but note that you lost a game 7-1 to a team that "only" made 4 CCCs. If the AI can do it, you should be able to as well. If 1v1s aren't going it for you, I suggest looking at ways to create other types of chances. In reality, goals are more commonly scored from crosses and cut-backs and the diamond formation can facilitate that with its emphasis on the attacking full-backs. I think changing up your striker roles could help, too. The AF and PFa are very similar, so could be making the same type of movement (presumably, in behind opposition back lines to feed off a long ball), which doesn't help you create a variety of goalscoring chances.

Thankd for your reply. I've been training attacking for the last 2-3 weeks with around 3 chance conversion sessions per week and they don't seem to be doing much. Also, what finishing trait do you recommend? Personally I would try to train my strikers to place shots but I'm not sure which PPM is most effective for finishing. Also, what striker roles do you recommend? Striker roles are always the hardest for me to get right. Ideally I'd like to keep a PF, should I switch him to support instead? Also I have Mateta back from injury who is a great finisher and a natural poacher, and I'm tempted to go with PF(s)-P(a) as a partnership. Also, would you recommend I change the SS(a) to something else, like an AM(s) or AP(s)? Thanks for your help.

[sporadicsmiles]

2 hours ago, marcocepeda00 said:

Thanks for your reply, I agree that my strikers aren't good enough, but it's my first season where I got given £2 million to spend so there's not a lot I can do about that. As well as that, I have Mateta injured and he's a much better striker than Burkardt and Awoniyi.

It is a problem of smaller teams, and one they face in real life as much as in the game. You can create chances, but if your strikers are not good enough to finish them then you will struggle. It is why small teams in real life will often rely on one very good striker to get their goals. Think Pukki at Norwich this season. He is good enough to be clinical with the chances that come his way. Then think of teams like Huddersfield (my team actually). They created chances but their strikers would miss. It is something you kinda have to accept to some degree. The positives you should take is the number of chances you create. With a good striker, you will beat a lot of sides. What are the expectations of Mainz at the start of the season, and how well are you doing relative to that? Smaller sides take some time to build up, and as long as you achieve more than expected, you are doing well. 

 

2 hours ago, marcocepeda00 said:

. For me, just putting the tactic on cautious works quite well

If it works, stick with that. From the match I watched of yours, you were not terribly troubled defensively. Not an endless procession of long balls catching you on the break. If you have something you feels works, stick to it. Asking people here to give you tactics will give you a different reply based on how everyone plays their own game. And sometimes it is not all that helpful. In this case, I could see several things about your tactic I would change, but that is based on how I prefer to play. From what I saw, this tactic is good for overloading teams, and to be fair you will lose to big sides away most times as a small team no matter how you play. 

2 hours ago, marcocepeda00 said:

However, ironically in those games my players were clinical and if they had the same chance conversion in my other games I would've won by 5/6 goals.

I suspect they get better chances against these sides. Teams who are more attacking leave you more space. And with the way your tactic gets players forward to overload a defence, it should create good chances when it gets the chance. By that, I mean chances where there is less defender pressure  - which means more time for your players with low composure to compose themselves for a good shot. Also, you may get more space behind the defence, allowing your strikers to attack more centrally, which is always more dangerous for 1v1 chances. You could even try to play like this in more matches, and see if you win more often. With the aim to finish as high in the league as possible and then upgrade your striker. Then you can be more attacking and hopefully your new striker scores more of his chances. 

Again, I understand how frustrating this would be. I know I would be equally annoyed by this. But as long as you are doing better than expected, you are doing well.I always find there is something beautiful in evolving a squad to play how I want and rise up the table over several seasons. You clearly have a desired style of play, and it seems to work. The next step is to just stick through the frustration and work on the squad building. Identify players who you think can improve your side early, and work out which you can sign. Be brutal with your current squad, and build them over time. This is a factor that is often overlooked or brushed over on this particular forum, but it is as important as the tactics. I guess this may not be the answer you were looking for, as it is not an immediate fix. But it is how I would proceed if I were playing your save. And of course, if you think there is a legitimate problem with the finishing, create a thread in the bug section and upload as many examples as you can. 

[bowieinspace]

Putting chance creation to one side here for a second as I feel like the CCC stat is misleading you...

Imagine if in real life a lower mid table team played direct, attacking football from a high defensive line/high press combined with a counter press, with 3 forwards who didn't defend and wing backs who were more inclined to attack than defend, for me there's one realistic outcome...conceding a shed load of goals, especially against a team that exploits the space you give them. 

Just look at your recent match tactical analysis in your screenshot there:

Negatives

Opposition final third to shot entries - e.g. you are pressing high etc, but when the opposition goes forward they are extremely effective because your defensive set up is very weak
Opposition touches in penalty area - When they are going forward they are easily breaking through your defensive unit and accessing dangerous positions

Seems to me like you're getting caught up with CCC and missed chances, but you're asking the team to play a tactic that is going to get exploited as they likely aren't good enough to cover it's defensive short comings. You can definitely play direct, attacking football with a lower mid table team, but you need to do that from a position of defensive stability, otherwise it's a touch suicidal.