Tactical Advice for lower team

[Craxx]

Hi,

I am playing FM91 and managing Dag & Red in the sky bet league 2(they just got promoted in 2026 and im their newly appointed manger). When i first came in, the club was "empty". There's only 3 manageable players (the rest are all greyed and no backroom staff too) and i manage to form a team with some backroom staffs. We are doing good in the friendlies and 3-5 early season games, now we are starting to lose it. I've literally tried everything (reading online tactics/youtube and stuff). And most of the tactics and advices posted online is all about managing a "sure win, good players,good team with good financial strength" who just needed a little tweaks/who are expected to finish top every year which i think a can also manage a good run if given one. So , im seeking advice for a lower team tactical approach.. 

p/s: ive tried save and load for a couple of times trying different tactics but .......

Have a look at my screen shot and maybe some of the pros here can give a little advice... 

 

[vara]

Hi mate

one of the mods will likely move this over to the Tactics section for you, there are plenty of members over there with a wealth of knowledge to help you out.

[yolixeya]

10 hours ago, Craxx said:

I am playing FM91 and managing Dag & Red in the sky bet league 2(they just got promoted in 2026 and im their newly appointed manger). When i first came in, the club was "empty". There's only 3 manageable players (the rest are all greyed and no backroom staff too) and i manage to form a team with some backroom staffs. We are doing good in the friendlies and 3-5 early season games, now we are starting to lose it.

I see your club got promoted si it is likely you are relegation candidate. Maybe you just expect too much. Are you able te get some points here and there? Did you bring any new players and try to strengthen your team?

I would remove counter-press instruction from your TI. Since you are playing with the bottom heavy formation it makes more sense that you want to keep your shape instead of going like flies all over the place a soon as you lose ball and compromising shape.

 

[Experienced Defender]

18 hours ago, Craxx said:

Okay, here are some (hopefully helpful) tips from me:

- The Prevent short GKD instruction does not make much sense and is basically ineffective when you have less than 3 players in the 2 most advanced strata (and you have only 1)

- Counter-press could well prove a bit overambitious for a team of such a relatively low quality and reputation

- Poacher is a fairly static role and may consequently struggle without proper and closer support

Now a questions for you:

What style of football are you looking to achieve with this tactic? Lower line of engagement is essentially associated with defensive styles. But they can be of different types (for example, counter-attacking football and catenaccio are both defensive styles of play, but are notably different from each other). 

[Craxx]

3 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

Okay, here are some (hopefully helpful) tips from me:

- The Prevent short GKD instruction does not make much sense and is basically ineffective when you have less than 3 players in the 2 most advanced strata (and you have only 1)

- Counter-press could well prove a bit overambitious for a team of such a relatively low quality and reputation

- Poacher is a fairly static role and may consequently struggle without proper and closer support

Now a questions for you:

What style of football are you looking to achieve with this tactic? Lower line of engagement is essentially associated with defensive styles. But they can be of different types (for example, counter-attacking football and catenaccio are both defensive styles of play, but are notably different from each other). 

Hi, 

Thanks. I am actually experimenting with different tactics and formation. This one is I think the best for us as we manage to get some draws and win. I was expecting to play defensive, counter attacking football, but somehow we conceded at least a goal in every game even with a very defensive approach. 

[Craxx]

11 hours ago, yolixeya said:

I see your club got promoted si it is likely you are relegation candidate. Maybe you just expect too much. Are you able te get some points here and there? Did you bring any new players and try to strengthen your team?

I would remove counter-press instruction from your TI. Since you are playing with the bottom heavy formation it makes more sense that you want to keep your shape instead of going like flies all over the place a soon as you lose ball and compromising shape.

 

Yes.. We are a relegation candidate. And yes, as of now we did get some points here and there. Getting new players is hard with out financial status 😂. And most players does not want to come to us. "I think moving to a club such as yours is not a good career move" 😂

I only manage to bring some unattached players and some young ones. I'll try to stay in the mid table and post again soon. 

[JDhamm]

Tbh, I wouldn't necessarily say Counter-Press is too risky for weaker teams, especially in a formation like 4-1-4-1, with plenty of midfielders and cover in each position. In theory, yes, you don't see underdogs chasing teams around the pitch, but in FM terms you're doing more harm than good with sitting back if your team is not good enough. I would leave pressing urgency on default, but use Counter-Press, which should hassle teams just enough so they can't build up comfortably. Besides that, as we know, pressing in FM simply doesn't have as many drawbacks as it does in real life, so you're pretty much shooting yourself in the foot not using it.

The only case where I'd advise against Counter-Press, would be in adventurous formations like 4-2-4 or 4-2-3-1. There, you don't want your lone CMs stepping up and exposing themselves too soon, since they have no cover behind them, but in a 4-1-4-1 your positions are well covered, should a player get beat during pressing.

[Craxx]

3 hours ago, JDhamm said:

Tbh, I wouldn't necessarily say Counter-Press is too risky for weaker teams, especially in a formation like 4-1-4-1, with plenty of midfielders and cover in each position. In theory, yes, you don't see underdogs chasing teams around the pitch, but in FM terms you're doing more harm than good with sitting back if your team is not good enough. I would leave pressing urgency on default, but use Counter-Press, which should hassle teams just enough so they can't build up comfortably. Besides that, as we know, pressing in FM simply doesn't have as many drawbacks as it does in real life, so you're pretty much shooting yourself in the foot not using it.

The only case where I'd advise against Counter-Press, would be in adventurous formations like 4-2-4 or 4-2-3-1. There, you don't want your lone CMs stepping up and exposing themselves too soon, since they have no cover behind them, but in a 4-1-4-1 your positions are well covered, should a player get beat during pressing.

Thanks.. So what is your suggestion? Should I leave the counter press on? As of now, I'm already 8 games without a win.. What a pathetic team I would say.. 😂

I managed Nigeria International squad before I got this job. And we won the African Cup. I tried to implement the same tactic(I know it wouldn't go well but I tried anyway) and it doesn't work.