Spurs - Season 3, Tactical help required!

[Paul Barton]

So, season 3 with Spurs - finding the going a little tough to say the least! First season finished 2nd & last season was 6th. Just lacking any real consistency. Been a little better this season with a few tactical tweaks. Played 3 and got 7 points - although it's been an easy start. I seem to be creating a fair few chances & have decent XG stats this season although i'm not convinced i'm creating great chances. I changed to "work ball into box" to try and remain more patient. It's kind of worked - but still feel as though i should have scored more goals thus far against 3 of the poorer sides in the league. Perhaps if you can take a little look at things and let me know areas that you think may need tweaking?

 

[Paul Barton]

Just to add, i've actually switched Regulion & Ordiozolas roles & removed the underlap. I had this on as previously was playing Sancho on the right as a winger. 

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Paul Barton said:

So, season 3 with Spurs - finding the going a little tough to say the least! First season finished 2nd & last season was 6th. Just lacking any real consistency. Been a little better this season with a few tactical tweaks. Played 3 and got 7 points - although it's been an easy start. I seem to be creating a fair few chances & have decent XG stats this season although i'm not convinced i'm creating great chances. I changed to "work ball into box" to try and remain more patient. It's kind of worked - but still feel as though i should have scored more goals thus far against 3 of the poorer sides in the league. Perhaps if you can take a little look at things and let me know areas that you think may need tweaking?

Is that you Jose? 

Glad you switched the FB roles as that right side looked vulnerable set up like that. I personally would still maybe would turn Kessie in to a Carrilero to provide some added help on the flanks defensively when you do go forward.

With Kessie he has those excellent all round attributes and you think you might be wasting him in that role but when I had him at AC Milan in FM 20 he really excelled in that role as I think he has the perfect makeup for it. He will still provide a presence in and around the box when the moments suit too.

 

You have also dialed everything right down to make it dare I say a bit plodding. Taking a balanced system and using shorter passing, slower tempo and work ball in to box seems like possession for possession sakes as it will slow you build up play right down.

Edited December 22, 2020 by Crazy_Ivan

[Experienced Defender]

12 hours ago, Paul Barton said:

Perhaps if you can take a little look at things and let me know areas that you think may need tweaking?

The setup of roles and duties is lacking tactical balance. For example, on the right flank you have both wide players very attack-minded without any defensive cover in the midfield (WBat + IWat + BBM). 

When I add the left flank/side into the equation, it looks as though you want to create overload on the left so as to free up space on the opposite side for your players to attack. A very nice idea, the only problem is that you are trying to do it in a wrong way IMHO.

Then there is a tactical contradiction between roles and team instructions. For example, your team instructions (except for the wide attacking width) are very much possession-oriented, but then you use an AP with attack duty, who is more suited to fast-transition football. Because with the attack duty, the AP looks to make things happen as quickly as possible. Which is not bad per se, but suits a different style of football. If you want a playmaker role with attack duty in this kind of tactic, I would rather go with a TQ, simply because its behavior is more sophisticated, so to speak. 

There are a couple more potential issues, but of lesser urgency. 

[Paul Barton]

30 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

The setup of roles and duties is lacking tactical balance. For example, on the right flank you have both wide players very attack-minded without any defensive cover in the midfield (WBat + IWat + BBM). 

When I add the left flank/side into the equation, it looks as though you want to create overload on the left so as to free up space on the opposite side for your players to attack. A very nice idea, the only problem is that you are trying to do it in a wrong way IMHO.

Then there is a tactical contradiction between roles and team instructions. For example, your team instructions (except for the wide attacking width) are very much possession-oriented, but then you use an AP with attack duty, who is more suited to fast-transition football. Because with the attack duty, the AP looks to make things happen as quickly as possible. Which is not bad per se, but suits a different style of football. If you want a playmaker role with attack duty in this kind of tactic, I would rather go with a TQ, simply because its behavior is more sophisticated, so to speak. 

There are a couple more potential issues, but of lesser urgency. 

Thanks for your feedback. I've made a few smaller changes - i wasn't actually playing this way on the right hand side - i had actually made things slightly safer with the wide forward player on support with the FB on attacking. I've also upped the tempo slightly & changed Kessie to play the CAR role to help provide a little more defensive stability when my WB's push forward as i had noticed last season that i was getting done on the counter attack alot. 

I've started the 3rd season a lot better. Won 4 and drew one from first 5. Had a fairly easy start though aside from Chelsea in the last game who i beat fairly easily so waiting to see if this is an overall improvement or just the easy start even though the Chelsea game has given me something to hold onto! I'm not sure if it's mainly down to the new signings of Todibo who has been superb at the back & Demir who has done very well running with the ball and getting into good areas to create. 

Appreciate any further feedback on the changes i've made! Looking to learn more about the overall tactics framework as i've struggled in previous years!

 

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by Paul Barton

[Experienced Defender]

3 hours ago, Paul Barton said:

Appreciate any further feedback on the changes i've made! Looking to learn more about the overall tactics framework as i've struggled in previous years!

Okay, the flanks now look much better as well as the overall balance of roles and duties 

Now, on potential issues... You basically don't need 2 BPDs in a possession-minded tactic like yours, simply because the role tends to play long adventurous passes a bit too often, which can lead to needless losses of possession, especially against defensive opposition (which will be the majority of time when you manage a top team like Spurs). If you want to use a BPD anyway, one is enough for your tactical style.

I see that you still use the AP on attack duty, so that's another area you may want to look at (refer back to my earlier post). 

Given that you play out of defence, specific instructions regarding GK distribution (short kicks to CBs) are probably unnecessary. Instead, just let the keeper pick the best (and safest) available option in any given situation. Playing out of defense coupled with short passing already encourages him to build up from the back (although support duty can make him more adventurous on occasion). 

Out-of-possession TIs may prove needlessly too aggressive, so a couple of them might need to be toned down a bit. Defend intelligently, not aggressively (not least because the way you defend can affect your attacking performance as well) 

[Paul Barton]

Again, thanks for the feedback! Learning more with each reply.

 

Can you expand a little on the OOP TI's? My thoughts are wanting to win the ball back high up the pitch - which seems to have worked so far this season. But i'd really like to know what you think is potentially wrong and why?

[Experienced Defender]

2 hours ago, Paul Barton said:

Can you expand a little on the OOP TI's? My thoughts are wanting to win the ball back high up the pitch - which seems to have worked so far this season. But i'd really like to know what you think is potentially wrong and why?

If you are pleased with how it has worked for you, then just leave it as it is.