Help with lower league tactic

[VoidVector]

Bristol is the biggest city in Englad to never have a Premier League team, so I decided to get them one

I went with Bristol Rovers, but now I realize something. I don't really have LLM experience, specially when it comes to tactics, so hopefully I can get a bit of advice



This is the tactic I made, and the results haven't been great. Draws, many draws

A little bit about the team. It doesn't really have many good passers in midfield, and the fullbacks aren't great going forward. My idea is to play counter attacking since we're predicted midtable. I know you don't need to put the mentality on counter to make a counter attacking tactic and that's why it's balanced

[Experienced Defender]

1 hour ago, VoidVector said:

I know you don't need to put the mentality on counter to make a counter attacking tactic and that's why it's balanced

That's okay 

But the problem is your setup of roles and duties in the first place. If you want to play a defensive style of football - i.e. low block - then defensive solidity must be your first priority. And with both wide forwards on attack duties, it's hardly going to be achieved.

In fact, I personally would switch both the AMR and AML to support duties and instead change the BBM into CM on attack duty. The right back would also be switched to attack duty. These tweaks would give your setup not just an optimal balance but also optimal distribution of duties.

Instructions-wise, I would not use the pass into space all the time but rather on a situational basis. And would definitely not insist on tight marking, especially in tandem with more urgent pressing, because these two instructions contradict each other. Actually, for a counter-attacking tactic, the Get stuck in would make more sense than both marking and pressing. 

Not sure than counter-press is a good idea either. If you want to use such an aggressive transitional instruction, then better make sure that your players are good enough to execute it properly.

Last but not least, even a "perfect" counter-attacking tactic will not work against every single opponent, simply because some teams will not play in an aggressive and/or attack-minded fashion against you. So you need to have a non-counter version of the tactic as plan-B.

[VoidVector]

Thanks for the advice! I've never really made a counter attacking tactic before, so I was a bit lost on how to set one up, specially when playing in lower leagues

 

[Domus Clamantium]

If your full backs aren't good at going forward you may want to consider not using anyone that cuts inside which could mean reconfiguring this formation to something that is more defensively solid and then putting one of the full backs on defend duty and using your central midfield to support the centre forward in attack.

Using a 4-1-4-1 or flat 4-5-1 with a winger and a wide midfielder would be more conducive to counter attacking

-Full back on support behind Winger on attack
-Wide Midfielder on support ahead of full back on defend
-Central Midfielder or AP on attack adjacent to Wide Midfielder
-Box to Box Midfielder or Ball Winning Midfielder support adjacent to CM(A)
-Anchor Man holding the fort

Would create something akin to Man City whose wide players stay wide while the central midfield goes to the box

I realise this may be difficult to put into practice with your squad but put a few first teamers in your U18s and transfer list them, maybe you'll get them off your books and free up some wages for players you really want.

Get Cristian Garcia as your forward on a free transfer. Great deep lying forward.

Edited March 9, 2021 by Domus Clamantium