I think im on the right track but need to score goals

[Ciderarmy]

Hi i am just after some advice on my Bristol City save as defensively we are fantastic only conceding 27 goals in 31 games but going forward we are struggling to score and i just wondered how i can create and score more without losing my great defensive record?

 

I have tried my lwb on att and rasing the defensive line but we become to open and ive even tried to up the tempo but it all seems to me ending up losing my good defensive shape.

 

I know we are overachieving and have had some great results but the save is becoming a bit stale as were not improving its always between 8th and 10th and i just feel if we could score more we could reach the top 6 any help would be fantastic many thanks

[Johnny Ace]

You're doing awesome there, I'd be happy with that. I think it'll just be a case of getting better players in 

[zyfon5]

Where do most of your goals come from? And how many  good chances are you getting in a game? To get more goals you will need to increase the number of good quality chances or high xG shots. Crosses for example always result in poor quality shots especially when they are headed shots. 'Hit early crosses' and 'Whipped crosses' are probably two TI that you should consider to remove. 

[Ciderarmy]

Hi thanks for your replies most of my goals are from through balls and ive posted some screenshots of my strikers and where the goals come from if that helps cheers

[zabyl]

A well balanced organised counter attacking tactic with suited TIs. No wonder why this is successful. 

Did you try counter TI with this? 

Edited March 16, 2021 by zabyl

[Ciderarmy]

Thanks Zabyl no and I guess counter would make sense as Chong and edwards are super quick 

The only problem I have is when I experiment I seem to lose the tight defensive structure I have 

Like I said I’m really happy with the tactic and it may be I need better players to turn the draws in to victories.

I have played fm for a long time but what I think and then try to implement it into fm is a whole different ball game 

[zyfon5]

6 minutes ago, Ciderarmy said:

Thanks Zabyl no and I guess counter would make sense as Chong and edwards are super quick 

The only problem I have is when I experiment I seem to lose the tight defensive structure I have 

Like I said I’m really happy with the tactic and it may be I need better players to turn the draws in to victories.

I have played fm for a long time but what I think and then try to implement it into fm is a whole different ball game 

I think you definitely need better players and younger players. Pickford, Stones and Henderson in the year 2027 are not going to do good defensive work for you. You are playing in the Premier League money should not be a problem for you especially if you can enter European competitions. 

[Ciderarmy]

Yep definitely agree with you regarding Stones and Henderson 

I have been over the moon with Pickford though 16 clean sheets this season and it’s quite difficult getting people in due to my reputation 

[sporadicsmiles]

I agree with other analysis here. Since you have a system that works well, I would be loath to start ripping it up just to search for something different. 

The first thing I would do is invest in the defence - particularly CD and GK. Not because I necessarily think your players are bad or doing poorly, but if you want to open up things offensively then you will want to have a really good pair of CBs and a GK. the goal being you want players good enough they can win even if they are put under a bit of pressure because you opened your shape up.

I'd imagine as well that both Henderson and McTominay are getting towards the end of their careers here, so perhaps refreshing the midfield is a more pressing concern. I play with a very similar distribution of roles and duties in the midfield, although I play with a DLP rather than a BWM (not advocating a change here, just to compare). For both the DMC and the CM who is not the CM(A), I will go for good all round players. They must be good in defence and creativity. So ideally 14+ in defensive attributes such as tackling and creative attributes such as passing and creativity. This way they can provide solid defensive and attacking play. Then Smith-Rowe likely works very well as a CM(A), so no need to change that. Eventually what you want to be able to do is to raise your LOE a notch so you can challenge teams higher up the pitch.

Up front I also play a similar set of roles and duties as you. In particular I find my IF(A) is critical to my attacking play. A lot of the space we make is exploited by him, so he needs to be a very good attacker. Good anticipation and good finishing (plus all the other usual things for wide players). I'm not sure how well Chong develops, but maybe this is an area to go for a marquee signing. Someone to try to grab 15+ goals a year. 

This is, of course, easier said than done, and would be an incremental thing. And it is just very difficult as a smaller team to catch and compete with the very rich clubs in England. 

If I was going to play around with things to try to score more goals, I would be looking at where I can add another attack duty (a FB), how I can increase the LOE, whether I can get some attackers engaged in pressing higher up the pitch (with PIs), and if changing the "in possession" TIs can change the focus of attacks and the way we play. But it is a risky thing, because you have something that works completely fine, so I would try to experiment a little either in games where you know you can win, in cups, or in friendlies. What you see that you like, keep for more experimentation. What you think does not work, discard. 

 

[Lordluap]

I would only suggest perhaps taking off Cross Early.  You have one striker, who plays as a DEEP Lying Forward, and maybe the Inside Forward as the only potential recipients of these crosses.  Are you losing the ball unnecessarily and missing out on constructive attacks by doing this? What's your cross completion % ?

 

PS - Nice to see the ol' home town Robins flying high!

Edited March 16, 2021 by Lordluap

[zabyl]

57 minutes ago, Ciderarmy said:

Thanks Zabyl no and I guess counter would make sense as Chong and edwards are super quick 

I have an idea for your fast wide attackers. Maybe it can increase their scoring chances. You said that those 2 WFs are super quick. Then you can use that quickness with opposite side crosses from your full backs. I use this strategy when I have quick wide attacker on a flank. 

Far post crosses with hit early crosses are OP to my mind. 

[Ciderarmy]

Many thanks sporadicsmiles thats fantastic advice i have posted a screen shot of chong do you think he is okay as a inside forward and what do you think of my 2 cb?

Smith rowe has been amazing this season with 16 assists and links really well with the winger and your right i dont want to rip everything up as its going well but would like to push on and get into the top 6 

I have been thinking about going from balance to postive at home as thats where alot of draws have come from and i have only lost 3 games away all season so maybe im missing something there.

Lordlup i know crossing early when im playing with a deep lying forward dosent make sense on paper but i have found when we win the ball back my striker seems to be bombing forward straight away maybe due to his pace, when i played mitrovic it dosent work as well as hes alot slower.

[Ciderarmy]

Hi so taken the advice and still got problems attacking wise 

Defensively sound again only conceding 32 goals in the premiership but drawing 15 games which is frustrating 

I did some testing over 4 games going from balance to a attacking mentality scored more goals 10 over 4 games but defensively very shaky 

So I’m in a bit of a conundrum with my tactic finishing 6th in the premiership is fantastic but the football although defensively sound isn’t the most exciting to watch 

So do I risk being more expansive and risk conceding goals as I can’t find a balance between the 2 

Any help would be much appreciated 

[zabyl]

You use narrow attacking width w/balanced mentality. I guess opposite teams try to attack your team with increased width. Watch a couple of your last played games. If they attacked with increased width; you can take advantage of that by exploiting the central space with focus play through the middle. Your DLF is on attack and he can increase that exploit's effect with roam from position.

Edited March 20, 2021 by zabyl