DLP not performing

[Numenor]

Hello, 

A couple of years ago i managed to snap out a potential superstar from my rival. Since then i tried to develope him as carefully as i can and his attributes are really off the charts to the role of dlp. However, he doesnt perform when playing as dlp role, nor any other on the central midfield. He is barley involved in the game and rarely get over 6.9 rating. What can i do to make him more involved?

[CARRERA]

16 minutes ago, Numenor said:

What can i do to make him more involved?

How much a player is involed into play depends to a big part on your tactics. DLP is very good at recycling possession and to be a focal point in deeper areas in possession oriented playing styles. So properbly a good start would be to share your tactics.

[Numenor]

[Kuchiki]

Gets into opposition area I'd consider removing but if you really want to perhaps replace with arrives late into the box. Haven't checked recently but I think they're different traits

[Kuchiki]

I'd also work on his positioning 

[CARRERA]

21 minutes ago, Numenor said:

I dont think DLP does really fit that playing style. I assume your tactic overall is working well as you properbly have the best players I've ever seen on your team  

Can you show Catteau? Properbly you can play both CM's as a CM on support duty to cover for central midfield responsibilities in a more fluid way. Also you dont really need a playmaker role when approaching fast and direct

Edited May 13, 2021 by CARRERA

[Numenor]

Ofc, here are the players i try to build my tactic around :)

[Ripamon]

He's the more defensive of your CMs so he will be obliged to stay a bit deeper than he normally would if he had another holding midfielder alongside him.

On top of that he's on a support duty which means he's stuck in a very weird limbo. He won't be the best at recycling since you have no depth in your midfield, so it won't be as easy for your attackers to pass back and find him to reset attacks, since he's liable to be marked by opposition CMs because he's not deep enough.

Honestly speaking I don't think you need a DLP in the first place. An old fashioned CM(d) would add much more balance to your team. Not even for defensive stability, but for offensive fluidity - rebuilding attacks by always having a deep recycler 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2021 by Ripamon

[Numenor]

U mean Catteu as holding midfielder cm(d) or Paul? both are honestly lacking in positioning, marking and tackling.

[Experienced Defender]

You are 1st in the league with a tactic that looks fairly problematic, to be honest. Which means that you should be very happy with such an achievement regardless of your DLP's (or any other individual player) performance. After all, an average rating of about 7 (according to his player profile) is actually very good.

However, if you are still so keen to make him more involved, then the most logical tweaks you should consider are:

- changing at least the BPD that is on the same side as your DLP into the standard CB 

- lowering tempo a notch (medium/default instead of higher)

- removing pass into space (which should be used only situationally anyway)

- removing distribution to fullbacks (simply leave it unselected, especially as you already have the PoD selected)

[CARRERA]

12 minutes ago, Numenor said:

Ofc, here are the players i try to build my tactic around

Well, all of the 5 players are pretty attack minded but your team should be able to handle that. So as i said, i would try both as CM on support duty. you could therefore make the left FB an actual Fullback on support as the IW will keep width until he receives the ball or your team is in the final third anyway

[Ripamon]

14 minutes ago, Numenor said:

U mean Catteu as holding midfielder cm(d) or Paul? both are honestly lacking in positioning, marking and tackling.

Yeah I mean Paul Hughes. 

You don't really need to worry about defensive attributes yet, although of course they will be ideal 

You need a deep recycler. Otherwise a formation with 2 central midfielders will be able to mark both your pivots without breaking a sweat. Especially as you have two wingbacks playing high up the pitch. They want someone deep to pass to when the attack breaks down. Someone deep to receive the ball when this happens, control it, and switch to the other flank. 

That's the real purpose of defend duty central midfielders. To function as a base through which you construct your attacks. The fact that they are well positioned to prevent counterattacks is just a nice bonus 

Or at the very least, if you want him as DLP support, at least change the Mezzala to a more conservative role like a BBM or CM so he can help share build up duties 

Edited May 13, 2021 by Ripamon

[Numenor]

I've been playing the same tactic for the last 4 seasons. I guess i have been able to pull it off because i have good players and "the best defense is a good attack". But if you have any suggestions on how i can tweak it to make it less problematic im open for it. Here is a screenshot of my last seasons and my current one.

[Puluzu]

The match rating system has always been quite harsh on any outfielder that isn't consistantly getting goals or assists even if he is playing well and filling his role. It's a pet peeve of mine for sure. Even a central defender that's the absolute lock of your league leading defense will be around 7 max without goals from set pieces in my experience. In a big team I usually have 2 players below 7,0 average rating (not counting youth players playing above their level) at around 6,9-6,95 and no matter the tactic I'm using it's basically always the deepest playing midfielders who aren't making forward runs or taking set pieces. So I'd say that unless you're seeing something wrong in his actual performance when watching the highlights, you don't really need to change anything.

Edited May 13, 2021 by Puluzu

[phnompenhandy]

My best player and captain is a DLP. Occasionally he has a quiet game and the reason is most often that he's heavily marked. However, you're finding he under-performs every match. I'd be looking straight at the 2 ball-playing defenders behind him. You've got 3 players wrestling for possession of the ball in the same space. When you watch a game, do you see the BPDs hogging the ball when you'd expect passes to go to your DLP?

Another thing I do is instruct the keeper to roll the ball out to my playmaker. The DLP comes deep to pick it up and recycle it. Again, I'm not sure that would be compatible with BPDs.

Edited May 14, 2021 by phnompenhandy

[zabyl]

This is a high risk orientated attacking football including 7 runners. Yet i won't complain about team instructions because your team is on the 1st place. I will focus to DLP role.

DLP is a controller who helps build up play, sets tempo, gives a passing option to teammates, changes the side of play, plays a through ball or supports an attack from deep. This role needs a good mixture of runners and support players around him for the best performance he can perform. 

DLP on your tactic has 4 runners and 2 defenders around him. This can lower his impact on the game. Which player can show himself for a secure pass from him except 2 defenders? With this set up; his passes are generally riskier to front and sides.

Gets into opposition area is not a good player trait for a DLP. Because this player is needed to be more in play relative to others.

 

If you obsessed with increasing his game, you can focus player movements around him.

Edited May 14, 2021 by zabyl
edited runner numbers to 7

[silentwars]

Personally I'd use that player as a Mezella as he's not good enough defensively for a holding midfielder & one of his PPM could cause issues.

[Numenor]

Thx for all tips. What would you say is the best role to play Maxime Wagner in? I currently use him as a IF but im starting to think i might get more out of him as a AMC. What do u think?