Help for in-game tactical changes

[Numenor]

Hello,

I need some help with what kind of tactical changes i could do during a game that my players seems to sleep and barley get a shot out.

For the most part my tactic works brilliantly, i get lots of chances, shots etc but then comes these flat games where i barley make 3 shots in total. What can i change to stop that from happening? 

[glengarry224]

Hi,

It's hard to analyze without knowing your players or why you didn't create chances.  You only posted one match where you failed to create shots - but still you scored 2 on the road against Spurs - and we have little information about why that happened:  you had half of the possession, your pass completion % was a bit lower than in the other matches which you posted, your LW played terrible, and your midfielders and RB played poorly.  But what did Spurs do?  Did they park the bus?  Did they press hard in a mid-block to stop you in transition?  Did they mark your playmaker out of the game?  How do you usually create chances? etc.

A few general ideas.  Of course, this all depends upon your players' abilities.

If you find yourself just kicking the ball around the final third but can't create passing options into the face of a solid, compact defense, have your wingers dribble more and create havoc.  Of course, only if they have the ability to.  Or go even wider, more direct and higher tempo to move the defense side to side.  Maybe put a winger on W(a) to try to beat his man to the byline.

Or if you want to consider a counter-attacking tactic, you could try any number of these changes:  delete the TI's Play Out of Defense and WBIB; add the TI 'counter'; increase tempo one notch; increase passing directness one notch; lower your DL two notches; lower your LOE three notches (so that you draw your opponent out and have space to counter); distribute to the flanks or just long kicks; and most importantly, your striker must play off the shoulder of your opponent's back line, so switch him to something like AF or PF(a) and/or switch to a 2-striker system.  You also might want to switch your AP to a non-playmaker (i.e. non-ball-magnet) role because DLP/AP can slow down transitions.  But that's a lot of changes and is contra to your team style, so if you go that route, you might want to train that kind of tactic a bit as an alternate. 

Sometimes, just lowering your DL and LOE and upping passing directness can open up a tight defense.

If you are breaking down in transition, you might not have enough options in the midfield, so switch one of your fullbacks to support duty; drop your attacking width one or two notches more narrow, pass shorter, maybe change your LCM to CM(s).

If your opponent is sitting back and has only one man forwards, make sure to man mark him out of the game.

If you are good at set pieces, play for them.

So many different options for different situations....