Schalke 4411

[Fmhnunter]

Hello there. Im playing as Schalke with a 4411. I just got promoted and I had a  good start. At around mid october I lost to  Mainz and now I am on a 8 game losing streak can someone help me

[Zemahh]

Your tactic seems alright in terms of overall balance, I don't really see any glaring issues that would cause you to get battered. I can see it being a bit bland in attack though and not being able to move the ball around efficiently could sometimes also lead to defensive issues, which is the main issue you have currently, if I understood correctly.

On the left side, I see no problems. You got a nice overlap going on, with IWat cutting inside, WBsu running into wide areas and DLPde covering for him defensively, as well as offering a recycling option.

I would tweak your right side and attack though. To me, despite his Attack duty, TMat is still very much a supporting striker. With hardcoded Hold Up Ball and Dribble Less instructions, his main priority will be to open up space for others and play them in with simple passes. Other than IWat, who could sometimes be too deep to be played in immediately after your TM receives a long ball, your tactic currently doesn't have anyone offering early forward runs, which is why I would either A) change your striker to a more traditional #9, such as AF or Poacher, or B) change your AMsu to SSat.

I would also change your right Winger to Attack duty, to encourage him to make more forward runs and only cross from the byline area, once your midfielders have arrived up in support. If you find him dribbling himself into trouble too often, WMat would be a more versatile alternative, personally one of my favourite roles.

Maybe something like this:

TMsu

SSat

IWat DLPde BBMsu WMat

WBsu CDde BPDde FBsu

[fman1]

As you just got promoted and will be playing against stronger teams, I would be tempted to simplify the team instructions a bit. You have a positive mentality and then telling players to run at the opposition, be more creative, play at a higher tempo and work the ball into the box.

It may have been good as one of the better teams in the lower division, but now in the top league I would take them off and perhaps ask your team to regroup after the lose possession to keep men behind the ball. Yes it might be against how you want to play, but I doubt you will have the players to play your way just now.

[Johnny Ace]

I think the set up of roles looks fine, I just don't understand why you'd Work Ball into the Box when playing a Target Man? You've got a Winger & Wing Back who put crosses in for him you're taking that away 

[Tsuru]

The 4-4-1-1 is one of my favourite formations I am currently using it on my Wrexham save. I just got promoted from League 2 to League 1 and I am still using it on the new division.

Like others said here, I don´t see anything wrong with the roles and duties you are using, I got promoted with a very similar setup last season. If you would like to see/test a different setup, there are some good ideas on this other topic:
 

I also agree with Zemahh that a TM-At is not a very good choice for a single striker, I tested it myself and he is always trying to pass the ball to another player - which does not exist on this formation, as he is the leading striker. But I also believe that a Shadow Striker is not easy to find, I would probably opt for a more traditional striker upfront, like Pressing Foward Attack, Advanced Foward or Poacher, I believe they work very well with the AM-Su and are easier to find in terms of quality. But of course, if you have a good Shadow Striker and have a nice supporting partner upfront it can be a nice option too.

I also think that your instructions are a bit confusing. Why are you trying to Work Ball into Box at the same time you Run at Defence, ask your players to Be More Expressive and play on a Higher Tempo? Work Ball is for a slow and patient attacking game and the three others are for a quick and speedy attack strategy, the same with a Target Man. So what exactly you are trying to achieve? I think this question may be important for your in possession instructions. It is not that you cannot use all these instructions together, it doesn´t just make sense to me.

Seeing your instructions, your setup and your mentality, I think you are trying to play attacking football, that is, you want to play "active football" in which you control the game, right? If it is, I believe you should reconsider your defensive strategy. Why I am telling you this? Because I started the current season on a very similar way that you are doing, that is, no instructions without the ball and a split block (individual instructions for the front players to press). However other teams are trying to press us very heavily and I realized that we didn´t have any strategies to react to this, and as a result we were completely pinned on our own half. So I am trying to develop a defensive strategy that gives us a compact and aggressive shape, because it suits my attacking style. 

The out of possession and part of the in transition instructions can be very helpful on a more specific defensive strategy and as you are suffering many losses, maybe looking at it can help your team improving its performance.