I'm having trouble with lone strikers...

[Leoben]

Is there something wrong with lone strikers in this addition of football manager? I have tried various roles that might suit either of my two strikers, and each time they receive very little service with wingers and number 8's more inclined to shot for goal themselves, leaving my striker feeling like a social leper. In my latest game against Port Vale, my striker was gifted four penalties (five in total, with Schar scoring his) and missed the lot. At the final whistle, he had seven shots of which four were counted as these penalties. He had one shot from a corner set piece, with that leaving only two open play shots, neither of which were on target. There should be more than enough service for the no.9 as I'm using a similar system I used in FM22, FM21 and FM20, before that I used a different formation. I took some screenshots to add to the post with the final screenshot stating that he was isolated and the graph shows he was too deep even for an "advanced" forward.

 

 

[dzek]

11 minutes ago, Leoben said:

Is there something wrong with lone strikers in this addition of football manager? I have tried various roles that might suit either of my two strikers, and each time they receive very little service with wingers and number 8's more inclined to shot for goal themselves, leaving my striker feeling like a social leper. In my latest game against Port Vale, my striker was gifted four penalties (five in total, with Schar scoring his) and missed the lot. At the final whistle, he had seven shots of which four were counted as these penalties. He had one shot from a corner set piece, with that leaving only two open play shots, neither of which were on target. There should be more than enough service for the no.9 as I'm using a similar system I used in FM22, FM21 and FM20, before that I used a different formation. I took some screenshots to add to the post with the final screenshot stating that he was isolated and the graph shows he was too deep even for an "advanced" forward.

 

 

It's something I've noticed in my own saves too. One AF comes too far back to get the ball and often the rest of the team doesn't play with him. Maybe with the latest update they have penalized him for scoring too many goals as a role. 😂

Other than that I would recommend trying "Roam From Position" to get him to roam more in different spots in the field or try CF with a or s duty because they already do it and seem to be more involved in the game.

Please post your tactic for better analysis.

[CapitalismReimagined]

26 minutes ago, Leoben said:

 

I use a 4-3-3 too and my lone striker (PF) is always mentioned in this same analysis. I don't think it is because of this year's FM, instead I think it's just the nature of the tactic. Given that this person is the spearhead of your team, it is natural that this person receives the least passes. 

[Lasson]

Can you please show us your whole tactic?

[Christopher S]

I'm seeing the same issue in my lone striker tactics so far. Averaging 15-25 passes to the forward over a game, regardless of playing a PFa, AF or Poacher. Adding screenshots of the latest two systems I've used where this is happening;

My 4-3-3

I've tried this system with AFa and PFa, and in both scenarios I get the above outcome. Results and performance as a team isn't bad by any stretch, but I still fail to get my striker involved in play. I sometimes change the mentality to Positive, and the CMa is sometimes changed to a MEZZa. Left IFs is told to Sit Narrower.

 

Similarly, I had the same issues in this 3-4-3 system:

The left sided VOLs has Get Further Forward enabled, and the right IFs is being told to sit narrower.

[Leoben]

1 hour ago, dzek said:

It's something I've noticed in my own saves too. One AF comes too far back to get the ball and often the rest of the team doesn't play with him. Maybe with the latest update they have penalized him for scoring too many goals as a role. 😂

Other than that I would recommend trying "Roam From Position" to get him to roam more in different spots in the field or try CF with a or s duty because they already do it and seem to be more involved in the game.

Please post your tactic for better analysis.

That's exactly my point. It's not so much the fact that he's not scoring -- well he's not scoring, at least far fewer than he should be -- it's the fact that there isn't the support from other players despite there being ample support. They have plenty of opportunities to pass the ball to he AF, but chose not to and waste a shot from distance. I have presently been playing around with two tactics -- one is more conservative, with the idea of creating an asymmetric 325 in possession, and the second an overly enthusiastic tactic with the idea of creating a 235 in possession in a more symmetrical fashion. I would only use the second tactic in cases where I thought I could easily win, and the first is a WiP.

Edited January 5 by Leoben

[Leoben]

58 minutes ago, CapitalismReimagined said:

I use a 4-3-3 too and my lone striker (PF) is always mentioned in this same analysis. I don't think it is because of this year's FM, instead I think it's just the nature of the tactic. Given that this person is the spearhead of your team, it is natural that this person receives the least passes. 

It is frustrating when the team you choose is basically engineered to play only that formation. I can't play a 4231 as I do not have a no.10 and the club starts will very little to spend. So that leaves me to play a 433, which doesn't bother me as I like the formation -- it's tactically solid and good in defence and offence, well at least it is supposed to be.

[crusadertsar]

8 minutes ago, Leoben said:

It is frustrating when the team you choose is basically engineered to play only that formation. I can't play a 4231 as I do not have a no.10 and the club starts will very little to spend. So that leaves me to play a 433, which doesn't bother me as I like the formation -- it's tactically solid and good in defence and offence, well at least it is supposed to be.

Switch to 442 then? No matter which FM you can never go wrong with the good old 442

[dzek]

13 minutes ago, Leoben said:

That's exactly my point. It's not so much the fact that he's not scoring -- well he's not scoring, at least far fewer than he should be -- it's the fact that there isn't the support from other players despite there being ample support. They have plenty of opportunities to pass the ball to he AF, but chose not to and waste a shot from distance. I have presently been playing around with two tactics -- one is more conservative, with the idea of creating an asymmetric 325 in possession, and the second an overly enthusiastic tactic with the idea of creating a 235 in possession in a more symmetrical fashion. I would only use the second tactic in cases where I thought I could easily win, and the first is a WiP.

Thank you for your tactic. Before to make any major changes on your tactic use my tips above. Roam From Position or CF.

[Leoben]

2 minutes ago, dzek said:

Thank you for your tactic. Before to make any major changes on your tactic use my tips above. Roam From Position or CF.

I have tried a CFa and he does get involved more than an AF, but still lacks end product. I find all the roles of striker I've tried have only a few shot whether on target or off. I will try your tip to have the player roam from position, as it seems like a good idea. The CF requires a beast of a player, but by only adding roam from position, he would require only certain attributes like off the ball and decisions and I cover those fine with my available strikers.

[Leoben]

6 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

Switch to 442 then? No matter which FM you can never go wrong with the good old 442

I did think about the good old 442, but as with all FM players we like to try other the strangest formation we can think of or try to emulate RL coach styles. But I may end up giving it a try.

[AndrikoDS]

I've been finding in my games that it the lone striker is very reliant on how high up the defensive line is, and how high the press is. For example, an AT on a high press tactic gets far to isolated, wondering all the way up the pitch away from the midfield, or on a mid block a DLF or F9 can sometimes be too bunched up with the team on the half way line whilst the opposition pulls all it's players back.

When the striker stops scoring or being involved, I suspect that the AI has 'adjusted' (certainly not cracked!) the tactic you are using, and it might be worth playing around with those elements at first.

[dzek]

6 minutes ago, Leoben said:

I have tried a CFa and he does get involved more than an AF, but still lacks end product. I find all the roles of striker I've tried have only a few shot whether on target or off. I will try your tip to have the player roam from position, as it seems like a good idea. The CF requires a beast of a player, but by only adding roam from position, he would require only certain attributes like off the ball and decisions and I cover those fine with my available strikers.

You can use CF on support too and change your IWs to IFs on attack.

[Leoben]

3 minutes ago, AndrikoDS said:

I've been finding in my games that it the lone striker is very reliant on how high up the defensive line is, and how high the press is. For example, an AT on a high press tactic gets far to isolated, wondering all the way up the pitch away from the midfield, or on a mid block a DLF or F9 can sometimes be too bunched up with the team on the half way line whilst the opposition pulls all it's players back.

When the striker stops scoring or being involved, I suspect that the AI has 'adjusted' (certainly not cracked!) the tactic you are using, and it might be worth playing around with those elements at first.

I will say that roles are not working as stated "on the tin". As we all know, the AF is supposed to pin back the oppositions defensive line, and one would think that his head or foot would be the first to touch a crossed ball, yet he is often ever so slightly deeper so the ball either gets taken by the opposition GK or the opposite winger (not inverted winger) cuts in and scores. Now a goals a goal, but I think we can all accept, we all like a goal scoring no.9.

3 minutes ago, dzek said:

You can use CF on support too and change your IWs to IFs on attack.

That's an idea too. The problem, however, is that I have Almiron. He's like a puppy: kick the ball forwards and he'll run after it, but he has no idea what to do with it thereafter. As such my winger have poor finishing, 11 and 13 I believe, with my no.9's having finishing of 15 and 18. I realise finishing is only a minor part of scoring goals, but I'd rather have my strikers shooting for goal than Miggy

[dzek]

11 minutes ago, Leoben said:

That's an idea too. The problem, however, is that I have Almiron. He's like a puppy: kick the ball forwards and he'll run after it, but he has no idea what to do with it thereafter. As such my winger have poor finishing, 11 and 13 I believe, with my no.9's having finishing of 15 and 18. I realise finishing is only a minor part of scoring goals, but I'd rather have my strikers shooting for goal than Miggy

I don't really take the attributes into account to be honest.. I mean if I have two players and one has 11 and the other has 12 or 13 in finishing for me they are equally good etc. Anyway you're not missing anything to try it with your existing players. 

[Leoben]

19 minutes ago, dzek said:

I don't really take the attributes into account to be honest.. I mean if I have two players and one has 11 and the other has 12 or 13 in finishing for me they are equally good etc. Anyway you're not missing anything to try it with your existing players. 

Anything is worth a try, but I will say, if more players than I are having similar trouble with a lone striker setup, and we each a tactically astute, there must be something wrong with the way the roles are setup in the game itself. For example, the advanced forward does not behave as said in its description, and that description hasn't changed for many iterations of FM now.

[dzek]

8 minutes ago, Leoben said:

Anything is worth a try, but I will say, if more players than I are having similar trouble with a lone striker setup, and we each a tactically astute, there must be something wrong with the way the roles are setup in the game itself. For example, the advanced forward does not behave as said in its description, and that description hasn't changed for many iterations of FM now.

Well as far as the description of each role in almost most of them nothing it says is true and if anyone can prove me wrong on that. Also when you hover your mouse on a CF duty it doesn't fully display its PI's.
Really the UI is stagnant and very mediocre in general but I've gotten used to it over the years. 

[AndrikoDS]

29 minutes ago, Leoben said:

Anything is worth a try, but I will say, if more players than I are having similar trouble with a lone striker setup, and we each a tactically astute, there must be something wrong with the way the roles are setup in the game itself. For example, the advanced forward does not behave as said in its description, and that description hasn't changed for many iterations of FM now.

 

None of the roles really match the descriptions anymore, which is one part of the problem. None of the info the game gives us  really tells us what is going on. On top of that, it's never clear what is exactly going wrong in the match engine, it just throws up the same markers of some sort of 'problem' - suddenly players can't pass the ball properly; strikers get loads of chances but miss them all or hit the cross bar; the AI will not get a shot on goal all game then win 1-0 from a set piece or penalty etc. And the solution isn't always tactical either, it could be bad morale, an unhappy player, team cohesion or something like that.

So I'd say there is something 'wrong', and it's the way the match engine and UI represent the numbers underneath the system, but I don't think there is much SI can do about that, though it is time they did a review of all the text descriptions in the game.

 

[Christopher S]

24 minutes ago, AndrikoDS said:

it's the way the match engine and UI represent the numbers underneath the system, but I don't think there is much SI can do about that

For what it's worth, this is indirectly addressed for next years game with the transition to the Unity Game Engine. It'll offer the developers a significant increase in ability to replicate and display the underlying numbers graphically.

[AndrikoDS]

Just now, Christopher S said:

For what it's worth, this is indirectly addressed for next years game with the transition to the Unity Game Engine. It'll offer the developers a significant increase in ability to replicate and display the underlying numbers graphically.

That's good, look forward to seeing how it turns out! This has been a bit of an issue in one way or another since the 90s! I was having a go at CM97/98 the other week for fun, and I was amazed at how the visual match engine today is pretty much just a depiction of the old text commentary from CM2. I'd be curious to know how much old code is kicking around in the current versions of the game.

[Leoben]

It is quite disheartening, though. We expect -- hope --  this years to be better than the previous years version, and then are left with the same disappointment from the past version. Yet we all buy it and persevere because its football. It would be nice if they could at least address a few problems with this years version, but I won't hold my breath. I did, for those who were inquiring of my tactics nearer the start of the post, put another together to test a few things. First I kept the same opposition as a test bed, Port Vale friendly. Second, I included "roam from position" for my advanced forward, albeit belatedly at 22.22. He did, however, score from a great cross five minutes later. It was his only goal, despite there being many instances when either winger could have simply crossed the ball to him as he was perfectly placed. I also noticed in the test game that the the 8s are more inclined to put a through ball to the wingers than they are to the 9, despite the latter being better placed. Though I did learn one thing: defensive wingers playing on the opposite foot work way better than any inverted winger/winger/inside forward out of possession. Both defensive wingers on support were when possession is lost harassing the opposition instantly along with the 8s. Pity they treat the 9 like a social leper. Note. The pass map looked a right mess, but the image after reveals more my thinking.

[CapitalismReimagined]

3 hours ago, Leoben said:

It is frustrating when the team you choose is basically engineered to play only that formation. I can't play a 4231 as I do not have a no.10 and the club starts will very little to spend. So that leaves me to play a 433, which doesn't bother me as I like the formation -- it's tactically solid and good in defence and offence, well at least it is supposed to be.

Strange. I thought Newcastle has a decent budget. How about a 442 with a supporting striker? I'm sure a 442 can be a 325 in possession with the new positional play feature. 

[Leoben]

31 minutes ago, CapitalismReimagined said:

Strange. I thought Newcastle has a decent budget. How about a 442 with a supporting striker? I'm sure a 442 can be a 325 in possession with the new positional play feature. 

You would think so, but I suppose after having bought the likes of Tonali and Livramento there wouldn't be much money left. You start the game as Newcastle with as little as 5 million pounds, and that won't buy you much in the transfer market these days. I like the idea of 442 out of possession and transistioning into a 325, but it's something I may try with a different team as Newcastle have only two striker and play very similarly in Wilson and Isak. I have just pulled the two wingers back into midfield, however and changed them to defensive wingers, playing on their opposite side to their favoured foot and it works very well for pressing teams. Almiron doesn't stop pressing as his work rate is set at 20.

[herne79]

Your issue is that your striker in this particular system - as an AF - is isolated and lacks support.  I know this has been said:

4 hours ago, Leoben said:

It's the fact that there isn't the support from other players despite there being ample support

There isn’t ample support.  You are playing an AF who by its nature plays in a very advanced position.  That’s combined with 2 wide players with a support duty and 2 midfielders also with a support duty.  Nobody’s running through to support the AF, nobody’s trying regularly to make killer passes to him, nobody’s up in close support.  You can absolutely play with an AF in that formation, but not like that.

Pesonally, whenever I play such a formation I want my striker to be much more involved (say a DLF or CF) and combine that with a creative player/role either in midfield or out wide and a decent attacking midfielder (CM or Mez attack).

Your attacking mentality and some TIs also aren’t helping in this scenario.  You’re telling your players to get the ball forward quickly, whip in crosses and pass into space.  Your poor old isolated AF will just get gobbled up by the opposition defenders because the ball’s getting to him too quickly for anyone else to be close by helping him.

Edited January 5 by herne79

[crusadertsar]

9 minutes ago, herne79 said:

Your issue is that your striker in this particular system - as an AF - is isolated and lacks support.  I know this has been said:

There isn’t ample support.  You are playing an AF who by its nature plays in a very advanced position.  That’s combined with 2 wide players with a support duty and 2 midfielders also with a support duty.  Nobody’s running through to support the AF, nobody’s trying regularly to make killer passes to him, nobody’s up in close support.  You can absolutely play with an AF in that formation, but not like that.

Pesonally, whenever I play such a formation I want my striker to be much more involved (say a DLF or CF) and combine that with a creative player/role either in midfield or out wide and a decent attacking midfielder (CM or Mez attack).

Your attacking mentality and some TIs also aren’t helping in this scenario.  You’re telling your players to get the ball forward quickly, whip in crosses and pass into space.  Your poor old isolated AF will just get gobbled up by the opposition defenders because the ball’s getting to him too quickly for anyone else to be close by helping him.

Finally somebody said it very well. AF is not very good for 433 at all. If they are really looking for a more goalscoring striker then PF(A) would be a little better although not ideal. My go to choice in any 433 has always been DLF (A) for a good balance of support and attacking movement. 

[cocoadavid]

In my experience in 433 formations if you want your striker to be your main goalscorer then a PF(a) can be a great choice with the right setup, especially if your striker is athletic (quick and tall). It's useful if is he is not the only one occupying the defenders, so for example a MEZ(a) and/or an IF(a) can complement him well. 

In my current setup my striker (Rafa Mir) has scored 21 goals in 19 matches, while assisting 4. According to the analyst report our most common assist type by far is Through Ball.

MY STRIKER

Spoiler

 

TACTICS
In my tactic the MEZ and IF also attack the space and occupy the defenders, while the IW creates space by staying wide and then cutting inside when he has the ball, the AP offers killer passes. If you are interested I can explain the tactic in more detail, the reasoning behind the TIs and PIs but here I just wanted to give you an idea.

My current tactic:

Spoiler

Results have been impressive so far:

Spoiler

 

[Christopher S]

23 minutes ago, cocoadavid said:

In my experience in 433 formations if you want your striker to be your main goalscorer then a PF(a) can be a great choice with the right setup, especially if your striker is athletic (quick and tall). It's useful if is he is not the only one occupying the defenders, so for example a MEZ(a) and/or an IF(a) can complement him well. 

In my current setup my striker (Rafa Mir) has scored 21 goals in 19 matches, while assisting 4. According to the analyst report our most common assist type by far is Through Ball.

MY STRIKER

  Hide contents

 

TACTICS
In my tactic the MEZ and IF also attack the space and occupy the defenders, while the IW creates space by staying wide and then cutting inside when he has the ball, the AP offers killer passes. If you are interested I can explain the tactic in more detail, the reasoning behind the TIs and PIs but here I just wanted to give you an idea.

My current tactic:

  Hide contents

Results have been impressive so far:

  Hide contents

 

This looks like a really well crafted 4-3-3 - kudos! I've been trying to do one of these types (IFB+IWB, 3+2 buildup, box midfield kinda thing) of systems my self with limited luck. Looks like your LB, DM and two CMs will create an almost diamond in the midfield? Looks cool!

Care to elaborate on PI's and such? I see your Left Winger has player specific instructions as well?

Edited January 5 by Christopher S

[Cloud9]

11 hours ago, Leoben said:

Is there something wrong with lone strikers in this addition of football manager? I have tried various roles that might suit either of my two strikers, and each time they receive very little service with wingers and number 8's more inclined to shot for goal themselves, leaving my striker feeling like a social leper. In my latest game against Port Vale, my striker was gifted four penalties (five in total, with Schar scoring his) and missed the lot. At the final whistle, he had seven shots of which four were counted as these penalties. He had one shot from a corner set piece, with that leaving only two open play shots, neither of which were on target. There should be more than enough service for the no.9 as I'm using a similar system I used in FM22, FM21 and FM20, before that I used a different formation. I took some screenshots to add to the post with the final screenshot stating that he was isolated and the graph shows he was too deep even for an "advanced" forward.

 

 

Height can be a nice addition to a lone spearheading striker as well

I usually only look to the 4-3-3 if I've got a fairly specific attribute players, it tends to be a big ask for the DM/Striker position. I would also recommend looking to a 4-4-2 if either of those players are struggling. 

Edited January 5 by Cloud9

[cocoadavid]

1 hour ago, Christopher S said:

This looks like a really well crafted 4-3-3 - kudos! I've been trying to do one of these types (IFB+IWB, 3+2 buildup, box midfield kinda thing) of systems my self with limited luck. Looks like your LB, DM and two CMs will create an almost diamond in the midfield? Looks cool!

Care to elaborate on PI's and such? I see your Left Winger has player specific instructions as well?

Thanks! Yes, in possession it's a box midfield, sometimes kind of looks like an assymetric diamond, the DM staying deep while the LB sometimes more adventurous.

PIs:

DR: shoot less often
DCR: -
DCL: stay wider
DL: shoot less often
DM: -
MCR: close down more, mark tighter
MCL: close down more, mark tighter, tackle harder (+ if one CM is right footed while the other is left footed, then I sometimes instruct them to swap positions with each other)
AMR: close down more, mark tighter, tackle harder, mark specific position: DL
AML: stay wider, close down more, mark tighter, tackle harder, mark specific position: DR
ST: -

(The player specific instructions for the IW are some just minor tweaks to suit the player. One of my IWs has poor finishing/shooting, so I instruct him to shoot less often, while the other has poor crossing, so I instruct him to cross less often)

TIs:

In Possession

Basically I have a theory that if you play wider then it's better to use a slower tempo, while on the other hand, if you play narrower, then it's better to use a quicker tempo and more intensity, I'll explain it below. This theory has served me well but of course there are many different ways to be successful.

I want to patiently build up from the back and for this tactic I choose to play fairly wide so it's harder to press us, but since we play wider and the teammates are further apart, the players need more time to assess every passing option and choose the right one, thus we play with a slightly lower tempo. If you play narrower and your players are closer together then your players can assess every passing option quicker because the viewing angle they have to look at is smaller, thus you could play with a slightly higher tempo.

Since we play wider, there are more space and channels to run into with or without the ball inbetween the opposition players, so there could be more opportunities to pass into space, and since we play with a lower tempo, it is more likely that a player will wait for the perfect opportunity to execute that pass into space and not waste too many balls. And if we are not pressed, then I want my players to run with the ball until they are pressed. Running at defence also helps to distrupt the opposition's defensive shape and it also encourages player rotations. For example sometimes my AP runs wide with the ball into the AMR position, so in the meantime my IF moves from wide into the half space. The same can happen on the other side with the IWB, IW and MEZ. 

Sometimes I use Positive mentality vs weaker oppositions or Cautious mentality if I want to be more defensive minded and hold onto a lead in the last minutes.

Out of Possession and In Transition

I do not use the counter press TI and More Often Trigger press for this tactic because in my experience it made our defence more vulnerable, especially the fullbacks were leaving their positions too early, opening up space in the wide areas. But I often use the Pressing Trap TI, depending on the opposition. And I also use the Close Down More PIs.

I constantly change the other OOP instructions, depending on the opposition.



 

 

 

[ultrAslan]

On 05/01/2024 at 23:25, Cloud9 said:

Height can be a nice addition to a lone spearheading striker as well

I usually only look to the 4-3-3 if I've got a fairly specific attribute players, it tends to be a big ask for the DM/Striker position. I would also recommend looking to a 4-4-2 if either of those players are struggling. 

Yes I agree with @Cloud9 , for a lone striker role I would advice an all-in one package (FAST/STRONG/HEIGHT) like these kind of players(see below) look also at their playing traits, because sometimes you have strikers you want them to play as an AF, but they have the play with his back to the goal trait. Find the cheap Haaland like players.

[Rashidi]

There is so much to say here but others like @herne79and the rest have said as much. I will need to answer this with more detail when I get back on my pc. Hand phones can only do so much.

I noticed that in each formation the AF is not adequately supported, in others the lone forward is struggling in congested areas.

An AF is the focal point of attacks he will get on the end of a lot of attacking moves and that is compounded when he has support, and by this I don’t mind having “support” duties around him. In the OPs tactic there is no one to keep up with him leaving him isolated and this will invariably see him drop deep to get involved in play sometimes.  
 

The AF is a demanding role of sorts and in lone striker setups you struggle when the lone striker fails to cut a specific mould. Others have mentioned the need for a strong tall and pacy striker, I do agree. A short striker who has good finishing only really does well in specific transitions where his height is irrelevant.

Then there is the formation, a 433DM defends with 7 players it’s a defensive system by nature, if you want it to dominate and score you need to set it up right.

I am using one on my streams and my striker is leading the league and averaging at least 2 goals a game. At one point he was blistering the league with 4 hat tricks in 6 games. So the issue isn’t the lone striker, it’s the tactical setup. May even feature and talk about these tactics in an upcoming Bring Your Tactics show on my stream, I will try and post with more detail later today,  including an example of a 433 which is scoring a lot of goals for me. Even the 4231 bags a lot of goals for my striker even more than the 433, I just had to switch systems cos clubs are offering 100m+ each for 4 players in my club.

The AF is a great role but in the absence of the right player and having others with the right roles and duties  it runs the risk of either seeing premature attacks or wasted chances. 

Are your tactics actually creating good chances? XG match story gives some indication then you can track down each shot to see the linked path of all the players who contributed to the shot/goal. In the absence of xG chain it’s the best source of information. They key pass map combo can set people off in the wrong direction.

[Rashidi]

On 05/01/2024 at 20:28, Leoben said:

That's exactly my point. It's not so much the fact that he's not scoring -- well he's not scoring, at least far fewer than he should be -- it's the fact that there isn't the support from other players despite there being ample support. They have plenty of opportunities to pass the ball to he AF, but chose not to and waste a shot from distance. I have presently been playing around with two tactics -- one is more conservative, with the idea of creating an asymmetric 325 in possession, and the second an overly enthusiastic tactic with the idea of creating a 235 in possession in a more symmetrical fashion. I would only use the second tactic in cases where I thought I could easily win, and the first is a WiP.

The first tactic:

Your team instructions:
Shorter passing, pass into space, whipped crosses in a midblock. You want your players to sit and then hit on the break. Good idea to use an AF but you don't have anyone else running up to feed him, everyone is doing it from a deeper position. I see loads of people using counterpress, when I am the opposite, in most of my tactics I end up just using hold shape and controlling the pace of the game, and then depending on AI generated counters. Whipped crosses typically only benefit strikers who are very fast since the ball drops ahead of them and they need to run to it. 

In your second tactic I actually like the use of the IFB and the combination with the winger on attack, since the IFB is on defend duty he can be positioned higher with an overlap. THe issue with this system is the lack of central push. You have a BWM winning higher up the pitch, but who is he going to feed, the FB(A) on the overlap. Then why are you playing a midblock in that case. IF I were playing a mid block I would have at least 3 attack duties charging forward. Here is an example of what I mean:

In this tactic, I am playing a 3-2 shape in buildup that transitions into a 3-1-6. I expect the RPM to shift into the AM tier when the ball is in midfield, thats when I get my 6 in attack. That is plenty of support for my lone striker. He is fed by 2 wingers on attack. His runs also have the potential of unlocking space for my CM(A). If the RPM gets involved in attacks he does this from the edge of the area, and the Libero is behind to direct play from deeper areas. Here the IFB is one of the best roles to protect the flanks. I have him on overlap not because I need him to do so, but an overlap instruction increases the forward runs of the role and the mentality which affects his initial positioning. This gives us a wedge shape 3 which in my opinion is the best way to attack since it gives me a solid "rest defence" when we are attacking. 

A "rest defence" means that as you attack, should that transition fail your players are in a good position to recover. I abhor using counter, since the game does have AI generated counters, 

Of course they are other ways to set it up, you can even play this as a midblock, I would however change the role of the RPM to a DM in which case I get a 3-2 solid base. I pay attention to the AI and its role changes.

The one thing I never check is Key pass combos, to me they are worthless unless you are checking for specific pass combinations and the data hub is bugged in that regard. So I never bother to check it.   It's only worth is to check if the pass combinations for your main xG build up sources are clicking together. Ah. That is a stat the game does not provide. So key pass maps are useless in that regard. The only thing I check is xG build up. And to do that I go to the match in question and use xG match story to identify all high xG attempts then I isolate the passes that lead to it. I identify the players and assign the score manually in my own spreadsheet. That way I can determine who are the players who are usually involved in build up play.

I take the 5 passes that proceeded the shot, ignore the assist and assign the xG value to the players, weighted for immediacy.  In my analysis I found that one player consistently is involved in a high number of xG chances and its my CM(A) who has a good range of passing. In nearly every xG build up he was involved in the chain at least twice, or he would play the pass before the assist.

Understanding your tactic is very important and its the best way to get the best out of your roles. Just sticking a role in and then wondering why it fails to work thinking its an issue with the role is not the way to do it. I do feel that SI can help more people with information like this. Maybe include xG buildup/chain in the data hub and moving averages so that at least you can tell if the changes to your tactic are having an impact. As it is the current data hub is useless for anyone who wants to improve their tactical system, unless they have a very deep understanding of football analytics.

I could talk about the other tactic that was posted here, but it too suffers from the same issues.

 

[mikcheck]

@Rashidido you agree that formations with 2 up top, like 442 are easier to make it to work well also because of the fact that its easier to get the main striker to score? 

Edited January 9 by mikcheck

[Rashidi]

I think the 4231 and the 433 are easier to score with and win consistently. You need to continually adapt with the 442 to win every game.

It’s easier with the 4231/433 as they can naturally go 3-2 or 3-1. And in those systems while my strikers can finish, the lone striker in my 4231/433 bags more goals than in a 442 where the goals are shared between both strikers.