[FM23/24] - Trying to build a tactic and picking appropriate roles (4-2-3-1)

[Manunited_fan]

Hi all, I've been playing this save on and off for a while now, and imported it in to FM24 from 23 to continue it going. I started out as Aston Villa as I liked the look of their base squad (FM23 original DB), but 4 seasons in, I've completely replaced it with my own team (I guess in true FM style...? ).

I'm not the best at creating tactics or understanding players capabilities so I thought I'd talk this one through with you all to see if I'm doing things right. I try to take a lot of advice from the various 4-2-3-1 threads that get posted, but seem to end up getting muddled and constantly changing things to no end. I hope through this process, I can gain some confidence in understanding how to set up my team and to get it to play how I want.

This team feels like it has a lot of potential but when I play, it is very inconsistent and just finished 10th in the league. I want to see if I can build a system that will start to make the most out of this team and push on to secure regular European football or higher. 

The Formation

I'm a fan of the 4-2-3-1 formation, so it works in my favour seeing lots of comments about it being the "meta". Hopefully I can use that to my advantage. In terms of how I like to play, I like to have an Out-and-out number 9, a number 10 who both scores and assists, a wide player who will keep the width and the other wide player tucking in to combine with the AM and ST. I like to have at least one full back bombing on and overlapping, holding the width on the opposite side to the "winger". The two DMs then should be a ball-winner/holder (traditional 6) and someone who controls the play from deep.

I want my team to control possession, but doesn't have to be Pep-like numbers, and ideally able to counter with speed when the opportunity arises. We should be looking to stretch the opposition to create chances (I think the two width holders should help with this).

The Squad

The squad has evolved considerably over time. Five of the young players I bought in during my first season are now key members of the squad, six more squad members came in season two and then seven came in season three. Season four was then a year of buying some "wonderkids" as I felt the squad was in a good place. Now for this season I'm moving on a few players who didn't make it, and needing to fill a few holes in the squad. The left wing position has been especially tricky to fill. 

Goalkeeper

In goal we have three keepers: Dennis Seimen, Niklas Hedl, and Emiliano Martinez (one of the few OGs left standing).

Seimen

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Hedl

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Martinez

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Seimen is my first choice here and seems to fit the sweeper keeper role nicely, with only his acceleration being a slight concern. Hedl's vision and anticipation could be an issue, while Martinez lacks acceleration and vision. I think they can both come in and do an effective job if they need to cover.

Role: Sweeper Keeper (Su)

Left Back

My two left backs are Tyrick Mitchell and Destiny Udogie. I don't think either are top tier but both look (to me) to be solid options. Udogie maybe lacks the mental stats but has great physicals, while Mitchell seems more rounded.

Mitchell

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Traits:

Run with ball down left
Gets forward whenever possible 
Knocks ball past opponent
Hugs line

Udogie

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Traits:

Runs with ball down left
Gets forward whenever possible
Dives into tackles

Think the option here is Mitchell due to the more well rounded stats. I'm torn between Wing-Back (Su) or (At). I really want the left back to get up there and create that width, which I think would be (At) but as both have gets forward whenever possible, we might get the same result from (Su) but with a bit more defensive control.

Center Backs

This area is lacking a bit of depth at the moment but I have two solid options to build around: Antonio Silva and Benoit Badiashile. 

Silva

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Traits:

Stops play
Stays back at all times
Tries long range passes
Refrains from taking long shots

Badiashile

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Both look like decent ball playing defenders, though should I be concerned that they both lack aggression? Depending on how the team shakes out, one or both could be set to simple central defenders. Silva looks like he would still try to play as a BPD because of his traits. I'm thinking Silva as BPD (De) and Badiashile as CD (De).

Two who can stand in are Ezri Konsa (another survivor) and Nordi Mukiele.

Konsa

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Mukiele

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Konsa tends to be the backup RCB while Mukiele plays more at RB. Konsa should be able to fill in as the BPD (De) for rotation. I'm looking for a second LCB to rotate with Badiashile.

Right Back

As well Mukiele above, at right back I also have Max Aarons.

Spoiler

Traits:

Gets forward whenever possible
Plays short simple passes
Tries to play way out of trouble
Does not dive into tackles

Max is certainly more of a wing back than Mukiele. I'm certainly torn here whether to go for a more solid Full-Back (Su) behind what will likely be a winger, or allow Aarons more freedom as a Wing-Back (Su). I'm leaning to FB (Su) as his crossing isn't great, and he plays short simple passes anyway. The gets forward trait should still make him move up the pitch so will need to consider that for the DMs to cover. FB will also make it easier for Mukiele to rotate in.

Back Five

Spoiler

Hopefully this five will give us a great base to build on. In terms of PIs, I may consider asking Badishile to defend wider and Aarons narrower to create a 3atb if Mitchell is bombing forward, though Aarons may run up as well so not sure this will be effective.

The number 6

Now I think I have two good options for this role; Joao Gomes and Manuel Ugarte. Both are very capable of playing either as a BWM or a regular DM.

Gomes

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Ugarte

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Traits:

Marks opponents tightly
Dictates tempo
Looks for pass rather than attempting to score

As they both have good passing stats, I think I'll start with them as Defensive Midfielder (Su). This way they can still be involved in the build up and pass the ball forward.

The deep creator

With this role, I'm not necessarily looking for someone who can generate a ton of assists. I see this role more as the one who keeps the play ticking and controls the tempo. At the moment I have two players in this position; Danilo and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Danilo

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Traits:

Dictates tempo
Tries long range passes
Likes to switch ball to wide areas

Dewsbury-Hall

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I'm going to start with Danilo as a DLP (Su) on the left.

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Danilo and Gomes will be my starting pair. Ugarte can come in for Gomes, Kiernan for Danilo. While this provides a solid base, I do wonder if: a) should one be more defensive, and/or b) should one be looking to break forward more? I think we've got a good balance at the moment and with the LB bombing on, and possibly the RB, we don't want to over commit.

Right Wing

My two options on the right are Michael Olise and Roony Bardghji. These two players, while fitting the concept of right sided forward who cuts in on to their left foot, are actually different profiles. Olise is more classic winger with pace and crossing, while Bardghji is a bit more modern inside forward looking to score.

Olise

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Traits:

Curls ball
Looks for pass rather than attempting to score
Tries tricks
Cuts inside from both wings

Bardghji

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Traits:

Shoots from distance
Plays one-twos
Runs with ball often
Cuts inside from right wing

Thinking back to my original plan, I wanted the RW to hold the width so Olise probably fits that bill better. Bardghji provides a good option though if I need to change things up. I'll go for Winger (Su) for now.

Attacking Midfield

This is the player I want to nit our attack together. I have two players I think can play this role; Andreas Schjelderup and Jacob Ramsey (still in for Home-grown reasons). 

Schjelderup

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Ramsey

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Schjelderup is my starter. He's labelled as a winger cutting in from the left, but he looks to be an effective Attacking mid. Ramsey isn't as strong but can be brought in for rotation. I may look for an upgrade.

Striker

Upfront I have three options; Joao Pedro, Julian Alvarez and Elye Wahi.

Pedro

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Traits:

Plays one-twos
Tries to play way out of trouble
Tries tricks
Does not dive into tackles
Runs with ball often

Alvarez

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Wahi

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Traits:

Runs with ball down right
Likes to try to beat offside trap
Knocks ball past opponent
Cuts inside from left wing

Alvarez and Pedro are a bit more well-rounded, while Wahi looks to be purely a striker. This gives me some options and all three look to be suited to Advanced Forward (At), which suits my want for an out and out number 9. It looks like I could use any of these three upfront, and probably Alvarez and Pedro could play left wing, which I'm missing at the moment.

I also have a young Endrick and Vitor Roque coming through but they're not ready to take over for these guys yet.

Left Wing

Currently this is a hole in my squad as I don't have a dedicated player for this position. However, considering my depth at ST, I think Joao Pedro can fill in here. I'm a bit torn on what role this should be. He's good enough that he could be a goal threat as an Inverted Winger (At), but that might be too attacking with the WB (At). Inside Forward could be an option, but might remove him from any build up and I worry if he'd clash with the AF and AM. I think we'll go IW (Su) for now.

Full Team:

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Team Instructions

As I want to on the front foot, I think we need to be on Positive. In possession Seimen, Silva and Badiashile are all capable to Play out of defence. To control possession we will pass shorter, but I'll keep width and tempo default for now. None of my strikers are especially tall so I think we need to aim to put in low crosses. 

In transition, I think I'll just mark counter and distribute quickly. I want to break fast in transition, though this might ruin our ability to control the game if we're rushing to turn the opposition over. I don't think we are fully capable to counter press. I'll leave distribution type and area/player blank so Seimen can make the decision on who to pass to.

Out of possession we'll have a higher defensive line as our centre backs are quick enough. I also think we can press high as we have a top heavy formation, we can use our forwards to defend high. I'm going to start with trigger press More often. 

Spoiler

 

Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to read through all this. I hope that what I've tried to create makes sense and sounds like a viable system, with suitable players. Please do let me know if you have any observations or recommendations.

I'm just starting the summer transfer window now so plenty of time to get a few players in, bed in the tactics (or tweak them if needed). I'd love to get this team up competing in the Europa League spots, maybe with a sniff of top 4.

Edited April 15 by Manunited_fan

[fmjeros]

I was after a good 4231 , and i remembered that cleon had an article about this one 

i tried it and smashed all the records with Leicester , i would urge you to try this one , it produces some beautiful play

 

[Luxifer]

4 hours ago, fmjeros said:

I was after a good 4231 , and i remembered that cleon had an article about this one 

i tried it and smashed all the records with Leicester , i would urge you to try this one , it produces some beautiful play

 

Hi fmjeros,
what pi are in that tactic ?

[Manunited_fan]

Hi fmjeros, thanks for the recommendation.

Could you please provide the link to the article you read? It would be interesting to see the thought process behind the setup. I'm looking to learn and understand tactic development, so for now I'll stick with trying to build my own thing but can certainly take pointers from what Cleon was doing here.

I appreciate that my post was quite long so probably why there's been few responses. By going through this process, it has helped me to think more about what's going on in my team. 

I'm still debating on the LW role. It has occurred to me that in the current set up I only have one person trying to score goals (the AF) as the winger, wing back, AM and IW are all more creative options. Therefore, I'm thinking that the LW (Joao Pedro currently) should may be an IF. I've seen people put things like Roam from position on the AM to try and create a bit more space as well. 

I also saw another thread that if you have two solid DMs then you can put both FBs to Wing Back to add more ball carriers, so might try that (but maybe might need to upgrade on Mukiele in that case).

[Dr Naysay]

6 hours ago, Manunited_fan said:

Hi fmjeros, thanks for the recommendation.

Could you please provide the link to the article you read? It would be interesting to see the thought process behind the setup. I'm looking to learn and understand tactic development, so for now I'll stick with trying to build my own thing but can certainly take pointers from what Cleon was doing here.

I appreciate that my post was quite long so probably why there's been few responses. By going through this process, it has helped me to think more about what's going on in my team. 

I'm still debating on the LW role. It has occurred to me that in the current set up I only have one person trying to score goals (the AF) as the winger, wing back, AM and IW are all more creative options. Therefore, I'm thinking that the LW (Joao Pedro currently) should may be an IF. I've seen people put things like Roam from position on the AM to try and create a bit more space as well. 

I also saw another thread that if you have two solid DMs then you can put both FBs to Wing Back to add more ball carriers, so might try that (but maybe might need to upgrade on Mukiele in that case).

I appreciate this and your OP is logically thought out. The best thing to do now is analyse what you're seeing, pause and rewind a lot. See where your'e turning the ball over, make a note and see if there are repeating patterns. Analyse from the very point you turn the ball over to the point the opposition score or shoot and vice versa. This was the key thing Cleon taught me through one of his posts that was a light-bulb moment. Problems may be role related, TI related, PI related and player trait related. So once you see where the patterns are and discover what's causing those problems the better it will be for making tactical progression. Incremental changes rather than wholesale changes are best. I look forward to seeing how it does.

[Overmars]

Nice post. I agree with the choice of 4-2-3-1 because of how flexible it is. There seem to be endless combinations of player roles that can work in this formation.

My comments on your team and choices:

1. Your fullbacks are short. You will be killed by far post crosses in this match engine. I don't think Aarons is good enough. You need height for all defenders in FM24. Maybe you could make an exception for truly amazing attacking fullbacks, but you don't have those. Also, it's nice to have at least three giants for defending set pieces.
2. I like your idea of having one fullback attacking and one more conservative. An IFB(d) role on one side and WB(a) on the other would do that. The IFB(d) also allows you to be a little more bold with the DM on the same side, potentially freeing him up to be a SV.
3. Your attackers are short, and this will be tricky in terms of earning good match ratings. They will get crushed by missed headers, even with "low crosses" chosen.
4. The AF(a) is probably the right role for your striker, given how you want to use at least 1-2 of your other attacking players in purely support roles.
5. For your AMR, I would pick an IW on the right side rather than a winger. The IW role is more flexible, you can customize it with player instructions exactly how you want depending on the game, and your players trained to be IW will always be familiar with the role.
6. For your AML, I would pick an IF(a). I would want a second player seeking to get on the end of attacking moves. Alternatively, if you wanted to change your AMC to a more attacking role (as detailed below), You could pick a support duty AML who focuses on feeding the other three attackers.
7. For your AMC, I find the AM(a) is a great role in FM24. Support duties in this spot can work too, but I find it much harder to get them contributing this way. One of the best patterns of play in FM24 is when the AMC runs into the box and finishes a quick low cross from a wide player. This happens so frequently that I would want to encourage it by using an AM(a). I have seasons where my AMC outscores my ST all because of this move.
8. I love high tempo in FM24. I think it produces far more scoring chances. Lower tempo is fine if you have a game under control, but as soon as you need to score, I would raise the tempo much higher.

[Manunited_fan]

1 hour ago, Overmars said:

Nice post. I agree with the choice of 4-2-3-1 because of how flexible it is. There seem to be endless combinations of player roles that can work in this formation.

My comments on your team and choices:

1. Your fullbacks are short. You will be killed by far post crosses in this match engine. I don't think Aarons is good enough. You need height for all defenders in FM24. Maybe you could make an exception for truly amazing attacking fullbacks, but you don't have those. Also, it's nice to have at least three giants for defending set pieces.
2. I like your idea of having one fullback attacking and one more conservative. An IFB(d) role on one side and WB(a) on the other would do that. The IFB(d) also allows you to be a little more bold with the DM on the same side, potentially freeing him up to be a SV.
3. Your attackers are short, and this will be tricky in terms of earning good match ratings. They will get crushed by missed headers, even with "low crosses" chosen.
4. The AF(a) is probably the right role for your striker, given how you want to use at least 1-2 of your other attacking players in purely support roles.
5. For your AMR, I would pick an IW on the right side rather than a winger. The IW role is more flexible, you can customize it with player instructions exactly how you want depending on the game, and your players trained to be IW will always be familiar with the role.
6. For your AML, I would pick an IF(a). I would want a second player seeking to get on the end of attacking moves. Alternatively, if you wanted to change your AMC to a more attacking role (as detailed below), You could pick a support duty AML who focuses on feeding the other three attackers.
7. For your AMC, I find the AM(a) is a great role in FM24. Support duties in this spot can work too, but I find it much harder to get them contributing this way. One of the best patterns of play in FM24 is when the AMC runs into the box and finishes a quick low cross from a wide player. This happens so frequently that I would want to encourage it by using an AM(a). I have seasons where my AMC outscores my ST all because of this move.
8. I love high tempo in FM24. I think it produces far more scoring chances. Lower tempo is fine if you have a game under control, but as soon as you need to score, I would raise the tempo much higher.

Thanks Overmars. This is really good contextual advice.

1) I've had a scan through and can see: Mitchell (5'9"), Udogie (6'2"), Mukiele (6'2") and Aarons (5'7"). I'll have a scout around to see if I can find a replacement for Aarons who's taller, but think 6'2" should be fine right? I assume we want to be getting over 6'? 

2) I did think about the IFB(d) role, and it would suit Mukiele. I was thinking about the current popular 3-2-5 attack formation but think Aarons wouldn't suit that. Will see if I can find a suitable replacement, Aarons is in demand so can generate some cash too. Looks like Gomes could play SV, would I need to adapt Danilo's role? 

3) I was concerned about the height of my forward line. Guess there's not much way around that, other than to buy a taller striker?

4) Yeah, I think Alvarez and Pedro could play other roles but given we don't have much attacking impetus elsewhere at the moment I think we stick with AF(a).

5) If I have an IW and an IFB on that side, would I not lose the width on the right hand side? Even if I put Stay Wide on them, I can't imagine they'd be playing that wide still? Also, if we have an IFB and we updated to a SV, would we not benefit from the RW staying right out wide to create space for the SV?

6) Yeah, I like the idea of the IF(a). How would that gel with the WB(a) on the same side? Would it matter if they're both attacking or should I tone down the WB? 

7) It sounds like I might have to decide between this or the IF(a). I don't think having both and the AF(a) will be a good idea. Schjelderup looks like he's got the skills for this, and notice that Bardghji could be effective here too. Might be that we could do IW(s) and AM(a) or IF(a) and AM(s). One to play with I think to find out with option works best. 

8) Good to know, thanks. Ideally, I'd love to play lots of high tempo football. That's exciting, but think we stay a bit controlled and then play with the tempo as and when we need like you say.

 

[Overmars]

In summary, you really have to watch the match highlights and see what is and is not working for you. I think your AMR playing as an IW(s) will still stay wider if you give him that instruction.

As for your DMs, use the highlights to see how they position. You can afford a bit more aggression if you are keeping three defenders back. If you are using two attacking fullbacks then you will want one defensive duty DM.

Schjelderup looks great. If only he had more speed he would be unstoppable, but he will still score plenty for you if you unleash him into the box and have your wide players feeding passes into the middle.

WB and IF are great together. Having both on attack duty works in FM. If you only wanted one on attack, I would pick the WB. Then you would have the WB(a) and support duty AML/AMRs feeding an attacking ST/AMC combo in the middle.

[Manunited_fan]

Sounds great. Thanks for the advice. I'll make those adaptions and then monitor the highlights to see what we're getting.

Spoiler

PIs:

RW: Stay wider
AM: Roam from position, take more risks, dribble more
LB: Stay wider

I'm excited to see what we can get out of Schjelderup. He's the main one I'm itching to get success with.

[fmjeros]

15 hours ago, Manunited_fan said:

Hi fmjeros, thanks for the recommendation.

Could you please provide the link to the article you read? It would be interesting to see the thought process behind the setup. I'm looking to learn and understand tactic development, so for now I'll stick with trying to build my own thing but can certainly take pointers from what Cleon was doing here.

I appreciate that my post was quite long so probably why there's been few responses. By going through this process, it has helped me to think more about what's going on in my team. 

I'm still debating on the LW role. It has occurred to me that in the current set up I only have one person trying to score goals (the AF) as the winger, wing back, AM and IW are all more creative options. Therefore, I'm thinking that the LW (Joao Pedro currently) should may be an IF. I've seen people put things like Roam from position on the AM to try and create a bit more space as well. 

I also saw another thread that if you have two solid DMs then you can put both FBs to Wing Back to add more ball carriers, so might try that (but maybe might need to upgrade on Mukiele in that case).

this is one is the article , it is for previous versions of FM but the main principles still apply

[Manunited_fan]

Okay, so I'm three games into the season. I have drawn 1-1 with Newcastle away (they scored with a header in the first minute), 2-2 at home vs Burnley (I dominated the game), and won 2-0 away vs Brentford. 

I've been watching the games and making tweaks and adapted my tactics to what I've seen. We have so far been dominating the games quite well.

My DLP has changed to a DM(S) with Hold Position as I found his pass % was bit good enough so wanted to take him off being a playmaker. 
My LB is now a WB(S). While he was creating havoc on (A), I felt him and LW were getting in each others way and the crossing from the by-line was slowing things down. 
The RW is getting a bit too isolated out wide so looking to get them more involved.
I think the biggest issue I can see in the post-match analysis is that while our passing maps are pretty good, in all three games there's been barely any passes to the AF. Should I try to change which role the ST is set too? I'm swapping the IF out for an IW(A) and will see if that helps.

In terms of squad, I've been unable to sell Aarons, but have bought replacement defenders to play the IFB role. I also sold Alvarez because I got crazy money for him and Endrick had progressed more than I thought.

Spoiler

 

[Dr Naysay]

I mentioned going through the highlights pausing and re-watching in an earlier post. What are you sewing with the AF? I he isolated? Is he running with the ball in to blind alleys and turning it over? 

I was reluctant to use AF on my save because I felt my Striker didn't have the technical attributes but after watching him play the role I was happily surprised at what he brought to the role. Other strikers simply aren't up to the task, more than likely because of their mental attributes so I would see how he plays the role and especially whose around him when ge gets the ball. 

One thing is that with your rest defence, does your LCB have a "Stay Wider" setting? This would help with turnovers if your WB is caught higher up the pitch.

Honestly there is still tweaking to be had when I look at the set-up but I think it's more fun if you work it out through what you see. Good luck budm

Edited April 20 by Dr Naysay

[jamesh123]

On 17/04/2024 at 20:40, Manunited_fan said:

Thanks Overmars. This is really good contextual advice.

1) I've had a scan through and can see: Mitchell (5'9"), Udogie (6'2"), Mukiele (6'2") and Aarons (5'7"). I'll have a scout around to see if I can find a replacement for Aarons who's taller, but think 6'2" should be fine right? I assume we want to be getting over 6'? 

2) I did think about the IFB(d) role, and it would suit Mukiele. I was thinking about the current popular 3-2-5 attack formation but think Aarons wouldn't suit that. Will see if I can find a suitable replacement, Aarons is in demand so can generate some cash too. Looks like Gomes could play SV, would I need to adapt Danilo's role? 

3) I was concerned about the height of my forward line. Guess there's not much way around that, other than to buy a taller striker?

4) Yeah, I think Alvarez and Pedro could play other roles but given we don't have much attacking impetus elsewhere at the moment I think we stick with AF(a).

5) If I have an IW and an IFB on that side, would I not lose the width on the right hand side? Even if I put Stay Wide on them, I can't imagine they'd be playing that wide still? Also, if we have an IFB and we updated to a SV, would we not benefit from the RW staying right out wide to create space for the SV?

6) Yeah, I like the idea of the IF(a). How would that gel with the WB(a) on the same side? Would it matter if they're both attacking or should I tone down the WB? 

7) It sounds like I might have to decide between this or the IF(a). I don't think having both and the AF(a) will be a good idea. Schjelderup looks like he's got the skills for this, and notice that Bardghji could be effective here too. Might be that we could do IW(s) and AM(a) or IF(a) and AM(s). One to play with I think to find out with option works best. 

8) Good to know, thanks. Ideally, I'd love to play lots of high tempo football. That's exciting, but think we stay a bit controlled and then play with the tempo as and when we need like you say.

 

Ive not finished reading these posts so someone else may have mentioned it before me, but if I remember correctly, due to the new positional play features the IW should naturally stay a bit wider if there is a SV on the same side

[poma]

On 17/04/2024 at 23:42, fmjeros said:

this is one is the article , it is for previous versions of FM but the main principles still apply

What about the player instructions for the tactic you posted and someone asked for earlier?

[Manunited_fan]

Okay I'm a few more games in to the season now, think I'm getting some results more by lucky than judgement...

Defensively we have certainly massively improved.

Win 2-0 vs Brentford (A)
Win 5-2 vs Doncaster (H) (Cup)
Lost 0-3 vs Arsenal (A)
Won 4-0 vs Man City (H) 
Drew 0-0 vs Everton (A)
Won 2-1 vs Bradford (H) (Cup)
Drew 0-0 vs Chelsea (H)

Still haven't solved the performance issue with my ST and AM. Both generally average <7.0 ratings. Any metrics I should be looking at specifically to see why they are struggling? I know it was mentioned that STs will get marked down if they're losing headers... Also getting really poor performances from the RW as well. 

I'm currently 9th and Arsenal, City, Everton, Chelsea and my next opponents Leicester, are all above me so I've had a tough start so maybe I shouldn't be too worried.

When we line up in attack, I do tend to see us in either a 4-1-4-1 shape or 3-2-4-1 so the formation is changing nicely. Just not getting quite the right output from my front four.

Edited April 24 by Manunited_fan

[Manunited_fan]

Unfortunately, my form continues to tumble. It's now 5 league games in a row without a goal, with a 0-0 draw vs Leicester, 2-0 loss to Tottenham and a 3-0 drubbing by Man Utd.

I think it's safe to say this experiment has been a failure and an overhaul is required.

[Manunited_fan]

The poor form continued into the next two games, with a 3-0 loss away to rivals Wolves in the Cup (turns out they're doing quite well this season), followed by a 3-2 away loss to Liverpool.

After this my form picked up.

Drew 1-1 vs Fulham (A)
Won 3-0 vs Crystal Palace (H)
Won 1-0 vs Norwich (A)
Won 2-1 vs Southampton (H)
Drew 1-1 vs West Ham (A) 

This summary from my analysts kind of sums it all up haha.

Spoiler

And here are our Team Attacking statistics:

Spoiler

When I watch us play, I see a lot of dribbling in to the sidelines and players being doubled up on (especially my wingers). We struggle to maintain possession as we get closed down quickly through the middle. If we do make a good chance, we tend to miss the goal or shoot straight at the keeper. If I make the ST an AF he has no involvement in the game, the AMC on S is the same. If I change their roles, they get more involved but there's still not much penetration and I don't think I really have the type of ST to play much other than an AF unless I'm using Pedro.

I've tried various combinations of ST role, LW role, AMC A or S, RW either W or IW. Doesn't seem to be able to generate consistent performances. I've tried watching the games and make tweaks but I think a lot of it is just guessing, try a few things and see what happens. The following game the same things have no impact so back to guessing.

Am I just overestimating how capable my squad is? Media prediction has us at 9th, so maybe losing and drawing all these games is expected?