Bahnzo

I've tried something like that. I have a decent DLP which I played as such, but it was rare that he played direct, over-the-top balls to the forwards. I have him training the "Tries Long Balls" trait, so we'll see if that helps. I do have some pacey strikers/wingers, but even with the Passing set to "Slightly More Direct" or even "Much More Direct", it seemed rare to see my players try to make those passes out of the back. I guess I need to go look at some tactics and see how they set up a Route One style and try that. None of this is how I want to play, however. I want to play a patient possession style offense eventually. It's a matter of getting the right players.

So this is what I changed to. It didn't really help much. I had 3 final games of the season, 2 against teams being relegated, and I drew both, 1-1 and 0-0. Both at home also I think. Awful. The instructions you see are what I changed to for the last game, which was against Dortmund, so I bunkered in and tried to play counter attack. Got beat 2-0. 2 shots, none on target. I'm giving up on playing a 343. It was great when the AI didn't take me seriously as a newly promoted team, but once they did it no longer worked. WIth better players I'll try it again, but for the next season or so, it's back to the 4231. The 343 was very nice with the WB's bombing up the field. It seems to me it should work well as a Route One style offense as the pacey WB's can serve that function of getting the ball upfield and then crossing or passing to the playmakers.

What would you choose in a coach? One that has slightly better coaching attributes, or one that is slightly better at mental (like determination/Discipline/Motivating)?

Thanks I'll give some thought and make some tweaks and report later. I do think I'll change the two IF to support roles and then set the wingbacks to attack. That might provide better balance.

We have to start with the keeper. Because that's where the main issue is, which is not having any possession when he starts things. I want him to be a SK so he can cycle possession. Should i try him as a SKd with "fewer risks"? He needs to be making his initial pass to an open player. I don't play counter attack as that leaves me much to open to being countered myself. I'm following what I see @Rashidi talk about, which is trusting your players to counter when appropriate so you don't find yourself out of position. It's why I also have my front three on attack, so they will make forward runs. If I don't, they aren't enough attack minded.

Thanks for taking the time. Yes, there's space out there, but the problem is how to get the players there? Like I said, the keeper, even tho I have him set to "Throw it long" is just kicking it downfield in these situations, which I then lose possession most the time. In this situation, I'm playing a 343. My back 3 are all BPD, so I guess I either need to change them to wide defenders or give them the "Wider" instruction to move the outside two into space? Typically, I'd think the GK should be throwing the ball to the defender you see I have highlighted with his name showing, but he doesn't. And he's a very good BPD with excellent attributes who does well here. It's first a matter of getting the GK to make the right play. And my GK is probably my best player, so there should be no issue with his decisions...he's also very good when you see his attributes. I'll post the tactic I'm using, but really it's not the specific tactic, as this is a problem I always run into no matter what I use. When the AI decides to press and mark like this, it really requires a change that I'm not sure how to make. It's easy to say "get different/better players", but this team finished 6th in the Bundesliga last season and I've improved it quite a bit with the transfer funds I received from that. But now I'm languishing in 14th place and struggling. With the same tactic and a better team. Simply because the AI flipped a switch and now presses and marks as it does. I also have no idea how the AI manages to mark as tightly as I showed there. I've tried to do it myself, with the mark tightly instruction and also telling each player to mark a specific player or position, and I *never* have been able to replicate how the AI manages to get the marking as tight as I showed.

A long ball from the keeper? Because I might have some fast forwards, but they aren't winning a header from a long kick. And the keeper here just hoofs it forward 90% of the time as they have everyone covered. What are "press resistant" players?

Here's an example. Look at how the AI has every player of mine tightly marked. I have my keeper set to throw it long, and he actually has excellent throwing attribute, but he's forced to kick it deep and as a consequence, I never have possession. I honestly don't know how to deal with this, and it's every damn game.

This is the one thing that frustrates me the most. And has for years. I just can't figure out how to deal with the AI pressing and marking my team hard. I never play top teams, so I don't have the players whom can pass and dribble around it. And I accept when I play those top teams it's going to be a very difficult game. But even playing lower table teams causes the same problems. They relentlessly press AND man mark me out of the game and I just don't know how to deal with it. I'm a better team with better players and yet it shuts down my team every time. It's getting to the point I'm ready to just chuck the game in the trash as it feels I don't have any options to counter it. Help?

There's something called "Tactical Suitability" in the views. Does apply to your main trained tactic, or...something else?

I accepted an offer to have a B team, which now plays in such a low league I can't see it's games. They are being played, as players on the team show as having games played. But my worry is that players being sent there aren't training properly. I only have a manager, and although I'm allowed 3 coaches, I can't hire anyone to fill those spots as they are part time and nobody will accept them. What do I do here? I feel if I send my young players too old for U19 they aren't going to develop properly, but if I keep them on my senior squad they won't get games. I've tried sending them out on loan, but only the ones good enough to be squad players in my senior team really get offers, so my 5 star potential 17 year olds are now just sitting there.

I see this quite a lot. I've gone in to my set pieces and tried setting more "man marking" to see if that fixes it.

Is it because they are from FM19? They won't load in 24 it seems. Can I also ask, what do you mean by SUS there? Seems like an abbreviation for something, but I can't figure out what.

I've noticed this here and there. This is my team on defense, but I've had it happen when I'm taking a FK within shooting range. If you look, you'll notice the two players left unmarked on the other side of the wall. Often the kick taker will just ignore them and take a shot on goal, but I've had times when they pass to them and it's a mess....a free 1v1 with the keeper. Anyone else noticed this and know how to fix it?

I'd give the CWB an attack role, tell him to underlap with a cut inside instruction. I have one I use on my team like that, and he constantly causes havoc and scores here and there as well.

This is nice, because I've been trying to integrate the 343 into my Dresden team. I started playing a 433, but so many German teams use the 343 to good effect it got me interested into trying my own. I have two versions, one with wide attackers, and one with two strikers and an AF-ish role (which seems to be the more popular one when I look at other's tactics). Like you, I've had some amazing games where my team just plays amazing total football, pinging passes all around and playing their way into the box. And then some games where they fall apart and seem like they can't string 2 passes together. This almost always happens when the AI either presses me hard, or close marks all my players. Here's my "wide" tactic. It does ok, but I still need to figure it out. My W on the right is a star player who is super quick and agile and dribbles and crosses well. He's gotta be out wide, so I struggle with the right WB sometimes. I have the W on cut inside, but they sometimes get in each other's way. The IF is also a star who is young and starting to finish more. He also cut's inside and does a good job of causing havoc. The CWB, however, is also someone who cuts inside (see his strong foot) and also can tear apart the defense, so I have the IF on Stay Wide to try to give him space, but again it sometimes conflicts and causes a mess. I hope since this is a new tactic on a new season, they will "play into it" over time. This my narrow 343. It's doing much better, but my star W is left out. I can sometimes use him as the AF since he's so fast, but it's not ideal. It's much more offensive with the two midfielders instead of one being a DM, but the BWM helps with that. I'm having much more success with this one, but losing my star W makes it hard to use. I guess if it continues to do well, I'll just have to sell the W and move on.

Here's one from a recent match, about the 60th min. The action zone listed on the bottom is what I never have quite understood. Does this mean that Werder is having most of the possession in the midfield? Because the actual stats don't match that. And also, do you use it for mid match analysis and if so, then how?

I'm a little confused here. Do you mean a W on the right who has a left foot as their strong foot?

I never considered the morale changing. I've noticed this year we've got a couple when subbing players *on*, but now that you mention it, I have noticed there are players who get anxious during the game if you aren't winning. Or something similar.

I find the Match Momentum from the in game tablet to be very helpful with seeing how the game is going. When the game is turning against your team, what are some things people look at to attempt to turn momentum?

My main issue with the DLP is that he doesn't get the ball enough in the buildup. That position, regardless of it being a DLP or DM or whatnot, is usually marked. But he does tend to recycle too much and I assumed it's because he's well marked. I'll try the more direct if it's available and see how that changes things.

Alright, so I've tried a couple different strategies, with some different results. My first was something I've been wanting to try, which is a 3-2, so using a IFB and a IWB does that with this tactic. I made some other changes in midfield as @dzek suggested as well. This...sorta worked. I think it's worth pointing out, I'm still playing the 3rd division of Germany, so even with a team like Dresden I feel like you need higher level players with the correct attributes to make this sort of tactic work. Like I said, it kind of did. Having the extra DM in midfield did provide another passing option, but it feels like the IWB (at least at this level) just never really put themselves in space to make this a good option. Again, one of the real problems I'm having isn't so much on attack as it is getting into position to setup my attack, and while this did work ok when in the opponent's third, it didn't improve my team getting themselves into position. It's definitely something I'll try later if (when, really) I get promoted and can bring in players more talented and suited. My second was to understand I'm in the 3rd division and give up on the 3-2-5 attacking shape and also take more of @dzek's advice into consideration. So play a conventional 433 which players seem better suited for. Change the midfield 3 to only having one playmaker and a WB and FB better setup to interact with my wingers up front. This is working a little better and has let me go back on a streak of 5 games now w/o a loss. I'm still not playing the nice, 1-touch, quick passing football I was playing, but I'll have to accept my team isn't up to that. I'm still struggling some with the transition from defense to offense and getting the ball up the field, but it's improved for sure. Finally, I might have to give in to the 4-2-3-1. It just seems like a superior shape in defense and buildup. I hate to give in, as I've always loved playing the 433 for some years now. Hell, maybe I'll go back to a 442. My current formation and TI:

See, that's the thing that frustrates me. I was doing great with this tactic. I haven't been promoted to a higher league (yet) and I haven't changed players or had some injury wave hit me. It's simply the AI doing what we all experience: it flips a switch and decides we are now a top team. So we now are being pressed high and hard. And also, man marked heavy I think. I just always struggle with adjusting to that. And I'm sorry, as it sounds rude, but "get better players" or "I did great with that team" isn't telling us how to adjust to that. It's just a humble brag. Edit: I will agree however that changing some roles, as @dzek is suggesting, does make sense however. When you aren't under all that pressure, you can get away with not having positions/roles being properly used. When that pressure starts, you need to be better setup to deal with it I think.

My main problem is buildup. Once I get into the opponents third, I'm actually doing ok. It's getting there which is the problem. I think a lot of what you say makes sense tho. I think I need to either stretch the defense more, so changing the FB to WB might work. Either that or I need more support in midfield. I'm thinking changing a FB to a IWB might work there to give me another passing option. I think I might switch the mezz and the ap sides. You are right, the IF and mezz cover the same space. My mezz is my best player and that's his best role, so I'm trying to work with him there. I'll also consider the one playmaker idea, that makes sense. Thanks!

Congrats for you, but that's not what I'm discussing here. I went from dominating teams to being closed down by those same teams due to how the AI changes. I'm hoping to understand how to revise my tactics to adjust to that. "Get better players" isn't a tactic.