jc577

I think it was harsh to close @NabsKebabs thread to be perfectly honest; I don’t think he said anything remotely offensive to sanction doing so. Yes, he was assertive in defending his understanding of Team Shape (albeit incorrectly) but even so, he had the right to do so. To be honest, the whole thing is quite sad, as the tactics forums is easily my favourite, and it’s misunderstandings/poor communication like this that have led to its recent inactivity.

I’ve watched nearly all of Rashidi’s videos, and I can’t think of a time where he’s suggested that fluid shapes increase the likelihood of players holding the ball up. The way I see it, and @Cleon feel free to correct me, team shape is, in part, about divergence in individual mentality. There are other factors at play, such as increased/decreased horizontal compactness, more risky passes etc, but the crux of team shape is that it determines individual mentality, in conjunction with roles/duties and the overall team mentality.

I had thought giving my DLF-S and attack duty but seen as he's so slow, I doubt increasing the frequency of his runs in behind will add anything going forward. We're not great defensively, but i'm thinking this is player related issue more than anything. Having said that, we've only kept 6 clean sheets in 30 league games... Just to make things a bit clearer, here's my tactic: GK: Take Short Kicks FBs: Close down less CM-S: Get Further Forward WM-A: PIs of a winger without 'run wide with ball'. Strikers: Close down more, tackle harder, mark tighter. The DLP works well, often drifting over to the left when the ball is on that side, and then spreading it to the Winger attacking space on the right. I don't think I want the defence to sit as deep as they do when using counter/defensive, that's my only issue. I'd much prefer us to sit in a medium block, attempt to win the ball/force transitions around the half-way line or just in our own half, as then there's less distance to cover and my slower players stand a chance of getting up in support. Do you think there's any legs in using shorter passes to transition the ball? Good Shout re the corner routines; that's something I always do in pretty much any save. Got my 2 fastest players staying forward, and my best passer outside the box waiting to release them

Hi all, I'm currently playing as Portsmouth, doing fairly well in the championship sitting in 6th, after getting promoted first season. Things are going well, but we're just so inconsistent and I never know which team is going to turn up! Anyway, we've been playing a 442, Standard/Flexible with no TI's. What i've noticed is that quite frequently when breaking from deep, the strikers are isolated, and support from midfield doesn't arrive in time purely because our midfielders (barring our RM) lack the necessary pace. What also doesn't help is that my DLF-S only has 9 for pace and acceleration which is far too slow. What i'd like to see is the whole team bursting from deep together, or at least the players I expect to get to be in support be a lot closer to the strikers. I've thought of two ways to achieve this, but more than welcome to hear other ideas. Switch mentality to counter/defensive. This will encourage the strikers to be deeper when we're defending, allowing them to get support a lot quicker. Use 'Shorter Passing'; the idea here is that we shorten the passing length which brings everyone closer together, enabling better support. Shorter passing decrease the tempo, so would have to bump that up a notch. Any thoughts?

It may not work straight away. Keep on eye on things in pre-season; see what’s working/not working (paying particular attention to passing options/player movements) and post your findings here, i’m sure people will be happy to help. Avoid making any changes in pre-season for at least 3/4 games so that you know what you’re seeing is an actual issue and not a one-off.

I don't think it's beneficial for you to create tactics with solely this in mind; a well-thought out and balanced tactic will do this 90% of the time anyway. Cleon has already given you part of the answer to this though, which is to use lower mentalities. When breaking down buses, patience is a virtue, one that isn't really present when playing on higher mentalities such as Control/Attacking. IMO, patience, width, movement, and runners from deep are the key to unlocking defensive sides. And the important thing is to try not to get frustrated (easier said than done, I know). Sometimes you won't win games and your team will play like s***, it happens. Even tactical geniuses like Rashidi lose the odd game here and there, and the amount of time/level of detail this guy puts into the game is just insane. For now i'd say stick with the 4231, read Cleon's article, throw something together and go from there. Funnily enough I was reading @herne79's 442 thread the other day, especially the part where he was analysing how the tactic played out, and instead of thinking about things like tempo, width etc, he focused on how his player's were moving; more specifically if their movements/on the ball actions were as he outlined in his initial vision. It makes perfect sense.. it's a lot harder to spot those sort of things, but pausing the game and asking 'does my playmaker have passing options' or 'is my forward stretching the D-line' is relatively easy to see.

I'd stick with a team that you know personally, that way you know what each player is capable of and how that will impact upon how you've set the team out to play. For example, I wanted to play quick transition football so I chose Bournemouth as they've got a lot of fast players, which i'm familiar with IRL. How's it going?

Really good read this, keep it up mate @Torskus77

In need of a bit of help/guidance tactically; i'm trying to balance how I want my team to play against what they're actually capable of. This is the tactic: Essentially what I want to do is stretch the pitch both horizontally and vertically during build-up, hopefully creating a disconnect between the midfield/defence, thus giving the Treq the time and space to do his thing. Once we've transitioned to attack, the plan is to overload the opposition in central areas, allowing for quick combinations and through-ball opportunities for my Poacher to latch on to. Initially I was going to use two wingers, but I thought that may lack a bit of variation, and with the inclusion of the IW-S he and the Treq can create these central overloads. I've asked the IW to stay wider so that he stretches the pitch. One thing i'm unsure on is the width - do i opt for narrow, wide, or leave it at balanced? Any help will be appreciated, cheers.

I think part of the reason why you’re struggling away from home is due to the fact you’re using a defensive mentality, which naturally has a low defensive line, and then asking the team to drop even deeper. Away from home teams are likely to play more attacking, and it may be difficult for your players to get out, especially as you don’t really have anyone linking the midfield to the attack.

Wouldn’t say there’s a particular reason why he failed to make the pass. Not really under any pressure, although it looks as if it’s raining, which my have played a part. I’d say your player misplaced any easy pass, which can happen to anyone despite their level of ability.

I was thinking the same thing Probably coaches like Pep, Bielsa, Klopp etc. Basically any coach who emphasis position play and/or intense pressing 🙄

Thanks for the replies guys - some good advice in here!

I was wondering if anyone could help me with scouting? For context, i’ve just taken Portsmouth to the Championship and the squad needs massive improvements if we’re to compete. We only have 4 scouts and a world knowledge of 6%, and whenever i filter searches by attributes a ridiculous amount of players come up, but we simply do not have the time nor the resources to scout all of them. Any advice? I’m trying to look for young players with good potential but can improve the starting XI now, although i’ve put myself at a bit of a disadvantage by only loading Europe’a Top 5 leagues + Argentina & Brazil (view only).

I've just got Pompey promoted to the Championship in my first season after being predicted to finish 14th. Naturally the quality of the squad isn't nearly Championship level, and this is compounded by the fact that the majority of our key players were on loan last season, and only being given a £6000k transfer budget. Essentially i've got a lot of work to do in terms of scouting/squad planning, and it's quite overwhelming I've never actually managed in the lower leagues before, so this is a big challenge for me. Tactically i'm debating whether to play a defensive kind of possession game, or take advantage of being seen as the leagues 'whipping boys' and try and catch teams with quick transitions. Any help would be greatly appreciated, cheers!