Robson 07

Sometimes that type of thing is not tactical. I'll give you an example. You're cash rich and you do too much shopping, the squad is over stocked. You get in a couple of offers and to balance the books and numbers you agree. But you've just sold two highly influential players. Then if you get off to a bad start the unrest begins. Players missing matches complain about game time. You're missing your influential players to help keep order and before you know it the dressing room has turned and morale is what starts eating into performance. By then though your crashing your tactics to find the answer and they are no longer gelled and maybe not correctly tuned. Anyway if I see the milk turn sour thats usually the reason why.

Question withdrawn sorry. Was asking how this faired but just realised this is a hypothetical tactic. It's not one you've tried, right?

Good point above about mentality. I'm not sure about 'more disciplined' either. To me that's not doing any too flashy whilst also having some positional discipline. That sort of goes against fluidity of movement in possession also which I think you're looking to achieve as you have roaming wingbacks and a complete forward. They're not exactly disciplined roles.

Quick example. If the opposition has a lot of long shots against you. Play a higher defensive line. And/or you could use a defensive midfielder or close down more. If you are beaten by balls over the top and are wary of your opponents counter attack then play a lower defensive line. For the next one. The interceptions sounds like the opposition has a good shape and that your pass completion %age is too low. To improve pass completion play slower, shorter, maybe more disciplined or decrease your team mentality.

Should both central mids be on a support role? Why have you asked then each to dribble more as a PI instruction?

I'd redistribute all the attacking midfield roles starting with the winger, don't think he's required.

Don't you constantly get tactical advice & feedback from your assistant? Plus action zones, focus of attacks, possession bars, match stats, player stats etc. They are all telling you things, all the time.

A pleasure to read.

cheers m8

Yeah so it would seem therefore a good call by you earlier in this thread. If anyone has bombed with the 4-1-2-1-2 it may be as simple as unticking that instruction. There's probably even a way to make it (the diamond that is) work if you know what's going to happen. For how I was thinking about things it was disastrous obviously until I noted something was amiss and remembered Rashidi's note saying what he has said about formations.

@Rashidi I've just tried a narrow diamond and think I've noticed something I presume is instruction related. Prevent short GK distribution. What seems to happen is that with my formation the strikers split really wide toward the sideline, as they play out, to try and cover the oppo's fullbacks or splitting central defenders. This seems to instantly open my formation right up and make a high press futile. The ball just gets passed back to the opposition goalie or someone in deep central midfield who if unchallenged looks and up and just smashes it over the top of my defence for a 1 on 1. I need to test further but I think if I untick "prevent...." my team goes into defensive phase in a more normal manner. I also think - and I may be wrong - but if I were using a 4141, 4231, or 442 this problem would not exist as it would be my wide players that push up into the wide areas to perform the prevent. Just seems really nasty with a narrow diamond. Am I right or am I commenting on something else that's doing this?

Hi, this looks interesting. Can I participate please?

Agree. I also feel at times that these instructions are an obsession on here as well: Apologies to the poster as it nothing against what you are trying to achieve (so please take with a pinch of salt). It just seems in fashion to play high and counter press at all costs. Really so many other ways to play football and FM. It's perfectly possible to be a good team, win matches and score goals without those instructions. Mini rant over .

@ontiu17 Of your 10 outfield players, 7 are on support. Just 1 player (Griezeman) is making a run into the opposition area, The box to box midfielder should run literally from box to box, D to D, he's not an attack role. Support players tend to occupy the same general area, so your creative players get bunched and the defence is allowed to get compact. The bunching affect is making it difficult to supply penetrating passes and they end up being forced or wasted. Look also at Leicester's formation with two deep holding players in the centre, Now look at how many support players, including your playmaker you have centrally. It's four. Then your in possession TI on top of play narrow. Stalemate. Against Leicester it may have been beneficial to have had your playmaker at AML or AMR in a less congested and contested area of the pitch. Just as Sporadicsmiles earlier suggested you attack from different lines so your creativity also needs to be on different vertical and even horizontal lines.