[RB Leipzig, can we build a team as exciting and dynamic as real life in FM?]

I wouldn't use the DLP in midfield, he might want to control the game too much so players could ignore the line breaking pass towards your forwards and pass to him instead. 

I use a similar(ish) system in my save and I'm obsessed with having my pivot in the DM strata with the DL pushed higher and LOE on standard. That brings the team close enough vertically when defending. Volante(s) would be the 'stopper' of the pair and Anchorman the 'cover'. This pair in the DM also allows to push your wide players more forward and gives them space to come narrow into a 4-2-2-2 shape.

 

Great stuff with the YouTube videos, I'm going to implement some more of those ideas in my tactic for sure. I'll especially try to defend narrower and setting OI's to press the wide players. 

[Difference between 4-2-4 and 4-4-2]

The formation you see is your defensive formation. So in a 4-4-2 your wide players comes deeper to defend. In a 4-2-4 they'll stay more forward - especially if you have attacking duties there.

A 4-4-2 with attacking inverted wingers and two holding roles in midfield would become a 4-2-4 in attack. 

I play with a kind of 4-2-4/4-2-3-1 hybrid tactic currently and Imo it's key to keep the LOE and DL pretty tight together to compress the spaces that are there due to formation choice. High DL and standard LOE works for me. 

[So frustrated, how to understand game mechanism?]

1 hour ago, flauta kicma said:

try IF because W are not liked by match engine

There has never been such a thing as 'liked by match engine'. IF is a better option in some setups, the W in some.

Use IF if you need a wide attacker attacking space and cutting inside. Don't use him if you already have enough goalscoring players and the player doesn't have space to cut into. You need to think about your team as a whole and where/how you want to create space and then attack that space. The same principle goes in every positions.

As an example, you had a attacking winger on one of your tactics with a defensive full back behind him. Did that look ok to you when you watched your games? I would imagine your winger was quite lonely up there attacking the flank because he had no support. The defensive full back stays very deep and the attacking winger is very far forward so they can't link up well. A supporting wingback on the other hand would get further forward and offer a passing option for the winger. If you made the winger on support and the wingback on attack, the wingback would make overlapping runs and they would interact in that way. An inverted wingback on support/attack would give an underlapping option if you want to stretch the play wide and then use the space created in the middle. There is so many different combinations that can work. Please tinker around in thw RateMyTactic web app. Put your tactic in it and see which combinations doesn't work and where is your solidity lacking. Try different roles and try to get it to a 5* tactic.

 

Also remeber to look at player attributes like many have pointed out. A two man midfield pivot like in a 4-4-2 needs to have the physical attributes to run the midfield and defensive attributes to screen the backline. They also need a good amount of workrate, teamwork, bravery etc to put in the effort needed. Oliver/Puig etc is definetily not that player. Rakitic is decent but he is getting slower with age so he need a proper workhorse next to him.

 

Edit2: You can always download earlier versions of the game if those suited you better. 

[So frustrated, how to understand game mechanism?]

First of all, build a tactic, any tactic (fairly simple one though) and don't change it at all for two or three games. Just watch and try to figure out how your opposition exploits it and how is your best attacks built. 

Watch those three games on comprehensive and occasionally on full. On full view you can see things that don't make it into highlights. I like to watch the first 10 minutes of each half on full, then on comprehensive or extended. If I'm clearly struggling I watch even more on full to see what is the problem. 

And why three whole games without any changes? The chances are you'll face three different approaches and tactics. Maybe your tactic is great against a high pressing 4-2-3-1 but you struggle against a cautious possession tactic? Figure it out!

After those three games, start making SMALL changes. Try to fix the things that went wrong. Don't randomly click instrunction and keep the changes small so you can keep up with what works and what doesn't. 

Did the opposition score most their goals with fast counters after you lost the ball in their third? Figure out how to not lose the ball so much (reduce risk, lower tempo, offer support for players) AND/OR make sure you have enough defending cover (enough defending roles, lower DL, lower or higher pressing intensity). Etc. 

Does the opposition press you so well that you can't build from the back and end up losing the ball? Figure out where they allow space when they press and try to exploit it (add passing directness, take off build from back TI, pass into space, set goalkeepers distribution). Etc.

And remember every match is not made equal. Adapt to your opposition with these small changes but try to build your own identity on top of it. If you want short passing high tempo game. Stick to it and make small changes around it. Let your players get familiar with that style of play and see if your performance gets better. If after a season you underperformed, maybe try something else for the next season. 

 

Sidenote: check out the RateMyTactic webapp, it's not to be 100% relied on but it can help you to find out what partnerships work in what conditions. 

 

 

 

[Need help with my 4-2-3-1]

Lose the Work ball in the box and Dribble less TI. That way you don't over-complicate your attacks.

 

The way your set your wide players don't have much options if you're telling them not to try to dribble past their opponent and not to try to cross. They'll end up slowing your attacks (even more with lower tempo also set) trying to play it into the box where Kane is probably well marked already by then. 

[FM20: Trying to build a 4-2-4/4-2-3-1 hybrid tactic]

On 18/12/2020 at 18:32, cez said:

Ive tried t10 and False Forward in a 4231 tactics and i way more prefer the latter, try it maybe it would solve ur t10 problems

What do you mean by false forward? A F9 with a T10 or the Treq as a forward? 

 

Recently I returned to the formation from the screenshot above and it has been working again while keeping mentality as balanced. I do up it a notch or two occasionally. I also returned to the IWB at left back. He doesnt position himself narrow, but he does underlap really well with the winger and he keeps posession rather than punting crosses. Zaniolo is a beast at iw(s) on the right flank. 20 league goals and ten games still to go. The forward role is what I'm still not sure of. I'm not sure if I want him to offer support or attack.

[Quickfire Questions and Answers Thread (Tactic and Training Questions Only)]

On 11/12/2020 at 23:56, Footix said:

Playing as Newcastle, first season, no transfers. Is it remotely possible to play an even game against Liverpool at Anfield? I've been trying various things now but they always play me off the pitch. Worst result so far is 8-0, "best" 5-0. Mane, Salah, Firmino ... those guys are ridiculously OP. 

Any advice? 

I've been using a 4-4-1-1 but I'm on FMT so I can chop and change without worrying about familiarity. So, open for input!

I don't usually replay matches, but this particular game is so insanely hard it's funny. Just trying for learning here. I don't mind losing, but not in this manner!

I know that feeling! 

I had my best results using a 4-4-2 with PF(s) am AF up top and wingers on attack. Wingers also set to mark their super fullbacks. Attacking mentality with standard loe and dl, mixed passing and tempo. Hold shape and counter. Then pray. 

[FM20: Trying to build a 4-2-4/4-2-3-1 hybrid tactic]

On 14/12/2020 at 15:57, 3rik said:

Really interesting setup. Wondering if this is as good at FM21. Might try it out. How far are you into the game? Thinking about if you were dominating the world before you tried this tactic and the players are outstanding and therefore it's working out?

It is 2028 in my save and I definetily have one of the strongest teams in the world but I wouldn't say I've been dominating. Fm20 has been a lot more difficult for me and I've just recently managed to win back to back Premier leagues and I won the treble once (PL, UCL, FA).

 

I have ran into some problems with this tactic recently (your traditional mid season slump) so there is room for improvement. I got dominated by Kloppos direct attacking Arsenal but reverse-FM'd them to a 0-0 result. Onana the saviour with 18 saves. 

I also lost in FA Cup against a League One side who played with 10 men most of the second half. I allow too many dangerous counter attacks and struggle to create space when they defend deep. 

I am still top of the league in January by 1 point. My right inverted winger is my top scorer with 14 league goals. CF(s) and right WB(s) top assister. 

 

I think I'll revamp this tactic a bit with lowering the mentality (inspiration from Cleon) and switching the HB to another role to give better midfield support. Also the iwb is now FB(s) with sit narrower PI. I also tried the Volante as a BBM in CM strata to get the iwb work like an iwb with mixed results.

The Trequartista is quite disappointing. I have an amazing player there but he doesnt make key passes or create chances and scores too little. I wonder if I can make him work like I want him to. He would probably work better in FM21. Maybe I'll get him some more space to manouvre with lowering the mentality.... 

[FM20: Trying to build a 4-2-4/4-2-3-1 hybrid tactic]

8 hours ago, frukox said:

It's a really good tactic. I'd only add Low Crosses to encourage cutbacks for CFS, T and SVA and remove Hit Early Crosses. Who do your wings cross for? There are lots of late runners in this system.

 

That's a good point, I'll try it out. The point of the early crosses was to keep the pressure on the opposition box and to avoid wing backs getting too far forward. 

 

[FM20: Trying to build a 4-2-4/4-2-3-1 hybrid tactic]

 

This is what I see a lot. I make those 1v1's across the entire defense and push them really deep and narrow. It then makes space for the wingback (number 3). Usually it just ends up as a goal from the number 17 from the edge of the box. I am really vulnerable for counter attacks though. If Kane lost the ball there, I would've been in trouble.

 

 

This is the build-up phase when I play the Trequartista in AMCR strata. I started the game with him as a striker but he was constantly sandwiched between opposition number 4 and 18. This move created him some space.

[FM20: Trying to build a 4-2-4/4-2-3-1 hybrid tactic]

Here is a better view of the now revisited tactic.

I must say that after tinkering around I kinda made it work.

 

 

Made some alterations after the Schalke game.

 

I usually start the Trequartista in the striker strata, but if he is marked out or my build up is lacking I drop him in the AMCR strata. He seems to be my weakest link now though, definitely not the star! My iw(s) gets most of my open play goals now and the cf(s) gets most of the assists but I'm not complaining as I finally look like a proper attacking team. Even pushed Liverpool deep in their own half at Anfield and was up 0-3 by HT. They almost clawed their way back though with two goals but overall I was the better team there. I'll look to post some screenshots of some nice plays if I get to it.

 

14 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

The duties of your IWBs, both CBs and volante cannot be seen in this screenshot, as well as both the role and duty of the keeper.

As for those that can be seen, I would avoid having 2 forward players on the same duty when they are played on the same side (TQ and IWat in your tactic).

Btw, according to the in-game description, IWB as a role is virtually ineffective in a formation with more than 1 DM, and you have 2. 

 

Yeah I remembered there was somekind of a catch with the inverted wingbacks with two DM's and they definitely weren't narrow enough to fully be a part of the midfield. But what they do do is cut inside and keep the ball in the middle of pitch rather than running down the flank and crossing, which I got sick of seeing with my 4-1-4-1 tactics. In this tactic the iwb(s) looks to dribble towards the box more than towards the byline, which seem to really push the opposition deep and narrow in their own box. I did end up switching one of the wingbacks to a regular wb(s) to keep some width on the inverted winger side.

[FM20: Trying to build a 4-2-4/4-2-3-1 hybrid tactic]

Hi guys! 

 

I'm deep in my save with fm20 and thought I'd try to switch things up before calling it quits and trying out the newer version. I've tried to make a pseudo 4-2-4 tactic with mixed results. Initially it seemed to work like a charm, I was destroying lesser sides 5-0 and the play was free flowing fluid. Lately I've struggled to score and I've been leaky at the back, especially against better sides away from home. Was crushed 0-4 against Chelsea and 0-3 against Real Madrid. 

 

So this is the core tactic (sorry about the image I can't get to the game rn). My tactic also has counterpressing and counter ticked on with a split block with the front four (bar Trequartista). The Trequartista is also actually played in the AMCR strata unlike in the picture below. 

I would want to play pass and move football, getting the ball quickly from back to front and then forcing mistakes by creating effectively a 1v1 situation against their entire four man defense with my four attackers. The volante, hb, and iwb's would be there to recycle possession. 

I want to make the Trequartista be the main star and unlike the picture I actually use him in the AMCR strata to get him joining the build up play more. He is not performing for me though. He doesn't get enough of the ball and rarely scores or gives key passes. I've tried more of a playmaker type and a more physical player with mixed results. 

Volante is on support duty with GFF PI. He has scored a lot of my goals with long shots. At best this tactic makes super fluid midfield movement; looking like a 4-1-2-3 when building from the back with the Volante, Trequartista and Half Back making a beautiful midfield triangle, it then switches to a 4-2-3-1 when the half back comes out of the defense and finally a 4-2-4 when we push in the opposition area.

The Inverted wingbacks are supposed to help fill the gaps left by forward running Volante and between the Trequartista and the deep half back. 

The winger on support is a super fast player with 18 crossing, 17 passing and 16 vision. I'd like him to keep the width and find the other three forwards with a quick cross or angled through ball. He is currently working fine. Scoring and assisting.

The idea is for the front 4 to be roaming around (all have roaming PI) and dribbling, causing trouble to opposition defense. I imagine the Trequartista and the CF causing dilemmas for the opposition CB as they both roam and drop and I'd like the Iw(a) to look to attack the space if they choose to close down my forwards. I feel that maybe I'm not keeping the ball enough to force those errors. Maybe my play is too rushed? The Iw(a) and the Treq might also occupy the same places as the treq is in the AMCR strata right next to the iw. 

The striker role is where I'm most lost. CF(s) helps balancing the squad (the red/green squares in tactics creator) but he doesn't really get involved. He usually gets 10-15 passes a game and a few shots. I play him in the left striker strata to keep that pseudo 4-2-4 shape. What role would you suggest for him? 

 

Any thoughts or resources for a 4-2-4 tactic or just on how to make the Trequartista click for me? Also how can I tighten up a bit at the back? I concede mostly long shot goals. 

[Poor Performances From Lewandowski]

Good that you got him working!

Also one thing to note: PF(a) looks to make runs behind the defence, even more so with the counter TI but you have Much higher DL and LOE and you press very aggressively.

So when you win the ball back you look to dribble it forward with Run at defence and dribbling player roles (flanks and Muller) or make the quick counter attacking pass. But where is the space for Lewa to run into? You are already very close to the opposition goal so there's no room behind the defence. You are also quite narrow so there's no room in the half spaces, and you push the opposition midfield line closer to their defensive line, so no room between the lines either. 

You could try dropping the DL and LOE one notch to see if there is more room for him to run and/or find some room in the channels between the CB and FB by instructing wide players to keep some width. 

[FM20: Struggling with a 4-1-4-1 DM Pass and Move style tactic]

3 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

If you want to have more possession, then a role such as AP on attack duty is not a good idea, simply because that kind of playmaker looks for fast transitions. The Counter TI in transition is not helpful either. 

Apart from the possession-related issues, CWB as a role is not something I would recommend in your system, because it makes a lot more sense in narrow formations (where there is no other wide player in front of him). On top of that, your left flank is a recipe for defensive disaster, given that you have all 3 attack-minded roles without anyone providing defensive cover (plus the overlap left TI to make it even more risky). And even more so as even your DM is played on support duty, meaning that you don't have a single holding role in the entire midfield. 

Changing the APs' duty into support and mezzala's into attack should help improve the attacking aspect of your tactic at least, but I'm not sure that alone will be enough. 

Thanks for the reply. 

I do score most of my goals after quick transitions even though I imagine playing a quick tempo possession game. I guess I want both if that makes sense. Fast transition and decisive counter when winning the ball, but if that doesn't work, play the fast possession game and create overloads to draw the defenders out. How would I implement something like this? Maybe WBITB to make them not force the issue after a counter? 

I have tried Ap on support but didn't see much, Ill give it another shot. He is my top goal scorer on attack duty though, I'm afraid I'll lose that aspect of the role. 

The reasoning for the CWB is that I play with slightly narrower TI, the AP tucks in quite heavily and the players best attributes are dribbling, flair and crossing. I know it's a risk but that overload brings me most of my goals. I'll look out if that flank is where the opposition attacks. Would just plain WB be better? I'm also going to try the DM on defend and duty. 

[FM20: Struggling with a 4-1-4-1 DM Pass and Move style tactic]

31 minutes ago, Murcon17 said:

In terms of the midfield three to free up the right CM, you could either try him as a B2B to see if the added dynamism from that role makes him behave more adventurously.

With what you're hoping to achieve from Kane and the IF, it sounds like a combination of Kane as a F9 and the RW as a Raumdeuter could work

Thanks! I hadn't really considered  neither the F9 nor BBM. I might give them a try. I sometimes play the right wing as RMD but I don't see much difference. 

I came up with this with Rate My Tactic and got 5* potential. It might be worth trying out! 

Changes:

DLF(s) to F9, IF(a) to RMD(a), CM(s) to BBM(s) and DM(s) to DM(d). 

I also came up with this which is a lot more attacking and might work against weaker sides. The gap between midfield and defence is a worry though. Those overlapping partnerships are pretty sexy though! 

It has a midfield of Mez(s), CM(a) and HB(d). Might test these out. 

[FM20: Struggling with a 4-1-4-1 DM Pass and Move style tactic]

Hi guys!

 

I've been studying my guidetofm and tinkering with Rate my Tactic to come up with this tactic which I thought would work differently than it does.

 

 

 

I'm struggling to keep ANY possession even against weak sides and it just looks like I'm the underdog most of the time, even though I'm a top top team. I'm not keeping the ball and I don't create chances consistently. I keep winning and drawing games after a lot of micromanagement and with massive help from set pieces though. Some games I steamroll with a 4-0 win, but overall my playing isn't sexy enough! I made this thread after a lucky 1-1 draw against Fulham, who outplayed this tactic from front to back.

 

About the tactic:

I want to play quick short passes to draw opposition closer. Kane is getting old and physically weak, but his technical and mental stats are crazy. I'd want him to come short and be involved with the short passing game and make room for the IF(a) who is a super fast player with good finishing and likes to break offside trap -trait. That doesn't happen though. Kane is barely involved in anything and my IF doesn't get into scoring chances often enough.

Left flank Almada is a beast of a player, I'd like him to be the Hazard/Neymar of this team and I'm currently happy with him as an AP(a). He gets a lot of the ball, dribbles, gives key passes and scores decent amount. I'd like to keep him as is. In fact the whole left side works fine. The AP(a), Mez(s) and CWB(s) plays close to each other and creates beautiful overloads. It's the other side AND central play that is lacking. I keep imagining a beautiful overload on the left with quick short passes and dribbles, with Kane moving there too to offer support drawing the defenders. The IF just isn't attacking that space and Kane is too static.

Also there is little to no penetration from center of pitch. I feel like I need the right sided cm on support for defensive cover so he doesn't really help in attack, even though he has get further forward PI. An attacking CM would be what I want here but it would probably be too hazardous.

 

 

 

[My 4-1-4-1 DM Tactic - Ineffective wingers and low amount of goals]

13 minutes ago, summatsupeer said:

CF gets a lot of freedom even on attack duty.  Does he have any traits to that would make him favor dropping deep?

 

BBM seems to be quite deep at start of the move whilst that DL (WB-Su?) is suuuupppppper high, maybe he swapped position with W-At due to something that happened earlier?

 

I'd not do anything too drastic, you got the win and there's some good signs do don't go throwing extra TIs in there at this point.  Keep looking at whats happening like that but i'd focus on the ST.  Check his attributes and traits to see if anything that would make him play deeper.   DLF-At has very similar movement as shown so i'd maybe go straight to PF-At, AF-At or P-At to get those earlier runs to give the W-At an earlier option.  Doesn't look like he's needed to link, especially if your asking them to dribble more, I think Kovacic has that trait anyway?

1. No the CF doesn't have those traits, I think he just decides to roam from position when he really shouldn't. I need to see how Kane plays in this role when he returns as he is a glorious player. I'll also try Pf(a) and maybe Af(a) the next few games. 

2. Yes the DL went forward when Sane dropped deep to receive the long pass from the keeper. BBM is still deep because it was a goal kick which was given fairly quickly. 

3. Thanks for your input. I'll try to push the forward more... Forward. Kovacic and Zaniolo are magnificent dribblers and passers so I don't think he needs to or even gets a chance to contribute to the build up. I think this tactic is almost there! 

[My 4-1-4-1 DM Tactic - Ineffective wingers and low amount of goals]

continued from the post above.

 

Almost a goal! At this point the game was 1-1 I believe and I was getting anxious. Once again the finishing is lacking.

 

 

Finally a breakthrough! It was the 88th minute and I was leading 2-1 at this point and the opposition started taking more risks.

 

This time the attack took a bit longer and I got players in the box. Short passes was the key here and got me an easy tap in.

 

Here are some match stats:

 

 

Once again, in paper a solid win but some of the plays left a lot more to desire. Also I feel the amount of shots and chances should've given me a more solid lead earlier and a lot of the goals I did score wasn't due to the tactic itself.

 

1st goal: Renyer long solo run from center of the field after a succesfull counter press. Good press but I can't rely on these kind of runs.

1-1: opposition levels the game with a wonder strike.

2-1: an opposition own goal after a long throw in (these are very succesful for me)

3-1: finally an open game goal at the 88th minute! Had me biting my nails again and fearing for the worst,

3-2; oh the fear isn't over yet. They start to attack with more risk and get an instant reward. Two shots on target, two goals today for Everton...

4-2: a corner kick goal. My specialty, A good source of goals for me, but I'm over reliant of them. At least I got the win.

 

3 Clear cut chances, 5 half chances, 3 hit woodwork, 15 shots on target. Overall I think the tactic is ALMOST there. The winger was ineffective once again, but I'm not sure if it's due to the tempo or passing directness. I need to tinker with those. I actually got some goals from my wide players too, so I'll keep this setup for now and see where it takes me. Zaniolos role was a lot more subdued and Kovacic as cm(s) took the limelight with some great dribbles and passes. 

 

What do you make of this?

 

 

[My 4-1-4-1 DM Tactic - Ineffective wingers and low amount of goals]

Sorry about a long journal type of an entry. I played the Everton game again with a revisited tactical setup. The original result can be seen from my earlier post. It was a scrappy game where I lost possession but managed to get a lot of shots and created a fair amount of chances but only scored one penalty goal to seal a 1-0 win.

 

This time I played like this:

 

At first I didn't see much improvement. I lost the possession battle but got a lot of shots. Here are some plays diced up:

 

Build up:

 

The anticlimax:

 

This is what I see often. Now I actually payed more attention and saw the lack of movement from my striker OR how the attack was too fast for him to be involved.

 

Attack 2:

Quick long ball from the GK to Sane who comes deep. He plays the ball to Kovacic who makes a beautiful pass to the left wb this time as Sane is still quite deep. The forward is kinda useless again as you can see in the end result:

 

The anticlimax:

Too fast of an attack again? Wijndal has to dribble himself to the edge of the field before Parrot is even somewhat close.

 

Here's another failed attack:

Alonso came in for disappointing Sane. This is another type of attack I see a lot. A succesful cross but it's a weak effort and float over the goal or wide.

 

tbc...

[My 4-1-4-1 DM Tactic - Ineffective wingers and low amount of goals]

2 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

 

Why on earth the "shoot less often" for these guys/positions? I would remove that PI immediately, because it makes absolutely no sense to me. 

On the other hand, I do like the split block, so that's okay  

 

I felt like I needed to add a bit more patience to my play as I don't try work it in the box. The winger gets a lot of shots which he doesn't finish so a added the PI to get him to cross/square it more often. The same with the attacking cm. Especially Bellingham likes to make a great run but ends up shooting outside of the box. Tbh those instructions has been on for a while now, I'll try without them.

 

 

[My 4-1-4-1 DM Tactic - Ineffective wingers and low amount of goals]

2 hours ago, summatsupeer said:

Don't want to change too much as your not doing badly but if your tweaking plus have quite different players rotating/moving it could be hard to tell what works consistently.

1. Zaniolo is very left footed but playing as MEZ-At on right asked to run wide so probably needs to cut back to pass / cross or will look to pass outside.  IW probably fits him better cutting inside onto his left.
2. Does the W-At in the current setup get isolated due to two other forwards being support and MEZ having to run from deep?  When you add Higher Tempo I'd expect that might happen even more.
3. Almada is very different and so many traits I can't remember so maybe need a differently designed system to fit im into.

 

1. What I love about Zaniolo is his progressive runs. He creates a decent amount of chances just by running. He also runs quite a lot inside (he doesn't have runs wide with ball pi) but I guess he does end up stopping the run and turning backwards occasionally. I think he should be played more as a CM (a) with dribble more pi. And maybe a run through center trait? He does work okay as and inverted winger. Not bad, not great, just like every other winger I have. I do see Bellingham getting into crossing positions more often as a Mezzala than Zaniolo, I guess it's due to him being right footed.

2, Not really. He has the wb(s) as support and Tonali, Kovacic, Ajer are great passers of the ball and they all make beautiful cross the field passes to him a lot. I like him to be kind of isolated in a sense that he doesn't get to touch the ball that often but when he does he is in an 1v1 situation which he is great at and causes havoc with his dribbling. He also gets a good amount of shots but doesn't finish them off. Obviously something with him is off with the ratings he's been getting. To my eye he looks good though, just doesn't have the end product with the assists and goals.

3. Yeah I can't really get him to work. He doesn't really fit my tactic but I had to buy him when the opportunity rose. Just look at those attributes! I made a 4-2-3-1 tactic trying to make him the star but it didn't really work.

 

Quote

Either of these i'm basically trying to add a plan B so not just about the AML crossing:

1. My preference as i'm not a fan of MEZ in 4141 DM Wide is to tone down the MEZ-At to say a BBM-Su+CM-Su pair so more cover, lurking around the box and getting in late and leave space for the AMR. Then have ST as an attack duty (not sure on role) so more urgent to keep up with W-At.  Maybe making AMR a IF-Su so he takes more risks.  The DR could then overlap to make space inside for the AMR.
2. Alternatively if you want to try to make the MEZ more key i'd not go higher tempo on positive mentality, i'd want to give him more time to make his runs from deep rather than the front 3 rushing things before he can catch up.  Could add Underlap Right to make the IW safer and have the right wing players look for passes inside to him.  Going back to my point about Zaniolo i'd prefer a right footed player so he can then shoot / cross / center without having to cut back.

1. Thanks for your input! I'll try BBM and IF.

2. I've tried the underlap but I felt it made my approach even more one sided as every potential play at right wing ended up to my left W(a).

 

[My 4-1-4-1 DM Tactic - Ineffective wingers and low amount of goals]

2 hours ago, afailed10 said:

You have to observe where the issues lies. Is the DLP spraying the ball wide for the winger for him to dribble and cross for just the CF? Is it going too fast for the IW and Mez to be a danger in the box? Then you need to slow down the transition. But if you do you might be making too easy for the opponent to organize themselves.

I've narrowed down my attacking scenarios to three most frequent ones:

 

a) I dominate possession and when I make the cross the field ball to my winger or either wing back, the opposition is deep and has numerical advantage in the box. Usually the cross hits the first defender or it's a floated ball which I usually get to attack but the header is poor. This happens the most against weaker opposition. I'm not really sure what kind of approach would be best here.

 

b) I lose the possession battle but get to attack more directly. This happens against mid to good teams (Everton [see match stats above], Wolves etc). In these games the game is more open, the opposition gets to attack but my defence shuts them down. I usually end up getting a lot more shots on goal as my attackers get more space.

 

c) I get dominated. Happens against good teams with high pressing (Liverpool, RB Leipzig). I can't control the game and can't get enough attacks. I usually have to change my strategy completely in these games. A counter-attacking 4-4-2 works decently against Liverpool. I also sometimes get shut down against defensive minded teams with defensive formations, in a scenario which I guess we all have seen a lot in this game. I have a 4-2-3-1 high press tactic for these situations, which works sometimes.

 

I would like to be the one setting the tempo of the game but my tactic doesn't really do that consistently.

 

Quote

Your CM-s looks to have a lot of space and options. I'd try an AP-s there and a player capable of picking key passes. He should be good with both feet, ideally. This might give your game another option instead of just a DLP controlling from deep.

Would you still keep the defensive midfielder as a dlp alongside the ap?

[My 4-1-4-1 DM Tactic - Ineffective wingers and low amount of goals]

Thanks for the reply ED! I do tinker quite a lot, mostly out of frustration. I usually watch mostly comprehensive highlights with a quite a bunch of the game in full and it gets pretty frustrating to watch my team playing well, usually dominating even, but failing to score more than 1 or 2 goals. I keep trying to find the secret formula when everything clicks -- which I think is a lot harder this year. I usually start to dominate the game at this point (sixth season at a big club).

 

So here is some more screenshots.

 

Here's Zaniolo and Bellingham, who compete and rotate as the Mez (a) / CM (a) position. I like this player to dribble the ball upfield, get in and around the box to get to crosses from the left winger and wing back and occasionally overlap the right sided winger. This role is usually pretty inconsistent too. He'll have a blinder every now and again, but gets around 5+5 league goal involments a season.

 

 

 

Here are the biggest underachievers. My top wing players. Sane and Renyer start most of the games, sometimes Zaniolo is pushed wide. I also have Bergwijn (a decent rotation option for both wings) and Brewster (more of an inside forward) who rotate and cover these positions. What is weird to me is that all of these players score similarly come end of season. Bergwijn and Brewster usually end up with 6-8 league goals since they end up getting decent game time from rotation and injuries, or when I give them a chance after Sane, Renyer and Almada doesn't do it. After they get to start a few games, their input also dies out so it has to be my tactic more than the players. Then Sane or Renyer plays a great game scoring a brace, and goes the next 5 again getting 6.5 rating.

 

 

 

Left wing PI: Close down more, tackle harder, shoot less often

Split block. I want him to get to 1v1 situations after cross field balls, dribble past his man and play the ball to CF, CM(a), Iw(s) to finish it off. Sane had 7 goals and 7 assists in the league last season, playing about 25 games. He gets a lot of shots and draws a lot of penalties and he gets a good amount of crosses but my team won't finish them. 

 

Right wing Pi:

Close down more, tackle harder, roam from position

I want him to cause problems to opposition defenders with his movement and combination with the Mez/cma, and attack the box. Renyer actually had a decent season with 8 goals and 11 assists, the best league season I've gotten out of a wide player. He gets a lot of shots, though a lot of them are headers flying over the goal.

 

Mez(a) / cm(a) PI:

Close down more, Dribble more, Roam from position, more risky passes, shoot less often

I want him to progress the ball with running, attract opposition players to him to offset them towards right flank to make room for Sane. I also want him to get at the end of crosses and/or knock downs from my striker but he doesn't really do that. 

[My 4-1-4-1 DM Tactic - Ineffective wingers and low amount of goals]

Hi guys! First time poster, but I've been lurking a while and been playing the series since FM12.

This year I've been struggling trying to create a consistent tactic for a top team. I play Spurs and I believe I'm on my sixth season now. I've managed to win the league once and the champions league once during my tenure, but my teams performance just never seemed to click. I've tried a bunch of different approaches and tactics but never saw more than maybe a couple of good performances in a row. Last two seasons I've been third in the league. My problem is that my wing play is ineffective or at least inconsistent -- I've never had a winger score double digit goals in the league. Harry Kane has been carrying me, scoring 20-25 league goals a season, but around 10 of those are usually penalties. Last season my second best scorer was actually Davinson Sanchez, a defender with 7 league goals -- all from corners. My sturdy defence (best in the league in goals against last season) is what keeps saving my ass.

I have one of the best squads in the world but for some reason I can't get results to match that squad. I've tried different roles and different players, different setups and approaches and where did my failure bring me? Back to you.

A lot of my chances comes from crosses but it doesn't seem to make any difference to play a good strong aerial player (Zaniolo) on the wing either.

 

How can I improve this tactic to score more goals?

 

 

Don't dwell too much on the strikers role, he's been pf(a), dlf(a), cf(s), cf(a) and all seem to work decently (gets lots of shots and decent amount of goals -- albeit mostly from penalties). I usually add be more expressive and higher tempo if (when) failing to score. Sometimes I'll try to dribble more or work it in the box if I keep shooting from bad positions. Mez(a) is a CM(a) sometimes, dlp(d) is a dm or hb sometimes, if he is marked heavily.

 

 

Here is my current form at the start of a new season. All is going well, as usual, but I feel I'm on the verge of losing the league again as ManU and Liverpool keeps smashing teams 4-0 every week.

 

Here is the performance of my team of the last two games which were disappointing to say the least:

 

 

Almada plays as IF(s) or T(A), Sane plays as W(a). Both suck as you can see from the ratings. I would like my wide players to be consistent and the star players of my team. I see Salah, Mane, Sancho and Bailey boss the league for my rivals WHILE their striker also contribute heavily while my similar ability players score maybe 7 and get 8 assists. Any advice?