Delfim

Hello, everyone! I have started a save with FC Vaduz, in Raiffeisen Super League (1st Swiss Division). The challenge in qualifying a Liechtenstein team to the Champions League interested me. Furthermore, at the beginning of the save, FC Vaduz's squad seemed tailored for a three-at-the back formation, which I never tried before. However, it's fair to say things haven't really gone to plan so far... I know this wouldn't be easy whatsoever. As the favourites for relegation by the media, rough patches down the road are to be expected. And it's still (relatively) early season, with only seven league games played so far. Nevertheless, getting only one draw from those games leaves me the impression that we could be doing (even if slightly) better. For context, let me give you a rundown on how we have been conceding: Young Boys: we completely deserved to lose (only one shot in our favour, from a direct free kick) 1st goal: a bad pass from my midfielder to my goalkeeper is intercepted by their striker. By the time the ball is intercepted, the striker is clear on goal and doesn't miss in the 1v1 with the 'keeper; 2nd goal: Young Boys hit us on the counter, get a low cross into the middle of the box where their striker arrives unmarked. Our defense is completely unorganized as we try to regain our defensive shape after a corner (or an unsuccesful cross, can't remember exactly). Zurich: we were 1-0 and 2-1 up in what was probably our best performance to date; felt a little undone by this result 1st goal: long shot. They pass the ball around, trying to create some gaps into our defensive shape; as soon as they get it, they risk it and score; 2nd goal: Zurich wins the second ball after a free kick hits the wall; while inside the area, the goal really resembled their first goal; 3rd goal: another long shot, simliar conditions to their first goal. Sion: just like against Young Boys, completely deserved to lose as we offered nothing upfront; disappointing, as, according to their media prediction (predicted 8th), Sion are the kind of team we should be putting up more of a fight 1st goal: penalty right at the end of the first half 2nd goal: long shot, right at the end of the second half St. Gallen: we were OK until they scored their first goal; it was downhill from there 1st goal: their midfielder appears completely free from an indirect, deep free kick; 2nd goal: long shot from the same midfielder, after blocking an initial shot; 3rd goal: another indirect free kick, this time from a wide position; ball goes to a deep player who heads it forward into the midfielder pass, completing his hat-trick; 4th goal: after two tackles, their left winger still has the ball and puts a cross, where the striker heads the ball into the back of the net, unmarked. Lugano: probably our second best performance; disappointing we couldn't win in our home against the penultimate team in the league 1st goal: we fail to deal with the second ball after a defensive corner, as they score a goal from the edge of our area. Luzern: amazing first half, where we are 1-0 up at half-time; long shots come back to haunt us 1st goal: the goalkeeper saves their striker header, only for the ball go straight into his feet for an easy rebound; 2nd goal: long shot; 3rd goal: another long shot. Basel: most like other games, we play OK until we suffer the first goal, where the team capitulates 1st goal: own-goal from our midfielder, as we try to deal with a defensive free kick; 2nd goal: ball over the top to their on-rushing left winger, who is completely free and wins the 1v1 with the goalkeeper. From this rundown, it's possible to conclude that the goals conceded come, mainly, from long shots, indirect free kicks and, to a lesser extent, crosses. In addition to that, I could verify that our transition from attack to defense is probably our weakest part of our play. While possibly not immediately apparent in the previous rundown, as I watch the games, a lot of the times the opponent creates danger from counter attacks as we overcommit players forward, leaving big gaps between the midfielders and the defenders. Having said this, here's the tactic I've been using lately, followed by my train of thought for developing it: As previously insinuated, I deployed a three-at-the-back formation. The three center backs are flanked by two wing-backs. Given the lack of depth down the wings and midfield, a front-three is also employed. Finally, the midfielders are currently in the DM-strata in hopes to have more bodies back defending. Roles and duties-wise, the duties distribution between the three Central Defenders changes on a game-by-game basis, depending on where do I want to force my opponent to play into. The present midfielders can be broadly divided into two groups: the right-footed playmakers and the left-footed destroyers; as such, a playmaking role is employed on the right-hand-side and a destroyer role is employed on the left-hand-side. For the playmaker, a Roaming Playmaker (S) was set; given its deep positioning and how he has three center backs behind him, I chose a more adventurous role, in order to help in the attacking phase and give an outlet to the right wing back. For the destroyer, and for the same reasons as the RPM, a more adventurous role was given, in the form of Ball-Winning Midfielder (S). Given the (supposed) amount of protection down the left flank, an Attack duty could be attributed to the left Wing Back. In order to not be stale during the attacking phase, and to reinforce being an outlet to the playmaker, a Support duty was given to the right Wing Back. Finally, the front-three roles and duties were attributed based on the capabilities of the best three strikers of the club. A Deep Lying Forward (S) was given to the right striker, hoping to combine with the WB(S) and the RPM(S). The remaining two strikers were given Attack duties as a rule of thumb taken from @dcayton9's guide. The left striker is a Pressing Forward, as it suits my best left-footed striker. Finally, an Advanced Forward spearheads the attack. It is worth noting that, for some games, the midfielders were put in the CM-strata in an (failed) attempt to put more pressure onto the opposition midfield, as for large periods of time they pull the strings in their favour, and I wasn't stopping them succesfully. So, back to making numbers in defense they went. From the same guide, a Cautious mentality was adopted, knowing that for 95% of all games we are going to be the underdogs. As for team intructions: In Possession Slightly Higher Tempo: according to league comparison, the Anticipation and Decisions of the outfield players are both slightly above average; as such, they can somewhat make the correct decision while anticipating quickly the next move. This goes in tandem with a counter-attacking playstyle; Focus Play Down The Right: given how the duties were distributed, a potential overload could be developed in the right-hand-side with the WB(S), RPM(S) and DLF(S), unlocking the left-hand-side. As such, our play focused down that flank; Underlap Right: being honest, this is the Team instruction I am least confident on. If my understanding of its description given by the game makes sense, the WB(S) (or a player in the right side) holds on to the ball, waiting for a team-mate to make an inside run. Given how deep the initial positioning of the midfielders is, this could be a way to bring the RPM(S) to the attacking phase; Overlap Left: The mentality of the left WB(A) is amplified, in order for him to look to exploit 1v1 situations alongside the PF(A) and the AF(A). In Transition Counter: coupled with Higher Tempo, and as the underdogs, we want to transition quickly, exploiting potential gaps left by the opponent; Counter-Press: while seemingly counter-intuitive given how bottom-heavy and how we defend in a lower block, this instruction is selected as, with Regroup, the team seemed way too passive in the defending phase. Out of Possession Lower Line of Engagement: apart from the PF(A), most of the strikers aren't really adept to pressing hard; as such, in order to retain defensive solidity, they come back rather than pressing the opposition defenders; Tighter Marking: again, in order to not be too passive in the defending phase; (Defensive width is changed on a game-by-game basis, depending on the characteristics of the opponent's striker(s) and wide forwards). As for Player Instructions, I ask the wider centre backs to Stay Wider and the wider strikers to Mark Tighter the opposition full backs, in order to mitigate an inherent flank weakness. With this, I ask you: is there something inherently wrong with my tactical setup? What changes would you make in order to be more defensively sound (attacking as well, but I'm more concerned about my defensive record, currently)? You could even suggest different formations, although I'm adamant about making a three-at-the-back formation work. Thank you in advance if you have read this far. Finally, if it helps you making more educated tips when it comes to this specific tactic, here are the profiles of my main team players: Goalkeepers: Buchel | Ospelt Centre Backs: Schmied | Schmid | Rahimi | Gasser | Ngawa | Simani Right Wing Backs: Kuhn | Santin Left Wing Backs: Obexer | Hug | Dorn Playmakers: Prokopic | Sutton Destroyers: Gajic | Wieser | Luchinger Strikers: Coulibaly | Çiçek | Sutter | Djokic | Ibrisimovic | Di Giusto P.S.: I'm playing FM21, if it makes any difference.