GonzaloFlores

I'm currently playing with this tactic. I've got team instructions for the keeper to distribute to CBs and to play out from the back. I thought that when we look to build from the back we would predominantly play through the BPD who would control from deep and rotate passes with the other CB/RB/DM while trying to find a way to push the ball into midfield or the wingers. However I've found it is the left sided CB who is controlling the game. Over the last 3 games the LCB has averaged roughly 130 passes per game while the RCB has only averaged 85. Is there something in this tactic that it causing this or am I not looking into the stats deeply enough to see if the BPD is actually controlling the game? For extra information, I don't have any TI's like focus play down one side on just shorter passing, play out of defence and a higher tempo.

The simple answer is to not have a team full of old players. Buy/promote young players to provide energy around a few old players. If you are adamant about having an old squad (for some kind of extra challenge) then you need to consider your limitations and try to address them. The biggest limitation obviously is the lack of ability to cover the pitch. Therefore I would create a tactic that uses roles that don't need to run a lot. - IFB or IWB rather than traditional WB - 'plain roles' like DM or CM rather than B2B or SV - Playmaker roles typically drift over the pitch to provide an option to other players so I would avoid those roles personally - A strike partnership (TF/P maybe) rather than a single striker so they aren't isolated on your own I've never tried it personally so no idea if these points will actually help but that is the way I would approach it if I was in that position.

That explains it perfectly. Whatever roles or instructions I use though seem to end up with a 3241 setup instead. I find I then don't have enough of a threat up top so the midfield end up just rotating possession too much and the IF(a) takes up space that AM/AP would benefit from having to be the more creative force. As you said, it might be that I need to play around with the PIs and the players traits rather than altering the tactic or roles being used. I imagine someone like Salah would be a perfect candidate to try and get that movement from so I might do a bit of a trial with Liverpool to see if I can get that shape to work with them.

What I'm trying to do is create a 3-2-3-2 formation when in possession but from a tactic that only plays 1 natural striker so that when I am defending I can still defend in a 4231/433 shape and not leave 2 strikers up top. The closest I've got is using a 4231 with an IF(a) and a WB(s/a) behind them but I find the IF tucks in with the AM rather then partnering the striker so I end up in a 3241 shape instead. I'm looking for any advice on creating a 3-2-3-2 formation when in possession from a 1 striker tactic. Think of my question as how do I turn a 4231 into a 3232 when in possession. Hopefully I'm explaining that a bit better.

I was wondering whether anyone has had any success with creating a tactic that formation wise is a 1 striker tactic (4231, 433 etc.) but when in possession it becomes a 2 striker tactic? I generally use a slow possession based style and with roles like IFB, IWB, LIB, HB etc. I feel confident that I can make almost any shape with the defensive side of my team but I've found it impossible to get a 2nd player to join my striker when in possession of the ball. I thought IF(a), SS(a) or CM(a) would be the best options but I find they all like to arrive into the box late rather than get in there be there during the build up phase. Am I using the wrong roles or am I trying to do something that the current match engine just isn't able to do at the moment? Any help/advice would be really welcome.

Thanks for the advice. I took off Be More Disciplined and Work Ball Into Box and saw almost instant results. We still have the control from the defence and midfield but the forward line are a lot more creative now that they have the freedom to do what they can do. I've kept the dribble less instruction on though. I found the defenders would attempt to dribble past players if I took that off and that's not what I wanted from this tactic. I've started training Rigg to get further forward so will hopefully see an improvement from him. He is still young enough to be moulded into what I want from that position which is good. None of my forward line are particularly big so I didn't want the GK wasting possession by hitting it long but I could probably give him more freedom to make their own decision on when to go short and when to hit it long.

I've attempted to recreate Pep's tactics (as many do) and feel I've got pretty close with the setup and the way we control the ball but I feel we are too safe in possession which ends up with us not creating enough chances. In the league, we had three 0-0 draws in a row followed by a 1-0 loss with a combined xG of 2.6 across those 4 games. I decided to watch 2 games on full highlights to get an idea of what the problem is. I watched against Arsenal (were 4th at the time) and Sunderland (18th) to see if there were any common themes. 1. The 2 holding midfielders (DLP and LIB) regularly took the safe option of passing to the back 3 rather than trying to feed the ball into the forward 4. 2. The BBM doesn't really contribute anything. 1 goal and 2 assists in 24 league games is a lot less than I would expect from that role. Rigg is still quite young and developing so I might be expecting too much but I think that role should provide more. 3. Both wide players struggle to get involved with much of the play. I've chopped and changed roles on the wings between W/IW/IF and switching the left footer and right footer around but not found any success so far. Overall I think the first issue is the biggest one. If I can get those 2 to provide the ball for the creative 4 more often then that may solve the other 2 issues. If it helps I'm 4 years into my save and am now an established mid table prem side.

It's always good to see Blues being mentioned and looked at. I think we will be one of the more interesting teams this year in the Championship. After recent games (Stansfield as no.9 and Miyoshi as no.10) do you think a PF(a) and AP(s) would be a more realistic combination? I also think Burke on the right wing is a more orthodox winger as well.

Personally, I don't mind the 3 attack duties up top but, as a Birmingham City fan, I will say that Chong always seemed to do incredibly well for me as a IW(s). The CM looks to be a big problem for me. The game generally recommends a double pivot in the DM strata so I would drop them to that if the players can play there and I would not play 2 BWM. When you lose the ball, they are both looking to go hunting for the ball. They will do this even when you are winning by 2/3 goals. The opposition will probably have thrown more players forward at this point but your midfield are still going missing and potentially leaving you exposed. If you are wanting Massengo to hold his position (I'm assuming this by him being the one on defend) then I would switch his role to CM(d) or DM(d) if you take my other advice. I agree with Johnny's point about the full backs as well. Them both being slightly higher up the pitch means they are in a better position to try and stop a counter attack. If you like some of the PI's that you have with FB(d) then you can always manually add them to them to the FB(s). FB(s) gives you more scope to play around with these to find the right balance.

I've always broken the DM roles into 3 groups. Group 1 - Can be used in any tactic. Solid, dependable and will always do a job for you, at any level. A - Most limited role possible. Does a little of everything you expect of a DM but don't expect anything extravagant DM - A bit more expansive than the A but still pretty limited. An A that can at least jog and pass a ball more than 5 yards Group 2 - Still pretty dependable but players need a couple of key attributes to make these work. DLP - Need high numbers in the passing trifecta (Passing, Technique, Vision) BWM - Need to have high Tackling, Aggression and Bravery SV - Need high Stamina and Work Rate and benefit from having good OtB and Positioning as well Group 3 - Specialist roles for specific circumstances. HB - Only really works when playing 1 DM. Basically a BPD who defends higher up the pitch. Need's CM's that hold position so midfield isn't completely vacant Reg - Again is usually used when playing 1 DM. Basically an AP but deeper. Needs a solid defence (usually back 3) behind him and CM's that will press high so that the Reg can operate higher RPM - Needs to be in a double pivot. The other DM holding position. I consider this role as the SV on steroids. Like all playmakers, they need space to operate as well so don't crowd them Assuming I am a decent team (for that level) then for a double pivot I would always start with the DM role and then based on the player decide on whether their attributes mean they actually become a role from group 2 or potentially group 3 (only the RPM really though for a double pivot).

Thanks for the advice. I had it happen again so I dropped my tempo back to normal and told players to regroup rather than press as they are likely to just hit it long anyway. The game ended 1-1 but we definitely had more control than we usually do against a 5212. Need to tinker with a few other things to make it work better but it is definitely a start.

Has anyone else had a real issue facing a 5212 tactic? It seems to be a go to tactic for the AI when I'm in good form and it seems to always stop me in my tracks. I've done 3 main saves this year (Birmingham in Championship, PSV in Netherlands and Bilbao in Spain) and the same thing seems to happen every time. 1. Go on a good run (usually unbeaten for 6-10 games) 2. AI switch to 5212 and put me back in my place for a couple of games 3. After being put in my place, the AI switch back to whatever they usually play and we start winning again I played different tactics with all 3 teams (Birmingham 433, PSV 4231, Bilbao 5212) but the same thing happens every time. I realise there isn't really a proper question there. My question is does anyone else have a similar problem playing against the 5212 tactic and have any advice on how to counter it?

This thread has been a really good read. Really helpful for my own 433. I was guilty of clicking on evert TI possible but removing them and then slowly adding the few I actually needed has been really effective in helping to build the tactic how I want it. I did have a question though. The original post was all about using wingbacks and then a tight midfield. The update changed this to fullbacks with a more creative midfield. I was wondering how you would build a tactic that was a mixture of both i.e. a wingback on one side and a full back on the other? I have a very attacking LB (basically a winger who has decent marking and tackling) while my RB is very limited and is better and staying back and I want to play to both of their strengths if possible.

I've always found it depends on what you are looking to develop. Physicals and technicals develop better with lots of training. Mentals improve with lots of game time. So it all depends on what you are looking to improve on what will be best to do with them.