JEinchy
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Posts posted by JEinchy
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I should have known something was wrong when the first team lost to the U23s in a friendly...
We did extra work on set-pieces in the week leading up the final. These games are so often decided by them, after all
Naturally, Doncaster went and scored three times from the bloody things.
In open play, we were comfortably the better team despite what those ratings say, but Dieng in the Doncaster goal had the best game of his carreer.
Or our strikers had the worst game of their's.
Bottom line: no promotion for Southend. Which is probably for the best. This squad is far too weak for the Championship, and the resources are far too scarce to build one strong enough. Still, when the opportunity is there...
Ah well. We go again next season.
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There's no penetration because the only player in that set-up making runs and attacking the box is the Inside Forward (A).
The DLF (S) doesn't attack the box as often as you'd think once he pops the ball off to someone else, the MEZ (S) won't break into the penalty area as often as a CM (A) would, and the IW (S) will play more outside of the area unless he has specific PPMs that encourage him otherwise.
Your original set-up looked more dangerous to me.
It's aggressive, but that doesn't mean it can't be tweaked to encourage more possession.
For example, telling your keeper to distribute the ball to his centre backs in transition. This ensures every attack starts off at the back, which will then bring the Half-Back and Deep-Lying Playmaker into play. If the opposition decides to press, you can thread the ball through them and spring those attack duty players into action. If they don't press, your talented ball-playing defenders and playmakers can bring the ball up the pitch.
Applying pressure to the ball helps, too. The more mistakes your opponents make in possession, the more of the ball you'll have.
You don't need to sacrifice the majority of your attacking threat to achieve possession.
I just completed a season playing a 3-4-3 with three strikers on attack duty, with a team predicted to get relegated. Our average possession was 56% - the highest in the whole division. So if it's possible with my gung-ho set-up, it's possible with yours.
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1 hour ago, actuallydan said:
Quick Update on the tactic, played 2 games (first was away to 23rd in the league, won 1-0 via a free kick but performed noticeably better) but the second game I saw a big improvement after a few more tweaks thanks to your guys's suggestions. It was a home game against a team near us in the table (playoffs) We won the game 1-0, but created a lot of chances and should of won by more, and limited the opposition to very little. But the team is taking more risks when going forward, as well as playing at a quicker pace than before. Here's some screenshots of the updated tactic i'm using (any more suggestions is welcome) as well as some stats and average postions from the second game. All of the feedback so far is appreciated and useful, any more is welcome!
Give it a few more games and see how it performs against different teams. When you have a bigger sample size, it's easier to spot problems.
There's only so much tweaking you can do based on advice before you simply have to test it and see it how it performs.
If things go well, you won't have to change much at all, no matter what someone else thinks of your tactics. If things don't go well, then we can suggest tweaks to make things better.
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A 20 day gap until the final is madness. I may need to arrange a friendly or two to keep fitness levels up.
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Madness.
Rovers were amazing for 50 minutes. First to every ball. Passing us off the pitch. Carving open our backline at will.
I gave the team a rocket at half-time, but it failed. As soon as they went 2-0 up, I made three subs and went as attacking as I reasonably could.
I was thinking, just one goal to take back to Roots Hall could be crucial.
Kelman came back with three.
Still, there's one more game to go, and I'm not about to abandon the gung-ho style now.
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1 hour ago, Nobby_McDonald said:
You're doing a lot better than the real Southend.
That's not strictly true.
The real Southend can beat Bristol Rovers.
1 hour ago, kingjericho said:I want to see how far this gung ho setup can take you!
It's funny - we've scored 78 goals, yet I'm sitting here wondering what it'd be like if we had a good centre forward instead of teenagers. We'd have been up there with Peterborough.
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Southend United - 2019/2020
Just Any Goal Would Do...
It was final day heartbreak.
The squad must have had a hangover from the Leasing.com final when they travelled to Sol Campbell's Portsmouth. Portsmouth have under-achieved but they managed to score off Oxley's back and then again from distance. The chances were there, but the kids up-top squandered them.
Then, Peterborough. Darren Ferguson. The guy ran his mouth again. He was doing the team-talk for us. For 45 minutes, we were dominant. 2-1 ahead at half-time. Should have been out of sight. And then, well, the final score says it all.
That was okay, though, because Peterborough have been outscoring everyone and we had two home games to come. The boys found their scoring boots again. Two convincing wins put us in second place on the final day, two points clear of Sunderland, the only team who could surpass us.
A draw would have been enough on Final Day.
Maybe I was too conservative. Bristol Rovers out-shot us 28-12. They missed several big chances while we created very little. Sunderland squeaked by Wimbledon to return to the Championship. As for us...
I'll be honest: I hate the play-offs. But, Southend have a history in these. I recall them botching automatic promotion from League 2 on the final day in 2015, only to grind their way through the play-offs and secure promotion after a penalty shootout against Wycombe. For 90 minutes it was dull. Wycombe scored early in extra-time, Southend struggled for an equaliser, fans left thinking it was over, Joe Pigott scored in injury time, the fans who left early rushed back up Wembley Way, and then Southend won on penalties.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVUofqedcR0
Hopefully, it'll be more straightforward for us...
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Defending a lead: Work Ball Into Box, Regroup, Lower Line of Engagement
I want my team to take care of possession and minimise risk, so I switch off anything encouraging high risk actions on the ball (Dribble More, Pass Into Space, Higher Tempo and Hit Early Crosses mainly) and would pull my team out of shape (Counter Press being the big one). I tend to leave roles and duties alone unless I'm under considerable pressure. In that scenario, if I was playing a 4-2-3-1 I'd drop the two CM into DM and ensure the wide players were tracking back.
All out attack: Pass Into Space, Hit Early Crosses/Work Ball Into Box, Higher Tempo, Dribble More, Higher DL/LoE, Counter-Press
I want more risk taking to unsettle the opposition. Hit Early Crosses can catch teams out before they settle into a deep block, but if they're dealing with it I switch to Work Ball Into Box. Again, the roles and duties wouldn't change.
Stronger Opponents: Lower Line of Engagement, Regroup
I want my team to take risks and hurt the opposition, while also having a compact defensive shape. Roles/duties remain the same unless we're being overrun.
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Your team isn't taking enough risks.
If you check your analysis at the bottom, you're tactic is doing well at getting your attackers touches in the opposition penalty area, but the touches-to-goal ratio is poor. What that's telling you is your team is taking too many touches and not enough shots or dangerous actions in the opponent's penalty area.
This comes from your TIs. Much Shorter Passing, Lower Tempo and Work Ball Into Box all encourage your team to retain possession. They'll pass until an opening appears.
However, those openings are unlikely to appear because your attack is narrow. The only genuine width is coming from the full backs who are more likely to return the ball to midfield than they are to dribble or cross because of your TIs.
Looking at the analysis again, it seems keeping the ball is helping your defence limit the opposition. So, as a starting point, I would recommend:
- Increasing the tempo to standard or fairly high
- Increasing the width to standard or fairly wide
- Removing work ball into box
Hopefully, these will help your team take more risks in attack without wasting possession too often.
If your goal is to emulate Liverpool, then you may want to try increasing the risk taking even further by upping the tempo and width and using Hit Early Crosses + Pass Into Space.
I would also recommend tweaking your roles.
In midfield, you could try using a Mezzala or Central Midfielder on attack duty instead of an Advanced Playmaker to provide extra support to the frontline. The AP does get forward, but his primary job is create for others rather than penetrate.
In attack, you could swap one of the Inverted Wingers to an Inside Forward. The Inside Forward will be more aggressive on and off the ball and will give you a different type of movement.
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Southend United - 2019/2020
The Run-In
Against all odds, Southend have automatic promotion in their hands.
The 3-4-3 has been wild. League 1 was unprepared for ball-playing, overlapping centre backs striding through midfield and a pair of re-purposed wingers/full-backs whipping in crosses for three centre forwards. The front three, lead by the teenage American Charlie Kelman, has done better than I anticipated.
The highlight of the season had to be a 3-0 win over Darren Ferguson's Peterborough at Roots Hall. Ferguson had insisted Southend's success was down to the league's complacency. He was singing a different tune after the match.
Then, winter arrived. January and February were difficult months. The back three felt the strain of constant crosses to the back post. It turns out playing without full backs leaves a team vulnerable in wide areas.
Despite that, we managed to pull ourselves back up again and, following an excellent March, are back in the promotion picture.
I'll say this right now: we are not ready for promotion. Far from it.
Our final five games are:
A few more miracles will be needed.
Meanwhile, we won a trophy:
The prestigious Leason.com Trophy was below "escaping relegation" on the priority list until we reached the quarter-finals of our section. At that point, I wanted to win the thing, simply because it would boost my reputation and earn more respect from my players.
Indeed, following the win, my reputation is now "20%" and the players finally think I'm doing a good job.
The final was a rematch of the last time Southend reached this stage. History was repeating itself when Crewe took the lead, until Adria Bernabe took matters into his own hands, flexed his Premier League quality and dragged Southend to a comeback. Kelman, the competition's top scorer, gave Bernabe's service the appropriate treatment.
Next time: The end of the season, and the frightening prospects of promotion...
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17 hours ago, LDP said:
This is great, thanks mate. Do you think playing a winger attack/support on the right would work? With an IF still on the left?
Depends on the player you have there. I find the winger role can isolate a player from the rest of the team but if you have a player there with great dribbling ability and acceleration, it could work. Between the pressing forward, inside forward, attacking midfield and SV, he would have plenty of targets to aim for.
However, if you're playing Salah on the right I'd play to his strengths and go with the Inverted Winger or Inside Forward role.
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I'd go with a 4-2-3-1 DM instead of the conventional 4-2-3-1 for one simple reason: the Segundo Volante.
I love this role because in defence he'll drop into a conventional holding midfield position while in attack he'll go forward to support or even make late runs into the box, depending on his duty. It's a physically demanding role but players such as Keita, Henderson and Wijnaldum should be able to play there just fine.
You can use the Box-to-Box Midfielder for something similar, but I don't think the role provides enough defensive coverage.
As for the attack, I'd advise against having two Inside Forwards and a Pressing Forward because that'd make your attack very narrow and life trickier for your AM. The 4-2-3-1 is an excellent system for supplying the lone forward with goals, so I would recommend changing at least one of the wide roles to an Inverted Winger. The Inverted Winger is less aggressive but a little more creative than the Inside Forward. They can be very dangerous when swinging in crosses towards the back post.
You could try:
Alison - Sweeper Keeper (S)
Alexander-Arnold - WB (A)
Van Dijk + Gomez - BPD (D)
Robertson - WB (S) - He'll need to be able to cover the SV if he gets caught up the pitch.
Fabinho - DM or DLP (D) - Really just comes down to how comfortable you are using two playmakers in the team.
Keita/Wijnaldum - SV (S)
Firmino/Havertz - AP or AM (S) - Again, comes down to how many playmakers you want.
Mane - IF (A)
Salah/Sancho - IW (S) - Should be plenty attacking on the higher mentalities and be an all-round goalscoring/creative force.
Werner - PF (A)0 -
Southend United - Pre-Season 2019/20
Southend United could well be the worst team in England right now.
After 34 games, they have just three wins in League One. That's two less win than crisis club Bolton, the only team with less points than Southend currently - and that's because they started the season with a 10 point deduction.
In real life, they're currently managed by Sol Campbell and his coaching buddies Andy Cole, Herman Hreidarsson and former Arsenal fitness coach Tony Colbert.
Unfortunately, this all-star line-up have been unable to halt the club's inevitable fall into League 2. A weak squad and persistent financial problems has forced them to turn to youth players and, well, the results speak for themselves. February's wages were not paid on time and, as of this month, Southend are under transfer embargo from the EFL due to an unpaid tax bill.
The embargo isn't in in FM, but the weak squad and finances certainly are. The board expect survival from relegation and have given Jonni Bouken a wage bill of £45k p/w to do it.
As far the bookies are concerned, Southend have no hope:
As far as Bouken is concerned, Southend have some hope:
The squad has no right wingers, precious few players who can pass the ball well and only one good striker above the age of 20, but there's something to work with there, if you look hard enough.
Two players arrived on loan. First is the Portuguese centre-back Luis Silva, coming from Belenenses:
Silva is now the club's best defender, midfielder and creator. The temptation to play him as a libero is overwhelming.
Next is Adria Bernanbe, from Manchester City's stash of good young players:
Bernabe is a bit like that one lad who dropped out of a professional academy and decided to play for his school team for a laugh. I've super happy to have got him.
Considering the squad, we've gone with this tactic:
The squad's better passers are its defenders, the right backs Demetriou and Bwomono can be re-trained to play right midfield, and the chain of three strikers should compensate the lack of individual firepower. In other words, we'll throw as many players forward as we can and hope somebody can stick the ball in the goal.
Pre-season was bad.
Being outplayed by Dover shouldn't be too much of a concern, should it?
Between a strange tactic and the players not giving a damn about anything I saw, this season is looking doomed from the start.
However, football can be a strange game sometimes, and it only takes the odd jammy long shot goal to get the season rolling.
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"Bouken" (冒険) is a Japanese word for "adventure", but depending on how it's used, it can refer to ventures which are risky and are unlikely to succeed. I don't know about you, but I think that describes the majority of Football Manager saves. This is the adventure of Jonni Bouken, a nobody from Essex who has fallen into the Southend United job.
Jonni here has a Continental B Licence but only ever played Sunday League Football when he felt like it and oh boy do the players know it. Respect for poor Jonni is non-existent, but he's okay with that - he's convinced he'll win them round with his unorthodox methods.
The goals of this adventure are very simple:
- Become the most well-known and successful manager in the world, starting from a Sunday League reputation
- Win Europe's and South America's biggest prizes
There are a couple of rules Jonni must follow, too:
- He can only accept offers from clubs with a higher reputation than the one he manages
- He must change formation whenever he changes clubs; he cannot re-use an old formation
The game set-up is simple, too:
I would have loved to add a bunch of Asian leagues but this save will be slow enough without them.
Up next: a bit about Southend United, pre-season, and prospects for the season.
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On 29/02/2020 at 12:07, TimoVD said:
Hello everyone im still playing fm 2019 and im loving it but in my last 4 matches i didn't score 1 single goal. Then you maybe think that my tactik doesnt work but i have 102 shots in this 4 matches and 59 on target.
my Suarez and Griezman are missing for open goal. And its realy frustrating. does somebody know what im doing wrong?
You might not be doing anything "wrong".
I say that because in the screenshots you provided, I can see Messi has 10 goals, Griezmann has 11 and Suarez has 17, and you're top of the league, so clearly things are working out well. Going four games without a goal is annoying, sure, but it might just be a simple case of bad luck. There are very few tactical changes you can make to stop players from missing open goals.
That said, adjusting the roles and duties could be something to try. If the front two aren't scoring, you need goals from else where in the team - the Inside Forward and Advanced Playmaker, for example. So if Griezmann/Suarez aren't doing it, you could change Messi's role to Inside Forward or possibly Trequartista to get him playing more aggressively. Or you could make one of your full-backs more attacking to create a different way of attacking.
Apart from that, you can scale back some of the pressure you're applying by dropping the defensive line/line of engagement to standard. Or change up how you attack by adjusting the tempo (low to high if you're struggling to break teams down) and not using Work Ball Into Box.
These are just some general things to try if you're struggling for goals.
4 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:Your tactic is full of overkill, both in terms of instructions and roles/duties.
Not only that you use as many as 3 playmakers, but 2 of them are even in the same role and duty and literally next to each other (2 DLPs).
While you have too many players playmaking, there is absolutely no runners from deep to offer some penetration in the final third.
Instructions are a total mess. It seems that there is not a single instruction you haven't ticked.
Good tactics are in the first place simple, well-balanced and sensible. Yours is a total opposite.
There is so much that I would change in your tactic that I simply don't know where to start from.
But on the other hand, I see in the screenshot that you are 1st on the table in spite of the tactic being so poorly constructed
To be honest, I don't think this is very helpful advice.
In the first place, if his tactic has lead to him to 1st place (albeit with a stacked team), is it really "poorly constructed"? Perhaps he doesn't know what each and every instruction does, but the fact is its winning him games so there must be some underlying logic to it the game agrees with.
I disagree about what a "good tactic" is, too. I know the go-to advice around here is to "keep things simple" but some of the best tactics I've seen and used have all manner of instructions and weird and wonderful role combinations. The double DLP(s) in this case may seem redundant at first, but they can be very effective and keeping the ball ticking over and at providing defensive cover depending on their attributes. The AP(s) might not be the most penetrative role, but it has unique movement compared to other wide roles which can really help unlock a team. The tactic uses an Attacking mentality but also shorter passing, lower tempo and work ball into box, which means despite how aggressive it looks, the attacking play is actually measured (then you factor in the outstanding technical quality of his players, which helps minimise turnovers associated with greater risk taking).
"Balance" can be achieved in different ways. Something that's unorthodox or a little out there doesn't automatically make it stupid.
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You could consider the following tweaks:
- Give one of the wing-backs an attack duty
- Swap the duties of the IW and IF
- Remove Narrow attacking width
In this particular shape, you need to find numbers in attack. At the moment, you only have three attackers, as both wing-backs will look to support the midfield and pick their moments to get forward. This will make it easier for an opponent to outnumber your offensive line.
This is where the wing-back becomes essential. In this variant of the system, having one of the central midfielders going forward too much can cause defensive issues, so the extra attacking support should come from the flanks. In a Conte system, for example, these guys are responsible for playing high and wide to hold width and stretch teams so there's more space in the centre.
Above them, only the Pressing Forward is looking to attack the penalty area. The IWa can do this, but their primary purpose is to create for others. I find the IFa to be a more natural fit as a goalscorer, with the IW supporting them.
Finally, Narrow attacking width might bring your attackers closer together, but unless you're planning on sending in a lot of crosses or trying force things through middle, I wouldn't recommend it.
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4 hours ago, f.zaarour said:
I hope you could still give a respone to my last reaction. And i'd like to say that your input have been really an eyeopener for me in the change of FM's tactic platform. I've noticed that i was still hanging in the old way of thinking.
I've had some game time now and I really see much better play from my side and a better understanding of the tactic and their possibilities. Especially in those away games which goes much better for me now and
I feel that the enjoyment is coming back, little by little. I really want to say to those who had the same issues like me, to read @JEinchy 's post above. It could be usefull for you.Thanks a lot for your insight.
I'm glad it's working out for you.
It's a bit of a cop-out, but really the best thing to do is try things out and see what works for your team. And if things are working, stick with it.
I feel like the best tactical advice I could really give is just say "try it". Because then you can see if it works or not, and if it doesn't, why it doesn't work. The thing with this game is that even with a great set-up, you'll still have games where it just doesn't work and on those occasions it's not necessarily your fault.
To give more specific advice, I will say that I don't make a distinction between home and away. I pay more attention to the pre-match odds to estimate how the opposition might play and if we need to adjust or not. After that, it's a matter of paying attention to what the opposition are doing in-game and reacting.
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There's no formula for it because everything is contextual. However, I try to keep to these principles:
- My team can't counter-attack if they're sat deep and trapped in their own half, so the defensive line should never go below Standard, unless it's an emergency. The aim is to break the play up in midfield, not on the edge of the penalty area.
- The opposition are going to be good as passing and can evade a press. Counter-pressing, therefore, can result in the team being pulled out of shape. Regroup is a safer option.
- Set-pieces are decisive in tight games, so working on them in training is advised.
- Always be ready to change.
- Accept that there'll be times where the opposition are simply playing better, and that top players can hurt you regardless of tactics.
The formation will change depending on who I'm managing. For instance, last time I won the CL, I used both a 4-4-2 and 3-5-2.
4-4-2:
Sweeper Keeper (s)
Full Back (a)
Central Defender (d)
Central Defender (d)
Wing Back (s)Inverted Winger (s)
Carrilero (s)
Roaming Playmaker (s)
Inverted Winger (a)Deep-Lying Forward (a)
Pressing Forward (a)3-5-2 (3-3-2-2 to be specific):
Sweeper Keeper (s)
Ball-Playing Defender (d)
Libero (a)
Ball-Playing Defender (d)Wing-Back (s)
Roaming Playmaker (s)
Wing-Back (s)Mezzala (a)
Mazzala (a)Deep-Lying Forward (a)
Pressing Forward (a)Team Instructions were the same for both formations: Positive mentality, Hit Early Crosses, Pass Into Space, Play Out of Defence, Play Wider, Higher Tempo, Counter/Counter-Press, More Urgent Pressing, Standard D-Line/LOE.
However, a lot those of TIs would change depending on how the match is going.
- Hit Early Crosses/Pass Into Space can become Work Ball Into Box if I feel we're being too wasteful with the ball. Coughing up possession will only put our defence under more pressure.
- Counter-Press becomes Regroup if we're being pulled out of shape too much. I might also lower the Line of Engagement as well.
- If I really need a goal, then Run At Defence is used.
- If we're surrendering possession in our third, I take Play Out of Defence off.
- If we're too passive, I put on Get Stuck In.
- If I'm seeing out the game, I reduce the tempo, put on Work Ball Into Box, and swap Counter-Press for Regroup. Being sensible takes priority, so I avoid Run At Defence and Get Stuck In, because these encourage riskier actions.
I should stress that none of this plug 'n' play and everything depends on the players at your disposal (for example, few teams will have a CB capable of playing as a Libero). When I changed clubs, I didn't have quick strikers but had an abundance of excellent defensive midfield players, so I played around with a 4-4-2-0 DM. But no matter the formation, I stick to the same principles.
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Generally, I think any 10 role works better in games that are stretched vertically, because they'll have more space. I had good success with an AP(a) in FM19, when I used a "sit deeper, get a foot in, and launch it forward" style tactic.
Whereas I believe the players who struggle the most with the no. 10 are the ones wanting to play the game entirely in the opponent's half, where the space becomes more condensed. In these situations, the 10 will either receive the ball too deep (if he's got a support role) or with his back to play, which isn't the optimal position for a decisive pass. They won't have the space to use their dribbling, either.
In reality, the 10 vs a packed defence will play more in the half-spaces because the centre space is simply too crowded for him to be effective. In FM, it's possible the 10 roles don't have enough lateral movement, or that we might need to off-set them to AMCL or AMCR to get them into those spaces.
Even then, most 10s will be moved to the flanks or deeper in midfield because it's there they can get on the ball while facing forward. It's one of the reasons 4-3-3 has become the go-to formation for top teams who come against deep defences a lot while 4-2-3-1/4-4-1-1 remains a popular counter-attacking formation.
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3 hours ago, f.zaarour said:
Nice, can i ask you what kind of tips could you give me, to get a working tactic side. Not in detail, but where could i have more chance to be succesfull with a team.
Like is high pressing a key in this years FM ME or is a formation setting important or stay back with regroup and low DF etc and focus on counter more often etc...?Since FM19, defending has improved. Teams now retreat into a deep, narrow block very quickly and this has all kinds of consequences for your attacks, such as the ball going wide a lot, crosses being favoured over through passes, and long shots. If you happen to see a lot of long-shot/set-piece goals, this is usually the reason why. While there is real-life logic to this (deep blocks are hard to penetrate from the front, most teams spread them and enter through the sides, there's space in front for long shots, etc.), in FM it can be exaggerated because attacking play is a little limited.
The key now is transitions. Hitting teams when their attacks have broken down, or when they've been lured up the pitch and dispossessed in midfield, is the quickest way to get past these deep blocks, in my experience. Pass Into Space and Hit Early Crosses encourages higher risk passing that can catch teams out before they've had a chance to retreat back into shape. The trade-off for this is that if the passing isn't right or the opposition are dealing with it quite easily, the ball is going to come straight back. In those cases, I swap out Hit Early Crosses for Work Ball Into Box so my build-up play becomes more considered. In some cases, I may be aggressive and direct early on just to get a goal, and then switch to more a deliberate style of play when the AI shows signs of being more attacking.
Extreme pressing is en vogue again after the recent patches, but it's not necessary imo. I played most of my matches with a High DL, either Standard/High LoE depending on the formation (I avoid high lines of engagement for top heavy formations such as 442 or 4231), and either More Urgent pressing or standard pressing with PIs for certain players. The important thing is to not be passive. I never drop the DL to lower than standard because it means we'll defend the edge of the penalty area and basically get pounded by shots. Even if I'm looking for counter attacks, I play on standard or with a high defensive live so we can win the ball in midfield and start our counters closer to the forwards. I had a 3-5-2 I used in the CL that was based on this and it worked pretty well, although the football wasn't pretty.
Basically, I find that with this FM, it's harder to stick with one approach because the AI is more willing to change. If you've ever found yourself suddenly under pressure in a game, it's because the AI has changed to a more aggressive style (higher mentality, more pressing, more attacking roles). So if you, like a lot of players do, are playing high pressing, counter-press, etc. you'll see your teams pulled out of shape a lot. This is where regroup, lower line of engagement, etc. can help. I feel like people sleep on the regroup instruction but I've found it's a useful way of solidifying a defence while also drawing teams out.
tl;dr version - Hitting teams fast and hard seems more effective than patient possession play in unlocking teams, and you may need to change your defensive instructions depending on how the game is going.
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The fundamental issue with mitigating the ME's quirks is that it's not intuitive. When you see a striker consistently miss good chances by real life standards, the user's first thought is going to be "he should score, but at least my tactics are creating these chances" and not "well, I guess the ME doesn't consider this a good chance, therefore my player didn't score, and I need to adjust my approach".
This is an inherent issue that comes with replicating a real life sport. We instinctively try to apply real-life solutions we consider to be logical rather than think of a way of to beat the game. If you approach FM as a game and see these problems as simple challenges to overcome, then naturally you will find solutions, but many of these solutions go against our expectations for what is intended to be a simulation of real life football. Hence, players grow frustrated. The most intuitive response to a problem is often the one that doesn't work.
I don't think FM, as a game and a simulation, is intended to be played with the mindset of "how can I exploit/mitigate this issue". Nor do I think this should be the optimal approach to the game. Ideally, the game should account for as many approaches as possible, and allow the player to succeed and fail according to their skill. I did a six season save with Sevilla, won three league titles, two CLs, went 60 games unbeaten, etc. but not once did I feel like I was a skilled player of the game. Rather, I just felt like I knew how to "play" the game and that's not very fulfilling.
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Looking at your choice of roles and duties, I'd say your side lacks penetration. You said you want the AM to make runs forward, but on a support duty he'll look to drop into midfield and link play more than breaking into the penalty area. You could try putting him on an attack duty to see if he'll be more aggressive. On the other side, the IW(a) can be a scorer with the right player, but it's a more creative role, with the player picking the ball up deeper than an Inside Forward would. If you're struggling for penetration on this side, I'd recommend changing his role to IF(a).
This last one is mostly preference, but I would change attacking width to Fairly Wide/Wide instead of Fairly Narrow/Narrow. Against deep defences, the ball is going to go wide most of the time anyway because that's where the space is, so I prefer to encourage width rather than go against it.
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The AI parking it is only a problem because attacking movement isn't as intelligent as it could be. Looking at that GIF earlier, it was frustrating how the two strikers remained central instead of looking for the gaps between the opposition full-backs and centre backs that were opening up. Ideally, the strikers' movement should be cuter than that, especially if they're intelligent players.
It's an issue with the position itself, I think, because I've seen Inside Forwards attack that type of space well since the patch. AFAIK, SI are working on improving this, so fingers crossed they can.
Strikers can be deadly still, but their movement this year (and last year, too) is mostly in straight lines. Hence, the optimal way to get them scoring is to either play direct passes behind a defence for them to run on to and score (hopefully!) the 1v1, or to cross the ball in their general vicinity. FM20 became a much easier game for me when I realised that PFa/AF with Pass Into Space, Higher Tempo and Hit Early Crosses TIs was an effective way of getting goals.
Unfortunately, this makes a patient passing game trickier because the striker is an essential attacking pivot for bringing runners - either IFs or someone from midfield - into play, but his static positioning can result in him being crowded out by those deep defences. You can absolutely be successful this way, but from my experience, you're likely to score fewer goals than you would playing more direct or on the counter. For me, this ME clearly favours a more direct style, and that in itself is a problem because not everyone wants to play that way. It's not a coincidence the tactics forum is full of threads about people struggling to get performances out of their forwards.
Despite all that, I do hope defending continues to improve, too. Teams playing deep and compact against you if you're in good form is logical. The one issue I have it with it right now, besides attacking movement, is that I've come against attacking managers with decent teams who go all-out defence the moment you hit any significant form. This is especially notable against mid-table teams. Pretty much anyone from 10th downwards tends to go defensive against me, when I feel that a few of them should at least be having a go, especially if they're at home. I really shouldn't be able to rock-up at a 10th place team is okay form playing a 2-3-3-2 formation and not feel any danger.
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Watching AI vs AI will only give you a limited view of the what the ME is capable of because the AI has a fixed number of combinations it uses depending on the scenario, whereas the human player can be a lot more creative.
For example, most AI teams will play defensively when it considers itself the underdog. To do that, it selects a low mentality and a high number of defensive roles. The human player, on the other hand, can play aggressively because they want to catch teams out. Hence, a human player can win the league with a team predicted to finish last, whereas the chances of the AI doing that are incredibly small.
What this tells us is that if the AI cannot do something the player can do, then it's not using the tools available to it properly. So if you watch an AI vs AI match and see a lack of central player and through passes, it's more likely to do with how the teams have been set-up than it is with defects in the ME.
1
[FM20] Bouken's Bouken - From the Southend of Nowhere
in FM Career Updates
Posted
Southend United - 2019/20
Season Review
Missing out on promotion twice stings, but it's been one hell of a season.
The ACL injury suffered by Stephen Humphrys left us short of quality up front. Fortunately, the 3-4-3 was so good at making chances that even teenagers of League 2 quality could get a few goals. Charlie Kelman was by far the most impressive, being far and away the club's top scorer and bagging important goals along the way. We won the Leasing.com Trophy and got to the play-off final because of him.
Adria Bernabe was my player of the year, though. This guy rampaged through League 1 midfielders and scored some amazing goals. He definitely won't be here next season.
Neither will the majority of the squad, as many will be leaving at the end of their contracts. We were running a few grand over the wage bill all season long, so this is a chance to put that right.
Next season's target will depend on the squad I can get together.