tlm_77

Thanks Warlock for thoughts. I suspect there are lots and lots of us wondering how to combat those away day blues. Sharing tips or findings will help us all.

And for further clarity - I'm not whining...I am genuinely intrigued at exploring how others combat this type of fixture. There's many out there that find really creative ways to make their underdog team very hard to beat - or even better - away from home against bigger teams. Don't treat this thread as another post about how crap the game is or how poor the AI is etc, I'm not saying anything like that or whining about my inability to play FM - I simply want those that have success to share for everyone's benefit - so, perhaps instead of offering a comment like 'what did you expect', you could say something about the success you've had?

'Expect'? Didn't I explain that? I 'expect' to find some form of tactical solution to help combat aggressive stronger teams...I currently 'expect' to lose, every single time because I cannot find a way to even make my team make it really hard to be broken down...I don't mean 'park the bus' (unless that's the answer?) but make a game at least competitive...

In recent years, one thing I've particularly struggled with in FM is getting results away from home against the bigger teams. This year is no different. I'm in my second season with Newcastle. I've brought in 2-3 really good buys and we're a decent outfit, not up to the 'top 6' by any stretch but at the very least, mid-table. I do well at home playing my preferred 4-2-3-1. But away from home...wow. I just played Man Utd away, they're playing a 4-4-1-1. They had nearly 40 shots against me the first time I played them, won 3-0. I'd dropped my formation to match theirs, 4-4-1-1, lowered mentality to standard/flexible...retain possession and low tempo. In the interests of experimenting, I restarted this game, over and over, different tweaks to 4-4-1-1...never got near them. Tried to be more aggressive, would lose 6-0. Tried different tactical formations...same results... I've tried keeping it really, really simple...using default formations...still get hammered. I get that my team more often than not would lose this type of game...but every single time? Not even a draw once? Hmmm. The number of shots to mine is crazy. Man Utd (and I'm now at Anfield, same results) hammer me. I'm not after a win (well I'd love it) but I am after something, tip, advice, opinion etc that can point me in the right direction for making an effective away tactical set up. What is it in FM that can ensure your half decent team can at least put up a reasonable fight - or, indeed, have a good go at getting a result, without failing, every single time? Some of you must be able to take teams like Newcastle, or a Hull, Bournemouth, Leicester etc to clubs like Man Utd / City / Arsenal etc and 'consistently' get results? I'm sure this type of thread will benefit many.

yes, please share

I'm sure this was the same last year too in the beta stage - I hope it's the same this year. Anyone from SI able to comment?

Been doing ok with my 4-2-3-1. I'll do more work and post my findings. Using 'control' and 'flexible' atm...seems to work best for me. Have LB on attack, RB on support. CM's are DLP/support and CM/defend AML is Winger / support AMR is Inside Forward / Attack AMC is Advanced Playmaker / Attack ST is Complete forward / support 2 instructions only, 'pass shorter' and 'play out of defence'

I'm doing exactly the same as you mate, I'll be a frequent visitor to this page. Happy to share my ideas and thoughts as we progress. Incidentally, I've found that 4-2-3-1 Wide worked better for me than 4-4-1-1 but early days.

Yeah, there is that but when you're seeing so frequently the same type of goal against you, you need to be able to narrow that down. By far the most common gaol I concede is from crosses into my box. My CD's don't 'man mark' at all and instead always seem to close down players they don't need to or simply leave too big a space for attackers.

Cheers, will try that.

I play 4-2-3-1 and use a CM/D...I don't really want to have to change formation and drop the CM/D to DM/D etc... Keeping clean sheets seems way too hard to me with a back four.

Yep, exactly that. ESPECIALLY when dealing with any sort of cross. My CD's just don't behave in a way I'd expect. The vast majority of goals I concede are from crosses. This was a known issue in previous FM's - not saying it's that, it's likely my formation/settings. I'm trying no additional defensive settings with my players, see if that changes anything.

I thought I'd commence a thread about defending, the art of... I must say, this is the one part of FM that's always been an issue for me. This year, I'm again seeing issues with my team conceding goals in games and more often than not, it's a cross into my box and an attacking AI player is free to head home or shoot home. My CD pair close down when they don't need to...typically following the RB or LB when they shouldn't. I play a 4-2-3-1 at home, 4-4-1-1 away typically. I've tried loads of different DEF settings but sadly, I find keeping a clean sheet ridiculously rare. I know there's some awesome defending game gurus on here but hoping all of us that experience the good and bad can share thoughts on defensive tips.

My preference has always been to click a player's name and then to take me to their attributes screen. In recent years, this has caused me issue each new game because the game now by default highlights the players key attributes for the highlighted role. I hate this. I this year it's exactly the same - why do I have to turn that off manually every single time I click on a player? I don't want to see the key attributes highlighted - I just want the old style, nothing highlighted for any player unless I want that. Please tell me there is a facility to turn that feature off??

How come my graphics work on 'dark' and 'light' skins but not on the 'football manager' skin? I love the green backround...want that on