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

[Cleon]

Just bought FM16 - Is it correct in my thinking (from reading some threads etc) that having more support players in a standard mentality wont necessarily mean a lack of creativity? Or a AP (s) and DLP (S) will still make forward runs and suppor the attack?

Nothing changed, that's always been the case. Not all roles have forward runs though.

[Sussex Hammer]

If you have a player in the AML/AMR strata and you want him to cut inside sometimes but at other times go outside, cross on occasion, dribble on occasion, shoot on occasion - basically do a bit of everything when in his opinion the time is right what role do you use as "cut inside" is hardcoded for IF's and stay wider is hard coded for wingers.

[Fosse]

Does bravery only increase with experience, Romagnoli has got a rating of 10 for bravery and it's a bit annoying.

[vasilli07]

If you have a player in the AML/AMR strata and you want him to cut inside sometimes but at other times go outside, cross on occasion, dribble on occasion, shoot on occasion - basically do a bit of everything when in his opinion the time is right what role do you use as "cut inside" is hardcoded for IF's and stay wider is hard coded for wingers.

Make him learn PPM cut inside and use a winger role.

[roggiotis]

I observed something,

by putting a player in DM position the D-Line decreases a little ,by putting in Sweeper position is slightly higher,

this is something new ? or i make a ...stupid observation ?

[Cleon]

It's been like that for about 8 years

[roggiotis]

It's been like that for about 8 years

LOL,

glad i didn't post it to the Important FM16 tactical changes

Merry Christmas !!!

[phnompenhandy]

No.

More heavy training isn't a bad thing and doesn't really increase the risk of injury. On FM15 and before it was better to keep it on low because you off set that with the individual intensity which mean more individual focus time. However on FM16 the workloads are now combined so you can't do that. Players who complain about heavy workloads are the unprofessional types anyway, so they don't really make the most of training to begin with. If you have any of these in your side then try tutoring them to give them better personalities.

Lower workloads the less effective training is because they're not really being pushed or using training to full effect.

I hadn't known this and have now increased general training to 'heavy'. As a result, 3 of my youth players are moaning every two days about the training. This is great! I'm trying to forge a highly professional squad and this is an early warning as to who doesn't fit in - no new contracts for you lads!

[25251325zz]

what should i do with a player whose form is dropping ?

[phnompenhandy]

what should i do with a player whose form is dropping ?

Warn them and/or stick 'em in the reserves for a couple of games is my usual policy.

[Velodromè]

Do the coaching style of the head of youth development influence the stats of the youth players coming up through the ranks? If my HoYD have a thing for tactical coaching, will my youth players have better tactical stats?

[Cleon]

Do the coaching style of the head of youth development influence the stats of the youth players coming up through the ranks? If my HoYD have a thing for tactical coaching, will my youth players have better tactical stats?

No, only personality types he influences.

[goncalo.ferreira]

Hey guys, i have a quick question i would like to know more about.

I am playing with Boavista (Portugal) and I managed to reach the title in the 4th season. Ok, what is the question? I used a possession-based tactic with Mixed Passing and Tempo with ~56% Possession, the highest in the League. It worked quite well. BUT my Assistant Manager, almost in every game, suggests that i should adopt a direct-based game with longer passing. Every now and then I accepted his suggestion but the question is: Ok, my tactics are working just fine, but he keeps bothering me that i should use long passing. What are the reasons behind this?

Btw, I use a 4-2-3-1 formation (with Wingers).

[vasilli07]

What does the ass man knows? I will just ignore him. Afterall, both of you can't really communicate so he won't know what kind of football you are trying to implement.

[Dr. Hook]

Hey guys, i have a quick question i would like to know more about.

I am playing with Boavista (Portugal) and I managed to reach the title in the 4th season. Ok, what is the question? I used a possession-based tactic with Mixed Passing and Tempo with ~56% Possession, the highest in the League. It worked quite well. BUT my Assistant Manager, almost in every game, suggests that i should adopt a direct-based game with longer passing. Every now and then I accepted his suggestion but the question is: Ok, my tactics are working just fine, but he keeps bothering me that i should use long passing. What are the reasons behind this?

Btw, I use a 4-2-3-1 formation (with Wingers).

Most of the ass man feedback is statistic based, which is why you get messages like that. It isn't that the assman is "seeing" some sort of tactical advantage for you, it is that he is "seeing" that you are connecting with longer range passes, so he says "do more." If you win a lot of defensive headers, he'll tell you to try more crosses since you are winning most of the headers, that sort of thing. Useless, really.

[aderow]

More of a thought than a question. Since I started messing with the demo, I've noticed that condition depletes incredibly fast this year. Between that and the generally low stamina of my players (I randomly picked Fiorentina), we just don't have the legs to play the way I want to. Heck we don't have the legs to really be effective after the 60 minute mark.

It's obvious that this is going to be a struggle until I am able to sign fitter players, but, until then, it looks like I'm going to have to pick my spots during matches when to really push for a goal and take things easy otherwise.

In FM15, I generally played on counter using the higher tempo and close down more (this one was to offset how deep my team played on counter) TIs. I had my stamina issues from time to time, but I did had a deep squad so it never affected me unless there were injuries.

I guess the longer I played the more I realized how of an impact both a high tempo offense and somewhat pressing style of defense can have on the fitness of players. Unless you have really really fit players, you really have to pick one or the other.

For now, I think I'll just stick to the higher tempo when we have the ball; I was never that much of a fan of high pressing anyway. I think I'll move back to standard as well. Of course if I feel a particular situation requires it, then I'll utilise it for a period of the match.

Lastly, I think I'm going to have to start giving my team rest before as well as after matches. Otherwise we'll be done before we even start.

[roggiotis]

@Cleon

-Did you use a classic flat 4-4-2 with 2 STs in your Sheffield Utd save , or the modern one with the Ramdeuter u said last year ?

-considering that u use one mentality the whole year which one was is ?

-r u going to analyze this making another thread ?

[Cleon]

@Cleon

-Did you use a classic flat 4-4-2 with 2 STs in your Sheffield Utd save , or the modern one with the Ramdeuter u said last year ?

-considering that u use one mentality the whole year which one was is ?

-r u going to analyze this making another thread ?

It's one based on Arsenal Invincibles. And I might post about it on my blog but don't think I'll post it here. As for the instructions, roles or mentality I used, if I go into that now then people will have questions about it etc. And that's something I'm trying to avoid for now and the reason I've not posted about it anywhere yet. Time for a little break from answering questions and just enjoy playing the game for a while for me I think

[roggiotis]

ok then

[vincenzo143]

@cleon

It's one based on Arsenal Invincibles. And I might post about it on my blog but don't think I'll post it here. As for the instructions, roles or mentality I used, if I go into that now then people will have questions about it etc. And that's something I'm trying to avoid for now and the reason I've not posted about it anywhere yet. Time for a little break from answering questions and just enjoy playing the game for a while for me I think

I can't seem to find that old Arsenal Invincibles article on your blog Cleon, did you remove it?

[Cleon]

@cleon

I can't seem to find that old Arsenal Invincibles article on your blog Cleon, did you remove it?

Yeah I removed it. It's still on here though;

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/418651-Community-Project-Recreating-Arsenal-Invincibles

[roggiotis]

I know that probably was and in the FM15,

but is it logical that you can't instruct a DM(S) to ease off tackles ? and you have to change the role to low the risk of a red card ?

[vascobailao]

So.... Im playing Newcastle and I my attack is composed in the following manner:

---T(A)----CF(A)----

--------AP(S)-------- -> Instruction: Move to channels.

T(A) - Pérez; CF(A) - Gabriel Barbosa; AP(S) - Thauvin

I just played against Man utd at home, and my team produce 5 clear cut chanches. I lost the match 1-3. What to do to convert those clear cut chances?

[Gerd]

Quick training question....

In FM15, on the team training page, there are general training focus and intensity settings on the top left side of the page. Then there are weekly settings for the same focus and intensity.

What is the difference between the general training settings and the weekly settings? Are the weekly settings an override? If so why would you change for one or two weeks?

Thanks

[Dr. Hook]

So.... Im playing Newcastle and I my attack is composed in the following manner:

---T(A)----CF(A)----

--------AP(S)-------- -> Instruction: Move to channels.

T(A) - Pérez; CF(A) - Gabriel Barbosa; AP(S) - Thauvin

I just played against Man utd at home, and my team produce 5 clear cut chanches. I lost the match 1-3. What to do to convert those clear cut chances?

Don't worry over one match. If you played well and created chances, then just move on. Sometimes it happens this way. If it becomes a pattern, then time to think about what might be wrong.

[Dr. Hook]

Quick training question....

In FM15, on the team training page, there are general training focus and intensity settings on the top left side of the page. Then there are weekly settings for the same focus and intensity.

What is the difference between the general training settings and the weekly settings? Are the weekly settings an override? If so why would you change for one or two weeks?

Thanks

Yes, they are the same, so the general sets where the training is and intensity for a default, and then you can change for a few weeks. You probably wouldn't change for a week or two unless you wanted to top off match tactics or team cohesion if you have some new signings, say.

[Sussex Hammer]

Playing FMT (FMC), So I clear all opposition instructions by the Assistant pre game but my plan isn't working out so I wish to put my trust in him to make his suggested changes. However, how on earth do I get him to apply his instructions mid match as there isn't any button allowing you to do so?

[RTHerringbone]

Playing FMT (FMC), So I clear all opposition instructions by the Assistant pre game but my plan isn't working out so I wish to put my trust in him to make his suggested changes. However, how on earth do I get him to apply his instructions mid match as there isn't any button allowing you to do so?

You can't. Once you have cleared them then the cache of applied instructions is removed. If you think that's poor functionality, then I'd suggest raising in the FMT wishlist section, or even as a bug.

[Lord Rowell]

Hi, quick general query / request for help.

This specifically relates to when I'm playing a match, and score an early goal, the commentary describes it as a fantastic start etc.

Pretty much every time, this is basically the kiss of death for me - moreso when I'm away from home, and playing a less glamorous team. My players seem to be sluggish, outmuscled / other team 'appear' to be on super-strength steroid relative to my lot.

We miss chances to put the game away, then concede, either then barely hanging on to a point, or losing.

I've tried lots of different tactical things e.g. going more physical after the goal, keeping possession, going direct, playing on the counter (obviously not all at the same time - different strategies) but without any real success.

Any advice gratefully received - please note this is specifically in relation to EARLY goals as described by the commentary, not other situations when I'm leading as I'm normally fine in those game-management situations.

[RTHerringbone]

It's kind of hard to comment without knowing any specifics. You could be using a top-heavy formation, an aggressive Mentality etc. Without that context, it's impossible to say.

[Lord Rowell]

It's kind of hard to comment without knowing any specifics. You could be using a top-heavy formation, an aggressive Mentality etc. Without that context, it's impossible to say.

You are actually dead right on both counts, I play a 4-2-3-1 control - which usually works well, I've handed out some right thrashings to other big clubs (I'm in a Man Utd save).

Again though, this is only an issue when its the "early goal" trigger, in other games with minor tweaks I'm usually able, within reason, to manage the AI response.

Is the AI more aggressive when it concedes an early goal?

If this is the case, do I need to drop to a much more defensive / reactive shape? Or maybe fight fire with fire and go more attacking?

Thoughts welcome.

[RTHerringbone]

In general terms, the AI will set up based on your reputation, form and the AI manager preferences. If you are a strong side playing away, it is likely that using Control, you fill face teams using lower Mentalities (often Counter or Defensive), which contains the innate "Counter" behaviour in FM. The AI won't go aggressive with its Mentality until toward the last 15 minutes of the game, where it will often resort to Overload if it thinks it can overturn a result. In my opinion, the worst thing to do is to go more attacking against these teams, because it just plays into their hands.

[Barnzy]

I play with a back 3, which gives me a good width in terms of my defensive line. I'm thinking about bringing my central DC back to play as a sweeper - will that then narrow my back 3?

[Sroberts28]

I'm struggling to find a working tactic for my Athletic Bilbao save. I tried to deploy the same set up (below) as i did on my Arsenal save (which brought me a lot of success) but i can't manage to win games. Now i understand that the players and quality is completely different and i'm not expecting the same level of results from my Arsenal save but the profiles of the players i have are all similar. What tactic would work for me with this different group of players? I'm still very new to the PC version of FM.

-------- AF - Att ----------

W - Su ------------ AP -Su

- BBM - Su -- DLP - Su -

------- DM - Def ----------

FB - Au - CB - CB - FB Au

------------ GK------------

Control, Flexible, Retain Possession, Play Wide, Play Out Of Defence, Look For Overlap, Be Expressive, Run At Defence, Work Ball Into Box

[Lord Rowell]

I'm struggling to find a working tactic for my Athletic Bilbao save. I tried to deploy the same set up (below) as i did on my Arsenal save (which brought me a lot of success) but i can't manage to win games. Now i understand that the players and quality is completely different and i'm not expecting the same level of results from my Arsenal save but the profiles of the players i have are all similar. What tactic would work for me with this different group of players? I'm still very new to the PC version of FM.

-------- AF - Att ----------

W - Su ------------ AP -Su

- BBM - Su -- DLP - Su -

------- DM - Def ----------

FB - Au - CB - CB - FB Au

------------ GK------------

Control, Flexible, Retain Possession, Play Wide, Play Out Of Defence, Look For Overlap, Be Expressive, Run At Defence, Work Ball Into Box

First thing is that you have the attack duty, with everyone else on support.

Hence:

a. Your striker is isolated

b. You've got no movement from deep to support your isolated striker.

In your Arsenal save, I'm just wondering if your striker was Giroud and if so, does he have a PPM of 'plays with back to goal'? If that is the case, you might have got away with it as that PPM will tend him towards more hold-up & link play.

In the first instance, I'd consider changing your striker to a support role. One attack role in the wide areas.

You also have a lot of TI's and you seem very "open" in the way your team is instructed. So, I would think about why you have each TI, and then consider how the sum of them makes your team play, both from an attacking and a defensive/containment point of view.

[janesy20]

Anyone else feel like they've completely and utterly lost the plot with regards to tactics? FM16 AI is absolutely ruthless!

[Sroberts28]

Thanks for the help, and my striker was Walcott

[Peter G]

This is my Southend team: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CXoeEXeWkAAQanR.png:large

Anyone who has played this level before, what do you think of the tactic? I've got Cleon's possession one with three in midfield, a 4-4-2 and a 4-1-4-1 counter.

[KlaaZ]

Can anyone offer me some advice on how to defend a lead? I'm currently in my third season, having played several formations during that time. The one consistency I find is that when I'm up in goals, the second half will become a nightmare because my opponent pushes players forward and I can't seem to adapt. My players start making mistakes, misplacing passes because they're under pressure which results in power play from my opponent and most of the time my demise in the form of a draw or even a loss. Is it really necessary to start playing with more defensive roles once you go one or two goals up? TI's don't seem to help me either..

[RTHerringbone]

Can anyone offer me some advice on how to defend a lead? I'm currently in my third season, having played several formations during that time. The one consistency I find is that when I'm up in goals, the second half will become a nightmare because my opponent pushes players forward and I can't seem to adapt. My players start making mistakes, misplacing passes because they're under pressure which results in power play from my opponent and most of the time my demise in the form of a draw or even a loss. Is it really necessary to start playing with more defensive roles once you go one or two goals up? TI's don't seem to help me either..

What sort of changes do you make? You don't really need to make many changes and being ahead with the AI pushing forwards is an opportunity to seal a game, not necessarily a signal to shut up shop as that can invite unnecessary pressure.

[Lord Rowell]

In general terms, the AI will set up based on your reputation, form and the AI manager preferences. If you are a strong side playing away, it is likely that using Control, you fill face teams using lower Mentalities (often Counter or Defensive), which contains the innate "Counter" behaviour in FM. The AI won't go aggressive with its Mentality until toward the last 15 minutes of the game, where it will often resort to Overload if it thinks it can overturn a result. In my opinion, the worst thing to do is to go more attacking against these teams, because it just plays into their hands.

Just to say that your few and to the point, words of advice on my query re. losing leads, were very sound.

Heeded your advice, created a new tactic - in a nutshell with more players behind the ball, playing on counter, which still applying pressure and some attacking threat, and the problem has gone.

Thank you

[RTHerringbone]

Just to say that your few and to the point, words of advice on my query re. losing leads, were very sound.

Heeded your advice, created a new tactic - in a nutshell with more players behind the ball, playing on counter, which still applying pressure and some attacking threat, and the problem has gone.

Thank you

Excellent news

[KlaaZ]

What sort of changes do you make? You don't really need to make many changes and being ahead with the AI pushing forwards is an opportunity to seal a game, not necessarily a signal to shut up shop as that can invite unnecessary pressure.

I get the unnecessary pressure without any changes, usually pointed out by my opponents playing more vertical and winning almost all of the second balls. I generally also see a lot more closing down and my players losing possession far more often. After seeing this happen in three consecutive games, I tried making some changes after going up, but to no avail. I sometimes still scrape the win, but it's causing a lot of frustration because I can't find an answer to that type of aggressive play.

[Guest El Payaso]

How does the Regista defend? I have De Rossi in as a Regista and playing with a 4-5-1 formation and I generally get the feeling that he isn't helping the defensive line at all. The whole midfield seems a mess at times even though I have Nainggolan as a BBM and Pjanic as a RPM. The defensive line should be pacey enough to cope with most of the through balls but it really isn't and that is why I play with a normal backline. The full backs are WB (s) and CWB (S) and Nainggolan is on that right side where the CWB is. I mainly concede through through balls when there is basically one attacking player to mark, usually the attacking player is even slower than our centre backs.

I am also wondering if it is even possible to create the style of play to work through the middle. I have my full creative force focused in middle of the park: De Rossi as a Regista, Pjanic as a RPM and Totti playing as an Enganche. The goal scoring threat should be coming from our inside forwards with huge amount pace: Iturbe, Gervinho and Salah. I want them to defend like wingers but act like strikers when we attack. I have Gervinho as IF (A) and Salah IF (S) and basically all my team is allowed to roam except Totti who should work as the creative force in 20-25 meters from goal releasing either one of the IFs or the BBM to score.

My TIs are:

Structured (This is Italian style all the way, Italians like to use specialists)

Much lower tempo

Work ball into box

Exploit the middle

Mixed passing (I have at times gone to short as the creative players are the only ones that need mixed)

Narrow

Play out of defense

The team:

GK: GK (D) (distribution short)

DL: WB (S)

DR: CWB (S)

DC: CB (D) x2 (close down much less)

DM: Regista

MCL: RPM

MCR: BBM (get further forward, roam from position, pass shorter)

AMC: EG

AML: IF (A) (sit narrower, pass shorter, roam from position)

AMR: IF (S) (sit narrower, roam from position)

So basically what I want to see is that my team plays attractive passing moves around the opposition penalty area with short passing and generally be creative. But with a Regista and RPM I also want to see variety of passing with them looking to release one of the IFs with a long ball when the opportunity rises.

But what I usually see is that the team plays the ball long to Totti or one of the IFs too early and the support from the midfield is really inconsistent. When we play it with slow tempo like instructed, we usually create decent attacks. In first half of the season Nainggolan scored 8 goals from BBM position just to stop scoring after that. Gervinho did well with 13 goals but both of the IFs are acting more like wingers when they should be looking to get behind Totti more often. Totti is being quite useless and I feel that the game is quite badly representing the "creative trio's" creativity.

So basically I am wondering if it is possible to play effectively through the middle cause I am really bored with crossed goals. The full backs are mainly there to allow us more wide passing options and that is why I use the work ball into box. Florenzi though got 7 assists through the season from CWB role. I don't care about possession, I just want to utilize the creativity I have in midfield and the pace I have upfront.

The problems are:

- Odd through balls often undo us even with fast defenders and not using high line.

- The midfield is often more than happy to employ the same space and stay behind the ball. The support is not frequent and quick enough.

- Winning the ball back seems to be extremely hard for us.

- The inside forwards are not acting like forwards.

- Lack of creativity both in passing and movement.

- Long shots basically never lead to goals.

[Cleon]

How does the Regista defend? I have De Rossi in as a Regista and playing with a 4-5-1 formation and I generally get the feeling that he isn't helping the defensive line at all. The whole midfield seems a mess at times even though I have Nainggolan as a BBM and Pjanic as a RPM. The defensive line should be pacey enough to cope with most of the through balls but it really isn't and that is why I play with a normal backline. The full backs are WB (s) and CWB (S) and Nainggolan is on that right side where the CWB is. I mainly concede through through balls when there is basically one attacking player to mark, usually the attacking player is even slower than our centre backs.

What season are you in? As the Roma starting squad, especially the defensive players, aren't that great and they either lack pace, positioning or agility. If it's still the first season then those attributes are quite low considering how you are playing and at the level you are. And because your entire midfield is allowed to go deep in the oppositions half then it's no surprise you're getting hurt by through balls.

De Rossi is a fantastic player but is extremely slow, if he is a regista then he will venture forward slightly (think he has the PPM stays back all times?) and struggle to get back to his position. He will still struggle to cover throughballs because he's so slow. He has to use his intelligence instead. Add to this his very low natural fitness and it's not a good mix. It could also be a case that he is having to cover for the other players who go a lot more advanced than he is too, especially Pjanic. I think he has 8 for positioning which means he will never take up great defensive positions which means the other players have to make up for this. Those who have to cover him will be De Rossi and Nainggolan, who himself isn't that great with his positioning. This is always a risk when two out of the three midfielders have poor positioning and the cover player (De Rossi) is slow.

But what I usually see is that the team plays the ball long to Totti or one of the IFs too early and the support from the midfield is really inconsistent.

Well that's expected because the BBM is the only one making movements that can cause issues. The regista/RPM and EG are all roles that attract the ball. While they will attack being a playmaker comes before anything else and they're focused on providing balls to other players. In your case the only options is to go wide to the IF's. Your midfield doesn't really have support (the BBM aside). You want variety yet your RPM, Regista and EG are all doing a similar thing.

Gervinho did well with 13 goals but both of the IFs are acting more like wingers when they should be looking to get behind Totti more often. Totti is being quite useless and I feel that the game is quite badly representing the "creative trio's" creativity.

It's not surprising it represents their creativity badly as you have no-one making the most of it. It's all fine and well having lots of creativity but you have no variety and it relies on the IF's scoring. If they don't score or have bad games then I can't see where the goals would come from in such a setup like you use. Gervinho is the IF attack and has quite a few PPM's and is mentally weak. He has shocking decision making too and this could be conflicting and confusing him. I think he has move into channels as a PPM as well as cuts inside. So he might be struggling and picking the wrong options of which to use. It also won't help if he is being marked because he's not a gifted player, he's just fast. That's all he has, pace. In order to use his pace he needs space being created for him as he isn't capable of doing that on his own as he's not got any strength. I don't see anyone in your side creating space, they're all focused on creating with the ball instead.

If the IF's are marked out of the game then I can see why you'd struggle.

Salah btw, doesn't he have likes to beat offside trap as a PPM? Which means he likes to play on the shoulders of the defence. Now considering he is the support IF, it may be wise swapping him for the attacking one and making Gervinho the support one. This would play to both their strengths much better and make them more useful.

I'm not sure having them sit narrow helps either because your side is already narrow. Allow them to play normal and stretch the opposition. After all the space is going to be down the channels and in behind. Allow them to make the most of this by cutting in from wide areas rather than having them sat in narrow areas to begin with. It will create more movement.

[25251325zz]

Can we play effective possession, shorter football with narrow width ?

[Cleon]

Can we play effective possession, shorter football with narrow width ?

Yes.

Read this for a better understanding of how possession football works

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/445500-The-Art-of-Possession-Football

[Guest El Payaso]

What season are you in? As the Roma starting squad, especially the defensive players, aren't that great and they either lack pace, positioning or agility. If it's still the first season then those attributes are quite low considering how you are playing and at the level you are. And because your entire midfield is allowed to go deep in the oppositions half then it's no surprise you're getting hurt by through balls.

First of all thank you for the comprehensive reply Cleon.

It's the second season and basically my starting line-up is: Rulli in goal, Willems as left FB, Castan as a CB(L), Manolas as CB®, Florenzi (RB), De Rossi (DM), Pjanic MC(L), Nainggolan/Strootman MC® and the others already mentioned.

De Rossi is a fantastic player but is extremely slow, if he is a regista then he will venture forward slightly (think he has the PPM stays back all times?) and struggle to get back to his position. He will still struggle to cover through balls because he's so slow. He has to use his intelligence instead. Add to this his very low natural fitness and it's not a good mix. It could also be a case that he is having to cover for the other players who go a lot more advanced than he is too, especially Pjanic. I think he has 8 for positioning which means he will never take up great defensive positions which means the other players have to make up for this. Those who have to cover him will be De Rossi and Nainggolan, who himself isn't that great with his positioning. This is always a risk when two out of the three midfielders have poor positioning and the cover player (De Rossi) is slow.

Only Pjanic has low positioning out of the three. He has 8 while Nainggolan has 13 and De Rossi has 19. Forgot to mention that I have close down less also for De Rossi.

I am not particularly prone to concede through counter attacks. More on slow attacks where the opposition just passes the ball around with few players forward and we never seem to win it back and then there is someone making an error. Also crosses hurt us at times but not that badly I think.

I like to use De Rossi as a Regista because it is an Italian role and more aggressive than DLPs which don't stand out a single bit IMO. He has the PPM but still he joins the attacks when we build slowly. Also he got six goals in season mostly because his late arrival to the edge of the area.

Well that's expected because the BBM is the only one making movements that can cause issues. The regista/RPM and EG are all roles that attract the ball. While they will attack being a playmaker comes before anything else and they're focused on providing balls to other players. In your case the only options is to go wide to the IF's. Your midfield doesn't really have support (the BBM aside). You want variety yet your RPM, Regista and EG are all doing a similar thing.

I was under the impression that the RPM also plays quite high up the pitch and with the slow tempo I should be able to play from the back with the roaming helping us: goalkeeper playing it to centre backs, who search the regista, again there is movement above him and he finds the RPM who then searches for EG and moves again forward and the EG should have 4 passing options available to progress. This is my theory.

Didn't Barcelona at Xavi's time had also a midfield triangle something like: two DLPs and AP with Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta. They did have also a proper striker but what I find difficult is the striker role as even as a false nine the striker isn't dropping deep to get the ball and the team ends up trying to play through balls for him and with Totti/Dzeko up front it is a disaster.

It's not surprising it represents their creativity badly as you have no-one making the most of it. It's all fine and well having lots of creativity but you have no variety and it relies on the IF's scoring. If they don't score or have bad games then I can't see where the goals would come from in such a setup like you use. Gervinho is the IF attack and has quite a few PPM's and is mentally weak. He has shocking decision making too and this could be conflicting and confusing him. I think he has move into channels as a PPM as well as cuts inside. So he might be struggling and picking the wrong options of which to use. It also won't help if he is being marked because he's not a gifted player, he's just fast. That's all he has, pace. In order to use his pace he needs space being created for him as he isn't capable of doing that on his own as he's not got any strength. I don't see anyone in your side creating space, they're all focused on creating with the ball instead.

Gervinho really hasn't been the problem for me like I said before. I would love my DoF to sell him yes but I cannot influence on that. The reasons why I have him on attack duty is the fact that he is not a gifted footballer and on support duty he has for example those risky passes activated which I don't want for him. I want him to be acting as a wide poacher mainly, running behind the defense and dribble and score. Also I feel that using attack duty on the playmaker's side would aid it.

If the IF's are marked out of the game then I can see why you'd struggle.

I don't exactly see them marked out but at times their running with the ball is a pain as they both love running with it and they often run to a trap by doing this.

Salah btw, doesn't he have likes to beat offside trap as a PPM? Which means he likes to play on the shoulders of the defence. Now considering he is the support IF, it may be wise swapping him for the attacking one and making Gervinho the support one. This would play to both their strengths much better and make them more useful.

Yes he does. The problem though is that with a slow tempo and attack duty he is bound to be offside all the time and just ruining my attacks.

I'm not sure having them sit narrow helps either because your side is already narrow. Allow them to play normal and stretch the opposition. After all the space is going to be down the channels and in behind. Allow them to make the most of this by cutting in from wide areas rather than having them sat in narrow areas to begin with. It will create more movement.

The play narrower is an attempt to try make them play more as a strikers when we attack. I have tried using stay wider on Salah to get him more space to run with the ball but it didn't make much of a difference. I also feel that Salah is more of a creator (DLF) and Gervinho the poacher.

This did give me few ideas to tweak on.

[koimes]

If I have a team with the worst passing stat in my league (based on the team comparison break down), should I play a shorter passing game or a more direct style?

[Cleon]

Only Pjanic has low positioning out of the three. He has 8 while Nainggolan has 13 and De Rossi has 19. Forgot to mention that I have close down less also for De Rossi.

13 is low for a side challenging for the league and Champions League though, which I assume you are? Having close down less on De Rossi might not help though as he has the stays back at all times PPM. He might be being too passive.

I am not particularly prone to concede through counter attacks. More on slow attacks where the opposition just passes the ball around with few players forward and we never seem to win it back and then there is someone making an error. Also crosses hurt us at times but not that badly I think

I wasn't suggesting you got hit on counter attacks. It was more about the two of your players not being great at positioning themselves correctly. This actually gives a lot of weight to what you're saying here. Slower build up play will make this more noticeable because they have to reposition several times, compared to a faster more direct style of play which tend to result in the player just tracking back. But on slower plays when the player has to move a lot and position himself several times during the same move then you can tend to notice if someone is good at it or not. More often than not, someone will leave a gap or not position himself where he should be.

I like to use De Rossi as a Regista because it is an Italian role and more aggressive than DLPs which don't stand out a single bit IMO. He has the PPM but still he joins the attacks when we build slowly. Also he got six goals in season mostly because his late arrival to the edge of the area.

Just remember though, that when he does this it leaves you exposed because he isn't fast enough to regain his standard position quickly enough.

I was under the impression that the RPM also plays quite high up the pitch and with the slow tempo I should be able to play from the back with the roaming helping us: goalkeeper playing it to centre backs, who search the regista, again there is movement above him and he finds the RPM who then searches for EG and moves again forward and the EG should have 4 passing options available to progress. This is my theory.

But all three of those players are doing a similar thing, i.e moving to attract the ball and team mates are looking to pass to them more due to them being playmakers. Normally when a playmaker passes the ball on, they tend to make them available for a pass again rather than push on and be aggressive going further afield. You should see this happening if you've watched a game, the playmaker passing the ball then checking his run, dropping deeper or going to the side rather than pushing on.

Didn't Barcelona at Xavi's time had also a midfield triangle something like: two DLPs and AP with Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta. They did have also a proper striker but what I find difficult is the striker role as even as a false nine the striker isn't dropping deep to get the ball and the team ends up trying to play through balls for him and with Totti/Dzeko up front it is a disaster.

We talking real life now? That's all good and well but how is that helpful with your gaming issues? Plus a DLP's and AP's play differently to a RPM, REG and ENG. Plus Barca used those roles because they had players able to utilise their creativeness. This is the area you currently lack I believe. Too many creators and no-one creating/using space wisely.

Gervinho really hasn't been the problem for me like I said before. I would love my DoF to sell him yes but I cannot influence on that. The reasons why I have him on attack duty is the fact that he is not a gifted footballer and on support duty he has for example those risky passes activated which I don't want for him. I want him to be acting as a wide poacher mainly, running behind the defense and dribble and score. Also I feel that using attack duty on the playmaker's side would aid it.

The fact that he's stopped scoring and producing isn't an issue? You said he was scoring before but now isn't. So surely that's an issue? Having him on attack doesn't stop him doing those risky passes though, his decision making is what determines how often and frequently he does them. I still think he's better suited using his pace from deeper areas even if he was scoring goals before. Teams will be sat deeper now against you compared to before. Gervinho isn't clever or technical enough to make space for himself. It also means if the opposition is sat deep there is no space for him to get behind into. By having him deeper you would actually be utilising his pace and even though he's mentally a disaster, running at people with the ball at your feet causes all kinds of issues. It's hard to defend against.

Yes he does. The problem though is that with a slow tempo and attack duty he is bound to be offside all the time and just ruining my attacks.

Why?. In fact you could argue there is less chance of being caught offside when he has longer to time his runs and movement.

The play narrower is an attempt to try make them play more as a strikers when we attack. I have tried using stay wider on Salah to get him more space to run with the ball but it didn't make much of a difference. I also feel that Salah is more of a creator (DLF) and Gervinho the poacher.

You could just leave them default without going narrower or stay out wide. IF's are like strikers when you attack anyway by default. When you make them sit narrower when all the play you have already comes from the middle, this means when they receive the ball they're too narrow to be useful and have nowhere to really cut inside to. Where can he realistically run? He has to go back out wide or hope for a mistake from the opposition. You want him using the space between defender and fullbacks. But by having him narrow you're actually telling them to play more closer to the centreback meaning when he runs forward he's running towards the centreback rather than the space between him and the fullback. It's easier to defend against. This wouldn't be as much of an issue if you didn't have 3 central creators but this makes you very narrow in attacks at times.