[14.2.0] Conceding too much on corner kicks

[Federico]

Hello,

I wanted to ask some suggestions on how to defend properly on corner kicks because it seems I can't find a way to avoid conceding way too much.

Speaking the truth, I score loads of goal from corner kicks as well, so I suspect there is something wrong with the engine.

Here's my individual settings:

- 4 men instructed to man mark (1 of them on "mark tall player")

- 2 men instructed to stand the posts

- 1 men instructed "lurk outside area"

... than changed into this, unsuccessfully:

- 5 men instructed to man mark

- 1 man instructed to mark the 6 yds box

- 1 man instructed "lurk outside area"

Thanks.

[Jimmious7]

Yeah I would like to know if someone has found something good for defending corners too!

[Podo0]

This is a problem in this path as far as i'm aware, hopefully someone has some help on this

[__henke]

I'm having problems as well.

I've lost so many points since 14.2 was released it hurts, and soon things will start to break if this continues. (I hate how SI is patching this game, changing the dynamics in EVERY patch, I just want to get on with my game, in this rate you have to spend two weeks fixing your tactic,which probably ends woth you getting fired in your wery successful Everton game. Perhaps I should begin to bill SIGames).

Oh well, my problem is that in corners the ball gets crossed in and ALWAYS (well probably 70-80%) the ball gets deflected somehow, by my player or the opponent and then on the rebound they score a goal, alwaysalwaysalways. And I have to work so hard for my damn goals, missing CCCs all the time. It is ugly, and unrewarding. I suspect that I'm beginning to find a fairly well working tactic, but that doesent matter when they get these kind of goals all the time.

Oh well, if anyone has a well working defensive tactic I would be thrilled for some suggestions =)

[Lambie\'s Lovechild]

The number of corner goals scored has increased dramatically in my saves for the opposition, but decreased dramatically for me.

It is possible to change training to Defensive Set Pieces, but having to do this every single match means you take longer to learn tactics, and cant focus on attacking movement for weak teams, or defensive positioning for strong teams.

I dont know of a single player who isnt struggling with this just now.

[Guest]

I have left I allt on default and am having no problems both in scoring or conceding.

[TOUGHGUY]

It definitely feels like there is an issue with corners in the most recent patch. Not a massive one but one that appears every now and then – everything goes fine for several games and then blam, the team concedes four or five (!!!) goals from corners in the space of twenty minutes. With no change in personnel or tactics, obviously. Seems rather random, too, as it's not big men overpowering and bullying the defense time and time again, but rather comparable or even vastly inferior players in terms of aerial ability. Very strange.

[Guest]

That would surely need to be true for everyone then if the patch has created a problem, and it's not.

[remembertofeedthecat]

Definitely true with me. Playing with Marseilles. My defenders have decent marking & positioning (between 14 & 17) but they keep allowing the opposing player to get goal side of them.

It's too much to try and overcome when you're conceding an average of a goal a game from set pieces :-(

[TOUGHGUY]

That would surely need to be true for everyone

How on earth did you get that idea? Might be a specific setting some use and others don't. Like with tons of other bugs throughout the FM series.

[Mr U Rosler]

Last season I scored 17 goals from corners and conceded 13. So a net profit of 4 goals.

My only advice is to flood the penalty area with players. Leave no one forward just a guy on the edge of the penalty area.

I have good headers in the team but not great headers.

[Falahk]

direct corners seams to be fine (the conversion rate), however players seam to clear the ball onto opposition players who then have a clear shoot at goal, this seams to be new for the current patch and I see both myself and the ai scoring lots of goals from this

[remembertofeedthecat]

direct corners seams to be fine (the conversion rate), however players seam to clear the ball onto opposition players who then have a clear shoot at goal, this seams to be new for the current patch and I see both myself and the ai scoring lots of goals from this

Yeah - defo. Before I posted above I checked my Ligue1 & CL stats and it said I only conceded a few from corners in each.

But it's been waaaay more. Like you say - a lot of them are coming from ping-pong in the 6-yard box and someone toe-poking the ball home.

@Mr Uwe Rosler - cheers for the advice - will give it a try

[Contexx]

I play with three dc's and are all fairly good in the air, and conceded only 4 from corners all season in the league - though two to Messi against barca in one game in the CL . I think the reason why is they had so many players i the box with excellent anticipation and composure. In the league, it's generally useful to have one player forward (pacy striker), and another one outside the area who can help with transition. Otherwise, it results in that nasty sequence of corner after corner until eventually your defense breaks down. The same goes for free kicks -bthe transition is very important in endingnthe threat. Also, keep someone with good anticipation marking thr six yard box to get those clearances in the scrum.

[Ravnen]

I just started my third season. Last season was ruined by too many conceded corners, so spent much of the preseason trying different things until I found something that seems to work:

Formation is 4-1-2-2-1

FB R-L: Man

CB 1: 6 yard box

CB 2: Tall

DM: Man

MC R-L: Back

AMR: Edge

AML: Forward

ST: Forward

Your assistant will complain that you have no one on the posts, but they seem to make a bigger difference marking players, as they rarely clear the lines on corners anyhow. Only problem with this setup is that on freekicks on the side of the box the nearest post is often inadequately covered.

[Federico]

I play with three dc's and are all fairly good in the air, and conceded only 4 from corners all season in the league - though two to Messi against barca in one game in the CL . I think the reason why is they had so many players i the box with excellent anticipation and composure. In the league, it's generally useful to have one player forward (pacy striker), and another one outside the area who can help with transition. Otherwise, it results in that nasty sequence of corner after corner until eventually your defense breaks down. The same goes for free kicks -bthe transition is very important in endingnthe threat. Also, keep someone with good anticipation marking thr six yard box to get those clearances in the scrum.

I play Juventus and I have pretty decent DCs with good attributes on anticipation, marking and decisions. I might change the man in the 6 yd. box, even whether I'd prefer the keep that man for marking an opponent. The fact is the way I concede goals: header from second post, ricochets in the box, header from first post etc... basically wherever the ball is kicked, it causes me concerns.

[Guest]

How on earth did you get that idea? Might be a specific setting some use and others don't. Like with tons of other bugs throughout the FM series.

Ok, well just set it to default like I do, I scored 9 and conceded 7 which were both the league average for the season.

[Brabrabra]

This has to be a bug or a glitch or something. I have tried countless editions of defensive set up for corners but to little or no effect. The problem is that MY players consistently head corners or shots/headers that result from corners that are going wide or away from the goal BACK into middle of the six yard box, more often than not, straight into the path of an opposition player which results in an easy tap-in for him.

I find this far from normal, especially since my players often win the first header, it just that they head the ball into an incredibly dangerous area and most of the the time the ball they are heading is going wide or far away from goal. I'm conceding a goal from a corner in almost every game, sometimes two or even three. This is incredibly frustrating and rendering the game almost unplayable for me. I have tried so many things and now I have my players focusing on defending set pieces for every game.

Is there anything that can be done?

[rGade]

I lost 5-1 to Juventus in the CL, where they scored 4 goals from corners/long throws

[deserter]

Ok, well just set it to default like I do, I scored 9 and conceded 7 which were both the league average for the season.

That's contradictory in itself, but the numbers are close enough to reality. Last season the average goals scored from corners in EPL was 6,3 per team. Thus the average goals conceded from corners was also 6,3 goals.

Scored goals ranged from ManU 15 to Newcastle 1, and conceded goals ranged from QPR 10 to Chelsea/Norwich 3.

Average number of corner goals scored in EPL was about 12% out of all goals scored. The top team here was ManU with about 17%

So, that's some numbers to consider.

Myself I like to use only players that are good at both defending in general and in the air for man marking duty. I'd leave at least 3 players with 'go back' instruction so they can position themselves where they think they are needed. Small and defensively useless players are best left upfield, outside the box or marking the post(s).

[Federico]

Well it seems leaving the default settings is doing the job

[Federico]

Well... ********. Even leaving the default settings you can avoid conceding stupid goals after silly ricochets all over the box.

This is so stupid. As much as 1v1 missed or headers above the bar from 1 yard or silly controls of the ball from world class players that turn into assists for the opponent strikers. That clearly don't miss a shot.

[Techstep]

I must admit. Since the recent patch this is something i noticed more. I probably concede double the amount of goals from corners currently largely due to really poor headed clearances that result in a game of ping pong.

Goal line scrambles happen multiple times a game for me currently with ricochet's left and right, plays seem reluctant just to clear it for a throw instead of trying up to clear up field and failing constantly.

[quadrophonic]

i concur ive been shipping shed load more for corners since 14.2 every corner the opposition get its like a penalty

[tennisball]

I've had no problems on the 14.2 patch, or before that to be honest.

How tall are your players? I've found if you have at least 3 tall players (ideally 4) then it's not a problem. Use them to mark opponents' tall players, use your shorter defensive players to man mark as well. Put your less defensive players on mark the near and far posts. Use your pacey short players (wingers, striker etc) to close down corner, stay up front and edge of area. If you give your opponent these other players to worry about they will commit fewer players forward...

[Cougar2010]

I've never had a problem conceding a lot at corners so I'll share my setup.

Generally I aim to have at least four/five tall players in my team at any one time (Both DCs, a holding MC and one ST is a good start). I also try to limit having really small players in my team to two/three at most (Say jumping <6).

Defending corners I use:

3* Man Mark (I find mark tall & short players doesn't work as well so just general MM) - Looking for the tallest and best markers here (Both DCs and either a fullback or DM/holding MC usually).

2* mark posts - Generally use the fullbacks here, players with good marking but not as tall as the man markers.

2* forward - Small players who can't mark are a liability so send them forward. I tend to leave two upfront but I have used three if you have three small players.

That leaves you three players who hopefully have some height & marking ability. The worst of the three I set at "Edge of Area", the other two are on simple "Back" orders.

[spursfan77]

its definitely something wrong with the game. Its actually ruining it for me now.

[Ataris]

Yep, certainly seems to be an issue since the latest patch. Ping pong corners are happening so often it's silly.

[cheshirelad]

Is the consensus that this is a ME issue rather than tactics? There have been 8 goals from corners in 10 games I have played (both for and against). I'm using default settings for attacking and only slightly tweaked defensive.

Corners are the new penalties.

[drinkmixer84]

I haven't had any problems with defending corners this year. For everyone that's using man marking, take a look at the players you're telling to do this, what is their marking skill at?

Me personally, I use my CDs to mark tall players, other players that have good header attributes I set to go back. Have one player set to edge of area, and 2 players marking the posts.

[RTHerringbone]

Is the consensus that this is a ME issue rather than tactics? There have been 8 goals from corners in 10 games I have played (both for and against). I'm using default settings for attacking and only slightly tweaked defensive.

Corners are the new penalties.

There are without doubt ME issues relating to corners, but a lot of the pain can be taken away using the advice in this thread.

SI are working on many things for the next update, and corners are one of them.

[cheshirelad]

Thanks, I'll have a look through. I should add that i'm scoring just as many as I'm conceding; I want to curb my strikers as much as improve my defence. Might take a hiatus until the next patch, that can't be far off.

[Coop]

Corners are poor in this game.

[glenjamin]

Suffering same problem here. Around a third of the goals I conceded are from corners. Every corner seems to be the same thing. My defender heads it out but never out for a throw or to the half way line like the opposition do when I have a corner. Instead it falls to an opposition player which leads to a goal mouth scramble or a player volleying it in from the edge of the box.

I can't seem to score from corners now either. Getting real tired of these new patches. Completely messes with my tactics every time there's an update. If there was a new glitch to exploit scoring from corners now I'd use it as there's obviously a bug with conceding from them at present.

[KingRoyston]

The game has become unplayable for me now due to this - in my latest season i'm conceding over one corner a game, and it's just so frustrating.

I concede both a lot of knock downs and direct headers from an opposition player challenging my keeper. Despite dominating games and working really hard to score 1 or 2 outfield goals I then concede one or 2 very quickly from corners and lose or draw. Not enjoyable at all, it's completely ruined the game for me. I'm going to give up for now and wait for a patch before I throw my laptop across the room!

[Contexx]

Any chance you use "hassle opponents" in your tactic? I've only conceded three from corners all season in all competitions, all of them while using "hassle opponents", which sometimes would result in my squad playing "nervously". I know it might not be logical, though it's just what I noticed.

Another slightly outlandish theory could be your squad gelling or morale. I find most of my silly/deflected goals I conced come during times when morale is not very high. I personally believe morale influences your general "fortune" during matches - unlucky bounces, deflections, etc.

Since the latest patch came out, I'm finding corners fairly easy to deal with. I use three good DC's, although they're not the greatest in the air, I keep things fairly simple, with one player guarding the six yard box (maybe your smallish mc?) and two players staying forward, as apart from the times the opposition is throwing the kitchen sink at you, it actually keeps another opposition player occupied with your counterattacking threat.

[KingRoyston]

Yes I do use Hassle Opponents actually - it's a pretty big part of my outfield style though which is a problem if I considered turning it off, I'd need to redesign the tactic a fair bit. Still I might give it a go.

What are your marking instructions? I play with a 3-5-2 with CBs as well which makes it even more frustrating that i'm suffering so much!

[KingRoyston]

Just made the changes you advised.

Dominated a tough game, was winning 1-0 missed a few clear chances to put it to bed. 85th minute, equalizer from a knock down corner, unbelievable!!

[Contexx]

For corners my DC's are set to default which is "mark tall" (a bit dubious, that). My AMC is set to stay on the edge of the area and one of my MC's is set to mark the six yard box. I believe by default the central midfielders are set to "mark small" which just sounds too scary and seem to just man mark whoever is near, usually the opposition midfielders.

Most of the goals from corners seem to come after scrambles in the box or continuous pressure when your team doesn't clear the ball. The AMC on the edge of the area, or even forward, helps because it gives you a good outlet for transition, but also he can throw himself in front of long shots. Most importantly, unless the opposition is down late in the game and throwing the kitchen sink at you, when they get the ball on the edge of the area and see a menacing AMC in front of them and a pacy striker behind ready to counter, they'll try to pass it around and let you regroup. It's in this instance that "hassle opponents" can be detrimental. I use that instruction quite often myself, and sloppy deflections and pinball football in your box after corners is the big drawback.

Now for the late game/bad luck corner goals, I honestly believe it's morale or concentration. Painful as it may be to watch, replay the corner goal and see for yourself - who missed his header for the knockdown, who allowed the scorer to run on to it, and was it a blown marking assignment or you lacking bodies for the corner.

A couple of seasons back, my team had started to "overachieve" and were so often on the verge of classic upsets, yet would from time to time concede these ridiculous corners at the absolute worst times. I remember one game against Barcelona, clinging on to a priceless 1:0 at home in the CL, and little Messi pops up with a goal from a corner after a million deflections. Now, after a period of stability, these things rarely happen, mostly because the squad itself is used to pressure, and mental attributes such as composure and anticipation help a lot.

[BiggusD]

2 central defenders on Mark Tall

2 Full backs on Mark Small

1 Defensive(minded) midfielder set to Mark 6-yard box

1 Defensive(minded) midfielder set to Go Back

1 Attacking(minded) midfielder set to Mark Far (small, quick guy)

1 Attacking(minded) midfielder set to Mark Near (small, quick guy)

1 Attacking(minded) midfielder set to Edge of Area (playmaker)

1 Striker set to Stay Forward, although I am considering Go Back

I think I defend well on corners, but there are still goals conceded just like anyone else. 12-10 by the end of January with Oviedo (which is the weakest team in BBVA right now) according to the assist type statistics. I have also custom attacking corner tactics but I am unsure whether or not it is more efficient than the default one... I only know that the "lure everyone away from the two central defenders attacking the posts" ruse tactics used in the default setup is extremely unrealistic and I am surprised SI hasn't spotted it as an obvious exploit yet. So my attacking set pieces are more about setting up corner tactics I would like to see.

[Dench57]

I've been training "Defending Set Pieces" every single week, every single month, every single season since FM14 came out. Still conceding on average 1 a game. I think it's more to do with the sheer number of corners the AI gets compared to me, and I'm not sure why that's happening. I've kinda just accepted it, there's nothing I can do to change it, just wait and hope SI fix it.

[valehannes]

I've never had a problem conceding a lot at corners so I'll share my setup.

Generally I aim to have at least four/five tall players in my team at any one time (Both DCs, a holding MC and one ST is a good start). I also try to limit having really small players in my team to two/three at most (Say jumping <6).

Defending corners I use:

3* Man Mark (I find mark tall & short players doesn't work as well so just general MM) - Looking for the tallest and best markers here (Both DCs and either a fullback or DM/holding MC usually).

2* mark posts - Generally use the fullbacks here, players with good marking but not as tall as the man markers.

2* forward - Small players who can't mark are a liability so send them forward. I tend to leave two upfront but I have used three if you have three small players.

That leaves you three players who hopefully have some height & marking ability. The worst of the three I set at "Edge of Area", the other two are on simple "Back" orders.

This has fixed my conceding from corners. Maybe mark tall is somehow bugged. I still concede every now and then but none of that only corners stuff anymore.

[Linkoping]

Part of the problem is most people are playing their 5'5 to 5'7 tall wonder kids constantly, with their DC's (generally at least 5'10) sitting on the posts. You wonder why the opposition is getting free headers in the box? They probably have a 5'7 player set to Mark Tall player because that player is one of their tallest outfield players on the field!

[Soldatino]

I'll share my part, it works quite well for me, maybe it can help someone. I play 3-5-2, and I use following set up:

All 3 CDs are used to man mark tall players.

MCL (my team's fourth best header and marker) is used to man mark.

DMC (good heading and marking) and STLC (tall, good heading striker) are told to stay back.

MR is defending the near post.

ML is closing down the corner.

MCR on the edge of area.

STRC (pacey and agile) stays forward.

[Flohrinho]

The corners stuff is def a problem for the AI as well I scored 21 goals from corners in the league during my first season with Man United and it's not like they have the tallest squad in the league or anything.

[PDC_1981]

I also seem to get the 'ping pong' corners quite a lot which inevitably often result in a goal. Also has anybody else had the problem of defenders scoringt a lot of own goals from corners/floated free kicks? It's so annoying. One game recently i was defensively sound all game and score was 0-0 and then my central defender planted a header into his own net in the 93rd minute. I was disgusted.

[josha007]

I think I may have solved the problem...maybe.

I play a 3-5-2 with wing backs. I have my three centre backs man marking and then everyone, except my quick striker (stay forward) on default. I do this on defending free kicks too.

I used to have my wing backs marking the posts but I don't anymore. That might be the reason why I was conceding so much.

[Katarian]

Also has anybody else had the problem of defenders scoringt a lot of own goals from corners/floated free kicks? It's so annoying. One game recently i was defensively sound all game and score was 0-0 and then my central defender planted a header into his own net in the 93rd minute. I was disgusted.

I've had one of those three games in a row, two of which were completely unchallenged centrebacks powering the ball into the net. The other two goals I conceeded in those games were also from corners. I lost three games against relegation rivals to five goals from corners I was so furious I quit the game and had to go outside and split some firewood to get out some aggression. I'm going to start a new save as I can face replaying two of those three games, as I hadn't saved.

[dishy91]

I don't tend to find myself conceeding too many goals from corners, although long throws when the oppo uses them is another matter.

What I find that the more people in the box, the more chance of conceeding. When defending corners I have 2 or 3 players on forward, with 1 lurking outside the area. I find that the oppo always reacts to that and pulls it's own men back.

However with long throws when the Oppo uses them, everyone of my players bar 1, come back into the box allowing the oppo to flood my box!

[sdeel]

I have left I allt on default and am having no problems both in scoring or conceding.

how much better is this ? con one a game sometime 2,3 and long throws free kicks