Why is my tactic so bad?

[Diego Birtles]

Trying to replicate something similar to the way United (are trying to) play under Van Gaal but it doesn't seem to be working very well. I also seem to concede a lot from corners which could be a bug, I'm not sure.

Team Instructions: Pass into space, look for overlap, close down more & much higher tempo

Some player instructions too but they're pretty minimal.

Just want to know how bad it actually is.

[CalumF]

Straight away you need at least one wing back on Attack to get some width in the team up front. The midfield and forwards have to much space between them. One Cm needs an attacking duty and one forward needs a support duty. Players would start to link up better. Also a advanced forward/poacher is not a good combination. An advanced forward(a) and deep lying forward(s) would be much better.

[Shake Appeal]

It's not great.

Your forwards are too isolated from the rest of the team. Move one of them to a support duty (or maybe a TQ(A) for the lateral movement) of some kind that provides a link between midfield and attack — and maybe opens space for the runs your AP(A) will try to make. In a wingerless formation, you really need at least one of your wing backs to be on an attack duty to provide width and the overlap you're supposedly looking for. And your midfield is all over the place. Too many playmakers and specialists wandering about trying to dictate play, with a BWM haring off and tugging at your shape, too.

"Close down much more" in combination with an Attacking mentality is an incredibly aggressive press. Couple that with some of the roles you've chosen and there will be a lot of spaces to attack, especially in the hole in front of your back four. When you do have possession, you've told your midfielders to spray it forward quickly to isolated forwards who have little support and may even be attacking the same gaps.

Conceding from corners is sort of bugged, and SI are looking at it, so put a man zonally marking the 6-yard box.

[RTHerringbone]

Aside from the corner issues, what else are you noticing?

My early feel is that there is separation from Mata backwards, unless Di Maria and Herrera are getting sufficiently forward. You possibly end up crowding the area in which you most need space and variety, so it's the balance of the front six that may be an issue.

You don't need to look for overlap as you naturally have that as it is.

[Dave is here]

There is a definite lack of width in that tactic, I would try having them both on attack but also set to man mark the opposition wingers to ensure they don't get caught out high up the pitch in arsenal-esque fashion. I think it's worth setting mata to a support duty to link up with the central midfield more too. I'm not really a fan of the BWM as I find they often go walk about looking for the ball rather than actually defending. Try simply having a cm(d) there instead. As for the two up front I'm not really sure as I tend to just play 1 up front but Complete forward(s) and and advanced forward may work.

[Diego Birtles]

Cheers for the feedback and advice. Here's what I've come up with, I've been using it since the 7-0 over Dallas Roma but there have been quite a few tweaks. After the Liverpool game I decided to switch from attacking to control against big sides. I've been absolutely dominating possession-wise but I seem to be putting in LOADS of crosses, 40+ a game, would fewer risky passes for FBs cut this down? I am conceding less from corners however.

Di Maria has been great in that Advanced Playmaker A role with 4 POTMs in his last 4 games, only issue might be is that him and Mata get in each other's space sometimes.

Another thing is that the front 3 seem to pass it around a lot in the box instead of shooting, any idea why this is? There's no player instructions to make it happen. I've but the AF to shoot more but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Team Instructions: Retain possession, close down more, much higher tempo

[Shake Appeal]

You'd have to use the analysis tool to see where the crosses are coming from and from whom. It's possible that if you're dominating possession and pinning teams back that your players are resorting to slinging crosses in because they're finding it hard to break down packed defences. If you notice it's happening most against weaker sides, you may have to consider an alternative approach that draws them out and hits them on the counter rather than battering away with your Attacking style.

I think your problem with Mata and Di Maria is that both are left-footed, so Mata may tend to open his body and cut towards the space Di Maria likes to attack. There isn't really a way around that without changing their roles or duties, and I don't think you'd want to do that given the form Di Maria is in. You could consider dropping right-footed Rooney into the AMC slot and finding someone else for his spot up front (Mata would be superb in a variety of ST roles, for what it's worth, but you'd have to train him in the position).

Looks like you're getting great results on the whole, though, especially at home!

[donnybrook]

They might not shoot in the box because of "Much Higher Tempo". The faster tempo does not give them time to make decisions, so they just pass the ball instead. Try "Higher Tempo". They will still move the ball forward quickly, but will have just enough time on the ball to make good decisions.

Does Di Maria run with the ball in the middle and get in Mata's way? If so, try "Run Wide with Ball" for Di Maria. Otherwise try "Sit Wider" with Di Maria to give your team a little more width.

[Noel Gallagher]

Another thing is that the front 3 seem to pass it around a lot in the box instead of shooting, any idea why this is? There's no player instructions to make it happen. I've but the AF to shoot more but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Team Instructions: Retain possession, close down more, much higher tempo

The retain possession instruction prioritises keeping hold of the ball so I would assume this might be why.