Tactical problems.

[Milten20]

Hello!

My formation is 4-4-1-1 with standard mentality and flexible structure with shorter passing, play narrower, push higher up, roam more and play higher tempoTi. Roles are: Goalkeeper- Wingback (A)-Central Defender (D)-Central Defender (D)-Wingback (A)-Winger (S)-Central Midfielder (D)-Central Midfielder (D)-Wide Midfielder (S)- Attacking Midfielder (A)-False Nine (S). And while it's really good in defensive play, it's really ineffective during attacking. Biggest problems are:

A) False Nine play: He is not dropping deep enough. In most transitions and build-ups he is much higher than attacking midfielder whose runs are really late. I want F9 to drop deep immediately to make space for AM (Shall I use Shadow Striker for him?). Right now, when F9 has ball then he is easily isolated and tackled/forced to shoot or dribble into closed space.

B) Wings play: This is biggest problem in my tactic. I just can't make these good. They have really hard time against almost any FB. I can create 1 vs 1 situations, but they just aren't winning them. I thought about giving one of them a attack role, but with two defensive CM I am afraid about lack of support in my midfield.

C) No clear cut chances: Sometimes I have many shoots, but lack of clear chances is something really annoying.

Thanks for any help!

[Cleon]

A - The F9 does drop deep but not as deep as a treq for example because he is also a massive goal threat. It doesn't help that you use a AMC who occupies the space and kind of areas he drops into, so this can push him higher than he'd like at times.

B - Are the players actually good enough to beat their man 99% of the time? Also maybe the midfield is the actual issue and not the winger? If both CM's are defensive then who is providing help for the winger and giving him support? It's not a total shock that he isn't doing so well in the above set up imo.

C - Ignore CCC's they don't tell you anything and the way they're calculated in game means little. Instead you should focus on the quality of chances you create and the kind of areas they are taken from.

[Andre2807]

---------------F9(S)--------------

--------------AM(A)--------------

W(S) - CM(D) - CM(D) - WM(S)

WB(A) - CB(D) - CB(D) - WB(A)

Attack: The only attack duty players are the AM and WB's. The goal threat of the team is weakened the F9 is in possession, as the only player supporting him will the AM(A). Also, the WB's won't cut in and will rather cross the ball. This means that either your F9 or AM(A) should be tall, strong and able to head the ball well. In essence: You have two goal scoring threats: AM(A) and F9. Another issue with this, is the F9 is more than happy to lay off a pass and take long shots, rather than getting into the box and going for goals... so you must rely on your AM(A) to create and score goals. The winger and wide midfielder are in support duty, but they will (again) rather pass than shoot.

Defense: With the WB's on Attack duty, if they are slow they might not be fast enough to track back and tackle the opposition's wingers. Although you might have decent control in the midfield between your centre backs and central midfielders, having two players in midfield on defend duty, this is somewhat redundant when you need decent link up play.

Support and Possession: There is too big of a gap between the AM(A) and CM(D)'s. Your wingers on support duty will create width, but unless they aren't given the instruction, it's not likely for them to drift towards the middle of the pitch. Thus you get WIDTH at the expense of having your main goal scoring threats isolated when you have possession in the middle of the field. Thus you are forced to go wide.

Suggesstion and conclusion: For an F9 to be effective, he needs supporting (attack) players whom he can lay off passes to when he is in possession, and too far to shoot. Changing the duty of one or two of your wingers will give that extra support he needs. Also, changing a winger to an Inside Forward can give your WB more space to run wide. In my opinion, an SS(A) would make the perfect partner for the F9, due to the more pronounced focus on finishing and forward runs.

If you find that you are being caught on many attacks on the wings, and conceding there, the WB's might be better off on a less attacking duty. Also this might support your style of play if none of your crosses are being met.

Finally, changing one Central Midfielder to a support duty or even changing the role to Deep Lying Playmaker (support) will nicely provide support in the middle of the pitch. With this, you can expect more service to your F9, SS and wingers. In addition to this, having a support duty in the midfield (in the middle of the pitch), and one in attack, will help the attackers not become too isolated and lose possession.

Hope this helps!

AB