Need some help

[Chema]

I made the mistake and decided to buy the fm16 - i thought i reached all goals with the older version. but now i come to a point where i just want to break the dvd and run away... to bad i bought it over steam!

what has happend - in every save so far:

we have an uneasy start - the first couple of friendlies dont go to good, then last corrections on the tactics finaly work and we get a run. my team starts playing nice football - wins 3-2 after a 0-2 against barcelona in a friendly. rushes through EL qualifies with no doubts - i get a little proud here and there - we dont concede no more but we score a lot, we dont care (homa/away) or who the opposition is because i created three tactics that WORK in any occasion!

fixtures so far:

here:

starting tactic at home or away (when favorite)

if we are huge favorite or the games tend to go right our way:

if we are underdogs in away games:

so now, since we lost to hamburg there is no more beauty in the game... all oppositions seem to be better (we did play darmstadt and they won so deserved against us) is this really supposed to be the result of badly applied tactics? do you see issues in my set up?

when i use the attacking tactic i tell my team to close down all the opp. defense and all central midfielders.

i need some help... this is really taking the fun away! everytime i tend do have a working thing this happens and it really frustrates!

thanks guys

[2calvin]

I'm guessing you used the first tactic away to Hamburg and Darmstadt, it seems quite open to me. I would be tempted to go Fluid to push the lines closer together. Have you checked your players average positions without the ball during those matches? (using analysis tab)

[Chema]

hey, thanks. getting the whole team a bit narrower did kind of work - now the tactic number one is my go to tactic. never the less i still cant lose the feeling that i could just lose to any team at any time. what i really appreciate is the huge influence you have from byline with just a few tweeks. anyway i will keep an eye on the development i still believe that the chosen set ups are quite a good base.

or do you see any more obvious leaks?

[Chema]

Ok i finished the first half of the season now and the results have been great 15 wins and 3 lost games (two of those definitely deserved - the game in munich was a close one)

I did use the more fluid approach - also added opposition instruction and told the IF's to man mark the opposition FB's (this reduced almost all goals conceded from overlapping, crossing fullbacks) - also if the full backs push forward and we win the ball our wingers always push forward with high tempo (good counter moves) if the full backs stay back we have two man upfront and wide when we win the ball - i really like this set up and how it works.

Also this is the first time i used this formation and i get the forward scoring almost all the goals - i really wanted to get the most out of aubameyang and kind of did.

A typical goal for now:

Ginter lay a intercepted ball to gündogan as my wingback pushes forward - in the center we get the chance of 3 players in the box.

gündogan plays a through ball to the wing - my players all go for goal but - as marked - there is a lot of sercurity if a ball is lost

piszczek whippes in the cross to first post, aubameyang has the anticipation and pace to get there first and thats how we score...

so thanks for your help again. the season could get really interesting now

[Draakon]

Few sidenotes: losing to smaller sides in away matches a few times during a season can happen. I'm not even sure it's completely tactical - complacency can have a great impact (especially after long winning streak) and at one point your regular team talk has very little effect, while smaller team is full of motivation and eager to prove themselves against you in front of their home fans. Fatigue and tactics could also contribute, but mental preparation of the team and team talks are very important in my opinion.

Squad rotation is another factor I try to use to my benefit. I always rate my players after the game - not only what their rating says, but how they appeared on the pitch (motivated, nervous, complacent) and what effect their performance had to the result. And rotate. In the last match my right winger looked nervous for 60 minutes and didn't create nothing noteworthy, and things started to happen when i took him off and his replacement made some good crosses and created a goal. Both had 6.9 rating in the end of the match, but because what I saw, the substitute earned himself a place in the next game squad.

It's difficult to evaluate effects of rotation. There's no way of telling how one or the other player would have impacted the result in same conditions, team talks etc., so perhaps it's a matter of faith, but I believe good management demands good rotation decisions. Anyway - you have to keep your squad match fit in case of injuries and give some youth players a chance now and then, even when sometimes it backfires and costs you the game (Arsene Wenger, anyone?).

[Chema]

i do have a similar approach on rotation, i tend to give players a first team chance if they had an impact on a game as sub. but - this is just a feeling - i rarely see them recreate that "impact" on a game when they start. but i guess one thing that could help against complacency is using subs in the first 11 against smaller teams. realistically these players would want to prove themselves to earn a spot in the squad - this could be worth a try.