4-1-2-3 Tactic - Struggling with constistency

[alanfishead]

A bit of background about the setup so far:

 

I've always been a fan of the single striker formation with wide men supporting attacks so I decided to set up with a 4123 formation as Bournemouth have a good set of players for this (plus a couple of signings). I'm relatively new to building a tactic from scratch and I wanted to start by making sure the defence is as solid as possible. Everything started pretty well with 7 wins,  2 draws and 2 losses in the first 11. A comfortable 3-1 win over Chelsea and a nail biting 4-4 draw with 2nd place Spurs being the highlights. The stats were looking okay as well in dominating possession and creating plenty of chances whilst limiting the chances of the opposition. 

So here is the formation and my TI's:

 

I've gone for a counter mentality as it allows my not-so-pacey CB's to sit a little deeper and not have to worry about balls in behind them but makes use of pacey wingers. I didn't want to close down too much in order to keep the defensive shape and stay away from players rushing out and leaving big gaps! Playing out of defence may need to be looked at due to the lack of composure in Upamecano.

 

My first aim is to limit the amount of crosses the opposition. Surprisingly (to me, anyway) I'm conceding more from crosses from my right hand side where Iorfa sits as a FB on support duty. I conceded a lot less from the opposite side in the last 10 games from the left where Robertson is encouraged to get forward. Maybe changing Iorfa to WB Suport as well might help but that somehow goes against the logic that I have picked up through various posts/guides.

 

This is from the last 10 games, although I've actually conceded 14 in the last 10 (8 in the last 4). Please also tell me if I'm totally misinterpreting this info!

 

Can anyone see any glaring issues defensively? Any suggestions welcome!

 

As I said, all started well but then quickly turned sour having lost the last 4!

[summatsupeer]

42 minutes ago, alanfishead said:

My first aim is to limit the amount of crosses the opposition. Surprisingly (to me, anyway) I'm conceding more from crosses from my right hand side where Iorfa sits as a FB on support duty.

It's more likely he is getting 2v1'd with your Winger not tracking back due to being attack duty and Ibe isn't the hardest working or most defensively aware player.

You may want to switch to a 4141 so they position deeper to help the fullbacks, even if its just getting their body in the way or not being left behind when the FB makes a run.  A W-A in MR will play almost identically to a W-A in AMR.  You can create a IF-S type player with a WM-S and some PI's.  It would affect your transitions as your players would be deeper and further away from the forward.

I'm not sure if this is right but I prefer to use Tighter Marking with higher pressure systems.  If i'm playing a "get men behind the ball" defensive strategy I want them in position congesting the area rather than sticking to opponents.  I think in high pressure systems the tighter marking is useful to remove easy passes to feet and force riskier passes.

If you need some extra penetration and Hyndman has the ability you could add More Risky Passes to counter your team instruction to Retain Possession so he looks to play a few more through balls.  You could also modify his passing range, adding some directness to spread play and add something a bit different.  Otherwise I feel your team will be relying on dribbling to penetrate with with the front 3 all instructed to do so.

[alanfishead]

I've changed a couple of things including what you've suggest. I've also removed the Play out of Defence TI to try and mix up the passing range. 

I don't have anyone competent and of sufficient quality in the ML position at the minute so I've kept Pavon at AMR as I didn't previously have any trouble down that side and it closes the gap between midfield and the lone striker. 

Is there an changes to the roles you would make? Or does it seem well balanced?

[jorgvandervloed]

@alanfishead

Have you tried switching your CM (A) and DLP (S) from position? I can see your CM running into the IF (S), while the Winger stays wide and there is no one to really use that space that is created. The DLP (S) will keep position and by doing this creates space for the IF to cut inside. 

Defensively, I would have a look at three things;

• Maybe switch the W (A) to a W(S), this way he will help out your defence a bit more
• Have a look at the holding midfield in the defensive midfield; this role will just stay in front of your defence, but a simple DM (D) will close down a bit more
• You also play with a counter strategy, which has a low defensive line by default, and then you decided to lower it even more. Maybe put it back in the default setting to be a bit more aggressive.