4-2-3-1 Help needed to improve defending

[gorlano]

I seem to be doing ok with this tactic so far and am getting results, However i have 2 issues that are going to cause me problems the longer i go on.

Firstly, teams seem able just to walk through my defense at will which could be disasterous against the bigger teams

secondly, i just cannot get my center forward scoring consistently.

 

Any help will be much appreciated

[dcaine100]

Overall you set-up looks ok, in a 4-2-3-1 I always give my two centre mids the tackle harder PI to add more bite in the middle and help them shield my defence. 

Its very important that both centre mids in a 4-2-3-1 have good marking and tackling attributes so I would try Wanyama as a BWM(D) and Dier as a CM(S) with the tackle harder PI and you should notice a difference.

Id also recommend removing the push higher up TI as a 4-2-3-1 is already an aggressive formation.

[Our Al]

Try switching to a 4-1-2-3 DM wide against the bigger sides.  I usually use this formation as standard.  Tried implementing the 4-2-3-1 formation a couple of times but found it didn't give me the results like my old trusty 4-1-2-3 did.

You can  try using the DM as a Regista if you have a good one on your books already, or as a Defensive midfielder, Support role.  Change the 2 centre mids to Central Midfielder (set one to Attack, another to Support).  Should give you a bit of balance to the midfield then and the defensive cover you were after to stop teams running through you.

[borivoje213]

On 24/07/2017 at 20:12, gorlano said:

Firstly, teams seem able just to walk through my defense at will which could be disasterous against the bigger teams

secondly, i just cannot get my center forward scoring consistently.

 

You play an incredibly similar system to mine.  

----------CF (s)-----------

W/IF(s)-----SS/AM(a)-----W(s)

DLP(d)/BWM(d)-----BBM/DLP(s)/AP(s)

Defence - all standard (s) (d) (d) (s)

GK - standard (d)

It's a touch less attacking than yours, I tend to only throw more attacking roles into the mix if I'm struggling to break a team down.  Otherwise though I play Control - Structured and wait quite patiently.

My Complete Forwards on Support duty all bag their fair share of both goals and assists.  Goals tend to come equally from attacking mid position and forward, also wings and the more advanced centre mid tend to chip in on the goals front.  Strangely enough my AM(a) is outscoring my SS for 2 seasons now.  And my SS is way stronger in terms of attributes.

It might seem strange but the only team instructions I start out with are. Deeper defensive line (weird but it works), Wait For Overlap, and Work Ball Into Box.

My defensive record has improved amazingly since I drop them deeper.  It sounds odd considering I play a controlled mentality and no one directly in front of my defence (and I haven't made any attempt to compensate for that gap).  For the most part I don't really concede many shots from range anyway, and it has near enough eliminated goals from through-balls and counters.  Since I tend to dominate possession and leave them very few chances I'm quite happy to let them try their luck from that pocket.  It's not like my DCs are that special either.

If I come up against a strong team/away game I'll quite happily just go toe-to-toe with them and see who comes out on top rather than sitting back and inviting.  It led to some high scoring wins and big scalps.

Dunno if you fancy giving that a whirl. 

[gorlano]

Thankyou for the replies. Plenty of things for me to try there

[jorgvandervloed]

I would probably play the striker as a advanced forward or a poacher. They are more direct threats than a complete forward who will also roam a bit. And on the left side maybe switch your full back to attack. He will create a natural overlap with your inside forward. 

Defense wise I would probably increase closing down, but get rid of the push higher uo instruction.