Inconsistent Form - Tactic Advice Needed

[smirkquirk]

Hello there. I have recently got back into Football manager being playing since FM14. Started a save with BCFC as I support them IRL (we just survived relegation today KRO), and well I am starting to get very frustrated with the results. I am 3rd currently, coming of a 1-0 defeat to Fulham. I have attached some screenshots giving some context to the situation. I guess you could say I have been overachieving looking at the squad depth, I have had a lot of injuries to key players (Grounds, Maghoma).

Formation:

When I am at home against a team that isn't in the playoffs/playing well, I tend to opt for a 4-4-2. When away, I always tend to play with the 4-4-1-1 (shown in the attachment). I have made subtle changes to player roles/instructions in recent games to see if I can change my luck. For example, originally I had the left centre midfielder playing as a BWM, I have now changed to a centre mid on the defend duty. Looking at the below tactic, you can see a couple of players out of position, this is down to the injuries I mentioned earlier which have been a massive hit on the formations I play. 

Team Instructions:

Again I have made subtle changes to the team instructions once again. Brought in the clear the ball to flanks. The idea behind this is to use the pace of the wingers to get forward quickly to then allow more crosses into the target man. I am indeed playing narrower. Trying to ensure that it is harder for us to be broken down in the middle along with sticking to positions because we don't have the best creative players meaning we lack creativity in the final third.

Team Report: 

Team report is useful here aswell, shows me that we have conceded a lot from crosses due to the high amount of assists from these areas. Furthermore we have one of the worst passing stats in the league. 

To be third in the league is good, but I feel us slipping off now with some poor results to Wolves and Middlesborough where we should've done better. If anyone could give me some advice it would be greatly appreciated. I haven't messed around with FM18 too much but it feels the same as the previous versions in terms of form being linked a lot to morale and the tactics you deploy. I don't see any glaringly obvious things that should be changed and ideally don't want to change tactics either. We have high determination overall in the squad along with teamwork, maybe I should try a higher pressing game where we look to go more direct with our play?

Thanks in advance !!!

[summatsupeer]

I think you've gone very one dimensional with all 4 of the back line staying deep and playing direct. Your instructions I think should keep things tight and keep the back 4 playing lower risk so could allow a bit more support, maybe just as FB-S.

The TM will attract direct passes to add to that further, but look at who his nearest support is, a AP-S who typically drops deeper to collect the ball.  I'd prefer a non playmaker role who can stay close to the TM, I guess your 442 does this.

I don't know why you want to press and play direct? Those things are typically opposing plans. If you press higher and its successful then there's less space to pass into.

3rd sounds great if they were nearly relegated in RL! I'd not make too many changes.

[smirkquirk]

Thanks for the feedback summatsupeer I have noted the things you have suggested down.

 

Overall the squad is pretty decent minus the injuries and I have played a fair few games since I uploaded this and am now top of the table after changing some of the instructions. I have added the pass into space instruction as I believe this plays to the strengths of the quick players I have. 

 

I am now going to stick with the 442 for at least until the end of the January and see if I can stay in the top spot with more solid performances, I am coming of a 4-1 win against Leeds so hoping for more of the same with these tweaks I have made.

 

Any further feedback would be great !

[summatsupeer]

Hard to be specific since not seen what your currently using.  The is going to sound obvious but when using pass into space look where the space is.  Teams might start going more cautious since your top so space behind them will be reduced making passes into space harder.

[FlairRA]

It looks like your team focuses on crossing way too much (Wingers on both sides and Clear Ball Into Flanks), and you only have one man in the box, if your crossing doesn't work out or the opposition centerbacks are aerially dominant then you'll have a hard time scoring. Then you have WBIB and Play Much Narrow, that seems a bit counter-intuitive. In Rashidi's words (12 step guide), Don’t be too one-dimensional with your tactics. You could create a tactic that has one flank delivering crosses while you have another flank crafting short little passes that serve to drag a team around." You could try a WM (S) and WB (A) on one side so you can mix it up and have different routes of attack.
 

[smirkquirk]

Thanks for the feedback again. I ended up getting promoted in the end winning the league. I did have some terrible form towards the end of the season losing to teams in the relegation zone, rarely having any shots etc so frustrating. I find consistency hard sometimes in FM. One minute your banging goals in every 5 minutes, then you can't hit a barn door. Nevertheless I will press on and see how I do in the premier league, always find the first season decent then!