GK gives ball away

[Footix]

I usually have goalkeeper distribution set to short. Still I see my GK hoofing it long every now and then. More often than not he hoofs it to the opposition midfield or defence, they immediately whack it back and put their striker through on a one-on-one. 

How do I stop this madness? I've dropped my defensive line to low but it still happens. Gahhh! 

[fish18ish]

Maybe having a low line is contributing to the problem, by inviting too much pressure and meaning you don't have many players crouding the area where the ball is likely to drop. Also seeing as you will only see highlights where dangerous situations occur, it's possible you don't see many short passes from your keeper throughout the course of a match. Also maybe your keeper has poor decision making or lacks creativity? 

What is his pass completion ratio in an average game? (look in your teams stats on the match screen, under passes and completed columns). 

[JimJobs2]

If the AI is pushing up (which they do)  then your defenders are going to be under pressure every time they receive the ball. Even the best teams can't play out of defense when they are getting pressed.

Save yourself the headache, and set GK distribution to mixed.

Edit: Obviously, a hoof upfield shouldn't result in it coming back with an opposition striker through on goal. Either your defense isn't playing a low line, you need more cover in DM or maybe you need more robust CMs to win more balls.

[Footix]

If anything the GK "hoofing" happens more frequently when I set his distribution to mixed. And when he hoofs it, more often than not the ball is immediately returned by the opposition, sending their striker through. 

I play a low line to counter this, I also use a DM, but it doesn't seem to matter. 

Tbf I feel like tactics mean next to nothing as long as the formation is a sensible one. If I have better players than the opposition, I win. If they are better than me, I lose. 

[JimJobs2]

That is pretty much would should be happening ie the better team winning. The focus is on squad building so yes, you won't find an unbeatable tactic. There simply isn't the depth.

I don't agree about the tactics not mattering though. You can still benefit from adapting your team's style of play for each game.

For instance, If you play games games you expect to lose with a counterattacking style you still might not win many, but you will win more points and games than you would otherwise.

Try playing narrower, more disciplined and with more committed tackling if you are nor winning enough balls in midfield from hoofs.