Defensive Issues - HELP!

[avillafan.com]

I am in my second season with Aston Villa and regardless of what formation I play, I concede far too many goals and it is really frustrating me now.

During my first season, I played a 5-2-2-1 WB formation on Gegenpress. I only conceded 11 goals in the first half of the season. Since then i ship goals for fun. I ended up conceding 65 in total.

And so far this season i have let in 8 in four games.

Formations used (and i use them for more than one game): 5-2-2-1 WB, 5-2-2-1, 4-2-3-1, 4-1-2-3 Wide, 5-3-2.

Here is a picture of my squad:

 

[FMSD0]

Hello, avillafan.com!

Please upload a screenshot of your team instructions and the roles and duties of your players.

[avillafan.com]

These are the two latest ones I am trying with.

I seem to waste a lot of goalscoring chances also. Create loads and don't score BUT the defensive side of things bother me a lot more.

Id rather be solid and win games by 1 or 2 goals than win 5-4.

[FMSD0]

Okay, let's see.

 

4231 Wide

The first thing I notice is that you're playing with a high defensive line and a much higher line of engagement. That's very risky because you don't really have the players to pull it off against stronger sides. It's also really problematic if you're playing away from home.

Another problem could be your instruction to pass into space. If your team pushes that high there won't be much space to pass into. You're also asking your team to play at a very high tempo which can lead to turnovers high up the pitch. Even though you're trying to battle those turnovers with counter-press and an extremely urgent pressing (which might be way too much) your players might not be able to keep up the pace, because they are simply not world class. You're also using the counter instruction, but then again there won't be many opportunities, because you're forcing your opponent to play deeper because of your high lines.

It's difficult to help you here because I don't really see which brand of football you would like to play with this tactic. That's why I won't make suggestions for the team instructions or the player roles and duties for now.

Are you aiming for possession football or counter-attacking football with aggressive pressure in the opponent's half? The latter might make more sense given the quality of your players.

 

4141 DM Wide

With this formation you're trying to play on the wings with an extremely wide attacking width, yet you're using two inside forwards. Overlaps aren't really required because your wing-backs will naturally overlap, especially on an attack duty. The IF-MEZ partnership on the left side could lead to problems, because both players tend to operate in similar spaces; you'll also lose some support on the wing because of this.

I'd do the following changes here for now:

• remove Overlap Right
• change the left back from WBat to WBsu
• change from the left MEZat role to another role on support except Carrilero; RPM, APsu or CMsu could work well
• change the right WBsu to WBat
• only use one BPD instead of two for a better build-up variation
• change attacking width to Wide
• (maybe experiment with RMD or APat for Grealish)
• (remove Overlap Left if you want Melling to help stabilising the defense)

Edited January 4, 2020 by FMSD0

[rockpie]

1 hour ago, avillafan.com said:

These are the two latest ones I am trying with.

I seem to waste a lot of goalscoring chances also. Create loads and don't score BUT the defensive side of things bother me a lot more.

Re: wasting chances:

You're using Extremely High Tempo or High Tempo in both tactics, this could mean that your players are rushing to get their shots away when they get into goalscoring positions.

Re: defensive things:

4-2-3-1

You have no holding role in midfield and both full backs are being used as Wing Backs, one on (s) and one on (a), that's a very aggressive setup for a team likely to be one of the weaker in the league -- even if you manage to over-perform with them, you still have to acknowledge how your players match up with opponents in terms of attributes.

Considering you also have an IF (a) + BBM (s) on the left, that's another 2 players who will be more committed to attacking phases and the IF won't track back at all. If you have any kind of breakdown in transition, you're basically leaving your 2 CDs completely exposed against counter-attacks.

This kind of aggressive setup is only really going to work if you're the team dominating the game, with a Higher Defensive Line.. but you need top class players to be able to pull that off consistently. Even then you will have to accept conceding on the counter occasionally.

 

4-1-2-3

Same problem basically. Left flank in this case is even more exposed since all 3 players on that side have an (a) duty.

As soon as there is a breakdown in transition, CDs exposed and if opposition teams manage to get their full backs involved in any attack, your WB (a) on the left is going to be facing 2 vs 1 every time.

Edited January 4, 2020 by rockpie

[avillafan.com]

Thanks guys. I will have a play around to see if there is something i can do.

I want a high press, passing approach.

[Experienced Defender]

12 hours ago, avillafan.com said:

 

12 hours ago, avillafan.com said:

Id rather be solid and win games by 1 or 2 goals than win 5-4

How do you expect to be defensively solid with the entire left side on attack duties (WB, MEZ and IF)? Plus the Overlap left. Plus the Focus play down the left. That would be too much even for a top team, let alone Villa. 

 

12 hours ago, avillafan.com said:

In this 4231 tactic, your defensive woes are the result of:

- poor vertical compactness (the distance between DL and LOE)

- extremely urgent pressing (and very likely the counter-press as well)

- the lack of a real holding role in central midfield (BWM on defend duty is only nominally a holding role, but in reality not really so)

- an overly attack-minded (risky) fullback role on the right flank (the WB on attack duty) for a top-heavy system such as 4231

- even the left FB is played in a more attack-minded role (WBsu) than it would be advisable in relation to those in front of him (BBM and IF on attack)

Extremely high tempo (plus pass into space) can also contribute to defensive issues because it can lead to a lot of needless losses of possession, some/many of which can happen in dangerous areas.

[permanentquandary]

You don't have to use WB roles to get the full backs to overlap.

You'll find that the FB does it too but he closes down less and doesnt leave his defensive position.

 

FB(s) can be given PI to make it more adventurous with forward runs but you keep that safer individual mentality from the less aggressive role and duty

 

Support duties on various roles in most outfield positions can be assigned to get further forward.

Edited January 5, 2020 by permanentquandary

[Tyburn]

I found Heaton in my 2nd season with Villa just wasn’t good enough. As a side note