fixing my 442 with Sporting Gíjon

[Malthe. =)]

Hi all!

Im hoping you can be of help with my 442, which doesnt seem to work as well as i would like.

Before creating it, i followed the guide on guidetofm.com, and did a pretty in-depth squad analysis. I found out that my defense was relatively fast (but aerally challenged), and that i overall possessed players with great stamina, workrate, anticipation and determination. I also found out that i lacked creative players in the middle of the field, and that my strikers were decent in the air. I thus decided upon a 4-4-2 formation emphasizing a pressing defense and a direct form of attacking. Here is what i came up with.

 

I put counterpressing on in certain matches, and leave it off for others, but it doesnt seem to have impacted results.

And here are my results and the league table:

Im predicted 8th, so results could be worse, but looking at the teams that are predicted to finish around me, i think i could do better.

Hoping for a helping hand.

Cheers!

[Experienced Defender]

46 minutes ago, Malthe. =) said:

The tactic does not look too bad. Which means that not many changes are needed. Of course, you need to make sure that the 442 is an optimal system for your players and that you have suitable players for all roles.

Anyway, here are some tips you should consider IMHO:

- your level of compactness might be a bit too low for a system such as 442. Advice: drop the LOE to standard (instead of higher)

- more urgent pressing is another potentially risky defensive instruction, especially for a lower-league team. Advice: reduce it to standard (default)

- Prevent short GKD makes no sense in a 442, because you have only 2 players up front. Advice: remove the instruction

Before I can offer more advice, I have to ask you a couple of questions:

1. What's the exact idea with wide width and more direct passing?

2. What are your strikers' respective stronger feet? Are both right-footed? Or left-footed? Or each has different foot stronger (one left, and the other right)?

57 minutes ago, Malthe. =) said:

I found out that my defense was relatively fast

That's fine, but what about their relevant mental attributes (positioning, anticipation, decisions, concentration) and technical ones (tackling, marking)?

[Malthe. =)]

4 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

The tactic does not look too bad. Which means that not many changes are needed. Of course, you need to make sure that the 442 is an optimal system for your players and that you have suitable players for all roles.

Anyway, here are some tips you should consider IMHO:

- your level of compactness might be a bit too low for a system such as 442. Advice: drop the LOE to standard (instead of higher)

- more urgent pressing is another potentially risky defensive instruction, especially for a lower-league team. Advice: reduce it to standard (default)

- Prevent short GKD makes no sense in a 442, because you have only 2 players up front. Advice: remove the instruction

Before I can offer more advice, I have to ask you a couple of questions:

1. What's the exact idea with wide width and more direct passing?

2. What are your strikers' respective stronger feet? Are both right-footed? Or left-footed? Or each has different foot stronger (one left, and the other right)?

That's fine, but what about their relevant mental attributes (positioning, anticipation, decisions, concentration) and technical ones (tackling, marking)?

Thanks a lot for your reply!

1: The idea behind wider width is getting my wingers and (especially) fullbacks more involved, as i want these to feed the strikers. Id like to avoid having either of my CMs act as playmakers, as theyre terrific ballwinners/defensive midfielders, but nothing special in terms of playmaking. Direct passing is implemented because of the wider width - i figuered that in order to get my midfielders and defenders to pass to the wingers (who are now further away), theyd need to have a more expanded passing range. Most teams in the division also use 3-man midfields, which i would like to bypass ASAP and exploit my potential numerical superiority on the flanks.

 

2.  They are both right-footed

 

The mental stats for my defenders are quite good for the level, yes. That was the primary reason i brought in Ferreira to partner Babin.

[Experienced Defender]

Just now, Malthe. =) said:

The idea behind wider width is getting my wingers and (especially) fullbacks more involved, as i want these to feed the strikers

Do you want them to feed the strikers mostly with crosses or you want to have different sources of supply for the strikers? 

 

2 minutes ago, Malthe. =) said:

Id like to avoid having either of my CMs act as playmakers, as theyre terrific ballwinners/defensive midfielders, but nothing special in terms of playmaking

Okay  

 

2 minutes ago, Malthe. =) said:

Direct passing is implemented because of the wider width - i figuered that in order to get my midfielders and defenders to pass to the wingers (who are now further away), theyd need to have a more expanded passing range. Most teams in the division also use 3-man midfields, which i would like to bypass ASAP and exploit my potential numerical superiority on the flanks

Makes sense. Although you need to know that instructions are not set in stone. So the more direct passing does not mean that each single pass will be more direct. It just encourages your players to play such passes a bit more often. And all instructions work in conjunction with other ones. 

 

9 minutes ago, Malthe. =) said:

2.  They are both right-footed

In that case, I'd rather have the supporting one (DLF) on the left side, and the attacking one (PF) on the right. That may look irrelevant, but sometimes can make a notable difference. However, that may require tweaking some other roles a bit (in order to keep the overall tactical balance). 

For example:

DLFsu   PFat

IWsu    CMde   CMsu    WMsu

FBat    CDde    CDde    WBsu

GK

As you can see, I have changed the winger on attack into WM on support, which is a less attack-minded role. But at the same time, I also changed the fullback on that flank from FB on support into WB on support, which on the other hand is a more attack-minded role and thus can better help to provide attacking width. 

20 minutes ago, Malthe. =) said:

The mental stats for my defenders are quite good for the level, yes

If so, then I guess the higher DL should not be much of an issue.  

[Malthe. =)]

10 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

Do you want them to feed the strikers mostly with crosses or you want to have different sources of supply for the strikers? 

 

Okay  

 

Makes sense. Although you need to know that instructions are not set in stone. So the more direct passing does not mean that each single pass will be more direct. It just encourages your players to play such passes a bit more often. And all instructions work in conjunction with other ones. 

 

In that case, I'd rather have the supporting one (DLF) on the left side, and the attacking one (PF) on the right. That may look irrelevant, but sometimes can make a notable difference. However, that may require tweaking some other roles a bit (in order to keep the overall tactical balance). 

For example:

DLFsu   PFat

IWsu    CMde   CMsu    WMsu

FBat    CDde    CDde    WBsu

GK

As you can see, I have changed the winger on attack into WM on support, which is a less attack-minded role. But at the same time, I also changed the fullback on that flank from FB on support into WB on support, which on the other hand is a more attack-minded role and thus can better help to provide attacking width. 

If so, then I guess the higher DL should not be much of an issue.  

Thanks again for your help. I will implement your suggestions and see how i get on.

I was also wondering if you could let me know how you go about fixing and tweaking tactics in general? Im a newer player, and although i can see when my tactics arent working, im having trouble figuering out why. Ive watched full matches, but never really know what to look for. If you could guide me towards a resource, or just give me a few pointers, that would be greatly appreciated!

[Vribo FC]

10 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

In that case, I'd rather have the supporting one (DLF) on the left side, and the attacking one (PF) on the right. That may look irrelevant, but sometimes can make a notable difference.

I have seen that. It sometimes makes all the difference which side you put them. You can see that when watching a game, they can come in awkward all the times, or running at each others heels. But, how did you know now, just looking att his tactics? (I guess the answer lies within your name..) 

[Experienced Defender]

5 hours ago, Malthe. =) said:

I was also wondering if you could let me know how you go about fixing and tweaking tactics in general?

It's not a type of question that allows for a simple answer. For me, the key thing is to create a simple and well-balanced tactic that suits my players (that's why I always spend a great deal of time analyzing the squad). Once I have such a tactic, it's far easier to make tweaks when necessary, because you need to make only small, gradual tweaks. But if your primary tactic is poorly designed - and on top of that complex in the sense of too many instructions, fancy roles, unbalanced duties etc. - then simple tweaking is not going to help, because the tactic will need to be overhauled completely.

Fortunately, your tactic looks pretty decent, so I guess you won't have a lot to tweak (let alone overhaul) 

[Experienced Defender]

5 hours ago, Vribo FC said:

how did you know now, just looking att his tactics? (I guess the answer lies within your name..)

Well, I asked him about his strikers' preferred feet, and he told me they are both right-footed. Simple