In horrid form, tactical advice needed.

[Jaydenoren]

After starting the season well, i've found myself in quite horrid form. The league position doesn't concern me as my aim is to finish top half but i feel that this form is more than a simple spell that I just have to go through and is showing cracks in my tactics that i didn't take care of earlier in the season. This is my current form and tactics: 

 

 

As for the cracks i mentioned, despite getting the results, all my wingers (who are usually the best players in the team) were going through inconsistent form and couldn't ever go a few games without dropping a sub par performance. Now since the decline they've been consistently horrible. With no winger having an average form of over 6.60 since the dip. Other cracks include being out-shot by opponents most games, having defenders constantly lose the ball near my own goal and not creating much chances for what should be a progressive positive team. my touch to goals ratio has been awful (though it has always been for the majority of my FM saves and i keep my opponents T:G low). But I'm now having trouble where I'm giving too much touches in the opposition area.

 

Tactical advice would be greatly appreciated.

[xray1324]

A lot of it is down to tactics, but mostly morale - your losing streak is down to the bad morale for the most part, but you should be able to get the groove back with a win against a weaker opponent - say if you have a lot of time ingame where you don't have matches, host a couple friendlies against weak teams just to get your morale up.

[Snorks]

One thing I do, when hitting a run like this, is to strip out all TIs and PIs - just de-complicate and send them out with a "right boys, let's see you go and enjoy it, play the game the way you like to"

From there, start to add a few things here and there if needed - and only if needed - over the next few games. Often I find the results come back and morale increases, and the tactic is quite a bit different from before.

Also, 'More Disciplined' has been a godsend for me. With my Leeds save, checking that box improved things massively.

 

[Jaydenoren]

1 hour ago, Snorks said:

One thing I do, when hitting a run like this, is to strip out all TIs and PIs - just de-complicate and send them out with a "right boys, let's see you go and enjoy it, play the game the way you like to"

From there, start to add a few things here and there if needed - and only if needed - over the next few games. Often I find the results come back and morale increases, and the tactic is quite a bit different from before.

Also, 'More Disciplined' has been a godsend for me. With my Leeds save, checking that box improved things massively.

 

followed your advice, it'd work in most scenarios for sure but sadly for me nothing really has changed over the next 6 games. a record of 2 wins and 4 losses. 2 3-0 losses at home against teams below me and the one of the wins was against the team at the bottom of the table who were already relegated and the other was an extremely lucky smash and grab. 

 

I'm seriously lost now.

[FMSD0]

4 hours ago, Jaydenoren said:

I'm seriously lost now.

Hello, Jaydenoren,

first of all: when something like this happens, and this happens too often, don't take it too personal. It's just some of the illogical flaws in the game's morale system that occur from time to time.

So let's take a look at your tactics.

In possession you want your team to play fast football with short passes. However, you also want them to counter and play high up the pitch. That's a contradiction, because you need space to abuse for a successful counter tactic (unless we use illogical exploit tactics).

Team Instructions

1.1) Therefore I'd remove the counter instruction and set the line of engagement to default for better vertical compactness. I'd also remove the "Run at Defence" TI, because your team isn't made of enough quality. It will also further slow you down.

1.2) Another option: remove higher tempo and keep the counter instruction. 

Player Roles and Duties

2) Change your W-at on the right to IW-su and your MEZ-su to MEZ-at. Maybe also use a FB-de instead of WB-de if you want to keep the Winger role.

3) No need for a SK-at really. It's a role that only makes sense for possession-heavy, extremely strong teams with lots of support roles. Use SK-de or normal GK instead.

Mentality

4) Rather play on balanced or cautious mentality, because on positive your players take too many risks which causes them to make bad decisions more frequently.

Edited February 17, 2020 by FMSD0

[dan_bre_1988]

I've always found fast tempo with shorter passing doesn't really work unless you're one of the top major teams. I don't know Swindon (I think that's who you are looking at the badge lol) but it's very unlikely many of your players actually have the technical ability to play this. 

I agree with a post above, strip everything down and just have the basic instructions for the style you want. Don't overcomplicate it with lots of instructions. Try standard tempo instead of high too. It's a very frantic setup you've got that's very demanding on your players. In possession you're wanting to be aggressive with a lot of quick passing but out of possession you're wanting to push high and really press aggressively. Poor form could also be partly down to pure fatigue of your players. I'd suggest trying toning down being quite so aggressive either offensively or defensively. Again, it's doubtful your players are capable of playing in such an aggressive hell for leather style of play. 

[sporadicsmiles]

First thing to ask is are your players good enough to execute a full counter press game? If they are not getting consistent pressure and forcing mistakes this can be a hindrance. It will drag players out of position and make you easier to attack. You can replace with a split block where the front 3 press and the rest of the team do not using PIs. Pressing forwards will press anyway. The first thing on your mind should be cutting out the goals. You do not lose 100% of the games where you do not concede.

The second thing is that I see a few things at odds in the way you have set up. Some things do not make a huge amount of sense to me. Typically I will use a striker on attack duty in this formation when I am looking to be quick and direct. This, to me, is further confirmed by a DLP in the DM strata. Which I would say implies you would want him to get on the ball early and spray passes to your front 3. Then later you can use him as a pivot when you attack. Yet you seem to be slow and patient, which takes away the direct option. I would not suggest forcing this too much either way, it depends on what you see in the game. Your striker looks like he could get quite isolated here too. The only attack duties are on the flanks, so if he gets the ball he will have few options for a pass immediately.

You mention that your CBs are giving the ball away too often near your goal. Yet I imagine short kicks will see the ball given to them a lot. If they cannot handle this, you should not do it. Either get the ball directly to your DLP, or take longer kicks. While you may want to play progressive football, you cannot do it if you do not have the players. You are also using shorter passing, which will limit the options for the CBs to pass as well. If you want to play from the back, try giving the balls to FBs. They typically have more space. Again this is focused on shutting out errors. If your team is struggling with space behind you can also drop the defensive line back. Not necessarily a ball over the top, but if your defenders are often facing your own goal, it puts them at a disadvantage. I'd focus on trying to compress the space for the opposition attackers and let them either waste their attacks with low percentage shots or give it away.

In terms of creating chances, your build up looks like it could be slow. Playing the ball short with short passing means you are giving the opposition plenty of time to get back into position. If you notice there is space when the AI attacks you, you should look to exploit this by being more direct. With a PF on attack, he is begging for this kinda thing. An alternative is to use a PF on support and an attack duty from central midfield. This gives a central runner who can overlap in the middle. It will keep the striker closer to supporting players. Unless you have many good dribblers with high flair I do not see the value in running at defense. If you wanted something here, I would use hit early crosses if your striker is decent in the air. Since he will be advanced, your deeper players can provide assists. The FB(A) on the left will have the striker and winger to cross to, and the IF ahead of him will create space for him to get crosses away.

[Jaydenoren]

First of all, thanks for your advice. I've now constructed a new tactic which has the same formation but a different style of play.

 

Would appreciate any tips on how to make this tactic better before going to any matches and reviewing it myself.

[sporadicsmiles]

1 hour ago, Jaydenoren said:

First of all, thanks for your advice. I've now constructed a new tactic which has the same formation but a different style of play.

 

Would appreciate any tips on how to make this tactic better before going to any matches and reviewing it myself.

I'd probably stick to neutral distribution to start with, and change it depending on what you see. If you keep losing long kicks, try to the flanks, or to the DLP, or over the top of the defense. See what works.

Pass into space is something I use situationally, making sure that there is space to be passed into. So again keep your eye on the game and if you are not seeing lots of space for people to run into, you can remove it as it will be counter productive.

[Jaydenoren]

Some games have passed now and results haven't gotten much better. can't score at all and the same frustrating things remain (Defenders getting caught on possession near to the goal, poor winger performances, awful goal to touch ratio).

[dan_bre_1988]

4 hours ago, Jaydenoren said:

First of all, thanks for your advice. I've now constructed a new tactic which has the same formation but a different style of play.

 

Would appreciate any tips on how to make this tactic better before going to any matches and reviewing it myself.

I'm not a fan of your right hand side. It seems VERY attacking. A Mezzala and Winger who are constantly trying to do all their work in the final third with a fb who sometimes gets forward when you have steady possession. This leaves you very susceptible to the counter down that side. 

A couple of solutions to this problem... You could swap your mez and carrilero around so carrilero provides some cover in wide areas but your mez and IF would try occupy the same space so may not be great. Another option is to change winger to support, IF to attack and have WB on support at left back. With this set up, you give yourself opportunity to have 2v1s down the left hand side with the carrilero offering cover. I agree above, support from midfield is definitely required when playing with a lone striker or they will end up isolated. 

The instructions you have seem to contradict what you're trying to achieve. You have slightly more direct passing, pass into space and counter in transition so you want to play on the break but then you have higher defensive line which is causing your team to try and squeeze the play. Result of this is that the space is reduced for your pass and counter opportunities. Counter is more related to a low block where you sit in and let the opposition come onto you and then break quickly to exploit the space. I'd start by seeing how you're conceding goals and try fix that first. Pick up draws if you have to and the wins will follow once you're defensively sound. 

[SD]

5 hours ago, Jaydenoren said:

First of all, thanks for your advice. I've now constructed a new tactic which has the same formation but a different style of play.

 

Would appreciate any tips on how to make this tactic better before going to any matches and reviewing it myself.

I think you're on the right track in terms of getting your TIs in sync with your formation and roles, but your tactic still lacks a clear identity. I would recommend trying out one of the pre-made setups, gegenpress or fluid counter appears to be what you are aiming for, in fact you can train both since they suite the same type of squad - physical forwards, pacy wingers, hard working midfielders. For me personally it's not uncommon to switch between a high block and a low block setup depending on the scoreline and what I want out of the match.

 

These pre-made tactics are better than people give them credit for and offer a good foundation to build on. Watch a few matches in full, or at least the first 20 minutes and look to understand how the tactic plays out on the pitch. Again, you could be successful at the game on pre-made templates alone, there are of course plenty of edges to be gained by making tweaks to suit your personnel or the opposition you're against, but making tweaks before first understanding the basics will more often than not be counterproductive.

[llama3]

I also agree with @SD that you're on the right track.

• I think your right flank has quite a large disconnect between the W(A) and FB(D) - they're just so far apart. I'd consider a FB(S), just to help close that up a touch. 
• I'd probably switch your Carrilero and Mezzala around - so the attacking player is next to a support player. I'd also just think about the roles themselves actually - both naturally sit wider, and I am not sure that you really need that in a system with a wide pair on each flank. I'd concentrate on roles that stay in the centre a bit more - a BBM(s) and CM(a) are perfect and offer a really balanced midfield - they will do similar functions to the current roles but better balanced and sit a touch more central. Of course with central midfielders pushing to support the attack, consider a support duty for the lone forward (recommend it if you want possession play as his link play will be much better, but if you want to play on the break or direct, then an attack duty will probably be more worthwhile).
• I'd strongly suggest using the presets first, then tweak them. I really don't understand why both tactical setups you have picked are so wildly different from each other. I don't really understand the overall game play in either case. I'd recommend starting with a default, then tweak instructions after you see how it plays.

[Experienced Defender]

21 hours ago, Jaydenoren said:

The setup of roles and duties looks quite decent and is well-balanced. So i can only assume that your team is not good enough to properly execute the following instructions (either some of all of them):

- higher DL, higher LOE + counter-press coupled with a high team mentality (positive in this case)

- run at defence (the instruction affects all players except those who are hard-coded to dribble less, so you need to be really careful when using this TI)

- higher tempo in combination with a high team mentality can make your attacks a bit too rushed, which can often lead to a needless loss of possession and thus present the opposition with an opportunity for a quick counter (in this context, mind my first remark about higher DL, LOE and counter-press)

Hopefully this will give you some food for thought as to what kind of tweaks you need to make 

[Experienced Defender]

And one more thing - you should be more stable defensively if you swap around the duties of the mezzala and winger in AMR - i.e. MEZ on attack and winger on support.