Away form

[andqui]

I'm having a huge problem with away games in my current season.

My three tactics are as follows: A short passing, fluid short passing 4-2-3-1 for home games, a counter attacking, direct 4-4-2, and a control, short 4-3-3 (DM/2 x CM and 2 wingers+ striker).

My home form is fantastic, using any of the above tactics for the right opponents, so I think I can say that the tactics themselves are sound. However, when I play away, I either seem to get punished by individual defensive mistakes or a complete failure in attack. Either a single defender screws up horribly and costs me the game, or my attacking players get dominated and don't contribute anything all match, or in some bad instances both happen.

Any ideas on what I should do? The tactics I'm using kick butt at home and my team is pathetic away, having only won two of the last 10. What things should change? I've tried playing more direct and defensive away, but that just means I don't score. I'm newcastle, but it's 2018 and the team has changed a lot, a better comparison would be the starting arsenal team.

[Soccer]

How did you do in your away matches in previous season(s)?

Were you using the same tactics?

In your current season, who are your stand-out performers and not-so-good ones in your away matches?

Delving into details may help understand the discrepancies behind the home and away results.

Also, is this the first time you are facing this challenge since you picked up FM13?

[andqui]

Yes, last season I was using the same tactics, and I got a carling cup win, 3rd in the league, and CL semi-final. Away games were certainly harder than home ones but I could be fairly confident of a 1-0, 2-1 scrappy win. This season, away, with the same tactics, I'm getting bad individual mistakes from defenders and my GK, who have 6-7 games where they do well and then a shocker thrown in. A few people, like this one regen defender are solid and dependable, but the rest seem to follow this pattern of doing alright and then loosing it for one game.

I actually think attacking problems away are worse than my defensive ones. If I try to mimic the short, fluid attacking game that I use at home quite successfully, nothing happens. If I go direct, nothing happens. I've got Erik Lamela / Honda as my CAM, two excellent regen wingers, and a 4 star striker up top. Pass completion is the biggest problem- my strikers/wingers usually go through away games with 60% or so, and I just don't know what to do about it. They only seem to play well away against bottom-third teams, while at home they can take down the league leaders. The home/away difference seems so much more exaggerated this season- I do expect there to be a difference, but this season it seems as if my attacking players are constantly getting bullied away by defenders who have man-of-the-match performances.

So no, it's not the first time this has been a problem, but it's the first time that it's been this much of a problem. Maybe it's to do with the increase in reputation after the really succesful season before, and now teams are sitting deeper at home, leading to solid defensive performances where they catch my defenders on the break. But that doesn't explain the poor individual performances and the fact that my attacking players seem to forget how to kick a ball the second they leave my ground.

[Soccer]

A couple of reasons I can think of behind your team's poor away form are:

a). Increase in aggression of your opponent - Being the home team, your opponent would want to take the game to your team. They would press more and are not afraid to show your players the studs. This causes your team to make more mistakes, have less time on the ball hence accomplishing a lower pass completion rate.

b). Nerves from your own players - Faced with a hostile environment, your players were not able to perform to their normal standards. Especially if your team is trailing, your players may try to force the play which in turn, plays directly into your opponent's hands. For example, your team is a goal down and tries to play direct, in turn giving away the ball more and allowing your opponent to attack you again and again. This is a vicious cycle.

I would suggest you use the third tactic (Control + 4-3-3) or variants of such (e.g. Counter + 4-5-1 or Standard + 4-1-3-2). The key here is to adopt a possession-based approach, control the tempo and not allow your opponent have the ball. In this way, your opponent have less chances, are less likely to hurt you and your away results may improve consequentially.