Help with Shooting

[Zeonflux]

Hi i'm currently just at the start of my second season and i'm managing Man Utd and i'm having a really problem with my players and their shooting.

During the course of an average match my team have anywhere between 20 and 30 shots and on average only about 5-6 are on target and even worse still is that only around 1 of those is likely to be a goal and that's if the opposition keeper isn't playing like Gordon Banks.

Now i'm not asking for help and expecting to be told how to score with every shot but just with ways to increase the number that my players actually get on target.

I'm currently using a 4-2-3-1 (Deep) formation with an IF(a) on the left, an AP(s) in the middle and either an IF(a) or W(a/s) on the right. other major positions are CF(a) with DLP(s) and DM(d) in the holding midfielder positions and CWB(a) in right back and FB(s) in Left Back.

My strikers and midfielders are: Rooney, RVP, Chicharito, Januzaj, Kagawa, Draxler, Zaha, Valencia, Verratti, Carrick, Fellaini, Werner, Honda, Gaitan.

I also have Rafael, Fabio, Sahw, Jonathan Silva and Verela as R/LBs

I play either Control or Attacking with Balanced Mentality and no Player Instructions.

My team instructions are: Hassle Opponents, Retain Possession, Shorter Passing, Work Ball Into Box, Pass Into Space, Lower Tempo, Push Higher Up, Stay On Feet and Be More Expressive.

If anyone can help with this or has any tips on how i can change part of my formation or instructions to help improve my team it would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advanced for any help offered.

[imabearlol]

I would say with your team instructions you are crowding the box way too much. This means either the ball is pinged around the outside of the 18 yard box before someone takes a long shot, someone manages to get the ball in the box but they are tackled immediately or have so little time on the ball they miss.

1. You don't need both Retain Possession and Shorter Passing, especially with a Lower Tempo. Drop all of these and try only setting Shorter Passing first, then turn on the others if you feel you need to slow down the game even more during the match.

2. You are using Control or Attacking which already play a high D line but Pushing Higher on top of that - you are way too cramped in the opponent's third. Drop the Push Higher Up shout.

3. You have Pass Into Space - but there is no space to pass into! Again, you've set Be More Expressive but there's no space to be expressive in. Leave these and see if the first 2 points resolve your problem. If not, try dropping it.

4. With the way your duties are setup you seem to be playing more of a 4-2-1-3. Try reading these articles and apply that to your setup:

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2010/aug/04/the-question-is-4-2-1-3-the-future

www.zonalmarking.net/2012/08/21/ferguson-showcases-a-4-2-1-3-against-everton/

For me, I'd also drop the CWB and set them as a WB(a) or WB(s) with Get Forward instruction. Experiment with this and see which you like better.

Also, since you are playing 3 advanced attackers your AP(s) needs a bit more support. Move both your midfielders to the CM line and set them as CM(s) and CM(d).