One Last Go - The Pulis Effect

[boblardo]

I am looking to set up my team in a similar manner to that of Tony Pulis when he was manager of Crystal Palace.

The basic Shape he employed was a 4-2-3-1

GK

DL

DC

DC

DR

DMC

DMC

AML

AMC

AMR

FC

Any tips on how to set this up would be appreciated

[Cleon]

Advice and input of what to improve can only be given once you've gave someone some issues you maybe facing. No-one can offer advice without knowing why you think it needs improving. You're the one playing the game so to get proper helpful advice that isn't a sweeping statement and so it holds true, you get to give specifics for anyone to be able to offer proper real advice.

[boblardo]

Sorry, I want to turn this into a tactical discussion to better help me understand the tactical side of things.

I have decided on the following setup in a 4-2-3-1 formation

The idea here is to make sure I am not leaving massive gaps over the pitch.

[boblardo]

I have read the How to Play FM14: A Twelve Step Guide, and based on only having one specialist role have decided on RIGID with a COUNTER mentality.

I want the team to focus on their roles within the tactic then have the team win the ball high up the field (Hassle Opponents) and not give the ball away once we have won it back (Retain Possession).

I have selected Push Higher Up as I have a COUNTER Mentality which I believe naturally sits deeper and, as I understand it, having two DMC's also forces the defensive line deeper.

[boblardo]

My first game up a home game v Tonbridge. I have been made favourites and my scout reports that they play 4-4-2, the most common assist is a long ball with the most common assist area is Right Wing. They score most of their goals between the 76-90 minute and their best attribute is Work Rate

The scout also tells me that they concede most goals between the 1-15 minute from the left wing.

Based on this I think I am set up pretty well for the game against Tonbridge

[boblardo]

Dorchester 2 v 0 Tonbridge

Quite Dominate on the possession stats although I would have liked to create a few more chances.

[boblardo]

Next up is Farnborough away. Farnborough play a 4-4-2 and are favourites for the game. Their most common assist type is Passing and most common area is left wing. They score most of their goals between the 46-60 minutes.

From a goals conceded perspective they concede most goals between 16-30 minutes, usually via a Pass from Deep.

Their strongest Attribute is their Pace and their weakest is their Strength.

[boblardo]

A 1-0 Defeat, a disappointing game where we dominated possession but created very few chances which was disappointing. I did make a couple of small changes, my FB(a) became a CWB(a) and my DM(s) became a A(d).

This game was just three days after the match against Tonbridge, this meant using some of my weaker fringe & youth players in the first team which no doubt had an impact.

looking at the Action Zones we dominated the midfield but had more possession in our defensive zone, this is expected due to my counter attacking approach.

Overall, not a huge disappointment considering.

I would prefer to see more action in the attacking zone, so if anyone has an idea how to do this it would be appreciated

[herne79]

Not too sure where you're going with this, given that you want to play like Pulis' Palace side, so I have a few questions on your chosen TIs to help you think / analyse your chosen settings:

1) Offside trap. How does that fit in with the attributes of your defenders? Do they have decent positioning, anticipation, decisions, acceleration for example? Also, if you are looking to catch teams on the break with quick counters before they can reorganise, how does breaking up play with the offside trap help?

2) Retain possession. With this TI, what happens to tempo, width and passing length? How does that help achieve the style of football you are looking for, especially considering your chosen mentality and the impact it has already had on tempo, width and passing?

3) Hassle opponents. All players will be more aggressive in defence, both closing down more and marking tighter. Do your players have the attributes for this? Your players will get pulled out of position more so can your team handle that? Also, more defensive mentalities make your team drop deeper and stand off more (amongst other things) so by using this TI to create a more aggressive defence with a counter mentality, how will your other instructions compliment this if you are looking to close down the opposition, catch them out of position and look for a quick counter?

4) Play narrower. As you choose more defensive mentalities, what happens to width? If you pick the retain possession TI, what happens to width? If you also have this TI, how will your team be playing? When you regain possession, will your team be nicely setup to stretch the opposition with quick counters, making the most of your wide men?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying any of this is wrong, I'm just unclear about what you are trying to achieve given your only stated desire is to play like Pulis and therefore help you to be clear about your chosen TIs.

[boblardo]

Hi Herne

Thanks for the comments, definitely some food for thought.

With regard to your points

1) Very good question, I will look into this

2) The idea was that when we won the ball back we would "Retain Possession" and look for a decent opportunity rather than just a hopeful punt forward

3a) I understand that using COUNTER forces the team to drop deeper and by having 2 DMC's this forces them to drop even deeper, hence the Push Higher Up. would it be better here to change to a CONTROL mentality?

3b) Hassle Opponents - I want to win the ball back higher up the field, maybe for this I could use a defensive forward or have my attacking players on close down more. My idea is to keep my defensive players in position as much as possible to limit space in my defensive third. As I am already quite RIGID I am reluctant to use BE MORE DISCIPLINED so any thoughts here would be appreciated!

4) Play Narrower, I have this on as i want to be more compact but I see your point

The style of play I want to achieve is as follows

Be difficult to break down by being compact, but then attack with Pace using both my wide players and my AMC & FC.

Open to suggestions on what to try

[herne79]

Good answers.

When building tactics I always now question myself as to the choices I make to ensure everything is complimentary to the style in which I want to play (instead of how I started off doing things by just picking the options which sounded good!)

In terms of your further questions, it comes down to style with which you want your team to play and whether you have the players for it.

For example, you say you want to a) be difficult to break down then b) attack with pace using your wide players and your AMC. To me that says:

a) A more cautious defence with plenty of men behind the ball playing a deeper line. Therefore Hassle Opponents and Push Higher Up would be a bad fit as that is a more aggressive form of defence.

b) Moving the ball quickly from your defence to your more attacking players to quickly hit them on the break. This doesn't really sound like you want to Retain Possession - Clear Ball to Flanks or even Pump Ball Into Box might help (depends on if you have a big strong striker for the latter). If you are worried about players making hopeful punts forward, perhaps a PI of shorter passing for the individuals doing this may help.

There's more than one way of achieving all of that, and it will probably come down to whether your players are capable of dealing with your chosen style.

For example, you could play a Counter mentality where you defend deep and in numbers hoping to suck in your opponents before hitting them quickly on the break. Lower Tempo, Drop Deeper, Clear Ball to Flanks, Be More Disciplined etc might all help. (Remember - you may play with a low tempo but that is only when in possession and not counter attacking - when you do counter your players take on much more attacking mentalities to get the ball moving forwards quickly).

[boblardo]

After watching the last game back, I noticed that my DMC(s) wasn't really doing much. His passing wasn't that efficient, he only made ONE tackle the entire game and won 2 of the 3 headers. This wasn't really acceptable so I made some changes so I had the following

My DM(s) became a BWM(s) and my DLP(s) became a DLP(d).

I removed ALL PI's except pass shorter for the CD's and the GK who had Distribute to Defender

My TI's were set

Clear Ball To Flanks

Drop Deeper

Lower Tempo

Be More Disciplined

The result a 4-1 win in my next game. My BWM(s) was more involved in the game making and completing more passes, challenging for and winning more headers (11 out of 13) and making 1 assist.

Its only one game and although I am really pleased with the improvement I am not getting carried away. Certainly small changes seem to have a bigger impact thank larger sweeping changes.

Thanks for the tips and advice so far.

[boblardo]

My next game is away against a team playing 4-5-1. In my mind the Clear Ball To Flanks instruction would be limited here, any thoughts on how I amend the setup a little to exploit them?

[herne79]

To be honest, it all depends on how the opposition is actually playing in both defence and possession. Just because they may line up as a 451 could still mean all sorts of different possibilities as to how they actually play, not to mention their comparative strengths (and weaknesses) compared to your team. Exploiting the flanks might still work simply because your wingers are better than their fullbacks so you use your wingers to exploit this weakness.

Conversely, being a bit more aggressive in defence by pushing higher up and giving your wide men a less attacking mentality could help if you are afraid of their wingers and fullbacks, followed by you exploiting the middle instead. You can always use OIs prematch to help target especially dangerous players, or even assign a man marker or two.

Always have a scouting report of your next opposition to help you decide .