Help me with my team. My tactics and discussion.

[Dgirth]

Just noticed i made a typo with the heading, This cannot not be edited ? Sorry

Hello

So i have been struggling some what season after season with my Vanarama Conference team, Dover. My first season the board wish me to avoid relegation, I finished 10th using a plug and play tactic. Plug and play is not a route i really want to take in FM15, I have always used them in my teams in previous versions but i feel this had stumped my development as a FM manager. This year i want to feel like i am manager.

So my 2nd season, The board wish me to achieve mid table. I started of with my own tactic with mixed results, half way during the season i was sliding down the table, When my league position was at 21st the board called me into the office and told me turn this around with a month all i am out. I had managed to take my team into the FA trophy semi's, I switched back to the plug and play i was using before, I ended winning the FA trophy and finishing 10th again. The board was delighted.

My current and 3rd season. Not being happy with having to rely on plug and play tactics i once again tried to build my own tactic, Reading as much as i could from this forum and trying to translate what i learned into my tactics. I made a 4-1-2-1-2 formation with wide midfielders, It was a tactic which dominated every one i played. But i was still loosing. I concluded this was due to much space between my defenders and midfield. The Board wish me to challenge for promotion i am currently sat at 10th place with 29 games played, Once again the media are talking about me being sacked and the board have started to make noises of this to.

I reworked this formation my bring my wingers in to make a 4-4-2 Diamond. Both tactics dominate every team i play, In possession (50-60%) Pass completion, always around 150 to 200 more then the opposition. Shot at on target around 15 per game and shot of target 20-30. My opponents have around 2-4 shot on target all game and win by 1 or 2 goals.

My current results and formation.

My team instructions.

Mentality

Heat Map

Player Positions.

SWK-A

CWB-S

LD-D

CB-D

CWB-S

BWM-S

CM-S

CM-S

AM-S

:PI.

I set my GK to give the ball to my CWB.

Everyone else is blank.

:Player attributes

I aim for 10 or higher in the key attributes, I am playing in the conference so i presume a minimum of ten is decent. I have signed really good players for my division. Scouts reports tell me my players can play in league 2 and a few of them 1.

:Team Talks.

I get this right nearly all the time. I always manage to motivate them before kicking off in both half's.

:Opposition Instructions

I do not touch this.

:Weakness's

The weakness's are not my teams, I think the weakness at Dover is me. I struggle to correctly translate the guides are read into my game. I do not understand what is wrong with my formation, I have the players for it, My team dominates and out play the opposition yet they score with the very few shot on target they have. My players seem to never be able to get a shot away as they are tackled or crowded out when shooting, When they do shot it is right at the keeper or goes very wide. I often have around 15 shots on target yet i score only one or none at all. My players have attributes that suggest they should be putting them away no problem. This brings me back to my management of the team and my tactics.

:Strengths

I know how to sign good players for the division i am in. Every player i look at has to go through my requirements before i sign them.

Do they meet my demands. I do not accept any players failing this. I know what attributes are required for the positions i need. If the player meets this then i will always carry out stringent scouting, Then after i have gone over the scout report i ask my assistant to check him out. If i can i try to get a trail first as well.

Any staff i sign require the same treatment, My scouts and assistant have the best stats i can get for this process.

Well i hope i have provided the information you guys need to help me. I am enjoying this career and wish to remain at the club. Below i will post my first team.

[Puni]

There's a serious lack of movement between your lines. You've got your central defenders on defend, a DM on defend, five players on support and the two up front on attack. That will create serious gaps between your lines and I'd think that, going by your screenshot of average positions, your strikers are very, very isolated up front.

Give one of your strikers a support role so he links up the play more. Give one of your midfielders an attack role so he gets further forward and possibly overlaps into the gap the play linking striker will create when he draws out his marker. Might be worth giving one of your CWB's an attack duty too.

[TheJanitor]

Straight out of the top, you simply lack any movment from deep, and no striker on support also doesn't help as there is no connection between the midfield to the strikers. I would probably set the TM as support and feed him with a runner from midfield, maybe a CM-A, to give him another option aside from the Poacher.

[mikcheck]

Dont know if it's a good idea to have CM-A and a supporting striker in the same side as there is the risk of occupying the same space.

[Bitner]

CM-A could play left and the supporting striker right? Or the attacker in the side of the CM-A playing more on the wings?

Cheers,

Bitner

[llama3]

You need movement between the lines. You have a huge gap between your midfield and strikers. The diamond can be a tricky thing to get right. I would suggest the following:

• Your BWM may not be positionally disciplined, you may prefer having a more natural Anchorman or Defensive Midfielder there - if you feel he gets pulled out of position, or the opposition find space in this area too easily.
  
• Your 3 support duties ahead offer no penetration. You need at least 1 attack duty. You could have an AM(S) with a CM(A) behind, which can work well. Or a more natural AM(A) with a CM(S) behind.
  
• I fully agree with the above advice, your TM is a great candidate to move into a support duty - this means that he can win flick ons to put your poacher in on goal. He can also link up with the AM behind, who, on an attack duty (or a CM(A)), can surge into the space the TM leaves.
  
• Playing with a TM ahead of a diamond encourages your team to bypass the midfield (which is not clever when you have 4 players there). You may want to get the player to play as a simple DLF(S), as he will look to drop deep, hold the ball up etc, but he doesn't get your team to play long constantly.
  
• You could have a BWM still, even if you have a DM(D) or A(D) in the DM slot, but in the midfield strata instead
  
• There is no point having both central midfielders doing exactly the same job. Use the numbers to offer some variety there. Maybe a BBM(S) and CM(A), or a BWM(S) & RP(S)?

[alinp]

I agree with the key points others have already raised, i.e. Something more static in front of your defence (so basically NOT a BWM), an Attack duty in your midfield and a support in Attack.

My personal preference for such a system would be HB or DLPd at DM, a CMa in midfield alongside a DLPs (if HB behind) or CMs. Up top, I like a CFs supporting the main scorer.

Whichever way you go, a couple of points to consider... a playmaker somewhere in your midfield will encourage your team to play through them and not try and hit the TM (although removing the TM role will help with this too) and extra solidity in front of your defence will enable your fullbacks to push on, making CWBa an option on both sides.

[alinp]

Dont know if it's a good idea to have CM-A and a supporting striker in the same side as there is the risk of occupying the same space.

Disagree.... a CMa will often run past the supporting striker and into the box.

[Dgirth]

Thanks you for the replies the the advice guys, I can play a bit more now crimbo is out of the way. I will digest what you chaps have written and try it out.

Will keep you updated in my progress.

Happy Crimbo btw.

[Dgirth]

So a update and much better performance indeed

Last 3 results since my OP.

Altricham won 2-0

Woking Won 3-1

Whitehawk Won 3-0.

Moved up to places to 8th. If i can sneak into the play offs i think my job will be safe.

: Changes i have made to my Original tactic.

:Team instructions, I added Retain possession

:PI. As i was having such a massive amount of shots and hardly any of them on target. I told everyone other then my center backs and half back to shot less often. This seems to have improved the way the team plays. I issue with the engine maybe ?

Player Duties and roles.

Changed TM to DLF-s

Changed BWM to HB-d

Changed AM to AP-s

Cnaged both CWB to CWB-a

New changes

New heat map

See the changes, Here is my old heat map from OP

So a only weakness on my part i can't really tell me difference from the old and new heat map, Other then my left TM is now pulled back to link with the midfield better as a DLF.

I need to learn have to read the heat maps better.

[Dgirth]

Well since the above post.

I have lost the next 4 games. I had not changed anything and played my best players.

The main issue is i have loads of shot on target but cant put any of them away. My opposition however only needs one to shots on target to put them away.

ever game looks like this

I dominate and loose by one goal even against team who are bottom of the table.

I can't understand how this inconstancy in my matches.

I like to post more info here on why i think i am loosing like this but have no idea.

[alinp]

Other than your AF, who do you see scoring your goals?

[Dgirth]

Other than your AF, who do you see scoring your goals?

The DLF pm occasions and the sometimes the AP. Most of my goals are from the AF position, I use two players for the AF a first team player and his understudy. Both are the required attributes for the role.

[Puni]

Problem is that your threat will mostly come from one position, being the AF.

[alinp]

I think a number of people advised that having an attack duty player in your midfield would be advantageous, yet you don't seem to have made that change as far as I can see. Try a CM(a) or a BBM for a bit and see how that goes. Should give you extra goal scorer options.

[Dgirth]

I thought switching my AM-s to a AP-s would give me the link i needed for my front two.

Is automatic a good option for a CM ? I will try switching my AP-s to-A and my right CM to Auto.

[Puni]

It's not about the link between your midfield and your strikers at this point, it's the fact that your team seems to be almost entirely dependant on one player/position to score. Giving a CM an attack duty will get him move into the box more often and provide a new goalscoring threat. And even if he doesn't, he'll draw attention to himself, which in turn will create more space for the AF to finish his chances.

I'll Give a simple example. I'm currently playing this formation:

Depending on who I'm playing in the AML or AMR slots, the roles tend to change from Winger to Raumdeuter to AP. Either way, contrary to you, I don't have a main goalscorer. The player that gets the most promising chances is usually the AMR. Play starts at the AP in the AML slot, who links up with the F9 dropping deep. The AMR makes the run in behind his defender and the F9 plays him in.

However, that's no the only way I score goals. My AP is also a very big threat when cutting inside and has this season scored 6 and provided 5 in 8 games. The Raumdeuter who plays in the AML slot sometimes has got 5 goals and 2 assists in 7 games. The F9 has 7 goals and 7 assists in 9 games. My main winger, before getting injured, had 4 goals and 4 assists in 4 games. Apart from that, I have two midfielders with 2 goals each and a defender with 2 goals as well.

All this is just to say that you can't be depending on one player to make the difference every single time. Because if he has a bad day at the office or he just gets marked out of the game, you'll have no alternatives.

In short, my suggestion: Put the right CM on attack duty. Leave the AP on support to keep the link between your attackers and your midfield. And if possible but the wing back on the side of the CM(A) on support to be a bit more conservative when the midfielder goes forward.

[llama3]

I fully back the above 3 posts, all suggesting getting a CM(A) - he'll break ahead of your AMC, it can create superb movement. I would probably balance this by making the CWB on the same side a support duty instead.

[Dgirth]

Ok thanks guys

Well i won the last 7 games, sneaking me into the plays off with one point. I got past the 1st and 2nd leg taking me to Wembley, I won on penalties.

Into League 2 i went. Dover is not in a good state financially all i can get in is free transfers.

What would you guys look for stat wise in a CM-A ?

[llama3]

Good off the ball movement, dribbling, passing - you want him to have a good direct style - so anything which gets him creating and scoring goals is good. An added bonus would be a good engine on him too - good stamina etc

Excellent results, hope the introduction of a CM(A) helped.

[Dgirth]

Seems to be going well. I am now in my first season in League 2. I had a look around the teams that are playing in league, The play attributes seem decent. Least half the teams are fielding better squads then mine.

The board wished me to avoid relegation, My personal goals was to finish just below mid table. Dover are broke, My wage bill was decreased and no transfer funds. So much for promotion.

Adding the CM-A role has given me the edge i needed. I got a CBW-A on the right who is dangerous, So i made my CBW-S on the left making my CM-A on the left

This is my start to the season. Not to bad at all i think. I knocked out Forest (Prem) and charlton (champ) in the cup.

How my team is looking now.

[llama3]

A really excellent start to the season and a much more cohesive team. Good work, you are getting the rewards for it now.