Tactic dominating opposition but not scoring enough goals

[nico.hvi]

Hiya.

So I'm currently on a sixteen game winning streak (it's Ajax in the Eredivise though, so hold the applause), but I seem to get by just barely each game in the sense that while I'm having a lot of shots on target I'm not generating any big chances (CCCs).

These are the stats for my last 10 games:

4-1 (23 shots, 2 CCC)

4-0 (35 shots, 0 CCC)

3-0 (26 shots, 0 CCC)

1-0 (25 shots, 2 CCC)

2-1 (41 shots, 1 CCC)

2-0 (27 shots, 2 CCC)

2-0 (22 shots, 2 CCC)

4-1 (20 shots, 3 CCC)

2-1 (23 shots, 0 CCC)

Don't be fooled by the results, the goals scored are mostly flukes (rebounds off of defenders, keeper mistakes, or long shots). I'm looking to find a consistent way to create big chances, which have been absent in almost all these games.

I have ticked the instruction work ball into box, and most of these shots are from within the penalty area. Usually the opposition goalkeeper makes 10+ saves a game, because quite frankly the shots are pretty bad.

These are my tactics:

I usually dominate possession and am constantly in the opposition third (usually around 20% in the Action Zones infograph). Could the problem be that I'm stifling the space and thus not allowing my players enough room to create proper CCCs?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :-)

[rninejr]

- your TI, along with players' roles n duties suggest that you ask your team to deny much potential space to be exploited

- retain possession+shorter passing is basically the shortest passing instruction u can give to players, means u're limiting their chance to make killer through passes. n the players are being limited further by

- using too many support duty (including attack duty playmaker). Except the CM(A), all of those roles are mainly designed not to to receive through passes behind opposition's defense, but instead to drop deep n receive simple passes. also

- by using control mentality which is already fast paced+higher tempo+too many support duty= makes your players to force half-chances or lesser chances

and im wondering if u never suffered from counter attack since u're using only 1 CB. there is no way 1 CB+2 wide defenders can be as good at defense as 3 CBs. u'll find it difficult against teams with deadly counter attack, good wingers, or pacey players. Regain possession, pass the ball far far ahead, 2-3 players are running forward to receive it, and your single CB are starting to wish he is a superman. both HB(D)s wont make it in time to go back to intercept the pass. maybe u're not yet facing an equal or greater opponent. your GK should've been facing one on one with opposition player quite often using this tactic. srsly your defensive flanks are way too vulnerable IMHO.

retain possession+shorter passing should be used wisely. it greatly reduce the willingnes of your team to score. I've been using possession tactics for long n i rarely use a combination of both. because retain possession discouraging through passes, aside of reducing passing distance, tempo, and width. Exploit the middle is also more like a conditional Instruction. u use it when u're having advantages at the central area. when you're not, why bother using it?

use other formation. 1 CB wont work. except if your players are Godlike. reconsider the players's roles. regardless of the team shape u wanna use, very fluid or highly structured of whatever, a team is working like clockwork. each player is connected to each other. what a player does, will affect all of his teammates. it is the same for all player on the field.

dont just ask for help. try to hear critics is a good thing

[metac0gnition]

Rninejr has a very good point about your tactics limiting your team to playing infront of the opponent defense. I can easily imagine your team dominating possession by camping high up the pitch and keeping the ball in central areas. But I can also easily imagine the opponent having very little difficulty defending the space by sitting deep and narrow. You can probably verify this by looking at your opponents' position heatmap. Your description of goals scored is also a consequence of defending a packed penalty box but with players of poor concentration stats resulting in the flukes.

You have 2 important issues to solve. 1st, positional and role wise, your team plays too narrow with little horizontal moment making it easy to defend deep and narrow. And 2nd, team instructions that are contradictory.

1st, Positional and role.

8 outfield players cramped in a space no wider than the penalty box. Imagine yourself the RPM in your team, you just collected the ball on the half-way line, what are your options? You cant run forward with the ball because your teammates are blocking you and you cant pass forward because the opponents are either marking or keeping your mates in their cover shadow. So you're left with less desirable options of passing sideways or backwards. In other words, youre limiting your team by not utilizing ALL the available space. Of course there are tactics where this is intentional, you overload a certain area so that space opens up elsewhere. But in your shape, you have no players neither already stationed in that underloaded space nor players intended to move into that space. The simplest solution to this is to take 1 person out of the middle and put him on the wing. This gives your opponent the problem of marking your player on the wing at the risk of opening the halfspace or staying central at the risk of letting your wideman free. Try to think of it as giving your opponents as many differing types of problems as possible.

2nd, team instructions.

Adding onto what Rninejr has written above, I'd just like to highlight the type of passing you are telling your players to do. Imaging you are the AM(S). Your team receives and gives 'Short Passing' into feet to 'Retain Possession'. You also stay central so that you can 'Exploit The Middle'. Then randomly, your mate executes a 'Pass Into Space' to the wings because that's the only available space. So you have to run 15 meters to the wings to collect the ball and then what happens? You execute a 'Short Passing' because you must 'Retain Possession' and the cycle starts all over again because your team must 'Be More Disciplined' and do what you're told.