Trouble with analysing and playing the game different than before

[BadAss88]

Hi,

Like many others I've noticed that FM16 isn't longer a game where you can just make a quick tactic that looks fine and then continue to have relative success. I'm now reading and learning a lot more of the tactical part of FM, but I'm still struggling to analyse what goes wrong and when do I need to step in during a match to turn things around or to take advantage of the opponent's weaknesses. I'm already watching the extended highlights of every game now, rather then just read only the commentary lines I was used to from the start with CM2 20 years ago! I've never missed to play a single version, but tactics were never my 'dada'. I was more into building my squads! But now I'm open to learn..

I'm already in my fifth game in FM16, after short spells with Arsenal, Antwerp, Arsenal again and Kalmar FF. I'm now trying things with Everton. I was inspired by this guide (http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/448703-Tactical-Central-amp-Insight-FM-2016) to use a set of tactics based on mentality, making difference between playing at home or away and facing a strong or weak opponent. But my results aren't consistent to say the least..placing me 17th after 12 games with only 10 points (an away win against Chelsea was my best performance) but my allround performances during each match were poor! Prior to my last game (5-0 loss against Arsenal) I had the 4th best defence conceding only 11 goals in 11 matches, but scoring only 9 times and creating not that many chances. So my main problem is creating chances! I don't really have a particular idea in mind how do I want to get the ball forward or score goals, I like mixing things up and have as much variation as possible!

I'm playing a 4-2-3-1 tactic most of the time varying between control/standard mentality and a flexible team shape. With these roles:

TM (s)

W (a) - AP (s) - W (a)

CM (s) - BWM (d)

FB (s) - CD (d) - CD (d) - FB (s)

G (d)

using no TI's and only my CD's have the PI's to 'Close Down Less' and 'Mark Thighter' and my CM has the PI's to 'Roam From Position' and 'Move Into Channels'

But since this isn't working I'm now trying a bit different roles and duties, changing my TM to attack and my AP to an AM and removing the PI's for my CM, I'm now using a fluid team shape as well since I'm using only 2 specialist roles.

In my counter setting, my 2 wingers are down a line with the PI 'Get Further Forward'.

Does someone see any weaknesses immediatly with these tactics? Another problem I need help with is seeing what TI's I should use during a match and when to adjust my mentality from Standard to Control/Counter or either Attack/Defense!

Thanks a lot!

EDIT: Oh! And a nice corner tactic would be nice!

[mrw072]

My question would be , who would you expect to score the goals for you? I noticed that you have your TM up front by himself on a support setting. But it's not obvious to me who he's supporting. If it was me I'd have him on an attack duty like you mention. Or maybe change his role.

[BadAss88]

I expect my targetman to score most, I've put him on support duty because I was afraid he was to lonely up front..

But maybe I should start from scratch and leave the playerroles I'm used using for the last years..and start with a clearer vision on how I would like to play football?

[summatsupeer]

This is purely personal preference and might not work for the players you have available or "solve" issues your having as I can't see what your players are actually doing. I rarely use a TM so mostly theoretical and not a tried and tested tactic.

1. Change the AMC to a AM-S.

2. Drop the PI from the CM-S or change to a DLP-S

With two W-A there high attacking mentality and player instructions means they're going to try attacking things quite often so I would want my AMC who is closest to the TM to offer closer support and runs rather than a playmaking role. I would want him chipping in with goals feeding off knock downs, the disruption the TM causes and crosses/cutbacks the Wingers provide.

Because of this I don't really want my supporting CM to be roaming or moving into channels, I want him staying deeper, linking play up and picking up clearances potentially having a few long shots if he's good at them.

As an additional "different option" if I have a wide player who can shoot a bit i'd consider changing that winger to IF-A so he makes more angled runs in behind for the TM to flick things onto.

[mrw072]

I'd be tempted to put him on an attack duty, or maybe play an AF alongside him, if he's on a support duty. But I guess a lot of it is trial and error really. I Would just tweak things a bit!

For me, with the TM being on support duty, I'd expect him to be bringing the other players into play, and helping out a bit with the build up player, rather than being a goalscorer. I could be wrong, but I just feel that your attack could be a bit blunt with your AP being on support duty too. I would be tempted to put one of those two on an attack duty! Maybe try and get your AP to be the main goalscorer, as a shadow striker or something like that?

[herne79]

But maybe I should start from scratch and leave the playerroles I'm used using for the last years..and start with a clearer vision on how I would like to play football?

Whether you would need to start from scratch or not I don't know, but the part I just highlighted in bold could be an excellent starting point.

In terms of using a target man, just be very aware of what the rest of your team will do around him - regardless of your tactical settings, they will basically just lump the ball to him, so he'd better have excellent support.

[BadAss88]

I think I'm going for this formation now, as it makes more sense for my attacking movement. But I'm afraid it's maybe too attacking? Because now I have 5 players with attacking duties, and with RMD, T, CF & BBM maybe too many roaming?

Control & Structured

CF (A)

RMD (A) - T (A) - W (A)

BBM (S) - DLP (D)

FB (A) - CD (D) - CD (D) - FB (S)

G (D)

[RTHerringbone]

I think I'm going for this formation now, as it makes more sense for my attacking movement.

Define "my attacking movement". What is it? How does it hang together? Who does what?

In post 3 you said (correctly) that you should: "start with a clearer vision on how I would like to play football?" and you should. You still haven't defined that vision so can't get help until you cross that bridge.

[BadAss88]

I want my 3 attacking midfielders to create chances for both themselves as for my lone forward. My fullbacks should support them whenever possible by moving up and give crosses both from deep as from byline. That's my main idea!

[summatsupeer]

Thats to generic, every team wants there attacking midfielders to create and score. It's the how that will allow you to modify the instructions to get what you want.

[BadAss88]

I think that's the main problem why I'm struggling with FM nowadays, because I don't have a preferred way of attacking. I like to leave the decisions on what type of pley to set-up to the players They should know when to play direct (when there is space ahead), they should know when to hold the ball (when there's no support) and so on..so it's hard for me to say I want to play this or that way, because I like to mix things up and be unpredictable. Is that possible to implement on FM?

EDIT: I would like them to make lots of runs, dribbles and crosses if that's possible for my wingers! But crosses on the right time, because often I see them waiting with the ball (when there are possiblities in the box) and then just pass the ball back to a FB or CM and then they get the ball back and there's room for the cross but then pass the ball back again or they start dribbling and lose the ball. But exactly the same happens inversable, they hit an early cross when there's no one in the box and there are passing options behind or beside them..

[BadAss88]

My vision:

SC: Score goals but has to be a part of the team, so he has to be included in the passing combination if possible.

AMR/AML: Put crosses in the box, dribble/run by opponents, when the other winger has the ball he should go inside the box to support

AMC: He should be the playmaker of the team, he should give the most passes all around the field, give through passes, 1-2's with the striker, get in the box, dribbles/run by opponents

2 MC's: Re-take possession, get in box for crosses, lure outside the box for long range shots

DR/DL: Be available for passes, get crosses in the box both from deep as from the byline

2 DC's: Defend, score from corners, indirect free-kicks if possible

GK: Make saves, win games!

That's how I see what the eleven players on the field should do, but I honestly have no idea how I can translate that to FM except from the formation, so an y help on roles, duties, team and player instructions are welcome!

EDIT: I dont expect to win every game neither!

[summatsupeer]

You've gone too specific yet not mentioned how your going to defend. How you defend will affect how you can attack. Remember Defence <-> Transition <-> Attack (putting it simply).

I'm going to read between the lines and throw an idea out there revolve around 2 points you've made:

1. You want fast exciting wing play

2. You want to give you players freedom to do what they think is best

This isn't tested, its pure theory to hopefully demonstrate how I've taken your key points and tried to develop a game plan around them.

---------------------------------------

Mentality: Counter

Defend deep, draw the opposition onto you, create space for your players to attack at pace with/without the ball. We're not looking to win the possession battle, we're looking to make space and clear chances.

Team Shape: Fluid

Let them be creative, more unpredictable and support each other closer.

Formation: 4141 / 451 / 4411

The core is two banks of 4 with a lone striker, you can then use a DM, CM or AM depending on what you need.

Roles & Duties:

GK: GK-D

DR: FB-S

DCR: CB-D

DCL: CB-D

DL: FB-S

MR: W-S or W-A

ML: W-S or W-A

ST: DLF-S

The core roles.

- Can the GK distribute well? Do I want to try to play quicker tempo and throw it quickly or kick long? Should I just roll it out, to keep possession for a bit and try to draw the opposition up field to create space

- Standard back 4 but with the Fluid mentality will play with some variety, FBs will get forward sooner and offer closer support etc.

- Your wingers, one of the adjustments you can make game by game is to change there duty. If the space is behind the opponents then you can go attack, if they're staying deep so space is in front then go support and get them to pick it up deeper. You can have one support and the other attack to give some variety or to exploit a FB thats bombing forward or sitting deep etc.

-DLF-S to come deeper, hold up the ball whilst your players get forward to support him. If he has TM attributes then he should have the physical attributes to do this. If there is lots of space his passing doesn't have to be great to put someone through.

4141:

DM: A-D

MCR: CM-S

MCL: BBM

Defensive wall from the anchorman allows both MC's to not have to hold position so they can get into the opponents box.

4411:

MCR: CM-D

MCL: CM-S

AMC: AMC-S (move into channels)

More attacking formation so one of the MC's has to hold position to cover the CB's and patrol the center (FB-S won't cover the center). I want the DLF-S central and the AMC-S moving around him into the channels to link with the Wingers. Why not attack duty? I don't really need him making forward runs often past the DLF, we want variety.

Team Instructions:

None - See how it plays for a few games. Depending on what I see I might want to adjust to keep possession more patiently to draw opponents up field or increase tempo so even if there isn't a counter attack we're moving the ball around quickly to exploit any space we do have.

---------------------------------------

Like I said, pure theory, hopefully gives you some ideas even if its not what your after.

[Cummins]

Excellent post Summatsupeer, gives him what seems like a solid base to work from. Question on both of those formations, (4141/4411), who are we expecting to score the goals? Will wingers(s/a) chip in much with goals (mine currently don't really score that many in a 4-4-2).

[summatsupeer]

Wide players (AML, AMR, MR, ML) will automatically get into the box when the ball is in advanced positions on the opposite flank. I have seen this in various tactics i've had using Inside Forward, Winger, Wide Midfielder, Advanced Playmaker, Wide Playmaker and Defensive Winger (support) and would assume other roles would behave the same.

I'd expect:

ST to get the most from crosses / through balls / rebounds

Wingers to get the most clear chances from counters and balls in behind high lines or crosses making it to the back post before the defence has time to set

AM / CM to chip in with some late runs into the box to get on the end of crosses, runs past the st and some long shots.

[BadAss88]

Thx summatsupeer! This post is getting me thinking, I've read the pairs & combinations guide as well, so I'll need to tweak your proposal a bit to that guide!

I'm also reading the lines and diamonds guide (197 pages is a lot ) and this is giving me more of an idea how I want to play!

Why do you put the wingers a line back to MR/ML instead of AMR/AML?

[summatsupeer]

The wingers instructions are the same in MR/ML as they are in AMR/AML. You gain defensive positioning from a solid line of 4 and less space in front of your FBs. You lose the advanced positioning but it depends if you need that.

[BadAss88]

I'm afraid that now there won't be many combinations between my wingers and my AMC & SC..because I don't want my wingers solely to dribble and cross..maybe that wasn't clear enough

[summatsupeer]

Try wide midfielders then, they do a bit of everything so aren't so specialized as a winger or inside forward.

[vincenzo143]

I'm afraid that now there won't be many combinations between my wingers and my AMC & SC..because I don't want my wingers solely to dribble and cross..maybe that wasn't clear enough

If you set up a few PI's to a WM in the ML/MR position, it is quite easy to get them involved in buildup, getting in the box, scoring goals, doing everything you would expect from someone in the AML/AMR position, but with the added benefit of offering a little more defensively.

I'm currently doing this with Arsenal, playing Sanchez & Walcott/Chamberlain in the ML and MR positions. Sanchez has 12 goals and 3 assists in 16 games as a WM(A) and Walcott is on 6 goals and 6 assists after 19 games as a WM(S). I'm sure most people would be pretty happy with those stats for a ML & MR!

[BadAss88]

I've read if you have to give too many PI's to a player, he has the wrong role/duty assigned to him

[BadAss88]

right now I'm thinking about this formation:

DLF (S)

IF (S) - T (A) - W (A)

DLP (D) - BBM (S)

FB (A) - CD (D) - CD (D) - FB (S)

GK (D)

But I've no idea of any TI's to get the game I want..

EDIT: Also MC's and SC role I'm not sure of either! And I'm thinking of a Control mentality & Fluid Team-Shape

[summatsupeer]

Looks alright, some people will recommend making it more rigid due to DLP and T use, some will say don't use a BBM in a 2 man midfield, some might say use a attack duty ST to make space for your T... but its all personal preference without watching the game and fixing actual tactical issues you see.

Rather than guessing what TI's you want, just give it a go and see what it looks like.

[BadAss88]

3-0 win against Liverpool in the Merseyside-derby scoring from 2 corners and a throw-in, so the changes I made there are paying off!

I went for a standaard mentality with a flexible shape (as I was a underdog at home) instead of the Trequartista I used Barkley as an AP, no TI's or PI's, still I would've love to see some more combinations between the AP & DLF, so not sure of those roles are good!

In second half I changed to defensive mentality as it was alreadt 3-0 and put my AMR/L a line back to MR/L and changed the IF(S) to W(S)

Now I'm gonna build a set of tactics for this formation for each mentality

[vincenzo143]

I've read if you have to give too many PI's to a player, he has the wrong role/duty assigned to him

While I can understand the sentiment, I don't agree with it entirely. Allow me to explain why. I'll expand a little on my previous example.

I love Arsenal. Every year when I get this game, the first save I have is an Arsenal one. ALWAYS

I like to try and emulate the Invincible side, not in the style of play, but in trying to be Invincible. I usually play with a Flexible Control 4-2-3-1, similar to the one you are thinking about. However, while I win the title and usually only lose a handful of games, I want to go the season unbeaten. Eventually, I want to win all 38 league games for a perfect season.

I have 2 problems with the 4-2-3-1 though, and it's all in the midfield. In my quest to go unbeaten, I need to tighten up my defense. So this year, I decided to try something I never have. I would base my system on a Very Fluid Counter Attack. The reason was that I want my side to be as compact as possible in defense. I don't want to leave space for the opposition where it matters most.

So, i noticed with the 4-2-3-1 that you end up leaving space on the flanks which is quite easy to exploit. As well as being kind of weak in the middle of the park. To combat this, I opted for a 4-4-1-1 and a 4-1-4-1 formation. Both of these give me 2 banks of 4 which makes the flanks a little harder to exploit. However, the reason I like the 4-2-3-1 is for one reason, Inside Forwards

How do I keep players defending in banks of 4 and have my 2 wide players playing like Inside forwards? PI's. You'll notice that the "generic" roles are the most highly customisable too. This is perfect for what I want. It gives me the defensive solidarity that I'm looking for by playing them in the ML/MR position, and it allows me to tell the player how to play the way I want him to. After all, I am the manager, I'm the one with the tactical vision, my players must fulfill that. So while you may argue in one way that I have the wrong role/duty assigned, I will argue that I have him playing in precisely the manner that I want, so he has the PERFECT role/duty assigned to him.

Remember that the formation you see in the TC is essentially how you line up without the ball. The roles and duties define how your team will be with the ball, and PI's and TI's allow you to customise this further. The trick is to make sure that you don't use PI's or TI's that contradict the style of play you are trying to achieve. I generally use at most 2 to 3 TI's to get a specific style of play. I don't have too many PI's and I'm really only using at most 3 or 4 for 3 key positions in my team that I need to play in a very specific way to achieve what I want. I'm not asking Sanchez or Walcott to do anything (with PI's) that they wouldn't already do if I was playing them as Inside Forwards in the AML/AMR position. All that happens is now, when we don't have the ball, they defend in line with the rest of the midfield, when we have the ball, they do exactly what they would have done before

Hope I've made sense with what I've rambled on about here and hopefully gives you some food for thought

[ajsr1982]

The thing I'd be looking out for with that setup, particularly with a Control mentality, is that there may well be lots of situations where your DLP has the ball and he has six people in front of him. A few issues with that.

- He doesn't have a sideways pass to recycle/retain possession.

- If he loses it, you're screwed.

- There is no pass on where a player will be moving into the ball, with the possible exception of the FB/A.

- With so many people ahead of him, it means there is little space for them to make a penetrating run.

- Any player receiving the ball is likely to have his back to goal.

On the positive side, you may be able to create overloads with quick transitions.

Given you scored from three set pieces, I'd be mindful of reading too much into it and declaring that as a successful tactic. Personally, I think a CM-S in place of the BBM would be a good move. One change that adds a fair bit of solidity to things whilst freeing up some space for your attacking four. The thing to remember with this formation is that you have four dedicated attacking players. It's a hair's breadth from a 4-2-4 with an attacking/control mentality. More people bombing forward isn't necessarily what you need.

[BadAss88]

Thx for the responses! Vincenzo I use the WM with IF-duties now on my counter and defense-tactic!

I have changed a few roles in my tactics after a 1-0 loss against Sunderland where we didn't create enough chances!

CF (S)

IF (A) - AP (A) - W (S)

CM (S) - DLP (D)

FB (S) - CD (D) - CD (D) - FB (A)

G (D)

And I'm thinking to use the TI 'Work Ball Into Box' because my players or kicking the ball to much forward when there's not enough players there, or should I choose for 'shorter passing' or 'Retain Posession'?

[ajsr1982]

'Work Ball Into Box' is usually something I switch on part way through a game if I notice I'm taking a lot of long shots, but others will have other uses for it.

[BadAss88]

What's a better option then?

'Retain Possession', 'Shorter Passing', 'Play Out Of Defense' or maybe 'Lower Tempo' ?

[summatsupeer]

There is no best option.

Retain Possession reduces risks taken that might give the ball away, waiting for a chance with higher percentage of success

Shorter will reduce options but less likely to be misplaced

Play Out of Defence will reduce the distance your defence plays so if they pass to far (missing out players you'd prefer they pass to like a DLP) you can reduce there passing.

Lower Tempo will take more time to make a decision, but will give the defence more time to organize.

What do you want them to do? What fits with the roles? What are the players bad/good at?

What did you see to make you change all those things?

[BadAss88]

Play Out Of Defense it is! Because my defending players were hitting the ball to much upfield when there were better options close by!

[BadAss88]

I have trouble creating chances now and especially scoring!

Because my CF (s) isn't getting any good crosses from my W (s) nor does he receive good passes from my AP (a) or IF (a). I like the way we play until the final 3rd of the field where we seem to make the wrong decisions..

-W(s) crosses when there's still an opponnent in front of him so his crosses get blocked, when he tries to dribble he loses the ball

-my IF(a) misses 1v1 oppurtunities against the GK where he has the chance to pass it to my CF(s) who has an empty goal in front of him

-my AP(a) doesnt try to make 1-2's in the box

-I get plenty of people forward and and create overloads but it doesn't get me any good chances

only good thing is that my defence is standing strong, last 5 games were 3-0 win against Liverpool (3), 1-0 loss against Sunderland (18), 0-0 against West Brom (10), 1-1 against Swansea (17) and 0-0 against Southampton (18) so I have to take more points out of those games!

[summatsupeer]

I have trouble creating chances now and especially scoring!

Because my CF (s) isn't getting any good crosses from my W (s) nor does he receive good passes from my AP (a) or IF (a). I like the way we play until the final 3rd of the field where we seem to make the wrong decisions..

-W(s) crosses when there's still an opponnent in front of him so his crosses get blocked, when he tries to dribble he loses the ball

Does he have good dribbling, agility, acceleration and technique to create space and beat defenders?

-my IF(a) misses 1v1 oppurtunities against the GK where he has the chance to pass it to my CF(s) who has an empty goal in front of him

Whats his finishing, teamwork, composure and decisions like?

-my AP(a) doesnt try to make 1-2's in the box

Does the movement and instructions encourage that, is there space to do it? Does he have the PPM? Do they have the first touch, technique, passing, vision and anticipation to see and do it? Bare in mind if they have a weak foot and would need to use some great technique or the weaker foot to pass in that direction.

-I get plenty of people forward and and create overloads but it doesn't get me any good chances

Why doesn't it? Are defences organized by the time your trying to play a final ball in? Do your plays have the quality to play through organized defences?

[BadAss88]

Does he have good dribbling, agility, acceleration and technique to create space and beat defenders?

Mirallas: DRB 16, AGI 15, ACC 16, TEC 15

Lennon: DRB 14, AGI 16, ACC 17, TEC 14

So this shouldn't be any problem, they weren't facing any topdefenders either!

Whats his finishing, teamwork, composure and decisions like?

Deulofeu: FIN 13, TEA 7, COM 11, DEC 10

So I can understand why he's missing those 1on1 situations but he scores 14 for Insight, so he should see his teammate but maybe he's a bit selfish..

Does the movement and instructions encourage that, is there space to do it? Does he have the PPM? Do they have the first touch, technique, passing, vision and anticipation to see and do it? Bare in mind if they have a weak foot and would need to use some great technique or the weaker foot to pass in that direction.

Barkley: FIR 16, TEC 15, PAS 14, ANT 15

He's two footed, he doesn't have the PPM, and I'm not sure how I can encourage this with movement and instructions..

Why doesn't it? Are defences organized by the time your trying to play a final ball in? Do your plays have the quality to play through organized defences?

Yes, there should be quicker combinations in the final 3rd of the field, but how can I encourage this? Because I don't want to hoof the ball from the defence right to my lone forward. I'm already having trouble with my forwards getting the ball way to deep so I used the TI to 'Push D-Line higher' which kinda helped, but not sure if it's the right instruction!

[summatsupeer]

Those attributes are okay for dribbling, could just be low form/confidence compared to the players they're facing? Is it winter and bad pitches? Could stretching the field width a bit give him more space? Higher tempo to try things sooner before they're closed down? Its hard without seeing whats happening.

Yeah he's selfish, wouldn't be so bad if he was better at finishing, at least your instructions are creating chances for him. Will need to consider bringing in a player who can finish better and using Deulofeu differently?

I'm not sure about the 1-2's then, might need a higher tempo to encourage quicker moves like 1-2's with the runner having permission/freedom to run past the player acting as the wall.

Higher tempo play will encourage quicker movement of the ball but not specifically forward movement. The direction will depend on the players mentality, instructions and options. How deep is too deep? I think CF-S has roam from position so you've given him permission to move further from his position. What did you want him to do when you changed him from DLF-S? Could you just add PI to the DLF-S role to do those extra things? D-Line won't really affect how deep your ST comes.

[BadAss88]

Those attributes are okay for dribbling, could just be low form/confidence compared to the players they're facing? Is it winter and bad pitches? Could stretching the field width a bit give him more space? Higher tempo to try things sooner before they're closed down? Its hard without seeing whats happening.

We're on a low form to say the least..last 11 games:1 win, 6 draws, 4 losses, 8 goals scored, 13 conceded. The lowest and majority of the morale of the squad is ok though! It's december, didn't look what kind of wheather it was..I think stretching the field width more is going to put my forwards too far apart from each other to make good combinations possible. Higher tempo is something I'm gonna try! Makes sense! I'm trying to describe as best as I can what I see going wrong during the matches!

Yeah he's selfish, wouldn't be so bad if he was better at finishing, at least your instructions are creating chances for him. Will need to consider bringing in a player who can finish better and using Deulofeu differently?

I have changed him from attack duty to support duty, makes more sense too, because now my FB behind him is on attack duty and gives more crosses, where my IF (Deulofeu) give less, so that compensates better than having my winger and full back on the right both giving more crosses.

I'm not sure about the 1-2's then, might need a higher tempo to encourage quicker moves like 1-2's with the runner having permission/freedom to run past the player acting as the wall.

I have changed my AP from attack duty to support duty, so now he dribbles less then before and tries more risky passes.

Higher tempo play will encourage quicker movement of the ball but not specifically forward movement. The direction will depend on the players mentality, instructions and options. How deep is too deep? I think CF-S has roam from position so you've given him permission to move further from his position. What did you want him to do when you changed him from DLF-S? Could you just add PI to the DLF-S role to do those extra things? D-Line won't really affect how deep your ST comes.

The higher tempo I'm definetly gonna try as I'm reading your comments it makes a lot of sense to try this! My forwards got the ball in the middle 3rd of the field, I don't mind if my AP and wingers get the ball there, but I find it frustrating that my lone forward only got the ball there and almost never in the final 3rd of the field. So now I've changed his roll to Targetman with attack duty as I use to use it in the past all the time. I believe he has enough support from my attacking midfielders and I hope this is giving him more balls in the final 3rd of the field. I just don't want him disconnected from the rest of the team and have in participating in the passing combinations as well. Don't know if there's a better role suited for that, it's the position I'm most struggling with. Lukaku hasn't scored for 10 games now and he even hasn't got that many shots on goal either!

By the way thanks a lot summatsupeer, your comments are helping me a lot to think about my tactic and what I want them to do!

[summatsupeer]

Try not to change so much. Higher tempo will probably affect a lot of things, changing other things will make it harder to tell if it was a good change or not.

I don't like TM purely because of the increased focus of passing and distance players will pass to him, I prefer using DLF-S or DLF-A. I just accept he won't succeed as many of the riskier passes he attempts compared to technically better players but it should balance out with the reduced directness of passing and less focus.

No problem, I can't play so i'm doing it vicariously through you

[vincenzo143]

Glad to see that you're starting to watch games to identify your problems. Really glad to see that you are thinking more and more how to make it work. It's a really good feeling when it all comes together the way you want it to. Trial and error really is the best way, as long as you are watching the games to see how it works.

[BadAss88]

I always have the feeling I'm playing good football until the final 3rd of the field, then the tempo just stops.

- All my players hold the ball

- Wrong passes to the wrong players in that moment..it's like almost always W/FB to a CM and back and forth until they try a cross who gets blocked or kicked/headed away

- Still my forwards get the ball to far away from the opponents goal, I got better results with the D-line pushing up then with the higher tempo I'm thinking..

[summatsupeer]

A screenshot or two would really help here and confirm what your current roles,duties and instructions are. Your spotting issues, just need to take the next step of diagnosing whats causing them.

[BadAss88]

I'm maybe changing too much now, so I'm gonna stuck with the settings and roles I've chosen now for 2-3 matches!

[BadAss88]

Here's my formation with roles and duties, and then there are my team-instructions for now:

only my central defenders have the player instructions to 'Close Down Less' and 'Mark Thighter'

[BadAss88]

It's hard not to change anything, because I'm getting the same over and over again..another 1-0 loss, with almost no real changes. I'm confident about my defensive shape as I'm nog given many chances away but the lack of shots and good attacking combinations in the 3rd half of the field is really frustrating me!

- Not enough depth in my attack, so I think I need to change my forward to an AF (a) which can provide more depth

- There aren't enough combinations between my attacking midfielders nor with my forward! Any suggestions?

[summatsupeer]

I'd drop the direct passing, your pushing your line up and have 3 creative midfielders who you want to play through IMO. More Direct Passing also increases tempo itself. If you want more direct passing from someone i'd give Stones BPD so the chance of completion is higher.

All I can add until we can see whats happening on the pitch is I had a quick test game (wanted to see how tactic idea earlier actually looked) and found Barkley on AM-S with dribble more PI behind Lukaku on DLF-A to combine nicely.

[BadAss88]

Then all of a sudden I play a marvellous game, with the football I wanted to see! We won 3-2 (2 goals from 4 shots is a bit disturbing), but I say the attacking movement that I wanted.

Differences from the screens are:

-TM(s) is now AF(a)

-AP(a) is now T(a)

-removed 'more direct passing'

-add 'be more expressive' (I think this last one is responsible for more attacking combinations and dribbles I wanted to see)

-control mentality (because I played home)

-very fluid team-shape because I only use one specialist role (trequartista)

Gonna stick to this now as my base tactic for a few more games to see if it wasn't a lucky shot, but I'm gonna remember the AM-S/DLF-A combination

Only problem now is that I'm giving away really good chances on through balls..maybe set the D-line back to normal to prevent this?

[BadAss88]

I've set the D-line back to normal, but it seems that my defensive stabilty is gone with the 'be more expressive' TI, because I now I get more clear cut changes against AND goals against on crosses and through balls, so I'm gonna remove the TI and see if my attacking movement is still in play!

I've got 4 points out of 9 now, but I have to get 9 out of 15 to not be sacked, so I need a win home against Crystal Palace and Newcastle!

[BadAss88]

GAME OVER I'm think I'm gonna start from scratch again with Arsenal this weekend

[vincenzo143]

Hi BadAss, Just something to keep in mind when "troubleshooting" things. Don't make too many changes at once.

Make a change to one thing, document what you find, change it back. Change the next thing, see what that affects, revert the changes again etc.

If you change too many things at once, you will not be able to pinpoint what fixes your problem. Or you might end up causing other problems and again you might not know what causes them.

[BadAss88]

Yeah, I realised that now