Where did my Man Utd save go wrong?

[SamL94]

I made a Man Utd save earlier on this week, and, put it this way, it didn't go well. I had actually only played 5 Premier League games and 3 Champions League games but deleted the save in a rage last night. I know I should have probably been more patient and played on a bit longer, but I was just wondering if any of the tactic guru's of the forum could help me out and let me know what went wrong and what they would have done differently.

So these were the results I had:

Premier League:

Tottenham (A)- Lost 0-2

Everton (H)- Lost 0-3

Sunderland (A)- Won 1-0

Aston Villa (H)- Drew 0-0

Southampton (A)- Drew 1-1

Champions League:

CSKA Moscow (A)- Won 2-1

CSKA Moscow (H)- Drew 1-1

Wolfsburg (H)- Lost 0-1

After the Wolfsburg game I quit the game and deleted the save.

This was the team and tactics I had:

(4-2-3-1 wide)

GK: De Gea

RB: Darmian (Fullback, Automatic)

CB: Smalling (Central defender, Defend)

CB: Mustafi (Central defender, Defend)

LB: Shaw (Fullback, Automatic)

CM: Schneiderlin (Central midfielder, Support)

CM: Schweinsteiger (Deep lying playmaker, Defend)

RAM: Mata (Inside forward, Support)

CAM: Rooney (Shadow striker, Attack)

LAM: Depay (Inside forward, Support)

ST: Higuain (Complete forward, Attack)

And these are the instrutions I had on:

Look for overlap

Be more creative

Retain possession

(Everything else was normal)

So, looking at this, what was I doing wrong?

To be honest, tactics has always been a part of Football Manager that I have struggled with. I am often unsure when it is best to look for overlap, or go for early crosses. I'm never sure when to go for whipped crosses, or floated crosses. When to play a high line, or a normal one. When to pass in to space, or retain possession, etc etc. Could you guys help me out?

[herne79]

FM, especially the tactical side, tends to be one of those games where the more effort you put in, the more you will get out of it. Of course there are exceptions to this, but as a general rule of thumb you can apply this logic.

So, in all honesty, you are better off starting with reading through the stickied guides at the top of this forum. It can also be useful to have the game open with a dummy save as you read through, so that you can apply the theory learned to something practical in game. And take small steps, don't try to do everything all in one go.

I know you highlighted a few examples above of specific issues, but I think that's just the tip of the iceberg with questions that you have. That shows a good thirst for knowledge, which is great, so those stickies will get you deeper into the rest of that iceberg.

[Paulmgrath]

Iv done a few manu saves, due to it being only a few matches it could just be bad form or getting used to your tactic.

From my past manu saves i can give you my humble opinion - get rid of smalling hes a liability e.g gets a 8.5 rating, next match he'll probably do 2 costly errors and lose you the game, Rojo or even F mensah are better, also i would play martial before Depay and for me Mata struggles as If so i play him in the same position but as a playmaker.

From your ti's it seems like you wont score many on the break and with the slow build up play of retain possesion and look for overlap (your midfield hold the ball up while waiting for the overlap) you will be playing pretty much how Van Gaal does. I would change the cm to box to box as well to give the midfield a runner a make it more dynamic.

Best advice is to watch extended or comphrehensive and if you see the same problems repeating there the ones you need to fix.

Edit with mata im sure i deselected risky passes as with his ppm tries killer balls he was wasting possesion alot this type of thing is what i meant you could spot by watching the more detailed highlights

Also i'd play with WBs rather than FBs due to them being your only real wide players.

With the 4231 im using at moment 2 of my midfielders are in the dm strata but i use get further forward on my bwm/S alongside a dlp/D who holds and play more fluid team shape to reduce the gap between the defensive 2 and more attacking 3 in midfield, also fluid help with movement between the lines i use standard mentality

[summatsupeer]

You left your your team mentality and team shape. I'm going to assume Control since most people use that with 4231.

Ignoring the results and focusing on the play, how didn't it go well?

Did you concede lots? Was there a commonality to them? Counter attacks, through the middle, crosses, wide players not tracking back?

Did you not score? Did you not make many chances? How do you want to create chances?

The best advice I can give on Team Instructions is don't use them unless when watching the game you notice something multiple times that isn't an individual mistake. If you notice very little play in behind your defensive line but lots between them and the midfield, you might want to push up more. If there's lot of play behind your line you may want to drop deeper so its harder to play into. Remember every change can have a positive and negative. Don't make to many chances at once so you can see the differences. Remember your formation is your defensive positioning so 4231 is very attacking with lots of advance players so will rely on pressing and causing mistakes, can your players and instructions do this?

Lots of discussion on 4231 strengths/weaknesses: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/450511-Why-Not-4231

Since you want to Retain Possession I guess that's the style you want to have a read of: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/445500-The-Art-of-Possession-Football

[skyline72]

I would put Depay as IF-A, Shaw as WB-S, Darmian as FB-s.

I will remove look for overlap as well because IF will dribble and cut in. Not like traditional winger like the Beckham and Neville combo.