Teamwork and Pressing: Marco Rose at Man City

[Alerion]

Hello guys. Me again, everytime I think I got FM figured out, I get smacked in the face with a wrecking ball. Most noticeable away game (say what you want, I am a firm believer away games in FM 18 are broken as heck)

 

I worked out 2 tactics with FC Salzburg that worked INCREDIBLE well (EL in the first 6 years, won the double 5 times in a row, 124 games unbeaten in the league etc) that should replicate a lot how Marco Rose sets up Salzburg in real life. It took me a lot of time (including watching over 20 games in full commentary to figure out how the roles behave etc.) I decided to start a new save with City but keep the tactics the same because its just not fun getting your best players bought up every year again.

I did fairly well, battled with ManU for the 1st place, finished my CL group unbeaten and even won the Caraboa Cup (yay, I guess ?) but lately I have just been getting torn apart in away games (no injuries, changes in moral or lineups). Just let me clarify that I do A LOT of ingame tactical changes depending on how the game goes.

 

Now here are some screenshots of my team, the tactics, results etc. to give you a good idea where my problem is and i would really love if you could help me iron out the tactic to get it City and EPL suitable.

As you can see, my away form is abysmal recently, I lost my 5 last away games in the EPL (not counting CL and Carabao Cup and FA Cup) against teams I should have beaten easily (West Brom 20th, Bournemouth 7th, West Ham 19th, Burnley 18th). I just dont understand how I went from only losing 4 games in until January to losing 7 games in 2 month. My team is fit, I rotate a lot to keep them happy and match fit, I got no key player injuries and I did not change the tactic. 

I am having so much fun with this city save, taking my time and marco´ing everything (huge props to the FLUT skin, really adds to the immersion) but not getting results I should be getting is just incredible frustrating, ESPECIALLY because they happen at away games. Please help me.

[herne79]

4 minutes ago, Alerion said:

not getting results I should be getting is just incredible frustrating, ESPECIALLY because they happen at away games. Please help me

 

4 minutes ago, Alerion said:

say what you want, I am a firm believer away games in FM 18 are broken as heck

If you believe that then nobody can possibly help you because whatever we say, away games will still be broken.

Anyway, another part of what you said above is probably a big reason why you may struggle:

6 minutes ago, Alerion said:

Just let me clarify that I do A LOT of ingame tactical changes depending on how the game goes

If you have to do "a lot" of tactical changes through the course of a match, that indicates to me your core system isn't as well balanced in the first place as you may think.  What changes do you make and (more importantly) why?  What do you notice during matches that makes you want to change things?

[Alerion]

vor 2 Minuten schrieb herne79:

 

If you believe that then nobody can possibly help you because whatever we say, away games will still be broken.

Anyway, another part of what you said above is probably a big reason why you may struggle:

If you have to do "a lot" of tactical changes through the course of a match, that indicates to me your core system isn't as well balanced in the first place as you may think.  What changes do you make and (more importantly) why?  What do you notice during matches that makes you want to change things?

Well it was more of a joke, I have had unbeaten seasons so I know away games are possible but I do think that something is a bit off (although thats not the point of this discussion really).

 

I just react to the game flow and opponents tactics, rather than doing it before the game I do them in the game. Less pressing when we have a lot more possession to decrease the intensity, a deeper defensive line or offside trap against fast strikers (Arsenal with Auba and Leicester with Vardy come to mind). Change the Mezzala to a BWM if we lose control in the midfield, change my WB to A or D if they have slow/fast wingers etc. As I said, lot of those small changes are just reacting to the enemy team.

 

Is it a "plug and play" tactic that works with everyone ? Certainly not, I experienced it in 10 seasons with Salzburg but the diamond works like Rose plays in RL. When the tactic works, it really works (70 goals in the Prem alone so far, thats 20 goals more current 1st place ManU has) and unbeaten in the CL (1-4 away win against Dortmund). The thing is, when it works, I know WHY it works. On the other hand, when we get ran over (2-5 against Leicester, 1-5 against B´mouth) I have no idea why or what to improve.