FM20 Beta - Appalling passing

[ryandormer]

I have started a save on the Beta with Arsenal, and have tried to implement a playing style that would suit the players that they have at the beginning. I am aware that they are not as strong as they used to be, and I have tried to account for that in the less extreme instructions and a balanced mentality:

I have only played the pre-season so far, and I have been playing teams worse than Arsenal. These are the results:

Since it is a new game, I have been watching matches on full to see how the match engine works. Overall, I really like how it looks. The build up play, in the main, looks so much better (fewer unnecessary crosses!). However, I have seen my team play way too many bad passes, and often hoof the ball straight off the pitch, nowhere near a teammate. This is true even of Ozil, whose stats remain excellent in this game. I have seen him in acres of space, no pressure, launch the ball off the pitch during what appeared to be a promising build up.

I don't know if this is a problem with the match engine, or if it is a reflection of the fact that I am new to the team and they aren't used to the tactics, or are not match fit, or a combination of the above. I don't think the instructions are particularly demanding (I've only started with three).

Is anybody else seeing this problem? Or has anybody had this 'problem' and it has improved once the team is match fit? 

Thanks.

[Heywood JaBlowme]

35 minutes ago, ryandormer said:

 

Is anybody else seeing this problem? 

 

Yes. Also, defenders making inexcusably stupid cross passes to another teammate at the the back when there is a nearby attacker right next to him to intercept the pass giving him an easy breakaway. And defenders constantly passing the ball back to their own GK when they're in the attacking 3rd of the pitch. 

[ryandormer]

Likewise (though, in fairness, that is an accurate representation of Arsenal's real life style of play at the moment!). I'm hoping it's a reflection of the team's lack of match fitness and tactical unfamiliarity, rather than a match engine issue.

[FuSS]

37 minutes ago, Heywood JaBlowme said:

Yes. Also, defenders making inexcusably stupid cross passes to another teammate at the the back when there is a nearby attacker right next to him to intercept the pass giving him an easy breakaway. And defenders constantly passing the ball back to their own GK when they're in the attacking 3rd of the pitch. 

Isn't this exactly what's happening in real life with the new defender in the box rules though?

[ryandormer]

8 minutes ago, FuSS said:

Isn't this exactly what's happening in real life with the new defender in the box rules though?

It is--as an Arsenal fan it's painful to watch at times. And I'm all for the game reproducing the mistakes as well as the good play. My problem has been the absurd passing decisions in the build up, particularly from an expert passer like Ozil. When under no pressure, a player like him shouldn't be smashing a long ball straight out of play multiple times per game. As I say, hopefully it's just a reflection (even if a slightly extreme one) of the lack of tactical familiarity in the first pre-season.

[herne79]

1 hour ago, ryandormer said:

I don't know if this is a problem with the match engine, or if it is a reflection of the fact that I am new to the team and they aren't used to the tactics, or are not match fit, or a combination of the above. I don't think the instructions are particularly demanding (I've only started with three).

There's nothing overly wrong with the system (perhaps not enough aggression in a couple of areas given who you are playing as).

However you've only played friendlies so far, albeit with bad results which can be an indication of tactical issues.  But as you say, the main issues seem to lie in passes going (wildly?) astray.  As we're still in Beta, I'd suggest playing a few competitive matches while looking out for the same problems.  If you spot them I'd start a new thread in the ME Bugs forum, uploading example match pkms and detailing the in match timings of when these wayward passes occur.

Passes can of course go awry in real life, so some will be the same in FM.  Whether they are at acceptable levels in FM is something we can test out and feedback (if needed).

[emil_sbn]

Maybe try a 4-2-3-1 your players and especially özil would benefit more from that as he could operate more as a pure number 10. Good luck! 

[RPM_01]

The fullbacks are just pinging cross field balls when they have options and are on shorter passing. So frustrating!

[ryandormer]

19 hours ago, herne79 said:

There's nothing overly wrong with the system (perhaps not enough aggression in a couple of areas given who you are playing as).

Do you have any suggestions on how I could make the tactic a bit more aggressive? I'm a little wary because of how fragile the defence is! 

But yes, I'll keep playing through until competitive matches when the team are more familiar with the tactic. I agree passes can go awry, and I like seeing some mistakes (adds to the realism) but I've seen too many bad passes, and shockingly bad ones! We'll see.

17 hours ago, emil_sbn said:

Maybe try a 4-2-3-1 your players and especially özil would benefit more from that as he could operate more as a pure number 10. Good luck! 

I might give it a go. My only concern is that Arsenal aren't great in defence, so a DM might help, and I've never had great success using a playmaker role in AMC. But it's worth a try if results dont improve in competitive games, thanks for the suggestion.

[emil_sbn]

4 hours ago, ryandormer said:

Do you have any suggestions on how I could make the tactic a bit more aggressive? I'm a little wary because of how fragile the defence is! 

But yes, I'll keep playing through until competitive matches when the team are more familiar with the tactic. I agree passes can go awry, and I like seeing some mistakes (adds to the realism) but I've seen too many bad passes, and shockingly bad ones! We'll see.

I might give it a go. My only concern is that Arsenal aren't great in defence, so a DM might help, and I've never had great success using a playmaker role in AMC. But it's worth a try if results dont improve in competitive games, thanks for the suggestion.

A 4-2-3-1 can be good defensively too if you get the mc pairing right I would probably play xhaka as a dlp d and alongside him guendouzi as a mc support and özil as an number 10 playmaker support make sure to play Auba infront as a advanced forward so özil can feed him balls too.