4-4-2 Diamond Lower League[Help Required]

[A_Sober_Paddy]

Just finished my 2nd season with South Shield's, after winning the Conference North in the first season and making the play-off's in my second season in the Conference National...So overall things are going well, but my tactic needs some refining...

Having some issues with regards to consistency in the creation of chances, most of my creative outlets come from my wingbacks, i have tried the AMC as a playmaker but he just drops back to deep and leaves a massive void between midfield and the strikers...

Have also tried "Pass into Space" Instruction, but in the National we just give up too many chances and possession for my liking(we have the 18th largest budget in the league)

Primarily looking for feedback as i have a big squad rebuild upcoming, and maybe if there are some suggestions to improve my set up in terms of roles i can make sure i get the correct players...

Some of my own thought are 

DM(D) → DLP(D)

The above change has me concerned that we will be left defensively exposed with the attacking wingbacks, and then dropping the wingbacks to support, will i be left impotent going forward...

Diamond → Wide 4-3-3DM

The above change has been tried, but the wide players just didn't work well at all, my CF was often isolated and the wide players were just ineffective

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated 

[Johnny Ace]

21 minutes ago, A_Sober_Paddy said:

Just finished my 2nd season with South Shield's, after winning the Conference North in the first season and making the play-off's in my second season in the Conference National...So overall things are going well, but my tactic needs some refining...

Sounds like you've done great!

22 minutes ago, A_Sober_Paddy said:

Having some issues with regards to consistency in the creation of chances, most of my creative outlets come from my wingbacks, i have tried the AMC as a playmaker but he just drops back to deep and leaves a massive void between midfield and the strikers...

Have you tried him as an AP(A)? 

I think overall, I wouldn't make too many changes

[A_Sober_Paddy]

4 minutes ago, Johnny Ace said:

Sounds like you've done great!

Have you tried him as an AP(A)? 

I think overall, I wouldn't make too many changes

Have tried that and then i find the forwards get congested, have toyed about with PF(S) and AF(A) asked to sit wider to alleviate the congestion

[Martin Løvåsen Blakset]

Hi. 

IRL I'm a football coach for an U19 side that uses the 4-4-2 diamond, so I will be happy to help and guide you in the right direction. 

 

We can start up top, with your two strikers. I believe both should be looking to stretch the field of play and mainly seek to run in behind the opposition defensive line. This is to make space for your attacking midfield between the lines. In FM this role should be a "stationary" role, e.g Enganche or Attacking Midfielder on support or attack, depending if the opposition plays with two or three centrebacks. 

 

As for Team Instructions (TI), you should look for underlaps, and not overlaps. Because your wingbacks will rarely be that far up the field. They should have supportive roles and providing width, and not make runs in behind. I believe the AM og CM should do forwards runs, and the DM to protect the CB who will be fairly exposed. Furthermore, the diamond needs to be a narrow formation, because of the numerical superiority in the center of the field. A narrow focus also helps with your intensive pressing. 

 

This is just some basic thoughts from me, and I will happily contribute more if you need to. 

[ralala]

Personally I would:

Left side: WB(S), BBM(S) and AF(A). Underlap

Right side: WB(A) BWM(S) and DLF(S). Overlap. Maybe CAR works here, I haven't tried that role much

Half-Back in the DM Position to form a sort of 3-at-the-back when your WB's go forward.

CD(D) with passing set to short, and lower risk.

[aritra14]

3 hours ago, Martin Løvåsen Blakset said:

This is just some basic thoughts from me, and I will happily contribute more if you need to. 

I have been tinkering with the 41212 narrow as well, and your explanation of how the system should work made a lot of sense to me. I made this system from what you said in the above paragraph. Does this seem ok to you?
 

The strikers mark the opposition CBs and the AM marks the DM. If there's no DM, I change him to an Enganche.

[Martin Løvåsen Blakset]

This could work. I would rather neglect the pass from the CB to the opposition FB, rather than mark the CB. Because if they get the ball into the wide areas, the diamond is in for though time. So you could try that. Also change the role of the DM to a defensive midfielder on defense or support, depending on the opposition. 

 

Your pressing trigger should be to get the opposition to play inside to a single pivot, and from there press them hard and aggressive. 

[Prepper_Jack]

In terms of tactical instructions, I'd go shorter passing to start. 4-4-2 diamond narrow is a pretty compressed shape with a lot of short triangles, and rather ideal for a vertical tiki taka situation. I'd also go with "hold shape" instead of counter, because the 4-4-2 diamond is an excellent patient attack formation. Counter press can be a little risky if you're using wingbacks on the attack, as they're already likely to be overloaded, and I'd personally go with regroup or otherwise just leave it blank. If you insist on using WB(At), I'd also make the offensive play more narrow, and primarily focused through central areas. This will open up space on the wings for them to get in more crosses from the byline, as the opposition defense tries to focus on defending in central areas. With a narrow formation, pass into space is usually the best play, to drop balls over the lines for your strikers or wings to make the final play on goal. To facilitate, I'd probably move the defensive line up to higher or much higher, and the line of engagement to lower or much lower from that point, which will serve to open up more space to pass it into, without a sweeper rushing the ball. You also might want to experiment with increasing the tempo, so that you can break through or sidestep the congestion to make more shots on goal, though haste can make waste.

Overlap doesn't make a lot of sense here as there's no forward winger to hold the ball for the deeper winger.

In terms of roles, part of what makes the 4-4-2 diamond interesting is that invincible diamond in the middle that drives the ball up the field, passing it between each other. Carrileros are the advertised role for the CMs, and decently suitable, operating in a space that most defenses find troublesome, though they also operate in a strange area to defend, and may not be optimal, and the wider area does make passing in the diamond a little less reliable. Try experimenting with 2x CM(Su) for a more compact shape and see how that goes for you. I've done that and given them both plays one-twos, and they'll get the ball into dangerous areas quickly and easily. You might want to change the DM(De) to a DM(Su) to help push the play up the field a bit. It may open you up slightly more to direct counter-attacks, but if your DM has decent positioning and decision making it's not a big risk. Changing the AM to an AP(At) might be a good strategy, if you want some good through balls into space in the final third. Challenge there is that the AM(C) spot is almost always locked down hard of course, but a good diamond will help support this play. In regards to the strikers, I've had the best luck with two advanced forwards. This gives more options to playmakers as to where to drop the ball into space. Two AF's and two attacking wingers can be an issue for the defense in such a play.

If you want to hyperfocus in central areas, you might consider using IWB(su) or IWB(At) instead of WB(At). This essentially turns your 4-4-2 diamond into a 2-3-2-1-2 on offense, and the central midfield becomes your exclusive domain. IWB(Su) will assist the play up the field in the center, and fall back into defensive position quickly if possession is lost. IWB(At) adds a bit of unpredictability, as they push deeper into opposition areas, assist plays into the final third, and potentially get scoring shots themselves. 

[De Nile]

Just wondering if your AM is your creative outlet it will be best to use a central DLP the AM will see more of the ball in that case.