Those damn last minute goals!

[SimonHoddle]

Nothing more annoying than dominating a match then seeing a 90 + 2 goal from the AI opposition! I actually quite like it because it makes things more difficult.

but are these last min AI goals simply because they’re switching to Very Attacking in the 80th min or is there something deeper going on. And is the best way to stop it by going to Catenaccio and Shouting Focus at your team?

any other solutions?

Edited January 18, 2023 by SimonHoddle

[Guest]

Yeah the AI is changing things to try and get that equalizer.

The things I will change in what is a typical possesion tactic is to maybe lower the defensive line by one tick, I'll change from counter pressing to regroup, I'll change from counterattacking to hold shape so that we aren't going to be caught too high or leave too many gaps.

As a possesion based team with a team full of players capable of playing that style I will then max out possesion instructions so that we play keep ball and they can't get the ball from me and don't underestimate the time wasting option either. My last Match holding a one nil lead my team managed to close out a 1-0 win by dragging consecutive corners out for over 2 mins.

A lot of what I do is opposition dependent and from what I have seen during the match. I never change from control to defensive or any other mentality changes. The only other things I might do is if any of my wide players are on an attack duty I might drop that so that players like Fullbacks aren't moving too high up the pitch and allowing space for the opposition to counter.

[gunnerfan]

I suspect it's two different things at work: the AI has made a change (not necessarily going to Very Attacking, but possibly something more subtle like a change to certain roles and duties), and the human player's failure to adjust. I agree with @Crazy_Ivanthat going very defensive on mentality is a mistake because it removes your team's ability to take advantage of whatever openings the AI's attacking gives you. I typically play a 4-1-2-3 and a possession-based game, so when I'm holding a lead, I will usually change my WBs to FB(D), my DM from a Halfback to Anchor, and my BTB Mid to BWM. I'll also increase the directness of passing a notch to give me the ability to launch some passes over the top to counter.

[SimonHoddle]

Cheers both. It definitely needs consideration as the late AI goal a ‘thing’ now. It would be great to get better visibility of AI tactics. But yes I agree with you both. Subtle changes not park the bus. 
 

I think it would help if I had more confidence in TIs but dropping deep does seem to invite ridiculous over the top of defence passes. That makes me reluctant to back off even when defending a lead late on.

[Cloud9]

6 hours ago, SimonHoddle said:

Cheers both. It definitely needs consideration as the late AI goal a ‘thing’ now. It would be great to get better visibility of AI tactics. But yes I agree with you both. Subtle changes not park the bus. 
 

I think it would help if I had more confidence in TIs but dropping deep does seem to invite ridiculous over the top of defence passes. That makes me reluctant to back off even when defending a lead late on.

I always try playing counter attacking football in my saves, couple of tricks I've found:

• If you aren't putting enough pressure on their backline (an attacking forward is super useful here) or dropping too deep at the end of the match you can invite a lot of pressure. I find a low block can be effective in this FM but dropping the defensive line behind standard is tricky. 
• It can also help to have your third tactic be a last 10 minute park the bus formation so they're tactically familiar with it when you ask them to do it.
• If your players have attacking mentalities (which you can see in the PI's) and poor defensive attributes they'll struggle to park the bus.
• When you're parking the bus, sic a player on their players that are making dangerous passes.
• Seeing out a match is a lot easier if you do personality based recruitment, inconsistent/rash players in your squad will kill you in these situations.
• If your players are gassed you'll concede goals late on, leaving counter-press on can really drain their stamina and leave you vulnerable. 

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Cloud9
spelling

[SimonHoddle]

1 hour ago, Cloud9 said:

I always try playing counter attacking football in my saves, couple of tricks I've found:

• If you aren't putting enough pressure on their backline (an attacking forward is super useful here) or dropping too deep at the end of the match you can invite a lot of pressure. I find a low block can be effective in this FM but dropping the defensive line behind standard is tricky. 
• It can also help to have your third tactic be a last 10 minute park the bus formation so they're tactically familiar with it when you ask them to do it.
• If your players have attacking mentalities (which you can see in the PI's) and poor defensive attributes they'll struggle to park the bus.
• When you're parking the bus, sic a player on their players that are making dangerous passes.
• Seeing out a match is a lot easier if you do personality based recruitment, inconsistent/rash players in your squad will kill you in these situations.
• If your players are gassed you'll concede goals late on, leaving counter-press on can really drain their stamina and leave you vulnerable. 

 

Cheers! All interesting stuff I’ll implement. I agree on the DL issue. I dont mind conceding with a deep DL but it should be through crosses or long shots not balls over the top into acres of space.

I guess you mean stick a player on their most dangerous player. Interesting one that. 
 

with 5 subs the chance to switch to defence should be easier but often you get the message they’re struggling to meet pace of the game haha

[gunnerfan]

5 hours ago, Cloud9 said:

• Seeing out a match is a lot easier if you do personality based recruitment, inconsistent/rash players in your squad will kill you in these situations.

 

This is something I think is more important in FM23 than earlier versions. I'm now doing personality-based recruitment of both players and staff. 

[Mst82]

Don’t change too much. Maybe change some attacking roles to support and if players are blowing, set them to “take fewer risks”. 
 

if you’re on positive, think about changing it to balanced - I’d never go to anything less than balanced as it’s too big a shift in mentality, I find. 
 

You can get the keeper to slow the pace down but again I find it counter productive if he’s a sweeper-attack, so change him to support or defence. 
 

I have found that subtle changes work as long as they all align with each other, like mentioned above. Trial and error. 
 

I also make sure I watch the whole of the last 20 minutes or so to see what the AI is up to - then you can plug any gaps in your defence.