how to be better defensive

[wwffan2]

Hello

please any tips on how to be better defensive ?

last season we scored 87 but conceeded 86 goals the most in the league. 

we struggle with away games

 

[ejleal]

Post your tactics and instructions so people can help you.

[wwffan2]

these are tactics I have been using 

[Hovis Dexter]

Obligatory disclaimer: I’m no tactics expert. I do have some views about the 4 3 3 tactic. This is exceptionally attacking in that not only is there an attacking mentality but there five attacking positions including the SK and IWB. I would try. in the first place:

o change mentality to positive;

o change the SK to either defend or support;

o change the IWB to support.

 

You’ll still have WB and IWB getting well forward so I’d try the DLP on defend which will give you three centrally based defenders which should make the tactic more stable.

 

Hope this helps

 

 

[prched55]

6 hours ago, wwffan2 said:

these are tactics I have been using 

Are these downloaded tactics that you're using? 

The 433 is very very aggressive out of possession. On attacking duty, the defensive line, block, and pressing are all going to go up. Plus you've asked your team to be even higher on all of them. Plus counter-press and PSGD pushes your players even further up. For this tactic also you would need God Tier centerbacks because they are going to be 1 on 1 most of the game. 

The 442 is way better in terms of roles and duties in my opinion but it does have some contradictory instructions. You have low block with PSGD and counter-press selected. Those just don't make sense together. 

[axelmuller]

That 433 has the makings of a decent system, but needs a bit of variety.
In that particular system, IWB is the heartbeat of the team, the driving force.

 

Roles and duties:

• Barry Bannan as a lone striker is an intriguing choice. I think he would actually make a great DLF-S.
• Your left hand side looks good with IF-A as the main goal threat and WB-S providing support behind. Looking at the players at your disposal, Tshimanga would be my choice for the IF-A role. The RPM role could also work, but for now I'd switch it to a standard Central Midfielder on a Support duty, so the play would be more varied and not forced through the playmaker all the time.
• On the right hand side, since you have the IWB-A, you need someone to stretch the opposition by providing width. I would play Ajiboye there as a Winger-S. CM-S is now switched to a CM-D with Stay Wider PI, balancing the IWB's gung-ho style of play.
• You have Ball Playing Defenders which suits a building from the back kind of style. I would switch the DLP-S to a Half Back to offer another passing option for the goalkeeper. This is what Cleon used in his Art of Possession Football, with tremendous success. Henri Lansbury would probably make a half-decent Half Back.
• Since you have an extremely high line, Sweeper Keeper on Attack Duty fits like a glove.

 

In Possession:

• Let's keep Shorter Passing. It's a good choice for toning down the risk factor a bit.
• Low Crosses I would also keep, since Bannan and Tshimanga aren't exactly renowned for their aerial prowess.
• I don't really see a benefit for Early Crosses. Same for Run at Defence - the wide men + IWB already do that by default, and Bannan isn't probably the best dribbler in 2025 anymore.
• I would also remove Higher Tempo and Wider Width, since Attacking Mentality already plays extremely high tempo football, stretching the pitch much more.

In Transition:

• Keep the Counter Press, it suits the formation and the style.
• I would add Distribute to Centre Backs to get the BPD's + Half Back involved, and drop Counter, because the players look to transition much more quickly by default due to the Attacking Mentality.

 

Out of Possession:

• I would keep it as it is.

In a nutshell, something like this:

 

Tried it with Middlesbrough in a pre-season friendly, and it looked quite solid in action:

 

[Overmars]

1. Attacking mentality is not as "win now" as it has been in past FM versions. I actually think it's easier to find success with Balanced mentality, which is a big change for FM. Logically, Balanced will give you a chance to play without too much aggression, and if you need to push for a goal later in the match, you can raise the mentality to adopt more risk in your approach.
2. For the 4-3-3, either the DM should have a defend duty or your fullbacks should be more conservative.
3. The much higher defensive line, especially in combination with an Attacking mentality, is going to lead to plenty of balls over the top and through balls played against you. You will essentially be 2022-23 Liverpool, which isn't ideal.
4. The higher tempo and hit early crosses instructions seem more suitable for the 4-4-2 formation than the 4-3-3, whereas the work ball into box instruction seems like a 4-3-3 type of instruction.

[Cloud9]

On 03/02/2023 at 04:30, wwffan2 said:

these are tactics I have been using 

In regards to your 4-3-3:

• I would avoid the SK on attack
• a WB on attack will get to the opposition byline, pulling him out of position
• Two BPD can be a bit risky, try 1 CD 1 BPD if you're feeling exposed defensively.

[Guest]

Very risky tactic that basically leaves your centrebacks isolated during turnovers. Firstly don't just focus on the defenders focus on the patterns of your attacking transitions. If a player is turning it over consistently allowing teams to counter you I'd focus on that.

If I have a winger whose consistently turning the ball over then putting us at risk during a critical phase of build up then I focus on solving that problem. Maybe he doesn't have the mentals to be on my team, maybe he can't dribble and I need to find a way to stop him doing that or maybe the guy is totally isolated and is making risky passes which is then my fault. So start focusing on your attacking transitions to see where the start of you defensive problems are.

Secondly I play a risky high pressing high line game and defense is always my first priority so I place a great deal of emphasis on the mentals of my two center backs. My priority over marking, heading, pace etc is anticipation, concentration and positioning. For me those have to be at least 13 on a lower league team like the championship and 15 if I'm in the top league. After that I look at pace and then eventually I'll worry about their height, their heading etc. You need two mentally savvy CBs if you're going to put a lot of extra work on them. To be honest if you're going to play the system you're playing mentals needs to be a priority because decision making and composure are two key elements I would want in players who can't really afford to make mistakes during attacking phases.

Thirdly there is nothing wrong in altering things when you are seeing a problem in a match. If a striker is getting behind my defence and he's looking like a threat I'll drop my line, if I take the lead and I see a player regularly exploiting space behind a specific full back I will pop that fullbacks role and mentality down so we lock that threat right down so don't shy away from changing things when you see a problem during a match.

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by Crazy_Ivan