How to navigate away games?

[trueblue9877]

As an away team even though we are strong enough to beat most teams in away games it can be a bit of a struggle which can make it hard to win knockout legs of the UCL or win the league

How can I make this tactic more pragmatic for when I'm the away team?

[jens_dewit]

I'd consider changing it up a bit. 2 WBs is adventurous on the one hand, but on the other they're both not getting further forward. I'd change one to a FB on attack, which will offer about the same (or even more) solidity but more movement forward. The same goes for your 2 CMs and IFs. They're all doing kind of the same thing, doesn't that get stale? Personally I'd go 1 W(a) with a WB(s) behind him and the other IF(s) with a FB(a). Not too sure what the best change is for your mids.

In terms of TI's it might pay to lower your LoE one notch to be more compact + offering you more space to run into for your counter attacks. Might be necessary then to also change your DLF to AdvF.

[coach vahid]

I think it can help you.

https://community.sigames.com/forums/topic/574578-simple-crafting-of-a-4-3-3-dm/

 

 

[HUMBL3B33]

Here are my two cents on this:

- Be on the cautious side and alter you tactics slightly on that side when you play away

- Ensure you have a nice rest defense that covers the centre of the pitch on priority

- Utilise opposition instructions to try and stop their buildup play.

- Utilise the data hub to understand how they are going to try and score. Whether they are going to try and create from the wide or central areas.

- Depending on your style of play. Be clear of what you want to do. If you're deploying a counter attacking tactic be secure at the back with maybe 1-2 extra defensive duties can work as well so that you have a solid base on which you can attack. 

- If you are trying to control the game and possession try and look for players with high anticipation, composure, decisions, off the ball and passing to ensure you don't lose the ball easily in their half and risk a counter attack. 

- In short, have a clear plan and avoid something half baked or in between. Nothing's worse than you not having a clear plan and your players getting caught in two minds. That's going to give a clear opportunities to the opposition and them being at home gives them a huge lift in confidence which they are going to use and score more often than not. The better the opposition the more chances there are of a player scoring even without a clear chance. 

 

This is how i approach my away matches. Especially in knockout European competition and I've had great success. You can try some of the ideas and see for yourself whether they work or not. 

[trueblue9877]

3 hours ago, HUMBL3B33 said:

Here are my two cents on this:

- Be on the cautious side and alter you tactics slightly on that side when you play away

- Ensure you have a nice rest defense that covers the centre of the pitch on priority

- Utilise opposition instructions to try and stop their buildup play.

- Utilise the data hub to understand how they are going to try and score. Whether they are going to try and create from the wide or central areas.

- Depending on your style of play. Be clear of what you want to do. If you're deploying a counter attacking tactic be secure at the back with maybe 1-2 extra defensive duties can work as well so that you have a solid base on which you can attack. 

- If you are trying to control the game and possession try and look for players with high anticipation, composure, decisions, off the ball and passing to ensure you don't lose the ball easily in their half and risk a counter attack. 

- In short, have a clear plan and avoid something half baked or in between. Nothing's worse than you not having a clear plan and your players getting caught in two minds. That's going to give a clear opportunities to the opposition and them being at home gives them a huge lift in confidence which they are going to use and score more often than not. The better the opposition the more chances there are of a player scoring even without a clear chance. 

 

This is how i approach my away matches. Especially in knockout European competition and I've had great success. You can try some of the ideas and see for yourself whether they work or not. 

So I'm playing as a different team now, a mid table team for away games I am trying to utilise a mid block and counter attack it seems to be working but for whatever reason the board wants to get promoted despite not being one of the stronger squads.

[HUMBL3B33]

As the 3rd image suggests, you've only recently relegated from the league one. In which case it isnt too hard for you to get promoted. And it's a widely known fact that the jump from league two to league one isnt as hard and hence people often get back to back promotions as well. However, I'd suggest you try signing a couple of worthy players on loan and do so till you reach prem. I havent played a lot in lower english leagues so i cant help much in terms of experience.

 

[Cloud9]

9 hours ago, trueblue9877 said:

So I'm playing as a different team now, a mid table team for away games I am trying to utilise a mid block and counter attack it seems to be working but for whatever reason the board wants to get promoted despite not being one of the stronger squads.

 

This thread has quite a bit on how to execute a counter attack midblock successfully. Might need to use two tactics, one mid block and one to control the game if you're one of the bigger sides in the league. Counter attacking football is great for cup competitions, but can struggle over the course of a season if you're getting a lot of draws and opposition won't bring the game to you. 

You're running on FM22 I think? Some big differences in how defensive setups work compared to FM23. Esp w/mentality and fatigue factors which are big for a defensive approach. 

[Kickballz]

In fm 23, The double pivot in DM position with an anchor and a DLP is still very strong. I'd recommend  using that as a starting point.

[trueblue9877]

On 28/09/2023 at 20:21, Cloud9 said:

 

This thread has quite a bit on how to execute a counter attack midblock successfully. Might need to use two tactics, one mid block and one to control the game if you're one of the bigger sides in the league. Counter attacking football is great for cup competitions, but can struggle over the course of a season if you're getting a lot of draws and opposition won't bring the game to you. 

You're running on FM22 I think? Some big differences in how defensive setups work compared to FM23. Esp w/mentality and fatigue factors which are big for a defensive approach. 

So any tips on how this can be improved?

[Cloud9]

8 hours ago, trueblue9877 said:

So any tips on how this can be improved?

In terms of improving performance, I'd focus on getting your squad building right. The last screen shot of your tactic looks like there's a lot of players who just aren't good enough (Jack Hodge, Charlie Lakin, and Liam Edwards). I usually do a filter right at the start of my save for out of contract u23 players who have youth caps at the international level. Then I offer trials (free scouting) to like 300 of them and cherrypick 4-5. Move on players w/big wages who aren't good enough etc. That should give you the foundations of a squad you can get promoted with, and that you can develop over the course of the season. 

I'd encourage you to add some height to the frontline. The IF looks kinda caught in transitions here, a WTM will give you a direct option and an aerial threat. I'm not crazy about to two BBM and both wingbacks going forward. I think designating roles a little bit could help you out as well. Going more direct/higher tempo is a good starting point for getting a counter attack to work. 

Once you get the right players in, it's all about keeping the dynamics/morale up and watching matches/making changes to your tactic. 

Edited September 30, 2023 by Cloud9

[trueblue9877]

21 hours ago, Cloud9 said:

In terms of improving performance, I'd focus on getting your squad building right. The last screen shot of your tactic looks like there's a lot of players who just aren't good enough (Jack Hodge, Charlie Lakin, and Liam Edwards). I usually do a filter right at the start of my save for out of contract u23 players who have youth caps at the international level. Then I offer trials (free scouting) to like 300 of them and cherrypick 4-5. Move on players w/big wages who aren't good enough etc. That should give you the foundations of a squad you can get promoted with, and that you can develop over the course of the season. 

I'd encourage you to add some height to the frontline. The IF looks kinda caught in transitions here, a WTM will give you a direct option and an aerial threat. I'm not crazy about to two BBM and both wingbacks going forward. I think designating roles a little bit could help you out as well. Going more direct/higher tempo is a good starting point for getting a counter attack to work. 

Once you get the right players in, it's all about keeping the dynamics/morale up and watching matches/making changes to your tactic. 

So I think I managed to get the tactic + instructions 

[trueblue9877]

I started a new season with the same team + some tactical tweaks and also got a few more players in on loan / free transfer and my team media prediction went from expected 20th -100 to a prediction of 12th -50 odds to win the league and I managed to win the playoffs and get promoted

 

The only problem is that how can I know when a team is ready to compete because obviously it's pretty much the same tactic but in the season where my team was expected to be 16th I was sacked before March 

And it's in the same league too so there's no way that telling the team to press a bit higher can lead to such varying results right?

 

[Cloud9]

5 hours ago, trueblue9877 said:

I started a new season with the same team + some tactical tweaks and also got a few more players in on loan / free transfer and my team media prediction went from expected 20th -100 to a prediction of 12th -50 odds to win the league and I managed to win the playoffs and get promoted

 

The only problem is that how can I know when a team is ready to compete because obviously it's pretty much the same tactic but in the season where my team was expected to be 16th I was sacked before March 

And it's in the same league too so there's no way that telling the team to press a bit higher can lead to such varying results right?

 

That's great! Congrats on the promotion 

For figuring out how good a player is, that's easier to establish once you've figured out your own style of play. When you're at the lower leagues just getting who you can get, and trying to develop them to sell on might be necessary. I would take a players star value as a general guide for potential growth, but focus more on what he can do for you now. Usually once I hit the Championship I'm starting to recruit players who fit my style of play and have the attributes I'm looking for. 

Telling what a player can do:

• Attribute combinations. He doesn't have to have high PA to do one specific job in the team.
• You also want to look for good personality + consistency (big matches is nice, promotion deciders are big games).

So here are two examples of how I'd judge players from my own save:

:

This guy is a really great goalkeeper, picked him up for 4k in my save and got promoted from the Championship with him. His Star rating isn't anything special and his PA potential says "good sky bet championship player." However, he's consistent, enjoys big matches, great personality and his attribute spread means I know I can count on him to keep the ball out of the net in the mid block counter attack I setup. He ended up averaging a 7.15 and kept a clean sheet 1 out of every 2 games he played. 

In contrast, this guy I picked up on a free transfer and I think he sucks. He's got really high PA for a player I picked up in League One (Good Premier Division Player), he's consistent, enjoys big matches and not a terrible personality but his attribute distribution isn't great for my system. More importantly he can't do a specific job really well. 

Cashing in on him was therefore a pretty easy decision once I got a decent offer, and was able to bring in a guy for 2.2m as a replacement to play as an industrious 8. If you can do that kind of squad building in your own save you shouldn't have too much trouble moving up the leagues w/out getting stuck.

Edited October 1, 2023 by Cloud9