Thank you for your response and advice. I think you are right when you say it's best to learn from other people. There was a thread about defending in a 442 that I liked and have chosen that as my base. I'm actually playing a 424 so it's not exactly a 442 but I have taken inspiration from that thread. To make it realistic as possible I want to stick to the club vision. One of those is to be defensively solid so that matches the style I am going for.
The tactics manual has really helped so thank you for linking that. I've won things on previous FM's but this year has gotten the better of me. I am currently managing Man U and have finished 4th, 2nd and 4th. Currently in 4th season and the only things I have won are the community shield twice and one FA cup