4-3-2-1 Christmas Tree (Advice Required)

[anmw]

Hi All,

Defence
I have by far the best defence in the league. My aim is to sit tight in the Christmas tree formation and have my LCM and RCM press the opposition wide men. We don't tend to shut down fullbacks. We are happy to have the ball in front of us, not in between the lines. If you have any suggestions on how better to implement this - perhaps with player roles - please let me know.

Attack
This is the main issue. I am 2nd in the league table (only just) but our offensive record is on par with a mid-table side.

- How do I create more chances?

At the moment, I'm a little lost. I tell my team to counter... but I'm not sure that's really what I want to do. Previously, the mentality was 'positive', but 'attacking' seemed to help somewhat in encouraging chances. I have amassed players that are good on the ball in midfield. Yet, we can't seem to break teams down and create one-on-ones.
What tends to happen is that we pass into midfield, get stuck, lob the ball out to the LB or RB, who then takes the ball the length of the pitch and gets slide-tackled out of play. I have scored loads from set pieces (which probably further masks my poor attacking performance).

Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

[killbane57]

In my current save I run a similar formation to great success. on my third straight undefeated seasons with Juventus.

What you completely lack is penetration in the box.

Switch the AMC to att. with roam and move into channels. on support you have two players sitting in the hole and a single striker dealing with 2 defenders.

I do this on both AMC's (AM att. on both) but you can start with one (this will also make the AMC's press more and make them more aggressive in finding space). I would also lose the AP as he sits in the hole but with only two players in front of him and no midfield runners he losses his efficiency, again I would switch to another AM (on sup or att.) or at the very least AP on att, again with move into channels and fee roam.

Finally DLF is a bad fit here, he actually makes the lack of penetration much worse. He drops in between the AMC's and since no player runs behind him you have no players to lead the line and push defenders. I would switch him to AF or CF on att, this will make him push up and leave space behind him for the AMC's.

With this system I also recommend passing into space instruction to encourage through balls and to give take more risks Individual instruction to your good passers.

 

[anmw]

I had an email about this response. Thanks a lot for replying. I haven't played in a while but I might get involved again and give it a shot. I love how defensively solid this shape is.

If you don't mind me asking, what Tis do you use?

 

[killbane57]

I had an email about this response. Thanks a lot for replying. I haven't played in a while but I might get involved again and give it a shot. I love how defensively solid this shape is.

If you don't mind me asking, what Tis do you use?

Just now realized when the post was made lol, just haven't seen a lot of 4-3-2-1 this year so jumped on the opportunity to help out.

This is my setup

All front three have move into channels (creates great central overloads, which I don't see quite often in other tactics), roam from position, dribble/shot less and take more risks.