hey mate! not bad results, although i must say i expected them to be a little better. i believe you are conceeding a tad too much. have you noticed any patterns in the way you concede? after half time team talks? counter-attacks after corners? crosses to second post? defensive mistakes of specific players? it important to try and find how we concede most out goals.
in terms of your players, i know gamberini is quite good, but he is also very slow! are you defenders (full-backs included) fast with good anticipation, positioning and concentration? because at the back this tactic relies on anticipating the oppositions next moves and regainig the ball with a quick tackle to set the counter. your full-back should be good at marking too. if you see you are conceding opposition wingers too much space, you need to manually man mark them.
your tactic should also be fluid by now, so try changing general trainig to defensive with high intensity. i also always rest my players after matches, but never before!
bochetti is a great player!! have signed him many a time in previous versions. so great signing there and with the perfect stats for this tactic. you need to find that sort of defender. your MC's should also be good at positioning and anticipation!
up front you seem to be doing well, although i would have thought that cavani shoudl be banging them in! the only thing i can think of is giving him a little more creative freedom or letting him shoot from range, but perosnally i dont like that because i look at it as a wated opportunity to deliver a key pass. he is quite similar to fierro, even better in most stats, so stick with him and he will improve.
i would also put hamsik in pandev's role if you can find a good playmaker, he will be a beast in that position! the playmaker is more of a link up between all the players moving around him, he will mostly backup players that need a pass, but will obviously play key passes too. however, the outer AMC roles are the main offensive force of this tactic, so you should concentrate your best players there, along with the striker ofcourse!
insigne is rocking it!!!
i just played my first game of the PL season on the train on my way into work this morning and conceeded a lot of unexpected goals too! was 4-1 up at half time away to newcastle and the game ended 5-3. it is probably because i overhauled my defense over the summer and had 3 new players in the starting line-up at the back, but it can also come down to giving too much praise at half time and letting the team become complacent. the tactic isnt fluid yet either, and i have not changed my focus to defensive. so hopefully it will improve with time. otherwise i will look to improve it in terms of tactical settings.
stick with it mate! bolster that back line and get a good playmaker and i think you'll be golden!
good luck!
the mrs wont be happy lol