Almost perfect....

[Ranger81]

I'm currently using a 4-3-2-1 with Rangers, and in terms of possession and chances created it's getting some decent results and performances. Defensively, it does its job too. Though I will admit that there may be flaws to my instructions.

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I don't use many player instructions - only for my defenders and my DM

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Both full backs have the same instructions, and in an ideal world I would have my back four camped on the 18 yard line at all times so I'm not caught on the counter but I don't think I can do this. Problem is, I concede a lot from wider areas. I have tried three central defenders with no joy. I'd rather my full backs made an effort to stop the cross being put in in the first place. I have tried man marking, but all I get are messages from my assistant during the game about my players being pulled out of position and it leaves gaps. I have also tried telling them to tackle hard, but for every one good tackle there'll be two yellow card tackles that give away a free kick and defeat the purpose.

Any advice on how I can tweak this without sacrificing other elements of what is shaping up to be a very decent tactic? I've toyed with it during pre season (and only played a couple of competitive games), but I'd like to get it to perfection - or as close to - as I can get. And hopefully a crippling injury list won't get me sacked this time....

Thanks

p.s I know my right back doesn't have a great first team rating - but Ricky Foster doesn't fare much better at right back in terms of defending out wide.

 

[vjcsmoke]

Honestly I believe the key is probably the roles of your midfielders. And I feel that having a DM is essential in FM. I set my DM up with the Regista role, and he scores a ton for me while also helping protect the top of my back 4. Just take a look at what Lucas Romero did for me - he's easily my team MVP. View attachment 311108

 

[Ranger81]

Thanks for the advice - I'll push my defensive CM into a defensive midfield position and see if that helps. Might switch Macleod from a RPM to a standard CM with support duties too. Maybe that role is preventing him from doing as much as he could in a balanced defense capacity. Playing as Rangers, it'll be a long time before I can afford someone like Romero!

 

[Ranger81]

Made some changes to the tactic - Ian Black played as a Regista against Hearts away (9.3 rating - excellent advice), both my CM players were given a support duty (Macleod got 9.0 and Darren Ramsay 8.2) and took the 'Ease off tackles' instruction off my full backs.

Mentality - Defensive
Possession - Retain possession, shorter passing, work ball into box
Penetration - Exploit middle
Shape - Play narrower, much deeper defensive line
Defending - Close down more, stay on feet, use offside trap
General - Lower tempo (I had players out on their feet in the first half hour in some games), be more expressive.

Won 5-1. The only thing I'm thinking of changing is 'Retain possession' because a couple of times that doubled as 'Get caught in possession'

 

[vjcsmoke]

LOL. Great to see that your changes helped improve your results! Yes, there are many managers out there who choose to untick the retain possession box. Sometimes it just doesn't work well for a tactic. In that case I usually save retain possession for the end of the game when I'm in the lead, and I also tick waste time so hopefully I kill as much time as possible. Good luck with FM, and let us know your end of season results! PS if you can afford Vallejo, I advise you get him as a future piece. For under 1m, he has potential to be world class DC and might help your back 4 quite a bit. In any case trust your scouting, If they say he is 4 stars potential or better, definitely worth looking into.