Another Bad Ending

[Dickybran]

I am less than halfway through my 3rd season with Spurs and things are going really bad, which is annoying because I started off so well, probably the best start I've ever had. At one point I went 10 games in a row without conceding (admittedly against the lesser teams of the PL and League/Euro Cup). In the Euro Cup I qualified winning all my games and only conceding one goal. Even though I was doing well I was about 6th in the league, but with games in hand. A few of star players then started getting restless, saying they think the club are underachieving and want a new challenge. Then I got Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City almost consecutively in the league and lost every game (usually only 1-0). The confidence soon dropped and now I can't get a win against the teams at the bottom of the league. I've had this problem before but not usually so early in the season, usually in the last quarter. I think I have been a bit unlucky with the fixtures, but I don't see what I can do to turn it around. I've tried changing the formation, players, approach but we haven't won in ages now. I am definitely on the verge of being sacked.

Has anyone else had this problem before?

 

[NunoPeixinho]

winning would be good ..

 

[Chaz Sexington]

Go for kinder team talks.

 

[Dickybran]

I usually ask my assistant first when doing team talks, and sometimes change it if I don't agree. Most of the time it's "do it for the fans". They should give us more choice.

 

[Carine]

What players do you have in your squad?

I have a tactic that works well for Spurs (it takes a few games for the players to adjust) Mixing it with a normal 4-4-2 every now and then (to keep the AI guessing) seems to help keep the tactic fresh.

If you want to try it out, the tactic can be found in here -- http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/f72/spurs-tactical-help-t48931.html but you'll need to read the whole thread as the tactic changes on the advice of FM users. I finished 4th in Prem (constant changing of tactics at start of season left me playing a bit of catch-up) and won the FA Cup, League Cup and Euro Cup off the back of playing with this. That was with no transfers as well (but started with an end of season update download from this site.)

Also, set all your best players to have a massive valuation as this will help discourage other teams from making bids all the time.

 

[Jake]

Remember that your assistants advice is only as good as his stats. Imo there is a small handful of assistants on the game with good enough stats to give you consistently accurate advice. The others will give flawed advice due to poorer stats.

Go with the team talk you feel will work, use individual team talks, ie criticise one player, encourage another, tell the sub coming on that you expect a performance from him etc.

Don't chop and change your tactic, stick with something you know will work and let your players settle into playing that style, maybe have a more defensive tactic ready for use against bigger teams/in tough away games.

Seems strange, but if there is a space in the fixture list, arrange a friendly against a really poor team, spank them and the players confidence will improve, which lifts their next few performances in the real games.

 

[Dickybran]

Thanks for the advice, I've never downloaded tactics and I don't want to start now. But good call with valuation comment.

I've spent most of the season playing 4-4-2 or 4-4-2 diamond, then sometimes having to switch to 4-5-1 or 4-1-2-1-2 depending on the situation. But I've basically kept the formation the same to keep consistency, then changed it if I need a goal or to hold on to a lead, which worked for the first quarter of the season.

---------- Post added at 04:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:11 PM ----------

I can see what you're saying about organising a friendly, but I was still doing well in cup games beating lesser sides. In the Euro Cup I was beating teams 3-0 plus. Admittedly I wasn't finishing teams off so easy in the FA Cup, sometimes only winning 1-0 against teams from the Championship. I've made it to the January transfer window so hopefully I can bring in some new faces that will hopefully give the team a lift.

 

[gametime]

i agree with sticking to one formation. Preferably the one that got you your clean sheet run. Maybe tweak it a bit. Its a much better option than changing tactics constantly.

 

[Dickybran]

I thought I'd update you all on how it's going from last night. I've tried the nicely nicely approach in team talks. I've kept the formation simple 4-4-2 and slight defensive. Luckily I managed to get to the January transfer window without been sacked, I reluctantly sold some of the moaners (Defoe and Muntari) and bought in Quagliarella and another striker/attacking midfielder (sorry can't remember his name). And also bought O'Hara out of the reserves to add some more fresh faces, O'Hara scored in his first game back. Another bit of luck was playing Exeter in the FA Cup winning 4-1 giving everyone a bit of a confidence boost. But then came up against Man U. At one point I was winning 2-1, but it was still early on and Man U came back to win 3-2, scoring a dodgy penalty and getting the winner at the very end. But then after that the games got easier and now have only lost 1 (Man U) of my last 5, won 3 and drawn 1. Hopefully I can carry it on and get back into the top half again.

Does anyone know what's the best settings for Quagliarella? (Advanced Forward, Poacher etc).

P.S. Gametime: I've seen Bayern play a few times, once against Leverkusen about 3 years ago when you came back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 in the last 10 minutes, and then at Man U last season in the Champions League. Some of my friends from Dusseldorf are Bayern fans!