Someone mentioned earlier in the thread. Changing the striker to CF S and having a copy set to defensive for big clubs has made the game for me. There are a lot of tactics that are made to win but are sleep inducing when it comes to exciting play.
Yes ... this?
Using the tweak of F9 --> CF (support).
Found it produces better attacking results for my players ... it plays to their specific strengths more.
One of the other tweaks I use is to change mentality to 'Defensive' if faced with a hard away game ... i.e. Chelsea or Man Utd.
Another thing I try is playing with the pace ... so if switching to Defensive, I'll knock the pace of the game [sometimes] down to 'Much Lower Tempo'. The whole point of switching to a Defensive mentality is to strangle and control the game, to frustrate the opponent. To suck all the oxygen out of their efforts to suffocate them, and provide them with a slow and painful death.
... and if you are wanting to control the game, strangle the opposition, and totally dusrupt their game plan ... and you're lowering the tempo ... maybe you might also have 'Retain Possession' as a priority in a Defensive approach.
... or if your players don't have the necessary attributes to optimise that game plan, then maybe a Defensive mentality with a 'Close Down More' instead of the default 'Close Down Much More' will help retain shape a little more, without taking too much of the 'pressure' off.
... and maybe if the mentality is Defensive, and the pace of the game is Much Lower Tempo, and you're prioritising Retain Possession, then to help your players optimise that specific form of strangulation, you give them a little more freedom in terms of Roaming, so that they can keep to that Big Picture match plan ... or maybe only more roaming in the midfield - whom you expect to most of the donkey work in terms of keeping hold of the ball ...
... key thing is to make it easy for your players to deliver what you are asking them to deliver.
You are training a group of masochistic assassins.
So as to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible, turning the pace down to a crawl is an opportunity to become an oxygen starving, control freak manager, standing like a silent assassin on the touchline, in a latex suit and gimp mask, watching as your opposition wilts, falls to the floor, and surrenders in a foetal position, in front of its own embarrassed [and silent] fans ... well, that's my dream, and I'm sticking to it!!
So just little, subtle changes, that optimise what change you are trying to make ... without changing the 'big picture' shape or player roles ...