Jakey2303

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I am currently managing FC Porto, and I am doing well in the league. Unbeaten ten games in, we are playing well and scoring lots of goals. But it aggravates me when we concede and lose our clean sheet, because whether we are 1-0 up or 5-0 up, I still hate conceding goals because I know when we get to play the bigger teams in the league or in Europe, we won't be able to easily knock 5 past them and we will actually have to keep clean sheets, especially in the knockout stages in the Champions League.


How do you keep clean sheets? I'm playing a possession based 4-1-2-2-1 if you have any tips specific to this formation.
 
you will concede goals mate, that is football, especially when you are 5:0 up, its complacency! everyone gets it! sometimes you even concede 2 goals...

you need to change to a more defensive time wasting/long ball approach!

do you leave your attacking tactic as is from start to finish? do you use shouts? do you substitute players that are below 75% condition..

many factors that could affect this
 
I do adjust my tactic, although I don't make it too defensive as I believe that radical changes mid-way through a game can leads to bad things happening! I don't use shouts (I use classic tactics).

I know that players can get complacent in the latter stages of the match, and I know that you will inevitably concede goals.

I guess the main point of this thread was to ask how do you personally think is the best way to defend? Like when it comes to defensive line, offside trap etc.
 
As Scotty says, it depends on what kind of players you have.
Personally, I like to use a medium to high defensive line, and put pressure on opponents at all time. To do this though, your defenders need good stats in pace/acceleration, positioning, work rate, stamina and aggression. For using offside trap they should also have decent stats in decisicion and anticipation.
When facing much better opponents, I often go with a lower line, "traditional CB's" (focus on heading, tackling, strength etc.), and switch my usual AMC with a DM (/anchorman) to help "clean up" the area infront of them.
I always look for fast, wingback-type of players, even though I use them in FB position. But that's because I always use offensive wingers, so my fullbacks have to cover a lot of space.
 
If I set up to defend it will be a 4-2-3-1 shape - the sitting two are necessary to stop the advanced playmakers and deep forwards from getting space between the lines and getting shots off/forcing my CBs out. Narrow and deep, but it is important to have an out-ball so you're not sitting in your half for the 90 minutes. Two wide men with pace or a striker with some flair/creativity.
 
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