Defensive issues, conceding a lot of goals.

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GahRii

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Hi. I'm managing Southampton in my third or fourth season I forget, and doing pretty well, we've won the EPL once, league cup twice, Community Shield, and gotten to the final of the Champions League.

However, one issue that has been a consistent problem through-out my rise is the fact that I seem to be conceding a LOT of goals. I would really prefer to score one goal, and then lock the game out, rather than have to end games 4-3 or 5-4, which is how a lot of them seem to end at the moment.

It isn't really THAT big of a problem since I'm meeting the board objectives at the moment (play youth and get a top 4 finish), but I really feel I could achieve a lot more if I wasn't so easy to score against.


This is the league table at it stands at the moment, as you can see I have the highest goals conceded out of the top 10;

View attachment 284790


This is my tactic at the moment, however my players have tweaked instructions too, but none of which should change the tactic overly;

View attachment 284792

These are each of the players that I use mainly in my starting 11, the two CBs are both apparently good, but judging by the number of mistakes they make per game, I'm guessing they're not;

View attachment 284802View attachment 284801View attachment 284800View attachment 284799View attachment 284798View attachment 284797View attachment 284796View attachment 284795View attachment 284794View attachment 284793View attachment 284803

Scoring goals isn't a problem, last season I had the most goals scored at the end of the league. I also had the highest goals conceded outside of the relegation teams >.>

Any help is appreciated.
 
Looking at your team settings tells only so much, we need to know if you have made any changes to the playersettings ?
 
First of all.. final in the champions league with Southampton? Well done mate :D!!

You should probably provide some more information in regards to what kind of goals you concede. Is it crosses, set pieces, counter attacks etc.?

The fact that you play your passing focus through the middle and you only play one defensive midfielder (on the left side of the pitch as well) can make you vulnerable if you loose possesion in your attacking build up. This will probably leave quite big gaps in your midfield, even though M'Vila obviously is a very solid player that can retain possession well. You also have all your attackers set to "attack". When you start your attacks they will all move very high up the pitch. This is great when you get the ball up there, but in the build up phase there might be to much space between your 4 attacking players and the midfield. This is only one element that can cause some goals against you though, so please provide some more info :)
 
TheBetterHalf said:
Looking at your team settings tells only so much, we need to know if you have made any changes to the playersettings ?
Click to expand...

indeed, did u edit the players tactics. Are they Zonal or Man marking, Closing down high or low, Mentality, Tight Marking ect.
 
The main way I seem to concede goals at the moment is down the wing, and then the winger either crosses, or does a run along the touchline, and walks it past my goalkeeper, since the goalkeeper AI is terrible in this FM. (or it is for me anyway)

I concede a normal amount of corners, I don't consider it an issue. I rarely get countered.

It's either wing play, or the fact that my lb/rb aren't dealing with wingers before they become a problem. That's what I've seen so far anyway, I may be wrong.
 
Well, looking at our tactic, your flanks are being exposed as soon as you hold possession deep and central. Look at a match, and you will find that when your DMC or DCs have the ball and dwell on it, your formation is more like a 3-3-4. This means hat whilst you are able to overload the opponent ( a good way of scoring goals), it also makes you weak due to their counter attacks. When these 3 deep players miss these direct (it has to be direct when not having any passing options), you will face at least 4 player running against you with pace.


So, you tactic IS ACTUALLY a " win 4-3" tactic. If you slow things down in terms of runs from deep ( i.e run into space AHEAD of the ball), you will get a more stable tactic, but you will not score as much. Here, one will need pace in all players, flair upfront and anticipation in the 5 left behind.
 
Yes, my DC's and DMC do dwell on the ball, and generally lose it, or pass it into an opposing player. & I'm fine with scoring less. I'd prefer to be drawing games than losing 6-0 away to Manchester United.


edit; so if I change "run from deep" to "sometimes" on everyone then I'll be less likely to get countered?
 
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play a game against your reserves in full mode, and look at the flow, and you will see it
 
I just played a game against Liverpool on full after changing my players runs forwards, and while I didn't score, they didn't either. The previous time I played them they score 4 goals in the first half, and I scored 3 in the second, lol.

However my assistant constantly complained about our inability to get any shots away, and how my forward was isolated, etc.

What formation/tactics would you recommend to be able to be a threat in front of goal, and also be defensively strong?

I can play 2 strikers if necessary, most of my wingers/midfielders are trained to be strikers also.
 
Also, you might consider having zonal marking instead of man marking for your full backs.
 
Okay, I'll give that a try, thanks. Anything to stop all the goals being leaked >.>
 
How do you stop opposition players running down the wing all the time?
 
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