A really really awkward set of tactics.
But when playing it, it offers a revelation. One day, you'll hold a draw with 70% possession, until you concede a goal in the 87th minute. And then you'll realize, playing dominating, with possession in mind, is the biggest lie, the worst abomination of modern football.
I'm currently in 2015 and most AI controlled clubs are playing possession football now. Thus the matches get really, really boring. Most of the action happens in midfield or around the box, with hardly any goal attempts at all. I found my players trying to enforce possession too rigidly even when working around the box. Good positioning and good movement off the ball often is wasted because my players don't dare playing risky passes that might bring them scoring opportunities.
Did anyone notice if there is more direct play into the box and towards the goal if your midfielders (especially the wingers) have the "Tries killer balls more often"-PPM? It's just awfully boring watching your players kick the ball around with no purpose and without any attacking movement. Well, I guess it looks different when you're Barcelona
However, their ultra-cautious approach makes sense. Because of the rather offensive formation with high defense line, very offensive wingers/fullbacks and only having one player in DM, losing possession ends up devastating. If the other team can counter-attack well, you're well in trouble.
Therefore you shouldn't wonder if your forwards don't perform miraculously. Your - by far - most important player will be the one responsible for nodding corner kicks into the net, i.e. one of your centre backs. Zero Sea should have emphasized this more
Look at this guy, for example:
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In my current Dortmund save, he's **** leading the Bundesliga's scorer board with 18 goals, despite a 3 week injury in late January.
This is the type of player you want to have to make this tactic "work". When everyone else fails, just wait for those corners to come in. He'll score. He's your life insurance.
Of course you can assign any player who's good at heading to wait for corner kicks, it just makes most sense to use a DC for it. You want these guys big and bouncy anyway.