HELP!!! Struggling to create an effective Everton 4-6-0 Possession tactic

[crippycooke]

Hi I rarely post on FM base anymore I just read all the forums for advice. For the many people that won't have a clue who I am and what I'm about, well I was the guy on FM11 that did over 60 years at Aston Villa and broke every possible Premier League record for goal scoring, clean sheets and assists etc you name it I smashed it. I was on cloud 9 winning every trophy pretty much every season while boasting an incredibly young team all signed at u18 level turning into homegrown players etc and low wage budget. The tactic I used was a 4-1-2-1-2 that I created.
View attachment 227025
Above is the Aston Villa tactic that won me every trophy I competed in over the 60+ seasons. I have been using with Everton with limited success. I was unbeaten at home but struggled to find any form in all my away games.

Last Season's Home and Away Form
View attachment 227026View attachment 227027

I am currently working on a 4-6-0 tactic which is similar to the formation that Barcelona are currently adapting.View attachment 227028

The best result I've had to date
View attachment 227030View attachment 227031
My best performance to date with the tactic

The tactic I'm trying to create:
Short passing style
High possession
High number of passes
High number of CCC's
High pass completion

Player Instructions I'm using:
View attachment 227032View attachment 227033View attachment 227035View attachment 227037View attachment 227040View attachment 227043View attachment 227044View attachment 227045

My tactic will have passing style short, fullbacks & midfielders running from deep often, running with ball rarely, long shots rarely, through balls sometimes and roams from position yes for the midfielders.I need help because this tactic is no longer working at all. I'm not dominating possession away from home and I'm not having a good pass completion ratio. PLEASE!!!!!! Can the tacticians of FM give me any helpful and relevant advice on high to create a more effective possession tactic for the 4-6-0 formation. Note I'm not looking to change the 4-6-0 dimension in any way. I'm sticking with my strikerless tactic but I want to tweak any silly mistakes to the tactic that are contributing to my downfall.

Thanks for your time guys.

 

[united762000]

Instead of having an anchor man with a defensive role try playing a defensive midfielder with a support role. he will link up play between the defence and midfield more effectively. make a choice between having an advanced playmaker or a deep lying playmaker. it doesn't need both. put one of them to cm support. they will play a general midfield role and keep things simple making short passes and keeping possesion

 

[crippycooke]

Instead of having an anchor man with a defensive role try playing a defensive midfielder with a support role. he will link up play between the defence and midfield more effectively. make a choice between having an advanced playmaker or a deep lying playmaker. it doesn't need both. put one of them to cm support. they will play a general midfield role and keep things simple making short passes and keeping possesion

Is a defensive midfielder with a support duty a bit too adventurous because I only want him to be holding up the ball and making short passes to retain possession, I don't want him going to high up the pitch. And duly noted about the CM support I'll definitely try that out thanks a lot .

 

[united762000]

the troublewith the anchor man is that he will just sit there and make interceptions/tackles andnotmuch else. a defensive midfielder with the support role will do the same but also link up play better with the two central midefield players. I like your tactic and loadedup anew game last night and used them and made a few tweaks and it seems to work. I found that changing the defensive line back to normal and not playing the offside trap really keeps the defensive end tight and has no effect at all on possesion.

 

[crippycooke]

the troublewith the anchor man is that he will just sit there and make interceptions/tackles andnotmuch else. a defensive midfielder with the support role will do the same but also link up play better with the two central midefield players. I like your tactic and loadedup anew game last night and used them and made a few tweaks and it seems to work. I found that changing the defensive line back to normal and not playing the offside trap really keeps the defensive end tight and has no effect at all on possesion.

Lovely I'll give it a go tonight and I'll be incorporating not using an offside trap. Hope it works as as well for me as it did for you.