Need help 4411

[tyraktor]

Hi guys, im currently struggling with FC Koln. I havent played much matches but so far I lost vs Wolfsburg A(2-1), Dortmund H(1-4) and vs Leverkusen A(3-1) I am also getting dominated by the likes of Hertha, RBL etc. in everygame the opponents had more chances + possesion. I made my own tactic but it doesnt seem to work. Here are some screens:

View attachment 87449View attachment 87448

I was looking to create a 451 tactic that would just play it out by (fast) combination football. and then either give the ball to my Enganche or wingers and then give a cross or a pass towards Modeste or just give a deep wide pass to my wingers and create a chance from that position

Modeste did score all 3 goals for me though so he is doing fine.

Maybe my tactic doesnt seem to work because my team is not really getting used to it fast enough. (Or it just doenst makes sense XD)

my wingers instructions:
View attachment 87447
Modeste:
View attachment 87446
Backs:
View attachment 87445

Other players have pretty much basic instructions or none i let my defenders close down more and mark tigher. Im not really sure if this is a good option?

This is my 2nd year FM and im not really experienced so some advice is welcome.

Regards!

 

[ChivuStoica]

First off, wow, that's a lot of TIs. But, more importantly, some of them contradict one another and are stopping your team from playing the way you want. It sounds like you want to play a relatively direct strategy, whether it's through your wingers or your enganche. "Play out of defense" would interfere with that, because that encourages your defenders to play short passes out of the back and build up play slowly, the opposite of what it sounds like you want. Similarly, "work ball into box" encourages your players to adopt a patient strategy in the final third and probe for a breakthrough rather than look for the first through ball or crossing opportunity. I don't think "be more disciplined" or "dribble less" are necessary either.

In terms of PIs, I don't think your wingers need to be told to roam from position, nor should your striker be told to pass shorter. Those don't really seem to serve any purpose. Additionally, having "fewer risky passes" from your wingbacks is going to discourage them from playing direct balls down the wings or crossing first time, which is going to hamper the direct style it sounds like you want. Plus, all those PIs are just adding more for the players to learn in terms of the tactics and causing their familiarity to lag behind where you'd want it to be.

Just as a general rule, when you're creating/testing a new tactic, less is more when it comes to TIs and PIs. Start with only the most basic ones (I generally only use the ones that dictate how my team plays without the ball) and see how it works, and if you need to change things to get them playing the way you want, then make the changes. Set the mentality and fluidity the way you want, and set the defensive line and pressing the way you want, and watch how the build up play develops from that; if it's not the way you want, then add one or two TIs that encourage that style. But you also have to know what each one actually does. There are a number of good guides on the internet that explain what the various TIs make your team do in the match engine's terms (i.e., "play out of defense" will turn your defenders' passing directness down one tick (out of five)). Read up on those before you start adding TIs and PIs *****-nilly and start with the basics of your tactic, watch how it develops, and then add more instructions if you need to to get the desired style. Adding a whole bunch from the start makes troubleshooting it that much harder because you have so many variables.