Need some tactical analysis/advice

[macca72]

Good discussion.

One point from me is that I would caution the use of a Target Man. I have personally seen I get way to many wasted punts towards him, with not enough players in support (especially if he is the lone man) to work off him.

If it works for you then brilliant, but watch it closely.

You can always look at other roles with PI's such as Hold up ball, stick to position & Dribble less to mimic some of the characteristics of a TM.

EDIT: Just looked at your latest formation. You have no runners from midfield, you need one in my opinion. I'd be looking for a CM (attack) on the side of your W(s), or at very least have a B2B. I would imagine both Cleverly and Delph would suit B2B.

 

[Seano]

Good discussion.

One point from me is that I would caution the use of a Target Man. I have personally seen I get way to many wasted punts towards him, with not enough players in support (especially if he is the lone man) to work off him.

If it works for you then brilliant, but watch it closely.

You can always look at other roles with PI's such as Hold up ball, stick to position & Dribble less to mimic some of the characteristics of a TM.

I've had this happen to me a few times, will look into and try a few different roles, perhaps a DLF/A.

EDIT: Just looked at your latest formation. You have no runners from midfield, you need one in my opinion. I'd be looking for a CM (attack) on the side of your W(s), or at very least have a B2B. I would imagine both Cleverly and Delph would suit B2B.

I've since changed the role of the playmaker to a AP/A with a CM/s beside him. Considering changing it to a CM/A as i don't feel Cleverley or Delph have the ability to perform well enough in that role.

 

[macca72]

I've had this happen to me a few times, will look into and try a few different roles, perhaps a DLF/A.



I've since changed the role of the playmaker to a AP/A with a CM/s beside him. Considering changing it to a CM/A as i don't feel Cleverley or Delph have the ability to perform well enough in that role.

Good move. I try and avoid playmakers unless they are very good at it, if they're not they get caught in possession a lot. The CM a role is great from my perspective, and will help you.

A CM/A & CM/S combination is a great place to start, and because they are the most "vanilla" roles, you have the ability to modify how they play through PI's (rather than changing roles and disrupting your shape)

It's why I also love the WM roles at MR & ML. You can make them almost anything you want with the PI's that are available.

 

[Seano]

After some tinkering about i've got a good system going on.

DLF/S
Winger/A Winger/A
BWM/S CM/A
Full Back/s CB/D CB/D Full Back/s
Keeper/D

​

TI's: Pass into space, Work ball into box, Close Down much less, Exploit the flanks.

My high-pressing counter-attacking style left alot of gaps in my defence and i was leaking alot of goals so i had a re-think. Close down less in general, but the BWM will naturally look to press the opposition in around the midfield. This is the start of the counter attack.

There was alot of aimless punting to the TM, so i decided to drop it to a DLF/s with a few PI's , and changed the IF to a Winger/A and the same for the other side.

So far so good, creating a lot of chances but the finishing is a bit poor and when it comes to the final third on a few occasions, passes are under-hit but there's not much i can do about that.

I've bought a BWM , and decided to switch between delph and cleverley for the CM/A

 

[ImAddicted]

IMO I would take off work ball into box as this halts the urgency of getting the ball into box (also discourages crosses into the box as well). Instead I would just tell the front 3 to shoot less often

 

[WJ]

IMO I would take off work ball into box as this halts the urgency of getting the ball into box (also discourages crosses into the box as well). Instead I would just tell the front 3 to shoot less often

Work Ball into Box only reduces long shot tendencies. It doesn't affect crossing or tempo.

 

[Fusershift]

Work Ball into Box only reduces long shot tendencies. It doesn't affect crossing or tempo.

Work Ball into Box does affect crossing, actually. They changed it for FM15.

 

[WJ]

Work Ball into Box does affect crossing, actually. They changed it for FM15.

You may be right then. I do remember some talk about it early on, thinking about it now. It used to affect dribbling too, but that was changed again very quickly!

 

[Seano]

Work Ball into Box does affect crossing, actually. They changed it for FM15.

I have noticed a difference in crossing, they tend to pass it around the box instead of whipping it in

 

[Seano]

Just another update.

Tactic so far is working wonders against the bigger teams. So far i've beaten Arsenal 2-0, Man united 3-2.

One thing i've noticed is against similar or lower quality teams, the dropping deep letting them play forward doesn't work, so instead i Close Down More and Push higher up.

Against the bigger teams, i close down less and drop much deeper.

 

[WJ]

Good to hear things are looking up. You do need to react sometimes, as you've found. The weaker teams will happily pass it around their back 4/5 all day if you let them.

 

[BBassic]

This has been an invaluable thread for me as well.

I normally just grab a tactic off the share section and plod along but I want to put a bit more effort in.

This back and forth has had some great insights, so thanks to both of you.

 

[Seano]

This has been an invaluable thread for me as well.

I normally just grab a tactic off the share section and plod along but I want to put a bit more effort in.

This back and forth has had some great insights, so thanks to both of you.

It's an endless learning curve so it's great to have some people to get advice off and WJ has been a great help!

 

[WJ]

It's an endless learning curve so it's great to have some people to get advice off and WJ has been a great help!

Don't underestimate your part in this. Instead of just wanting "do x and y", you sought advice and used your own brain too.

 

[BBassic]

So, I tried last night to put together my own tactic. In a lot of ways its remarkably similar to Seano's. I think a key difference being that my Brighton team are just starting their second season in the PL, having narrowly avoided relegation last time around. My budget is quite small and I'm still playing some pretty good but, ultimately, Championship level players.

This is the formation and TI's I opted for.

View attachment 268961 View attachment 268960

With a Fluid, Counter play style I was aiming to get the team to keep the ball moving around at the back before playing out to the wings. Bernardeschi, the IF/A on the right, would be the main threat, dropping into space created by Boubacar (DLF/A) moving around and pulling players out of position.

Overall I was quite pleased with what I got. Thus far I've only seen it in action against Watford (Away loss, 2-1) and against Man Utd (Home draw, 1-1). In both games our defensive shape was kept solid, the DM/D prowled around in front of defence and we pretty much nullified the attacking threat posed by Man Utd. The problem is in going forward.

There seems to be too much of a gap between the full backs and the wide men up top so I'm wondering if switching the full-backs to wing-backs might be an idea; their mentality being slightly more attacking thus closing the distance when transitioning from Def-Mid-Att.

 

[Seano]

So, I tried last night to put together my own tactic. In a lot of ways its remarkably similar to Seano's. I think a key difference being that my Brighton team are just starting their second season in the PL, having narrowly avoided relegation last time around. My budget is quite small and I'm still playing some pretty good but, ultimately, Championship level players.

This is the formation and TI's I opted for.

View attachment 849711 View attachment 849712

With a Fluid, Counter play style I was aiming to get the team to keep the ball moving around at the back before playing out to the wings. Bernardeschi, the IF/A on the right, would be the main threat, dropping into space created by Boubacar (DLF/A) moving around and pulling players out of position.

Overall I was quite pleased with what I got. Thus far I've only seen it in action against Watford (Away loss, 2-1) and against Man Utd (Home draw, 1-1). In both games our defensive shape was kept solid, the DM/D prowled around in front of defence and we pretty much nullified the attacking threat posed by Man Utd. The problem is in going forward.

There seems to be too much of a gap between the full backs and the wide men up top so I'm wondering if switching the full-backs to wing-backs might be an idea; their mentality being slightly more attacking thus closing the distance when transitioning from Def-Mid-Att.

Let me know how that goes for you.

I'm struggling to get goals now, it's always 1-0 , despite having a lot of chances.
Just got whooped by United 6-2, they had 52 shots , to my 12 lol.

 

[ImAddicted]

I would recommend wingbacks as it allows you to maintain possession as well, but I'm not digging the idea of a wingback + a winger

 

[BBassic]

Let me know how that goes for you.

I'm struggling to get goals now, it's always 1-0 , despite having a lot of chances.
Just got whooped by United 6-2, they had 52 shots , to my 12 lol.

So I had a game vs. Everton last night with my changes and it didn't go exactly as I'd hoped. We were still good defensively but there wasn't much going forward. Saying that we did only lose by one goal, a disgraceful penalty decision. One of those where the FA decides not to fine you!

I'm struggling to get the team to stop punting the ball upfield when there's no-one up there to support the DLF. 'Play out of defence' doesn't seem to do the trick but I'm wondering if that might be conflicting with the 'Counter' style and causing some odd decisions.

I would recommend wingbacks as it allows you to maintain possession as well, but I'm not digging the idea of a wingback + a winger

Good point. I'll try it again tonight with WB and IF instead. With the two IF cutting inside to drop into the space behind the DLF it leaves space for my WB to bomb on up the pitch. I've got a relatively painless cup game against Leeds coming up so good time for some tinkering.