Not performing against smaller teams

[Tmel]

I'm in the middle of a good yet frustrating third season with Fulham. We're in the Premiership and sitting in 3rd with a very young, talented squad. The frustration is that we're so inconsistent and are continually dropping points against teams low down the table. Our record against the top 6/7 has been absolutely superb but then we're going and dropping ridiculous points against strugglers. Occasionally we'll dominate these games and just not be able to put the ball in the net but more often than not, we just don't turn up.

I know that having a young squad and especially rotating it against smaller teams will cause dropped points from time to time but is there anyway to improve against these teams? I've tried a variety of team talks, usually being aggressive or assertive that I expect a win but it's not really helping.

 

[WJ]

I'm in the middle of a good yet frustrating third season with Fulham. We're in the Premiership and sitting in 3rd with a very young, talented squad. The frustration is that we're so inconsistent and are continually dropping points against teams low down the table. Our record against the top 6/7 has been absolutely superb but then we're going and dropping ridiculous points against strugglers. Occasionally we'll dominate these games and just not be able to put the ball in the net but more often than not, we just don't turn up.

I know that having a young squad and especially rotating it against smaller teams will cause dropped points from time to time but is there anyway to improve against these teams? I've tried a variety of team talks, usually being aggressive or assertive that I expect a win but it's not really helping.

Team talks aren't going to affect games that much. Your issue will be tactical. You'll need to be more patient against packed defences and provide decent movement, like strikers pulling wide or dropping deep with others moving into that space etc.