Please give an opinion on my tactics!

[Jamesveekay]

Hey guys, I'm just gonna post my current squad and tactics, so tell me what you think! I'm following the format of the sticky. It's gonna be a long one because I'm trying to include as many things as possible, so bear with me if you wanna read. If you don't, that's ok too!

CLUB: DERBY COUNTY (Not according to pecking order) (Players who can perform in that position but won't actually be played much there will be in brackets)

GK: Lee Grant, Scott Carson
DL: Stephen Warnock, Paul Dummett, Craig Forsyth
DR: Cyrus Christie, Jesus Gamez, Chris Baird
DC: Jason Shackell, Richard Keogh, Raul Albentosa, Alex Pearce, Jamie Hanson, (Chris Baird), (Jesus Gamez)
DM: George Thorne, Will Hughes, Chris Baird
MC: George Thorne, Will Hughes, Jacob Butterfield, Craig Bryson, Jeff Hendrick, Andreas Pereira, Bradley Johnson (may be leaving), (Tom Ince (it says as MC he's awkward but he's pretty good in AP role))
AML: Andreas Pereira, Craig Forsyth, Johnny Russell, Tom Ince, Andreas Weimann, Giorgos Samaras
AMR: Tom Ince, Andreas Pereira, Johnny Russell, Andreas Weimann
ST: Chris Martin, Charlie Austin, Johnny Russell, Giorgos Samaras, Mason Bennett

1. TACTICAL SETUP

Formation: 4-1-2-3 DM Wide
Mentality: Attacking (considering switching to Control or Standard as we're in the PL now)
Team shape: Flexible
Roles and duties:
GK - Goalkeeper (D)
DL - Full Back (Au)
DR - Full Back (Au)
DCL - Central Defender (D)
DCR - Central Defender (D)
DM - Deep-lying Playmaker (D)
MCL - Advanced Playmaker (S)
MCR - Box-To-Box Midfielder (S)
AML - Inside Forward (S) / Winger (S/A)
AMR - Inside Forward (S) / Winger (S/A)
ST - Advanced Forward (A) / Poacher (A)

Team Instructions:
Play Out Of Defence
Run At Defence
Exploit The Left Flank
Exploit The Right Flank
Look For Overlap
Play Wider
Be More Expressive

Player Instructions: (I'll only list those I've given extra instructions besides what their roles already specify)
DM-DLP(D): More Direct Passes
MCL-AP(S): More Direct Passes
MCR-BBM(S): Get Further Forward

Player Preferred Moves:
RAUL ALBENTOSA: Tries To Play Way Out Of Trouble
CHARLIE AUSTIN: Tries To Beat Offside Trap, Plays With Back To Goal (idk if this is bad or not), Tries First Time Shots
CHRIS BAIRD: Stays Back At All Times, Does Not Dive Into Tackles
MASON BENNETT: Gets Forward Whenever Possible, Runs With Ball Often
CRAIG BRYSON: Runs With Ball Through Centre, Gets Into Opposition Area, Plays Short Simple Passes, Places Shots, Arrives Late In Opponents' Area
JACOB BUTTERFIELD: Shoots From Distance
SCOTT CARSON: -
CYRUS CHRISTIE: Runs With Ball Down Right, Gets Forward Whenever Possible, Runs With Ball Often
PAUL DUMMETT: Stays Back At All Times
CRAIG FORSYTH: Runs With Ball Down Left
JESUS GAMEZ: Gets Forward Whenever Possible, Avoids Using Weaker Foot (Left - Fairly Strong), Dives Into Tackles, Tries Long Range Passes
LEE GRANT: Avoids Using Weaker Foot (Left - Weak)
JAMIE HANSON: Gets Forward Whenever Possible, Curls Ball
JEFF HENDRICK: Places Shots, Arrives Late In Opponents' Area, Does Not Dive Into Tackles, Likes To Switch Ball To Other Flank
WILL HUGHES: Runs With Ball Through Centre, Plays Short Simple Passes, Dictates Tempo
TOM INCE: Places Shots, Attempts Overhead Kicks, Cuts Inside From Both Wings, Runs With Ball Often
BRADLEY JOHNSON: Shoots From Distance, Shoots With Power, Argues With Officials
RICHARD KEOGH: Dives Into Tackles
CHRIS MARTIN: Gets Into Opposition Area, Shoots With Power, Argues With Officials
ALEX PEARCE: Plays Short Simple Passes, Marks Opponent Tightly
ANDREAS PEREIRA: Shoots From Distance
JOHNNY RUSSELL: -
GIORGOS SAMARAS: Knocks Ball Past Opponent, Tries To Play Way Out Of Trouble, Runs With Ball Often, Cuts Inside From Left Wing
JASON SHACKELL: Does Not Dive Into Tackles
GEORGE THORNE: Runs With Ball Through Centre, Dictates Tempo, Stops Play
STEPHEN WARNOCK: Runs With Ball Down Left, Gets Forward Whenever Possible, Dives Into Tackles, Does Anything To Get Booked (Not actually there but seriously, he does)
ANDREAS WEIMANN: Moves Into Channels, Places Shots, Knocks Ball Past Opponent

2. It's my second season as Derby manager, and I just got promoted from the Championship to the Premier League.

3. Media prediction: 14th, season hasn't started yet

4. TACTICAL PLAN (I'll answer the points in the sticky)
- Either Charlie Austin or Chris Martin would be expected to score most of the goals, with a few coming from the two Inside Forwards (any of Ince, Weimann, Russell, Pereira, or Forsyth) as well as the MCL and MCR when they burst forward, maybe from long shots or if they manage to get inside the opponents' penalty box. Pereira is a good free-kick taker, so maybe he'll contribute a few from free-kicks as well.

- Assists are expected to come from the two MC's by through balls or lobs, or by crosses from the four wide players, or to a slightly lesser extent, dead ball situations.

- I like to defend with a higher line, but not too high as it will leave way too big of a space in front of my goalkeeper. I also like to press and close down the opponents more, but I don't know if that will also leave the marker's post unattended that another player can exploit it. So basically, what I want to achieve, though I'm not too sure how, is to leave as little space as possible for the opponents to exploit. I've seen way to many cases in real life where the defender got too aggressive and became out of position. I also don't like offside traps, as it has a big risk that if the attacker beats it, only the goalkeeper is left to defend. Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher pointed this out perfectly in how Manchester City won't defend inside the box as their back four always stay at the edge of the penalty box. I prefer defending positionally (is that a word?) correctly and just let the linesmen do their job.

5. ISSUES
- My full-backs sometimes don't return quick enough, that the opponents can sometimes exploit that unattended post and catch us on the break.
- I don't really know the proper way to position my players during corners and free-kicks, when both defending and attacking. This translates to many chances wasted and many goals conceded through them.
- We sometimes lose possession too easily, either by failed attempts to beat a man, or by being closed down.



For those of you who managed to read all of it, congratulations and thank you for sparing your time to read! I hope I can get a few comments to fine-tune my tactics to improve the team's game. Thank you!

 

[WJ]

I haven't gone through it all in great deal as it's a bit all over the place and you don't seem to have a starting 11 either. I do have a few questions and comments for now though.

- Why have you settled on an Attacking mentality?

4. TACTICAL PLAN (I'll answer the points in the sticky)
- Either Charlie Austin or Chris Martin would be expected to score most of the goals, with a few coming from the two Inside Forwards (any of Ince, Weimann, Russell, Pereira, or Forsyth) as well as the MCL and MCR when they burst forward, maybe from long shots or if they manage to get inside the opponents' penalty box. Pereira is a good free-kick taker, so maybe he'll contribute a few from free-kicks as well.

So you're using Inside Forwards (on Support) here? Because you have Wingers in both duties listed too. It's confusing.

Sounds like most of the scoring burden is on the ST. He's going to have to fight for space around 2 centrebacks and possibly a DM too. How do you think he'll cope in a 1 v 2 or 1 v 3?

If you're expecting crosses to come in, you're expecting the single striker to win aerial balls against 2, 3 or 4 defenders? Are the strikers capable of doing that?

- Assists are expected to come from the two MC's by through balls or lobs, or by crosses from the four wide players, or to a slightly lesser extent, dead ball situations.

Box-to-Box midfielders don't really do that. The AP/S will though, but again, you're expecting the ST to find space among 2 or more likely, 3 defenders.

Are all 4 players aiming for the lone ST? Who else is getting into the box regularly to get onto the end of them? Are you expecting these players to win the aerial battle against Premier League level defenders?

5. ISSUES
- My full-backs sometimes don't return quick enough, that the opponents can sometimes exploit that unattended post and catch us on the break.

They have attack duties. You're asking them to bomb forward the minute you get the ball. They can't get back quick enough because it's not humanly possible.

- We sometimes lose possession too easily, either by failed attempts to beat a man, or by being closed down.

If your players aren't great at constantly beating their man, it would make sense to have them do it less.

Just remember, you're using an Attack mentality. It's very quick tempo, high paced game that needs players to be capable of making decisions very quickly. They may not have options (or struggle to see them) so they maybe are getting caught on the ball that way?

 

[Jamesveekay]

I haven't gone through it all in great deal as it's a bit all over the place and you don't seem to have a starting 11 either.

I actually do, just that I didn't specify. Here they are:

GK: Lee Grant
DL: Paul Dummett
DCL: Jason Shackell
DCR: Richard Keogh
DR: Jesus Gamez
DM: George Thorne
MCL: Will Hughes
MCR: Jeff Hendrick
AML: Andreas Pereira
AMR: Johnny Russell / Tom Ince
ST: Chris Martin / Charlie Austin

Besides AMR and ST, when everyone's fit, that's pretty much my preferred starting lineup.

So you're using Inside Forwards (on Support) here? Because you have Wingers in both duties listed too. It's confusing.

Sounds like most of the scoring burden is on the ST. He's going to have to fight for space around 2 centrebacks and possibly a DM too. How do you think he'll cope in a 1 v 2 or 1 v 3?

If you're expecting crosses to come in, you're expecting the single striker to win aerial balls against 2, 3 or 4 defenders? Are the strikers capable of doing that?

The roles and duties in the game aren't that clear-cut as their names, I've noticed. A support role doesn't mean you don't take shots, just that you prioritise making chances to the main goalscorer. However, if an opportunity presents itself to them, such as if they are at the end of a cross or a through ball, they will take it. That's also why I actually prefer playing an Inside Forward to a Winger, especially if his stronger foot is the opposite of the flank they play in, so that the lone striker isn't too lonely, since a Winger tends to stay on his flank. When a cross comes from the right side, for example, there would be at least 2 players in the box: the striker and the left Inside Forward. The Box-to-box Midfielder, and sometimes the Advanced Playmaker, would also be able to provide support. Even the the left full-back might sometimes join in. Of course, I might give a Winger role in some cases, for example, if the opponent is playing with a Wing Back. The Winger would be able to hold off the Wing Backs and give our overlapping Full Backs all the time in the world to do what they have to do with the ball. These are all based on my observations during the first season, by the way.

Another observation is that the space behind the striker isn't always empty. My Box-to-box Midfielder is given the Get Further Forward instruction, so in attacking situations, he is often the "hole player" just off the striker. This is another reason why the Inside Forwards are on Support duty. With an Attack duty, their target would immediately to attack the box. With a Support duty, however, they still hang around the edge of the box, providing options to the man in possession. Again, this is an observation from last season.

Of course, I've set up a 2-striker formation in case my opponent have a good defence or is planning to play negatively, but that's a discussion for another day.

Box-to-Box midfielders don't really do that. The AP/S will though, but again, you're expecting the ST to find space among 2 or more likely, 3 defenders.

Are all 4 players aiming for the lone ST? Who else is getting into the box regularly to get onto the end of them? Are you expecting these players to win the aerial battle against Premier League level defenders?

As I've stated above, the roles and duties aren't as clear-cut as they say. I think the descriptions only state what their main assignments are, but that doesn't mean a Box-to-box won't find that killer pass nor does it mean a Central Defender won't lob the ball straight to the striker running past the opposing defenders nor does it mean a Winger won't try to win the ball back by hassling the man in possession. You get my point.

The fact that I'm playing a lone striker doesn't mean he's the ONLY outlet to score goals, it just means he's the main goalscorer, the best finisher of the XI. As I've said, a cross may land on the feet or head of the striker or the opposite Inside Forward, or even the Box-to-box surging late into the box.

They have attack duties. You're asking them to bomb forward the minute you get the ball. They can't get back quick enough because it's not humanly possible.

This is one aspect I always get confused by. What does Automatic mean? Does it follow the flow of play? Or does it follow my mentality (i.e. Defend if Counter or below, Support if Standard, Attack if Control or above)? If yes, then that kind of explains it. Please explain that to me, I really don't know. Then, should I change it to support? Defend sounds too negative and I don't want my Full-backs to just sit and wait for the opponent to attack.

If your players aren't great at constantly beating their man, it would make sense to have them do it less.

Just remember, you're using an Attack mentality. It's very quick tempo, high paced game that needs players to be capable of making decisions very quickly. They may not have options (or struggle to see them) so they maybe are getting caught on the ball that way?

You have a point there. That's why, and I've stated this many times, that I think I might need to change to Control or Standard.

Thanks for replying! Sorry if I sound so defensive in some parts, but I don't want to blindly follow what others say, either. I'd prefer to take advice with a grain of salt, but I really do appreciate you giving me some pointers.

 

[WJ]

The roles and duties in the game aren't that clear-cut as their names, I've noticed. A support role doesn't mean you don't take shots, just that you prioritise making chances to the main goalscorer.

A Support duty's... duty is to support play. They'll still make runs, but just be more selective about it whereas an Attack duty... attacks, so will pretty much bomb forward - Eng and Treq excluded, as they're more akin to a Support duty.

Another observation is that the space behind the striker isn't always empty. My Box-to-box Midfielder is given the Get Further Forward instruction, so in attacking situations, he is often the "hole player" just off the striker. This is another reason why the Inside Forwards are on Support duty. With an Attack duty, their target would immediately to attack the box. With a Support duty, however, they still hang around the edge of the box, providing options to the man in possession. Again, this is an observation from last season.

If you can delay the ball enough, you may just get players in the box for those crosses, because as I said, the Support duty players will just be more selective with their runs and in a lot of cases, make them later.

As I've stated above, the roles and duties aren't as clear-cut as they say. I think the descriptions only state what their main assignments are, but that doesn't mean a Box-to-box won't find that killer pass nor does it mean a Central Defender won't lob the ball straight to the striker running past the opposing defenders nor does it mean a Winger won't try to win the ball back by hassling the man in possession. You get my point.

Isn't this obvious? You can see on a player's PI screen that (for a B2B, for instance) he doesn't have Fewer Risky Passes enable by default and More Risky Passes is also available. That means that he will still play that killer ball on occasion.

The fact that I'm playing a lone striker doesn't mean he's the ONLY outlet to score goals, it just means he's the main goalscorer, the best finisher of the XI. As I've said, a cross may land on the feet or head of the striker or the opposite Inside Forward, or even the Box-to-box surging late into the box.

Yeah, as I said, if you can slow play down enough, you'll get into positions with the Support duties keeping up and in positions to make dangerous runs. If you're doing that, then that's great.

This is one aspect I always get confused by. What does Automatic mean? Does it follow the flow of play? Or does it follow my mentality (i.e. Defend if Counter or below, Support if Standard, Attack if Control or above)? If yes, then that kind of explains it. Please explain that to me, I really don't know. Then, should I change it to support? Defend sounds too negative and I don't want my Full-backs to just sit and wait for the opponent to attack.

Automatic duties follow your Mentality, so for an Attacking mentality, they'll have Attack duties. Counter, Standard and Control will see them have Support duties. You're better off just setting whatever duty you need yourself though.

Thanks for replying! Sorry if I sound so defensive in some parts, but I don't want to blindly follow what others say, either. I'd prefer to take advice with a grain of salt, but I really do appreciate you giving me some pointers.

No by all means defend something if you have reason to. Explain it. It gives us a better idea of your thinking behind decisions and also, remember, you're the one seeing the players in action so it helps. It also helps you think it all over. You can discover mistakes by just trying to justify and explain it all, so it really helps everyone. That's exactly why I ask these questions. I don't ask them because you've done something wrong, necessarily.

 

[loklokno123]

I am using Derby as well
Currently 6th in Premier League in the third season
i could promote in the first season but i tended to say in Championship because i wanna build a stronger squad in order to have better chance to stay up in Premier League

Lee grant and carson is not good enough IMO

i like putting George Thorne into DM and as Half Back to help the team build up from the back
Will Hughes as AP(S/A) or Hughes as DLP and Andreas Pereira as AP(S)

Cyrus Christie is a beast
i put him in support duty
DR ->FB(S), DL->(A) rather than FB(A)

When defending corner i put i am 2 DC into Far post and Near Post(6yard)
and DR DL DM man marking
AMR/L Near and Farpost
one player edge of area and 1 player stay up

For mentality i prefer Control and Fluid (sometimes standard)
personally i dun like Be More Expressive as your players arent good enough for flair and vision?

 

[Napolitano]

I've got my tactics, the same is 41221, here is a picture, try it with my tactics and let me know how you're doing. because all you think you should have it changed my tactics in this, try it with her and tell how you're doing.

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