Possession problems

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Ranger81

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New to these forums, so forgive me if this is the wrong question for the wrong thread!

I am using a 4-1-4-1 DM Wide tactic (attacking mentality, flexible shape. It's more of a 4-1-1-3-1 at times), scoring a decent number of goals and conceding very few (two in seven, having a DM as oppose to a deep lying midfielder makes all the difference as I was losing goals at an alarming rate pre season). My team instructions are:

Possession - Retain, short passing.
Penetration - Exploit middle, play narrow, much deeper defensive line
Defensive - Close down more, stay on feet
General - Be more disciplined

Problem is, my players seem to take 'retain possession' to the extremes and are caught dithering in possession far too often. Both goals I have conceded have been the same thing - defender takes possession and instead of hoofing it clear (which they often do, even though they're not instructed to) he stands still and ultimately gets the ball nicked off him and makes no attempt to win it back. The rest of my team chase (?) the guy with the ball but do nothing to try and get it off him (often until he's in the penalty area when they decide to clatter the guy rather than stay on their feet. Thankfully, I have a good GK).

Any idea how to subtly explain to my defenders that, if someone's coming towards them, they should probably think about doing something with the ball to get it out of harms way at ALL times? Likewise anyone else who gets dispossessed and thinks it's someone else's job to get the ball back?
 
with much deeper defensive line he is possibly cut off from midfield, and could use a bit more direct passing to get the ball to them...or you could increase the defensive line so he plays closer to them...he probably doesnt know what to do with the ball since you ordered him to retain it and pass shorter and there is nobody near him...his individual mentality can be to low so he looks for the safe pass, or to high so he hoofs it up...
 
Last edited:
Ranger81 said:
New to these forums, so forgive me if this is the wrong question for the wrong thread!

I am using a 4-1-4-1 DM Wide tactic (attacking mentality, flexible shape. It's more of a 4-1-1-3-1 at times), scoring a decent number of goals and conceding very few (two in seven, having a DM as oppose to a deep lying midfielder makes all the difference as I was losing goals at an alarming rate pre season). My team instructions are:

Possession - Retain, short passing.
Penetration - Exploit middle, play narrow, much deeper defensive line
Defensive - Close down more, stay on feet
General - Be more disciplined

Problem is, my players seem to take 'retain possession' to the extremes and are caught dithering in possession far too often. Both goals I have conceded have been the same thing - defender takes possession and instead of hoofing it clear (which they often do, even though they're not instructed to) he stands still and ultimately gets the ball nicked off him and makes no attempt to win it back. The rest of my team chase (?) the guy with the ball but do nothing to try and get it off him (often until he's in the penalty area when they decide to clatter the guy rather than stay on their feet. Thankfully, I have a good GK).

Any idea how to subtly explain to my defenders that, if someone's coming towards them, they should probably think about doing something with the ball to get it out of harms way at ALL times? Likewise anyone else who gets dispossessed and thinks it's someone else's job to get the ball back?
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Generally if you play with a possession strat you have to start with distribution out of defence.

so you GK should distribute short, and so too your defenders.. less creative midfielders should "play less risky passes" and ask your wide players to shoot less. Additionally, you should play with a DM which prioritises in recycling possesion: short passing and (if vision is less than 15) less risky passes

team instructions: At first do not add an instruction for team shape so don't ask them to play narrower and you should play out of defense. Also maybe don't ask your team to exploit middle just yet, because it depends on opposition. I recommend you should leave that off for now or maybe try to exploit flanks.

You should remember too that shorter passing does not guarantee more possesion, because this depends highly on the players in your team.
 
Thanks for the replies - I hadn't really considered individual mentality as a possible reason why players often don't know what to do with themselves, so I think I'll unselect retain possession. I have a couple of decent players in the middle (Ian Black DM and Lewis Macleod doing a great job as roaming playmaker and chipping in with a few goals) so I thought exploiting that would be of benefit, but my best attacking options are my advanced three. Some good points there.

aswm - I find that short passing works great for possession, and I also notice that my players take free kick opportunities as a chance to get the ball moving instead of blasting it high and wide for a goal kick (which usually falls to a confused defender).
 
and don't forget the more fluid the team shape the more your players we'll try to get the ball forward faster.
 
I had been playing fluid but switched to structured once the errors became even more evident, not that it made much difference. Wish I could recreate mt '06 4-4-2 but don't have the players.
 
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