c0nk3r

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Can't seem to get a tackle in. Aggressive pressing, getting stuck in, sitting deep, staying on feet, marking tighter, any combination of these fail to give the desired outcome.

The AI tackles my players really easily. Whether it was a timed tackle after careful marking, or it was a last ditch tackle from the "fullback that left a gaping hole in the back but somehow managed to get back in time", they will make the challenge and succeed.

My defenders though, looking at the ME, they will close the players down, but refuse to make a tackle (or are unable to). The opposing player will dance past them (if they're a winger/am/striker) or they will turn around, back to goal, and hold my player off till support arrives.

I want to believe it is a tactical issue, and it probably is, but right now I've tried all possible permutations of the defensive instructions and have not come up with a solution.

Could use some help :(

I didn't back this up with screenshots because this transcends formations lol.

As for who I'm managing, it's Man United. And this is happening against most teams in the EPL.
 
Can't seem to get a tackle in. Aggressive pressing, getting stuck in, sitting deep, staying on feet, marking tighter, any combination of these fail to give the desired outcome.

The AI tackles my players really easily. Whether it was a timed tackle after careful marking, or it was a last ditch tackle from the "fullback that left a gaping hole in the back but somehow managed to get back in time", they will make the challenge and succeed.

My defenders though, looking at the ME, they will close the players down, but refuse to make a tackle (or are unable to). The opposing player will dance past them (if they're a winger/am/striker) or they will turn around, back to goal, and hold my player off till support arrives.

I want to believe it is a tactical issue, and it probably is, but right now I've tried all possible permutations of the defensive instructions and have not come up with a solution.

Could use some help :(

I didn't back this up with screenshots because this transcends formations lol.

As for who I'm managing, it's Man United. And this is happening against most teams in the EPL.


What's your squad moral like? I was having this problem myself and I got out of it by only picking players on form (even if they were not as good as other players) and trying to simply my instructions, looking for draws rather than wins to build confidence.
 
this is where things like bravery, aggression etc might come into it.
 
What's your squad moral like? I was having this problem myself and I got out of it by only picking players on form (even if they were not as good as other players) and trying to simply my instructions, looking for draws rather than wins to build confidence.

Interesting. My squad morale is at Fairly Good I think (not sure now, at work, probably that or one level lower). Team cohesion is strong according to my assistant manager. I've got a couple of players that are really on form, but I don't like to play players that are under 93-94% condition so typically no one plays 3 games a week. Maybe I'm too hard on my players? I tend to get aggressive when they draw or lose even if they did so unluckily. I mean, we're Man United after all.
 
this is where things like bravery, aggression etc might come into it.

Sure, but my defenders tackle poorly even when matched against opposition attackers. The match analysis shows that I'm tackling less than the opposition in almost every game I play, even when I set tackling to hard and closing down to much more.

Maybe my players are just caught in possession too often? I've tried all the tempo levels with short/mixed passing to try and get more control of the game, but my maximum possession is around 55% and most games it's under 50%, regardless of the score.
 
Interesting. My squad morale is at Fairly Good I think (not sure now, at work, probably that or one level lower). Team cohesion is strong according to my assistant manager. I've got a couple of players that are really on form, but I don't like to play players that are under 93-94% condition so typically no one plays 3 games a week. Maybe I'm too hard on my players? I tend to get aggressive when they draw or lose even if they did so unluckily. I mean, we're Man United after all.


I make a general rule of never criticizing my players if the reason we drew/lost was of a piece of opposition brilliance.
Sometimes shocks happen even when you were the better side and didn't do much wrong.

Check your tackling stats. If it's less than 70% I'd have some concerns but it might just be that you're only seeing the missed tackles since they led to highlights; whereas your team is making loads of excellent tackles, which are not highlight worthy.



Also: "I mean, we're Man United after all" is an extremely dangerous attitude to have. In 2012, Liverpool finished 2nd and hired Roy Hodgeson... Liverpool didn't do exactly kick on and win the league because of their namesake. A team is only worth their reputation if you're winning. Unless you're winning, Machester United is just the name of a team... nothing more.
 
I make a general rule of never criticizing my players if the reason we drew/lost was of a piece of opposition brilliance.
Sometimes shocks happen even when you were the better side and didn't do much wrong.

Check your tackling stats. If it's less than 70% I'd have some concerns but it might just be that you're only seeing the missed tackles since they led to highlights; whereas your team is making loads of excellent tackles, which are not highlight worthy.



Also: "I mean, we're Man United after all" is an extremely dangerous attitude to have. In 2012, Liverpool finished 2nd and hired Roy Hodgeson... Liverpool didn't do exactly kick on and win the league because of their namesake. A team is only worth their reputation if you're winning. Unless you're winning, Machester United is just the name of a team... nothing more.

Thanks! I'll check the tackling stats when I get home. From what I remember when I watch the match though (I watch in extended), I'm conceding plenty of shots (and highlights) to the opposing team due to
1. closing down, but not tackling, meaning a gap has been created where my player vacated

2. closing down, and diving into tackles, but opposing players ride them and continue on their merry way unopposed

3. not closing down/tightly marking, and opposing team passes their way into my net

4. tightly marking an opposition forward, who, regardless of off the ball/pace vs my CB's positioning/anticipation, can peel away from him like a banana. Like a ******* banana.
 
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1. closing down, but not tackling, meaning a gap has been created where my player vacated

2. closing down, and diving into tackles, but opposing players ride them and continue on their merry way unopposed

look at your player and see if they have acceleration adn pace.
Closing down as a defensive system only works if you can get to the player before he's gotten the ball under control. Especially if the opponent has good dribbling and acceleration as if you don't get there in time, he'll just knock the ball past you. If they're keeping the ball by the time you've gotten to them, it's too late. They've the ball under control; you've missed the window "pressing" is effective during.

It's like trying to lob the keeper. You've a small window to do it until it's too late. Once the keepers back on his line, you've missed your chance.
Same with closing down, if the opponent et's the ball under control, you've missed your chance, now you're in a one-on-one situation with the opponent in possession and you've a hole in your defense that they can exploit.

3. not closing down/tightly marking, and opposing team passes their way into my net

I'd need to see it to know what's happening since there's too many variables.

4. tightly marking an opposition forward, who, regardless of off the ball/pace vs my CB's positioning/anticipation, can peel away from him like a banana. Like a ******* banana.


Agility, flair and balance are what would affect a strikers ability to peel away. Off is how a player will move in relations to where the ball is without actually having it: Think of a player moving into channels or picking which attackking lines to run when looking to receive a pass/cross.
 
look at your player and see if they have acceleration adn pace.
Closing down as a defensive system only works if you can get to the player before he's gotten the ball under control. Especially if the opponent has good dribbling and acceleration as if you don't get there in time, he'll just knock the ball past you. If they're keeping the ball by the time you've gotten to them, it's too late. They've the ball under control; you've missed the window "pressing" is effective during.

It's like trying to lob the keeper. You've a small window to do it until it's too late. Once the keepers back on his line, you've missed your chance.
Same with closing down, if the opponent et's the ball under control, you've missed your chance, now you're in a one-on-one situation with the opponent in possession and you've a hole in your defense that they can exploit.



I'd need to see it to know what's happening since there's too many variables.




Agility, flair and balance are what would affect a strikers ability to peel away. Off is how a player will move in relations to where the ball is without actually having it: Think of a player moving into channels or picking which attackking lines to run when looking to receive a pass/cross.

So generally, an aggressive pressing game should pair best with a tight marking scheme? This means that each player has less time on the ball before someone comes and closes him down. The flip side being that once you regain possession, all your players are very close to the opposing players as well.

For point 3, what I meant was I would play a deeper defensive line, stand off and sit back, and allow them to attack the box and commit players before countering at pace. STILL, players find space to run into where space is at a premium.

For point 4, I was referring to a striker peeling away from the defender to receive a pass, so there's definitely some off the ball there? My point is, the defender cannot adequately tightly mark the striker, whether it's Sergio Aguero or Danny Graham. Either he tightly marks and the striker peels away from him into space, or he doesn't tightly mark, and the striker moves into the channels to receive a peach of a through ball.
 
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