Tactical advice

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jameslufc

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Hi guys,

I've just been promoted to the Premiership with Leeds playing a 4-2-3-1. I was playing with defensive mids for most of the season but when we were struggling towards the end of the last season I pushed them forward to MC positions which worked better. However, I am struggling with this in the Premiership and am conceding a lot of goals. Looking at the analysis in the game most of the goals I am conceding seem to be coming down the middle.

Here is my tactic and instructions:
View attachment 115912

View attachment 115911

Can anyone give me any advice?
Thanks
 
With two attacking wingers, you're effectively playing 4-2-4 here, and your Box-to-Box Midfielder will vacate the middle when he pushes forward so your Deep-Lying Playmaker has a lot of defensive work on his hands. I think the 4-2-3-1 works when you're among the strongest teams in the league, but as a newly promoted club you need to start from the back. I'd go back to 4-3-3 with either a Defensive Midfielder or Ball-Winning Midfielder in the DM role and, ideally, a Complete Forward up front. Work on a 4-4-2, as well, so you can change things up mid-match when you need to.

Have a look at Julian Brandt from Bayer Leverkusen, if he hasn't already been snapped up by a bigger club. He's an excellent young player and he will fit into your system, whether you decide to take my tactical advice or not.
 
Thanks for the advice mate, I'll give the 4-3-3 a go. Any ideas regarding mentality or team instructions?
 
I noticed you play structured. Basically, even the assistant should warn you that you have a gap between your defence and midfield...ideally, it's a fluid formation....
 
jameslufc said:
Thanks for the advice mate, I'll give the 4-3-3 a go. Any ideas regarding mentality or team instructions?
Click to expand...

I prefer CONTROL and STRUCTURED to begin with, because it leaves you somewhere to go if you want to switch to a more attacking stance - say, during the period of the match when you know the opposition are most prone to conceding goals - or more defensive, when you want to defend a slim lead at the end of the match.

If you're going to put a DM in front of your central defenders, that will provide cover for one of your full backs to operate with the Attack duty. Ideally, you want the winger ahead of him on Support and the team instructed to Look for Overlap. Keep the opposite winger on Attack so crosses will find him if the striker doesn't get it.
 
Yes - that's almost exactly the formation I used when I won the Championship with Aston Villa, with 106 points (I should temper that by saying they had been relegated the season before and selling all the want away players left me with about £90 million to build the new squad). The only difference is that I usually had the CF on Support duty, which meant that he covered a lot of the ground that you'd usually expect to see a No.10 occupying.

So, you have your left Inside Forward stepping in-field to create space for the overlapping Full Back - who is, in turn, covered by the presence of a Defensive Midfielder. The right back is on Support duty so he will get forward when you are dominating possession, but he also provides a balance to your team that counter acts the fact that your left back will sometimes go to the opposition byline. The fact that the right back is not attacking gives the right winger licence to go and get it done in the final third, safe in the knowledge there's a colleague behind him should he lose the ball or need to lay it back.

You have two creative midfielders in the M(C) line whose roles are going to discourage them from taking long shots, so they're all about feeding the ball to your more dangerous players. Consider:

- Retain Possession (team)
- Play Out of Defence (team)
- Exploit Left Flank / Right Flank (team)
- Switch Ball to Opposite Flank Often (PPM for AP & DLP)
- Tries Killer Balls Often (AP)
- More Direct Passing (DLP)

If you are going to start retaining possession and playing out from the back, then instruct your Goalkeeper to roll the ball out to your full backs and to take fewer risks - so your team's moves start as you mean them to go on. I like my lot to Get Stuck In, too; I just accept the large yellow and red card count - it helps to rotate the squad, anyway.

Last thing; now that you've sorted out the roles of your four wide men, think about their individual crossing instructions. They are each going to be crossing from different areas of the pitch, so where do you want them to cross to and who is going to be in a position to get on the end of them?
 
TACTICAL VARIATION

I have been able to switch from the 4-3-3 formation above to a 4-4-2 with just one substitution by building my squad with these stipulations:

- 2 players per position, plus...
- 1 x False-9
- 1 x Target Man
- 1 x Attacking Midfielder R/L/C
- Complete Forward must also be able to play as an Advanced Forward
- Defensive Midfielder (or Ball Winning Midfielder_DM) must also be effective in the M(C) position
- Wingers must be effective in both the M and AM positions

...buy them that way or train them up while they're still young enough to learn.

The AF plays on the shoulder of the last man and the F-9 feeds him with Direct Passes to run onto. The team still has four wide men so you're still looking to retain possession and to get the ball wide for crosses. If you think you've got an advantage in the air over the opposition defence, that's when you bring on the Target Man - either to knock the ball on for your Advanced Forward or to take his place as your most advanced striker.

Another thing to consider with the 4-3-3 formation. The presence of the DM takes some of the burden off your two central defenders. If one of them is particularly good at Man Marking, you can nullify the threat of the opposition's main striker by assigning him to do just that. Favours a strong defender with the Stays On Feet (or whatever the correct wording is) and strong Anticipation, Tackling and Marking attributes.

When you're protecting a lead, switch everyone to defensive or supporting roles (ideally, whichever they are best at) and tell them to DEFEND / STRUCTURED and to Waste Time. Shut that ***** down!
 
Why do you have the full backs on auto? Not saying that this is bad only wondering whether you know what this means

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
 
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