Team can't create chances or score goals

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Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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Far from an FM noob, played the last 6 religiously and never had any problems. Started with a Frankfurt saved and got battered every game, no matter the formation. Now moved onto Celta in Spain and my team creates so little chances it's unreal. Not just that, they don't score! I've had 12 1-0 defeats in 34 games this season, despite playing quite an attacking formation (4-2-3-1, I've since switched to this one below).

They've made the new game so complicated with regards to tactics and it's making the game far too complicated.

What am I doing wrong? As previously stated, i've had no tactical problems in previous versions of the game but i' at a loss on how to fix this.

The games included in my screenshots are some of my most recent.

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It's not that the tactics are complicated. Far from it. It's just that the AI is somewhat competent these days.

The common theme from the screenshots showing limited stats, is that your shots don't seem to be quality shots. You often have more than half the shots off target and you seem to struggle to create CCCs, which I do realise is not the best stat to rely on anyway, but there are other stats missing here.

Take a look at the shots they're taking and who is taking them. At the same time, look to see if there was someone very close who would have been a better passing option. If not, that's the issue then.
 
Finally someone who posts screenshots!! :p

I have a some ideas as to why your team may be creating so little in the way of decent chances.

1) You're playing with a "Standard" mentality. Regardless of what formation etc, the purpose of this mentality is that the team will weigh up the game very carefully without risk for the most part. I would usually only use this setting to see if the opposition can consistently challenge me, to give the team a bit of a breather OR if I am defending a lead of 2 or more for the last 10 mins or less.

2) You're playing this cautious game with a very narrow width, which is possibly leaving you wide open to counter on the wings when you do lose the ball and not allowing you to stretch the opposition when you're in possession.

3) You're encouraging your team to play the shortest passes possible within a mentality which is already very cautious. This means that although you have the tempo set slightly higher, your mentality and range of passing is limiting your teams attacking intent. As a result you'll probably find that while your team moves the ball around swiftly enough, they're probably playing more sideways and negative passes, as well as having to dribble some of the distance towards the players they're passing to(Due to the extremely short passing)

4) Along with your short passing and cautious mentality, you're using the setting "play out of defence", which is another cautious setting in the match engine. This is where you instruct your team not to bomb the ball forward from the back. However with the settings you have already selected, I would deem it unnecessary as your team will naturally not be looking to do that.

5) Given all of the above, the team is not being encouraged to take many risks and to remain cautious on the ball. In spite of this you have the "Roam from positions" setting selected. This could leave many players out of position when the team does eventually loose the ball(due to overplaying most likely). These players being out of position on such occasions could be responsible for some of the goals you're conceding.

Hope that made sense and helps in some way.

Another point I would make on a more positive note is that Celta are not exactly one of the better clubs in spain, so being in 11th in March is really not that bad.
 
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I don't have an abundance of pace nor height, but got some very good dribblers. So what you're saying is that my team are overplaying it? How can I rectify this, whilst also playing a passing game?

The reason for playing so narrow is because I have my inside forwards to go narrow to provide space for WB's bombing forward.
 
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum said:
I don't have an abundance of pace nor height, but got some very good dribblers. So what you're saying is that my team are overplaying it? How can I rectify this, whilst also playing a passing game?

The reason for playing so narrow is because I have my inside forwards to go narrow to provide space for WB's bombing forward.
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1) Change the teams mentality to control or attack
2) If you change it to control, choose between a normal and high tempo. If you choose attack I would keep it to either a normal or low tempo as the players will always be looking to play the ball forward because there is almost no time-wasting allocated to that setting. This should allow you to hopefully retain some control over the game while still looking to be more attacking minded.
3) If your team has pacey defenders, I might leave the defensive line on high in either setting. If not you'd be better to play a normal defensive line and leave less space in behind them

Those are the main things I would suggest. With the inside forwards/wing backs combination, personally I would stick with normal and set the inside forwards themselves on narrow and the wing backs on wide. I noticed another potential problem just now as regards to your team playing with a fluid shape. In my eyes, this would greatly reduce the need for you to have "Roam from positions" selected as the players are already being ordered to participate in more phases of play. I would either change the team shape to flexible or de-select the "Roam from positions" option.
 
From the last SS you posted of your tactic, you've too many playmakers/creators in one time. 2 BPD's, a RPM, an AP and even your CF will look to create chances. Too many chefs spoil the broth and all that jazz. Also, the tactic you’re using is a difficult one to master and implement in this version. IMO, you should strip it all back, make the tactic a lot more simple. Have a clear idea in your head how you want to play. Don’t have as many TI’s on. Choose your mentality based on your opponent, watch the highlights on comprehensive at least, be reactive, add your TI’s as you go, tweak player roles to get the desired effect. The tactic will develop organically. Personally, this is the only way I have been able to outsmart this year’s very competent AI. It may take a while, 10 or so games but there is no quick fix this year it seems! Good luck mate, hope it helps!

 
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum said:
Altered it slightly to a much more attacking formation versus the team bottom of the division and still a complete lack of opportunities created. The front four are more than capable of creating chances and even finishing them, but no matter what tactic I go to, nothing changes.

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2 things.

Why do you have Look for Overlap selected? What do you expect to happen with it?

Did you look at the quality of the shots yet?
 
WJ said:
2 things.

Why do you have Look for Overlap selected? What do you expect to happen with it?

Did you look at the quality of the shots yet?
Click to expand...

Encouragement to get forward? That appears to be working as far as I can see too.

Yes, the quality of shots are poor. My ST only managed 1 shot, IFL managed 5, 4 of which off target.
 
Gonna echo what some others have said, but....

Playing short passing with high tempo is difficult. Its asking the players to make a good decision as quickly as possible, and you need high level players to do it effectively, consistently. So dropping that was definitely a good idea.

Minimize the Team Instructions. In many cases, you are taking things to an extreme. Retain Possession shortens passing, so also adding Short Passing just makes it moreso. Like others have said, create the shape and the formation, and then use TIs as tweaks. Having 10 TIs isn't tweaking - its trying to use them to create the tactic. But you need to fully understand what you are trying to accomplish with each one and what affect it has. If you haven't tried to play the tactic without a TI, how can you really know what effect that TI is having?

Having really short passing means you always need to give your players options. You want to play out of your defense. So say one of your defenders gets the ball.... who can they pass to? Well, you have all three attacking midfield players on attack duty, so they will be high up the pitch. You have two DMs, one of which is a legit passing option. But if its a wide defender who has the ball, the RPM might not be close. So they pass sideways to another defender or backward. Your defenders who make penetrating passes to the attacking strata. Your RPM may not if the gap between the DM and AM strata is too big. So the ball doesn't move forward with intent.

Where is the support coming from? There are no runners between levels. No one moving late toward the box unless its a fullback (out wide so only so threatening) or the RPM but I doubt he does that very often. So when your attacking quartet have the ball, they will have limited options. Hence they take shots from bad angles or pass the ball back where the DMs and defenders are further away from being a threat.

WJ has a really good point - what is the purpose to the overlap? What are thinking it adds to the attack? So the FB pushes up, past the IF.... to what end? He either crosses or passes. But to whom? You have a single forward, who is rarely going to win an aerial duel against two or three defenders. As a Trequarista, he wasn't looking to get the ball onto the goal as much either. Your AP won't be getting in there for a cross that much. Your opposite IF might get in there sometimes, but are they an aerial threat? So if the FB with the ball up high can't cross effectively, who can he pass to? Back to the same IF. He won't have other options as a pass inside to the CF or the AP is likely risky and gets cut off. And what does the IF do with the ball? He probably shoots and from a bad angle, if his passing options inside aren't ideal. The overlap can help create threat but it has to be threat that you are set up to utilize or its a waste.
 
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum said:
Encouragement to get forward? That appears to be working as far as I can see too.
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So why not give them an Attack duty? Even as it is, the WB/S will overlap anyway without the instruction. You're asking your IF/A players to do is sit narrower, deeper and hold up the ball more in addition to the WB/S getting forward earlier. Are you aware of that?
 
I'll second what W.J has said:

The "Look for Overlap" instruction is exactly as it sounds. It doesn't effect a full backs willingness to get forward at all. It encourages the wider players in front to sit narrower and hold onto the ball until the overlap becomes possible. I generally try to find another way to encourage overlapping as part of my tactic rather than having the whole team slow up their game to allow it become the main threat in the tactic.
 
Clince121188 said:
It doesn't effect a full backs willingness to get forward at all.
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It does encourage fullbacks to make more frequent runs forward, but it also affects the 2 wingers, which is why I asked the question.

If all he's after is the wingback getting forward (which a WB/S will anyway) there's always the option of turning one or both wingbacks to a WB/A.
 
WJ said:
It does encourage fullbacks to make more frequent runs forward, but it also affects the 2 wingers, which is why I asked the question.

If all he's after is the wingback getting forward (which a WB/S will anyway) there's always the option of turning one or both wingbacks to a WB/A.
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I guess it does in a way encourage the wing backs to move forward as that is what the team is then waiting for to happen. I'm definitely in the camp of not limiting your team in such a way though .
 
Into a new save, started keeping things simple in my tactical outlook.. same problems. Can't find a balance, even if I go attacking the opposition scores more than me. Go more defensive the opposition wins by a goal.

What is the best way to set your team up in a 4-2-3-1? Playing with two inside forwards on attack, who just don't seem to be able to get into the box very often. Began watching games on extended to find out problems but very little becoming clear.
 
There's no best way to set up a formation. It heavily depends on who you are managing and the players you have.

If you're going to have both IFs on Attack, you're going to need to create space for them to attack into.
 
WJ said:
There's no best way to set up a formation. It heavily depends on who you are managing and the players you have.

If you're going to have both IFs on Attack, you're going to need to create space for them to attack into.
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And how is this best done? Besides having pass into space selected.
 
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum said:
And how is this best done? Besides having pass into space selected.
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Pass Into Space doesn't create space.

You need to decide what to do with the Striker and the AMC. They need to pull defenders somewhere, be it by dropping deeper or pulling wide.
 
Think i've sorted it now to be fair. Won the last 5 on the trot including games against Lazio and Milan away.

Stuck with 4-2-3-1 on control, but have changed passing from short to more direct and experiencing much more success with it.
 
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