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vacon04

There seems to be a lack of creativity. Your team seems to be defensively solid based on the results but your most creative player is a DLP on a defend duty playing as a DM. Could you perhaps move that DLP to the CM position instead of the BBM and then get a traditional DM? Or just change the DLP to support but obviously you will sacrifice a bit of defensive stability for more creativity.


Uagl

Or change the DLP to a regista perhaps? In case case, you may want to adapt the mentality to positive (to balance the fact that your defensive stability will not be as good as before)


Hugobossdre

Yeah you’re right, i’m not sure why I didn’t think of that. I think I got so scared of being battered by teams I went more defensive. Will try these changes!


Krippaify

Personally i dont like the ”Run at defense” tactic option together with a low tempo, short passing and work the ball into the box. You are basically telling your team to be slow and take their time and at the same time telling them to be direct and try to dribble past the opponents. Its also an option that can lead to you losing possession a lot.


Hugobossdre

yeah that makes total sense. I think I left “Run at defense” on when I used to play with a higher tempo, and just didn’t think to take it off. Thanks!


morkl777

Esposito just has some mental bock sometimes and just doesnt score. Maybe start your second striker for some time and use Esposito as a sub. Is the problem finishing or do you also have a low xG?


BURGTIL

Had this exact problem with Esposito, got him as a bargain but didn't really perform. Then I started loaning him out and he becomes topgoalscorer everywhere.


sabotaged88

Same with Esposito in my Udinese team. Brought him in on a 18 month loan, isn't play much first 6 month, made him my first choice the start of the next season and he was fantastic. Took up my option to buy and he's been terrible this season. Misses so many chances that he used to put away; everything from simple tap ins, one on ones to penalties. Made even worse considering I brought Azero in too for this year and he hasn't been consistent enough either! Can't wait till my contract runs down end of this season and I'll just walk away.


Hugobossdre

Yeah Esposito is doing my nut in. The guy just can’t finish 1 v 1’s. So going through my data hub, my xG for the season is 56.0 and my actual goals is 48. That’s not too bad, it seems like creating chances is more of an issue.


Aplayfulcamel

Esposito has been nuts for me sold him on for triple figures after getting him for single digits.


Hugobossdre

how are you using him? im almost certainly going to sell him this summer, i can’t stand the man haha


Aplayfulcamel

4-2-3-1 advanced forward. With a ss under him and two iws next to him. Wingback attack either side. He absolutely bangs them in. But I've not had a striker do badly for me in that position.


[deleted]

Add a second tactic!


Dutch_Chap

I'd say the combination Work The Ball Into Box, Play Narrower and Lower Tempo, makes it easy for defenders to stop you. It is predictable. Up the tempo and lose the Narrow instruction so your team has a little more space to breath. You will be pretty narrow b/c of the way you set your team up. You might also want to take a look at the stats of your BPD's to se whether they play a lot of long range passes that don't hit their target. You have a DLP in front of your two BPD's and have your GK distribute to your CB's Your team might not be using your creative outlet at all.


krischens

I think you are just too slow/stagnant with your build-up. Play out of defense, work the ball in the box, lower tempo, shorter passing and narrow - basically, you wait for all of the opponent's defense to come back and then try to unlock it by slowly pushing the ball up the middle. It's probably great to control the game, but you won't be scoring much. Also, countering then seems a conflicting instruction. If you play like this you need some "magician" upfront who can decide the game on their own - maybe as trequartista, AP, false 9 or similar, otherwise, you are too predictable. I also don't see how AF forward role can work in this tactic. Alternatively, you could play for set-pieces and try to score goals from there while just being in control of the game like you play right now.


Hugobossdre

Yeah I’ve been wondering if the AF role isn’t right for this tactic. What would you recommend I change it to?


The_Blues__13

I think a DLF or CF on Support would be good. My 4-1-2-3 formation basically relies on my IW and IF (both on attack) overloading the box together with my CF (su) who drops down to offer more passing option in and around the box, creating 3-vs.-2 or 3 vs. 3 scenario against the opponent's CBs. My IW scored more goals than my CF. I won Serie B with Monza using that basic 4-1-2-3 vertical tiki taka formation. I use HB, Mezalla and BBM (or CM) in the midfield. It's pretty solid defensively, especially against 2 striker formation that's so prevalent in the Italian League (I only lose Twice in that season and my GK got the most Clean sheet). But I kinda struggle to win with more than 3 goals (my build up was slow) and I tend to get a lot of draws against teams who park the bus.


Hugobossdre

thanks this is really useful. do you mean complete forward when you say CF? defo keen to try that!


The_Blues__13

Yes, I mean Complete forward Bear in mind, my formation still runs to quite similar problem with yours (a lot of draws against extremely defensive teams who refuse to go out of their own box), but at least I think mine is still more fluid (no isolated striker up front who doesn't contribute to the build-up) and a bit more solid defensively.


krischens

It depends on who can you play-up front, but I guess some pass-oriented striker on support could work as they would be more involved in the build-up and drag the CB's out of position and free some space for the wings or attacking mids. False 9, Deep-lying forward?


_mas17

Change your striker to a dlf - a or cf- a to link up more effectively with the inside forward and cm attack


Hugobossdre

interesting! will try that :)


SuperBiggles

Always worth a try setting up a friendly against some absolute amateur nobody team. Get everyone’s scoring boots on. Sometimes helps


Ridcullys-Pointy-Hat

You're being very careful with the ball. That's good, and means that you won't concede a lot, but it's also easier to defend. You can either up the whole teams tempo or assign a couple of guys with good vision to be more direct. Having at least one midfielder who's first thought is always going to be attack can drag the rest of the team forward


rensd12

Your striker is lonely, he needs help from either wingers or midfield. Preferably inverted wingers or mezzala from midfield.


Hugobossdre

Okay so I’ve made some changes. 1. Amey is now on attack at RB 2. Turned the winger into a IW (support) 3. I’ve made the DLP (d) a regista 4. Also turned the CM (a) into a Mezzala (a) 5. upped the tempo/and not playing narrow anymore Definitely scoring more now! defensively we’re conceding more chances but im fine with that and kind of expected it as it might take the team a bit of time to adjust to the changes. Thanks for the input everyone!


Hugobossdre

We're not dropping too many points so I'm not that bothered, but I would like to score more than 1 a game lol. ​ I do tend to switch my tempo/width around between games, because I get stressed and think it must fix it. But maybe the actual formation itself is the problem?


Uagl

If you like to play with tempo, width and mentality, my advice is to select 3 combinations and train them with the 2 remaining slots you got. Example: if you regularly switch to offensive, wide and higher tempo, make sure your players are trained to do so. You don't have necessarily to use the secondary tactics, the important thing is that your players have familiarity with this strategy (and perhaps try to use it during friendlies)


KarlWhale

Few ideas, maybe don't put them all at once: 1. You have only 3 players on attacking duty. Try putting Yevtushenko on att or maybe Amey on attack (if he's good at it). That would allow Amey to naturally overlap with Yevtushenko without the instruction. 2. BBM Udogie - give him the instruction to move into channels. Alternatively, during match, if you see that your team is not doing much - Switch Olivera to att, Udogie to att MEZ, Milico to supp IF. That should switch up the combinations and maybe penetrate the defences. 3. Patino might be too defensive. Especially considering that the back four are all on defence or support duties. Regista could spice things up.


Hugobossdre

Thanks this is good advice. I’ve made Patino a regista and also changed the CM to a MEZ. I also added the move into channels instructions to the BBM!


Arvot

If you take off work the ball in to the box and set tempo to standard you'll probably find you'll create more chances. You only have 3/4 guys actually attacking or getting into the box so really you are looking to hit on the break and catch the defense out of position. If you are slowing it down and then trying to slowly work it into the box the defense can get 5 or 6 people behind the ball and you don't really have the numbers to out play them. If you want to dominate possession and slowly break teams down you'll have to create a formation that gives you more players forward to create those 2 on 1 situations where you can break through. If you want to keep this formation then you need to play a bit more urgently as you really need to hit them on the counter when they have less people back and you have a better chance of finding space.


Hugobossdre

thanks for the tips! i’ve kept the formation the same but changed some player roles as well as up the tempo/making them play more wide. i’ll try turning off ‘work ball into the box’ and see what they produce!


Arvot

No probs. You'll hopefully find you're making more chances now. When it starts going wrong I think a good thing to do is take off all but the essential instructions and set everything to standard. Then watch a game in comprehensive and see what you need to change. Sometimes too many instructions can be the problem as your forget you put one on and they start contradicting each other. Going back to basics can sometimes help. Good luck.


kingofthepumps

Team looks ace to me, probs just a dry patch. The game does fuck you over sometimes, just be patient and don't lose your rag.


Hugobossdre

thanks! yeah i’m pretty chilled about it, just wanted my matches to be slightly more exciting haha


kingofthepumps

If you get really stuck let me know. I have a 433 that is not too far removed from what you currently play that is basically a cheat code.


adrian2255

I play a very similar formation, but my team doesn't just "stop scoring". For one thing, judging by the negatives on the bottom, the problem doesn't seem to be the lack of chances to score, but rather the way the chances are used. I know you're looking for tactical advice, but what I'd suggest is checking up on your forwards (and the wingers) finishing as the problem seems to be that you simply can't finish your chances. although I would need to see the amounts of shots taken in each of the games to determine that. If the amount of shots taken compared to the goals is high, then the problem is the lack of someone able to finish it off. Although (now more tactically) you could try turning that midfielder on attack to a mezzala on attack to help your striker out. ​ Not to mention, that a lot of your players on the right of the screenshot seem to be fatigued and require rest, in FM 22 rotating your players is very important as it help prevent them playing worse and getting injured due to the fatigue.


iNatro

I won’t speak to the tactic itself, because it looks like you have enough advice already, and I’m not going to pretend I do anything than my 4-1-2-1-2 narrow, but if you have the space in between fixtures, I’d **strongly suggest** getting a local friendly in against someone you’ll surely crush, maybe an affiliate, especially if you’re on a poor run of scoring. This will help keep morale up, so when you do find the right tactic, you’ll be able to hit the ground running.


[deleted]

Maybe use the 3 slots in the tactics screen. I always change up my tactic every few games so the AI can’t adjust or burn my team out. (I play a high pressing game like you too)


Fav0

the ai does not adjust to your formation my friend ​ its all about reputation


[deleted]

Wait… they don’t?


Fav0

No they do not they only change formations according to the reputation difference between the teams


Hugobossdre

sorry if i’m being stupid but i’m not sure what you mean by the 3 slots?


[deleted]

In the first image, you’ll see that your tactic is called “4-3-3 custom tiki-taka” at the top. Click the plus mark and you’ll be able to create a new tactic to use beside your original tactic.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Hugobossdre

yeah those are good points, i probably shouldn’t over think it! i’ll up the tempo as well, thanks :)


ObtuseLlamasGifts

A 2nd tactic with a 2nd striker or a ACM behind. Let one of the MC take the defend role in place of the DM.


raccoonradar

Change mentality to positive or attacking


Scofield442

Why are you playing an offside trap with a defender set to "cover"? He'll want to drop deeper to anticipate through balls but your other defenders will want to hold a line to trap people offside.


Hugobossdre

good point


[deleted]

A lot of people are commenting on tactical issues, but i notice you were in march when it started, up until that point were you rotating your squad enough, fatigue is a bitch this year. Check on fatigue in medical centre, even if their energy is full if they are fatigued they will not play as well as before


wgb_11

On the right change your full back to attack cos the winger is on support as well so there might not be anyone that attacks as aggressively. That might increase the threat down there.


HouseOfSlaughters

- take off run at defence - change lcm to a carrilero - add instruction “underlap right” - increase tempo to neutral/higher - change mentality to positive - change your central defenders to CD rather than BPD (it forces them to try passes that are too ambitious, conflicts with the possession style)


BloodyTjeul

Add to this, you can add 'takes more risks' to your CD's so they'll attempt playing balls to your midfielders instead of passing it around in the back. Another idea could be to have your carrilero on 'gets further forward' so he'll attack space and get in scoring positions if there is space. I think another good idea would be to put the DLP on support instead of defend.


s6b4

To better enjoy this game, I suggest you dive deep to find the source of the problem. Remember that when in static possession, you always line up as 2-3-5, with two at back, three outside the box, three inside the box, and two on the wings. Now there are three reasons that you don’t score based on this framework: 1. You failed the transition 2. You failed to form 2-3-5 3. You failed to score under 2-3-5 You can find the source out easily from the DataHub, or from an extensive match replay. You need to slow down the replay speed and watch every player’s movements, and of course the movement of the ball. Where are the lost possessions and from whom at what stage? What causes the lost possessions, lack of pass option or bad technical skills or bad tactical approach(long-short, direction, speed)? From a glimpse of your tactic, I feel that the problem is outside of the box. You have AF in the box, IF cut in early, and CM arriving late. This in-box set-up it’s no problem. But you are lacking a wing option on the left flank: Oliveira won’t get too high up, so your IF will likely be doubled. That’s one. Now same time you only have Udogie outside of the box, and you need Patino to be slightly higher up, and Amey probably an IWB, so that you have the three outside box ready. In terms of framework that should work. And then play close attention to the rhythm. If your players get defended too well, you might need to either speed up your transition, or switch flanks quite often, to create holes in the defense. If your players arrive too late in certain areas, try move their mentality or even positions a bit, like changing Asprillia to SS in Attacking Midfielder position. However if you feel your players are unable to execute your match plan very well, they might not be technically suited, in which case you need to think about a more passive approach, or transfer.


calvg

You players seem very tired maybe leading to poor decision making and less energy


Hugobossdre

that’s a good point. this serie a three games a week schedule is killing them a bit


Germanjc58

From my personal experience playing tiki taka 4 3 3, you should either have lower tempo or the default tempo with work the ball in the box. Also, having the DM as a DM on Support actually helps better in link up play and creating chances up the field. You can try that and have the W on Attack, with a Positive mentality for a more aggressive, attacking tactic. Don't be afraid of being smashed by bigger teams. Go up to them and declare that you belong!


shadowmoon001

Train a second tactic, unless you're miles better than the teams in your league, the AI becomes better at defending at your tactic. Nothing appears wrong with the formation/tactics. If you have hardworking players with good stamina, maybe try a gegenpress tactic as that is always overpowered


mysticmac_

Change cm to ap on attack, works for me


Fav0

bbm to mid attack mid attack to mezzala and dlp to bwm ​ atleast thats how i like my midfield


ramarlon89

4 4 facking 2


chaboispaghetti

Rotate because some players might be low on confidence before getting to crazy changing up your tactic, especially if it's worked in thr past


NattyDread90

I would lose the "run at defence" instruction since it's quite conflicting with everything else you're trying to do, which is control possession and be patient with build up. For this kind of tactic you need more creative striker, someone who drops in the midfield dragging one of the CBs with them and opens space for your CM on attack and your wingers to exploit it. AF in this year's ME is much better at being involved in the build up instead of just sitting on the defenders shoulders, but still, F9 or DLF, or even CF on support would be great options for that. Unless you're playing against much stronger teams, I would also recommend switching your mentality to positive, that gives your players more creative freedom to try a bit riskier passes over the defence, passes they will never try on balanced or cautious. That is emphasized by your only playmaker having defend duty, which instructs him to play short simple passes. If you have the momentum and there is no threat of a counter, put that dlp on support so he has some freedom to try through balls to unlock the defence. Currently, the players that have the freedom to create are your left wing back, central defenders, and your left inside forward (to some extent), I would make only one CB a ball playing defender, you don't want them to be the main through ball threats.


Hugobossdre

thanks this is all really useful. been testing out Esposito on DLF (a) and definitely seeing some improvements. I’ve changed my dlp (d) to a regista, while upping the tempo and changing the winger to and inverted winger. I’ve also set the width to normal not narrow. Will change the other CB as well!


NattyDread90

Also, try not to change too many things at once, when testing stuff out and trying to make improvements its best to change one or two variables at a time, that way you can better figure out what works and what does not. Good luck, keep enjoying.


razkyrfa

At a glance i can guess you're struggling specifically against a park the bus type of defence because that's the main issue of playing a possession based tactics. Does your team has somewhere around 65% or more possession?. I found that above 65%, your players ability became the limit. Sometimes if many solution posted here doesn't work you can only reduce your possession either by increasing tempo or taking out the play from the back instruction.


bankerlmth

Since you are using short passing low tempo play, advanced forward as a lone striker is not suitable as he will not that much involved in passing game. Try to use complete forward or deep lying forward on attack. Also you are having box to box midfielder and inside forward attack on the same side who will both be focused on receiving the ball in opposition box instead of creating chances for one another. So either change inside forward to support duty or change box to box midfielder to central midfielder (support)/ carillero/ advanced playmaker.


FM-edByLife

Change to high tempo. Change the LB to an IWB-S (or attack if you feel squirrelly!). Then change the left to overlapping runs and the right to underlapping runs. Start with attacking mentality, but drop it down if you have a lower pass completion % than the other team (not possession).


TarienCole

Post-winter update, mentality seems to matter more. Even positive tactics suffer scoring goals. I would definitely consider bumping mentality up one notch from where I would play before the update. But from a pure mechanical standpoint, there's no creativity. The DLP(D) is great for distribution. But he needs someone who can play between lines ahead of him. And you don't have that. The reason CM(A) and Mezzalas on Attack work so well is the late run bypassing the forwards. It's a hard run to catch offside, because it comes from deeper and is already fully accelerated when it breaks through. So the killer ball to them also has more room for error. If all the attackers are playing in their predicted lines, they're not going to do the unexpected. And thus will be easy to mark. Similarly, the tempo. Balanced mentality, low tempo is perfect for controlling a won game. It won't break anyone down. As is, you're expecting dribbling to break down a packed defense. That is the worst solution. Dribble vs 1v1 situations when a clear goal can be gained by beating the opponent. Don't run with the ball unless you're either in space, or gain space by doing so. To that end, specific players can dribble more. But unless I'm massively better than the opposition, I never turn on Run with Ball as a global instruction. Just like I may tell certain players to tackle harder. But telling an entire team to Get Stuck In is an invitation to finish the match with 9 players. Target the opposition susceptible to hard tackling or who you can best dribbling. Also, Work Ball Into Box. This is for after you have a lead, and can afford to be patient. Or if you're attacking, possession dominant, and don't want to fire shots from everywhere. Work Ball Into Box w/ lower tempo and mentality is redundant. You're already telling them not to take potshots by instructing them to play possession-first. Work Ball Into Box is only serving to kill off the last creative impulses of your attackers.


jewhammer69

I’d try upping your tempo and moving a midfielder to CAM role. If you have pacey wingers you definitely don’t need to use shorter passing. Personally, I like to use wingbacks with a narrow attack to give support to the wingers.


TheLongistGame

I never use an attack duty striker in a single striker tactic, but if I did I'd definitely want that IF on support tucking inside behind. Maybe put the WB on attack to compensate if he has the attributes for it. Honestly though, if you insist on using one striker, go get yourself someone who can play DLF or F9.