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So, I'm new to the game, and after playing around, and liking the challenge of lower league teams, I settled on Nuneaton. My first season was where I got to know my players, made some key signings, established my tactics and training approaches. I finished 3rd, but was somewhat inconsistent due to the adjustments as I got to know my team. I went into season two knowing *much* more about my overall team and approach, and had some key additions which started to come through and for that second season, seemed to dominate more games, even having a 20 game unbeaten streak at one point, however, a late season funk resulted in another 3rd place finish.
What I noticed was that I had a HUGE number of draws, far less losses, and fewer wins. My star players from the first season didn't shine as brightly, but my the overall team talent was stronger. Values for all my first teamers steadily climbed.
The problems I'm looking to solve going into season 3 and looking for tips are:
#1. I dominated most games for posession and shots, but had far too many draws. Too many results were "Nuneaton should have won this game easily".
#2. Set pieces, besides penalties, seem to perform very badly. My chances off set pieces, especially corners seem few and far between, and rarely result in a score. Note, that I had improved training on set pieces for season 2, with little to no positive affect.
So, I'm looking for tips that might move more of the draws to wins in the games that I appear to dominate, which was probably 35 of the 42 games played in season 2. There wasn't a single game I wasn't favored in, so I clearly felt disappointed at 3rd place, and a loss in the final, and yet another failure to promote.
I tend to play a more reserved, slower paced style with counterattacking, and I think that is what turned some potential wins to draws. I'm tempted to open things up a bit, but that slower, reserved approached took me to a 1-2 aggregate loss against a team from 2 leagues above me in the FA Cup, which I was quite pleased with, even though I lost.
When you're starting to get "team should have won this game easily" it's either.
A. Bad Luck
B. Tactics are creating chances, but not any huge goalscoring oppertunities.
C. You didn't win against a team rated worse than you.
However, back on topic.
You say you have a lot of shots, well I'd consider slowing down the pace a little, as players won't create as many chances, but when they do create them, they are likely to score. Make sure you use the opposition instructions (it's key for most defenses)
You should also check your training plan, if you did not create one I highly recomend that you do. Make sure your set pieces men are getting a good training in that and that your strikers are getting good training in shooting.
Then theres also the Set pieces tactis under the tactic section. There you can tell your players what to do during a set piece. What players to aim for and where/what they should be doing. This is especially good for lower league teams as the players don't have the "football brain" of the bigger players.
If you are underperforming, find your captain, or the most trusted player in the team and find the interaction that say "call for a player meeting to discuss team's recent underperforming". That ought to help if the player has enough influence. Make sure the players are mixing well, don't sign too many new players and make sure their personalities are somewhat the same. Too many squad changes makes the team unable to perform well. Defense is often the best offense. If you are tied a defensive tactic is more likely to create a terrific chance for your team than a full front attack (these usually end up with the other team countering you).
Other than that... if theres a clinical finisher in your league try to sign him. Although that might not be necessary. Also make sure your players are happy with the training scheduel or else you're facing poor performances all around.
Thanks for the tips, though I think I have most covered, except setting up my own tactics for set pieces. I'm new to the game, and still somewhat new to soccer, and frankly, when I looked at setting up my own set pieces, I didn't know what I was doing, so left the defaults. I'll look for a guide on Set Pieces and maybe spend the time setting up my own and see if that helps.
As for the other suggestions, I use most every other aspect of tactics, though I need to do more with Opposition Instruction as I currently only make adjustments for those scouted as the star player in the default scout next opposition.
I have the players assigned to corners/freekicks/throw-ins all training set pieces to a good level and that's where I hoped for better play off a dead ball, but it just didn't work out that way.
My strikers appear to have finished more poorly in season 2 with percent on goal down a bit, and alot less goals from them, so maybe I need to revisit their training, though season 2 was the first time I implemented my own training, and my striker training focused on attack, shooting, aerobic, etc, which looked important for a good striker.
Interestingly, looking at final league player stats, I had 3 of the top 5 dribblers, but hardly anyone high up in the percent shots on goal, so maybe I'll adjust my training a bit to balance the two better.
Something I have found is that if you have quick strikers, with a great finish, who are not scoring its best to play to there strengths and add threw balls into the mix. This way it will make the most of there advantages and will create more clear cut chances for you, rather than half chances. It's like all things tactic related, just general logic.
Looking for tips 
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