Silverx

My home form is superb - 5 wins out of 5 with only 2 goals conceded. However, away from home I've only won 1 in 6, having conceded 7 goals.

I have, potentially, a title-winning side (having finished 2nd last year).

I'm playing a flat 4-4-2 which is quite attacking at home, but away, I go slightly more defensive and try and play on the counter. I'm also playing slightly narrower and slower.

Nothing I do seems to work away though - several times I've gone ahead only to lose the lead late on in the game.

Any ideas?

Fluorine

I could do with slightly more information yet seing as for some odd reason I'm not that good at home but pretty good away I think I should be able to help you out.

One essential thing is the team talk. Unless you are say man utd against say kidderminster harriers grannies reserves, then you probably shouldn't say in your teamtalk "I expect you to win" when away from home. The squad would feel you are expecting too much of them and would therefore crumble under pressure most probably. Usuaally the better option is "Wish the team luck for the match ahead".

As for formations and what not, I personally use exactly the same tactics both home and away and my performances don't seem to be that different from each other. I use like you a flat 4-4-2 and am slightly defensive both times, possibly due to the fact I'm in a higher league because I didn't try this before, but since I began using it I was on the verge of relegation and ended up surviving comfortably.

The possibility may be that you are getting slightly unlucky and the other teams are just playing well, or it may be that your formation is not a good one to face up to the opposition formation.

Another thing you could do would be instead of adjusting team instructions, adjust instructions for individual players and change to a more defensive formation. One simple thing I tried instead of a 4-4-2 was in a league cup game away from home against championship side millwall I switched to a 4-1-3-1-1 formation, and I won the match 1-0 even though Millwall didn't play that badly (I'm in charge of Lincoln City who I got promoted to League 1).

I personally don't think the width should make any difference but it depends on the squad you have. If you have a big target man upfront and want to counter attack then using two wingers to push up in a counter attack and whip in crosses could get you an extra goal you need. Also the tempo you use wouldn't really matter either - but playing with a slow tempo and trying to counter attack doesn't work extremely well - because you would probably be using short passing and not moving especially fast - therefore causing your opponents to get organised in time before your counter attack can be at all successful.

If you are leaking a lot of goals, you could always try using a sweeper...

Lot of things to take on but I hope they will help you out. However since I don't know what quality of team you are using some people may disagree with what I say as I am inexperienced with using the better teams

Silverx

Everyone is telling me to play in the same way as I do at home, but that doesn't work at all - my team always underperform away.

It's now 25 points from 27 at home and 10 points from 30 away. I've tried, quite literally, everything but nothing seems to want to work. It reached a new low when I lost my first game in 8 to 19th placed Norwich, inevitably, away.

Amaroq

Yeah, "the same at home as away" isn't right.

"Slower" doesn't sound quite right to me for a counter. I tend to play a little more up-tempo, with passing more direct, on the counter.

My away formation is very defensive in positioning, not just relying on the natural "counter" but utilising "barrows" to encourage guys to really fall back, which invites the other team in even more. Then, when we regain possession, my players spring forward, with direct passing moving it up the pitch very quickly; I often wind up in five-on-four situations (2 strikers, 2 wingers, MCa or AMC against their flat-four). Most of my goals score on the break.

What you're doing with the slow tempo is giving the other team time to regain their shape and set up defensively.

Silverx

Ok, I'm going to try to do that. I've always liked the idea of a direct counter-attack, kinda like the way Reading play irl - defence to attack in seconds and strength in numbers at all times.

Presumably barrows on the wingers and full-backs?

Doyley

I think you should just try using the tactic that you use for home games in your away games as that tactic seems to work for you.

When im managing a team, no matter who it is I almost always use the same tactic for both away and home games as the players get more used to it. My tactics are usually very attacking and I dont I do just as well in my away games as my home

Silverx

Well that worked well (the direct approach) - I'm 2nd in the Prem travelling to 17th placed Leyton Orient. I lose 1-0. Conclusion? My team can't play away.

Silverx

Eventually found a formula that worked - just playing quite defensive but direct and just tearing teams apart on the counter - ended up winning the title as a result.

This year though away from home I'm facing problems again. Teams have sussed that out and are playing defensive at home now and the counter-attacking tactic no longer works since it relied on the opponents attacking. I've tried to attack more but that either results in no chances being created or if I go too far, the opposition score anyway. Any ideas as to how I should get wins away from home?

My thinking is that I *could* go attacking at the start, hope my quality tells, score, and then change to counter-attack. However, this is very risky and relies on me scoring first - if the opponent scores, I've lost the points.