retired_lanebo

I usually have a hard time when I am underdog and the oposition play "a defensive 4-4-2 and counter attack" plus "possession football game". My usual style is the lowest notch of normal team mentality, higher notch of mixed passing, higher notch of tempo and first notch of deep defensive line, plus counter attack ticked, but this just don´t work. Any suggestions?

retired_aries

Well put Cleon :thup:

Tweeking CAN be easy, so long as you get a grasp of the cause & effect of the changes you make.

I don't tweek too much when I have a strong team, but when playing as smaller and weaker teams, I still don't tweek that much, but do understand that some well timed changes can make a big difference.

retired_FaultyFate

Well, since it is supposed to be a discussion, here is my approach.

Before game
Check weather and adjust passing, tempo, closing down, and width if necessary. If my players are not 100% fit (second game in 3 days) and weather is goin to be nasty, then relaxing closing down and playing more conservative overall seems reasonable.

Imo scout report is more useful when I want to counter opposition. If I am sure I can beat them playing my style I don't bother adjusting my setting based on the report. But I always read it to make sure I don't miss something important!

Opposition instructions.

I almost always close down wingers and show them on inside foot. If opposition has a leader MC (DM, AMC) who plays as a playmaker - close him down as well. Big slow TM - close down and tight marking. If I am going to play very aggressive I may close down FBs as well.

In Game

Not too much to say here. If AI subs winger, I go to opposition instruction and close new winger down. If I see one or both my wingers constantly outrun opponents - focus passing to that or both flank. If wingers are outrunned by opposition - focus passing through the middle. See a lot of through balls or balls over my DCs - lower Def Line a bit. I may reduce or increase the tempo if I see a lot of passes to no one or see lots of no pass situations.

I totally agree with Cleon in one thing - no tweaking necessary if you see what you expected. Even if I am down 1 goal but I see my team creating chances etc. I won't do a single tweak until maybe 87 minute, where "all out attack" may help sometimes. No comment like "AI changes to 4-2-4" will make me tweak unless I see something dangerous. Hence the only problem - you need to see. But then again - do you know any manager who can manage anything without seeing or understanding what's going on?

retired_aries

If all is going well during a game, I will sometimes tweek a little to "go for the kill". This sometimes helps me get my bigger wins.

I don't neccessarily go for a more direct or attacking mentality either, I usually go for shorter passing and slower tempo and keep hold of the ball. Late in a game, the AI team can still be chasing you around trying to close down. As they tire and make more mistakes, so the chances come. :thup:

I get alot of late goals by holding onto the ball, surprisingly when the more "natural" approach, as IRL, seems to be to go more direct with higher tempo.

Yvonne

Great thread Cleon, If you ever need any help with your threads just give me a shout.