clean sheet advise

[JasseBasse]

Hi there,
I have won a (lower) league, some 17 points to second team. And am scoring goals for fun.
But I just cant figure what to do or how to tighten things up at the back. My cleansheets this season were very few and far between. I use 4-3-3 dm wide gegen press positive with 2 CD (def) and 2 IWB (aut). In mid I have DM (de), BBM (su) and RPM (su).
Play Higher def line with Mid Block LoE.

I am really open to Your suggestions, team orders or perhaps player roles/orders.
Big kudos in advance and cheers.

[DeathStroke]

well first things first , how good is your defence and keeper relative to the rest of the league? what kind of goals do you seem to be conceding a lot of ? crosses? through-balls? lots of overlapping one-twos between strikers/attacking mids into the box? do you seem to let in chances at any time ,or say later in the game when your team is tired? figuring out the kinds of chances you are giving up and when will give you an idea of what to do to try and counter it . if you are playing a pretty offensive tactic then you are going to be left open on the counter more compared to a more conservative setup

[JasseBasse]

I seem to concide all kinds of goals. Sometimes from crosses, other times keeper rushes out to punch the ball at the edge, misses it someow and guy standing on the pitch heads it right into empty net, few times screamers from 40 yards away. All kinds. My defence and keeper are probably top of the league. If not the best than some of the best. I do play positive which is a bit attack minded but not all out. What puzzles me most is that during highlights they will all be mine. Then that one comes for AI and it (mostly scores). I very rarely concide more than one goal, had only few where opp scored 2. In one game only I concided 5 but that was a cup game vs top league team (3 divisions up). So my wish is if there is a way to tighten things up a bit. I know that I wont win all games and keep clean sheet every time. But few would be nice.
Cheers

[JasseBasse]

I test-played few matches with "stay on feet" and then "get stuck in", but I didnt really see any difference at all. So now both are ticked off. I dont use tighter marking eighter.
And it puzzles me watching my IW and attacker just walk about instead of closing the opposition down, or track back and help in defence.

[Andy]

I'd try with normal full backs first.
You're 433 would include a DM and 2 CMs so having IWB is pushing them into an area covered by your DM. It's also leaving the wings open to a quick counter.
You can also tell your wingers to man mark opposing DL and RB positions to try and help with your full backs getting overloaded.
High defensive line requires relatively quick CBs too, I'd be inclined to go to normal unless they're quick.
Also how good is the RPM doing? Worth holding them to the position more as a DLP or AP on support. But, it depends how they're doing.
How good as your defence really, Clean sheets only tell part of the story, What was the least goals conceded in the league and how close were you too that? Might not be as pad as you think.

[DeathStroke]

if you are in a lower divisions you do need to accept that your guys are simply going to make mistakes sometimes no matter what you do , as they arent elite level players , so you cant really eliminate all the totally random goals especially since your using an attacking style tactic . I assume you are using counter-press and high pressing? i find that with very press focused tactics my CBs can easily be over-eager and get pulled out of position too often with strikers dropping deep+midfielders making attacking runs , so i like to set them to close down less so they hold their shape and position more and dont get dragged away from the box . using player specific marking in the midfield with your DM can help, keeping their playmaker covered will help reduce the amount of chances they create , or having your box-box mid doing the same .

[JasseBasse]

Cheers! I will switch to FB and see. My RPM actually sucks, regardless whom I play there. At most 3 red sticks, mostly only 2. I was hoping for them to get used to the role and position. I use 3 playesr (switch/rotate between them) who are M/AMC, very good in that position. But, like I said, et 3 and 2 only red sticks for both. Will switch to AP instead.
Perhaps drop defensive line to "normal"? Both my CD are as fast and mobile as Titanic, so perhaps it is good idea to drop down the line a notch.

I also use counter press and hold shape in transition, but dont use ANYTHING at all in "out of possesion" except trigger more press (more often/3 quarters up) and Prevent short GK distr.

[JasseBasse]

Cheers to you both, will try some of your recommendations

[JasseBasse]

I stopped using step up/drop off, Trap inside/outside, and Stop crosses/invite crosses, as after some like 14-15 games none of it seemed to do any difference. crosses till come in regardless, pressing trap did nothing nor could I see anything different with Step up/drop off. So they are all ticked off for me. But I am very curious of Stay on feet/get stuck in? Do they work? Which is "better"? Is Trigger Press ment for opposition keeper only or for the whole team? Just cant figure it out...

[Damedius]

You can check out FM Arena if you want. They give you the top tactics for each FM and each patch. You can study the tactics that conceded the least amount of goals. Maybe find one that is similar to what you are using now.

The only problem is the best time to switch tactics is between season because it takes so long to get tactical familiarity up.

The other thing as others have mentioned is a good goalie and good tall Central Defenders. A really good goalie that is consistent and likes big matches can be huge. Two big Central Defenders that can win headers to keep the number set piece/cross goals to a minimum.

[JasseBasse]

To all you Fellas here who replied:
My deepest gratitude and thanx for your taking time and giving me hints. Perhaps I am only "half way", perhaps I will ask again in the future, but I am greatfull you pointed me in few directions.
Big Kudos and cheers to you all!

[DeathStroke]

Originally posted by JasseBasse:

I stopped using step up/drop off, Trap inside/outside, and Stop crosses/invite crosses, as after some like 14-15 games none of it seemed to do any difference. crosses till come in regardless, pressing trap did nothing nor could I see anything different with Step up/drop off. So they are all ticked off for me. But I am very curious of Stay on feet/get stuck in? Do they work? Which is "better"? Is Trigger Press ment for opposition keeper only or for the whole team? Just cant figure it out...

stay on feet means they will attempt to " jockey" the opposition and hold their ground waiting for the opposing player to try to beat them , rather than committing to making a challenge themselves and diving in. This can be good if your team has low average aggression/bravery or if you are trying to simply hold a lead by defending and packing out your backline. Get stuck in works well in conjunction with a heavy press as you are expecting your team to work aggressively to win the ball back and when you really need to fight for the ball to get the win , this is most effective when you have a strong and aggressive team and good against players who have weak bravery and composure as being hit with hard challenges will rattle their nerves and can injure players with low condition , you will commit more fouls in general though so its a risk vs reward thing , and it also adds to the " intensity " bar . step-up / drop-off simply further enhance a higher or lower line , and arent really needed for a more moderate tactic but only when you want a very extreme setup . It can take a couple seasons of tweaking to get your tactic just right , and find the players that suit it best. Good luck!

[JasseBasse]

Thanx to all your advices guys my defence looks more solid. Yeah, I actually gotten 4 new defenders buit I also got promoted so the opposition is tougher.
However, another puzzlment here, for over a season I asked my players for "cross less" and "Low crosses". Still all I see is "normal/high" crosses whenevr they occur. Obviously I am missing something?
Cheers and kudos in advance and wish you all a great weekend. (And for Spurs to finally win a game! lol)

[Centipede]

In my experience, low crosses = mostly normal crosses and a few lower to the ground, mixed = mostly slow floaty crosses. I prefer low crosses as they seem closer to reality.

About defence, I would try when I am ahead in score to lower the lines, especially if they try to run behind or go direct. I would perhaps lower tempo to keep the ball more. And in the final moments I would go 'play for set pieces+waste some time' and maybe even 'hold position' (avoid breaking formation when counter attacking). Also, removing counter press/counter attack if you use it = players keep shape which can keep clean sheet.

In general, good idea to switch these things only if you are ahead. If you want clean sheets, you can't play the same tactic from minute 0 to minute 94+ without tweaking instructions according to the match momentum (which you can see in the tablet, and you can also keep an eye on the opposition zones of attack).

[JasseBasse]

How can I make my platers to lay more passes in opp penalty area?
Here is what I mean. say 2 of my players arrive in pen area, one in the centre and the other one on one side of the area. He has the ball. Now normally, he would pass the ball to that other player, center placed, with better position. However, my players will always attempt a sgot even though the angle might be very tight. I never see a pass, like IR football. Obviously, again, I am missing something, but cant figure out what it is.
I would appreciate pointing it out to me. Oh, I tried "be more espressive" and even "shoot less often" for my winger guys. It didnt change a thing.
Cheers and kudos in advance.

[Andy]

Individual instructions
shooting = less often
Crossing = cross more often
Passing risks = take more risks (will want a decent passing stat for the league)