Long shots

[mu_ichi]

How do I stop my players from launching hopeless long shots whenever they get the ball in the opposition half and wherever they are on the pitch? My winger just tried it from the halfway line with half a dozen open players in front of him.
My team are making 30+ shots per match with maybe half a dozen on target at best.
No change of tactics seems to cure this.
If I dominate a game and the opposition get one or two shots on target, they will score and win 1-0.
My team, all highly paid professionals and several internationals, play like a Sunday League team after a boozy lunch. Strangely, if I let my AM take the match with the same tactics an team selection, they win 3, 4 or 5 nil.
These are the same problems CM03/04 had, which put me off buying the game for several years. I can't believe the coders have still not sorted these problems.
Any ideas?

[Ironside]

Wait for one of these ignorant fanboys to say what they always say best:

"It's your tactic mate"

I posted something similar and even provided a screenshot but they would rather play the game in bliss and put the blame on chinese and tactics lmao.

Edit: http://imgur.com/a/RybcV

One of my recent match and really made me realize how rigged this matches were against you.

I see that you're still playin the demo, that's good, don't even think of getting the full game because that in the picure is what you will encounter game after game.

[Melkai]

It's your tactic mate

[Ariton]

Same problem, so many useless long shots for no reason.

[Agarwaen]

i couldn't agree more, fourfourtwo...

i just won a game vs real madrid, they did 24 shots, 15 on target, but only from distance... i took just one goal...

but myself, i based my game on counter attack, scored 2 goals out of 4 atempts...

just had to ask my players not to shoot often, not to keep the ball, not to play slowly... not to play like many people here on FM who do not understand football...

mu_ichi, the only advice i can give you is not to try to be the best team of the world, just focus on your strength and weaknesses.... if your opponent has a good attack, don't suppose you can score more goals, try to forbid them to score a single one, even if you don't scor yourself... it's ugly, but that's how you win vs barça, real, bayern, etc...

if you become a good player, then you can take more risks, and try something new... it's pointless to shoot often on target if you just shoot from distance, and take a counter attack right after that...

Don't forget to give your players instructions, and not only team instructions... "shoot less often" is a good one for a striker...

[mu_ichi]

Ok, so I,ve had a quick read of all your comments.
Thanks for your responses. I'll take them on board during the game.
Couple of points though.
I've been watching football for 50 years. I do have some understanding of football tactics.
While I understand your points about compressing play, that is not what I'm talking about. At the time, I was counterattacking - passing out from the back. In almost every case, there were players running about open for a pass. On one occasion, the striker was clean through on the keeper, having left the centre backs for dead. This player has been scoring goals for fun for his national team. he was set on shoot less and dribble more (as were most of the others).
On one occasion, my winger received the ball on the halfway line from a counter with four players open in support and the opposition defence adrift. He tried his luck from the halfway line.
You can't blame it all on tactical naivety.
Here's another. An attacking midielder recieves the ball at the edge of the area in the centre. A striker, two wingers and a central midfielder are crying out for a pass. He stands stock still. The opposition central defenders have a sniff and then back off. He doesn't move. A centre back walks up, takes the ball of him and starts a counter attack . The midfielder falls over.
Here's another. Back heeling to a defender from a direct free kick.
Here's another;
The wingers all think they are Garrincha. If you are going to dribble, it always helps to take the ball with you.
The decision making is positively schizophrenic.
That is nothing to do with tactics.

[Agarwaen]

yeah fourfourtwo, you can keep the ball and ourplay your opponent, but for that, you need to have better players ;)

When you fight vs a better opponent, best choice is ALWAYS to let them play and counter attack fast.... That is common in many mnay sports, not only football.... I think of rugby, handball, and even some personal sports like martial arts (judo for example)... When you are weaker, let your opponent do the job, and just concentrate on their mistakes...

The only sports when this strategy does not work are sports where a small advantage can lead to a huge one easily : but thoose are not really common, for it's boring to watch someone loosing more and more without any solution to come back...


If the question is "how to play football when we are better than our opponent", problem is different, and i think there are many solutions :
- Very offensive tactic, betting you'll score quickly one or two goals, then your opponent will need to attack more, and thus will let you more ability to score even more. very risky if your opponent is not that bad...
- controlling the game : don't let your opponent get the ball, he won't score ! but protect yourself against counter attacks with a low tempo game, low defense, high pressing. very safe, but you can't get a frustrating 0-0.... do that in league, not in cups....
- mid approach : if you score quickly, go back to a controlling game, if you take a goal quickly, go back to offensive. the good choice is on which tactic you'll begin ? if you start offensive and take a goal, it's the same tactics than the first one, if you start controlling and score one, it's the same than the second...
- you can even try a counter attack tactics with a very defensive spirit, since bad teams can't usually handle your counter attacks or them holding the ball... and with that, you won't loose the game for sure ! but it will be very boring to watch ;) i like this approach of football if you wanna win titles, especially in champions league if you prepare yourself for penalty shoot-out .... with a middle team, you can be the ugliest team to watch and yet win, like Portugal at Euro 2016 ;)

[Unsaid]

The decision making is simply weird in this game. Even with "work ball into the box" instruction my players still quite often attempt weird long shots with lots of space still in front of them...

[Oggy]

I think the problem is teamwork and it seems your team don't want to pass the ball to each other, as if each player wants to be the winner instead of passing the ball to a team mate in a better position.

It could be tactics, as in what it is you ask them to do, but it also depends how often the players have played with each other and how comfortable they are with the tactics.

This is all assumption cose i can't really know how your game is playing.

[ᴇɪɴᴀᴜɢᴀ]

Putting FM in comparison to real-life players, you see these awful long shots on MOTD a million times pass by. Players have a tendency to overestimate themselves, reflected in FM as well. I think the algorithmic combined factors of hidden mental attributes, overt mental (teamplay related) attributes that cause players to ignore teamplay instructions and think egoistically.
It's basically SI's digital reflection of prima donnas.

If you have a player with low teamwork and/or low work rate, combined with low determination and/or decisions AND low composure, he will be more inclined to ignore your instructions. Best to have him least burdened with instructions, to bring out the best intuitive moves. And sell him.

Work into box, keep possession and refrain from long shots do help, but what you want in the end is players who keep their composure.

[ᴇɪɴᴀᴜɢᴀ]

Originally posted by fourfourtwo79:

Nobody is arguing there wouldn't be stupid decisions and bugs (the biggest issue of the currrent ME aren't even talked about here on those forums).

I wonder why, cause it has been this awful since... 2010?

[Ariton]

Originally posted by Unsaid:

The decision making is simply weird in this game. Even with "work ball into the box" instruction my players still quite often attempt weird long shots with lots of space still in front of them...

You are correct! I can see the same thing, I have work the ball into the box, and my players still try alot of long shots, and its not because of teamwork as Oggy is saying, Im managing Barcelona, they have great teamwork.