Midfielders don't defend

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@Piccolo_Demigais wrote:

I've been exploring this double teammate press and I think I understand now how the devs want the user to play defence.

Basically it is a key feature and not an optional way of defending as one could may think initially.

If you hold R1 once a teammate will track the player who has the ball. If you press it twice 2 teammates will track the players who DON'T have the ball, effectively cutting the most dangerous passing lines for the AI. However you have to time it well since doing it too soon or too often will drain your players stamina.

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I tried this, and you're right, it *largely* works.

*largely* because... I still have another problem. If the opponent has the ball in or just outside my penalty area, double-press R1 will just cause my back four to move out of position because my 2 CDMs (whom I want to be the ones tracking) aren't anywhere near the penalty area.

My 2 CDMs simply don't track back. I can manually pull one back but ( a ) I won't be able to control the defender defending the ball, ( b ) the other CDM doesn't track back and ( c ) once I switch control, that CDM whom I've been trying to pull back then moves upfield again...

I play 4-3-3 ( 3 ) and ironically, the midfielder who DOES track back is the CM (who isn't defensively great) but the 2 CDMs will somehow naturally be ahead of that CM (and the ball).

I tried all sorts of custom tactics but can't seem to do anything about the CDMs' behaviour.

100% agreed.

The double tap R1 is not totally reliable because of what you expose.

Another situation like this happens with the full backs. For example, if playing 4-4-2, if the opponent has the ball between the RB and the CRD (center right defender) you have to handle the CRD to cut passing lines or defend the goal. The RB will stand there idle and when pressing R1 sometimes is the CLD who comes to press instead of the RB from behind, which leaves an enormous gap in the center of the box.

So yeah, even though you can try to defend as best as you can with these mechanics, sometimes you concede goals in which you are helpless with the controls and the total lack of AI support.

The frustrating thing is, some of the human opponents I played against, their CDMs DO defend. They do position themselves behind the ball, and pack their penalty area alongside the defenders. But no matter what I tried, I just can't effect this, short of manually pulling one back. Tried asking but noone wants to offer any advice.

I can't help feeling like, while some of us have been here complaining about this issue, there are those who know how to get this to work properly, silently reading our posts, thinking to themselves "these know nowts", sniggering, and then beating us game after game...

Either that or maybe CDM coming back to defend is a paid DLC feature. Maybe if I spend enough on EASFC points, there will be an additional player instruction for CDMs to actually come back and defend...

Its not so much that the custom tactics don't make a difference, but rather (or worse), they work in quite ridiculous ways (to me).

For example...

Setting defensive style to "drop back" in a bid to get my 2 CDMs to fall back behind the ball when defending. What REALLY happens is that, well, my CDMs STILL doesn't fall back. Instead, when my opponents have the ball near the edge of my penalty area, my entire back4 falls back all the way to near the goal area, effectively giving my opponents free long shots on goal. Same for when I set my defensive depth to below 30.

Another example...

Setting "forward runs". The forwards end up going on ridiculous blind runs whenever I get the ball, in the way that there's simply no way I have an angle to pass to them. Better to set to balanced and then use L1 to manually trigger runs.

So, yes, custom tactics do make a difference, but in ridiculous ways that I don't intend. (Or maybe its just 'cos I don't pay for packs...)