Away From Here

The trouble with FML, or perhaps the skill with FML is being able to work out if something you have done has lead to good results, whether it's coincidence, good luck or actually a beneficial change made by yourself.

I go through little fads and superstitions where I do the same kind of tactical changes each match, completely convinced this is what is causing me to win games without really knowing if this is the case.

Anyway, I still think I have somewhat cracked away results so i'm going to explain how and see if it works for you ! I've just won 7 games in a row away from home with ease and the FA results were generally favourable over the last few runs.

First off I have finally got round to setting a captain after 2 years as per oh my captain

When picking a captain I think you want a trade off between influence and average rating. There's no point picking a player with high influence if he plays bad every game. I also don't like picking strikers as they tend to rate badly if they don't score. I therefore try and pick a player with decent influence who plays consistently well - I prefer a midfielder as they are generally less prone to erratic ratings. Since setting my captain I don't think I have lost a game - coincidence ? Unsure.

**assumptions**
This applies to 433, I have no idea if it works with other formations. It also requires players that are fit, good stamina, and have pace/acceleration. As per my recipe for success blog a few weeks ago
**assumptions**

Moving on, the first thing you need to do is sort your opposition player instructions. You should be doing this EVERY game be it home or away. I wasn't going to mention this, but i'm convinced this works or then again it could be one of my fads. I used to spend some time checking the dangermen of the opposition before each match and setting instructions appropriately. But this is too time consuming so I have simplified this and apply generic instructions instead.

Wait for the opposition manager to submit their team, do not kick off yet. Set opposition instructions to show all of their offensive players onto their weaker foot. So if they play 433 then set it on all the forwards, if they are playing 442 then set it on the forwards and the wingers. Just use your common sense here. If you are absolutely convinced you are going to lose, then consider hard tackling someone who is a major threat - but be careful with this. Simple!

So you should be doing that every game anyway, but definitely for away games. Now when you go into an away game you need to adjust your mindset. You are not trying to win this game, you are going into the match trying not to lose it. In reality, doing this will lead to more wins.

If you have tried playing a defensive tactic on FML you will probably be aware that it's suicide and doesn't generally work very well so we need to play defensive, without playing defensive. You know those annoying matches when you're the better team and they suddenly score out of nowhere? Well this is what you are going to do.

It's fairly simple, you need to stifle play, break everything up, stop them being able to play. As they are the home team, and your not playing attacking this generally leads to more counter attacking opportunities.

I always start with 'standard' strategy and would not recommend playing anything else in away games.

So you need to break up the play - Before the match kicks off, set hassle opponents, play narrower and pump ball into the box. This will generally stop most teams play and restrict chances - it doesn't matter if your not creating anything at this stage.

You need to actually watch the game properly to identify how to change things, but you can kinda do this by looking at match stats if you are lazy. By about the 20th minute if you are creating chances and your players are finding space then change pump ball into box to run at defence. This generally results in one of your strikers getting on the end of a loose ball or running through the entire team and scoring with your first attack. Hopefully the pace will shine through and your players will be able to break from midfield.

If you are still getting outplayed at this point then drop your MC into DM (again, assuming your playing a flat 433) My MC is 'red' in DMC but he does just fine there.

As the match goes on if you are still drawing then all is good, remember you are not trying to win the game. Stick with pump the ball into box if your not finding any space - it doesn't matter if you have good jumping players or not for this to work. However, if you do find that too many balls are being aimed for the head and your not winning the battle then you probably want to take this off. You can try pass to feet if you like, but I just normally leave it on default.

I'd also suggest having your centre mids on long shots sometimes - This way you always have a chance of getting that BS out of nowhere long shot. Don't go OTT though, maybe 1 or 2 of them if they are decent in the attribute, the last thing you want is dozens of shots flying over the bar from 40 yards.

Now if you are playing a weaker team and you find you are generally dominating then you can try switching to control strategy late on in the game - never before the 70th minute, but continue to play narrow etc - it's counter intuitive I know.

You should have fit players so you can usually get away with hassle opponents from start to finish. Even if you are losing out head for head in the condition stakes it doesn't really seem to make a massive difference. If you are winning then take this off for the last 10 minutes to save condition and to try and protect your players from injury. If one of your players takes a knock and loses condition and you don't want to sub him them go into individual player instructions and take closing down off for this player.

Some of your players are likely to to have fitness issues, especially with knocks taken into account so don't be afraid to use substitutes. Just throw some more pace on after around the 65th minute in midfield and attack.

Assuming your are playing 433 as mine is set up then you should consider rotating your strikers during the match if one is playing poor. In my 433 the FCC is the goal scorer so if he is averaging <6 then I swap him with one of the others who are averaging better meaning he is less likely to fluff his chance. I suppose this is a general tactical point rather than an away tactic mind.

If your still getting well beat in the match, then there's nothing you can do about it, it's one of those games. If there is something you can do, please let me know.

That's about it I think! Let me know if it works or if it's just one of my pointless rituals i'm doing every game for no reason.