What would be really interesting to see is to what extent the meta tactics can be subtly tweaked to reach parity with my home tactics away, as well as to destabilise my defensive formations at home. In a multiplayer game, you'd ideally end up matching each other iteratively, in effect recreating something like the tactical cycles we see in real life.
This is the truly interesting aspect of FM! Not creating 1000 more variations on the same highly unrealistic, formulaic and exploitative approach.
I usually play against 16 teams in a league I've set up myself, using top-ranked meta tactics and some proven tactics I've created myself (all set at balanced mentality, since no tactic that's not meta-esque can compete across home and away if it is not at balanced). 3 teams are sacrificed, and are simply AI (in 50 seasons, no promoted team has ever stuck around for a second season).
So, I think I've more or less solved the problem you've got (since I win the league 2/3 times despite not having the best squad or using fancy set-piece routines - I play with athletic Bilbao). Thing is, there is no simple recipe for success. You will need to become a sophisticated in-game coach, and deploy 5-10 tactics! These should involve 4 main tactics (1 aggressive tactic used exclusively for home games (positive or attacking mentality, with positive usually being the best option), 1 balanced mentality tactic that keeps the ball but does not focus on getting it into the box, 1 outright defensive or very defensive one to be used away from home against tough competition, 1 meta-esque tactic used to simply mirror the opposition when you're unsure about what to do), and further variations on those 4 (varying the extent that you keep the ball or focus on counters, etc). It's wise, moreover, to add a specific tactic to be used late in games when you're down by a goal or two.
At home, the best approach is usually to overload the midfield, and actually play possession football at positive mentality (don't be afraid of channeling play into the middle of the pitch, or trying to get the ball into the box - meta principles do not apply here). A libero (or sometimes two), I think, is a must. Complete wingbacks, I've found, should usually be employed: you want either no wingers at all, or wingers who focus on supporting the midfielders. Again: you need to keep the ball. The meta is lethal at counterattacks. Often, the best approach is a narrow width with roaming wide players. I've found multiple distinct tactics that consistently outperforms the meta at home, and more or less all of them follow this pattern. It is worth keeping in mind, though, that non-meta FM tactics aren't very robust; you need to create a tactic of your own, using the particular set of players you've got, and explore the match engine's parameter space. Just pick the same team you play with online, and start a career with it using the set-up I've described. Then, when you face the most challenging opposition available, you save the game, and play dozens of matches (go on vacation for a day, vary the tactical set-up, repeat). It's important, in my experience, to focus on how the defensive line (including the obligatory libero) interacts with the defensive midfield (or, the most defensive part of the central midfield; there really are workable tactics that do not include defensive mids). You need a platform to work from, so I suggest the following starting point: CWB on attack - BPD on cover, libero on defend, inverted fullback. That's sort of my vanilla set-up, and please note that much stranger combinations can work. Lastly: avoid advanced forwards like the plague (too aggressive, too little creative contribution), and opt for pressing forwards, poachers, target men, complete forwards or (sometimes) false nines.
Away to a really good team possibly superior to your own, the fine details matter a great deal. There is no single tactic that works against all meta tactics: good defensive tactics are non-robust. I've created fine-tuned defensive mentality or very defensive mentality tactics that work for the top 5 meta tactics currently around (but note that "work" here isn't to be interpreted as "routing them 3-0" - you should realistically aim for parity away from home, and an advantage at home). Again, you need to experiment with your own players. A few pointers, though: 1.) again, you should keep the ball, playing out from the back (and often avoiding countering yourself), 2.) you should overload the midfield, as in the home tactic, 3.) you shouldn't drop low, but you shouldn't be pushing your backline forward aggressively either; a standard line usually works best, 4.) some time-wasting should be employed from the start, 5.) it might be necessary to adapt the formation itself somewhat by exchanging an offensive player for a defensive one, 6.) usually, you should avoid having defensive or central mids at defend.
Away to a lesser meta team is sort of where things get most interesting, in the sense that there's no clear-cut best option. It depends on the particular tactic you're up against. Often, a more conservative balanced mentality version of your home tactic is the best option (but note that you should usually switch to a defensive tactic if you go up by 1). I suspect there might be room to experiment with cautious mentality here, but I simply hate it and haven't been able to get it to work properly yet.
Finally: I again emphasise that consistently outperforming meta tactics employed with world-class players requires really active in-game coaching. You need to adapt to the score-line, and even at home it is seldom a good option to simply stick to one particular tactic. You should aim to use all substitutes at strategic points in the game, as well.
I usually play against 16 teams in a league I've set up myself, using top-ranked meta tactics and some proven tactics I've created myself (all set at balanced mentality, since no tactic that's not meta-esque can compete across home and away if it is not at balanced). 3 teams are sacrificed, and are simply AI (in 50 seasons, no promoted team has ever stuck around for a second season).
So, I think I've more or less solved the problem you've got (since I win the league 2/3 times despite not having the best squad or using fancy set-piece routines - I play with athletic Bilbao). Thing is, there is no simple recipe for success. You will need to become a sophisticated in-game coach, and deploy 5-10 tactics! These should involve 4 main tactics (1 aggressive tactic used exclusively for home games (positive or attacking mentality, with positive usually being the best option), 1 balanced mentality tactic that keeps the ball but does not focus on getting it into the box, 1 outright defensive or very defensive one to be used away from home against tough competition, 1 meta-esque tactic used to simply mirror the opposition when you're unsure about what to do), and further variations on those 4 (varying the extent that you keep the ball or focus on counters, etc). It's wise, moreover, to add a specific tactic to be used late in games when you're down by a goal or two.
At home, the best approach is usually to overload the midfield, and actually play possession football at positive mentality (don't be afraid of channeling play into the middle of the pitch, or trying to get the ball into the box - meta principles do not apply here). A libero (or sometimes two), I think, is a must. Complete wingbacks, I've found, should usually be employed: you want either no wingers at all, or wingers who focus on supporting the midfielders. Again: you need to keep the ball. The meta is lethal at counterattacks. Often, the best approach is a narrow width with roaming wide players. I've found multiple distinct tactics that consistently outperforms the meta at home, and more or less all of them follow this pattern. It is worth keeping in mind, though, that non-meta FM tactics aren't very robust; you need to create a tactic of your own, using the particular set of players you've got, and explore the match engine's parameter space. Just pick the same team you play with online, and start a career with it using the set-up I've described. Then, when you face the most challenging opposition available, you save the game, and play dozens of matches (go on vacation for a day, vary the tactical set-up, repeat). It's important, in my experience, to focus on how the defensive line (including the obligatory libero) interacts with the defensive midfield (or, the most defensive part of the central midfield; there really are workable tactics that do not include defensive mids). You need a platform to work from, so I suggest the following starting point: CWB on attack - BPD on cover, libero on defend, inverted fullback. That's sort of my vanilla set-up, and please note that much stranger combinations can work. Lastly: avoid advanced forwards like the plague (too aggressive, too little creative contribution), and opt for pressing forwards, poachers, target men, complete forwards or (sometimes) false nines.
Away to a really good team possibly superior to your own, the fine details matter a great deal. There is no single tactic that works against all meta tactics: good defensive tactics are non-robust. I've created fine-tuned defensive mentality or very defensive mentality tactics that work for the top 5 meta tactics currently around (but note that "work" here isn't to be interpreted as "routing them 3-0" - you should realistically aim for parity away from home, and an advantage at home). Again, you need to experiment with your own players. A few pointers, though: 1.) again, you should keep the ball, playing out from the back (and often avoiding countering yourself), 2.) you should overload the midfield, as in the home tactic, 3.) you shouldn't drop low, but you shouldn't be pushing your backline forward aggressively either; a standard line usually works best, 4.) some time-wasting should be employed from the start, 5.) it might be necessary to adapt the formation itself somewhat by exchanging an offensive player for a defensive one, 6.) usually, you should avoid having defensive or central mids at defend.
Away to a lesser meta team is sort of where things get most interesting, in the sense that there's no clear-cut best option. It depends on the particular tactic you're up against. Often, a more conservative balanced mentality version of your home tactic is the best option (but note that you should usually switch to a defensive tactic if you go up by 1). I suspect there might be room to experiment with cautious mentality here, but I simply hate it and haven't been able to get it to work properly yet.
Finally: I again emphasise that consistently outperforming meta tactics employed with world-class players requires really active in-game coaching. You need to adapt to the score-line, and even at home it is seldom a good option to simply stick to one particular tactic. You should aim to use all substitutes at strategic points in the game, as well.