Hello and welcome to my Football Manager 2013 guide on how to create your own tactic. Part 1 of this three part series covered formations, philosophies and playing styles. Now we move onto part two, in which I’ll explain player roles, how they transform a formation and how we can use them to our advantage.
There are so many roles at our disposal, I couldn’t realistically go through them all. Instead I’ll breeze through the defence (there aren’t that many combinations to use,) spend more time explaining MC and then brush through how the wingers can multitask and what options are available upfront. But before all of that, I think its best you read my mission statement as I call it.
Mission statement
This guide isn’t about listing all the roles available (like some other sites have done.) You already know all that, I want to go deeper into specific roles and also show you how certain roles put together can transform your formation. In order to make a tactic work every player needs to pull together to form a unit and you can’t achieve that without assigning the correct roles. Before we get started, I want to be rid of the stereotype that every player must be assigned his ‘preferred role’. That is utter twaddle, a player used in his preferred role when the role does not work with your tactic will perform a lot worse than someone used in a different role that coincides with your shape. Of course you’d be wrong to use Modric as a ball winning midfielder, but you could use a more supporting role than he prefers to make a tactic work. What I am trying to explain is you shouldn’t get too hung up on the players preferred role, think first of how that role effects the tactic then consider the players needs, someone in the middle lies a role he can play and one that suits your tactic. Now that I’ve confused you, lets begin. :)
Goalkeeper and back four
If you are a beginner or just not sure how different roles may effect your tactic, then I suggest keeping it simple. If there is one thing I have learnt from Johnny, its that you don’t have to give every player fancy, complicated roles to make a great tactic. Below are the roles I’d suggest using for goalkeepers and when to select them.
Goalkeeper: Defend — The most common and best used role for a keeper. You really can’t go far wrong, just be wary that a very high defensive line may required a sweeper keeper to fill the gap the defenders leave when pushing up.
Sweeper Keeper: Defend — Required if you use a very high defensive line, but only use if your keeper has decent acceleration and rushing out attributes.
The back four should always be kept simple in my opinion. I personally don’t bother with the ‘ball playing defender’ role or ‘stopper’ duty, a defenders job is to stop the opposition scoring and to not give the ball away too easily, so why make the roles too complex. Below are the two roles I’d use and why. FYI I always give both centre backs the same role, there isn’t any reason for them to differ.
Central Defender: Defend — This guy will simply clear the ball from danger and stop the opposition attacking. But his role can become more supporting if you are using aggressive tactics, for instance I use a fluid philosophy and attacking strategy, in this scenario a central defender has to be very composed as he will try to play the ball out of defence and avoid losing possession.
Limited Defender: Defend — This role is similar to the one above, but no matter what your tactic, he will always look to clear the ball, take very few risks and doesn’t care about possession, he just needs to clear his lines and stop the opposition. More suitable for defenders with limited composure and technical skills.
I personally prefer the central defender role from the two above, but it depends on your tactic, if you play attacking, ambitious football then you won’t want the centre back giving away possession. But if you want to keep it tight then a more limited role may be best.
Lets move onto the wide defenders, their role will depend on a number of different factors. I will list the roles and duties below with an explanation and when they should be used.
Full Back: Defend — Your full back will concentrate on his defensive duties offering very little going forward. Only ever use this role if you want to keep a flat back line, but I personally wouldn’t recommend it.
Full Back: Support — Quite useful if you like to see your full back get forward and attack down the wings. Also use this if your wingers are in an AM position so they can get more support.
Full Back: Automatic — By far my favorite role, if you tend to switch your strategy from time to time, then this role and duty is perfect. Your full back will adjust his game plan around your strategy, so if you want the team to attack he’ll get forward overlapping the wide man and if you are countering he’ll just support the winger.
As for the wing back role and Full back role with attack duty, I would stay well clear unless you use a formation without wingers. Even then these roles are very risky and leave your defenders fatigued.
Central midfielders and AMC’s
In my opinion this is where a lot of gamers fail to make a tactic work. Many think that a player such as Fellaini must be used as box to 
box midfielder, or that Modric has to be an advanced playmaker. Tonnes of tacticians are obsessed with their MC’s gaining high ratings, but at what cost?
I used to be one of them, I’d switch and change my MC roles to suit the players I bought, always opting for the overly complicated roles, always thinking of the player as opposed to the roles effect on my tactic. Yes the individual probably gained better average ratings, but the consistency in my results was shocking. The only way to make a tactic that gains consistent results is to find roles in central midfield that form the nucleus of the team. Everything must run and move around the nucleus, this nucleus will always be made up of two or three players and they must be unified, to a certain degree anyway. OK, let me try and explain.
No matter what formation you use, it’ll probably include two or three central midfielders. The same goes for your opposition and these 2 to 3 players will be at the centre of every defending, supporting and attacking move. So you need to find a way of keeping these guys unified while they all serve a different purpose. How do you do this? By using what I call the ‘static and active rule’. One player in your midfield should be assigned an active role, while the other one or two should have a more static role.
An active role is one that involves the player running from end to end, been used as playmaker or constantly looking for a chance to get forward. These tend to require a specific combination of attributes and can be quite complicated. While a static role is one that keeps the MC more holding, he could be defending, supporting, attacking or all of the above but he must be doing so in tandem with your formation always holding a line, never really drifting off. These roles are more bland and far less complicated, but make a tactic solid. Below are the roles that I class as static and active.
Static roles: Central Midfielder, Ball Winning Midfielder.
Active roles: Advanced Playmaker, Deep Lying Playmaker, Box to Box Midfielder.
I use a 4-5-1 (with AMR and AML.) To stick with the ‘Static and active rule’ I use one Central Midfielder with Defend duty, another one with support duty (they are my static players) and then my active player is an advanced playamker with attack duty. Here is a little example of how they work together.
Without the ball they keep an almost flat line, this line is only broken when an opponent approaches one of the three with the ball. Breaking through my midfield is quite tough as a result and the opponents very often use the wings or play it long.
My Central Midfielder with defend duty does a lot of the chasing, trying to win back possession, when he finally gets the ball there are always two MC’s in close proximity for support so he never has to go long or play a complicated pass. All three midfielders now go from defensive mode into supporting mode and move forward as a unit. They don’t tend to break that organized line until outside of their own half.
As my team advance on the opposition box you can expect the advanced playmaker to dart forward, trying to get more involved in the attacking phase of play while the two Central Midfielders just hold their position outside the penalty area. This offers the perfect blend between attack and keeping organized, I can’t think of a better example of the ‘Static and active rule’.
That is how I use my MC’s, but you could use the same logic with any number of roles, you just need to think of how the role effects the players positioning and that of his teammates. The only reason you should ignore the ‘Static and active rule’ is if you have an MR and ML that hold the line well, then you can afford to have two active MC’s. It’s all about getting that balance in the team of who stays back, who holds their position and who moves forward. Talking of moving forward, lets take a look at the wingers.
Wide Midfielders and Wingers
I will split this section into two, we’ll begin with what roles to assign when using a flat midfield ie the 4-4-2 and then what to do when using AM’s like in my formation.
If you are using a flat midfield like in Johnny’s defensive tactic or a 4-4-2 you should approach the wide players completely differently to when they are pushed further up the pitch. Below are the two roles I’d suggest using in this scenario and what benefit they could have.
Wide Midfielder — Involved in almost every phase of play this guy will defend, support and attack. Best used if you want to form a solid, flat line across your midfield while the opposition attack but also want someone pushing down the wings with the ball. Don’t be deceived by this role, Johnny has seen some excellent performances from Bale using it, just goes to show that simple can be better.
Winger — Far less involved with the defensive side, he will track back but not as far and will mainly look to hug the touchline using pace and skill with little regard to keeping shape with your MC’s. Only use this role if you’re covered in the centre of midfield, if you have attacking MC’s and wingers then who will defend the most important part of the pitch?
Lets see what happens if you are using wide men in the AMR and AML positions, including a three man central midfield, like in my 4-5-1. For starters, let me say that you should consider how dangerous your wingers are, then also think about how many men you have upfront. If you have a two man strike force I’d only really use a mixture of the two roles below.
Winger — Same as before, he’ll hug the touchline, take on his man and look for crossing opportunities. You can use this role in most systems to be honest.
Advanced Playmaker: Support — This guy will look to find space where ever it appears, he’ll cut inside or out and look to operate in between the midfield and strikers. Once he’s found the pockets he’ll make a pass or take the chance himself. Not really best used on the pacey skillful players that could do best with a direct run on goal. But very handy to compliment a two man attack where the final third is already clustered.
The most important thing to remember is that not everyone has to attack or play attacking roles. Whats the point in having two poachers upfront and then two wingers as inside forwards. The poachers will get crowded and the inside forward will have nowhere to run. That brings me onto my main tip…when you are using a lone striker, the AMR and AML can operate wonderfully as inside forwards. They have plenty of space to run at and tend to form a front three with the lone striker when the time is right.
I use that system with a poacher upfront and two inside forwards on the wings. My full backs get forward and support as the inside 
forwards cut to the box acting as second and third strikers. This can be very tough for the opposition dragging their full back inside and leaving room for my full back to attack.
This makes for a perfect through ball scenario, neither the opposition full back nor their centre backs want to commit to tracking the inside forward so gaps open up just like the screenshot shows to your right.
Another example of the inside forwards off the ball movement is below. The player moves forward ahead of my three MC’s and tends to sit on the shoulder of both the full back and centre back when he sees space. This then opens up for a defence splitting pass from my Central Midfielders. I often find the inside forward makes better runs from an AMR or AML position to that of his striking poacher counterpart. This is because the inside forward is so tough to mark, drifting between the opposition full back and centre back creates havoc.
But the most important factors for this role to work are full backs that are supporting, central midfielders that will hold the middle and just one striker upfront so there is still space to attack.
Strikers
When selecting your front line, the first thing to make a difference will be the number of forwards in your formation. If you have two or three you should look to achieve a blend with one pushing on to score while the other links up play and isn’t so much in the lime light. However, its more complicated if you use the lone striker. You could use him in a more defensive role to bring him closer to the midfielders and have them make runs off him, or you could do what I do and assign your lone striker the poacher role to have the inside forwards multi-task from the wings. Below are the best supporting roles and then the main attacking roles with their benefits and general uses.
Supporting striker roles
Target Man: Support — Your player will look to win the ball aerially and bring teammates into play. He won’t bare down on goal looking to score, but will sit further back waiting to receive the ball and hold up play before flicking on. If you use a direct style and have players to support the target man like a poacher then this guy should work well, if not I’d look elsewhere.
Deep Lying Forward: Support -Very similar to the role above but based on the floor as opposed to in the air. Needs to be used with a striker that works on the shoulder of the defence.
Defensive Forward: Support — The work horse of the team, very much like Tevez does for City, the defensive forward will look to close the ball down and win back possession. You’ll need a great work rate and don’t expect too many goals but a fair amount of assists.
Attacking striker roles
Poacher — My favorite role, the poacher won’t offer anything defensively, but he’ll always be on the shoulder of the defence in lurch of a goal. He can be used upfront on his own if the wingers cut inside or an attacking midfielder is in support. Alternatively you could pair him with one of the supporting roles listed above.
Trequartista — This guy will drift around the front line looking for space and pockets to exploit. He’ll offer nothing defensively but will be the main outlet going forward, you want someone technically able here, flair and off the ball movement can make a difference. Just as with the poacher he can be lone striker if supported by midfielders or alternatively paired with a supporting forward while using two upfront.
Advanced Forward — Runs the line of attack but also looks to bring others into play so paired nicely with a deep lying forward. This guy will even go out wide if it means picking up the ball. Not my favorite role but many have used it really well.
Summary
To summarize you can use any number of combinations, but you must pay close attention to the balance within your team. Below are some bullet points and vital information to remember.
- Your centre backs should have very simple roles.
- The full backs need to support if your wide players are high up the pitch.
- The midfield should have no more than one active player (ie playmaker or box to box midfielder.)
- Its vital to use simple roles in the middle if you want to keep organized while defending and going forward.
- You should have no more than 4 players in excessively attacking roles.
To conclude part two I will share my current tactic screen. This should give you an idea of how I set my roles to clarify all of the above.
OK my eyes are hurting and fingers are starting to ache so we’ll call it a night. I hope part two was of interest and if you have any questions please place them below. I should have ‘Part 3: Testing tactics’ ready for the weekend or Monday. Until then thanks for reading and if you enjoyed this guide, please use the social networking buttons below to spread the word. :) You can now read part three by clicking the link below.
FM 2013 Guide — How to create your own tactic, part 3: Testing tactics
Johnny Karp
30 октября, 2012 at 14:00
Excellent job again, pleased to see that (once again) we think alike :) Just one thing I would mention though: the sweeper keeper doesn’t necessarily need good pace in my view but good acceleration, because he won’t be running great distances but only short bursts when needed.
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 18:28
Once again indeed Johnny, we seem to share a brain cell sometimes :) Thanks for the heads up on my keeper mistake, that has been adjusted.
Gaurav Chaddah
30 октября, 2012 at 14:20
Wow, that was long! My eyes have only just recoverd!
Good piece their anyways mate, my tactic involves a lot of passing and I used a Ball Playing Defender to get the balls into the midfield and works well. I also have a central defender and I find the duty of Cover works well with it.
Like the new formation and what a team you have alredy built with Newcastle!!! 1st season is that? Have you sold Ba, Cissie, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Colo?
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 18:29
lol, imagine how I felt after planning, researching and writing it. :)
That image was from the very start of the 2nd season I think…I have now sold Collo, Ba, Cisse and Cabaye but still have Ben Arfa as my playmaker from the right wing when available. I love all those players IRL, but everyone knows how brutal I am when it comes to ‘out with the old, in with new’ :)
Gaurav Chaddah
30 октября, 2012 at 18:47
Haha yeah must have took you ages and I am sure many people like myself really appreciate the work yourself and Johnny put into make the site better and helping everyone to become better players.
Can you tell where you finished 1st season?
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 19:08
4th, won the FA Cup and Capital One Cup too.
Gaurav Chaddah
30 октября, 2012 at 19:29
Nice!
Ryan Daly
30 октября, 2012 at 14:46
you could put in «e.g. Ryan Daly» after every sentence in there, I see now that I over complicate things a lot, trying to make a tactic look fancy, when I should just keep it more simple… Simple is better !
This is my problem in the midfield, trying to have an AP, BBM, and CM support all in there, ill be using the static and active rule from now on
Thanks a lot pal, great read :D
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 18:32
Haha, I think a lot of gamers do tend to over complicate things and I am not saying that is a bad thing. If you have a good understanding and know what you are achieving then it works, but for most its best to be rid of that stereotype and try going back to basics IMO. Hope applying the static and active rule works…my prediction is your MC’s will get worse average ratings but you’ll win more game. :)
Adam D
30 октября, 2012 at 15:27
Though I’ve experimented with other formation, for the past 3 or 4 FMs the 4-5-1 is the bread and butter I’ve allways fallen back to, although in my case I normally have one of the CMs further back as a DM (so a 4-1-2-2-1).
Regarding lone strikers, is it fair to say that Poacher is to Trequartista what Limited Defender is to Central Defender? Both pretty much the same overall role but one is for the more technically limited player.
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 18:33
I guess that comparison is a fair one. But the Treq will drift where ever he has too, I think the poacher will try to sit on the defenders shoulder almost all the time.
vaibhavc
30 октября, 2012 at 16:07
Wow fantastic part two Darren, looking forward to Part 3. I am halfway through creating my own tactic. Thanks Darren!
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 18:34
Glad you liked it mate. Part 3 will be far shorter so to hopefully save your eyes.
Matthew
30 октября, 2012 at 16:11
Very good read, however I think that at the back if you can get the right player in the ball playing defender role they can be very effective. I tried it with a couple of players, with the right stats and preferred moves they tend to spray the balls into danger zones, such as on the wings, which lead to many chances.
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 18:35
I am not saying that using those roles doesn’t work full stop, I just don’t want beginners trying them and then wondering why its not working if they’ve got the wrong player. Its much easier to use simple roles and then you can apply the same tactic to many teams and just tweak it.
PeeDub
30 октября, 2012 at 16:13
I am Ranieri. I tweak all the time. If I’m playing an outclassed team, I’m likely to have a DLP and an AP. But that’s part of my enjoyment. Always trying to make those little matchup changes.
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 18:36
Yeah some people enjoy that way of playing, I personally love having a set tactic and find it far more consistent.
saltwater
30 октября, 2012 at 18:08
Great read again, I definetly see your point in that «static and active» clause as it seems to keep very balanced in midfield. I have always had a problem of trying to keep it balanced in the middle of the park. The number of times one of my crosses has been cleared and nobody was their to collect the loose ball, but now I’ve seen the light!
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 18:37
Good, good mate…also try setting your AP to sit outside the box when defending corners and free-kicks as 9/10 times he’ll pick up the loose ball and launch an attack.
Rohan
30 октября, 2012 at 19:18
Great Guide as always Darren…..Helped me change my 4-2-3-1 with IF to 4-2-3-1 with Wingers as IF were really ineffective and i got the reason why….
BTW the 28m from Cisse really helped as u have completely transformed the Newcastle side…….if u dont mind me asking, Which position u finished in the First Season?
Thanks
Rohan
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 19:40
I finished 4th mate. Glad this helped btw.
NikoZolo
30 октября, 2012 at 19:56
Great post! Giving these basic/open guidelines will definitely motivate a lot of people to create their own tactic.
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 19:58
Thanks, hope it helps.
Alex
30 октября, 2012 at 20:27
Excellent guide, it’s really got me thinking intellegently about my teams tactics, can’t wait for part 3!
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 20:34
Thanks Alex, part three should be ready this weekend or Monday and will just be a short post on testing the tactics you make.
NUFCdan
30 октября, 2012 at 21:25
Nice read there! Your squad is quality even though i wouldnt be pleased IRL if Newcastle sold names like colo and cabaye!!!;)
How much did Inigo Martinez cost?
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 21:42
Thanks mate, I wouldn’t be impressed if those names were sold either…but its for the best ;)
Martinez cost me £17 million, not too bad considering the potential.
NUFCdan
31 октября, 2012 at 11:01
I have done a few seasons with Newcastle and a player that should turn out good for you is the youngster Remie Streete!
Darren Smith
31 октября, 2012 at 12:05
I noticed him, been sent out on loan, but I don’t think he’ll ever be good enough with the defenders I am looking at.
MRDNRA
30 октября, 2012 at 21:28
Seems I’ve been using the «static and active» rule in my fm12 Celtic save without realising it then! Plus having only 4 players set on attack duty!
Is there such a thing as being a natural when it comes to tactics?
Great work again Darren. Look forward to seeing the final part.
Darren Smith
30 октября, 2012 at 21:43
Haha, you didn’t need to read the guide and you weren’t even aware :)
MRDNRA
31 октября, 2012 at 16:42
I’m sure it’ll come in useful if I try other formations anyway.
Ryan
30 октября, 2012 at 23:41
Another great article again Darren, I never tire of reading these. I’m also particularly pleased as I seem to share a similar view towards tactics as you, more so in using the 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 as FM tells me. I’ve always used 4-5-1 mainly because my favourite team use it (Blackpool) and would definitely recommend it to new managers who are just starting the FM franchise as I’ve found it to be successful in all leagues I’ve used it in.
Great post Darren, I’m looking forward to reading your stories from this years version!! :)
Darren Smith
31 октября, 2012 at 12:00
Thanks Ryan, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
As for stories, I probably won’t be writing any this year, just need to concentrate on the scouting network and guides.
Kevin
30 октября, 2012 at 23:57
Flipping brilliant — you have a real gift for writing these kinds of guides.
Darren Smith
31 октября, 2012 at 12:02
Thanks for the kind words Kevin.
Cameron
31 октября, 2012 at 00:04
Great post darren. What would would be your advice on turning real life tactics in to FM tactics ?
Darren Smith
31 октября, 2012 at 12:02
I don’t have any for that, just observation really.
Lye
31 октября, 2012 at 01:18
You really made it simple mate though i know it’s plenty of work compiling this post. I really like this formation and tweak it to success with my West Ham team. I have to credit you for that. Thanks for the great write-up and explanation.
Darren Smith
31 октября, 2012 at 12:03
Thanks Lye, glad you enjoyed it.
Thales De Mattos Oliveira
31 октября, 2012 at 15:23
So could a DM play the static role?
Darren Smith
31 октября, 2012 at 18:27
I guess, but the point of the static and active rule is that all the midfielders are in line.
Thales De Mattos Oliveira
1 ноября, 2012 at 13:27
I had my DM play as MC and he`s adapting well, in line with other 2 MCs, one as playmaker. It worked!
Bill Okpalor
31 октября, 2012 at 16:18
Nice Guide for Tactics Darren :)
Darren Smith
31 октября, 2012 at 18:28
Thanks Bill.
Tobel
31 октября, 2012 at 23:33
Thank you so much for this guide. As a new player coming into the FM series I am a little overwhelmed. I really appreciate the pictures as I tend to understand something better when I see it in action. Do you know of any good 2012 or 2013 tutorial videos? There is a lot of advanced stuff out there and I just would love to see something that helps me understand how to properly break down my squad and what formations and tactics would work best.
Cheers
Darren Smith
1 ноября, 2012 at 11:48
No problem mate, there will be more of these throughout the year and go here https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/scout for the best players.
As for videos, we don’t do them here as we find posts easier to understand and more beneficial
John
1 ноября, 2012 at 13:23
Hi Darren,
Great guide, can really see it helping. I tend to do well and then struggle with one save to the next but I hate using other people’s tactical ideas so this should hopefully help! in the case of your 451 with wide AMs, how would i need to look differently at player roles is I pushed one of the CMs forward to a 4231?
thanks
Darren Smith
1 ноября, 2012 at 18:31
You need to consider the fact that the inside forwards have less room to cut inside and the central three will be less solid now the shape has changed. Maybe even think of having the striker more supporting so the AMC can push through using the pockets of space. Personally though, I wouldn’t recommend it.
John
1 ноября, 2012 at 13:33
another quick question. if your formation involved a player like m’vila who is most adept as a cdm anchorman, how would you advise adjusting cm roles or fb roles to suit this. as he would be sweeping infront of a back 2 giving 3 very defensively minded players..
Darren Smith
1 ноября, 2012 at 18:33
I wouldn’t change it too much at all to be honest. One of the three MC’s is still very defensive anyway in his role, just not playing as deep…again, its that prime example of over complicating things, you don’t need to do that as M’Vila could do MC with defend duty just fine.
Paine
1 ноября, 2012 at 16:00
Nice guide and good-looking layout Darren, I personally prefer using a deep-lying forward to open up spaces for his teammates, when I employ a lone striker formation, but I know other assets could work well.
Another thing, your tactic should look very similar to a 4-3-3 on the pitch due to the roles you chose upfront, do you play narrow or wide?
Darren Smith
1 ноября, 2012 at 18:38
Thanks Paine, I envy you slightly with the deep lying forward role, I always know what I want to achieve with it but rarely seems to work for me. But that is just my formation and tactic, shame really as I’d envisaged the role working nicely.
As for my tactic looking like a 4-3-3, you’re very right, the inside forwards tend to be just behind my striker as we attack. When I use the attacking strategy we play quite wide, but when its counter we are 50/50 and much more compact.
TimidMonkey
2 ноября, 2012 at 02:53
Hey Darren,
Its a really good quality read as always, between the scouting network and these guides you’ve considerably developed the way I think about FM.
My question is regarding the AMC position when played with AMR/AML positions. Is it ever a system you use or do you always tend to stick to a flatline across the midfield?
I was also wondering if you could run through some of the basics regarding the differences between the different player roles in the AMC position.
As always a big thank you from a very grateful fm player
Timid
Darren Smith
2 ноября, 2012 at 07:13
As mentioned I always stick to a flat line in the middle and then push my wide players to AML and AMR. As for the AMC roles, I never use them as they don’t seem to add consistency for me, so I can’t really run through them for you I’m afraid.
Chai Chien Liang
2 ноября, 2012 at 04:25
Hi Darren,
That was a complicated article for one that was trying to tell people to use simple roles :P
Is there any noticeable difference between a Ball Winning Midfielder and a Central Midfielder — Defend? I still follow your FM2011 formation with an Advanced Playmaker — Support, Deep Lying Playmaker — Support and Ball Winning Midfielder — Defend in the middle of the pitch
Darren Smith
2 ноября, 2012 at 07:14
The central midfielder with defend duty will hold a similar line to the one with support duty and tends to do more than just defend, whereas the ball winning midfielder will mainly look to break up play.
Iain
2 ноября, 2012 at 13:43
Great article Darren, you clearly put a lot of work into it. Player instructions haven’t been mentioned that I can see- do you tend to tweak them much, such as closing down for centre backs and individual creative freedom settings?
I converted to your 4-5-1 last season and I haven’t looked back since. Cheers!
Darren Smith
2 ноября, 2012 at 18:21
Thanks Iain, I don’t touch the individual player instructions as a combination of team instructions and player roles set them correctly anyway.
Fergus
2 ноября, 2012 at 21:30
Hi,
Nice guide. Would you recommend changing your tactic at all for when you play home or away?
Darren Smith
2 ноября, 2012 at 21:44
I wouldn’t recommend changing the tactic no, but TBH that depends on what tactic you use…I personally use a very solid solid tactic home and away but make the difference with my strategy.
Ross
2 ноября, 2012 at 22:07
Really helpful — I’m going to use your article to finally take the plunge and develop my own tactics rather than using plug-ins! As mentioned above you have a real talent for writing what could be a very dry topic so well done.
Thanks.
Darren Smith
3 ноября, 2012 at 07:29
Thanks Ross, glad you liked it.
LocoLohan
2 ноября, 2012 at 22:40
Hello, u were writing about u got Ben Arfa to come down and collect the ball, how do you do it ?
Darren Smith
3 ноября, 2012 at 07:32
Well he naturally does that in my tactic without tweaking anything, but you can also go into the individual players instructions and set his ‘run from deep’ slider too ‘often’.
LocoLohan
3 ноября, 2012 at 12:07
Thanks alot, great articles :)
Darren Smith
3 ноября, 2012 at 12:21
No problem mate.
mubixx
3 ноября, 2012 at 20:17
Very nice! Learnt a lot from it but i do have one problem still…. I play with a DM,CM and AM all on a straight line. What do u think? And what roles should i assign them
Darren Smith
3 ноября, 2012 at 20:35
I personally wouldn’t recommend that, just personal choice but I don’t see it been consistent. This guide talks about making a solid shape and mentions the flat midfield meaning horizontally not vertically. I envisage too many holes with that setup, but you could test it and see how it works, I couldn’t recommend anything for you though as I don’t see it working consistently, not in the way I set my sides up anyway.
mubixx
3 ноября, 2012 at 20:42
Actually, i planned to use this system you’re talking about but I just thought that they would play better in the position which they are rated ‘natural’ instead of accomplished. Does it have a huge effect on their performance?
Darren Smith
3 ноября, 2012 at 20:48
I talk in great detail about that in the post above. It is better to have the right shape than sacrifice that for players natural positions, always pick shape over players preferred positions and roles. If the shape isn’t right it doesn’t matter how good individuals are in a certain role.
mubixx
3 ноября, 2012 at 22:34
Thanx alot mate! I used your model and my midfield looks much more compact and i keep more possession. Darren for president! :D cheers mate
Darren Smith
4 ноября, 2012 at 08:35
Glad its helped mate, I’ll publish my tactic sometime next week I think, so hopefully that should confirm everything that’s written here also.
rob
5 ноября, 2012 at 05:35
Did you manually tweak the player instructions for the Inside Forwards? Or did you just use the default settings of the Inside Forward attack?
cheers
rob
Holland
Darren Smith
5 ноября, 2012 at 08:50
No I just left it all to default, I pick the roles to do what I want as opposed to tweaking player instructions, simpler is always better for me, that way you don’t have to constantly tweak a tactic when players are injured etc.
Rob
5 ноября, 2012 at 12:43
Yep, I do the same, we have almost the same approach only I did use a dmc but I tweaked it to a 3 flat line cm’s. It worked better, thanks for that.
For the inside forwards I only tweak long shots to rarely if it is lower then 14.
Cheers
Rob
Steve
5 ноября, 2012 at 11:16
Great tactic I tried to use your arsenal tactic of last year and worked quite well with spurs. Would changing the defensive cm to a bwm help the tactic? Also I know in fm12 you used a ball playing defender do you not recommend that anymore?
Cheers, Steve
Darren Smith
5 ноября, 2012 at 11:20
This isn’t a tactic, its a guide to roles and how to best use them.
Steve
5 ноября, 2012 at 11:18
I see you’ve just answered my question about ball playing defenders on Johnny’s post, thank you.
Do you change anything for set pieces and use man marking then?
Darren Smith
5 ноября, 2012 at 11:20
Not at all, all left too default.
Cameron Moulton
10 ноября, 2012 at 16:56
Darren brilliant post by the way but just a quick question about the static and active midfielders I was thinking of playing 3 midfielders but playing with a box to box midfielder and deep lying playmaker being more defensive but on the guide it doesn’t agree can I get away with it. I think it might help that I’m thinking of playing a Trequartisa up front on his own.
Darren Smith
10 ноября, 2012 at 17:18
It could work yes, it all depends on the tactic as a whole and the players you use. The reason I talk about the static and active rule is because keeping roles simple with lesser sides generally improves performances.
kamal
19 ноября, 2012 at 07:46
Another question, if I used my playmaker on the left side, so i focus my pass to left IF, so do I have to change the CM defend duty on the left and the support duty on the right?
kamal
19 ноября, 2012 at 07:55
more quesions, if on ur tactic HBA doesn’t available on the right side, what would you do?
Darren Smith
19 ноября, 2012 at 11:49
No you don’t need to change those roles around, and if HBA wasn’t available I wouldn’t focus passing at all and would use my AP from MC as playmaker.
Scott
19 ноября, 2012 at 08:01
Thanks for the guide! Very helpful! Though my question is that maybe a deep lying midfielder can work with a b2b one? I have my Michael Carrick playing as a deep lying midfielder and never go forward from deep so I always have at least one player holding the middle of the pitch. And I have Bale and Valencia playing as ML/MR instead of AML/AMR. What do you think?
Darren Smith
19 ноября, 2012 at 11:51
Should work fine but you’d have to test it like anything else.
Ross Howse
26 ноября, 2012 at 12:19
Im having abit of trouble with this tactic, my team seem to struggle to defend in the first half getting peppered with long balls and whipped crosses into the box, also when a team plays two up front even the slowest players beat my defence which is rather unrealistic. this is my squad
Stergen
sagna kos vermealen alaba
benarfa mvila carzola wilshire gotze
cavani
i did swtich their formation 3 games into the season but whats i find really annoying is that im conceding last minute equalizers of early goals and i can seem to fight back at all
any help would be great
Darren Smith
26 ноября, 2012 at 18:54
This is a guide to creating your own tactic not a tactic in itself, I suggest reading all three parts of the guide, I can’t tell you what will and won’t work for your team without testing, that is why I created this guide.
I get the feeling you haven’t gone beyond 10 games of a season, if thats the case you aren’t doing enough testing and that is probably why you don’t understand the problem.
Anders Gröning
28 ноября, 2012 at 04:36
Hi there Darren!
It’s a very interesting guide you got there. I must say that I’ve learned a lot, really! And for that I’m thankful.
Now, I’ve got a couple of questions.. more than a couple actyally!
I’m an Arsenal fan and I always want to do well with the team in my heart in FM, without any signings in the first transfer window. I don’t expect to win the league in the first season, just be at the top four and maybe catch a FA- or league cup title if I’m lucky. And I think your type of filosophy should work quite well with Arsenal.
I’ve really, really stuggled with Arsenal in FM 13 and I maybe about to know why Just like you said, the midfield is vital. I’ve used 3 active roles in the centre of midfield and that probably is one of many reason I’ve struggled. And I’ve always had a maximum of three mid/striker players to have an attacking role, sometimes two and not four because I thought that four attacking roles were to offensive. That’s only a few things I’ve done wrong in the past but maybe the most important ones.
Now I wonder:
I’ve always played the same formation as you did with The Toons but with one AMC and two MC’s cuz I’ve always wanted Santi to be an AMC as an ad.playmaker attack, but do you think I should play him as a MC (with the same role) instead?
Is it vital to have one player with a defensive role in the central midfield (the MC’s) or could both of them have a suported role?
I saw that you didn’t mentioned «target man attack» in your guide. Do you think I could use Giroud as that in a formation like yours? Because I don’t know which role he could play in otherwise. I will play short passes so is it better to adjust «pass to feet» even if he is a big strong lad and a good header or could I just adjust default?
I hope this not was to much and I probably have more questions but I can’t find any right know. However, from now on I’m gonna stick to your advise and to what Wenger and us Arsenal fans are best at: keep the faith and believe (although I don’t believe in Wenger myself but that’s an other story)
Cheers and thanks again ! :)
Darren Smith
28 ноября, 2012 at 11:44
Yes Carzola should be brought back to MC, that may be why you’re struggling. You’d be best with one player set to defensive or could be left short at the back and as for Giroud and target man you’d have to test it, I can’t answer that.
Anders Gröning
28 ноября, 2012 at 13:38
Okey, thanks for yours thoughts Darren!
Paul
2 декабря, 2012 at 14:23
I’ve question about IF(Inside Forward). Is it true that left inside forward must play right foot, and the right IF must play left foot ?
Darren Smith
2 декабря, 2012 at 14:26
No it isn’t, what matters is playing them on the side thats most natural in terms of position.
Paul
2 декабря, 2012 at 14:41
Thanks. I ask you because i read that if my left IF play only with the left foot he stick to the line and only make a cross to the forward. He don’t cut inside.
Darren Smith
2 декабря, 2012 at 14:47
Whoever wrote that is completely wrong, I use left footed players from the AML as inside forward and they cut inside all the time.
CecchiMatteo
26 декабря, 2012 at 01:23
Hi darren, I really appreciate this guide as I’m not really a tactical genius :D
However i’ve a small question. I play in a 4 1 2 1 2 with 1 DCM, 2 CM and 1 AM. Would you recommend 3 passive and 1 active midfielder or 2 and 2 ?
Darren Smith
26 декабря, 2012 at 08:26
I am not a fan of that formation and have never tested it before so couldn’t offer any advice I’m afraid…I’d suggest trying two and two first then see how it plays during pre-season.
Chu H
10 июня, 2013 at 15:09
I just have one question, are you the messiah? Lol, just a little joke but I must say that you’re articles are so eye opening and enlightening. Thanks again for taking time to educate some of us on these things. I do have one question though, I play 2 DMs directly in front of the back 4 defense. I usually play Rooney as an AM just behind RVP the main striker with Nani and Kagawa/Valencia on either wing. Now from what you’ve written the main thing in the midfield is shape (2 static and one active). So can Rooney be the active which will include him dropping deep to get the ball? If so, how frequently do you think he should drop deep? I can understand if you have not tested this and wouldn’t know what to tell me but anything you say will be of some help to me.
Darren Smith
10 июня, 2013 at 18:46
No problem, happy to help. As for your questions I personally find that the formation you speak of leaves a lot of room in the middle and using the AMC feels impossible to get the best out of such a star player. But if you really want to keep it then you need to consider how the players will move around each other and it completely varies on what you have available at DMC. But you would probably need Rooney to drop back now and then.
Chu H
10 июня, 2013 at 21:10
Thanks again for a prompt reply. I must apologise but your answer has given rise to another question. Do you suggest I pull the 2 DMs higher up the pitch and form a brick wall just behind Rooney giving him no reason to drop deep thus focusing all his energies and ingenuity on attack? Will that be a more effective use of him? Again its fine if you have not tested this and thus can not give me an answer but I would not be asking for your insight on this if I didn’t feel it was valuable. Thanks again for taking time to address my concerns.
Darren Smith
11 июня, 2013 at 18:46
As mentioned I don’t rate the AMC position and don’t recommend using it, hence I have very rarely tested with it. Its all about balance really, chances are pushing the DMC’s to MC will then leave problems at the back, all you can do is test it.
Chu H
12 июня, 2013 at 09:28
Thanks again for your reply, I’ve set Rooney to drop deep on a regular basis and it seems to have done the trick bearing in mind one of the two DMs is a DLP so it helps in getting him the ball without him running too deep. But I must commend your efforts on your articles. I’ve made some changes to my current tactics and its worked like a charm. I now have a much better understanding of creating tactics. I watch each player (both my team and the opposition) like a hawk and tweak my tactics as I spot any deficiencies. Will holla again should anything else arise. Thanks once more and please keep up the good work.
Darren Smith
12 июня, 2013 at 11:52
No problem.