Slow defenders

[Andy 23]

If you're stuck with picking a slow centre back (long-term I would always look to replace them with quick ones), how do you use him? I'm thinking mainly if he is in a back four or back three with not-so-slow partner(s) with him.

A deep defensive line is one obvious thing, to give opposition strikers less room to get in behind. Is there anything at all to be said for a high defensive line?

What about stopper/cover? Defenders with good mental skills are generally suited to being cover so they can read potential danger, but I don't want my last man to be slow. Perhaps stopper then, so he comes out and wins the ball early.

[Jazperdeman]

If you insist a higher D-Line then I'd rather use him as a stopper indeed. Playing tight marking man marking to challenge the Forward. This could possibly destroy the strikers confidence since he would have a hard time to control any ball with your beast in his neck. Then having your quicker defender as a cover to sweep behind if you Big guy fails.

This is obviously a risky approach but could yield positive results. But when you want to play high D-Line, you have already chosen to be quite risky so then it would only make sense to go on with that.

[jim morrow]

Yes you can think to put your slow DC in stopper. If you have a quick cover man, it can be useful. but the stopper must be a good aggressive and tacking man to be a good stopper.

For defensive line, if your two DCs are slow, it's hard to have a high Defensive Line. IF you think your defensive line is too low, perhaps can you select a MD to make the link between DC and midfield.

Personally, I used a formula to find a starting defensive line. You take your defenders attributes(Acceleration + Pace + Concentration + Stamina) and GK (communication and command of Aera) and calculate average of all those. Result will be the defensive line slider adjustment

[Cleon]

Yes you can think to put your slow DC in stopper. If you have a quick cover man, it can be useful. but the stopper must be a good aggressive and tacking man to be a good stopper.

For defensive line, if your two DCs are slow, it's hard to have a high Defensive Line. IF you think your defensive line is too low, perhaps can you select a MD to make the link between DC and midfield.

Personally, I used a formula to find a starting defensive line. You take your defenders attributes(Acceleration + Pace + Concentration + Stamina) and GK (communication and command of Aera) and calculate average of all those. Result will be the defensive line slider adjustment

Interesting concept considering you've missed the key attributes for a d-line. Teamwork, concentration, anticipation, positioning and determination are all a lot more important than the ones you've mentioned.

If you have a slow defender it doesn't matter what d-line you play if he's intelligent enough to read the game. Pace and acceleration can be good, but there not a must.

[llama3]

Per Mertesacker for example is an excellent Covering defender, despite being fairly slow. Sometimes a high line can work if your team is geared towards putting the opposition under immense pressure.

[Andy 23]

If you insist a higher D-Line

I don't! I was just wondering if there are any reasons it might be a good idea.

[Arkas]

Actually if you have a slow defender just have a fast cover defender next to him. If you want your slow player to play a covering role then he must have very high anticipation-positioning-tackling for solid performances

[Marsupian]

If you play with a high line I would play him as stopper and if you play with a deeper defensive line either just as normal defender or as covering defender. It makes sense as with a deep line there is more space in front so a stopper would benefit from decent speed and acceleration to close down quickly. If you play with a high line there is more space behind so a covering defender would need more pace to cover it.

[Andy 23]

Any thoughts on zonal or man marking?

[llama3]

I always Zonal mark because I feel it helps retain a better shape, and I prefer it for pressing opponents

[Andy 23]

Now what about if you don't have a quick defender to partner him with, you only have slow-moving centre backs?

[Andy 23]

This is useful:

The stopper cover gives a pre-defined role to hedge your bets. The stopper attributes require particularly bravery and aggression, as the defender is required to win the ball or risk a 2 on 1 or 1 on 1 situation against his team mate, so must be prepared to win the ball, even at the expense of a knock, so in this example from my Arsenal side we have Thomas Vermaelen, a battling defender, not afraid of getting hurt, who can time his interception superbly and come away with the ball most times.

The Cover defender does not necessarily require a great deal of acceleration or pace, as long as his positioning, anticipation and decisions are good. For example, back to my Arsenal team we have Per Mertesacker playing as my covering defender, who despite having poor acceleration, and average pace, has outstanding anticipation, average decision making, and outstanding positioning, meaning he can spot danger, and be in the correct position to clear up the danger, having superb strength to increase his chances of winning the 50-50.