How should I play and how do you usually play your centre backs?

[SoccerDragon]

Should I play them with their default roles (DC - Defend)?

Should I make one (DC - Cover) and another (DC - Stopper)?

Other roles?

I know it has to do with the tactic as a whole in order to be effective but what is for you the best way of pair them?

Btw, my tactic is a (4-1-2-2-1)

Thanks!

[achilles-the-victorious]

I like to go with DC (d) and DC (d) personally.

And I like a CB to be over 1.90m, have good jumping, heading, positioning, acceleration (if possible), anticipation (must).

[SpartyOn]

Personally I have better luck with defend/defend. Whenever I go cover/stopper, it seems like the opposing striker always scores by slipping through the space between the defenders.

But there's people who are better than me at this game who have had a lot of success with cover/stopper, so it may have to do with other elements of my tactic.

[Uncle_Sam]

Same things happens to me Sparty, I've never been able to get the cover/stopper setup to work for me so I just go defend/defend.

[MichaelBrown]

Preferably I will use CB (d) and CB (d). Occasionally, however, I will use the BPD and the LD roles. The LD can be useful, especially if your CB has no ability to think or find a pass.

[RocheBag]

When I have 2 DC's I go Defend - Defend

When I have 3 I go Stopper - Cover - Stopper

[lewis999]

I choose from either limited/ball playing/or default by what sort of build up I am playing. If i'm under pressure and my player's aren't brilliant on the ball then limited defenders. If i'm under pressure but I am also a good team with good enough CB's then I use ball playing defender as it can bypass sometimes a whole team and lead to a clear cut chance if the right run is made for the CB.

If I am playing just in general I always like to get the ball out from the back so I play a regular defender that way he has his default shorter passing (from my team instructions.) Instead of direct passing which a limited defender has regardless of anything else and a ball playing defender who has 'often'through balls set which means he won't pass it short all the time which is what I want him to do most of the time.

I sometimes change my defenders to ball playing defenders late on in games i'm winning when the opposition are trying for a goal, I have picked up at least 6 points that way, when they have pushed up and my CB has split their team with a through ball.

In regards to stopper and cover, I used to play stopper and cover religiously and had a LOT of success but more recently i've been adapting stopper and cover against a 1 striker formation and normal defend/defend against 4-4-2's etc.

[swallow1050]

Recently I've been using the stopper/cover combo, the most important thing with this is that you need the player in the cover role to be quick and intelligent, high in acceleration , anticipation, concentration and decisions.

[furiousuk]

I normally go def/def as I like them fairly flat. If you're facing a strike partnership it's highly debatable whether stopper/cover would ever work (tactically I mean, you could have success if you're lucky or much better than the opposition) because one striker tends to make a run in the gap whilst the other feeds.

Against solo strikers cover/stopper is more effective. I think I'm right in saying it was primarily developed to counter the solo striker but I could be wrong.

With a DM you probably don't need stopper/cover either as the DM is protecting the gap that the stopper is tasked with protecting so it's unnecessary (i.e. you dont get the benefit of a stopper but you still get the cons).

I like a fairly flat line at the back and lots of teamwork across my defenders, not just for the offside trap but just because it makes sense to me in most situations. If you skim down to the goal analysis within this thread (skim until you see screenies) then you see how my team (with 2 strikers) destroy any 'doglegs' in the opposition defence, many are goals that probably wouldn't of been scored if the defensive line had not been pulled out of position and had stayed flat.