Exploiting Space: The False Eight

[EdsFM]

This guide is from my blog, The Coffeehouse - if you enjoy it, please head over there, subscribe, leave feedback, comment. You can also follow me on Twitter @MrEdsFM.

Hi chaps, first of all I'd like to apologise for the lack of posts recently. I did an update on my Le Mans save but I'll be surprised if anyone managed to get through all of it, so hopefully this is a tad more exciting. For the time being I've abandoned my Le Mans save and returned to Palmeiras where my Copa Libertadores winning team is open to tactical innovations.

But from a brief overview of the team, I decided that the role to create would be the False Eight. It's a fairly dire coinage but I feel it most accurately describes what I've attempted to create. I'm sure the vast majority of my readers will have heard of the False Nine, and even the False Ten. Although for those of you who haven't, the False Nine (for example) is a player who plays as a traditional number 9 striker in the offensive phase of play, but whilst the opposition have the ball, he drops deep in an attempt to retain possession.

As followers of the blog will know, I have something of a fascination with players contributing more to the team than they perhaps should. And [hopefully], that's what I've managed to do with the False Eight.

What is the False Eight?

Well, I suppose the first thing to establish is what the #8 is. When I asked this question on Twitter, it in itself caused quite a stir. There were a number of different calls on real-life examples, ranging from Javi Martinez to Raul Meireles to Andres Iniesta. However, I'd consider real-life examples to be Jack Wilshere and Claudio Marchisio. I consider the Number Eight to be the more offensive natured player in a central midfield pairing (note: for the purposes of the role, I'll assume it can also be part of a trio).

The best example that was suggested was that of early Paul Scholes, particularly during his partnership with Roy Keane in the early 2000s, in Alex Ferguson's 4-4-2. Known to most as a Xavi-esque regista in his later years, during his peak years, he was an incredible box-to-box midfielder who could play as part of almost any tactical system. He would break up attacks, charge forwards and contribute to United's attacking transitions perhaps more than any other player.

Throughout his career, Scholes was famed for his... inconsistent tackling. However, he was able to play in a deep midfield role due to his excellent positional awareness. Despite not actually being a good ball-winner himself, he still solidified the midfield. The False Eight will exaggerate this effect by sitting as a central midfielder in the defensive transition, and whilst not being a good defender or ball-winner, they'll help to create defensive solidity.

However, the crucial element lacking throughout Paul Scholes' career as a #8 was his goalscoring. The red-headed dynamo only broke the 20-goal-a-season mark once during his career, with a second best of 14. He's only scored 10+ league goals twice. And that's where the False Eight comes in. In the attacking phase of play, the False Eight would burst forward and act as another striker. Instead of creating opportunities for teammates as Scholes did in the #8 role, the False Eight would instead be an out-and-out finisher himself.

I've put together a short video of clips of Scholes performing as I'd expect a False Eight to. The last clip in particular is exactly what I'm aiming for:

[video=youtube;Y6UUiv43pq0]

The False Eight in Football Manager

Creating the Role

So, after establishing what I wanted from the role, I had to actually put that into action in FM. The first thing I wanted to do was do a basic formation that would give the False Eight plenty of room to operate. So on that basis I opted for the following formation, with the Central Midfielder as the False Eight:

For now, I'd ask that you ignore the role of the Central Midfielder. I've deliberately made sure it's wrong in that screenshot because I'll be going over that now.

The creation of this role was very different to that of the Playmaking Defender and the Inverse Wing Back. For both of the aforementioned I knew which FM role I'd need, with Ball Playing Defender and Wing Back respectively. However, for the False Eight, I wasn't really sure where to start. So I decided to take a look at a few different roles that might fit the bill. I'd then compare them with each other, and depending on what I wanted from the role, I'd then be able to tinker and adjust.

My first port of call was with the Central Midfield - Attack role. I liked what I saw but I decided I wanted another option so I checked out Advanced Playmaker - Attack.

However, this didn't give me everything I needed. So I decided I'd have a look at the major roles that a CAM can have (note: the Advanced Playmaker - Attack role at CAM is the same as it is at CM but with a more defensive mentality - for the purposes of this comparison, I'll use the AP situated in CM). These are; Trequarista - Attack, Attacking Midfielder - Attack and Inside Forward - Attack.

Below, I've put all the roles together into an easy image for quick comparison. If there are no colour circles on a slider then all the roles are the same. If a circle has lowered opacity then it means it is at the same level as another circle, which will also have lower opacity. For example, the creative freedom of the CM, AM and IF are the same.

And as a visual person, I found this to be of great aid. It's not something I've done before but if you're having trouble deciding on a role for one of your players then this is the way to do it. And there were a few very interesting things to come from this, for me. As well as this, any experienced FM player will tell you that it's always dangerous when playing with the sliders - you can often completely nullify a player's impact. However, my plan was to justify this by ensuring that I didn't go past the most extreme role for that slider. For example, even the most direct passing roles still have some way to go before reaching the end of the slider. I'd use that as my limit and not go further.

What I immediately decided was that none of the roles were entirely suitable. For example, the trequarista has the creative freedom that I'd like from the False Eight, but I'm not interested in allowing him to slack off in defense as much as the trequarista is allowed to. Eventually, I decided on the following using a combination of the roles:

The closest role to that of what I was looking for from the False Eight was the Inside Forward. So I started off with that as my base. The first decisions I had to make were on the Creative Freedom and Roam from Position tabs. I changed my mind on this a number of times, perhaps more than any other categories. Eventually I decided that I'd be looking for slightly more Creative Freedom than the Inside Forward was afforded, so I moved that up to the level of the Advanced Playmaker. I also chose, after much deliberation, to not allow the False Eight to roam from position. This was perhaps trickier but I didn't want to completely compromise the premise of the role. The False Eight is all about providing an extra man in midfield for added defensive solidity whilst providing a potent attacking threat. If given free license to roam, I expect I'd see him up front more than actually in midfield, particularly with his high creative freedom and attacking mentality. I've also given him reasonable defensive responsibilities in line with that of the Inside Forward (which was surprisingly the same as the Central Midfielder role) to complement this.

However, offensively, the instructions exactly replicate that of the Inside Forward. Not much to say there. It'll be interesting to see how the role operates from a deeper position.

The Man for the Job

I'd decided that the save to find the ideal man for my False Eight role was with Palmeiras, where I had two potential candidates. As I've gone over many times, there's no point creating a role for a player you don't have. It just won't work. And so, if you look to put the False Eight into practise, make sure you've got the right player first.

My candidates were Luizinho and Carlos Filipe. I quickly decided that Filipe, despite being a fantastic player, just doesn't have the positioning for the role. Whilst Luizinho has poor positioning himself, Filipe's 5 would just nullify his defensive impact.

I've already talked about the role in detail, now it's time to see how it worked in FM itself. I've picked a fairly average game in order to not distort the perception you get from the video. It was a 1-1 draw between Palmeiras and Portuguesa, and Luizinho got a match rating of 7.8, which is not particularly special. Note that my right-winger was sent off very early on in the game so I've had to get a bit creative with the clip that I 'analysed'. If you only want to watch the clip where I illustrate the shape of the team in various different phases of play, then skip to 1:05.

[video=youtube;EIRjpU9MU1U]

There's quite a lot to talk about from that video, but particularly the clip I 'analysed'. The entire idea of the False Eight is for the player to act as a midfielder in the defensive phase but act as another striker in the attacking phase. So that clip, for me, was absolutely fantastic. I'm aware there were some issues though. Throughout this article all I've talked about is the False Eight itself, however, as with every role, it's about the combinations put in place with the role that make it successful. For example, in the attacking phase of the clip I 'analysed', the gap between the DMs and the attacking 'four' was far too large. That's the sort of thing I'll be looking to address. I'm wary that the article is getting a bit long and tiresome, though, so I'll save that for another time where I focus solely on the roles around the False Eight. Whilst this article has solely been on the role itself, the follow-up will focus on it's impact to a team's tactic.

For now, I'm simply glad that I've managed to create the role successfully. And I hope you've enjoyed reading about it. I'd love to hear any feedback you may have, particularly on the different presentation techniques I've used in the article, such as video footage. It would also be fantastic if you attempted to create your own version of the False Eight. I'd love to hear about it.

The Coffeehouse: FM Discussion | Discussing the intricacies of Football Manager

[däkkä]

I think TTF spoke a bit about striker partnerships in one-striker formations, essentially placing the FCa in a midfield position, which sounds to me a lot like this 'False Eight'.

Inspired by that I did something like this a while back with a sole striker (the FCs) as deep-lying forward / support. He was paired with MCL (the FCa) with advanced forward / attack instructions and mentality. I did it because I had a wonderful MC/ST regen with blistering pace, great work rate, movement and finishing to top it off. It was a previous iteration of the game so I'm unsure how it might work out now but back then it worked a charm.

[allyc31]

This is a nice idea and topic. Will be following with interest

[DreamsDefined]

Quality post - love the video analysis in particular.

I'm currently looking to develop some line splitting runs into my team, so I'll incorporate some of your ideas and see how it goes.

[50 Shades of Ginger]

Great article. One question though, aren't your changed settings the same as the Inside Forward's but with a couple extra notches of creative freedom?

I've got Jack Wilshere in the AMC / Inside Forward role in my 4-2-3-1 and this is midway through the first season:

Looks like he's going to be a star!

[EdsFM]

I think TTF spoke a bit about striker partnerships in one-striker formations, essentially placing the FCa in a midfield position, which sounds to me a lot like this 'False Eight'.

Inspired by that I did something like this a while back with a sole striker (the FCs) as deep-lying forward / support. He was paired with MCL (the FCa) with advanced forward / attack instructions and mentality. I did it because I had a wonderful MC/ST regen with blistering pace, great work rate, movement and finishing to top it off. It was a previous iteration of the game so I'm unsure how it might work out now but back then it worked a charm.

Ah, nice one.

TTF? Tactical Theorems and Frameworks?

This is a nice idea and topic. Will be following with interest

Cheers!

Quality post - love the video analysis in particular.

I'm currently looking to develop some line splitting runs into my team, so I'll incorporate some of your ideas and see how it goes.

Best of luck.

Great article. One question though, aren't your changed settings the same as the Inside Forward's but with a couple extra notches of creative freedom?

I've got Jack Wilshere in the AMC / Inside Forward role in my 4-2-3-1 and this is midway through the first season:

Looks like he's going to be a star!

Yeah, it turned out very similar to the IF, but at CM. However, I think that's fine for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it plays quite differently from a deeper position, as you can imagine. Secondly, I wanted to highlight the process of choosing a role for any player. For example, if someone had a gap in their team and wasn't quite sure which role to use or how to change the sliders, I'd like to think they'd be able to take this approach.

And yeah, Wilshere is a massive favourite of mine. He'd be awesome in this role.

[däkkä]

Ah, nice one.

TTF? Tactical Theorems and Frameworks?

Yeah, more specifically TT&F '09 although I imagine the other versions might include similar info as well.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/61144-Tactical-Theorems-and-Frameworks-09

Good insight always remains good insight. To this date it remains very useful in understanding a bit of how the TC and shouts work although most of what's said in there is already applied automatically in TC tactics nowadays. This doesn't stop one from reinterpreting it though. The TC on its own doesn't quite pull this False Eight role off, but if you understand the principles behind the TC you can 'augment' your tactics without 'breaking' anything. Here's what TTF exactly tells us about one-striker formations and striker partnerships in them.

Lone Striker Formations: In a lone striker formation, one of the MCs or AMCs

plays the role of FCa. The idea here is that the lone striker’s role is more similar

to an FCd than to a true FCa. He will aim to hold the ball up and lay it off to other

people. He will look to keep the ball long enough for his support to arrive in the

form of midfielders and wingers. In order to not leave him isolated, he requires a

lower mentality. In order to ensure support arrives quickly the attacking

midfielder thus requires a much higher mentality. In nearly all formations with a

lone striker, you will be able to play a player with FCa mentality instructions in

midfield and still employ a more standard MCa alongside him.

The TC does still follow the principle of FCd with defensive mentality and FCa with attacking mentality. Set up an ultra fluid 4-4-2 and the striker partnership breaks the global mentality. Change to a 4-5-1 and the TC forgets about this partnership. But I bet the TC would recognize this striker partnership (and mentality split) if it had a 'False Eight' role built in.

[Fabian Jonsson]

Great OP. Just one question, does Luizinho have any PPMs?

[nerf]

Nice thread!

My favourite player in my long-running FM11 save is a 'false eight'. He's a two-footed MC produced through the club's youth academy, never predicted to be a star, but has become a critical cog in a 4-1-4-1 system.

He has excellent physical attributes and - most crucially - the 'Gets Forward Whenever Possible' PPM. His forward bursts off the ball can be so dangerous, frequently getting alongside and beyond the lone DLF(s). The match commentary often notes how instinctively he times his runs.

He doesn't have outstanding technical or mental abilities, but he just makes things happen with his vertical movement. Despite his low Finishing attribute, he still has a knack of finding the net and hit double figures last season.

I don't do anything complicated with the way he's set up. A Central Midfielder Support (Balanced framework), I tend to reduce his RWB & TTB so he can just concentrate on giving it simple and arriving in dangerous areas. He's currently learning the 'Plays one-twos' PPM. No alterations to his Mentality, Creative Freedom, nor asked to Roam, etc.

The key, I think, is that the channel ahead of him is clear. He's the left-centre midfielder and there's only a lone central striker ahead of him; the DLF(s) roams and creates gaps for the false eight to burst through. There's also a DLP(s) sitting behind to cover when he vacates the midfield on his forays.

[goat101010]

couple of general questions based on mixing and matching bits from roles.

how many players would be advised with the edited mentality before it makes match strategy kind of meaningless seeing as it ticked overides global setting and do you even worry about that or tweak your false 8 depending on if you are playing counter, control etc?

[SJ234]

I am interested in this. I am looking for certain elements of this but instead of it being a pair I have a holding mid behind my midfield pair which obviously changes things