Why defend when you can score goals?

[SperoM]

Hi all, I've lurked here for a while and read a lot of the tactical theory topics. I really think there's a lot of solid input on this board so I wanted to bring a tactic I've been developing to you guys to see what you think of it.

Now, because I'm more concerned with the idea of the tactic, and the way I want it to work, as opposed to the actual results for now I've refrained from actually using it in game. Obviously this makes the discussion a little different because maybe it works perfectly already and there's no need to apply advice?

Anyway, here are some things I'm aiming for:

- 4-2-3-1 is my preferred formation, narrow or wide, because it makes the best use of my preferred players and it's also a team shape I just really like.

- I want to play a game of quick transitions but that presses high up the pitch and looks to score a lot and create a lot of chances.

- I'm concerned with defensive shape, but I also don't mind conceding a larger than conservative number of goals as long as I'm scoring a lot more in general.

- I'm also pragmatic in the sense that I don't think there's a single formation that you can just use to win home and away every game, so I want this formation to be able to transition to a bit more of a defensive one that I can use in tougher away matches/netural matches (more on that after the main formation).

Team Mentality/Shape

Now first and foremost I want my team to be really positive. They're going to have an 'Attacking' mentality and since I really enjoy a team that looks to support eachother through each phase I'm also going to run 'Fluid' in my team structure. Despite the mentality already lending itself to a more upbeat tempo I want to really run the other team into the ground so I will set my tempo to 'High' and 'Play Wider' to really draw them out and open up space for those incisive attacks.

Defense

A 'Slightly Higher Defensive Line' along with 'Close Down More' work for me because even though this tactic isn't necessary about possession I still don't want my opponent to have a lot of time on the ball, and with the type of attacking I want my team to be doing we're going to be needing to get that ball back as quick as possible and compress the pitch so they don't really have time to probe and attack. 'Tighter Marking' will help in this respect so that the distance needed to close down isn't always so great and it further represents that interest in giving my opponents as little time and space on the ball as possible (within reason); however, unlike a lot of tactics I'm going to go with 'Stay on Feet' as an instruction because I feel with how aggressively the team is going to be pushing forward and transitioning a misplaced tackle could really leave the backline exposed even more than it might already be and I don't want to make defending any harder than it needs to be. This way at least there is the opportunity of recovery with some of my more hard working players. So as you can see my defensive set-up, for the most part, is designed to try and support the attacking mentality of the team by staying higher, compressing the pitch, and trying to force the opposition to make mistakes or go long (where hopefully my keeper, CBs and fullbacks can handle the aerial battles).

Build-Up

The only instruction I have set here is 'Play out of Defence' and that's just so that I'm not playing hoofball. I want to start from the back and have a purposeful, but quick, build-up to the eventual goal. I'm not overly interested in the amount of possession so much as the quality of that possession and common control options don't appeal to me here.

Attack

Here I have 'Look for Overlap' and 'Work Ball into the Box'. Now those might sound like a bit of a contrast to my build up strategy, but ultimately I still don't want my team just firing the ball from everywhere and I want them to make use of the attacking fullbacks as alternate options when going into the attacking phase. I still don't think that it will hold up the play too much and it could help with those tricky teams that tend to defend a little deeper with some 'Whipped Crosses'. I chose the option as well to 'Run at the Defence' because most of my attackers are fast, creative and very capable dribblers which can help sometimes when those moments of brilliance are needed to break down a staunch defence as well. Finally I have 'Roam from Positions' checked as well just to encourage the team to find those open spaces where necessary and not be constricted to a specific attacking shape (again, something I feel can help when facing a more tightly packed team that isn't as interested in just opening up).

So with all that in mind I also want to build my team from the front back because, let's be honest, I'm looking to score goals first and defend second. The most important part of this tactic, at least for me, is going to be how the front 4 interact with eachother, then I want to look at the type of service I can provide them from midfield, and finally how my backline/keeper can get involved as well without exposing too many holes.

I'll start with:

ST - False 9 (Support) - I love this guy. He can do it all (if you have the right player) in terms of scoring, creating and causing general havoc on the front line. He facilitates play for others by creating space up front, he's hard working and is also a constant goal threat himself, but I don't want to overload the midfield, which leads me to...

AMC - Shadow Striker (Attack) - Here's where I expect a lot of the goals to come from. The movement between the SS and F9 should be great in terms of causing a scramble with the defence. Whether they follow the F9 or not the interaction between these two should, in theory, really pull people out of position and create a lot of opportunities.

AMR - Inside Forward (Attack) - So with the F9 dropping deeper on this side of the front I want this guy getting forward a bit more to avoid taking up the same space when he does cut in, still leaving options for when they all attack together. He'll be meeting up with the SS a lot while the AP and F9 should be available for cut-backs, long shots or late runs into the box quite often.

AML - Advanced Playmaker (Support) - From what I understand the support feature means rather than pushing forward and jumping into the box he'll still cut inside but he'll also pull the strings from a bit further out and because of my formation (slightly not straight on 4-2-3-1) he'll also come in to take up the space the SS should be leaving when we're making attacks.

CMR - Deep Lying Playmaker (Defend) - So here's the guy I want to be able to push the ball up and combine with the forwards or his midfield partner, but I also want him to not be too adventurous because I'm already going to have positional issues enough coming back on defence (I think). He's also the guy that I'm relying on heavily to link up the midfield from the defence as he'll drop deeper to help bring the ball out.

CML - Ball Winning Midfielder (Support) - This is where the defensive structure is going to take a hit, and I know it already. I'm trying to think of a better role here but at the same time I like the way he fits. He's going to aggressively harry the opposition to get that ball back up to that playmaker out wide, the F9 as he drops into the midfield or if they're unavailable the DLP should still be an option after winning the ball.

CBR - Central Defender (Stopper) - So I'm struggling with this one a bit but I think, I think that with this set-up he will work best because if for some reason the DLP gets pulled out of position to cover to the left and they bypass him into the space that should be left behind at least this centreback is going to be charging down and cleaning up that space as quick as possible. It's not ideal in that situation, but it's an attempt to make up for the poor structure that can be left sometimes when pushing forward and losing the ball.

CBL - Central Defender (Defend) - Pretty simple, no nonsense he's going to be at the back just looking to cut out the plays, win the ball in the air, and move it on to more creative players.

FB (Both Sides) - Full Back (Attack) - Yeah I want my fullbacks to defend, but I also want them bombing up the flanks into the space left by my wide players who will be cutting in either with the ball or making runs. This way there's still that wide option in attack when that space is left unoccupied to recycle the ball or give an option for crossing/cut-backs/throughballs, etc.

Keeper - Sweeper Keeper (Support) - I don't know if I want this to be an attacking position again, but for now I've left it at support. I want my keeper to step off his line because my team is already going to be aggressively defending and even though I would much prefer to build out from the back if he can pick out a pass that'll open up the other team on the counter I'm fine with it too. I think the only PPM's I'd use on this team are here where I'd like to have the keeper more often than not play short passes or roll the ball out so that I can get right into my build-up.

So finally the team will end up looking like this:

Mentality - Attacking

Structure - Fluid

Instructions - Higher Tempo, Play Wider, Slightly Higher Defensive Line, Close Down More, Use Tighter Marking, Stay on Feet, Play out of Defence, Look for Overlap, Work Ball into Box, Whipped Crosses, Run at Defence and Roam from Positions.

----------------F9----------

--AP------SS-----------IF--

-------BWM----DLP--------

----------------------------

--FB-----CB---CB-----FB--

-------------SK------------

A few things I've considered are trying to play a more possession oriented high tempo game but that seems a bit counterintuitive, and the 'pass into space' instruction is also one I've really looked at but I'm not sure is necessary with the risky passing my playmakers and false 9 will be throwing out.

So the way I see it the obvious issue, to me, is that counter-attacks can really be a problem if my tactic isn't executing really well. Any advice, thoughts or discussion is welcome. Feel free to nitpick anything I've said, the ideas, or just raise general doubts about how effective this could become. I'll be starting my testing tonight (using Liverpool).

[AvatarST]

That may be a bit too many TIs. A lot of the stuff you're using like higher tempo, higher d-line, play wider, close down more etc. is already done by the Attacking / Fluid setup. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

I think it'd be best to test it out without so many TIs at first. Then move from there.

[RTHerringbone]

That may be a bit too many TIs. A lot of the stuff you're using like higher tempo, higher d-line, play wider, close down more etc. is already done by the Attacking / Fluid setup. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

I think it'd be best to test it out without so many TIs at first. Then move from there.

I agree. However, it will be interesting to see how this develops. I can't recall seeing any analysis of the Attacking Mentality on FM16 yet, so this could potentially prove/disprove a few things. Definitely seems like 50% too many TIs at first glance.

[SperoM]

So I was at first going to adjust my tactic right away before testing it with the above advice, but I decided to keep them on for now just to see because the idea of a ridiculously fast paced team that doesn't give you a chance to blink is really what I'm aiming for here.

A couple notes without being able to upload any games at the moment:

- it's not as defensively unstable as I expected, in fact it defends quite well (so far). One thing I fear it's open to just by watching the games is if the other team can make a quick switch of the play after bursting into the final 30 yards or so when my defence is collapsing on them. Still, they don't have a lot of time on the ball and it seems to be preventing too much of that.

- my team doesn't seem to get a lot of shots off. The possession numbers are not abysmal, but when I watch the game it seems like a lot of ping-pong in that my team generally seems to give the ball away a lot with intercepted passes because of space, misplaced passes into space where there are no teammates, or dallying on the ball a bit too much and giving it away. I really thought, if nothing else, this kind of up-tempo play would lend itself to a lot of shots (good or bad). Hasn't been the case so far.