Retain Possession Help Pls

[pahlovi]

Can anybody pls clarify the difference between retain possession and shorter passing? I mean, if I use shorter passing TI without retain possession and vice versa, then actually what would be significant differences?

[BanOly]

Retain Possession without Shorter Passing

Tells your team to prioritise keeping possession over everything else, but this can still involve the odd long ball to the defenders, or up the wings etc.

Retaining possession basically means that "Passing & progressing forward is not important", and encourages passing across the pitch, or backwards towards your own defense.

Shorter Passing without Retain Possession

Tells your team to keep passing short, but (along with your Defense/Attack mentality and speed) try to get the ball up the pitch slowly/fast, perhaps involving the odd risky short pass.

Both

This is my favourite. Short passing and retaining possession ensures your team takes the upmost care not to lose possession, but leaves you at risk of your player in possession getting boxed in and dispossessed.

[Cougar2010]

As I understand it although I'm not convinced I'm 100% right here.

Retain possession lowers passing risk in a way. This means players will play safer passes which often means shorter as well while also playing the ball to feet more rather than looking for through balls/crosses etc.

Shorter passing reduces the passing range meaning players will only "see" passes withing a shorter distance from themselves.

[HUNT3R]

Retain Possession will Shorten Passing, Lower Tempo and reduce Risky Passes (through balls/passes into space).

Shorter Passing will just shorten passing length.

[Guest]

From my observations the impact on passing is consequential rather than then express outcome.

What I interpret when using retain possession is that players will simply keep hold of the ball for longer (ie retain possession of the ball for themselves) rather than retain the ball through safe passes that create possession with a lower attacking intent or even possession for possessions sake.

What I haven't done is even test my theory, maybe I'll do that during my lunch break.

[swansongs]

Short passing is for technically limited players in all but exceptional circumstances. Modern possession teams play lots of long passes - usually switching play across the field - to take advantage of space and shift defences around.

Depending on the shape of your team, shorter passing can make it harder or easier to retain possession, as you limit options while improving accuracy.

[pahlovi]

Thanks a lot to all of u for such useful replies. Although got pretty good idea, yet seems not consummate. Let me provide u better scenario to explain this thing more accurately. What did Guardiola's Barcelona play in 2010/2011 season? They neither held the ball for too long nor used long passes. That was fast one touch short passing movement with high percentage of possession. So, did they use both TI? I'm talking about in a very fluid team shape with control mentality and all players with support duties.

[CornishGas]

I reckon they would have been using short passing with an attacking mentality and high tempo. Not retaining possession. To me, retaining possession is more of a defensive thing, where you try to keep the ball at all costs so that the other team can't attack, and don't take any risks in order to not give the ball away.

The tiki-taka style is all about fast paced attacking football. The reason they happen to retain possession so much is that they're all damn good footballers and tend not to make poor passes leading to interceptions. That's not what the Retain Possession instruction is for at all IMO. The retain possession instruction would just get in the way and slow down the tempo.

Retain Possession is much more recent-years Chelsea than Barcelona. IMO.

[cseyoum]

Thanks a lot to all of u for such useful replies. Although got pretty good idea, yet seems not consummate. Let me provide u better scenario to explain this thing more accurately. What did Guardiola's Barcelona play in 2010/2011 season? They neither held the ball for too long nor used long passes. That was fast one touch short passing movement with high percentage of possession. So, did they use both TI? I'm talking about in a very fluid team shape with control mentality and all players with support duties.

Perhaps I am wrong but Guardiola's system was anything but fluid. I remember Henry mentioning how he was forced to remain in hi position on the wing and in one game because of how it created mismatches for the players on the opposite side. In one game Henry recounts leaving his position and joining play centrally, scoring in the process. Guardiola's response was to take him off early. He was very upset.

[cseyoum]

here is a video that confirms what I said.

[Cougar2010]

Control? Attacking?

Barcelona's style was very much not an attacking mentality in FM, it was much closer to a counter/defensive mentality to focus on keeping the ball with TIs then added such as higher tempo, close down more etc.

[pahlovi]

Control? Attacking?

Barcelona's style was very much not an attacking mentality in FM, it was much closer to a counter/defensive mentality to focus on keeping the ball with TIs then added such as higher tempo, close down more etc.

First of all thanks for ur reply. I totally disagree with u. In 2010/2011 season, in their 1st match against Racing Santander Barca played with high defensive line and continuously tried to play in opponent's half. Same happened against Atletico Madrid in which Messi scored a hat-trick. Event against Real Mardrid in which they won by five goals, their mentality was never counter. And defensive? Totally out of question! Guardiola's philosophy was simple. Play ball in opponent's half and win that in opponent's half. So, definitely either it was control or attack.

[ianscousemac]

Control? Attacking?

Barcelona's style was very much not an attacking mentality in FM, it was much closer to a counter/defensive mentality to focus on keeping the ball with TIs then added such as higher tempo, close down more etc.

Fully agree. I see so many posts of Barcelona playing attacking but for me they are far more Defensive with Retain possession, Push much higher up, close down much more.

They very rarely rush forward quickly.

[Cougar2010]

First of all thanks for ur reply. I totally disagree with u. In 2010/2011 season, in their 1st match against Racing Santander Barca played with high defensive line and continuously tried to play in opponent's half. Same happened against Atletico Madrid in which Messi scored a hat-trick. Event against Real Mardrid in which they won by five goals, their mentality was never counter. And defensive? Totally out of question! Guardiola's philosophy was simple. Play ball in opponent's half and win that in opponent's half. So, definitely either it was control or attack.

You can disagree as much as you like but it doesn't make you right.

Nothing in your post suggests a control or attacking mentality so breaking it down you either don't understand what Barcelona were doing IRL or you don't understand how the mentalities work in FM.

There was a big thread around that time in the tactics forum explaining it in great detail, you may want to have a look for it.

[herne79]

Here you go, started in 2011 and still going strong.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/275877-The-Barcelona-Style-My-Interpretation

Remember, the important thing is not how anyone perceives how Barcelona may or may not play in real life. The important part is translating that into FM terms.

Note - the thread was started by wwfan, who literally wrote the book on tactics so I'd pay an awful lot of attention to his posts .