Advantages of an Anchorman

[Corperate]

HI All,

Was wondering if anyone uses an anchorman in a 41212 formation? I am guessing it helps in being more defensively sound playing with more width and on the counter.

Am using a very good specialist anchorman and the results are not great. Any tips on how to make this work would be appreciated. (legends database). Also what does the look for underlaps do in this instance? 

 

[Hilly1979]

I’ve never used an anchor man, as I like to have both full backs attacking which I imagine you want in that formation I find the half back role works perfectly.

[Experienced Defender]

3 hours ago, Corperate said:

 

3 hours ago, Corperate said:

Am using a very good specialist anchorman and the results are not great

The problem here is not the anchorman role itself, but the overall tactical setup. Whoever your anchorman is, he is left to do too much defensive work on his own, because you have:

- both CMs in front of him in attack-minded non-holding roles

- both fullbacks tending to bomb forward a lot given their role (WB on support), especially as you play on a very high-risk mentality (attacking) 

And then on top of that, you have a pretty aggressive style of defending - more urgent press + counter-press + tight marking (in a system where tight marking is inherently counter-productive) + prevent short GKD - which is all compounded by - again - the very high team mentality. 

Not to mention instructions that further add to these defensive risks, such as:

- the underlap on both flanks (which increases the already high individual mentality of your fullbacks)

- a combo of higher tempo, be more expressive, pass into space and run at defence used under the attacking team mentality (the risk of losing the ball needlessly and thus allowing the opposition to launch quick counter-attacks against your already poorly protected defense)

So even if you have a world-class anchor (or any holding DM role), he is likely to struggle in this type of tactical setup.

[llama3]

The sheer aggression of your team in trying to win the ball back is the opposite of what you want an Anchorman to do - really he only suits systems where he sits deep, stays in position and shields the centre backs. Depends on if you are wedded to an anchorman, or wedded to a 4-4-2 Diamond.

[Corperate]

I am wedded to both anchorman and 41212 system. I will find a way :).

[llama3]

1 hour ago, Corperate said:

I am wedded to both anchorman and 41212 system. I will find a way :).

You could try and play with something resembling a more counter-attacking style? Would allow you to keep your Anchorman, yet a fluid counter style would allow you to build play progressively instead?

[Corperate]

Hello,

My thinking is to play extremely wide so there is more room for my fast strikers to exploit, and use an anchorman in order to stop balls being played through the middle when attacks break down. I am wondering in order to move the ball forward quickly do I need a deep lying playmaker?

 

[llama3]

• Why do you want to play so wide when you have a system with only a single wide player on each flank?
• In a 4-1-2-1-2 your 2 x central midfielders need to offer some movement in attack - a DLP is not a great option at MLC or MRC in this formation. It would only suit the DMC role (which clearly you want an Anchorman to use). You could instead consider playing a box midfield (a 4-2-2-2), which could allow you to do something like this with the deepest 4 players:

A(d) - SV(s)

WB(a) - BPD(d) - BPD(d) - WB(s)

• That would allow you to get forward more aggressively on one flank, keep the anchorman, get a deep runner supporting attacks too and keep 4 attacking players up the pitch

[Corperate]

An anchor man will work in a 41212diamond formation. Surely!!!

[llama3]

8 minutes ago, Corperate said:

An anchor man will work in a 41212diamond formation. Surely!!!

Yes, but you asked about using a DLP - I've explained why I don't feel you should use a DLP in an MLC or MRC position. 

Again, if you want to use an Anchorman, don't press high - I've suggested using a fluid counter style system which you could make work with a 4-1-2-1-2...

[Experienced Defender]

3 hours ago, Corperate said:

If you want (insist) to use the enganche role, then he'll need a lot more support than your tactic offers, because it's a fairly static type of playmaker. Moreover, an enganche is not a type of PM that suits counter-attacking styles. Rather, it makes a lot more sense in possesion-based ones. But even if you used a more mobile PM instead of the enganche, there still would be a number of issues. 

 

[Jean0987654321]

The problem I think really is that you're trying to play counter attacking soccer with such narrow shape (442 diamond) and with defensive support from 3 midfielders.  That Encanghe is a bit lazy defensively so you need the players around him to make up for that but then you also have 2 strikers who will look to stay high up the field.

A lot of roles and TIs needs to be fine tuned a bit in order for this to work. Maybe drop the 10 in the midfield and drop a striker in it's place. That way, you get more guys back defending

 

Edited February 18, 2020 by Jean0987654321

[targetthyself]

Pros: Provides consistent cover to your backline, marks out #10s very effectively, lowers the attribute requirements to attain a solid defense by a good amount.

Cons: Won't contribute more than a square pass or light ball recycling to attack, if you rely on midfield triangles to effectively move the ball he will cause you to lose the ball as players don't have options to pass when pressed, won't leave the central areas so he will not cover the flanks like the HB can or hunt the ball down like the BWM. 

Because of the offensive deficiencies of the role I use it anytime I'm going to allow my midfield to roam, he's also very, very strong when paired with a Segundo Volente. In fact I will never play a VOL without at water carrier to make sure we don't leave the middle channel undefended. I will also employ one if my midfield or CBs struggle to tackle well. However, I would never run one in a diamond. In the diamond you're relying on the 10 and the 6(your DM and your AMC) to be very good at moving off the ball and maintaining your diamond to keep the passing triangles from breaking. I recommend swapping your A to a DM(S) or a DLP(D) Also I recommend training your AM to play with his back to goal. So he can shield the ball and draw the defense onto him to create space in behind. Diamonds are hard to pull off these days because you need players who can hold onto the ball and not turn it over in dangerous positions, it's incredibly narrow and if you lose the ball in bad spots you will be in a very dangerous situation because you're relying on your backs to provide you the wide options on your passing triangles.

Edited February 19, 2020 by targetthyself