Evaluating a Lower League squad to determine what formations are possible

[Rashidi]

Your styles of play are entirely personal. However while you may have a preferred style of play, what you can do will depend on the quality in your side and the level of competition you face.  There is a simple way of doing this.

Attributes are relative to the level of competition you are in. You may need 15 for finishing if you are in the premiership if you plan on winning the title, but in the conference you will need a lower number like 10 because the average level of  attributes for a promotion contender is only 10. So any attribute above that is good, and anything below is either average or poor. If we understand this then it becomes fairly straightforward.

To find out what you can do, you need to evaluate and benchmark the quality at your disposal against the rest of the league first.

BENCHMARK YOUR TEAM

So now we know its time to set the scale. There are two ways to get the values.

METHOD ONE - ASSUME THE NUMBERS

Champions League Level ≥ 15
Championship Level ≥ 13
League 1≥ 12
League 2 ≥ 11
National League ≥ 10
Vanarama National South League ≥ 9

Champions league contenders would have at least 15 in key attributes, we can’t possibly hope to hit 15 in all attributes but we can try to get some of them there. That will give us a fighting chance in the champions league.

 

METHOD TWO - FIND OUT THE NUMBERS

This ia bit more accurate and its actually how I check opposition sides before say a champions league final for instance.

Head down to Team Reports>Analyst Report>Comparison and you should end up with a page like this

At the moment the comparison page is missing the high and low values, which is quite disconcerting. I am hoping that SI include them at some stage. Otherwise what you want to be doing is to take the value that is indicated and increase it by a value of 2 for attributes. If SI do not improve this page then I recommend using method 1.

Using the second method involves benchmarking your team against the league and finding out what you need.

1. Compare your central defenders vs league strikers, check acceleration, off the ball and positioning. Here your defenders positioning has to be better than the strikers’ off the ball. Check acceleration as well.

2. Next you compare central defenders vs central defenders. You want to compare jumping reach and heading. This value lets you know how vulnerable you can be at set pieces.

3. Finally look at central midfielders and strikers, off the ball, decisions, passing vision, crossing, acceleration. Now we are trying to find out how our central midfielder compare to the rest of the league.

DECIDING ATTRIBUTES

To decide which attributes are important when you do comparison, lets begin with some generalisations.  The lower the division you are in, the more important certain attributes become. As you progress higher up in divisions certain attributes start becoming important.

In the lower leagues physical attributes are important because most sides aren’t so gifted with mental attributes.  If your team is faster and stronger than the rest that is a big advantage. When I was managing Gloucester City, I once had a defender who had nothing apart from jumping reach. He was a towering presence in the box simply because he was too tall for players to beat. He played for me all the way to the premiership. His jumping reach was 16 and thats a very high number.

Acceleration gives you options, it allows you to play higher lines and recover from mistakes because of your team’s acceleration. Workrate is another attribute you want to identify because this attribute dictates whether a player is going to come back and help. Bravery indicates if a player is willing to go in to block or challenge. Finally positioning and off the ball are important for the respective duties that need them. These then become the key attributes you want to look at straightaway.

Central defenders need jumping reach so you can play the low block if necessary.

If you need ANY midfielder to support the defensive and attacking transitions with ball winning then he also needs tackling.

These are all players you want to see have attributes equal to or higher than the highest average, if you use method one, then they all need a value of equal to 9 or higher.

 

ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED FOR THEIR TECHNICAL SKILLS

Each player may be required to perform a specific role in your team. If you have a playmaker then he will need to pas the ball sometimes under pressure. If you a striker you need him to score. These are all technical skills that you need to see your players perform. For every technical skill that the role requires try and meet this value X.

X =  Y - 2

Where Y = League Average as listed out in Method 1 or by determining from Method 2.

So if you are playing in the Conference where the league average listed is 10, then you want to be at least between 8-10 as a value for technical skills.

So to reiterate you want Acceleration, Positioning/Off the ball, Work rate, Bravery to be between 10-12

Technical attributes for the roles chosen : 8-10, this includes skills like passing, tackling, crossing etc.

As far as bravery is concerned, ideally you want it to be in the top range, but sometimes this attribute is hard to get so try your best or do it within the range of 8-12.

What about determination? Determination is next to impossible to find. You want good determination where you can get it, however if you can’t then understand that your team may buckle if they are a goal down. So try and get determination to a value equal to the league average. So in the case of the conference league it should be 10. Again here, I normally make allowances for players with great ranges in other attributes. I will not allow my team to have more than 1 player like this and I usually only use him in an attacking role. In my experience they aren’t worth sacrificing your team for.

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOING MENTAL

Mental attributes gain in value the higher up in divisions you go. . These attributes can be the difference for top sides because they need to be able to outthink weaker teams. Top sides need attributes like decisions to know what kind of pass to make, anticipation to know when to make the pass, concentration to be alert to a counter or a defensive mistakes. I don’t want to generalise everything because if I do then every attribute becomes important. You just need to learn what to look for.

CREATING A LOWER LEAGUE STYLE

So let’s take a lower league example. Assume my team is at the bottom and expected to get relegated. Now I have to decide a style of play. If I am expected to be relegated then I know nearly every side is going to be attacking us.  So what do I do?

I will play a compact counter attacking style. If my team isn’t the best then I want to make sure I can play a style of football that allows me to score goals on the break. I should have plenty of chances to score.

The best lower league style of football is one which allows you to have counter attacking elements embedded into a system that allows you to keep the ball when you need to and counter attack when you have to. Design a system that gives you options.

The best systems for underdog or lower league sides always involve 2 strikers. That’s because the two strikers up front always leave you an option for a counter.

Let’s use an example and start with Barrow. They are a L2 side that is in danger of falling into the conference.

STEP ONE - JUMPING REACH

I want to know what kind of defence options I have

We will struggle with mental attributes, so my priority with this team is already settled before I even start. We are going to out run other sides, because we can’t outplay them on the ground.

When I see something like this I will automatically go to defensive formations and start planning on a system that allows me to counter and also gives me the option to hunker down. And one of the best formations in the world is a modified 442 that still covers the main areas of the pitch but also places a wall in front of the two central defenders.

Generally at the start of the season you get landed with a recruitment meeting so its a good idea to know your shortfalls before the meeting itself. This way if you need to look at recommendations you already know what to look for.

If you want to start looking for players then we already know our value we want which is between 8-10. That should be our minimum acceptable level. We also know that these are the attributes we want:

Acceleration, Work rate, Bravery, Off the ball/Positioning.

ANALYSE OUR TEAM - IDENTIFYING YOUR SPINE

Support duties need both Positioning and Off the ball, defend duties will need positioning, support will need both and attack will only need off the ball. So begin looking at your own players and potential targets by beginning with these.

This is a recommended scout player

 

This player meets all the starting attributes I want, they fall within the range. Workrate is between 5-10. We could scout him and make a bid for him. If he has good potential (Scouting recommendation of 70 or higher) he would be worth a gamble for future development.

Whenever you search for players remember to set his availability to “now” if you want him to fit into your clubs overall budget.

Now let’s take a look at some of our players. I want to play a 442DM system, where 2 of my central midfielders are playing as defensive midfielders. This will make us tough to beat.

This is an example of one of my players

He just hits the attributes needed to make the cut - 10 Anything higher would have been good.

In my system I need a creative influence, does he make the cut?

He has

Passing 12, Vision 7, Decisions 9, Agility 9 , Balance 11, Composure 9, First Touch 8

His passing is good, he may not always see the great pass, and has average ability to keep the ball.

We have another player who is slightly better. In terms of current ability both players are the same. They are both 3 stars.

If you take a look at the game it will tell you how suitable they are at certain roles, the games algorithm can be helpful if  you want a quick assessment. The role suitability for this player as a segundo volante is 3 stars.

It’s better of course to know what these attributes can influence, but for now just use the game as a guide, as you get better you can be more selective with his attributes.

If I looked at both these players, I would choose the Australian as the defend duty and and the English player as the more creative role. Both players are going to be solid in a support duty. The English player may have an issue sometimes with his relatively low bravery but it isn’t below the threshold I set for the team 8. However given a chance I would strengthen the side by looking for another player soon to play support.

The first thing I do with any lower league side is to find my TWO central midfielders, in fact I always look for 3 who can do the same task. I need to know if I have central midfielders who can defend and support play.  Central midfielders are the engine of the team hence why I look at them first.

Time to look at the defenders.

When I study the defenders I start with Jumping Reach, this will help me choose my central defenders, most of the attributes fall within the acceptable range we want which is between 8-11. 11 would be good to have, and 8 would be the bare minimum. The defenders concentration is 9 which means we need to be careful on quick transitions. However it is not a game breaker. I choose to play the no 17 jumping reach as a central defender even though the game recommends that he be a fullback. Having a player with premiership level jumping reach is going to be a solid strength of our side.

The next thing I do is look for shortfalls. Starting with my central midfielders and my backline I have my spine. So its good to know which players are the weakest, so that I can either scout/loan or plan for the future.

A good idea - have depth in your fullback department. Look for players with acceleration first, when you are an underdog and focus on those attributes I listed earlier.

This teams weakness is the left back position, so we need to shore this up. This is a strategy you will repeat every season. Strengthening the fullback position. This is a position that needs to be rotated because it’s a physically demanding position.

This team can easily play a back four, we just need to scout for another left back.

ANALYSE YOUR TEAM - IDENTIFY YOUR CREATIVE PLAYERS

Now that we have completed our look at the backline, we start to look at our creative players. These are players who are going to be spending more time attacking, creating chances and scoring.

Start with acceleration again.

Acceleration, off the ball, work rate

Find out if your players can beat defending teams with acceleration, then check to see if they can beat them with a dribble, pass or cross. These are the technical skills to create.

When I study the players I end up with 3 options at least. One of the options is Callum Gribbin whose only weakness is his low determination. His other attributes are fairly strong, the low determination indicates that he could have issues when the team is struggling or even with his overall development as a player.  Playing him is a choice I will take but I will also make sure to have someone ready to come on just in case.

DECISIONS AND VISION FOR CREATORS

I have always valued decisions as an attribute, its generally a good attribute that gains in value as your ambitions rise. However when playing in the lower leagues you sometimes need to prioritise, and while it’s good to have, it can be hard to find.  So its a good idea to evaluate your side to see what they bring to the team. This helps to increase my understanding of what the team is capable of doing so I can manage my expectations and invest in better players when needed. This also allows to me to focus on specific players when transitions break down. Did the player make the wrong decision to pass the ball is one example.

Let’s evaluate the players.

Jayden Reid is a decent all round loan signing and Chris Taylor could also be an option but we will need to develop his first touch. His vision is good for this level, most of his attributes are decent. This is a good loan signing by the club.

Creators typically need first touch, they need to bring the ball under control. They also need good off the ball which indicates how good they are at finding space. All three of them are have decent off the ball.

Callum Gribbin appears to have fantastic vision, but he has poor decision making. So we can expect him to occasionally choose the wrong option. This is one player I will be watching like a hawk.

Lower league football is challenging because we need to work with attributes, understand how they work and then adapt if we have to over time once we understand a bit more of our players.

Looking at this team we know we can play a back four, two central midfielders and at least have the option for a third with Callum Gribbin. We could play a 442, a 442 with DMs or a 4231DM, we could also play with a 433Wide where we have two AMs and a lone striker.

Generally when we are playing lower league football I usually recommend a 2 striker system. They at least give us the option to play with 2 out and out strikers. If I play a 433 with a lone striker then we run the risk of having to push more players forward when we want to go for goals. In most cases you end up grinding out draws. Asymmetric systems are also an option in lower league football. Now I have a rough idea of the formations these players can play. It’s now a matter of determing what style of play is possible.

Time to look at my  striking options . Two of our strikers have jumping reach of 13. Next I look for acceleration off the ball, composure. With jumping reach I have the option to direct passes to a specific player and use another to play off him. This simplifies a lot of attacking options. I can get away with playing a two striker system and park the bus with the rest. No one said lower league football needed to be beautiful.

I zero in on Scott Quigley, we have other options as well, but the first three attributes are usually enough. With his jumping reach I only need to pair him with a fast striker, the fastest in the team for quick breakaways.

That’s how I evaluate my side to decide on which players to use. Looking at the players reveals that I have options. There are basically a few systems I can go with but I will start with a 2 striker 422DM.

 

 

[llama3]

Lots of great concepts which apply well to teams at all levels. 

[lanewalk]

More great stuff 

One thing I'm not clear on is how does one see the impact Mentals such as Bravery and Determination have in the game itself? It doesn't seem very obvious to me compared to, for example, seeing someone with high Jumping Reach winning a header. To put it another way, if you have two central defenders, one with Bravery 1 and the other 20, and all other stats the same, how would this manifest itself during a match? Would one see the Bravery 1 defender pulling out of tackles or is it more a case of looking at tackle win % over the course of a season? 

[Rashidi]

30 minutes ago, lanewalk said:

More great stuff 

One thing I'm not clear on is how does one see the impact Mentals such as Bravery and Determination have in the game itself? It doesn't seem very obvious to me compared to, for example, seeing someone with high Jumping Reach winning a header. To put it another way, if you have two central defenders, one with Bravery 1 and the other 20, and all other stats the same, how would this manifest itself during a match? Would one see the Bravery 1 defender pulling out of tackles or is it more a case of looking at tackle win % over the course of a season? 

Essentially bravery is an attribute that one would expect a defender to have. He needs to be brave to go into a sliding challenge, he needs good technique to pull it off.

Basically the game is meant to simulate human behaviour. Human behaviour always starts with the decision, and then the act of doing it. So in this game, we need to start with the mental, then the physical capacity to do it and finally the technical skills to finish it off. 
 

So when we go back to your example, a defender with low bravery but good jumping reach, may be great in the air when there is no one challenging him for it. Say two players jump for a cross one who has higher aggression than another. The one with low bravery could lose out. Then we have support players, if you want someone to come back and defend this is another factor that needs to be considered. 

Determination is the mother of all attributes, it influences how a player performs on the pitch and off the pitch. A player with low determination may decide that enough is enough if the team is 3 down. Determination also has a knock on effect on development, though this aspect is a subset of professionalism.

[lanewalk]

Thanks @Rashidi

That makes sense, as so often with this game then, it is about the combination of factors (in this case attributes) that lead to the outcome (as irl), much as I would like to able to pin things down to a single cause. 

I guess there is a relationship between Aggression and Bravery as they seem very similar. In the case of the sliding tackle I can see it's the defender taking the risk and therefore needing the Bravery. But in the case of going for header the risk of injury would be more equal so wouldn't both Attacker and Defender need some combination of Aggression and Bravery? Or does the Attacker only need Aggression?

[Rashidi]

17 minutes ago, lanewalk said:

Thanks @Rashidi

That makes sense, as so often with this game then, it is about the combination of factors (in this case attributes) that lead to the outcome (as irl), much as I would like to able to pin things down to a single cause. 

I guess there is a relationship between Aggression and Bravery as they seem very similar. In the case of the sliding tackle I can see it's the defender taking the risk and therefore needing the Bravery. But in the case of going for header the risk of injury would be more equal so wouldn't both Attacker and Defender need some combination of Aggression and Bravery? Or does the Attacker only need Aggression?

Here you could have other factors in play, determination now kicks in. How determined is he to go for that, decisions could factor in as well, did he come off an injury or is he carrying a knock. Then we have natural fitness. 

The game is dynamic, the best way to approach it is to put yourself in their shows and ask yourself what could stop you. I find that to be the easiest way. The game isn't zero sum.

[lanewalk]

[Rashidi]

So I evaluated my system, what can I do in terms of formations?

PLAYING DEFENSIVE FOOTBALL/COUNTER ATTACKING FOOTBALL

Let’s define defensive football. This can all be a matter of semantics depending on your point of view. So I will share mine.

Playing a defensive style of football is achievable in many ways. You can park the bus or you can go camping and attacking.

Sir Alex Ferguson once commented that the best of defence is a great offence. By attacking and keeping the ball well you are applying more pressure on the opposition. Be the first to score and you force the opposition to open up and become vulnerable to more goals via counterattacks.  The goal in this case is to keep the ball well and keep a clean sheet. This style of football while defensively solid shouldn’t be confused with a defensive style.

When you play a defensive style of football you defend more than you attack. Your side will get most of its chances from counter attacks. However whether it wants to score from counters depends on the sides ambitions. Some sides choose to adopt a defensive style of football during stages of a match when they have secured a lead and want to protect it. Jose Mourinho is a great proponent of this style. He coaches his teams on defending as a unit and expects players to come back and defend.

Other managers have a defensive style that revolves around sitting back for the majority of the match hoping that their defensive organisation is enough to keep sides out. This style of football is the style I will focus on.

This style of defensive football is essentially an attempt to keep a clean sheet by taking less risk. It’s an attempt to deny opposition sides easy opportunities at the cost of creating chances for yourself. Any chances you generate are going to be off counter attacking moves that present themselves when the opposition have failed to score. Even then, these need to be clear cut counter attacking opportunities. Managers sometime start the match like this and aim to go 90 mins playing this way and other managers sometimes choose this option when they want to hunker down. However not all managers play like this. In fact as a football manager player, I rarely ever like to play like that. It’s too much for my ticker.

Defensive football can be played on any mentality. It’s generally easier to play it on lower mentalities. You can also play defensively on higher mentalities. Mentality just adds risk.

When playing defensive football you generally want to restrict chances for oppositions and you do this in several ways.  The most obvious way is to choose a formation that controls space. Formations which are bottom heavy are generally more defensive in orientation. Here are some examples:

These are some of the shapes defensive formations can take. Here the placement of the players generally makes these systems defensive. The first formation is the 442DM Wide, it has good control of the pitch. The second formation is the 4132 it forgoes some attacking width to pack the centre. The 3^rd system seeks to control the middle with 5 players and stacks the defence with 3 strikers and punts the ball up to the 2 strikers. And finally we have the last system which parks the bus and keeps 9 players in the half.

When choosing a defensive style of football you need to clarify what you goal is. If you plan on eschewing ambition for security, then you will choose a shape that is generally bottom heavy. That’s one way to play defensive football. It’s simple but it fails to use all the tools available in the game.

OUT OF POSSESSION INSTRUCTIONS

These are the instructions that DEFINE the style of play you will produce on the pitch. This establishes the kind of shape your defence will have: whether you give up the flanks or stack the middle, where you start your press and whether your team operates as a compressed unit or not.

I will just set the settings depending on the formation I plan to play. My goal is to play defensively solid, with strong counter attacking potential. We will try and deny sides easy goal scoring chances by shunting them to the flanks, when they lose the ball there I want to hit them quickly. I settle on either the 4132 or the 442DM Wide, both systems give me the option of protecting the flanks well. While the 532 is a decent formation, each time the wingback bombs up I might have issues through the middle.

TIME TO CREATE OUR DEFENSIVE SHAPE

My choice of defensive line depends on how far up the pitch I want my fullbacks going to support play. I opt for a standard defensive line, because I want to play it safe.

My LOE will be much lower or lower.  This encourages teams to bring the ball up, we will press them in our half.

Next I set up my defensive width. I plan to draw them down our flanks, so that it frees my centre where most of my creative players are. Defensive width is a strategy. I am already allowing the opposition up the pitch, adding the flanks will be risky, so I will add hard tackling to the team, and tell the fullbacks to close down more.

This sets up an aggressive low block.

If we win the ball I need to recycle it into a counter attack quickly, and this is where mentality and roles and duties come in. If I play on Cautious mentality the only play who is taking risks is the Segundo Volante in my formation. It’s not ideal but it certainly fits in with my low ambition strategy. If I want to take more chances with transitions I will raise the mentality.

When you play defensive football you need to be prepared to accept shots from outside the box and crosses from wider areas. The lower you drop your line of engagement and the deeper your defensive line the greater the risk of a long shot or gifting a free kick from a dangerous area.

 

Let’s evaluate how I plan to play with my Kingsborne system

I have given up the flanks, allowing opposition teams to attack those areas, leaving the centre relatively free. I have two support duties that will drop deep from midfield to support the defence. To generate my attacks I have one WB(A) who is going to get up the pitch to support build up play. Up top we have an orthodox pair of attack duties.

In the middle we have a creative role in the Segundo Volante supported by a DM.

Now my options to make this even more defensive include removing the overlap on the right. And that’s probably the only thing I will remove if I wanted to.

In Possession, I plan to hit balls up the pitch quickly. Here I want to play quick football out of the ball, by using direct passing with a preference to use the wider areas of the pitch.

Remember that I allowed the opposition down the flanks, this would bee a good area for me to focus my counters in. I don’t  plan on adding focus play. However if I choose to I will focus play centrally, encouraging my team to drive their passes there.

For now I’ve created a counter attacking tactic.  Everything that has been set up has been set up for the counter.

Now let’s dial this back and go defensive

I have taken the lead and I want to go full on defensive what can I do?

Options:

Opposition Instructions: These can be very useful, you can elect to tell your players to tight mark or press specific players. Since I have drawn the opposition there, I know as well that my roles there can double up. I can opt to press opposition fullbacks so that they find it hard to move the ball around.

I always do funky things when I am playing a low block. Things like tight marking wide attacking midfielders and pressing fullbacks and tight marking lone strikers.

For more involved situations I tend to avoid showing players on the wrong foot, the reason is because I am lazy. If you can micromanage then I would blend the defensive width strategy with showing onto the foot.

If your plan is to show the opposition the flanks then you also want to push wingers wide You want to find out what their weaker foot is as well.  For example if a player has a weaker right foot and he is playing as a AMR who are trying to force him wide so he uses his weaker right foot. This could be a great strategy against inside forwards and inverted wingers who are only good on one foot. As a defensive strategy this is easily one of the best, but it demands that you spend time scouting and evaluating each player. It’s for that reason I avoid using it, because its time consuming.

Furthermore not every player is weak on one foot, these kind of players are potentially quite rare, and it can create its own problems. You may end up funnelling players into a position where you are defensively weak.

In my strategy I want to show players wide, keeping my centre free so my playmaker is freed up. There is no right and wrong strategy here, if you want to show players onto a foot, you will need to pay careful attention during a game.

Tight Marking: I can tight mark opposition strikers giving them less time on the ball

Other options are more strategic

I have scored a goal, so why would I want to draw teams down one specific area. The flanks could be a dangerous and cheap way from which they can win corners or free kicks. I can opt to remove the instruction and now drive them through the middle, where I have more players in defensive midfield.

Another strategy of being defensive is by not giving the ball away. Here I can opt to go narrow and tell my team to pass shorter and remove pass into space. If I want to take risky passes all I do now is to tell specific players to take risky passes. This is a more creative way of passing. I just realised if you lowered tempo, you will be doing something the game under the hood identifies as Retain Possession.

We could also remove the overlap on the right flank and tell the Target man to switch to support. Now we have at least 10 players dropping back to defend. This nukes our attack thrust, but it strengthens our defensive resilience.

EVALUTING YOUR DEFENSIVE STRATEGY

Assume you want to create your own defensive strategy, no one suggested you should follow my tactic. Now how would you assess it?

After a game I like to check my xG in terms of the quality of chances, here I look for a spread value of 0.2 or higher. This usually reflects a good chance, I analyse these chances to see how they were created. Ideally these should be transitional events where I win the ball in defence and turn things around with a good counter.

I will chalk off mistakes my defenders and set pieces, but I will include penalties because these can happen on breakaways.

During a game I pay attention to stats like shots on target. My goal is to funnel the opposition wide. They are going to generate shots from difficult angles, none of their shots connected. My xG is 1.47. Well this is a bit harder to evaluate, its better to look for xG changes. Look for big variances. You want to chalk off xG of less than 0.15.

After the match when I evaluate my chances 3 big chances show up in the xG story.

The first chance was 0.25 roughly the next one was close to 1 for some strange reason. Penalties aren’t one in most cases, and the next chance is closer to 0.25. All three chances are good ones.

As you can see they are all from central areas

The goal now is to repeat this kind of performance in more games.

In this match I combined my instructions with opposition instructions to tight mark the opposition’s wide attacking midfielders, tight marked their lone striker and also pressed their two fullbacks. OI's will be important in FM21.

Our possession stats were less than the opposition. I was prepared to accept that.

Here’s another game. As the match progresses I am only paying attention to the xG variance. Our first good chance comes within the first 15mins of the game. And even though the score remains goaless, I am confident we can do something. Once my side starts picking up yellow cards I decide to substitute them in the 50^th min. My right winger and my Segundo Volante are taken off. We pick up the win, and as you can see our chances were a lot better than the opposition.

The difference in quality between both sides clearly showing the strategy working

WHAT IF YOUR STRATEGY DIDNT WORK?

1. Start with defending

Could you defend? If you couldn’t defend, why?

Did they get past your fullbacks easily, cross and score? Check your central defenders for jumping reach, adjust defensive width back to standard

Did they rip you through the middle? Check your defensive width set to normal or narrow. Then confirm if your central midfielders are good at winning the ball. Check mental and physical attributes

If you can’t defend well, its either the players or a slight shift in strategy.

2. You cannot score.

This is a function of risk. You either are playing too low a risk and you should be taking bigger chances, or you need better players who can get away. Identify where the transition failed and adjust accordingly.

[Rashidi]

I hope this helps some of you, its just a few chapters I have been working on for creating styles of football.

[Bot Makel]

Absolutly amazing

[llama3]

@Rashidido you like using Stopper/Cover options, or keep a flat backline?

[Rashidi]

@llama3In a flat 4 very very rarely, I much prefer keeping them flat, not so in a back three where i tend to play with stopper/cover/stopper in very aggressive systems or defend/cover/defend in less aggressive setups.

I might be using a very attacking system later on my stream to try some things out later, its one of the more aggressive ones that uses the stopper/cover/stopper strategy. That system also uses Opposition Instructions a fair bit. I don't use the assistant manager's advice instead opting to go my own way. I will be explaining this as well.

Team instructions need to be explained again cos how we use them in the main still remains the same. However for more intricate overloads focus and how it works with attacking width+roles needs to be considered.

[VinceLombardi]

Really good set of posts, @Rashidi. When you look at a roster or a single player and put some thought into what they can do well (and what they can't), then you can really get them to perform above their "star rating". Sometimes I can't help but laugh at some of the posts where a coach is trying to play a certain style but none of their players are suitable to the vision. Like trying to force the square peg through the round hole.

I just picked up FM21 and am playing a journeyman for this version. Started unemployed, and got picked up by IK Sirius, the bottom team in the Swedish Premier team, well on their way to relegation with 9 games to right the ship. Roster is junk. Not a single striker worth mention and one of the top 2 players is out, injured. Far and away, my player best available is Vecchia. Unfortunately, he is both the best creator and best scorer. This guy is going to need to do everything if we are going to make it. 

Well with no good strikers and my best scorer, creator, and player in a wide midfielder role, I needed to get a bit creative in my tactics. If there aren't any good strikers, then I'm not going to force it by playing one. I also need to scheme Vecchia into both scoring position and in position to get the ball early create for the team. I opt for a 4-6-0 strikerless formation that I had success with in FM16 because I dont have a striker worth putting on the field. Then, in order to get Vecchia into and around the box, I'm putting him into an IW(a) role so that he can be as dangerous as possible. Also because he already has the cut inside from left move, I'm opting for him at ML instead of MR. In order to give Vecchia space to work in and improve his matchup, I'm going to try to shift the defense away from him by using the Mez(a) out of the MCR. This will pull the opposing CDs away from my most dangerous player and match him more often against the opposing DR, which is a more favorable matchup. Its particularly favorable as Vecchia is going to be trying to beat the DR inside and that DR isn't going to have CD support. I play the AMC as a SS(a) with Roam from position so that he drifts into the space on the right side vacated by the Mez(a) and will get pushed there further by Vecchia coming inside. This will force the CD to travel with the AMC and stress the opposing team's shape. The MR needs to play a winger role to create space for the Mez(a) and pull the DR away from being able to mark out the Mez(a). This basically finishes the effect. We pull the entire defense to our right side. The MR winger pulls the DR. This forces the CD to step out to cover the Mez(a). And with the AMC on roam shifting right too, he is going to pull the only remaining CD defender. With all these players looking to get forward on the right side, we have the DR play a bit of a pivot role behind so that they can pass back if they need to. 

We can see it in action here:

The ML (Vecchia) is moving inside with options of where to run into space. He can try to beat his man and run through the defense or across the face of the defense. Or he can use the space in front of the defense, and put in a pass to one of the 3 players on the right side that are all matchup one-on-one with only a single player to beat between them and the goal utilizing a Trips Deep passing concept. In this play, he opts a pass behind the defense, the Mez(a) beats his man, and we get a goal.

Team went 5-0-4 to finish the season and stay up. Had 10 goals for, 5 goals against. After scoring 1 goal and no assists in the first 21 games of the season, Vecchia led the team with 5 goals and 3 assists in the final 9 games.

Seriously, y'all. Take a bit of time to look over the roster. And do yourself a favor by building the tactic around the roster, rather than building the tactic despite the roster.

Edited November 15, 2020 by VinceLombardi

[Rashidi]

24 minutes ago, VinceLombardi said:

When you look at a roster or a single player and put some thought into what they can do well (and what they can't), then you can really get them to perform above their "star rating"

This is worth more than its weight in gold. So few people actually understand this.

[Bruce Drundrige]

For lower, lower leagues I can't agree more with the emphasis on taking advantage of physical attributes. 

Similar to an example mentioned earlier in the thread, in FM20 (dafuge challenge) I had a 6 foot 5 full-back and he was priceless at set-pieces. He was my second top goalscorer two seasons in a row, almost primarily from corners (where of course everyone else was a decoy for him, or he became a decoy for them...), and he became my late-game-chasing-a-goal-emergency-Target Man. He wasn't particularly good at much else, but that physical advantage was crucial.

This was Vanarama South, no money and no reputation, so every possible advantage had to be utilised!

[Boydo]

@Rashidi Do you have any training tips for lower league management? I only have four slots per week so try and fit in a general, an attacking, a defensive and then a match prep.

[kingjericho]

Training in lower leagues has less impact because most players are on part-time contracts and both the coaches and the facilities are not very good.

[Rashidi]

On 19/11/2020 at 02:31, Boydo said:

@Rashidi Do you have any training tips for lower league management? I only have four slots per week so try and fit in a general, an attacking, a defensive and then a match prep.

Like @kingjerichomentioned training in lower leagues is dependant on facilities and coaches. Then you have the limited slots. Finally you aren't really sure who will be around the following season.

Normally I just do general sessions if I need to and these involve the Overall session.  Then I also include match prep for games where I can. I wouldn't worry too much about specialised training programs either.  Additional focus training normally usually involves improving acceleration for younger players and positioning and off the ball  for older ones.

[Christopher S]

 

On 15/11/2020 at 20:53, VinceLombardi said:

Seriously, y'all. Take a bit of time to look over the roster. And do yourself a favor by building the tactic around the roster, rather than building the tactic despite the roster.

On 15/11/2020 at 21:18, Rashidi said:

This is worth more than its weight in gold. So few people actually understand this.

Obviously I cannot speak for everyone else, but in my opinion, the challenge with really bad teams and players for me is that no matter how I set things up or what I try to make them, the end result is somewhat the same; 
- I win games when one or more players play individually great.
- I lose when one or more players make giant mistakes leading to goals. 
- If both things occur, I end up with 6+ goal total games that is total chaos. 

So even if (seemingly) have things set up in a way that makes sense for the players I have, and the patterns I want occur, it rarely matters in the end. The mistakes leading to goal I see in Vanarama level teams are so brain dead I cannot even begin to describe it. 

So my questions then become: 
1) Can I set up my team in a way that limits or eliminates this? These mistakes are arguably part of their strengths and weaknesses, so surely I should be able to mitigate it no? From my (possibly flawed) experience, allowing the enemy team to attack and look for counters leads to large amounts of goals conceded, as my defenders simply aren't good enough to defend consistently. 
2) Conversely, most goals come as a result of the enemy team going for a nap or some ridiculous solo effort. Stringing together actual attacks seem farfetched outside of the stray game here and there. 

Cheers.

[cristhianlinhatti]

this setup works to top sides?

mentality > positive

[VinceLombardi]

On 21/11/2020 at 16:14, Christopher S said:

 

Obviously I cannot speak for everyone else, but in my opinion, the challenge with really bad teams and players for me is that no matter how I set things up or what I try to make them, the end result is somewhat the same; 
- I win games when one or more players play individually great.
- I lose when one or more players make giant mistakes leading to goals. 
- If both things occur, I end up with 6+ goal total games that is total chaos. 

So even if (seemingly) have things set up in a way that makes sense for the players I have, and the patterns I want occur, it rarely matters in the end. The mistakes leading to goal I see in Vanarama level teams are so brain dead I cannot even begin to describe it. 

So my questions then become: 
1) Can I set up my team in a way that limits or eliminates this? These mistakes are arguably part of their strengths and weaknesses, so surely I should be able to mitigate it no? From my (possibly flawed) experience, allowing the enemy team to attack and look for counters leads to large amounts of goals conceded, as my defenders simply aren't good enough to defend consistently. 
2) Conversely, most goals come as a result of the enemy team going for a nap or some ridiculous solo effort. Stringing together actual attacks seem farfetched outside of the stray game here and there. 

Cheers.

I think the best way to combat some of this is consider each step (eg. pass, dribble, etc) in an attack an opportunity to fail/make a mistake. With that mindset, your goal becomes to complete your attacks with as few moves, while maximizing the opponents moves to create a successful attack. 

Said another way, if you get a reasonable chance on goal with 3 passes and you opponent needs 10 passes and a dribble to get the same opportunity, you are going to have a lot more success -- especially in the lower leagues with players that can't do it all themselves. 

That all starts in the midfield and how you engage the opposing team in defense, and conversely taking everything the opponent offers you on offense moving the ball into an attacking position. It's really all about the middle third, imo.

Edit:

As a bit more on this and in line with the OP, I think a real key to making this work is individual evaluations of the players. There are some player's that you are going to start that are just going to be average or subaverage for your level. You don't want to ask too much of these players. Others are going to be stars for the level and can be counted on to perform regularly (even if they don't do it every game) -- like I did with Vecchia in that tactic.

Finally there are players that are good at one thing. Like a CB with high heading & strength but poor pace. That player could be good or bad based on how you use them. If you push a high line and leave space behind, your asking to get burned. However if you play a lower line with a good screen in front to force more lofted passes, you may find that he can keep opposing strikers out of the game despite his lackluster overall star rating.

Edited November 25, 2020 by VinceLombardi

[FM_Prospect]

On 15/11/2020 at 06:56, Rashidi said:

I hope this helps some of you, its just a few chapters I have been working on for creating styles of football.

is this in your FM21 book Daljit?

[Rashidi]

5 hours ago, FM_Prospect said:

is this in your FM21 book Daljit?

Yeah it’s just one small chapter from the book I wrote  Over the course of the FM21 cycle I usually post chapters from the book on the forums, or on my blog and as video guides. If it helps just one of you then it’s great.

[FM_Prospect]

15 minutes ago, Rashidi said:

Yeah it’s just one small chapter from the book I wrote  Over the course of the FM21 cycle I usually post chapters from the book on the forums, or on my blog and as video guides. If it helps just one of you then it’s great.

think it helps most of us mate!

[Abaddon879]

I'm interested in how someone would set-up a lower league tactic to get the best out of a player like Louis Dunne? The team (Farnborough) are newly promoted to National South and predicted to finish last in 24th position, but Louis Dunne is currently happy playing for them despite being rated as a L2 player! I know I'll be losing him at the end of the season, likely on a free, but until such time I want to get the best out of him!

As the team currently only possess a single winger, I am leaning towards a narrow formation and making use of wingbacks (prioritising pace and acceleration other technical ability over mental stats) for width, and ensuring a solid defence. Possibly a variant of the 5-3-2, either utilising a DMC, AMC, or playing a simple flat midfield. This should hopefully make us defensively secure, but I fear that I might struggle to get him to make a real impact.

His favoured position/role is APa in the CM position, although his is accomplished in AM so he could play there as APs. Would this sort of role suit a counter attacking style, or would I be better trying to build a possession-based style and work the ball around? I really want to make him the fulcrum of the team.

[lim]

@Rashidi

Will Si be introducing the high and low values on the comparison page in FM21 or will this new addition be on FM22?

 

It's very frustrating not knowing the high and low values, and I would imagine it will be fairly straight forward to allow the game to show these values.

Edited December 4, 2020 by lim

[Rashidi]

Yeah i think they will fix that or at least i hope they do in the Xmas patch... I am always hopeful of a Xmas present from them.

[Xazarl]

I pick players based on what I need like my wingback must be able to cross so even when I was in van south these stats had to be high or the formation didn't work. My wingers must be able to dribble to cut inside an be able to score 7 to 15 goals a season.

 

I've been promoted 3 times in a row im in league 1 and my players show up as van national or league 2 quality and the start of this new season im still in the top 5 and my team is still playing well. If you build around ur formation and understand ur formation its much more simple. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Xazarl

[steve.battisti]

As someone who is BRAND new to FM, but wants to start at a low level, this was incredibly helpful! I have about a million questions, but for now I'm just soaking it in.

Thank you!!

[DarJ]

1 hour ago, steve.battisti said:

As someone who is BRAND new to FM, but wants to start at a low level, this was incredibly helpful! I have about a million questions, but for now I'm just soaking it in.

Thank you!!

When you start your save you can start your own thread  to ask anything you want

[steve.battisti]

18 hours ago, DarJ said:

When you start your save you can start your own thread  to ask anything you want

Posted my own thread here. Thanks!

[Shib0]

On 14/11/2020 at 20:50, Rashidi said:

PLAYING DEFENSIVE FOOTBALL/COUNTER ATTACKING FOOTBALL

Tried this in vanarama south, but not much success

I think force opposition outside + lower loe + regroup + 2dms just creates an overkill impossible to cope with. Both cbs have good jumping reach, but the amount of crosses is just too high (maybe 3cbs would be better?)

[Rashidi]

2 hours ago, Shib0 said:

Tried this in vanarama south, but not much success

I think force opposition outside + lower loe + regroup + 2dms just creates an overkill impossible to cope with. Both cbs have good jumping reach, but the amount of crosses is just too high (maybe 3cbs would be better?)

Sounds like you picked the wrong players for your system, a common problem for most people.

[goonergez]

On 26/11/2020 at 11:01, Rashidi said:

Yeah it’s just one small chapter from the book I wrote  Over the course of the FM21 cycle I usually post chapters from the book on the forums, or on my blog and as video guides. If it helps just one of you then it’s great.

Just been sent this way and been furiously scribbling down some notes to help me in my next effort for the daFuge challenge. What a great read. Despite being in depth its also easy enough to understand for people who haven't delved this deep into tactics before. 

Where can I find said book though? Be interesting to read more........

[Abaddon879]

8 hours ago, goonergez said:

Just been sent this way and been furiously scribbling down some notes to help me in my next effort for the daFuge challenge. What a great read. Despite being in depth its also easy enough to understand for people who haven't delved this deep into tactics before. 

Where can I find said book though? Be interesting to read more........

I believe this is the document you are after, from his Dropbox drive.

FM21 Tactics Handbook (Beta)PUBLIC.pdf

[goonergez]

2 hours ago, Abaddon879 said:

I believe this is the document you are after, from his Dropbox drive.

FM21 Tactics Handbook (Beta)PUBLIC.pdf

Thanks pal

[jackal_949]

@Rashidi Hello to everyone. What should we do if we are the worst team in the league? There are short and bad jumps in our defense. We don't have a player to be the star of the team. We are expected to be relegated in the league and we have a transfer ban. I'm playing in the lower leagues from Turkey 3rd Division. I have a 2020 football manager.

Edited January 8, 2021 by jackal_949

[Rashidi]

Survive come up with a system that protects you against the cross and hope to find better players.  That essentially is the best thing you can do. You should make yourself compact, if have two dms then you can play defensively wide and protect the flanks, other wise you need to play narrow and hope your fullbacks win the ball. Here you would be looking at playing with some kind of middle block

 

[jackal_949]

I don't know much about the game. I used to play a little, but I'm not familiar with the game. I could not find a guide for this game in my country. I follow you on youtube because I don't speak English, I use google translate. And I would ask you to add subtitles to the videos you shared. I do such research using google translate in the forum. I was playing in the 4-2Dm-3 AMRLC -1 formation until I found this problem. I was keeping my line of defense standard or high. I was trying to play close to the ownership style. I have read a few titles on overloading tactics. I'm trying to try them. I don't know if this tactic can be done in low league and weak teams. When I tried to play a defense game I got worse results. It may be possible to play aggressively.
I worked. My best players in my team are those in the AMRLC position. This is considered to be the average level of our league. My tactic is as follows.

[image] https://ibb.co/b5cFQCD [/image]https://ibb.co/b5cFQCD

I'm using fullback at DRL location. and I use instructions for players to dribble less, take fewer risks, and progress over long distances. When I used the rear wing, they spent a lot of time with the ball and I was losing a top. Cycle through AMRLC circulation from positions, simple press more. The mark is displayed in the AMRL position on the right and left defense of the racquet. I often make changes during the match. It's like taking DR into a support post. When the opponent team has trouble with the wings, I set my fullbacks as attack. I use the tactic you see in the picture as an attack. When I take the lead, the right defender pulls into support. Since we are weak in air balls, I usually have trouble with set pieces. 

I also think about this. As a beginner who doesn't know the game, is it bad that I picked a weak team in the low leagues?

Thank you so much for your time and response.

Edited January 8, 2021 by jackal_949

[jackal_949]

I did research on the forum last night. I read Llama3's book on pairs and combinations. And I saw people who had tactics problems. I realized that I was making the same mistake. I guess I made random choices without having any strategy, not knowing the roles and tasks of the players and what they were doing on the field. I changed my tactics. Something similar to the above tactic but I made changes to the tasks and team instructions. I make many changes during the match again. I learn and struggle.

[Taipan]

Nice write-up Rash

[kcchu1016]

What is the difference between using a Pressing Forward and an Advanced Forward?

[DarJ]

On 25/01/2021 at 14:14, kcchu1016 said:

What is the difference between using a Pressing Forward and an Advanced Forward?

First of all the closing down area of the PF is larger so even if you are playing with a lower defensive line, he will still close down a bit early compared to other roles. The AF on the other hand is the most attacking striker role and the team would look to get the ball to him as soon as the opportunity comes 

 

[bibird.]

On 08/01/2021 at 15:43, Rashidi said:

Survive come up with a system that protects you against the cross and hope to find better players.  That essentially is the best thing you can do. You should make yourself compact, if have two dms then you can play defensively wide and protect the flanks, other wise you need to play narrow and hope your fullbacks win the ball. Here you would be looking at playing with some kind of middle block

 

This is great advice, but it's important to note that there's more than one way to skin a cat.

I've played two LLM saves so far in FM21, but have used completely different methods to protect myself from crosses. Save one with Buxton in the VNN saw me inherit a squad with a couple of good options at the back with good jumping reach. I trialled plenty more players in pre-season, signed a few more centre backs and eventually settled on a tactic with a back three that could sit in a mid block and repel most aerial threats easily. This is the pretty standard way to deal with crossing threat - just hope you can outjump the opposition strikers.

However, my most recent save in the Finnish second tier has required a bit more creative thinking to deal with this. Faced with a side completely devoid of centre backs and any players with jumping reach, I would have faced a complete overhaul in order to set up a side playing a deep or even a mid-block. However, all of my players (bar my keepers) have at least 11 in accelleration. In fact, checking the team report comparison showed my squad were comfortably the highest in the league with this and pace. As such, I set up a cautious 4-3-3, with a much higher defensive line and a focus on keeping the ball through short and safe passing. Our xGA is the lowest in the league and we have conceded the fewest goals. Our defensive line sits happily on the half way line, as the opposition pump long balls out to try and get out of our sterile domination of posession. We win the majority of games 1-0, scoring early and just keeping the ball as far away from our net as possible.

The key for me in this situation to building the meanest defence with the worst defenders in the league? Play to their strengths. Find a few players in front of them who can pass or run with the ball and make them defend as little as possible.

Thanks to @Rashidi for this thread and @VinceLombardi for their comments on analysing your players. It allowed me to realise some keys aspects to look for when building a team with limited resources and key tactical aspects to consider at lower levels.

Edited February 19, 2021 by bibird.

[frukox]

8 hours ago, bibird. said:

This is great advice, but it's important to note that there's more than one way to skin a cat.

I've played two LLM saves so far in FM21, but have used completely different methods to protect myself from crosses. Save one with Buxton in the VNN saw me inherit a squad with a couple of good options at the back with good jumping reach. I trialled plenty more players in pre-season, signed a few more centre backs and eventually settled on a tactic with a back three that could sit in a mid block and repel most aerial threats easily. This is the pretty standard way to deal with crossing threat - just hope you can outjump the opposition strikers.

However, my most recent save in the Finnish second tier has required a bit more creative thinking to deal with this. Faced with a side completely devoid of centre backs and any players with jumping reach, I would have faced a complete overhaul in order to set up a side playing a deep or even a mid-block. However, all of my players (bar my keepers) have at least 11 in accelleration. In fact, checking the team report comparison showed my squad were comfortably the highest in the league with this and pace. As such, I set up a cautious 4-3-3, with a much higher defensive line and a focus on keeping the ball through short and safe passing. Our xGA is the lowest in the league and we have conceded the fewest goals. Our defensive line sits happily on the half way line, as the opposition pump long balls out to try and get out of our sterile domination of posession. We win the majority of games 1-0, scoring early and just keeping the ball as far away from our net as possible.

The key for me in this situation to building the meanest defence with the worst defenders in the league? Play to their strengths. Find a few players in front of them who can pass or run with the ball and make them defend as little as possible.

Thanks to @Rashidi for this thread and @VinceLombardi for their comments on analysing your players. It allowed me to realise some keys aspects to look for when building a team with limited resources and key tactical aspects to consider at lower levels.

I'm also in the second tier in Finland managing TPS, a part of my Ultimate Challenge. First thing I did was going to the team comparison page. The results told me my players were a squad of physical but slow players with above average mentals and average technicals. So playing a high line was impossible. This immediately formed my type of attack, a mild tone of route one strategy, powered by a standard DL+ LOE but there was another problem. The teams would play cautiously against us as I was predicted 1st in the group. I had to send more players to my attacking transitions.

Then, I looked at all of my players according to the dna attributes I determined, which were acceleration, bravery, off the ball, positioning, work rate, jumping reach. That's all. I had two mentally above average slow but towering CDs, only one natural striker, fairly slow but intelligent midfielders. I have to note I converted my natural LB to a striker(DLFA) as he had speed, strength and mentals. I wanted to use a formation with two strikers so I went for an old school 442. The system is still like this:

             DLFA      P

WMS    CMA                WMA

                           DMS

WBS    CDD       CDD    WBS

Positive

No in-possession instructions

Distribute to FBs

Standard DL, Standard LOE, Defend Narrower

All players apart from strikers: Close down more(I aim to compress space to make up for less-than-ideal compactness)

WBSs: Stay Wider

Players with  good passing, vision and decisions: Play More Risky Passes

I want my mentality to drive my style as it has what I want: mixed passing style with fairly high tempo focusing slightly on my flanks. 

Last season I started to manage this team when it was 8th in the league. Players had average morale but with a solid system we kept on winning and only defeated in the play-offs by a Premier League side (I strengthened my squad after the season)

This season my team defeated two Finnish Premier League side and now on the way to quarter finals again against a Premier League side, wish me luck:)and leads in the league. I could have recruited better personnel but I can't see all of the attributes so that's expected, I guess. 

Although I played with a lower mid block I scored one after a setpiece, another set-piece goal and a drilled cross deflected back into the net by opposition LB during a counterattack. All chances and goals came from my converted LB(DLFA). I restricted them to long shots or quarter chances-they were always marked. They only managed to find a one-on-one during a defensive transition from an attacking corner, which shows you have to have a plan in your mind which should be in accordance with the strength and weaknesses of your team. My plan was taking pressure off my team in press conferences and team talks and then in the match, hit them hard after a failed transition and hit the ball to one of my forwards and create a chance from there and it worked nicely. As Rashidi said you don't have to play beautiful football in LLM.

Edit: Added screenshots and an explanation.

Edited February 20, 2021 by frukox

[HanziZoloman]

On 14/11/2020 at 16:41, Rashidi said:

Chris Taylor could also be an option but we will need to develop his first touch.

How would you do this? I have a good player who is also missing FT and I couldn’t get it up.

[steve.battisti]

So, I don't know if it's OK to resurrect this thread, but I'm back to playing FM21, and I always found this thread incredibly helpful. I'm playing nonleague, starting at Tier 10. But I just don't understand attributes at the level of some of guys like Rashidi and VinceLombardi. I end up getting overwhelmed trying to figure out which attributes are critical for each position. 

For example, I'm playing a 4-4-2 and in direct need of some centerbacks. If I look at Rashidi's original post, I figure out my benchmark. I haven't done that yet, but let's assume that if for Vanarama National South (which is Tier 6) it was >= 9, then for Tier 10 maybe it's >= 7. (Did that comparison page ever get the high and low values? I haven't checked yet.)

Now I want to figure out deciding attributes for my CB (I'm using central defender (defend). We are way deep in the lower leagues, so I'm assuming physical > mental. Rashidi specifically mentions Jumping for CBs. Does he need Acceleration or Pace so he doesn't get beat over the top? And although it's not specifically an attribute, is a certain minimum Height a good idea? 

So we're possibly looking at Jumping, Acceleration, and Pace above 7 at least, and at least 6' tall or 185 cm?

On the technical side, we probably need Heading, Marking, Tackling. Maybe Passing too, so we're not just hoofing it out of the back all the time?

Mentally, we need Bravery and Determination, but you could make an argument for a bundle of other important mentals: Aggression, Anticipation, Composure, Concentration, Decisions, Positioning.

So I guess where I'm struggling is:

1. I'm already up to something like 10-15 attributes. How do I narrow this down to something more concise? Not just for my CB, but for all of my positions?
2. Once I've set my guidelines, should I use these as "minimum requirements"? Of course, in nonleague, options are limited, and I struggle to figure out, if I find a player who has most of this above the thresholds I've set, but has a 3 bravery, for example, should I pass on him?

Anyway, feedback would be much appreciated!!

Thanks!

[steve.battisti]

For example, here's a CB at my club. It's hard for me to look past the stars, but he has some pretty good attributes for a 16-yo at this level. 

Jump 10 is great, and he's pretty tall, but his Acceleration (3) is bad and Pace (7) is OK. He's certainly not catching up with any strikers, but I wasn't convinced about the importance of that anyway.

Heading 6 is below where we want it, but 10 Marking and 9 Tackling are pretty good. 2 Passing isn't good, but like Acceleration and Pace, beggars can't be choosers in Tier 10.

Mentally, this kid's pretty good, with 13 Aggression, 17 Determination, and 13 Leadership. Even 11 Positioning. His 4 Bravery stinks though.

So, as you look at this, is this kid worthless? Better than his star rating would suggest for what I want him to do? I'm curious as to what you guys "see" when you look at him.

 

[HanziZoloman]

vor 8 Stunden schrieb steve.battisti:

For example, here's a CB at my club. It's hard for me to look past the stars, but he has some pretty good attributes for a 16-yo at this level. 

Jump 10 is great, and he's pretty tall, but his Acceleration (3) is bad and Pace (7) is OK. He's certainly not catching up with any strikers, but I wasn't convinced about the importance of that anyway.

Heading 6 is below where we want it, but 10 Marking and 9 Tackling are pretty good. 2 Passing isn't good, but like Acceleration and Pace, beggars can't be choosers in Tier 10.

Mentally, this kid's pretty good, with 13 Aggression, 17 Determination, and 13 Leadership. Even 11 Positioning. His 4 Bravery stinks though.

So, as you look at this, is this kid worthless? Better than his star rating would suggest for what I want him to do? I'm curious as to what you guys "see" when you look at him.

 

I believe that for a CD you need bravery, if you are too low with that, he’ll not challenge in a tackle enough.

[DarJ]

I would prioritise jumping reach and acceleration. It's going to be impossible to find all the attributes so I'll just get one guy who can jump and one who can cover fast strikers. If in those 2 players they have bravery, aggression and anticipation then fine.