Pressing the opposition mf in 4231 deep CMs formation

[SimonHoddle]

I play the new look 4231DM.

just wondering if your playing against eg 433 and the opposition has dangerous CMs - would pressing the opposition CMs pull my DMs out of position? Same question for tight marking.

any advice gratefully received.

Edited March 19, 2023 by SimonHoddle

[Cloud9]

2 hours ago, SimonHoddle said:

I play the new look 4231DM.

just wondering if your playing against eg 433 and the opposition has dangerous CMs - would pressing the opposition CMs pull my DMs out of position? Same question for tight marking.

any advice gratefully received.

Yes it can, press will do so less than tight marking. Make sure they're not press resistant players before adding PIs, but I'd go after whichever one is the playmaker.

If your worried about losing your shape, avoid the marking PI. W/ the pressing PIs, just don't go overboard on them. Pressing a selected few oppositions players can be really impactful on how the game develops. 

 

Take a look at the pass maps as well. You can try pressing the player who is passing the ball to the dangerous players. Having your AMC tight mark/tackle harder their DM can be an effective way to shut down a 4-3-3 if the play is going through him. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Cloud9

[SimonHoddle]

1 hour ago, Cloud9 said:

Yes it can, press will do so less than tight marking. Make sure they're not press resistant players before adding PIs, but I'd go after whichever one is the playmaker.

If your worried about losing your shape, avoid the marking PI. W/ the pressing PIs, just don't go overboard on them. Pressing a selected few oppositions players can be really impactful on how the game develops. 

 

Take a look at the pass maps as well. You can try pressing the player who is passing the ball to the dangerous players. Having your AMC tight mark/tackle harder their DM can be an effective way to shut down a 4-3-3 if the play is going through him. 

Really interesting. Much appreciated. I’ve avoided pressing because of shape but will consider it more often now. Cheers.

[bababooey]

On 19/03/2023 at 17:25, SimonHoddle said:

Really interesting. Much appreciated. I’ve avoided pressing because of shape but will consider it more often now. Cheers.

Just to add on to what Cloud9 already said....

I would say it depends on how you're setting your team up to defend. Are you defending actively, or passively? In other words, what instructions do you give your team in defense?

The only situation where I'd say you might wanna avoid closing down the other team's CM's is if you're playing a *very* passive style of defense where everyone needs to stay in their shape at all times, and trigger the press much less often.  Otherwise, why not give it a go and see how it plays out?