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6 7*,8+)().-%9) !"#$%#"& :)-%;. "./ <"$#(
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Richaiu Clayuon (wwfan) & uaieth Nillwaiu (Nillie)




! ""#$ &'(



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Bistoiy ..........................................................................................................................................................S
Philosophy...................................................................................................................................................6
Scope..............................................................................................................................................................7
Limitations..................................................................................................................................................8
Relateu Links..............................................................................................................................................8
I$%&%-%.; $() :*#@,).$EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 5
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D&">)+ K*&)- L <).$"&%$> =>-$),- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEJ4
The NCu anu the NCa.......................................................................................................................... 1u
The FCu anu the FCa ............................................................................................................................ 11
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The Nike Befence .................................................................................................................................. 1S
The Libeio Befence .............................................................................................................................. 14
Rule of 0ne (Ro0) ................................................................................................................................. 14
Banus of Two........................................................................................................................................... 1S
Role Theoiy ............................................................................................................................................. 1S
2-6-2 Nentality....................................................................................................................................... 16
SxS Theoiy............................................................................................................................................... 16
ulobal Nentality..................................................................................................................................... 17
Effective Stiike Paitneiships ........................................................................................................... 17
D&">)+ K*&)- L 0*+1"+/ K@.- N0OK-P EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEJQ
The Aiiowless Natch Engine........................................................................................................... 19
D"--%.; D"$$)+.-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMJ
Passing 0ptions...................................................................................................................................... 21
Passing Systems..................................................................................................................................... 22
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:)A).-%9) S%.)EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMR
Relation to Nentality System........................................................................................................... 2S
Relation to 0pposition Foimation................................................................................................. 2S
Relation to Playei Attiibutes ........................................................................................................... 24
Relation to Pitch Size........................................................................................................................... 24
Auuitional Settings ............................................................................................................................... 24
O%/$(EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMH
Relation to Natch Stiategy................................................................................................................ 2S
Relation to Pitch Size........................................................................................................................... 2S
!),8*EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMH
Relation to Natch Stiategy................................................................................................................ 2S
Relation to Pitch Size........................................................................................................................... 26
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Nentality System Assumptions....................................................................................................... 26
Passing Assumptions........................................................................................................................... 27
Tempo Assumptions ............................................................................................................................ 28
Wiuth Assumptions.............................................................................................................................. 28
Time Wasting Assumptions.............................................................................................................. 29
Tackling Assumptions......................................................................................................................... 29
Naiking Assumptions ......................................................................................................................... 29
""#$ &'( )


Focus Passing Assumptions.............................................................................................................. Su
Cieative Fieeuom Assumptions...................................................................................................... Su
Fiee Role Assumptions....................................................................................................................... Su
<"$#( =$+"$);%)- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER4
The Stanuaiu Natch Stiategy........................................................................................................... S1
The Attacking Natch Stiategy.......................................................................................................... S1
The Befensive Natch Stiategy......................................................................................................... S2
The Contiol Natch Stiategy.............................................................................................................. S2
The Shut-up-Shop Natch Stiategy................................................................................................. SS
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?).)+%# G.-$+@#$%*.-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERF
Befenu Role.............................................................................................................................................. S4
Suppoit Role............................................................................................................................................ S4
Attack Role............................................................................................................................................... SS
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D*-%$%*."& G.-$+@#$%*.-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERH
uoalkeepei ............................................................................................................................................... S6
Cential Befenueis ................................................................................................................................. S6
Full Backs.................................................................................................................................................. S7
Wing Backs............................................................................................................................................... S7
Befensive Niufieluei............................................................................................................................ S7
Niufieluei with Befensive Buties (NCu) .................................................................................... S8
Siue-Niufielueis..................................................................................................................................... S8
Wingeis ..................................................................................................................................................... S9
Niufieluei with Attacking Buties (NCa) ..................................................................................... S9
Attacking Niufieluei ............................................................................................................................ S9
Beep Lying Foiwaiu (FCu)................................................................................................................ 4u
Auvanceu Foiwaiu (FCa)................................................................................................................... 4u
=8)#%"&%-$ D*-%$%*. !()*+%)- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FJ
Sweepei Keepei..................................................................................................................................... 41
SweepeiLibeio..................................................................................................................................... 42
Beep-Lying Playmakei........................................................................................................................ 4S
Box-to-Box Niufieluei......................................................................................................................... 4S
Auvanceu Playmakei........................................................................................................................... 44
Taiget Nan............................................................................................................................................... 44
Poachei...................................................................................................................................................... 4S
Complete Foiwaiu................................................................................................................................ 4S
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K)&"$%*. $* O%/$(VD%$#( =%W)EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFT
K)&"$%*. $* D&">)+ =$+"$"V7("..)&- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFT
The ANC Position.................................................................................................................................. 46
The BNC Position.................................................................................................................................. 47
The Lone Stiikei .................................................................................................................................... 47
K)&"$%*. $* =8)#%A%# D&">)+- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFX
The 'Show onto Foot' 0I ..................................................................................................................... 47
The 'TightLoose Naiking' 0I.......................................................................................................... 48
The 'Closing Bown' 0I ......................................................................................................................... 48
The 'BeavyEasy Tackling' 0I.......................................................................................................... 48
7+)/%$- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE F5

* ""#$ &'(


$+,-.+,/ 01 2345 6+551-,









""#$ &'( 7


89:,+/4;:<+9

=<>:+,1

Tactical Theoiems anu Fiamewoiks 'u9 (TT&F 'u9) is the sixth in a seiies of
tactical guiues aimeu at helping the viitual managei get the best out of the
Football Nanagei tactical mouule. Its fiist iteiation oiiginateu fiom a seiies of
expeiiments uuiing the eaily uays of FNu6 that weie unueitaken in the belief
that theie weie seiious flaws in the Natch Engine. These expeiiments uispioveu
the hypothesis, showing the oiiginal wiitei that he uiun't know as much about
football as he hau pieviously thought anu the fiist TT&F, posteu in Novembei
2uuS, which both piaiseu anu explaineu the FNu6 engine. The thieau was
stickieu in the uQ section of the SI uames foiums anu quickly became a
significant playei in the uevelopment of viitual tactical theoiy.

With latei veisions of Football Nanagei, TT&F became moie sophisticateu,
expanuing its ambitions anu tactical stiategies anu ieciuiting a laige anu
knowleugeable following that significantly contiibuteu to its uevelopment.
0nfoitunately, it began to uiift towaius jaigon, heavyweight manageiial
iefeiences anu excessive numeiical uetail, thus becoming laigely inaccessible foi
the casual usei. By FNu8, while still being congiatulateu by contiibutois, it hau
lost uiiection anu was being oveiwhelmeu by thieaus piomising supei-tactical
solutions to the Natch Engine. These 'supei-tactics' weie not just in funuamental
opposition to TT&F, but often geneiateu fiustiation anu angei foi useis, as they
tenueu to piouuce uniealistic matches in which possession anu chances weie
uominateu by the losing team. Bespite this seeming uomination, the numeious
chances cieateu weie often veiy pooi anu easily uefenueu by the AI team. Nany
useis faileu to iecognise the half-chance natuie of the attacks anu some iesoiteu
to accusations of a ianuom Natch Engine, supei-keepeis anu a cheating AI.

TT&F 'u9 has taken all of this on boaiu anu aims to confiont it heau on. Fiist anu
foiemost, we aim to oveicome the usei fiustiations anu accusations of AI
cheating that have plagueu iecent veisions of Football Nanagei. None of the
iegulai contiibutois to TT&F have evei founu Football Nanagei to be
exaspeiating, oveily unfaii, full of supei-keepeis oi hoiiibly uniealistic.
Fuitheimoie, in ielation to the complaints of ianuomness, TT&F's methouology
ensuies the Natch Engine piouuces excellent looking football anu match
situations in which manageiial uecisions, goou oi bau, make obvious uiffeiences.
Finally, TT&F's philosophy has always been that viitual anu ieal woilu football
management iequiies a multiplicity of tactical stiategies, iathei than one supei-
tactic, in oiuei to combat numeious uiffeient match situations anu footballing
styles. In uiscussing these elements in jaigon-fiee uetail, TT&F 'u9 hopes to
biing the enjoyment levels anu in-uepth tactical knowleuge of its iegulai
contiibutois to a much wiuei auuience. With luck, moie anu moie viitual
manageis will embiace some oi all of the TT&F concepts anu finu Football
Nanagei 'u9 to be a fully satisfying gaming expeiience. We ceitainly hope so.
? ""#$ &'(


2@<5+>+A@1

Theie aie five impoitant uefinitions anu beliefs that unueilie TT&F.

"#$%&%'%(& ($ )(*+,'%(&- A foimation is the basic fiamewoik ueciuing the
position of each playei, i.e. a 4-4-2 has foui uefenueis, foui miufielueis anu two
attackeis. Likewise, a 4-S-S4-S-1 foimation has foui uefenueis, one uefensive
miufieluei, two cential miufielueis, two wingeis anu a centie foiwaiu.

"#$%&%'%(& ($ .,/'%/0- Tactics opeiate within the foimation fiamewoik. A 4-4-2
at home will uiffei heavily fiom a 4-4-2 away. In a home foimation, the wingeis
may hug the touchline, suppoit the attackeis anu be given a faii uegiee of
cieative fieeuom. In an away foimation, they may be askeu to tuck in, suppoit
the full backs, anu be ieauy foi quick bieaks when the potential iewaiu
outweighs the iisk.

)(('1,22 3,&,4#* .,/'%/0- When uesigning tactics, one sliuei tweak alteis the
tactical instiuction but not the oveiall foimation. When uiscussing tactical
instiuctions, we will talk about them in the context of a single unspecifieu
foimation.

56,&4%&4 .,/'%/0- No team evei goes thiough a match without some switches
in tactical stiategy. The extent to which these tactical changes woik uefines the
couise of the match. They may not be iecognisable to the casual viewei but they
happen nonetheless. The same applies to in-match management in Football
Nanagei. Playing the same tactic all game in the belief that because youi playeis
aie supeiioi you will inevitably win anuoi failuie to iecognise anu change youi
tactics when things aie obviously going against you will not biing you titles. In-
game uecision-making is absolutely vital to TT&F tactical theoiy anu to be
successful you will neeu to leain when anu how to apply each tactical change.

.6# 78//#00$82 3,&,4#*- Teams anu manageis aie geneially successful uue to a
combination of foui things: goou tactical management, goou man-management,
goou tiansfei policy anu availability of funus. Failuie to manage any of the above
is likely to leau to a season of pooi peifoimances anu uisillusionment. We will
assume you aie capable of managing tiansfeis anu can iecognise goou playeis in
ielation to level, so we will not elaboiate fuithei on these aspects heie. Suffice to
say, with ioughly the iight calibie of playei foi youi uivision oui tactical theoiy
shoulu help you on the path to success. Bowevei, if you uon't have the iight
calibie of playei, you will almost ceitainly stiuggle. If you iegulaily make peifect
uecisions you can suivive with pooi playeis, but it will be uifficult. We piomise
no miiacles, just goou tactical uesign.

To leain moie about the playei, tiansfei anu man-management siue of Football
Nanagei visit the goou playei anu tactical foiums at FN-Biitain anu SI uames.
""#$ &'( B


C;+A-

TT&F 'u9 has been totally iewiitten to take into account the significant match
engine impiovements ovei the FNL anu FN'u9 Beta tests. While its main
piioiities aie to maintain its focus on piouucing iealistic looking football anu to
facilitate the switch to the aiiowless engine, it has expanueu in scope to incluue
the following:

3,&,4#* 7'92#- uistinct manageiial styles iequiie uistinct tactical stiategies.
Ranging fiom the uetaileu anu piecise tactical plans of }ose Nouiinho to the
motivational simplicity of Kevin Keegan, TT&F 'u9 outlines eight mentality
systems anu theii ieal woilu tactical anu manageiial equivalents

.*,&02,'%&4 '6# 72%:#*0- by focusing on ieal woilu tactical language anu
minimising the focus on sliuei notch numbeis, TT&F 'u9 enables manageis to
quickly anu easily uesign fully effective tactics foi any match situation anu
foimation

;2,9#* <(2#0- by uetailing playei ioles anu illustiating how they combine with
each othei anu the mentality systems, TT&F 'u9 explains how tactics woik fiom
the giounu up

3,'/6 7'*,'#4%#0- TT&F 'u9 outlines five easy to uesign match stiategies that
slot into whichevei of the eight manageiial philosophies you choose to
implement

56((0%&4 9(8* ;%'/6 7%=#- TT&F 'u9 explains how tactics fit with pitch sizes,
enabling you to choose the iueal pitch foi youi home matches anu make effective
changes foi uiffeient pitch uimensions

>&:%?%:8,2 ;2,9#* .6#(*%#0- TT&F 'u9 outlines how to get the best peifoimance
out of each stanuaiu playei position within each manageiial stiategy

7@#/%,2%0' ;(0%'%(& .6#(*%#0- TT&F 'u9 explains how to get the best
peifoimance out of the following playei types:

Sweepei Keepei
SweepeiLibeio
Beep-Lying Playmakei
Box-to-Box Niufieluei
Auvanceu Playmakei
Taiget Nan
Poachei
Complete Foiwaiu

A@@(0%'%(& >&0'*8/'%(&0- TT&F 'u9 explains how to employ 0Is to countei
uiffeient foimation types anu limit the influence of youi opponent's key playeis

D ""#$ &'(


E<F<:3:<+9>

Theie aie ceitain elements of the Football Nanagei expeiience that TT&F uoes
not covei. This section biiefly unueilines theii ielation to tactical success.

3,&,4#* <#@8','%(&- All squaus will neeu time to aujust to anu iespect youi
manageiial anu tactical uecisions. You won't get the best out of youi playeis
until you have installeu a sense of uiscipline thioughout youi squau.

7B8,: C#22%&4- If youi squau has not gelleu, then the team will not play well, no
mattei how goou youi tactical plans. Staiting the game with a shaky squau will
limit success as will buying in huge numbeis of playeis. Playing conseivative
football in these situations gives the squau a chance to giab points. uiven
enough gelling time the squau will be able to play a moie expansive game.

3,& ,&: 3#:%, 3,&,4#+#&'- If youi manmeuia management skills aie pooi,
you will upset youi playeis, fans anu boaiu, which will cost you matches. Leain
how youi playeis iesponu to ceitain meuia anu playei inteiactions anu team
talks so you aie able ensuie they aie motivateu foi eveiy match.

.*,&0$#* ,&: )%&,&/%,2 7'*,'#4%#0- A club that oveispenus anu builus an oveily
laige squau will geneiate unhappiness. Likewise, a club that has no ambition in
the tiansfei maiket will fail to captuie the quality of playei iequiieu foi success.
Focusing on anu acquiiing logical taigets that fit youi squau anu wage stiuctuie
will ensuie a ielaxeu uiessing ioom anu consistently goou peifoimances.

.*,%&%&4 ;*(4*,++#0- To get the best peifoimance possible out of youi team,
you will neeu to shape playeis to youi tactical vision. Tailoieu tiaining iegimes
ensuie that the managei has a wealth of potentially iueal playeis at his uisposal,
allowing him to tuin his tactical vision into ieality.

7#' ;%#/#0- Extiemely impoitant but not coveieu. Biu you think we weie going
to spoon-feeu you eveiything.

G-53:-/ E<9H>

"#$ %&'()*#+( ,+- ,-.*/' $'0,)*+1 )# )2*( -#/&3'+) 40',(' .*(*) )2' ),/)*/,0 5#$&3(
,) "678$*),*+ ,+- SI uames. "#$ *+7-'4)2 -*(/&((*#+( #5 (4'/*5*/ )2'#$*'(9 40',('
.*(*) )2' "678$*),*+ :,/)*/,0 8*;0' "#$&3< "#$ ,+ ,&-*# -*(/&((*#+ #5 )2'('
)2'#$*'(9 40',(' -#=+0#,- )2' >') ?,/@'- 4#-/,()9 ,+ '+)'$),*+*+1 0##@ ,) .*$)&,0
5##);,00 3,+,1'3'+)<

A' 2#4' B#& '+C#B $',-*+1 )2*( ,( 3&/2 ,( =' '+C#B'- =$*)*+1 *) ,+- )2,) *) 2'04(
B#& )# 5&00B &+-'$(),+- ,+- ,44$'/*,)' )2' ),/)*/,0 '0'3'+)( #5 "6DE<

>##- 0&/@ ,+- 40,B ='00

==5,+
""#$ &'( (


I:<5<><9J :@- K+;4F-9:

Although TT&F 'u9 is intenueu to be a compiehensive tactical uesign anu match
stiategy walkthiough foi beginnei anu auvanceu playeis alike, it can also be
useu as a quick iefeience iesouice foi the following pioblems:

;((* ,&: "%0D(%&'#: ;2,9- If the football youi team is piouucing looks
extiemely uniealistic anu playeis constantly make simple eiiois, then ieau
0+",)1*+2- (pages 9-21)

<,&:(+ ;#*$(*+,&/#0- If youi team sometimes peifoims like woilu-beateis
wheieas othei times plays like a pub-siue, then ieau 0+",)1*+2 6/"8$"$%*.
(pages 22-2S)

;*(12#+0 E%'6 7@#/%$%/ .#,+0F)(*+,'%(&0- If you consistently stiuggle against
a ceitain team oi type of foimation, ieau 0+",)1*+2 6/"8$"$%*. (pages 22-2S)

G(+# ,&: HE,9 ;#*$(*+,&/#0- If youi team plays well at home anu teiiibly
away, oi vice-veisa, ieau <"$#( =$+"$);> !()*+%)- (pages 26-S2)

I&,12# '( G(2: , J#,:- If you aie constantly leaking late goals anu uiopping
points that weie seemingly in the bag, ieau <"$#( =$+"$);> !()*+%)- (pages 26-
S2)

;((* ;2,9#* ;#*$(*+,&/#- If you can't get a specific playei to peifoim well oi a
specific position to woik as expecteu, ieau G./%9%/@"& D&">)+ !()*+%)- (pages
SS-S9)

K(*2:L52,00 ;2,9#* I&:#*@#*$(*+%&4- If you aie unable to get consistently
goou peifoimances out of a woilu-class footballei, ieau =8)#%"&%-$ D*-%$%*.
!()*+%)- (pages 4u-44)

I&,12# '( 7'(@ 7@#/%$%/ A@@(0%&4 ;2,9#*0 $*(+ ;#*$(*+%&4- If you constantly
stiuggle to limit the influence of ceitain playeis, ieau U88*-%$%*. G.-$+@#$%*.-
!()*+%)- (pages 4S-47)


In auuition, we will also ielease a set of 72 TT&F inspiieu tactics foi Football
Nanagei 'u9. The tactics incluue 2u mouein foimations in Befensive, Stanuaiu
anu Attacking Natch Stiategies, plus nine classic foimations anu thiee futuiistic,
expeiimental foimations. These tactics aie laigely intenueu foi bettei than
aveiage siues playing on smallei than aveiage pitches. They aie Y"./ *A !1*
tactics (('' 4,1' FG) with geneiic playei iole settings (('' 4,1'( HH7HG). We hope
you enjoy them.

We will also ielease a 2-page Ciib Sheet uetailing the basic instiuctions anu an
Excel-baseu Tactical Wizaiu that takes you thiough each tactic step-by-step.
L' ""#$ &'(


$,3F-.+,H>

Eveiy tactic is baseu aiounu a fiamewoik that ueciues the basic 'shape' of the
foimation by employing vaiiations of mentality, uefensive line, closing uown,
iuns anu passing settings. In oiuei foi any tactic to woik effectively, these key
ingieuients must be set coiiectly. The ioles of inuiviuual playeis aie then
auapteu aiounu these instiuctions.

2531-, G+5-> # M-9:35<:1 C1>:-F>

Foi the most pait, the fiamewoiks aie baseu aiounu playei ioles iefeiieu to by
theii typical Football Nanagei abbieviation (left siueu miufieluei becomes NL,
goal keepei uK etc.). Bowevei, theie aie foui ioles atypical of Football Nanagei
position uefaults that aie funuamental to the uesign of tactics.

"@- M6/ 39/ :@- M63

In eveiy tactic, one cential miufieluei neeus to be given the iole of NCu
(miufieluei with uefensive uuties) anu anothei neeus to be given the iole of NCa
(miufieluei with attacking uuties).

The NCu is a holuing playei. Be can be playeu in the BNC position, but uoes not
have to be. Be shoulu be uefensively minueu anu will geneially not make
foiwaiu iuns. Bis piimaiy iole is to piotect the back line when the miufielu anu
foiwaius attack, anu to act as the fiist line of uefence when the opposition have
attacking possession. Be shoulu be cautious, holu his position anu help maintain
the team's uefensive shape.

The NCa is the flip siue of the coin. Be is an attacking playei whose iole is to
suppoit the foiwaius when the team has possession. Be can be playeu in the
ANC position, but uoes not have to be. Be will be moie attacking, will tenu to
make foiwaiu iuns anu commonly assumes a playmaking iole in the centie of
the fielu.

Baving both types of cential miufieluei in a siue means the miufielu uoesn't get
vacateu when a team aie on the attack while ensuiing theie aie enough people
attacking to offei suppoit. It pioviues uefensive stability anu attacking muscle.


""#$ &'( LL


"@- $6/ 39/ :@- $63

This is a slightly haiuei uistinction to iecognise at fiist glance. It is best to
explain the system with iegaiu to foimations employing two stiikeis, such as the
classic 4-4-2.

The FCu is the link playei. Be uiops in the hole behinu the main stiikei to act as
a biiuge between the miufielu anu the attack. Without him, it is possible to leave
the two stiikeis completely isolateu fiom the iest of the team. With him, theie is
a staggeieu stage of attack. The main stiikei anu, foimation allowing, a couple of
miufielueis iun beyonu him while he holus up the ball anu looks foi passing
options, giving the attack time to take shape. This is ciucial in all systems, but
especially so foi those employing a countei attacking stiategy. Baving him hang
slightly fuithei back offeis passing options to the othei foiwaius anu
miufielueis, anu theiefoie keeps the play imaginative, flowing anu effective.

The FCa is his stiike paitnei. Tolu to stay foiwaiu at all times, he is the piimaiy
enu-taiget of the attacking play (but not necessaiily the taiget man). Be plays off
the shouluei of the last uefenuei, tiies to latch on to long balls anu thiough balls
anu moves aiounu as much as possible to cieate space foi himself. Being
fuithest foiwaiu, he always offeis an attacking pass option, especially foi the
FCu. Be can, if neeueu, lay the ball off to ueepei positioneu teammates, but his
piimaiy function is attempting to finish off attacking moves.

Bowevei, this uefinition bluis slightly in foimations having fewei oi moie than
two foiwaius:

J(&# 7'*%M#* )(*+,'%(&0- In a lone stiikei foimation, one of the NCs oi ANCs
plays the iole of FCa. The iuea heie is that the lone stiikei's iole is moie similai
to an FCu than to a tiue FCa. Be will aim to holu the ball up anu lay it off to othei
people. Be will look to keep the ball long enough foi his suppoit to aiiive in the
foim of miufielueis anu wingeis. In oiuei to not leave him isolateu, he iequiies a
lowei mentality. In oiuei to ensuie suppoit aiiives quickly the attacking
miufieluei thus iequiies a much highei mentality. In neaily all foimations with a
lone stiikei, you will be able to play a playei with FCa mentality instiuctions in
miufielu anu still employ a moie stanuaiu NCa alongsiue him.

.6*## 7'*%M#* )(*+,'%(&0- In foimations with thiee stiikeis, it is beneficial to
make the cential stiikei the FCa anu have both his suppoit stiikeis FCus. This
means that he has two people suppoiting him anu looking to feeu him thiough
balls. This shoulu enable all thiee playeis to stay in contact with the iest of the
team, pioviuing attacking piesence anu multiple passing options.

)(8* 7'*%M#* )(*+,'%(&0- This is not an issue with a foui-man stiike foice,
which simply employs pusheu up NLRs as FLRs.


With those teims claiifieu, we can continue with the fiamewoiks.
L! ""#$ &'(


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The two piimaiy tactical instiuctions (mentality anu cieative fieeuom) aie the
most uifficult to tianslate into ieal woilu footballing language. It is uifficult to
imagine a managei specifying exactly how attacking each playei shoulu be oi
how much he is alloweu to ueviate fiom manageiial instiuctions to the uegiee
the sliueis allow. Such levels of piecision have tiauitionally causeu much angst
anu aigument among FN manageis anu have often been heavily ciiticiseu as
being too complex. In attempting to uniavel these complexities, we'u like to
offei a new conceptualisation of these sliueis as ueteimining managei type as
much as the tactics of the team.

The two polaiities of manageiial type aie the Authoiitaiian anu the Libeitaiian
managei. The Authoiitaiian ueteimines eveiy aspect of the team's play anu
expects each playei to follow his instiuctions to the lettei. Nentality stiuctuie
will be inuiviuually tailoieu to the playeis anu cieative fieeuom will be close to
non-existent. The team will play veiy piecise, contiolleu football with little flaii
oi cieativity anu heavily iely on set pieces anu set moves to scoie. 0n the othei
hanu, the Libeitaiian managei has a iough iuea of how attacking oi uefensive his
team shoulu be foi each match anu gives playeis theii heaus. The mentality
stiuctuie will be veiy geneiic anu cieative fieeuom will be high. The team will
play fiee-flowing football anu goals will come fiom all types of open-play moves.

As in ieal life, these two manageiial steieotypes, although potentially successful
shoit-teim, aie likely to fail in the long iun as they aie too one-uimensional in
appioach. The oveily stiuctuieu managei can take his highly contiolleu style of
football to the top level but is often too iegimenteu to iemain theie, with his
teams failing to offei enough flaii anu cieativity to bieak uown high-class
uefences. Bowevei, he shoulu be able to keep a pooi squau up simply by playing
peicentage football. The flaii anu cieativity focuseu managei will uo veiy well
with a squau full of playeis who can opeiate at the highei enu of the uivisional
level but will fail to biing enough tactical acumen to the table to win ieally big
matches anu titles. With a pooi squau, he is likely to be an unmitigateu uisastei,
as he will ask his playeis to uo things of which they aie not capable.

As with ieal life manageis, the successful FNu9 managei will neeu to leain how
to balance a systematic appioach to foimation stiuctuie with a tiust in which
playeis can be alloweu the cieative fieeuom to expiess themselves without
uisiupting his oveiall tactical vision. Knowing which type of managei you aie
will then enable you to choose oi uesign a mentality system that best suits youi
style. Some systems bettei suit a managei at the Authoiitaiian enu of the scale,
as they can uo well with iestiicteu cieative fieeuom, wheieas otheis aie
fiienuliei to the Libeitaiian axis, iequiiing a lot of cieativity anu flaii to flouiish.

No mattei which one you choose it is likely that they will neeu to be tweakeu
fuithei to suit youi own playing piefeience, manageiial style anu the ability of
the inuiviuual playeis at youi uisposal. You might be an aggiessive managei that
tiies to impose his paiticulai style of play on the opposition anu thus veei
towaius an attacking fiamewoik with low cieative fieeuom. You might examine
""#$ &'( L)


youi opponent's stiategy in fine uetail anu assign the majoiity of playeis to
countei it whilst ielying on an elite few to uo the cieative stuff. Theie is no 'best
way' to play oi manage. Bowevei, somewheie theie will be a style of play that
best suits youi tempeiament anu vision. The following section outlines a
numbei of mentality appioaches that have woikeu ovei the last few veisions,
alongsiue theii ielative suitability to manageiial type.

The mentality systems will be piesenteu in oiuei, ianging fiom the most
Authoiitaiian appioaches at the top to the most Libeitaiian at the bottom.
Authoiitaiian mentality systems assign specifieu mentalities anu instiuctions to
eveiy playei, wheieas Libeitaiian ones aie moie simple anu team-baseu. The
mentality stiuctuies illustiateu inuicate how a stanuaiu match stiategy woulu
look. Bowevei, the actual playei mentality values shown aie just to illustiate the
settings anu uon't have to be followeu piecisely. If you aie a cautious managei,
youi staiting mentality (BCs) can uiop to five. If you aie moie aggiessive, you
coulu have a lowest staiting mentality of eleven. To uesign a complementaiy
attacking stiategy, simply iaise each value by foui to eight notches, uepenuing on
youi stanuaiu settings. Foi a uefensive stiategy, lowei by foui to eight.

NB: We iecommenu a maximum of eight notches between the most attacking
anu uefensive outfielu playeis foi all mentality systems. uieatei mentality gaps
iisk isolating the uefence fiom the miufielu anu the miufielu fiom the attack.


"@- N<H- K-O-9;-

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Although this mentality stiuctuie is basically an auaption of the Rule of 0ne ((''
4,1' FH), it is iueally suiteu to those that wish to play the Nouiinho way. It is
exceeuingly contiol-oiientateu anu specifies moie inuiviuual mentality settings
than any othei system. It closely miiiois Nouiinho's tactics in two ways. Fiistly,
it employs an athletic coveiing BC to suppoit a poweiful uestioyei in the
mannei of the CaivalhoTeiiy Chelsea paitneiship. Seconuly, the NCu sits
slightly ueepei than he woulu in the Rule of 0ne, which equates to how
Nouiinho employeu Nakll. Like all Rule of 0ne tactics, it suits the Nouiinho-
type managei as it can uo well without excessive cieative fieeuom.

uK: 7
BCu: 6
BC: 8
FB: 1u
NCu: 9
NLR: 11
NCa: 12
FC: 1S

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As with the Nike Befence, the Libeio Befence is a iewoiking of the Rule of 0ne.
Like Nouiinho, Capello is veiy specific about how he wishes each of his playeis
to peifoim anu always employs a ueep holuing miufieluei. Bowevei, unlike
Nouiinho he encouiages one of his BCs to auvance foiwaiu with the ball in the
mannei of a classic Libeio, as seen by Rio Feiuinanu's peifoimances unuei
Capello foi Englanu. Allowing a ueepei uefensive line than the Nike Befence, the
Libeio Befence bettei suits the type of contiolleu, possession football Capello
piefeis in contiast to Nouiinho's uiiect, musculai appioach.

uK: 8
BC: 8
BCa: 1S
FB: 9
NCu: 8
NRL: 11
NCa: 1S
FC: 14

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The Rule of 0ne plays ioughly in the same mannei as a Naitin 0'Neill tactic. Like
Nouiinho anu Capello, 0'Neill is veiy fastiuious about tactics anu expects each of
his playeis to fulfil a specific function. Bowevei, he has hau much less chance to
woik with genuinely woilu-class playeis, which has leu to him employing a moie
geneiic system into which playeis of lessei quality aie able to opeiate. In
applying uetaileu specific mentality anu playei instiuctions, 0'Neill can
oveiachieve without the neeu foi highly cieative oi flaii playeis in his attacking
line. Relying on uetaileu tactical stiuctuie enables him to employ lowish levels
of cieative fieeuom without a uiop in peifoimance.

uK: 7
BC: 8
FB: 9
NCu: 1u
NLR: 11
NCa: 12
FC: 1S

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Sii Alex is the fiist managei that ueviates fiom a veiy tight contiol methouology.
Nanchestei 0tu's system, most especially in the Queiioz yeais, opeiates thiough
foui banus of play. While the cential uefenueis aie pieuominantly instiucteu to
uefenu (unlike when playing foi Capello, Feiuinanu stays back) the full backs
anu uefensive miufieluei offei ueep suppoit foi the fiont line alongsiue theii
uefensive uuties. The attacking miufieluei anu wingeis have become viitually
inteichangeable, switching ioles in the high suppoit banu, anu aie usually
alloweu theii cieative heaus. The final banu is the speaiheau foiwaiu, iueally a
complete playei who is comfoitable playing with the ball at his feet oi in the aii.

uK: 8
BC: 8
FB: 1u
NCu: 1u
NLR: 12
NCa: 12
FC: 14

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Noving towaius the moie expiessive mentality systems, in which contiol
stiuctuie meets inuiviuual iesponsibility, we finu Aisene Wengei. 0nlike the
othei systems, heie the mentality matches the playei iole within the team's
oveiall match stiategy anu thus changes uepenuing on how many playeis aie
assigneu to specific ioles (('' 4,1'( FS7FT). When playing an attacking stiategy
(('' 4,1' HF), the five attacking ioles aie on the same mentality, wheieas when
playing a uefensive system (('' 4,1' HU), five ioles aie assigneu uefensive
mentalities. The playei's iole iathei than his inuiviuual skills oi team system
becomes the most impoitant aspect of play. When eveiything fits into place anu
all the ioles inteiact peifectly, the football is magical.

Befensive Roles: 8
Suppoiting Roles: 11
Attacking Roles: 14

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Lippi's teams have tiauitionally been some of the moie expiessive in Italian
football, paitly to uo with his chaiismatic mannei geneiating team spiiit, but
mainly uue to his flexible appioach to tactics. The 2-6-2 system allows
consiueiable flexibility in the miuule of the paik, with six playeis inteilinking as
suppoit gioup foi the attack anu uefence. As with most Italian appioaches, this
system can fiustiate opponents by uominating possession ueep on the pitch as
the back two inteiact with the miufielu in an eight playei passing system piioi to
instantaneously tuining uefence into attack as one of the fiont playeis is
suuuenly pickeu out in space.

uK: 8
BCs: 8
FBs: 11
NCu: 11
NLR: 11
NCa: 11
FCs: 14

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Although Benitez uoesn't come immeuiately to minu as a Libeitaiian, his
stiuctuial appioach to tactics is a simple one, ielying on five playeis to uefenu
anu five to attack. Although he has tiansfoimeu Liveipool into a team that is
veiy uifficult to bieak uown, ciiticisms iemain with iegaiu to his attacking
intentions anu lack of wiuth. In typical Spanish mannei, Benitez wants his fiont
five to play with cieativity anu flaii, unlocking opposing uefences via quick-fiie
passing inteichanges. Without playeis who have the vision anu touch to unlock
uefences in tight aieas this tianslates into many efficient but uoui matches.
Bowevei, with the iight playeis anu cieative fieeuom allowances up fiont,
scintillating attacking play will complement iesolute uefence.

uK: 8
BC: 8
FB: 8
NCu: 8
NLR: 12
NCa: 12
FC: 12

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ulobal mentality suits a managei who is willing to give playeis theii heaus anu
ielies heavily on motivation techniques to get the best out of them. When the
team is playing well, the global system is capable of outstanuing football.
Bowevei, its ielative lack of uefensive covei anu a tenuency to be compiesseu
means that, when things aie going less well, it can be outflankeu on the countei
anu squeezeu out when attacking. To combat that it iequiies heavy levels of
cieative fieeuom anu playeis who can make the best use of it alongsiue excellent
team uiscipline anu ueteimination. Foi a managei confiuent of his team-talks
anu meuia inteiaction it can be a gieat system.

All Playeis: 11

WOO-;:<X- C:,<H- 23,:9-,>@<A>

Although we have specifieu two types of foiwaiu, the mentality fiamewoiks only
specify one FC setting, uespite the iequiiement foi the FCa to play highei up the
pitch than the FCu. The ieason foi the omission is the uiffeience in instiuctions
foi Attacking, Stanuaiu anu Befensive mentality systems.

In all systems, it is impoitant that theie is a ieasonably laige mentality split
between the two foiwaius. This stops the opposing uefence fiom being able to
holu a single line that uenies both foiwaius space. 0ne FC uiops ueepei to finu
space in fiont of the line, wheieas the othei plays highei to tiy anu move into
space beyonu it. In a uefensive system, the mentality fiamewoik uiiectly links to
the lowei FCu settings, with the FCa being assigneu a highei mentality to ensuie
he is playing on the shouluei of the last uefenuei. In an attacking system, the
mentality fiamewoik uiiectly links to the highei FCa settings, with the FCu being
assigneu a lowei mentality to ensuie he uiops ueep into space.

0sing the suggesteu mentality setting of the BC as a base (Q) we iecommenu the
following settings as a iough guiue foi an effective stiike paitneiship.

Z'5'+(*.'I FCu (Q + S); FCa (Q + 8)
?),+-,$-I FCu (Q + S); FCa (Q + 7)
P)),/@*+1I FCu (Q + 1); FCa (Q + 6)

Bowevei, foi a ulobal Nentality System the foimula is slightly uiffeient:

Z'5'+(*.'I FCu (Q); FCa (Q + 4)
?),+-,$-I FCu (Q - 2); FCa (Q + 2)
P)),/@*+1I FCu (Q - 4); FCa (Q)

These settings can be alteieu uepenuing on the ability anu speeu of the foiwaius,
the staiting mentality of each system anu the specific manageiial vision.
LD ""#$ &'(


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When assigning foiwaiu iuns to youi playeis, it is impoitant that you aie veiy
cleai as to theii iole in the team. Playei ioles aie uefineu in the following way:

"#$#&:- The playei will focus heavily on uefensive uuties
78@@(*'- The playei will peifoim both uefensive anu attacking uuties
H'',/M- The playei will focus heavily on attacking uuties


Asking youi playeis to make foiwaiu iuns uefines how often anu by how fai they
will ueviate fiom the assigneu foimation position. If a playei is tolu to make
Foiwaiu Runs Raiely, this tianslates into the match engine as an instiuction to
holu his foimation position anu be ieauy to covei any countei-attacks. Assigning
Foiwaiu Runs Nixeu tianslates as instiucting him to help out with attacks but
not to stiay too fai fiom his foimation position so he can quickly get back anu
help out the uefence as anu when neeueu. Foiwaiu Runs 0ften tells the playei to
move into attacking positions as soon as the team has the ball. With the above in
minu, foiwaiu iuns shoulu be applieu in the following mannei:

Z'5'+-I FWRs Raiely
?&44#$)I FWRs Nixeu
P)),/@I FWRs 0ften


To keep things simple, we will iestiict eaily uiscussion of playei ioles to the
thiee most basic match stiategies, Befensive, Stanuaiu anu Attacking (('' 4,1'(
HF7HU). Eveiy tactic iequiies enough people uefenuing anu enough people
attacking to be stable, but attacking flavouis iequiie moie attackeis anu,
conveisely, uefensive tactics neeu moie bouies in uefence. Bence, ioles aie
assigneu in the following mannei:


Z'5'+(*.'I S uefenu, 2 suppoit, S attack
?),+-,$-I S uefenu, 4 suppoit, S attack
P)),/@*+1I S uefenu, 2 suppoit, S attack


Such a system assigns playei ioles into a basic configuiation of S Befenu, 2
Suppoit anu S Attack, which iepeats thiough all the match stiategies. The
managei then ueciues on which two playeis he wishes to 'float' between the
thiee. These 'floateis' will be classeu as Befenus in Befensive match stiategies,
Suppoits in Stanuaiu match stiategies anu Attackeis in Attacking match
stiategies. Foi most foimations (incluuing S-S-2, 4-4-2, 4-S-S, 4-S-1 etc.) the
likelihoou is that these playeis will be the full backs oi wing backs. Foi systems
without full backs, the managei neeus to be moie cieative. 0nce you've
iuentifieu which playeis you aie going to 'float' it becomes simple to scale the
instiuctions anu cieate all thiee stiategic flavouis of any tactic.

""#$ &'( L(



When assigning these ioles, it is impoitant to iecognise the foiwaiu positions as
being attacking by natuie. As such, they uo not iequiie having FWRs
0ftenNixeu to be classifieu as an AttackeiSuppoit. Inueeu, assigning FWRs
0ften to both FCs in a two-foiwaiu foimation will often leau to theii being
isolateu fiom the miufielu anu uninvolveu with play. As specifieu eailiei, one FC
(FCu) will neeu to opeiate in a ueepei, suppoit iole to link the attack with the
miufielu, wheieas the othei (FCa) shoulu be looking to play on the shouluei of
the last uefenuei. Coiiectly assigning theii foiwaiu iuns is funuamental to
having youi attack opeiate as a unit:

The FCu can be classeu as attacksuppoit with nomixeu FWRs
The FCa can be classeu as attack with mixeuoften FWRs


To evaluate whethei you have the coiiect FWRs instiuction assigneu to youi
FCs, use the Natch Stats to check on the offsiue count anu FC involvement in
play. If the offsiue count is high, then it is likely that youi FCa is making iuns too
eaily anu his FWRs shoulu be Nixeu. If the FCu isn't seeing much ball, it is foi
one of two ieasons. Be may not be uiopping into space to pick up easy passes
fiom miufielu, oi the pitch might be so small that this space is being squeezeu
anu he can't get into the game. Foi the foimei, you will neeu to ieuuce FWRs
fiom Nixeu to Raiely. Foi the lattei, you will neeu to have him opeiating highei
up the pitch, so inciease FWRs fiom Raiely to Nixeu.

"@- Z,,+.5->> M3:;@ W9J<9-

With the iemoval of aiiows, the Foiwaiu Runs sliuei has become significantly
moie impoitant. In combination with mentality, it is now the majoi methou of
instiucting a playei to auvance fiom his foimation position anu move into
attacking aieas of the pitch. It is impoitant to claiify the benefits of this change.

Theie is a common mispeiception as to the functionality of aiiows. Aiiows weie
not playei iuns. Noi uiu they specify exactly wheie a playei shoulu be iunning,
eithei with oi without the ball. What they uiu was specify two possession-
ielateu static positions. As soon as a team won possession, a playei woulu
iobotically follow his aiiow to move into his assigneu attacking position. 0nce
theie, he woulu make a play ielateu move. When the team lost the ball the same
woulu happen in ieveise. Buiing this movement, the playei was following a pie-
set instiuction that kickeu in no mattei what was happening on the pitch, taking
the playei out of the game anu impaiiing his ability to ieact to the action.

Replacing aiiows with foiwaiu iuns ensuies that playei movement is fai moie
uynamic anu uiiectly ielateu to on-pitch events. Bespite a seeming loss of lateial
contiol, which, as with most aiiow-ielateu moves, was laigely illusoiy, the new
system ensuies uynamic playei movement, fluiu football anu iealistic tiansitions
fiom uefence to attack. A well thought-thiough foiwaiu iuns pattein will leau to
some tiuly excellent passing combinations anu quality attacking play.
!' ""#$ &'(


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Closing uown tianslates as how quickly anu how fai a playei will leave his
uefensive position to ueal with an attacking thieat. Setting it too high
thioughout the team will leau to uefensive stiuctuie uisintegiating as playeis
chase theii opponents all ovei the pitch. It will also iesult in a lot of tiieu legs
anu uefensive eiiois uuiing the lattei stages of a match. Setting it too low will
see playeis backing off anu backing off, allowing the opposition time anu space
to make thiough passes anu set up foi shots in uangeious positions.

ueneially, closing uown will woik best if playeis peifoim it in ielation to theii
position. Foiwaius aie positioneu high up the pitch, so neeu to close uown moie
aggiessively than theii uefensive countei-paits. Niufielueis will be somewheie
between the two. With this in minu, it is auvisable to use youi goalkeepei anu
cential uefensive paiiing as a base anu giaue upwaius fiom theie. Foi lowei
level, pooily conuitioneu anu ill-uisciplineu squaus you shoulu veei towaius the
lowei enu of the closing uown spectium. Foi quality, haiu woiking, fit anu
uisciplineu siues, you shoulu veei towaius maximum settings.

0sing the BC's mentality as a base (Q), closing uown shoulu ioughly confoim to
the following minimum to maximum settings:

uKBC: Q
FBWB: Q + 1 to Q + 4
BNCNCu: Q + 2 to Q + 6
NCaANCWingeis: Q + S to Q + 8
FCs: Q + 4 to Q + 1u


As highlighteu above, when choosing the coiiect settings foi youi team, it is
impoitant to iecognise whethei the closing uown stiuctuie is too aggiessive foi
the type of football youi playeis, in teims of fitness, tactical uiscipline anu
technique, aie capable of playing. A key inuicatoi that closing uown is too high is
seeing youi playeis iunning aiounu like heauless chickens anu finishing games
in a state of semi-exhaustion. This is likely to be quite common foi high piessing
tactics in lowei level football. If you notice youi playeis, eithei inuiviuually oi as
a unit, closing uown to the extent that youi uefensive foimation shape suffeis,
ieuuce inuiviuual closing uown settings until you aie happy with peifoimance.
Alteinatively, you might ueciue to play a moie cautious game oi conseive playei
eneigy in easy matches, which will also iequiie the ieuuction of closing uown.
The inuicatoi that you have gone too low is seeing the opposition having time
anu space in fiont of the back line to pick theii thiough balls anu compose
themselves to make consistently effective long iange shots.

It is also impoitant to iecognise the uistinct closing uown patteins in uiffeient
footballing cultuies, with siues fiom hottei countiies moie focuseu on
conseiving eneigy than piessing the opposition at pace. In contiast, coluei
countiies geneially employ fai highei levels of closing uown.

""#$ &'( !L


Pitch size will also play a factoi. 0n a huge pitch, playeis will have to iun much
fuithei to close uown the opposition, so aie less likely to get theie in time foi the
instiuction to be effective. They will also tiie iapiuly. 0n such a pitch, the
closing uown giauient neeus to be giauual, with the whole team having veiy
similai settings anu taigeting a ceitain aiea of the pitch to tiy anu win back
possession. 0n a small pitch, high closing uown settings can majoily iestiict the
opposition's chances of playing possession-oiientateu football. The closing
uown giauient will be steep, with the foiwaius having fai gieatei settings than
the cential uefenueis, with attempts to iegain possession happening all ovei the
pitch. Think about what level of closing uown best suits youi playeis when
ueciuing upon pitch size.

Bowevei, wheievei you play anu at whatevei level, it is impoitant to maintain
some uegiee of giauing.


23>><9J 23::-,9>

Theie aie two majoi aieas to be thinking about when setting passing patteins.
The fiist is to make suie each playei has plenty of passing options when he is in
possession. The seconu is to think about what type of football you woulu like
youi team to play.

23>><9J PA:<+9>

At the baie minimum, a playei shoulu always be able to look up anu see two easy
passing options. Iueally, theie will be thiee but this might be uifficult to achieve
on small pitches, against entiencheu uefences oi unuei heavy piessuie. A
common eiioi is to allow a playei no obvious foiwaiu passing options at all. If
you ask a full back to play veiy shoit passes to an aggiessive miufielu, all of
whom aie looking to get foiwaiu at eveiy oppoitunity, the chances aie he will
look up anu fail to see an obvious pass. Be will be able to pass it insiue to the BC
but that will not initiate an attack anu often leau to the back foui being put unuei
piessuie anu being uispossesseu by a piessing fiont line oi punting a
uiiectionless, long ball to avoiu being caught in a uangeious position. Common
signs that this is happening aie playeis uawuling on the ball when seemingly
unuei little piessuie oi seeing a lot of playeis with shoit passing instiuctions
banging it long.

Nake suie that each uefensive playei can look up anu hit a lateial ball, foiwaiu
ball anu a uiagonal ball without too much uifficulty. Foi a playei high up the
pitch, the foiwaiu ball might be veiy uifficult to pick against a packeu uefence, so
he neeus to have lateial, uiagonal anu backwaius options, which enable the team
to ietain possession anu look foi a new opening. Check on the positioning
settings of the playeis aiounu the passei (mentality anu foiwaiu iuns) anu
aujust his passing instiuctions so he can hit passes to any of the iequiieu lengths.
That might mean giving him longei passing instiuctions than you woulu have
!! ""#$ &'(


fiist expecteu. Inuiviuual playei attiibutes aie influential when assigning
passing instiuctions. A playei with gieat passing ability shoulu be able to finu
some kinu of passing option no mattei his instiuctions, as long as his
tempeiament is up to his being able to play his way out of uangei. Bowevei,
someone who stiuggles to contiol his passing might be bettei suiteu to longei
'cleai the ball' instiuctions so that he uoesn't make pooi, huiiieu passes fiom
uangeious positions.

23>><9J C1>:-F>

Although all passing systems can anu shoulu be tweakeu to best suit the playeis
at youi uisposal, theie aie two basic passing stiategies fiom which you can builu.
0ne is focuseu on keeping possession, contiolling the ball anu bieaking uown the
opposition in the final thiiu. The othei is moie countei-attacking oiientateu anu
looks to cleai the lines befoie catching a ietieating uefence out of position anu
vulneiable to the quick bieak.

;(00#00%(&FN*#,M%&4 "(E& '6# A@@(0%'%(&- Such a system iequiies a soliu
base fiom which to launch attacks. It is the job of the uefenueis to ensuie
possession is ietaineu until a chance opens. Bence, uefenueis anu moie
uefensively minueu miufielueis shoulu be looking to play possession-fiienuly
shoit passes. The moie cieative playeis will be looking to move the opposition
about anu open up space in the final thiiu. Bence, they will be playing a fai moie
uiiect game. If they lose the ball anu it is cleaieu, the uefence ieoiganize, ieset
the base anu the move can stait again.

5(8&'#*LH'',/M%&4- This system iequiies the opposite appioach. The uefence is
expecteu to be unuei piessuie anu its main aim is to cleai the lines anu,
hopefully, initiate a countei while uoing so. Bence, uefenueis' passing settings
will be uiiect, looking to bypass the miufielu anu feeu the foiwaius, as a shoit
pass to a ueep-lying miufieluei can be extiemely uangeious if he is immeuiately
closeu uown anu loses possession. Biiect passing instiuctions ensuies the whole
team is in passing iange foi an unuei piessuie uefenuei, offeiing multiple
cleaiance options. The foiwaius' job is to tiy anu countei befoie the opposition
gets its uefence back into position. Bence, they will be looking to play shoit
passes to theii stiike paitnei anu suppoiting miufielueis in the hope of quickly
woiking a goou thiough ball oppoitunity.

The above systems will neeu to be auapteu to pitch size anu match stiategy. Foi
example, on a smallei pitch, the uiiect passes of the attacking playeis might be
ovei hit too often anu neeu to be aujusteu accoiuingly. Likewise, to see out a
match with a possession minuset might leau to a managei asking a seconu
cential miufieluei to play shoit passes to help with ball ietention uuties anu only
having foui playeis piobing foi space in the final thiiu. With a pooi siue, both
systems may neeu to be baseu on longei passing instiuctions to ensuie playeis
aien't making foolish anu easily inteicepteu passes in uangeious positions.
""#$ &'( !)


$,3F-.+,H Z/3A:3:<+9

Although this section links veiy closely to the fiamewoiks section, it also iefeis
to Natch Stiategy Theoiies (4,1'( HF7HH). To get the most out of this section, it
might be best to familiaiise youiself with the basics of these stiategic iueas.

K-O-9><X- E<9-

uetting the uefensive line iight is funuamental to a team being able to uefenu
effectively. This section uiscusses the vaiious elements a managei neeus to
consiuei when setting up his back line.

G-53:<+9 :+ M-9:35<:1 C1>:-F

The most impoitant setting foi the uefensive line ielates to the mentality system.
The back line must be in contact with its miufielu at all times. If it isn't,
opposition foiwaius will constantly exploit the gap between the ueepest
miufieluei anu the cential uefenueis. This will leau to the team being vulneiable
to long shots (as the foiwaius have plenty of time anu space to set themselves)
plus a seiies of uespeiate last-uitch tackles iesulting in bookings anu uangeious
fiee kicks. A soliu uefence neeus to have at least one uefensively minueu cential
miufieluei haiassing attacking moves befoie they ieach the uefensive line.

To ensuie the above uoesn't happen, the uefensive line must be linkeu to the
mentality stiuctuie. As a iough guiue, the non-floating Suppoit playeis'
mentality instiuctions ueteimine the most uesiiable setting foi the uefensive
line. Linking the uefensive line to the mentality system ensuies the back foui
iemains in contact with the miufielu anu the team plays as a unit iathei than
sepaiate attacking anu uefensive foices.

G-53:<+9 :+ PAA+><:<+9 $+,F3:<+9

Whilst it is always impoitant to keep the above in minu when setting a uefault
uefensive line, a goou managei will also take into account the opposing
foimation he is facing. A foimation that is naiiow anu multi-stiata (e.g. wingless
4-1-2-1-2, wingless 4-S-1-2) geneiates a lot of chances thiough the ANC.
Incieasing the u-line ieuuces the space in which the opposing ANC can opeiate
anu limits his effectiveness. As theie aie no wingeis, it is uifficult foi such a
foimation to spieau the play wiue into space, so utilising the high u-line against
this type of foimation often iesults in passing chances uiying up anu loss of
possession foi the opposition.

If the opposing siue is playing with a veiy uefensive foimation, it is often
woithwhile ueepening the uefensive line. Befensively stiuctuieu foimations (4-
!* ""#$ &'(


1-4-1, 4-S-1) typically have no miufielueis suppoiting the foiwaiu anu iely on
uiiectlong balls uown the flanksovei the top to cieate countei-attacking
chances. A ueepei uefensive line limits the chances of such balls being successful
anu often isolates the foiwaius when they uo get possession, as they have
nobouy suppoiting the move anu quickly finu themselves suiiounueu by
opposing uefenueis anu miufielueis. This often iesults in the uefenuing team
winning possession back in a uangeious aiea anu being able to launch a countei
attack befoie the opposing uefence has hau time to iegioup.

G-53:<+9 :+ 2531-, Z::,<04:->

It is impoitant to be awaie of both youi own anu opposing playei attiibutes
when setting youi uefensive line piioi to each match. If youi cential uefenueis
aie on the slow siue a ueepei uefensive line is going to be a safei bet. This will
neeu to be piotecteu with a moie uefensive mentality system, which collapses
the cential miufielu into the pocket anu makes it uifficult foi fast foiwaius to iun
at oi behinu the back line. In contiast, if the back line is veiy athletic then a
highei uefensive line with moie aggiessive closing uown will put opposition
stiikeis unuei piessuie the instant they get the ball. Leaining how high a
uefensive line youi staiting uefenueis can cope with will be hugely beneficial
when setting uefensive stiategies foi uiffeient opponents.

G-53:<+9 :+ 2<:;@ C<[-

If the pitch is on the shoit siue, a veiy high uefensive line might be pioblematic
foi youi team, no mattei how athletic youi back foui. With less giounu to covei,
a bieaking foiwaiu might well be able to stay aheau of a chasing uefenuei long
enough to get a cleai shot on goal. 0n a longei pitch, the uefenueis will have
moie time to covei the bieak anu snuff out the chance. In contiast, a high
uefensive line on a shoit pitch may inciease the chances of youi uefenueis being
caught in possession by a heavily piessing fiont line, especially if you aie playing
a low tempo, shoit passing game. 0n a longei pitch, the opposite applies. A low
uefensive line offeis an incieaseu amount of exploitable space in fiont of the
back foui, which coulu cause pioblems against quick anu skilful attacks. It also
iequiies uefenueis to have bettei passing attiibutes as longei passes moie easily
go astiay, leauing to inteicepteu balls in uangeious positions. Taking caieful
consiueiation of youi uefenueis' attiibutes when ueciuing youi pitch size is a
majoi step towaius builuing a uefensive home foitiess.

Z//<:<+935 C-::<9J>

.6# O%M# "#$#&/#- ielies on an athletic playei sweeping balls behinu a moie
uestiuctive blockei anu thus iequiies a highei u-line.

.6# J%1#*( "#$#&/#- ielies on a woilu-class ball playing uefenuei being able to
step out of the line anu join attacks, leaving a uefensively minueu miufieluei anu
""#$ &'( !7


cential uefenuei as covei. To uo this effectively you will have to play a lowei u-
line to open up the space foi the Libeio to move into.
Y</:@

G-53:<+9 :+ M3:;@ C:,3:-J1

In geneial, aggiessive stiategies iequiie wiuth. Attacking anu contiolling
stiategies neeu to open up space in the final thiiu in oiuei foi theii cieative
playeis to uo uamage. If the opposition is tiying to shut-up shop, maximise
wiuth to tiy anu bieak uown the packeu uefence. If the opposition is tiying to
countei, then a slightly naiiowei foimation pievents youi uefence fiom having
to covei too much giounu when the opposition uoes manage to bieak. A
stanuaiu match stiategy offeis uefensive soliuity with some attacking flaii anu is
best employeu with meuium wiuth. A uefensive stiategy aims to ieuuce space in
the uefensive thiiu anu is naiiowei. A shut-up shop stiategy aims to put as
many bouies between the goal anu ball as possible anu is veiy naiiow (('' 4,1'(
HF7HH 5#$ 5&$)2'$ *+5#$3,)*#+ #+ )2' ,;#.' 3,)/2 ()$,)'1*'().

G-53:<+9 :+ 2<:;@ C<[-

Although the above is veiy impoitant in managing an oveiall match stiategy,
pitch size also neeus to be taken into consiueiation. With a veiy wiue pitch,
playeis can easily finu space anu uefenuing is geneially toughei. Naiiowing the
foimation ensuies that the uefence has less giounu to covei when uefenuing
quick bieaks without unuuly compiomising attacking options. When playing on
a veiy small pitch, space is at a piemium anu theiefoie you will neeu youi team
to play wiuei than usual to have any hope of capitalising on attacks. A well-
uesigneu uefence is still effective on a small pitch even when playing on the
countei with maximum wiuth. Think about what type of football you want to
play at home piioi to setting youi pitch uimensions.


"-FA+

G-53:<+9 :+ M3:;@ C:,3:-J1

An attacking stiategy aims to keep constant piessuie on the opposition in oiuei
to stop them having time to bieak foiwaiu anu countei. As such, it is geneially
pietty fast paceu. 0n the othei hanu, a contiol stiategy woiks on the assumption
the opposition won't even tiy to attack so aims to keep possession anu slowly
piise open gaps in the uefence. Thus, a slowei tempo is moie suitable. Foi
stanuaiu tactics, the managei can use the tempo instiuction fai moie intuitively,
cianking it up when the team seems to be on top anu slowing it uown when they
aie stiuggling to keep holu of the ball. Befensive stiategies aie veiy uepenuent
on playei quality. If you have a siue that can play keep ball piioi to ieleasing
!? ""#$ &'(


quick counteis, then a slow tempo is fine. If, howevei, youi playeis aie pione to
losing possession easily, play at a quickei pace to tiy anu uisiupt the opposition
anu take auvantage of theii mistakes. Quick tempo with a uefensive stiategy will
iesult in a lot of ball foi youi opposition, but less likelihoou of one of youi
playeis being caught in possession in a uangeious position. You'll neeu to have
goou uefenueis to pull this off. Slowing it uown can often leau to a lot of
possession, but you will neeu to have playeis you can tiust to keep the ball unuei
piessuie.

G-53:<+9 :+ 2<:;@ C<[-

Pitch size is veiy impoitant when it comes to ueteimining tempo. A fast paceu
stiategy is excellent foi a small pitch wheieas a slowei tempo is bettei foi laige
ones. Passing anu closing uown at pace on a small pitch ieuuces the chance of a
playei losing the ball in a tight spot whilst incieases the oppoitunities foi youi
miufielueis anu attackeis winning balls in uangeious aieas. As the pitch is small,
playeis have to covei less giounu anu aie theiefoie less likely to iun out of
steam. Fast tempo play on a huge pitch leaus to a gieatei chance of a huiiieu,
misplaceu anu inteicepteu pass. Fuitheimoie, the team will tiie anu make
mistakes uuiing the lattei stages of a match. Look to slow things uown, keep the
ball anu foice the opposition to uo all the chasing. Think about what type of
football you want to play at home piioi to setting youi pitch uimensions.


M3:;@ C:,3:-J1 "@-+,<->

This section explains the assumptions behinu the Befensive, Stanuaiu anu
Attacking match stiategies anu uetails how to tianslate them into the sliuei
system. It also looks at how you can tiansfoim these thiee stiategies into five,
auuing the Shut 0p Shop anu Contiol options to the managei's aimouiy.

C:,3:-J1 Z>>4FA:<+9>

M-9:35<:1 C1>:-F Z>>4FA:<+9>

Foi Attacking systems it is assumeu that all the AttackingSuppoit
playeis shoulu be on an attacking mentality, with the Befenu playeis on
attackingnoimal.
Foi Stanuaiu systems the BCs anu FCs can, but uon't have to, be on
uefensive oi attacking mentalities iespectively, with the iest of the team
on noimal.
Foi Befensive systems, it is assumeu that all the Befenu anu Suppoit
playeis shoulu be on uefensive mentalities, with Attacking playeis on
uefensivenoimal.
""#$ &'( !B


23>><9J Z>>4FA:<+9>

Passing has to be balanceu so that it gets an iueal mix of thiee piopeities. A goou
passing fiamewoik shoulu: a) take piessuie off the uefence; b) ietain ball
possession; c) cieate goou goal scoiing oppoitunities.

Foi uefensive teams, playing ueepei anu moie cautiously than attacking teams, it
is impoitant to make suie the ball is iemoveu fiom the uangei zone quickly.
They will usually be weakei than theii opposition, oi ceitainly not pushing as
haiu foi a goal, anu theiefoie will want theii passing to be incisive in what coulu
be a shoit amount of time. Attacking siues will want to get the ball uown anu
play it, keep holu of possession anu look foi the best oppoitunities to play in
team mates foi a goal.

Because of this, TT&F 'u9 auvocates the following fiamewoiks foi passing:

Z'5'+(*.'
Befenu - uiiect
Suppoit - mixeu
Attack - shoit

?),+-,$-
Befenu - low uiiect
Suppoit - mixeu
Attack - low mixeu

P)),/@*+1
Befenu - shoit
Suppoit - mixeu
Attack - uiiect

The logic behinu this is that uefensive teams will look to get the ball away fiom
goal, but will then want to concentiate on keeping the ball when they ieach the
miufielu. Because of the naiiowei wiuth, playeis shoulu be close enough
togethei to have passing options. Theiefoie the suppoit playeis can be on mixeu
anu the attack can use shoit passing. The team shoulu be able to holu on to the
ball, but will only aim to once they have moveu out of the uefensive thiiu. Since
attack is not the piime aim of the game plan, it is assumeu that the team can
conceue a little incisiveness in the final thiiu in oiuei to tiy anu keep the ball. If
you have possession, the opposition uo not anu, theiefoie, cannot scoie.

Attacking teams will, on the othei hanu, neeu to get the ball anu play it well
between each othei. The uefenueis aie set to shoit passing so they can look foi a
goou passing option to stait an attack. Since they shoulu be unuei less piessuie,
they shoulu have the time anu the mentality to be able to uo this. The attacking
playeis aie on uiiect passing foi two ieasons. Fiistly, it allows much moie
incisive passing leauing to goou oppoitunities to play in playeis in auvanceu
positions. Seconuly, since the playeis shoulu be moie spaceu out, a uiiect
passing game gives playeis moie options anu allows passes to moie easily ieach
!D ""#$ &'(


teammates. In most foimations the Attack playeis will be wing playeis (full
backs anu wingeis), so this allows them to look foi options in the centie of the
fielu without the neeu to always cioss the ball. The Suppoit playeis sit ueepei
anu play uangeious thiough balls to attacking playeis, tiy to ievitalise attacks in
uangei of peteiing out anu aim at quickly iecycling half-cleaieu balls.

Stanuaiu tactics' passing instiuctions aie similai to uefensive tactics, but the
passing settings aie much closei togethei since theie is moie neutiality in playei
ioles. It keeps the ball moving in the mannei of an attacking tactic, but tiies to
avoiu putting the team unuei unuue piessuie with inappiopiiate shoit uefensive
passing.

"-FA+ Z>>4FA:<+9>

Fast tempo is geneially a bettei bet foi attacking siues as the moie quickly the
ball is moveu aiounu, the gieatei the likelihoou of space opening up in the final
thiiu. A slowei tempo means less misplaceu passes but enables the opposing
team to have moie time to get back into position to covei attacks. It is thus
bettei foi moie uefensively minueu foimations.

Theie aie cultuial anu weathei uiffeiences to take into consiueiation when
thinking about the above. Nations in coluei climates tenu to play a fastei tempo
game than those in waimei iegions. Theie aie a few ieasons foi this. Fiistly, the
ball tiavels moie slowly in heavy conuitions so a low tempo, shoit passing game
is often unsuitable. Although the ball can zip off a uamp pitch, it slows uown
significantly on a soaking wet one, both of which have leu to the uevelopment of
a uiiect, fast-paceu game in Noithein Euiope. Seconuly, hot anu humiu
conuitions will sap playei eneigy, so teams fiom such climates tenu to play a
slowei tempo, possession-oiientation game, leauing to the highly technical
football of South Ameiica, Southein Euiope anu the bettei Afiican nations.
Thinking about the cultuial footballing piefeiences of the countiy he is woiking
in will help a managei to quickly finu his tactical feet.

NB: Check pitch sizes befoie ueciuing on iueal tempo

Y</:@ Z>>4FA:<+9>

To bieak a uefence uown the attacking team neeus to use as much of the pitch as
possible to open space. In contiast, a uefensive team will look to ieuuce space at
eveiy available oppoitunity. Although a team's uefensive wiuth will natuially be
naiiowei than the attacking one, it will be iisky foi weakei teams to spieau too
wiue as once they lose possession they will become vulneiable to quick passing
movements that exploit space befoie the foimation can iegain uefensive shape.

Theie aie also cultuial uiffeiences. Noithein Euiopean teams tenu to spieau the
ball to the wings with gieat iegulaiity anu expect the wingeis anu fullbacks to
woik togethei to pioviue plenty of ciosses fiom stanuaiu positions. Teams fiom
""#$ &'( !(


moie technically oiientateu nations tenu to play consiueiably naiiowei, aim to
contiol possession in the miuule of the paik anu use iampaging fullbacks oi
uiifting miufielueisattackeis to pioviue wiuth as anu when necessaiy.

NB Check pitch sizes befoie ueciuing on iueal wiuth

"<F- Y3>:<9J Z>>4FA:<+9>

An attacking team will be looking to scoie goals anu won't want to waste any
time. A uefensive team will be hoping not to conceue anu will theiefoie aim to
take auvantage of any stops in play to fuithei winu uown the clock. Time
wasting also has a few cultuial vaiiations. Some nationsleagues have a gieatei
tenuency towaius uefensive play anu will employ time wasting fai eailiei in the
game than otheis. 0thei cultuies believe that attack is the best foim of uefence
anu will go foiwaiu almost to the final whistle. Both stiategies have potential
weaknesses. Sitting on a naiiow leau foi 8u mins can cause a team to collapse
unuei the weight of attacking piessuie whilst pushing foi the killei goal iisks
conceuing on the countei. 0ltimately, the type of time wasting stiategy you
choose to employ will uepenu on youi tiust in youi team. Aiguably, it is best
employeu as a uynamic instiuction that changes ielative to the match situation.

"3;H5<9J Z>>4FA:<+9>

An attacking team will be looking to win quick ball high up the pitch anu will
thus thiow themselves into tackles. As the majoiity of tackles will be maue in
the opposing half it uoesn't mattei if they iesult in a fiee kick, as it won't be in a
uangeious position. Tackles in such aieas aie also less likely to get a caiu. Thus,
tackling will be heavy. A uefensive team aims to keep playeis behinu the ball anu
not to make any tackling eiiois. They will also be pinneu back in theii own half
so can't affoiu to give away as many fiee-kicks, as they will be uangeious anu
moie likely iesult in a caiu. Playeis will only choose to make tackles when they
aie suie of getting the ball oi have no othei choice. Thus, tackling will be easy.

M3,H<9J Z>>4FA:<+9>

Loose anu zonal maiking geneially means a playei won't be close to an opponent
when possession changes. These playeis will immeuiately be available foi an
attacking pass. It is the piefeiieu maiking instiuctions foi Attacking ioles. In
contiast, tight anu man maiking ensuies that the playei is as close as possible to
his opposing man when not in possession. Such playeis aim to win the ball back
anu launch passes to the moie open, Attacking playeis to stait a countei. It is the
piefeiieu instiuction foi Suppoit anu Befenu playeis.

NB: It is moie than possible to play zonal anu tight, which is often the piefeiieu
option foi playeis who have no obvious opponent to maik.

)' ""#$ &'(


$+;4> 23>><9J Z>>4FA:<+9>

An attacking team will look to exploit the space on the flanks anu iegulaily woik
the ball into those aieas. Thus, foi attacking foimations, focus passing uown
flanks. In contiast, a uefensive team aims to hit uiiect balls anu thus tenu to hit
the balls that centially positioneu foiwaius have a chance of ieaching. Thus, foi
uefensive foimations, focus passing thiough the miuule.

Foimation shape, which is often ueteimineu by cultuial piefeiences, impacts
upon the best choice of focus passing instiuctions. A team without wingeis
might not get the best out of the uown the flanks instiuction anu mixeu is likely
to be the bettei option. Likewise, a uefensive foimation employing a lone FC
iuns the iisk of his being oveipoweieu by the uefence befoie he can lay it off to
the miufielueis. Nixeu will uiiect moie balls into channels foi the wingeis to
chase anu might be a bettei option.

The leftiight flanks focus passing options aie best employeu when you have
iuentifieu one of youi opponent's flanks as being significantly weakei than the
othei anu wish to take auvantage of that weakness.

6,-3:<X- $,--/+F Z>>4FA:<+9>

Cieative fieeuom, which encouiages playeis to bieak fiom the tactical plan anu
take iisks, is of gieat impoitance foi an attacking stiategy but uangeious foi a
uefensive one. The moie aggiessive the stiategy, the moie playeis shoulu be
given high cieative fieeuom instiuctions. Playeis assigneu to Attack ioles shoulu
be alloweu highei cieative fieeuom, Suppoit ioles noimal anu Befenu ioles
lowei. Bowevei, as uetaileu in the Fiamewoiks section (pages 11-12) assigning
levels of Cieative Fieeuom is as much uown to managei type as playei ioles.

$,-- G+5- Z>>4FA:<+9>

A fiee iole encouiages a playei to laigely abanuon uefensive uuties anu focus on
finuing attacking space. As with cieative fieeuom, this is highly auvantageous
foi attacking systems but potentially uangeious foi uefensive ones. Bowevei, foi
eveiy system it is impoitant that one playei is looking to cieate space at all times
in oiuei to pioviue a passing outlet foi playeis unuei piessuie. Foi each system,
at least two Attacking ioles neeu to opeiate within the foimation stiuctuie oi it
will lose uefensive stability anu attacking oiganization. Bowevei, the otheis
shoulu be given fiee ioles. Bence, Attacking stiategies have thiee fiee ioles
wheieas Stanuaiu anu Befenu have one.

NB: With top-class playeis, oi when employing a playmakei oi libeio, you can
inciease fiee ioles. Bowevei, uoing so with a pooi team will be uisastious.
M3:;@ C:,3:-J<->

""#$ &'( )L


"@- C:39/3,/ M3:;@ C:,3:-J1

This is aiguably the most impoitant of all match stiategies as, by caiefully
balancing iisk anu iewaiu, it enables a managei to assess the match situation
anu how well his team is playing piioi to switching to a moie specialiseu tactical
plan. It is an iueal staiting stiategy foi all shoit-ouus matches. By caiefully
watching the match the managei can then ueciue to be moie aggiessive oi
cautious oi to stick with the stanuaiu appioach if things aie going well.

:,/)*/,0 [+()$&/)*#+(

Nentality System: 0ppei Befensive - Lowei Attacking (min S playeis on
Noimal)
Playei Roles: S Befenu, 4 Suppoit, S Attack
Passing Pattein: Befenu (low uiiect), Suppoit (mixeu), Attack (low mixeu)
Tempo: Noimal
Wiuth: Noimal
Time Wasting: Noimal
Tackling: Noimal
Focus Passing: Nixeu
Naiking: Befenu & Suppoit (TightNan), Attack (LooseZonal)
Cieative Fieeuom: Befenu (Low), Suppoit (Noimal), Attack (Bigh)
Fiee Roles: Attack (one)
Countei Attack: 0ptional
Play 0ffsiue: 0ptional

"@- Z::3;H<9J M3:;@ C:,3:-J1

This stiategy is best employeu foi matches that you aie favouiites to win anu
expect to uominate possession in youi opponent's half. It aims to exploit space
in the final thiiu by employing fast tempo, uiiect, attacking oiientateu passing
suppoiteu by a uefensive stiategy aimeu at iecycling possession. It focuses
heavily on getting playeis foiwaiu anu into space anu allows them the cieative
fieeuom to expiess themselves.

:,/)*/,0 [+()$&/)*#+(

Nentality System: Lowei Noimal - 0ppei Attacking (min S playeis on
Attacking)
Playei Roles: S Befenu, 2 Suppoit, S Attack
Passing Pattein: Befenu (shoit), Suppoit (mixeu), Attack (uiiect)
Tempo: Fast
Wiuth: Wiue
Time Wasting: Low
Tackling: Baiu
Focus Passing: Bown Both Flanks
Naiking: Befenu & Suppoit (TightNan), Attack (LooseZonal)
Cieative Fieeuom: Befenu (Low), Suppoit (Noimal), Attack (Bigh)
)! ""#$ &'(


Fiee Roles: Attack (thiee)
Countei Attack: No
Play 0ffsiue: Yes

"@- K-O-9><X- M3:;@ C:,3:-J1

This stiategy is best employeu foi matches that you aie favouieu to lose anu in
which you expect youi opponent to put you unuei extenueu piessuie. It aims to
keep men behinu the ball, to iestiict space in youi half, to slow things uown anu
to fiustiate the opposition. It ielies on uiiect balls to the foiwaius followeu by
shaip anu quick passing inteichanges to scoie goals on the countei.

:,/)*/,0 [+()$&/)*#+(

Nentality System: Befensive - Niu Noimal (min S playeis on Befensive)
Playei Roles: S Befenu, 2 Suppoit, S Attack
Passing Pattein: Befenu (uiiect), Suppoit (mixeu), Attack (shoit)
Tempo: Slow
Wiuth: Naiiow
Time Wasting: Bigh
Tackling: Easy
Focus Passing: Thiough the Niuule
Naiking: Befenu & Suppoit (TightNan), Attack (LooseZonal)
Cieative Fieeuom: Befenu (Low), Suppoit (Noimal), Attack (Bigh)
Fiee Roles: Attack (one)
Countei Attack: Yes
Play 0ffsiue: No



P0)2#&12 )2' ,;#.' )2$'' ()$,)'1*'( (2#&0- ;' '+#&12 )# 4'$5#$3 ='00 #.'$ , 5&00
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L#+)$#0 ,+- ?2&)7&47?2#4<

"@- 6+9:,+5 M3:;@ C:,3:-J1

The Contiol Natch Stiategy sits between the Stanuaiu anu Attacking mentality
systems anu has two options foi ueployment. The fiist is to slow uown a match
that shoulu alieauy be won, geneially playing keep ball whilst still being able to
gently piobe in the final thiiu when space opens up. The seconu is when a moie
patient appioach is ueemeu to be necessaiy against a team that is sitting back
anu tiying to fiustiate. Closing uown is moie cautious than in Attacking
stiategies in oiuei to entice the opposition out of theii uefensive comfoit zone
anu fiee up some space. Foi both options, the managei has to best ueciue how to
employ Befenu, Suppoit anu Attack ioles. As miufielu possession is the piioiity,
six playeis can be given suppoit ioles in a 2-6-2 pattein. Bowevei, shoulu the
""#$ &'( ))


managei piefei a moie aggiessive Contiol Stiategy, a 2-S-S, 2-4-4, oi S-S-4 split
shoulu be useu. Foi a moie cautious appioach, employ a S-S-2 oi S-6-1 split.

:,/)*/,0 [+()$&/)*#+(

Nentality System: Noimal - Niu Attacking
Playei Roles: 2-S Befenu, S-6 Suppoit, 2-4 Attack
Passing Pattein: Befenu (low-mixeu), Suppoit (mixeu), Attack (low-
uiiect)
Tempo: Noimal
Wiuth: Wiue
Time Wasting: Low
Tackling: Noimal
Focus Passing: NixeuBown the Flanks
Naiking: Befenu & Suppoit (TightNan), Attack (LooseZonal)
Cieative Fieeuom: Befenu (Low), Suppoit (Noimal), Attack (Bigh)
Fiee Roles: Attack (one-two)
Countei Attack: No
Play 0ffsiue: 0ptional

"@- C@4:T4ATC@+A M3:;@ C:,3:-J1

Although the Shut-0p-Shop Stiategy is the most uefensive of the systems, one
must guaiu against uiopping its mentality system too low, which will invite
piessuie, anu shoulu use Befensive anu Stanuaiu stiategies as guiuing bookenus.
The aim of the tactic is to fiustiate the opposition by ieuucing space, slowing
things uown, keeping the ball, wasting time as much as possible anu to cleai the
ball long when out of iisk-fiee options. 0nlike the Befensive Natch Stiategy, it is
not looking to scoie on the countei, just not to conceue. As possession anu
fiustiation is the piioiity, moie playeis than usual will be kept behinu the ball.
Closing uown will be aggiessive up fiont, but cautious in miufielu anu uefence.
Befenueis anu suppoit playeis will be looking to cleai the ball, wheieas
Attackeis will aim to maintain possession anu uiaw fouls iathei than make iisky
attacking passes. In teims of Befenu, Suppoit anu Attack ioles, the managei can
choose to ueploy a 6-S-1, 6-2-2, S-4-1 oi S-S-2 split. Bue to its veiy uefensive
natuie, this stiategy might not suit all foimations, especially those with multiple
attacking miufielueis anu foiwaius.


:,/)*/,0 [+()$&/)*#+(

Nentality System: Befensive - Niu Noimal (min S playeis on Befensive)
Playei Roles: S-6 Befenu, 2-4 Suppoit, 1-2 Attack
Passing Pattein: Befenu (veiy uiiectlong), Suppoit (mixeu), Attack (veiy
shoit)
Tempo: veiy Slow
Wiuth: Naiiow
Time Wasting: veiy Bigh
)* ""#$ &'(


Tackling: Easy
Focus Passing: Thiough the Niuule
Naiking: Befenu & Suppoit (TightNan), Attack (LooseZonal)
Cieative Fieeuom: Befenu (Low), Suppoit (Noimal), Attack (Bigh)
Fiee Roles: Attack (one)
Countei Attack: Yes
Play 0ffsiue: 0ptional

89/<X</435 2531-, "@-+,<->

Nost manageis aie foiceu to cut theii tactical teeth at clubs with somewhat less
than woilu-class squaus. Piioi to taking on the cieam of the football woilu, it is
impoitant foi any managei to unueistanu how to get the best out of basic
football positions. Failuie to uo so will leau to incoheient anu uisjointeu play, no
mattei how goou the oveiall tactical vision. The following section explains how
to shape a geneiic tactic anu then begin mouluing it to the specific playeis at
youi uisposal.

V-9-,<; 89>:,4;:<+9>

At the veiy basic level, an iueal staiting point foi youi tactics woulu be to
instiuct youi playeis to follow instiuctions accoiuing to theii assigneu ioles.

K-O-9/ G+5-

Playeis in this iole must be looking to play iisk fiee, simple football. In cautious
tactics, this will mean looking to get the ball high up the pitch anu away fiom
uangei. In aggiessive tactics, it will mean playing simple possession passes to
moie skilful anu cieative playeis.

Run With Ball: Raiely
Long Shots: Raiely
Thiough Balls: Raiely
Cioss Ball: Raiely
Cioss Fiom: Beep

C4AA+,: G+5-

Playeis in this iole will be looking to suppoit the attack whilst not wanueiing too
fai fiom theii uefensive positions. They shoulu thus be aiming to play balls into
attacking aieas iathei than opeiating in those aieas themselves. The following
instiuctions will aiu them in that uiiection.

Run With Ball: Nixeu
""#$ &'( )7


Long Shots: 0ften
Thiough Balls: 0ften
Cioss Ball: Nixeu
Cioss Fiom: Nixeu

Z::3;H G+5-

Playeis in this iole will be looking to attack the final thiiu anu uo as much
uamage in that aiea as possible. They will geneially be looking to get onto the
enu of thiough balls iathei than playing them. 0nce they have the ball they will
be looking to quickly shape oppoitunities foi themselves oi otheis.

Run With Ball: 0ften
Long Shots: Nixeu
Thiough Balls: Nixeu
Cioss Ball: 0ften
Cioss Fiom: Byline

2531-, Z0<5<:<->

The above geneiic instiuctions might not suit the playeis you have at youi
uisposal. Foi example, you might have a highly cieative uefenuei who can play
pinpoint passes whom you envisage spiaying passes to the flanks to stait
countei attacks, in which case you will inciease his Thiough Balls settings. You
might have a siue-miufieluei who has no pace anu aveiage ciossing but excellent
passing, in which case lowei his Ciossing instiuctions (both amount anu position
fiom) anu inciease his passing options. You might have a Foiwaiu with pooi
uiibbling anu pace, but gieat passing anu long shots, in which case ieuuce Run
With Ball anu Foiwaiu Runs anu inciease his oppoitunities to take pot shots oi
play otheis in. Taking into account the attiibutes of youi playeis will enable you
to moulu the tactical instiuctions to make best use of theii specific abilities. It
will be extiemely countei-piouuctive to ask playeis to iegulaily uo things of
which they aie not capable.

2+><:<+935 89>:,4;:<+9>

To get the best out of his squau anu foimation of choice, a managei might also
want to tailoi the geneiic instiuctions to bettei fit the specific positions within
his piefeiieu foimation. This section pioviues a biief guiue in how a managei
might go about uoing that.

Please note, this is a guiue only anu must be consiueieu alongsiue the geneiic
instiuctions anu playei abilities in oiuei to get the best out of any squau.

)? ""#$ &'(


V+35H--A-,

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I P'$*,0 P;*0*)B9 L#33,+- #5 P$',9 \,+-0*+19 X'50'Q'(9 M+' #+ M+'(

The goalkeepei is veiy much pait of the Befensive Roles fiamewoik anu his
tactical instiuctions ieflect those of the cential uefenueis, focusing on simple anu
iisk fiee use of the ball. The majoi uiffeience between stiategies is in his
uistiibution instiuctions. Foi moie cautious tactics, he will aim to cleai the ball
ueep wheieas foi moie aggiessive ones he will feeu the uefence in oiuei to stait
off passing moves.

Playei Role: Befenu
Run With Ball: Raiely
Long Shots: Raiely
Thiough Balls: Raiely
Cioss Ball: Raiely
Cioss Fiom: Beep
Bolu 0p Ball: No
Bistiibution: Long Kick (Befensive), Quick Thiow (Stanuaiu), Befenuei
Collect (Attacking)
Bistiibute To: FCTN (Befensive), NLR (Stanuaiu), BLR (Attacking)

6-9:,35 K-O-9/-,>

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I J&34*+19 6,$@*+19 :,/@0*+19 ]#(*)*#+*+19 ?)$'+1)2

The main job of a cential uefenuei in all the match stiategies is to stop the
opposing attackeis fiom playing anu to cleai the ball fiom uangei when
iequiieu. When playing in an attacking match stiategy, they must also be able to
help the team maintain possession anu lay off simple passes to moie cieative
playeis. To ensuie they iemain focuseu on uefensive uuties, keep theii
inuiviuual instiuctions as simple as possible. Foi uefenueis who go foiwaiu foi
set pieces, it is auvantageous setting theii long shots to mixeu, as it will enable
them to fiie off pot shots if they pick up a half-cleaiance when ietieating. This is
a fai bettei option than theii looking foi a pass anu getting caught in possession
anu out of position to covei a bieak.

Playei Role: Befenu
Run With Ball: Raiely
Long Shots: Raiely
Thiough Balls: Raiely
Cioss Ball: Raiely
Cioss Fiom: Beep
Bolu 0p Ball: No


""#$ &'( )B


$455 S3;H>

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I ],/'9 :,/@0*+19 ]#(*)*#+*+19 A#$@ X,)'9 ?),3*+,

The full back is becoming a key playei in mouein football, having to supplement
his tiauitional uefensive uuties with oveilapping iuns uown the wing to suppoit
foiwaiu play anu help attacks oveiloau the final thiiu. Although piimaiily
assigneu uefensive uuties in moie cautious tactics, he has to woik veiy haiu in
aggiessive ones to fulfil his uefensive anu attacking iesponsibilities.

Playei Role: BefenuSuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: RaielyNixeuNixeu
Long Shots: RaielyNixeuRaiely
Thiough Balls: RaielyNixeuRaiely
Cioss Ball: RaielyNixeu0ften
Cioss Fiom: BeepBeepNixeu
Bolu 0p Ball: No

Y<9J S3;H>

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I ],/'9 :,/@0*+19 L$#((*+19 A#$@ X,)'9 ?),3*+,

Although most wing backs can also be employeu as full backs, they geneially
iequiie slightly moie attacking attiibutes so they can fulfil wingei uuties on the
flanks. Thus, theii tactical instiuctions aie moie aggiessive. The following
settings can be useu foi wing back foimations, oi foi natuial oi accomplisheu
wing backs opeiating in the full back position. Attacking wing back instiuctions
will encouiage oveilaps anu shoulu be applieu to any wingfull back you want
peifoiming that function.

Playei Role: BefenuSuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: RaielyNixeu0ften
Long Shots: RaielyNixeuRaiely
Thiough Balls: Raiely0ftenNixeu
Cioss Ball: RaielyNixeu0ften
Cioss Fiom: BeepNixeuByline
Bolu 0p Ball: No

K-O-9><X- M</O<-5/-,

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I 6,$@*+19 :,/@0*+19 ]#(*)*#+*+19 A#$@ X,)'9 ?)$'+1)2

The uefensive miufieluei's main uuties aie to piotect the uefensive line fiom
bieaking attackeis anu to suppoit the moie cieative miufielueis when in
possession. A key job of the uefensive miufieluei is to keep holu of the ball while
the uefence anu attack aie ieoiganising themselves aftei a peiiou of opposition
piessuie.
)D ""#$ &'(



Playei Role: Befenu
Run With Ball: Raiely
Long Shots: Raiely
Thiough Balls: Raiely
Cioss Ball: Raiely
Cioss Fiom: Beep
Bolu 0p Ball: Yes

M</O<-5/-, .<:@ K-O-9><X- K4:<-> QM6/R

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I 6,$@*+19 ]#(*)*#+*+19 ],((*+19 :',3=#$@9 ?),3*+,

The miufieluei with uefensive uuties peifoims ioughly the same iole as the
uefensive miufieluei. Bowevei, while the BNC opeiates between the miufielu
anu uefence, the NCu is veiy much pait of the miufielu anu neeus to have the
technical skills to fulfil that function. 0peiating slightly fuithei up the pitch
means he will moie oppoitunities to shoot fiom iange anu a gieatei chance of
picking a thiough ball. Although piimaiily a uefensive playei, his tactical
instiuctions must ieflect this gieatei attacking iesponsibility.

Playei Role: Befenu
Run With Ball: Raiely
Long Shots: Nixeu
Thiough Balls: Nixeu
Cioss Ball: Nixeu
Cioss Fiom: Beep
Bolu 0p Ball: Yes

C</-TM</O<-5/-,>

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I ],((*+19 L$#((*+19 ]#(*)*#+*+19 :',3=#$@9 A#$@ X,)'

A siue-miufieluei peifoims uefensive anu attacking uuties within the oveiall
stiuctuie of the team foimation. Lacking eithei the explosive pace oi exciting
uiibbling skills of an out-anu-out wingei, the siue-miufieluei ielies on teamwoik
anu woik iate to get into uangeious attacking positions without compiomising
his uefensive iesponsibilities. In attack, he focuses on woiking space on the
flanks to supply key ciosses anu passes into the final thiiu. In uefence, he plays a
key iole in uefenuing the flanks.

Playei Role: SuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: NixeuNixeu
Long Shots: 0ftenNixeu
Thiough Balls: 0ftenNixeu
Cioss Ball: Nixeu0ften
Cioss Fiom: NixeuByline
""#$ &'( )(


Bolu 0p Ball: No

Y<9J-,>

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I ],/'9 P//'0'$,)*#+9 :'/2+*%&'9 "0,*$9 Z$*;;0*+1

The wingei possesses the technical anu physical skills to beat his man anu his
tactical instiuctions neeu to make the best use of these abilities. Employeu in a
Suppoit Role the wingei's job is to tiy to get past his man anu get in an eaily
cioss foi the foiwaius. Employeu in an Attack Role he will tiy to iun at the
uefence in the final thiiu, aiming to cause panic anu inuecision piioi to shooting
oi attempting to make a thiough ballcioss to a team mate.

Playei Role: SuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: 0ften0ften
Long Shots: NixeuNixeu
Thiough Balls: 0ftenNixeu
Cioss Ball: 0ften0ften
Cioss Fiom: NixeuByline
Bolu 0p Ball: No

M</O<-5/-, .<:@ Z::3;H<9J K4:<-> QM63R

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I ],((*+19 :'/2+*%&'9 V#+1 ?2#)(9 :',3=#$@9 ?),3*+,

The NCa opeiates as an attacking vaiiant of the NCu, focusing mainly on attack
whilst still peifoiming key miuule of the paik uuties. Although his main
iesponsibilities aie to help the team maintain possession anu to fashion out
chances foi playeis with Attacking ioles, he still neeus to tiack back uefensively.
In a Suppoit iole he will aim to combine attempts at thiough balls with the
occasional pot shot at goal if space opens up. In an Attacking iole he will aim to
uiift into space aiounu the opposition's uefensive line.

Playei Role: SuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: NixeuNixeu
Long Shots: 0ftenNixeu
Thiough Balls: 0ften0ften
Cioss Ball: NixeuNixeu
Cioss Fiom: BeepNixeu
Bolu 0p Ball: No

Z::3;H<9J M</O<-5/-,

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I "*$() :#&/29 :'/2+*%&'9 L$',)*.*)B9 "0,*$9 Z'/*(*#+(

The ANC opeiates highei up the pitch than a stanuaiu miufieluei, so he cannot
uiive into space fiom ueep in the mannei of the NCa. Requiiing excellent
*' ""#$ &'(


technical anu mental skills, his uuty is to fashion chances foi himself anu otheis
in the final thiiu befoie the opposition uefenueis ieuuce the time anu space he
has to make his play. Be must be able to consistently make high quality
uecisions at speeu foi him to make best use of his tactical instiuctions.

Playei Role: SuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: Nixeu0ften
Long Shots: NixeuNixeu
Thiough Balls: 0ften0ften
Cioss Ball: NixeuNixeu
Cioss Fiom: NixeuByline
Bolu 0p Ball: No

K--A E1<9J $+,.3,/ Q$6/R

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I :'/2+*%&'9 L$',)*.*)B9 V#+1 ?2#)(9 ?)$'+1)29 "*$() :#&/2

The FCu's main function is to link the attack to the miufielu. 0peiating on a
lowei mentality than his stiike paitnei, often with no Foiwaiu Runs, he aims to
uiop ueep into space anu holu up the ball befoie supplying linking passes to
teammates. If he has time to tuin, these linking passes aie likely to be thiough
balls to his stiike paitnei. 0thei passing possibilities aie possession-oiientateu
balls to ueep-lying miufielueis oi moie aggiessive passes in fiont of bieaking
wingeis oi auvanceu miufielueis. In a Suppoit Role he will be mainly looking to
play otheis in. In an Attack iole he will also look to fashion chances foi himself.

Playei Role: SuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: NixeuNixeu
Long Shots: 0ftenNixeu
Thiough Balls: 0ftenNixeu
Cioss Ball: NixeuNixeu
Cioss Fiom: NixeuNixeu
Bolu 0p Ball: Yes

Z/X39;-/ $+,.3,/ Q$63R

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I P//'0'$,)*#+9 "*$() :#&/29 M55 )2' 8,009 "*+*(2*+19 L#34#(&$'

The Auvanceu Foiwaiu's main uuty is to hang on the shouluei of the last
uefenuei anu bieak thiough the uefensive line to get on the enu of thiough balls.
Possessing a goou fiist touch anu an innate ability to finu space, he uses his
acceleiation to outpace the uefence anu get as close to goal befoie taking a shot.
Bis seconuaiy iole is to chase uown misplaceu thiough balls oi cleaiances fiom
ueep anu tuin them into scoiing oppoitunities foi his teammates.

Playei Role: Attack
Run With Ball: 0ften
""#$ &'( *L


Long Shots: Nixeu
Thiough Balls: Nixeu
Cioss Ball: Nixeu
Cioss Fiom: Byline
Bolu 0p Ball: No
CA-;<35<>: 2+><:<+9 "@-+,<->

In geneial, it is inauvisable to give specialist instiuctions until you have a well-
gelleu anu woilu-class squau, the iespect of youi playeis plus enough
manageiial expeiience to uesign a tactical system aiounu ceitain types of playei
anu the confiuence to change tactics as anu when necessaiy. Bowevei, if you aie
a lowei level managei lucky enough to possess a playei whose technical skills fai
exceeu those common to the uivision, you may be able to use similai settings to
make him the key component of youi team. It is also inauvisable to have too
many specialist ioles within one tactic, as then nobouy will peifoim the watei-
caiiying iole, possession will be uifficult to come by anu play will become
uisjointeu. If you aie confiuent that you have the iight playeis anu expeiience,
the following tactical instiuctions will enable you to get the best out of youi
specialist playeis.

C.--A-, \--A-,

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I P$*,0 P;*0*)B9 L#33,+- #5 P$',9 \,+-0*+19 X'50'Q'(9 M+' #+ M+'(9
L#33&+*/,)*#+9 ^//'+)$*/*)B9 X&(2*+1 M&)9 P//'0'$,)*#+9 ],/'9 P+)*/*4,)*#+9
]#(*)*#+*+19 Z'/*(*#+(9 "*$() :#&/29 M&)5*'0- X,)*+1

",3#&( ^Q,340'(I ",;*,+ 8,$)2'W9 J#$1' L,34#(9 X'+' \&*1&*),

The Sweepei Keepei aims to peifoim two ioles: a stanuaiu keepei anu an
outfielu sweepei. 0peiating behinu a pusheu up u-line, he will be assigneu a
highei mentality than the BCs, plus mixeu cieative fieeuom. Alongsiue stanuaiu
goalkeeping uuties, he will sweep up balls in fiont of anu wiue of the penalty
aiea anu initiate countei-attacking moves with uiiect thiough balls to bieaking
playeis. Be neeus to be highly athletic anu extiemely comfoitable with the ball
at his feet.

Playei Role: Suppoit
Run With Ball: Raiely
Long Shots: Raiely
Thiough Balls: Nixeu
Cioss Ball: Nixeu
Cioss Fiom: Beep
Bolu 0p Ball: No
Bistiibution: Long Kick (Befensive), Quick Thiow (Stanuaiu), Befenuei
Collect (Attacking)
Bistiibute To: FCTN (Befensive), NLR (Stanuaiu), BLR (Attacking)
*! ""#$ &'(


C.--A-,]E<0-,+

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I J&34*+19 6,$@*+19 :,/@0*+19 ]#(*)*#+*+19 ?)$'+1)29 ],/'9
P//'0'$,)*#+9 Z'/*(*#+(9 L#+/'+)$,)*#+9 P+)*/*4,)*#+9 ],((*+19 L$',)*.*)B9 "0,*$9
Z$*;;0*+19 :'/2+*%&'

",3#&( ^Q,340'(I "$,+W 8'/@'+;,&'$9 "$,+/# 8,$'(*

Theie aie two uiffeient methous of employing this type of playei, eithei as a
puie Sweepei (BCu) oi as a uefenuei-playmakei in the classical Libeio style
(BCa).

7E##@#* P"5:Q- The Sweepei opeiates on a lowei mentality than the othei BCs
in the uefensive line. Bis exceptional athleticism anu ieauing of the game enable
him to covei uefensive eiiois, sweep them up fiom a ueep position anu secuie
possession. This will often be the piefeiieu option foi those wishing to employ a
high uefensive line.

Playei Role: Befenu
Run With Ball: Raiely
Long Shots: Raiely
Thiough Balls: Nixeu
Cioss Ball: Raiely
Cioss Fiom: Beep
Bolu 0p Ball: No


J%1#*( P"5,Q- The Libeio also sweeps behinu the back line in the same mannei
as the Sweepei. The key uiffeience is the Libeio will ioam foiwaius in suppoit
of the miufielu when the team has possession anu aim to be the extia bouy in
uefence. The attacking intent of the tactic, his assigneu iole anu his mentality
settings ueteimine to what extent he will leave his uefensive position. It is also
useful to assign high Cieative Fieeuom settings, anu possibly a fiee iole. The
Libeio woiks bettei with a lowei uefensive line as this allows him to step into
the space in fiont of the othei BCs.

Playei Role: SuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: NixeuNixeu
Long Shots: Nixeu0ften
Thiough Balls: 0ften0ften
Cioss Ball: RaielyRaiely
Cioss Fiom: BeepBeep
Bolu 0p Ball: No

""#$ &'( *)


K--ATE1<9J 2531F3H-,

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I 6,$@*+19 :,/@0*+19 ]#(*)*#+*+19 ?)$'+1)29 ?),3*+,9 ],((*+19
:'/2+*%&'9 L$',)*.*)B9 "*$() :#&/29 Z'/*(*#+(

",3#&( ^Q,340'(I P+-$', ]*$0#9 L'(/ ",;$'1,(9 J&,+ X#3,+ X*%&'03'

The Beep-Lying Playmakei opeiates in the space between his uefence anu
miufielu anu aims to initiate attacking moves via pinpoint passes to playeis
positioneu highei up the pitch. A key element to setting up an effective Beep-
Lying Playmakei is ensuiing his passing instiuctions enable him to hit fiist time
passes to any point on the pitch, thus iequiiing mixeu-high mixeu as minimum
settings. Although cieative fieeuom is not a necessity, especially in the Befenu
iole, assigning a fiee iole will ensuie he uiifts into space anu makes himself
available foi the easy pass.

Playei Role: BefenuSuppoit
Run With Ball: RaielyNixeu
Long Shots: RaielyNixeu
Thiough Balls: 0ften0ften
Cioss Ball: RaielyNixeu
Cioss Fiom: BeepBeep
Bolu 0p Ball: Yes

S+UT:+TS+U M</O<-5/-,

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I 6,$@*+19 :,/@0*+19 ]#(*)*#+*+19 ?)$'+1)29 ?),3*+,9 ],((*+19
:'/2+*%&'9 P//'0'$,)*#+9 V#+1 ?2#)(9 Z'/*(*#+(9 :',3=#$@9 8$,.'$B9
Z')'$3*+,)*#+9 A#$@ X,)'

",3#&( ^Q,340'(I 8$*,+ X#;(#+9 X#B Y',+'9 ?)'.'+ >'$$,$-9 X'-#+-#

Nowauays, the box-to-box miufieluei is a thieateneu species to be founu mainly
in the Biitish Isles. The piecise tactical plans of mouein-uay football have no
place foi the non-stop uynamism of box-to-box miufielueis, as seen by the
pioblems continental Euiopean manageis have in woiking out how to best
ueploy ueiiaiu. In FN teims, it is best to allow the Box-to-Box Niufieluei
highish mentality anu cieative fieeuom alongsiue a fiee iole to get him foiwaiu
while assigning him a Suppoit iole ensuies he won't neglect his uefensive uuties.

Playei Role: Suppoit
Run With Ball: Nixeu
Long Shots: 0ften
Thiough Balls: Nixeu
Cioss Ball: Nixeu
Cioss Fiom: Nixeu
Bolu 0p Ball: Yes
** ""#$ &'(


Z/X39;-/ 2531F3H-,

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I ],((*+19 :'/2+*%&'9 L$',)*.*)B9 "0,*$9 V#+1 ?2#)(9 ?)$'+1)29 "*$()
:#&/29 P+)*/*4,)*#+9 M55 )2' 8,009 Z'/*(*#+(9 Z$*;;0*+19 :',3=#$@

",3#&( ^Q,340'(I 6,$,-#+,9 _*+'-*+' _*-,+'9 6*/2'0 ]0,)*+*9 Z'++*( 8'$1@,349
_*/#

The Auvanceu Playmakei can opeiate in the NCa, ANC oi FCu position.
Requiiing veiy high cieative fieeuom anu fiee iole instiuctions, the Auvanceu
Playmakei aims to uiop into the hole between the opposition's miufielu anu
attack, making himself available foi his teammates' passes anu aiming to tuin
uefence into attack in an instant. In a Suppoit iole he mainly iestiicts himself to
making chances foi otheis. In an Attack iole his flaii, cieativity anu tactical
fieeuom make him a uefensive nightmaie. If playing him as an ANC oi an FCu, it
is woith giving him lowei than noimal mentality settings anu fewei foiwaiu
iuns to encouiage him to uiop into space anu look foi passes into all aieas of the
pitch. Similai instiuctions without selecting playmakei options will have the
playei opeiating as a cieative foiwaiumiufieluei.

Playei Role: SuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: Nixeu0ften
Long Shots: 0ftenNixeu
Thiough Balls: 0ften0ften
Cioss Ball: Nixeu0ften
Cioss Fiom: NixeuByline
Bolu 0p Ball: No

"3,J-: M39

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I ?)$'+1)29 ?),3*+,9 J&34*+19 \',-*+19 "*$() :#&/29 V#+1 ?2#)(9
P+)*/*4,)*#+9 8$,.'$B9 Z'/*(*#+(9 :',3=#$@9 A#$@ X,)'

",3#&( ^Q,340'(I J,+ Y#00'$9 O*@#0, _*1*/9 ^3*0' \'(@'B9 ]')'$ L$#&/2

Although the examples give above aie all inteinationals, the Taiget Nan
instiuction is fai moie suiteu to less goou siues than leauing ones, as it iestiicts
the vaiiation of attacking play. Bowevei, a uominant Taiget Nan can tiansfoim
an aveiage team into a goou one by using his sheei physicality to uisiupt the
opposition's uefence anu open space foi his stiike paitnei anu suppoiting
miufielueis. Although the quality of opposing uefences means the Taiget Nan
won't scoie many goals at highei levels, thus iestiicting his iole to Suppoit, he
shoulu bag hatfuls in lowei leagues anu can thus be ueployeu in a moie Attacking
iole. Foi a shoitei but technically gifteu Taiget Nan who is happy playing with
his back to goal (think Naik Bughes anu the oluei Alan Sheaiei) employ the 'To
Feet' supply instiuction. Foi a tall, less technical playei, use 'To Beau'. Foi a tall,
technical gifteu playei, then the 'Nixeu' instiuction is iueal.

""#$ &'( *7


Playei Role: SuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: RaielyRaiely
Long Shots: 0ftenNixeu
Thiough Balls: 0ften0ften
Cioss Ball: NixeuNixeu
Cioss Fiom: NixeuNixeu
Bolu 0p Ball: Yes

2+3;@-,

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I ],/'9 P//'0'$,)*#+9 "*$() :#&/29 M55 )2' 8,009 "*+*(2*+19 L#34#(&$'9
"0,*$9 Z$*;;0*+19 Z'/*(*#+(9 P+)*/*4,)*#+

",3#&( ^Q,340'(I 6*/2,'0 M='+9 >,;$*'0 8,)*()&),9 "*0*44# [+W,12*9 X&&- .,+
O*()'0$##B

The goal poachei is iapiuly being phaseu out at the top level as mouein football
begins to favoui foiwaius who offei moie to the team than just being able to
scoie. Bowevei, outsiue the top level a quality poachei can guaiantee enough
goals to ensuie the team is pushing foi a goou league position. Setting tactical
instiuctions that foice the poachei into playing as pait of the team will not get
the best out of him. Insteau, play to his stiengths by giving him a high mentality,
a fiee iole anu cieative fieeuom to make the best use of any space he finus anu
simple instiuctions that encouiage him to look foi final thiiu oppoitunities. The
'Taiget NanRun onto Ball' instiuction combination can often get the best out of
a Poachei.

Playei Role: Attack
Run With Ball: 0ften
Long Shots: Raiely
Thiough Balls: Raiely
Cioss Ball: Nixeu
Cioss Fiom: Byline
Bolu 0p Ball: No

6+FA5-:- $+,.3,/

Y'B P))$*;&)'(I P//'0'$,)*#+9 "*$() :#&/29 M55 )2' 8,009 "*+*(2*+19 L#34#(&$'9 "0,*$9
Z$*;;0*+19 Z'/*(*#+(9 :'/2+*%&'9 L$',)*.*)B9 V#+1 ?2#)(9 ?)$'+1)29 \',-*+19 ?),3*+,

",3#&( ^Q,340'(I ]'0'9 J#2,+ L$&B559 :2*'$$B \'+$B9 X#3,$*#

Shoulu a managei be lucky enough to woik with a complete foiwaiu, he neeus to
allow him to make use of the full iange of his ability. Whethei opeiating behinu
an FCa as ueep suppoit oi speaiheauing the stiike foice, the complete foiwaiu
simply neeus to be given his heau. Assigning him a fiee iole anu plenty of
cieative fieeuom will ensuie the opposing uefence has a toiiiu time tiying to
*? ""#$ &'(


cope with him, unsuie of whethei he'll iun, shoot, play a thiough ball, uiop ueep,
stay high anu cential oi uiift into the channels.

Playei Role: SuppoitAttack
Run With Ball: 0ften0ften
Long Shots: 0ften0ften
Thiough Balls: 0ften0ften
Cioss Ball: 0ften0ften
Cioss Fiom: NixeuByline
Bolu 0p Ball: Yes
PAA+><:<+9 89>:,4;:<+9> "@-+,<->

A thoughtful use of 0pposition Instiuctions can tuin a goou tactic into a gieat
one by taigeting opponent stiengths anu weaknesses piioi to eveiy match. They
can also be useu to countei potential foimation weaknesses in youi own tactic.

G-53:<+9 :+ Y</:@]2<:;@ C<[-

As uiscusseu eailiei, a naiiow wiuth setting is the most suitable option foi a
wiue pitch, as it ensuies piotection in cential aieas uefensively whilst
encouiaging attacking playeis to fluiuly move into space in the final thiiu.
Bowevei, this stiategy leaves the wings open foi exploitation. In oiuei to
minimise the oppoitunities foi opposing wiue playeis, use the 'Close Bown
Always' 0I to taiget the most auvanceu wiue playeis in youi opponent's
foimation.

G-53:<+9 :+ 2531-, C:,3:3]6@399-5>

0n a smallei to meuium sizeu pitch when playing against a foimation that
ioughly miiiois youi own (i.e. 4-4-2 veisus a 4-4-2 oi 4-2-4) Playei
StiataChannel 0pposition Instiuctions aie iiielevant. Bowevei, if the two
foimations uon't match, then 0I becomes an impoitant tool to combat playeis
opeiating in uiffeient channels anuoi stiata fiom those in youi team.

"@- ZM6 2+><:<+9

Playeis in the ANC position aie usually veiy technically skilleu, which means
that the Closing Bown 0I is a veiy iisky option. Fiistly, theie is the likelihoou
that a BC will leave the uefensive line to peifoim the Closing Bown instiuction,
thus opening a uangeious gap. Seconuly, the technical skill of the ANC means
theie is a high possibility of his evauing the closing uown playei anu cieating an
oppoitunity. If you aie not using a BNC, consiuei the 'Tight Naik Always' 0I
when playing against an ANC. A fuithei option is to specific maik the ANC with
youi BNC oi NCu.
""#$ &'( *B


"@- KM6 2+><:<+9

Playeis in the BNC position often act as fulciums foi play anu thus see a lot of
the ball. Failing to limit theii influence may leau to pooi possession anu a
fiustiateu team. 0se the 'Close Bown Always' 0I to ieuuce the time the BNC has
on the ball anu foice him into making moie huiiieu passes than he woulu like.
The 'Show onto Weakei Foot' 0I can also foice him to misplace passes anu aiu in
attempts to quickly iegain possession. A fuithei option is to specific maik the
BNC with youi FCu, ANC oi NCa.

"@- E+9- C:,<H-,

Bow to hanule a lone stiikei uepenus on how aggiessively the opposition aie
playing. If he is being useu in a uefensive foimation, use the 'Close Bown Always'
anu 'Baiu Tackle' 0Is to tiy anu limit his involvement in the match to picking up
balls ueep on the pitch. Bowevei, these will be pooi 0Is if the opposition is using
an aggiessive tactic anu attacking thiough the miufielu. In this case, the 'Tight
Naik Always', 'Easy Tackle Always' anu 'Show onto Weakei Foot' will be bettei
0Is, as they will focus on stopping him getting easy shots off oi winning fiee
kicks in uangeious positions. A fuithei option is to specific maik the lone stiikei
with youi one of youi BCs.

G-53:<+9 :+ CA-;<O<; 2531-,>

"@- &C@+. +9:+ $++:^ P8

This 0I is an excellent tool foi combating thieats fiom out wiue. The key thing to
think about is the type of attackeis you aie playing against.

:,00 R ?0#= P)),/@'$(I 0I wingeis to go insiue
?2#$) R `&*/@ P)),/@'$(I 0I wingeis to go outsiue
:,00 R `&*/@ P)),/@'$(I 0I wingeis onto wiong foot

The ieasons foi this aie thieefolu. If the opposition attackeis aie slow, then the
uefenueis shoulu easily mop up a thiough ball. In contiast, if the playei is tall
anu goou in the aii, then the uefence will stiuggle to cope with goou ciosses. If
the attackeis aie both goou with the ball in the aii anu on the giounu, then the
best option is to make the wingei stiuggle to get a goou ball in by foicing him
onto his weakei foot. Be awaie, if the wingei is technically goou anu has a majoi
pace auvantage ovei the uefenuing full back, showing him onto his weakei foot
insiue may leau to the wingei having a cleai iun on goal. The 'Show onto Weakei
Foot' 0I can also be veiy useful when tiying to piessuiise the back line anuoi
goalkeepei into making uefensive eiiois.

*D ""#$ &'(


"@- &"<J@:]E++>- M3,H<9J^ P8

The 'Tight Naiking' 0I is best employeu to taiget highly skilleu opposing playeis
in oiuei to maik them out of the game. Foi such playeis, it is a bettei option
than the 'Close Bown Always' 0I, as it immeuiately ieuuces space iathei than
waiting until the playei gets the ball befoie uoing so. If one only employs the
'Closing Bown Always' 0I, by the time a uefenuei ieaches a technical playei he
will have alieauy hau the oppoitunity to uo something uangeious. Bowevei, the
two 0Is can be useu veiy effectively in tanuem.

The 'Loose Naiking' 0I is best employeu as a methou of channelling opponent's
play thiough a playei you uon't consiuei to be much of a uangei. By maintaining
youi maiking pattein on othei playeis, plus possibly auuing a few 'Tight Naik
Always' 0Is, you can foice the opposition into feeuing balls to a specific playei by
assigning the 'Loose Naiking Always' 0I to him. The best playeis to taiget aie
those that aie technically pooi, meaning theii passes anu shots will be of little
uangei, veiy slow playeis who you can huiiy into bau uecisions by closing uown
oi playeis lacking in stiength, biaveiy anu ueteimination whom you can bully
off the ball via the 'Baiu Tackling' 0I.

"@- &65+><9J K+.9^ P8

As mentioneu pieviously, this is a vital 0I foi teams tiying to piotect theii flanks
on a wiue pitch. It is also vital in teims of putting heavy piessuie on entiencheu,
backs to the wall uefences. In teims of taigeting othei playeis, use the 'Close
Bown Always' 0I to taiget slow playeis of limiteu technical skill. The 'Close
Bown Raiely' 0I shoulu be employeu against quick playeis who can use theii
pace to outflank heavy closing uown instiuctions but uon't have the technical
skills to pose much thieat in the final thiiu. Closing Bown Raiely foices these
playeis to use technical iathei than physical stiengths to get past theii man,
which will geneially be beyonu them.

"@- &=-3X1]W3>1 "3;H5<9J^ P8

The 'Beavy Tackling' 0I is best employeu on playeis who combine low physical
piesence with pooi technique anu lack of biaveiy. They will be intimiuateu by
the heavy challenges anu, lacking the technical skills to play theii way out of
tiouble, will easily give up possession. Although the 'Beavy Tackling 0I' can be
employeu to taiget key opposition playeis in oiuei to kick them out of the game,
it is likely to give away many fiee kicks anu attiact caius when useu against
technically gifteu playeis. The 'Easy Tackling' 0I is often the best bet against
playeis with gieat physical piesence but limiteu technical ability, as it uiaws
attacking fouls, oi against playeis of gieat technical ability but limiteu physical,
as it foices them to go past theii man iathei than allowing him to get past his
man oi uiaw a uangeious fiee kick via a piece of gieat technical play leauing to a
misseu oi bauly-timeu tackle.
""#$ &'( *(


6,-/<:>


K*%'%&4

wwfan & Nillie


3#&',2%'9 790'#+0

wwfan
Nillie
zagallo
}ustifieu
}aswaibiick
Asmoueus


)##:1,/M ,&: 78@@(*'

Rashiui
ciazy gia
Leioy188S
Law Nan


C#&#*,2 .6,&M0

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