jmancubsfanMy team usually plays in a modified formation that looks like a blend of 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-2-1-2 but late in the game the front five players shown here seem to be annoyed with rotating for each other in 4 positions and end up all on the field at the same time. My "ST" (striker) even resorted to playing right back last game after the right wing back got ejected. My problem is that we often have a lead when this happens but can never seem to hold it with these players on the field.
My question is:
What's the best formation for defending a lead with the compromise of having enough players behind the ball without being forced to stay in your own half? I need help...
13.10.2009
jmancubsfanWithout a solution as of now, I plan on drilling them on possession with a simple game of "keep-away" before our next game since we don't actually have practices as it is just a recreational league. I'm hoping that simply passing the ball around better will help us to secure a lead.
13.10.2009
ZolaI don't know any formations that can cure lack of tactical dicipline. Will your guys be happy to play all behind ball and forget about attacking?
13.10.2009
Robert O'CarlosIn situations like defending a lead, your players really need to have trust in each other. The striker (assuming you leave 1 up) needs to be confident that the defenders can cope tactically with pressure so they can stay further upfield for an outball. And the defenders need to know they will have the option to get the ball forward when they win the ball. The worst thing a team can do is lose their discipline and sit too deep. If nothing else, it disrupts each other's positioning (eg. nobody is quite sure if they should be moving 10 metres to the right to cover a gap or if the centre forward is going to run back and fill in there, etc.). Your plan to practice close passing is the way to go, coupled with drilling home the fact that players will need to work hard to find space and give each other options. And the striker should maybe think about getting wider in that situation and just holding the ball up for support rather than trying to move it forward.
:-)
Difficult to say without having seen your squad play. Generally I would say it's enough to sacrifice 1 forward for a further midfield spoiler type and try and stay disciplined. Possession battles like that will be more likely won or lost in midfield.
13.10.2009
RicardoRoberto has it, keeping control in the midfield and retaining an attacking option is excellent. If you drop everyone behind the ball their defenders move up into attacking positions without any concern of leaving a hole in defense. So a simple change from 4-4-2 diamond would be to drop the second striker back to CAM and CAM to general midfield/spoiling duties. 4-5-1 can be hard to get around if it's disciplined (well it would look more like 4-1-3-1-1 but that's a mouthful).
13.10.2009
jmancubsfanNo, that makes sense ricardo. With the players I'm dealing with I would likely just pull my 300 pound target striker back into the center midfield to keep it simple. He can tackle so I can see where that would help and yet keep it simple for everybody else.
15.10.2009
Sweeper5You've described your players as follows, I added the numbers:
2 CB- good sweeper type
3 CB/RB/CDM- typical defender, but not as fast as the other CB
4 RM/RB-belongs at outside mid for crossing ability but can defend
5 RWB- lots of speed and hustle
6 CDM- tall, very strong tackler
7 CM- fast, ball-winner
8 LM- good passer
10 CAM- good passer, played a lot with LM and CF
9 CF- very fast
11 RAM- likes to play forward is good with the ball as a mid
Bench:
12 LW/LB- me, love to cross, lefty
13 ST- big target, good shot
14 RM- all around mid, misses about half the games
A very different way to go would be to play a 5-2-2-1 (like 3-4-2-1 but more defensive) and use invited pressing along the sidelines to trap the opposition in a situation of numerical inferiority.
Line-up would be back three CB's left to right: 3, 2, 6
LWB: 12
RWB: 4
2 DM's left to right: 7, 5
2 attacking mids: chosen from 8, 10, 11, 14
1 CF: chosen from 9 and 13
22.10.2009
Sweeper5Imagine the following shape funneling the ball to the sidelines.
22.10.2009
Robert O'CarlosWell, I for one have had far too much vodka this particular evening to follow all those numbers.
:-D
23.10.2009
Sweeper5Yeah - I was drinking too when I posted that. It was much easier to follow when I was a six pack deep . . .
23.10.2009
Sweeper5This is what I meant
http://this11.com/topics/show/2649/
23.10.2009
jmancubsfanI could see this working. I like to keep 6 out of the defensive box as he does on occasion tackle too strongly and would give up a penalty if this happened in the box. I think I remember that happened a couple seasons ago when I did play him there once.
25.10.2009
