An [Amateur] Tactician's Chalkboard for FM11

[SS19]

@ iNickStuff

Small feedback. In possession game article you advice to use narrow widht, slow tempo and time wasting about mid-way. I think that none of those things affect possession, at least very much. But it means weaker attack. Currently I am using width about mid-way, quick tempo and zero time wasting, and it works very well in terms of possession, passing and attacking. And I am LLM, and my promotions have secured that I am playing with players that are much weaker than in other teams. When using time wasting and slow tempo, you aren't attacking so strongly, which will be a good choise when protecting a lead because it has lower risks, but when trying to win, it doesn't work so effectively. And despite the quick tempo, it doesn't tire my players more than slow tempo, as through PIs I have set them to pass more, meaning less running but more quick passing. And IF your pressing doesn't work and you always win the ball deep inside your own half after cross etc. you shouldn't tick the counter attack box, as it makes your defenders play long balls to 1-2 players upfield against 4-5 opponents, leading to gifting possession away in most of the cases. I have tried those things I mentioned only with style 2, so not sure about that style 1 how it works.

And about modern fullbacks, it really is something that every team should have (except the most defensive tactics). Last game, my left back got 75 passes, 4 of them were key passes, and 17 crosses, altough some of them were corners. When playing possession football fullback/wingback with support or attack is a must, wide support they give is very important in keeping possession.

I hope you take my criticism about that possession football article as something to think or even learn about. I am not telling it is bad, it has been great help for me, but I have different experiences about the things I mentioned, and I am very willing to hear some reasoning behind those opinions you have.

 

[iNickStuff]

NickStuff, thanks for the sharing of your interpretation of A.C. Milan squad this year.
I just wanted to ask just another few things:
- As in there last games, A.C. Milan used a 4-1-2-1-2, whit Van Bommel in front of the DCs and Gatuso (MCR) and Flamini (MCL), and im just wondering what Roles would you give them, as from what i can understand the MC support (automatic) Role is more of a passing type of player, whit trough balls set to often in the TC, and im assuming that the midfield of Milan would be, right now, more the type of destroying and direct play for the front 3 (Robinho, Zlatan, Pato);
- I also wondering what you mean by, for example, "complete forward/attack/support", when you give two options, what one should i use, sorry, but im kind knew in this things;
-And finally, would you do any kind of "tweaks" in the Roles of the players from the original TC configuration? could Milan use any of yours "Modern Centre Forward", Second Striker or Modern Fullbacks?Because from Zonal Marking we see Robinho in the AMC slot but drifting to the left and Pato more in a Second line in the Right field whit Zlatan in the Centre of the Attack.
Im Sorry for all this questions but im been trying to replicate real life A.C. Milan type of play and i had all this questions.
Thanks for your patience and, again, sorry for my poor english.

It's fine. I love these kinds of things. Gets me thinking.

To answer your questions:

• You could put the partnership of Ball-Winning Midfielder (Defend) for Mark van Bommel and Gattuso and Ball-Winning Midfielder (Support) for Flamini and Ambrosini because they are all good players and destroying the tactical plans of other teams and can pass decently well. Central Midfielder on Support duty for Flamini and Ambrosini would be suggested, with tweaked PI's (Player Instructions) and have their passing a little more direct.
• I meant that you could use either Complete Forward (Attack) or Complete Forward (Support) for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I would prefer the former, but the latter seems more effective, and goes hand-in-hand with the other striker's role.
• You could adapt the 'modern Fullback article to Zambrotta, but the other two wouldn't be recommended, as it might hamper your strikers' games. You can try it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

@ iNickStuff

Small feedback. In possession game article you advice to use narrow widht, slow tempo and time wasting about mid-way. I think that none of those things affect possession, at least very much. But it means weaker attack. Currently I am using width about mid-way, quick tempo and zero time wasting, and it works very well in terms of possession, passing and attacking. And I am LLM, and my promotions have secured that I am playing with players that are much weaker than in other teams. When using time wasting and slow tempo, you aren't attacking so strongly, which will be a good choise when protecting a lead because it has lower risks, but when trying to win, it doesn't work so effectively. And despite the quick tempo, it doesn't tire my players more than slow tempo, as through PIs I have set them to pass more, meaning less running but more quick passing. And IF your pressing doesn't work and you always win the ball deep inside your own half after cross etc. you shouldn't tick the counter attack box, as it makes your defenders play long balls to 1-2 players upfield against 4-5 opponents, leading to gifting possession away in most of the cases. I have tried those things I mentioned only with style 2, so not sure about that style 1 how it works.

And about modern fullbacks, it really is something that every team should have (except the most defensive tactics). Last game, my left back got 75 passes, 4 of them were key passes, and 17 crosses, altough some of them were corners. When playing possession football fullback/wingback with support or attack is a must, wide support they give is very important in keeping possession.

I hope you take my criticism about that possession football article as something to think or even learn about. I am not telling it is bad, it has been great help for me, but I have different experiences about the things I mentioned, and I am very willing to hear some reasoning behind those opinions you have.

The possession article, really was about controlling the possession, and choosing to attack sensibly. Possession equates to more control, which adds more options and more chances to score. Increasing the tempo of the play, alongside the width is fine, but it is dependent on the team and how good they are. The possession article is a generalised overview.

Everyone had different experiences with the articles I write. They may go through the same thing, or come out with their own suggestions. Hence why I encourage people to write their own articles, and share their own views on the matter, without it being so biased, one-sided and sometimes wrong. I am not very good at tactics, so having a variation of opinion is what makes the thread impartial.

The criticism you have given is fairly well-known. I have had high amounts of possession by using wide width, fast tempo and a high line, and it's not difficult to do that. The best example of it is through Barcelona. But the possession article doesn't cover anything. All of the articles look at the general overview. The pro's and the con's.

 

[SS19]

The possession article, really was about controlling the possession, and choosing to attack sensibly. Possession equates to more control, which adds more options and more chances to score. Increasing the tempo of the play, alongside the width is fine, but it is dependent on the team and how good they are. The possession article is a generalised overview.

Everyone had different experiences with the articles I write. They may go through the same thing, or come out with their own suggestions. Hence why I encourage people to write their own articles, and share their own views on the matter, without it being so biased, one-sided and sometimes wrong. I am not very good at tactics, so having a variation of opinion is what makes the thread impartial.

The criticism you have given is fairly well-known. I have had high amounts of possession by using wide width, fast tempo and a high line, and it's not difficult to do that. The best example of it is through Barcelona. But the possession article doesn't cover anything. All of the articles look at the general overview. The pro's and the con's.

Well, anyway I would like to see things where you also mention other options and how they affect. Taking this possession thing as an example, writing also this kind of stuff "You could also choose to play wider and with quicker tempo. It increases your chances for scoring a goal, but is more risky opening space for counter attacks" etc.

Oh, and you encourage people to write their own articles. Wasn't there a 1000 post limit?

 

[Marrocos83]

Im glad that im not boring you whit my questions, since im gona make some more , if thats ok.

When you say the parternship of the 3 man midfield, are you thinking in 3 Mcs or 1Dmc and 2Mcs, since i didnt catch if you where considerating the 4-3-1-2 or the 4-1-2-1-2, sorry. because if its the 4-1-2-1-2 the "Van Bommel" role would be defensive midfielder, and if so, whit any tweak?

I also wanted to ask you if you used team settings all in default, or for example, more criative freedom or more agressive, etc.. since you tweaked the d-line, width, etc..

How could i achieve the the Trio in front of A.C. Milan, whit in the AMC slot robinho drifting in the left, in a hibryd Trequ/inside forward role and Pato role, who drifts for the right pitch and Zlatan more central?is the current TC Roles suficient to achieve this or it would need some "tweaking"?
Thanks for your patience.

 

[cap7ainjack]

I`m playyin my third season with Arsenl ,modern tactic,first season was awesome,but after that i have problems with it,second season was a total disaster ,with no particulary reason(not sell any key players or some changes) i qualify for champions legue very hard,and on third it was pretty alright ,but in seccond half of the season again i was start to loose eberything with no reason(FA Cup,premiership,champions legue,)....can you help me

 

[iNickStuff]

Well, anyway I would like to see things where you also mention other options and how they affect. Taking this possession thing as an example, writing also this kind of stuff "You could also choose to play wider and with quicker tempo. It increases your chances for scoring a goal, but is more risky opening space for counter attacks" etc.

Oh, and you encourage people to write their own articles. Wasn't there a 1000 post limit?

I may edit the article to include that, but it will certainly feature in future articles. One is coming along very soon in terms of counter-attacking effectively. This is a generalised overview by the way.

And yeah, there is a 1,000 post minimum, but that is just to avoid an influx of new members writing articles and some of them being misleading or half-hearted effort. Sometimes poor aesthetically.

But this should encourage you to reach the 1,000 post minimum then and become a more regular member of the forum.

Im glad that im not boring you whit my questions, since im gona make some more , if thats ok.

When you say the parternship of the 3 man midfield, are you thinking in 3 Mcs or 1Dmc and 2Mcs, since i didnt catch if you where considerating the 4-3-1-2 or the 4-1-2-1-2, sorry. because if its the 4-1-2-1-2 the "Van Bommel" role would be defensive midfielder, and if so, whit any tweak?

I also wanted to ask you if you used team settings all in default, or for example, more criative freedom or more agressive, etc.. since you tweaked the d-line, width, etc..

How could i achieve the the Trio in front of A.C. Milan, whit in the AMC slot robinho drifting in the left, in a hibryd Trequ/inside forward role and Pato role, who drifts for the right pitch and Zlatan more central?is the current TC Roles suficient to achieve this or it would need some "tweaking"?
Thanks for your patience.

Haha, the opening sentence made me laugh. :$ And yeah, it's fine. It's what this thread's all about.

When I said the 4-3-1-2, I meant three CM's and one ACM. For the 4-1-2-1-2, I meant one DMC, two MC's and one ACM. And yes, the 'Van Bommel role' would be the defensive midfielder, however I would prefer him to be a central midfielder, as Pirlo occupies the hole better on playmaker duty. No, no real tweaks really. You can adapt his passing and Mentality a little to make him a little more forward in his tackles and help with the team, but it is fine as it is in my opinion.

My TI's (Team Instructions) would basically be the following:

• Rigid philosophy
• Control strategy

• Short passing
• Disciplined creative freedom (You can have this on expressive if you want)
• Default closing down
• Aggressive tackling
• Zonal marking
• Default crossing
• More Roaming (Again, your choice, stick to position goes hand-in-hand with disciplined creative freedom)

The Pato/Robinho role is quite difficult to achieve in all honesty, but my suggestions would to make them 'Move into the Channels', increase their Creative Freedom, reduce their Mentality to a few clicks away from Defensive, allow them to roam from their position, and to cross from the byline. Mixed crossing.

Ibrahimovic should stay the same really, he is a good all-round striker and the Complete Forward role suits him. Reducing his creative freedom, not allowing him to roam from his position and the Closing Down slider at around mid-way should make him stay up top and be delivered passes into the attack.

I`m playyin my third season with Arsenl ,modern tactic,first season was awesome,but after that i have problems with it,second season was a total disaster ,with no particulary reason(not sell any key players or some changes) i qualify for champions legue very hard,and on third it was pretty alright ,but in seccond half of the season again i was start to loose eberything with no reason(FA Cup,premiership,champions legue,)....can you help me

That is understandable, but you'll have to be more specific. I have absolutely no idea what your team is like, nor your tactical set-up and your current situation in terms of what month it is, the table, etc.

Post some screenshots of:

1. Your whole squad.
2. Your tactics screen.
3. The league table.
4. Your best player at this moment.

I need some information first.

 

[Eds]

Wanted to thank you, iNickStuff, for your contributions towards my tactic with your articles. Have mentioned youin my thread, but wanted to thank you here as well.

 

[cap7ainjack]

i have some improvments after i post this and after some changes ,i got some good results with this selection after my las post ..
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Kacar i unhappy being fined ,and is not in good form ,and same with Song

 

[iNickStuff]

Wanted to thank you, iNickStuff, for your contributions towards my tactic with your articles. Have mentioned youin my thread, but wanted to thank you here as well.

Thanks, it's a pleasure to have people benefit from my articles and the thread. I have commented on your thread just now to send my regards back.

i have some improvments after i post this and after some changes ,i got some good results with this selection after my las post ..
View attachment 143612

View attachment 143613

View attachment 143614

View attachment 143615


Kacar i unhappy being finet ,and is not in good form ,and same with Song

It seems you are doing well, and have the strongest attack and defence in the league. Things seem fine, and you're doing well enough to challenge United for the league. I would say that there are a few things you need to improve on:

• Your defence, I am guessing, is getting weaker, so strong, tall and aggressive defenders would be advised to replace either Koscielny or Vermaelen.
• The same defensive problem lies in your full backs. You may have Gregory van der Wiel, but you need a couple more attacking full backs for when Clichy and Sagna aren't available.
• You need to utilise Moussa Sissoko and Alex Song more. Swap the two players around constantly so they can both have chances in different roles in matches. Click on them in the Tactics screen and get them to swap with one-another. Also, have one of them as a Box-to-Box Midfielder.
• Play Eden Hazard more. He may be off-form, but playing him as an Inside Forward on Attack duty is usually the best thing to do. Criticise him when he is poor through private chats and praise him when he is good.
• When Gojko Kacar plays, play him as a Ball-Winning Midfielder on Defend duty. Do the same to him with that you do with Hazard to get him to be happier again. Same for Song.

Make sure you are playing an Attacking strategy.

 

[cap7ainjack]

oK,thank u man,a will post how i`m going later

 

[SS19]

About box-to-box midfielder, how does it work in playmaking? I mean, is he available for passes from other midfielders and defenders to help building up the play? What are the main attributes (I think it is hard to have all those highlighet ones in high level)?

 

[iNickStuff]

oK,thank u man,a will post how i`m going later

Looking forward to it. Willing to help.

About box-to-box midfielder, how does it work in playmaking? I mean, is he available for passes from other midfielders and defenders to help building up the play? What are the main attributes (I think it is hard to have all those highlighet ones in high level)?

In a 4-4-2, I would guess that it would work fine. The box-to-box midfielder would come back to be available for the pass, and roam up the pitch with or without the ball. The playmaker, may well sit back, or join him occassionally on the attack to make a scoring chance come to life.

In a 4-2-3-1, the playmaker will come deep, and so will the box-to-box player, to which they will both join the attacks regularly. The same can happen vice-versa, and have equal effectiveness. The box-to-box player is a workaholic, so roaming up an down the field would often require him to pick up the ball from deep. They can do the same with playmakers.

 

[iNickStuff]

How-to: Create promising and effective counter-attacks

• To find ways in which to play effective counter-attacking football.
• To use smaller and weaker teams to prove the point in which counter-attacking football can still be useful.

Article #7: The 'How-to' Series
Sunday, 13th March 2011

Yeah, it's been a while. Last time I wrote an article was back in mid-February, about the Brazilian national team, and their advances with new, dimensional tactics. Since then, there have been many inputs from other community members, questions and queries, feedback and praise to which the thread has now peaked into it's twelfth page. Coincided with sixteen articles written by both myself and by others, over 330 posts and over 40,000 views. It is also available now on FM-Sweden, another forum that has published this thread over there to help those even further in the creation of articles to adapt the modern game into Football Manager.

It's not that I have lost motivation, it's pretty much a case of there being quite a lot to do. I haven't updated the 'How-to' section in a long time, when I talked about how to play possession football, and this is the first article since the 11.3 patch was released this week. I have an abundance of articles to write and produce, as well as making my own long-term saves to get back into FM really, and other things. On and off the forum. This time, I have returned with a niche on how to play counter-attacking football. I usually would be the one to play possession-dominating, attacking and fluid football, but counter-attacking is just as effective, if not more.

So without further ado, let's get cracking.


Don't be fooled by counter-attacking football only being played by smaller teams ..

That's a lie. It's garbage. Smaller teams play counter-attacking football, yes, but bigger teams do as well. Some on a much more regular basis than others, and most when they are facing teams that may not have the odds in their favour or a stronger team, but still pose a threat and handing a shock defeat to the home side. It's pretty obvious when you watch football normally. Often, you will see some bigger teams pass the ball across their defence and keep a slow tempo of play. At other times, they will just absorb all the pressure, get one guy to tackle the ball possessor and rush all the way up field. That's counter-attacking.

The basis of counter-attacking is for one team to invite pressure onto themselves, only for them to catch the opposition off-guard and score a sneaky goal to put themselves ahead. Regardless of how small they are, or how big the other team is, it can still happen. On occassions, it's within a blink of an eye, and replays on TV go through it in slow motion just to see how it all unfolds. The fans go absolutely ecstatic, and the opposition defenders have their hands on their hips in disgust of how they did not stop that goal. Counter-attacking teams can be found in more than half of the Premier League. And this is with great obviousness (if that is even a word) that they do this because they can't play like Barcelona all the time. They'll just get smashed time and time again.

Aston Villa, Fulham and Everton are my favourite three teams to play the counter-attacking game. The three teams all also play, or rather have played a specific formation and used the counter-attacking method with it. Aston Villa used the 4-5-1 at one point with it. Fulham the same with the 4-4-2, and Everton in the shape of the 4-2-3-1. Have they all been successful with it? Yes. For the last five seasons (since the 2005/06 season. 2010/11 doesn't count because it hasn't ended yet) all three of them, at one stage, have played in a European comeptition, thus finishing within the top eight of the league.

Within the last five season, since the 2005/06 season:

• Aston Villa have finished 6th three times in a row, since the 2007/08 season.
• Aston Villa once reached the round of 32 of the now-extinct UEFA Cup during the 2007/08 season.
• Aston Villa, within the last five seasons, reached the semi-finals of the F.A. Cup and were runners-up to eventual Carling Cup winners Manchester United. The first time in those five years.

• Everton, before the 2009/10 season, had finished in the top six of the Premier League three times in a row.
• Everton reached the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League during the 2005-06 season, whilst also going on to finish eleventh in the league.
• Everton, just like Aston Villa, have been semi-finalists and runners-up in both the F.A. Cup and Carling Cup respectively over the last five years.

• Fulham reached the final of the UEFA Europa League during the 2009-10 season, only to be defeated 2-1 by the eventual winners, Atletico Madrid in Hamburg.
• Fulham, after finishing 16th and 17th respectively in the Premier League and narrowly avoiding relegation, finished seventh in the Premier League to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
• Fulham were the only team out of the other two qualifying teams for the Europa League (coincidentally Everton and Aston Villa) to reach the final during that season.

You see? Throughout those five seasons, there have been some interesting trends. Fulham have been the most successful continentally out of the three clubs, having reached the furthest in a continental tournament. Aston Villa are the most successful domestically, having finished sixth three times in a row consecutively and qualify for a continental competition. Everton have been the most successful out of the three clubs by being the only club to have qualified for the UEFA Champions League, and reached the furthest in that particular competition. Success has swept all three clubs both on domestic level and continental level. And, undeniably, at some stage of those five years have all three of them played counter-attacking football. If they didn't, I am pretty sure they wouldn't be where they are now, or be able to look back at some of the things they achieved.

(Information was via Wikipedia)


Counter-attacking of today

These days, counter-attacking can be found in-and-around the top leagues, with some mesmorising goals to look at. England, Spain, France, Germany and Italy all have teams that can successfully counter-attack. We've already looked at England, but teams such as A.S. Saint-Etienne in France, Malaga in Spain, Hamburger SV in Germany and Udinese in Italy have or do counter attack. Look at these Youtube videos and look at the goals. Some of them are in Euro 2004, so they date back a while, but they are nevertheless still good.

YouTube - The Counter-Attack

YouTube - Arsenal: How to counter-attack

YouTube - CL 2008 09 Manchester United vs Arsenal Ronaldo Goal16 05 09

Most counter-attacks come from opposition set-pieces, to which then the team work it from back-to-front, and expose the opposition when they are lacking numbers defensively. Usually, there will be fast players to exploit the flanks, stretch the play and make it difficult for the opposition team to cover. Usually, you will find there being one or two defenders tracking back, and three or even four attackers on the break. That's why '3 v 2' situations are so popular for attacking teams. Within seconds, you can catch your opposite number on the break and defy their odds of beating you in less than fifteen seconds. Simple on paper, near-insurmountable on the pitch.


Possible formations to use

With today's game getting faster, better and much more demanding, the 4-4-2 has, at some stage, fallen away from the pinnacle of the formation stance. The increasingly-popular 4-5-1 and 4-2-3-1 are taking shape to be the formations that hone the best chances of success, but counter-attacking football has naturally found it's home within either the 4-4-2 or the 4-5-1. One of them has been used for decades in playing counter-attacking football, finding dynamics in which to operate fluid attacks, whilst the other can combat with today's formations, and utilises a three-man midfield, with advanced wingers to increase the tempo of counter attacks and how successful they can be.


Defensive roles

The PI's of central defenders can vary. Usually, it's good to have one opposite the other, i.e. a strong, tall and aerially-dominant defender that is aggressive in the tackle and acts like a no-nonsense defender. This grants him the ability to be a Limited Defender. I set it to Defend duty so he doesn't make the defensive line imbalanced.

As for his central partner, you could have a normal defender, who clears his lines well, can header decently, but also put a long pass up the field. This then grants him the Ball-Playing Defender role. Again, his duty is defence so that the line isn't imbalanced. Both defenders are set to short passing so that the play builds up quicker from the back, but you can change this yourself. Much more talented defenders in terms of decision-making, creativity and technique can hit better and longer passes, being relied on when needing to get the ball up the field. But since I played as Fulham, Aaron Hughes is not one of them.

Both fullbacks should have 'Tight Marking' set to 'Yes' because of the dangers that opposition wingers can bring. Although you can set your wingers to man-mark their wingers, both tightly marking them will only ruin your game, and be almost-suicidal. Tight marking allows the fullback to do the rest of the job. Marking the zone also means that whomever may step into it will instantaneously be marked by the fullback. When set like such on both sides, it means that the opposition wingers are in for a rough day.


Midfield roles

For any counter-attacking team to function well, they need a midfield enforcer, and a ball-winner is needed in the centre of the park to win the ball back and start the counter attacks when the ball is grounded or in the opposition's favour. Depending on if you play a Rigid or Balanced philosophy, it will determine how disciplined they will be position-wise. Restricted creative freedom leaves them to be more stationery with their actions on and off the ball.

These are the PI's of Steve Sidwell/Dickson Etuhu and Jonathan Greening/Danny Murphy. Sidwell and Etuhu are the ball-winners, whilst Greening and Murphy are the playmakers. Gifting more creativity to the playmaker allows them to roam that little bit more with each step, so be careful when sliding the Creativity slider around. I made Danny Murphy an Advanced Playmaker on Support duty so that he could pick up more passes and be able to warrant the team more attacks, leading to goals and goals leading to more games drawn or won. Having two playmakers in a two-man midfield for a counter-attacking team can only really be described as extremely dangerous, as a midfield enforcer gives that solitude in the centre of the pitch.


Nullifying opposition wingers

During my Fulham save, I had some good and bad results. My best result, arguably, came against Manchester United at home, when I beat the team I support and love 3-1. A result I never expected in the slightest, but one that I will cherish. Even though it was against Manchester United. One of the things I did in that match though was have Duff and Dempsey man-mark Ryan Giggs and Nani, to make their game difficutl and to make the lives of the fullbacks much more easier. After the game, I got some analysis of Duff and Dempsey's performances. Duff did much better, picking up a 8.3 rating, whilst his counterpart got a 6.9. Here are some screenshots:


Dempsey and Duff - Interceptions

The first is Duff's, whilst the second is Dempsey's. Obviously, Giggs and Nani had two completely different roles from each other. From the looks of things, Nani was the inside forward, who cut inside and hassled the midfielders and fullbacks with trickery, technique and pace. He tried to cut inside on three occassions, but found himself intercepted by Duff. Dempsey had the traditional winger in Giggs, who got to the byline and crossed to either Rooney or Berbatov. Dempsey's interception closest to the sideline was when he tackled Giggs.


Dempsey and Duff - Tackles

Like before, Duff the first, Dempsey second. Both did well to win more tackles than they lost, and you can see that they worked well to break down the games on Nani and Giggs. Giggs and Nani eventually got ratings of 6.3 and 5.8 respectively, so you can already see that it worked well to man-mark them. This should be done really when you are facing teams much bigger than yourself, but it can be used frequently. Just not all the time, otherwise you will hamper the game of your own winger.


Starting counter-attacks

One of my other games was also a 3-0 away win at St. James' Park to take on Newcastle. One of the goals was also a successful counter-attack after an in-direct free-kick was cleared out of the box, only for it to fall into the home side's net in the closing twenty minutes of the game. Here's how it started:

Newcastle have been awarded a free-kick on the edge of Fulham's area, and ten from the eleven players are back for it. Benitez is the only one up front, hence why he has been circled in yellow.

The corner is scuffed, as Danny Murphy clears the ball away from the area and into the path of Benitez. Still inside his own half, three Newcastle players have the ability to close him down and stop the counter-attack, whilst trying to score. Whilst the Fulham players re-group, the counter-attack is on.

The pace of Benitez seems to beat fullback Jose Enrique (#3) and Ninkov (#39) is also back to help the fledging Spaniard. Grafite is the furthest Fulham player forward behind Benitez, and is trying to get as close as possible to Benitez to provide support for the finishing touches to the move.

Benitez squares it to the tall striker, to which he has acres of space to work from and try to beat a guarded Harper. As the attention on Benitez is now gone, it could all be over in one sweeping move by Grafite.

Despite Grafite fluffing his lines, and for Harper to parry, Benitez is on show to slot it into the back of the net, and score the second goal from the 3-0 win, and show the basics of a counter-attack.


Counter-attack vs. Brighton

Even though this was a minor game, a successful counter-attack was present in this match, so it counts. Here, in this screenshot, Brighton have the ball in their possession, and it's a goal kick. Ankegren is about to take, but the positioning of Benitez (circled) shows how he is ready to pounce on any mistake. Playing off the shoulder of the last defender, he is looking to 'poach' the ball.

Following the goal kick, Hangeland pushes forward to head the ball, and does so successfully. Benitez is the furthest man forward for Fulham in Brighton's half, and could easily get the ball to start a counter-attack.

As the ball delightfully falls into his path once more (again) he is gifted a wide range of space. Shown through the circling of it. The defenders track back to quell the pacey striker, and this spelt trouble for the Brighton defence.

An on-rushing goalkeeper in Ankegren is rounded by Benitez, whilst Greer is inches off Benitez, as he is available to slot the ball into the back of the net ...

... and does so successfuly.


Fulham save screenshots

Take your pick. Currently, I am sixth in the Premier League, waiting to face Spurs away from home following a 1-1 draw with Wigan at home. A very frustrating draw against a side that are battling relegation already. I was eventually knocked out of the Carling Cup at home to Arsenal, following an extra time goal by Alex Song to send the Gunners through to the next round. The signings of Grafite and Cristian Benitez have strengthened the attack with good reason, but here are a screenshots.

View attachment 144081 View attachment 144082 View attachment 144083 View attachment 144084

Were done.

Took longer than usual. Which has been a running theme, but I am glad that I have been able to finish it. It's not a great article, but I haven't written one for a good amount of time. I have a few up my sleeve that I will be writing, including the three-man defence, 'modern midfielders, national teams and their tactics and more. This will update the 'How-to' section for now, and give some people an insight on how to counter-attack.

Hopefully.
​

 

[Chris]

Brilliant article Nick. Fascinating read and I am looking to impose such tactics in my next game.

Thanks a lot!

 

[iNickStuff]

Brilliant article Nick. Fascinating read and I am looking to impose such tactics in my next game.

Thanks a lot!

Your welcome and good luck, I wish you the best successes with it.

 

[giova2k10]

Great article as usual; I will try to include this in my tactic and see if I can make it work...so far I've not managed to set my counterattacks right, as the ball is rarely cleared where my forward is, and even when he does get the ball, he goes down the sideline but then he is either robbed by a returning defender because he slows down not knowing what to do with the ball, or he shoots wide or he misses the pass to the supporting player :'(

The only successful counter I managed came from a robbed ball into the opposition half, and quickly passed to the striker into the six yard box to put it away.

This said, I see you advice to set one midfielder as ball-winning and the other as advanced playmaker; I see the logic in that but I've noticed I play better with the double playmaker, both set as deep lying, but one with support duties and the other with defensive ones...would such partnership be decent for counterattacking?

Also, should the tempo be set to quick?

 

[iNickStuff]

Great article as usual; I will try to include this in my tactic and see if I can make it work...so far I've not managed to set my counterattacks right, as the ball is rarely cleared where my forward is, and even when he does get the ball, he goes down the sideline but then he is either robbed by a returning defender because he slows down not knowing what to do with the ball, or he shoots wide or he misses the pass to the supporting player :'(

The only successful counter I managed came from a robbed ball into the opposition half, and quickly passed to the striker into the six yard box to put it away.

This said, I see you advice to set one midfielder as ball-winning and the other as advanced playmaker; I see the logic in that but I've noticed I play better with the double playmaker, both set as deep lying, but one with support duties and the other with defensive ones...would such partnership be decent for counterattacking?

Also, should the tempo be set to quick?

It's dependent on the team itself. If the team is strong, aggressive, tall and basically a good candidate for defensive games, then a ball-winner should be played so that they can get the ball back and then counter effectively, whilst utilising their own strength.

If the team is quick, technically-gifted and has a good amount of passers in the team, then two playmakers wouldn't hurt. It varies. And again, if the team has high speed, then why not. It makes them more dangerous on the counter.

 

[giova2k10]

It's dependent on the team itself. If the team is strong, aggressive, tall and basically a good candidate for defensive games, then a ball-winner should be played so that they can get the ball back and then counter effectively, whilst utilising their own strength.

If the team is quick, technically-gifted and has a good amount of passers in the team, then two playmakers wouldn't hurt. It varies. And again, if the team has high speed, then why not. It makes them more dangerous on the counter.

I see; well, since my team is neither physically strong enough to play defensive games nor technically-gifted enough, I'll just stick with what seems to be working, which so far is the double playmaker.

I have a couple fast players up front but overall the speed is not so high so I'll just move the tempo a bit faster but not too much; after all there's always the risk of missing the pass and gifting the ball back to the opposition when the players aren't that great in passing and first touch.

 

[SS19]

PIs of defensive players will definitely be very helpful for teams trying to counterattack, but maybe adding an example of TI and tell some things what things you can change in it to make your team to suit counterattacking would help even more.

 

[cap7ainjack]

Hello,about arsenal modern tactic what would you say if i change forward form support to attac,or play him as target man/attack cuse i play babacar or dzeko