Creating a wing-centric tactic for Lower Leagues

[LowestLeague]

Hi guys - I'm in the midst of developing a team around 2 very tall, very strong target men that I have in one of my Lower League saves

Background:

-Team is in the Vanarama South (very poor quality) - relegation contenders so often have to play relatively defensive.
- Recently picked up 2 young, 5 star potential strikers. Both of whom are tall, have good heading and great jumping / strength.
- Best formation for the team is flat 4-4-2 based on the players available.

So, as I'm not the most tactic-savvy person around here - I would like to ask for some help:

- With a tactic based around getting lots of crosses in to big target men, what are some good instructions to use?
- Is 4-42 an ok formation for this type of tactic?
- In terms of mentality, I was thinking of just sticking standard for most games - is this a good plan?

Any help appreciated - thanks.

 

[rawket]

4-4-2 is a reliable enough formation for lower leagues and is intended for the full backs to overlap on the wings so Exploit The Flanks and Look For Overlap should be used.
One of the strikers should be on support duty to link the midfield and attack. Consider setting roam and move into channels if he has good enough off the ball movement. Wingers on attack. One CM to go forward and one to sit back. All players should be set to deliver crosses in their instructions if you want a crossing to the tall guy kind of approach.

It's ok to have standard as your mentality. You can tweak it during the match to control if you're the better side or counter if the other side is strong.

Edit:
If youre contending relegation maybe the direct and counter approach would suit you better. One of the strikers should hold up the ball too.

 

[LowestLeague]

Thanks a lot rawket - I'll try what you've mentioned and report on how the team fares!

 

[Stringerjoe]

any luck??

 

[LowestLeague]

Not as such yet. It's getting better but I'm still working on it atm... I'm finding 15 ****** hard not going to lie!

Still, once I've got it a bit more consistent / better I'll post my results etc.

 

[rawket]

Is 4-4-2 a common formation in lower leagues this year? My issue with 4-4-2 is that I don't place a lot of faith in a two man midfield in an age where 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 can outnumber them in the centre. Just checking if the issue lies outside of your tactical instructions.

Likewise you can employ 3 men to gain a foothold in the midfield, but you'll have to sacrifice a player advantage somewhere else on the pitch, usually upfront. Although your players best fit a 4-4-2. Something to consider.

 

[LowestLeague]

I am starting to think that is the cause of the problem.

A lot of games I'm getting the "We're being overrun in midfield" message, I'm thinking of deviating from the 4-4-2 as a result...

I think a 4-2-3-1 might be on the cards, I'll see if that impacts my results at all!

 

[rawket]

Yes, seems like you should. Just a heads up, even in a 4-2-3-1 the AM can sometimes get pretty distant from the midfield duo. So it ends up not fixing the issue. So uh, take note when choosing player roles.