Intro:
There are a lot of England tactics flying around at the moment, but none from what i see that are trying to emulate the sort of tactics Fabio Capello is and/or has been using throughout the last year or two he has been in charge. An example of game where Capello has subverted his otherwise traditionally Italian tactics is the USA game, in which he switched Gerrard from the left into the centre to play off Rooney and Heskey more and almost alongside Frank Lampard.TACTICS:
The basic formation is a traditional 4-4-2, but often switches to a less conservative 4-2-3-1, With Heskey (as this is Capello's preferred choice as target man) often dropping deep to win flick-on headers or turn it around the corner for Rooney, or as he did against the USA, take it on his chest and turn, looking often for Lennon, or Rooney, or even Gerrard making runs inside and into the box. Heskey's strength often means he is perhaps better at this than Peter Crouch, who although 6' 7" still prefers the ball into feet as he runs into the box, and also for this reason, Rooney seems to prefer playing with Heskey, who is a little less selfish, and stronger than Crouch is. Therefore it seems clear that a Target Man - support duty for Heskey/Crouch is correct, while Rooney is a deep lying forward, attack as he is also keen to help out Heskey (I'm also looking at a complete forward role)
The backline is fairly simplistic, with Gerrard moving inside from the left, giving space for Cole to move forward, hugging the touchline, meaning we give him a wingback, automatic role, as he seems clever/experienced enough to fulfill this. On the other side, Lennon plays wider than Gerrard on the left and sticks to the touchline, looking to get onto through balls, often from Glen Johnson. Talking of which, Johnson's runs forward are limited meaning we give him a support role, in either FB or WB, depending on who is playing and the player's natural tendencies to get forward or stay back and help out.
The final players, including the back 3 aren't difficult to explain. Barry has the simplest of instructions, while having a difficult and extremely important role to play: Capello looks to Barry to provide cover for players such as Cole and Gerrard, bombing forward on the left and often leaving gaps, Barry helps out Lampard to, allowing him a little more freedom to move forward as he wins the ball back in midfield, and stops opposing runs from deep. (Ball Winning Midfielder - DEFEND). Lampard however is given the same role as he is at Chelsea, with forward runs limited and not a lot of space for him, with Heskey/ Rooney/ Gerrard occupying that space a lot. (Therefore Deep-Lying Playmaker support). Lennon is an out and out winger on the right. Terry and Ferdinand push up and try and play players offside, often to England's demise, as they are turned too easily, especially in the absence of Ferdinand, as King is way too slow, as is Carragher, despite their experience. So they're both CBs with Defend duty. Green is simply GK- Defend, and bear in mind that when choosing whether to close down opposition midfield players, put as never, with Green set to "slip". Traditionally, all, or at least the majority of England's goalkeepers make a horrible mistake, Seaman vs Brazil, Robinson, Carson, Green, but this is difficult to emulate in FM!
Work in Progress:
This tactic is more or less plug & play with slight adjustments to be made depending on substitutions and preferences. I have not completed this tactic as yet, despite finishing the World Cup and making slow, but steady progress in European Qualification for 2012. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT(S): "Touchline Shouts"
- Retain posession
- Exploit the flanks
(you could also use hassle opponents if you feel the opposition are dominating too much as you can always see Capello encouraging his team to press and win the ball back)
Opposition Instructions:
- Personally, i prefer not to use them at all, but it's entirely up to you! Whatever you guys think best
- Retain posession
- Exploit the flanks
(you could also use hassle opponents if you feel the opposition are dominating too much as you can always see Capello encouraging his team to press and win the ball back)
Opposition Instructions:
- Personally, i prefer not to use them at all, but it's entirely up to you! Whatever you guys think best
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I am more than welcome to criticism and/or suggestions so fire away if needs be, this is very much a "WORK IN PROGRESS" and i just thought i would:
a) Give a heads up
b) Let some of you test my tactic.
SCREENSHOTS
I even managed to beat Portugal!
AND... win a penalty shootout. 8-|
AND lose one :'(
.
EDIT: I forgot to give my main sources for the tactic, here they are:
Zonal Marking
and, to a lesser extent:
FM-Britain
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Nice one
.