Exploiting the flanks and overlapping and holding up the ball

[Igneos79]

As written here Touchline Instructions | Football Manager 2013 Guide (scroll down), exploting the flanks, amongst other things, makes your central midfielders hold up the ball.

So why am I writing this? Because, I just checked, and there is no other way to make your CM's hold up the ball except using exploit the flanks. I am assuming that exploting only one flank will make the CM next to that flank hold up the ball, while the other CM, if any, wont.

This may come in handy when you perhaps want your dlps to hold up the ball, while your central winger darts forward, or when you don't even use wingers, but need someone to hold up the ball for your sidebacks, so you can use it combined with look for overlap. If using wingers, both wingers and your CM's will hold up the ball and slow the tempo down, so it may be a usefull tool to keep possession, when using a low tempo, or to simply organize attacks better when using a higher tempo and attack strategy. It may even be usefull in counter tactics, so your dlp takes a moment longer before sending that killer ball to your poacher/adv forward.

Opinions?

 

[rocheyb]

You don't actually want the central midfielder to hold up the ball, though, do you - not in the centre-forward sense, anyway. Central midfielders retain possession by playing short passes to each other and one-twos with wider and more advanced team-mates. You achieve this by selecting Retain Possession, Shorter Passes, Exploit the Flanks from the Team Instructions.

To exploit counterattack opportunities and to switch the play from one wing to the other, where there are often fewer defenders for your winger or overlapping full-back to attack, the central midfielders should ideally have attributes like "Tries Long Range Passes" and/or "Switches Play to Opposite Flank" (or whatever the exact wording is, in-game) and should be told at the Player Instructions level to play More Direct Passes. James Ward-Prowse is an example of a Deep-Lying Playmaker who has these Preferred Moves listed among his details and the skills to make it happen on the pitch - as well as being a decent option for captain.

CMs with these attributes and instructions will generally play the team's short passing game, until an opportunity to go more direct - and inject a sudden burst of speed and pace into proceedings - presents itself. It helps, of course, if you have some quick Wingers and/or Advanced Forward who can beat their defenders for pace and get decent crosses into the middle.

If you play an Advanced Forward as part of a front-two, always put the AF on his preferred side; right-footers on the right and left-footers on the left. Having carefully watched my two left-footed and one right-footed AFs in the Comprehensive match view, I'm pretty sure that SI has factored "range of motion" into how likely players of either foot are to score when going through the channels. It also makes a difference to how effectively the player can shield the ball from the closest centre-back to get his shot away.