So, the first thing we need to see is the players availabe. I usually click on assistant report and rely on his opinion.
We have a regular GK with defend duty. That means two things. First, we need a sweeper or cover defender to take care of the through balls. Second, we can't play a high line. Cover defender or sweeper works best when playing a normal or deep defensive line.
We do not have a proper DM player, so that means using a defender with stopper duty to take care of players between the lines, at edge of area, and also high balls or crosses. We have a good stopper available.
The best player in team is the left back, and he is best as a complete wing back. That means we need to use overlaps in team instructions to encourage him going further. That also means putting the stopper duty defender next to him. We have a cover duty to the right, so the right fullback needs to be on support duty to make his forward runs more carefull. We are playing on overlaps, so I need him to have good decisions so I will put him on wing back support role and duty, and not fullback, as anticipation isn't that important.
Since we don't have a DM player, and are using a stopper, we might aswell keep the current 4-4-1-1 formation, especially as most players fit in it.
The 4-4-1-1 is specific by using two wide midfield players. That means you can't have creativity there as none of the avialable roles offer creativity. If I opted for AMRL postions, I could pick adv. playmaker role, but we do not have a creative player there. That means we need to put creative players in the centre of midfield and exploit the middle in team instructions, as our attacks will start from there.
It would be a good idea to place a wide mid with support duty in front of the left wingback. We can't use winger roles as we are exploiting the middle, so if I did, they would be wasted. The other wide mid will need to be on attack duty, which perfectly fits prefered duty for mirallas. If I wanted a 4-2-3-1 formation, both wingers would be inside forwards with support duty. The centre midfield needs to consist of creative players, one destroyer and one passer. So I opted for DLPD duty next to the more attacking wide mid, and CMS on the left. Both of these feature creativity.
Now I have two options, either play compact, through the middle, and narrow, or play wider and stretch the pitch. If I want to control the ball, the first option would be better. But in modern football, controlling space is more important, so I opted for the second choice. The first option would mean trying to break through the middle and basically ignore my wide players, in which case, both of them should be on support duty, to keep their involvment up, but since our right mid is on attack duty, we need to opt for choice number two.
If we are going to stretch the pitch, and play wider, that means using play wider isntruction in team options. It also means I should choose a balanced philosophy, as that way the players mentalites are further apart, and they don't need to be compact. If I am not going to be compact, that means I can't really play on the counter effectively. That means playing a possession game. Possession is best achieved with a short passing style, lower tempo and wider pitch, so that is how I set up my team instructions. Strategy can vary from standard to attack, but as I like to receive as few goals as possible, and not being the strongest team in the league, I opted for standard strategy.
The thing you should remember and implement in all your tactics, is that the number of attacking players must be equall or lower then number of players with defend duty. So far, I have a GK and DLP on defend duty, and I have left wingback, and right wide mid on attack. And I need to choose two more roles and duties. The AMC player is usually the creator, so I opted for adv. play. attack role and duty, as he has creativity, teamwork and press more option available. Pressing is important, especially in possession football, and if you have one role that closes down more, all of your players need to close down more, or it would have no effect. Another attack role means I need another defend role, so I chose defensive forward with defend duty. He will drop deep and press the opponents DLPS, and bring my wide players into play, which is exactly what my instructions are so far.
So, these are the roles and duties and team settings in the end:
View attachment 425852
We have a regular GK with defend duty. That means two things. First, we need a sweeper or cover defender to take care of the through balls. Second, we can't play a high line. Cover defender or sweeper works best when playing a normal or deep defensive line.
We do not have a proper DM player, so that means using a defender with stopper duty to take care of players between the lines, at edge of area, and also high balls or crosses. We have a good stopper available.
The best player in team is the left back, and he is best as a complete wing back. That means we need to use overlaps in team instructions to encourage him going further. That also means putting the stopper duty defender next to him. We have a cover duty to the right, so the right fullback needs to be on support duty to make his forward runs more carefull. We are playing on overlaps, so I need him to have good decisions so I will put him on wing back support role and duty, and not fullback, as anticipation isn't that important.
Since we don't have a DM player, and are using a stopper, we might aswell keep the current 4-4-1-1 formation, especially as most players fit in it.
The 4-4-1-1 is specific by using two wide midfield players. That means you can't have creativity there as none of the avialable roles offer creativity. If I opted for AMRL postions, I could pick adv. playmaker role, but we do not have a creative player there. That means we need to put creative players in the centre of midfield and exploit the middle in team instructions, as our attacks will start from there.
It would be a good idea to place a wide mid with support duty in front of the left wingback. We can't use winger roles as we are exploiting the middle, so if I did, they would be wasted. The other wide mid will need to be on attack duty, which perfectly fits prefered duty for mirallas. If I wanted a 4-2-3-1 formation, both wingers would be inside forwards with support duty. The centre midfield needs to consist of creative players, one destroyer and one passer. So I opted for DLPD duty next to the more attacking wide mid, and CMS on the left. Both of these feature creativity.
Now I have two options, either play compact, through the middle, and narrow, or play wider and stretch the pitch. If I want to control the ball, the first option would be better. But in modern football, controlling space is more important, so I opted for the second choice. The first option would mean trying to break through the middle and basically ignore my wide players, in which case, both of them should be on support duty, to keep their involvment up, but since our right mid is on attack duty, we need to opt for choice number two.
If we are going to stretch the pitch, and play wider, that means using play wider isntruction in team options. It also means I should choose a balanced philosophy, as that way the players mentalites are further apart, and they don't need to be compact. If I am not going to be compact, that means I can't really play on the counter effectively. That means playing a possession game. Possession is best achieved with a short passing style, lower tempo and wider pitch, so that is how I set up my team instructions. Strategy can vary from standard to attack, but as I like to receive as few goals as possible, and not being the strongest team in the league, I opted for standard strategy.
The thing you should remember and implement in all your tactics, is that the number of attacking players must be equall or lower then number of players with defend duty. So far, I have a GK and DLP on defend duty, and I have left wingback, and right wide mid on attack. And I need to choose two more roles and duties. The AMC player is usually the creator, so I opted for adv. play. attack role and duty, as he has creativity, teamwork and press more option available. Pressing is important, especially in possession football, and if you have one role that closes down more, all of your players need to close down more, or it would have no effect. Another attack role means I need another defend role, so I chose defensive forward with defend duty. He will drop deep and press the opponents DLPS, and bring my wide players into play, which is exactly what my instructions are so far.
So, these are the roles and duties and team settings in the end:
View attachment 425852
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