Asunto: u21 friendlies

- the 2 defMIDS: I'd put them a little closer together and I case lower in the fields of the mid-line and the one above

I can put them bit lower. But i like to keep them wide for the opponents MIDs and also for the through balls to the strikers..

-I'd let the forwards move more horizontally, they are easier to cover by the defenders when they are moving forward in a straight line
- As I mentioned in the national forum, I'd put 2 forwards together on one side, crossing when moving forward, the 3rd forward on the other side to spread the defense.

Good points, I'll try that..
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The 451 tactic is for my club:-) I'm changing from striker training to MIDs and I've never played this tactic before. But I have to play 5MIDs and 1 striker. I'll see how it goes.
Of course the winger is less efficient, it's unplayable at the U21 level, but if the winger is really special it has still it's value (mine is 3x17, almost 2x18) and it can still be usefull and exploit some tactics..Last seasons still most of my goals were from winger action and he was the best passer in my league (strongest in CZ)

btw, another idea: when playing without wingers and 4 defenders: why not make the pitch in the stadium less large?

Yes definitely..

I am training mids and I know the dilemma: I solved the problem by buying a trainable defender who plays in defense but with MID-setting. this allows me to play a 4-4-2 ;-)

I though about that..but for me also the problem is money..good defender is far less expensive than good striker :-) So I have to go with 4 DEFs for non trainable positions :-)
I will use my defmid as a 5th DEF with MID order also for another tactic..but I don't have money for 2nd usefull striker atm :-)

2nd tactic against Algeria..with some crazy movement from the strikers (n.9 and 11)

Which one you like more?
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no doubt: the 2nd one ;-)

Well, if you want to try that, pick the second one. :) (for me it will be interesting either ;))

I am quite afraid that those recklessly moving strikers will have it far more difficult to get a reasonable pass. Furthermore they will be moving slower as they will be changing their direction quite often. And you know it's way more easy for a defender to tackle a ball from an "undecided" striker ;)

The next problematic part is the positioning of nr 10. It's quite likely he will get the ball to the side - making him either cross the ball (which won't usually end up well) or in such situations even a top class striker runs to the keeper leaving him the ball.

Strikers are really high quite soon - resigning on moving further. I think that it's not a good strategy nowadays. It's difficult to pass them as they are staying at one place far away. It's even difficult to find them making use of the air - they are close to the goalkeeper and goalies are rather active in the new ME.

I would try to solve the throw-ins. You know - you have almost completely resigned on them being successful. Even those 'normal' throw-ins (like around the half) are going to be thrown at a really huge distance.

(But you know my principles and you know I am keeping them. Sometimes it's a good strategy, sometimes I miss something better ;))

I agree with your remark on the Nr. 10, maybe it's a good Idea to move him more to the center in the fields closer to the goal.
And I agree on the throw ins
About the moving striker, I disagree. Once they have the ball, they shouldn't change directions very much anymore.
I also disagree about the height of the forwards. Too low forwards are deadly, they run into the defense every time, losing the ball (on the u21 level). With too high forwards you might havo some offside situations, but I'd take that risk rather than to put them too low.

About the moving striker, I disagree. Once they have the ball, they shouldn't change directions very much anymore.

Yes but imagine that if a striker is moving somewhat to the side and being undecided about his further movement, it's way more difficult for him to receive the ball. But I have never tried it to do it in such a way, so I can't argue. That's just my feeling ;)

I also disagree about the height of the forwards. Too low forwards are deadly, they run into the defense every time, losing the ball (on the u21 level). With too high forwards you might havo some offside situations, but I'd take that risk rather than to put them too low.

I agree that low strikers are a pain. But the thing I really dislike is that they are really static. In all aspects of the game, the player who is moving has an advantage over the one who is standing still. The goal is to make them moving in such a way that they are high enough in the right time. But not make them waiting for the right time to come :P

Quite a discussion we have here :-)

I completely get all your points, the through balls could be problematic, but I want to see it myself, we play against a weak team, so it's a convenient match to try something "out of the box". I want to see the "crazy crossing moving" strikers in action :-) I might even add some more crazy movement in another version.

The next problematic part is the positioning of nr 10.

I agree I'll put him closer to the center. Even though when he is crossing the penalty area, he is making swift turn to the middle :-) I'm counting on our best striker Serola to play that position, also cause of his MID skills (8 PM, 7 pass). The other 2 strikers on the right have higher defense, which can help against the confused defenders :-)

Strikers are really high quite soon - resigning on moving further. I think that it's not a good strategy nowadays.

Good points, but Algeria plays really low defense and we are playing quite high, so higher strikers are necessity, I won't be changing that, I might even put them higher around the half..
May be I won't put them as close to the goalie on their side..

I would try to solve the throw-ins. You know - you have almost completely resigned on them being successful

I have resigned :-) The reason is Carna's avice to try to minimize the movement of the MIDs, as they are slow and have low stamina. I try to keep it as simple as possible. I can live with the bad throw ins around the half, but I hope there won't be many throw ins around the penalty area, as I'm playing everything through the middle. It's even harder to solve the throw ins with 3 ATTs. Hopefully the higher defense could help a bit, but it's stil an issue. We'll see..:-)

The goal is to make them moving in such a way that they are high enough in the right time.

This could be a problem in this match, as I said they play defenders really low and we will be mostly on their half, plus I'll make the pitch smaller..not a lot of room for much running :-) I have to count on the quality of our strikers..

To guess the height of the DEFs and ATTs is always crucial..
Btw. this is in the info about ME: "The players will be able to spread over the pitch better. For example, defenders will be able to get closer to the goal-line, similarly, strikers will be able to go higher up the field." Is the part about strikers really true, I have never noticed..


Thanks both ostulc and Doglo for your comments, I appriciate it very much ;-)

how about switching tactics to compare?

halftime 1: crossing forwards
halftime 2: forwards moving straight, not crossing

would be very interesting to see!

nice work!

Btw. this is in the info about ME: "The players will be able to spread over the pitch better. For example, defenders will be able to get closer to the goal-line, similarly, strikers will be able to go higher up the field." Is the part about strikers really true, I have never noticed..

I wouldn't rely on it that much ;)

how about switching tactics to compare?

halftime 1: crossing forwards
halftime 2: forwards moving straight, not crossing

would be very interesting to see!

I thought about that, but I want to see the crossing madness for full 90 minutes :-)

Another version, this time I've tried to put more order to the reckless running of the strikers, they are not moving back, instead when crossing each other, one is moving to the side as a decoy, while the other one is running forward at the same time..
n.10 was moved closer to the center. Strikers are aslo not as close to the goalie around penalty area..

edit - updated version:-)
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