Positional Familiarity vs Role Familiarity

I've seen a lot of articles crop up recently here in GD and in the Tactics Forum about the ability of players to perform in various roles in various positions.

To give you a little bit of intro:

1. A player with Natural rating in CM has all the right attributes to excel as a Ball Winning Midfielder. Now it makes no sense to say cannot play the same role as a DM. Sure, he has to be positioned deeper, play with a little bit more caution and perhaps pass shorter but in theory, he is doing the same job.

2. An Attacking Midfielder suitable for playmaking roles should be able to able to do the same in the CM position. He may lack the defensive discipline needed for a central midfielder but should be able to slot in to CM when the team is in search of a goal and pressing forward.

3. Similar arguments can be extended to Full Backs who excel in the WB-S, WB-A, and CWB-A roles but can't play in the Wing Back position.

4. While not completely the same, an IF-A should be able to fill in for a player in the Striker position and be able to do a reasonable job as a Poacher or Advanced Forward. The attributes and PPMs may not be the same but even otherwise, he should do a decent job.

Naturally all players can't perform all roles everywhere. This is where Versatility comes in.

A player with poor versatility will be able to play as a BWM only in the CM position whereas a player with average and above average versatility should be able to a reasonable job in both the CM and DM positions.

This will accelerate the importance of training players specifically for roles and will give rise to interesting conversions.

Should SI ditch the position system and focus on the Roles system?

Or should SI stick with the position system. Or perhaps a combination of both?

What is your opinion of the matter?

I've suggested Role familiarity last year as well, but not quite in the same way you are. There is a difference between a DR and WBR and same for a DM and CM, even if they're technically playing the same role. They're defending higher/deeper on the pitch and in relation to their teammates, so there should be a difference.

Right now, as long as a player has the attributes, he'll perform in the role, regardless of position. He'll take a hit to his decision making, IIRC, which is fair enough. I'd argue that he should be penalised in other mental attributes like Off The Ball or Positioning too.

I've suggested Role familiarity last year as well, but not quite in the same way you are. There is a difference between a DR and WBR and same for a DM and CM, even if they're technically playing the same role. They're defending higher/deeper on the pitch and in relation to their teammates, so there should be a difference. .

I agree with this completely. The extent of the penalty should be decided by Mental attributes and Versatility.

Right now, as long as a player has the attributes, he'll perform in the role, regardless of position. He'll take a hit to his decision making, IIRC, which is fair enough. I'd argue that he should be penalised in other mental attributes like Off The Ball or Positioning too.

Shouldn't having higher Positioning and Off the Ball work in his favour? As these attributes will make him pop up in the right positions more often than not based on his tactical awareness. I say this because Mental Attributes are sort of universal through out the pitch regardless of pitch.

Shouldn't having higher Positioning and Off the Ball work in his favour? As these attributes will make him pop up in the right positions more often than not based on his tactical awareness. I say this because Mental Attributes are sort of universal through out the pitch regardless of pitch.

If one of the two is ditched, I would much rather it be the Roles one that gets the boot. They're an artificial creation due to this being a game, rather than anything that actually resembles football in real life.

I would much prefer being able to directly interact with players and tell them what I want them to do (based on a starting position on the pitch), rather than try to shoehorn them into predetermined roles as (poorly) defined by SI.