What really happens when i'm playing narrow or wide? with an already wide formation

Assuming that i am already playing a wide formation 433 with IF

What really happens when i choose Narrow or Wide in the TI's ????

thx

Read 4.10 in Lines and Diamonds - it's stickied at the top of the forum.

It means your wide players spread out wider, faster. This is useful if you want to quickly get the ball down the flanks or want to try to force the opposition players to commit players to defending wide areas.

If you play narrower, they'll try to stay more compact. Wide players will tend to stay closer to the MCs. This can make it harder to advance the ball forward quickly, but it means there will be less space between your midfielders when you lose the ball... making it harder for your opponent to counterattack right down the middle.

It means your wide players spread out wider, faster. This is useful if you want to quickly get the ball down the flanks or want to try to force the opposition players to commit players to defending wide areas.

If you play narrower, they'll try to stay more compact. Wide players will tend to stay closer to the MCs. This can make it harder to advance the ball forward quickly, but it means there will be less space between your midfielders when you lose the ball... making it harder for your opponent to counterattack right down the middle.

I've read that with FM16 these TI's are no more related to passing focus but only to players positions, correct?

I've read that with FM16 these TI's are no more related to passing focus but only to players positions, correct?

Correct. It affects their width in attack but does not focus passing direction.

I've read that with FM16 these TI's are no more related to passing focus but only to players positions, correct?

Yes, I was the one who wrote that.

So efectively if i'm playing a wide 433 with a DM what will happen in a narrow TI will be alot of short passes in the middle and eventually the game will open to the IF\W ? and if i play Wide the Midfield will try to open to the wings with direct passes? am i seeing this correctly ?

PS: I already read the 4.10 section

So efectively if i'm playing a wide 433 with a DM what will happen in a narrow TI will be alot of short passes in the middle and eventually the game will open to the IF\W ? and if i play Wide the Midfield will try to open to the wings with direct passes? am i seeing this correctly ?

PS: I already read the 4.10 section

At the moment, if you create more width, players will naturally tend to look to the [more] open wingers whereas playing more compact will naturally tend to see more attempts to pass down the middle. Unfortunately, there's no independent passing focus TI to offset that.

Correct. It affects their width in attack but does not focus passing direction.

This makes a lot of sense to me, you already have other TI's to alter focus passing direction (exploit the flanks, the middle etc...)

This makes a lot of sense to me, you already have other TI's to alter focus passing direction (exploit the flanks, the middle etc...)

Exactly. It was frankly a long overdue separation of width and passing focus.

Does it affect defensive shape aswell?

Does it affect defensive shape aswell?

Not directly no it's how you play with the ball. But it might be possible that if you lose the ball and the opposition turn it over quickly you could have people wide/narrow who still need to recover their positions.

Not directly no it's how you play with the ball. But it might be possible that if you lose the ball and the opposition turn it over quickly you could have people wide/narrow who still need to recover their positions.

It does NOT? I always thought going even more wide against an opponent with excellent wingers but poor central players is useful. Now how is defensive width working?

The team instructions screen DOES show more narrowness when you change mentality to defensive, so this must also be valid for without the ball situations, logically thinking.

It does NOT? I always thought going even more wide against an opponent with excellent wingers but poor central players is useful. Now how is defensive width working?

The team instructions screen DOES show more narrowness when you change mentality to defensive, so this must also be valid for without the ball situations, logically thinking.

Generally speaking width instructions are what happens when your side is in possession, they always have been. That's when they kick in so to speak.

Generally speaking width instructions are what happens when your side is in possession, they always have been. That's when they kick in so to speak.

So does it make any sense that they are adjusted too when adjusting mentality? You don't want to go narrow IN possession when you are playing defensive, do you? You would only invite the opponent to close you down in the restricted space you gave yourself. Surely not how a weaker team plays against superior opponents IMO.

So does it make any sense that they are adjusted too when adjusting mentality? You don't want to go narrow IN possession when you are playing defensive, do you? You would only invite the opponent to close you down in the restricted space you gave yourself. Surely not how a weaker team plays against superior opponents IMO.

When playing defensive you wouldn't want to go wide when in possession as that's problematic for the reasons I mentioned in the first post. If you play defensive yet play wide then when you attack players spread out more which means it takes longer to revert back to their natural position, which in return can mean players not where they should be, which in return can mean gaps appearing in a defensive shape.....

The whole point of defensive is keeping your shape, that's a fundamental basic principle of defensive football. That doesn't mean you can't attack with width but generally speaking no defensive sides ever do that and if they do then they face the issues mentioned above.

So I guess in essence, we set width without the ball by changing mentality and adjust width with the ball by using the TI?

So I guess in essence, we set width without the ball by changing mentality and adjust width with the ball by using the TI?

Yep. Simple as that.

What the new tactics creator highlights best is that many of the TIs are relative to your overall strategy. If you're using an Attacking strategy, then it is already quite wide, so the default width (Balanced) is relatively Wide. Compare it with the Balanced width setting for Counter or Defending and you'll see that the width is relative.

Width also specifies the attacking width of your team. But, as Cleon says, how wide you are in attack will impact how well you can regroup to a narrower defensive shape. You generally defend as narrow as the opponent forces you to, but often you can end up narrower than that if there are late-arriving wide-players like wing-backs.