Meet The Enganche(s)

In the last tactical analysis piece I did earlier in the week, I was having trouble with the Trequartista and he was roaming about far too frequent and being much deeper than I had hoped. So I said I was going to change the role to an Enganche to offer me a better, more static options. The reason for this was simple, by using a Trequartista when he dropped deep or moved out wide this disjointed the entire attack because the striker was also going wide. Not only this but at times, it meant my inside forward was isolated and I couldn’t quite connect with him as much as I’d have liked. Which was a big deal considering he is to be the team's main scorer.

With this in mind I thought rather than do a normal analysis article I’d mix it up a bit and do something a bit different again. For those of you who have followed the blog for a while you’ll know what a ‘Meet the.....’ series is all about. For those of you who are new, it’ll be match analysis, player development, player analysis type of article. So we can look at what he offers and more importantly, understand how he fits the tactics I use.

Some of you might be wondering why I’m using an Enganche when I was using a Trequartista, well if you are, then read this article I wrote about why;

http://sisportscentre.com/the-santos-experience-tactical-analysis/

Meet The Enganche

The player I am using as an Enganche is Lucas Lima, he’s had quite the boost on Football Manager 16 compared to previous versions. He did need one though as he was quite underrated. Anyway this is him at the start of the save I currently have;

He’s equally adept at playing a central midfield role or as an attacking midfielder. As you can see above in the comparison, he is the best midfielder at the club so it makes sense to have him as the heartbeat of the team. That’s why I did start out with him being the Trequartista but because that didn’t work, he is now the Enganche. A role which suits the side much better and it also means Lucas Lima is heavily involved linking the play all together on the football field.

Let’s take a look at the attributes and see what the game highlights as being important for the Enganche.

The attributes I’ve numbered are the ones the game says he needs for the role and they’re also the attributes that the Enganche training schedule will focus on. For three of the nine attributes he already has a high attribute value for them. The others he is lacking in though. So how do I develop him? Well the answer is, he is more than likely at or very near his potential ability so I don’t expect him having much room for improvements. But this isn’t a worry as I will still train him on the basis he has some potential ability left. With this in mind here is how I set his schedule up;

Due to me not thinking he has much potential ability left then I decided to just keep it simple and not give him an additional focus because if he is at or close to full potential, then any attribute changes would come at the cost of others. So I was playing it somewhat safe. At the end of the first season my fears were confirmed and it seemed like Lucas Lima actually was at full potential because he saw a slight rise in one attribute and lost little bits from all the others to compensate as you can see in the end of the first season screenshot.

It’s not a major concern that it seems he can no longer develop but it does mean long-term I needed to find someone much better who can excel at the things I require. Luckily for me though I was handed a very gifted 15-year-old in my first youth intake. He came with the ‘best of his generation’ tag which means he is packing some potential! If you follow me on Twitter you’ll have seen me raving out him. You can find out more about him a little later on.

Lucas Lima did very well in the first season, he chipped in with a few goals and assists and did the job I expected him to. We will analyse his performance and his job in the side a little later. But for now I’ll just show you a screenshots of his development (or lack of) for the end of his second season.

As you can see he’s pretty much the same as the original screenshot. So nothing's really changed. He had a fantastic second season though and it was much better than his first even though that was quite good. He became more of a goal threat.

Meet Paulo

Now, Mr Freitas is actually the Brazilian head researcher for Football Manager for those of you who didn’t know, you can check him out on Twitter https://twitter.com/Cynegeticus

Long-term Paulo is definitely going to be the Enganche but because he is only 15 he will have to wait almost a full year before he can make his senior debut. Due to this it means I want to play closer attention to what he’s doing for the under 20’s and reserve teams so I can make sure he isn’t overplayed. By that, I mean, from a condition standpoint as if he plays while having low condition I increase the risk of him picking injuries up and they can make development stall.

To begin with during the first year this is how I trained him;

I gave him a first touch additional focus to begin with because he can’t really be a playmaker can he if he lacks in the basics? So for the first fifteen months I gave him these focuses on a 2 month rotation;

• First touch
  
• Dribbling
  
• Stamina
  
• Agility
  
• Passing
  
• Off the Ball
  
• Composure
  

I felt these were the attributes I wanted to focus on because they’d make him a much better player long-term and are more in line with what I want the player to do rather than what the game decides are the important attributes.

By the time the next youth intake came into the club Paulo was just about to make his first team debut and he looked like this;

He’s improved quite drastically hasn’t he and still has lots more room for improvement. Here’s what he looks like at the end of the second season, just a few months later.

Again he’s seen improvements in just a short few months. So good in fact that if you look at the training section of his profile then you’ll see his schedule has now changed. The reason behind this is I feel he’s improved a lot in the past 15-18 months, much better than I was expecting. With this in mind I wanted to put him on a focus that also trained more attributes than the Enganche schedule. This is to make him better all round. This isn’t long term and will only happen for around a year but short-term it can be very valuable. Especially as he can also play in the central midfield positions.

He will be on the dribbling additional focus for the next three months and then after that, I don’t actually know what focus I will give him. I’m still debating that but I will update about his development and what I changed at a later date.

That’s the introductory over as you’ve seen the players and their attributes now and can see how they’re being developed. The next thing is to show you how the role works in the system I use. As a reminder here is the system I use;

Now let’s take a look at some of the stats Lucas Lima has got over the last two seasons.

This was the first season, as you can see he scored a few goals and had a fair few assists. His passing is a lot lower than you might expect though but there is a reason for this and I’ll touch upon that shortly.

He averaged just under two shots a game which on paper means he wasn’t selfish in terms of shots. He also did a good amount of passes, especially key ones. However his passing is lower than you’d imagine at first but that’s because of what I want the player to do. I sacrifice a little bit of possession/accurate passing for more killer balls from Lima. He has this as a player's preferred move or a PPM for short.

This means at times he will attempt to do through balls to the players surging forward, especially the inside forward who is more often than not in free space. As long as Lucas Lima’s passing doesn’t fall below 70% then for me, it isn’t an issue. Any lower though and I’d have to seriously reconsider as it would mean an important part of the cog was being wasteful.

Season two he actually improved his goals return but didn’t quite match the 14 assists from the season before.

His goal scoring improved a lot but I think this was down to using a more mobile striker in front of him in the second season. During the first season I used a 35-year-old striker who wasn’t very mobile.

His goals were more helpful this season but his passing went down and he was bordering on the line were I’d have to decide if it was worth it or not. Although saying that, Paulo played this season and played eleven league games and averaged 80% passing for those games and he doesn’t have the PPM that Lima has. I also won’t be teaching it him as he can offer a different dimension, I’m not keen on developing like for like players. I’ll actually be going into depth about this subject next week some time.

So overall I’m happy with his performance over the last two season from a stats point of view. It’s now time to show you his role in-game.

While the Enganche role can be quite static I feel people have the wrong impression about the role. They still move wide, come deep and all that but it’s more situational and depends on the player's attributes compared to a Trequartista who is told to roam more in search of the ball and space. So it’s not

unheard of or that foreign to see a situation like this in the above screenshot. He’s intelligent enough to know where the ball is going and wants to be involved so he goes towards the touch-line to receive the ball.

The main reason for showing you these set of screenshots were because of what happens next. He receives the ball here from the right-sided wingback and then he uses his PPM.........

[video=youtube_share;cW0uKKunNJ8]

That’s his PPM at work right there. Not the best clip but it’s right at the start of the clip you can see him release the ball using his PPM.

This is a better clip though. He does these types of passes frequently and they aren’t one off’s.

[video=youtube_share;chTqE_3--Io]

In this particular match he has had four key passes, two of them being passes like the above. Actually it’s three of the PPM type passes because one registered as an assist.

And scrolling through other games played he seems to complete these type of passes two or three times a game at least. They don’t always come off but when they do it tends to result in a shot at goal or an actual goal. So the risk of a lower passing percentage isn’t an issue really as long as he keeps pulling some of these attempted passes off.

His team mates have passed to him a total of thirty-seven times in this game, the second highest in my side. As you can see that the passes he receives favour the right side and the reason for this is because the wingback on that side is attacking and the central midfielder situation on the right side is a box to box midfielder. So the three of them are always linking up with each other.

But if we compare this to the game were I used a Trequartista instead, you can see the difference straight away.

There was still a bias to right side which is expected but the balls received by the Treq are more centrally focused and in deeper positions. This meant that my Treq was deep the start of moves a lot of time and this isolated my inside forward and didn’t really link that well with the striker either. That’s why I changed. That wasn’t the only difference though.

Those are the Treq’s passes completed and nearly all of them are diagonal passes and from slightly deeper areas. On paper these look good because he is linking play to the attack but he actually want. What was happening is he was passing it diagonally and no-one was advanced centrally enough because that was his job but he was never there. Now if we compare this to the Enganche we can see how it differs even more.

There’s not as many passes in comparison but that’s also because he is more of a goal threat than the Treq ever was. Not only this but his actual passing range is shorter than the screenshot above. That’s because he’s higher up the pitch and more involved with play in the latter stages. After all I didn’t need him to use the ball a lot I just needed him to use it wisely. Sometimes less is more, I know it sounds cliché but it really is. I’d rather have quality over quantity.

Now if we switch back to what the Enganche offers me I think this game against Corinthians is a good example to show.

This was a high pressure game where I was on the back foot compared to the first example I showed you. This was a game against the best side in Brazil and I’d lost the previous meeting between the two sides. While his positioning is deeper here for passes received that’s because the whole side was deeper as I’m unable to stamp my authority as much as usual. That’s not the only reason though. Because Corinthians are a big side they were closing me down heavily, this meant my players were looking to move the ball about more and weren’t as adventurous compared to the smaller sides we play. I think the above screenshot shows this and you can see what kind of outlet the Enganche was.

[video=youtube_share;cKDwV7JdFjo]

That video again highlights him using the more risky passes PPM and shows how dangerous he can be for using it to stretch the opponent and play runners in. This is also another reason why he’s an integral part of the side. By him being more central he is allowed to run play and be an outlet for others to use if they’re struggling. And when he can play balls like that, who am I to disagree with that kind of play?

Those are his completed passes during this game. Again it’s all kinds of passing and all different types of ranges. You’ll notice he was more direct in his play compared to the last game and that’s because Corinthians were every attacking so there was lots of space to get in behind of them. So a lot of these passes split the high defensive line of Corinthians and caused them issues.

I think I’ve waffled on long enough for now. But if people are interested I might do a follow-up piece to this at the end of the next season. I might also do a comparison with Lima vs Paulo and to show you how different both play. I’d have done that now but the article is getting to big and I thought I’d make you wait until another day

Hope you enjoy.

Because the forum software is rubbish it won't allow me to embed the videos. There is three to watch in the 2nd post though.

Something I need to read and absorb. Appreciate the loads of effort in your posts as always, so fully deserving of a thorough read when work allows.

I've always dismissed the Enganche as being too static, favouring TQ or AP instead - seems like it might be time to broaden my horizons.

Agree with herne there

Tbh I missed the last post and have something interesting to do while the wife is cooking my dinner

I'd love to see a comparison of Lima and Paulo. They have different characteristics; different strengths and weaknesses so to compare how two players interpret the same role would be pretty interesting. It's a typically information and insightful piece - and don't the prozone shots look a load better than the old Analysis Tab?

Brilliant! You'll make me fall in love with the Enganche role. I feel inspired....

Great article, Cleon. Your "Meet the.." series is possibly my favourite. I really enjoyed the Deep-Lying Forward and Attacking Midfield Playmaker last year.

How are you finding the Individual Training this year? During the beta I played FM-Touch was training an attacking midfielder to play as an MC with individual focus on Poisitioning. He retrained as an MC very quickly, getting to Natural within months but only improved position by 2 points over the entire season and following pre-season.

I'm going to try again now the full-game has been released.

Good stuff, especially when read in conjunction with the other articles on your blog.

This has actually given me an idea / inspiration for a new tactic, but not in the way you may expect. It's reminded me of a quote by one of my boyhood football heroes, Claudio Gentile - "Football is not for ballerinas" - after he took apart Maradona in the 1982 World Cup. A style that actually looks to snuff out such roles as the Enganche is the stuff my dreams are made of, so understanding better how this type of role functions is mana from heaven for me.

To paraphrase - I defend with 8 players, Brazilians defend with 4.

Really interested to see a comparison between two different players in the same role, specifically if there are differences in playing each against different formations used by opposition. Also, if the Enganche has less roaming, how do they fair against an aggressive defensive midfielder, especially if Lima / Paulo's bravery attributes are not that high?

Very Very Very good, i like the Enganche role and the secret i have found is to get the ball to him and allow him to do his stuff. How does the side perform though when he is marked out of the game?

I'd love to see a comparison of Lima and Paulo. They have different characteristics; different strengths and weaknesses so to compare how two players interpret the same role would be pretty interesting. It's a typically information and insightful piece - and don't the prozone shots look a load better than the old Analysis Tab?

It's amazing how many people think the analysis side of the game is new and wasn't there before just because it's shiny

Brilliant! You'll make me fall in love with the Enganche role. I feel inspired....

Thank you. Glad I could inspire.

Great article, Cleon. Your "Meet the.." series is possibly my favourite. I really enjoyed the Deep-Lying Forward and Attacking Midfield Playmaker last year.

How are you finding the Individual Training this year? During the beta I played FM-Touch was training an attacking midfielder to play as an MC with individual focus on Poisitioning. He retrained as an MC very quickly, getting to Natural within months but only improved position by 2 points over the entire season and following pre-season.

I'm going to try again now the full-game has been released.

How do you mean 2 position points over the season?

Good stuff, especially when read in conjunction with the other articles on your blog.

This has actually given me an idea / inspiration for a new tactic, but not in the way you may expect. It's reminded me of a quote by one of my boyhood football heroes, Claudio Gentile - "Football is not for ballerinas" - after he took apart Maradona in the 1982 World Cup. A style that actually looks to snuff out such roles as the Enganche is the stuff my dreams are made of, so understanding better how this type of role functions is mana from heaven for me.

To paraphrase - I defend with 8 players, Brazilians defend with 4.

Really interested to see a comparison between two different players in the same role, specifically if there are differences in playing each against different formations used by opposition. Also, if the Enganche has less roaming, how do they fair against an aggressive defensive midfielder, especially if Lima / Paulo's bravery attributes are not that high?

Having low bravery isn't always a bad thing it just means they won't always get stuck into a challenge which can be a good thing as it means they aren't always close to the player. In the Corinthians game I posted he was actually up against 2 DMC's and I must face about 8 teams a season, so that's 16 games at least where I have to play against two DMC's. It works well for most parts.

Very Very Very good, i like the Enganche role and the secret i have found is to get the ball to him and allow him to do his stuff. How does the side perform though when he is marked out of the game?

The tactic doesn't only rely on the Enganche and after three seasons he's yet to be marked out of a game. That's not to say he hasn't had a poor game but that's nothing to do with him being marked. The key to him not being marked out of the game is the roles around him. You need runners from deep and running beyond him and this is more than enough to stop him being marked out of the game. I have a striker who can drop deep or move wide, I have an MC who rushes forward and opens space and I also have a wingback who does the same. This is enough to stretch the opposition and keep them busy. Plus the Enganche does wander about himself just not as much as the treq was doing.

Cleon, thank you for this.

I wanted to try the the Enganche role this year so this will by my bible.

Interesting stuff, I've never used the Enganche because I imagined him as an even more static role which I struggled to see as useful in a side with any degree of attacking fluidity - this article clarifies how useful it can be. One thing that confuses me however, is how does it differ from the Attacking Playmaker on Support? The way I see it, an AP/S's job is also to stay relatively static when in possession, and spray balls around. Is it because the AP/S is much keener to close down and help defensively? (and therefore also probably be less available for quick counters if he's gone off his position to press someone?)

I also wish I could analyse the passing pattern screens like that. I read your conclusions and they make sense, but if I were to look at that spaghetti of passes without the text, it's not that easy to distinguish the differences between the matches without paying very close attention.

Hi Cleon,

I notice that you set the training workload for Lima to heavy and he is unhappy with this. Do you ignore that or what's the reason that you keep this? Has everybody in your squad a heavy training workload?

You wrote that you rotated every 2 month the training focus for Freitas. Is it possible to do this with a rule or do you manually change this? How do you remember this? Do you make notices?

Regards

Volker

I was trying to implement your tactic, Cleon, but in the first match was destroyed and Enganche was one of the worst players on the pitch:)

Could someone help me to point out my errors according to attached match?

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=30479599253802187411

I was trying to implement your tactic, Cleon, but in the first match was destroyed and Enganche was one of the worst players on the pitch:)

Could someone help me to point out my errors according to attached match?

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=30479599253802187411

Cleon has not developed a plug and play tactic. It's no surprise you were "destroyed" if that's what you were trying to do. This is all about how the Enganche can be used to give you ideas for your own tactic.

Excellent thread as always Cleon.

The Enganche seems to be quite the underrated role, that "static" tag probably puts people off.

Interesting stuff, I've never used the Enganche because I imagined him as an even more static role which I struggled to see as useful in a side with any degree of attacking fluidity - this article clarifies how useful it can be. One thing that confuses me however, is how does it differ from the Attacking Playmaker on Support? The way I see it, an AP/S's job is also to stay relatively static when in possession, and spray balls around. Is it because the AP/S is much keener to close down and help defensively? (and therefore also probably be less available for quick counters if he's gone off his position to press someone?)

I also wish I could analyse the passing pattern screens like that. I read your conclusions and they make sense, but if I were to look at that spaghetti of passes without the text, it's not that easy to distinguish the differences between the matches without paying very close attention.

You could read it like that if it was your own game though because viewing the actual match or clips back would add the context to the analysis. The stats just show what happened they don't explain how or why that comes from viewing the games.

Hi Cleon,

I notice that you set the training workload for Lima to heavy and he is unhappy with this. Do you ignore that or what's the reason that you keep this? Has everybody in your squad a heavy training workload?

You wrote that you rotated every 2 month the training focus for Freitas. Is it possible to do this with a rule or do you manually change this? How do you remember this? Do you make notices?

Regards

Volker

Nope I always ignore. I've done training threads on this before. Either check my history on here or look on my blog the link is in my bio and you'll find more in-depth training stuff.

I was trying to implement your tactic, Cleon, but in the first match was destroyed and Enganche was one of the worst players on the pitch:)

Could someone help me to point out my errors according to attached match?

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=30479599253802187411

Cleon has not developed a plug and play tactic. It's no surprise you were "destroyed" if that's what you were trying to do. This is all about how the Enganche can be used to give you ideas for your own tactic.

Herne is spot on, this isn't a tactic so not sure what you're trying to implement? If it's the tactic I use then no wonder you struggle as you've just copied it without fully understanding how it works. It's a replicate of a real life tactic and if you don't know how it works or the way its supposed to then how would you get it to work?

How do you mean 2 position points over the season?

The Positioning attribute just increased from 6 to 8.

The player is 26 years old, which may have an effect however according to my scouts there's still 1.5 stars before he reaches his potential.

EDIT: to add some context, in last year's version I regularly found it possible to improve an attribute by 4-8 points per season depending on factors such as age, potential, first team football, professionalism etc.

The Positioning attribute just increased from 6 to 8.

The player is 26 years old, which may have an effect however according to my scouts there's still 1.5 stars before he reaches his potential.

EDIT: to add some context, in last year's version I regularly found it possible to improve an attribute by 4-8 points per season depending on factors such as age, potential, first team football, professionalism etc.

Adding to this point on positioning I have chancel mbemba who has increased positioning by 1 point over 2 seasons training as a limited defender with positioning focus for the full 2 seasons.

The Positioning attribute just increased from 6 to 8.

The player is 26 years old, which may have an effect however according to my scouts there's still 1.5 stars before he reaches his potential.

EDIT: to add some context, in last year's version I regularly found it possible to improve an attribute by 4-8 points per season depending on factors such as age, potential, first team football, professionalism etc.

Adding to this point on positioning I have chancel mbemba who has increased positioning by 1 point over 2 seasons training as a limited defender with positioning focus for the full 2 seasons.

Training is a bit slower this year which is a good thing as it means your youths aren't maxed out by the time their 19-20. Increasing 1 attribute by 4-8 points in one season was always unrealistic.

Training is a bit slower this year which is a good thing as it means your youths aren't maxed out by the time their 19-20. Increasing 1 attribute by 4-8 points in one season was always unrealistic.

I kind of agree. In circumstances where you're developing a youngster, absolutely. However it does also make transitioning an experienced player into a different role more difficult. For example, if you take the case of Pirlo in real life where he transitioned from an attacking midfielder to a deep playmaker he would have made drastic improvements in a number of defensive attributes to make it work. Most attacking midfielders (even the best) have positioning, tackling, marking attributes in the 6-10 range so in FM 2016 it would be a very difficult transition. Same when you see midfielders learning to play in defence.

In my preferred tactical system I prefer to retrain attacking midfielders to play in my deep lying playmaker role so I am regularly developing strength, positioning etc. Same for my central striker.

I kind of agree. In circumstances where you're developing a youngster, absolutely. However it does also make transitioning an experienced player into a different role more difficult. For example, if you take the case of Pirlo in real life where he transitioned from an attacking midfielder to a deep playmaker he would have made drastic improvements in a number of defensive attributes to make it work. Most attacking midfielders (even the best) have positioning, tackling, marking attributes in the 6-10 range so in FM 2016 it would be a very difficult transition. Same when you see midfielders learning to play in defence.

In my preferred tactical system I prefer to retrain attacking midfielders to play in my deep lying playmaker role so I am regularly developing strength, positioning etc. Same for my central striker.

It doesn't make transitioning a player harder it's still the same. It's just you was doing it with a older player who probably lacked adaptability. The increase of attributes is slower than FM15 but still enough for real progress. You can still turn those AMC's into Libero's and so on.

It's amazing how many people think the analysis side of the game is new and wasn't there before just because it's shiny

Thank you. Glad I could inspire.

How do you mean 2 position points over the season?

Having low bravery isn't always a bad thing it just means they won't always get stuck into a challenge which can be a good thing as it means they aren't always close to the player. In the Corinthians game I posted he was actually up against 2 DMC's and I must face about 8 teams a season, so that's 16 games at least where I have to play against two DMC's. It works well for most parts.

The tactic doesn't only rely on the Enganche and after three seasons he's yet to be marked out of a game. That's not to say he hasn't had a poor game but that's nothing to do with him being marked. The key to him not being marked out of the game is the roles around him. You need runners from deep and running beyond him and this is more than enough to stop him being marked out of the game. I have a striker who can drop deep or move wide, I have an MC who rushes forward and opens space and I also have a wingback who does the same. This is enough to stretch the opposition and keep them busy. Plus the Enganche does wander about himself just not as much as the treq was doing.

Hi Cleon I was following this thread over on your website. You mentioned having a midfielder and win back who rushes forward to open up space (runners from deep on beyond). When you play a 4231 I cannot have a runner from midfield because I need my two central midfielders to sit protect the back four and recycle protection so I play a DLP Support and DLP Defend. Also both my full backs are on Support so that they can help with defensive duties. I do not really want to leave my wings too open. Now that only leaves me with a inside forward attack complete forward attack and winger support as the targets for my Enganche to aim for. From what I read in your post and the runners you have my tactic seems very limited and it seems that I do not have enough runners from deep and runners from beyond. Would you suggest any changes to my roles and duties?.

Hi Cleon I was following this thread over on your website. You mentioned having a midfielder and win back who rushes forward to open up space (runners from deep on beyond). When you play a 4231 I cannot have a runner from midfield because I need my two central midfielders to sit protect the back four and recycle protection so I play a DLP Support and DLP Defend. Also both my full backs are on Support so that they can help with defensive duties. I do not really want to leave my wings too open. Now that only leaves me with a inside forward attack complete forward attack and winger support as the targets for my Enganche to aim for. From what I read in your post and the runners you have my tactic seems very limited and it seems that I do not have enough runners from deep and runners from beyond. Would you suggest any changes to my roles and duties?.

You have to remember that our tactics will work completely different to each other as out shapes are different. Not only this but how those shapes actually work is different and then on top of this you need to factor in the style and brand of football you are trying to create. Watch games and see how the players link up and make notes of who the support in the side is and what're offering the side. Then you'll know if its lacking or fine etc.

You have to remember that our tactics will work completely different to each other as out shapes are different. Not only this but how those shapes actually work is different and then on top of this you need to factor in the style and brand of football you are trying to create. Watch games and see how the players link up and make notes of who the support in the side is and what're offering the side. Then you'll know if its lacking or fine etc.

Thanks Cleon. I have we watching games and I can see that the Inside forward attack not seem to be running behind a lot he just seems to link play with the Enganche. The winger support is not really getting in the box either. This is were I am now lost. I cannot get one of my midfielders to rush forwards because I am playing a 4231 and I need the 2 central midfielders to hold position and protect the back four. As you said in your midfield thread if one of the central midfielders are too aggressive then it leaves gaps because the other midfielder needs to do double the work. The only other option I changed was to make change one of the full back support to wing back attack to overlap when the inside forward cuts inside this is probably the only thing I see that is making a difference. The complete forward attack is still dropping deep and sometimes this is affecting the Enganche. I tried playing Giroud as a Advance Forward but he lacks the pace and the ability to play the role well. I am not sure what is going wrong please can you help me.

Because I am not really a tactical expert I chose to use Standard and Flexible when I am at home. I then try and keep the shouts simple to play out of defence, pass into space, more expressive and higher defence line. When I am playing against top sides or aggressive sides I change to a 4411. Counter and Flexible. I also drop the higher defensive line shout. My full backs are all on Support and I play with a wide midfielder attack and winger attack.

The winger support is not really getting in the box either

Why would you expect a winger to get in the box? His job is to provide crosses to the attackers. On a support duty this means crosses from deep.

I cannot get one of my midfielders to rush forwards because I am playing a 4231 and I need the 2 central midfielders to hold position and protect the back four

You already have 4 players in the oppositions half, why would you need more rushing forward? You'd just leave yourself set up to bit with counter after counter.

As you said in your midfield thread if one of the central midfielders are too aggressive then it leaves gaps because the other midfielder needs to do double the work

They shouldn't be doing other peoples job. You already have players in the oppositions half who should be creating and using movement. If this isn't happening then sort the roles out.

The complete forward attack is still dropping deep and sometimes this is affecting the Enganche.

How is he affecting him? He shouldn't, even when he drops deep. They shouldn't be in each others way.

James, seeing that you are trying to make this work with Arsenal, I assume that you are using Ozil as your Enganche.

How is his movement and positioning during attacks? How are his PPMs (mainly "comes deep" and "moves into channels") affecting his execution of the role? The role by the examples Cleon has provided requires him to stay central and high up the field. However his PPMs are quite mobile. I would be interested to see some heat maps and analysis similar to how Cleon has provided for Lucas Lima and Freitas.

Once you analyze Ozil's execution of the role, maybe then you can have better idea what roles the players around him should have, mainly the AMR, AML and ST.

Complete Forward requires pace, Advanced Forward requires acceleration. Either way, I'm thinking that maybe the roles that suit Giroud are not the roles that would suit Ozil as Enganche in a 4-2-3-1 set up. Perhaps it's worth trying Giroud as DLF-A and see how that works. CF-A is asking too much of him and he lacks in some attributes. Otherwise, Walcott might be a better option as ST.

In general, when I think of Enganche, I think of Riquelme.....to me he was the most effective in a 4-3-1-2 set up with two mobile forwards and at least one midfield runner from deep. And I think of another great player who thrived also in a 4-3-1-2 and we saw his playmaking at his best....Zidane for France 1998-2000

Interesting choice of player for the Enganche role in Lima Cleon, I'd have probably though him too mobile for the position. By that I mean that I'd have maybe shied away from playing him there because I may be under utilising those dribbling and pace attributes.

Cleon, how do you feel about an Enganche and RPM pairing? I'm thinking of trying something out using both.

Counter mentality with a back 4 (WB-A), DM-D/RPM in the DM strata with an Enganche with two shadow strikers and a CF-A? I'm trying to figure out if it's better to have runners from deep with him or use IF's or WM-A that cut inside

I've been playing a bit and really struggling to find a striker pairing I've liked with the Enganche.

But just to make sure my understanding of the role is correct, you essentially want him as the attacking pivot. Him receive the ball, then turn and dish to a runner in the attack?

Great work as always Cleon.

I have been struggling this year to find a tactical set up that works for me, I have been using a basic 4-1-2-2-1 with flexible and standard instructions and minimal team shouts. As I have a player suited to the Enganche role I have moved my AMR in to this role and had a look at moving the RB to the RWB (A) (my team is now similar to your Santos team), with the play through balls instruction the attacking play now looks great and my Enganche is the real heart beat of the team with my RWB providing a constant outlet in the attacking phase,.

However I am being undone by teams playing the ball in behind the WB, does this happen with your Santos team?

I am think of pushing the defensive line higher and closing down more thus giving the opposition no space.

I was hoping that you or the guru's here could give me some suggestions to point me in the right direction.

Cleon, how do you feel about an Enganche and RPM pairing? I'm thinking of trying something out using both.

Counter mentality with a back 4 (WB-A), DM-D/RPM in the DM strata with an Enganche with two shadow strikers and a CF-A? I'm trying to figure out if it's better to have runners from deep with him or use IF's or WM-A that cut inside

I've been playing a bit and really struggling to find a striker pairing I've liked with the Enganche.

But just to make sure my understanding of the role is correct, you essentially want him as the attacking pivot. Him receive the ball, then turn and dish to a runner in the attack?

Yeah I wanted him to be a pivot as such.

Both the Enganche and RPM can be really good together. Before I settled on the shape I currently played I was messing around with that pairing myself.

Depending on how mobile your Enganche is should determine what kind of striker you play I think. If he's more in the Paulo mold then you might need one who can create space and moves about. If he's in the Lima mold then you can afford to have a less mobile striker

Great work as always Cleon.

I have been struggling this year to find a tactical set up that works for me, I have been using a basic 4-1-2-2-1 with flexible and standard instructions and minimal team shouts. As I have a player suited to the Enganche role I have moved my AMR in to this role and had a look at moving the RB to the RWB (A) (my team is now similar to your Santos team), with the play through balls instruction the attacking play now looks great and my Enganche is the real heart beat of the team with my RWB providing a constant outlet in the attacking phase,.

However I am being undone by teams playing the ball in behind the WB, does this happen with your Santos team?

I am think of pushing the defensive line higher and closing down more thus giving the opposition no space.

I was hoping that you or the guru's here could give me some suggestions to point me in the right direction.

You're using the exact same as me and even bought the same players?

James, seeing that you are trying to make this work with Arsenal, I assume that you are using Ozil as your Enganche.

How is his movement and positioning during attacks? How are his PPMs (mainly "comes deep" and "moves into channels") affecting his execution of the role? The role by the examples Cleon has provided requires him to stay central and high up the field. However his PPMs are quite mobile. I would be interested to see some heat maps and analysis similar to how Cleon has provided for Lucas Lima and Freitas.

Once you analyze Ozil's execution of the role, maybe then you can have better idea what roles the players around him should have, mainly the AMR, AML and ST.

Complete Forward requires pace, Advanced Forward requires acceleration. Either way, I'm thinking that maybe the roles that suit Giroud are not the roles that would suit Ozil as Enganche in a 4-2-3-1 set up. Perhaps it's worth trying Giroud as DLF-A and see how that works. CF-A is asking too much of him and he lacks in some attributes. Otherwise, Walcott might be a better option as ST.

In general, when I think of Enganche, I think of Riquelme.....to me he was the most effective in a 4-3-1-2 set up with two mobile forwards and at least one midfield runner from deep. And I think of another great player who thrived also in a 4-3-1-2 and we saw his playmaking at his best....Zidane for France 1998-2000

Sorry about the late reply. I was very busy this week. I managed to play a few games last night and I could see how Ozil's PPM affecting the way he played the Enganche role. He was dropping deep and moving wide quite a bit. You are also right about Giroud he does not really fit the Complete Forward role. I did change in to DLF Attack and that seems to be a little better. I think I might have to go back to the drawing board. I really have to look more in detail how Ozil's role and duty affects the team when he plays as a Enganche. My AMR/AML are set to Inside Forward Atttack and Winger Attack. I think J have the rest of the team set up ok. I am just completely lost with how to set up the front 4 players. I know I want to achieve space and movement but I am not sure how to achieve this with the right player roles If you can help me with this I would appreciate it

. I read Cleon thread on space and movement and decided that I am going to use Standard Mentality at Home and Counter away from Home. Because I am Atsenal most teams that come to the Emirates will sit deep and deny me space so a Standard Mentality will allow me to sit a little deeper, play at a lower tempo. I thin this will allow me to build up play better and not rush my attacks which could lead to Counter Attacks. Away from home or against the top sides I will play Counter and use a 4411 formation to make me a bit more solid.

Thanks for your help in advance

You're using the exact same as me and even bought the same players?

Hi

sorry I should have made it clear I used the screen print of you formation for reference only, I am currently managing Aston Villa.

hmm... (As you referred me here Cleon! )

This does indeed sound and look like what I want from my AMC in my midfield triangle.

If I might ask..

My concern if I use the Enganche is actually getting runners from deep. My current design, is sort of an asymmetrical 4-3-2-1 (or 4-2-3-1 really with one of the wide mids pulled back).

In that design, I have two strikers in front of the AMC, the two primary goalscorers -except I've gone Advanced Forward and Raum, the idea being that that AF pushes forward and stretches the backline and the Raum does his own thing and goes missing into space, with the hope that the defenders actually focus on the AF, I'm reluctant to make a deeper forward at the moment though.

So that's two players ahead of him at all times ready for the ball. My thoughts are now where does the runners from deep come from? The midfield behind him is designed to hold, although I already have another creator there - deliberate as I want a dual-playmaker design, and because of the Raum my left wing is designed to be locked down rather than attack. That leaves my right wing as the only viable deep running option - I might be wrong, I'm trying to keep things simple at the moment - so if I might bounce an idea off you...

If I have that right winger as a Wide Midfielder, I would assume he would be a more supportive passing option (DLP - E - WM) on that flank, and I could probably use a wing back to offer width and an alternative route of penetration. Would that be a suitable runner from deep? I mean he wouldn't get into the box, but he would be an option I would think, even if its just an outlet, it gives the opposition something to think about, especially if they have to go narrow to block the strike partnership... But then I do wonder if I've suddenly become one-dimensional in terms of width as all the creative elements is going down the right wing... Hmm.

(There is a question in there... somewhere... I'm going off an tangent I guess. Might you have some words of enlightenment on that?)

Did you read the other Enganche thread too where I did a comparison of two different players playing the role?

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/443668-A-Comparison-Enganche-vs-Enganche

So that's two players ahead of him at all times ready for the ball. My thoughts are now where does the runners from deep come from?

In a 4-2-3-1 you don't really need runners from deep, instead you the players behind play for support instead. The four players high up the pitch should be the ones creating and using space majority of the time.

If I have that right winger as a Wide Midfielder, I would assume he would be a more supportive passing option (DLP - E - WM) on that flank, and I could probably use a wing back to offer width and an alternative route of penetration. Would that be a suitable runner from deep?

He should offer a bit of everything but probably not excel anything. Think James Milner irl.

When Cleon says he loses a game, I just assume that there was a problem with the match engine lol...

In a 4-2-3-1 you don't really need runners from deep, instead you the players behind play for support instead. The four players high up the pitch should be the ones creating and using space majority of the time.

This is where I'm most interested in reading an article from you about. AMC in a prominent playmaking role (the main creator/assist leader ala Ozil) in 4-2-3-1 set up with all sorts of intelligent movement all around him.

So.....Cleon, how is Paulo looking these days? (is there another thread where you have carried on your progress?)

I will be doing an update in the new year. That save got corrupt but I still have a back up of it but it's from a few seasons before. So it needs playing again.

Cleon I'm playing with an Enganche with Liverpool. At the moment I'm using Firmino in the role with a Complete Forward being either Benteke, Ings or Sturridge. I've toyed with an Advanced Foward and False 9 at times because all 3 are very different types of striker, in my opinion anyway.