Aggression and Bravery

[Coentrao]

I've read Cleon wonderful thread but i still got a couple of questions about this two attributes.

Am i right in thinking that they are absolutely vital for any defender? A player with low bravery will "scare" himself out of a tackle that could be crucial, and a central defender with low aggression won't be so energetic winning headers for instance?

I'm just wondering because specially when the game is regen-filled if i see a defender with low bravery or aggression i immediatly disregard him as a possible signing and i was thinking that i might be a little extreme.

Likewise sometimes i see decent central midfielders for a box-to-box or central support role but with like a bravery of 5 and i'm reluctant on signing those kind of players.. i don't any cowards in my team

Thanks.

[Marsupian]

Bravery and agression are important but they players who have sub par bravery or agression can still be great defenders and midfielders. They just make a different kind of defender or midfielder. A covering defender for instance doesn't need much aggression at and can also work well with lower bravery. He just stays in position and uses his anticipation and speed to catch any players that break through and stops them with a nice clean tackle. If you wan't players to get stuck in regularly a sub par bravery is not something you want and higher aggression is most definitely welcome in those players.

[Coentrao]

So for a cover defender aggression wouldn't be so important, ior to an intelligent deeper midfielder like Xabi Alonso that will win the ball mostly out of his positioning and anticipation, it makes sense.

And about headers on set pieces, wouldn't be any problem in having a central defender with low aggression on the back or he would be vulnerable to lose a header on a corner?

Thanks for replying

[Marsupian]

The thing is that a defender with lower aggression won't actively look for opportunities to set himself on the line to get the ball back or make a challenge. The online manual describes aggression like this:

"This reflects a player’s attitude in terms of playing mentality but is not necessarily a dirtiness indicator. A more aggressive player will look to involve himself in every incident and get stuck in, perhaps at the expense of a yellow card or two. A less aggressive player may shy away from situations and merely drop into his comfort zone"

Now when you defend a corner the defender might not be looking to get in a challenge but he will defend the goal (as he is a defender and wants to win). Determination and bravery will come into play when he decides to make the challenge or not (after he has decided if it is beneficial to make the challenge with his decision attribute). If the header is absolutely crucial less determined and brave players will also make the challenge if they recognize how important it is. How effective the challenge is is depends on physical stats, anticipation, positioning, and heading (sometimes also technique if it is a difficult header like a diving header).

There may be more nuances and I may have left something out but I believe this is about right when it comes to making headers in the box.