Some fundamental role Questions

[Stonebiter]

In the pairs and combinations thread is explains how roles works together, but i still don't get some roles right i think and that is what this thread should be all about. I want to know what the aim behind the chosen role is.

First the Winger Positions.

1. What do i want when i choose a wide midfielder ??

2. What do i want when i choose a defensiv winger ?

A Winger is clear, i wanna have a lot of runs and crosses down the flanks

3. What do i want when i choose a wide target man

4. What do i want when i choose a Advanced Playmaker

second the defensiv midfielder Position

1. What do i want when i choose a Half back

Central Mids

When do i use a CM(a) insteed of an advanced Playmaker ?

That are my main questions at the moment. Perhaps some of us have the same Problem with all of these roles. Hopefully i get some answers.

Stonebiter1

[maztheplaya]

In-game each role has a description you should start from there.

Guide to Football Manager has compiled a lot of the in-game text and organised it nicely. Here you can see how is a Wide Midfielder described.

CM description and Attack duty description:

The Central Midfielder has the technical ability to play attacking, support or defensive roles, but tends to lack the stamina, vision and drive to perform more than one simultaneously.

With an attack duty, the Central Midfielder looks to get into the box to support the forwards, drift wide to support the flanks in the final third and play in men ahead of him.

Advanced Playmaker description:

The Advanced Playmaker aims to drop into holes between the opposition's midfield and defence, making himself available for his teammates' passes and aiming to turn defence into attack in an instant.

With a support duty, the Advanced Playmaker will stay in the hole and look to spray passes to support players and forwards.

With an attack duty, the Advanced Playmaker will look to run at the defensive line from deeper positions, aiming to craft out crossing or through ball opportunities as he moves into the final third.

Based on this information you should decide which role fits better your system. But in the end you should watch games and see how your players behave in these roles.

[Dr. Hook]

I might suggest here that you are going about it from the wrong end. Ideally, you have in mind what you want your team and players do within your system, and *then* you select the role that you think will best accomplish it. So for example, using your Halfback point, what do you want from your Defensive Midfielder? What is his skill set? How do you see that position fitting into your overall scheme? At that point, if you are confused about what the roles actually do, they are given basic descriptions in game. Then, you can go into the individual instructions and see how the base role is set. That should tell you most of what you need to know about how the role is designed to perform. Then, as Maz says below, you have to watch your matches and see if the role you selected is actually doing what you want. It *will* perform as described, but you want to see how it interacts with the rest of your setup.

[Stonebiter]

Hook you are right and i really know what the roles do, but to know what something does and to use it is something different. Sometimes it is helpful to look at something from the other side to fully understand it. Let us talk about the Half back, i know what he does, but i dont know how i could use it. What is the sense of it. What is the idea behind the role ? Hard to explain what i want from you guys I try it as Question. Why does someone take a Half Back instead of a normal defensiv midfielder or an Anchor Man . All 3 aren't creative but they behave in a different way. What does he want if he chooses the HALF BACK ?

[maztheplaya]

What does do the HB do different or extra compared to a DM or Anchor Man. Do you need that different bit or extra bit? Is your player capable of playing that?

I usually use a HB when I focus play on the wings and have very offensive roles on the wing, so the HB and my 2 CBs will form a back 3 and the wide areas are covered a bit better. The HB is also good for recycling possession as the description says.

[Dr. Hook]

Hook you are right and i really know what the roles do, but to know what something does and to use it is something different. Sometimes it is helpful to look at something from the other side to fully understand it. Let us talk about the Half back, i know what he does, but i dont know how i could use it. What is the sense of it. What is the idea behind the role ? Hard to explain what i want from you guys I try it as Question. Why does someone take a Half Back instead of a normal defensiv midfielder or an Anchor Man . All 3 aren't creative but they behave in a different way. What does he want if he chooses the HALF BACK ?

Ahh okay, I get what you are saying. I'll take one of your examples: the CM(A) which I use, and then the AP in the same position. I chose the CM(A) role because I want him getting into the box and taking shots as they present themselves. The AP you would use as a focal point for passes into the middle where he will look to pass it off again to a man hopefully in a scoring spot. You won't get runs into the box with him, and probably not many shots either. He'll look to hang around the edge of the area or a bit deeper. Your CM(A) will go forth when the opportunity is there in a way the AP won't.

As far as the DM's, The halfback I use for a man who is decent on the ball, but who i don't want being too adventurous. My anchor man role I reserve to the limited man because the role is creatively limited and he's there basically to be a third man back in the middle. Your bog-standard DM will move more forward than either of the other two, and I would use that against teams that don't have a real threat down the center,- usually teams playing a 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 where my two CBs can deal with it. Then I you can alter him as (D) or (S) depending on how much going forward you want in that particular situation.