Taking the heat

[DW19]

I have started a new game with a team(Union Magdalena - Colombia Primera B) where we play our home matches in extreme heat(35C is typical). I am looking for advice on how to prosper in the heat. Here are my initial thoughts on the topic.

Formation/Style of play:

We are going to play a standard 4-4-2, as most Colombian sides do, with a slow tempo and normal width(close enough together to avoid losing the ball, but far enough apart to cover the field without too much running when we do lose the ball.) We are going to play a fairly short passing game in order to take care of the ball and not have chase down the opposition. I will be experimenting with closing down. One the one hand it is too hot to close down a lot, on the other hand we don't want the other team to have too much of the ball. I am using zonal marking and low-ish creative freedom to make sure that players aren't running all over the place and tiring themselves out. For my wingers and strikers, I am using easy tackling, so they mainly save their energy for making runs and producing goals.

Players:

My players are decent technically for the level we are playing and their natural fitness and stamina is nothing special. As I am scouting for players to bring in I will be looking at passing, technique, stamina and natural fitness as very important.

Issues:

As you would expect, my players get tired fast and as such are prone to picking up injuries. Some teams in my league play in much cooler parts of the country thus keeping their squads healthier than mine.

Questions:

1) Do my players become accustomed to the heat after a certain length of time and will other teams suffer when they come to play at our stadium?(eg, teams from Bogota, avg temp 18C). I am thinking especially of matches such as England-Brazil World Cup 02, where England faded badly in the second half. My initial assumption is that FM accounts for the heat the same way for both teams, and that being accustomed to the condition is not an advantage. (As and aside - FM doesn't account for altitude, does it?)

2) What methods do people recommend for optimising tactics to deal with the heat? I am trying to play a slow technical game, which makes intuitive sense to me.

3) For away matches in cooler locations should I stick with my hot weather tactics in order to be consistent and keep my players playing roughly the same way? (Of course, I may lower the mentality a little or make my formation narrower if I need to tighten up defensively).

Any suggestions, advice or other feedback would be great. I'll let people know how it goes and if I make any useful discoveries. Cheers, DW.

[DW19]

Won my first game of the season 2-0 at home with only one injury. So far, so good...

[DW19]

Wish I had more time to play, but four games into the campaign my home field is a sweltering fortress(2-0 and 3-2 wins) and my relatively cooler away games have been a mixed bag(0-1 loss & 2-2 draw). The slow tempo seems to be working in terms of getting my players to the end of home games without too many of them picking up knocks. Many of them end up with condition in the 60s, though. I found that using tight marking rather than closing down also is conserving their energy. I was hoping that short passing would help me keep the ball, but so far I have had mixed results. For some spells my players ping the ball around nicely and at other times they are making passes to the supporters. I guess that is life outside the top-flight for you.

One thing I can't figure out is how to control the distribution of my keeper. He is set to defender collect, his mentality is the same as the DCs and he is set to short passing. Despite all that he regularly belts the ball upfield where it is often gratefully collected by the opposition midfielders. What is up with this guy? :confused:

The other funny thing that has been happening is that there have been more than a half dozen penalties in my first four matches. One game I scored two penalties and the opposition got one(strangely no defenders were sent off and there wasn't even a yellow card issued). Perhaps Colombian players are just masters of getting fouled in the area

If anyone has any comments or suggestions on the best strategies for hot weather conditions I'd be happy to hear them. In the mean time, I'll keep adding updates as I discover things. Thanks for reading

[DW19]

A few more games played and things are going fairly well. We are 3rd in the league at present with the Apertura at roughly the halfway mark. The squad seems to be gelling and the defense has tightened up. The last two games(2-0 home win(one corner, one penalty) and 0-0 away draw) have seen the chances from open play drying up a bit. With one striker injured and the other complacent, it looks like out attack will need some shaking up. Unfortunately, I have only 3 senior strikers, not much money and the transfer window is closed. Perhaps a little 4-4-1-1 will work.

Observations from the past few games: in the heat it is important to rotate your players as they will not necessarily recover from one game in time to play the next. I am using the players with the highest stamina and natural fitness for hot home matches and those with weaker constitutions for cooler away games.

Short passing continues to be a challenge. It seems that when the players don't have a short passing option they will hoof it across the field or punt it into touch. My next stab at getting the passing pattern that I want is going to be to lengthen the passing settings. Counter-intuitively, I am hoping this will cause my players to play more short passes and to keep the ball better. Onwards...

[heathxxx]

Very interesting topic regarding the effects of climates on styles of play.

You're clearly aware of real life comparisons in this respect and I've always worked on the same assumption when managing clubs in hot countries. I also tend to lean towards a slower tempo and short passing. As you already understand, attributes such as stamina, natural fitness and also I would add determination, are understandably very important if you want to vary your tactics to include options for increased tempo and more direct passing.

Even with the passing and tempo settings though, I've always preferred to employ a high defensive line and an attacking mentality in order to keep the pressure on opponents.

Out of interest, when you get your scout reports, what sort of tactics are your opponents using, considering the climate? Are they also playing short and slow, or is there a broader variety?

Although you've not had much response yet to your original post, keep it going, because climate effects influencing styles of play is not something that's often discussed in any detail. I think most people are only too well aware of the climate in Brazil for example, being a major influence on how their style of play has developed. Let the ball do the work, you might say.

[Los_Culés]

Hi mate, I´m managing in Colombia too (Once Caldas). I was trying to play short passing game but quickly changed it as I see, that majority of my home matches was played in very bad conditions (wet, wind etc..). Yeah, the geography is playing a big role. Now in the second part of the season the weather seems to be better so I will try to play less direct game.

[Assenuma]

2) What methods do people recommend for optimising tactics to deal with the heat?

Do not set time wasting to the left of the middle unless you are down a goal. Try playing counter attack, slower tempo, and assign some of the players to hold the ball.

[shakeable]

Perhaps try and reduce try thru balls to make your players take easier passes and keeping the ball for longer periods of time, reducing the stamina of the opposition.

[DW19]

Very interesting topic regarding the effects of climates on styles of play.

You're clearly aware of real life comparisons in this respect and I've always worked on the same assumption when managing clubs in hot countries. I also tend to lean towards a slower tempo and short passing. As you already understand, attributes such as stamina, natural fitness and also I would add determination, are understandably very important if you want to vary your tactics to include options for increased tempo and more direct passing.

Even with the passing and tempo settings though, I've always preferred to employ a high defensive line and an attacking mentality in order to keep the pressure on opponents.

Out of interest, when you get your scout reports, what sort of tactics are your opponents using, considering the climate? Are they also playing short and slow, or is there a broader variety?

Although you've not had much response yet to your original post, keep it going, because climate effects influencing styles of play is not something that's often discussed in any detail. I think most people are only too well aware of the climate in Brazil for example, being a major influence on how their style of play has developed. Let the ball do the work, you might say.

Hi, thanks for your interest and remarks. To this point, I have been employing a "balanced" mentality with my defensive players slightly below normal and my attacking players slightly above normal. My intention was not to vary this approach much until my squad was settled and I had a better idea of where my team was in relation to other teams. Most teams that I encounter play the same sort of balanced approach against me, at least according to my scout(who doesn't have the greatest tactical knowledge ). My scout also reports that most opposition teams like to get the ball down and play it on the ground. That is what I have observed in most matches as the opposition will build its moves up from the defense with short passes. A lot of teams get impatient with my stingy back line and fire long shots, while others will try to get around the outside and put crosses into my box. I have one defender who is a good header of the ball and he has saved us more than a few times.

As you mention about Brazil, I would be interested to hear if anyone has managed a team in somewhere like Manaus(40C with high humidity, basically the middle of the jungle)? Also, has anyone managed in other hot countries like India, UAE, Australia? What affect does the heat have on your game plan?

[DW19]

Hi mate, I´m managing in Colombia too (Once Caldas). I was trying to play short passing game but quickly changed it as I see, that majority of my home matches was played in very bad conditions (wet, wind etc..). Yeah, the geography is playing a big role. Now in the second part of the season the weather seems to be better so I will try to play less direct game.

You've got big shoes to fill. In real life, they won the Libertadores a few years ago.

Your home ground in Manizales is up in the mountains at 2150 metres. I guess that accounts for the cooler weather. It would be interesting if FM accounted for altitude. Squads like mine which are based at sea level would presumably suffer when we came to Manizales or Bogota(2500 meters). Certainly in real life Brazil and other South American powers have a hard time beating Peru and Bolivia when they play them in Cuzco or La Paz.

[DW19]

Do not set time wasting to the left of the middle unless you are down a goal. Try playing counter attack, slower tempo, and assign some of the players to hold the ball.

Good points. Right now I have time wasting set right on the middle, but I may try sliding it to the right and see how that affects things. I used counter attacking in away matches mostly or at home when I have the lead and I think the opposition might start taking some risks that I can try to punish. I have my more defensive midfielder and my secondary striker set to hold up the ball and that seems to work fairly well. Especially the DM, who often gets the ball from the defenders settles things down then plays a nice short pass to a winger or the advanced midfielder. The rhythm of play has been quite pleasing so far, but my players tend to make bad passes and I am still trying to determine if this is a problem with my instructions to them or if they are just not technically up to par for what I want to do. As far as passing instructions, my defenders are set on short, my mids are set on low-mixed, my goalkeeper is set on mixed and my forwards are set a couple of ticks above the mid-point of the slider. As I said, this is a work in progress.

[DW19]

Perhaps try and reduce try thru balls to make your players take easier passes and keeping the ball for longer periods of time, reducing the stamina of the opposition.

That sounds like a good idea. I have my two central mids set on TTB often. I'll try a game or two with that set to mixed and see if they will wait for only good opportunities and otherwise will continue to circulate the ball. The only downside I can think of is if they don't see a good pass maybe they just do a long shot and give the ball back to the opposition anyway. I'll let you know how it goes.

[DW19]

Onwards with the campaign. I managed to squeeze in a few more matches last night and unfortunately our form has taken a turn for the worse. The main reason is that 2 out of our 3 senior strikers are now injured. These are the perils of having a small squad, I guess. Despite the transfer window being closed, it looks like I could sign a free agent striker if I can find one who will accept the low wages that I am offereing. One player is almost back to health, but carrying four looks like the way to go.

As far as results, I managed to squeeze out a 2-0 home win over the 18th place side in my division(the game in which striker #2 went down). Playing 4-4-1-1 with a roving AMC I was able to keep the ball well (in fact better than when I play 4-4-2), but I generated few scoring chances. In the Colombian Cup I was crushed 3-0 away in hot weather Barranquilla by their first division side. I held them to 0-0 at half time, but my players gave out in the second half. Then I played a bad weather(breezy, wet, 14C) just outside Bogota(still 4-4-1-1) and lost 2-1. I tried to get my offensive players to close down more because the weather was cooler and I used longer passing(mixed for everyone) due to the poor conditions. Maybe I should have stuck with my usual game plan. By the end, my attackers were wearing out and I had to sub them. As I only had one striker, I finished the game with a DMC up front trying to grab us a last gap equalizer

So far, what I have found is that my tactics are working fairly well at home, but when I take them on the road and especially when I play low ranked teams in bad weather conditions my results are generally poor. It seems that my squad are like a slow motion version of Arsenal playing in the Colombian second division

[Los_Culés]

DW19: Yes, they have won Libertadores, but since then they are more or less an average Colombian side. There is a good challenge in the Colombian league with teams like América Cali, Deportivo Cali, Atlético Nacional. Meddelín, Millionarios etc. I wish you to promote to the Colombian first league

[RENO24]

Let us know how the rest of the season goes...

As for your poor results away from home - what are the oppostion doing tactics wise?

[DW19]

The season is progressing slowly and has taken a few unexpected turns since my last post. At the 8-game mark the team took a dip in form which lasted through a few matches and tactical tweaks until lately when they have caught fire and have risen from 5th to second with a couple of hard fought victories and a couple of romps. 15 games into the Apertura and Union Magdalena have confirmed a spot in the post-season tournament. That should help on the revenue side of things as well as keeping the players from having too long a summer break and getting out of shape. One the downside, the time to work on transfers will be compressed, so I may have to keep most of my squad through the Clausura. As they are playing well lately, that may be the best option anyway.

It turns out that Colombia has a cup and that it has a rather unique format. The first and second division clubs are grouped by region(I am with other teams in the North East and along the Atlantic(Carribean) coast). So far, we got hammered 0-3 away to Junior(First Division), have drawn with Valledupar(Second) and have beaten another second division side 1-0 (can't remember who). We have to play Real Cartagena(First Division) and another squad(can't remember them either). In all it looks like there will be 10 group games, which are interspersed with our league matches. On the off chance that we finish in the top two of our group, then we would be entered into the home-and-away elimanation rounds. The good thing about the cup is that I can play my youth players if I like and see how they are progressing. Luckily, my board has no expectations for the competition.

On to the more tactics-related discussion. The weather has been getting cooler throughout the year and throughout the country. My next match will be played at 10C, somewhere up in the mountains, I guess. As the conditions have been so variable, I have had to refine my tactics to cope with a wide variety of situations. A number of tweaks have led to improved performance mainly by shaping the tactics to better fit my players. The main change is that we are now trying to beat teams on the ground rather than through the air. Here is a breakdown by position:

Wingers: I started the season with my wingers set to forward runs often, cross ball often and cross from the byline. They had decent crossing so this seemed like an ok idea. However, my team is bad in the air and our crosses were gifting possession back to the other team rather than creating chances. Lately, they have cross ball mixed, though balls mixed, forward runs mixed and run with ball often. Now they are largely staying in position to receive a pass, then slicing the defence open by beating their man. This gives them the option to either advance on goal or feed the strikers if their markers leave them to close down the winger.

Strikers: My advanced striker, who is a good dribbler, has also been given run with the ball often and has been taken advantage by dragging his defender around when he has the ball and then either beating him and taking a shot or making a pass into space vacated by this defender. My withdrawn striker is still holding up the ball and orchestrating play, but also when his partner opens space with the dribble he is nipping into the spot to get a shot on goal.

Mids: My central midfielders are still set to short passing(stikers, wingers and full backs are on mixed, DCs and MCs are on short) and continue to exchange passes in midfield. With forward runs dialed back(FCa, wingers, MCa and FBs on mixed, others on rarely), they have enough passing options and don't have spray long balls to stay out of trouble. My MCa had TTB set to often and that was causing him to give the ball away a lot as he is not a passing virtuoso. When I dialed that back to mixed he started making better passes and keeping possession better. These two are my only players set to take long shots and now that the wingers and strikers are pulling the defence apart with their dribbling the MCa especially is getting chances to shoot from the edge of the box, or even inside the box, rather than well outside, as before.

Fullbacks: They continue to contribute to the build up and that is what I want them to do more than crossing the ball(which I have been tempted to drop to rarely).

DCs: Generally, they are set to tightly man mark the opposition strikers and they continue to do a job for me. Their short passing generally to the MCd or FBs has been steady and they do get forward on set pieces, but thus far have not contributed much in the department. That is an area that needs more work.

GK: Nothing much to report. My team has conceded the fewest goals in the league, so he is getting the job done. He stopped punting the ball upfield so much when I set not only defender collect, but also specified which defender(DL in my case).

Team instructions: Despite the wide variety of playing conditions I am sticking with my slow tempo, though I have upped it a little to the first notch below normal. When I am in a more attacking situation, I will increase the width which with my dribble-based attack should make the opposition defenders lives that much harder. If they get skinned the attacker will have more space to work with and it makes the next defenders decision harder(stay on his man or mark the suddenly open player). As for my defensive strategy I am persisting with tight man marking on my DCs and tight zonal marking on my MCd and FBs. As I mentioned, my goals against is not a problem, so why change. I do get outshot sometimes, but my Assistant informs me that a lot of these shots are from long range. Also, in one game I won 4-1, but had only 45% possession. We blitzed them for 4 in the first half and then despite them dominating possession(my scout said they liked to get the ball down and play it), over the course of the second half all they could come up with was a questionable penalty.

In conclusion: A slow-paced, dribble-attack-based tactic seems to be bringing reasonable results for my squad. There are a lot of matches to go still, but the prospect of Union Magdalena returning to the first division of Colombian football is gradually getting better

[RENO24]

good to hear man,

keep it up