Hi everyone, first time poster but long time FMer here.
First off kudos Cleon this was an absolutely fantastic article and straight away I was interested to see how I could make it work in the lower reaches of the English footballing ladder.
I took over my local-ish team Hemel Hempstead and set out to implement this tactic with the same roles.
I am about two thirds through my first season and have the possession nailed down.
Here are a few things I have noticed so far:
- Possession is very solid, 78% pass completion, 58% average possession and over 3000 passes more than any other side in the league.
- I perhaps don't score as many goals as I would like, lying 6th in the league for goals scored. This doesn't have such a big impact because of my defensive strength. I think this may be being caused by the fact that my F9 isn't entirely suited to the role and I think he will be the first player I replace. He isn't creative enough and as such doesn't provide for my BBM and IF.
- As mentioned above my defence is very resolute, I have only conceded 25 goals in 34 games, which isn't bad going for a Conference South team.
- Individual player stats wise; I have the top three players in terms of Key Passes, my RP, AP and RB. I also have the top five players in terms of Pass Completion. Both of which bode very well.
- I also noticed that my team has the most dribbles completed per game, which at first I was a little bit miffed about as I don't particularly want my team dribbling too often, I even contemplated employing the dribble less TI, however after a bit of thought I realised that maybe this stat is slightly inflated just because of our dominance in possession. Has anyone else experienced this? If so have you been happy to leave it as is?
- A bit of proof that the star ratings and role and duty suitability are largely nonsense: my RP has a two bar suitability for the role and only a 3.5* ability rating when playing there. However he has an average rating of 8.14 from 39 games in all comps. It is all about making sure your player has the attributes to play the role.
I have been making minor tweaks to the tactic as and when has been needed, things like pushing the line a bit higher when teams are trying to park the bus against us, so that we can really trap them in their own half and give them no way out, thus maintaining pressure that not many teams can withstand. I have also, on some occasions, changed my IF to an attack duty, to try and get him to support the F9 a bit more. Lastly at times I have changed my left full back to attack so that my IF has an option outside him when he has cut inside.
Has anyone else had success with this in the lower leagues?
The Art of Possession Football
in Tactics, Training & Strategies Discussion
Posted
Hi everyone, first time poster but long time FMer here.
First off kudos Cleon this was an absolutely fantastic article and straight away I was interested to see how I could make it work in the lower reaches of the English footballing ladder.
I took over my local-ish team Hemel Hempstead and set out to implement this tactic with the same roles.
I am about two thirds through my first season and have the possession nailed down.
Here are a few things I have noticed so far:
- Possession is very solid, 78% pass completion, 58% average possession and over 3000 passes more than any other side in the league.
- I perhaps don't score as many goals as I would like, lying 6th in the league for goals scored. This doesn't have such a big impact because of my defensive strength. I think this may be being caused by the fact that my F9 isn't entirely suited to the role and I think he will be the first player I replace. He isn't creative enough and as such doesn't provide for my BBM and IF.
- As mentioned above my defence is very resolute, I have only conceded 25 goals in 34 games, which isn't bad going for a Conference South team.
- Individual player stats wise; I have the top three players in terms of Key Passes, my RP, AP and RB. I also have the top five players in terms of Pass Completion. Both of which bode very well.
- I also noticed that my team has the most dribbles completed per game, which at first I was a little bit miffed about as I don't particularly want my team dribbling too often, I even contemplated employing the dribble less TI, however after a bit of thought I realised that maybe this stat is slightly inflated just because of our dominance in possession. Has anyone else experienced this? If so have you been happy to leave it as is?
- A bit of proof that the star ratings and role and duty suitability are largely nonsense: my RP has a two bar suitability for the role and only a 3.5* ability rating when playing there. However he has an average rating of 8.14 from 39 games in all comps. It is all about making sure your player has the attributes to play the role.
I have been making minor tweaks to the tactic as and when has been needed, things like pushing the line a bit higher when teams are trying to park the bus against us, so that we can really trap them in their own half and give them no way out, thus maintaining pressure that not many teams can withstand. I have also, on some occasions, changed my IF to an attack duty, to try and get him to support the F9 a bit more. Lastly at times I have changed my left full back to attack so that my IF has an option outside him when he has cut inside.
Has anyone else had success with this in the lower leagues?