Central defender into midfield

[Thomas Brolin]

Hello All,

I have a question and I can't find a clear answer. Maby it's because i cannot translate it from dutch to the right english football language. Also if there is a thread somewhere containing this subject please lead me to it. Thanks!

Is it possible in FM15 to play with a 4 man's back line and have a central defender play more into the midfield. I mean that during a game you can get more midfielders then your opponent, by using a central defender to reach that goal but without post him in that place already in your formation. So he must get there from the back line. I don't know how they call in it in english

I think i read somehwere that in older FM's this was not possible. Isn't that strange because you see it often in football. Or I am stupid and can't find the answer haha

Appriciate the help.

[jackane24]

You could play a BPD-X and teach him 'gets further forward' perhaps?

[kingjericho]

Tbh I don't see that happening irl.

But, if I were to try this in game, I'd probably go with some PPMs such as "runs with ball through centre" and "dictates tempo", along with a "dribble more" PI.

[Thomas Brolin]

Jackkane24 this was also my idea but when i'm using that role i can't tick 'play further forward' in the shouts for the player. That was actually my first thought on how to do it. But maybe i'll have to use other shouts for that.

kingjericho Maybe it's more something in dutch football where a ball playing defender is dribbling into midfield with the ball into his feet when possible. Those PPMs are indeed what i could try.

Do you know why you can't select 'play further forward' with a central defender? just because it ain't happening as much as i think?

[waldywaldy]

Tbh I don't see that happening irl.

But, if I were to try this in game, I'd probably go with some PPMs such as "runs with ball through centre" and "dictates tempo", along with a "dribble more" PI.

Happens quite often irl. It's become an integral part of the dutch school of football. Jan Vertonghen was famous for it when he played for Ajax and is starting to do it more and more for spurs. You see Blind and Samlling doing it a lot under van Gaal. etc

Unfortunately it's been very hard (if not impossible) to create in the match engine, specifically getting your central defenders to dribble into midfield.

[jpcote09]

This happens in real life, but almost exclusively with very aggressive/attacking strategies. In those instances, especially against a defence that sits very low, a central defender could try to dribble forward or make runs past the first line of defence in order to lure out opponents and/or create space for teammates.

In FM, it is extremely difficult to replicate this because your players will always try to keep your formation intact. On top of that, individual mentalities for positions such as DC (and duties such as Defend/Stopper/Cover) are really on the low side and do not allow those players to charge forward. Even with attacking-minded PPMs it is unlikely to work.

IMO your best bet if you want to do this is to use a very attacking mentality (attacking/overload) and maybe even the very fluid team shape setting, which would increase the center-backs mentality.

Another interesting trick you could try is to use a half-back in the DM strata above your central defenders. The HB role is designed to drop deep in the attacking/possession phase so to leave more space for the central defenders to push higher up. This could help.

[Thomas Brolin]

This happens in real life, but almost exclusively with very aggressive/attacking strategies. In those instances, especially against a defence that sits very low, a central defender could try to dribble forward or make runs past the first line of defence in order to lure out opponents and/or create space for teammates.

In FM, it is extremely difficult to replicate this because your players will always try to keep your formation intact. On top of that, individual mentalities for positions such as DC (and duties such as Defend/Stopper/Cover) are really on the low side and do not allow those players to charge forward. Even with attacking-minded PPMs it is unlikely to work.

IMO your best bet if you want to do this is to use a very attacking mentality (attacking/overload) and maybe even the very fluid team shape setting, which would increase the center-backs mentality.

Another interesting trick you could try is to use a half-back in the DM strata above your central defenders. The HB role is designed to drop deep in the attacking/possession phase so to leave more space for the central defenders to push higher up. This could help.

Thanks guys. I'm going to try these idea's.

What i'm going to try is a 4 mans back line with 1 central defender who plays into midfield often and the backs are players that stay back and man mark the strikers and one CB plays like a libero. I'm going to try your information jpcote.

[jackane24]

Jackkane24 this was also my idea but when i'm using that role i can't tick 'play further forward' in the shouts for the player. That was actually my first thought on how to do it. But maybe i'll have to use other shouts for that.

'Gets further forward' is a PPM, not a PI.

[rninejr]

u cant. there is no Defender Centre roles that can act as both CB n Midfield simultaneously during a match.

there is another thread about mimicking hungary's team circas 50 (puskas era). the basic formation look like this

the only problem is to replicate zakaria's role. since he fill the blank space on the midfield by step up higher when his team is in possession. but he will come back to play as a normal CB when required

the best attempt i've ever tried is by replacing 1 CB with Libero-Attack. with some tweaks on PI, TI, and OI, he could act like a defender with stopper duty. sometimes my back 4 were like a normal flat back 4 . but if u're planning to play high up the pitch like barca +more fluid team shape, this setup isnt recommended since he wont receive enough ball (30-40 passes compared to my DM 50-80 passes each game)

[mojojojo101]

I managed to get it done in FM13, with Phil Jones / Kyle Walker coming out of a back 3. Since then I cannot for the life of me get it to work.

[WaveMotion]

Had this working occasionally in my far-future Chelsea save in FM14. It was a while ago, but some possible contributing factors that I remember: Dribbling 15 and great physical stats, Control/Very Fluid, true back 3 (only had WMs out wide), Play Out of Defence, good confidence among the squad generally.

[isignedupfornorealreason]

Hello All,

I have a question and I can't find a clear answer. Maby it's because i cannot translate it from dutch to the right english football language. Also if there is a thread somewhere containing this subject please lead me to it. Thanks!

Is it possible in FM15 to play with a 4 man's back line and have a central defender play more into the midfield. I mean that during a game you can get more midfielders then your opponent, by using a central defender to reach that goal but without post him in that place already in your formation. So he must get there from the back line. I don't know how they call in it in english

I think i read somehwere that in older FM's this was not possible. Isn't that strange because you see it often in football. Or I am stupid and can't find the answer haha

Appriciate the help.

Sounds exactly like the Libero. Though I understand it might be a bit iffy to have a libero and only one centre back ahead of him!

[rninejr]

The problem here is that libero attack won't step as high as it used to be in the previous fm edition. N if using a high defensive line he will likely not involved in the build up phase. But still using libero-CB partnership is better at defense compared to DM-CB partnership