2023-02-26, 10:17 AM - Word count:
The defensive attacker series is going onward. In doing research for this I'm discovering a lot more players that can be retrained as pressing forwards but also running into the usual problem in FM where players who are BWM's just decide not to press, because they shouldn't. They shouldn't leave their shape because they're a defender in a defensive shape.
One very interesting difference I've found is how formations work off of a small switch in tactics. Specifically how a defense works reacting off of goal kicks and general interference in the buildup.
Specifically talking about the "prevent short GK distribution" tab. The ideal is that you're deciding to either press up from the start and prevent distribution to centrebacks, forcing more long-range distributions, or you're deciding to allow short-range distributions where you are relying on your ability to disrupt buildup and press the backline of the other team.
While being a small difference I think it outflows into vastly different philosophies in everything from squad building to a defensive structure.
In SSL we can be max height and variable Jumping reach but there is a large split between the kinds of Centerbacks that are fast vs the kinds of center backs that are strong. The fast kind tends to be more technically proficient but also shorter, with a worse ability to win close headers. Comparatively Stronger Centebacks favor low risk clearances while being reliable to win tackles against stop strikers and to win aerial duels against the best.
This is directly tied however to what kind of stance a team makes on GK distribution to what is better for your team. A team that is hard pressing in "total football" would want pressing to begin as fast and early as possible. They would want the faster center backs that can make up for direct penetrating passes to bypass a press and expose an overstretched team. Meanwhile, a team that invites the longer-range distributions by denying GK short distribution would prefer the types of defenders and players that can make crunching tackles and win headers to rely on a defensive shape.
Always in sports, you need to adjust and adapt to "whats next". If possession was the response to total football then combining active pressing with passive "defensive shape" defense could be just that disruptive to conventional and orthodox hybrid "wing play possession" we see from modern teams.
One very interesting difference I've found is how formations work off of a small switch in tactics. Specifically how a defense works reacting off of goal kicks and general interference in the buildup.
Specifically talking about the "prevent short GK distribution" tab. The ideal is that you're deciding to either press up from the start and prevent distribution to centrebacks, forcing more long-range distributions, or you're deciding to allow short-range distributions where you are relying on your ability to disrupt buildup and press the backline of the other team.
While being a small difference I think it outflows into vastly different philosophies in everything from squad building to a defensive structure.
In SSL we can be max height and variable Jumping reach but there is a large split between the kinds of Centerbacks that are fast vs the kinds of center backs that are strong. The fast kind tends to be more technically proficient but also shorter, with a worse ability to win close headers. Comparatively Stronger Centebacks favor low risk clearances while being reliable to win tackles against stop strikers and to win aerial duels against the best.
This is directly tied however to what kind of stance a team makes on GK distribution to what is better for your team. A team that is hard pressing in "total football" would want pressing to begin as fast and early as possible. They would want the faster center backs that can make up for direct penetrating passes to bypass a press and expose an overstretched team. Meanwhile, a team that invites the longer-range distributions by denying GK short distribution would prefer the types of defenders and players that can make crunching tackles and win headers to rely on a defensive shape.
Always in sports, you need to adjust and adapt to "whats next". If possession was the response to total football then combining active pressing with passive "defensive shape" defense could be just that disruptive to conventional and orthodox hybrid "wing play possession" we see from modern teams.
