Recommended Team Instructions
Team mentality:
- Positive – to implement attacking football to a moderate extent
- Attacking – to implement attacking football to a large extent
Team Passing Directness slider:
- Shorter Passing (one notch up) – to implement short plays to a moderate extent
- Much Shorter Passing (two notches up) – to implement short plays to a large extent
Team Pressing Intensity slider:
- Leave as default or …
- … Increase the slider to implement high pressure pass and move football (aggressive pass and move football)
- … Decrease the slider to implement cautious pass and move football
Other Suggested Team Instructions
Unrelated to Player Instructions
These team instructions do not have any directly related player instructions.
They can therefore be used to implement aspects of pass and move football that cannot be implemented by the player instructions given by your chosen player roles and duties.
Higher risk in possession instructions:
- Play Out Of Defence
- Never Waste Time
Higher risk out of possession instructions:
- Use Offside Trap
- Higher Line Of Engagement or Much Higher Line Of Engagement
- Higher Defensive Line or Much Higher Defensive Line
- Defend Wider
Note that decreased time wasting, an increased line of engagement and an increased defensive line are set automatically to some extent by the team mentality.
Related to Player Instructions
These team instructions have related player instructions that have directly similar or contrasting effects.
They can therefore be used to implement aspects of pass and move football that are not already being implemented by similar player instructions given by your chosen player roles and duties, or even to emphasise aspects that are already being implemented that way.
However, they are particularly useful for offsetting any contrasting player instructions that are given by your roles and duties.
You can check the player instructions given by your roles and duties in the Player Roles & Duties guide.
Higher risk in possession instructions:
- Pass Into Space
- Similar player instructions (higher risk) – Take More Risks
- Contrasting player instructions (lower risk) – Take Fewer Risks
- Can be particularly useful to offset the use of players instructed to Take Fewer Risks if they outnumber those instructed to Take More Risks.
- Be More Expressive
- Similar player instructions (higher risk) – Roam From Position, Move Into Channels and “use more creative freedom”
- Contrasting player instructions (lower risk) – Hold Position, “make more disciplined movement” and “use more tactical discipline”
- Can be particularly useful to offset the use of players instructed to Hold Position or “make more disciplined movement” if they outnumber those instructed to Roam From Position or Move Into Channels (after ignoring the typical three players who Hold Position).
- Can be particularly useful to offset the use of players instructed to “use more tactical discipline” if they outnumber those instructed to “use more creative freedom”.
Higher risk out of possession instructions:
- Use Tighter Marking
- Similar player instructions (higher risk) – Mark Tighter
- Get Stuck In
- Similar player instructions (higher risk) – Tackle Harder
- Contrasting player instructions (lower risk) – Ease Off Tackles
- Can be particularly useful to offset the use of players instructed to Ease Off Tackles if they outnumber those instructed to Tackle Harder.
Suggested Player Instructions
Unrelated to Team Instructions
These player instructions do not have any directly related team instructions.
Player roles and duties that give these player instructions can therefore be used to implement aspects of pass and move football that cannot be implemented by team instructions.
Higher risk in possession instructions:
- Cut Inside With Ball
- Contrasting player instruction (lower risk) – Run Wide With Ball (for flank players only)
Neutral risk in possession instructions:
- “Collect the ball more”
- “Drop deep more”
- “Carry the ball more”
Roles/duties that give these player instructions are highlighted in the Suggested Player Roles & Duties below.
Roles/duties that give the contrasting player instructions are also highlighted. If you use any of these roles/duties then you may want to offset them by also using other roles/duties that give the relevant suggested player instruction.
Balancing Risk
The Positive and Attacking team mentalities involve your team playing with higher risk both when in possession and when out of possession. The Shorter Passing team passing directness instructions involve your team playing with slightly lower risk when in possession.
This results in slightly higher risk play in possession and higher risk play out of possession.
You should therefore be careful not to use too many higher risk in possession instructions as this can cause your team to fail to keep possession effectively, which increases the time the opposition teams have in possession, and fail to retain solidity effectively, which makes it difficult to protect space after possession is conceded.
Similarly, you should be careful not to use too many higher risk out of possession instructions as this can cause your team to fail to protect space effectively, which makes it difficult to prevent goal-scoring chances for the opposition teams, and to commit fouls excessively, which concedes further chances from free-kicks and penalties, as well as resulting in numerous bookings.
However, you can balance the use of higher risk in possession instructions by also using lower risk in possession instructions, while you can balance the use of higher risk out of possession instructions by also using lower risk out of possession instructions. Transition tactics can be used to balance risk similarly, as detailed below.
Suggested Instructions for Balancing Risk
No lower risk instructions are included in the suggested instructions above as they do not implement aspects of attacking football. However, they can still be suitable for pass and move football if they implement aspects of short plays.
The following lower risk in possession team instructions implement aspects of short plays:
- Lower Tempo and Much Lower Tempo
- Note that increased tempo is set automatically to some extent by the team mentality but decreased tempo is set automatically to some extent by the team passing directness.
- Narrow and Very Narrow attacking width
- Note that increased attacking width is set to some extent by the team mentality.
- Work Ball Into Box
- Dribble Less
See the short plays guide for details of these instructions’ related similar and contrasting player instructions, as these should also be considered when balancing risk.
Suggested Transition Tactics
Transition tactics can be used to either balance risk or complement risk, as you desire.
In transition instructions:
- Counter – higher risk in possession
- Counter can be used to complement higher risk in possession by enabling your team to focus more on penetrating space immediately after winning possession.
- Your team can Counter more frequently if its greater focus on restricting space results in it winning possession more quickly.
- Your team can Counter more frequently if its greater focus on penetrating space results in it conceding possession more quickly (and so having more opportunities to attempt to win possession).
- However, you should add to the important player attributes listed above …
- … Good mobility – for M/AM/ST(C/R/L)s in particular.
- Hold Shape – lower risk in possession
- Hold Shape can be used to balance higher risk in possession by enabling your team to temporarily focus more on keeping possession and retaining solidity after winning possession.
- Counter-Press – higher risk out of possession
- Counter-Press can be used to complement higher risk out of possession by enabling your team to focus more on restricting space immediately after conceding possession.
- However, you should add to the important player attributes listed above …
- … Good mobility – for D/DM/M(C/R/L)s in particular.
- Regroup – lower risk out of possession
- Regroup can be used to balance higher risk out of possession by enabling your team to temporarily focus more on protecting space after conceding possession.
