Possession Football

Overall Forward Movement

Check the overall forward movement of your players is balanced by using the table below, which shows scores for each player role/duty that can be added together to give an overall penetration score, solidity score and support score.

Add together the scores shown for each role/duty and compare to the targets shown at the top of each column. If your total scores are below the targets then consider adjusting roles/duties as appropriate.

For example, you can increase your penetration score by moving a player to a similar role/duty in a more advanced position, increase your solidity score by moving a player to a similar role/duty in a deeper position and increase your support score by moving a player to a similar role/duty in a position closer to the M(C/R/L) positions.

Possession Football Example Tactic

Modify this example tactic for your team or create your own. Then check your possession football tactic using the System Analyser and Style Analyser and see how it performs in matches.

Team mentality: Cautious

Team passing directness: Much Shorter Passing (two notches up)

Formation:

• 4-1-4-1 DM Wide – neutral
  • 4 Ds / 1 DMC / 2 MCs / 2 AM(R/L)s / 1 STC

Player roles and duties:

---

---

---

---

---

Forward movement scores:

• Penetration score = 1.0 + target = moderate
  • Left side = 1.5 + target = moderate to high
  • Right side = 0.5 + target = low to moderate

• Solidity score = 0.5 + target = low to moderate
  • Left side = 0.0 + target = low
  • Right side = 1.0 + target = moderate

• Support score = 2.5 + target = high to very high
  • Left side = 2.0 + target = high
  • Right side = 3.0 + target = very high

Other team instructions:

• Play Out Of Defence
• Dribble Less
• Higher Defensive Line
• Defend Narrower

Offsetting Contrasting Player Instructions

Contrasting player instructions given by roles and duties:

• Hold Up Ball (1) – Deep Lying Forward (STC Support)
  • Cannot be offset.
  • However, Hold Up Ball is only relevant for one player and is used to create chances from the STC position.

• “Make more dribbles into channels” (1) – Deep Lying Forward (STC Support)
  • Cannot be offset.
  • However, “make more dribbles into channels” is only relevant for one player and is set by the Move Into Channels PI which is otherwise suited to short plays (but not defensive football) – note that short plays is implemented to a greater extent than defensive football in this tactic

• Dribble More (4) – Inside Forward (AML Support), Inside Forward (AMR Support), Wing Back (DL Attack) and Wing Back (DR Attack)
  • Not offset by the Dribble Less PI (0).
    • Two Dribble Less PIs is typical so they are ignored.
  • Therefore, the Dribble Less TI has been used to offset.

• Cross From Deep (0) and Cross More Often (2) – Wing Back (DL Attack) and Wing Back (DR Attack)
  • Offset by the Cross From Byline PI (2) and the Cross Less Often PI (2) – Inside Forward (AML Support), Inside Forward (AMR Support), Wing Back (DL Attack) and Wing Back (DR Attack).

Balancing Risk

No additional team instructions are considered necessary to balance risk.

The use of lower risk in possession instructions is balanced by the use of higher risk in possession instructions, as shown below.

Notable lower risk in possession instructions:

• Cautious team mentality
• Much Shorter Passing team passing directness
• Dribble Less TI
• Run Wide With Ball PI (2)
• Cross From Byline and Cross Less Often PIs (4)

Notable higher risk in possession instructions:

• Play Out Of Defence TI
• Roam From Position and Move Into Channels PIs (2)
• Cut Inside With Ball PI (2)
• Cross More Often PI (2)
• Dribble More PI (4)
• Take More Risks PI (5)
• “Use more creative freedom” PI (2)

“Notable” instructions include all team instructions, and player instructions which are given to two or more players (excluding ignored player instructions).

The Be More Expressive TI could be used to further increase risk in possession if desired and if suitable for your players, although its effects are already implemented to a small extent by player instructions (Roam From Position and “use more creative freedom”).

The effects of the Pass Into Space TI are already implemented to a significant extent by player instructions (Take More Risks), so it would have a limited effect on increasing risk.

Ignored Player Instructions

Player instructions ignored in the above example analysis are shown in brackets below the roles/duties.

Ignored player instructions include:

• Hold Position – 3 is typical so the first 3 are ignored.
• Dribble Less – 2 is typical so the first 2 are ignored.
• Shoot Less Often – irrelevant for D(C/R/L)s instructed to Hold Position, so they are ignored.
• Stay Wider – 1 off-centre M/AM/ST(C) on each side instructed to Stay Wider to provide support to a lone D/WB(R/L) offsets the narrow formation, so they are ignored.