Playing Style Risk
Aim: to assess the risk of your playing style and modify tactical instructions to adjust the risk if appropriate.
The risk of a playing style is determined by the risk of the implemented style methods and the extent to which they are implemented. Higher risk and lower risk style methods are summarised in the “Playing Style Composition” table above, where higher risk style methods are shown on the left and lower risk style methods on the right.
Further details:
- Playing Style Balance – tactical theory guide.
High Risk & Low Risk Playing Styles
Advantages
Implementing higher risk style methods to a greater extent can be useful if you are managing a high ability team, relative to the opposition teams.
Higher risk style methods in possession can enable your team to take advantage of its higher ability by focusing more on creating space and penetrating space, which makes it easier to create goal-scoring chances. The greater the relative ability of your team, in terms of attacking abilities in particular, the more likely you are to benefit from implementing higher risk style methods in possession.
Higher risk style methods out of possession can enable your team to take advantage of its higher ability by focusing more on restricting space, which makes it easier to win possession. The greater the relative ability of your team, in terms of defensive abilities in particular, the more likely you are to benefit from implementing higher risk style methods out of possession.
Implementing lower risk style methods to a greater extent can be useful if you are managing a low ability team, relative to the opposition teams.
Lower risk style methods in possession can enable your team to cover for its lower ability by focusing more on keeping possession, which reduces the time the opposition teams have in possession, and by focusing more on retaining solidity, which makes it easier to protect space after possession is conceded. The lower the relative ability of your team, in terms of attacking abilities in particular, the more likely you are to benefit from implementing lower risk style methods in possession.
Lower risk style methods out of possession can enable your team to cover for its lower ability by focusing more on protecting space, which makes it easier to prevent goal-scoring chances for the opposition teams, and by focusing more on avoiding committing fouls, which reduces the number of chances conceded from free-kicks and penalties, as well as reducing the number of bookings. The lower the relative ability of your team, in terms of defensive abilities in particular, the more likely you are to benefit from implementing lower risk style methods out of possession.
Disadvantages
However, implementing higher risk style methods to too great an extent, taking into account relative ability, can cause problems for your team.
Too many higher risk style methods in possession can cause your team to fail to keep possession effectively, which increases the time the opposition teams have in possession, and to fail to retain solidity effectively, which makes it difficult to protect space after possession is conceded.
Too many higher risk style methods out of possession 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.
Similarly, implementing lower risk style methods to too great an extent, taking into account relative ability, can also cause problems for your team.
Too many lower risk style methods in possession can cause your team to fail to create space and penetrate space effectively, which makes it difficult to create goal-scoring chances.
Too many lower risk style methods out of possession can cause your team to fail to restrict space effectively, which makes it difficult to win possession.
Balancing Playing Style Risk
If desired, you can balance the risk of your playing style (to varying extents) by either:
- Adding or increasing the implementation of style methods of opposing risk.
- Removing or reducing the implementation of style methods of similar risk.
To lower the risk of your playing style you can add or increase lower risk style methods from the right side of the “Playing Style Composition” table above or remove or reduce higher risk style methods from the left side of the table.
To increase the risk of your playing style you can add or increase higher risk style methods from the left side of the table or remove or reduce lower risk style methods from the right side of the table.
Both ‘natural’ and ‘neutral’ style methods are particularly useful for adding to a playing style in order to balance risk. However, there are no such style methods available in the cases of attacking football and defensive football. Therefore, you may want to consider ‘contrasting’ style methods as an alternative option, or simply remove or reduce already implemented style methods.
You can also use the In Transition instructions Counter, Hold Shape, Counter-Press and Regroup to balance risk, which will be explained in the Transition Play Tactics guide.
In Possession and Out of Possession
Style methods in possession can be used to balance risk in possession, while style methods out of possession can be used to balance risk out of possession.
However, both types of style method can be used to balance overall risk.
Excessive high risk style methods, both in and out of possession, ultimately make it difficult to prevent goal-scoring chances, and this can be balanced by low risk style methods, either in or out of possession, which ultimately make it easier to prevent goal-scoring chances.
Similarly, excessive low risk style methods, both in and out of possession, ultimately make it difficult to create goal-scoring chances, and this can be balanced by high risk style methods, either in or out of possession, which ultimately make it easier to create goal-scoring chances.
Natural Risk of Playing Styles
Particular types of playing style tend to naturally involve particular levels of risk, which may need balancing accordingly, as follows:
- Attacking football – high risk in possession and out of possession
- Defensive football – low risk in possession and out of possession
- Direct plays – fairly high risk in possession
- Short plays – fairly low risk in possession
- Aggressive defending – high risk out of possession
- Cautious defending – low risk out of possession
Combining these playing styles combines the risk accordingly. For example, aggressive pass and move football (attacking football + short plays + aggressive defending) tends to naturally involve fairly high risk in possession and very high risk out of possession.
Example – Aggressive Possession Football (Part Three)
Analysis of Style Methods
Higher risk style methods (in possession):
- Playing out of danger
- Team (Play Out Of Defence)
- Passes into space
- 2 players (Take More Risks) vs 1 player (Take Fewer Risks)
- Creative freedom
- 1 player (“use more creative freedom”)
Higher risk style methods (out of possession):
- Closing down
- Team (More Urgent team pressing intensity)
- 1 player (increased player pressing intensity)
- Tackling
- 1 player (Tackle Harder)
Lower risk style methods (in possession):
- Low risk mentality
- Team (Cautious team mentality)
- Short passes
- Team (Much Shorter Passing team passing directness)
- Narrow positioning (attacking width)
- Team (Narrow team attacking width)
- Low tempo play
- Team (implemented to a small extent by Cautious team mentality and Much Shorter Passing team passing directness)
- Refraining from dribbles
- Team (Dribble Less)
- 0 players vs 3 players (Dribble More)
- Refraining from crosses, crosses from byline
- Team (Work Ball Into Box)
- 2 players (Cross Less Often and Cross From Byline) vs 1 player (Cross More Often)
- Refraining from shots
- Team (Work Ball Into Box)
- 1 player (Shoot Less Often)
- Wasting time
- Team (implemented to a small extent by Cautious team mentality)
- Sitting deep at the back
- Team (Lower team defensive line)
Lower risk style methods (out of possession):
- Low risk mentality
- Team (Cautious team mentality)
- Sitting deep at the back
- Team (Lower team defensive line)
- Sitting deep at the front (defensive depth)
- Team (Lower team line of engagement)
It can be seen from the above lists that lower risk style methods in possession have been implemented to a far greater extent than higher risk style methods in possession.
Lower risk style methods out of possession have also been implemented to a greater extent than higher risk style methods out of possession. This is despite implementing the aggressive pressing defensive style (by closing down with a More Urgent team pressing intensity).
The playing style therefore has very low risk in possession and fairly low risk out of possession, giving it low overall risk.
Tactical Instructions Used to Balance Risk
Team instructions used to balance risk:
- Pass Into Space
- Used to increase the existing slight implementation of passes into space, which increases risk.
- Passes into space is a ‘neutral’ style method for possession football.
- Shorter Passing team passing directness (instead of Much Shorter Passing)
- Used to reduce the existing implementation of short passes, which increases risk.
- Short passes is a ‘natural’ style method for possession football.
- Be More Expressive
- Used to increase the existing slight implementation of creative freedom, which increases risk.
- Used to add a new implementation of roaming movement, which increases risk.
- Creative freedom is a ‘neutral’ style method for possession football.
- Roaming movement is a ‘neutral’ style method for possession football.
- Much More Urgent team pressing intensity (instead of More Urgent)
- Used to increase the existing implementation of closing down, which increases risk.
- Closing down is a ‘natural’ style method for aggressive defensive football.
Other Out of Possession team instructions could also be used to balance risk, such as Use Offside Trap, Defend Wider, Use Tighter Marking and Get Stuck In. However, the playing style can now be considered to have fairly balanced risk out of possession.
There are no other In Possession team instructions that could be used to balance risk that implement ‘natural’ or ‘neutral’ style methods.
Player instructions used to balance risk: none.
The Mark Tighter and Tackle Harder player instructions could be used for individual players as an alternative to the Use Tighter Marking and Get Stuck In team instructions.
Adjusted Playing Style Risk
Essentially, three additional higher risk style methods in possession have been implemented using team instructions (passes into space, creative freedom and roaming movement) and one existing lower risk style method in possession has had its implementation reduced (short passes).
Therefore, the playing style now has only fairly low risk in possession (lower risk style methods in possession still seem to outweigh higher risk style methods in possession slightly).
One existing higher risk style method out of possession has had its implementation increased (closing down).
Therefore, the playing style now has fairly balanced risk out of possession.
