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Onderwerp: Basic Tactics & Formation Guide

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2024-08-30 16:40:46
Camus naar Iedereen
The Tactics Editor
Create and name your formation, grab the ball, move the players, repeat 35 times. It's a lot at first but it gets easier.
The pitch has 35 ball positions (5 wide, 7 deep) and you need to set the players for each. Save and take a break when you're ready, it doesn't need to be done in 1 go.


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Stating the obvious but if you're new, don't copy this exactly. I've broken it into sections.
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Defenders
Ok firstly, player requirements. This is always tricky because it depends on what level you're playing at but there is
a general heirarchy of skills that's fairly logical.

1.Defending is the priority, obviously. If your players can't tackle they're going to get murdered.
2.Pace is next. Getting to the ball first is important.
3.Technique. After you've gotten to the ball you need to control it, quickly. Low tech will see your players fumble
control or see high Tech strikers run through them.
4.Playmaking. The ability to make decisions and get rid of the ball, quickly.This is not as important as the other skills,
but having low Playmaking will see your defenders tackled more often. It's also useful for setting up attacks.
5.Passing.Slightly less important than Playmaking but low Passing will see your defenders give the ball or kick it out of play.

Lateral Defending
Any advice I give here is personal opinion and some will absolutely disagree with it.

As in real life, gaps in defence are a bad idea. They act as a big target for experienced managers, who will place their
strikers right in between them.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]
The problem with not having gaps is the challenge of covering the width of the pitch against wingers.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]
Even with 5 defenders there will be space somewhere but this can be mitigated with horizontal movement. Defending with 4 players can be very difficult as they are further stretched, but it can be done.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]
3-man defences are suicidal, don't even try it unless you are SIGNIFICANTLY stronger than the opposition.

Vertical Defending
There are really only 2 philosophies on this.
High Line. Try to squeeze the pitch, play for offsides, try to keep the opposition in their own half. If you do this you're going to need defenders with pace who can run back quickly, otherwise they'll get highballed and your keeper will end up facing a lot of 1-on-1's.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]
Low Line. More suitable for high defending, low pace players. By sitting back, you force the attack to find a way through. This can be a very effective tactic against better teams but keep in mind that you're essentially giving them the entire pitch to play with, and an attack with a good winger will see you bombarded by crosses.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]

Midfielders
The midfield positions are the most difficult to define and nebulous because they can cover all functions. They are also the most underappreciated aspect of tactics and the most difficult to get right because the potential huge variation in shape. Even in a guide this size I can't cover midfield positions in full but you always want to balance the defence and attack. Never leave huge spaces between defence or attack that will pull everyone out of position.

1.Playmaking/Passing. I put them together because they're codependent and useless without each other. Playmaking without passing will see you giving the ball away, Passing without Playmaking will see you getting tackled, passing the ball backwards and kicking the ball out.
2.Pace. Same as with defending, you need to get the ball quickly to do anything with it. It's not as important as it is to Defenders but it's still necessary.
3.Tech. Same as with defending, if you can't control the ball quickly you'll lose it.

Defensive Mids
Your midfield are your first line of defence and it's highly recommended that they have the ability to win the ball back.

Attacking Mids
Some might argue that attacking mids need Striking, I'm not convinced but it certainly doesn't hurt. Personally I'd put far more value on higher Playmaking and Passing. Defending is less essential but always useful.

Wings and Position
Where to start with this. It's generally accepted that wingers are the most effective way of attacking in this game and the the biggest problem to defend against. They also require probably the highest skill ceiling to be effective. Whereas all-round Excellent Level can be useful in defence, midfield or attack, an all-round Excellent winger likely won't have the ability to consistently beat a defender or provide a good enough cross. It's a specialist position and if you don't have the level needed, I'd personally advise against using them.
Wingers require 4 skills and the heirarchy is debatable, with Playmaking probably the least important. Pace, Tech and Passing really depend on how you're going to position the wings, which brings me to...
There are 3 types of Winger position.

High Winger. Essentially plays as an extremely wide striker. They'll stretch the defence and act as a target for longballs. This is the traditional and probably main tactic of Sokker. They need Pace, Tech and Passing equally.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]
Low Winger. The only tactical evolution in this game in years. Low wingers won't push up, sitting as a slightly advanced midfielder but staying away from the defensive line that would be tackling the high winger. Pace and Tech are slightly less important as a result, but Playmaking and Passing moreso as they're bombing crosses into the box from deep.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]
Floating Winger. The Piotr Special ;) He doesn't play in a fixed position, acting as a combination of the 2 above and generally just looking for a space away from the midfield and defence to launch passes into the strikers. All 4 skills are required for this position.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]
Wing Evolution
There is a long-standing recognition that playing with only 1 winger is optimal. By only having 1, you can switch from side to side, making defending against wing attacks even more difficult because of unpredictability.
There is however another option and that is obviously the traditional 2 wings. Logically there's absolutely no reason why this formation shouldn't work, but it remains unpopular. Maybe it's the requirement of 2 specialists, maybe it's taking away a player from somewhere else. In theory, 2 wings should be undefendable, if you can get it to work ;)

Strikers and Position
This is really the simplest aspect of tactics. Striking, Pace and Technique. Some like strikers who can tackle, some like strikers who can pass, both good but neither essential.
There's some debate over how many strikers you need. 1 or 2 is fine, 3 is probably too many.
The tactical aspect of strikers is 2-fold. You're looking to put them into the gaps between defenders. HOWEVER the most important thing about striker position is...

Attack Vs Defence (Lines)

This is probably the most important tactical aspect of the entire game and it's where good managers who scout the opposition benefit most.

A high line attack (red) against a high line defence (blue) will lead to endless offsides and ruin even the best formation because you simply won't be able to get the ball forward.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]
A low line attack against a low line defence will lead to strikers getting the ball in midfield and having to run through the defence. This is less than ideal as most defences will easily manage strikers running towards them.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]
What you need, as an attack, is to line your strikers (and high wingers) up on exactly the same line the defence. This is where you need to be scouting the opposition. Even then though, a good manager will change his defensive line to make things difficult.
[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]

[URL=https://info.flagcounter.com/0kWW][/URL]
(gewijzigd)
2024-08-30 17:01:40
Nice!

I would also add the most basic element: showing where the "ball" is and that you can actually move it around and create tactic on 35 different squares

some people don't get that and they end up just setting up the tactic on 1 square, when the ball is in the middle of the pitch (it doesn't help that it actually looks like part of the pitch lines)
2024-08-30 17:10:34
To demonstrate that I'd really need a video. I could maybe create it with a GIF if I knew how.
2024-08-30 17:25:15
Camus naar Camus
Just an addendum that I'm going to add.

Wing Evolution
There is a long-standing recognition that playing with only 1 winger is optimal. By only having 1, you can switch from side to side, making defending against wing attacks even more difficult because of unpredictability.
There is however another option and that is obviously the traditional 2 wings. Logically there's absolutely no reason why this formation shouldn't work, but it remains unpopular. Maybe it's the requirement of 2 specialists, maybe it's taking away a player from somewhere else. In theory, 2 wings should be undefendable, if you can get it to work ;)
2024-08-30 18:05:58
LOVE IT!
2024-08-30 18:08:48
Right I've got the basic ball movement video. Got to find somewhere to host it.

Let's see if this works.

It does not.



https://youtube.com/shorts/lEtk5MCEf3s?feature=share
(gewijzigd)
2024-08-30 18:21:35
You can also add this as an example tactic (and showing how to move the ball)

[video]https://www.youtube.com/v/5YAXg48QpRQ[ /video]

just delete the space before /video
2024-08-30 18:23:41
I had no doubt you will have the hindsight eventually.
2024-08-30 18:32:40
There is however another option and that is obviously the traditional 2 wings. Logically there's absolutely no reason why this formation shouldn't work, but it remains unpopular. Maybe it's the requirement of 2 specialists, maybe it's taking away a player from somewhere else. In theory, 2 wings should be undefendable, if you can get it to work ;)

I can give my 2 cents on that

I do value a decent 2 wing tactic with a combination of low and high, allowing great switches from side do side. I tried to include this in my Germany 532 tactic with two half-wings, where there is one CM and two very wide CMs that go into wing positions irregularly. Depending on opponents tactic it sometimes worked better, sometimes worse.

But, my problems with 2 wing tactics are as follows: as mentioned it takes away 1 player from other position. 5 defs at high level are non negotiable, you can't also play with 1 CM and 2 wingers. all that is left is a 541 - and in my view 1 ATT is asking for trouble with finishing (some do you like it though)

I also don't see any advantage in using two HIGH wingers like some do. I do see disadvantages - ball possession is split between both wingers so opponent's left and right defs have 50% of duels instead of 100%, which means they have half the chance to get double carded and they get 50% [or ~] less fatigued. Another issue is for that to make any sense you would have to have 2 identical wingers - otherwise if one is worse then you're limiting your chance of successful action - your best winger gets half the balls instead of all of them. Another issue is that winger is a position [as are strikers] that gains a lot when subbed during the game. If you use 2 best wings from 1st minute, then from bench you're left with 3rd and 4th options so much worse at NT level and probably non-existent on club level.
2024-08-30 18:39:18
It's not having it, I think because it's designated as a Short and I can't find any way to change that. If someone can work it out I'll add it.
2024-08-30 18:53:36


this one works

[video]https://www.youtube.com/v/5YAXg48QpRQ[ /video]
(gewijzigd)
2024-08-30 18:59:19
That'll do.
2024-09-02 16:45:46
Inter naar Camus
Appreciate the effort of making this, have to say its single-handedly the area i struggle most in Sokker since joining so hopefully we can make some improvements!
2024-09-02 16:59:33
Camus naar Inter
It's still a little basic but the issue is that I can't give too much away.

Maybe I need to create a basic formation to replace the ones the game provides. Nothing too advanced.
2024-09-02 18:15:51
Inter naar Camus
No ill take any help, i just struggle with line heights/gaps but its all trial and error and tbh id rather it that way than get the perfect solution spoon fed to you.. as long as i dont get relegated ill keep tinkering and hoping it goes well :)
2024-09-03 20:15:44
Camus naar Inter
It's always been tricky. You can watch the opposition ahead of time and still not be quite certain what line their defence is playing on. What I always look out for though is the fixed positions, ie, throwins or free kicks where nothing is moving and you can see the exact placement. Back when I was a more hardcore player than I am now, I used to watch opposition games and screenshot their formation every time the game stopped.
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