by Louis Bent
When the conversation of player roles comes up during your standard Football Manager chat, there seems to be an element of gravitas towards the more exciting names: the Raumdeuter, the Mezzala or maybe even a Segundo Volante.
Whilst all those positions have their benefits, the tendency to overcomplicate roles by picking the most intricate-sounding names or adding more individual instructions is fairly prominent when constructing those all-important tactical setups.
However, I’m here to show you there can be upsides to keeping things simple and holistic when selecting player roles in Football Manager.
The Centre-Back
When using centre-backs in either a three-at-the-back formation or a four-at-the-back system, there can be an inclination to reach for the ball-playing defender. Although its base instructions are useful when building up from the back in possession, which include ‘take more risks’ and ‘hold position’ in order to keep the ball more efficiently in a possession-based system - there are different instructions to add to the standard central defender role.
Example using Nico Jones as a centre-back with ball-playing as a high priority.
Keeping your team instructions on shorter passing whilst using these personalised role instructions ensures your centre-back will keep the ball more efficiently without trying to break lines as the BPD instructions would do. This has been particularly effective in my Edinburgh City save, where my defenders don’t necessarily have the elite technical ability to play the BPD role but do have ball-keeping composure and technique for the level we’re working at.
Occasionally if I find that my centre-back is a little quicker than average, I’ll use them as a cover central defender, so when playing in a mid-block it can be helpful to have someone sweeping behind the line with that extra yard of pace.
In Midfield
In similar fashion, when playing with a possession-heavy style of play it’s useful for me to have two deeper midfielders in different roles.
I like to use a DM on Defend duty as a screen in the back-line, which acts in a similar fashion to the Half Back player role, but offers a little more in terms of mobility in possession and can drift from those central areas into wide channels to offer an extra option when with the ball.
The DM on defend will still recycle the ball as a Half Back would, but isn’t necessarily glued to the gap between the two centre-backs, despite having the hold position instruction on - the player will drift into wider areas to help progress possession. This doesn’t necessarily mean your DM is going to start breaking defensive lines with his movement, think of him as doing ‘crab’ movements all the way through the game.
Thomas O’Connor’s average position in possession (blue) and out of possession (red).
Here’s the success I had with my Edinburgh City midfielder Thomas O’Connor, who played in this role in the Cinch Championship and since beginning this article has earnt his big move to fellow Lothian-based club Hearts. He was almost perfect for the position and despite a difficult season results-wise, still proved to be a consistent performer in this role and with the instructions applied.
The DM on defend works well when paired with either a Deep-Lying Playmaker or even a Regista if you are in possession of a player with that well-rounded type of skillset.
Now for some attack
We’ve covered a couple of defensive positions and assuming these roles have worked for you and you’ve managed to progress into the attacking third, what role might you use if you have someone in Attacking Midfield?
Well in keeping with the shape of the article I like to use an Attacking Midfielder on Attack duty, where the instructions almost mirror your typical ‘number 10’ position. This position relies on late arrivals into the box whilst ensuring the amount of creativity you’d enjoy seeing from a player in this position.
I once again had huge success in two divisions with the lovely Steven Boyd at Edinburgh City who would pride himself on waiting for a melee in the six-yard box whilst calmly waiting his chance to strike when the ball eventually drops.
Using the standard instructions along with ‘cross less often’, ‘close down more’ and ‘take more risks’ leaves them with a decent level of creative responsibility within the side.
In the attacking roles, be sure to also try a Winger on attacking duty with ‘take fewer risks’ and ‘shoot less often’ for similar effects in your wide positions, the same with an Inverted Winger but with ‘shoot more often’ on to ensure their cutting inside isn’t to no avail.
Summary
In short, it can be good to add the more fancy player roles to your tactical setup, however, it might well be useful to play them alongside or maybe even use these simpler roles instead.
Obviously opting for a holistic approach depending on the players at your disposal, for example, encouraging shorter passing for a player with poor numbers for passing, technique and composure will lead to issues, but as long as you take into account the personnel you're working with - this might just work for you.
I've seen some long-term success with it in my saves, perhaps you might as well.
Thanks for reading.
Louis Bent.
This is the first Football Manager piece Louis has written for 5 Star Potential - if you enjoyed it and want to see more, drop him a follow here and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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