Setting Further Tactical Instructions
Aim: to use your analysis of your existing playing style to help you to set further team instructions and player instructions, as appropriate for your playing style, players and personal preferences.
You can use the “Playing Style Composition” table above to set further tactical instructions that either:
- Add or emphasise style methods that tend to be naturally suited to your playing style, are suitable for your players and complement your personal preferences; or
- Reverse style methods that tend to be naturally suited to contrasting playing styles, are unsuitable for particular players or do not complement your personal preferences.
Setting Further Team Instructions
Setting further team instructions can be particularly useful for:
- Adding style methods that cannot be added by player instructions.
- Adding style methods that you want to be implemented to a greater extent by your players in general rather than by particular players.
- Reversing style methods that have been implemented by player roles and duties and player instructions.
Setting Further Player Instructions
Setting further player instructions can be particularly useful for:
- Adding or reversing style methods that cannot be added or reversed by team instructions.
- Adding style methods that you want to be implemented by particular players who have suitable playing attributes or who may implement them more effectively due to their positions, roles and duties.
- Reversing style methods that have been implemented by team instructions but are unsuitable for particular players’ playing attributes or may be implemented less effectively by particular players due to their positions, roles and duties.
However, it is often the case that there is no need to set further player instructions, as the instructions set by your player roles and duties and when balancing your playing system, along with any team instructions that you set to adjust your playing style, are usually sufficient.
Setting further player instructions can also be problematic. For instance, they may become inappropriate after you make tactical changes and you may forget that they are still set.
Furthermore, it is important to be careful when setting further player instructions for a player who you are using to carry out a particular positional responsibility, as you may adversely affect his ability to carry out that positional responsibility.
Unsuitable Player Instructions
You can use the following “Unsuitable Player Instructions” table to check whether you are adversely affecting particular positional responsibilities with a player instruction.
Note that the positional areas stated in the table cover players in all playing positions in that area plus other players who carry out positional responsibilities in the area after moving into it; for example, an Inside Forward moving into central attack.
| Positional Responsibility | Instructions to Avoid (prevent a player carrying out the responsibility) |
Other Unsuitable Instructions (hinder a player from carrying out the responsibility) |
Atypical Instructions (cause a player to carry out the responsibility in an unusual way) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PROVIDING ATTACKING COVER … | |||
| … in all positional areas | Get Further Forward, Roam From Position | Move Into Channels | Dribble More |
| … on the flanks only | Stay Wider | ||
| PROVIDING DEFENSIVE COVER | Increased player pressing intensity | Mark Specific Player/Position, Mark Tighter, Tackle Harder | |
| APPLYING DEFENSIVE PRESSURE | Decreased player pressing intensity | Ease Off Tackles | |
| STRETCHING PLAY … | |||
| … in all positional areas | Hold Position | Dribble Less | |
| … on the flanks only | Sit Narrower | ||
| PLAYING SAFE … | |||
| … in all positional areas | Take More Risks | Dribble More, increased player passing directness (unless Take Fewer Risks is set for a defender) | Roam From Position, Move Into Channels |
| … on the flanks only | Cross More Often | Stay Wider | |
| … in central midfield and central attack only | Shoot More Often | ||
| CREATING CHANCES … | |||
| … in all positional areas | Dribble Less, decreased player passing directness | ||
| … in central positional areas only | Take Fewer Risks | ||
| … on the flanks only | Cross Less Often | Take Fewer Risks | Sit Narrower |
| … in central midfield and central attack only | Shoot More Often | ||
| TAKING CHANCES (in central midfield and central attack only) | Shoot Less Often | Hold Position, Dribble Less | |
Example – Aggressive Possession Football (Part Two)
Further Tactical Instructions Set
Further team instructions:
- Narrow team attacking width
- Used to emphasise the narrow positioning (attacking width) style method which suits the playing style.
- Dribble Less
- Used to reverse the direct dribbles style method which contrasts with the playing style.
- Work Ball Into Box
- Used to add the refraining from crosses style method which suits the playing style.
- Use to emphasise the refraining from shots style method which suits the playing style.
- Lower team defensive line
- Used to emphasise the sitting deep at the back style method as a personal preference.
- Lower team line of engagement
- Used to emphasise the sitting deep at the front (defensive depth) style method as a personal preference.
A low block (decreased team defensive line and line of engagement) has been emphasised as a personal preference due to wanting the team to focus more on winning back possession in deeper areas and attacking (or counter attacking) into available space behind opposition team players.
Further player instructions: none – there is no particular reason to add player instructions in this example.
However, if the Inverted Winger and/or one of the Central Midfielders have suitable playing attributes for the speculative shots style method then we could implement the refraining from shots style method to a slightly lesser extent by instructing them to Shoot More Often, as long as this was in line with our personal preferences. Note that the Inside Forward, who creates chances as a technical number-ten, and the Pressing Forward, who creates chances as a target-man, are not considered for the Shoot More Often instruction as it is atypical for creating chances. Similarly, the Central Midfielders are the only players who perform creating chances in central midfield, so only one is considered.
