dav1t0

No, not that type of 'kiss'. :p I'm talking about the age old 'Keep it simple stupid' type of team strategy.

OK, this is my predicament. I am playing in the lower leagues and as such can't afford to be too picky regarding player attributes - I look for key attributes for a given position, knowing full well I won't get a fully rounded player - they just don't exist at this level.

So I have defenders that defend pretty well (relatively speaking), but they are awful in terms of creativity and technique. I am talking about passing, technique and creativity in the 3 - 7 range. Their decisions are OK, average around 10 (again, I am talking lower league here, so it's all relative).

I've just set them to default passing/creative freedom and they seem to give up possession quite cheaply at times, often seemingly under no pressure as well. Sometimes, it's due to dwelling on the ball for too long, and others are due to picking poor options with the pass, or just a poor pass period.

Now, thanks to a few loan deals, my midfield is the envy of the league. They are technically and mentally very sound, making incisive through balls and creating beautiful runs off the ball. I have no problems with them whatsoever, they are tearing the league up at the moment.

However, I can't seem to get them to integrate / link with the defence well. Ideally, I would just like my defenders to just DEFEND, and play simple passes to the midfielders and let them strut their stuff.

What settings do I need in order to get the defenders to K.I.S.S and just direct simple passes straight to my midfield?

I'm thinking of perhaps lowering their creative freedrom to minimum and through balls to rarely, but what about passing style?

Short? Mixed? Direct?

I know I can 'experiment' and see what results are best but getting a little headstart from the tactical gurus here couldn't hurt.

retired_provrb7

If you want them to keep it simple then as you already mentioned don't let them play through balls and keep their creativity low. Also I would say keep all four at the back on direct passing. In a more attacking formation you could get away with Mixed or even short for fullbacks but I think only do so when you've given them the freedom to make forward runs. Hope this helps :thup:

retired_hope

Short passing on your defenders, with little creative freedom, no through-balls.

If the midfield are that good then their is no point in hoofing the balls over their heads, you want the defenders to get it to your midfields who will be better at creating an opening.

Also if your defenders have poor passing stats then their accuracy at longer passes will be terrible, causing your team to lose possession.

retired_elpata

I actually prefer my defenders to have direct passing. This means they will pass to the midfield and not backwards as much. This prevents a lot of school boy errors imo

retired_hope

As with all things it depends on your players and your tactics.

In my current game I have developed a tactic to keep possession and build from the back.

Cambridge City aren't exactly Arsenal, but using this approach I am able to keep the ball more and am creating some nice build-up play through the midfield.

I think that when up against a higher rep team I will have to switch to a counter attacking system with direct passing at the back as they will probably be being closed down heavily, but for everyone else, I like the build up play.