If you register for free, you will be able to post threads, vote on polls and lots more. If you have problems with the registration or logging in, please contact the administrator.
Closing Down Principles with Examples – Inspired by Rashidi
Introduction
This guide is dedicated to the person who pointed out how closing down and defensive line settings work together, Rashidi. This is my understanding of closing down based on his ideas, so if anything is incorrect here then it is my interpretation that is wrong. Since using these principles I have found that my FM2007 experience has increased by about 200%. Have a look through and see what you think. Any questions I will be more than happy to answer.
What is closing down?
Closing down happens when a player move quickly to intercept the ball when it enters there area of the pitch. This may be to challenge an opponent with the ball or to intercept a through ball etc. The closing down slider effect the area of the pitch where a player will close down the opponent.
There are no half measures with Closing Down, either a player will close down or a player won't. This is what you control with the slider.
Slider does not set closing down intensity
A common misconception with the closing down slider is that it affects how intense a player will close down the opponent. This is not the case. How fast a player will close down the ball will depend on the players condition and the players work rate. Every time a player closes down an opponent there rate of condition loss increases for the time they are closing down.
Changing the Defensive Line effects Closing Down
The following images help illustrate how closing down works.
Figure 1 – Normal Defensive Line (Red line set to 10) Closing Down Normal (Black line set to 10)
Your defensive line indicates where your teams closing down slider settings start. If you set a player's closing down to 1 they would only close down the ball when the defensive line was breached.
In Fig 1. both the defensive line and closing down are set to 10. This means that your players will only close down the ball if it is below the black line. This does not mean all of your players will make a beeline for the ball when it is lower than the black line. The player who's area of the pitch the ball enters will be the player who closes down the ball.
Figure 2 – Low Defensive Line (Red 5) Closing Down Normal (Black 10)
Notice in Fig 2 that by decreasing defensive line to five, but not touching Closing down I have actually caused the black line to be repositioned lower down the pitch.
Figure 3 – Low Defensive Line (Red 5) Closing Down Often (Black 15)
If I wanted to maintain the level of closing down I would then have to increase my Closing Down by the same amount as I reduced my defensive line.
Figure 4 – High Defensive Line (Red 15) Closing Down Normal (Black 10)
Similar to reducing the line, this actually causes my team to begin closing down higher up the pitch, even though I did not change the closing down slider.
Figure 5 – High Defensive Line (Red 15) Closing Down Rarely (Black 5)
So to maintain my closing down line I would decrease closing down by the amount I increased the D-line.
Figure 6 – Individual Closing Down
In this diagram the team is set to a Normal Defensive Line (Red 10). One of the strikers and both wide midfielder are set to Closing Down Often (Green 20), the rest of the team are set to Closing Down Normal (Black 10)
This is actually recommended in the manual, but like me you may have found the manual’s explanation of closing down to be some what ambiguous or also have had the misconception that this slider mean intensity, causing your wingers and forward to loose condition massively. Chances are that your wingers and forward will not do that much closing down as they are positioned higher up the pitch.
It now also make sense when Marc Vaughan recommends closing down aggressively for 5 minutes spells.
Figure 7 – Defensive Set-up
This is my standard set-up for a defensive formation in regard to Defensive Line and Closing Down. The team is set to a Deep Defensive Line (Red 5), the Centre Backs are set to Close Down Rarely (Green 5), the Fullbacks are set to Close Down Normal (Purple 10) and the rest of the team are set to Close Down Often (Black 15).
Acknowledgements
All those that commented notably Miguel Damas and MoggyDave, Luketi for starting the defensive line discussion. Michael Essien for scoring that 30 yard goal in the 88th minute in the Champions League Semi Final, but most of all Rashidi (for noticing the subtleties of closing down in the match engine)
07-06-2007, 07:41 PM
Closing Down Principles with Examples – Inspired by Rashidi Post #2
I have a question:
It sounds all reasonable, BUT if I follow your explanation and give a general team instruction of closing down 10 and no individual instructions, than all of my players should be attacking when the opposite player crosses a certain line. This would end up in suddenly every single player leaving his position and closing down, wouldn't it?
So I rather think it's that EVERY SINGLE PLAYER HAS HIS OWN CLOSING DOWN LINE DEPENDING ON WHERE HIS POSITION IS.
So let's have a CB and a DM with Closing down 10. The DM attacks when the opp. player crosses a certain line, then after the opp. player has beaten him and has crossed another line (which is several meters BEHIND the DM's closing down line) the CB goes attacking.
This would make much more sense. Now you don't have to give your CBs closing down 5, your MCs closing down 10 and your strikers 15 or whatever, only because you don't want them to attack at the same time/line.
So to sum up: Closing Down Slider increases/decreases the distance your player needs to have from his position against an opp. player with ball before he attacks him.
What do you mean?
07-07-2007, 01:25 AM
Closing Down Principles with Examples – Inspired by Rashidi Post #9
Leroy, you are my man!!!! I`ve implemented your ideas into some experiments:
I played against Barcelona and tried this:
flat 4-4-2 no arrows.
no forward runs for fullbacks and 1 MC. Mixed for everyone else.
Also mixed on all individual instructions as well as team instructions.
Here comes the experiment:
I implemented a deep defensive line (5) with high closing down (15) also narrow (5) width. It makes perfect sense!! My players drop back but once they get on position, they start to close down heavily and denies space and time to opposition.
Here`s the result....Just great!!!!
I`ll make further test, but this is inspiring!!
Closing Down Principles with Examples – Inspired by Rashidi 
Linear Mode
