retired_hope

What does Desperate Defending mean?
Desperate defending is a tactic employed by football teams when they want to prevent conceding a goal. Everyone plays behind the ball attacking options are not even considered.

When should you use a Desperate Defending tactic?
You should use Desperate Defending usually at the end the game a cautious manager around the 80 minute mark or even later if you are more attack minded. I usually wait until the AI switches to its overload tactic, the 4-2-4 for 4-4-2 base tactics.

When should you avoid using Desperate Defending?
Jose Mourinho probably misquoted. “We will attack. You cannot defend for 90 minutes without conceding, you can defend for 10 minutes so we shall be positive.” Don’t try to employ a desperate defence for the entire match because the odds are against you, and it is likely that you will concede due to overwhelming pressure over the course of a whole game.

How do you break down a team using Desperate Defending?
I will cover this in greater detail in a future article. But the quick answer is to overload the defence by playing very wide; your strikers moving to the flanks should pull their markers with them creating space for the midfield to take pot shots at the keeper.

[b]What players do I need to be effective at Desperate Defending?[B]
You need players who are proficient at defending. Marking, Tackling, Concentration and Teamwork are desirable allow with good fitness levels and bravery.

How do I implement this in FM2007?

Team Settings
Mentality = 1 (UltraDefensive)
Freedom = 1 (Little)
Passing = 20 (Long)
Tempo = 16 (Quick)
Width = 4 (Narrow)
Line = 2 (Deep)
Pressing = 8 (Normal)
Time wasting 20 (Often)
Tackling = Easy
Focus = Through Middle
Supply = To Feet/To Head
Marking = Man
Trap = No
Target Man = Yes
Playmaker = No
Counter Attacking = No

Individual Settings

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Men Press Free RwB TTB FwR LS CBall CFrom CAim Mark HuB GK T T T M R M R M Mix Mix MDR T 4 T M R R R O Deep Man MDL T 4 T M R R R O Deep Man MDC T 2 T M R M R M Mix Mix MDC T 2 T M R M R M Mix Mix MMR T T T M M R M O Mix Mix MML T T T M M R M O Mix Mix MMC T T T M M R M M Mix Mix MMC T T T M M M M M Mix Mix MFC T T T M M R M M Mix Mix MFC T T T M M M M M Mix Mix M Y</pre>

Tactical Notes
I use easy tackling because my team will be spending a lot of time in their own penalty area, I do not want to concede dangerous freekick's or penalties if I can help it.

No opportunities to break in this tactics as my players need to be 100% focused on not conceding. If I manage to clear the ball long to the target man he will hold up the ball to run down the clock or pass to another player who will take it to the oppositions corner flag.

Conclusions
Desperate Defending is a useful tactic to employ when defending a slender lead late on in the game. It is ultra-defensive and should be able to hold out against all but the most determined of attackers.

If you have are two up I would suggest using counter attacking tactics rather than desperate defending as you may find that if you manage to break you will kill the game off. If you concede then desperately defend for the remaining minutes.

I hope you have found this guide on desperate defending useful, either to implement your own shut up shop tactic. If you need to know how to break down stubborn defensive tactics like this then look out for my guide on how to overload a defensive formation, available soon.

Good Luck

Leroy

retired_dinalb

Leroy, youshould mention that you learned that from watching you Ass Man handiling you matches.

retired_hope

Definately, the AI is the tactical genius behind it all, I just translated it for the masses.

leftfoot

Leroy1883 thanks for the various posts as they've helped my understanding a great deal. Out of curiosity has your performance improved since discovering and implementing your ideas e.g. what team, record etc.

retired_Damonica

well done, again.


i usually do the shut up shop thingy at the point where the opposition goes 424. if i do it too early i end up conceding from inviting them onto me, too late and they score betewen when i hit 'apply' and when the 'apply' happens.

get it just right and you'll prob score more against the dreaded 424 than you concede.

retired_semsis90

Do you use any arrows on this?

retired_hope

Good question. I would say a little. What I find now is that my FM2007 experience is a lot more rewarding. I am no longer randomly trying things hoping for the system to click.

The game has now turned into a game of cat and mouse with the AI. Now that the tactics are in place I have found that player selection and transfer policy have become bigger parts of my game.

I don't always win, but I always know why I lose. Usually luck on the part of the AI or just the opponent having a better squad than me, but that is part of football.

The biggest enjoyment I get is watching my teams play great football dominating a weaker opponent. How many people on here have complained about the AI cheats, or how can my team loose to a team that hasn't one a game in 10 matches etc, etc.

I am having a blast, thanks.

retired_hope

No arrows, you are defending with your whole team to stop the opposition scoring a goal.