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"To beat this guy, you need speed. You don't have it. You've got calcium deposits on most of your joints, so sparring is out - so what we'll be calling on is blunt force trauma - heavy duty punches that'll rattle his ancestors - lets start building some hurting bombs"
Background
Well, not quite - I won't be enouraging my players to start knocking out opponents. The name is more the style I want to play. I'm managing Brighton, just finished season 3. We haven't exactly pulled up trees since I arrived - 12th in my first season and 14th in the season just gone (against press predictions of 12th and 13th respectivley) in League One.
However, I want to use the players at my disposal to their best abilities. On my books I have the 6' 5" man mountain Enoch Showunmi and the 6' 3" Alex Revell . Both have scored goals for me - Showunmi got 25 last year, his first season since signing for £10k with Revell scoring 4 in an injury hit campaign - he hit 14 the season before. I've also got speedy shortarse Jake Robinson , who is valued at £1.1 Million and may be sacrificed to ease the debt and wage bill - and provide funds for a third big man. However, the 'Denton Destroyer' might be a good option on the bench.
What I want to do
So, after all the Rocky quotes and descriptions of my forwards, it all boils down to this. What I want to do.
I am thinking;
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI> A 3-4-3 formation going forward, 4-3-3 when we lose the ball.
<LI> A direct passing game
<LI> Based around the principle of getting the ball to the three big strikers quickly.
Click the link, then click the picture that appears, and it'll become a little bigger, should you need it to.
Iiiiiiiiin the Blue Corner
3 Centre halves - principally because I think having one centre back and two full backs would be absolutley suicidal.
DMC - Holding midfield player to support the defence primarily, but will also have another role - banging the ball forward to the wingers or even direct to the strikers in a counter attacking style.
Midfield trio - the two wingers will have to support the strikers with crosses, feeding the ball into the box, while the MC will prowl the middle third, tenacious and hard working, with high closing down.
Three strikers - the main men - primarily, they'll score goals (Hopefully) - and hold the ball up if required, bringing the wingers into play. I've set the centre of the three as a targetman, with feed to head - the tallest of the three, Enoch Showumni.
Fighting Talk - Team & Player Instructions
GK; Creative Freedom (1), Distribution (Long Kick), Distribute to (Centre of the three forwards)
DMC; Mentality (7), Creative Freedom (7), Closing Down (8), Passing (14), Tackling (Hard), Forward Runs (Rarely), Run With Ball (Rarely), Zonal Marking
MC; Mentality; 9, Creative Freedom (6), Passing (6), Closing Down (17), Run With Ball (Rarely), Through Balls (Often)
MR/ML; Mentality (12), Closing Down (13), Tackling (Easy), Forward Runs (Often), Run With Ball (Often), Long Shots (Rarely), Cross Ball (Often), Cross From (Deep), Cross To (Targetman)
FCR/FCL; Mentality (14), Closing Down (14), Passing (5), Long Shots (Rarely), Forward Runs (Often)
FC; Mentality (15), Passing (5), Long Shots (Rarely), Hold Up Ball
Regular or Southpaw?
If it ain't workin' - change. An immediate variant that springs to mind is to drop the wingers back to DMR & DML , with Farrows to MR/ML when playing against decent opposition, and give them instructions to batter the opposing wingers. However, I think this could leave the front three very isolated.
Tale Of The Tape/Conclusion
Well, I don't think it's going to be pretty. In fact, I can see it being brutal - but thats the way I like it. I like the long ball game - I appreciate direct play, and big, strong - and above all, workmanlike, players - 'Industrial' they are often called. People like Roy Keane, Neil Lennon, Robbie Savage, Charlie Oatway - players who can certainly play, but who aren't afraid to put it about a little.
For the first time. OK - so it was a post season friendly, two weeks after the League One campaign ended.
OK, so we played the Reserves.
But hey, we won - 2-0.
The Reserves played the same tactic in the first half, and then shifted to that horrible 4-5-1 style tactic with two AMC's and a central striker.
What Went Well
Passing levels of the DMC and MC. Both did superbly well.
The DMC, who is 6' but has a heading of just 3, won every ball he went up for in the air, hopefully showing that there is resistance to long balls down the middle.
The two outer DC's - One made 10 interceptions. Although they are not tasked with it, they do the job of fullbacks.
The aerial presence of the three strikers - winning three quarters of every ball played into them.
What wasn't quite so good
Offsides - 15, with the two outer strikers 'earning' 14 of them. Forward Runs down to 'Mixed' then, I think.
The opposition - One first team regular who is being an arse over a contract, the sub 'keeper, a veteran DMC, a fringe player, two or three promising kids, and several greys. It wasn't a real test. Conference runners up Torquay will provide the opposition, away, in a few days for a second runout. Chosen as they usually play 4-4-2, the most common formation we've come up against this season
The DMC, who is 6' but has a heading of just 3, won every ball he went up for in the air, hopefully showing that there is resistance to long balls down the middle.
Heading is basically finishing with the head, jumping/strength are more relivant to actually winning the ball
That said, i like this approach to tactics, intresting read, well done mate. Oh and I'm a big rocky fan myself, watched through all 6 quite recently....3 is still the best
They played the bloody horrible tactic that my Reserves played against us in the second half. Looking at it closely, it's essentially a 6-2-1-1, and I really, really don't like it.
Anyway, things noted;
Early in the game, the DMC seemed to play on top of the DC too much. Cancelled his Barrow, and he went up a little too much for my liking. Not sure how to combat this, so he sits in the anchor role while not standing on the centre back's toes.
Bringing down Forward Runs solved the offside problem. Just 3 all game.
Possession and Passes completed again encouraging.
The wingers are key - and if I ask them to close down a little more, and not to use easy tackling, they may well be able to win the ball and launch the counter that bit quicker.
Trialist striker Cillian Sheridan, a 6'6" lump, is bloody useless.
Going to leave it now, over the summer, and attack Preseason with it in mid-July. See how we get on then, with less tired, end of season legs, and perhaps some new faces.
Right - the summer is played through, Brighton & Hove Albion have moved into the magnificent new Falmer Stadium - and it's our first preseason game.
Playing Hailsham Town , I'm expecting a win. Hal-bloody-leugah, they are playing a 4-4-2!
Half time - 2-0 up, and it's more than comfortable. Looks good going forward - but there is perhaps a tendency to 'over egg the pudding' - ie, too many passes. Possibly the short passing game of the three frontmen having an impact?
With one of the strikers going off injured at half time, I've also decided to test something out. Bought a quick, but short, player on, playing on the left of the front three, and gave him a Sarrow with instructions to cross the ball.
The test giving the left attacker a sarrow didn't really do much - couldn't see much improvement, other than a late corner gained.
Took 'Hold Up Ball' off for the targetman for the final 20 minutes, and this, I felt, did seem to allow more of an attacking trio to develop - certainly more of a 'point' with the central striker at the head.
Convinced of the value of playing both an MC and a DMC - it really gives an 'extra man' when defending, with the DMC seeming to slot alongside the back three, pushing the outside CB's out a little, to form a conventional, if a little narrow, back four when defending free kicks etc.
First big test next - PAOK Salonika in the opening match at the new stadium.
It's as described after the Reserves game - the same as in the opening post, but with Forward Runs taken off the strikers in a bid (which was successful) to prevent a daft number of offsides.
Remember this is very much work in progress, do not expect it to save your season! - however, some feedback and testing would certainly be appreciated
3-4-3 - Blunt Force Trauma 
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