thisboyshouts

When I joined spurs i overhauled the coaching staff entirely. I appointed what I considered a good selection of general coaches and two excellent fitness coaches.

I now find that my players are excelling across the board in aerobic training, their physical stats are improving disproportinately to the rest.

I'm considering changing the balance, but it made me wonder if it might be a good thing to have players that are physically superior.

What tactics could I use to take advantage of this?

Grokaer

Are your fitness coaches of a better calibre than your general coaches?

Also, what are your physical training levels compared to other training disciplines?

Either or both could contribute to the physical stats improving disproportionately with the rest.

thisboyshouts

i didn't intend them to be but it seems to be working out that way.

I've tried to make my training schedules fairly balanced - with everything besides GK on at least medium across the board.

sifrow

Depends entirely on your style of play and the league you are in.

For English football someone like Bolton would be an example of a more physical team.

A side full of big strong players with a couple of top skill types can succeed if you play the right tactics.

thisboyshouts

don't forget PACE... that's something i would like to draw on, with an effective counter attack...

Grokaer

If you are looking to take advantage of improving physical stats in a tactical setup then an expansive high pressing style might work. Your players would have space and the fitness to cover all the pitch. I wouldn't however employ this for 90 minutes. When you score and go ahead or are ahead in a match by a couple of goals I would play more of a possession game with less width and closing down.

I would look at the training levels for a while (over the course of a full season) because you may find the rest of your attributes catch up at different times. This way you can get an average for the whole season to show the effect of your choice of coaches and training levels on your players.

Deano565

If you're only at the start of the season then in all likelihood the physical stats will improve more quickly than the rest, as the majority of pre-season training is intense fitness work rather than technical sessions

Asmodeus

The lower league you're in, the more emphasis you want to put on physical training/attributes as you're never going to get technically proficient players at the lower levels. Players with high pace/acceleration/jumping tear up the bottom divisions.

copperhorse21

I've found that in the lower levels, some of the physical attributes from the opponent's team are nullified defensively if I have better mental players on the field. They seem to play in a way that attempts to nullify the physical abilities of my opponents. Of course, that means making sure my tactics are in order and it takes longer to play matches.

Unfortunately, finding that balance between mental attributes and physical attributes is a fine line. At the lower levels, I do have minimum standards for what Asmodeus indicated, but I also have minimum standards for decisions, teamwork, off the ball, positioning, and determination. At the lower levels, I've had decent success so far in 08.

I'm still waiting to get promoted from the BSN in the 2009 season.