Team Tactics in Soccer Manager 2021
Setting your team instructions will result in how your team will play football in a match. You will need to make sure that this will fit in with your formation and the quality of your players.
General
Width
Determines how far out wide your team plays. Bear in mind that playing with high width will leave space in the middle, and playing with low will leave space out wide. Try to cover these areas with players to sort out the problem.
Mentality
This will be the basic mentality of how your team will play. You should keep this balanced beforehand and then change in-game.
Tempo
Determines the overall speed of play. Thus, this will have an effect on how the speed at which the ball is moved. If you have high chemistry, a fast tempo will be quite effective.
Creativity
How strict you want to be with the players. High creativity will therefore result in players moving about playing adventurous passes. Whereas, Low creativity will mean that players will tend to stick to a position and play simple and safe passes.
Attack
Passing Style
Can be set to “Short”, “Direct”, “Longball” and “Mixed“. This will contribute to the creativity of the team and how they play whilst in possession.
Attacking Style
Relates to the are at which your team will attack. This can be down the middle, or down the flanks. Choose this setting based on your formation and how many players are in those attacking areas.
Forwards
Determines how your attackers will attack. They can either shoot whenever possible, work on getting the ball into the box, or have a mix of both. Shooting on sight is better is riskier, but can be good if your team is losing. Working the ball into the box takes time, but is safer.
Wide Play
This determines how your wide players will get the ball central. They can either work the ball into the box, play early crosses, or play late byline crosses, or have a mix. Byline crosses work best when your wide players are inverted (use the opposite foot to the side on the pitch, such as a left-footed RW). Working the ball into the box is better for central play, whilst crosses work better with Target Man strikers.
Defense
Pressing
Can be set to your own area, your own half, or all over. The larger the pressing area, the more pressure there will be. However, a larger area to cover will also tire out your players. It is best to switch to pressing all over whilst your team is losing.
Tackling Style
Can be normal, hard, or aggressive. The stronger the tackle, the likelier it is to get the ball off the opponent, however, it is also a lot riskier. Aggressive tackling results in a higher number of fouls.
Back Line
Determines the position at which the backline sits. This can be high upfield, or deep downfield, or balanced. A high backline will be a lot more attacking but leaves a lot of space behind the defense for attackers to run into on the counter. A deep backline plays more defensive, allowing for less room for the opposition to attack. However, this will reduce the numbers in attack.
