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The Ball-Winning Midfielder - Winning Tackles and Trophies
Jan 09 2012 04:40 PM | llama3 in Tactics
Introduction
With any successful footballing team, there is always a man who does the dirty job, whose job is not to make a weighted through-ball, or a mazy run, or score a screamer from the edge of the box - I am talking about the man who presses opponents, pressurises them into making mistakes, and who is not afraid to make a risky tackle or take a yellow card for the team - the Ball-Winning Midfielder.
The FM Tactics Creator defines the Ball-Winning Midfielder (BWM) as:
"Playing in central midfield, the Ball-Winning Midfielder's main function is to close down the opposition and win the ball."
"However he also needs the technical skills to help the team keep possession and fashion out chances for players with more attacking roles."
"With a defend duty the Ball-Winning Midfielder looks to win the ball in the centre of midfield and quickly lay it off for a more creative player."
"With a support duty the Ball-Winning Midfielder aims to win the ball back high up the pitch and support resulting counter attacking opportunities."
Here are the player instructions for the default Ball-Winning Midfielder:
So basically he is a man who covers a lot of ground to hassle opponents, make tackles, but he also must use the ball effectively to help the team keep the possession he earns. He makes a lot of tackles higher up the pitch than most players, and this opens up chances on the counter attack. He is not a man who will sit deep in position due to the aggressive nature of the role, and is not suited to a team that is trying to sit in a rigid shape and soak up pressure, he is better suited as an enforcer in a creative team that is trying to press and dominate the midfield.
The Example - Alex Song
Our example here is Alex Song who plays as my Ball-Winning Midfielder (Defend) with his key attributes highlighted.
Now we can see Song is physically very fit, energetic and strong, as well as being mentally strong, he is composed, reads the game well and his determination and aggression mean he rarely loses a challenge. He works hard and is technically competent to control and distribute the ball without fuss or danger into sensible options.
Now time to show you my opening day win over Newcastle United and Alex's immense contribution to the final result.
First of all the heat map shows just how much ground he covers, not just across the park laterally, but also from box-to-box. He covered nearly 2km more than his central midfield partner, the more reserved Mikel Arteta who is playing as a Deep-Lying Playmaker.
Song has clearly been very involved in the game, and has made more passes than anyone else on the pitch, and completed 98.1% of his 54 passes. You can see by the nature of his passing that he is not looking to try a penetrating through ball, he is simply looking to find team mates and retain the ball, often sideways to the overlapping Bacary Sagna, the more advanced Aaron Ramsey & the reserved Mikel Arteta, with the odd passes made to Walcott and van Persie ahead of him.
Song's tackling as a Ball-Winning Midfielder is higher up the pitch than the standard defensively-minded central midfielder, and certainly notably more so than a DM, as he is required to push into opposition territory to win the ball. Song made 3 tackles, winning 2 of them. We will look at 1 as an example of him in action shortly, but first note that he has not made a single tackle inside his own half all game. Make no mistake this man is not here to shield the defence - he is here to win the ball.
Finally we see Song has also made 5 interceptions. Firstly we again note that while all in a fairly central position, he has won 4 out of 5 in the opposition half. We can also note than on further investigation 3 of those 5 were made in the last 10 minutes of the game, showing his immense stamina and how he broke up several late opposition attacks. Often these were made when Newcastle cleared the ball direct from an Arsenal attack, and Song had begun to move a little deeper, meaning he quickly challenged breaking Newcastle attacks and gave Arsenal possession back immediately.
In Action
Now time to see how the Ball-Winning Midfielder works in action. We see here Yohan Cabaye has made a clearing header for Newcastle just outside his own area. Song has been holding position whilst Arsenal had the ball, just in front of the halfway line. He has Tiote and Marveaux to keep an eye on.
Gervinho has picked up the ball on the left flank and is under pressure from Danny Simpson. Tiote has dropped off and Marveaux is being tracked by Arteta, so Song moves infield nearer to the ball.
Finally as Simpson forces the ball of Gervinho, Alex Song comes in just as Simpson is getting the ball under control, and makes an excellent sliding tackle, in the direction of Ramsey and van Persie who attempt to attack goal, but unfortunately in this occasion are slightly slower than Cabaye to the ball.
Discussions and Limitations within a System
As previously stated, the Ball-Winning Midfielder will not sit and break up attacks on the edge of his own area, he goes into the opposition half to actively search for the ball and to begin quick attacks. So he is not suited to systems where his positioning is vital to shutting out the opponents. Due to the very short range nature of his passing he is suited to a formation and system whereby there are lots of good passing options and movement (you should have this anyway!), so in my 4-2-3-1 he has Arteta, Ramsey, Sagna, Walcott and Koscielny in reasonable distance to pass to and choose the safest option. He should not be expected to take on opposition midfielders or to be dictating play. He will suit a team playing a high line and lots of pressing of opponents as this means opponents have less room to manoeuvre and can force them out of space into mistakes and tackles.
Suitable Midfield Set Ups
Example 1
MRC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Defend
MLC - Deep-Lying Playmaker - Support
AMC - Trequartista - Attack
Example 2
MRC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Defend
MLC - Advanced Playmaker - Support
Example 3
DMC - Deep-Lying Playmaker - Support
MRC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Defend
MLC - Central Midfielder - Attack
AMC - Advanced Playmaker - Attack
Example 4
DMC - Deep-Lying Playmaker - Defend
MRC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Support
MLC - Central Midfielder - Attack
Example 5
MRC - Box to Box Midfielder - Support
MLC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Defend
AMC - Attacking Midfielder - Attack
I hope my latest guide has been helpful for you in understanding the Ball-Winning Midfielder, please read my other guides on theawaystand.co.uk's tactics forum.
http://www.theawayst...ply-of-chances/
http://www.theawayst...a-a-discussion/
http://www.theawayst...ve-masterclass/
http://www.theawayst...t-up-a-defence/
Comment on this article in our Forums
Back to Football Manager Guide Index
With any successful footballing team, there is always a man who does the dirty job, whose job is not to make a weighted through-ball, or a mazy run, or score a screamer from the edge of the box - I am talking about the man who presses opponents, pressurises them into making mistakes, and who is not afraid to make a risky tackle or take a yellow card for the team - the Ball-Winning Midfielder.
The FM Tactics Creator defines the Ball-Winning Midfielder (BWM) as:
"Playing in central midfield, the Ball-Winning Midfielder's main function is to close down the opposition and win the ball."
"However he also needs the technical skills to help the team keep possession and fashion out chances for players with more attacking roles."
"With a defend duty the Ball-Winning Midfielder looks to win the ball in the centre of midfield and quickly lay it off for a more creative player."
"With a support duty the Ball-Winning Midfielder aims to win the ball back high up the pitch and support resulting counter attacking opportunities."
Here are the player instructions for the default Ball-Winning Midfielder:
So basically he is a man who covers a lot of ground to hassle opponents, make tackles, but he also must use the ball effectively to help the team keep the possession he earns. He makes a lot of tackles higher up the pitch than most players, and this opens up chances on the counter attack. He is not a man who will sit deep in position due to the aggressive nature of the role, and is not suited to a team that is trying to sit in a rigid shape and soak up pressure, he is better suited as an enforcer in a creative team that is trying to press and dominate the midfield.
The Example - Alex Song
Our example here is Alex Song who plays as my Ball-Winning Midfielder (Defend) with his key attributes highlighted.
Now we can see Song is physically very fit, energetic and strong, as well as being mentally strong, he is composed, reads the game well and his determination and aggression mean he rarely loses a challenge. He works hard and is technically competent to control and distribute the ball without fuss or danger into sensible options.
Now time to show you my opening day win over Newcastle United and Alex's immense contribution to the final result.
First of all the heat map shows just how much ground he covers, not just across the park laterally, but also from box-to-box. He covered nearly 2km more than his central midfield partner, the more reserved Mikel Arteta who is playing as a Deep-Lying Playmaker.
Song has clearly been very involved in the game, and has made more passes than anyone else on the pitch, and completed 98.1% of his 54 passes. You can see by the nature of his passing that he is not looking to try a penetrating through ball, he is simply looking to find team mates and retain the ball, often sideways to the overlapping Bacary Sagna, the more advanced Aaron Ramsey & the reserved Mikel Arteta, with the odd passes made to Walcott and van Persie ahead of him.
Song's tackling as a Ball-Winning Midfielder is higher up the pitch than the standard defensively-minded central midfielder, and certainly notably more so than a DM, as he is required to push into opposition territory to win the ball. Song made 3 tackles, winning 2 of them. We will look at 1 as an example of him in action shortly, but first note that he has not made a single tackle inside his own half all game. Make no mistake this man is not here to shield the defence - he is here to win the ball.
Finally we see Song has also made 5 interceptions. Firstly we again note that while all in a fairly central position, he has won 4 out of 5 in the opposition half. We can also note than on further investigation 3 of those 5 were made in the last 10 minutes of the game, showing his immense stamina and how he broke up several late opposition attacks. Often these were made when Newcastle cleared the ball direct from an Arsenal attack, and Song had begun to move a little deeper, meaning he quickly challenged breaking Newcastle attacks and gave Arsenal possession back immediately.
In Action
Now time to see how the Ball-Winning Midfielder works in action. We see here Yohan Cabaye has made a clearing header for Newcastle just outside his own area. Song has been holding position whilst Arsenal had the ball, just in front of the halfway line. He has Tiote and Marveaux to keep an eye on.
Gervinho has picked up the ball on the left flank and is under pressure from Danny Simpson. Tiote has dropped off and Marveaux is being tracked by Arteta, so Song moves infield nearer to the ball.
Finally as Simpson forces the ball of Gervinho, Alex Song comes in just as Simpson is getting the ball under control, and makes an excellent sliding tackle, in the direction of Ramsey and van Persie who attempt to attack goal, but unfortunately in this occasion are slightly slower than Cabaye to the ball.
Discussions and Limitations within a System
As previously stated, the Ball-Winning Midfielder will not sit and break up attacks on the edge of his own area, he goes into the opposition half to actively search for the ball and to begin quick attacks. So he is not suited to systems where his positioning is vital to shutting out the opponents. Due to the very short range nature of his passing he is suited to a formation and system whereby there are lots of good passing options and movement (you should have this anyway!), so in my 4-2-3-1 he has Arteta, Ramsey, Sagna, Walcott and Koscielny in reasonable distance to pass to and choose the safest option. He should not be expected to take on opposition midfielders or to be dictating play. He will suit a team playing a high line and lots of pressing of opponents as this means opponents have less room to manoeuvre and can force them out of space into mistakes and tackles.
Suitable Midfield Set Ups
Example 1
MRC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Defend
MLC - Deep-Lying Playmaker - Support
AMC - Trequartista - Attack
Example 2
MRC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Defend
MLC - Advanced Playmaker - Support
Example 3
DMC - Deep-Lying Playmaker - Support
MRC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Defend
MLC - Central Midfielder - Attack
AMC - Advanced Playmaker - Attack
Example 4
DMC - Deep-Lying Playmaker - Defend
MRC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Support
MLC - Central Midfielder - Attack
Example 5
MRC - Box to Box Midfielder - Support
MLC - Ball-Winning Midfielder - Defend
AMC - Attacking Midfielder - Attack
I hope my latest guide has been helpful for you in understanding the Ball-Winning Midfielder, please read my other guides on theawaystand.co.uk's tactics forum.
http://www.theawayst...ply-of-chances/
http://www.theawayst...a-a-discussion/
http://www.theawayst...ve-masterclass/
http://www.theawayst...t-up-a-defence/
Comment on this article in our Forums
Back to Football Manager Guide Index
