FM 2016 Tactics Guide

FOREWORD
Fluidity is a complex idea, and its effects on tactics are subtle and nuanced. Given
the difficulty of succinctly and accurately defining it, some Football Manager players
have justifiably questioned whether it should even be present in the game. While I
don't share this view, I do agree that most Football Manager players don't really
need to overly concern themselves with the effects of the setting. Simply, a change
of fluidity will not make or break your tactical approach, and if you stick to the sort
of reasonable principles of tactical design outlined in wwfan's excellent introductory
guide and llama3's superb commentary on role combinations, you will have all the
tools you need to be a successful manager. However, if you're interested in
exploring ways to make full use of the powerful and versatile tools that FM14
provides, this project presents a new framework for understanding how the various
team settings interact to promote specific behaviours on the pitch. The basic idea is
that the different combinations of team mentality and fluidity settings can be
interpreted in terms of telling individual players to prioritize specific responsibilities,
and through this interpretation, I think fluidity can be presented in a way that more
accurately reflects its impact on play.
The idea of fluidity as a game mechanic for Football Manager has its roots in the
Tactical Theorems & Frameworks series that preceded and informed the
development of the Tactics Creator. This series incorporated a variety of different
theoretical perspectives, from critical theory to Karl Popper's scientific
epistemology, to approach the slider-based system of classic tactics and develop
practical frameworks for tactical design. These frameworks were later refined in
terms of concepts developed by the tactical historian Jonathan Wilson to form the
basis of the Tactics Creator as we know it today. Since this project is largely an
effort at reopening and reconsidering this dialogue from a different perspective, it
inevitably addresses and assumes some degree of familiarity with Wilson's
concepts, though when possible, I've made a conscious effort to explain the
relevant terminology for those who are new to the debate.
If you're looking for tips on applying specific tactical settings, I believe most players
will find much of the advice in Section 7 immediately useful while the outlines of
player responsibilities in Sections 2-6 will give you a sense of how a tactic will be
organized under different fluidity/mentality combinations. Beyond that, some of the
more theoretical content here may not be useful or even remotely interesting to a
lot of players. Fortunately, as I noted above, a nuanced understanding of fluidity is
not a prerequisite to enjoying the game, though I hope the advice and
interpretations presented here will help lead to new ideas for making the
game more enjoyable for everyone.
INTRODUCTION
Philosophy, style, fluidity.
Among both new and experienced Football Manager players, this core concept of
the Tactics Creator remains a persistent source of confusion and misconceptions. To
some extent, this is an expected consequence of the abstract nature of the idea
itself. Designed to provide a coherent framework for setting positions on the

infamously vague mentality slider, it operates as an abstraction of an abstraction
that circumvents the ambiguity of the parts by attempting to give a clear and
accessible sense to the whole.
Yet, as the persistent confusion suggests, important details are still missing from
the picture. The organization is there, but there is still no clear sense as
to what,exactly, is being organized and how this would translate into an instruction
that a manager would actually give his players.
In practice, fluidity is less of a tactical concept than a managerial concept. It does
not represent the style of football actually produced by the players on the pitch so
much as the way in which the manager goes about getting the players to produce
it. In other words, it is not the team's style or philosophy of play but the manager's
style and philosophy of management. Unsurprisingly, for many players, it remains
unclear how the setting actually affects their team on the pitch while debate
continues over the extent to which it should actually dictate the details of tactical
design.
The continuing debate itself seems to be an indication that, conceptually, fluidity
was not quite rooted in firm ground from the outset. While the Tactics Creator
retains a simplistic and misleading emphasis on positional contributions to the
various phases of play, the more nuanced analysis of recent guides and discussions
reflect considerable evolution in how the theory behind the setting is being
interpreted.
A key aspect of this is the scope of the universalist vs. specialist distinction in
modern football. This divide between tactical systems that emphasize player
versatility and tactical systems that emphasize player mastery of highly specific
skill sets is central to the theory underlying the idea of fluidity, but in the broader
historical sense, the debate has long been settled. The universalism pioneered by
Michels and Lobanovskyi has permeated tactical thinking at virtual every level of
play. As Jonathan Wilson recently noted in regards to the holding midfielder, even
the nominal specialists are becoming universalists to ever greater degrees. Wilson
describes this as "paradoxical," but in fact, it's a natural implication of the near
total demise of the overly static, positionally fixed football of bygone eras.
In this sense, the match engine itself has always been a step ahead of the Tactics
Creator that set out to explain it, and the all-encompassing, intertwining influence
of both universalism and role theory, in which position refers primarily to a vague
set of defensive responsibilities, are now the norm in both football and, moreso
with FM14 than ever, Football Manager. Accordingly, fluidity has never done exactly
what it says on the tin. The effects are certainly significant and crucial to coherent
tactical design, but they are subtle and, more importantly, thoroughly rooted in a
match engine that seeks to represent the modern game of football in which the
lines between the rigid and the fluid can often be imperceptible on the pitch.
This is not to say that there is no distinction between universalism and specialism in
either football or Football Manager. There most certainly is, but it is a historically
relative distinction that exists within a more generally universalist paradigm. The
current prominence of the 4-2-3-1, in which two midfielders are withdrawn to free
up a pair of attacking defenders, is an ever present reminder of this, regardless of
whether that midfield pair consists of a destroyer/creator partnership or a duo of
hybrid controllers.
From this perspective, I think there are reasonable grounds to revisit the
foundations of the fluidity setting and reconsider the theory in terms of the
relatively mundane managerial instructions being theorized. In other words, in
order to better refine and utilize the theory behind the setting, the particular details
underlying the setting must be brought into focus.
What is needed, then, is a clear, practical interpretation of what fluidity actually
does within the context and vernacular of the Tactics Creator itself. The following
document is an exploratory and, hopefully, elucidating attempt at accomplishing
this. Using an interpretative framework called the mentality ladder, I have
attempted to illustrate the practical basis upon which the concept of fluidity is
based.
The fundamental assumption underlying this framework is that fluidity is not, in
practice, a team instruction. Rather, it represents the principle by which a set of
relatively simple individual instructions are organized. Accordingly, to understand
fluidity, it's important to understand how this abstract concept translates into the
clearly expressed instructions given to individual players.
PART I. THE MENTALITY LADDER

Below, you will find four versions of the mentality ladder: one for attack duty
players (excluding advanced playmakers, trequartistas and enganches), one for
support duty players and playmakers, one for defend/cover/stopper duty players
(excluding deep lying playmakers) and one for goalkeepers.
In each case, the mentality ladder represents a set of general tactical
responsibilities listed in descending order from most attacking to most defensive.
These responsibilities indicate which task a player will look to carry out when
occupying a different position or rung on the mentality ladder.
The rung or task that a player is primarily associated with is his tactical priority. A
tactical priority indicates a player's main function and responsibility within a team's
specific set of tactical instructions. While the relationship between role, duty and
tactical priority will be discussed in detail further on, it should be noted here that
the concepts are distinct yet closely connected.
Basically, a role shapes the precise manner in which a player approaches his
tactical priority while duty controls his willingness to deviate it from it to join the
attack. In this sense, tactical priorities are both general and responsive to other
tactical settings. This reflects, as discussed in the introduction, the underlying
universalism of modern tactical systems.
The Mentality Ladder for Attack Duty Players

------------------------------ATTACKING RESPONSIBILITIES----------------------------------------------- Bypass Last Defender
- Challenge Defenders
- Overload Defenders
- Draw Off Defenders
- Penetrate Gaps Persistently
- Penetrate Gaps
- Penetrate Gaps Intermittently
- Spearhead Attacking Moves Closer to Defence
- Spearhead Attacking Moves
- Spearhead Attacking Moves from the Hole
------------------------------CONTROL RESPONSIBILITIES-------------------------------------------------- Shuttle Ball Through Defence
- Shuttle Ball
- Shuttle Ball Into Space
- Keep Possession Under Pressure
- Keep Possession
- Keep Possession Away From Pressure
- Recover Possession Immediately
- Recover Possession
- Recover Possession After Defensive Transition
-------------------------------DEFENSIVE RESPONSIBILITIES----------------------------------------------- Disrupt Attacks Quickly
- Disrupt Attacks
- Disrupt Attacks Judiciously
- Restrict Space Aggressively
- Restrict Space
- Restrict Space Cautiously
- Divert Attacking Movement
- Contain Attacking Movement
- Slow Attacking Movement
- Obstruct Shots
The Mentality Ladder for Support Duty Players and Playmakers
-------------------------------ATTACKING RESPONSIBILITIES----------------------------------------------- Surge Into Box
- Rush Ball Forward
- Test Defence With Power
- Test Defence
- Test Defence With Precision
- Force Half Chances Without Hesitation
- Force Half Chances
- Force Half Chances When Necessary
- Create Chances Urgently
- Create Chances
- Create Chances Patiently
- Shuttle Ball
- Keep Possession

- Disrupt Attacks
- Restrict Space
- Obstruct Shots
The Mentality Ladder for Defend Duty Players
-------------------------------ATTACKING RESPONSIBILITIES----------------------------------------------- Join Attack
- Force Clearance
- Hassle Defenders Relentlessly
- Hassle Defenders
- Hassle Dawdling Defenders
- Isolate Holding Midfielders
- Isolate Midfielders
- Isolate Advancing Midfielders
- Suppress Counterattacking Outlets
- Suppress Counterattacks
- Suppress Counterattacking Options
- Shuttle Ball
- Keep Possession
- Disrupt Attacks
- Restrict Space
- Obstruct Shots
The Mentality Ladder for Goalkeepers
- Support Attacks
- Initiate Attacks
- Cycle Possession
- Distribute Safely
- Limit Pressure
- Shield Goal
While the names of the tasks will hopefully give you a fairly clear sense of what
they involve, detailed descriptions of each have been provided in "Part VIII: Tactical
Priorities in Detail."
One important aspect of the mentality ladder that should be noted is the dutybased division of priorities that occurs as players assume attacking responsibilities
in the opposition half. While defensive and control responsibilities are the same for
all outfield players, duty determines the nature of a player's attacking
responsibilities as support and defend duty players are less likely to take up
responsibilities that necessarily involve getting into the opposition area. This is why
there are three, duty-based versions of the mentality ladder for outfield players,
though in effect, each operates according to the same principles.
Finally, it should be noted that duty does not affect playmaker roles in the same
manner they affect other roles. All playmakers will look to stay behind the forefront
of the attack and look for space from which to play dangerous balls forward. To
reflect this, all playmaker roles (i.e., the Deep Lying Playmaker, Advanced
Playmaker, Enganche and Trequartista), regardless of assigned duty, are
interpreted as following the "Support Duty" path.
TACTICAL PRIORITY AND THE TASK AT HAND

As I will explain in more detail below, a player's effective position on the mentality
ladder is dynamic and responsive to how play is developing. While a player's
tactical priority certainly influences and informs the mentality and decision-making
with which he approaches the task at hand, no player is ever constrained to just
one task and all players respond in some manner to the current phase of play. In
other words, a player's tactical priority represents what task the player
will primarily be focused on carrying out as well as the point at which a player will
typically look to get directly involved in play, but all outfield players will move up
and down the ladder in response to what's actually happening on the pitch.
Generally, players will attempt to find a balance between successfully carrying out
the current task and carrying out that task in a way that serves their tactical
priority. Again, a tactical priority is not a constraint but a guiding point of reference
to which a player gravitates while taking up and carrying out a multitude of
responsibilities during the match.
Of course, much depends on how well your players play. When your players
decisively outplay your opponent, they will spend much or most of their time
carrying out their tactical priority, but if they struggle, they will spend more time
being forced to carry out tasks further down the mentality ladder. Thus, a very fluid
overload tactic may direct nearly all of your team to get into or around the
opposition penalty area, but ultimately, they still need to play well enough to carry
out such an ambitious objective. In this sense, outplaying your opponent or
nullifying their tactics can be thought of as the extent to which you force them to
deviate from their tactical priorities.
Accordingly, it's important to keep in mind that a player's position on the mentality
ladder does not necessarily correspond to a player's current physical location on the
pitch. Rather, it represents a player's mental orientation, and while each position on
the ladder does direct a player towards playing the ball in a certain area of the
pitch, there will be points in a match where a player is focused on moving either
himself or the ball into another area of the pitch. This may mean the player is
simply out of position or transitioning to a new phase of play, but it could also
mean that the player is setting himself up to quickly perform a task in anticipation
of the progression of play or has been asked to play a tactical function that involves
playing the ball back to teammates advancing from deeper positions.
If you're not averse to mixing metaphors, you can think of players as having a sort
of imaginary elastic cord that attaches them (in a mental sense) to the rung
representing their tactical priority. Thus, while all players will move up and down
the ladder (i.e., take up different responsibilities in response to the present
situation), the further they stretch the cord, the more the cord will pull back and
noticeably influence their decision-making.
MENTALITY STRUCTURE
A mentality structure is the way a team is organized by individual players'
tactical priorities. It is shaped by a tactic's formation, fluidity, mentality, roles and
duties, and it fundamentally determines how your team operates in attack and
defence. In the following sections, I've listed the various fluidity/mentality
combinations along with the tactical priorities for each position (and relevant roles
and duties) under that combination. This will allow you to determine a given tactic's
mentality structure and give you a better sense of how it will operate.
FORMATION, POSITION AND TACTICAL PRIORITY

A player's position also partially determines their tactical priority. Within the
framework of the Tactics Creator, fluidity has mainly been thought of in terms of
the team's overall strategic focus (or as it's now called, mentality), but here, the
concept of a player's tactical priority makes a finer distinction on an individual level.
Therefore, even in a very fluid system, a centreback and striker typically aren't
going to share the exact same tactical priority. There is, rather, an inherent division
of responsibilities established by the formation itself. This is plainly evident when
watching a very fluid tactic in action. While a very fluid tactic will usually cause a
team to collectively focus on a smaller number of tasks, the team doesn't all focus
on the same task at once. Strikers will still tend to operate as the more advanced
players while centrebacks will still be the ones holding the defensive line.
With this in mind, a formation can be thought of as establishing a baseline
mentality structure that fluidity modfies. In this baseline structure, players
positioned further from their goal have a slightly more attacking orientation than
those positioned directly behind them while wide players of a given positional
stratum (e.g., defensive midfield, midfield, attacking midfield, etc.) have a slightly
more attacking orientation than their central counterparts. In the following outlines
of the various mentality structures, I've attempted to reflect this to provide a better
sense of how the mentality structures actually operate in practice as well as
emphasizing the effect of formation.
ASYMMETRIC PRIORITY ARRANGEMENTS

In some mentality structures, especially balanced mentality structures, a player in
an advanced position may have a less aggressive tactical priority than a player in a
deeper position. As noted above, a tactical priority does not necessarily correspond
to a physical position on the pitch, so this asymmetry between formation and
tactical priority does not mean your formation (or to be precise, your defensive
formation) will be altered. However, it does mean that the advanced player with the
lower tactical priority will be more likely to drop deep to help players positioned
much lower on the pitch (including providing positional cover for their forward
runs), more cautious in his general decision-making with a greater tendency to hold
off on a risky pass or tackle, and notably for playmakers, less urgent in advancing
up the pitch and attempting runs deep into the attacking third. For players in
deeper positions with more aggressive tactical priorities, the reverse is also true.
Certainly, this may have a significant effect on how your team's shape develops at
various points in the match, particularly during the attacking phase, but as
discussed above, it's a question of movement and tendencies in decision-making.
Again, a player's effective position on the mentality ladder is dynamic in response
to the movement of the rest of the team, and in these sort of asymmetric
arrangements of tactical priority, it typically means the advanced player with the
less aggressive tactical priority will serve as a sort of cautionary check on the
urgency of your team's play and look to control the tempo while staving off rash
decisions when necessary. Good examples of this include the advanced playmaker
who looks to dictate tempo from the hole until midfielders get forward to support
the attack and the more aggressively positioned ball-winner who consistently looks
to play the ball back to a creative player who initiates attacks from deep.
Accordingly, these asymmetric arrangements should not be seen as somehow
counterproductive or contradictory to your formation. On the contrary, such
arrangements can be highly effective and useful in modeling certain tactical
systems.
THE ORIENTING EFFECT OF TEAM MENTALITY AND FLUIDITY

For all fluidity settings, the team mentality setting defines the core tactical priority
around which the mentality structure is based while the fluidity setting determines
the degree of differentation between the tactical priorities of individual players. As
you will notice when examining the mentality structures, no mentality structure on
any fluidity setting will have a massive difference in tactical focus between any two
players. This is necessary to prevent the team from becoming overly disconnected
and, in effect, having players working against one another's tactical priorities.
Ultimately, all mentality structures will sensibly base the team around a core set of
tactical priorities in a way that ensures even the most defensive and attacking
players are contributing to the team's basic objective in some way.
Of course, this means that much of the in-game descriptions of fluidity and team
mentality settings is simply inaccurate. No fluidity setting necessarily restricts any
one type of player to any one phase of play nor does a high level of fluidity mean
that, for example, an attacker told to go all-out attack will be more inclined to help
defend than a striker in a rigid system told to do the same. In fact, team mentality
is far more relevant than fluidity in terms of determining a defender's willingness to
get forward or an attacker's willingness to track back, and it is simply not true that
more fluid settings always increase their willingness to do so while more rigid
settings decrease it.
As discussed above, all players respond dynamically to the development of play,
and this is true on all mentality and fluidity settings. Fluidity settings merely
establish the basic orientation of individual players relative to the team mentality,
and the interaction between fluidity and mentality is much more nuanced than the
Tactics Creator descriptions seem to suggest.
OUTLINING THE MENTALITY STRUCTURES

The following sections outline the anatomy of the various mentality structures. The
outlines are grouped under fluidity settings and presented in order from most
defensive to most attacking. The specific tactical priorities in each fluidity/mentality
combination are listed by position with unique role or duty exceptions listed in
italics under the position.
Hopefully, these outlines will serve as a useful reference point as you set out to put
your tactical vision into practice. However, keep in mind that these outlines only
present the most basic underlying foundation of a tactic. Subsequent sections will
delve into more detail regarding the interaction between tactical priority and duty in
various phases of play. Simply, understanding this interaction is essential to
understanding how and why a tactic operates in the way it does, so while these
outlines are intended to provide a firm basis for tactical design, they merely
represent the first step in that process.
PART II. COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES: VERY FLUID MENTALITY

STRUCTURES
VERY FLUID
Very fluid mentality structures cover the smallest range of tactical priorities with
the team as a whole sharply focused on carrying out a highly specific strategic
objective (e.g., completely negating the opposition's attack, controlling possession
in midfield, overloading the opposition third, etc.). This represents systems in which
all players are expected to help contribute to a general, collective function and in
which, accordingly, there is significantly less differentiation between players based
on position and role. While this demands a greater degree of versatilty and tactical
awareness from each of the players, it encourages the team to cooperate closely in
carrying out specific tasks while promoting more movement between positional
strata and, thus, greater variety and unpredictability in the team's play.
The Controller Effect
Certain very fluid mentality structures are subject to the Controller Effect.
Essentially, under a more defensive team mentality, using a designated playmaker
with a lower tactical priority than other roles in the same position will cause others
on the team to become slightly more aggressive.
In practical terms, this represents a playmaker who stays deeper than other players
in his position to focus on controlling the flow and tempo of the match. His noncontroller teammates, accordingly, become slightly more aggressive to compensate
for the controller-playmaker's more cautious orienation.
The Controller Effect applies to very fluid contain, defensive and counter mentality
structures that use a Trequartista at ST, an Advanced Playmaker at AMC/L/R, a
Deep-Lying Playmaker at CM or a Sweeper (that is, the role, not the position). In
the following outlines, you should move each outfield player (with the exception of
other sweepers, DLPs at MC, APs at AMLRC and trequartistas at ST) up one position
on the mentality ladder for Counter/Defensive mentalities and up two positions for
Contain if the mentality structure is subject to the Controller Effect. Keep in mind,
the Controller Effect does not affect other controller-playmakers regardless of their
position, and the alterations imposed by the Controller Effect are the same
regardless of how many controller-playmakers are used.
================================
PART III. SOLID FOUNDATIONS: FLUID MENTALITY STRUCTURES

FLUID
Fluid mentality structures divide the team into two separate units each focused
closely on a small but distinct range of tactical priorities. In effect, this creates a
divided structure with a more aggressive, fluid attack backed by a significantly
more cautious defence. The idea is that the entrenched, disciplined defensive unit
frees the attacking unit to get forward without being distracted by pressing
defensive responsibilities, though the division between the units calls for a higher
degree of attacking/defensive specialization to ensure both can cope with the
increased demands resulting from their relative isolation from one another.
Certain fluid mentality structures are subject to the Controller Effect. Essentially,
under a more defensive team mentality, using certain roles with a lower tactical
priority than other roles in the same position will cause others on the team to
become slightly more aggressive.
In practical terms, this represents a player who stays deeper than other players in
his position to focus on controlling the flow and tempo of the match. His noncontroller teammates, accordingly, become slightly more aggressive to compensate
for the controller-playmaker's more cautious orientation.
The Controller Effect applies to fluid contain and defensive mentality structures that
use a Deep-Lying Playmaker at CM or a Sweeper (that is, the role, not the
position). In the following outlines, you should move each outfield player (with the
exception of other sweepers, DLPs at MC, APs at AMLRC and trequartistas at ST) up
one position on the mentality ladder for Defensive mentalities and up two positions
for Contain if the mentality structure is subject to the Controller Effect. Keep in
mind, the Controller Effect does not affect other sweepers or CM-DLPs, and the
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alterations imposed by the Controller Effect are the same regardless of how many
controller-playmakers are used.
=================================
PART IV. ASYMMETRIC SHAPES: BALANCED MENTALITY

STRUCTURES
BALANCED
Balanced mentality structures divide the team into three units based on the duties
assigned to individual players. As with fluid structures, a more cautious defensive
unit provides a stable, structural core that frees a more adventurous attacking unit
to get forward aggressively, though this is further balanced by a "supporting" unit
that serves to provide a more consistent link between the two. However, since a
player's respective unit is defined by his duty rather than position, this gives the
manager greater flexibility in refining his defensive and attacking shape to fit the
personnel at his disposal. Consequently, Balanced mentality structures can
accommodate a high degree of either duty-based specialization or general
versatility.
Certain balanced mentality structures are subject to the Controller Effect.
Essentially, under a more defensive team mentality, using certain roles with a lower
tactical priority than other roles in the same position will cause others on the team
to become slightly more aggressive.
In practical terms, this represents a player who stays deeper than other players in
his position to focus on controlling the flow and tempo of the match. His noncontroller teammates, accordingly, become slightly more aggressive to compensate
for the controller-playmaker's more cautious orienation.
The Controller Effect applies to balanced contain, defensive and counter mentality
structures that use a Deep-Lying Playmaker at CM or a Sweeper (that is, the role,
not the position). In the following outlines, you should move each outfield player
(with the exception of sweepers, DLPs at MC, APs at AMLRC and trequartistas at
ST) up one position on the mentality ladder for Defensive mentalities and up two
positions for Contain if the mentality structure is subject to the Controller Effect.
Keep in mind, the Controller Effect does not affect other sweepers or CM-DLPs, and
the alterations imposed by the Controller Effect are the same regardless of how
many controller-playmakers are used.
================================
PART V. GESTALT SYSTEMS: RIGID MENTALITY STRUCTURES

RIGID
Rigid mentality structures cover the broadest range of tactical priorities with roles
sharply defining how players contribute to the team's strategic objective. While
Balanced mentality structures can also cover a very wide range of tactical priorities,
Rigid mentality structures organize tactical priorities according to position within the
team's defensive shape regardless of duty (with a few exceptions). The idea is that
each player has a more distinct and clearly defined function within the team
compared to more fluid systems. The main purpose of this is to ensure a quick and
well organized transition from defense to attack (and vice versa) with wide players
moving up more readily to link the defence, support and attack. While this can
make the team's approach somewhat predictable, it better enables players to play
to their specific strengths while reducing the risk of the team getting bogged down
in aimless, incoherent play.
Previously, rigid mentality structures have been equated with archaic tactical
systems in which specific positions are strictly limited to contributing to specific
11
phases of play, but this is not an accurate depiction. Team mentality and duty are
the primary factors in determining whether specific players get forward or drop
back to defend. A rigid mentality structure merely causes players in different
positions to be incrementally more cautious or adventurous to ensure a greater
tactical distinction between positions and roles. This is quite different from limiting
certain positions to a single phase of play.
The Sweeper Effect
Certain rigid mentality structures are subject to the Sweeper Effect. Essentially,
under a more defensive team mentality, using a sweeper role will cause other
players on the team to become slightly more aggressive.
The Sweeper Effect applies to rigid contain, defensive and counter mentality
structures that use a Sweeper (that is, the role, not the position). In the following
outlines, you should move each outfield player (with the exception of other
sweepers) up one position on the mentality ladder for Defensive mentalities and up
two positions for Contain if the mentality structure is subject to the Sweeper Effect.
Keep in mind, the alterations imposed by the Sweeper Effect are the same
regardless of how many sweepers are used.
The Trequartista Effect
A similar effect occurs when a Trequartista is used as a lone striker in Control,
Attack and Overload mentalities. In such situations, you should move every outfield
player other than the Trequartista up one position on the mentality ladder for
Control mentalities and up two positions for Attacking and Overload mentalities.
===============================
PART VI. PRODUCTION LINES: VERY RIGID MENTALITY

STRUCTURES
VERY RIGID
Very rigid mentality structures actually cover a narrower range of tactical priorities
than rigid (and, potentially, balanced) mentality structures. Like rigid mentality
structures, very rigid mentality structures organizes tactical priorities according to
position within the team's defensive shape, but unlike rigid mentality structures,
there is less of a general tactical distinction between wide and central players. This
means that wide players are not specifically relied upon to help quickly link the
various parts of the team, though the team as a whole will look to prevent either
the attack or defence from becoming isolated by maintaining a slightly more
compact shape. In practice, this means the team will be slightly slower to break
from its defensive shape going forward, though centrebacks and forwards will also
be slightly more inclined to help support the midfield compared to a rigid system.
Basically, very rigid mentality structures are intended to produce highly organized
football in which the team can execute a focused, precise attacking approach while
maintaining the ability to quickly transition back to its defensive shape at a
moment's notice. As with rigid mentality structures, this means players have a
distinct and clearly defined function within the team with defensive position having
an even greater influence on the decion-making of wide players. Accordingly, this
can make the team's approach very predictable, though this isn't necessarily a
problem for managers looking to perfect a highly specfic style of play.
Very rigid mentality structures should also not be equated with limiting specific
position's contribution to a single phase of play. Again, team mentality and duty are
the primary factors in determining whether specific players get forward or drop
back to defend.
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The Sweeper Effect

Certain very rigid mentality structures are subject to the Sweeper Effect.
Essentially, under a more defensive team mentality, using a sweeper role will cause
other players on the team to become slightly more aggressive.
The Sweeper Effect applies to very rigid contain and defensive mentality structures
that use a Sweeper (that is, the role, not the position). In the following outlines,
you should move each outfield player (with the exception of other sweepers) up
one position on the mentality ladder for Defensive mentalities and up two positions
for Contain mentalities if the mentality structure is subject to the Sweeper Effect.
Keep in mind, the alterations imposed by the Sweeper Effect are the same
regardless of how many sweepers are used.
The Deep Lying Playmaker Effect
A similar effect occurs when a Deep Lying Playmaker is used as at CM in Contain
and Defensive mentalities. In such situations, you should move every outfield
player other than the Deep Lying Playmaker and sweepers up one position on the
mentality ladder. Keep in mind, however, that the sweeper effect still applies to the
DLP and the effects of using a CM DLP and sweeper are cumulative for all other
players.
The Trequartista Effect
And again, a similar effect occurs when a Trequartista is used as a lone striker in
Control, Attack and Overload mentalities . In such situations, you should move
every outfield player other than the Trequartista up one position on the mentality
ladder.
PART VII. THE MENTALITY LADDER, DUTY AND OTHER SETTINGS

DUTY, THE ATTACKING PHASE AND THE TASK AT HAND
As attacking play progresses into the opposition half, players will climb up the
mentality ladder. As previously noted, duty determines what sort of responsibilities
a player takes up as attacking play moves into the final third, and it also
determines how quickly they will do this relative to the rest of the team and the
likelihood that they will take up responsibilities that necessarily involve making runs
into and around the opposition area (i.e., attack duty attacking responsibilities).
Defend, Stopper and Cover duty players are the most reluctant to climb the
mentality ladder. As the team enters the attacking phase, these players will initially
look to move to and hold their position in the mentality structure to focus on their
tactical priority, but as attacking play progresses and more opposition players track
back to help defend, they will climb the mentality ladder to cover space and assume
responsibilities left behind by advancing support and attack duty players.
When play advances deep into the opposition half, there is a chance that these
players will briefly take up support or, on rare occasions, attack duty
responsibilities when it is both safe and opportune to do so. This possibility is
represented by the "Join Attack" task at the top of the Defend duty mentality
ladder. "Join Attack," essentially, represents all the various support and attack duty
attacking responsibilities. As such, it is not actually available as a tactical priority
(as a player with such a priority would then cease to be a Defend duty player), and
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given Defend duty players' general hesitancy to move up the mentality ladder
during the attacking phase, the responsibility is typically only taken up by players
who have very aggressive tactical priorities.
Support duty players will move up and down the ladder as necessary to prevent the
attack from becoming too isolated. As the attacking phase begins, support duty
players will attempt to quickly move into an area where they can receive the ball
and focus on their tactical priority. From there, they will either look to circulate
possession among nearby players or, depending on the risk involved and the
player's tactical instructions, play the ball forward to an advancing teammate. As
attack duty players and more advanced support duty players push the opposition
defence deeper, a support duty player will readily move up behind them to prevent
the attack from becoming isolated.
When play advances deep into the opposition half, there is a chance that these
players will briefly take up attack duty responsibilities when it is both safe and
opportune to do so. This possibility is represented by the "Surge Into Box" task at
the top of the Support duty and playmaker mentality ladder. As with "Join Attack,"
"Surge Into Box" represents all the various attack duty attacking responsibilities,
and as noted above, this means it is not actually available as a tactical priority.
However, given support duty players' greater tendency to move up the ladder
compared to defend duty players, most such players with attacking or controloriented tactical priorities will typically attempt forward runs periodically throughout
the match, though as with defend duty players, it is contingent on the availability of
defensive cover and teammates willing to take up their current attacking
responsibilities.
Whereas other players will tend to focus more heavily on their specified tactical
priority in the attacking phase and be more hesitant to move forward once their
main responsibilities have been securely carried out, attack duty players will rapidly
climb the mentality ladder as soon as supporting teammates are available to help
take up the attack duty player's main responsibility. In this sense, attack duty
players view themselves as the vanguard of the team's progression, and while they
may stay deep to help carry out a defensive or control-oriented responsibility, they
will only look to initiate the task in question before pushing forward to create room
for teammates to advance.
Thus, just as support duty players with attack-oriented tactical priorities have a
greater tendency to get forward themselves, attack duty players with control or
defend-oriented tactical priorities will have a greater tendency to wait to receive the
ball ahead of the defensive line and look for support before taking on the defence.
However, unlike defend and support duty players, attack duty players will readily
advance deep into the attacking third with minimal regard for the amount of
defensive cover available. In this sense, when it comes to attack duty players, it is
the manager's responsibility to ensure the structure is in place to ensure they get
forward without compromising the team's ability to defend against counterattacks.
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ASSIGNING DUTIES
The specific assignment of duties in a mentality structure will greatly affect how the
team's shape develops in attack. In most situations, it's wise to keep a balanced
arrangement of duties to ensure no one part of the team finds itself isolated and
overwhelmed, and if circumstances demand a reorientation of the team's tactical
priorities, altering the team mentality setting (and thus, mentality structure) is the
most balanced and prudent option.
Though different arrangements of team mentality, roles, formation and playing
style may call for different arrangements to achieve an effective balance, all
mentality structures should have at least two support duties, two attack duties and
three defend/cover/stopper duties among the outfield players. Moreover, these
duties should be spread out among the strikers, midfielders and defenders to
ensure some degree of movement and stability between the lines. Of course,
assigning two attack, two support and three defend leaves three outfield players
without a duty.
Traditionally, the general recommendation has been that these spare duties should
be assigned in accordance with the team's mentality setting with more defensive
team mentalities having more defend duties, more control-oriented team
mentalities having more support duties and more attack-oriented team mentalities
having more attack duties.
However, there may be circumstances where simply assigning more of one type of
duty may prove a better option for refocusing the team's attacking shape to serve a
highly specific objective. This should only be done with careful consideration of
what you're trying to achieve, and unbalanced mentality structures should never be
indiscriminately taken into every match with no regard for the opposition.
Unbalanced structures inherently lack versatility (this is what makes them
unbalanced), and they all contain glaring weaknesses that will be readily exploited
by most opponents.
In terms of the mentality ladder, assigning more defend duties will lead to
significantly less deviation from the mentality structure as much of the team's
defensive shape will remain intact during the attacking phase. Predictably, this will
reduce the risk of counter attacks, but it will also severely blunt the team's
attacking momentum and make it difficult for the team to advance the ball up the
pitch.
Assigning more support duties will cause more of the team to gradually climb the
mentality ladder as attacking play progress. This will give the team more avenues
through which to advance the ball ahead of the attacking third, but this will cause
either the defence to be more exposed or the attack to be more isolated. If a
support duty is assigned in place of a defend duty, the team will be more
vulnerable to counter attacks, and if a support duty is assigned in place of attack
duty, the team will be presented with less opportunities to successfully play the ball
into and around the opposition area, even if there are now more players looking for
such opportunities.
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Assigning more attack duties will cause the team's shape to deviate dramatically
from the mentality structure during the attacking phase (and keep in mind, this
doesn't just apply to the player with the attack duty as any drastic movement on
the mentality ladder from any one player will have a domino effect on the rest of
the team). This will create more options for successfully playing the ball deep into
the attacking third, but it will greatly increase the risk of counter attacks and leave
less players looking for the best option to play the ball forward as the creative
burden of linking the attack is shifted onto a smaller group of players.
Finally, as previously noted, playmaker roles (i.e., the Advanced Playmaker, Deep
Lying Playmaker, Enganche, Regista and Trequartista) are considered support duty
players for the purposes of the mentality ladder since they all have the tendency to
stay deep and support play rather than actually getting forward. WIth this in mind,
you should consider assigning an additional attack duty when using a playmaker
role with a nominal attack duty, as this will prevent being presented with a dearth
of options going forward. Moreover, the specialized nature of the playmaker himself
means too many additional support roles may end up being redundant.
DUTY, FORMATION AND ATTACKING SHAPE

An implicit, yet important, concept in all this is the distinction between formation
and attacking shape. A mentality structure can be thought of as a combination of
the two, and while the football punditry often glosses over this distinction in tactical
discussions, it is crucial to understanding how and why your team attacks and
defends as it does.
Unless you follow the inadvisable route of simply assigning defend duties to
defenders, support duties to midfielders and attack duties to strikers, your team
will not attack in the shape of your assigned formation. A common misconception is
that a rigid or very rigid fluidity will cause this to happen, but that is not the case.
While these fluidity settings will cause your attack to be more regimented by
affecting the fine margins of how attack and support duty players prioritize tasks,
they will not prevent attack duty players from attempting to get forward or support
duty players from following up behind the attack.
Visualizing exactly how your formation transforms into its attacking shape is one of
the more challenging aspects of designing a tactic, and in fact, there is no simple
way to do this. Much will depend on how your attack shapes around the structure
and quality of the opposition's defence, but duty can give you an imperfect sense of
how to translate your attacking shape into the nomenclature of formation. In
general, attack duties will add more numbers to the striker and attacking midfield
strata, support duties will add more numbers to the central midfield stratum and
defend duties will add more numbers to the defensive midfield and defender strata.
Again, this is a highly imperfect method, but if you're having trouble sorting out
how a mentality structure will operate, it may prove helpful.
It is also important to remember that you do not need to set your formation to your
desired attacking shape. For example, playing a 4-2-3-1 does not require playing
three attacking midfielders behind the striker. The attacking shape usually
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associated with the 4-2-3-1 formation can be accomplished with numerous

formations given the appropriate assignment of duties, roles and personal
instructions. Many real world 4-2-3-1s are better interpreted as 4411s, 451s or
even 442s in Football Manager.
RECYCLING POSSESSION
When attacking play breaks down and your players are forced to play the ball back
to keep possession, all players will begin to move back down the ladder with defend
and support duty players being more inclined to quickly gravitate back towards
their tactical priority. Usually, only players with the most attack-oriented tactical
priorities will simply drift around looking for space in the box while possession is
being recycled, and of course, even they will drop deeper if play is pulled back deep
enough to allow the opposition's defensive line to push up.
In general, when off the ball with a teammate in possession well inside the
opposition's half, attack duty players with tactical priorities that call for them to be
beyond the current position of the opposition's defensive line will either sit on the
shoulder of the last defender or drift into available space ahead of the defence.
CENTREBACKS AND THE DEFENSIVE LINE

For centrebacks, your defensive line instructions will also have an effect. For the
most part, centrebacks will be highly reluctant to deviate from a position that
enables them to maintain a focus on their tactical priority. Therefore, your most
cautious centreback's tactical priority will give you a good sense of where your
default defensive line will be positioned while your defensive line instruction will
control how far they deviate from this position.
A lower defensive line will strictly limit how high your centrebacks will climb up the
ladder whereas a higher defensive line will allow them to climb higher than normal,
though even on the most aggressive settings, centrebacks generally won't position
themselves to do much more than suppress counterattacks. Accordingly, the
defensive line instruction has less significance for centrebacks with more aggressive
tactical priorities as there is less "space" between the upper limit to which they may
push up and the tactical priority towards which they are inclined to drop.
In the defensive phase, much of the above applies in defensive terms. For the most
part, centrebacks will gravitate with the rest of the team towards their tactical
priority in reconstituting their defensive posture, though your defensive line
instructions will determine how likely they are to push up from their default position
to collectively press with a high block intended to compress the space in which the
opposition can play the ball.
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THE DEFENSIVE PHASE

When your opponent regains possession, your team will transition to the defensive
phase by reorganizing into its basic defensive shape. In other words, players will
descend back down the mentality ladder to their tactical priority with more
defensively oriented players typically doing so with more urgency.
However, it's important to keep in mind that your mentality structure mainly
determines how and where your players will first attempt to win the ball, but as the
opposition's attacking play progresses into your half, your team will respond by
climbing down the mentality ladder accordingly. For players with a more attacking
mentality, their tactical priority will determine how soon they'll stop waiting to
break forward and start tracking back to defend with the rest of the team.
For the most part, the fundamental organization of your mentality structure will
hold as this defensive descent down the ladder occurs, so even if your tactic is
operating on a more aggressive mentality setting, the structures for the lower
mentality settings will provide an indication of how your fluidity setting will affect
your defensive shape as it drops deeper.
It's important to note that this means players with aggressive tactical priorities
won't be in any hurry to track back into the defensive third. With certain style and
mentality combinations, this means your strikers and attacking midfielders will
generally stay forward with the intention of initiating counterattacks from recovered
clearances or intercepted back passes. Additionally, strikers and attacking
midfielders aren't going to be inclined to help central and defensive midfielders
cover space behind the ball, so using an abundance of attacking players will
naturally increase the likelihood that your defensive shape will contain glaring gaps
for the opposition to exploit.
RISK TAKING AND TACTICAL PRIORITY
While the pace and directness with which attacking play develops is determined by
several different settings and instructions, a player's tactical priority largely
determines the amount of risk they're willing to take to either create a chance or
just simply move the ball into a more advanced position. For the most part, a
player with a more aggressive tactical priority will take more risks to impose
offensive pressure on the opposition and play through defensive pressure imposed
by the opposition in order to ensure play advances to an area of the pitch where he
will be able to carry out his priority's associated task.
This tendency remains consistent regardless of where a player happens to actually
be on the mentality ladder. In other words, even as players move up and down the
mentality ladder to carry out different tasks, they will still persistently gravitate
towards their tactical priority via higher or lower risk decision-making. Thus, for
example, players with attack-oriented tactical priorities will look to play the ball out
from a precarious defensive position rather than simply hoofing it clear while
players with defend or control-oriented tactical priorities will be more inclined to
pass the ball around in the opposition half rather than attempt to force a halfchance.
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Again, though numerous team and personal instructions can affect the details of a
player's decision-making, a player's tactical priority will give you a very general
indication of how they'll behave at various points along the mentality ladder.
Defensive-oriented players will mainly focus on keeping the ball well clear of the
defensive third and minimizing the risk of being hit on the break. Control-oriented
players will mainly focus on keeping the ball circulating through a certain area of
the pitch until they see a clear opportunity to play it forward (assuming, of course,
this opportunity conforms with their tactical instructions or, failing that, personal
tendencies as a player). Attack-oriented players will show significantly less regard
for maintaining possession as they focus on simply moving the ball up the pitch and
into the attacking third (again, in accordance with their other tactical instructions
and personal playing tendencies) .
This relationship is largely what makes a particular task or responsibility that
player's priority. While I have so far emphasized that mentality structures are
dynamic with players shifting up and down the ladder to take up different tasks
when appropriate, this does not mean a player simply loses sight of what he's
primarily supposed to do when circumstance demands that he does something else.
Players with different tactical priorities will play differently even if they happen to
be on the same rung of the mentality ladder.
The influence of tactical priority applies to duty as well. Though attack duty players
will all attempt to push play into the opposition area, their tactical priority will
influence how they go about doing this. Thus, for example, an attack duty player
with a lower tactical priority will be more risk-averse than another attack-duty
player with a higher tactical priority, even if they are both currently attempting to,
for example, penetrate gaps or overload a defender.
ROLE, FLAIR, AGGRESSION AND TACTICAL PRIORITY

Again, in the most practical terms, a player's tactical priority reflects the degree of
risk they're willing to take to perform any given action on the pitch. This includes
getting forward, passing, dribbling, shooting, tackling, basic positioning and
basically every conscious act that a footballer might perform. The attacking
priorities in the upper third of the ladder will, thus, lead a player to take more risks
to move the ball up the pitch, create chances and promptly regain possession. The
control priorities in the middle third of the ladder will lead a player to try to balance
risks in various aspects of play. In general, this will lead him to emphasize
maintaining possession, as he will neither be too wasteful with his passing in the
opposition half nor too hasty to clear the ball from danger in his own. The defensive
priorities in the lower third of the ladder will lead a player to limit risk with a
greater emphasis on simply preventing opposition chances and holding onto the ball
when not under pressure.
Role mainly functions by increasing a player's preference for performing certain
actions over others, so in terms of tactical priority, it can be thought of as
modifying the acceptable level of risk that a player is willing to take to perform a
specific action (e.g., dribbling, passing, tackling, shooting from distance, etc.). Of
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course, no setting will make a player a mere robot. Players will deviate from their
role's instruction if the action in question appears to have the highest potential
benefit and the risk is low enough. However, as risk naturally escalates with a
phase of play culminating in an attacking move, the collective effects of tactical
priority and role will become more pronounced.
The basic level of risk-taking established by a player's tactical priority is further
modified by a player's expressiveness. A player's level of expressiveness is
controlled both by their flair attribute and tactical instructions. A higher degree of
expressiveness will raise the maximum risk a player is willing to accept to perform
specific types of actions when in possession. In effect, it will primarily make the
player more likely to attempt ambitious, higher risk actions to achieve greater
benefits in attacking play.
Notably, by counteracting the more restrictive tactical instructions imposed by
roles, it will also cause a player to be more likely to deviate from their role when
they perceive it as beneficial.
A team's fluidity setting has a significant influence on the expressiveness of players.
More fluid settings will encourage players to be more expressive while more rigid
settings will encourage players to be less expressive. Thus, in more fluid settings,
players will generally be more ambitious in how they choose to carry out their
tactical priority and will deviate more readily from the confines of their role
(especially if the role imposes numerous restrictions on how the player plays),
whereas players in more rigid settings will be more disciplined and methodical in
how they choose to carry out their tactical priority with less deviation from any
restrictions imposed by their role.
Aggression can be thought of as the defensive counterpart of flair. While flair
modifies a player's tendency to attempt more ambitious actions in possession,
aggression will increase a player's tendency to take risks when out of possession.
Specifically, a highly aggressive player will look to get directly involved in defensive
play at every opportunity with a greater willingness to get stuck in and risk fouls.
On the other hand, a more passive player will tend to sit back and help the team
maintain its shape while waiting for clear cut opportunities to dispossess opposition
attackers.
As tendency attributes, neither flair nor aggression are necessarily good or bad,
though you should carefully consider how they might affect the system you are
attempting to put in place. Players with high ratings in these attributes are often a
poor fit for roles that demand a high level of tactical discipline while players with
low ratings may prove too cautious for roles that call for a player to take charge
and improvise when necessary.
ROAMING, FREE ROLES AND MENTALITY STRUCTURES

The roaming instruction controls what is often referred to as positional fluidity, so
not surprisingly, roaming and fluidity are often confused with one another.
However, though the distinction between the two may appear subtle on the first
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glance, they are quite different. As noted in the introduction, team fluidity
represents more of a general principle of tactical organization that controls how
many players will focus on a given task at one time and how closely players in
different positional strata will work together to carry out their individual
responsibilities.
However, while fluidity is largely a managerial concept that serves as an abstract
and somewhat esoteric representation of a set of more mundane instructions,
roaming is a much more simple footballing concept that applies to an individual
player. In short, the roaming instruction gives a player more freedom to break from
the team's basic shape to open up play or provide positional support for a
teammate.
To a great extent, this will cause a player's lateral movement to be much more
dynamic, though in terms of the mentality ladder, roaming can be thought of as
also making a player's movement up and down the ladder much more eratic and
unpredictable in relation to the rest of the team and, by extension, the mentality
structure. Thus, a roaming player will be much more likely to take up
responsibilities well outside the basic organizational framework specified by the
team's mentality, fluidity and duty settings.
Notably, the team fluidity setting does not affect how many players are permitted
to roam. The amount of roaming permitted is primarily determined by the mentality
setting, though certain roles will always be permitted to roam by default. Thus,
both very rigid and very fluid systems can accomodate high levels of positional
"fluidity."
FLUIDITY, SHAPE AND EXPANSIVENESS

As you may have noticed in the prior sections, more fluid settings do not
necessarily equate to a greater gap between the tactical priority of forwards and
the tactical priority of the deepest defender, only the number and degree of the
distinctions in tactical priority between various roles and positions. While fluidity will
affect how "vertically" expansive or compact your team's shape will be at various
points in attacking and defensive play, both sides of the continuum give you
options.
In fact, the fluid and rigid settings are actually mirror images of one another with
"Very Rigid" and "Very Fluid" resulting in a generally more compact shape while
"Rigid" and "Fluid" result in a generally more expansive shape ("Balanced," on the
other hand, offers more flexibility).
But again, fluidity merely modifies other tactical settings at the most abstract level.
In terms of defining the team's shape for the various phases of play, fluidity is only
one component along with formation, duty assignment, role, etc.
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FLUIDITY, GENERALISM AND SPECIALISM

Ultimately, no matter how compact or expansive the shape, all teams attack and
defend as a whole to the extent that the entire team will collectively climb up and
down the mentality ladder in accordance with a specific organizational framework
(or rather, mentality structure). In other words, no player ever wholly disconnects
from the broader activity of the team, and even the striker who discourages
overlapping runs by roaming into gaps in the defensive line or the defender who
cautiously recycles possession from deep within his own half can be said to
contribute to defence or attack to some degree.
Fluidity, in this sense, is not a question of whether a team coheres as a single,
cooperative unit during a given phase of play. Fluidity simply determines how many
different tasks the team will usually be focused on carrying out at any given
moment, or in terms of the mentality ladder, it determines how many positions or
rungs the players occupy at any given moment. A more fluid system will usually
have the team focused on less tasks as a whole with more players focused on
carrying out a specific task. A more rigid system will have the team as a whole
focused on more tasks with less players focused on carrying out a specific task. In
both cases, the team will be structured around a group of core tasks of a certain
type (i.e., defensive, controlling, attacking as defined by the team's mentality
setting), but more rigid teams will typically have a greater degree of stratification
between different positions and roles.
Accordingly, fluid systems are associated with generalism (also referred to as
universalism), the idea that players should be more versatile and intuitive in their
play while cooperating closely to carry out specific tasks. The greater number of
players focused on or closely supporting specific tasks means the team has more
options available for successfully carrying out each task. However, it also means
the team may progress up the ladder in a slower, more disorganized fashion while
the players themselves are more likely to be called upon to carry out a broader
range of tactical responsibilities during a single phase of play. This is why it's
recommended that managers who prefer a more fluid system make more use of the
more generic roles that are designed to carry out multiple tasks.
In contrast, rigid systems are associated with specialism, the idea that players
should focus on a more refined set of skills and tactical instructions to optimize
their ability to carry out specific tasks. The smaller number of players focused on or
closely supporting specific tasks means the team can typically progress up the
ladder in a faster, more efficient manner with players less likely to deviate too far
from their tactical comfort zone, but reversing the benefits and drawbacks of a fluid
system, it also means the team has fewer immediately options available for
successfully carrying out each task and can become disjointed if one link in the
chain is effectively targeted by the opposition or just simply underperforms. And
this is why it's recommended that managers who prefer a more rigid system make
more use of the specialist roles that are designed to optimize their ability to
individually carry out specific tasks.
Expressiveness, as discussed above, is also an important aspect of this distinction.
More fluidity promotes more expressiveness which, in turn, encourages players to
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take the initiative with higher risk actions and deviate more from restrictions
imposed by their roles. On the other hand, more rigidity promotes less
expressiveness which encourages players to adhere to the restrictions imposed by
their roles and stick with the plan set forth by the manager.
In this sense, rigid structures promote a system-oriented approach to the game.
Players adhere to a more restrictive style of play with the assumption being that
the aggregate effect of adhering to a more coherent plan will ultimately prove more
beneficial than the aggregate effect of simply letting players follow their intuitions
on a moment-by-moment basis. In other words, the rigid, system-oriented
approach asserts that the whole is greater than its parts with the best possible
sequence of play not always resulting from the "best" option in an individual
moment of play.
In contrast, fluid structures promote a more player-oriented, intuitive approach to
the game. Players adhere less to the restrictions imposed by the system with the
assumption being that the aggregate effect of players intuitively responding to
dynamic situations will ultimately prove more beneficial than the aggregate effect of
expecting a strictly defined system to adequately adapt to every possible context.
In other words, the fluid, player-oriented approach asserts that the collective
depends on the ingenuity of the individual to effectively adapt to the chaos of a
football match with the best possible sequence of play rarely resulting from
attempting to impose order on what is essentially an exercise in disorder.
THE COUNTER ATTACK PHASE AND THE MENTALITY LADDER

A counter attack phase is initiated when your team gains possession and the
opposition has left itself exposed or overextended with a lack of defenders between
the ball and goal.
The counter attack phase effectively overrides your mentality structure by causing
all players to assume the highest position on their respective mentality ladders and
temporarily focus on overloading the opposition defence. All players will
immediately begin climbing the mentality ladder with an extreme level of urgency,
and only defend duty players will hold off from attacking the opposition's third
(though even they will be to do so if there are sufficient number of teammates
behind them). This temporary alteration of the mentality structure will continue
until the opposition regains possession or gets an adequate number of players back
between the ball and goal.
All teams, regardless of style and mentality, will enter the counter attack phase
when the aforementioned conditions are met. The frequency of counter attacks will
mainly be determined by the way your tactical settings interact with those of the
opposition, though some team mentality settings encourage players to enter the
phase more readily.
On the Defensive, Counter and Overload mentalities, teams will be more inclined to
enter the counter attack phase when there are a slightly greater number of
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defenders between the ball and the goal. In the case of Defensive and Counter
mentalities, this better enables these more defensive mentalities to alternate
between more cautious build-up plays and fast breaks without needlessly giving
away possession. Moreover, since more defensive mentalities allow the opposition
to come deeper, counter attacks will usually have more depth to work with going
forward. Thus, even if the opposition has slightly greater numbers behind the ball,
there is a good chance their defenders will be scrambling to cover a large expanse
of space ahead of their goal.
In the case of Overload mentalities, this merely ensures that your players break
forward at every opening.
On a Contain mentality, the team will be more inclined to keep possession and hold
up the ball in advanced positions when possible, so counter attacks are less likely to
occur.
On a Standard, Control and Attack mentality, counter attacks are less likely to
occur after winning the ball in a deep position. Since these mentalities already
encourage relatively quick build-up play, the players will be more inclined to carry
out a more elaborate build-up at a faster pace, though the counter attack phase will
still be initiated if the opposition has left its defence badly exposed. Additionally,
since you will typically go up against more cautious opponents when using these
mentalities, it ensures your side won't simply bomb forward directly into an
entrenched, well organized defence when a more considered approach is necessary.
On these more aggressive mentalities, the counter attack phase will be more likely
occur when an attacker manages to win the ball in an advanced position or if you
happen to be playing an open game against another aggressive opponent. As such,
if you want to facilitate more quick breaks on these settings, you will need to
ensure you have attackers pressing the opposition's deep-lying midfielders and
defenders.
PRESSING AND THE MENTALITY LADDER

Closing down settings function by modifying a player's willingness to break from the
defensive shape to press an opponent on the ball. For the most part, it determines
how quickly and how far a player is willing to venture forward to close down the
opposition, but as with other settings, this is relative to the risk and reward
involved. A player's tactical priority will give you a good sense of the default point
in the defensive phase at which a player will start pressing the opposition as well as
the manner in which they go about closing down the opponent (e.g., promptly
diving into a tackle or methodically restricting space from a comfortable distance...
or any degree in between).
Accordingly, there is no fixed location on the pitch which will always prompt a
player to immediately close down the opposition. There are always limits to how far
a player will venture from their defensive position, even if they have an aggressive
tactical priority and are assigned to press higher. Generally, a player won't venture
too far beyond the zone defined by the team's defensive shape unless there is both
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sufficient positional cover behind him and a sizable, undefended gap between
himself and the player with the ball.
PASSING AND THE MENTALITY LADDER

Various instructions and settings will also have an effect on how quickly players
move up the mentality ladder. More direct and riskier passing will cause the ball to
move up the pitch more quickly, often causing the midfield to be bypassed
altogether. This, consequently, will cause players to move up the mentality ladder
more quickly.
In previous versions, passing risk was controlled by the "through balls" instruction,
but this name often created the misconception that it only referred to attempts to
play the ball behind the defensive line. Now, this instruction is referred to as the
more appropriately general "risky passing." Telling a player to attempt riskier
passing increases their tendency to attempt passes behind or between defenders
with the intent of getting the intended recipient beyond his marker. Thus, less risky
passing will encourage players on the ball to wait for options to drop back and
make themselves available for a pass while more risky passing will encourage
players to play the ball through gaps in the defence (though not necessarily beyond
the defence as a whole).
PRIORITY ALTERING TEAM INSTRUCTIONS

Some team instructions will have a direct effect on your mentality structure.
"Exploit the Flanks" will increase the tactical priority of your fullbacks or wingbacks
while effectively giving them all an attack duty. While the alteration of tactical
priority is variable depending on your team mentality, the idea is that it will
essentially encourage your fullbacks or wingbacks to operate more like wide
midfielders.
"Exploit the Middle" will give a more aggressive duty to all central players other
than keepers, sweepers and centrebacks while giving a more cautious duty to all
wide players. Thus, defend duty central players take up a support duty, support
duty central players take up an attack duty, attack duty wide players take up a
support duty, and support duty wide players take up a defend duty.
"Look for Overlap" works much like "Exploit the Flanks" with the added effect of
wingers and wide forwards being given a more cautious duty to cover for the more
aggressive fullbacks and wingbacks.
"Take a Breather" effectively instructs everyone to drop down to a more cautious
duty (i.e., attack duty players become support duty players while support duty
players become defend duty players). In practical terms, this encourages your team
to just sit back and avoid moving play into the attacking third.
25
PART VIII. TACTICAL PRIORITIES IN DETAIL

In this final section, you will find a brief description of the various tactical priorities
for both outfield players and goalkeepers. Each tactical priority serves as a general
point of reference that clarifies how a player is supposed to function within a
broader tactical system. However, again, it is important to distinguish between
tactical priority and role. While a tactical priority tells a player what he's supposed
to focus on doing within a given system, the exact details regarding how a player
goes about doing it is further refined by role and duty.
Accordingly, effectively putting the mentality ladder into practice requires
considering a player's tactical priority in relation to his role. For example, while a
trequartista can be given a "defensive" tactical priority, the particular instructions of
the role will typically cause him to emphasize more passive aspects of defending
like hunting down clearances, denying passing angles, discouraging forward runs
from defenders, etc. Similarly, a ball-winning midfielder told to sit deep and help
contain incoming attacks will be much more defensively aggressive relative to
teammates with the same priority and more inclined to break from the defensive
shape to do what he's been told to do.
The relationship between duty and tactical priority is less nuanced and more easily
outlined in broad terms. Simply, as discussed in the prior section, it controls the
willingness and urgency with which a player progresses beyond his tactical priority
during attacking play. To this extent, the following duty descriptions can be
appended to any tactical priority description. Note, again, that the playmaker roles
(i.e., the Regista, Deep Lying Playmaker, Advanced Playmaker, Enganche and
Trequartista) should all, in practice, use the Support Duty description.
Attack Duty
With an attack duty, the player will look to immediately advance into an attacking
position after helping to carry out his tactical priority.
Support Duty
With a support duty, the player will aim to securely carry out his tactical priority
and wait for sufficient defensive cover before advancing forward to provide close
support to players in attacking positions.
Defend/Cover/Stopper Duty
With a defend/cover/stopper duty, the player will mainly stick to his defensive
position during the attacking phase and only advance forward when there is
minimal risk involved.
And now, the outfield tactical priorities:
Obstruct Shots
Under the current team mentality and fluidity instructions, this player will be
inclined to position himself very deep with an aim towards simply blocking passing
and shooting angles in and around his penalty area.
26
Slow Attacking Movement

Under the current team mentality and fluidity instructions, this player will focus on
containing runs into the defensive third with a greater emphasis on simply
impeding the momentum of the attack until there is enough defensive support to
safely deal with the threat.
Contain Attacking Movement
containing runs into the defensive third by impeding the momentum of the attack
and, if enough defensive support is available, diverting attackers into areas where
they will pose less of a threat.
Divert Attacking Movement
containing runs into the defensive third with a greater willingness to hold his
ground ahead of the penalty area to force attackers into areas where they will pose
less of a threat.
Restrict Space Cautiously
denying opposition attackers space in which to play the ball with a greater
emphasis on attempting to simply force technical errors without giving away a foul.
Restrict Space
denying opposition attackers space in which to receive and play the ball while being
careful not to give away a foul in a dangerous area.
Restrict Space Aggressively
denying opposition attackers space in which to receive and play the ball with a
slightly greater willingness to challenge for the ball when the opportunity presents
itself.
Disrupt Attacks Judiciously
challenging opposition attackers as they venture deep into the defensive half and
promptly clearing the ball from dangerous areas.
Disrupt Attacks
challenging opposition attackers as they venture into the defensive half and, if no
safe passing options are available, promptly clearing the ball from dangerous areas.
Disrupt Attacks Quickly
promptly challenging advancing opposition attackers and carefully getting the ball
forward without needlessly compromising the team's defensive shape.
27
Recover Possession After Defensive Transition

venturing forward and challenging for possession in the centre of the park once the
team has securely transitioned into a cohesive defensive shape.
Recover Possession
venturing forward and regaining possession in the centre of the park when
sufficient defensive cover is available.
Recover Possession Immediately
venturing forward and regaining possession in the centre of the park before the
opposition can coordinate its attack.
Keep Possession Away from Pressure
winning and holding onto the ball in the centre of the park with a greater inclination
to securely play it back deep into his own half in order to draw out the opposition
defence.
Keep Possession
winning and holding onto the ball in the centre of the park until it can be securely
moved into a more advanced area.
Keep Possession Under Pressure
winning and holding onto the ball in the centre of the park with a greater emphasis
on luring nearby defenders out of position in order to create space for advancing
teammates.
Shuttle Ball into Space
Under the current team mentality and fluidity instructions, the player will focus on
taking possession of the ball near or inside the opposition half and promptly moving
it into the attacking third while being careful not to needlessly play it into the path
of a defender.
Shuttle Ball
taking possession of the ball near or inside the opposition half and promptly moving
it into the attacking third.
Shuttle Ball Through Defence
taking possession of the ball inside the opposition half and promptly moving it into
the attacking third with a greater willingness to take on or thread the ball between
defenders.
28
Suppress Counterattacking Options

sitting behind the attack in the opposition half before moving to aggressively deny
space to opposition forwards looking to break forward on the counter.
Suppress Counterattacks
sitting behind the attack in the opposition half before moving to aggressively mark
or close down opposition forwards and attacking midfielders looking to initiate a
quick counterattack.
Suppress Counterattacking Outlets
sitting behind the attack in the opposition half before aggressively moving to close
down opposition players attempting to receive passes or recover clearances in the
hole between the midfield and defence.
Isolate Advancing Midfielders
sitting behind the attack in the opposition half before quickly moving to disrupt the
opposition's build-up play by aggressively marking and closing down opposition
midfielders attempting to get forward to support a counterattack.
Isolate Midfielders
opposition's build-up play by aggressively marking and closing down opposition
midfielders attempting to advance play out of their own third.
Isolate Holding Midfielders
opposition's build-up play by aggressively closing opposition midfielders attempting
to hold onto or play the ball from within their own third.
Hassle Dawdling Defenders
opposition's build-up play and initiate counterattacking opportunities by closing
down defenders who either appear hesitant to move the ball forward or are
purposefully attempting to waste time by passing it around in the defensive third.
Hassle Defenders
opposition's build-up play and initiate counterattacking opportunities by
aggressively closing down defenders attempting to play the ball out from the back.
Hassle Defenders Relentlessly
29
opposition's build-up play and initiate immediate counterattacking opportunities by
aggressively closing down defenders attempting to get the ball out of their own
third.
Force Clearance
sitting behind the attack in the opposition half before quickly moving to force either
the defender or the goalkeeper into a hasty clearance.
Join Attack
This task is not available as a tactical priority in any mentality structure. If
teammates take up the player's responsibilities and provide sufficient defensive
cover, a defend duty player will momentarily assume support duty attacking
responsibilities or, on rare occasions, attack duty attacking responsibilities if a good
opportunity presents itself.
Create Chances Patiently
finding space ahead of the defence from which he can receive the ball and, if
possible, wait for a clear opportunity to craft a chance before he is closed down by
opposition defenders.
Create Chances
finding space ahead of the defence from which he can receive the ball and look for
an opportunity to craft a chance before he is he closed down by opposition
defenders.
Create Chances Urgently
finding space ahead of the defence from which he can receive the ball and look to
quickly craft a chance as soon as a credible opportunity emerges.
Force Half Chances When Necessary
getting onto the ball in advanced areas and crafting chances with a greater
willingness to attempt to force a chance when support is lacking and no clear
opportunities appear likely to emerge.
Force Half Chances
getting onto the ball in advanced areas and crafting chances, though rather than
patiently probe a stubborn defence, he will be more inclined to attempt to force a
chance to sustain the momentum of the attack.
Force Half Chances Without Hesitation
getting onto the ball in advanced areas and attempting to craft a chance at the first
possible opportunity.
30
Test Defence with Precision

finding occasional opportunities to test the opposition defence's concentration and
discipline with carefully placed shots and precise passes intended to cause panic
and indecision.
Test Defence
testing the opposition defence's concentration and discipline by periodically taking a
shot on goal or playing a hopeful ball into the area with the intent of provoking
panic and indecision.
Test Defence with Power
testing the opposition defence's concentration and discipline with a much greater
willingness to simply blast the ball goalwards or lob it into the area when other
options appear limited.
Rush Ball Forward
simply overwhelming the opposition defence by playing hopeful balls into the area
at every opportunity.
Surge Into Box
This task is not available as a tactical priority in any mentality structure. If
teammates take up the player's responsibilities and provide sufficient defensive
cover, a support duty player will momentarily assume attack duty attacking
responsibilities if a good opportunity presents itself.
Spearhead Attacking Moves from the Hole
utilizing space between the opposition midfield and defence to make himself
available for passes before either running at the defence or attempting to quickly
link up with another advancing attacker.
Spearhead Attacking Moves
finding space near the opposition defence to make himself available for passes
before either running at the defence or attempting to quickly link up with another
advancing attacker.
Spearhead Attacking Moves Closer to Defence
persistently pushing up against and dropping back from the opposition defensive
line to both lure defenders out of position and make himself available for passes
before either running at the defence or attempting to quickly link up with another
advancing attacker.
31
Penetrate Gaps Intermittently

staying forward and, when not needed to help link up the attack, looking for
openings to run deep into the attacking third.
Penetrate Gaps
staying forward and, when sufficient support is available, moving deep into the
attacking third to either stretch the defence or get on the end of chances.
Penetrate Gaps Persistently
staying forward and immediately exploiting any defensive gaps that open up in the
attacking third.
Draw Off Defenders
staying forward and pushing up against the opposition defensive line while looking
to either immediately break forward on the counter or drag defenders out of
position to create space for teammates' runs and passes.
Overload Defenders
Under the current team meantlity and fluidity instructions, the player will focus on
to either break forward on the counter, drag defenders out of position or simply
provide a physical presence to occupy and obstruct them as teammates look
overload the opposition penalty area.
Challenge Defenders
to either break forward on the counter or provoke panic among opposition
defenders by providing a persistent, aggressive presence poised to get on the end
of any balls played into the opposition penalty area.
Bypass Last Defender
simply sitting on the shoulder of the last defender at all times with the intention of
pinning back the opposition defence and breaking forward into space at every
opportunity.
And finally, the goalkeeper tactical priorities:
Shield Goal
Under the current team mentality and fluidity instructions, the goalkeeper will
mainly rely on his defenders to obstruct shooting angles as he focuses on stopping
shots from the line and claiming balls played across the six yard box.
32
Limit Pressure
Under the current team mentality and fluidity instructions, the goalkeeper will focus
on minimizing the risk of being exposed by defensive errors with a strong tendency
to dwell on claimed balls and kick it long after his teammates have assumed
attacking positions higher up the pitch.
Distribute Safely
on securely distributing the ball to defenders as soon as possible, though he will
still kick it long if the defence finds itself under pressure.
Cycle Possession
on securely distributing the ball to the defence and helping them keep possession
when under pressure from opposition forwards.
Initiate Attacks
on quickly distributing the ball to facilitiate rapid counterattacks and offering a deep
outlet for possession passes to help his team keep hold of the ball during elaborate
build-up plays.
Support Attacks
on quickly distributing the ball to open teammates across the pitch with a much
greater willingness to leave his area to help sustain offensive pressure.
CONCLUSION
Philosophy, style, fluidity.
My intention in creating the mentality ladder was to provide a more accessible
foundation for understanding and utilizing the common concept to which these
terms refer. Hopefully, if you were totally confused before, this guide has provided
you with a greater degree of clarity and a useful tool for getting what you want out
of your tactics. If you were already comfortable with the fluidity setting, then at the
very least, I hope this guide has inspired a few ideas for using them in new and
novel ways.
However, as I said in the introduction, this guide is only an initial, exploratory
attempt at outlining and clarifying the practical foundations of fluidity in terms of
the ordinary language used between coach and player. While the mentality ladder is
rooted in my experiences playing the game and testing various tactical settings
within the confines of the Tactics Creator, it will undoubtedly need to be further
adjusted and refined (certainly, it has already undergone multiple revisions prior to
this initial publication).
With that said, even in this early state, I hope it will prove to be an accessible and
entertaining heuristic framework that will better enable you to avoid unnecessary
guesswork and just have more fun with the game.
33

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FOREWORD

itself. Designed to provide a coherent framework for setting positions on the

PART I. THE MENTALITY LADDER

The Mentality Ladder for Attack Duty Players

- Recover Possession After Defensive Transition

TACTICAL PRIORITY AND THE TASK AT HAND

FORMATION, POSITION AND TACTICAL PRIORITY

ASYMMETRIC PRIORITY ARRANGEMENTS

THE ORIENTING EFFECT OF TEAM MENTALITY AND FLUIDITY

OUTLINING THE MENTALITY STRUCTURES

PART II. COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES: VERY FLUID MENTALITY

PART III. SOLID FOUNDATIONS: FLUID MENTALITY STRUCTURES

PART IV. ASYMMETRIC SHAPES: BALANCED MENTALITY

PART V. GESTALT SYSTEMS: RIGID MENTALITY STRUCTURES

PART VI. PRODUCTION LINES: VERY RIGID MENTALITY

The Sweeper Effect

PART VII. THE MENTALITY LADDER, DUTY AND OTHER SETTINGS

DUTY, FORMATION AND ATTACKING SHAPE

associated with the 4-2-3-1 formation can be accomplished with numerous

CENTREBACKS AND THE DEFENSIVE LINE

THE DEFENSIVE PHASE

ROLE, FLAIR, AGGRESSION AND TACTICAL PRIORITY

ROAMING, FREE ROLES AND MENTALITY STRUCTURES

FLUIDITY, SHAPE AND EXPANSIVENESS

FLUIDITY, GENERALISM AND SPECIALISM

THE COUNTER ATTACK PHASE AND THE MENTALITY LADDER

PRESSING AND THE MENTALITY LADDER

PASSING AND THE MENTALITY LADDER

PRIORITY ALTERING TEAM INSTRUCTIONS

PART VIII. TACTICAL PRIORITIES IN DETAIL

Slow Attacking Movement

Recover Possession After Defensive Transition

Suppress Counterattacking Options

Test Defence with Precision

Penetrate Gaps Intermittently

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