Formations / Tactics

I tried Google, but maybe my search terms weren’t quite right. A question came up in a discussion with a bunch of soccer experts, who are also known as the parents on my kid’s soccer team. Since many of those experts disagreed, I thought that I wold pose the question to this group.

When playing 11v11 against a team that scores a lot of goals, but they also concede a lot of goals, what’s the best approach. If your team is balanced and typically plays low scoring games that are decided by 1 goal, what should you do?

You could go with the Jose Mourinho park the bus strategy. Basically shift into a 4-5-1 and have a speedy #9 up top to try and capitalize on a turn-over and get a goal off a quick counter. It isn't the best footy to watch but can be effective. Depends on how over matched your team is and how well you can play possession soccer.

A lot of this depends on the Age of your players ..... what can the "Team" conceptually understand? (not 6-7 core players)

Personally, I prefer a 3-5-2 that can flex into a 5-3-2 on defense ..... your best "athletes" function as the Wingbacks who bomb up and down the flanks .... (3) CB's with impeccable communication, (2) athletic Wingbacks, (2) double-pivot CM's, (1) AM/#10, (2) Forwards

Like (CATX) said above ..... the 4-5-1 is "effective" if implemented correctly, but you wont be winning any style points parking the Mourinho Bus LOL!!!!

It sounds silly enough here - but ..... How do you "win" a game? --> you simply Score more goals than your opponent. If all you focus on is "defense", you can hope for a bunch of 0-0 stalemates ..... I'd rather win or lose 6-5 than lose or tie 0-1 or 0-0 ..... but that's just me

Oh so you will employ the Arsenal 18/19 Emery approach then! Ha!

Do like the wing-backs flying up and having a more fluid attack transition than the park the bus formations.

Does not seem to me the OP is scared of the team in question, and has said his team is balanced in their methods so without parking the bus and having attacking options a traditional 4-4-2 should do.

CATX wrote:Oh so you will employ the Arsenal 18/19 Emery approach then! Ha!

Do like the wing-backs flying up and having a more fluid attack transition than the park the bus formations.

Yep! I preferred Kolasanic and Bellerin/AMN as the wing-backs .... I thought it brought a little more dynamism to the attack

I enjoy the tactical side of the game, but ultimately ..... the greatest tactics in the world will not work if you don't have the player personnel that can pull it off. The key is looking at what your Team's Strengths and Individual Player's Strengths are .... and then implementing a formation that best suits the players you are working with ==> no disrespect to someone like Brighton or Bournemouth, but that's like Pep showing up and trying to make his team play Tiki-Taka Barca footy with a bunch of industrious, hard-working Pro players ..... Square-Peg, Round Hole