- Staff
- #1
(Before I start I've no idea if this should go in here or off-topic, sorry if I've got it wrong)
In the last few years, I've found myself buying FA books to try and learn more about the game of football. The game has inspired me, to the point of working with local youth teams - it's an immense feeling of satisfaction when you learn something new in any field, but personally I am chuffed to pieces when I learn something new to do with football tactics and strategies.
I've played football (not at any kind of competitive level) for years, and played Football Manager since the first CM on PC, so it may surprise you to know I've only just learnt (from an FM 2007 screenshot funnily enough) that if the opposition have fast strikers, it's best to play your defenders deep (whereas I previously believed it was best to play high-up with an offside trap). I've also only just learnt from an FA guide book that it's best to have left-footed players take free kicks and corners on the RIGHT side, and vice versa. I felt utterly stupid when I found this out, but I'd just never thought about it in that much detail.
I remember an interview with Gordan Strachan years ago when he was the manager of... Southampton, I believe. He talked about how his teams always started at a fast tempo, and then slowed down later on in the game - as it was a lot easier to go out and play fast football and then slow down, than it is to play slow football and then speed it up. God knows whether any game includes this level of detail, but this is something else I enjoy putting into practice in Football Manager.
There's a lot of tactical information I would love to learn to help me along with FM 2007, as I still have a lot of blank areas in my head that I would love to fill (where players should be during free kicks and corners for example, how many should be left back, etc. - plus all of the advantages and disadvantages of pressing/standing off etc.) - could anybody recommend some good websites and/or books that would help?
Thanks guys.
In the last few years, I've found myself buying FA books to try and learn more about the game of football. The game has inspired me, to the point of working with local youth teams - it's an immense feeling of satisfaction when you learn something new in any field, but personally I am chuffed to pieces when I learn something new to do with football tactics and strategies.
I've played football (not at any kind of competitive level) for years, and played Football Manager since the first CM on PC, so it may surprise you to know I've only just learnt (from an FM 2007 screenshot funnily enough) that if the opposition have fast strikers, it's best to play your defenders deep (whereas I previously believed it was best to play high-up with an offside trap). I've also only just learnt from an FA guide book that it's best to have left-footed players take free kicks and corners on the RIGHT side, and vice versa. I felt utterly stupid when I found this out, but I'd just never thought about it in that much detail.
I remember an interview with Gordan Strachan years ago when he was the manager of... Southampton, I believe. He talked about how his teams always started at a fast tempo, and then slowed down later on in the game - as it was a lot easier to go out and play fast football and then slow down, than it is to play slow football and then speed it up. God knows whether any game includes this level of detail, but this is something else I enjoy putting into practice in Football Manager.
There's a lot of tactical information I would love to learn to help me along with FM 2007, as I still have a lot of blank areas in my head that I would love to fill (where players should be during free kicks and corners for example, how many should be left back, etc. - plus all of the advantages and disadvantages of pressing/standing off etc.) - could anybody recommend some good websites and/or books that would help?
Thanks guys.
