Target Men and Playmakers: Part 1: The Deep Lying Playmaker


A quick explanation for those who don’t know

The target man and the playmaker are two types of players who are very similar in one way and quite different in another. They are similar because they both become a player that your team will generally look to pass to. They are different due to the roles they play in your team; the playmaker will receive the ball and look to dictate tempo and spray creative passes around the pitch. The target man on the other hand will look to collect balls from your other players, either to their head, their feet or in front of them to run on to; becoming the focal point of your attack.

Playmaker

There are three types of playmakers, the defensive based one (dmc), the attacking type (amc), and the more controversial type (cm) which will not be mentioned because it is basically in between the other two. In this article I will be looking at the deep lying playmaker.

Some attributes to consider before using this playmaker

Creativity, passing, decisions, anticipation – these attributes define how good your playmaker will be good at spotting clever passes at the right time, which important for any playmaker.

Positioning, tackling, stamina, and work-rate - although your defensive playmaker will be largely contributing to your teams attack, he will need to have the quality to get back and give cover to your defence.

Using your playmaker effectively

Now you know some important attributes, you need to know how to employ the playmaker into the heart of the team.

DMC

This playmaker can actually play in two positions, either the dmc posisition or the mc position with a barrow (backwards arrow). A perfect example of this type of player would be Xabi Alonso; he is the defensive midfielder who sits backs and dictates tempo with his pin point passing, not the defensive midfielder who goes running around breaking up play. Here are some instructions I highly recommend for your defensive playmaker:

Forward runs: Often – this will make the defensive act as a deep lying playmaker, sitting just behind the attack, and just in front of the defence.

Closing down: Rarely/Mixed – remember you defensive playmaker is not like other dmc’s who are expected to run around winning the ball, making him do this could drag him out of his playmaking role.

Creative Freedom: Much – the more creative freedom he is giving the more he look to hit clever long balls – obviously.

Mentality – I tend to keep this never more than two notches above the fullbacks or two notched below the attacking midfielder. This should give him the effect of becoming the anchor between the defence and the attack.

Through balls: Often – in case you didn’t know, you want your playmaker to use his passing credentials to his advantage with through balls.

Passing style: mixed – if you play a direct style put slider closest to direct without being direct, if you play a short style, put it closest to mixed without being short. You want this to be mixed so your play maker can make key decisions whether to go short or long; whilst still keeping him in the same passing style of the team.


One more thing:

Don’t try and use this player if he doesn’t have the right the right attributes. For example, if your playmaker has crap decisions then this is where your whole team could fall apart. A playmaker who can’t complete the pass at the right place at the right time is no use to you whatsoever and will lose you a lot of possession. Also, when looking for defensive midfielders like these, don’t go for the classic dmc, like the Patrick Viera type, go for the more elegant type like Alonso or an attacking base dmc, like Andrea Pirlo of AC Milan.