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Sep.04
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The Fast Striker
This type of striker is normally the one you will want to score 20+ goals a season. For him to get at least 20 goals he will need to be reasonably fast, so pace is essential and acceleration is equally important as it will determine how quick he is off the mark and will often give himself the edge against the defender. He will definitely need high agility and off the ball attributes, as this will decide how well he is at getting away from his marker and getting into a goal scoring opportunity. Being a fast striker, a lot of his chances will come from through balls and your striker should find himself in a lot of one-on-ones chances with the opposing goalkeeper. To succeed in this area, you striker will need to have a high number in finishing so he will know where to put the ball. Often, people neglect the composure of a striker, but this will actually determine if he is going to buckle under the pressure and send the ball flying over the bar. However, a player’s composure can sometimes be substituted for a PPM (player preferred move) such as, ‘shoots with power’, ‘place shots’ and ‘likes to round keeper’. All these attributes are essential, but a striker’s first touch, flair, dribbling, heading and technique are all important too.
Key Attributes: pace, acceleration, off the ball, finishing, composure.
Recommended buys: Michael Owen 11 mil, Eduardo ( Dinamo) 1.6mil, Cesar Delgado 2mil, Rodrigo Palacio 4 mil, Liedson ( Porto) 5mil, Tommaso Rocchi 6mil, Riki ( Deportivo) 3mil, Rafeal Sobis 5.5 mil.
The Target Man
This striker is unlikely to be the man who scores 20+ goals in the league, apart from that odd time when he goes on a good run. No, he does much more than that. His importance is to bring others into the game with headers and knock ons and is to generally give your team something to aim at. He will need to be good in the air, therefore, heading, jumping and strength will need to have high attributes so he can do well in the air. He will need to have a good first touch and technique so he can control the ball when it is played into him. Obviously, finishing and composure will need to be high again so he can do well in one-one-ones. Your striker will need to be brave so he does not scare when he is literally going head to head with John Terry in a battle to win the ball. He will need to be aggressive so he can shrug of the opposing defender but also will need a good level of composure to make sure he does not go over board. He will definitely need good off the ball stats, as this will once again determine if he can get into goal scoring areas to thump in a bullet header. Good PPMs for your target man would be, ‘plays with back to goal’, ‘likes ball played to feet’ and sometimes, ‘comes deep to get ball’.
Key Attributes: heading, jumping, finishing, off the ball, strength, composure.
Recommended Buys: Peter Crouch 9.5 mil, Sergej Barbarez 1.2mil, Savo Milosevic 5mil, Cristiano Lucarelli 6.2mil, Vincenzo Iaquinta 5.7mil, Amauri (Palermo) 5.7mil, Luca Toni 7.5 mil, Miroslav Klose 20mil.
The Winger
The job of a winger is to make forward runs on flank, beat the defender with a bit of trickery and whip in a crisp ball for attackers to volley home a goal. So what attributes will your winger need to do all of that? First of all, if you want a top class winger he should be an all round athlete, with pace, acceleration, stamina and agility, all important as he will be making runs up and down the flanks for 90 minutes. Dribbling, technique, agility and flair will all determine how good your winger is at beating the opposing defender. Your wide man will also need to be good off the ball and good at anticipating so he can time his runs to get in a position to cross; obviously he will need a good level of crossing skill and technique to deliver that decisive ball into the area. He will also need to have a good work rate and a high level of determination so he will run up and down the flank, in both an attacking and defending role. Your winger will also need to be creative so he can beat his man and create goal scoring opportunities. PPMs that suit a winger would be, ‘hugs line’, ‘knocks ball past opponent’, ‘likes to beat man repeatedly’, ‘runs with the ball down the left/right,’ and ‘tries tricks’.
Key Attributes: dribbling, crossing, pace, technique, creativity, acceleration.
Recommended Buys: Lee Chun-Soo1.2mil, Luca Modric 1.7mil, Vicente Sanchez 1.5mil, Andres Guardado 1,7mil, Andrian Mutu 13mil, Mancini 13mil, Florent Malouda 8mil, David Suazo 5mil, Simao 5mil.
The Attacking Midfielder
He is expected to run at defences, make creative passes and score spectacular goals but without certain attributes he will never succeed at any of them. So, for an attacking midfielder to be good at running at defence, he will need to have high stats in dribbling, technique, flair and agility, also balance, determination and decisions are not vital but will improve your attackers chance of beating the opponent. Usually your attacking midfielder will be your playmaker, dictating tempo and making them tricky passes. To succeed in that area, he should have a high level of passing, creativity, decisions, technique, concentration and anticipation. He will also need to be good at finishing, so make sure he has a good level of composure as he will often find himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Also, he will need to be good off the ball to get away from his marker, and a first touch is vital so he can turn his marker and find some space and time on the ball. If you’re attacking midfielder has a good long shot this could prove very important as they will often find themselves just outside the area with the opportunity to shoot. Physically, your midfielder should have good agility, balance, pace and acceleration. The best PPMs for your attacking midfielder would be, ‘dictates tempo,’, ‘knocks ball past opponent,’, ‘shoots from distance’, ‘tries killer ball often,’ and ‘ runs with ball through the centre,’.
Key Attributes: passing, creativity, decisions, dribbling, technique, agility, pace.
Recommended Buys: Ricardinho (Besiktas) 800k, Alvaro Recoba 5.7mil, Marcelo Gallardo 3.8mil, Anderson (Porto) 3.7mil, Diego (Bremen) 4mil, Paul Scholes 8mil, Rafael Van Der Vaart 8.8mil, Yildiray Basturk 6.3mil.
The Defensive Midfielder
This player is not always the most technically gifted, nor is he the fan's favourite. He is usually the unsung hero in Football Manager, because when he is playing good, and your team are doing well, you will probably not see his efforts. His job is to run around breaking up attacking play and making them crunching tackles that will turn defence to attack. To do this he will need a very good work rate and he will need to be very determined. Obviously, he will need to be good at tackling to make tackles, right? Well actually he will need to be a good marker; he will need to be good at anticipating and a good decision maker with high concentrating levels and at the same time knowing where to position himself. Whilst he should be a brave, aggressive player, he will need to have a good temperament and composure to make sure he doesn’t get sent off. In terms of technical ability, I have already covered tackling and marking, but he will also need to be good at heading, in order to break up play further. He will need good technique, first touch and passing ability as he will often receive the ball and make decisive passes. Physically, he should be strong; he should be naturally fit and have a good stamina because he will be running around non-stop for 90 minutes. The PPMs you might find with a good defensive midfielder could be, ‘comes deep to get ball,’, ‘dictates tempo,’, ‘stops play,’, ‘stays back at all times,’, ‘plays no through balls,’ and ‘plays short simple passes’.
Key Attributes: work rate, determination, tackling, stamina, anticipation, marking.
Recommended Buys: Carlos Humberto Paredes 1mil, Cristiano Zanetti 2.2mil, Javed Nekounam 3.4mil, Mathieu Flamini 4mil, Massimo Ambrosini 5mil, Claudio Maldonado 3mil, Jean ll Makoun 4.4mil, Alberto Zapater 5mil.
The Centre Back
Usually a tall towering bloke will do the job here, yeah? Well believe it or not, the best central defenders out there do have a bit of wit about them. Yes the need to be big and strong but they also need to be tactically sound as well. Your centre back will need to have good tackling ability and should be able to mark, because he won’t make one tackle if he can’t mark his opposing attacker. He will need to be able to head, jump and be well built (strength) so he can compete with the likes of Drogba in the air. Like the defensive midfielder, it is important that he is aggressive and brave when he is going into challenges but also composed at the same time. He will need to be concentrated, a good decision maker and should know where to position himself. He will need a good teamwork level as well so your defence can keep a straight back line. Attributes like anticipation, first touch and work rate are all bonuses that will make your defender even more top class. Depending on how high you decide to play your defensive line, pace and acceleration could be important. Teamwork, decisions, concentration and anticipation are all absolutely vital if you intend to inforce the offside trap in your defence. It could also prove beneficial to your defence if you have a leader at the back to organise the defence, some one with influence, determination, experience and who is generally respected among the squad, John Terry anyone? There are not many PPMs for central defenders but here are a few, ‘marks opponents tightly’ and ‘stops play’.
Key Attributes: tackling, marking, heading, strength, positioning, concentration, teamwork.
Recommended Buys: India (Internacional) 1.2mil, Jamie Carragher 5.3mil, Igor Tudor 1.6mil, Luisao 1.8mil, Joleon Lescott 2mil, Sebastian Squillaci 2mil, Tomas Hubschman 2.3mil, Andrea Barzagli 3.5mil, Gabriel Milito 9mil, Pepe (Porto) 2.5mil.
The Full Back
The full back has to be sound defensively to contain players like Cristiano Ronaldo but also a bit of attacking flair to contribute to your wide play. Yes, he has a tough job. First thing first; like the winger he must be a fine athlete, stamina is vital as he will be running back and forth all night, he will also need to be naturally fit, fast and reasonably strong to fend of the opposing attacker. It is important he can tackle, mark, make good decisions, position himself and have a good concentration level, all these stats add up to his defensive ability. To be a good attacking full back he should be good off the ball and good at decisions and determined, so he can make overlapping runs. It is not a necessity for him to be a good dribbler with tonnes of skill, but it can be useful especially if you want to play narrow but with overlapping full back. What is important is that he has a good technique and crossing ability, so he can contribute crosses into the danger area. Work rate, teamwork and determination all add up to a quality full back. Often, full backs attributes are spaced out, they have some of the attacking attributes of a winger and some defensive attributes of a central defender; Daniel Alves is a perfect example of this. Full backs often have PPMs like, ‘gets forward whenever possible’, ‘plays one-twos’, ‘hugs line’ and ‘knocks ball past opponents’.
Key Attributes: stamina, work rate, positioning, crossings, tackling, decisions.
Recommended Buys: Carlos Diogo 4mil, Belletti ( Barcelona) 4mil, Christian Zaccardo 3.3mil, Emmanual Eboue 4.mil, Willy Sagnol 5mil, Daniel Alves 8mil, Gianluca Zambrotta 9.5mil, Christian Chivu 5.5mil, Giorgio Chiellini 2.8mil, Mariano Pernia 2.8mil, Eric Abidal 3.6mil.
The Goalkeeper
The goalkeeper is often the villain or the hero in a football match. One save could mean your team lifting the cup and enjoying a night of booze and celebration. However, one missed save could cause your team going home empty handed, only to imagine what could have been. So obviously you should take some time deciding who to purchase as your keeper. He will need good aerial ability, jumping, bravery and anticipation if he is to succeed when reaching for them high balls and crosses. A keeper’s command of area and communication attributes will defy how good he is at organising your back line, not essential unless you want to play the offside trap. Your keeper will need a high level of handling so he knows how to handle the ball and will often decide whether your keeper blocks the ball or saves the ball. Eccentricity can often frustrate us managers. Keepers with this attribute will make pointless saves and crazy forward runs. However, if your keeper has good decisions and anticipation then it can work in favour of your team. Kicking and Throwing are a signal to how good a keeper’s distribution is. If you play a direct/long ball game then you should look for a high attribute in kicking, but if you play more of a short, counter attacking football, you should probably look for a good thrower. The keeper’s one-on-one stat will determine how good he is at winning a one-on-one with an attacker. Tendency to punch is another dodgy one because if you keeper has bad decisions and anticipation then he may try and punch the ball at the wrong time. Rushing out, decisions, anticipation and positioning are all linked, and if your keeper has high attributes in them areas you could try and inforce the ‘keeper sweeper tactic’. This requires your defence push up and you keeper’s mentality slightly above neutral so when through balls are played through, your keeper can sweep through and clear any danger. Your keeper will also need to be brave, for one-on-ones and aerial catches and he will need to be concentrated so he is always ready when someone shoots. So remember when picking keeper, don’t just look at his goalkeeping attributes, physical and mental can be just as important too.
Key Attributes: reflexes, positioning, aerial ability, kicking/throwing, command of area, handling, concentration.
Recommended Buys: Frank Rost 700k, Robert Green 1.5mil, Vincent Enyeama 150k, Francisco Ochoa 900k, Ustari Oscar 1.6mil, Marco Amelia 2.8mil, Michael Rensing 3.3mil, Craig Gordon 2mil, Oswaldo Sanchez 1mil, Helton (Porto) 1.4mil.
The Sweeper
Using a sweeper in football nowadays is not very popular. However, in the 1960s, the Italians mastered a tactic called the libero, which we call the sweeper system. The sweeper is the man who plays behind the back four/three; his job is to ‘sweep up’ any through balls played through or over the higher up defence. He will need to have a high understanding of the game and have the ability to read the game. He will need to be very concentrated, a good decision maker, he should know where to position himself, he should be a team player, he will need to anticipate balls from the opposition and obviously tackling because he is a defender. Also he will need to have good control on the ball because he will be intercepting often, his first touch and technique attributes will give him that. Another job he has to do when he has the ball is to build up attacking moves, so passing, decisions and some creativity will help him do that. The PPMs for this player is the same as the centre backs.
Key Attributes: concentration, decisions, anticipation, positioning, team work, tackling, passing.
Recommended Buys: Paolo Montero 250k, Paolo Maldini 260k, Sergey Ignashevich 1mil, Jaap Stam 1.7mil, Zdenek Grygera 1.8mil, Gabriel Milito 9mil, Roberto Ayala 7mil, Gonzalo Rodriguez 6mil, Marco Materazzi 4.7mil.
I hope you now have a better understanding of what attributes mean and why they are important for certain positions.
