The Midfield Battle

[74offsuit]

Is this where games are won and lost in the modern era?

I play a 3-5-2 formation with my U15's, the main reasons are to dominate the midfield, and to create a large amount of natural triangles.

How important is your midfield?

[Alex]

I think it could work to play 3-5-2, but what I find with my u16's is if i designate one of my midfielders to play deeper, and protect the three, then they don't want to do it and would much prefer play in an attacking position. Also I think you need your midfielders to be fit, and be able to support the defence, and if you play without wing-backs and the opposition are strong in wide areas this could also be a problem. The midfield battle in many youth and professional games can dictate a games result, but the game is won and lost through attacking, and defending so if the three in defence are strong, good players then definately the 5 in midfield is very important, and could be a tactic to win many games.

[ian.curry]

My midfield is pretty important, but I always play 4-4-2. The reasons for this is that they are used to it and fully understand their roles and thus play to the best of their ability.
This commonly works out as 2 of 3 players in my squad, one plays defensive and the other attacking.
3-5-2 or 4-5-1 I find that I myself do not fully understand/appreciate the formation, and discover problems I cannot resolve quick enough in both defence and attack.

[74offsuit]

Originally Posted by Alex

I think it could work to play 3-5-2, but what I find with my u16's is if i designate one of my midfielders to play deeper, and protect the three, then they don't want to do it and would much prefer play in an attacking position. Also I think you need your midfielders to be fit, and be able to support the defence, and if you play without wing-backs and the opposition are strong in wide areas this could also be a problem. The midfield battle in many youth and professional games can dictate a games result, but the game is won and lost through attacking, and defending so if the three in defence are strong, good players then definately the 5 in midfield is very important, and could be a tactic to win many games.

I do play a specific defensive midfielder. His role is to break down the opposition midfield play, not always with tackles, but by pre-empting the attack, and also to generate our attacks. It requires an intelligent player able to read the game well, and also possess a good touch to instigate our attacks quickly. Although predominantly a defensive role, I stress this is a key role in the team, and I have no problems filling this position from my squad.

I also play both wing backs, again I stress to my players that I cannot have everything in terms of attack and defence. The general rule is, wingbacks go forward when we have the ball, and back towards our goal when they have the ball. This may sound obvious, but it is a good starting point when explaining to the players their roles. As their experience grows they begin to problem solve for themselves.

I regard myself as being from the development school of coaching, and therefore I am interested in how to improve all my players. This means that I am actually not that interested in the result of the match. I know this sounds like sacrilege, but as I have said in other posts, I believe that the results will look after themselves if I improve my players.

[Charlie]

I think the midfield battle is incredibly important in amateur football and 3-5-2 is a great idea.

There is very rarely a need for 4 defenders, when most teams line up with 2 or at the most three forwards. Therfore to move players up into midfield is a simple and logical step.

In junior football I think the stats for goals from crosses are drastically different from stats for adult teams. I think it's more important to pack the middle of the park than the wings, as kids just don't have the same ability to switch play in the same way adults do.

I say, pack the park and win the midfield!

[ian.curry]

What if their left winger(in a 4-4-2) is played in behind your right wing back, and proceeds to beat your right centre back? He will then have 2 strikers to pass to and only 2 defenders as your left wing back will be way out. I think 4 at the back is vital for having that extra man should the opposition successfully beat one defender.

[74offsuit]

Originally Posted by ian.curry

What if their left winger(in a 4-4-2) is played in behind your right wing back, and proceeds to beat your right centre back? He will then have 2 strikers to pass to and only 2 defenders as your left wing back will be way out. I think 4 at the back is vital for having that extra man should the opposition successfully beat one defender.

Good point.

In the league we are in, we rarely come up against opposition with quality wingers, as mentioned in the above post. I am aware that this does not answer the question though!

Out of my three centre backs, two will mark their front two, leaving a sweeper type player to cover. This player can then help to go two on one against an attacker or move to block a winger. The defensive midfielder is also responsible to see a wing attack, and help provide cover too.

So between a wingback, the sweeping centre back, and the defensive midfielder, we usually have adequate cover. As a bonus the forward movement of both wingbacks, tends to pin back opposition wingers to defensive roles, making their attacks with these players slower.

As I say, this works at the level we are at, where the level of opposition coaching is pretty slow at adjusting to our formation, and always (so far) play 4-4-2.