In the not too distant past, I made a well-read blog post on set pieces, which was pretty much by the book, standardised approaches to set pieces. I’m not knocking those approaches and I still stand by them, but part of me is always looking for room to improve on the setup I am using. Whilst I really do realise perfection is nigh impossible to achieve, chasing it relentlessly will improve the chances of being excellent. Just being good just won’t do.
This focus on improvement is easy for set pieces as set plays, by their premeditated nature, offer a relatively consistent level of defensive and attacking opportunity and by looking at the effectiveness of teams against a variety of different opponents, we may be able to further improve upon the setup I described earlier. In this blog post, I’m trying to think outside the box.
Table of Contents
Thinking Outside The Box Really Means Outside The Box For FM15
The traditional approach would be all about the critical delivery area just outside the five yard box but before the penalty spot, far enough from the goal to make it difficult for the goalkeeper to come out to catch or punch, particularly when players are positioned around him, block his path and obstructing his line of view. It’s a traditional approach and always effective, but not really innovative.
As I said in the title for this section though, thinking outside the box in terms of set piece plays really does mean thinking outside the box. I would be a massive tease if I didn’t show you what I mean by that, so let’s just skip the long and infuriating foreplay and get right to it.
The new setup focusses on isolating one or two players in a position where they can receive the ball with time to play the ball or take a shot. The key element here is getting players in a position where they are not properly marked by the opposing team. The distribution of players scattered around the box is the key element here.
How To Make This Work; Keeping It Simple Seems To Work
Basically, the new system is all about simplicity, most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided. Looking at the system I am using now, we can all agree that it can’t get much simpler.
Over half the team on default settings, short corner kicks and you’re not relying on some overpowered beast of a player to batter the ball past the opposing keeper, instead relying on vision, passing and finesse. Not bad in terms of keeping it simple, right? Even isolating the players seems to work reasonably easy. No fancy tricks or artificial tricking the AI, just crowding the box and leaving a few players back. In-game, that will result in situations like this.
This scenario offers two lurkers on the edge of the penalty area. The most common scenario focusses on a low drive towards the closest midfielder, who will control the ball and look for a passing option inside the box to seal the deal.
When the initial pass fails, the second lurker acts as a failsafe, who can pick up the ball, recycle possession and start the cycle all over.
In some cases, the opposing team even tries marking the initial recipient or tries rushing him, to block off the passing-lanes inside the box. A wee flick to the side will suffice to bring the second lurker into play.
And there you have it. Simplicity triumphs and offers you a new take on your set pieces.
Guido is the founding father of Strikerless and main nutjob running the show.
16 Comments
comeontheoviedo · April 2, 2015 at 9:28 pm
As ever, genius!
strikerlessGuido · April 3, 2015 at 5:43 am
Thanks Chris. Turns out it wasn’t as new as I thought it was though haha
Ergo · April 2, 2015 at 10:38 pm
Not to s*it on the parade, but that corner routine has been known to work extremely well in FM15 for months now.
Still, eagerly awaiting your next articles 🙂 keep it up!
strikerlessGuido · April 3, 2015 at 5:25 am
I feel rather silly now… I should frequenting more fora then.
laxo · April 4, 2015 at 10:21 am
When can we expect the updated Sexy Strikerless? 🙂
strikerlessGuido · April 4, 2015 at 10:47 am
Trying to get it sorted today.
UpInTheStand · April 4, 2015 at 5:54 pm
Love the detail here. Great work.
strikerlessGuido · April 5, 2015 at 6:08 am
Thanks mate 🙂
sgevolker · April 30, 2015 at 9:01 pm
Hi Guido,
are there any instructions “set piece” for free kicks?
Best Regards
Volker
strikerlessGuido · May 1, 2015 at 8:11 am
Not yet, I’m still trying to improve on the default settings.
Marco Morais (@MarcoMoraisPG) · May 1, 2015 at 1:25 pm
Just one question…
Who take the corners?
strikerlessGuido · May 1, 2015 at 1:35 pm
That differs. I often leave it on automatic. For every corner taker, there is someone else who becomes the free man. For the best effect though, it’s usually the guy at MC. Galveias in the picture.
Osvaldo Piazzolla · September 10, 2015 at 3:48 pm
Hey Guido, just bumped into your blog…wasn’t aware of this. remember me, osvaldopiazzolla the blamed french in Miller?
do you have a recipe for attacking free kicks? i would like them to play the short but they seem to refuse whatsoever.
strikerlessGuido · September 12, 2015 at 7:14 pm
Oh I remember you Osvaldo. FM Live buddies, eh 🙂 I generally leave the attacking free kicks to default. That generally seems to work.
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[…] I have also shamelessly borrowed @merryguido’s set piece strategy from corners that works a treat. Defensively, I don’t bother with players on the posts, I have five guys lining up zonally […]
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