Not a midfielder, not a striker --> i'm a hole player

[ReyesIsMyMate]

I only got into 11-a-side football seriously in sept 2003. I had the pleasure (and luck) of having Peter Scott (ex-Fulham) as a coach both last season and what has elapsed of this season.

I asked him what he felt my position wqas, which position I was suited to, and he said "i think you'd play best in the hole, between the strikers and the midfield".

This has come as a relief, as I look up to such players as Bergkamp, Valeron, Aimar, Joe Cole, Kaka etc. Technical players, as opposed to speedy or strong players.

The problem which I find is that, in the english 'style of play', it is very rare that players such as myself, receive the ball to feet as we need it, in order to make as much impact as we can.

In my personal opinion, I feel that at my age and the way I play, since i want to play football professionally, I should move to spain as I'd have a more realistic chance of making it.

Any ideas/suggestions/tips??

Guillermo

[metropolis2k]

I'm exactly the same. My ideal position is at the front of a midfield diamond and while that was perfect for me in Belguim, that formation isn't widely used here.

What I've learnt to do is just make myself as versatile as possible. I can play anywhere across midfield, striker or full back now and it's just a case of practising the parts of the game you need to work on (for me now it's tackling mostly). I guess my second most comfortable position is left midfield and I don't find that too different to playing in the hole. I don't play like a true winger, I play more like Reto Ziegler does at Tottenham. He gets the ball to feet, spreads it about a lot, goes on the odd run but also tracks back and comes across into the centre of the park to make tackles. Another player I have learnt to play a bit like is Michael Carrick who sits in front of the back four, gets the ball to feet off the defence and spreads it about.

I guess what I'm trying to say is work on all aspects of your game so you can become a really versatile player and ultimately that will give you the best chance of succeeding.

[benni...]

well i was in that predicament in nigeria where they rarely use the hole behind the strikers or attacking mid as a position. so i had to move to striker. i have no speed but can shoot and can pass and spread the ball aw well as cross. so ofcourse i felt out of position. until i got to america where the afore mentioned is used often. i personally think yuo should move from england. dont go to germany or norway. go to either holland or latin american countries.

i find the english and german styles of play unattractive and too direct. a team with a CAM can cause a lot of confusion with marking schemes.

[metropolis2k]

Yeah I find a lot of football to be a bit boring in England (it was really well done in Belguim when I was there) but at least there are some signs that change is happening. Morinho's had some great success with his formation and it's actually one I'm thinking of using with the Uni team I coach as we have the perfect players for it.

What I'm probably going to do for our remaining games is play a 4-5-1 with one of those three central midfielders dropping back in front of the back 4 as he can win all the headers and save our centre backs getting drawn out. It also means the wingers can really push on (they're both quick and have good shots).

I actually sound very like you Bennismalls - I'm not that quick but I feel I have very good distribution and am comfortable with both feet. I've thought about pushing to be a striker but to be honest the speed thing would let me down unless I'm paired with someone who is a true striker and I can just supply him.

[benni...]

that and the 3-5-2 are formations that fit a CAM. or do an AC milan and go for the diamond. as for your wingers, just be prepared to have back up as they may get tired easily depending on how the games go for you. with my teams wingers, they go foward but a lot of tea,s fullbacks go faoward and we end up out numbered.

[Jc18star]

I have the same exact problem as well.

When I started getting really serious about football/soccer I was used as a central striker in a 3-4-3 formation because at a young age had a rasping shot/strong finishing skills and lots of pace. I sort of made playing behind the to wing strikers my home and felt very useful playing free and able to drift around.

Once I got a bit older in my very early teens most teams went to a 4-4-2 formation and I felt out of place as one of the two strikers, I was kind of in-between a target striker and support striker becasue I wasn't really just a small and pacey dribbler but I wans't a big lumbering guy either, so after struggling to find my best form for about half a season I went to club team that played a diamond midfield and a coach who remembered me from when I was younger.

He thought the withdrawn role was my best postion and I was very at home in that postion and excelled right away there the probelm was that the team fell aprt due to issues beyond the coach and players control (parnets being a$$holes).

I then went to a club that promised me that the advanced center mid spot was all mine and once I got there they moved me to the wing then as an out and out striker which I took instride not wanting to be a primadonna. I finally got to play the advanced role I wanted and things got better for quite sometime but again the club fell apart and that was that.

During all of this my high school coach had no clue what to do with a player like me because he couldn't figure out if I was midfield player or forward and he refused to give me the freedom of the attacking role I wanted so he and I didn't really see eye to eye and at that point I was a very headstrong teenager so things ended up always getting heated and he just gave up and benched me for long streches at a time and I responded by telling him to "$****** my dick" and quit, throwing away the chance to get to a few D1 schools and play.

I ended up not playing for sometime after that and then I got back into playing and played at a Jr. college with a view to play at a D1 school in my home state before I shattered a bone in my leg and now I am back at point A again just coming back from that injury a year and 2 months later.

Anyway back to where I was going with that whole thing, most coachs don't know how to handle a player who's position is not defined with in strict boundries (at least here in America). Everyone tries to be very regimented and they don't let creative players play. It's sad really becasue the attacking center mid postion is such a wonderful thing to have if you can find a player that knows how to play it.

Alot of coachs don't give their players the freedom to play the way they can and to me that is a shame, you don't take players who are that creative and talented and force them in to a role, you don't build them in to a specific player you build your team around them. As a coach when I come across that rare gem of a player I culture and encourage them not stifle their natural talents....

Where would the game be today if some moron coach that never had any skill as a player told players like Maradona or Ronaldhino that they had to fit into a specific system or sit the bench?

[benni...]

did u know michael jordan went through the same thing. he was put on the bench

[guado]

I have the same exact problem as well.

When I started getting really serious about football/soccer I was used as a central striker in a 3-4-3 formation because at a young age had a rasping shot/strong finishing skills and lots of pace. I sort of made playing behind the to wing strikers my home and felt very useful playing free and able to drift around.

Once I got a bit older in my very early teens most teams went to a 4-4-2 formation and I felt out of place as one of the two strikers, I was kind of in-between a target striker and support striker becasue I wasn't really just a small and pacey dribbler but I wans't a big lumbering guy either, so after struggling to find my best form for about half a season I went to club team that played a diamond midfield and a coach who remembered me from when I was younger.

He thought the withdrawn role was my best postion and I was very at home in that postion and excelled right away there the probelm was that the team fell aprt due to issues beyond the coach and players control (parnets being a$$holes).

I then went to a club that promised me that the advanced center mid spot was all mine and once I got there they moved me to the wing then as an out and out striker which I took instride not wanting to be a primadonna. I finally got to play the advanced role I wanted and things got better for quite sometime but again the club fell apart and that was that.

During all of this my high school coach had no clue what to do with a player like me because he couldn't figure out if I was midfield player or forward and he refused to give me the freedom of the attacking role I wanted so he and I didn't really see eye to eye and at that point I was a very headstrong teenager so things ended up always getting heated and he just gave up and benched me for long streches at a time and I responded by telling him to "$****** my dick" and quit, throwing away the chance to get to a few D1 schools and play.

I ended up not playing for sometime after that and then I got back into playing and played at a Jr. college with a view to play at a D1 school in my home state before I shattered a bone in my leg and now I am back at point A again just coming back from that injury a year and 2 months later.

Anyway back to where I was going with that whole thing, most coachs don't know how to handle a player who's position is not defined with in strict boundries (at least here in America). Everyone tries to be very regimented and they don't let creative players play. It's sad really becasue the attacking center mid postion is such a wonderful thing to have if you can find a player that knows how to play it.

Alot of coachs don't give their players the freedom to play the way they can and to me that is a shame, you don't take players who are that creative and talented and force them in to a role, you don't build them in to a specific player you build your team around them. As a coach when I come across that rare gem of a player I culture and encourage them not stifle their natural talents....

Where would the game be today if some moron coach that never had any skill as a player told players like Maradona or Ronaldhino that they had to fit into a specific system or sit the bench?

i'm not necessarily a whole player, btu i've never had a set position either. the one time i was allowed to shine was when i played as a drifting center midfielder in a 4-3-3. the coach pretty much told me that i was at the center of the team and that i could roam the field, and i did good. and then after that, i've been played at every position - i've had coaches place me as a defender because the team lacks defense, or as a striker because the team lacks offense. then when i ask to try the drifting midfield, they look at me like im crazy... yeah it sucks when people try t overorganize the formation(why i like total football. honestly, i wish i could ply under that sceme one day.)

[benni...]

i'm not necessarily a whole player, btu i've never had a set position either. the one time i was allowed to shine was when i played as a drifting center midfielder in a 4-3-3. the coach pretty much told me that i was at the center of the team and that i could roam the field, and i did good. and then after that, i've been played at every position - i've had coaches place me as a defender because the team lacks defense, or as a striker because the team lacks offense. then when i ask to try the drifting midfield, they look at me like im crazy... yeah it sucks when people try t overorganize the formation(why i like total football. honestly, i wish i could ply under that sceme one day.)
what exactly is total football, how would you define it.

[guado]

totala football was a tactic the dutch used in the 70's. the field players didn't really have defined roles;they may start off as strikers, then you'd see them as wingers, then as defenders. if someone would switch, someone else would fill in, then someone would fill in for them, so the team was rotating positions throughout the game.

[benni...]

totala football was a tactic the dutch used in the 70's. the field players didn't really have defined roles;they may start off as strikers, then you'd see them as wingers, then as defenders. if someone would switch, someone else would fill in, then someone would fill in for them, so the team was rotating positions throughout the game.
all right i alwasy thought it was something else.
that might not work for youth teams it may be too complicated. but as a tactic it confuses the other team. i would just like to play as a striker, that moves like henry or preferably bergkamp.

[kkmkk]

what exactly is total football, how would you define it.
from what i know: the outfield players must be comfortable in at least 2 positions. formation is usually 3-3-3-1, i think. left sided players are able to switch to play defence, midfield, attack. ajax in the mid-90s played with that system.

berkamp was once put in central defence to learn how defenders think.

[kkmkk]

I only got into 11-a-side football seriously in sept 2003. I had the pleasure (and luck) of having Peter Scott (ex-Fulham) as a coach both last season and what has elapsed of this season.

I asked him what he felt my position wqas, which position I was suited to, and he said "i think you'd play best in the hole, between the strikers and the midfield".

This has come as a relief, as I look up to such players as Bergkamp, Valeron, Aimar, Joe Cole, Kaka etc. Technical players, as opposed to speedy or strong players.

The problem which I find is that, in the english 'style of play', it is very rare that players such as myself, receive the ball to feet as we need it, in order to make as much impact as we can.

In my personal opinion, I feel that at my age and the way I play, since i want to play football professionally, I should move to spain as I'd have a more realistic chance of making it.

Any ideas/suggestions/tips??

Guillermo
why move to spain? i think england lacks this type of players. Peter Scott told you your best position, surely he also wanted you to improve certain areas of your game eg shooting, weaker foot, vision etc

playing in the hole means that your contributions are mainly offensive. you will be expected to be main creative player in the team & also contribute more than a couple of goals.

i think every team needs this type pf players esp if they dont have an out-out winger.

[ReyesIsMyMate]

why move to spain? i think england lacks this type of players. Peter Scott told you your best position, surely he also wanted you to improve certain areas of your game eg shooting, weaker foot, vision etc

playing in the hole means that your contributions are mainly offensive. you will be expected to be main creative player in the team & also contribute more than a couple of goals.

i think every team needs this type pf players esp if they dont have an out-out winger.

I agree that england lacks this type of player, but there is a reason for this --> as i said, the style of play doesn't suit these players, unless they play on the wing. the ball is always up in the air, making it a physical battle all the time, which is not what i'm made for. i am 'designed' to receive the ball to feet and link up the play, or get the ball and drive forward from midfield and play through balls to the strikers.

in short, i need the freedom to roam around the pitch and not be shackled in a certain area of the pitch due to a 'set' position.

what you think?? the reason i said spain was because I'm spanish, and the way the game is played is more suited to me --> ball on the ground.

Guillermo

[afgrijselijkheid]

well... you could always try to expand your skill set

[benni...]

if he had to expand his skill set i dont think englands ways of playing would be a good idea. i think he should look more towards latin american teams if not that continental teams like holland and so on...
england is a different case and most of the time you need to be bigger than most other spanish players. reyes bulked up in one season with arsenal as did ronaldo with man utd