[Naco]

Probably been on here a million times, but since im too lazy too find it...Post your favorite formation and why.

Mine:



S
F F
AM
M M
DM
D D D
SW

I like this because it gives you a very powerful offence, as well as a sturdy defence. Just make sure you have an experienced sweeper to keep people in place.

Sean

[topcow]

Wouldn't a goalkeeper be helpful?

[kevbrunton]

Sean,

What age are you talking about? Because my favorite formation depends upon the age and level of skill.

When I was coaching U11 - U12 select, we used this formation...


... S ....... S

M.......M.........M

D.......D..........D

....SW......SW

It was called the WM at one point. In the attack, the central defender transitition into a linking midfielder and in the defense, the central midfielder transitioned back into a defensive mid. There's close support for every position everywhere on the field.


However, for an older age group, I have to say that I really like the formation that my son's U17 coach uses.

........S........S

......AM......AM
M.......................M
............DM

D............D..........D

The defense plays flat and zonal. When defending, it will frequently appear that there are 4 or 5 defenders back depending upon where the opponents are making their runs from. When attacking, 7 go forward VERY aggresively and the right back frequently forays into the attack.

It helps that this team has a TON of speed with 7 of the 10 guys in the range I'd consider VERY fast. I'm talking two guys on this U17 team with 4.2 speed in the 40, 3 others in the 4.3 to 4.4 range and 2 more in the 4.6 area. The DM and the left and central D's are the only ones not in this range.

[Motterman]

LW......CS......RW
LM......ACM.....RM
LB.......CD......RB
..........SW.........

Depending on game situation you can change SW to a DCM in front of the CD and just behind the ACM who is given more space to roam forward. The LW and RW must also make crossing runs and the CS also should check back for the ball.

[rymannryan]

Originally posted by Ekelund4life
Probably been on here a million times, but since im too lazy too find it...Post your favorite formation and why.

Mine:



S
F F
AM
M M
DM
D D D
SW

I like this because it gives you a very powerful offence, as well as a sturdy defence. Just make sure you have an experienced sweeper to keep people in place.

Sean

That's 11 field players.

[Richie]

Your favorite formation might not fit the players you happen to have. So that is the deciding factor in picking a formation not what you may prefer as a coach.

However, if you have a large player pool to choose from that you can put in a favorite formation.

But if you don't pay your players or do not have a big player pool play, then it comes down to what best suits your players.

Even then a formation is a starting point, and that's all. Your players should have the freedom to move an attack space, and to defend space. So a left wing can find himself in the middle as a striker at times, or as a left back on an interchange with a left back or even at a right wing to gain a match up advantage. Or to get an inside shot advantage moving from the right flank inside the field.

Richie

[blech]

Originally posted by Richie
Your favorite formation might not fit the players you happen to have. So that is the deciding factor in picking a formation not what you may prefer as a coach.

However, if you have a large player pool to choose from that you can put in a favorite formation.

But if you don't pay your players or do not have a big player pool play, then it comes down to what best suits your players.

Even then a formation is a starting point, and that's all. Your players should have the freedom to move an attack space, and to defend space. So a left wing can find himself in the middle as a striker at times, or as a left back on an interchange with a left back or even at a right wing to gain a match up advantage. Or to get an inside shot advantage moving from the right flank inside the field.

Richie

I agree with many of these points. I had plans for a new formation this season, but it became clear after a couple of games that it wasn't working so we switched to something else that did a better job of maximizing our strengths and compensating for our weaknesses. As noted, some of these formations require speed. It would be foolish to use them if you don't have the players to do it.

Also, in an ideal world, formation wouldn't matter that much. It is just a starting point, and the more your players are able to flow freely within the system, the better off you're likely to be. That said, this will again depend on the skill level and experience of your players. For many, this is above their understanding of the game and the coach needs to give them and keep them in positions in order to keep them grounded.

this said, i'm currently a fan of the 3-5-2, with 2 defensive mids in the center, and an attacking mid up front playing behind the two strikers. add in some speed on the flanks and you're in business, clogging the defense and creating advantage situations on offense.

[jdonnici]

This fall, I coached a U12 Rec team and most of the boys had played only a couple of years (not with me as their coach)-- none had played together.

I went with this for most of the season...

LW____S____RW
_LM___CM___RM
_____ST
__LD______RD
______SW

This worked well because it was simple for them to follow. The CM had a lot of responsibility for pushing up on the attack and the Stopper had responsibility for transitioning the play from defense to offense. He'd often find himself as part of the back of an attacking line, but worked hard make sure the ball didn't get behind him.

In the spring, I expect that I'll have most of the same kids again and we can work on some variations. When I can get them seeing subtleties in the mid-field, I may go with a 3-5-2:

____S S
M_AM__M__AM_M
D_____D_____D

[empennage]

I think my alltime favorite formation is the dreaded 3-6-1. I played on a team that used this formation when I was playing U-16 and U-17, and it worked really well. It looked like this:


-----------S-----------
-------AM---AM-------
LW------------------RW
-------DM---DM-------
LD-------CD--------RD


This system relies on the outside flanks for attacks, therefore it requires players with a lot of speed on the wings. I like this system a lot because it allows for a team to put a lot of people forward on offense, but at the same time it allows the team to put a lot of people back.

Anyway even though this is my favorite formation, I do not have my U-14 team playing like this. They are not advanced enough for this formation, nor are they fast enough.

[helmzgk]

With my team i have to use the Diamond formation in Midfield and defense.

F F

LM AM RM

DM

LB ST RB

SW

It's what my kids have used for most of their lives and it's what the Varsity uses also(I coach JV). I'm starting to teach them about tactics now, such as a more defensive formation:

F F

LM RM
DM DM

LB ST RB
SW

and a more offensive formation:

F F
CF
LM RM
CM CM

LB RB
SW

but these are just variations of the 442, which they're comfortable with.