Marking Systems
Man vs zonal, tight vs loose

Deciding which marking system to use can be very difficult. In our tests we could see defensive errors occurring with both systems, especially concerning the fullbacks who are often disposed to double-team a striker whilst giving too much free space to the opposition wingers. Most of these errors occurred when using zonal marking, but a few also have been seen with man-marking.

There will be no marking system that completely evades any defensive error, but you might find some hints here that might help you to make your decision.

Best Defensive Settings: Man-Tight
Best Attacking Settings: Zonal-Loose
…with the others operating somewhere in between. Thus, if you want to build a defensive team mindset most players will mark tightly and stay on their man. If keeping players in space and an attacking mindset is a priority then zonal and loose for most players is the key.

The key to stopping attacking players squeezing free of their markers is not strictly a marking issue (unless you are employing loose zonal across the back four!). It is more a question of getting your defensive line, closing down and forward runs operating in conjunction. As with most aspects of Football Manager, looking at a problem as whole will help you far more than changing one setting independently of all the others.

When playing at home, the standard AI systems follow roughly these outlines:
Attacking: High tempo, full-backs always pushing forward, crosses from byline, 5 players trying to get into the box for all attacking opportunities.

Possession: Mid tempo, full-backs get forwards but have awareness of defensive duties, crosses form mixed, 4 players in the box for attacking opportunities

Cautious: Low tempo, full-backs only support occasionally, crosses from deep, 2-3 players in the box for attacking opportunities.

All of these systems should primarily be countered with the tight-man philosophy, certainly for the back four and probably for the whole midfield as well. However, to stop the systems being effective other measures are required.

Some recommended set-ups:

Based on the standard AwayAtt RoO mentality (6-11) you can try the following
(based on a 4-4-2, for different systems adjustments may be needed):

Against Attacking AI: d-line to lowest linked mentality setting (5-6), no FWRs for DL/Rs or wingers, low CD for central midfield and defence

Reasoning: The AI is constantly trying to get to the byline to cross from deep or hit killer through balls in the final third of the pitch. When crossing, it tries to get the forwards, MC/a, wingers and at least one full-back forward to overload the area. To counter that, the deep d-line crowds the area and the wingers are in position to help out their full-backs because they aren’t running forward. The AI always tries to get to the byline to cross but by the time it does it has two players pressing the crosser (the low CD man-marking FB and the heavy CD winger) and a crowded area to aim at. The AI attackers are unlikely to wriggle free of their markers and the cross is unlikely to be any good anyway as the crosser is under so much pressure. For the through balls, the low CD central MCs ensure the ball has to get through two banks of players (MCs and DCs) before being effective and it is nearly always cut out.

Against Possession AI: d-line to the middle of the linked mentality (8-9), mixed FWRs for wingers, low for FBs, low CD for defensive, slightly higher for midfield

Reasoning: The AI will cross from mixed and cross earlier than in the attacking mentality as it isn’t always trying to get to the byline. The slightly higher d-line means that the occasional deeper crosses are to the edge of the area rather than to the six yard box. If it does cross from deep, the FWRs on the winger will mean he is likley to be slightly higher up the pitch and more ready to cut out the deep cross. However, if the AI tries to get to the byline, the low CD no FWRs FB will be covering the AI winger and make the cross difficult. The crosses have to be more accurate anyway as fewer AI players are getting forward, so the slightly lower pressure on the crosser can be justified as a risk worth taking. For the through balls, the AI seems to have them on mixed and thus waits for more obvious opportunities to try them. The slightly higher CD for theMCs puts them under pressure before they can work such a chance and the user should win back possession.

Against Cautious AI: d-line to highest linked mentality (11-12), mixed FWRs for FBs and wingers, low CD for DCs, slightly higher for FBs, higher still for MCs

Reasoning: The AI crosses from deep as it doesn’t want to risk being caught up the pitch on the counter. The classic AI ploy is to play the ball to the winger who then lays it back to the FB. He crosses from deep to the breaking attacker who gets a great chance and often scores. The higher CD on the FB will immediately put the winger under pressure and make the pass back less precise and thus the cross will be less accurate. The high CD winger with mixed FWRs will also be in position to block the cross. The higher d-line means the AI striker also has to shoot form a greater distance, beat his man or risk being offside. The AI rarely tries to get to the byline and even if it does there are few players in support. It doesn’t often try to play through balls and prefers to play possession football and work the ball out wide for the deep cross. The higher CD midfield will place the AI under pressure and it will begin to play hopeful balls forward which a well set up defence should handle with ease.

D-line, closing down and FWRs seem to be much more important than marking in terms of ensuring a good defensive display, and the above strategy has seen defensive records away from home improve dramatically in the 2nd half of the season. Marking is still important, but more in relation to ‘when to not do it’ rather than when to do it. If you want to build a system to defeat the defensive AI, then most players should be on loose marking. For any defensive set up, use tight and man with low CD for back four. The more attacking you go the greater the CD for the FB can go and the rest of the team should be loose marking.

Tight marking problems: There have been reports about defenders getting skinned by fast, technical opposition STs too much. In this case an opposition instruction such as ‘tight mark never’ might help solve the problem.

Finally, when choosing a marking system it is important not only to take into account what the opposition are trying to do, but it is vital you only tell your players to do what they are capable of. Roughly speaking, the following player attributes should be reasonably high for the league in which you’re playing for each system:

Man marking
Concentration
Marking
Tacking

Zonal marking
Anticipation
Decisions
Positioning

Tactical Bible Credits
garyh, Millie, crazy gra, wwfan, Justified, thegooner, The Next Diaby. Editor: Millie