Injuries, lack of money or even both can at times make it impossible to field a full side of players in their natural positions. During these bad times when you will look at your existing players to step up into positions away from their natural preference. Therefore, it can be useful to have players that can spread across the field adding depth and adaptability to your squad.

What sort of player can step in?

Players who have good attributes for different position, such as a midfielder with good tackling, marking and intelligence, which would make them suited for a central defender’s role, could be a saviour when you need backup. Attributes are much more important to the match engine when considering how a player will perform. Although the further away a player is from a natural position, the less efficient his attributes will; especially in the mental attributes such as position, off the ball and anticipation, which can really suffer when a player unfamiliar with his surroundings.

Identifying the players that can play different roles and re-training each one into new positions can give a huge advantage to a small squad when you are seeking depth in different positions across the field. Re-training a player will give them an opportunity to develop and become more effective in the position that you need covered. Training a fringe player (for example a striker who has the ability of a full back), can give you several advantages. It can:

• Find a use for your fringe players.
• Ensure effective cover for each area of your positions
• Give more opportunities for players to get into the first team, and therefore keep squad harmony much higher

Just look at Dion Dublin. A prolific striker, but when he became older and less sharp he was able to change positions and extend his first team playing career by a season or two.

Playing a player out of position can affect him. He will need to have the intelligence to be able to adapt to different parts of the field. Positioning, off the ball and decisions all give the player the intelligence to cope in a different environment. This is because it is these attributes that are going to be key to his success in your tactics, but they also the first attributes to suffer.

Think about your tactics

Playing a player out of position is certainly going to effect your tactics. Be aware that relying on these men to play key roles in your side can be risky. For example, defensive midfielders need to be positioned well, tackle well, distribute the ball in front of the midfield and hold on to it if there isn’t a good enough pass available. A player who hasn’t got the intelligence for the position could fail to be the linchpin you need them to be.

On the other hand, if you just wanted a player to play as a limited defender, poacher or winger they will be better suited if they have the relevant attributes to play those roles; but their positioning and decision making are not as vital to the overall tactical master plan.

Much of football, though, is about being able to balance your squad in such a way that it exploits the strengths of your squad, without making you vulnerable to the opposition. Having a “plan B” and different formations that your squad can play with the players that are available can therefore exploit your strengths and leave your side less exposed. Trying to suit availability of your players therefore could give you much more steel than using players out of position. But what do you think can be more effective: changing the formation or changing the players?

Over to you

I’d be interested to know if you think the same thing. Have you had success having players covering your key roles, when they have been out of position? Do you think players out of position are suited more to rigid football where each player has a specific role to play in the side, and so needs to play that role well. Or are they more suited to fluid football, where decision making skills are needed to prevent big holes being created from players drifting out of position?

Listen to Jordan and Millie discuss this subject on the FM tactics podcast.