AIM vs. AOW: A tactical analysis (01-02-04)
Before getting to the article I would just like to introduce myself, since this is my first one. I'm Ainvar, owner of the Powder Kegs in the USA. I am from Bonn, Germany, currently in Roma, Italy, but with my permanent residence in Ft. Collins, Colorado. If you enjoy the article, please sign my guestbook.
While counterattacks
was, in the beginning, the most discussed new tactic in conference, it is attack
in middle (AIM) and attack on wings (AOW) that actually turned out to be the
most used in practice. Let's take a look at the advantages and drawbacks of
these two tactics. The first thing to ask yourself when you wish to use these
tactics is why. Both carry substantial defensive penalties, so they should be
used only if you have particularly good strikers or wingers, or if your opponent
has a noticeable defensive weak point upon which you would like to concentrate.
Assuming you want to use the tactics, the first important thing to notice about
them is that they are dependent on your outfielders' passing ability. This
shouldn't be a problem because the players in question all benefit from passing
anyway. It is, however, important when using these tactics to have midfielders
with passing, and wingers and forwards with good secondary passing. The value of
strong offensive midfielders cannot be overstated when using either AIM or AOW.
Another thing to keep in mind is that in both cases, your midfield is still
going to be your most important department. Unlike counterattacks and pressing,
which require a completely different tactical set-up, AIM and AOW are subtle
tactics which are only variations on the normal tactic. Rather than drastically
altering your team to play one of these tactics, you should look at the
characterstics of your team and of your training program, and apply one of these
tactics if it is compatible. That said, let's get to the point...
AIM:
As was shown in Norge's World Cup draw against Svergie, but also in countless
less publicized games in Hattrick, AIM, especially with a 3-4-3, has become a
very powerful tactic, rivaling the dominance of a straight 3-5-2. AIM was a
godsend for scoring trainers, because playing with three forwards necessarily
focuses your attacks in the middle. Even before tactics, 3-4-3 was the second
most popular formation after 3-5-2. Now, playing 3-4-3 AIM with two offensive
midfielders and either two wings towards middle or one wing TM and one extra
midfielder is a very strong tactic. Of course, playing your wing offensively or
normal is also an option if your midfield is strong enough. Another viable
option, for non-scoring trainers, is 3-5-2 AIM with both wings towards middle.
This tactic gives a ridiculously strong midfield, and also a good attack if
midfielders with high passing are used offensively. Again, the wings may of
course be played normal or offensively, depending on how much midfield you can
spare. AIM does not focus every attack towards the middle, after all, just a
higher percentage. It is very important to have strong forwards with good
secondary passing in this tactic, and an offensive coach doesn't hurt.
Finally, if a defense trainer absolutely wants to play AIM, it should be done
5-3-2 with two offensive inner mids, an extra inner midfielder, and two very
strong forwards. In this case, all outfielders must have high passing, as there
are only 5 of them. The midfield can be further supported by offensive central
defenders. The drawback of AIM is the lowered wing defense, thus a person using
this tactic should play a symmetrical back line with two defensive wingbacks,
and have a strong keeper. If you are going against an opponent with strong wing
attacks, think carefully before applying this tactic.
AOW:
What AIM did for scoring trainers, AOW did for winger trainers, and then some.
Many successful teams are running AOW with offensive wingers and, in many cases,
offensive wingbacks as well. The best tactics for AOW are the ones which can be
played with two wingers and two offensive midfielders, namely 4-5-1, 3-5-2, and,
to a lesser extent, 4-4-2. The most popular AOW tactic is 4-5-1. Having two
central defenders helps mitigate the central defense loss caused by AOW, and a
second forward is not needed since the attacks will be focused on the wings.
Defenders with strong playmaking may be used offensively to support your
midfield, as well. Setting the forward to defensive is not recommended as you
will still have some attacks in the middle.
Just as in AIM it is important to have offensive midfielders, since they
contribute substantially to your wing attacks. Whether to play your wingbacks
offensively or not depends on the situation, and on your keeper. Teams with a
strong keeper or a defensive coach (or both) can probably spare the offensive
wingbacks. This is especially the case if they are actually wingers-in-training,
with higher winger values than defensive values. Teams wishing to use 3-5-2 with
AOW should think carefully as to why, since in many cases it is better to just
play it normal and not take the central defense hit. However, with a strong
central defender, it is certainly a viable option, and the second forward will
help for those attacks that don㦙 go to the wing. The main strength of AOW is
that very strong wingers are easier to train and cheaper to buy than other
positions, thus it is actually quite easy to get a relatively strong wing
attack. AOW can obviously be used by non-winger trainers as well. For midfield
trainers, the aforementioned 4-5-1 and 3-5-2 are the obvious choices, while
defense trainers should probably use a 5-4-1. In the latter case, there are few
players contributing their passing in the outfield, so the ones that do play
should have it even higher. With this choice, the wingbacks really should be set
offensively, and if the wing defense suffers too much, one or two central
defenders can always be set towards wing.
Here's a quick summary of the above discussion. Note how for each tactic, there
is an option for midfield and defense trainers. Scoring trainers should use AIM
over AOW, and winger trainers should use AOW over AIM. * denotes my recommended
formation for this tactic.
AIM:
Scoring trainers:
* 3-4-3 with three IM's and one wing TM (or with two IM's and two wings TM.) In
both cases, two offensive midfielders.
Midfield trainers:
3-5-2 with any combination of wingers TM, normal, or offensive, depending.
Again, two offensive midfielders, and strong forwards.
Defense trainers:
5-3-2 with two offensive and one extra mid, and strong passing forwards.
AOW:
Winger or midfield trainers:
* 4-5-1 (or 3-5-2) with offensive wingers, midfielders, and possibly wingbacks.
Defense trainers:
5-4-1 with offensive wingers, midfielders, and wingbacks, and possibly central
defenders towards wing or offensive, depending.