New Milton Town FC – Tactical Recreation

This post has been written by @CarrileroFM where he shares with us a non-league team tactical recreation and has provided the tactic for download so you can use it in your save

New Milton Town sits within the tenth tier of the English football pyramid in the Wessex League Division One. Currently, they occupy second place in the league with four games remaining and despite many teams having games in hand a playoff place is practically confirmed although there is a slight chance of going up as champions if Andover New Street slip up.

They are the league’s top scorers with 106 goals having broken the 100-goal barrier on the 11th of March with a 5–0 win over Folland Sports and are at the time of writing on a 6-match winning streak. Manager Paul Turner has earned many plaudits over the past two seasons in the local press for his alternative style in non-league football.

When someone says ‘non-league’ the instant thought seems to be that the ball is up in the air more often than not and tackles are flying in left, right and centre. This is not the case at New Milton Town Football Club.

Turner likes his team to keep the ball on the deck where possible and encourages his players to express themselves on the pitch.

It is no coincidence that four of their regular attackers in Luke Stone, Ben Cooper, George Deem and Tyrrell Sampson all have 20+ league goals each this season. The clinical finishing, flair off the wings and tireless running from their central midfielders make for very strong performances going forward.

The tactical setup below is a good representation of how they’re set up. Turner uses a 4–3–3 system with three central midfielders all equipped with a different role.

 

In possession, they get their heads up and look for the short pass with the aim of moving the ball up the field quickly to the wingers, more often than not they will attack mostly down the left-hand side of the field. Out of possession they quickly get back into their shape and attempt to force the opposition out wide.

Goalkeeper | The goalkeeper’s job in this team is to get the ball to the wing-backs who then begin moving the ball up the field.

Central Defenders | Here we have a ball-playing defender who will look to carry the ball forward whilst the ‘stopper’ will do everything to stop the opposition from getting through. It’s pretty much a beauty and the beast combination here.

Wing Backs | The wing-backs job are simple. Show attackers outside and stop crosses whilst in transition moving the ball forward and getting up the pitch themselves to help with attacks.

Central Midfielders | The roaming playmaker has the freedom to move around and find the key passes, dropping into the empty spaces. The other two midfielders are more defensively minded. The ball-winning midfielder is the one who will be getting stuck in, assisted by the box-to-box midfielder who will also make late runs into the box.

Wingers | The left-sided winger operates as an inside forward, cutting in and driving into the area. The right-sided winger does the opposite, galloping down the side of the pitch to whip crosses into the box.

Forward | The lone forward takes on an advanced role, staying high up the pitch, prepared to anticipate where the ball will be coming from and make runs that create space for the inside forward on the left to run into.

The roles can be changed here depending on who you have available. New Milton’s options up top consist of Luke Stone (Target Forward) and George Deem (Poacher) both of whom have different strengths. The tactic itself should be strong at all non-league levels.

Whether New Milton Town does finally celebrate promotion remains to be seen but with Paul Turner’s style and values, it will only be a matter of time before the Linnets are moving up the leagues.

It is a brilliantly run football club that is a pillar of the community, offering a style of football you will not see at many grounds below the football league and I hope this tactical recreation shows that.

Tactic download LINK