Soccer Spirits: Good Formation discussion

So after playing the game a little bit, as well as doing some forum diving (like usual), I agree with the forums on what a good formation will consist of.

Forward line:      Striker  Assist   Leader

You only need one striker, and he should be your primary player to focus on before others.  The assist player is there to enhance the Striker, so having an in-line pass skill works really well here.  Lastly we have the Leader.  Most people on the forums say to have a totem (player with passive effects for the whole line) but I firmly believe that need to be a Leader type player.  Of course you want them to be a totem so that they enhance your Striker, but also having a heal skill can be very very helpful in keeping the ball here.  NOTE:  The striker must be either on the left or right sides.  If he is in the middle, then there is a chance that he will have to shoot against 3 defenders (1 goalie and two backfielders).  If the striker is on the outside, he will always only fact two defenders.


Midfield:      Assist  Defense   Attacker    (11th man: Attacker)

The assist player is to have a forward pass skill, should the other team's midfield prove to be really a pain in the ass.  Not to mention that their regular pass will enhance the defender and the attacker when they try to penetrate to the forward line, so that is a good choice.  Having the defense player in the middle helps prevent a middle penetration.  If the 11th player is put in the midfield, the defense player will have to defend against two player attacks, which makes choosing him a no brainer now.  The attacker on the right side is your method of getting to the forward line when receiving a pass from the assist player.  I also recommend having your 11th man be an attacker in the midfield, as really good matches will be decided by the midfield.


Backfield:     Attack    (Leader or Assist)    Leader

The Attack player is to, once again, have penetration power to get to the midfield and away from the goalie.  The two leaders are to provide totem benefits for the whole line, and really buff up the goalie.  If you can manage it, also have a healer back here as well.  You can always switch out one of the leaders for an assist player.  You will want as many totems back here as possible, but if you find you aren't able to get back out of the backfield, totems will only help so much.  Adding the assist player allows you to either skill buff pass to your attacker to penetrate, or to skill pass to the midfield or forward line.