Football Manager 2012 set piece guide — score from corners, free-kicks and throw-ins

Hey guys, I have a little treat for you today. We all know that set pieces can make a real difference in Football Manager 2012 and I have done some testing to bring you a little guide. This Football Manager 2012 set piece guide is based on Stoke and all my testing has been done with them. We all know how powerful Stoke are from set pieces and they seem to score from any scenario whether it be corners, free-kicks or even throw-ins. I am delighted to say I’ve managed to recreate Stoke’s success from real life and provided you have the correct players this guide will get your team scoring from every type of FM 2012 set pieces you can think of. I know these can be a pain to set up but I’ve done the hard work and you can see the results from the video below.

Click here to see set piece benefits video

FM 2012 set piece guide — How to score from corners

To kick things off we’ll start with my corner routine and I’ll take you through each step of how to set this up. Let me start by explaining what type of players are required to take your corners. Your corner takers must have high attributes in corners and crossing but technique can also be a bonus. These attributes need to be 15 or above for an effective delivery. Now we’ll move onto the delivery and each players role in the set piece.

Cross aim: six yard box (you need a tall team for this setting, otherwise the far post may be a better option.)

3 players ‘stay back if needed’ — These should be your smallest players and ones you don’t see as a threat in the air. Usually a defensive midfielder and both full backs suit this role.

Challenge Keeper — Your tallest and most capable player in the air should take up this role. I chose Crouch but the player needs to be tall and have a minimum rating of 16 for both heading and jumping.

Attack near post — I chose Walters (my poacher) for this duty. The player is used more for a flick on and therefore doesn’t need to be too tall.

Stand on far post — Your weaker centre back should be used for this role if you are aiming the cross to the six yard area, I used Shawcross. However, if you aim your crosses to the far post your best CB should be selected with minimum heading and jumping of 16.

Attack ball from deep — This role is assigned to someone who can power though the air and attack the ball. I chose Huth but you should use a player with minimum jumping and heading attributes of 16. Height is also a very big advantage alongside strength.

Lurk outside the area — On the off chance that a clearance lands outside the opposition area you want someone with real shooting ability waiting to fire a long range shot at goal. I chose Whelan but you want someone with a minimum of 14 for long range shots.

Go forward — Anyone else who is left should be selected for this, it doesn’t matter what ability they have as you’re trying to create power in numbers. You should have two players left for this duty bar your Keeper who needs to be on ‘default’.

FM 2012 set piece guide — How to score from free-kicks

Moving onto my free-kick routine and we’ll begin with who should be taking the set piece. It would be ideal to have a left footed player taking free-kicks from the right and a right footed player taking them from the left but the quality of delivery is far more important. To get this your free-kick takers must have a minimum free-kick attribute of 15 and would benefit from a long shots attribute of more than 14. Players with high crossing ability would also be a bonus. Now we’ll see how each player should be positioned alongside the delivery aim.

Cross aim — Best header

4 players ‘stay back if needed’ — You don’t want to get caught on the counter so four players are required to stay back and they should be your least effective in the air. Usually the two central midfielders and two full backs.

Mark keeper — Your tallest and most dangerous player is required for this role. A minimum of 16 for heading and jumping is required. I chose Crouch for this duty but a good Centre back could be as effective.

4 players ‘Go forward’ — You want your most dangerous players in the air for this role. You are looking for attributes like heading, jumping and strength but height is also a massive bonus. I send Huth, Shawcross, Walters and Pennant or Etherington depending in who is taking the set piece. Everyone should now have a role bar your Keeper who must remain ‘default’.

FM 2012 set piece guide — How to score from throw-ins

OK to score from a throw-in there is just one option for your aim and that is to go ‘long’. You must find a player with minimum long throw ability of 17 but the higher this is the more chance you have of getting the ball into the box. Now getting the ball into the box is just half the task, you must have the players well positioned to challenge for the ball as below.

Throw-in aim — Long

2 players ‘near post’ — One of these players needs to be capable in the air, I chose Crouch as you need an attribute of 16 or higher in heading and jumping. The other player needs to be technically capable and preferably taller than 5’10». His role is to pounce on any keeper or defensive errors and a striker works best. Walters isn’t my tallest player but he’s scored the most from throw-ins due to his poacher like instincts.

3 players ‘forward’ — These three must be your best in the air and height is very, very important. Alongside height you need good heading and jumping ability (at least 15.) Strength will also make a big difference. I chose my CB’s Shawcross and Huth alongside my only spare winger for this role.

Stay back — You should select two players for this role but one of them must be the throw-in taker. As always select your weakest player in the air. This may seem risky but I haven’t been successfully countered yet.

2 players ‘Come short’ — This role is not only to offer a short option (which shouldn’t be taken) but the selected players will help defensively. Select your full back and winger on the side the throw-in is been taken from. These players are usually your weakest in the air.

2 players ‘lurk outside area’ — You need two players waiting outside the area for any loose balls. You should choose players with reasonable shooting ability for this role, usually a central midfielder and full back. I chose Whelan for his long shot attribute.

Summary

• Always have your biggest aerial threat marking the keeper during corners that are crossed to the 6 yard box. Basically, where ever the ball ends up is where you want this guy.
• Your centre backs are usually prime candidates to be in the mix with set pieces. But always research your own team to make sure you’re not missing a giant or aerial pro that should be in the box.
• Evaluate the importance of set pieces over actual play. If you are Stoke then the value of your set pieces is priceless due to the type of players you possess. Therefore, you should be playing Shotton or Delap who have long throw ability of 17 and 19 over the better players like Wilkinson (he’s better than Shotton) and Whelan (who’s better than Delap.) While you will miss the extra quality in normal play your set pieces will improve so much that its worth the sacrifice.
• If you don’t have at least two players with heading and jumping attributes of 15 or above then don’t expect goals from set pieces. Equally if you don’t have players with decent corner taking and free-kick taking abilities then you should try looking for some. While throw-ins are rarely seen as important you’d be very surprised by the amount of goals that come from these.
• All the attributes mentioned are for a top flight club, you should think appropriately for the league you’re in. So if I’ve said a minimum of 16 for heading then Championship players should be 14-15, while League One should be 13-14 and so on and so forth.
• Set pieces have always been a big part of scoring, but it wasn’t until Stoke joined the Premier League that our eyes opened to what a great set piece can provide. I have spent a lot of time tinkering with my settings and it’s made an instrumental difference. Take the time to learn your team and what they could offer from these dead ball situations, it really is worth the time and effort.

I have also created an FM 2012 Stoke tactic which replicates Tony Pulis’ efforts from real life. This tactic contains the set pieces you see above and is available to download at the bottom of my FM 2012 Stoke tactic post.