glamdring. It may not alwys be possible but iy is sensible most of the time.
In N.Ireland for example I only had 3 substitute spots for the first 4-5 seasons.
I deceided that I would often prefer to play a player slightly out of position than have a defender or a defensive midfielder play 45 minutes while already on a yellow card. Don't get me wrong, sometimes a player got sent off in the first half or sometimes they got 2 yellow in the 2nd half after I had used my subs. I'm not saying it's foolproof but it certainly weighs the odds in your favour and is sensible in my opinion.
The other thing I would say is that I play with a deep defensive line. Because of this, my defenders are not often caught on the wrong side of the defende, (apart when they go walabout but that's a different story). Because of this they are less likely to give away fould which they might be carded for. By defending deep and tight marking, my defenders, (and defensive midfielder), have to make VERY few tackles but MANY interceptions.
My defensive midfielder has a quite low closing down so he sits in front of the back 4 a la Makelele and is also more prone to making interceptions, (where the risk of a foul is low), than tackles, (where the risk of a foul is high).
I would bet that in the Gerrard example above, he is given creative freedom and attacking instructions. This will result in him moving forward and away from a good defensive central position. When his team loses posession he will be in a more advanced position than he would like defensively and due to me mental and physical satats have both the desire and the physical ability to get back to the opposing player in posession, but in doing so give away a free-kick.
If anyone who is experiencing this is not convinced, try looking at your tactics and see what you can change. I promise you won't regret it :thup:.
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