A formation shows where your players start. It does not show what you want them to do next: a full-back overlapping, a striker attacking the space behind a defender, or a midfielder dropping back to offer a passing option.
Player-linked movement arrows make those instructions easier to explain in Lineup Builder. Start an arrow on a player and it stays attached to that player. When you reposition the player, the arrow moves with them instead of being left behind on the pitch.What is new?
You can already use drawing tools to annotate your lineup. The new part is the connection between a player and an arrow.
An arrow drawn from a player now follows that player's position while keeping its length and direction. You can attach more than one arrow to the same player, and each arrow remains individually selectable and removable.
This is useful when you are refining a tactical idea. Move your winger a little wider or bring your midfielder deeper, and their movement instructions travel with them. You do not need to redraw every arrow after every positional adjustment.
The entire arrow moves, including its endpoint. It does not keep pointing at a fixed destination or track another player. Check the endpoint after repositioning a player, especially near the touchline.How to add a player movement arrow
- Open the Lineup Builder and arrange your players.
- Open the drawing tools and choose the dashed arrow for a run. Choose a color before drawing.
- Press directly on the player marker, drag toward the intended destination, and release. Starting on the player attaches the arrow to them.
- Switch back to the selection tool before moving players. While an arrow tool is active, dragging draws rather than repositions a player.
- Move the player to check the result. The attached arrow should move with them.
The starting point snaps to the player's center, so you do not have to hit the exact middle of the marker.
If you start an arrow on empty pitch space, it remains an independent drawing. Simply placing an arrow near a player does not attach it. For an arrow that should follow a player, draw it again starting directly on their marker.
Three ways to use movement arrows
Show a full-back's overlap
Place your winger ahead of your full-back. Draw a dashed arrow from the full-back into the wide space beyond the winger to show the intended overlap.
Example 1: No. 2 overlaps No. 7 in a 4-3-3. The yellow dashed arrow shows the full-back's run; the white solid arrow shows a possible pass from the winger. This team attacks toward the top of the pitch.If you move the full-back's starting position higher or lower, their arrow follows. This lets you compare starting positions without losing the movement instruction. A separate solid arrow can show a possible pass, keeping the run and the ball movement visually distinct.
After repositioning No. 2: compare this board with the one above. The full-back has moved higher and slightly infield, and the same attached arrow has shifted with them. Its length and direction are unchanged, but its endpoint is no longer the original destination. The pass is omitted here to keep the comparison focused.Mark a striker's diagonal run
Draw a dashed arrow from your striker toward the channel you want them to attack. Rather than leaving the instruction at "run in behind," the board shows which direction you mean.
Move the striker sideways to compare a central starting position with one closer to a defender's shoulder. The arrow keeps the same direction and length, so review where it ends before sharing the revised plan.
Example 2: No. 9 attacks the right channel. The yellow dashed arrow runs diagonally from the striker toward the space to the right of the goal. No. 10 has the ball nearby; the arrow represents No. 9's movement, not a pass. Opposition players are omitted to keep the route clear.Explain a midfielder dropping to receive
Start an arrow on a midfielder and draw it back toward the space in front of the center-backs. This shows the movement to receive, rather than suggesting the player stays in their original midfield position.
Example 3: No. 6 drops toward No. 4 and No. 5. The yellow dashed arrow points back toward the team's own goal, creating a receiving position ahead of the center-backs. The ball is near No. 4, so the board distinguishes the player's run from the ball's starting location.Keep the board focused on one phase of play. A few purposeful arrows are easier to discuss than a pitch covered with every possible run.
Keep runs and passes easy to read
Use dashed arrows for player movement and solid arrows for passes as a consistent visual convention. Player attachment works with the solid, dashed, and curved arrow tools; it depends on where you start drawing, not which of those arrow styles you choose.
For a passing line that should stay in a fixed area of the pitch, start it on empty space rather than on a player.
These arrows are tactical annotations, not playback paths. Drawing a run does not make the player automatically travel along it.
Edit without rebuilding your board
To remove a single arrow, switch to the selection tool, select the arrow, and use the drawing delete control. Deleting it leaves the player and their other arrows intact. Drawing undo and redo also preserve the arrow's player attachment.
If a player is substituted or removed from the pitch, their attached arrows are hidden rather than left floating behind. A replacement player does not inherit those arrows. Returning the original player restores their arrows; hiding a team also hides its attached arrows.
Save and share the movement plan
Local saving and share data preserve player-linked arrows. Shared previews and exported images also show arrows at their resolved positions, so your tactical diagram includes the movement instructions.
After your final positional changes, check the arrow endpoints and remove any alternatives that could confuse the message. Then share the lineup or export an image for your discussion.
Open Lineup Builder and draw your first player movement arrow. Need a starting shape? Browse the football formation guide before adding your runs.