Quickfire Questions and Answers Thread (Tactic and Training Questions Only)

[swansongs]

My personal rule is not to try and fix things if they aren't broken in an obvious way. Tinkering without knowing exactly what I'm trying to accomplish drives me nuts when I start, and has killed many a save due to frustration.

Stick with F9 unless a different role will give you something you specifically want to see.

[Keyzer Soze]

Hi,

Quick question. In this setup:

CF(s)

AP(s)____________________IF(a)

DLP(s)________CM(a)

DM(d)

WB(a)___DC(d)___DC(d)___WB(s)

What would be the best role (and PI's) to change the DLP(s).

I want that player to stay back like the DLP but without being a playmaker, because i already have one playing on the left wing.

What role? CM(s)? and what PI's?

I believe the CM(s) will go more forward then the DLP(s) and i want to avoid that.

[Guest]

What's about going with a CM(D)?

[Keyzer Soze]

Yeah, but then wouldn' i ended almost playing with a double-pivot, the with the CM(d) and the DM(d) playing side by side?

[tmpnd]

Hi,

Quick question. In this setup:

CF(s)

AP(s)____________________IF(a)

DLP(s)________CM(a)

DM(d)

WB(a)___DC(d)___DC(d)___WB(s)

What would be the best role (and PI's) to change the DLP(s).

I want that player to stay back like the DLP but without being a playmaker, because i already have one playing on the left wing.

What role? CM(s)? and what PI's?

I believe the CM(s) will go more forward then the DLP(s) and i want to avoid that.

Sitter roles (hold position): DLP, CM(D), DM(D), A, HB.

Creator roles: DLP (Has extra freedom due to being a playmaker role), CM(D) is highly customisable and if he has poor passing/creativity you can ask him to play a simple passing game.

Runner roles (All of them support up front and provide defensive support): B2B, BWM(S), RPM, REG, CM(S) depending on instructions.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

Suppose I'm protecting a 1-0 lead, away to a good team, late in a game. I'm playing a 4-1-2-2-1, with a central midfielder on Support duty and one on Attack duty, playing in front of a DM on Defend duty. My mentality is Defensive, which I often use with this team.

Will switching my CMs to Defend duties help me remain tight and difficult to break down, or will it simply create a jacked-up tactic that causes more problems than it creates?

I've always been curious if something that simple can be effective.

[CRN711]

In FM16, how to make a AML or AMR acting like a Winger AND like a Inside Forward ? I mean sometimes he goes down the flank to cross but sometimes cut inside.

[Marbah]

Maybe not the best place but this is a rather stupid question: why I can't sign Youri Tielemans as AC Milan ... in every save he doesn't even want to discuss with me. What gives? Do I have something on my face?

[2calvin]

In FM16, how to make a AML or AMR acting like a Winger AND like a Inside Forward ? I mean sometimes he goes down the flank to cross but sometimes cut inside.

Winger role (ive only really tried support duty) with 'cuts inside' PPM

[vasilli07]

Suppose I'm protecting a 1-0 lead, away to a good team, late in a game. I'm playing a 4-1-2-2-1, with a central midfielder on Support duty and one on Attack duty, playing in front of a DM on Defend duty. My mentality is Defensive, which I often use with this team.

Will switching my CMs to Defend duties help me remain tight and difficult to break down, or will it simply create a jacked-up tactic that causes more problems than it creates?

I've always been curious if something that simple can be effective.

Or you can consider dropping 1 or 2 of your wide player into WM position.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

Or you can consider dropping 1 or 2 of your wide player into WM position.

Good idea, vasilli. I've given that a try, too, and it works a treat. I don't put them both on Defend duty if I have only a one-goal lead; I want the team to still present some kind of offensive threat.

[Guest]

How do I make my players tackle the opposition when they're playing a defensive game and slowly walking around with the ball. My guys all just stand about a yard off them while they amble about, even with get stuck in selected and high pressing.

[vasilli07]

How do I make my players tackle the opposition when they're playing a defensive game and slowly walking around with the ball. My guys all just stand about a yard off them while they amble about, even with get stuck in selected and high pressing.

Depends on your players aggression and bravery as well. Maybe you like to try fielding 1-2 players with high aggression and bravery as your attackers against the more defensive sides?

[Jean0987654321]

How do I make my players tackle the opposition when they're playing a defensive game and slowly walking around with the ball. My guys all just stand about a yard off them while they amble about, even with get stuck in selected and high pressing.

Tighter Marking TI??

[simurfette]

Hello, lovely FM players.

I have 2 questions, but let me start by saying... I know nothing about football, so one of these questions really is one of those "stupid" questions. I LOVE the game. I have over 200 hours in less than 2.5 weeks, and I'm becoming a huge fan of the sport as a whole. I've even been trying to find a way to watch this in the US (which is proving really hard), but enough about that.

My first question: I've been using prebuilt tactics. One specifically, and it has been insanely well for me both in lower league management and the upper league management. However, it calls upon the use of 2 F9s. Now, in higher league management, it's not too difficult at all for me to find players to fit that role, but in the lower league management (I play a lot of the 23 lower league England database that seems to be pretty popular), I can never find anyone that is suitable for that role (based on the little assistant manager role ability gauge. [seriously, even with training, that gauge never goes above to bars ]). All of that being said, I sat down yesterday to create my first tactic on my own and well... I was instantly overwhelmed. I read through every tool-tip for every position, but...as you can probably guess, someone who knows nothing about football...well, it's extremely overwhelming, and I have no idea what even the tool-tips are talking about. My question is this...

Does anyone know of anywhere where I can really read/study/learn about positions, roles, whether that role should be the attack version, the automatic version, the defend version, etc.? As I said, my tactic has worked splendidly for me, but I'd really like to be able to build my own. I feel like I'm just coasting by right now on someone else's work, and I'd love to learn for myself.

My second questions is, perhaps, a bit less stupid, and it's 2 questions kind of rolled into one. I've read time and time again that individual training (not additional focus), should be set to the role I want them to play. Unfortunately, I get an inbox message from my assistant at least once a week that says something along the lines of "so and so isn't happy with their individual training. They feel they aren't/won't improve, etc etc etc." It's typically a list of 4 or 5 guys, and when I go take a look at the training, they don't have full role ability for whatever role they play, so there is room for improvement, and their training is set accordingly. On top of this, I also get complaints about "lack of first team soccer." This is something that's more likely to happen to me with my lower league stuff, as with amateurs, I don't have to pay them, and my squads get...well, ridiculous. Obviously, I can cut down on my squad, release them on frees, etc etc, but I ran a test case. I ran with one group of 16 guys (11+6 subs), and I was running subs so they were getting pretty decent time on the field, maybe 20-30 minutes a match, every other match or so, and they STILL complained. So my question is this...

When the players complain, whether it be about training or play time, how seriously do I take something like that? It's extremely annoying to get those "So and so wants to talk about personal matters" every few days, mostly because, no matter what I say, or how much time I give them on the field, if they aren't starting, they aren't happy, and really, if you're a central defender on the bench with half the ability of my starting central defender, I really don't wanna play you, you know?

Sorry for rambling. Any help is extremely....extremely appreciated. Like I said, I love this game, but I'd love to build my own tactics, and I'm flat out leaving my training to my assistant at this point because I'm scared they're going to leave if they don't like training, and I'm playing players in my starting 11 that...really shouldn't be played in my starting 11 because they like to throw fits every goddamn week. Okay, maybe I'm a little frustrated.

[THOG]

...

The stickies at the top of the forum are a great resource. Start with wwfan's How to Play FM: A Twelve Step Guide and llama3's Pairs & Combinations. Those two are really all you need to play the game.

From there, rashidi1's Bust the Net and cleon's Building a Tactic provide demonstrations of how to design and implement specific tactics. Lines & Diamonds is a comprehensive overview of tactical theory and how it relates to different game mechanics in FM.

Some other recent threads worth a look:

herne's 442 thread

cleon's training thread

Jambo's 451 reboot

[Gee_Simpson]

The stickies at the top of the forum are a great resource. Start with wwfan's How to Play FM: A Twelve Step Guide and llama3's Pairs & Combinations. Those two are really all you need to play the game.

From there, rashidi1's Bust the Nut and cleon's Building a Tactic provide demonstrations of how to design and implement specific tactics. Lines & Diamonds is a comprehensive overview of tactical theory and how it relates to different game mechanics in FM.

Some other recent threads worth a look:

herne's 442 thread

cleon's training thread

Jambo's 451 reboot

Oh my!

[Jean0987654321]

Oh my!

Don't know how many red cards he would get in a game with that strategy

[vcpinheiro14]

Probably an already answered question but i just started playing the 2016 version and i've noticed some differences regarding training from the 2015 version

It seems there is no intensity on individual focus anymore (should i suppose individual focus and PPM training have the same weight on workload?)

It seems position/role training is unified and is part of the team training workload now instead of the individual training workload (is it directly affected by general training intensity? or match training also?)

Training on unfamiliar positions/roles have a different weight on workload than that of familiar positions/roles?

[Cleon]

Probably an already answered question but i just started playing the 2016 version and i've noticed some differences regarding training from the 2015 version

It seems there is no intensity on individual focus anymore (should i suppose individual focus and PPM training have the same weight on workload?)

It seems position/role training is unified and is part of the team training workload now instead of the individual training workload (is it directly affected by general training intensity? or match training also?)

Training on unfamiliar positions/roles have a different weight on workload than that of familiar positions/roles?

Read this;

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/442638-Important-FM16-Training-Changes

[djohnson11]

Is there a guide for set pieces anywhere?

[swansongs]

Do Half-Backs make Central Defenders split or just push forward with normal spacing?

[Gee_Simpson]

Do Half-Backs make Central Defenders split or just push forward with normal spacing?

Yeah they also make the CB's split.

[mikcheck]

Hello guys.

I have a tactic which employ a Raumdeuter in AML and was thinking about buying Vietto or Ayoze for that role. However they both have "likes to beat offside trap" PPM and i highly doubt that they'd want to unlearn that move.

So a Raumdeuter with that PPM it's kinda pointless, right?

[Jean0987654321]

Hello guys.

I have a tactic which employ a Raumdeuter in AML and was thinking about buying Vietto or Ayoze for that role. However they both have "likes to beat offside trap" PPM and i highly doubt that they'd want to unlearn that move.

So a Raumdeuter with that PPM it's kinda pointless, right?

No. A Raumdeuter will still roam with or without that PPM. He'll just be also focused on timing his run to avoid getting called offside

[GriffiN94]

I'm looking to replace a lot of my staff now that my first team is up to par with the league so I can focus on my youth squads , so I have a few questions.

1) Does the nationality effect? Apart from adaptability rating of the coaches.

2) How important is the working with youngsters attribute if they are being signed as first team coaches?

3) Is it better for youth coaches to have a high working with youngster attribute and low coaching attributes or high coaching attributes and lowish (10 or so) working with youngsters?

I'm trying to find Cleon's thread but I can't find it.

[Cleon]

I'm looking to replace a lot of my staff now that my first team is up to par with the league so I can focus on my youth squads , so I have a few questions.

1) Does the nationality effect? Apart from adaptability rating of the coaches.

2) How important is the working with youngsters attribute if they are being signed as first team coaches?

3) Is it better for youth coaches to have a high working with youngster attribute and low coaching attributes or high coaching attributes and lowish (10 or so) working with youngsters?

I'm trying to find Cleon's thread but I can't find it.

1 - The language is important too, in order for them to be able to communicate.

2 - If the players in the first team are 24 or under then very important as they're still classed as young by the game. Over 24 not so much of an issue.

3 - They need high determination, level of discipline, motivation and working with youths. The first 3 of those make up 80% of the coaches rating.

And here is my thread that I think you was looking for?

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/380395-Ajax-When-Real-Life-Meets-Football-Manager-FM14

[GriffiN94]

1 - The language is important too, in order for them to be able to communicate.

2 - If the players in the first team are 24 or under then very important as they're still classed as young by the game. Over 24 not so much of an issue.

3 - They need high determination, level of discipline, motivation and working with youths. The first 3 of those make up 80% of the coaches rating.

And here is my thread that I think you was looking for?

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/380395-Ajax-When-Real-Life-Meets-Football-Manager-FM14

Thanks that's the thread I was looking for , I'm guessing nothing has from FM14 to 16 so everything still applies?. I'm playing in the Croatian league so I'm struggling to find coaches with good ratings in those attributes but I'll have a more in depth look. Thanks for your help.

Edit: Sorry one more question. I currently have my HoYD or youth team managers to set up training for the youth players , what attributes will be good for someone to have so they set up useful things? Or shall I set it up myself?

[swansongs]

No. A Raumdeuter will still roam with or without that PPM. He'll just be also focused on timing his run to avoid getting called offside

Best I can tell that PPM is all about standing offside a lot then trying to time a run back onside.

It's a negative ppm for me. Unlearn if at all possible.

If you want good runs in behind find a player with high Anticipation and Off The Ball ratings, and give them an Attack mentality.

[mikcheck]

No. A Raumdeuter will still roam with or without that PPM. He'll just be also focused on timing his run to avoid getting called offside

Thank you for the answer. Good to know that, it might be interesting.

[mikcheck]

Best I can tell that PPM is all about standing offside a lot then trying to time a run back onside.

It's a negative ppm for me. Unlearn if at all possible.

If you want good runs in behind find a player with high Anticipation and Off The Ball ratings, and give them an Attack mentality.

Thanks for the answer.

Now i dont know lol. But both do not want to unlearn it, i've tested it already.

[s1111]

Best I can tell that PPM is all about standing offside a lot then trying to time a run back onside.

It's a negative ppm for me. Unlearn if at all possible.

If you want good runs in behind find a player with high Anticipation and Off The Ball ratings, and give them an Attack mentality.

That PPM is broken at the moment in my opinion. Usually it results in players being offside about 5 times a game/100+ a season with no advantages from it to balance it out.

[swansongs]

That PPM is broken at the moment in my opinion. Usually it results in players being offside about 5 times a game/100+ a season with no advantages from it to balance it out.

It perfectly replicates the way Bafetimbi Gomis plays irl.

[THOG]

Is there a guide for set pieces anywhere?

There's a brief overview of the basic principles here.

Do Half-Backs make Central Defenders split or just push forward with normal spacing?

They appear to move slightly wider, but it's not a significant difference. The ME has struggled to get splitting DCs to narrow appropriately immediately after a change of possession, so you won't see them moving 40 yards apart and the HB doesn't drop off as the deepest player, preventing the three from being effective at quickly switching play.

Hello guys.

I have a tactic which employ a Raumdeuter in AML and was thinking about buying Vietto or Ayoze for that role. However they both have "likes to beat offside trap" PPM and i highly doubt that they'd want to unlearn that move.

So a Raumdeuter with that PPM it's kinda pointless, right?

Not at all, this PPM and roaming can complement one another well. Trying to beat an offside trap doesn't mean just holding hands with the last defender. It just means he'll look to break into space when he can, including making runs from deep. If he's not lightning quick off the mark, giving him a few yards to accelerate before the pass is made can help him be more effective at attacking through passes.

That PPM is broken at the moment in my opinion. Usually it results in players being offside about 5 times a game/100+ a season with no advantages from it to balance it out.

That's not necessarily a result of the PPM. Offsides are too high generally.

Oh my!

[Keyzer Soze]

Hi,

Coulpe of questions:

1) If we set a player with the Roam From Position PI, and if in my team instruction i also have the Roam From Position TI set on, will this mean that the player will roam also during the build up phase?

2) If i set one player from my midfield, for example an MC(a) with the intruction to move into channels, will this make him drift more to the flanks, or he will look for the channels only in the center?

thks

[Cleon]

Hi,

Coulpe of questions:

1) If we set a player with the Roam From Position PI, and if in my team instruction i also have the Roam From Position TI set on, will this mean that the player will roam also during the build up phase?

2) If i set one player from my midfield, for example an MC(a) with the intruction to move into channels, will this make him drift more to the flanks, or he will look for the channels only in the center?

thks

1 - There both the same thing. You either roam or you don't, it's not incremental.

2 - channels is a specific areas of the pitch, between the fullback and the central defender. It means he will look to occupy this space more often than usual, so it makes them slightly wider than normal. It shouldn't make him near the flank though, as the effect isn't that profound.

[THOG]

1) If we set a player with the Roam From Position PI, and if in my team instruction i also have the Roam From Position TI set on, will this mean that the player will roam also during the build up phase?

Roaming is either on or off for an individual player, so the PI is probably just redundant. This is one area where the UI needs to give more information though.

2) If i set one player from my midfield, for example an MC(a) with the intruction to move into channels, will this make him drift more to the flanks, or he will look for the channels only in the center

It means he'll move wider toward the outer edge of the middle 3/5ths of the pitch.

[Gee_Simpson]

They appear to move slightly wider, but it's not a significant difference. The ME has struggled to get splitting DCs to narrow appropriately immediately after a change of possession, so you won't see them moving 40 yards apart and the HB doesn't drop off as the deepest player, preventing the three from being effective at quickly switching play.

So would you say that role is still broken or at least, it doesn't work as it should? Oh, and nice edit

[mikcheck]

Thanks THOG!

[THOG]

So would you say that role is still broken or at least, it doesn't work as it should? Oh, and nice edit

I don't think it's working like it should at all.

[Gee_Simpson]

I don't think it's working like it should at all.

Ah ok, cheers. I'll stay away from that role for now then.

[filipsrb]

Oke guys, my team isnt play so good right now, and here is my tactic and formation (this is not my best players on that position)

http://prntscr.com/amss9a

(edit, i moved winger on s and cwb on att)

and

http://prntscr.com/amssk2

I dont know what to change rly :S

[swansongs]

You're leaving the middle of the field quite empty, with the anchorman holding deep and the ap holding high and no one else around. Most teams likely outnumber you in that area.

Only 3 players focused on defending is quite risky. Your left in particularly is extremely exposed on the counter.

[filipsrb]

Yes, but my game is concentrated on wings (fb and wings), and i like to play like that. What do u think, to move my Winger on support or?

[swansongs]

You may like to play on the wings, but other teams probably aren't willing to do that to help you.

There's no one right answer and without watching your team play it's impossible to say, but in a 4-4-2 would want my midfield pairing closer together and both contributing defensively, to try to create some kind of solid foundation.

[filipsrb]

The problem is that I bought a fantastic anchor man , and now I'm stuck to play with him. With which the position of anchor man good works?

[Pirlo's Beard]

My second questions is, perhaps, a bit less stupid, and it's 2 questions kind of rolled into one. I've read time and time again that individual training (not additional focus), should be set to the role I want them to play. Unfortunately, I get an inbox message from my assistant at least once a week that says something along the lines of "so and so isn't happy with their individual training. They feel they aren't/won't improve, etc etc etc." It's typically a list of 4 or 5 guys, and when I go take a look at the training, they don't have full role ability for whatever role they play, so there is room for improvement, and their training is set accordingly. On top of this, I also get complaints about "lack of first team soccer." This is something that's more likely to happen to me with my lower league stuff, as with amateurs, I don't have to pay them, and my squads get...well, ridiculous. Obviously, I can cut down on my squad, release them on frees, etc etc, but I ran a test case. I ran with one group of 16 guys (11+6 subs), and I was running subs so they were getting pretty decent time on the field, maybe 20-30 minutes a match, every other match or so, and they STILL complained. So my question is this...

When the players complain, whether it be about training or play time, how seriously do I take something like that? It's extremely annoying to get those "So and so wants to talk about personal matters" every few days, mostly because, no matter what I say, or how much time I give them on the field, if they aren't starting, they aren't happy, and really, if you're a central defender on the bench with half the ability of my starting central defender, I really don't wanna play you, you know?

Sorry for rambling. Any help is extremely....extremely appreciated. Like I said, I love this game, but I'd love to build my own tactics, and I'm flat out leaving my training to my assistant at this point because I'm scared they're going to leave if they don't like training, and I'm playing players in my starting 11 that...really shouldn't be played in my starting 11 because they like to throw fits every goddamn week. Okay, maybe I'm a little frustrated.

Different people have different approaches to this aspect of the game, but here is my advice:

First, don't be scared of your players. For one thing, they aren't real. For another, putting your foot down is sometimes necessary, both in real life and in Football Manager.

It's important to know what kind of role they were promised when they signed their contract. If they were told they'd be a key player or a first-teamer, then yes they're likely to get frustrated when they start every game as a substitute -- even if they are obviously worse than the guys starting ahead of them. There are some players, on the other hand, who will get upset they aren't starting even when their designated role is rotation or backup. Others will carry on for the good of the team no matter what role they were promised. It has a lot to do with the players' hidden attributes like professionalism.

I would recommend telling it like it is with the malcontents, especially if they signed on for a back-up/rotational role. Some will back down and respect you for it; others will get upset and demand to be transferred or loaned out. If it comes to that I usually try to make it happen just because a back-up player isn't worth the hassle and potential disruption to the team, though do note that with some players you can be firm about their contractual obligations and they'll back down. If you really fear losing the player, it probably means he's valuable enough to your team that he may just have a point in carping about playing time, and you might consider relenting.

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

[mikcheck]

Hello guys.

Does an attacking midfielder with an attack duty still get into the box as effectively as a shadow striker?

I like the role of the SS but the problem is that sometimes the player run exaggeratedly with the ball and lots of times hits against the opponent like running against a wall and give away possession. I already use a RPM who sometimes do that, having 2 is a bit too much.

Thank you

[swansongs]

Hello guys.

Does an attacking midfielder with an attack duty still get into the box as effectively as a shadow striker?

I like the role of the SS but the problem is that sometimes the player run exaggeratedly with the ball and lots of times hits against the opponent like running against a wall and give away possession. I already use a RPM who sometimes do that, having 2 is a bit too much.

Thank you

There is no difference in the attacking mentality between the two roles, SS-A just has to dribble more and move into channels. AM-A gets into the box more reliably if anything.

[THOG]

The Shadow Striker has a slightly higher mentality than the AM-A meaning he will generally play more aggressively (starting runs earlier, shooting more often, etc.), but both will get into the box consistently and neither is necessarily more effective than the other.