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

[Experienced Defender]

1 hour ago, Djuicer said:

Trequartista or DLF with attacking duty, which drops deepest?

The problem is that the "deepness of dropping" is fairly relative, because it's also influenced by match dynamics, player traits and - as always - how you set up the tactic as a whole. Purely in terms of the tactical creator, the DLF on attack duty is portrayed as a deeper role than TQ (as far as I remember), but these are pretty different roles, so you need to look at the bigger picture when deciding which one you should employ in a tactic. 

[Djuicer]

Just now, Experienced Defender said:

The problem is that the "deepness of dropping" is fairly relative, because it's also influenced by match dynamics, player traits and - as always - how you set up the tactic as a whole. Purely in terms of the tactical creator, the DLF on attack duty is portrayed as a deeper role than TQ (as far as I remember), but these are pretty different roles, so you need to look at the bigger picture when deciding which one you should employ in a tactic. 

Thank you. I went with the trequartista, Im pleased so far 

[Alfie31796]

Quick question regarding the 'Stay Back If Needed' instruction on set pieces. Will this match up with my opponents leaving someone forward so if they leave one up, we'll leave one back? 

[Experienced Defender]

41 minutes ago, Alfie31796 said:

Quick question regarding the 'Stay Back If Needed' instruction on set pieces. Will this match up with my opponents leaving someone forward so if they leave one up, we'll leave one back? 

If they leave one up, you should better leave 2 back (unless you are willing to take too much risk).

[ElJefe4]

What would be the best way to recreate the positioning/movement of Man City's wingers? I'd like them to remain very wide in the build up, making the pitch as big as possible. Winger (S) would make the most sense for this. But I'd also like them to get within the width of the goal when the attack is going down the opposite wing. I'm picturing the amount of tap-ins Sterling is able to score in real life as he gets in goal scoring positions by cutting in from the left wing while City attack down the right. 

 

[zyfon5]

1 hour ago, ElJefe4 said:

What would be the best way to recreate the positioning/movement of Man City's wingers? I'd like them to remain very wide in the build up, making the pitch as big as possible. Winger (S) would make the most sense for this. But I'd also like them to get within the width of the goal when the attack is going down the opposite wing. I'm picturing the amount of tap-ins Sterling is able to score in real life as he gets in goal scoring positions by cutting in from the left wing while City attack down the right. 

 

Inverted wingers on positive mentality and above will recreate these type of movement

[f.zaarour]

What is wrong with defenders standing totally still with the ball many times and the opponent steals it and goes for a 1 on 1. It happens to much. Is it a bug? Can something in the tactic change this? I mean it looks so not realistic. Once in a while oke, but it happens too often now and even with average players it shoudnt happen tbh. I tried untick Play out of defence but nothing changed. So...

Is it the roles of the defender or when the opponents is pressing me and the defender doesnt have pass options that this happens? What can i do about it to prevent it...? 

[Experienced Defender]

11 hours ago, f.zaarour said:

What is wrong with defenders standing totally still with the ball many times and the opponent steals it and goes for a 1 on 1. It happens to much. Is it a bug? Can something in the tactic change this? I mean it looks so not realistic. Once in a while oke, but it happens too often now and even with average players it shoudnt happen tbh. I tried untick Play out of defence but nothing changed. So...

Is it the roles of the defender or when the opponents is pressing me and the defender doesnt have pass options that this happens? What can i do about it to prevent it...? 

There are basically 2 things you can do at this point. One is to start a separate thread, post a screenshot of your tactic there and explain what happens (like you did here), and then we can see if there is anything in your tactic that could cause that specific problem. The other option is to report it in the bugs forum. 

[f.zaarour]

5 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

There are basically 2 things you can do at this point. One is to start a separate thread, post a screenshot of your tactic there and explain what happens (like you did here), and then we can see if there is anything in your tactic that could cause that specific problem. The other option is to report it in the bugs forum. 

I think it is not needed but thanks anyway. Just was asking if there is something known that causes this issue and if someone could give a quick answer to it. And asking also if its a bug or not. Anyway i just use the preset tiki taka tactic. Maybe is has to do something with the high def line and maybe a slow defender but then still this shouldnt happen this often. 

Edited May 1, 2020 by f.zaarour

[ElJefe4]

18 hours ago, zyfon5 said:

Inverted wingers on positive mentality and above will recreate these type of movement

Yeah that was my first thought, thanks. I was unsure if it would make them alter their starting position though. I use IWB's so I need them to stay wide while the ball is central and only come inside when the ball is on the opposite flank.

[Experienced Defender]

1 hour ago, f.zaarour said:

i just use the preset tiki taka tactic

In that case, I would not be surprised at all if that turned out to be the cause of your issues 

[DimitrisLar]

having a player learn a trait, that someone of higher reputation and significance has in his mentor group, will make him learn it faster?

[BrickCommo23]

I've got a brilliant young striker in my game and I am trying to mould him into a F9. He's got the requisite stats and the team has very high familiarity with the tactic too.

I am wondering if there are any standard PPMs which would be useful for him to develop to become a better F9 but also (and this might be the tricky bit) encourage him to get his fair share of goals too.

I was wondering about things like 'break offside trap' perhaps...?

[zyfon5]

1 hour ago, BrickCommo23 said:

I've got a brilliant young striker in my game and I am trying to mould him into a F9. He's got the requisite stats and the team has very high familiarity with the tactic too.

I am wondering if there are any standard PPMs which would be useful for him to develop to become a better F9 but also (and this might be the tricky bit) encourage him to get his fair share of goals too.

I was wondering about things like 'break offside trap' perhaps...?

Traits like plays one two is great for a team playing a possession style. It will encourage a more flowing attacking move.

[koimes]

What is the maximum amount of new signings I can add to my first team in a transfer window before it starts to have a negative impact on morale?

[Djuicer]

3 hours ago, koimes said:

What is the maximum amount of new signings I can add to my first team in a transfer window before it starts to have a negative impact on morale?

Its diffrent each time. Sometimes one player gets upset and thinks he will be replaced. Overall I would guess a number is max 4-5 maybe?

[Justified]

I've currently got 14 in my Gloucester City Journeyman save... Then again, I released about 11. I love one can be quite ruthless at this level  

[f.zaarour]

On 01/05/2020 at 20:20, Experienced Defender said:

In that case, I would not be surprised at all if that turned out to be the cause of your issues 

Hmm oke, im curious now then what the issue might be. Could you maybe give me a short answer to it where i need to look at without needing to open thread for it? Thanks in advance. 

[Experienced Defender]

28 minutes ago, f.zaarour said:

Could you maybe give me a short answer to it where i need to look at without needing to open thread for it?

Because the preset tiki-taka is full of tactical overkill (like many other presets btw). That's the short answer, but I don't know if it's sufficient.

[WIGutie]

On 19/04/2020 at 20:06, Seb Wassell said:

1. At some point, the workload cannot get lighter no matter how many more coaches you add. Aim for "Light" and 5*.

Note, only the best coach affects the quality, all affect the workload.

2. Fatigue = Jadedness.

"Jaded" is what a player becomes when they are extremely fatigued. Players are building up fatigue all the time under the hood whilst playing/training. They become jaded when this starts affecting them.

As per the in-game UI:

• Rest - Fatigue = Greatly Reduced
• Recovery - Fatigue = Reduced

(Keep in mind there are other affects too: Rest also recovers Condition quicker but Recovery is better for injuries and maintaining sharpness, etc.)

Fatigue builds up when playing matches (always) and when training (if not well rested). Fatigue reduces with rest and with training (if well rested). In this way, matches always increase fatigue, in-season training increases fatigue and pre-season training reduces or staves off fatigue longer. Exception to watch out for is players that take part in internationals over the summer; just like in reality, they will need more time off before you can throw them back into training as they will not have had time to rest-up fully. Training when already tired will only make the player more tired.

You will not be able to avoid building up fatigue in your players during the season. You will however be able to manage this and offset the negative impacts for longer through proper training management, starting (and essential) with pre-season.

What does it mean when a player has negative or less than 0 Jadedness? Is this supposed to be possible? If so does that mean a player is essentially mentally charged/fired-up/motivated if say at a minus ten or something (with 0 being a base level of being without fatigue, but not amped up)? I ask this not necessarily in relation to FM20 but also prior versions if this is how it has always been intended to work. (With FM 15 I had recalled seeing negative Jadedness when peeking at personality ratings of players, and was curious about this).

EDIT: Also, I'm super glad to see a more direct explanation of "jadedness" as so many for years were wondering how this worked and a way to combat it via training. I hopped on an old FM 15 file and see a total transformation to how training works versus then. Kudos to the devs with those improvements over the past several years. I don't think (despite how much I enjoyed FM15) I can go back to using the old system of training now.

Edited May 3, 2020 by WIGutie

[Zemahh]

2 hours ago, Ewan0404 said:

Any help at all would be appreciated.

It's best to make a new topic, if you want more detailed help with your tactic.

Anyway, without knowing your squad or instructions, two potential problems I see when it comes to creating chances in the system you described are A) Wingers dribbling themselves into trouble too often (Winger is quite an adventurous role, which is why I usually don't like using two of them) or B) strikers not good enough aerially (two out-and-out Wingers will result in a lot of crosses; and crosses are considered as low percentage chances, which is why you should also have another way of scoring).

Edited May 3, 2020 by Zemahh

[Ewan0404]

56 minutes ago, Zemahh said:

It's best to make a new topic, if you want more detailed help with your tactic.

Anyway, without knowing your squad or instructions, two potential problems I see when it comes to creating chances in a system you described are A) Wingers dribbling themselves into trouble too often (Winger is quite an adventurous role, which is why I usually don't like using two of them) or B) strikers not good enough aerially (two out-and-out Wingers will result in a lot of crosses; and crosses are considered as low percentage chances, which is why you should also have another way of scoring).

What would you suggest on the wings in a flat 4? And what striker partnerships have worked best for you? 

[Zemahh]

37 minutes ago, Ewan0404 said:

What would you suggest on the wings in a flat 4? And what striker partnerships have worked best for you? 

I'm a sucker for WMa personally, it's a very customizable role. Still gets forward aggressively, but doesn't force it out wide or dribbles at all costs, like a Winger. That said, if you have a capable Winger, by all means use it. I'd just be careful with using two of them, unless you have two absolute mountains up front (and even then it's probably better to create some variety with overlapping WB instead of Winger on one side, so that you aren't too one-dimensional).

Some examples:

• WMs-BBM-DLP-Wa (balanced approach)
• IWs-BBM-DLP-Wa/WMa (WM would be the more conservative choice, unless you want both sides dribbling aggressively)
• WMa-BBM-DLP-WMa (attacking approach, but without forcing crosses at all costs)

As for the strikers, depends on the style you want really. I suggest checking out llama3's Pairs & Combinations thread for some partnership ideas.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Zemahh

[smithy20]

Over the past few years i've read and seen a lot of stuff in regards to team instructions. Is it generally better to use less TI's and utilize the PI's more or vice versa?

Reason i ask this, is because you see so many "Plug and play" tactic creators use so many TI's and it looks like overkill and many contradicting each other. Personally when i'm attempting to create a tactic during a save, i like to use as little as possible.

[Experienced Defender]

@Ewan0404 For the kind of advice/help you are asking for, you'll definitely have to start a separate thread with a screenshot of your tactic posted there. Do so and you'll surely going to get the help you need.

[Experienced Defender]

2 hours ago, Tilling said:

Does anyone have general principles they look to employ when making an 'away' version of their tactic? I'm hesitant to link exactly my current tactic as I'm more keen on a broader set of guiding principles, as I sometimes change my formation slightly based on the team that I am playing. However, my base tactic is an aggressive possession-based 4-1-2-2-1 wide tactic, where I look to keep the ball moving in the opposition half as much as possible, with much higher lines of engagement and defence. 

The question(s) you are asking require a separate thread, so please start one and you'll get some advice. Because this thread is really meant solely for simple and quick questions/answers, not tactical advice and analysis. 

[Tilling]

1 minute ago, Experienced Defender said:

The question(s) you are asking require a separate thread, so please start one and you'll get some advice. Because this thread is really meant solely for simple and quick questions/answers, not tactical advice and analysis. 

Cheers for the clarification

[Experienced Defender]

1 hour ago, smithy20 said:

Over the past few years i've read and seen a lot of stuff in regards to team instructions. Is it generally better to use less TI's and utilize the PI's more or vice versa?

Reason i ask this, is because you see so many "Plug and play" tactic creators use so many TI's and it looks like overkill and many contradicting each other. Personally when i'm attempting to create a tactic during a save, i like to use as little as possible.

Unless you want to create a plug'n'play/exploit type of tactic yourself, it's always advisable to keep it simple and use as few instructions as possible 

[Alfie31796]

Does anyone know if Bravery can be significantly improved much like Determination can via Mentoring? Scout has found what looks to be a phenomenal Serbian wonderkid but his Bravery is only 5 so just wondering if it's worth purchasing. 

[Experienced Defender]

58 minutes ago, Alfie31796 said:

Does anyone know if Bravery can be significantly improved much like Determination can via Mentoring?

I fear not, although I cannot claim for sure. @Seb Wassell is the most competent person for this kind of questions, I think. 

 

59 minutes ago, Alfie31796 said:

Scout has found what looks to be a phenomenal Serbian wonderkid but his Bravery is only 5 so just wondering if it's worth purchasing

Which position/role that guy is supposed to play in case you decide to buy him? Because the importance of bravery (and other attributes) can vary from position to position. 

[Alfie31796]

1 minute ago, Experienced Defender said:

I fear not, although I cannot claim for sure. @Seb Wassell is the most competent person for this kind of questions, I think. 

 

Which position/role that guy is supposed to play in case you decide to buy him? Because the importance of bravery (and other attributes) can vary from position to position. 

He's a Striker that would be playing in the AF role. I'm not entirely sure in what situations Bravery is actually influential to be honest but I just like my players to have solid Mental attributes across the board.

[Experienced Defender]

15 minutes ago, Alfie31796 said:

He's a Striker that would be playing in the AF role

Well, in that case bravery does not matter nearly as much as it would for a defender or midfielder (especially in a DM or CM position). Of course, it's a nice attribute and as such always welcome, but sometimes you cannot have everything in a single player  

[Seb Wassell]

20 hours ago, WIGutie said:

What does it mean when a player has negative or less than 0 Jadedness? Is this supposed to be possible? If so does that mean a player is essentially mentally charged/fired-up/motivated if say at a minus ten or something (with 0 being a base level of being without fatigue, but not amped up)? I ask this not necessarily in relation to FM20 but also prior versions if this is how it has always been intended to work. (With FM 15 I had recalled seeing negative Jadedness when peeking at personality ratings of players, and was curious about this).

Have you been looking at the hidden values out of interest? It does work on a negative to positive scoring scale, but that is simply the scale we use. Whilst higher = more jaded and lower = less jaded, it does not directly equate to a "real" positive/negative level of fatigue and 0 is not "none", we use the in-game status flags to display that.

20 hours ago, WIGutie said:

 

EDIT: Also, I'm super glad to see a more direct explanation of "jadedness" as so many for years were wondering how this worked and a way to combat it via training. I hopped on an old FM 15 file and see a total transformation to how training works versus then. Kudos to the devs with those improvements over the past several years. I don't think (despite how much I enjoyed FM15) I can go back to using the old system of training now.

Genuinely thank you. I and many others, such as @Riz Remes and @Russell Hammant, were heavily involved in that and it's great to see someone enjoying it.

[Seb Wassell]

2 hours ago, Alfie31796 said:

Does anyone know if Bravery can be significantly improved much like Determination can via Mentoring? Scout has found what looks to be a phenomenal Serbian wonderkid but his Bravery is only 5 so just wondering if it's worth purchasing. 

 

1 hour ago, Experienced Defender said:

I fear not, although I cannot claim for sure. @Seb Wassell is the most competent person for this kind of questions, I think. 

It can change, up and down, like any attribute. It doesn't follow the same sort of curve as Determination however, as it is not affected by Mentoring. Think of it more as an on-pitch attribute, whereas Determination is on- and off-pitch.

Bravery will often improve over time as a player develops, there are training sessions that directly include it for a more focused approach and even if you experience the (sharp) Bravery drop that can come with some serious injuries, this is usually only temporary and the player can regain it.

As @Experienced Defender says, whether you want to go ahead with the purchase of that player is going to depend on his age and intended role in your team.

[Seb Wassell]

On 02/05/2020 at 09:47, koimes said:

What is the maximum amount of new signings I can add to my first team in a transfer window before it starts to have a negative impact on morale?

There is no hard rule. I'd say more than morale, you want to keep an eye on cohesion/familiarity. That's the one that will get damaged by lots of new players.

But you can be successful either way. Some of the best managers believe in only adding one or two key signings per season, but that of course relies on already having a solid team foundation. Personally, I enjoy the taking a team from non-league to Champions League saves and that unavoidably comes with completely overhauling the team - literally 9 or 10 new faces in the first XI - each season for many years in a row (for my style, at least).

[Seb Wassell]

On 27/04/2020 at 20:07, Experienced Defender said:

De Bruyne?

De Bruyne with 17 Vision!? That'd be a bug! 

No it wouldn't, please don't.

[quee]

Is it better for an older GK to be on normal intensity instead of double intensity? 35+ years old.

I had Buffon at 42 on double intensity in the first season, his attributes drops quickly and his performance were below par (lots of mistakes and easy goals going through him). He subsequently retired by the end of the first season.

Planning to buy another veteran GK, and want him to last longer this time

[Seb Wassell]

On 28/04/2020 at 01:30, zlatanera said:

Neymar? If so, I'm shocked to see he's already lost 2 points off Dribbling age 32 (unless he no longer starts with 20 in FM20).

 

On 28/04/2020 at 06:29, Djuicer said:

Score, good spot mate! think he have had some serious injuries, PSG had him under contract but I got him for free so they could cut his salary.

Dribbling overall seems to be hard to increase and to keep in the latest version of the game in my experience.

Dribbling can drop with injuries and age, often following a similar curve to Agility. However, whilst Agility is quite sensitive, Dribbling will respond much more gradually/to a lesser magnitude. I.e. you would expect both to decrease with injuries or age, but Agility quicker/more.

Work was done on this two versions ago, if I recall, so it will respond differently to what you may have grown used to in earlier versions of the game.

[f.zaarour]

On 03/05/2020 at 00:39, Experienced Defender said:

Because the preset tiki-taka is full of tactical overkill (like many other presets btw). That's the short answer, but I don't know if it's sufficient.

Well that would surprise me as it is what SI inverted in the game, tactics to use is it not? They should then be nice balanced tactics right. And to be honest i am doing nice with it. Having fine results. Only this issue occurs often now which is a bit annoying.

[BartG315]

I use FM Touch and have the habit of resting a player from training if he came out of a game with less than 80% condition and i need him again within 4 days. Mostly 1 day rest but if his condition is below 75 even 2 days.

So far this has worked reasonably in keeping my players fit (i like to start games with all players as 94% or more) but it goes of course at the cost of training effectiveness if you keep doing this.

Any best practices to handle this otherwise?

[Experienced Defender]

15 hours ago, quee said:

Is it better for an older GK to be on normal intensity instead of double intensity? 35+ years old

I would personally say - yes. But it's possible that someone else thinks otherwise, which does not mean they are wrong. I simply don't like overloading players who are at an advanced playing age. 

[Experienced Defender]

@Kcinnay Your question is not quite appropriate for this quickfire thread, because it requires a more comprehensive answer and potentially also a screenshot of your tactic will be needed. So please start your own separate thread and you'll get advice there for sure 

[Djuicer]

On 04/05/2020 at 00:52, Seb Wassell said:

 

It can change, up and down, like any attribute. It doesn't follow the same sort of curve as Determination however, as it is not affected by Mentoring. Think of it more as an on-pitch attribute, whereas Determination is on- and off- pitch.

Are there more attributes that is on- and off- pitch?

pressure? 
professionalism?

sportmanship? 
temperament?

ambition?

or does it have to be visible in-game?

 

also, to my knowledge consistency affects the amount of games out of say 20 that the player will preform at maximum ca (Higher value, more good games) Does it affect training too? Low consistency equals more bad sessions?

@Seb Wassell

Edited May 5, 2020 by Djuicer

[Seb Wassell]

9 hours ago, Djuicer said:

Are there more attributes that is on- and off- pitch?

pressure? 
professionalism?

sportmanship? 
temperament?

ambition?

or does it have to be visible in-game?

Very broadly, attributes shown on the player profile are in-match or "playing" attributes. Those that contribute towards personality can be both but are primarily off-pitch with specific on-pitch considerations. Their name gives a good indication as to what they affect. These are hidden though so I don't want to prescribe their function too much. The reason I highlighted Determination is that it's visible (unlike the other personality attributes) and that it is on the player profile but contributes towards both on- and off-pitch activities.

9 hours ago, Djuicer said:

also, to my knowledge consistency affects the amount of games out of say 20 that the player will preform at maximum ca (Higher value, more good games) Does it affect training too? Low consistency equals more bad sessions?

@Seb Wassell

Consistency is matches only.

[Djuicer]

2 hours ago, Seb Wassell said:

Very broadly, attributes shown on the player profile are in-match or "playing" attributes. Those that contribute towards personality can be both but are primarily off-pitch with specific on-pitch considerations. Their name gives a good indication as to what they affect. These are hidden though so I don't want to prescribe their function too much. The reason I highlighted Determination is that it's visible (unlike the other personality attributes) and that it is on the player profile but contributes towards both on- and off-pitch activities.

Consistency is matches only.

Thank you. Informative as always, much appriciated.

[FrazT]

Can one of the tactical wizards please give me some insight into a slight issue with a player?  18 year old designated as an attacking midfielder by the game, natural at MC and MR.  Played as MR, role as winger, support last year and in 38 games for the reserves, scored 9 and had 28 assists and an excellent game rating.  This year I have slightly tweaked my formation and want to play him as an AMR, role as winger support and suddenly he is rated as totally incompetent by the game.

So, the question is:  How can a player who is natural at MR, winger, support be incompetent at AMR, winger support.  I could understand if he dropped from natural to accomplished or even to competent, but am struggling with a drop to nothing.

[OrientTillIDie]

In a 3-5-2/5-3-2 (flat back three, wing backs in the wing back strata, flat midfield three, two up top) where I’m looking to keep possession and counter press when I lose the ball, would two BBMs either side of a DLP on Support be a reasonable partnership or is that not really enough cover for the three centre backs? Or should I be dropping the DLP into the defensive midfield strata? 

[Djuicer]

6 hours ago, FrazT said:

Can one of the tactical wizards please give me some insight into a slight issue with a player?  18 year old designated as an attacking midfielder by the game, natural at MC and MR.  Played as MR, role as winger, support last year and in 38 games for the reserves, scored 9 and had 28 assists and an excellent game rating.  This year I have slightly tweaked my formation and want to play him as an AMR, role as winger support and suddenly he is rated as totally incompetent by the game.

So, the question is:  How can a player who is natural at MR, winger, support be incompetent at AMR, winger support.  I could understand if he dropped from natural to accomplished or even to competent, but am struggling with a drop to nothing.

I think its due to the positonal skill or whatever we shall call it. Probably it has a low value (ranges between 1-20). If you play him there it will probably increase. Also if i remember correctly the positional value does mostly affect the decison attribute negatively.  Someone else probably has better knowledge of this.

[Djuicer]

13 minutes ago, OrientTillIDie said:

In a 3-5-2/5-3-2 (flat back three, wing backs in the wing back strata, flat midfield three, two up top) where I’m looking to keep possession and counter press when I lose the ball, would two BBMs either side of a DLP on Support be a reasonable partnership or is that not really enough cover for the three centre backs? Or should I be dropping the DLP into the defensive midfield strata? 

Depends on DLP and WB duties tbh. Also the teams mentality + more. I guess you can start your own thread about this subject cause I think its to "big" subject for this thread, but well thats up to the moderators to decide in the end.

[Zemahh]

8 hours ago, FrazT said:

How can a player who is natural at MR, winger, support be incompetent at AMR, winger support.

Yep, it makes little sense for WM/AM wingers to be two completely different positions.

Anyway, at 18 y/o your player should be able to learn a new position quickly, so I'd just train and play him there regardless. It's the attributes that end up dictating how well he will play, not the position indicator. As far as I know, the only attribute that takes a hit when a player is played out of position, is Decisions.