ZdlR Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 My Newcastle side is about to play my first game in the group stage of the Europa league, away to Sporting of Portugal. This is a difficult game, but one in which a win is possible and would be a huge boost to our chances of qualifying from a pretty dicey group which also includes Lazio and Molde. So far, I have played three games in the Premier league - all three were at home and all three were wins: 5v2 Sunderland A very satisfying result against our arch rivals on the opening day of the season. It could have gone rather different however, as they scored the first goal. I will go through my tactics later, but I switched from my countering 451 to my attacking 442 and reaped the rewards. 2v1 West Ham Played 442 from the start and we were the better team for the whole game, could have won by a larger margin, but were sort of hanging on toward the end of the game after their goal. 4v1 Aston Villa Started using 442 but their flat 451 was troublesome so went completely off-plan to a 4231 deep which I hadn't trained the players for. Also used my 451 counter at some points. Was a little worried that they scored early in the second half, but we were pretty comfortable. Their main threat was Bent's pace, but we kept him quite quiet and capitalized on some reserve/backup defenders being used. In between this, we played the two-legged qualifier for the Europa League against Trnava. Both games saw a weakened side overturn an early goal to win 2v1. Trnava I played pretty much my full-strength squad against Villa on the Saturday and I face Sporting on Thursday. I was a bit concerned about Demba Ba's fitness so I took him off early once the points seemed secure. Sylvain Marveaux took a knock and is unlikely to be available. Anita and Cabaye both saw out the 90 minutes but were around the low 60% fitness at the end of the game. Neither have shocking stamina or natural fitness attributes, so I might have to think about training the squad on more fitness and conditioning, especially as the squad is thin and we will be stretched by the quantity of games we have to play. Tactics I set up three tactics in pre-season, all with different formations and intended for different purposes. Attacking 442 I was raised on Kevin Keegan's Newcastle, so I like to recreate the cavalier attitude that his teams showed. This means that I might well concede a number of goals, but ideally score a good number, too. I intend this for use primarily at home against teams I feel I should beat without too much trouble. It focuses heavily on the wings with two attacking wingers and two supporting wing backs. The central midfield is extremely simple with a defensive midfielder and a supporting midfielder. Similarly, the strikers are nothing complicated- a deep-lying forward on support and an attacking advanced forward. I have opted for more direct passing because this is not a tactic that concerns itself with 21st century issues like possession. Also, I want us to be pressing more to win the ball back high up the pitch - I don't want to allow the opposition any thinking time to launch a counter because we are wide open at the back. I have asked for some extra roaming because I need us to try to find space up front whenever possible. This is very much a bludgeon, as opposed to a rapier - if you look at the stats above for the games I have played, you will see that I have an amazing amount of shots but not a lot of clear cut chances. It is not an efficient or clever tactic, but it is very exciting to watch. I use a few shouts with this: Play wider, because width is key to this tactic; Exploit the flanks, because our central midfield are not intended to create many chances, just keep things ticking over; Work ball into box, this tactic is not subtle but long shots are not something I want to rely on. Pass into space: We need to get through their defences as much as possible. Run at defence: the wingers and strikers need to commit the defenders to tackles. Pump ball into box (occasionally): because Demba Ba can win a few knock-downs and it just cements the aggressive nature of the tactic. Gerrit forward man! Counter-Attacking 451 I figured this would be the main tactic I was going to use, especially away from home, but it is not quite right at the moment. I started the game against Sunderland with this, hoping to lure them in and hit them on the counter, but they were too cautious and I couldn't get the ball back off them. Once they scored, I changed to the 442 and quite comprehensively demolished them. This is my main candidate against Sporting. Tweaks: Zonal marking, to retain our shape. More roaming, to find space. Shouts: Push higher up, because sitting too deep will result on too much pressure - I only want to give the opposition enough of the ball to overcommit. Pass into space, to maximize the space left by fullbacks and midfielders who have ventured up the pitch. Work ball into box: I really don't seem to trust long shots, do I? It's because even at rarely, with sufficient creative freedom a player will still attempt them, just hopefully when the shot is more likely. Hit early crosses, no point in getting all the way to the byline because it would just give them more chance to reorganize. Get ball forward: So that we aren't ponderous when not counter-attacking. Controlling 41212 We have some decent wingers - if you count Ben Arfa as a winger - but not much depth in those positions, so I decided to create a tactic without wingers. This is intended for situations where the 442 is too naive and the 451 is not aggressive enough. It's supposed to be the middle ground where we retain the ball and probe for an opening, while ensuring they can't counter us. I used it to decent effect against Trnava in the second leg. I started with the 442 but it was too naive with the understrength squad I put out, so I scaled back by using this tactic. We controlled the game quite well but I'm not so good at reading what I expect the players to do just yet, so it needs further tweaking. Tweaks: Shorter, so we don't bypass the men between the lines. More expressive, otherwise this would be a very blunt possession-only tactic with little emphasis on goalscoring. Zonal marking, because maintaining the formational shape is very important. More roaming, so we don't become predictable with our movement. Shouts: Play out of defence, because this tactic does want possession. Hoofed balls forward are not really desirable. Play wider, because this is a narrow formation and I don't the opposition to get round me too easily. Work ball into box, because long shots are less likely against the packed defences this tactic will face. Look for overlap: So that the fullbacks get well forward. Retain possession: our players are so close together than we should be able to knock it around in front of the opposition until a good opening appears. Exploit the middle: the flanks are only to be used when necessary, otherwise keep working the ball around in the middle. The Opposition Sporting play a flat 352 which looks quite interesting. I watched the highlights of their 1v2 home loss and their 2v1 away win against Shamrock Rovers in the playoff. Rovers played a very tight 442 in both legs, which appeared to cause Sporting problems. However, my 442 is ridiculously cavalier, so I won't be using that. Having two up front against a back three seems like a bad idea, as does allowing myself to be outnumbered in midfield. While they lack width, I don't like the idea of trying to control the game so that leaves me with my counter-attacking 451. It will be a starting point, but I predict that I will be busy if I want to take anything away from this game. Having one up front will be good because it makes their three at the back quite redundant, having wingers will allow me to stretch the back three and double-up in attack and defence against their wide men. I will match their three in midfield and two up front. I noticed that they play Adrien in the centre of the midfield and, from the highlights and analysis, it looked like he is a deep-lying playmaker who pivots their defence to attack. If I can put a player on him then that will prevent him from having time on the ball. Alternatively, I could try to cut off his passing options so that he can only go backwards to his back three. I noticed that their wingers were - at times - unbelievably gung-ho, getting very far forward when Sporting were in possession. This leaves them very exposed down the flanks, something which I will have to exploit. Sporting seem prone to quick counter attacks, which I have exemplified with this goal from Shamrock Rovers. While I don't plan to be quite so route one, I will concentrate on countering as they seem vulnerable to this. Fitzgerald beats Ricky van Wolfswinkel to the ball. This is quite deep and late to be winning the ball back, I'd rather we didn't let them get to the 'final ball' stage, or even close to the final third. The ball is humped forward which Roche nods down to his strike partner Lordan. Note that O'Brien is already ahead of the wide midfielder, this is already looking quite bad for Sporting - look how many players that single ball took out: the entire midfield! The ball is worked wide to O'Brien, everyone else powers into the box and the back three are outnumbered. O'Brien centres for Lordan to execute a simple finish. Overall, I am quietly confident, but I need to ensure that they only get so far with the possession that I'll be allowing them before swiftly and effectively countering them. This is the main thing I need to concentrate on - are they getting too close to creating good chances without winning the ball back, and, when we get the ball back are we pressuring them on the counter. By narrowing it down to these two things, I'll not have to think about too much, just ensure we stick to the plan. The Tactic Looking at my countering 451, I've decided to make a number of changes to it. It wasn't aggressive enough in trying to win the ball back in the first part of the Sunderland game, so that is something I'd like to address. These changes are partly dictated by player availability, because Ben Arfa is actually suspended for this game, which is very unfortunate. The formation has changed to a 4141 by pulling the advanced wingers back into the midfield. I want them to break at pace, but I also want them to contribute to defending and stopping Sporting from playing. Against a team without fullbacks or even wingbacks, it would be an option to leave my wide men high up the pitch, even in the defensive phase, giving me ready outballs when possession turns over. However, I think that we'd be making it easier for Sporting to retain possession without the wide men dropping back and doubling up on their wide midfielders with our fullbacks. In a counter-attacking tactic, we should first think about how we will win the ball back, before considering how we will quickly transition. Defence: I will select my best back four available, with the only notable change from a generic flat back-four being Coloccini acting as the covering defender. This is largely because I don't trust Steven Taylor to stay put - he is too aggressive and makes rash decisions. Against two strikers who both seem to play quite high up, if Taylor steps up to engage a midfielder he might leave space in behind for a simple through ball. By dropping deeper, Coloccini should be able to mop these up. I expect the full backs, Santon and Cassini, to get forward but only into deep supporting positions, I don't want to open myself up to a counter-attack. Central Midfield: I am matching their midfield three so that they don't overrun us in midfield. I have Vernon Anita sitting back screening the defence but his role is defensive deep-lying playmaker. This is to exploit his decent decisions, passing and creativity. There's no point in him playing super simple balls to his midfield partners if there is a better option available. James Perch will act as a supportive ball-winning midfielder. By giving him a supporting role, he should step out of midfield and move to close down the centrebacks and put them under pressure to hoof it aimlessly forwards. He should put in some big tackles without being reckless but he should not try any ridiculous passes, just keep it simple. Yohan Cabaye completes the triptych, acting as a box-to-box midfielder. He is energetic and an all-round good midfielder - with an emphasis on creating chances - who should have no issues with dropping back to cover Perch's attempts to win the ball directly as well as bomb on when we win the ball to support the lone striker. His finishing is poor should he get in the box, but it is balanced out by good technique and composure. Ideally, he would be arriving in the box simply to sweep the ball home, but it might not work quite as planned. Wingers: The wingers are Sylvain Marveaux on the left and Jonas Gutierrez on the right. Neither are amazing, but Jonas has particularly poor stats. He has some positive aspects, though, like his willingness to put in a shift and his pace, but he is mainly frustrating when in the final third - can't pass, finish or cross accurately and doesn't really have the supporting attributes to cover him. Marveaux is lacking a bit of match fitness, so I will monitor his performance. There isn't much by way of competition for his spot though, because Romain Amalfitano is not particularly great. Shane Ferguson is injured and Sammy Ameobi is unfit. Striker: Demba Ba starts up front as an attacking deep-lying forward. He will need a lot of support from the rest of the team, otherwise he will be isolated and lose possession before the counter has even started. I don't want us to get the ball to him too early, but he can get involved in the build-up without too much trouble - Papiss Cisse isn't the same sort of player, preferring to be the last person involved in a move before finishing. Shola Ameobi might have some decent strength and offer a target man option, I'm not aiming for the sort of counter-attack that looks to launch long balls up to a big man. That's what Shamrock Rovers did and it requires two up front, which I'm not prepared to do because it would require sacrificing a central midfielder, thus outnumbering us, a winger, thus relinquishing width, or a defender, which would be mental having not trained any back-three tactics. Instead, I'm aiming to counter quickly but with some short, forward passes between players, as opposed to hoofing it forward. The Match I'm not going to use any opposition instructions because I wouldn't like to predict who is going to pose a certain kind of danger. I'd rather we stuck to the plan and defended their team as a whole. For the team talk, I assertively tell them to go out there and show what they can do. It appears to have no effect, but when followed by assertively reiterating my faith in the entire team, I have some positive reactions. -We seem to be in control early on. Perch is pressing very high up the pitch, causing some problems to their defenders.We -Their first spell of possession is worryingly long. We seem to be chasing shadows. They successfully work the ball wide and get in behind us, but the poor delivery on the cross we could be in trouble. -Because we are running around too much trying too hard to get the ball back, this is leaving gaps for them to play the simple pass, probing until a gap opens. As a result, I drop our closing down to 'Stand off More'. -They work it wide again, Taylor heads it behind for a corner, I think we need an answer to this quite quickly. -Taylor clears their corner into the left channel and Ba collects it, very isolated. He needs support, immediately. Or perhaps not - he dribbles down the left channel, with Izmailov unwilling or unable to make a challenge. -As Ba reaches the byline, he centres the ball - by this time, Perch, Gutierrez and Cabaye are arriving in the box. The cross evades Sporting's defence and - of all people - James 'Perchinho' sweeps home a very simple finish. 1v0. -I have a decision to make now. This goal was against the run of play, in my mind. It was a counter-attack - certainly - but it wasn't the sort of counter-attack I was after. We have been failing at the first of the two parts of the tactic that I wanted us to perform: win the ball back before it got into the final third. I could either continue as I am and see what happens, or I could go more adventurous and really take the game to Sporting. -Looking at our stats, our possession is woeful (32%) and our passing is dire (64%). I'm really, really tempted to switch up to something more controlling, but continue with this formation. Instead, I think I'll give it five minutes and see whether they really come at us all guns blazing now. -For the next ten minutes or so, the pattern seems to continue - Sporting pass it about in midfield too quickly for us to win it back but just a little to slowly to catch us out through the middle. When they eventually - and almost inevitably - work it wide, we have Steven Taylor at the back to head it skyward. -About twenty minutes in and we are passing it around somewhat uncomfortably at the back. We keep playing passes back to the keeper because we can't get past defence. Sporting look to be a little disjointed and playing a bit too high up. We have a number of players - in fact, everyone but our defenders - in behind their midfield. There is an absolute chasm between their midfield and defence. -Krul plays the ball to Santon's feet, in space. Santon plays a simple forward ball to Anita, bypassing their midfield. He exchanges passes with Marveaux (who is certainly lacking a bit of sharpness) before playing the ball forward to Cabaye who has moved forward to help overload the three centre backs. -The defender follows Cabaye out of defence, leaving James Perchenbauer free to receive a simple through ball slipped into space. This could be dangerous... Perch advances on the goalkeeper for a 1v1... He shoots! Patrico parries! Cabaye follows up! GOAL! 2v0 after 21 minutes. -Another decision to be made now. 2v0 is not a scoreline that home teams particularly enjoy. They tend to really try to turn it around. In fact, I anticipate a change in formation from Sporting, which would prompt me to consider something less negative myself, in an attempt to control the ball and not simply hope that our headless chicken impressions keep working. -However, what I have done thus far has worked a treat - better than I imagined or hoped. So, I'm going to give it another five minutes... -A quick update on some stats. They haven't had a single shot. Not one. We've had three, all on target, all clear-cut-chances - two have gone in. Our possession is up to 40%, more respectable - even if we're countering we don't want too much pressure. Our pass completion is up to 75%, which is also more acceptable. -Morale-wise, we are just looking composed across the board with a number of players having a good game. They are playing ok, with a few players looking nervous, uninterested or disenchanted, which is nice. -I leave our tactics as they are and we see out the half without too much trouble. They have their first shot: a long range effort that goes over the bar. We have another four shots, including two half-chances, but nothing clear cut. Marveaux is injured and Amalfitano gets an early introduction just before half-time. -I don't get a great deal of reaction at half-time with the team-talk. I think I'm just going to leave our tactics as-is because we must be doing something right. Second Half -Boularouz, playing at right centre-back, is constantly hoofing long balls out of play when put under pressure. To maximize this, I use the opposition instructions to close him down at every opportunity. -It looks more and more like we're actually playing a control tactic so I'm guessing they have scaled back their mentality. -An Amalfitano cross is headed clear to Pranjic, who hoofs the ball forward completely aimlessly. Taylor collects, feeds Cassani who passes forward to Gutierrez who has dropped back. Jonas dribbles down the touchline crossing as he enters the final third. Ba surges ahead of his marker and heads in at the near-post. 3v0! This wasn't even a counter-attack... -Clearly, I'm going to stick with things as they are... -This is nice to see: Perchaldo and Gutierrez double up the Elias as he makes his way down the wing. He fails to get a cross in, naturally. Jonas wins possession and runs the length of the pitch to the byline before putting in no delivery at all and losing possession. Like I said, he's a frustrating player. -What a strange decision this is. Sporting's manager has decided that Elias should make more runs forward to join the strikers. You know, the strikers who have barely had a touch all game. That area of the pitch is one that we are guarding with our lives, so sacrificing a midfielder to try to attack non-existent space seems crazy to me. I'm going to tight mark the remaining midfielders for a while and see what happens. -A silly bit of tiki-taka around our box on the right flank leads to a loss of possession and a free shot in space for Wolfswinkel. Thankfully, Krul is alert and manages to save. Their second shot of the game from 58% possession. -Around 70 minutes, a tired Anita is replaced by Yttergard Jenssen in the Deep-Lying Playmaker role. His lack of aggression should see him sit in the hole more than Anita, who has been prone to stepping a bit too far out. -At 80 minutes, Cabaye is replaced with Gosling. This means Ba will have to complete 90 minutes for once. Hope he stays in one piece... -Just after I do this, but before being substituted, Cabaye makes it 4v0. Jonas cuts the ball back out wide to Cassani who has got quite far forward. He whips the ball in and Elias fluffs his header into the path of an on-rushing Cabaye. His first shot is blocked but he scores the rebound. This is resounding. -The final whistle goes. Post-match Analysis Lets look at some of the match stats first of all: You can see that we recovered the possession to 46% and our passsing stats increased to 82% overall. This is largely because Sporting changed their gameplan and scaled back their mentality, giving us less opportunities to counter, less clear cut chances but more opportunity to dominate the ball and see the game out. What I'm really happy about is the number of shots, the number of shots on target, the number of clear cut chances and the number of half chances that both teams had. Throughout the game, they couldn't play through the middle of us and had to work the ball wide to get any sort of final ball in. Even then, with Steven Taylor in the back line, this didn't work too well for them. This is where personnel choices really come into play, because no other defender that I have is quite so dominant in the air. With such aerial paucity in the rest of the backbone, this is doubly important. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleon Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 A cracking thread mate, really enjoyed reading that One question though - You don't use any shouts with the diamond? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZdlR Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Thanks! It took aaaages, but it was worth it for such a comprehensive win. Yes, I do use shouts with the diamond, must have forgotten to check which. I will fill them in when I'm next on FM. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZdlR Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 I've updated the tactics with tweaks and shouts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Os Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Nice thread, enjoyed following your train of thought. Good stuff, looking forward to your next installment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NakS Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Good thread Zdlr, your thinking and decisions are clearly written down so it's a very immersive experience. Perchinho/Perchenbauer had an awesome game it seems! Loved the nickname! Out of interest, did you specific man mark their wide midfielders with yours? I play in south america as a 4141/433/4231 and, against a back 3 + midfield 4, what I have found very effective is to specific man mark their only wide players so your wingers (MR/L or AMR/L) are goalside of them. On top of that "run with ball-often" for fullbacks works wonders to force their closing down upfield and create space in behind for your wingers and forcing their CB wide, facing pacey and skillfull wingers... How was Demba ba game? I mean in terms of passing direction and average position relatively to the mdifield 4? DLF-A is a "mixed" role I love when playing one upfront. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZdlR Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Nice thread, enjoyed following your train of thought. Good stuff, looking forward to your next installment. Thanks Good thread Zdlr, your thinking and decisions are clearly written down so it's a very immersive experience. Perchinho/Perchenbauer had an awesome game it seems! Loved the nickname! Thanks Perch had the game of his life. If you look at his attributes, he's very one-dimensional. But he's suited perfectly to the ball-winner role, because he isn't too aggressive and tackles superbly. The only issue with that role is that he ends up very high up the pitch. In the analysis I will point out how a ball-winning midfielder - especially on support - absolutely needs someone deeper to cover for him. It's like the midfield version of a defensive stopper. Without positionally sound partners, they can be liabilities. Of course, in this case, Perch being high up was no trouble whatsoever having scored a goal and caused a rebound for another. He was man of the match, narrowly beating Cabaye. Out of interest, did you specific man mark their wide midfielders with yours? I play in south america as a 4141/433/4231 and, against a back 3 + midfield 4, what I have found very effective is to specific man mark their only wide players so your wingers (MR/L or AMR/L) are goalside of them. On top of that "run with ball-often" for fullbacks works wonders to force their closing down upfield and create space in behind for your wingers and forcing their CB wide, facing pacey and skillfull wingers...[/Quote] No, I didn't specifically man mark them, everyone was just on zonal. It would have been an option - albeit one that I didn't think of - but their wingers played too high up, just check the last screenshot where they are attacking - their wingers are on the shoulder of the last man. If I had specific marking on them, my wingers (17 and 18) wouldn't be in such good space to counter if/when we win the ball back. I will check Santon and Cassani's ppms, but I think Cassani must try to get forward. He gets into the opposition box, too, so I can't imagine he won't have that ppm. He's only on loan, so I might have to purchase him because he's been awesome so far. How was Demba ba game? I mean in terms of passing direction and average position relatively to the mdifield 4? DLF-A is a "mixed" role I love when playing one upfront. Demba was good, he got an 8.1 I think, largely because of his goal. I'll put up some screenshots of his passing when I do the analysis. If you look at the screenshot where we're defending, you'll see that he drops back into space negating their back three. Then, when we transition to attack, Perch and Cabaye bomb on to support him and overload the centrebacks. The DCr and DCl had no interest in closing down my wingers, which I thought I might tempt them in to, but their wide midfielders were too blasé about defending, so my wingers and fullbacks overloaded there. Overall, they played badly and we played well, but it is definitely down to the tactics. I'm very proud of those stats and the fact that we kept a clean sheet while being so utterly clinical. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhay53 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 This is how I really wish I could play the game. I try.... I have prepared for over an hour for single matches before. Trying to figure out how to attack and defend and get what I want from the match. But in the end, the game starts, none of my plan seems to be working, and I never know how to fix it. And then I start tinkering too much and my team seems to get confused about what I want them to do. Well I'm not surprised, I'm usually confused myself. So usually I try to set up a tactical framework that works to my teams strengths and weaknesses as a whole, and then not tinker very much. Tinkering is what always gets me in trouble. I may lose a few games from lack of adjustments but as long as my plan matches my team, I usually do alright. I really enjoyed your in-depth look into a single match. I really wish I could do this myself, but it always frustrates me more than being rewarding. Thanks for the post, it was a fun read. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZdlR Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 This is how I really wish I could play the game. I try.... I have prepared for over an hour for single matches before. Trying to figure out how to attack and defend and get what I want from the match.But in the end, the game starts, none of my plan seems to be working, and I never know how to fix it. And then I start tinkering too much and my team seems to get confused about what I want them to do. Well I'm not surprised, I'm usually confused myself. So usually I try to set up a tactical framework that works to my teams strengths and weaknesses as a whole, and then not tinker very much. Tinkering is what always gets me in trouble. I may lose a few games from lack of adjustments but as long as my plan matches my team, I usually do alright. I really enjoyed your in-depth look into a single match. I really wish I could do this myself, but it always frustrates me more than being rewarding. Thanks for the post, it was a fun read. Look over some of my earlier posts here from a few years ago and you'll find a very angry ragequitter. Ask Cleon, she knows because I think she reprimanded me on a number of occasions for being cynical. Them I read her guides, and wwfan's, and rashidi's, and sfraser's... Eventually I'm at the point where I'm not horrific at the game any more. I'm not great, I play too slowly for most people, and I sometimes tweak myself into oblivion, too. That is becoming more rare now that I have weaned myself off the sliders (it's taken a looooong time to do that, I was a micro-manager not long ago). The thing people need to realize is that this game will be around for years to come so you don't have to be double-plus amazing at it right now. Sure, each year something changes, but it's actually becoming more user friendly. Look at training - it is still a powerful part of the game, capable of transforming raw talent into superstars, but it isn't slider based. This is a good thing. Pick a big team, like Manchester United, and see what you can do. They are a team that should win games, lots of them, but it's still not going to be simple. Just try to learn the game with good players at your disposal because that way mistakes are most likely to be yours and yours alone, no players to blame. That's good, because admitting that you make mistakes helps you to learn. Otherwise, people just keep ragequitting... Rather than spend an hour preparing for the match, just limit yourself to ten minutes - even five should do. The main thing you should be thinking is 'should I win this game'? If it's a 'yes', then you need to design an attacking tactic. If it's a 'maybe' then either control or counter, depending on your confidence. If it's 'almost certainly not' then defend. The longer you spend on preparation, the more likely it is that you will be annoyed when/if you don't win. It's better to player 5 matches in a night and win a couple, draw a couple and lose one - providing you know where you went wrong - than it is to play 1 and win it. After 15 minutes of the full match highlights it should be clear whether what you are doing is working or not. If it is, switch to comprehensive or extended highlights and pay close attention to what you are being shown. If it isn't working, change it. This could be a small as tweaking your closing down - like I did against Sporting - or as huge as scrapping your starting tactic and formation in favour of another - like I did against Sunderland. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhay53 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Look over some of my earlier posts here from a few years ago and you'll find a very angry ragequitter. Ask Cleon, she knows because I think she reprimanded me on a number of occasions for being cynical. Them I read her guides, and wwfan's, and rashidi's, and sfraser's... Eventually I'm at the point where I'm not horrific at the game any more. I'm not great, I play too slowly for most people, and I sometimes tweak myself into oblivion, too. That is becoming more rare now that I have weaned myself off the sliders (it's taken a looooong time to do that, I was a micro-manager not long ago). The thing people need to realize is that this game will be around for years to come so you don't have to be double-plus amazing at it right now. Sure, each year something changes, but it's actually becoming more user friendly. Look at training - it is still a powerful part of the game, capable of transforming raw talent into superstars, but it isn't slider based. This is a good thing. Pick a big team, like Manchester United, and see what you can do. They are a team that should win games, lots of them, but it's still not going to be simple. Just try to learn the game with good players at your disposal because that way mistakes are most likely to be yours and yours alone, no players to blame. That's good, because admitting that you make mistakes helps you to learn. Otherwise, people just keep ragequitting...Rather than spend an hour preparing for the match, just limit yourself to ten minutes - even five should do. The main thing you should be thinking is 'should I win this game'? If it's a 'yes', then you need to design an attacking tactic. If it's a 'maybe' then either control or counter, depending on your confidence. If it's 'almost certainly not' then defend. The longer you spend on preparation, the more likely it is that you will be annoyed when/if you don't win. It's better to player 5 matches in a night and win a couple, draw a couple and lose one - providing you know where you went wrong - than it is to play 1 and win it. After 15 minutes of the full match highlights it should be clear whether what you are doing is working or not. If it is, switch to comprehensive or extended highlights and pay close attention to what you are being shown. If it isn't working, change it. This could be a small as tweaking your closing down - like I did against Sporting - or as huge as scrapping your starting tactic and formation in favour of another - like I did against Sunderland. Very good advice. I've been around a while and remember some of your posts. I've read all the threads by sfraser et al. and feel I have a good idea of what to do "in theory". In practice I'm just not very good at it. For me it's always a balancing act between wanting to get through lots of seasons and wanting to enjoy the thrill of a tactical choice directly leading to victory. I enjoy player evolution and scouting and training a lot. So I'm always trying to balance my time in a way that provides the most fun. However, one thing I've found is that plug and play style of playing the game tends to wear off for me. When I have my team built up to world class. Start to get bored. So I definitely am trying to lean towards tactical aspects more this year. Great response and great thread, thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
difran8 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Look over some of my earlier posts here from a few years ago and you'll find a very angry ragequitter. Ask Cleon, she knows because I think she reprimanded me on a number of occasions for being cynical. Them I read her guides, and wwfan's, and rashidi's, and sfraser's... Eventually I'm at the point where I'm not horrific at the game any more. I'm not great, I play too slowly for most people, and I sometimes tweak myself into oblivion, too. That is becoming more rare now that I have weaned myself off the sliders (it's taken a looooong time to do that, I was a micro-manager not long ago). The thing people need to realize is that this game will be around for years to come so you don't have to be double-plus amazing at it right now. Sure, each year something changes, but it's actually becoming more user friendly. Look at training - it is still a powerful part of the game, capable of transforming raw talent into superstars, but it isn't slider based. This is a good thing. Pick a big team, like Manchester United, and see what you can do. They are a team that should win games, lots of them, but it's still not going to be simple. Just try to learn the game with good players at your disposal because that way mistakes are most likely to be yours and yours alone, no players to blame. That's good, because admitting that you make mistakes helps you to learn. Otherwise, people just keep ragequitting...The training example isn't very fitting ,though . If you knew what you were doing , manual adjustment of sliders was able to shape a player to a greater extent than the current system Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZdlR Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 The training example isn't very fitting ,though . If you knew what you were doing , manual adjustment of sliders was able to shape a player to a greater extent than the current system It gave you more freedom to both fail and over-achieve, much like the current tactical sliders. The example was given to demonstrate how the game is becoming more user-friendly, which often fulfills the opposite requirements of power-users, so it was actually perfect Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewis999 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 The training example isn't very fitting ,though . If you knew what you were doing , manual adjustment of sliders was able to shape a player to a greater extent than the current system The argument of it was though, was that on the old system you could, in theory transform a high potential winger whose stats were more suited to a defensive winger/wing back role to an inside forward goal machine by neglecting their defensive training and overloading they're ball control/attacking and shooting training which basically made the individual a totally different player which in real life you can't do so drastically so this years is more realistic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
difran8 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 It gave you more freedom to both fail and over-achieve, much like the current tactical sliders. The example was given to demonstrate how the game is becoming more user-friendly, which often fulfills the opposite requirements of power-users, so it was actually perfect Indeed ...the part <<This is a good thing>> caught my attention more than the <<but it's actually becoming more user friendly>> one Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhay53 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 The training example isn't very fitting ,though . If you knew what you were doing , manual adjustment of sliders was able to shape a player to a greater extent than the current system The problem with the system was that there was no real indication of what you were actually doing. It took years of trial and error and empirical testing and at the very end, there were STILL multiple different philosophies. I would argue that the new system is better because it is both simpler, while still giving excellent control of shaping very specific attributes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZdlR Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 The problem with the system was that there was no real indication of what you were actually doing. It took years of trial and error and empirical testing and at the very end, there were STILL multiple different philosophies.I would argue that the new system is better because it is both simpler, while still giving excellent control of shaping very specific attributes. However, you can't now choose which training you are happy to trade-off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mortiscausa Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 ZdlR can I please for more like this one...it was great read ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZdlR Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 ZdlR can I please for more like this one...it was great read ! I'll see what I can do this weekend. Time permitting, I might be able to do another. I have Swansea away in the league next but that won't be very interesting as they're 17th and I have a lot of tired players. I'm just going to try to win it by half time and then take the second half easy. Will check if there's a better game coming up to cover. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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