Tactics: Time Wasting

[tacticsdude]

(I’m on FM17 so I don’t know if this was fixed already in 18.)

One of the biggest problems I have with the tactics system in FM is that I can’t set the time wasting level.

The fact that it is hard-wired to attack tempo is a big problem for me. You can only set it to high if you choose a defensive philosophy, but anyone that thinks attacking teams can’t waste time has not observed Atletico Madrid play under Simeone.

Why It Matters?
Wasting time makes games shorter and cuts down the game’s momentum. In previous versions of FM I could us that tactic very much in the same way that Simeone uses it at Atletico.

A Few Scenarios:
Say I play a narrow 433, with my fullbacks set to attack. That means that at the end of many plays they are out of position. Wasting time on restarts means the fullbacks have a few extra seconds to regain position.

Say I play high press. This is taxing on any team, and particularly one with a thin midfield. So players will not be able to give me a full 90mins. But if I’m wasting time from the beginning, the game feels more like it was only 78mins long and player stamina will hold better till the end. (this is also how Simeone goes about pressing high the whole game.)

Wasting time also helps give breather moments to players that are running more aggressively throughout the match (fullbacks, wingers, attackers with support duty), particularly if you are playing counter attack.

Say I play slowly to corral the opposition, then use long shots, draw fouls. Overall I’ll get more corners and free kicks than average, which means my CBs are traveling the pitch more often than most teams. I want to allow time for my CBs to move around the pitch without having to run back and forth.

Say I’m playing against an attacking team. We were up 1-0 and now the opposition just scored and we are tied 1-1. A tie is good enough for me today, but I’m going to try to steal a victory. They’ve had the momentum for the last 15 mins and there’s 10 mins to go. I know they are going to go for it and will continue to attack me, so I set my team to attack too to hit them fast, but I also want to waste time to run out the clock to:
- drive towards maintaining the tied result
- because my team is exhausted and they won’t sustain the attack tempo much longer
- because if I’m going to attack but also need to defend cohesively, then I need to buy them a few seconds after every play to regain their shape

 

Conclusion
The way I see it, wasting time is entirely independent of any other tactics and should be a free choice in the tactics dialog. If you have any doubts just spend some time watching Simeone’s team.

Not being able to set my time wasting high is affecting my results in FM. My midfielders are over-tired at the end of most matches and this flaw in FM’s tactical system is costing me points. For instance, I just dropped 2 points in the last minute of a game in which I had 63% possession, a game that I would have absolutely won if the tactical system would have allowed me to waste time the entire second half, because the game would have been maybe 6 mins shorter so the counter attack that resulted in a goal would have not had a chance to happen, and my midlfielders and fullbacks would have been sharper to deal with it regardless.

 

[Neil Brock]

Reviewed so locked.