Tactical Theorems and Frameworks '09

[Celtic_1967]

I could do with some advice please. I took the Martin O'Neill (RoO) setup and found that it didn't quite work te way I wanted it to, however I found that by making Mentality RoT my team knock the ball round exactly as I want them to. Until, that is, we get to 20 yards from goal. We seem unable to break through the opposition defence. Crosses into the box get cut out, as there appears to be little support. Through balls are generally mopped up easily as it seems my attackers cant get onto them. When they do get on them we get an offside call.

Most frustrating is the stuation where the defence put 6 or 7 men behind the ball and close out my attackers. This results in us losing the ball or having to take shots from distance. I have very few shots from less than 15 yards. My team seem incapable of drawing the defenders out to create space.

I have a small/tall partnership and use the small forward (Scott McDonald) as the FCd and the tall forward (Jan Vennegor of Hesselink) as my FCa. Although changing these round doesn't really make any difference.

Any help the tactical guru's can give will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[moj]

Has anyone managed to score more than 2.0 in average per league match? I, including many others, have this goal scoring problem. I am very interested to hear how many have succes with attacking tactics. So far I have only read/heard about great tactics that dont score 2.0 per match!

Who are you managing? Which team?

[AmA Deo]

Who are you managing? Which team?

I have tried with several clubs. For example with Arsenal - with them I scored maybe up to 1.5 goals per match, but still not enough in my opinion. Currently I have a savegame with Brøndby from Denmark (a top 3-4 team). My results are fine overall, its just that I dont score goals. Right now I have played 15 matches in the league and scored 17 or 18 I think. I have tried many, many things. Therefore I would like to see how everybody else are doing... Perhaps Im not a good manager, but its almost impossible to think that its all my fault after days and days testing tactics.......

[moj]

I have tried with several clubs. For example with Arsenal - with them I scored maybe up to 1.5 goals per match, but still not enough in my opinion. Currently I have a savegame with Brøndby from Denmark (a top 3-4 team). My results are fine overall, its just that I dont score goals. Right now I have played 15 matches in the league and scored 17 or 18 I think. I have tried many, many things. Therefore I would like to see how everybody else are doing... Perhaps Im not a good manager, but its almost impossible to think that its all my fault after days and days testing tactics.......

I can't see how you failed to score 3 or 4 goals in every match with Arsenal, I found it way too easy with them. Try my tactic or Matt's TTF tactic, both are attacking and DO NOT TWEAK, let the tactic fix, let it gell with your team for a couple of matches. (only a few tweaks)

[Tejaswi]

Wonderful stuff!

It solved a major problem for me. Fullbacks not having anyone to pass to.I had a DM with mentality = mentality of the CB. But still something used to happen and they just used to kick it up the field.

Just been tweaking the tactics for my United save. Would you agree with crossball rarely, Longshots often, Freerole, TTB mixed, RWB often on Ronaldo (used as an attacking option).

Also, any suggestions for Berbatov? He doesn't have a good work rate, so can't really be used as FCd and doesn't have a good pace/acceleration thus limiting his effectiveness as a FCa.

[moj]

in a rather trivial case tejaswi, berbatov performing poor is a good thing, say he plays 6.5 for about 5 matches, you can then say his recent form is awful or disappointing and his work rate will increase, if he gets below a 5.9, then you can issue him a warning or even fine him and his work rate should increase by 1 point, in 2 years his work rate could be 13 or 14..

[wwfan]

I could do with some advice please. I took the Martin O'Neill (RoO) setup and found that it didn't quite work te way I wanted it to, however I found that by making Mentality RoT my team knock the ball round exactly as I want them to. Until, that is, we get to 20 yards from goal. We seem unable to break through the opposition defence. Crosses into the box get cut out, as there appears to be little support. Through balls are generally mopped up easily as it seems my attackers cant get onto them. When they do get on them we get an offside call.

Most frustrating is the stuation where the defence put 6 or 7 men behind the ball and close out my attackers. This results in us losing the ball or having to take shots from distance. I have very few shots from less than 15 yards. My team seem incapable of drawing the defenders out to create space.

I have a small/tall partnership and use the small forward (Scott McDonald) as the FCd and the tall forward (Jan Vennegor of Hesselink) as my FCa. Although changing these round doesn't really make any difference.

Any help the tactical gurus can give will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I've been experimenting with Justified's suggestion of a reversed FCd/FCa. Most settings stay the same, but the FCd plays with a higher mentality and no FWRs (certainly for standard/attacking tactics) and the FCa plays with the lower mentality and FWRs mixed or often, running onto knock downs from a deeper position. It has been working wonders for the Ashton/Bellamy partnership at West Ham and Berbatov/Rooney at Man Utd. It could be worth a try for all those struggling with scoring goals.

in a rather trivial case tejaswi, berbatov performing poor is a good thing, say he plays 6.5 for about 5 matches, you can then say his recent form is awful or disappointing and his work rate will increase, if he gets below a 5.9, then you can issue him a warning or even fine him and his work rate should increase by 1 point, in 2 years his work rate could be 13 or 14..

Really? You learn something every day.

[moj]

Really? You learn something every day.

(sarcasm?) i did it with quaresma in fm08 and it worked a treat.. same for his determination

[wwfan]

(sarcasm?) i did it with quaresma in fm08 and it worked a treat.. same for his determination

Not sarcasm. I didn't know that. I'll experiment with it

[mattbuck]

I've been experimenting with Justified's suggestion of a reversed FCd/FCa. Most settings stay the same, but the FCd plays with a higher mentality and no FWRs (certainly for standard/attacking tactics) and the FCa plays with the lower mentality and FWRs mixed or often, running onto knock downs from a deeper position. It has been working wonders for the Ashton/Bellamy partnership at West Ham and Berbatov/Rooney at Man Utd. It could be worth a try for all those struggling with scoring goals.

Sounds interesting, i might have to try that out thanks.

[Adriano007]

wwfan, I'm experimenting with the Control match strategy, using a 2-4-4 framework (2 defend, 4 support etc), but seem to be having problems. The match flies by, usually with us dominating possession, but creating few if any chances. What do you think the key elements are in breaking down these stubborn defences?

Also, in your 5 settings (from Utra Defence to Control), do you believe there is one missing, like when you are desperately chasing a goal, throwing caution to the wind? For example, playing the control tactic might take long to break teams down even if implemented successfully, and you might not have enough time left. So maybe there is a 'Gung-Ho' strategy, with maximum forward runs, and high mentality etc. I'd like to know your views on this. Thanks in advance.

[The Flux Capacitor]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the document, you are legends. You understanding and attention to detail are astonishing.

[Edward Williams]

I've been experimenting with Justified's suggestion of a reversed FCd/FCa. Most settings stay the same, but the FCd plays with a higher mentality and no FWRs (certainly for standard/attacking tactics) and the FCa plays with the lower mentality and FWRs mixed or often, running onto knock downs from a deeper position. It has been working wonders for the Ashton/Bellamy partnership at West Ham and Berbatov/Rooney at Man Utd. It could be worth a try for all those struggling with scoring goals.

How did you get the Ashton/Bellamy partnership working. I'm really struggling.

[Tejaswi]

in a rather trivial case tejaswi, berbatov performing poor is a good thing, say he plays 6.5 for about 5 matches, you can then say his recent form is awful or disappointing and his work rate will increase, if he gets below a 5.9, then you can issue him a warning or even fine him and his work rate should increase by 1 point, in 2 years his work rate could be 13 or 14..

Be that as it may, I don't really plan on waiting for two years. I just need a position for him to play in. What if I play him as FCd and give high closing down to FCa? He just hangs around in the middle of the pitch while the FCa does all the defensive work AND makes the forward runs? I could tick the HUB, might work perfect?

[willseraphim]

Great work everyone. I have build a tactics based on your theories and thank to you my team no longer conceed goals thats are not meant to be, don't mind conceeding goals that you cant do much to prevent. The problem is really the 'put the ball into the net' part. I only had 2 games out of 20 so far where i scored more than 2 goals.

One question though. If you open up the FM editor and you will be able to see the number assigned to each player's free role. Does smaller number means that this certain player will not play well when assigned free role and vice versa?

Cheers.

[moj]

Be that as it may, I don't really plan on waiting for two years. I just need a position for him to play in. What if I play him as FCd and give high closing down to FCa? He just hangs around in the middle of the pitch while the FCa does all the defensive work AND makes the forward runs? I could tick the HUB, might work perfect?

fair enough, i don't think work rate will affect his game that much, you can play him FCd or FCa IMO and he'll still do the job, pace and acceleration aren't that important, berbatov has one of the smartest brains when it comes to football..

[BocaJ]

Hi WFFan. I'm one of your grateful admirers for the work you put into this. There's such more here to take in and I keep worrying that I'm missing something as I've yet to feel like I've got a true handle on the tactics. I'm playing as Mexico trying to qualify for 2010 (I started the same in v08 using your control tactics and ran all the lesser teams off the park, now just 2-0 scorelines). I'm using the libero set up being that I have Rafael Marquez who seems a perfect candidate for this role. However, I've yet to see him carry the ball up like described on page 1 or do anything all that unique. Can you tell me what I should be looking for while viewing the game and/or post game stats to see if my libero is performing the way he should? Many many thanks!!!

[Chrisz]

Hi wwfan, been tweakign and followign your tactical templates and guidelines.so far had much succes, won everything i could as Liverpool ( but than, i do have a strong squad and your tactics to guide me). Many thanks for that.

Have a couple of question though.

With regards to OI, you stated we shld not close the AMC down, and instead put team instructions to tight mark or use a DMC(which i rarely do).Yet i feel the AMC is quite dangerous as he always has too much space. how do i counter that?

Have also bought a new strike pairing of Aguero (sold Keano)and Huntelar. I tend to play Aguero in a 4-4-1-1 with him juz behind torres. He blows hot and cold at times.

Indiviual instructions for him are

run with ball often,

fwd runs : mixed,

CF:high,

tight markin:no,

cross ball: mixed,

cross ball:mixed:

through ball : mixed.

marking: zonal

:passing: short

In addition ( sry i know i hv loads of questions) is it possible to play torres and Huntelar together?My plan was for torres to play in ur default template indivivual instructions in 4-4-2std and att and Huntlar, tweaked to be mroe of a target man or complete forward , minus the free role. So far to mixed success. How should i play the two?( i fidn it hard to make 2 strikers to get good ratings and to score )

Cheers for the advice

[tigerhgrrrrrr]

Dare I mention the phrase "cheat tactic"?

It seems to me that using the Defensive version of wwfans theory with Bristol Rovers in L1 I am doing especially well! Am joking about "cheat tactic" of course but I have to say its a fine tactic even when you are favourite and it is relatively high scoring sometimes.

For anyone losing faith in FM09 please try it - it will revive your faith.

[One hell of a keeper]

Hey guys can some one please upload WWfans tactics for FM2007? Please!...

[Da_Funk]

Just for info and feedback.

Tried using the excel-thing to do a 3-4-3 Mourinho/Nike Defence.

1) assistant says my attack is too far from midfield

2) you say that Mourinho uses a sweeper deeper than the other DC. With this 3-defense line, the central one (which i suppose he should be the special one....ok...not that funny) has more mentality then the other 2. Is this coherent with Mourinho style?

[simonbyrneno.4]

wwfan- i'm currently using the Queiroz tactic from the download pack with the exception i have Rooney pushed up top with Berbatov. So it's more or less like the way United play now. But the question i've got is about this seap you mentioned with their mentality. I don't really get what you mean when your saying swap them. do i just swap their mentality or do i swap their creative freedom and things like that too? Also, should i make Berbatov a target man with ball to feet instructions to get the most out of him? And i've read what your saying about Pirlo as a deep lying playmaker on the previous page, would giving Carrick a free role and hold up ball more or less do the same thing as it would with Pirlo?

[macdyne73]

I would like to thank the authors for some great work and a greatly informative document. It's been extremely helpful.

By the way, I didn't go through the whole thread but I was wondering, is there another version of the TTF Wizard that works with Excel 2003? I've tried to use the Office compatibility pack but it seems to have broken some of the macros and formulas.

[philipv]

I would like to thank the authors for some great work and a greatly informative document. It's been extremely helpful.

By the way, I didn't go through the whole thread but I was wondering, is there another version of the TTF Wizard that works with Excel 2003? I've tried to use the Office compatibility pack but it seems to have broken some of the macros and formulas.

Afraid not. You can use OpenOffice though...

[canty]

This document is a tactical bible! It really is quality...cleared up everything I was having problems with. Anyone who is having trouble I recommend you read it...then re-create your tactic using it and then during matches keep it open to consult at all times until it becomes second nature. And play your matches with extended highlights or full(if you're obsessed)!

One thing I would point out is...a 30 page document like this should not be needed to make me understand the tactics! Maybe look into a simpler system (or maybe more explanations in the game).

Other than that it has me playing realistic passing/controlling football! If you are having trouble with your striker getting goals check the poacher setting...works wonders!

Cheers lads! Good work!

[werhnamhogg]

I just spent the last few hours at work reading pretty much this entire document. It has to be the most informative document related to FM in general. The level of detail is immense. I cannot wait to get home to try some of these tactics. As of now i've been struggling to find some consistencies, so this has most certainly cleared up some of the problems i've been having. Thanks to everyone who contributed. You've made a lot of managers happy!

[AvatarST]

wwfan, how would you go around setting up this strike partnership?

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll159/AvatarST/lewandowski.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll159/AvatarST/keirrison.jpg

Keirrison is a new signing ever since we arrived the premiership. I know they've scored goals but they did so mostly though individual quality. But in truth, even though he (Keirrison) enjoyed a good start, he's not scored for well over a month now (I'm in November).

I'm not sure who should be the FCd and what settings I should give him, I'd use Lewandowski for that role but his passing seems rather weak. In fact even using Lewandowski in that role he seems to be at the end of most through balls and counterattacks while Keirrison is more or less stranded. Funnily enough if I use him as the FCa the same thing happens: Lewandowski gets better service, and Keirrison looks again a little lost. I've tried Justified's way as well so I think I need some advice in here...

I'm still playing around with settings a bit but I'm not sure if it's that or Keirrison having to gel. My assman says my squad's reached a strong understanding though. In any case, if it's that, by the time they've gelled and looking at their stats, what would be a good way to try? In what direction should I try to head, with those players?

[wwfan]

wwfan, how would you go around setting up this strike partnership?

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll159/AvatarST/lewandowski.jpg

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll159/AvatarST/keirrison.jpg

Keirrison is a new signing ever since we arrived the premiership. I know they've scored goals but they did so mostly though individual quality. But in truth, even though he (Keirrison) enjoyed a good start, he's not scored for well over a month now (I'm in November).

I'm not sure who should be the FCd and what settings I should give him, I'd use Lewandowski for that role but his passing seems rather weak. In fact even using Lewandowski in that role he seems to be at the end of most through balls and counterattacks while Keirrison is more or less stranded. Funnily enough if I use him as the FCa the same thing happens: Lewandowski gets better service, and Keirrison looks again a little lost. I've tried Justified's way as well so I think I need some advice in here...

I'm still playing around with settings a bit but I'm not sure if it's that or Keirrison having to gel. My assman says my squad's reached a strong understanding though. In any case, if it's that, by the time they've gelled and looking at their stats, what would be a good way to try? In what direction should I try to head, with those players?

I would certainly use Lewandowski as an FCa Poacher but with forward runs on rarely and hold up ball. I would probably use him as a Target Man with supply on mixed as he is fast enough and good enough in the air to do well. His best attributes are Strength, Stamina and Finishing, so getting him close to goal is a must. I'd direct most crosses to his head, ceratinly from deeper positions (I tend to use near post far post for this rather than TM). However, crossing from byline may work better to centre.

Keirrison I'd be trying to make best use of his speed, dribbling, decisions and off the ball. I'd play him with an FCd mentlaity but with FWRs Often, RWB Often, good CF and perhaps a free role. IF you find he doesn't drop deep enough like this reduce his FWRs utnil he does. Ideally, you want him running onto knock downs from Lewandowski from direct ball plays, but dropping into space to pick up short passes, turning and running at the opposition. I'd certainly give him long shots mixed as well.

[GAGA25]

Great work wwfan

but i have a question do i have to play a flat 4-4-2 to have success cause i love playing with a diamond formation and i`m struggling

here is my squad

i`m using the 2-6-2 framework

[wwfan]

You are not playing well becasue of all the new players you have. Nothing more, nothing less. Things should get better in the new year.

[GAGA25]

You are not playing well becasue of all the new players you have. Nothing more, nothing less. Things should get better in the new year.

this is my second year

[wwfan]

this is my second year

I noticed. However, there are so many new players there that gelling will still be an issue and there will be language difficulties. I'm assuming you didn't buy them all 18 months ago.

[GAGA25]

I noticed. However, there are so many new players there that gelling will still be an issue and there will be language difficulties. I'm assuming you didn't buy them all 18 months ago.

so how long will it take to gel ?

[AvatarST]

I would certainly use Lewandowski as an FCa Poacher but with forward runs on rarely and hold up ball. I would probably use him as a Target Man with supply on mixed as he is fast enough and good enough in the air to do well. His best attributes are Strength, Stamina and Finishing, so getting him close to goal is a must. I'd direct most crosses to his head, ceratinly from deeper positions (I tend to use near post far post for this rather than TM). However, crossing from byline may work better to centre.

Keirrison I'd be trying to make best use of his speed, dribbling, decisions and off the ball. I'd play him with an FCd mentlaity but with FWRs Often, RWB Often, good CF and perhaps a free role. IF you find he doesn't drop deep enough like this reduce his FWRs utnil he does. Ideally, you want him running onto knock downs from Lewandowski from direct ball plays, but dropping into space to pick up short passes, turning and running at the opposition. I'd certainly give him long shots mixed as well.

Thanks. I'll try these suggestions as soon as I can.

[AmA Deo]

Guys, how should I set up Defoe and Martins in my 4-4-2? And which one should be the FCd/FCa? Thx..

[20Reedy07]

Hi, im currently using a 4-4-2 formation. Im trying to play a patient passing game but when the oppostion are in possession of the ball im looking to close them down fairly qucikly in order to stop the having time to pick out a forward running player with a through ball etc.. although not to the point my players run all over the pitch leaving a gaping holes in my formation. Im struggling to set up individual's mentality for this though as well as the implimenting individual's closing down. If possible could somebody give me a rough guide as to how to set this up i would be grateful & then once i have that set up i can play around with individual's player instructions until im satisfied with how the tactic looks.

[simonbyrneno.4]

What creative freedom rating should i be giving to Rooney in order to maximise his ability. Should i give him high creative freedom and a free role or a normal rating of cf and a free role? I'm playing him in the AMC position with fwd runs, through balls and run with ball all often. I've got Berbatov as a lone striker, and i want Rooney to play just off him

[googoo56]

I've been so far extremely dissapointed with the new match engine, but am willing to give it a last try...

wwfan, your document is wonderful, there is a lot of detail, you seem to understand the game in and out, so I'd like you to give me some advices

I am Man United and made some changes with the squad. I sold Tevez and bought Huntelaar and Ashley Young.

I want to play a basic 442. I want my keeper to perform a sweeper keeper role. I want my fullbacks to consistently go forward, just like Evra IRL. One of my MC's should be a deep lying playmaker (Scholes) while the other an all-round player (Anderson). I want Scholesy to control the tempo of the game, make himself available to any passes, and as for Anderson I thought he has the skills to perform a box-to-box midfielder role.

One of my two wingers should cut in regurarly (ronaldo of course).

And the most tricky part, the strike partnership. I have two ideas:

1. Berbatov to come deep, hold up the ball and use his creativity to distribute passes of all range. I guess target man box ticked with supply to feet and no FWRs would do a job. The other striker should be a bit more advanced, but still not a poacher role. And I want both of them to come back and defend when the team loses possesion.

2. One striker coming deep regurarly, and the other being a poacher.

Now having read your document I still have yet to enjoy any success, I'm not seeing what I want when watching full matches... so...

It'd be great if You could tell me what framework should be used, what team settings, what settings for the deep lying playmaker, the deep dropping striker, the incoming winger...

I've tried so many things, and am really dissappointed so far

Thank you for reading m8, and thanks in advance for your answer!

[Riziger]

Brilliant work WWFAN, using your tactics now and read through the documents every once in awhile when I'm not too sure of something.

Small problem.

My strike partnership at Man C is Robinho and Lisandro Lopez.

Been playing Robinho in the FCa role and he's done alright, decent amount of goals but nothing outstanding.

I got down to thinking and quite clearly he's not made to play the FCa role because with that much flair and dribbling ability he should drop deeper and run at defenders right? Like he does in real life.

Lopez is a poacher so I'm gonna put him in the FCa role now, using your poacher settings.

Robinho will play the FCd with high creativity, with RWB and TTB often, rest on mixed. Do I still have him hold up the ball?

Thanx

[Orion Dean]

Excellent read Wwfan and Millie, read it a few times and experimented with your idea's ingame, but i have a few questions to ask if you would so kindly answer them.

1) How best would i implement fowards such as michael owen and obafemi martins [owen being slower but more techincally [sp?] gifted compared to obafemi's pace]

2) Would Peter Crouch / Emile Heskey be a perfect example of a target man

3) Who exactly should i tell to HUB and give Free roles to? Creative players? Strong players?

4) would it be beneficial sign players with the vital stats outlined in your individual player theory section

5) Can i use the match strategies for each match without any tweaks at all? Or would i have to slightly alter them according to eatch match due to pitch size etc.

6) What size pitch would you reccomend for a mid-tabled side, i understand a small pitch for relegation fighters and a larger one for promotion candidates.

[Snoweel]

I have a question about mentality splits in a single striker formation (specifically the 4-3-3).

You recommend making the lone striker the FCd and one of the MC's the FCa.

Do I then need to follow the mentality split rules on page 17? Or is it unnecessary because the FCa and FCd are already offset by their field positions?

[Daley]

wwfan, if you set a tactic up but want players to swap positions (a bit like Man Utd do IRL) so the front three or four swap postions. Do the players leave their specific player instructions behind in their old position and automatically take those associated with the new one or would you have to pause the game and re-jig it all?

[Tafse]

Grrr.. so frustrated now.. very close to giving this game a miss for the forseeable future. Been putting so much time into this only to see my team performing worse and worse.

[wwfan]

Guys, how should I set up Defoe and Martins in my 4-4-2? And which one should be the FCd/FCa? Thx..

That's a tough one. I would think Martins will be better coming from deep and Defoe playing on the shoulder of the last man, so I'd use Defoe as the FCa and Martins as the FCd. Martin's I'd definitely give FWRs Often, but I'd have to experiment with Defoe. Crossing is goign to be a waste of time, so you'll need to work out how to get the wingers to drop inside and hit TBs.

What creative freedom rating should i be giving to Rooney in order to maximise his ability. Should i give him high creative freedom and a free role or a normal rating of cf and a free role? I'm playing him in the AMC position with fwd runs, through balls and run with ball all often. I've got Berbatov as a lone striker, and i want Rooney to play just off him

I have had Rooney performing magnificently as an AMC with high CF, free role and mentality, but with no FWRs. I'd try that

And the most tricky part, the strike partnership. I have two ideas:

1. Berbatov to come deep, hold up the ball and use his creativity to distribute passes of all range. I guess target man box ticked with supply to feet and no FWRs would do a job. The other striker should be a bit more advanced, but still not a poacher role. And I want both of them to come back and defend when the team loses possesion.

2. One striker coming deep regurarly, and the other being a poacher.

It'd be great if You could tell me what framework should be used, what team settings, what settings for the deep lying playmaker, the deep dropping striker, the incoming winger...

I've tried so many things, and am really dissappointed so far

Thank you for reading m8, and thanks in advance for your answer!

1: To get the FCs coming deeper and tracking back, you will need a lower mentality plus tight marking. You could experiment by using the FCd as the higher mentality FC but with FCd settings and the FCa the lower one but with FCa settings. Tha should do what you want.

Framework: Ultimately, it is up to you. Role Theory is the best attacking framework, but less stable defensively. Bands of Two and 5x5 are somewhere in between. RoO and the Nike Defence are very defence orientated. THe other two require good players and a fair amount of experimentation.

The other settings should work pretty much as described in the pdf. However, I'd certainly give at least one winger a free role, if not both, and take it away from Berbatov so he is a target point.

Robinho will play the FCd with high creativity, with RWB and TTB often, rest on mixed. Do I still have him hold up the ball?

It's best to only have strong players HUB. If you don't feel he is strong enough, then no. However, the FCa can do it instead if he has the right stats.

Excellent read Wwfan and Millie, read it a few times and experimented with your idea's ingame, but i have a few questions to ask if you would so kindly answer them.

1) How best would i implement fowards such as michael owen and obafemi martins [owen being slower but more techincally [sp?] gifted compared to obafemi's pace]

2) Would Peter Crouch / Emile Heskey be a perfect example of a target man

3) Who exactly should i tell to HUB and give Free roles to? Creative players? Strong players?

4) would it be beneficial sign players with the vital stats outlined in your individual player theory section

5) Can i use the match strategies for each match without any tweaks at all? Or would i have to slightly alter them according to eatch match due to pitch size etc.

6) What size pitch would you reccomend for a mid-tabled side, i understand a small pitch for relegation fighters and a larger one for promotion candidates.

1: I'd play Owen as the FCa but with no FWRs and support settings and have Martins dropping deeper and using his pace to keep up with play but with attacking settings.

2: Yes

3: HUB: Strong players, Free Role: Good decisions, Off the Ball, creativity

4: Yes

5: Depends on how micro-managerial you wish to be. I change a few OIs for every match, but only really focus on pitch size when I feel I am a far weaker side and need everything in my favour to have a chance.

6: A medium sized pitch should do the job. With fast forwards, make it long so you can get them into the space behind the d-line (we may have got d-line advice wrong in the original document with regards to pitch size).

I have a question about mentality splits in a single striker formation (specifically the 4-3-3).

You recommend making the lone striker the FCd and one of the MC's the FCa.

Do I then need to follow the mentality split rules on page 17? Or is it unnecessary because the FCa and FCd are already offset by their field positions?

I have tended to find the FCa as an MCa mentlaity is slightly too high and he acts too much like an auxilliary forward rather than a floating MC. I'd drop it 2-3 notches to get the best out of him. However, a lower mentality FCd with AML/Rs pushing ahead works really well and shouldn't need any change from the suggestions in the document.

wwfan, if you set a tactic up but want players to swap positions (a bit like Man Utd do IRL) so the front three or four swap postions. Do the players leave their specific player instructions behind in their old position and automatically take those associated with the new one or would you have to pause the game and re-jig it all?

Unfortunately, they take on the instructions of the position rather than taking their old instructions with them. Sticky instructions when swapping roles is a change we have requested for future versions.

[simonbyrneno.4]

wwfan- what other individual settings have you given Rooney?

[Daley]

Unfortunately, they take on the instructions of the position rather than taking their old instructions with them. Sticky instructions when swapping roles is a change we have requested for future versions.

Thanks wwfan, interesting that you seem to think that they should have sticky instructions that follow them wherever they move to but I think that they should be position dictated, that way if you were swapping more than one player (such as Rooney from FCd to AMR/Mr then Ronaldo from AMR/MR to AML/ML then Tevez from FCa to FCd and Berbatov From FCa to FCd) they would each adopt the new 'Team role' of that position. I would have thought that it was closer to how Fergie asks them to do it IRL but obviously I may well be wrong.

[PhroX]

Thanks wwfan, interesting that you seem to think that they should have sticky instructions that follow them wherever they move to but I think that they should be position dictated, that way if you were swapping more than one player (such as Rooney from FCd to AMR/Mr then Ronaldo from AMR/MR to AML/ML then Tevez from FCa to FCd and Berbatov From FCa to FCd) they would each adopt the new 'Team role' of that position. I would have thought that it was closer to how Fergie asks them to do it IRL but obviously I may well be wrong.

Personally, I think you should have both options. Think of it this way: Spurs have Bentley and Lennon, both of which can play on either wing (they're both naturally right sided, but have played sucessfully on the left). If they're told to swap with each other, would Bentley then try to play like Lennon - running at defenders, trying to get to the byline - and vice-versa?

[wwfan]

Thanks wwfan, interesting that you seem to think that they should have sticky instructions that follow them wherever they move to but I think that they should be position dictated, that way if you were swapping more than one player (such as Rooney from FCd to AMR/Mr then Ronaldo from AMR/MR to AML/ML then Tevez from FCa to FCd and Berbatov From FCa to FCd) they would each adopt the new 'Team role' of that position. I would have thought that it was closer to how Fergie asks them to do it IRL but obviously I may well be wrong.

I think you should have the option for both.

[Imperator77]

Playing as Boro I've downloaded TT&F. I only wish the gameplay was as enjoyable as the read

I'm 15 games into the first season and have done ok, finding myself at 15th (media prediciton was 13th), scoring about 1 goal a game.

I've set up the Nike-defence framework, but not sure this is the framework most suited to Boro. Regarding new players I've bought Eneyeama, Diarra and Lewandowski, selleing Mido. So it's a few new players and the team is still gelling. I've also fired the assistant who looked really poor and hired a new one.

Up to this point I've won 2, drawing 8 and lost 5 (Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Portsmouth).

At the moment writing this I'm playing home against Blackburn who is knocking balls all over the place finding free players with plenty of room. Tugay is in control of the midfield with Diarra getting nowhere near him. So I've paused the game after 25 minutes to read the si-forums.

There are several things I've noticed during theese games that is not working, but I can not get it right either. I've made a list over some of the issues.

1. The goalkeeper (Eneyeama) opts for a long kick towards the FCd with no exception, even though I instruct him to pass it to a defender or try a quick throw. If I use a targetman in the FCa position he will not kick the ball towards him.

2. The defence works ok, but in some games they seem to be in the middle of nowhere and can't get close to their oponents. This is probably down to my settings, and all in all I'm not very good at translating what I see on the pitch into slidersettings.

3. The wingers offers absolutely nothing in any of the mentality sets I use. I hoped that a player like Dowing would be able to run at defenders, but most of the time he will loose the ball. He's played all the games in the Premier League, offering no assists or goals. Again it's probably down to my inability to translate what I see into slidersettings. On the righthand side I've got Gary O'Neil who's not a proper winger, but I've got no one else. I can't find a good way to use this player. In all mentality sets I find both wingers to be stranded in the middle of nowhere, often loosing posession to the oposing winger. They are nowhere near the fullback. Atempts from other players to release the wingers ends in fullback picking up the ball.

4. MCd performs well. Probably down to the Diarra (Digard also doning reasonably well) playing in this position. Most of the time he seems to act like an DMc, but will sit in the centreal defenders lap under pressure (like the game I'm playing right now). The MCa most of the time finds him self nowhere. He links ok with the defence, but can't offer much support for the strikers. I've tried Arca, Diarra and O'Neil in this position.

5. As I've got no Henry's up front I've tried to adapt the settings for what I've got. Most of the time I've used Lewandowski as FCa with no forward runs and hold up ball. This would worked fine if the FCa, MCa and a winger would offer support. Alves has played in the FCd position and he's the one who gives me a few goals down to his long shots being ok.

I dominate a few games possession wise, but that is not ending in more attempts at goal. Normal shots per game is in between 4 and 8. Out of theese shots, 1-5 ends on target. Of what I see during the games the attacking play could have been better if the support roles offered support in attack. It would also get better if the players would try to find more room for them selves. The AI is as usual verry effective in marking and closing down, and my team suffers badly from that.

Another thing I can not get arround is the OI settings. Right now as mentioned I'm playing Blackburn. My defender and DMc can't get close to them. Tugay sprays ball from a deep position, mostly wide. I've asked Diarra to man mark him tightly, but he does not do it. As Gamst Pedersen has not got the pace to run at Hoyte he stops with the ball at his feet and waits for Hoyte to arrive. When he does, Pedersen playes a neet ball on Hoytes outside to Derbyshire who's constantly on the move. He gets behind and has got plenty of time to aim a cross at McCarthy. But what can I do to limit theese situations? I can't say I see much difference between man mark or close down. Certanly not on the weaker foot instruction.

To summarize it's still early in the season with a new team, but I feel some of the problems is down to inability to translate what I want players to do into usefull instructions. I also find it difficult to read what the oposition is doing when they defend deep and still dominate arround my 16 yard box with plenty of players.

I've used the TT&F wizard to set up my tactic sets, and tried to use them according to game situations, pre match odds etc.

I see my main problems being the ability to instruct the players, get important positions involved in attack (Wingers and MCa, sometimes fullbacks) and the proper way to set OI.

To finish this rather dull and negative (sorry) post I would like to thank the creators of TT&F 09, because it's a great read and offers good advice. It's a pitty I can't take the words written in this document and translate them into action at the moment. I will probably need a TT&F for dummies to progress in this game.

[wwfan]

If you are new to TT&F we have found it often takes 3 virtual seasons to really get to grips with it. It seems to me that you are struggling with the right tactics selection for games. The usual fault is being over aggressive. However, as a quick fix I'd suggest you try the following:

1: Play mainly standard at home and defensive away. Look to grind out 1-0 wins and don't be afraid of playing negative, dull football to protect a lead. If you are 1-0 down, wait until about the 70th minute to open up play. Going 2-0 down prior to that kills off the match. Waiting until circa the 70th minute means if you do come back you'll probably grab a point, or, if the goal demoralises the opposition, a win.

2: Reduce the free roles, especially up front, and choose one player who most fits the bill to roam. Keep everybody else doing the simple stuff well.

3: Try to take the pressure off your players. Encourage them at home but wish luck or tell them there is no pressure away. Every poitn taken away from home is a bonus, so don't worry or criticise them if they get nothing, but praise them to the hilt if they get something.

4: Try to swap around the forwards' instructions. If neither are scoring, look at playing the FCd with FCa mentlaity but FCd settins, and have the other striker running into space from deep. From my experience, they both work, but certain striker combinations work better with option one and others with option two.

5: Aim for about 10-12th place in the league opening season. That will be a major achievement. Then replace your 2-3 worst performers in the off-season and aim for 6-8th season two.