Match Briefings? What do they do?

[Herolover]

Tried to search and see if this had been answered, but my I have a lower league Google Fu attribute.

Basically what the title says. What do Match Briefings do? Do they give a bonus to a subject talked about? Are they window dressing? What? What is the consensus on this?

[Hilly1979]

At best I think they get a small boost to morale.

I just say to my players today we’re playing whatever my chosen mentality is and I get a green thumbs up from them every time, don’t bother saying anything else as I don’t want to lose the thumbs up.

[Prepper_Jack]

Well, for one, it can be an invaluable asset in terms of determining the current mentality of your players. If you go into an away game with a positive or attacking mindset, and they are a bit discouraged when you tell them this, you can expect them to be a little nervous or apprehensive in the game, and that perhaps a more risk averse approach going into such matches in the future might be beneficial. Players often feel this way when facing higher reputation teams. Nervous players play terribly, and you might want to give them a "pressure's off" team talk at the start of the match to make them feel better about it. Later on, when your team is successful in a given league, and has proven successful against bigger teams, you can bring up the possibility again, and they may be more comfortable with the idea, allowing you to put a bit more pressure on them, giving you a better performance as a result. It might also give you an early warning sign into particular portions of your tactic that may not be as effective as normal against a given opponent. If players who are usually entirely on board with a particular element suddenly become neutral or apprehensive about it, you may want to check the tactics and players in your opposition more carefully and see where that reaction may have been coming from.

It can improve morale a bit if everyone likes your plan, but I do think having perfect morale going into a game is a bit overrated. Players with lower morale can, at times, actually perform better than they otherwise would. If you play against relegation candidates who have been on a bad string of losses, you may have seen this - they fight like absolute lions. They get desperate for a win. So, personally, I don't think having your team get upset at some tactical choices and going into a match with slightly lower morale is necessarily harmful, particularly if you have a squad with high determination.

There may be a hidden element in terms of focus. I don't know if it's implemented, but it would make a great deal of sense if there was a bonus to this with a briefing, as that's pretty much the purpose in real life. You go over your tactical elements so the players have it fresh in their minds as the match goes on. Focus deteriorates over a match, resulting in poorer decisions being made. Players with low concentration have this deteriorate more quickly. Starting at a higher focus level would therefore be quite beneficial, particularly in the later stages of each half.

[Rashidi]

Its not a feature of the game that I particularly like. I have done so many saves on this game where I let the ass man handle it without too much fuss. In fact there are saves when i just skip it. 

There are other features that are more important.

1. learning how to spot players who are becoming complacent

2. knowing when to identify players who are on a hot streak

3. identifying players who have issues with some kind of games

 

[Herolover]

Thank you for the replies.

I have usually just handed them to my to Assman.

However, I have recently found out that they are a good way of seeing what my players think of a the tactic that we are going to use.