Playmaker box, what does it do?

[ianmforbes]

I notice that with the playmaker box ticked, my designated playmaker will generally look to pass first, as opposed to when the box isn't ticked.

What would you say, according to the program, the playmaker option does, with respect to the regular player instructions?

Also, can you use multiple playmakers? ie tick the box, but list 2-3 players, do they all respond the same way?

In theory, Barcelona play that way this year, with Henry, Iniesta, Xavi, and Messi all performing in that kind of capacity.

Thanks.

[megafan2005]

I notice that with the playmaker box ticked, my designated playmaker will generally look to pass first, as opposed to when the box isn't ticked.

What would you say, according to the program, the playmaker option does, with respect to the regular player instructions?

Also, can you use multiple playmakers? ie tick the box, but list 2-3 players, do they all respond the same way?

In theory, Barcelona play that way this year, with Henry, Iniesta, Xavi, and Messi all performing in that kind of capacity.

Thanks.

Xavi is the Barca playmaker, Messi is the targetman, Henry is the free role winger and Iniesta is the High CF MCa I think

and no you cannot specify more than one playmaker.

The playmaker box does exactly what I have bolded in your quote and I think thats all it does differently

[mi_pratik]

playmaker is guy to whom every one tries to pass the ball he has a free role high creative freedom and high attack

he is a midfielder but does not think of defending he plays high in field.

[megafan2005]

playmaker is guy to whom every one tries to pass the ball he has a free role high creative freedom and high attack

he is a midfielder but does not think of defending he plays high in field.

Not necessarily. For example Pirlo is a playmaker yet he is more a High CF no free role defensive player

[lam]

Hmmm..... my understanding is alittle different.

Firstly, you can specify more than one playmaker, however, there will only ever be one in play at any one time. eg. if you select Moric first and Palacio as second and they are both playing then Modric will be the playmaker. If he is subbed then Palacio becomes the playmaker. If Modric is not selected to play then Palacio would be the playmaker. Equally so, if neither are playing or are subbed, then you would have no playmaker.

This is the manual definition:

Use Playmaker:

The playmaker is an almost cult role in world football – a fantasista – the player wearing the number 10 shirt. Those are the most common and typical types of playmakers but in short he will be the one player in your team capable of providing the difference-making play that very few others can. It can be a player anywhere on the pitch that you set as a playmaker (which you can assign from the ‘playmakers’ panel option from the ‘instruction’ menu), but ideally the selected player will be one who can make a difference offensively.

I beleive that a playmaker will play his standard game as you have tactically instructed him to do so, however by having ticked the playmaker box, your team will normaly look to him for the plays ie.... they will pass to him more often. As you can see from above, ideally you want to be choosing someone that has the ability to change the game for you and has the skills to do so.

There is another view. Its another way of directing play to where you want it. an example of this would be to have a wide settings with play directed down both wings, with your MCa selected as playmaker. This technically, should put him into a role where (depending on settings) he can ship the ball from left to right.

LAM

[ianmforbes]

Xavi is the Barca playmaker, Messi is the targetman, Henry is the free role winger and Iniesta is the High CF MCa I think

and no you cannot specify more than one playmaker.

The playmaker box does exactly what I have bolded in your quote and I think thats all it does differently

I would have thought the Eto'o was the target man (the number 9), Messi a playmaker (number 10), but also with Iniesta (mostly) and sometimes Xavi (a bit deeper) as 2 more playmakers.

Henry somewhat, but more looking for his own shot rather than to set anyone else up.

I ask because I play a 4-2-3-1 with Aguero as the AMC and Messi as the AMR, and for the life of me I can't get the playmaker thing nailed, I keep switching it up and tinkering with Messi's instructions and the playmaker role.

BTW I notice that Wilshire is fantastic in the AMC spot with playmaker ticked.

But I'm trying to figure out what to do with the others, and part of that means figuring out exactly what the playmaker role does in relation to the match engine.

[megafan2005]

I would have thought the Eto'o was the target man (the number 9), Messi a playmaker (number 10), but also with Iniesta (mostly) and sometimes Xavi (a bit deeper) as 2 more playmakers.

Henry somewhat, but more looking for his own shot rather than to set anyone else up.

I ask because I play a 4-2-3-1 with Aguero as the AMC and Messi as the AMR, and for the life of me I can't get the playmaker thing nailed, I keep switching it up and tinkering with Messi's instructions and the playmaker role.

BTW I notice that Wilshire is fantastic in the AMC spot with playmaker ticked.

But I'm trying to figure out what to do with the others, and part of that means figuring out exactly what the playmaker role does in relation to the match engine.

Well to replicate how Messi plays irl id remove the AMC and play the standard Barca formation but with him as targetman and ball to feet and Barca always look for Messi so I think he is a target man for them

[phenomx3]

I don't think Barcelona have a true target man. That implies they look to pass and move the ball to that player whenever they can. That is not the case IRL. Xavi and Iniesta both distribute the ball equally, out wide through the middle. If anything Eto'o would be the target man. Xavi very much is the playmaker and I think he has something like 20 league assists this season or something which suggest that. Iniesta is quite rightly the high CF AMC although it could be argued he too is a playmaker as his main role is to supply the attacking threat of the team with the ball. Messi perhaps has a free role? I don't think in the game his decision making or creative freedom are good enough to but IRL it seems like he does. I know for a fact that when Rijkaard was in charge he gave Ronaldinho the freedom of the left wing to literally do what he wanted with (I heard Ruud Gullitt being interviewed ages ago ).

To replicate this in the tactics I would do the following. Have target man box ticked and choose Eto'o with target man supply with "run on to ball" selected (he has excellent pace & acceleration but an average first touch rating which wouldn't suit a "to feet" target man setting). If this fails I would probably untick the target man box as I imagine a lot of wasted possession could arise from this. I would make Xavi the playmaker and give Iniesta either a free role or a higher CF and mentality. They both have such good creativity and decision making that they would devastate any team. Perhaps to include Messi and Henry more, focus passing down both flanks (or a flank in particular). It sounds so one dimensional but with a playmaker and free role player in the team they will still get plenty of the ball.

[ianmforbes]

I don't think Barcelona have a true target man. That implies they look to pass and move the ball to that player whenever they can. That is not the case IRL. Xavi and Iniesta both distribute the ball equally, out wide through the middle. If anything Eto'o would be the target man. Xavi very much is the playmaker and I think he has something like 20 league assists this season or something which suggest that. Iniesta is quite rightly the high CF AMC although it could be argued he too is a playmaker as his main role is to supply the attacking threat of the team with the ball. Messi perhaps has a free role? I don't think in the game his decision making or creative freedom are good enough to but IRL it seems like he does. I know for a fact that when Rijkaard was in charge he gave Ronaldinho the freedom of the left wing to literally do what he wanted with (I heard Ruud Gullitt being interviewed ages ago ).

To replicate this in the tactics I would do the following. Have target man box ticked and choose Eto'o with target man supply with "run on to ball" selected (he has excellent pace & acceleration but an average first touch rating which wouldn't suit a "to feet" target man setting). If this fails I would probably untick the target man box as I imagine a lot of wasted possession could arise from this. I would make Xavi the playmaker and give Iniesta either a free role or a higher CF and mentality. They both have such good creativity and decision making that they would devastate any team. Perhaps to include Messi and Henry more, focus passing down both flanks (or a flank in particular). It sounds so one dimensional but with a playmaker and free role player in the team they will still get plenty of the ball.

I agree, it's just that it feels strange to have Messi on your team and not call him the playmaker.

When I do select him as playmaker, he has the tendency to dribble slowly and look for the through ball, which is lovely.

So would you say that the "playmaker box" (and):

1. Decreases chances of playmaker going on forward runs looking for through ball.

2. Increases passing range

3. Looks to pass before all other instructions

This has to be just code written in to the match engine, so it must do something with the sliders.

Thanks for all the input by the way.

[phenomx3]

I agree, it's just that it feels strange to have Messi on your team and not call him the playmaker.

When I do select him as playmaker, he has the tendency to dribble slowly and look for the through ball, which is lovely.

So would you say that the "playmaker box" (and):

1. Decreases chances of playmaker going on forward runs looking for through ball.

2. Increases passing range

3. Looks to pass before all other instructions

This has to be just code written in to the match engine, so it must do something with the sliders.

Thanks for all the input by the way.

I think the box tells the player to simply act and be the playmaker. So essentially he would be looking to play a through ball for others as you say messi does. Rather than try and score for himself as a player with a free role or high CF might he will instead dictate the play with his main objective being to pass the ball. IMO to answer your questions:

1. He will always be looking to play the final through ball, not receive it. He may run with the ball if one of his PPMs is to "Run with ball ..." however I imagine he would do it as he sees fit to fulfill his role.

2. Hmmm...tricky to say. Perhaps yes depending on his location on the pitch and your tempo settings. If you play a high tempo and he sees the chance to play the ball quickly to another player from afar then he may just hoof it. His job is to look for those opportunities via his own creativeness so why not try more longer balls.

3. I think if his CF is low then he will follow basic playmaker principals. Giving him a higher CF tends to give him more of a license to do what he wants so hence he may be more inclinded to try a pot shot or do some tricks depending on what his PPMs are.

[kolobok]

Messi is a palymaker??? No way, at least IRL. Playmaker is the conductor in the orchestra, whilst Messi is more like the first violin. Hence, if the conductor decides, the violin plays, improvises, etc. But it's up to the conductor to decide whether it's time for the violin to play or rather time to go with drums. The conductor himself does not do solo in most cases - he just knows who sholud play and points to the instrument.

[Surferosa]

Perhaps the most obvious example of a playmaker at the moment is Fabregas. Obvious in the sense of his role within the team rather than being the best (which isnt my point). He is the fulcrum of the Arsenal team- whether it be dropping deep to pick up the ball from the Defense (who naturally look to give him the ball- another sign), acting as a continuity player in midfield as the ball transitions left-right (and back again )- or looking for a through ball into the channels or behind the defense.

He is responsible for directing both the direction and speed of play within the team.

[Jumbalumba]

Perhaps changes have been made and I am too lazy to test it out myself but from my experience previously in fm08, when having both Use playmaker and Use target man ticked, more passes would go to the target man. I'm not saying only that the target man receives more passes in total but also that people would rather pass to the target man than the playmaker. This makes it seem as though the play maker option is quite useless other than as describe in the first post that the designated playmaker will look to pass rather than doing anything else. In light of this, it would seem the perfect candidate for designating playmaker is a deep-lying midfielder with good creativity and passing just so he is less likely to do anything else other than passing.

[zaq]

I tend to think that the playmaker option just tells the other players he's the first option to look for for a pass. I don't really think it changes that players behaviour.

Jumbalumba I suspect that a preference to go for the targetman might have to do with other settings. For example direct passing in combination with high mentality would probably make it unlikely that the passer would choose a backwards/sideways pass if there is a forward alternative.

[oX ULTRA Xo]

Riquelme is my definition watch him play