[[FM22][SKIN][WIP] FME - Zealand v4.00 HOTFIX (08/01/2022)]

Hi FMEnhanced.  That makes sense.  Thanks for your explanation, and thanks for being so patient with such a noob ; )  Besides that problem, I've got nothing but praise for the skin!  Keep on crushing it brother.

[[FM22][SKIN][WIP] FME - Zealand v4.00 HOTFIX (08/01/2022)]

I'm enjoying the Zealand skin very much, but I think I found a bug?  When I'm choosing my match day squad, if I click to view just strikers (for example), and I choose the strikers I want, then if I click to view the whole squad, my changes are undone, and the previous strikers I chose are back in the starting lineup.  I hope I've explained this clearly. Has anyone else noticed this?  Because this renders the skin unusable. EDIT : I went back to the original skin, and now I can't choose anyone in a squad!! I deselected the whole match day squad, then if I view specific positions only, I can choose players, but as soon as I click to view the whole squad, it's all deselected. crapcrapcrap... any ideas?

EDIT : I tried reinstalling the game, the problem persisted, but when I started a new save, squad selection worked no problem.  Does the skin kill preexisting saves?

[Play down the middle boss? No I'm good...]

18 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

How do you mean "the AI suggested it"?  

It was suggested in a prematch briefing by my assistant manager, who is a conglomeration of 1s and 0s.

 

For the same style of play (patient possession) or something different?

It's probably not fair to ask you to suggest a good tactic/roles for my team.  I should probably pay you!  

But could you comment on the quote below?  It really got me thinking.  It seems imply that : if you want to play down the sides, focus play in the middle to make the middle congested and create space on the flanks, and vice versa.

21 hours ago, NotSoSpecialOne said:

In that match, it is very understandable most of the attacking play came through the wings. RB Leipzig are also using a narrow formation.

Re: Focus play instructions, this is just my opinion but I find that they create space in the areas of the pitch that aren't where the play is being focused (either you overload that section of the pitch or the defense drifts to that part of the pitch there by creating space elsewhere). So by focusing play through the middle, you are creating space down the flanks if the opposition reacts to this.

 

 

[Play down the middle boss? No I'm good...]

18 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

- the selection of central midfield roles (both mezzala and AP are attack-minded roles + your mezzala is even played on attack duty)

- how do you expect to protect the left flank when your (already attack-minded) lone WB only has an attacking mezzala in front of him?

- what's the logic behind your choice of the "Play for set pieces" instruction when your other in-possession instructions are clearly oriented toward patient possession football (and perhaps overly so)?

- using 2 BPDs (plus SK on support duty) makes little (if any) sense if you want to play patient possession football (as your in-possession TIs obviously suggest)

- why tight marking? 

My answers to your questions will reveal my ignorance, so apologies for that in advance...

- I didn't realise that a mezzala on attack wouldn't help with defence.

- I geared my recruitment to find players who'll be mustard in the box on corners, and good corner takers.  Often this is how I get goals.  I had no idea that "play for set pieces" wasn't compatible with possession football.

- I wasn't aware that BPD/SK on support weren't compatible with possession football.

- Tight marking because the AI suggested it...

My team is predicted to finish solidly mid table, so perhaps patient possession football isn't a tactic that I should be using.

If you could give any advice, especially on player roles, that'd be fantastic!

 

[Play down the middle boss? No I'm good...]

4 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

I've taken a look at your tactic and it definitely has flaws, both in terms of your selection of roles and duties and contradictory instructions.

Anyway, when it comes to the Focus play instruction(s), it is just an instruction that - like any other instruction - only serves to encourage (a bit) more of a certain type of behavior by your players. In the specific case of the Focus play through the middle, the instruction virtually asks your players to try to use the middle areas of the pitch whenever possible or sensible. But the instruction itself cannot determine which area of the pitch will be predominantly used during an actual match. Because:

1. there are other elements of the tactic - most notably the setup of roles and duties - that affect how your team will play;

2. there is the opposition on the pitch as well, whose style of play will also have a significant effect on your team's play.

Thanks for the reply, those are good points.  Could you please elaborate about the flaws of my tactic?  I don't have a good tactical sense yet, so I'm really keen to hear how more experienced FMers think.

[Play down the middle boss? No I'm good...]

2 minutes ago, NotSoSpecialOne said:

In that match, it is very understandable most of the attacking play came through the wings. RB Leipzig are also using a narrow formation.

Re: Focus play instructions, this is just my opinion but I find that they create space in the areas of the pitch that aren't where the play is being focused (either you overload that section of the pitch or the defense drifts to that part of the pitch there by creating space elsewhere). So by focusing play through the middle, you are creating space down the flanks if the opposition reacts to this.

That makes sense!  So if I want to play down the middle, I should focus play down the flanks?  There's a perverse logic to this, so I'm gonna try that for the next little while.

[Play down the middle boss? No I'm good...]

1 hour ago, Freakiie said:

Well hard to say without seeing your tactics, but generally the middle is 10x more crowded than the sides, so play will naturally move out wide because that's where space is.

I acknowledge that's usually the case.  So what kinds of tactics create space in the middle, whereby you can successfully exploit the middle? 

[Play down the middle boss? No I'm good...]

Is this enough info?   Feel free to rate my tactic!  But please bear in mind I'm just a humble beginner ; )

[Play down the middle boss? No I'm good...]

1 minute ago, Experienced Defender said:

How to what: post a screenshot of your tactic here or something else? 

Sorry, I figured out how to do it, I'll share it soon.

[Play down the middle boss? No I'm good...]

Ok!

[Play down the middle boss? No I'm good...]

I'm using a 5-4-1 Diamond WB formation, aiming to play through the middle. But for match after match, the match report says that focus of our attacks have been down the flanks.  This isn't ideal, because I've only got wing backs out there, no wingers/wide midfielders.  What would cause this to happen?  Thanks!

[How to play against a team that aims to control possession?]

Thanks for the input y'all, it's much appreciated!  I'm really trying to develop a deeper tactical sense of what to do when, but I'm still very much at the "thog make fire" stage.  I want to find someone who's written/made videos about this sort of thing in depth.  Do you have any recommendations?

[Man marking on defending corners - how to choose ? (FM 2020)]

My next opposition has a strong, tall CD with good heading.  I want to set my similar CD to mark him when defending corners, but not during the rest of the match.  In the section for setting up player instructions on corners, there's an option for man mark, but I can't see any way to choose who is being marked.  How do I choose who is being man marked on corners?

[How to play against a team that aims to control possession?]

54 minutes ago, zyfon5 said:

There are generally two school of thoughts to this problem. First is the German school of thought which aims to disrupt possession with high pressing and counter pressing to exploit transitions where the opponent is most vulnerable. However executing these type of tactics require good players that can go 1 on 1 with the other team since you will need to use some degree of man marking.

The other school of thought is to let the opponents have possession but control all the important spaces so that they cannot do anything with the possession while you threaten them with the spaces they left behind. The prime example of this will be the recent match between Chelsea vs Man City where Man City have loads of possession but never do anything with it while Chelsea constantly exploit spaces behind the defensive line eventually wearing down their backline. Both attacking midfielders Mount and Havertz were frequently tracking back to cover both half spaces and stifle man City attacks.

Hmmm.  I think my team doesn't have the quality to go toe to toe with them, so I'm thinking sit deep and hit them on the counter.  I hate inviting pressure though, I prefer to take the attack to them.  DM powers - activate!

[How to play against a team that aims to control possession?]

I have a match coming against Borussia Monchengladbach, and they're the classic control possession, work ball into box, play out of defence, high pressing team.  My question is how to play against them in a broad tactical sense.  I know a lot depends on who's playing, but generally speaking, eg should I play a fast counter attacking style, etc.  Thanks!

[Dreads playing big matches - a big deal?]

So I stumbled across a lovely little player, only one fly in the ointment - as you guessed, he dreads playing in big matches.  Just as long as I don't put him in cup finals, am I good?  Or is this a trait that'll be a more overall problem?

[Can't handle the pressure?]

1 hour ago, Crazy_Ivan said:

Happens in real life too so seems like a good little feature.

Have you ever had this message?  If so, did anything happen?

[Can't handle the pressure?]

Have you ever had this message?  If so, did anything happen?

[Can't handle the pressure?]

For the first time ever, I got this message : "I think Dejan Janjatovic is having trouble handling the pressure of first team football at the club".  

I'd understand if this was for a youth player, but he's one of my standout players, who's made about 50 appearances for the club, and was voted the player of the season last year!  What gives?

[Is being FMed a real thing?]

So, we all know that feeling.  Best lineup picked, tactics calibrated to countering the next opponent's tactics and formation, threats and players with weaknesses identified, get the players pumped and on to kickoff.  You're in with a shot, they're a team roughly on your level.  

Your system is working and creating chances.  Clear cut chances.  Chances your gran could put away.  Chance after chance.  Spurned.  Then they sneak a goal.  Bollocks.  Demand more, switch to more and more aggressive and risky play to get that goal.  Nothing comes of it, and then they get another goal right at the end from a counter attack.  (From an own goal no less).  Double bollocks.  Lost the game, punch a pillow ; )

My question is, of course, are there games that are genuinely unwinnable, not because the opposition is Liverpool, but because the RNG gods have chosen against you on that particular day?

[Help with changing an individual picture of a player.]

7 hours ago, BenitoBendito said:

If I'm understanding this and you cant find your players UID in your config file, then you need to add it,

add a line like this in your config file where both of the numbers in green are your players UID

(easiest just to copy and past a line and change the numbers)

It worked!!!  Hallelujah!  I'm not tech savy at all, so I appreciate all the help.  Hope your next match is a win.  ; )

[Help with changing an individual picture of a player.]

2 minutes ago, a31632 said:

If this still doesn’t work after renaming the picture and moving it to the player faces folder, consider using an “xml tool”. They have been around for over 10 years and create automatically a good config file. You should Google “fmxml” as I think that is the name of it.

You must have made an error in the config file creation

Dude, thanks for your patience and help! I think I'll have a stab at it tomorrow, because in my part of the world, it's nearly bed time.  Have a good one!

[Help with changing an individual picture of a player.]

I renamed the file, put it into the correct folder, but the id still doesn't show up when I try to edit the config file...All the numbers are in chronological order, and the number isn't where it should be.

[Help with changing an individual picture of a player.]

1 minute ago, a31632 said:

Maybe this to obvious😎, but did you rename the player picture name to the ID#, moved it to your folder with other player pictures?

Also make sure it is in “pgn” format not jpg or similar and the extension “png” isn’t capitalized 

You have to rename the picture to the ID number?  I didn't do that, it didn't say that in the original instructions I followed.  The format is lower case png though.  Let me try again... 

[Help with changing an individual picture of a player.]

1 minute ago, a31632 said:

In “preferences” in your game you can tick the option to “show unique ID’s” after this in your header with the name it will now show your players ID#.
 

After this you follow the procedure as described. Save the edited configuration file and (important) reload the skin. It might be needed to empty cache prior, all depends on the situation.

 

Thanks, but I already did that.  I know the number, but it's not there.