Player instuctions - too fiddly! (Suggestions)

I don't know if this is a common greivance, but is anyone else frustrated by the labour-intensive way that the individual player instructions on the tactical screen need to be fine-tuned every time you tinker with your line-up? Way too much time gets spent on the routine of changing the 'long shots' settings to fit the current lineup, etc. Even worse is when you forget to fully adhere to this clunky system, and your tactical switch of pulling a striker back into holding midfield is ruined because you forgot to tell the player in that slot to stop going on long solo runs - with the result that your hatchet man embarasses himself, mistakenly trying to emulate Wayne Rooney. To name but one example.

I assume that everyone else has this problem at some time or another? Football manager has used this system for a while, so we're all probably used to putting up with its inefficiencies. But I think its time that something more fluid and accessible was introduced, so that the pre-match checks don't take up such a large portion of your playing time.

The best solution I could think of was the the introduction of 'tactical formulas'. See how the transfer search screen lets you filter down tonnes of criteria until you get exactly what you're after? Imagine if you could do the same with your tactics. To solve the two examples I gave above, you would just set up tactical formulas that said:

"If Long Shots >12, then Long Shots = Often"

"If postion = DM, then Forward Runs = Rarely"

"If Dribbling <10, then Run With Ball = Rarely"

You could just set up the formulas to override specific player instructions, pick the starting eleven, then relax in the knowledge that you haven't mistakenly told someone to do something stupid. But that's just my idea. Any other suggestions?

good idea, but i fear these would counteract each other quite often. For exmaple in my FM gave i have a holding midfielder whos great on the ball and at corners.

so if for example i put like you said:

If position = DM, then forward runs = rarely

if dribbling is >15, then Forward runs = often.

whats he gonna be set to? i mean its a great idea just needs to be thought about by SI carefully if it was to be implemented. But definatly got potential. good work

I think there should be two kind of player instrunctions. First, the instructions set for certain position as it is now in the game. And secondly, I'd like to have another instructions you could give to a player that would override instruction set for his position.

For example, in my tactic I could set my DM to forward run rarely. If I happen to have a DM in my squad who has excellent dribbling attribute, I could tell him to run forward often, no matter what I have set in my tactic for that certain position.

Hope I made myself clear

i dont believe you do need to cahnge player tactiucs all the time.

but then i do fit players into my system. not the other way round.

if the player doesn't fit then they're out.

but your tactic formulas do sound interesting. although it could be argued that it would seriously dumb down the tactics and further more, how would it be created so that it isn't basically a 'cheat tactic'.

for example the basic training regime works fine but if you want more out of the training then you need to do it yourself. so if that's the way 'tactical formulas' would work then i'm all for it.

i personally think that plyaer tactics would be a far better proposition than position tactics (which is how it currently is) for fixing this issue

Originally posted by TPA:

I think there should be two kind of player instrunctions. First, the instructions set for certain position as it is now in the game. And secondly, I'd like to have another instructions you could give to a player that would override instruction set for his position.

For example, in my tactic I could set my DM to forward run rarely. If I happen to have a DM in my squad who has excellent dribbling attribute, I could tell him to run forward often, no matter what I have set in my tactic for that certain position.

Hope I made myself clear

Exactly and with gja102's solution it would be great