2 - 0 up at half time

What should I say?

It seems that I'm constantly throwing away leads at half time due to 'demotivated' players.

Help

Have a read of Wolfsongs team talk guide, in the TT forum

Never ever say you're thrilled!

I've read that Arsenal 2111, in fact, it's in another window on my browser right now.

Thehollowman - Of course, one way ticket to the best comeback since Istanbul!

Never ever say you're thrilled!

If you're the underdog I've found that works well.

The general consensus is that saying nothing in this situation is best. They've done what's expected in the first half and no more. However, some say 'pleased' works okay. It depends - I recommend WolfSong's analysis too.

I find it depends a lot on the pre match odds. If you are the underdog saying 'pleased' seems to work well and if you were clear favourites or the odds were close pre-match then saying nothing seems to be the way to go.

Also pay attention to their performance, not just the scoreline. Take a look at the match report if you miss the commentary. If the commentator said you deserved to lead (while the odds said you should) then say None. If you're overwhelming the opposition, say Pleased (or if the odds are against you, Thrilled even). If you don't play well, Encourage should be an option (or Don't Get Complacent if you barely lead against stronger opposition). Disappointing might even be a good idea if you are absolute favorites and the goals are not enough.

I personally avoid team-talking players already on Superb/Very Good unless I'm convinced it'll motivate them. Players on lower morale usually respond better to positive individual talks.

The simple answer is, 2-0 up at halftime, default to "None". Re-write "None" in your head as "Carry On, Lads", or as talking tactics rather than making an emotional appeal.

In certain situations, you will find "Pleased", "Encourage", and "Don't Get Complacent" to be useful alternatives depending on the pre-match odds and the performance through the first half.

You dont say anything........! It works best that way, trust me, Im testing teamtalks atm.

Thanks for the feedback.

In my experience I have found the half time team talks to be very difficult to translate into what managers would actually say.

In said match in my original post, I had a 2 - 0 lead thanks to a brace from Dirk Kuyt. I had controlled the match and had put Chelsea under heavy pressure. I had a look at the match report and according to that, I had sixty-five percent possession to Chelsea's thirty-five.

I chose to say 'None' as an overall team talk with giving Dirk Kuyt a 'You have faith'. The reason behind this was as Amaroq had stated, I had wanted a continuation of the performance 'Keep it going lads'.

Right from the kick off, I was under pressure for the next fifteen minutes with goals coming from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. Fortunately I had kept it at that.

I consulted my team talk feedback and had found four out of 11 players with 'Demotivated'. Mainly my defenders sadly which went on to make the mistakes which led to Chelsea's fight back. The only positive result of that team talk was Dirk Kuyt's ; 'Inspired'.

I'm still in the process of understanding team talks. I'll get it right, one day.

Winning = "Don't get complacent"

Drawing = "You can win"

Losing = "Show some pride"

Strikers always = "You have faith"

Is my basis for team talks

You want to try and get a good portion of your players 'fired up' for the second half. You can check this in the motivation screen during the match.

Only over time by constantly checking the affects of how players react to certain half time team talks will you get the hang of it. For example some players might respond well to 'angry' whereas others need a bit of encouargement

When I have a decent lead at half-time, I always "Encourage" my team, and it usually works. Most of the time, we come out after break and grab a quick goal to put the game away.

I just say pleased and I have faith in any players that are playing over a 7.3 seems to work most of the time.

Sorry for steering you wrong.

If you weren't well favored over Chelsea, 2-0, 65% and dominating might have been a good time for "Pleased".

One thing you might get some benefit from is a quick read of wwfan's Post explaining team-talk meanings, which was cleverly hidden on the 18th page of FM09 going back on the shelf.

The long versions of team-talk and motivational guides are:

Wolfsong's Guide to Team Talks and

Communication and Psychological Warfare