2 Newb ?s (Penalties & In-Game Tactics)

* My team is giving up a TON of penalty kicks. Is there anything I can do in training / tactics to help this, either with the players or the coaches? Or, is it just a run of bad luck?

* What should I do when the assistant coach says "Jansen is used to playing a more direct game?" That is, does this mean I should adjust the settings for Jansen, or does it mean that Jansen is a bad fit for that position in the club (and, therefore, that I should modify the overall scheme if I want him on the pitch)?

1. Just an opinion, I have no idea:

This is usually a combination of poor tackling skills / hard tackling / poor goalkeeper / poor mental stats (some of which are hidden stats), at least in my experience. The general solution is to get better defenders, play light tacking, and keep the ball out of your box (easier said than done, I know).

2. I take this to mean that Jansen has pretty poor pass selection attributes (passing, creativity, anticipation, off the ball?, etc..). He may be good at dribbling, shooting, etc., but his other technical skills are lacking somehow.

when you say "a ton" how many has it been?!

you could be unlucky with the pens, but it might pay you to turn tackling down to "easy/soft"

* What should I do when the assistant coach says "Jansen is used to playing a more direct game?" That is, does this mean I should adjust the settings for Jansen, or does it mean that Jansen is a bad fit for that position in the club (and, therefore, that I should modify the overall scheme if I want him on the pitch)?

The player isn't used to doing what you're asking him to do. You can do one of two things here. You can either adjust his individual settings to allow him to play the game he's used to, or you can continue with the formation and settings you've got til he gets used to them. There is no "better" option here it depends on you and your style of managing. Personally I never adjust settings for players, I want them to learn my way of playing.

* What should I do when the assistant coach says "Jansen is used to playing a more direct game?" That is, does this mean I should adjust the settings for Jansen, or does it mean that Jansen is a bad fit for that position in the club (and, therefore, that I should modify the overall scheme if I want him on the pitch)?

The player isn't used to doing what you're asking him to do. You can do one of two things here. You can either adjust his individual settings to allow him to play the game he's used to, or you can continue with the formation and settings you've got til he gets used to them. There is no "better" option here it depends on you and your style of managing. Personally I never adjust settings for players, I want them to learn my way of playing.

In this case, passing is easy setting that you can adjust differently to different players. For example I have two MCs, from which one is set to mixed passing and another is set to more direct passing. Therefore it's possible to use this player in direct passing position.

On the other hand, report like "X is used to lower/higher tempo" requires the tactics of whole team to be changed because of one player who cannot adapt. In that case it's more reasonable to wait until this single player has adapted his play according to team tactics. It should take around half season with regular 1st team football.

Most common assman report about such thing (in my game) is that my striker is not used to close down opponents as often as demanded. I also rather let them to get used to it, because my tactics need that I try to have ball as much as possible and I like to pressure opponents early on their own half. So single striker in fron HAS to apply pressure and he should better get used to it without any complaints.

Re: giving up penalties, here are some things to try.

Set the guilty parties to "Easy" tackling as an individual instruction.

If your defenders (back four) are set to "Zone" marking, try switching to "Man" marking.

If your defenders have a high Closing Down, try reducing that a bit.

For the guilty parties, increase the intensity of their "Defending" training - possibly also their "Tactics" training.

When purchasing defending players, look for high attributes in Tackling, Composure, Anticipation, and Decisions.

For the guilty parties, check their Positions screen to see their "Player Preferred Moves". They may have a tendency to dive into tackles that will be shown there. If that's the case, you can use the "Player Interactions" module to ask them to tone it down.

During a match, check the Team Motivation screen. (TV view, game information, tick Motivation). This may give you an idea what's going on in your players' minds after your Team Talks .. its possible that you're placing too much pressure on the players?

Check your Captain. Does he have high Composure? If he has low Composure but high Aggression and Bravery, especially with the "Dives Into Tackles" PPM, he may be inspiring your players to go in recklessly.

. . Its a complex game, but there will be a logical reason behind the problem; its just a matter of finding it and correcting it!

Re: giving up penalties, here are some things to try.

If your defenders (back four) are set to "Zone" marking, try switching to "Man" marking.

You gotta be kidding

What exactly does man marking mean in FM?

Good thread, have learnt some new stuff and I spend a LOT of time browsing in here.