Movement off the ball

Sorry if this has been mentioned before, or is obvious, but does team / individual confidence have an impact on the amount of movement off the ball that players make? I suppose I'm thinking about games like West Ham vs Wolves, where Benni Mcarthy admitted he felt West Ham players had "hidden". It's obvious when a team is confident or has players who do not have fear of failure hanging over them, that they show for the ball more and are more likely to put themselves into situations where they may either make themselves a hero or a villian. I know from personal experience that when you're playing badly you don't want to be in a situation you should score, because you are concerned you'll mess it up. I guess some players are effected by it less - Bellamy at City for example gives 100% however the team is playing.

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to know if it's factored into the match engine already.

Absolutely is. Ironically, too many FM players complain that it plays too much of a factor in the game, yet your example shows how realistic it is. In short, in FM it's the morale factor, together with the DETERMINATION attribute. A player with low morale will be that bit slower to react, run, track back or commit to a tackle. Low determination means his spirits will sink when going on a poor run or falling behind in a game.

For myself, I prioritise a player's personality/character over his ability. In other words, I'll take a player with high determination, work rate and professionalism over one with better technique any day.

Your example also raises another key but widely criticised and misunderstood factor. Compare West Ham's recent performances with those of Portsmouth (up to the game at Hull; I suspect the Premier League's suits' decision will finish them off now). Portsmouth's players have long known they were doomed to relegation, plus they weren't getting paid, so why were they putting in so much more effort than West Ham's?

A major factor has to be team talks. Grant has clearly been inspiring his players to raise their game beyond all reason, while Zola isn't getting his fired up at all. Team talks rightly play a big role in getting the players' heads right or wrong, and thus also affecting how they plat on the pitch.

So, to sum up, first find players with the right personalities, not just physical/technical attributes, then motivate them to die for you!