Could someone answer these simple questions - and I might win a game...

Hello,

Been playing the game for many years - with equal success (Blue Sq South teams to L1 several times) and many failures also ... but I think my successes are just down to buying good players and affiliating with Championship teams and borrowing their reserve players.

Currently playing Hampton & Richmond - team are shocking - and if someone could answer some of these layman questions - then I might finally start to win from my own merit...!

1. If I have ALL my players boxes ticked and manually set by me, and therefore 'unmovable' by the additional team instructions - does shouting from the sidelines or changing from 'Control' to 'Attack' somehow increase the player's mentality/passing/pace etc etc? (without the sliders visibly moving) Or is it all entirely down to the individual player's sliders? Another way of putting it - If all my players sliders are on 10 mentality - - and I change to Attack mentality - is there a 'secret' change to the player's attitude even the sliders don't change?

2. When I am playing against a team with a playmaker who is singled out by the press and my assistant - assuming he is not too pacey or skillful (this is the LL remember) - why then, does closing and/or tight marking never seem to work? My DM has better stats than them - but come the end of the game - no matter whether I assign tight marking to him, a variety of show weaker foot - whatever - the end of game stats still show that this enemy playmaker ruled the park.

Is it fast striker/playmaker - don't mark tightly?

Skillful/agile striker/playmaker - don't close down?

Tall striker/playmaker - don't mark tightly? (unless I too have a tall defender).

3. Why - when playing a match yesterday - I was 0-0 at home against the worst team in the league, and playing rubbish. Had my team set to a control type of attack, but nothing was working. So I came out at 60mins - pushed all sliders almost to the top end - Mentality/Passing/Run from Deep/creativity etc. I scored but it took ages and it was a fluke - and I had only 2 shots on goal.

Then after pulling all sliders back to safer settings - 'normal' across the board - I suddenly found I had 10+ shots on goal in the last 14mins...! Why did that happen?

4. When trying to preserve a lead near the end of the game - I pull my men back deep+narrow/close down midfield/tackle hard up top/tight mark midfield - only to watch the opposition camp out at the edge of my box and then ALWAYS score 2 just before the end. What else am I supposed to do?? Push up and keep on attacking when he's gone 4-2-4??

5.... er ... there'll be more questions when I can remember them...

Thanks for any replies.

Hello,

Been playing the game for many years - with equal success (Blue Sq South teams to L1 several times) and many failures also ... but I think my successes are just down to buying good players and affiliating with Championship teams and borrowing their reserve players.

Currently playing Hampton & Richmond - team are shocking - and if someone could answer some of these layman questions - then I might finally start to win from my own merit...!

1. If I have ALL my players boxes ticked and manually set by me, and therefore 'unmovable' by the additional team instructions - does shouting from the sidelines or changing from 'Control' to 'Attack' somehow increase the player's mentality/passing/pace etc etc? (without the sliders visibly moving) Or is it all entirely down to the individual player's sliders? Another way of putting it - If all my players sliders are on 10 mentality - - and I change to Attack mentality - is there a 'secret' change to the player's attitude even the sliders don't change?

2. When I am playing against a team with a playmaker who is singled out by the press and my assistant - assuming he is not too pacey or skillful (this is the LL remember) - why then, does closing and/or tight marking never seem to work? My DM has better stats than them - but come the end of the game - no matter whether I assign tight marking to him, a variety of show weaker foot - whatever - the end of game stats still show that this enemy playmaker ruled the park.

Is it fast striker/playmaker - don't mark tightly?

Skillful/agile striker/playmaker - don't close down?

Tall striker/playmaker - don't mark tightly? (unless I too have a tall defender).

3. Why - when playing a match yesterday - I was 0-0 at home against the worst team in the league, and playing rubbish. Had my team set to a control type of attack, but nothing was working. So I came out at 60mins - pushed all sliders almost to the top end - Mentality/Passing/Run from Deep/creativity etc. I scored but it took ages and it was a fluke - and I had only 2 shots on goal.

Then after pulling all sliders back to safer settings - 'normal' across the board - I suddenly found I had 10+ shots on goal in the last 14mins...! Why did that happen?

4. When trying to preserve a lead near the end of the game - I pull my men back deep+narrow/close down midfield/tackle hard up top/tight mark midfield - only to watch the opposition camp out at the edge of my box and then ALWAYS score 2 just before the end. What else am I supposed to do?? Push up and keep on attacking when he's gone 4-2-4??

5.... er ... there'll be more questions when I can remember them...

Thanks for any replies.

1. No. At least it's new to me if so. If all the player bars are set, shouts make no difference to individual players.

2.

Is it fast striker/playmaker - don't mark tightly? - Yes, to avoid getting turned. However, you might want to try and get a foot in early.

Skillful/agile striker/playmaker - don't close down? - Not exactly... A skillful Playmaker needs closing down so he doesn't have room to play. You want to be closing down most of the time.

Tall striker/playmaker - don't mark tightly? (unless I too have a tall defender). - Usually, yes, although only really when applying this to a tall striker. A tall playmaker is usually doing stuff with his feet so it can be a good idea to mark tightly if he's a slow player.

I'd personally close down all playmakers and go in hard on them, and I'd mark them loosely to avoid having your less skillful defender exposed for positioning.

3. To begin with, your side was complacent. When you went gung-ho, you grabbed a goal. When you went back to control, your team were high on confidence following the goal and performed better.

4. Keep your shape as it is, bring on fresh legs, and nine times out of ten you'll catch the opposition on the break and threaten yourself. I NEVER fall back on a lead, it's inviting trouble. The only time you defend like that is if you've been negative from the start against a vastly superior team and you're playing for a point.

5. Sure thing.

3. To begin with, your side was complacent. When you went gung-ho, you grabbed a goal. When you went back to control, your team were high on confidence following the goal and performed better.

A little addition here: The other team will most likely try to attack more, since they are losing and by doing this, they open up their defence allowing you to have more chances.

Wow - that makes perfect sense! Thanks. It's so logical when it's spelled out in front of you. (I really should know all this by now - been playing since 2002...!)

Thanks for the tip on marking loosely - to compensate for dire positioning, had forgotten that one.

Cheers guys... !

Ok, I'll try to answer as best I can

1. If I have ALL my players boxes ticked and manually set by me, and therefore 'unmovable' by the additional team instructions - does shouting from the sidelines or changing from 'Control' to 'Attack' somehow increase the player's mentality/passing/pace etc etc? (without the sliders visibly moving) Or is it all entirely down to the individual player's sliders? Another way of putting it - If all my players sliders are on 10 mentality - - and I change to Attack mentality - is there a 'secret' change to the player's attitude even the sliders don't change?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean here. Are you talking about using sliders rather than the tactics creator or just using the advanced individual player instruction.

As I understand it if you turn off the tactics creator & use the sliders then the touchline instructions do nothing. If you just use the advanced instructions then I would presume they still work.

2. When I am playing against a team with a playmaker who is singled out by the press and my assistant - assuming he is not too pacey or skillful (this is the LL remember) - why then, does closing and/or tight marking never seem to work? My DM has better stats than them - but come the end of the game - no matter whether I assign tight marking to him, a variety of show weaker foot - whatever - the end of game stats still show that this enemy playmaker ruled the park.

Is it fast striker/playmaker - don't mark tightly?

Skillful/agile striker/playmaker - don't close down?

Tall striker/playmaker - don't mark tightly? (unless I too have a tall defender).

There really is no straight forward, one clear answer here as there is so much to consider.

I'll start with the playmaker as it seems to be your main issue. The first thing I would consider is the shape of both teams, what position is the playmaker playing DMC? MC? AMC? ST? and do you have a directly opposing player in the same place on the pitch. You also have to consider how much the playmaker will drift to find space, will he be given freedom? do you want a man marker chasing him all over the pitch and losing your defensive shape?

If he is playing deeper sometimes its better to sit back and let him have the ball in his own half. Its really a case of judging from game to game how good the opposition playmaker is, how good your team is defensively and what works in a given situation. This is something that only comes from trial & error.

3. Why - when playing a match yesterday - I was 0-0 at home against the worst team in the league, and playing rubbish. Had my team set to a control type of attack, but nothing was working. So I came out at 60mins - pushed all sliders almost to the top end - Mentality/Passing/Run from Deep/creativity etc. I scored but it took ages and it was a fluke - and I had only 2 shots on goal.

Then after pulling all sliders back to safer settings - 'normal' across the board - I suddenly found I had 10+ shots on goal in the last 14mins...! Why did that happen?

This is a fairly easy one but I'll comment on mentality first.

The higher the mentality the more a team will look to pass the ball forwards, quicker & more directly. A lot of users have a problem here as they associate this with more attacking football but against a defensive team its simply ineffective in many cases. Against defensive teams lowering the mentality will see a team taking more time passing the ball backwards & square waiting for a chance to open up the defence.

What happened in your case above is that the opposition were sitting back defending successfully for much of the game then once you scored they pushed forward looking for an equaliser leaving gaps in the defence which you exploited towards the end of the match.

4. When trying to preserve a lead near the end of the game - I pull my men back deep+narrow/close down midfield/tackle hard up top/tight mark midfield - only to watch the opposition camp out at the edge of my box and then ALWAYS score 2 just before the end. What else am I supposed to do?? Push up and keep on attacking when he's gone 4-2-4??

By pulling back and defending you are encouraging the opposition to push more men forward and take more risks while not offering much offense yourself.

Playing a 442 when the opposition go 424 I would play narrower, counter attacking and knock forward runs off my fullbacks. It also helps to try to keep possession and have a player up front who can hold up the ball. It won't work all the time but I think I do a good job of holding onto leads.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean here. Are you talking about using sliders rather than the tactics creator or just using the advanced individual player instruction.

As I understand it if you turn off the tactics creator & use the sliders then the touchline instructions do nothing. If you just use the advanced instructions then I would presume they still work.

Yep - you got it - I don't use the tactics creator, or the advanced player instructions. Every player in the squad has all his boxes ticked and therefore they don't move when I tell the team as whole to be more aggressive or more creative etc. I was asking if there is a 'hidden' change to the players when calling team orders - that is not shown by the sliders moving around.

Basic question no. 5.

If a match is to be played on 'a narrow pitch' which "suits teams that play through the middle"... should I switch to 'pass through the middle', ignore my wingers and get everyone to 'cut inside' - and reduce the width??

Basic question no. 5.

If a match is to be played on 'a narrow pitch' which "suits teams that play through the middle"... should I switch to 'pass through the middle', ignore my wingers and get everyone to 'cut inside' - and reduce the width??

Depends entirely on the tactic, but if you did what you've suggested there, you'd be woefully limited in your options and you'll see a painful amount of 0-0 draws You could still gain success if the tactic is spot on (see Mr. Hough's tactics for FM10 for a marvellous example on how it can work, albeit via exploiting a few ME flaws). You'd need quick direct counter attacks with at least two strikers running the channels.

Personally I still play wide players on a narrow pitch, but use them as Inside Forwards. I wouldn't do the same on a wide pitch, as if you're employing a 4-4-2 the extra space created in the middle becomes a big vulnerability. I'd play a flat 4-4-2 on a wider pitch, or a 4-1-2-2-1 (1 DMC, 2 MC's, 2 Wingers/Inside Forward, 1 Attacker).

So, in summary - "it depends".

Thanks Tubey84.. !

6. When should you NOT 'show on to weaker foot'....?

Thanks Tubey84.. !

6. When should you NOT 'show on to weaker foot'....?

The obvious one is if the player is two footed ^^

The other is less obvious. If the opposition have small, nippy strikers who aren't necessarily an aerial threat, showing the wingers onto their weaker foot would result in bringing them infield and potentially finding the time to give in a through ball. Instead, it may be beneficial to allow the winger to throw in a cross and have your defenders head away with ease.

To give a real life scenario, imagine Michael Owen up front on his own - what would you prefer to see your team do, allow crosses in for Owen to try and head in, or allow a player to cut inside and play a through ball on the ground?

Then there's ANOTHER scenario to be aware of! When wingers are played on opposite sides to what they're strongest foot is (a right footer on the left wing for example). In this instance, it's wise to show onto the weaker foot and have them shown down the line as often as possible as the quick cross can only be delivered with the weaker foot; to use their stronger foot they have to stop and adjust first.

The last bit of advice - when dealing with players who play in the middle of the park, remember that to "show" someone on to the weaker foot is to not try and win possession quickly. Therefore, if you have a dangerman in the middle you want off the ball quickly, don't show them on to the weaker foot - close down and tackle hard instead.

Thanks for that.

Again - it's all common sense - and I kinda knew all this from before. Having played the game for 7+ years...

But .... after taken everything on board - I still CANNOT win a single f**** game.

The opposition beat me to the ball every time, my players are left floundering, they hesitate in front of goal, continually pass to the enemy, no matter what instructions I give regarding danger-men - they are free to shoot and pass at will - I cannot retain possession no matter how short and calm I tell them to be. Playing the worst team in the league atm - at home - and losing. Having tried EVERY possible combination of tactic at every ground against all the teams - and I'm about to be sacked......

I was joking earlier when I said my previous successes were down to loaned players. In previous incarnations of the game - I have regularly taken L2 sides to Championship - and it's not all fluke and careful buying. It's just this new system of player instructions I can't get on with, I guess.

Since it came in in 2010 - I've failed every time.

So - I guess I'll switch back to the team orders that I knew before.

Thanks for your help - but this is INTENSELY frustrating.

Thanks for that.

Again - it's all common sense - and I kinda knew all this from before. Having played the game for 7+ years...

But .... after taken everything on board - I still CANNOT win a single f**** game.

The opposition beat me to the ball every time, my players are left floundering, they hesitate in front of goal, continually pass to the enemy, no matter what instructions I give regarding danger-men - they are free to shoot and pass at will - I cannot retain possession no matter how short and calm I tell them to be. Playing the worst team in the league atm - at home - and losing. Having tried EVERY possible combination of tactic at every ground against all the teams - and I'm about to be sacked......

I was joking earlier when I said my previous successes were down to loaned players. In previous incarnations of the game - I have regularly taken L2 sides to Championship - and it's not all fluke and careful buying. It's just this new system of player instructions I can't get on with, I guess.

Since it came in in 2010 - I've failed every time.

So - I guess I'll switch back to the team orders that I knew before.

Thanks for your help - but this is INTENSELY frustrating.

If you're switching your tactic about drastically, it needs time to bed in.

What I'd do if I were you right now is to simplify everything right down to the bare bones. Use a preset 4-4-2, touch absolutely no instructions and see how you get on.

A lot of frustration in this game comes from overthinking. FM11 at the moment is actually a VERY easy game to the point its almost plug and play.

Personally I would say lose the sliders and use the tactics creator.

Create a balanced tactic that suits your players for example:

a simple 442

DCs - Defend

FBs - Automatic

MCs - one defend & one support

Wingers - attacking

STs - one support & one attacking

Use a basic tactic to start with using the touchline shouts during a match and then tinker with it over time to suit your players.

See? Great minds think alike xD

LOl..... I probably mislead you all when I said I tried every tactic.

I don't switch around at all during matches and have used the same 4-4-2 all season... I switched to my fave 4-3-2-1 at one point but never saw the ball - even though I used to win all the time with Peterborough with it.

I have played exactly what cougar said to the letter, no more no less. Nothing too extreme, (initially anyway) nothing too fancy - not too much aggression or creative freedom. Everything simple and basic. And stuck with it for weeks - until I started losing everything - then I began to push the sliders around from one extreme to the next, just to see if it made ANY difference... .

With hindsight - I am guilty of two things this season, however - (and this will go in my biography)

1. I brought in too many loan players (6) from the parent club, too quickly - who on paper, were awesome compared to the rest of the BSS - but who all took time to bed in - and then when they finally did it threw the rest of the squad out of whack - who then began to get complacent and rubbish.

2. I chose Hampton and Richmond - they're diabolical. ... . . .

Last two games of season, as I write.

I'm 17th and about to play Weston Super - who're in the rele zone - if I lose - I'm in the rele zone - if they lose - they are.

I'm at home. So.... we' see.... . . . ..

*bites nails even further*

To rub salt into your wounds, first season in Hampton & Richmond finished 5th in my save on 63 points but lost in the playoffs.

Weston-Super-Mare finished dead last xD

Well... in the 2008/2009 versions I took Hampton & Richmond to the Blue Prem within the first 2 seasons three times in a row - which is why this is SO annoying.

I have just lost both games at end of season and am about to be sacked...

I'm sitting here watching my players get beaten to the ball even though they are faster, tackled as soon as they get the ball - fail to close down time and time again, fail to tackle players with dribbling and skill stats of less than 8 - shocking passing all over the park, and they just missed an open goal...

I need a checklist of errors and failures to look for when losing. A list of things to spot in order of priority, to try and work out where the team are going wrong. Because at the moment - they are simply not doing what I have instructed them to do.

Anyone have such a list??

Well... in the 2008/2009 versions I took Hampton & Richmond to the Blue Prem within the first 2 seasons three times in a row - which is why this is SO annoying.

I have just lost both games at end of season and am about to be sacked...

I'm sitting here watching my players get beaten to the ball even though they are faster, tackled as soon as they get the ball - fail to close down time and time again, fail to tackle players with dribbling and skill stats of less than 8 - shocking passing all over the park, and they just missed an open goal...

I need a checklist of errors and failures to look for when losing. A list of things to spot in order of priority, to try and work out where the team are going wrong. Because at the moment - they are simply not doing what I have instructed them to do.

Anyone have such a list??

Erm... well, it depends what you want to do really. This could fall into the category of "overcomplicating" again but I'll post it anyway.

There's a Match Analysis tool (as you probably know) which is really good at showing how often you cross the ball, how players are doing with passes etc. You can use these alongside common sense - if you have a player asked to pass direct, but he's failing to find a target over and over again, knock it down to short and pass the responsibility for the forward thinking pass to someone else. If you note that your full-back didn't put a cross in all game but your intention was to have him overlapping the wide midfielder, then tinker with his settings.

The Match Analysis tool is comfortably the most underused "great" feature in the game. It's a tacticians dream and I love it personally.

Other than that, watch an ENTIRE game in 3D and take a notepad out. Note certain things down like what players respond when an opposition player receives the ball "in the hole" between your defence and midfield, how often your players seem to get isolated in two on one situations on the flank, how many players get forward in support when your holding striker receives the ball to feet etc. etc. If you find an area you're not happy with, consider solutions.

For example, if you have a Central Midfielder on Support duty and Direct passing playing it forward to feet for your Deep Lying Forward and he's doing it successfully, there's not a problem. However, once the ball is at the strikers feet, the wingers are static and/or the other striker isn't making a run on his marker to get in behind.

If that were happening, you could consider switching your wingers sliders to be more attacking - if you wanted them to provide a wide ball, tell one of them to hug the touchline. If your second striker isn't making the runs, consider setting him to a traditional Poacher/Advanced Forward.

That's the sort of thing people don't do - they see the problems, but they don't think of practical solutions to them and resort to radically changing the whole formation instead.