I dont know where to go anymore, I need help

Ok I bought 2010 and 2011 before and now 2012. I really want to learn how to play and enjoy this game but no matter how hard I try, I am still feeling lost. So far I have tried to play a couple of games,and I dont know if I am doing things right or wrong. I won some friendlies and lost some. Never really went far into the season to see games from major tournaments starting. I tried to find some answers on where to start and how to start learning this game but all I get are vague answers such as experimenting with a game and some will say they played the game for years already.

I really need help on learning this one and I dont know where and how to start.

By the way, I am new to this forum so I am sorry if ever I posted this on the wrong part of the forum

There are lots of helpful people and tons of great info in the Tactics & Training forum; http://community.sigames.com/forumdisplay.php/18-Tactics-amp-Training-Discussion

Ok I bought 2010 and 2011 before and now 2012. I really want to learn how to play and enjoy this game but no matter how hard I try, I am still feeling lost. So far I have tried to play a couple of games,and I dont know if I am doing things right or wrong. I won some friendlies and lost some. Never really went far into the season to see games from major tournaments starting. I tried to find some answers on where to start and how to start learning this game but all I get are vague answers such as experimenting with a game and some will say they played the game for years already.

I really need help on learning this one and I dont know where and how to start.

By the way, I am new to this forum so I am sorry if ever I posted this on the wrong part of the forum

Have you tried playing through the tutorial? It is extremely good for "newer" players. Really gives you an insight into the things you need to do in a game at the start.

Oh yeah, I forgot to include in my post. I played tutorials and know where things are. As summarised by a guy at gamefaqs I need to master the 3 T's of this game.

Tactics

Training

Transfers

I am confused on what is right and wrong with tactics and how to make tactics depending on my team and situation

Its hard for me to judge which players to sign on my club. I usually play lower leagues (blue square N/S) since I dont want to manage higher leagues

I am not concerned with training as of the moment since I want to learn more about tactics and transfers.

As for my football knowledge, know some basics from PE when I was in elementary and I recently start to play FIFA on consoles so I get the basics about formations and the basic player positions (Goalkeeper, Midfielder, Defenders, and strikers)

First of all, there is nothing to worry about. You're not a tactical genius - so what? You can still win games and leagues. Trust me, there are tonns of people who know very little about football or even fm yet they still winning. If you enjoy playing this game, eventually you will master it.

Second, you say that you feel like you don't know what you're doing. While it is the actuall problem, and solving this solves everything that bugs you right now - i assure you - quite alot of fm'ers sometimes too feel like they don't know what they are doing. That's the part of the game experience.

Tactics forum indeed can be very, very useful.

I will try to experiment and dive in but the other thing that worries me is that, is there a way to get used to what has to be done. Like what to do first, what to do next, and so on? like are there any steps recommended for me in order to develop a habit of what to do in a game that I could practice and get used to in order for me to start learning the game?

I will try to experiment and dive in but the other thing that worries me is that, is there a way to get used to what has to be done. Like what to do first, what to do next, and so on? like are there any steps recommended for me in order to develop a habit of what to do in a game that I could practice and get used to in order for me to start learning the game?

You might find this of some use;

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/281677-The-Santos-Experience

Thanks Cleon, it is very helpful. Any other helpful links and tips?

I played as gloucester, won some friendlies. I got a draw against worcester in my first match on blue square. Going to face Corby and they are the favorites. I basically have a crappy squad and I play 4-4-2 and tried 4-5-1 but I am sticking to 4-4-2 as of the moment. As for the training I am not sure.

As for the training I am not sure.

Yeah, that is a pain. As for the Tactics, I am playing with Braintree at the mo. The Tatics I have formulated, have changed about six times so far with minor tweeks. I use a 4-4-2 with my wide blokes on a Winger mentallity. I have a 4-5-1 as back up or for away games if needed. I find in the BSP, Pace is the killer.

I think Im starting to get the hang of it. I played against guiseley and I was the underdog and I managed to escape by the skin of my teeth 0-0. Next match was against Boston Utd and as usual I was not the favorite. Played my attacking 4-4-2 score before half time was 3-1. Shifted to a defensive 4-2-2-2 and on the 85th minute my striker scored again. The result was 4-1 and I think I am starting to have the "one more match" syndrome since it is already 4am where Im at and I have to wake up early.

Still need more tips to improve my game and hopefully I will improve Gloucester's status in this game

the late SFraser's guides are a real help on getting to grip with loads in-game. Check out this thread full of links to his articles:

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/275644-The-SFraser-Memorial-Thread-Links-to-all-the-discussions-and-guides.

the late SFraser's guides are a real help on getting to grip with loads in-game. Check out this thread full of links to his articles:

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/275644-The-SFraser-Memorial-Thread-Links-to-all-the-discussions-and-guides.

Thanks for this, not seen it before.

Ok I bought 2010 and 2011 before and now 2012. I really want to learn how to play and enjoy this game but no matter how hard I try, I am still feeling lost. So far I have tried to play a couple of games,and I dont know if I am doing things right or wrong. I won some friendlies and lost some. Never really went far into the season to see games from major tournaments starting. I tried to find some answers on where to start and how to start learning this game but all I get are vague answers such as experimenting with a game and some will say they played the game for years already.

I really need help on learning this one and I dont know where and how to start.

By the way, I am new to this forum so I am sorry if ever I posted this on the wrong part of the forum

how did you get into FM10 & FM11 ?

the late SFraser's guides are a real help on getting to grip with loads in-game. Check out this thread full of links to his articles:

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/275644-The-SFraser-Memorial-Thread-Links-to-all-the-discussions-and-guides.

Thanks for the link. I will read it after brunch.

how did you get into FM10 & FM11 ?

That's the problem. I didn't get into both FM 10 and 11. Its pretty daunting for a beginner and much worst, for someone who lacks knowledge about football. I wasted my money though since I didn't play it that much and bought it full price on day 1. Should have sticked with FM 10 and learn more about it before I bought 11 or by the time 12 was released. I really need help though and I greatly appreciate all the help I could get.

Sorry for the double post, I dont know how to post a reply quoting multiple persons

Thanks for the link. I will read it after brunch.

Brunch,now thats a word i reckon has never been used Anywhere on these forums.

I felt the same when I first bought FM07 (my first ever attempt in the FM series). Eventually you’ll get the grips of the game, I found it best to get stuck into the game and learn from your mistakes. I grabbed a lot of advice off the forums to, even though I didn’t start posting until later.

Brekky plus lunch, brunch,that's the meal you eat if you sleep late and wake up late playing this game

One thing I noticed last night. In the prematch stuff, the local paper predicted a bore draw against Cambridge. I pretty much threw the kitchen sink against them at them in the first half. I used an aggresive half time team talk and then scored late on. Ofc, Cambridge had to equalise. The team talks though, not sure if they are just random chance in the game, but the team talks seem to be very important.

That's the problem. I didn't get into both FM 10 and 11. Its pretty daunting for a beginner and much worst, for someone who lacks knowledge about football. I wasted my money though since I didn't play it that much and bought it full price on day 1. Should have sticked with FM 10 and learn more about it before I bought 11 or by the time 12 was released. I really need help though and I greatly appreciate all the help I could get.

Sorry for the double post, I dont know how to post a reply quoting multiple persons

Mate i'm just as bad as you though have had success along the way atleast, but still never really mastered fm10 and its as though every decision you make is wrong, isn't it? All i will say is it shouldn't take as long to master fm12 so keep going with it. Reading those threads should help.

One thing I noticed last night. In the prematch stuff, the local paper predicted a bore draw against Cambridge. I pretty much threw the kitchen sink against them at them in the first half. I used an aggresive half time team talk and then scored late on. Ofc, Cambridge had to equalise. The team talks though, not sure if they are just random chance in the game, but the team talks seem to be very important.

SI deny their importance no matter how much we point the team talks thing out.

SI deny their importance no matter how much we point the team talks thing out.

They do! If I could swear at my Squad like Peter Reid, I reckon my team would beat anybody. For me, the negative comments about the performance, fires them all up and the perfomance ratings really improve. Basically nearly every half time, I accuse them of being crap. The half time talks are better than my tatics lol, so I will be reading the late SFraser's guides.

That's the problem. I didn't get into both FM 10 and 11. Its pretty daunting for a beginner and much worst, for someone who lacks knowledge about football. I wasted my money though since I didn't play it that much and bought it full price on day 1. Should have sticked with FM 10 and learn more about it before I bought 11 or by the time 12 was released. I really need help though and I greatly appreciate all the help I could get.

Sorry for the double post, I dont know how to post a reply quoting multiple persons

Click here to add quote to your reply;

Mate i'm just as bad as you though have had success along the way atleast, but still never really mastered fm10 and its as though every decision you make is wrong, isn't it? All i will say is it shouldn't take as long to master fm12 so keep going with it. Reading those threads should help.

This game is really hard and its hard to know what you did is right or wrong but that's football. Football along with all the other sports games, luck plays a crucial role. I wish in future versions they have a mode that would guide you and tell you "thats wrong" or "thats right"

Update on my progress, I forgot my opponents but it was the 2nd of the table and I was 5th as Gloucester. As usual I am not the favorite and it was hard. I tried a counter game and got lucky and scored 1 on 70 or something then changed to my defensive 4-2-2-2 and dropped deeper to protect my lead. Won it and felt good. Being a football manager is pretty stressful. I kept screaming at my macbook hoping it would get to my players. Lol.

Try not to switch your tactics too much. Your team will perform at its best once it has adapted to a certain tactic. You need to give it a few games to start reaping the rewards of consistency. This version seems to take a bit long for your players to get to grips with your tactics than others did. My advice to you would be to take a look at your squad and design a tactic around that. 4-4-2 / 4-2-2-2 seems to work well in England so if you have the players to play that formation you should do that and stick to it.

Once you have a tactic in place that your happy with. Take a look at your team report and single out the weakest areas for improvement. Scout each player your going to by and measure him up to the player in your current position. If your LB has a 2 star rating and your scouted player has a 3 or more then that would be a player worth investing in.

Your managing in the lower leagues so money and decent transfers are hard to come by. Loans are great, you can snap up some excellent players on loan and 99% of the time wont need to contribute to their wages. Free transfers are also key for you. Sometimes you look at the free agent list and it can be a bit daunting as you wont know who most of them are or how good they are and there is usually 100s of them. Try filtering the free transfer list for players who have made at least 1 youth cap or international cap. Will usually weed out most of the weaker players and save you from wasting your wages on players that aren't that good.

If you find your tactic is not working or you cant get to grips with making your own tactic. Try downloading one and using it, if its working then take a look at it and how it has been designed. The next time your making your own try and base it on some of the things you have learned using the downloaded one.

Tactics and squad is what will make or break your season. If your squad is too weak in comparison to the rest of the league then you wont get very far. Just like your tactic, if its poorly designed then no matter how good your players are you wont get consistent results. These are the important factors you need to worry about when trying to be successful.

towerbooks3192, you're not alone, I occasionally seriously doubt that my tactics have anything to do with the outcome of a game. The game just doesn't provide enough feedback, I've no idea how it can be done, but that is the problem in my opinion. This review is pretty accurate by me.

Try not to switch your tactics too much. Your team will perform at its best once it has adapted to a certain tactic. You need to give it a few games to start reaping the rewards of consistency. This version seems to take a bit long for your players to get to grips with your tactics than others did. My advice to you would be to take a look at your squad and design a tactic around that. 4-4-2 / 4-2-2-2 seems to work well in England so if you have the players to play that formation you should do that and stick to it.

Once you have a tactic in place that your happy with. Take a look at your team report and single out the weakest areas for improvement. Scout each player your going to by and measure him up to the player in your current position. If your LB has a 2 star rating and your scouted player has a 3 or more then that would be a player worth investing in.

Your managing in the lower leagues so money and decent transfers are hard to come by. Loans are great, you can snap up some excellent players on loan and 99% of the time wont need to contribute to their wages. Free transfers are also key for you. Sometimes you look at the free agent list and it can be a bit daunting as you wont know who most of them are or how good they are and there is usually 100s of them. Try filtering the free transfer list for players who have made at least 1 youth cap or international cap. Will usually weed out most of the weaker players and save you from wasting your wages on players that aren't that good.

If you find your tactic is not working or you cant get to grips with making your own tactic. Try downloading one and using it, if its working then take a look at it and how it has been designed. The next time your making your own try and base it on some of the things you have learned using the downloaded one.

Tactics and squad is what will make or break your season. If your squad is too weak in comparison to the rest of the league then you wont get very far. Just like your tactic, if its poorly designed then no matter how good your players are you wont get consistent results. These are the important factors you need to worry about when trying to be successful.

There's some good common sense advice there.

Ok, so far so good. I defeated vauxhall and that other team. I retained my position as no.1 in the league table. I'm a bit scared of my upcoming match against Blyth. I already know about changing tactics frequently and sticking to one or two because it takes time for players to "gel in" as said in the tactical theorems and Mantralux training masterclass.

I just don't know what I am doing wrong though. Is it possible to have my save game checked by someone to know if my tactics or anything else I did is not wrong or anything. I'm confident about finding my way around the game though but I am unsure about my skills in Tactics, Transfer and Training and knowing if I did something wrong or right.

This game is really hard and its hard to know what you did is right or wrong but that's football. Football along with all the other sports games, luck plays a crucial role. I wish in future versions they have a mode that would guide you and tell you "thats wrong" or "thats right"

Update on my progress, I forgot my opponents but it was the 2nd of the table and I was 5th as Gloucester. As usual I am not the favorite and it was hard. I tried a counter game and got lucky and scored 1 on 70 or something then changed to my defensive 4-2-2-2 and dropped deeper to protect my lead. Won it and felt good. Being a football manager is pretty stressful. I kept screaming at my macbook hoping it would get to my players. Lol.

Re: Tactics

This is good, you actively tried something to protect your lead and it worked. A lot of people don't, they watch a game play out with minimal managerial input and wonder why their opponents grab late equalizers or winning goals against them.

How do you play your games? Do you use 2D, 3D, play on fast speed, or commentry? This is very important because you really won't learn anything about how your tactic is working unless you see it with your own eyes at normal speed. For me, its side view 3D, playing extended highlights (or full game if you really want to analyse it in depth), and at normal speed is the best to use, or 2d is popular too, although 3d gives you the 'depth' perspective you don't get using the older views. So thats something to think about too.

The default tactics are excellent and don't really need too many tweaks to get good results. Tweaking them is more a case of getting your team to play the style of football you want to anyway more than trying to out-wit your opponents (which is easy to do with custom tactics unfortunately as the ME has some easily exploitable flaws, but thats another story ). So stick to the default ones for the first season and watch as many games as you can in 3d. Also watch some AI v AI games too. This is a good way to get an idea of how certain tactics playout against each other without you having to worry or concentrate on your own team, instead just relax and watch the game of football unfold.

So your not only learning about tactics, you're also learning about the match engine.

Everyone has their own approach, but thats how I got to grips with FM and learned about tactics and the match engine anyway. You could go straight to the tactics forum of course but some of the stuff in there is quite advanced, a lot of it overkill to get results, and some of it based on exploiting match engine weaknesses, so as a beginner I'd give it a miss for now and learn at your own pace.

Good luck!

Re: Tactics

This is good, you actively tried something to protect your lead and it worked. A lot of people don't, they watch a game play out with minimal managerial input and wonder why their opponents grab late equalizers or winning goals against them.

How do you play your games? Do you use 2D, 3D, play on fast speed, or commentry? This is very important because you really won't learn anything about how your tactic is working unless you see it with your own eyes at normal speed. For me, its side view 3D, playing extended highlights (or full game if you really want to analyse it in depth), and at normal speed is the best to use, or 2d is popular too, although 3d gives you the 'depth' perspective you don't get using the older views. So thats something to think about too.

The default tactics are excellent and don't really need too many tweaks to get good results. Tweaking them is more a case of getting your team to play the style of football you want to anyway more than trying to out-wit your opponents (which is easy to do with custom tactics unfortunately as the ME has some easily exploitable flaws, but thats another story ). So stick to the default ones for the first season and watch as many games as you can in 3d. Also watch some AI v AI games too. This is a good way to get an idea of how certain tactics playout against each other without you having to worry or concentrate on your own team, instead just relax and watch the game of football unfold.

So your not only learning about tactics, you're also learning about the match engine.

Everyone has their own approach, but thats how I got to grips with FM and learned about tactics and the match engine anyway. You could go straight to the tactics forum of course but some of the stuff in there is quite advanced, a lot of it overkill to get results, and some of it based on exploiting match engine weaknesses, so as a beginner I'd give it a miss for now and learn at your own pace.

Good luck!

Personally finding 2d is more useful as of late if you want to learn how to set up tactics. Gives a much better view of things for me but its all subjective really. Used to think 3d aswell!

If I were advising myself as a Newbie I would pick a single flexible tactic (maybe 442, 4132 or 451) and only change the following:

Ass Man advice for everything in match

Set roles & duties to match player coach reports but never 2 central players the same

Change Team mentality to suit scoreline (eg go defensive, Go attacking, go Counter attacking)

You would learn a lot of other related stuff this way.

If I were advising myself as a Newbie I would pick a single flexible tactic (maybe 442, 4132 or 451) and only change the following:

Ass Man advice for everything in match

Set roles & duties to match player coach reports but never 2 central players the same

Change Team mentality to suit scoreline (eg go defensive, Go attacking, go Counter attacking)

You would learn a lot of other related stuff this way.

Assistant manager advice for everything? Do I have to set that in an option somewhere in-game or did you mean follow what my assistant manager tells me? Is it during the match or through backroom advice? I checked the match advice and my assistant manager has no comment.

As for the roles, lets say for example, in the player report the scout or assistant manager will tell me, this player should be x (insert position here) with an attacking/defending/etc role?

I still have to read the part of the tactical theorem on when to use the general tactics like use control if you are favorites and etc.

Well, if you really don't watch much football and haven't played organized football yourself, explaining what you do right and wrong tactically in a game when none of us have no point of reference would be completely futile! You can observe what goes wrong repeatedly, though, and what goes right. You can build a tactic over time using trial & error. Being first in the league and doing quite well is a good starting point so you can't be doing everything wrong.

I noticed that you speak about changing tactics as if you haven't loaded three different tactics which you are training in at the same time. You can see how proficient your team is at each one of those three tactics by clicking on one of the three blue bars. Anything less than Competent and the team is a bunch of headless chicken.

Well, if you really don't watch much football and haven't played organized football yourself, explaining what you do right and wrong tactically in a game when none of us have no point of reference would be completely futile! You can observe what goes wrong repeatedly, though, and what goes right. You can build a tactic over time using trial & error. Being first in the league and doing quite well is a good starting point so you can't be doing everything wrong.

I noticed that you speak about changing tactics as if you haven't loaded three different tactics which you are training in at the same time. You can see how proficient your team is at each one of those three tactics by clicking on one of the three blue bars. Anything less than Competent and the team is a bunch of headless chicken.

I guess I could say that I know enough football to enjoy this game but I dont know about right and wrong and how to act on my assistant's advice since its so vague. I had 3 tactics 4-4-2,4-5-1, and 4-2-2-2. I scrapped 4-5-1 and stick to 4-4-2 most of the time and play 4-2-2-2 for defense though. I know about the bars and how familiar the team to a tactic is. I will see how things go with my gamesave and if it gets worst or anything I will start a new one and learn from what I did wrong from the current on

Assistant manager advice for everything? Do I have to set that in an option somewhere in-game or did you mean follow what my assistant manager tells me? Is it during the match or through backroom advice? I checked the match advice and my assistant manager has no comment.

As for the roles, lets say for example, in the player report the scout or assistant manager will tell me, this player should be x (insert position here) with an attacking/defending/etc role?

I still have to read the part of the tactical theorem on when to use the general tactics like use control if you are favorites and etc.

Am assuming you do have an ass man, check his feedback every 10-15 match mins & implement what he says (its mostly obvious stuff). No comment (actually it says "has no advice to offer" or something like that) would mean you are doing everyting right but I rarely see that and Im walking my league.

You are right about role & duties, to be safe leave defenders as default but change the roles to match the report, however the 2 x MC and 2 x SC should not be the same as each other generally. I find I do not change the duties (attacking, defensive, support, auto) from the pre-sets unless the role automatically changes it - eg an SC set as Poacher must be attack duty. Try to keep 3 defensive, 4 support or auto & 3 attacking duties, as a guide).

Sounds like you are reading the right guides just dont get bogged down in them. I read through the theorums document regularly highlighting things that seem imporatant or that constantly get mentioned in the forums, adding more bits & pieces as time goes by.

Please take a look at my Dorchester thread in the players & clubs forum, the 4132 Assymetric tactic in there is stable and works at all levels for me but it is no magic solution.

As a taster try using the table in post 31 of the following thread, set the mentalities just as it says, changing when required. It really works I have found, though when you are more adventurous you will probably stop using it.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/184003-Starting-Strategy-Discussion?highlight=combat+formations

I guess I could say that I know enough football to enjoy this game but I dont know about right and wrong and how to act on my assistant's advice since its so vague. I had 3 tactics 4-4-2,4-5-1, and 4-2-2-2. I scrapped 4-5-1 and stick to 4-4-2 most of the time and play 4-2-2-2 for defense though. I know about the bars and how familiar the team to a tactic is. I will see how things go with my gamesave and if it gets worst or anything I will start a new one and learn from what I did wrong from the current on

How are you doing (League postion, games played, points etc).?

How are you doing (League postion, games played, points etc).?

Update. GLoucester 1st in the league and I have 23 points and 17 matches including friendlies before the season started. I think I want to start a new one though I don't know. I am not sure about my current progress.

You're doing better than the real Gloucester have managed I think. Gawd, I remember watching them as a kid and learning all about football. And swearing.

You're doing better than the real Gloucester have managed I think. Gawd, I remember watching them as a kid and learning all about football. And swearing.

thank's for that mate! it really improved my morale. I think I screwed up on some things though and staying on top is not easy. I had this disappointing game for the FA cup. I think I wasn't the favourite for that one. I won the game 1-0 with the only goal was an own goal by the opponent.

in the tactics forum read ' the santos experience ' by cleon and 'FM2012 Training And Match Prep Masterclass' by mantralux. both really good reads and ideal for learning how to set your club up. also anything by sfraser is also great.

so far this year for me it seems keeping the players happy with good morale is helping me get good results. also make up 2 or 3 different tactics and stick with them in the main as it takes a month or 2 for the players to become fluid with it.

"I" just promoted with Gloucester in a game where I holiday the whole season. First season ended 2nd and lost in the playoffs, second season ended fifth and won the playoffs

I loaded a custom tactic I have made, and it helps a lot. There are no or very few players left from the starting squad, and the staff is new of course. Most of the players I signed are young and I went for those with potential to become League Two players. I managed to sign Omar Koroma, and he is of course the biggest star.

I "cheat" a little since I can't be bothered spending too much time on this as it runs in the background: I sort by a desirable attribute (like pace) and mark all the players and assign scouts to report pool. Much faster that way, and the point of the save is to see long-term AI squad building.

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Do you recognize any players?

Only Lloyd, Harris and Bloom mate! you basically changed the club from top to bottom. Thanks for the list though, I take it as a suggestion on which players to buy. I started another game save as Gloucester. I plan to master this game by playing with the same club until I get the hang of everything in this game. I bought Koroma in the new game. I misplaced him and fixed it. Koroma is a beast! I won 4-1 against Boston on the first game for BSN