Unfair period between AI changing tactics and your changes taking hold

Just had a big game with arsenal. Their team is immense, brilliant defense and attack. I had a good plan to combat them and open them up, so much so I was willing to watch the game on two notches! do you know how long this takes?

15 mins walcott scores a one on one. This after we had a freekick up in their half and they hit me on the counter! even though I had all four defenders to stay back. I checked this on the post mortem because I could not understand how they did it as my cb had enough pace and my tactic was sound. Turns out the ME took my stay back command to all defenders to mean stay back in different positions (so my two CBs were in the fullback positions! pi$$e$ me off!)

76 mins I get my equalisier from my carefully planned tactic of wearing koscielny down and then giving him bale to deal with. So my sound tactic had got me back in the game (although this should have been the winner....)

79 mins hazard scores the winner for 4rsena1! how did I let him score I hear you ask? well let me tell you, after Bales goal they decided to go 4321. Which, as I had my RB on hazard to specifically man mark resulting in him man marking their CB post change, caused the game to gift them another goal. This despite me pre empting their change, pausing the game as soon as I saw it and rectifying in my player instructions, and unpausing.

I spent so much time on this one game because it was a big one for the whole season and to loose in this fashion really lets the game down, big time.

This was on fm11. I have fm12 but havent loaded it yet. Is this behaviour the same in fm12? if so I'm finished with them!

Of course it's the same.

yeah, it's very frustrating, and very poor game play, when you make some tactical changes based on wanting to prevent something happening - seeing a few stoppages and a long time occur, STILL not see your changes made, and while waiting for them to occur, the thing you were trying to prevent happens anyway.

Same with making a sub, waiting for it to happen, then wanting to change your mind (because something has happened), but not being able to.

Don't know if this will work on tactics on FM12, but maybe worth a try. On FM10 some of the shouts take an eternity to take effect, but they can be 'forced' by pausing and going to tactics, tweaking something unimportant and confirming it, the shout is no longer pending when you get back to the match.

And don't forget to keep an eye on formation changes so you can immediately update your Opposition Instructions.

You should rationalise it as the time it takes for your hollering from the touchline over the din of the crowd to all the players hearing and following your instructions.