Opposition instructions

How important do you think opposition instructions are. In my game I use them only for the strikers to have tight marking and closing down as always. How do other people use them, if they use them at all?

quite important. can be deciding when facing better team

Never used them and still always had success (pretty much).

Never consistently used them and had plenty of success. Any time i've tried using them it seems to backfire e.g. show a player onto weaker foot and they score

I very rarely use them but i like the feature but not convinced its been implemented as well as it could be. Someone who does use them can correct me if this is wrong.

they can be important. i use them against oppsition wingers and strikers in particular, as i like to close them down. showing them onto a weaker foot can also be helpful.

Never use them. The most likely beneficiary for having them is AI as they can make rapid tactic changes and constantly use swap position.

I used them until around 2020, by then all the AI teams were quite poor (due to their lack of compotence in replacing squad members) and it was no longer needed to give specific instructions.

they can be important. i use them against oppsition wingers and strikers in particular, as i like to close them down. showing them onto a weaker foot can also be helpful.

Works on a certain Mr. Downing for me.

I find it tedious having to set them up for every single match so I pretty much ignore that part of the game. Also, I kind of do the same thing with teamtalks as well to be honest (I let the assistant do them). Still manage to win most of my games playing this way

I very rarely use them - I just find I get confused between them and instructions for my own players - either I set them to just be the same as my player who is supposed to be marking the opposition player (in which case why bother setting them for both my player and his opponent) or if they are different then I imagine all hell will break lose and my players will spontaneously combust as they try to interpret two sets of conflicting instructions at once.

The only time I ever really use it is if my opponents have an especially young or inexperienced player or maybe on a yellow card mid-game, at which point I will tell my team to close him down all the time or maybe hard tackle him. I did this to good effect when Chelsea lost the plot in a Champions League match against my Werder Bremen team and brought on 17 year old Jack Cork to play as a holding midfielder. I told my players to close him down lots and it worked very nicely indeed

Rarely use them at all when i am managign good/great players as they can generally figure it out for themselves.

Also the other argument for not using them is that the AI swaps players/tactics/formations so often and effectively that the opp inst can be counter productive/remove.

However for teams prodicted to struggle/underdog games in cups these can be a big part in creating shock results, just play games slowly and watch for the AI changes to update your instuctions

I think they are quite important in stopping the opposition playing their game. The problem however I find with them is they are aimed more at stopping specific key players than the role a player plays. For example what i mean is say I want to stop crosses into box so I close down the wingers. I dont give a damn who the winger is or his ability but for some reason if their is a sub the game wipes out your instructions as it thinks that player is gone no need for instructions though the player that comes on is playing the exact same role that I want to block out.

I use them in the lower leagues quite a lot - particularly like to close down defenders with low composure.

I use them sparingly, and usually only for the strikers. I also refrain from using it when it would be easy for the opposition to swap players and pull my defenders out of position. I usually only use it against teams that play a relatively normal formation. For instance, I'm playing with Alaves in a 2009 season. I used it to great success against Guisseppe Rossi (always close down, hard tackling, tight marking). In the first game against me, he tore me apart for a hat trick. The second time I played him, i used opposition instructions to great success. However I played against benfica who used a system of 1 striker, three attacking mids and 2 cms and they killed me. My defenders were always being pulled out of position and the attacking mids were easily put through on goal.

I just use them on the opposition midfield.

If they're 4-4-2, I'll push their wide-men infield, and I'll close down their central midfielders. Try to bunch them in and give them no room.

If they're 4-4-1-1, I'll force the wingers wide (fair enough if they do beat me and get in a cross, it'll be my 2 x CBs v. their 1 x striker)

Thats what I do every time.

I very rarely use them - I just find I get confused between them and instructions for my own players - either I set them to just be the same as my player who is supposed to be marking the opposition player (in which case why bother setting them for both my player and his opponent) or if they are different then I imagine all hell will break lose and my players will spontaneously combust as they try to interpret two sets of conflicting instructions at once.

Opposition instructions would be in effect for everyone on your team and can be used quite well. As you say, there's no point putting tight marking on a striker if you've already decided to instruct your centre half to do so, as the chances are, wherever he is on the pitch, he'll be marked and followed. But say the opposition are playing a lone striker and you're playing two centre halfs, assigning one striker to man mark the guy will more often than not see him pulled all over the shop and see a massive gap appear in your defence, zonal marking will see them only get close once he's entered so the time's were he is out, he won't be tightly marked. Setting an opposition instruction to tight marking will see, wherever the striker is, in a particular zone, be picked up and tightly marked, wether it be your defensive midfielder, right back or left winger. The same principle applies with closing down. Closing down a team like Arsenal can be suicidal, and such, you'd tell your players to stand off. But giving Van Persie all the time in the world to control, turn, look-up, with the ball can also be suicidal, so setting your team to close down just Van Persie can stifle both the passing threats in the opposition and their key player.

As for the original question, they can be the difference in a certain outcome. I like to keep clean sheets so usually have opposition instructinos for a few of their attackers but overall, in my experience, they aren't vital in terms of seeing a big effect unless you make a mistake because, as someone has already pointed out, players will be smart enough to do the right thing in the first place. Keeping someone like Cristiano Ronaldo on his right foot while he's playing right midfield could see your team nullify him coming in-field and scoring. It's a good concept, I remember when it was first introduced though, it could get you much success with a bunch of average players. I think they haven't got the balance completely right and that side of the tactical system needs slight tweaking, but only slightly - it's almost there.

i always use them, i just wish they were saved with formation data like in fm07 so i don't have to do the same thing every single pre-match. every opp player bar the gk gets an instruction, i don't close down on the flanks but i do everywhere else. everyone gets tackled haaaard. despite that, i average about 1 red card per season.

Used to use them but whats the point when you can tell your own squad anyway

i generally use them for targeting physically weak opposition players with hard tackling, or forcing one-footed midfielders onto their weaker foot to cut down on goals from long shots

am wary on using any instructions on strikers - hard tackling runs the risks of giving away penalties, and tight marking or forcing them onto their weaker foot seems to lead to my defenders getting dribbled past easier, although this could be coincidence