Tactics notepad

Hi all,

I'm kinda new here so sorry if this has been covered already.

When you play FM do you have a tactics notepad with you? I have never bothered (which is prolly why I'm rubbish at it!) but I wondered what you actually write down. How does it help etc?

Many thanks

I hae a notepad (A4) and pen . I write down tactics , transfer targets , fixture predictions , season targets , wanted players etc.

I have never really bothered with writing this stuff down.

If i have a transfer target, I put them on my shortlist or add a reminder note to follow up.

I know my season targets from when i discuss this with the board.

With regards to tactics, if i have an idea, i create it and then I save it for future use or tweaking.

Pen and paper is a must when playing FM, i'm currently using the back of an envelope and a permanent marker

Pen and paper is a must when playing FM, i'm currently using the back of an envelope and a permanent marker

But the question was what do you write down?

But the question was what do you write down?

good players,

Tactic instructions

Potentiel good young players

fixtures list (test tactic)

etc etc etc

But the question was what do you write down?

Players only tbh, I very rarely change my tactics. Now and then i'll write down a team I like the look of for future saves.

I don't write anything down. My tactics are what they are on my tactics screen, players I'm interested in are on my shortlist, etc, etc.

I write down all the youngsters I'm buying, because it's so many. When I've not written the players down, it's always someone I forget...

I dont really get the need to write anything down either, everything is in the game so you dont need a pad.

In my opinion, to do well in this game you need to take your time and not rush.

I use a notepad and pen and write down the oppositions formation and players.

For their strikers I note their pace, acceleration, heading, jumping, strength, aggresion, bravery, weaker foot and their goals, assists and MoM's.

For their wingers I note their pace, acceleration, crossing, dribbling, aggresion, bravery, weaker foot and their goals, assists and MoM's.

For their midfielders I note their acceleration, pace, passing, creativity, flair, technique, aggresion, bravery, weaker foot and thei goals assist and MoM's. Also which midfielder will hold and which one will play further forward.

For their defenders I note thier pace, acceleration, heading, jumping, strength, aggression, bravery, weaker foot. I also look at the full backs crossing ability and assists to see if they need to be closed down.

I then match my players up accordingly.

Watching the entire game helps too.

I use a pen & paper to write down possible transfer targets because I find if you put them on your shortlist in the game then you are constantly asked about your plans to sign so & so which becomes really annoying after a short period of time. Another thing with the shortlists that I don't like is that for some reason your biggest rivals also get to know who you are interested in and poach them from under your nose.

My game features the option to add players to a shortlist. So luckily that saves me from having to note down player names.

I use a pen & paper to write down possible transfer targets because I find if you put them on your shortlist in the game then you are constantly asked about your plans to sign so & so which becomes really annoying after a short period of time. Another thing with the shortlists that I don't like is that for some reason your biggest rivals also get to know who you are interested in and poach them from under your nose.

That's why I don't use the shortlist anymore, when I was using it I ended up deleting youngsters after a while because the constant press questions were driving me mad.

That's why I don't use the shortlist anymore, when I was using it I ended up deleting youngsters after a while because the constant press questions were driving me mad.

Fair enough, but I still don't get why I would write down tactical instructions or other stuff. And I would miss being informed of offers by other clubs.

I have a pad next to me at the side of the computer at all times. For FM, I usually write down target (players and staff). I will write down other stuff if its important, how to get 7 star training, for example.

I have never really bothered with writing this stuff down.

If i have a transfer target, I put them on my shortlist or add a reminder note to follow up.

I know my season targets from when i discuss this with the board.

With regards to tactics, if i have an idea, i create it and then I save it for future use or tweaking.

I do this as well - using the notepad function is a blessing.

Fair enough, but I still don't get why I would write down tactical instructions or other stuff. And I would miss being informed of offers by other clubs.

True. I wouldn't write down tactical stuff either, mainly because mine are very basic

Shortlist has pros and cons - other teams know you are interested, but you also get informed when they are interested. Too many times I have a player that I didn't put on my shortlist, but would have liked to sign, only to find that another club has just signed him and I didn't know about it because I wasn't listed as interested.

As for media, it doesn't take long for me to click the no comment option and move on. It is a naff implementation though as far as media questions on your shortlist are concerned

Must take some of you weeks to play!

I use a pen & paper to write down possible transfer targets because I find if you put them on your shortlist in the game then you are constantly asked about your plans to sign so & so which becomes really annoying after a short period of time. Another thing with the shortlists that I don't like is that for some reason your biggest rivals also get to know who you are interested in and poach them from under your nose.

I hated that too, but since FM08 i found out i could set shortlists as active/inactive. Maybe that option has been there a long time, but then i just didn't know. So only my immediate targets and players with a lot of interested clubs i put in the default shortlist (=always active).

I didn't know you could set shortlists as inactive

I think in many cases the problem of lots of other clubs suddenly becoming interested when you are is an illusion caused by the player's screen updating because you interact with him. You not having him on your shortlist doesn't mean loads of clubs aren't interested simply because none are listed. When you add him to your shortlist you often find loads of other clubs interested, but I think they were all already interested it's just that they only appear to you now because you have updated the players page by interacting with him and adding him to your shortlist

I really should write down players who withdraw from my national squad through injury, as I often forget to repick them next time and get the message that Player X is out in the cold..

Yeah, I've had that. Also where a player refuses my callup when I have a player withdraw from the squad and then, on looking for replacements, come across a guy I had meant to include from the start.

Then you get that idiotic media with 4 near-identical responses that you can make, all of which saying that it is unlikely the player will be able to play for the nation again without apologising etc, etc. I want an option to be able to admit I made a mistake by leaving the player out and I understand his annoyance, etc, etc.

Notepads are for amateurs, I have a blackboard

LOL, this thread has me imagining some very extreme people setting up entire rooms dedicated to FM, covered in white boards with reams of notebooks organised into alphabetical order by subject and game....

Who's going to be the first to admit to something like it?

How do you make the shortlist inactive? I am forever seeing such and such a team being interested yet when I check the transfer section of the player there is only me and maybe a couple of others interested but not the team who was stated

LOL, this thread has me imagining some very extreme people setting up entire rooms dedicated to FM, covered in white boards with reams of notebooks organised into alphabetical order by subject and game....

Who's going to be the first to admit to something like it?

Lets just say PC on a wheelie desk in a room with a fridge, microwave, table, toilet, a few dozen filing cabinets and a few whiteboards. Some of them electric ones I can mark out in game things on.

Well, maybe not, but if I win the lottery before FM09 comes out, that'll sum up my first few weeks.

Notepads are for amateurs, I have a blackboard

now THATS a fan

Notepads are for amateurs, I have a blackboard

classic.

not a magnetic tactics board?

I always have a ring-bind folder beside me when playing FM.

I have colour dividers too, to separate each section so they're easier to find.

I write tactical thoughts, player reactions to media comments and team-talks, opposition instructions that worked well, all sorts of things in their own section.

The lengths I go to, and it's "Only a game", as the missus likes to remind me...

i dont write anything down at all but when playing with my dad theres piles of his stuff cluttering the place up. Only thing i liked about that though was on FM07 we both started unemployed and i got Montrose job in Feb and he got East Fife job in the January just before me. He started 8th in Scot 3rd div and i was 9th. i started signing bosmans, while he started writing all his stuff down, by March next year he deleted the save because i was running away with the league and he got sacked.

If im losing at half time, I change my tactics, if I come back from 2 or 3 goals down and win or draw, I write down my tactics, instructions and which players I used in what position.

Thats the only time though, I dont make notes about how well a player crosses the ball etc lol.

I don't use pen and paper...I play in windowed mode so I can switch back n forth between notepad on the PC and the game but I only write stuff down like transfer fees, transfer targets etc during transfer windows but after the window closes I don't really look at the notepad til the next window.

I've only written something down once. I was deciding on strikers for my England squad before Euro 2008. I had quite a few injuries. Ended up with Beattie, Lita and Heskey joining Rooney.

Probably the most common thing I write down in notepad is when starting a new game and re-doing staff. Will have something like GK, ATK, DEF, AER etc etc and list coaches names next to them that I'm trying to get so that when offering contracts I don't accept 2 for the same coaching position on accident.

I use a pen and a small notepad to write down players, i dont like keeping shortlists as mentioned above it shows other teams what players your interested in. From here they swamp you with stupid media questions and I always find rivals and large clubs becoming interested in them too.

I use a pen & paper to write down possible transfer targets because I find if you put them on your shortlist in the game then you are constantly asked about your plans to sign so & so which becomes really annoying after a short period of time. Another thing with the shortlists that I don't like is that for some reason your biggest rivals also get to know who you are interested in and poach them from under your nose.

That's why I don't use the shortlist anymore, when I was using it I ended up deleting youngsters after a while because the constant press questions were driving me mad.

Shortlist has pros and cons - other teams know you are interested, but you also get informed when they are interested. Too many times I have a player that I didn't put on my shortlist, but would have liked to sign, only to find that another club has just signed him and I didn't know about it because I wasn't listed as interested.

As for media, it doesn't take long for me to click the no comment option and move on. It is a naff implementation though as far as media questions on your shortlist are concerned

Make your own Shortlist and set it to Private will stop this. Click on "Shortlists" > "New Shortlist" > "Edit Shortlist" and you will see a check box to make "Private"

I use the in-game notepad for all my little skippets of information although I do wish it was a little more accessible

Never used the ingame notepad tbh, have used standard pen and paper now and again to note down the odd player or tactic tweek which I thought was useful, other than that have always used me old nugget.