[FM09] The Solihull Moor experience

Finally the long awaited FM09 is here. And after having a quick run through the demo for the last 16 hrs, I feel that Im ready for my biggest project since the 2D presentation was introduced.

First a bit about me:

• Norwegian IT-student in my prime age
  
• Owned all copies of CM/FM
  
• Most intrested in the tactical aspect of the game
  
• Most successfull in tactics creating back in the wibble-wobble days
  
• When 2D was introduced, I was most involved in helping people understanding how to use the visualisation to improve tactics - what to look for and what situations that was a result of slider changes rather than attributes
  
• For the next iterations of FM I was most active with providing stats for others to analyse, because I felt the game was getting more and more into a "move 1 tick on slider to win game" type of thing, which for me took away the fun
  
• A month ago I started my last challenge in FM08 just because I had nothing else todo(better than preparing for exams atleast) with Solihull Moors - which ended up to be my most entertaining challenge since the 2D introduction. This is the background for this project
  

After that challenge and after comments from some people that I have a lot of respect for, that the ME was taking a huge step forward, I felt the time was right for me to get into the game again. And after running the demo for the last 16hrs, I feel the same.

I am now ready for the biggest project in a long time for me: Bringing European glory to Solihull Moors!

After the demo, I know that will be a tough challenge - but I am gonna make it, one way or another.

In this thread I will give information about my tactical approach to the game, what I do and how the things I do affects the results on pitch. Sometimes I probably will stumble upon "in-game secrets" that help others with their game. Other times I will get it all wrong, which hopefully others will learn from.

And if somebody spot something that I am totally wrong about, I am always ready to listen(and forget in same second as the stubborned a*** i am:D )

I will start this game from the demo, so things WILL change in the long run - as it always do with FM, thanks to patches. One small change in the ME can make or break the tactic I use at the time, and I will have to start over again.

Im off to set up the game now - I will report back later with Club Information and Squad Analysis..

I hope that this can be a good thread for discussion about tactics and all the factors that affects them.

Infopage

Mediaprediction: 21

Squad Personality: Fairly professional

BTW: £161 for watching Conference football????? Thats more expensive than a season ticket for Swedish First division:D

Finances

Other

The club has an AssMan and a coach, plus a physio. The quality of these are bad, and is something that need to be rectified in the future.

Not a huge club, not a great stadium or training facilities - in other words: the perfect challenge.

Im going to go through the 37 players now, to find out what formation that I should go for - and what players that I need to bring in.

good luck

LOL, thanks - I need it:D

BTW.. Ive never worked mutch with attribute values, Ive only used the 2D to determine how to set up the tactic, so Im wondering how high they should be to be considered to be good for the Conference??

LOL, thanks - I need it:D

BTW.. Ive never worked mutch with attribute values, Ive only used the 2D to determine how to set up the tactic, so Im wondering how high they should be to be considered to be good for the Conference??

i would say an attribute of 7 or 8 would be the pinnacle of a conference player

Look forward to reading this and hopefully contributing a bit.

Any more updates expected today?

LOL, thanks - I need it:D

BTW.. Ive never worked mutch with attribute values, Ive only used the 2D to determine how to set up the tactic, so Im wondering how high they should be to be considered to be good for the Conference??

Look at player's profile, compare with those you have for a position, think about what you want from that player and whether he might do better job than the existing one. Also important if you think he is going to serve you in the long run or just a season or two. This approach has almost always worked for me, even though some players' attributtes looked completely rubish. In lower leagues though the most important attributes are determination and pace, IMHO.

good luck

http://www.solihullmoorsfc.co.uk/

For their website. They are my local non-league team. C'mon You Moors!!!

Good luck with your challenge

The Squad

Whenever I take over a new club, I always use the Assistant to help me get a quick overlook over the squad. I know it is not as perfect as it would be doing it myself, but it is good enough for getting an idea of what to do next.

These are the 22 players that my Assistant rank as the best:

As you can see, it isnt the best one, but some decent players are present. The biggest problem is the lack of centrebacks and the high number of strikers. Quite an imbalanced squad if you ask me.

So the next question is what formation should I go for? And next what players do I need to bring in?

Ok, so what are my prerequisites? Nothing really - apart from one: I want a four-man defence. That is what I like, and is most comfortable with. Therefore I have to adjust the existing squad to fit this. I do have three DCs in the youth team that I can promote until I can replace them with better ones.

To do this, I need to get a parent club and the two scouts that the board allows.

OK, so four players in the defence - but what to do with the 6 players that are left? After looking at the attackers, its clear to me that max 3 of them are good enough. Since I like to have a double set of players (2 players for every position), I cannot use more than one attacker at the moment. If I get me a good attacker I could perhaps switch to a tactic with two attackers.

BUT: I have a DM and four MCs. AND wingers.

So for me it looks like a 451/433 formation is the best bet at the moment. Therefore I adjust the squad to suit this.

This means that I need a squad with 2*DR,4*DC,2*DL, 2*DM,4*MC, 2*AMR,2*AML,2*SC

After going through the U18 team, the squad looks like this:

So, where should I begin? Well, my weakest link is obviously the defence. So my primary transfer target will be defenders. And a cover-DMC.

Tactic

Ok, so Ive decided to go for the 451/433 formation, because of the players available to me. The 451 was my favourite back in the CM3-days and up to FM06. After that Ive usually ended up with 442 variations.

Firstly, the 451 can be played in a numerous ways - the three main variations are (attacking wise that is):

1. A strong FC that holds up the ball, and awaits the runs from wingers, who are the ones you relay on to score the goals.
   This means you need a strong FC and wingers that are good finishers.
   The wingers must be capable of cutting inside
   
2. Crossing wingers and a good header in the middle. This also requires that you overload the box with the MCs, so that you increase the chance of the cross actually hitting one of your players
   
3. The Rosenborg-way. This is the combination. Pacey, dribbling, crossing and finishing wingers and a strong, heading forward.
   

So, the first thing I have to decide is what am I going for? This means I firstly have to have a look at my wingers and my forwards, to see where their strength is.

I only have one true winger - the others are more defensiveminded players (D/M or M), which means that I have to retrain them to fit the system. This is something that I dont worry too much about, especially not at this kind of level.

First thing I can see is that my right wingers are better at finishing than at crossing. The left side is the opposite. My forwards are better at holding up the ball than they are at using their head.

So at first glance, it looks to me that my attacking players biased towards a system with a HUB-FC and finishing wingers.

This will be the starting point for my tactic.

The tactic should have attacking fullbacks that should be the main crossers. When the wingers move inside, the fullbacks should move up the field and cross the ball. The two MCa should act as both feeders and covers for the fullbacks if they loose the ball.

The MCd should be the natural anchor of the midfield. He spreads the ball to the attacking fullbacks or the MCa from a slightly deeper position in the field.

The two DCs have to be laying deep, since the FBs are moving up the field. They need to react if the ball is lost high up the field, and act as the deep cover for the FB.

Since I want the FB to attack, and the Wingers to cut inside I need a narrow formation. The passing should really be a long-ball style because of the level Im playing at, but since I have no good headers at front, I need to keep the team tight and any long balls should be spread to the fullbacks, rather than to the forward.

This is the basic layout of the formation, so now I have to go off to start looking for a scout that can find me some decent defenders - AND start looking at the tactic:)

Thanks for the GL all:)

i would say an attribute of 7 or 8 would be the pinnacle of a conference player

That sounds reasonable - I should look for players with atts 8 or higher in key areas then:)

Look at player's profile, compare with those you have for a position, think about what you want from that player and whether he might do better job than the existing one. Also important if you think he is going to serve you in the long run or just a season or two. This approach has almost always worked for me, even though some players' attributtes looked completely rubish. In lower leagues though the most important attributes are determination and pace, IMHO.

I think I will start doing that. Combining that with what I said above - I think might have a chance of finding right players by attributes, rather than by hit and miss:D

http://www.solihullmoorsfc.co.uk/

For their website. They are my local non-league team. C'mon You Moors!!!

Good luck with your challenge

Thanks for the link and the GL:)

I bought my first addition to the squad:

When offered him for free, I couldnt resist - even though I mainly are looking for defenders. When you see how much better he is than my previous first choice FC, it makes sense that I jumped on the offer, doesnt it?

The first match

The first match is a preseason friendly against Walton & Hersham. Since I know next to nothing about the ME yet, I decide to start out with the preset 433normal, and work my way from there.

A couple suggestions since I started with the same formation.

1. Preset mentalities are too far apart for this tactic. I would use RoO or maybe even global normal to start.

2. In general, the preset instructions (passing, mentalities, CF, FWR etc.) are way too complicated for the Conference level team. I would suggest to keep it as simple as possible at the beginning. At least it will be easier to spot problem zones if you start from very simple insructions.

First game - Walton&Hersham, ingame-notes

Since Im not familiar enough with the team, tactic or the ME, I will run the game at full 2D for now.

I let my AM pick the line up - which resulted in my FB now playing at AMR position and my AMR playing MCa. I dont worry about this just now, but it means that tactical advices from my AM regarding these two are useless just right now.

1st min

AM gives advice on my MR, but I ignore it because of the above mentioned. He also says that our attack is outnumbered, but this is also expected - I do only play with one FC...

He also says that Marna (FC) is not used to close down as much as instructed to. I adjust his closing down from 14(team) to 10.

Dean Tate(DC) is used to close down more often than asked to. Adjusting CD from 5 to 8 for DC to see if that is better.

There is also a gap between Defence and Midfield he says. I have to adjust that, but I will wait a bit to see how it plays out.

1st min - chance Solihull Moors

Sedgemoore(MCa)/Marna takes the kickoff. Ball played to Richie (DMc) who plays it directly to Travis (DR). Travis brings it in a bit before playing it to Segdemore in the middle. Segdemore plays it forward to Marna who have dropped deep. He tries to find English on the wing, but hits a defender instead. Ball is played back to the GK who is pressured by Marna. Ball is played forward and picked up by Travis on the Right back. He plays it forward to Marna, who outjumps the defender and the ball goes down to a forward-running Sedgemore. One on one with GK, but manages to hit the Goalie.

Already now I can see that i need to bring the wingers closer to the FC, if they are going to act as attackers. They are to far out to be a passing option for Marna on top. Adjusting width from 13 to 8.

13 mins 0-1

Corner for us, ends in nothing. Walton gets the ball, plays it forward to their forward, that manages to get loose from three(!!!) defenders and run free to score.

Basically none of the three players that stayed behind managed to pick him up, so he got space to run in.

15 mins

The wingers are not coming inside. They stand outside and do not provide any passing option for the central midfielders. Need to get them more inside. Fullbacks not high enough in the pitch to provide any passing option. Need to get them higher up the pitch.

First thing Ill try to bring the wingers lower and closer to the action, reducing mentality from 16 to 11. I also adjust FB mentality from 9 to 13.

While doing this I noticed that DC mentality is set to 1, which might explain the gap between D and M. I bring this up to 6.

Also unticked "Use target man" for now. Possession has been lost due to many bad passes towards the FC.

20 mins

Wingers are now way to deep. Something in between seems to be better, upping mentality to 13.

Because of the increasing of DC mentality, they are now almost on top of the DMc - this means that I now more or less play a 5-2-3, which is not my intention at all. Upping DMc mentality by 5, from 4 to 9.

Straight away, the message about the gap is now gone..

Wingers are also moving more inside the pitch when the play is moving up the pitch. Now I need to get them more involved.

25 mins

Looking to get the wingers more involved, so I ask my players to spread the play to the flanks. I also want the DMc to be the man who do this, so I up his passing to 13.

30 mins

Wingers getting more involved now, but still not cutting inside enough. They also have a tendency to not going forward after dropping the ball to someone else. I set their crossing to rarely, RWB to mixed and FWR to often.

40 mins

DR have 1 short passing option under pressure, and 2 medium passing options that are relatively free. Stands still for 5 seconds, before launching a ball in direction of the winger. Ball goes out of play.

He chose this probably because his passing is set to 5, and this option was not valid. So I up it to 10, and hope that this will see him trying other options instead of playing the ball in a hopeless manner.

The MCa drops too deep, so I try to raise their mentality by 3 notches now.

48 mins

DMc passing sucks and all attempts to reach wingers are useless. Need to make him play shorter and let the MCa try to find the wingers instead. DMc passing down 3, MCa passing up to 10.

My DCs are hoofing the ball up too much. Reducing passing by 4 and set through balls to rarely.

Also the MCa aint closing down enough, despite being told to. Might be because of mentality, trying to drop by 3 to see if it helps.

55 mins

Last changes for today. Need to get FB more up the pitch. Even with the high mentality, they wont go forward with mixed FWR. I set FWR to Often.

Post-Match

Even though we didnt get too many chances(4 shots, 1 on target, 2 clear cut chances), we did have 51% of the possession. Passing is too low(61%), main sinners are wingers and fullbacks. Fullback got a bit better after upping their passing. Crosses are a bit too low(22%), but nothing that I worry about.

After changing the FB FWR settings, play got a lot better. Not loosing the ball so much up front because of the increased passing options.

Problem: Wingers got more inside before bringing the FB forward. Now they tend drift outwards again. Might have to change the "focus play" again.

A couple suggestions since I started with the same formation.

1. Preset mentalities are too far apart for this tactic. I would use RoO or maybe even global normal to start.

2. In general, the preset instructions (passing, mentalities, CF, FWR etc.) are way too complicated for the Conference level team. I would suggest to keep it as simple as possible at the beginning. At least it will be easier to spot problem zones if you start from very simple insructions.

So true. In this tactic you will especially notice the mentality gap between defence and midfield.

A quick tip for you supersaint. When you start the game the assistant always tells you things about Player A not being used to such and such. It's not an assessment of the tactic but more an assessment of the player's comfort in the tactic. So if you are comfortable with your system then don't worry about it as the further you go, the more games you play the less this will pop up as your players 'adjust' to the tactic.

Second game - Dorchester, ingame-notes

1st min

Sam Shilton not used to close down as often as told to and he likes to play more directly. OK then, CD wingers down 5, passing up 5.

1st min 1-0

Even before the tactical change is been made Im up 1-0. Ball is played back to my GK from DL, he hoofs it up behind the defence where Marna(FC) is running. He takes the ball and lobs it over the GK.

14 mins

FB stands still because of no support. MC must be closer to provide support. Might help if he goes a bit forward with the ball. Starting by setting RWB to often.

19 mins

Crane(GK) just cant get the passes forward straight. Dropping it to 5.

30 mins

Marna holding up ball, but not looking for through balls. Up TB to often.

33 mins

MCa going forward too much, leaving too much gap and also few passing options for other players. Downing to mixed.

Half-time

Passing is absolutely dreadful(55%). AM says that it is the short-range passing that is not working, which indicate that I need to up the passing more or less on every player. But from what I can see, it is the long range passes that we miss. Problem is what the game defines as a short pass and as a long pass.

Well I decide to up the passing on every player that is below average - Except GK, since I cant see to get that one right anyways. Actually there are only 3 players that are below average (if i dont count the GK). It is the DR, DM and FC. The FC is already on direct passing, and I dont know if it would help upping it - he just has noone to pass to. Either shorter passing or wingers closer to him. I give the wingers more CF and free role, to see if that helps. DM might have to be upped again (took down from 13), but I dont know. FB I can set a bit higher - 12 perhaps?

Also removing CounterAttack hoping it will reduce the rushed passes.

48 mins 2-0

Gould(LMCa) wins the ball around the midcircle, Lewis(RMCa) goes forward, gets the ball from Gould, plays it on first touch to Marna who has got loos from his marker, and places the ball in the left hand corner from around the penaltybox edge.

During break I gave wingers more CF and FR - And look where the AMR(9) is when Gould plays the ball forward:

He is actually moving inwards and gives Lewis(7) an extra passing option

60 mins

No more changes for todays game. Passing changes seems to have improved the passing % DR went up a whooping 10% in 15 minutes of play by the last increase in passing. I didnt up the DMc, but his passing increased with 0,5%. Probably because he gets the ball in better positions now due to the changes in FB passing, plus the change of wingers CF and FR. FC increased his passing by 11%, just because of changes in the wingers - he now actually can hit them with his passes:eek:

Post-match

The match ended 2-0. Only had 2 shots on target, so Im really happy about that. Passing was dreadful(56%) - it did get better though after the adjustments at half-time. Problem with the passing % is that it counts the GK, who at least for me, never seems to play a ball right. In this match he ended with a passing % of 33:mad:

Basically things looks much better now than after the first match, but still much work to do.

A quick tip for you supersaint. When you start the game the assistant always tells you things about Player A not being used to such and such. It's not an assessment of the tactic but more an assessment of the player's comfort in the tactic. So if you are comfortable with your system then don't worry about it as the further you go, the more games you play the less this will pop up as your players 'adjust' to the tactic.

Yeah thats true. But since Im not used to this tactic or the players, I want to find the middle way between players comfort and what I want them to do. Thats why I use the Tactical Advice as a hint about what can cause problems:)

The two other boxes are just as important, since they pinpoint what is going wrong - basically the two first ones tells you what is going on out there, and the last one what might be the reason for any negatives in the two first ones. At least thats how I look at it.

Last friendly against Cirencester

Quite a few new players in the squad now, after the trial day. Have brought in 3 midfielders and 2 defenders. Will be exiting to see how it works in this last match before the league kicks off.

1st half

Dropped the DC passing, to stop them from kicking the ball up the field - helped

Reduced FB creativity, to see if they will be placing more "safe" passes.

Dropped FC mentality, to stop him from running into offside position all the time.

Wingers still not moving enough inwards - reducing with even more.

Set CrossBall to rarely for MCa, plus reducing passing a bit.

2nd half

Wingers are starting to **** me off now. Im taking off creative freedom to see what it does.

Also reducing tempo from high normal to normal.

71st min 1-0

AMR breaks play in the middle(wow, he is inside), plays the ball behind the defence to FC who scores on the first shot on target for the night.

91st min 2-0

AI GK has gone up for a corner, ball is played up the field to FC who runs past his marker and puts it away

Post Match

Nothing much to say really. Better passing from DC after dropping passing level, still too many offsides, less crossballs from MCa to winger, winger began to get more into the field in 2nd half. Dont know if it is the width or the CF that did the trick - or a combo. More safe passing too after dropping tempo. Seems that the tempo was too high for this level.

If you take a look at this picture you will see what is my main problem. The highlighted players are the ones that have been active in all the friendlies. Best passers are the AMR, FC, MCa and DM.

The worst passers are my two GK and all my FBs. Basically I need to get them up to the same level as the others, because it is often bad passes from these that cause me to loose possession.

The FB got a bit better after rising their passing to more direct, but the problem is that they try to find the lone FC or the wingers with their passes. Since the wingers dont move in before the play is moving up the field, these passes often ends going out of play.

The GK is ALWAYS - i mean ALWAYS - looking for the lone striker which almost ends in me loosing the possession. And I just cant get him to search out someone nearer to himself, nomatter what mentality, passing, CF or other things I set him to.

Especially the goalkicks/freekicks is a big problem.

Oh well... enough about that now.

Solihull vs Harrogate

Opening match of the season. No changes during first half, 0-1 down after the LB got skinned and a perfect cross was placed to AI striker.

Half-time

Increasing passing for FB and CD for all defenders. Need to get them closer to opponents, not giving away so much space. AM suggest a bit higher tempo and a bit more direct passing for the MCa. Rising tempo and passing for MCa.

He also suggest showing a couple of AI players on wrong foot and not holding back when tackling another - I decide to do that.

Otherwise the stats are looking good in this match. Passing around 70% and 60% possession - Looks like things are shaping up.

End of match

Lost 1-0 in the end, but the scoreline did not reflect the game - especially the second half. In the second half it was all about us, with a lot of good chances. It finally seems like the formation is settling. Wingers are beginning to connect the way they should - more movement inwards, getting balls from MCa. The FC is holding the ball well, waiting for runs from wingers or MCa. One of the chances he played through the MCa, another one he played the ball wide out to the AML who crossed the ball into the box - where both AMR and FBr managed to miss..

The match

The tactic

Feel free to have a look at it -and feedback is always welcome:)

14 mins

FB stands still because of no support. MC must be closer to provide support. Might help if he goes a bit forward with the ball. Starting by setting RWB to often.

QUOTE]

i think this is just a feature of the ME now, alot of people are seeing certain players standing still for a few moments before popping off a pass, if you look closer in 3d sometimes its to allow a player ahead to find space i think.

That might be one reason.. Havent used the 3D much yet, but I will have a look at it later to see if that is the case.

Right I thought I would add my two pennies worth. I am Weymouth in the Blue Square Premier. I got to the middle of September without a win and that included all the friendlies.

I have been watching your thread as it developed. It is great well done. Anyway I have download your tactic and taken note of your comments and I am now on a 4 game winning streak. I am finding the Asst manager freeback a real help and I am using the team talks. The injury bug is a pain, but hopefully they will sort that.

Have you also used the asst to go and find you loans? That is a great new addition you can make search and recommed one position.

Anyway will keep you updated as I move through the weeks.

Supersaint - Following on from the post above and after looking at your screenshot of your squad's passing %'s I noticed that you don't have a lot of injuries.

Can I ask what you did to manage this. Did you use easy tackling in all your pre-season games? And, if so, how many friendlies did you play?

Supersaint - Following on from the post above and after looking at your screenshot of your squad's passing %'s I noticed that you don't have a lot of injuries.

Can I ask what you did to manage this. Did you use easy tackling in all your pre-season games? And, if so, how many friendlies did you play?

there is a way to significantly reduce pre season injuries, lower your general training down a few clicks, make sure you auto assign your coaches then make sure the best ones for fitness are covering strength and aerobic, lastly never allow any player to play more than 45 minutes in pre season and try to play from the start only your fittest player for each position. I did this and got through pre season with just the one 2 week injury. make sure you auto assign your youth team training too and reduce their work load aswell. seemed to work for me anyhow. sorry for kind of hijacking the thread a bit here lol

Right I thought I would add my two pennies worth. I am Weymouth in the Blue Square Premier. I got to the middle of September without a win and that included all the friendlies.

I have been watching your thread as it developed. It is great well done. Anyway I have download your tactic and taken note of your comments and I am now on a 4 game winning streak. I am finding the Asst manager freeback a real help and I am using the team talks. The injury bug is a pain, but hopefully they will sort that.

Have you also used the asst to go and find you loans? That is a great new addition you can make search and recommed one position.

Anyway will keep you updated as I move through the weeks.

Nice to hear that its working out for you:)

I love the AM feedback - but be careful, because its quality might change if you change AM - it certainly did for me.

The best thing is that he also says the positives, not only the negatives:)

I actually just noticed the loanee-thingy when I was looking for teamtalk-feedback. And yes it helped me out - I got a DC on loan now from Nottingham Forest. A player who wasnt listed or anything, and I would certainly not have found him on my own:)

Supersaint - Following on from the post above and after looking at your screenshot of your squad's passing %'s I noticed that you don't have a lot of injuries.

Can I ask what you did to manage this. Did you use easy tackling in all your pre-season games? And, if so, how many friendlies did you play?

No - it dont use easy tackling, they are all on normal. I only played four matches iirc. I made sure I had atleast 5 days in between them.

In addition to this, like afeckingname mentioned, I didnt play anyone for longer than 60 mins, or until they reach a minimum of 65% - whatever come first.

I have set up own training schedules for defence, midfield and attack. In all of these I have made sure that fitness training is lower and technical stuff higher. With all the bad pitches and my poor training ground - plus bad fitness trainers - medium/high fitness training is almost guaranteeing you injuries.

I have played a few more matches now, which I will report back with a bit later.

I just wanted to share perhaps the best goal I have scored so far

I have played a few more matches now, which I will report back with a bit later.

I just wanted to share perhaps the best goal I have scored so far

sweet goal!! how many passes was that?? twas like Argentina in the world cup haha

Or what:D

I think it is 9 or 10 passes - what impressed me most with this goal is how they manage to keep the ball up and withhold pressure even when AI tries to close down. The run Marna does is good too. I think it is him starting to learn his move now(move into channels) - he havent done many runs like this before, but they are coming more frequently now.

moors are also my local team

and if i ever win the euro millions i will buy them and lead them to prem glory with my fm style reality lol

good luck

great thread, i hope you can do it good luck

Since I havent done many great changes to the tactic I decided to play a few matches before reporting back. Here are the matches between August 16th and October 5th.

Tamworth - Solihull Moor: 0-1 (own goal)

Possession: 57%

Shots: 8/3

Passing: 62%

Crosses: 9%

No cards, no injuries

Solihull Moor - Gateshead : 0-0

Possession: 52%

Shots: 5/1

Passing: 65%

Crosses: 33%

No cards, no injuries

Stalybridge - Solihull Moor: 1-2

60 mins:1-0

77 mins:1-1, Billy Sentence

90 mins:1-2, Marcus Palmer

Possession: 52%

Shots: 6/3

Passing: 59%

Crosses: 0%

No cards, MC and SC injured

Solihull - Farsley: 0-0, 6-7 pens (Conf League Cup)

Possession: 51%

Shots: 4/0

Passing: 64%

Crosses: 27%

No cards, no injuries

Solihull - Burscough: 0-0

Possession: 57%

Shots: 8/2

Passing: 57%

Crosses: 25%

No cards, no injuries

Farsley - Solihull Moor: 2-0

15 mins:1-0, pen

18mins: 2-0

Possession: 57%

Shots: 5/1

Passing: 62%

Crosses: 36%

3 YC, no injuries

Solihull Moors - Workington: 2-1

57 mins: 0-1, pen

63 mins: 1-1 "own goal" by GK

76 mind: 2-1, Marna

Possession: 56%

Shots: 6/3

Passing: 66%

Crosses: 22%

1 YC, no injuries

Rugby - Solihull Moors: 0-0 (FA Cup)

Possession: 56%

Shots: 9/4

Passing: 58%

Crosses: 0%

No cards, no injuries

Solihull Moors - Rugby: 0-0, 3-5 pens (FA Cup)

Possession: 59%

Shots: 9/1

Passing: 65%

Crosses: 42%

No cards, AML injured in extratime(90+1)

Hucknall - Solihull Moors: 1-1

29 mins: 1-0

64 mins: 1-1, Scott Wells - pen

Possession: 59%

Shots: 3/2

Passing: 74%

Crosses: 0%

1 YC, no injuries

Average Stats

Shot on target %: 31%

Goals per SOT %: 30%

Possession %: 56%

Passing %: 63%

Crosses %:20%

Season so far

• The squad is getting used to the tactic now, and it fits them better - which especially is seen in the possession and passing stats. Even though the passing still is a bit on the short side, it is improving.
  
• SOT and GPSOT must be better. Main problem is the same as in FM08, shots from the edge of the area from FC/MCa. They just dont want to go inside the box, even with space enough for three overweight gazzas to run into.
  
• Crossing is a bit low, mainly because the crosses are too hard and go all the way to the other side of the pitch - have no idea of how to fix this. My wingers are already told not to cross too much. Might help if I set them to cross from deep. In my brain that means that if they get too far down the pitch(to byline) they shouldnt cross, but play backwards instead. *mental note*
  
• Not many injuries - down to less fitness-training?
  
• Almost no cards, which suggests that things is working quite well in the closing down and tackling area.
  
• Wingers do move in and join the attacking force. When one winger moves down to the byline/FB gets forward/MCa goes into box, the Winger furthest away is moving inside to the box. Which is nice
  However: I want them to move in earlier, to make room for more crosses from the FB, and to be an attacking option for the FC. As it is now, this position is occupied by forward-running MCa, and might be the reason for them not getting there. Im gonna try fiddling a bit with the MCa settings (probably mentality), so that they dont get as high up the field.
  

I wish I could have a program that could compare two tactic files, so that it was easier to take notes of the differences...

Tactic used now vs uploaded one:

Team Instructions:

Tempo: +2

Throw-ins: Quick

Goalkeeper:

Distribution: Defender Collect

Fullbacks:

Mentality: -4

Centrebacks:

Mentality: +2

Passing: -3

Defensive Midfielder:

Mentality:+2

Closing Down:+2

Midfielders:

Closing Down: -2

Long Shots: Mixed *This because I needed to create at least some shots at goal*

Wingers:

Mentality:+2

Creative Freedom: +7

Closing Down:+6

Long Shots: Often

Forward:

Mentality:+2

Creative Freedom:-4

Closing Down: +2

Forward Runs: Rarely

Long Shots: Rarely

Mentality Set:

DC : 8

FB : 9

DM: 8

MC: 11

Wi: 14

FC: 11

As you can see the back five players is now only 1 notch from each other, just as suggested by others. And by watching the games, there are several advantages to this:

• Defenders covers better for each other when someone goes out to close down a player.
  
• The space between (also famously known as gap) midfield and defence is next to eliminated - both on the flanks(MC with 11 and FB with 9) and in the centre - which makes it harder to break through for the AI. They often have to pass the ball backwards and sideways now, not getting close to the penalty area.
  
• Attacking players can have a little more gaps in the mentality, without the same disastrous effects. That said, it can actually hinder some movements from other players, which is what I think is happening for me
  

Width/Closing Down

One of the first thing I noticed was how easy it was for the AI to get passed the defence by passing to the flanks. This is down to the narrow width that I have set. The FB would stay inside the penalty area, leaving the flanks wide open. Since the wingers are more attacking and higher up the pitch, they wont help out as much as they did in FM08.

I have managed to eliminate most of this problem by changing the Closing Down set.

Closing Down

DC: 11

FB: 15

DM: 12

MC: 13

Wi: 17

FC: 12

Im wondering if it is just a coincidence that the FB works best with a CD that is the remainder of the width? I mean, width can be 20 but is 5. 20-5=15... Might try lower the Wingers CD to 15 to see if the same happens with them.

As you can see, all the centre players is also close to each other, just like the mentality. Mentality and CD is also close to each other for almost every player.

Is this evidence of how mentality, closing down and with is linked to each other? Only time will tell.

Training

Its not my apartment really (even though I have been a GK coach @ youth team for a big club earlier). But from what I have seen, training has a bigger impact on players fitness now than before. I have a couple of players complaining about coaches level, and these players are the ones that struggles the most on pitch too.

What I have done is to set up three very basic training schedules for the three lines of players.

All of them is low in fitness training and high in attacking. The reason for this is, like mentioned earlier, the fields and training grounds are wearing out my players. In addition to this, the attacking slider affects passing attributes - which is the area that I have struggled the most.

After only one month its hard to see any effect of training, but one FB has increased his passing by 1.

Another thing I have done since the beginning of FM08, is to go trough every player the 1st of each month. I look for players happiness with training, and adjust the workload if they are unhappy with it.

I also check the three players that have trained badly and increase the category they have trained badly in. This usually means lowering some other category by one or two notches.

In 08 this made all players happy and no players performing badly in training within 3-4 months. I hope its the same in 09.

Ok, over and out for this time - off to play a couple of more matches:)

your closing down is interesting, what setting is your DL?

DL is 10. I dont think Ive actually touched it yet:D

DL is 10. I dont think Ive actually touched it yet:D

are you getting feedback about your wingers getting skinned alot?

Not anymore - I did before I told them to closedown more.

They do occasionally pop up though, but at a much lower frequency.

Not anymore - I did before I told them to closedown more.

They do occasionally pop up though, but at a much lower frequency.

hmmmm, na i was just wondering because both their mentality and closing down are a good few clicks above your DL is all. Perhaps, i dont know maybe its something else but perhaps their work rate and stamina are pretty good for your league. but heck if it works for you it works for you right!! lol

haha so true.

I know where you are coming from though. It might be that the tactic can be even better with closer linking between the mentality and the DL. But as I said, I havent tested yet.

Defensively its quite good though, only 7 goals in 10 games, whilst almost all other teams are over 12 goals.

I still trying to figure out the winger problem. They just dont want to move inside and do what I want them to. OK, they do overload the box, but I want to involve them more in the build-up.

Remember though, Im trying not to lock myself to just look at exact values though - I look at what happens in-game, and adjust up or down according to what I think might help.

And I find it quite funny that by doing this, my mentality-set is almost the same as other people recommend:D

The thing I will look more into is the relationship between width and CD, I have to know if its just a freak accident that CD for FB and the width adds up to 20:)

And of course experimenting more with the wingers. AND have a look at the DL..

Wonder when Im gonna get time to prepare for my 4 exams, and programming my horsebetting analysing program.. AND the editor for FM I want to make(dont worry, no editor - just an attributes extractor to be able to track players visible attributes).

Kings Lynn - Solihull Moors: 1-1

31 mins: 1-0

86 mins: 1-1, Tim Gould

Possession: 51%

Shots: 4/1

Passing: 64%

Crosses: 12%

1 YC, 1 injury

Solihull Moors - Vauxhall: 1-0

73 mins: 1-0 Palmer

Possession: 50%

Shots: 9/3

Passing: 67%

Crosses: 0%

1 YC, no injuries

Solihull Moors - Hyde: 2-0

35 mins: 1-0, Sam Shilton

79 mins: 2-0, Kevin Spencer

Possession: 58%

Shots: 7/4

Passing: 70%

Crosses: 33%

no cards, 2 injuries

Blyth - Solihull Moors: 1-1

47 mins: 1-0

84 mins: 1-1, OG

Possession: 48%

Shots: 5/2

Passing: 65%

Crosses: 0%

3 YC, no injuries

Average Stats

Shot on target %: 40%

Goals per SOT %: 50%

Possession %: 52%

Passing %: 66%

Crosses %:11%

Average Stats

Shot on target %: 31%

Goals per SOT %: 30%

Possession %: 56%

Passing %: 63%

Crosses %:20%

Changes in stats from first version to second:

Shot on target %: +9%

Goals per SOT %: +20%

Possession %: -4%

Passing %: +3%

Crosses %:-9%

Basically the quality of shots have improved, and so has the passes. Possession has suffered a bit, so has crosses. But it seems like Im getting in the right direction. Defensive vise, Im still letting in the same amount of goals.

I haven collected stats for the AI though, so I cant tell if Im letting them get more or fewer chances - but based on the highlights, its seems to create less highlight against me than the first version.

I will toy a bit more around this version, and see if it can be better. As I said, Width/CD, wingers and DL is on the list for my next games..

Moors vs Alfreton 1-0

32 mins: 1-0 Shilton

Possession: 55%

Shots: 7/3

Passing: 70%

Crosses: 12%

1 YC, 1 injury

Tactic used now vs latest one:

Team Instructions:

Free-kicks: Best header

I had it set to short, but even then they would always try a shot - not good when nobody knows how to hit a barn from inside it. After setting it to Best Header, they now tried to find someone to play the ball to (no header? hmm lets try a free player then..)

Fullbacks:

Mentality: +2

Fullbacks where not active enough in build up. Tried raising mentality to half of their original value. They now did get forward more, which also forced the Wingers to cut a bit more inwards.

Centrebacks:

Mentality: -1

Centrebacks not defensively aware enoug, leaving FC to run behind. A little better now.

Midfielders:

Run With Ball: Rarely

Long Shots: Rarely

Getting caught too often when having ball in possession. Not good enough dribblers it seems. Their long shots are too awful to even gain a tiny increase in decent chances. Not loosing the ball as much now, and more shots on target. They also passes the ball more quickly now.

Wingers:

Through Balls: Rarely

Long Shots: Rarely

When they have the ball, they need to focus on keep it in possession. Why look for a through ball with noone to play the ball to? This only made them slow in play. Taking off the through balls made them decide what to do quicker.

Longshots of, of same reason as for MCa.

Forward:

Mentality:-3

Passing:-4

Closing Down: +3

Forward Runs: Mixed

I needed him to drop deeper to make himself more available. Since he has few people on distance, but more near him by dropping mentality I also changed his passing. He is a bit more involved in play now. Closing down up because there was no pressure on AI back four. Needed to rush them a bit in passing. Changing this made them do a bit more mistakes.

Mentality set after latest changes

DC : 7

FB : 11

DM: 8

MC: 11

Wi: 14

FC: 8

As you can see, the mentality has been more splitted now. Still, most players are around 3 apart from next line of players. (DC=>DM 1, DM=MC 3, FB=Wi 3, MC=>FC-3)

What I think is that it is easy to stare blind on the mentality set, without looking at what happens on pitch. Sometimes you just have to go outside the tight set to get players to act the way you want to.

I am gonna use this tactic now for the remainder of matches in november(4) without changing anything, and see how it turns out compared to the last tactic.

I couldnt be bothered taking screenshots of every player. So for those who wants to get to know the 08/09 squad of the Moors, can have a look at all the players in a video representation

Shitty works, I know - but took shorter time than screenshooting everyone:D

enjoying reading this, as i am now no longer a student i envy the amount of time you have to spend!

i hope to keep up with this thread and wish you the best of luck

Great thread mate! Following it with a lot of interest.

Nice to hear you enjoy it, Ill do my best to continue keeping it intresting.

More matches

I said I was to use the latest version for the rest of the month, but I ended up using it without any changes for the rest of the demo:eek:

It seems like Im starting to get somewhere now, 4 wins, 6 draws and 1 one loss in those matches - only 4 matches at home:) GS: 11 GC:6

At least its defensively solid, just wishing it could score more goals. Well more about that later, here are the match stats:

Stafford vs Moors 0-0

Possession: 54%

Shots: 2/0

Passing: 64%

Crosses: 16%

Moors vs Redditch 3-0

8 mins: 1-0 Palmer

30 mins: 2-0 Palmer

80 mins: 3-0 Best

Possession: 49%

Shots: 5/2

Passing: 71%

Crosses: 25%

Moors vs Hayes 0-0 (FAT)

Possession: 57%

Shots: 7/2

Passing: 72%

Crosses: 25%

Hayes vs Moors 2-1 aet (FAT)

70 mins: 1-0 Scott

88 mins: 1-1 Attrill(pen)

102mins: 2-1 Palmer

Possession: 57%

Shots: 7/3

Passing: 69%

Crosses: 22%

Southport vs Moors 1-1

28 mins: 0-1 Tuohy

33 mins: 1-1 Booth

Possession: 56%

Shots: 4/2

Passing: 64%

Crosses: 0%

Gainsborough vs Moors 0-1

34 mins: 0-1 McPike

Possession: 55%

Shots: 3/2

Passing: 62%

Crosses: 11%

Moors vs Hinckley 1-0

8 mins: 1-0 Brown

Possession: 49%

Shots: 3/1

Passing: 65%

Crosses: 28%

Moors vs Telford 1-0

11 mins: Murtaugh

Possession: 49%

Shots: 5/2

Passing: 62%

Crosses: 0%

Fleetwood vs Moors 0-0

Possession: 51%

Shots: 5/2

Passing: 62%

Crosses: 12%

Droylsden vs Moors 2-2

20 mins: 0-1 OG

31 mins: 1-1 Townson

76 mins: 2-1 Lettejallow

88 mins: 2-2 McPike

Possession: 57%

Shots: 7/2

Passing: 74%

Crosses: 25%

Harrogate vs Moors 1-1

13 mins: 1-0 Burns (pen)

61 mins: 1-1 McPike

Possession: 55%

Shots: 5/2

Passing: 73%

Crosses: 9%

Average Stats

Shot on target %: 38%

Goals per SOT %: 55%

Possession %: 54%

Passing %: 67%

Crosses %:16%

Changes in stats from second version to third:

Shot on target %: -2%

Goals per SOT %: +5%

Possession %: +2%

Passing %: +1%

Crosses %:+5%

Changes in stats from first version to third:

Shot on target %: +7%

Goals per SOT %: +25%

Possession %: -2%

Passing %: +4%

Crosses %:-4%

What does the stats tell me?

The quality of my shots have gone down a bit again, but still 7% higher than with the first version. That it has gone down a bit since second version, can be a side-effect of better crossing - Better crosses means more shots, not neccessarily good ones. But out of the shots that actually hits the target, 5% more is going in than in last version - SO... Crosses creates more chances, more misses but better quality on the ones that actually hits target? Makes sence actually, because the goalie has less time to react and is often in wrong position after a cross.

The crosses though can be improved even more, since they are 4% lower quality than in first version.

Ive claimed back 2% in possession, but its still 2% lower than the first version. Not quite sure, but the fact that the passing has gone up 1% might be one of the factors that have made possession go up again. Other things are that the AI now is more aware of my team, since I am overachieving and therefore closes down me more. After closing down, they will sit more on the ball than before. This might be why the possession still is lower than in first version.

Im gonna post more about the tactics etc in a while..

All the stats seem to improve the further in to the season you get. I'm gonna do a little testing this weekend to see if the stats improve regardless of changes to the tactic. Could be that blending in has a bigger effect on team performance this season.

I'm really impressed to see that you can keep the possession and passing % that high over the season considering the quality of the league you're in. I've always started at the bottom and never had any success at all when I've had a lot of possession. Maybe it's possible to play a shorter passing/slower playing game even in the lower regions this time.

Hello,

I am french and I made a game with Solihull Moors

Here is my trail:

http://www.pixenli.com/image1225970521071318700.html

and League Cup Final

http://www.pixenli.com/image1226003470000245100.html

and Club information

http://www.pixenli.com/image1225971245049035000.html

Transfers in

Had to go out looking for some players in beginning of last month, because of injuries. Murtagh is a MCa who my scout highly recommended. I also had to strenghten my wingers, which are the three last players - Afful, Beeston, Kelly. Palmer started to look exhausted, and with Marna still out at least one month, I got McPike on loan.

Squad Stats

NOTES: The added text is the where I prefer to use the players. Stats table is halting, because of bringing in new players. From what I can see in passing dept, especially the strikers and fullbacks are struggling. This is means that it should be possible to up it by taking a closer look at their passing and mentality + rwb settings. Also where their passing options are when they got the ball. Is it hard for them to make the right pass?

League Table

Its clear that the tactic is stronger at home than it is away. Possible because its more attacking than it should be. Time to develop an away tactic perhaps? And find a away to score goals. Or should I say, get more shots on target?

Tactical Comparisation

Ok, so here is a run-down of the first(the downloadable) and the last tactic used. I know that the values might be slightly different than what I have written before. Not because changing the tactic, but because of some trouble counting the ticks..

[b]Team Instructions
[/b]                                First                 Last
Tempo                          14                   14
Width                             5                    5  
Timewasting                  10                   10
Defensive Line                11                   14

[b]Fullbacks
[/b]Mentality                       9                    11
Creative Freedom             1                     1
Passing Style                 15                    15
Closing Down                 15                    15
Forward Runs               Often               Often
Run With Ball                Often              Often
Long Shots                  Rarely              Rarely
Through Balls               Rarely              Rarely
Cross Ball                    Often               Often
Cross From                  Byline              Byline

[b]Centrebacks
[/b]Mentality                       7                     7
Creative Freedom             1                     1
Passing Style                  9                     6
Closing Down                 11                    11
Forward Runs               Rarely              Rarely
Run With Ball                Rarely              Rarely
Long Shots                  Rarely              Rarely
Through Balls               Rarely              Rarely
Cross Ball                    Rarely              Rarely

[b]Defensive Midfielder
[/b]Mentality                       11                     9
Creative Freedom             7                      7
Passing Style                  10                   10
Closing Down                 13                    12
Forward Runs               Rarely              Rarely
Run With Ball                Rarely              Rarely
Long Shots                  Rarely              Rarely
Through Balls               Rarely              Rarely
Cross Ball                    Rarely              Rarely

[b]Midfelders
[/b]Mentality                       12                   12
 Creative Freedom            10                   10
 Passing Style                  10                   10
 Closing Down                  15                   13
 Forward Runs               Mixed              Mixed
 Run With Ball                Mixed              Rarely
 Long Shots                  Rarely              Rarely
 Through Balls               Often              Rarely
 Cross Ball                    Rarely              Rarely
Free Role                       Yes                 No

[b]Wingers[/b]
Mentality                       13                    15
 Creative Freedom              1                     7
 Passing Style                  14                   13
 Closing Down                 10                    17
 Forward Runs               Often              Often
 Run With Ball                Often              Often
 Long Shots                  Rarely              Rarely
 Through Balls               Mixed              Rarely
 Cross Ball                    Rarely              Rarely
Free Role                     Yes                 Yes

[b]Forward
[/b]Mentality                       11                    8
 Creative Freedom            10                    6
 Passing Style                  13                    9 
 Closing Down                 11                    15
 Forward Runs               Mixed              Mixed
 Run With Ball                Rarely             Mixed
 Long Shots                  Mixed              Rarely
 Through Balls               Often              Rarely
 Cross Ball                    Rarely              Rarely
Hold Up Ball                   Yes                Yes

Ok, having a look at this, it seems like my mentality-set has gone wild now.

Mentalities

         Downloadable              Second     Last       
FB              13                     9          11  
DC              7                      8*          7
DM             11                     8*          8
MC             12                    12*        12
Wi              13                    14*        14
FC              11                    11*         8       

* I did some wrong counting the clicks when writing that post. These are the right numbers..

The reason Im pointing out especially the mentalities, is because it has so big impact overall. As you can see, the set with the closest mentalities overall is the one that had best SOT%, whilst the other stats are better in the last version.

I am not saying that split mentalities are better than tight - just pointing out what seems to work best for my team just now.

Reason for it working better, might lie in the other settings for individual players - that I havent analyzed yet.

When it comes to why the last tactic is much better than the first in every department, except crosses, is just this - players work more as a unit with the new settings. I.E. By reducing MC CD and raising FC CD, these three now interact more in when and where to close down, FC closes down the CB whilst MC closes down MC or DM. In previous version the FC stood still leaving the MC to close down CB. This of course led to AI midfielders being left alone.

I think I have shared most of my reasons for the settings before, through the notes - but feel free to ask if you wonder about something. Suggestions are also welcomed

Oh one more thing, raising the DL have helped a bit when it comes to keeping pressure up (and possession) - Have more possession in their half now. Thanks to afeckingname that reminded me about the DL:)

(please forgive my coding, I just cant get it right..sorry)