Dropping players back i.e. def mid

Prolly been asked before, but if the arrows don't mean positional wise, how do you drop a midfielder into a def mid role when not in possession if for example playing a 442 formation?

Cheers.

What do the arrows mean then ? I though arrows backwards were position of players when defending , whilst forward arrows represented attacking postions ? :S

Forward arrows means how often players will make forward runs, unlike before where players would move into forward positions when having the ball. Now, if you have an arrow going back, it doesn't mean a player will drop back into that position, but won't make forward runs. You can see what I mean by going into the tactics screen and looking at the sliders for "make forward runs" and right clicking on screen to make an arrow.

Thanks for that , I suppose it does make the game a little harder , which makes it more challenging . Is the 4-2-4 Formation still a problem ?

Not sure mate. Only problem I know is the crashing lol. Anyone know about the def mid question though?

Its the mentallity setting, if your CB's are at Mentality 8, put the DM around 10.

I thought they were getting rid of the Arrows for this version? I was shocked when I saw them there.

Bit gutted about this. Sounds silly, but on previous versions the arrows were an integral part of my tactical alterations for after we scored or conceded a goal.

I did notice on the demo that you couldn't make sideways arrows, so I guess this explains it. But say I wanted the left central midfielder to venture forwards... would the right central midfielder move into the actual centre when he does so?

Yes. Just plug in the Default 442 standard and you will see this happening. Just play around with mentality and forward runs to mess with his general positioning.

Just to add my reason for not liking the loss of arrows is for this scenario exactly. So if my MC keeps getting caught behind the opposition MC when they attack on FM 08 I could lower his mentality and he would drop off but do so on his own side. But now if I lower it they seem to deterministically move to a position at the tip of a triangle involving the centre backs which ultimately leaves the attacking player I was trying to cover in more space.

Open to correction for anyone who has seen differently.

isuckatfm - I've been using an explicit Oppo. Instruction "Mark Tightly - Always" for that situation, and might also try an explicit man-marking, rather than reducing the mentality. Just a thought, you might try it to see if it looks a bit more like what you have in mind.

isuckatfm - I've been using an explicit Oppo. Instruction "Mark Tightly - Always" for that situation, and might also try an explicit man-marking, rather than reducing the mentality. Just a thought, you might try it to see if it looks a bit more like what you have in mind.

The problem with specific man marking is I don't want him to stick to the man especially if he is showing signs of being set to free role where he roams all over the pitch. This destroys the point of using a zonal defense and having cover in positions. I just want to keep him goalside so he is in position to track the players run should he do so.

I'll have a go at the OI but to be honest the little I've tested them I've found it difficult to see a difference when set.

It just seems like they have decided you can't have it both ways whereas in real life a manager can theoretically have it both ways but whether or not that works depends on the player. Or maybe I just haven't found the right combination of mentality/forward runs/marking that stops him drifting to a central position.

Time for a 'replicating the FM 08 arrows based behaviour in FM 09' thread?

i dont understand how "no forward runs" is a backward run?? visible in 3d the centre mid with no forward runs plays as DM

It isn't a backward run. Just means the player(s) won't make any runs at all. A negative mentality.

No forward runs will mean he won't go forward when the rest of your midfielder move forward, or he will not move as far forward.

What about man marking? Say you have your defenders set to man marking, but not a specific man, how does that work? They just make the closest player all the time they are near? And man to man marking surely isn't all the time, only when not in possession or something? Like a defender isn't going to follow an attacker all over the pitch.

set his mentality to defensive minded?