How Important are Opposition Instructions in FM09?

In previous release's i have managed to get away with not using them, but having been totally perplexed by FM09 so far, i thought why not have a go and see what happens?

I've only played 3 games with them so far, but what has struck me is that my Ass Man who usually has a lot to say, is suddenly speechless and i quote "Has nothing to say about tactics"

Its a little too early for me to be fully convinced, especially as i have come across tactics that have wowed me for 6 or 7 games and then proved useless, but i'm healthily optimistic?

This has basically been my OI's so far.

Fullbacks - Close down always and show onto wrong foot

Wingers - Close down always, hard tackle and show onto wrong foot

MC's/AMC - Close down and show onto weaker foot

Strikers - Close down and show onto weaker foot

Am i doing too much or too little? what should/should'nt i be doing against very fast players etc?

Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom that can help me get the best out of the OI's?

Thanks

Good question.

I have an additional one too.

Is it possible to save your oppostion instructions so that they will be automatically be loaded for each game?

Or do you have to input them in manually for each game?

That is what I have been doing upto now and I'm tending to find it rather tedious

Good question.

I have an additional one too.

Is it possible to save your oppostion instructions so that they will be automatically be loaded for each game?

Or do you have to input them in manually for each game?

That is what I have been doing upto now and I'm tending to find it rather tedious

I think its something you have to do otherwise its always at the back of your mind, had I done I wouldnt have lost etc!!

I do it manually every time and it seemed to work at first but then Henry smashed 4 goals past me (Barca vs Valencia) and I went 12 matches without winning after that.

Hey ho - that was 08 ... I am now on 09 and managed one PL match over the entire weekend. 1-0 win over Portsmouth so I think the tactics do work.

In previous release's i have managed to get away with not using them, but having been totally perplexed by FM09 so far, i thought why not have a go and see what happens?

I've only played 3 games with them so far, but what has struck me is that my Ass Man who usually has a lot to say, is suddenly speechless and i quote "Has nothing to say about tactics"

Its a little too early for me to be fully convinced, especially as i have come across tactics that have wowed me for 6 or 7 games and then proved useless, but i'm healthily optimistic?

This has basically been my OI's so far.

Fullbacks - Close down always and show onto wrong foot

Wingers - Close down always, hard tackle and show onto wrong foot

MC's/AMC - Close down and show onto weaker foot

Strikers - Close down and show onto weaker foot

Am i doing too much or too little? what should/should'nt i be doing against very fast players etc?

Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom that can help me get the best out of the OI's?

Thanks

I just concentrate on the strikers, wingers and attacking midfielders.

In my (short) experience they are extremely important in 09.

First game I started I didn't use them and didn't perform well. Started new game and am unbeaten with Arsenal after 22 games, problem is I play a few draws, Man U just keeps winning, so even unbeaten in 22 games I find myself 2nd in the premiership. Man U has 1 draw and one loss and won the rest.

Hargreaves keeps scoring from 35 yards for them. Shouldn't he be injured until end of season anyway?

Never touch them. At all. I do quite well

Never touch them. At all. I do quite well

Just done two 10 match tests and had basically mirrored results with or without OI's, looks like they serve no purpose as in years gone by?

never used them

Can someone tell me the difference between showing someone onto their wrong foot and their weaker foot? I always assumed it was the same thing.

Can someone tell me the difference between showing someone onto their wrong foot and their weaker foot? I always assumed it was the same thing.

I could imagine wrong foot would mean trying to force a Right Winger cut back and cross with his left, wouldnt necessarily mean it was his weaker foot.

Not sure I would use hard tackling on wingers unless their bravery, pace, acceleration and dribbling were low. Even on normal tackling I have seen my full back rush in and get skinned.

Can someone tell me the difference between showing someone onto their wrong foot and their weaker foot? I always assumed it was the same thing.

If you face strikers like P.Crouch you should have they wingers cut inside. Do everything you can to force him inside and don't let their wingers get to the byline to cross to crouch.

You would then want to shove their left winger onto right fott and vice versa.

If you face short quick strikers, you want to force their wingers wide and force them to cross the ball in on the small quick strikers. You do not want to let their wingers cut inside and play through balls on the small quick strikers.

Their central midfielders you want to force onto weaker foot so they don't get time to hit the perfect longshot. ( Long shots are way overrated in 09 )

If you face strikers like P.Crouch you should have they wingers cut inside. Do everything you can to force him inside and don't let their wingers get to the byline to cross to crouch.

You would then want to shove their left winger onto right fott and vice versa.

If you face short quick strikers, you want to force their wingers wide and force them to cross the ball in on the small quick strikers. You do not want to let their wingers cut inside and play through balls on the small quick strikers.

Their central midfielders you want to force onto weaker foot so they don't get time to hit the perfect longshot. ( Long shots are way overrated in 09 )

it can be dangerous to let the winger go inside if he's good with his other foot (in other words: good with his right foot on the left wing, or good with his left foot on the right wing).. if the winger has good finishing stats (especially long shots) he can easily score a goal.

They can work. Showing dangerous wingers like Downing onto their weaker foot stops him from blasting precise balls into the box for strikers to get onto, im not saying that stops him all of the match but it will cut down how many balls he puts in (or at least how many are accurate).

Im not so sure about going in hard on players, im of the belief you can provoke players with a bad temperement by snapping them during the match, the ultimate goal is getting them sent off. I suppose going in hard on flair players can dent their performances, but havent seen any real benefit so far.

Closing down and tight marking doesnt seem to do anything as far as i can see