Communication and Psychological 'Warfare' 08 (CPW) Compact Version

Communication and Psychological 'Warfare' 08 (CPW) – Compact Version

How to succeed as a modern, media-friendly manager

Media and communication have become a major factor in the game and many real life managers seem to have failed simply because they were unable to communicate with media or with their players in an appropriate way. Whether you believe this aspect of management to be good or bad, FM reflects this development and you should learn to use these features to your advantage. If you are a communicative person, you will love it and likely excel, if not, you should at least learn how to make good use of it when needed. It will not turn a bad tactic into a brilliant one, but quality communication can boost your team’s success and shorten dips in form at critical stages of the season.

Man-management has become a vital factor in the FM-Britain tactic forums and finally led to a huge series of articles on squad management in the FM-Britain Tactical Bible. I do not think that FM-Britain did invent the terms man-management or squad-management in the game, but I think we can claim to be the first looking into these aspects in every detail and acknowledging the influence on team and player performance as almost equally important as pure tactical decisions in the game.

Taking all these facts on board, Communication and Psychological Warfare 08 will be released as sister thread of Tactical Theorems and Frameworks 08. The amount of issues to cover has grown enormously since the first version for FM 2007, so this is the compact version, focussing only on key highlights which are directly linked to morale, consistency and performance. For more information, please have a look at the full article.

Matches build up interaction

Being well prepared for an important match and having your squad at the top of their morale and form for this match can be a key in achieving your goals of the season and have massive impact on your results.

Advance planning

If you are facing key games, you should start looking at your preparation very early, at least seven days ahead if you want to achieve the best results. Of course nobody can always take everything into account for every single game, but looking at the calendar at times and setting your eyes on these dates can improve your performance massively.

If you are playing a fierce rival, you may also make a comment on your next opponent about three days before the match. The best-proven comment is to ‘expect a good rivalry’ as this will often take away pressure from your own players and occasionally build up pressure for the opposition.

Dangerman

Finally you will receive your scout report and have the option to comment on the opposition dangerman. But beware, it is a gamble, otherwise the game may get too easy. You should always watch out first at the form and personality of these players. If they are model professionals, driven or highly determined players, better stay away from commenting on them if they are not in a crisis. Players in a crisis and with less determined characters are more prone to buckle under the pressure then those who are on top of their form.

Pre-match media

Finally, after so many preliminaries, the most important part: The media pre-match interaction. Now you can make up for anything you missed before or finally blow it. Choose your options wisely and remember that being over-confident rarely is rewarded in the game. To make things clear: good pre-match comments will not win a game for you. But giving the wrong comments can have catastrophic effects and giving the right comments can boost your morale strongly.

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<LI>We are in a good form and can win this. The option to go with if your team is having a good run, if your odds are looking good and if your players are determined and can handle pressure.

<LI>They can cause us problems. If your form and odds are less brilliant, if you are additionally playing away and if your players suffer from a lack of self-believe, this option will cause less pressure and you will see your squad being more relaxed.

<LI>Just want a good performance. If you really do not see many chances to get away with a result or a point. Takes the pressure off your players and most likely will result in a good morale despite taking a loss. Don’t underestimate your team though, it may also lose motivation, if you do so.

<LI>You can see your team winning anyway. If you are at the very top, dominating the league from first to last and you intend to play an out-of-form relegation candidate, you can make some fun out of it and raise your profile as arrogant genius. Maybe you will get an award, but as you can guess, this option is rarely of any use, if ever.

<LI>No comment. Only advisable if your morale already is superb across the board and you do not want to risk anything to gain the extra motivation tags.

Check how your players react. Every one is different. The more ambitious your players are, the more you can stay on the positive side.

Nice tip for cup mismatches: I often stir up my squad by being “never confident about these gamesâ€. Half of your key players will want to go out and prove you wrong.

Match Day Interaction - Team Talks

Team talks are a key to influence your team's performance and to give you a good start into the game. The half-time team talks have even more impact on the final score and often decide whether you are giving away a comfortable lead or turning around a game if needed. Some players claim that they have fantastic assistant managers who do this perfectly, but in most cases these team talks are rather lousy if you look them up using the team talk feedback, even if the values for motivation and man management are very high. If you do have any doubts about this, you should play some games following these recommendations and see if there will be a difference. I am totally sure that you will note the same, once you get used to this.

There is a new option available for FM 08 which will make things easier for you if you do not have much experience with giving team talks: the Ask Assistant button. This is especially helpful for selecting individual options for the new performance based talks since it will remind you to spur those individually which can be easily forgotten from match to match. However, you will still see that the AI standard choice is ‘for the fans’ and picked by far too frequently at start of the game. You can do it better! So, as a tip: select ‘Ask Assistant’ to single out some of the individual comments based on performance (not all are selected, again), but then select your overall team talk for the remaining squad. Please note that the quality of both individual and team recommendations given by your assistant differs strongly depending on his man management and motivating abilities.

A general hint for all team talks, individual talks and media interactions: Every player and each team is different and requires a different approach. Driven superstars require a different handling then unprofessional, low-determined part-timers. The better your squad, the more determined and professional it is, the more you can be demanding in your interactions. Until you know your team very well, you should always check your team talk feedback to find out the right way to handle them.

Pre-match team talks

After hitting the ‘Ask Assistant’ button and singling out (or reverting) some of the individual team talk suggestions he made, you should now make your personal choice how you want to send your squad into the game.

Tell the players they can win this game. Probably a good choice for most home games in which you are favourite, also if odds are in your favour for away games and you feel this is a realistic view of your team in contrast to over-hyped odds due to a good run.

You will soon see that this can become your standard team talk easily once you managed to assemble a combination of solid tactics, a gelled squad and consistent performances. In fact, despite the advice to vary team-talks given by the in-game hints, there is not too much room for variations if you have reached this state of stable performance. Don’t hesitate to use it then and vary on rare occasions plus vary individual talks in this situation.

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<LI>Wish the team luck for the match ahead. This should be your choice for away games or home games where odds are clearly against you. The message is simple: you do not have to win today, I already would be happy with one point. So you should not be too angry if you will not get more, but your team may be much more relaxed and eventually get a result.

<LI>Tell the players you expect them to win the match. A clear and simple statement, and it will be understood as is. However, this can make your players buckle and succumb to the pressure. It can be helpful under these circumstances: you are clear favourite for the match and you do have a very determined, ambitious and professional squad. You will see that these kinds of squads often will react very positive and delighted if you put things clear. If you are lacking these kinds of players and a clear situation for the match, you should stay off from this choice.

<LI>Tell the players to do this for the supporters. For some strange reason the default assistant choice. But this should be reserved for the rather few games (depending on your league) against fierce rivals and occasionally for cup finals (get the trophy for the fans!). Always add individual talks.

<LI>Tell the players there is no pressure on them today. An option if wish luck seems to be too much. In other words, if you expect your team to lose anyway or to face one of the hardest games of the season, no matter if you manage a top team or a relegation candidate. Combine this with encouraging individual talks to all key players. Also, this is the most valuable team talk if your team is in a crisis and lost its winning form for several games and now will play a seemingly small opponent at home. More then once I have seen a team recovering using this route. It seems to work equally well for highly determined squads, which have started to dominate a league at will and have several leading members with high influence and determination on the field.

Half-time team talks

The most important part of it since you now have the chance to keep your team on its toes if they are already winning, spur them up if they are behind and need to turn around the game or make them more focussed if they are playing well but cannot score. Wasting your half-time team talks can mean throwing away games and points and will definitely come back to hurt you.<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Show your anger at the team/I expect nothing else then a win. You are behind or drawing a game which you should clearly win without any doubt. Change formations, bring on a new player and combine with individual talks and you should see a different second half. Most likely you will be hailed by your players for turning around this game if you should succeed.

<LI>Disappointed/I want to see more from you. You are behind away, but you do not clearly see that a win is a must, you are draw against a quite good team at home or you are leading with a big team but only by one goal and the game is far away from being safe for you side, and the number of chances created is too low. Demand more and you may get it.

<LI>You can win today. Encourage your players in a positive way. Use this route if Angry/Disappointed may be too harsh since you are playing strong teams, if you still surprisingly hold a draw away without being favourite and think you have potential to win. Also, this is the way to go if you would have preferred angry/disappointed but your team has low morale,

<LI>Sympathize. The way to go if you unlucky behind or drawing, but see a good performance.

<LI>Pleased. For sustaining a good, at least two goals lead against a good opponent.

<LI>Show encouragement to the team (if available). If you are leading closely against strong opponents but your team is playing well and should maintain the performance to win.

<LI>Don’t let your performance drop (if available). If you are leading closely and feel your team is in control and dominating but has to stay focused to keep the lead.

<LI>Pleased at the performance (if available). Shows this: your are outplaying them everywhere! If you dominate from first to last, but missed to score yet, just scored once and all you need is more luck with finishing.

<LI>Thrilled. For a clear cut lead of three goals at half time, or a good lead away, or leading against a very strong opponent. Whenever your teams performs above themselves (even if they do it every week).

<LI>For the fans. See pre-match. Only for fierce rivals or cup finals.

<LI>Go out and enjoy the rest of the game/The pressure is off! For friendlies, if there is not much left to win, if you are already clearly behind and playing a team which is also clearly better then your own team and expecting to turn around will be asking for too much.

Post-Match Team Talks

The shortest and least important part of all, since most time your players don’t listen anyway! The only bad mistake is not to give enough praise after good performances, and your players will let you know if this happens.

Generally, be positive post-match. If your team has lost away but played well, be pleased. If they have drawn at home but should have won, be pleased. Only lay into the players if they have performed way below expectations or if you are running a top quality side. After very narrow wins, warn against complacency. If you are able to praise individual players or even the whole team with a 'fantastic' feedback, you should not be too reserved with your post match comments. These options are only available if the engine has clearly seen you outplaying your opponents, and your players will expect an according feedback.

Match Day Interaction - Individual Player Talks

Individual player talks can be the dot on the 'I'. Use them wisely and check the assistant feedback to find out how your players react. It depends on their individual personality again. As mentioned earlier, you can use the ‘Ask Assistant’ button to select comfortably some individual talks, which is especially helpful regarding a new feature in FM 08: the individual talks to players based on their previous performances.

Pre-match talks

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<LI>Having faith. Still the most useful option at start of a match, since most players will act very favourable, especially if they have been on low morale or if you apply this to your key players before a very important match. I often had the impression that it works like adding some extra composure points to your attacking players.

<LI>No pressure. It may help your youngsters through their first senior team performances, but also and especially new players who still have to link up with their squad, additionally it can be helpful for players during their first games if they are returning from a long injury. There are some signs it can help for players with low morale, but there are more test feedbacks needed.

<LI>Expect a performance. Formerly a useful option for players after a series of bad performances, best combined with according media feedbacks, but now it does look rather obsolete since you will be able to give performance based feedbacks. Maybe it still can be applied for key players who did not achieve anything better then something like a 7-7-6-7-7 form. Will also need some testing.

Performance-based player talks<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Expect better. Only available after a performance below 6 in his last match, and it will be most likely only helpful if morale is not too low now. Further long-term results needed to judge how efficient this talk is.

<LI>Pick up where you left off! This option is only available after a performance above 7 in the last match. Should be applied if the player has a good morale or better.

Most likely you should only give these performance-based talks to players with at least good morale to apply them efficiently. If possible, you should make sure that your players would go into these matches having good morale. If not, you should better stick to the ‘have faith’ talk which has proven its worth as something like a ‘killer’ talk due to the enormous morale boost it can give.

Half-time talks

Similar to overall team talks, take your time on these since these are the talks that can change things and make the difference.

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<LI>Angry. This will only be helpful if the player is under-performing but still has a very good morale.

<LI>Disappointed. As above, but less harsh and again rarely morale boosting. Use both talks only for very professional, determined key players if they have good morale and are clearly performing below their standards.

<LI>Having Faith. Just the same as in pre-match talks, this is usually the best morale boosting talk. Especially watch out for players who are behind the team morale when already winning. It can help to increase confidence and performance for the second half.

<LI>Pleased. Can result in sustaining an already good, but not brilliant performance. Most players will react favourably.

<LI>Delighted. The same as please for a brilliant performance. Often will result in a morale boost

<LI>No pressure. As in pre-match, a good option if you sub in the same kind of players, be it youngsters, new players or players coming back from an injury. You can additionally confirm this during half-time, if performance during the first half was not brilliant.

<LI>Prove a point. Only available if you are behind at half time. Similar to a killer talk for players who are far away from their standard.

<LI>You can make the difference! The ‘Have Faith’ talk for a team being behind at half-time. Very often the best option in combination with ‘Prove a point’ and a good team talk.

Post-match talks

As for team-talks, probably the least important part and you can give some individual feedbacks, if you are up to. Look for new players and youngsters first, additionally for those with bad morale despite winning or those who played well despite losing. Check your team talk feedback frequently to find out how your players react since everyone is different and needs and individual handling.

Media Interaction - Giving feedbacks to players

Player Interaction

Unfortunately FM 08 did not introduce a feature many players have been hoping for: internal talks which are not linked to the media. It still seems to be quite strange that you need media to talk to your players, however these talks via the media may explain why they have so much influence on players. Just imagine you would read your boss’ statements about you in the morning paper. It does happen in this business, of course, but there should be other steps first and in fact I think most coaches are very cautious regarding explicit comments to media. It is remarkable that SI did not attempt to close this gap so far.

When interacting with your players, you should always think about how you would want to be treated as a player. You can build up and you can destroy players, and a large number of player under-performances must be related with the way some managers treat their players If you use your options wisely, you will gain more consistent performances and less cards and errors. Related to different characters acting different on team and individual talks, there are also differences in reacting to media feedbacks, which will be explained later.

Media feedbacks

Regarding FM 08, even superstars are more favourable acting towards praise then in FM 07. An additional help in FM 08 is the fan opinion about your players. If you are not sure where to start with praises or criticism, you may get an idea from the fans spokesperson.

When to praise for good performances. Especially after a win, you should single out your most valuable players. But keep in mind if you are praising a key player or a rotation or backup player. Be more generous with unexpected performances. Some key players will even get annoyed for too much praise or too gentle criticism, while youngsters will feel let down if you demand too much.

When to criticise bad performances. Especially after a loss and after draws, already after a win if you feel a player is playing below his standard or has been e.g. send off or came back with a lousy rating for a poor match, be it because of errors or anything else. If you do this pro-actively you can stop many collective and drastic drops in form before they have begun. Be harsher to your key players and less demanding to youngsters, backup and rotation players.

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<LI>Delighted with recent form. Generally only for a run of extremely good performances. If you have been spot on, the fans will support this praise. If you are talking about superstars, it should be something like a 9-9-10 performance to praise them so highly. For a part-timer is may already be a string of 8 performances with maybe one 9.

<LI>Pleased with recent form. For a very solid to brilliant run, most players will be encouraged and stirred up to go on, looking for more praise.

<LI>Recent form is acceptable. Just like the word says. Not really brilliant, but the player may feel your support and perform much better soon.

<LI>Recent form is below par. For most normal players, anything below 7 can be singled out for criticism, especially after losses. Tell them and watch the next games. In FM 07, 7-7-7-7-7 for most superstars already was notable, however this may have changed for FM 08, many of them will see this as harsh, but also react more favourable to praise.

<LI>Disappointed with recent form. Usually most performance around a 6-6-6-6-6 should be ranked here, except for extremely unambitious players.

<LI>Deeply upset with recent form. The ultimate measure for a series of under-performances and losses, most time those players will have made errors as well and need the hairdryer treatment.

If you are using media feedbacks for a while, you will notice that they have a huge influence on your players, often reflected in the game’s comments. You can help your players to maintain good form, stir them up to improve even further but also shorten individual dips of form. Another benefit: if your praise or criticism is spot on at several occasions, the players will be grateful and show you as favoured personnel. If you have enough players having you as a favoured personnel performance is likely to remain high. If you need to get a key player back on his feet, you should also think about letting him play a number of reserve matches. This often works real wonders.

How often should I use media-interaction?

Simply said, as often as possible. It is not available after every game, and sometimes you may keep it for a key game, which is coming soon, but usually you should always have an eye on your players and their performances. This can be a key in maintaining your players’ and your team form and interfering early into anything that is not going right. During a long season it is important to stay focussed and keep your players on their toes. Additionally it will be helpful during the start of your career to have as many players as possible showing you as your favoured personnel, especially the key players of course.

Squad Factors

Captaincy

If you take over a new team, there is a captain already and there will be a recommendation by your assistant usually recommending this captain and a vice captain so you will need to decide if you want to take this advice or not. If you want to change things, you should have a good reason and you should be willing to take the consequences as well. If you already know you will make changes, make them early and before your assistant will ask you.

I am simply looking at these attributes first: Influence plus determination. I also look for decisions, work rate and finally bravery. He should have a certain age and last not least have been at the club for a while and he should be highly respected by his team mates, you will see this in their good relationship screens. But, and this is a big but, sometimes an older ‘natural leader’ has just joined the club (only a candidate if settled in the same country!) or the ‘real life’ manager has a strange way to find captains. Then it is time to verify the choice, which I did twice so far. In both cases this was very well received, even though it does come at a cost and some candidates will feel left behind.

Bonuses

At start of the season, you can determine the sum that will be paid out at the end of the season, based on the success in several competitions. I think that there is not much of a choice here. Even if you are running a cash-strapped club, select the highest available option. First off all, this sum is included in your budget anyway, but also important: it is based on your success, which does mean you will have to pay less if the team fails to reach the season’s goals. As always, achieving something will generate more income for your team, so do not try to be miserly with bonuses. I never knew whether contracts have an influence or not, but I always tried to offer low wages, but high bonuses in contract talks.

Good bonuses do have an effect like a permanent media feedback at start of the season, I did not try to do the opposite, but most likely it has to result in a reversed effect. So, even if you are cash-strapped, give your guys the best bonuses. Morale and motivation will always pay off; a lack of it will cost you much more.

Fines

SI introduced a new feature to handle fines easier: there is a kind of hidden advisor system only allowing you to fine a player if something has occurred that justifies handing out a fine. Additionally you are restricted to the related kind of fine, which is certainly a very good improvement and can prevent many wrong choices or accidental fines, which can seriously harm your relationship to a player. To my own surprise I noticed this way that you can fine players for flirting with other clubs in public, but I yet do have to find out if this does make any sense in the long run. I hardly can imagine it does have a good effect in the long run, at least you should restrict the penalty to one week. I was even more surprised that this fine has been accepted as well.

There is a reason why you can fine players. It is amazing to read all the posts “player x got five red cards a season and is banned for most of my gamesâ€.Of course it is good to have some players with aggression in your squad, but you have to keep them at bay. Usually in every season you will reach a point where the big sending off starts, and if you don’t react, it will develop into a flood. If you react, it is over before it has begun. I simply follow this route:

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<LI>2 weeks fine for one red

<LI>2 weeks additional (after the player reacted) if it was violent behaviour

<LI>2 weeks for missing training

<LI>1 week if for yellow/red if I was too stupid to substitute or set down on easy tacking ;-)

<LI>1 week for a 5 performance of key players

<LI>2 weeks for a 4 performance of key players

You will notice that most professional players will accept their fines and try to improve in future. Occasionally and if you are lucky, you will receive a message from your assistant manager letting you know that your fine has led to a major improvement in your player’s attitude.

Last year I wrote some words of thanks for reading until here, this year I would like to add the same and the additional hint that you can read much more in the complete version of CPW 08, especially regarding additional squad factors which are equally important for team performance, but will work more indirectly. I hope this 'short' version was a helpful introduction to get started with man-management, squad management and interaction, even more so if it may have raised your interest in reading more.

Links

Complete version of CPW: Communication and psychological 'warfare' 08

Tactic Building Basics

Tactical Theorems and Frameworks '08 - TT&F

Tactical knowledge remains the core of the game and can only be completed (or ruined) by man-management. Our sister thread offers in-depth knowledge and maybe the most systematic approach available since many years.

Fundamental Football Manager - FFM

Rashidi's systematic approach offering many alternate, but also common solutions to TT&F

Squad Management links

Squad Management I

The first article of the complete Squad Management series of the FM-Britain Tactical Bible.

If you want to read more details, updates and post questions or feedbacks, please visit the Tactical Bible Forum.

Articles and threads on man-management

Extra-tactical Factors

A very good introduction into the importance of several aspects of man-management by Millie.

Team gelling and tactical consistency

Examples given based on my experience with rebuilding Zaragoza

Pre-match Comments - An experiment

Excellent detailed research by wugster on the effects of pre-match media interaction, especially helpful regarding different reactions of individual players.

Player Interactions and their effects

Using the media to manipulate morale, another in-depth experiment run by wugster.

Things what I have learned in Madrid

Practical guide on applying squad management during the difficult first months with a new club by Millie.

Credits

Special thanks to the members of FM-Britain, the staff, my tactical co-workers Millie and wwfan and last not least, the contributors of the Tactical Think Tank, especially crazy gra and again Millie for editing and proof-reading the long version.

Communication and Psychological 'Warfare' 08 (CPW) – Compact Version

How to succeed as a modern, media-friendly manager

Media and communication have become a major factor in the game and many real life managers seem to have failed simply because they were unable to communicate with media or with their players in an appropriate way. Whether you believe this aspect of management to be good or bad, FM reflects this development and you should learn to use these features to your advantage. If you are a communicative person, you will love it and likely excel, if not, you should at least learn how to make good use of it when needed. It will not turn a bad tactic into a brilliant one, but quality communication can boost your team’s success and shorten dips in form at critical stages of the season.

Man-management has become a vital factor in the FM-Britain tactic forums and finally led to a huge series of articles on squad management in the FM-Britain Tactical Bible. I do not think that FM-Britain did invent the terms man-management or squad-management in the game, but I think we can claim to be the first looking into these aspects in every detail and acknowledging the influence on team and player performance as almost equally important as pure tactical decisions in the game.

Taking all these facts on board, Communication and Psychological Warfare 08 will be released as sister thread of Tactical Theorems and Frameworks 08. The amount of issues to cover has grown enormously since the first version for FM 2007, so this is the compact version, focussing only on key highlights which are directly linked to morale, consistency and performance. For more information, please have a look at the full article.

Matches build up interaction

Being well prepared for an important match and having your squad at the top of their morale and form for this match can be a key in achieving your goals of the season and have massive impact on your results.

Advance planning

If you are facing key games, you should start looking at your preparation very early, at least seven days ahead if you want to achieve the best results. Of course nobody can always take everything into account for every single game, but looking at the calendar at times and setting your eyes on these dates can improve your performance massively.

If you are playing a fierce rival, you may also make a comment on your next opponent about three days before the match. The best-proven comment is to ‘expect a good rivalry’ as this will often take away pressure from your own players and occasionally build up pressure for the opposition.

Dangerman

Finally you will receive your scout report and have the option to comment on the opposition dangerman. But beware, it is a gamble, otherwise the game may get too easy. You should always watch out first at the form and personality of these players. If they are model professionals, driven or highly determined players, better stay away from commenting on them if they are not in a crisis. Players in a crisis and with less determined characters are more prone to buckle under the pressure then those who are on top of their form.

Pre-match media

Finally, after so many preliminaries, the most important part: The media pre-match interaction. Now you can make up for anything you missed before or finally blow it. Choose your options wisely and remember that being over-confident rarely is rewarded in the game. To make things clear: good pre-match comments will not win a game for you. But giving the wrong comments can have catastrophic effects and giving the right comments can boost your morale strongly.

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<LI>We are in a good form and can win this. The option to go with if your team is having a good run, if your odds are looking good and if your players are determined and can handle pressure.

<LI>They can cause us problems. If your form and odds are less brilliant, if you are additionally playing away and if your players suffer from a lack of self-believe, this option will cause less pressure and you will see your squad being more relaxed.

<LI>Just want a good performance. If you really do not see many chances to get away with a result or a point. Takes the pressure off your players and most likely will result in a good morale despite taking a loss. Don’t underestimate your team though, it may also lose motivation, if you do so.

<LI>You can see your team winning anyway. If you are at the very top, dominating the league from first to last and you intend to play an out-of-form relegation candidate, you can make some fun out of it and raise your profile as arrogant genius. Maybe you will get an award, but as you can guess, this option is rarely of any use, if ever.

<LI>No comment. Only advisable if your morale already is superb across the board and you do not want to risk anything to gain the extra motivation tags.

Check how your players react. Every one is different. The more ambitious your players are, the more you can stay on the positive side.

Nice tip for cup mismatches: I often stir up my squad by being “never confident about these gamesâ€. Half of your key players will want to go out and prove you wrong.

Match Day Interaction - Team Talks

Team talks are a key to influence your team's performance and to give you a good start into the game. The half-time team talks have even more impact on the final score and often decide whether you are giving away a comfortable lead or turning around a game if needed. Some players claim that they have fantastic assistant managers who do this perfectly, but in most cases these team talks are rather lousy if you look them up using the team talk feedback, even if the values for motivation and man management are very high. If you do have any doubts about this, you should play some games following these recommendations and see if there will be a difference. I am totally sure that you will note the same, once you get used to this.

There is a new option available for FM 08 which will make things easier for you if you do not have much experience with giving team talks: the Ask Assistant button. This is especially helpful for selecting individual options for the new performance based talks since it will remind you to spur those individually which can be easily forgotten from match to match. However, you will still see that the AI standard choice is ‘for the fans’ and picked by far too frequently at start of the game. You can do it better! So, as a tip: select ‘Ask Assistant’ to single out some of the individual comments based on performance (not all are selected, again), but then select your overall team talk for the remaining squad. Please note that the quality of both individual and team recommendations given by your assistant differs strongly depending on his man management and motivating abilities.

A general hint for all team talks, individual talks and media interactions: Every player and each team is different and requires a different approach. Driven superstars require a different handling then unprofessional, low-determined part-timers. The better your squad, the more determined and professional it is, the more you can be demanding in your interactions. Until you know your team very well, you should always check your team talk feedback to find out the right way to handle them.

Pre-match team talks

After hitting the ‘Ask Assistant’ button and singling out (or reverting) some of the individual team talk suggestions he made, you should now make your personal choice how you want to send your squad into the game.

Tell the players they can win this game. Probably a good choice for most home games in which you are favourite, also if odds are in your favour for away games and you feel this is a realistic view of your team in contrast to over-hyped odds due to a good run.

You will soon see that this can become your standard team talk easily once you managed to assemble a combination of solid tactics, a gelled squad and consistent performances. In fact, despite the advice to vary team-talks given by the in-game hints, there is not too much room for variations if you have reached this state of stable performance. Don’t hesitate to use it then and vary on rare occasions plus vary individual talks in this situation.

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<LI>Wish the team luck for the match ahead. This should be your choice for away games or home games where odds are clearly against you. The message is simple: you do not have to win today, I already would be happy with one point. So you should not be too angry if you will not get more, but your team may be much more relaxed and eventually get a result.

<LI>Tell the players you expect them to win the match. A clear and simple statement, and it will be understood as is. However, this can make your players buckle and succumb to the pressure. It can be helpful under these circumstances: you are clear favourite for the match and you do have a very determined, ambitious and professional squad. You will see that these kinds of squads often will react very positive and delighted if you put things clear. If you are lacking these kinds of players and a clear situation for the match, you should stay off from this choice.

<LI>Tell the players to do this for the supporters. For some strange reason the default assistant choice. But this should be reserved for the rather few games (depending on your league) against fierce rivals and occasionally for cup finals (get the trophy for the fans!). Always add individual talks.

<LI>Tell the players there is no pressure on them today. An option if wish luck seems to be too much. In other words, if you expect your team to lose anyway or to face one of the hardest games of the season, no matter if you manage a top team or a relegation candidate. Combine this with encouraging individual talks to all key players. Also, this is the most valuable team talk if your team is in a crisis and lost its winning form for several games and now will play a seemingly small opponent at home. More then once I have seen a team recovering using this route. It seems to work equally well for highly determined squads, which have started to dominate a league at will and have several leading members with high influence and determination on the field.

Half-time team talks

The most important part of it since you now have the chance to keep your team on its toes if they are already winning, spur them up if they are behind and need to turn around the game or make them more focussed if they are playing well but cannot score. Wasting your half-time team talks can mean throwing away games and points and will definitely come back to hurt you.<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Show your anger at the team/I expect nothing else then a win. You are behind or drawing a game which you should clearly win without any doubt. Change formations, bring on a new player and combine with individual talks and you should see a different second half. Most likely you will be hailed by your players for turning around this game if you should succeed.

<LI>Disappointed/I want to see more from you. You are behind away, but you do not clearly see that a win is a must, you are draw against a quite good team at home or you are leading with a big team but only by one goal and the game is far away from being safe for you side, and the number of chances created is too low. Demand more and you may get it.

<LI>You can win today. Encourage your players in a positive way. Use this route if Angry/Disappointed may be too harsh since you are playing strong teams, if you still surprisingly hold a draw away without being favourite and think you have potential to win. Also, this is the way to go if you would have preferred angry/disappointed but your team has low morale,

<LI>Sympathize. The way to go if you unlucky behind or drawing, but see a good performance.

<LI>Pleased. For sustaining a good, at least two goals lead against a good opponent.

<LI>Show encouragement to the team (if available). If you are leading closely against strong opponents but your team is playing well and should maintain the performance to win.

<LI>Don’t let your performance drop (if available). If you are leading closely and feel your team is in control and dominating but has to stay focused to keep the lead.

<LI>Pleased at the performance (if available). Shows this: your are outplaying them everywhere! If you dominate from first to last, but missed to score yet, just scored once and all you need is more luck with finishing.

<LI>Thrilled. For a clear cut lead of three goals at half time, or a good lead away, or leading against a very strong opponent. Whenever your teams performs above themselves (even if they do it every week).

<LI>For the fans. See pre-match. Only for fierce rivals or cup finals.

<LI>Go out and enjoy the rest of the game/The pressure is off! For friendlies, if there is not much left to win, if you are already clearly behind and playing a team which is also clearly better then your own team and expecting to turn around will be asking for too much.

Post-Match Team Talks

The shortest and least important part of all, since most time your players don’t listen anyway! The only bad mistake is not to give enough praise after good performances, and your players will let you know if this happens.

Generally, be positive post-match. If your team has lost away but played well, be pleased. If they have drawn at home but should have won, be pleased. Only lay into the players if they have performed way below expectations or if you are running a top quality side. After very narrow wins, warn against complacency. If you are able to praise individual players or even the whole team with a 'fantastic' feedback, you should not be too reserved with your post match comments. These options are only available if the engine has clearly seen you outplaying your opponents, and your players will expect an according feedback.

Match Day Interaction - Individual Player Talks

Individual player talks can be the dot on the 'I'. Use them wisely and check the assistant feedback to find out how your players react. It depends on their individual personality again. As mentioned earlier, you can use the ‘Ask Assistant’ button to select comfortably some individual talks, which is especially helpful regarding a new feature in FM 08: the individual talks to players based on their previous performances.

Pre-match talks

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<LI>Having faith. Still the most useful option at start of a match, since most players will act very favourable, especially if they have been on low morale or if you apply this to your key players before a very important match. I often had the impression that it works like adding some extra composure points to your attacking players.

<LI>No pressure. It may help your youngsters through their first senior team performances, but also and especially new players who still have to link up with their squad, additionally it can be helpful for players during their first games if they are returning from a long injury. There are some signs it can help for players with low morale, but there are more test feedbacks needed.

<LI>Expect a performance. Formerly a useful option for players after a series of bad performances, best combined with according media feedbacks, but now it does look rather obsolete since you will be able to give performance based feedbacks. Maybe it still can be applied for key players who did not achieve anything better then something like a 7-7-6-7-7 form. Will also need some testing.

Performance-based player talks<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Expect better. Only available after a performance below 6 in his last match, and it will be most likely only helpful if morale is not too low now. Further long-term results needed to judge how efficient this talk is.

<LI>Pick up where you left off! This option is only available after a performance above 7 in the last match. Should be applied if the player has a good morale or better.

Most likely you should only give these performance-based talks to players with at least good morale to apply them efficiently. If possible, you should make sure that your players would go into these matches having good morale. If not, you should better stick to the ‘have faith’ talk which has proven its worth as something like a ‘killer’ talk due to the enormous morale boost it can give.

Half-time talks

Similar to overall team talks, take your time on these since these are the talks that can change things and make the difference.

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<LI>Angry. This will only be helpful if the player is under-performing but still has a very good morale.

<LI>Disappointed. As above, but less harsh and again rarely morale boosting. Use both talks only for very professional, determined key players if they have good morale and are clearly performing below their standards.

<LI>Having Faith. Just the same as in pre-match talks, this is usually the best morale boosting talk. Especially watch out for players who are behind the team morale when already winning. It can help to increase confidence and performance for the second half.

<LI>Pleased. Can result in sustaining an already good, but not brilliant performance. Most players will react favourably.

<LI>Delighted. The same as please for a brilliant performance. Often will result in a morale boost

<LI>No pressure. As in pre-match, a good option if you sub in the same kind of players, be it youngsters, new players or players coming back from an injury. You can additionally confirm this during half-time, if performance during the first half was not brilliant.

<LI>Prove a point. Only available if you are behind at half time. Similar to a killer talk for players who are far away from their standard.

<LI>You can make the difference! The ‘Have Faith’ talk for a team being behind at half-time. Very often the best option in combination with ‘Prove a point’ and a good team talk.

Post-match talks

As for team-talks, probably the least important part and you can give some individual feedbacks, if you are up to. Look for new players and youngsters first, additionally for those with bad morale despite winning or those who played well despite losing. Check your team talk feedback frequently to find out how your players react since everyone is different and needs and individual handling.

Media Interaction - Giving feedbacks to players

Player Interaction

Unfortunately FM 08 did not introduce a feature many players have been hoping for: internal talks which are not linked to the media. It still seems to be quite strange that you need media to talk to your players, however these talks via the media may explain why they have so much influence on players. Just imagine you would read your boss’ statements about you in the morning paper. It does happen in this business, of course, but there should be other steps first and in fact I think most coaches are very cautious regarding explicit comments to media. It is remarkable that SI did not attempt to close this gap so far.

When interacting with your players, you should always think about how you would want to be treated as a player. You can build up and you can destroy players, and a large number of player under-performances must be related with the way some managers treat their players If you use your options wisely, you will gain more consistent performances and less cards and errors. Related to different characters acting different on team and individual talks, there are also differences in reacting to media feedbacks, which will be explained later.

Media feedbacks

Regarding FM 08, even superstars are more favourable acting towards praise then in FM 07. An additional help in FM 08 is the fan opinion about your players. If you are not sure where to start with praises or criticism, you may get an idea from the fans spokesperson.

When to praise for good performances. Especially after a win, you should single out your most valuable players. But keep in mind if you are praising a key player or a rotation or backup player. Be more generous with unexpected performances. Some key players will even get annoyed for too much praise or too gentle criticism, while youngsters will feel let down if you demand too much.

When to criticise bad performances. Especially after a loss and after draws, already after a win if you feel a player is playing below his standard or has been e.g. send off or came back with a lousy rating for a poor match, be it because of errors or anything else. If you do this pro-actively you can stop many collective and drastic drops in form before they have begun. Be harsher to your key players and less demanding to youngsters, backup and rotation players.

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<LI>Delighted with recent form. Generally only for a run of extremely good performances. If you have been spot on, the fans will support this praise. If you are talking about superstars, it should be something like a 9-9-10 performance to praise them so highly. For a part-timer is may already be a string of 8 performances with maybe one 9.

<LI>Pleased with recent form. For a very solid to brilliant run, most players will be encouraged and stirred up to go on, looking for more praise.

<LI>Recent form is acceptable. Just like the word says. Not really brilliant, but the player may feel your support and perform much better soon.

<LI>Recent form is below par. For most normal players, anything below 7 can be singled out for criticism, especially after losses. Tell them and watch the next games. In FM 07, 7-7-7-7-7 for most superstars already was notable, however this may have changed for FM 08, many of them will see this as harsh, but also react more favourable to praise.

<LI>Disappointed with recent form. Usually most performance around a 6-6-6-6-6 should be ranked here, except for extremely unambitious players.

<LI>Deeply upset with recent form. The ultimate measure for a series of under-performances and losses, most time those players will have made errors as well and need the hairdryer treatment.

If you are using media feedbacks for a while, you will notice that they have a huge influence on your players, often reflected in the game’s comments. You can help your players to maintain good form, stir them up to improve even further but also shorten individual dips of form. Another benefit: if your praise or criticism is spot on at several occasions, the players will be grateful and show you as favoured personnel. If you have enough players having you as a favoured personnel performance is likely to remain high. If you need to get a key player back on his feet, you should also think about letting him play a number of reserve matches. This often works real wonders.

How often should I use media-interaction?

Simply said, as often as possible. It is not available after every game, and sometimes you may keep it for a key game, which is coming soon, but usually you should always have an eye on your players and their performances. This can be a key in maintaining your players’ and your team form and interfering early into anything that is not going right. During a long season it is important to stay focussed and keep your players on their toes. Additionally it will be helpful during the start of your career to have as many players as possible showing you as your favoured personnel, especially the key players of course.

Squad Factors

Captaincy

If you take over a new team, there is a captain already and there will be a recommendation by your assistant usually recommending this captain and a vice captain so you will need to decide if you want to take this advice or not. If you want to change things, you should have a good reason and you should be willing to take the consequences as well. If you already know you will make changes, make them early and before your assistant will ask you.

I am simply looking at these attributes first: Influence plus determination. I also look for decisions, work rate and finally bravery. He should have a certain age and last not least have been at the club for a while and he should be highly respected by his team mates, you will see this in their good relationship screens. But, and this is a big but, sometimes an older ‘natural leader’ has just joined the club (only a candidate if settled in the same country!) or the ‘real life’ manager has a strange way to find captains. Then it is time to verify the choice, which I did twice so far. In both cases this was very well received, even though it does come at a cost and some candidates will feel left behind.

Bonuses

At start of the season, you can determine the sum that will be paid out at the end of the season, based on the success in several competitions. I think that there is not much of a choice here. Even if you are running a cash-strapped club, select the highest available option. First off all, this sum is included in your budget anyway, but also important: it is based on your success, which does mean you will have to pay less if the team fails to reach the season’s goals. As always, achieving something will generate more income for your team, so do not try to be miserly with bonuses. I never knew whether contracts have an influence or not, but I always tried to offer low wages, but high bonuses in contract talks.

Good bonuses do have an effect like a permanent media feedback at start of the season, I did not try to do the opposite, but most likely it has to result in a reversed effect. So, even if you are cash-strapped, give your guys the best bonuses. Morale and motivation will always pay off; a lack of it will cost you much more.

Fines

SI introduced a new feature to handle fines easier: there is a kind of hidden advisor system only allowing you to fine a player if something has occurred that justifies handing out a fine. Additionally you are restricted to the related kind of fine, which is certainly a very good improvement and can prevent many wrong choices or accidental fines, which can seriously harm your relationship to a player. To my own surprise I noticed this way that you can fine players for flirting with other clubs in public, but I yet do have to find out if this does make any sense in the long run. I hardly can imagine it does have a good effect in the long run, at least you should restrict the penalty to one week. I was even more surprised that this fine has been accepted as well.

There is a reason why you can fine players. It is amazing to read all the posts “player x got five red cards a season and is banned for most of my gamesâ€.Of course it is good to have some players with aggression in your squad, but you have to keep them at bay. Usually in every season you will reach a point where the big sending off starts, and if you don’t react, it will develop into a flood. If you react, it is over before it has begun. I simply follow this route:

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<LI>2 weeks fine for one red

<LI>2 weeks additional (after the player reacted) if it was violent behaviour

<LI>2 weeks for missing training

<LI>1 week if for yellow/red if I was too stupid to substitute or set down on easy tacking ;-)

<LI>1 week for a 5 performance of key players

<LI>2 weeks for a 4 performance of key players

You will notice that most professional players will accept their fines and try to improve in future. Occasionally and if you are lucky, you will receive a message from your assistant manager letting you know that your fine has led to a major improvement in your player’s attitude.

Last year I wrote some words of thanks for reading until here, this year I would like to add the same and the additional hint that you can read much more in the complete version of CPW 08, especially regarding additional squad factors which are equally important for team performance, but will work more indirectly. I hope this 'short' version was a helpful introduction to get started with man-management, squad management and interaction, even more so if it may have raised your interest in reading more.

Links

Complete version of CPW: Communication and psychological 'warfare' 08

Tactic Building Basics

Tactical Theorems and Frameworks '08 - TT&F

Tactical knowledge remains the core of the game and can only be completed (or ruined) by man-management. Our sister thread offers in-depth knowledge and maybe the most systematic approach available since many years.

Fundamental Football Manager - FFM

Rashidi's systematic approach offering many alternate, but also common solutions to TT&F

Squad Management links

Squad Management I

The first article of the complete Squad Management series of the FM-Britain Tactical Bible.

If you want to read more details, updates and post questions or feedbacks, please visit the Tactical Bible Forum.

Articles and threads on man-management

Extra-tactical Factors

A very good introduction into the importance of several aspects of man-management by Millie.

Team gelling and tactical consistency

Examples given based on my experience with rebuilding Zaragoza

Pre-match Comments - An experiment

Excellent detailed research by wugster on the effects of pre-match media interaction, especially helpful regarding different reactions of individual players.

Player Interactions and their effects

Using the media to manipulate morale, another in-depth experiment run by wugster.

Things what I have learned in Madrid

Practical guide on applying squad management during the difficult first months with a new club by Millie.

Credits

Special thanks to the members of FM-Britain, the staff, my tactical co-workers Millie and wwfan and last not least, the contributors of the Tactical Think Tank, especially crazy gra and again Millie for editing and proof-reading the long version.

Another fantastic article/thread from the guys at FM-B.

KUTGW

Saw and read this on FM-B the other TND. It is a great read. So helpful.

Thanks.

Despite being credited, I did next to nothing in terms of contribution to this. Didn't even realise this had been posted as it had slipped down the forum so quickly. I find it amazing that something of this quality is ignored whereas many less informed threads get a huge amount of attention and feedback.

Absolutely invaluable in terms of learning how to man-manage and media-manage and can be a massive help in terms of learning how to prepare for tricky games. Following the advice can help turn a lot of draws into wins and losses into draws.

THE REASON I AM WRITING THIS IN CAPS IS BECAUSE IT DESERVES CAPS.

Firstly, i would like to ask SI if they could make this a sticky as i think it is very knowledgeable to most of the forum readers, and secondly, i have tried and tested this and i am pretty good with all the comments made in all aspects of FM and i changed a few of them to what you have said and i can see it has improved for me this season. I am currently with Arsenal in 2025 and they are in the lower half of the premier league with very average players and are currently in receivership!! so it was a challenge for me......anyway, they have not beaten Tottenham in 7 years with 7 draws and 12 defeats and in my first season i beat them home/away in the league and in the FA cup semi finals and i put this down to the comment selection prior to the games involved and even the commentators were saying sometimes that the dangerman was having a terrible game, bad luck etc!!

So once again, thanks mate.....much appreciated.

Great post as usual

Pity it will get lost in among the less informative threads that abound in this forum

This should be a must for every serious FM player, especially those who complain about the game.

Added to the tactics bible

Excellent read, one of the best I've read over the last 2 years

Cheers for adding it, Cleon. Hopefully more people will read it now as I think it's an extremely underrated part of the game. I certainly haven't used it anywhere near enough in some games and it's definitely held me back.

A lot of people think their tactics aren't great and are struggling to get good performances and results, but without proper man-management any tactic will be less effective.

Excellent work by The next Diaby.

Pretty much sums up what I tend to do myself, but you've taken the time and effort to write such an excellent post for the benefit of everyone else.

I think there are alot of people playing FM who struggle a great deal with this side of the game. As you pointed out, it can have a great impact on games, aside from the tactics, that alot of people put their poor results down to.

Understanding the psychological aspect of FM, which is a superb addition to the FM series I might add, along with understanding tactical basics well, it's still possible to do well with virtually anu club in the game.

Thank you to those who found the topic 'on the attic' and brought it back to life. I was already wondering when it may enter the digital nirvana.

Thank you to Cleon for adding it to the recommended links, very much appreciated.

I agree that at least this 'short' version will not be much more than a reference for those who are already into the psychological aspects of the game, but the number of folks struggling with these aspects is really high. Both team and individual underperformances often come from a lack of good man-management, and I always have to remember a report on Akinfeev as worst signing of the season in 2007...the results really can be amazing, in both ways.

I am glad you found it helpful so far.

Been experimenting with some of these ideas recently. When I get it right it is instantly obvious. Narrowly beating L2 standard sides with my barely better than BSN/S side in a dramatic backs to the wall rearguard action, or seriously taking apart an equally inept side (in terms of player ability) at home seem much more likely to happen with a perfect media/man-management preparation.

Getting it right enough times will improve your final league position by quite a few places. Of that I'm 100% sure.

Have to agree learning how to handle team talks is one of the 3 pillars of success for FM2008. The other two being, choosing the right player and making the right tactic

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by wwfan:

Been experimenting with some of these ideas recently. When I get it right it is instantly obvious. Narrowly beating L2 standard sides with my barely better than BSN/S side in a dramatic backs to the wall rearguard action, or seriously taking apart an equally inept side (in terms of player ability) at home seem much more likely to happen with a perfect media/man-management preparation.

Getting it right enough times will improve your final league position by quite a few places. Of that I'm 100% sure. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just copied this so I can use as reference for my game and it has helped me prevent morale from spiraling down despite consecutive losses to stronger teams. KUPTGW!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tontonj:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by wwfan:

Been experimenting with some of these ideas recently. When I get it right it is instantly obvious. Narrowly beating L2 standard sides with my barely better than BSN/S side in a dramatic backs to the wall rearguard action, or seriously taking apart an equally inept side (in terms of player ability) at home seem much more likely to happen with a perfect media/man-management preparation.

Getting it right enough times will improve your final league position by quite a few places. Of that I'm 100% sure. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just copied this so I can use as reference for my game and it has helped me prevent morale from spiraling down despite consecutive losses to stronger teams. KUPTGW! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is the most important part of bouncing back from a string of bad results and often overlooked if things go wrong. A mixture of well -time criticism, praise and playing down media interaction in those critical stages will help to see your team coming back much faster if things start to go wrong.

bump

This thread has been very helpful. I agree that people underestimate the important of team talks. They can be at times crucial to your success.

This thread has been very helpful. I agree that people underestimate the important of team talks. They can be at times crucial to your success.

It's "The next Diaby's" One year anniversery today

Has ol' TnD only been registered at SIG for a year? Surprises me, that.

Communication just got me out of a very sticky patch in Slovenia. All my players were very low, but with a bit of perseverence I managed to keep morale high enough to avoid relegation.

Brilliantpost, very helpfull and informative.

Does it work in real life ;-)

Might send it to Rafa Benitez, he needs some ruddy help

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DB1:

Brilliantpost, very helpfull and informative.

Does it work in real life ;-)

Might send it to Rafa Benitez, he needs some ruddy help </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think it does work in real life, also it does fail. It is the only logical reason behind some miserable results that many managers produce despite having the best tactical and coaching reputation.

I read all parts on fmbritain and really thought it was very helpful BUT... I had hoped to read a bit more about relationships with AI-managers and the effect of feuds/friendships with them on your and his players... For instance, I once got a feeder club, because I was friends with the manager (which I thought was cool), but when I get praise, I often just reply positive with the risk that my players think I shouldn't kiss up to the opponent or something. Anybody any good tips on this?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WillemII@Tilburg:

I read all parts on fmbritain and really thought it was very helpful BUT... I had hoped to read a bit more about relationships with AI-managers and the effect of feuds/friendships with them on your and his players... For instance, I once got a feeder club, because I was friends with the manager (which I thought was cool), but when I get praise, I often just reply positive with the risk that my players think I shouldn't kiss up to the opponent or something. Anybody any good tips on this? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry, some comments told me even the compact version was too long, and if you have a look at the number of chapters of the full version, it was next to impossible to cover everything in detail despite the massive length, so it still rather is an introduction...

Only some players will react negative, other will react favourable, so it should be a matter of importance. If you are a small club and urgently need to loan players or know you would certainly like to buy players from this club, it is always worth the effort and you should ignore your player reactions, best you do this in pre-season and when there are no important matches ahead. The friendship often will help you to arrange better deals, both for loan and transfer.

If it is not urgent, you can do this depending on your favour and team progress. If you are anyway on the top and want to praise an opponent you like for a good game, do it at times and the price will not be too high.

On the other hand, it always can be entertaining and helpful to praise the next opponent of your hardest rival, no matter if in the title race or relegation battle.

Feuds are less productive, but certain kind of players also will enjoy this. You could of course look to find many players of a similar kind, but I think professionalism (especially important) and sportsmanship have to be rather low, so this may not be the squad you would want to have in the long run.

Hope this helps a little bit.

Yup! Much appreciated!

Tactical Theorems and Frameworks based tactics will not work as well as intended without this guide as a companion. It is on page four of the forum!

This is absolutely vital in terms of getting the best possible performance out of your squad, week in, week out.

I couldn't agree more, wwfan!

This approach has paid dividends for me over several seasons with various teams.

Those using the system will know that you after a while get to know your squad and players, and with some trying and failing will get things right eventually.

However it may seem difficult for many to find the correct degree of praise or criticism, which may actually worsen morale and performances, so I've tried to find some sort of pattern, based on my current game (Liverpool).

First of all, there are some basic points worth mentioning.

- International form doesn't seem to influence on this part of the game whatsoever. Also, the form shown on the profile page is the form for club, not club and country (which I seem to remember was the case in some earlier games)

- However tempting it may to be to praise your striker for consecutive hat tricks and 2 ratings of 9 in the last two games, be aware: the last 5 games all count as much (even if for instance two of them were played before a 3 week injury). In essence: a 6-6-6-9-9 sequence is exactly the same as a 8-7-7-7-7

- The immediate effect of finding the correct degree of praise/criticism is a substantial rise of morale (if lower than superb), and a "PR" on the player where he hopes to play better"keep up the form.

- Of course, the effect of getting it wrong, will be a drop in morale (normally 2 points, for inst. from Superb to Good) and a "PR" with an unwanted reaction

- After getting it right a couple of times (particularly criticism), the player will have you as a favorite person, which (according to the game anyway) makes it more probable that he carries out your tactical instructions, in addition to other benefits

- A player will have to have played 5 games in the season before you can use this option for the first time.

- The game doesn't seem to care at all if a rating is on the basis of a full game or a 1 minute sub at the end of a game

- After praising/criticizing a player, you will not have the option to comment on him again for a few matches (the ratio of which I haven't been able to work out. It seems to vary from player to player, for inst. I haven't been able to comment on my keeper (Reina) for more than a year. It might have something to do with the total amount of press releases for the individual player, seeing as he played all the time, and got comments on every opportunity for the first couple of seasons)

As for what determines the players reactions, it seems to me to be a combination of at least the following:

- Determination attribute. The higher the attribute, generally they want less praise and more criticism.

- Player personality. My squad is very determined, so I haven't been able to study a vast amount of personalities (I will, in time), but my general impression is as follows:

* Driven or leader personalities (in comb. with high determination) wants you to be REALLY though on them (Gerrard type)

* Determined, resolute, resilient, model professional and ambitious players generally needs a tough regime

* Fairly determined, fairly professional and fairly ambitious players need more kind words

* Balanced players (with a lower determination, possibly around 12-13) require an even softer regime

- Age. Go softer on very young players

- to a certain degree squad status. Key players require harsher treatment

Now, as said earlier, it's the average of the last 5 games that matter. To make it easier (for me, anyway), I will from here on refer to a 7-7-7-7-7 sequence as "35" (the sum), a 7-7-7-8-8 as "37" and so on.

The trick for every single player is to find out where a shift in praise should occur, from there on you will mostly be able to find the right degree of praise.

Probably 80-90 % of all your media activity will be either "below par", "acceptable", or "pleased".

The trick is to find the range of "acceptable" for each player. This range is normally 2 or 3 points.

A key reference is often 35 or 36. This will be the lowest point of "acceptable" for most players.

A determined, resolute, resilient, model professional or fairly determined player with a 15+ determination attribute will require 36 to get an "acceptable". 35 should be "below par".

Similarly, a fairly ambitious or fairly professional player with 12-15 determination will need 35 for "acceptable", 34 for "below par".

After finding the "split point" between "below par" and "acceptable", the rest is easier. If your lowest point of "acceptable is 36, often 38 would equal "pleased". The exception seems to be it the player is Resolute with a 16+ determination, or a really, really key player. Then 39 will be required for "pleased".

Similarly 34 will be "below par", while 33 should be "disappointed".

Here are some examples of player types in my game, and their lowest form for "acceptable" rating

- 22 y.o., balanced, determination 12 : 34

- 22 y.o., fairly ambitious, determination 12 : 35

- 18 y.o., fairly professional, determination 14 : 34

- 23 y.o., fairly professional, determination 14 : 34

- 24 y.o., fairly determined, determination 15 : 35

- 22 y.o., resolute, determination 16 : 36

- 26 y.o., determined, determination 18 : 36

Let me give you some examples of the subtle differences in how I treat the players:

- 3 of my full backs (Insua, Bale and Dani Alves) all play practically the same number of games and generally do well. They are all "determined", with a determination attribute of 18.

The lowest point for "acceptable" is 36 for all three of them. However, Insua and Bale are wonder-kids, while Alves is an older, established top player. Therefore, when Insua and Bale are rated 38, I give them a "pleased", while Alves still only get "acceptable" ("pleased" on 39).

Similarly, Torres is in the same mold ("determined", determination 18), but he's of the very best (with Gerrard) and needs a 37 for "acceptable" and a 40 for "pleased".

- 2 of my best wingers (Babel/Menez) are in the same situation, playing the same number of games, being the same age and doing well. However, while Babel is "Fairly determined", with 15 determination, Menez is "Fairly ambitious" with 12 determination. Therefore, if they are both rated 35, Babel will get "below par" and Menez will get "acceptable".

- 2 of my midfielders are both "Fairly professional" with a 14 determination. One is however 19 and the other 24. So with a 34 rating for both, the younger will get "acceptable" while the older gets "below par"

- 2 of my central defenders and a winger are all "Resolute". All require a 36 rating for "acceptable". But one of the defenders has 15 determination, the other two have 16. This means (or maybe it means, who knows really...) that with a 38 rating, those two still get "acceptable", while the first defender gets "pleased".

To summarize (It's getting late, and I'm tired..): the whole media circus is quite complex, but used in accordance with The next Diaby's brilliant advice, you can reap great benefits.

I believe I'm on to something on the matter of how to decide the proper action for each player, but I need a larger statistical base to state anything for certain.

My best advice would anyway be to make a note (in FM) for every player each time you praise/criticize him, and edit in the form on which you based it on. Then you will soon see where the "split lines" go for each player.

I may have missed it, but what about debut player comments?

Hey, I am about halfway through my first season in FM2008. I have rarely used the Pre-match Media interaction, usually opting for the 'no comment' option. However, just recently (over the last two months of game time), I have decided to use the feature to see if it improves performance. However, I am getting absolutely no PRs whatsoever. I have tried various different options, i.e. I am not choosing the same one each time. I was wondering, do I have a problem here?

In general, most of the other media interaction seems to work ok. When I praise or criticise one of my players, there is usually a reaction, however sometimes I have noticed that it takes a few days to register with the player.

I have a few loan players at my current club, and on old versions of FM I used to try and tempt loan players into signing for the the club by regularly praising them in the media. However, no matter what I say about my current loanees, there seems to be no reaction whatsoever. 'I am in awe of his abilities', 'I will do my utmost to sign him' etc. - I get nothing. Again, I have varied the choices. This appears to be another problem for me at the moment.

What I want to know is, should I be worried? Is it just a case of not having the sort of players who are prone to reacting (my squad is largely determined)? Could it be down to the fact that my current squad is very high on morale, i.e. very good or superb across the board, thanks to a great run of form. Or, are the player reactions (PRs) toned down in this version of FM? Incidentally, I am running with the latest patch.

Any ideas about this?

C.

Wow!! I have read the complete version of CPW, and I am really really impressed!

What a magnificent piece of work! My compliments to everyone who has worked on this. Amazing!

Right, as you can see I am really glad with this. But I have some questions of my own, here goes:

1 What is the best way to set up the pre-season friendlies?

I always play 2 tours, to start with a tour in a country like China or Australia, where you can expect a win and score plenty of goals. I play 4 matches, one match every 2 days (so that's one day of rest between every match..)

My second tour is in a country like Argentina, Mexico or Brasil, with stronger opposition. My point of view in this is that my team can get used to different kind of weather conditions and to play against weaker teams in first tour and stronger teams in second tour. In the second tour, I also play 4 matches, one match every 3 days (so that's 2 days of rest between every match)

But I read in one of the related articles, a little piece from Abramovic, that it is wise to begin with more difficult opponents and to end with easy opponents, to gain morale and confidence for the strikers because they will score lots of goals. What's your view on this subject??

2 If I select Man Utd as my favourite team, and I am playing Arsenal, in what way does this effect the board and my squad? And is this different when you have a favorite team that isn't a rival of your current team? Does it truly help me to be signed as manager of the team which I selected as my favorite?

3 In what way does it effect my squad or succeeding in buying players when you have a second nationality?

4 What factors determine to getting asked to manage another team? I know that when you resign or get fired, you can apply to teams, but I mean when you are manager when do you get asked by a better team, or another big team?

Sorry, lots of questions, but would really like to see them get answered. I would really appreciate it if you could find the time, many thanks in advance and once again a big thanks for this amazing thread!

Cheers

Sorry, just want to put this thread a bit back on top..

Would love to get some answers.

Sorry, just want to put this thread a bit back on top..

Would love to get some answers.

Anyone please??

Sorry CristianoSatinellio, I have no clue (you probably think someone answered your questions because someone wrote in the thread).

I have a question.

When you are doing Psychological Warfare and you do it good (i.e. the AI players become unhappy) a couple of days before the match, is it recomended to add insult to injury with the "Comment on dangerman"-thingy? Or does it backfire and he "wants to prove me wrong" instead of being worried about the match.

I mean can you totaly kill his confidence so he considers early retirement?

Very nice article.

Still very useful

Wow!! I have read the complete version of CPW, and I am really really impressed!

What a magnificent piece of work! My compliments to everyone who has worked on this. Amazing!

Right, as you can see I am really glad with this. But I have some questions of my own, here goes:

1 What is the best way to set up the pre-season friendlies?

I always play 2 tours, to start with a tour in a country like China or Australia, where you can expect a win and score plenty of goals. I play 4 matches, one match every 2 days (so that's one day of rest between every match..)

My second tour is in a country like Argentina, Mexico or Brasil, with stronger opposition. My point of view in this is that my team can get used to different kind of weather conditions and to play against weaker teams in first tour and stronger teams in second tour. In the second tour, I also play 4 matches, one match every 3 days (so that's 2 days of rest between every match)

But I read in one of the related articles, a little piece from Abramovic, that it is wise to begin with more difficult opponents and to end with easy opponents, to gain morale and confidence for the strikers because they will score lots of goals. What's your view on this subject??

2 If I select Man Utd as my favourite team, and I am playing Arsenal, in what way does this effect the board and my squad? And is this different when you have a favorite team that isn't a rival of your current team? Does it truly help me to be signed as manager of the team which I selected as my favorite?

3 In what way does it effect my squad or succeeding in buying players when you have a second nationality?

4 What factors determine to getting asked to manage another team? I know that when you resign or get fired, you can apply to teams, but I mean when you are manager when do you get asked by a better team, or another big team?

Sorry, lots of questions, but would really like to see them get answered. I would really appreciate it if you could find the time, many thanks in advance and once again a big thanks for this amazing thread!

Cheers

1. I doubt your players 'get used to different weather', but it might be useful to you as a manager to observe your team and tactics under different conditions. I set up friendlies to end on a high note. Morale is still very important. Playing lots of friendlies should help team cohesion, but I don't have evidence either way. To some extent friendlies are discounted by parts of the engine. For instance, your reputation is less affected by friendlies than by league games.

Tours are great for merchandising and scouting. Also, the fact that they are all 'away' games should see a higher morale boost for wins. No evidence on that though, and not sure the game figures away games differently than home games except for advantages given to teams.

I play a bunch of cups against the best teams I can get to come to my stadium, for the $$$. For example, last summer I arranged 6 or 7 cups and raked in 5.5 million Euros in July. That is 4x my yearly income! An exploit, but fun. In the last 10 days I schedule 2-4 friendlies against weak local opposition and rotate my squad to give everyone a win and hopefully an 8+ rating. Works fine for me.

2. No idea, good question

3. I believe your nationality does affect how your players relate to you, but I have no proof on this. Only a hunch.

4. In my experience your being asked to manage elsewhere has to do with this: Your manager reputation vs. your current club, plus your team's recent form: If you're over-performing in the league you seem to get noticed a bit more. I'm sure other players have a better understanding of this. Its been awhile since I've been offered a job as I now tend to play much lower teams.

1) You can set up friendly against under 18s at end of pre season.

2) Only select favorite team of club to manage.

3) I usually praise a potential transfer target player every 6 months this can help persuade a player to join. Never tried nationality but guess would also help.

4) Rejecting an approach goes down well with Players and can help morale and team performance - So positivley reject unless you are interested in moving on.

I usually find interest even at BSP North level and get offers in League 2 after promotion from BSP from the Top Clubs.

I'm surprised to find out that I have been doing almost everything the OP has said already, the only difference really being my fines but now I have seen this I guess I may be able to get a better relationship with my players!

Massive thanks to the OP for this!

Brill tread has helped me big time with troubled team