Match Preperation

[Morphiushell]

Just wanted to know if you are at a loss if you decide to leave your assistant manager in charge of match preperation or should I do it myself ?

[oobro]

No, I play everything myself, because in my experience, there are always ways to win. I have beaten teams against (massive) odds. It is just about small things sometimes.

E.g. I had to play a team wich played two divisions above my team. The match started aweful, I was down to 0-1 in 10 minutes (already had 4 shots on target). I noticed my midfielders where playing terrible, especially their long passes. So I switched to short, pulled one midfielder out for a more controlling midfielder, and I managed to win the match with 2-1 (6-10 shots though)

[Marsupian]

Match preparation is not that difficult. There are two parts to match preparation. The first part is learning the tactics you use (you can select 3 different tactics for your squad to learn). The second part is the match focus area. These two are completely separated from each other. The things you can influence in match preperation training are what tactics your squad is learning, what match focus area your squad is training on for next match and the overall workload.

Choosing tactics is pretty straight forward, if you only use one tactic only select that one and if you choose more include the others as well. (If often change your strategy during a match it is helpful to include the tactic using the other strategies in the match preparation but this is not necessary).

Choosing the match focus area is a bit more involved. The match focus area will either give your squad a bonus in attributes related to the focus area which only works for the next match (I believe I read somewhere that attacking movement will increase all your players off the ball a little while defensive positioning will do the same with positioning, the set piece areas will do the same but works during set pieces instead of open play). The team blend option will improve squad gelling and is the only option that will give your squad a lasting benefit (I always use it during the off season friendlies and for really easy fixtures or matches that are not important). Choosing "none" will mean you don't receive any bonus for next match and instead all the workload put into match preparation will go towards learning the tactics you have selected.

I usually use attacking movement for matches I expect to win against opponents who will likely take a defensive approach against me. I use attacking set pieces when I'm against a tougher opponent that is really strong defensively in the hope I can get a set piece goal and stay defensive for the rest of the match. Against slightly tougher or equal opponents who will likely play more offensive I usually use defensive positioning to get tighter at the back confident that I can score a goal or two against them. I use defensive set pieces against slightly weaker opponents with a strong defense to make sure I don't concede set piece goals and risk a loss or draw.

Balancing the workload is largely personal preference. A higher workload means a higher match bonus which means better results and your team will learn your tactics faster but at the cost of normal training. A low workload means less bonus and they will learn your tactics slower but they will spend more time on their individual training which helps them get better in the long term.