Quickfire Questions and Answers Thread (Tactic and Training Questions Only)

[Uncle_Sam]

Just now, HUNT3R said:

Take a look at your first screenshot. There's a column marked OI. The green is for personalised (specific player) OIs and if you switch it by selecting the one next to it (it'll turn blue) it is by position.

I see, thank you sir. Apologies for the stupid question, but I guess that's why this thread is here.

[HUNT3R]

Just now, Uncle_Sam said:

I see, thank you sir. Apologies for the stupid question, but I guess that's why this thread is here.

No worries. That's what the thread is for. And now you have the answer too, without scratching your head too much.

[Pablo Sanchez]

Hey guys need some help.

 

Playing a shadow striker and a deep lying forward on support. they link up well but on goal kicks from op they basically stand side by side. is there anyway to make them spread out or is that just what happens?

[Blindblom]

7 hours ago, Pablo Sanchez said:

Hey guys need some help.

 

Playing a shadow striker and a deep lying forward on support. they link up well but on goal kicks from op they basically stand side by side. is there anyway to make them spread out or is that just what happens?

One solution could be to have them man-marking one player each, that should fix that but could cause other problems in open play as they will be trying to stay close to those players all the time.

[Thyra13]

I have a stupid question regarding roles and positioning.

I'm playing a game as Arsenal and I'm trying to build out an asymmetrical 433.  Essentially i'm pulling your standard AMR to MR so I can move the MCR to AMCR in order to use ozil as a Ta.  where i get confused is as follows.  at AMR, i had the player in a support role - either Ws or IFs (had IFa on other flank) - I did not want too many attacking players - too many runners, no one linking and creating.  But now that I pulled the player back positionally,  could I give him an attacking role (Wa or WMa) to get him to push forward and support the attack?

where i get confused is this: does get further forward from attacking role push him forward from his initial spot or does it always have them run and attack the box? would a Wa from MR get more forward then a Ws from AMR?  does the starting positioning make a difference, can I have more attacking roles if my players are starting deeper? 

 

A second question i had was PPM and roles - in the same example, ozil has the "comes deep to get ball" ppm - would this mean that if i want him causing havoc in the final 3rd, i should/could give him a more aggressive role because he naturally drops deeper? ie ozil as AMa would not get as isolated or as forward as a standard AMa, or would link up as an AMs without the ppm?  same can be said for "tries to beat offside trap" could i give that person a lower mentality role to compensate for him running forward due to PPM? 

 

Thanks!!

[jorisjoris]

I just bought FM2018 and haven't played since FM2016. On some screenshots on these forums, I see lines drawn between players. Like a link-up on the tactical analysis screen. What do these lines mean? I exclusively play FM Touch. Are those lines exclusive to the full version of FM?

Edited July 16, 2018 by jorisjoris

[Hovis Dexter]

 

1 hour ago, jorisjoris said:

I just bought FM2018 and haven't played since FM2016. On some screenshots on these forums, I see lines drawn between players. Like a link-up on the tactical analysis screen. What do these lines mean? I exclusively play FM Touch. Are those lines exclusive to the full version of FM?

Bright green lines indicate that the players have a strong on pitch relationship and play well together. Yellow or orange lines mean that a relationship is developing. The lines grow over time as the players relationships develop. In my experience it links defenders, attackers, midfielders and wide players into four separate groupings. When you hover over the lines you are given more specific information. I am almost certain that this is not only on the full fat version but also applies to FM Touch.

Edited July 16, 2018 by Hovis Dexter

[RedNomad]

What's the difference between a DLP(D) in the midfield strata compared to one playing in the DM strata? I'm playing with a midfield three, and I've heard previously that playing with the holding mid in the midfield strata (and no-one in the DM strata) pushes the LCM and RCM further apart and makes the space between midfield and defense more compact? Is this true? And would a holding midfielder playing in the DM strata drop deeper in both possession and in defense?

[herne79]

2 hours ago, jorisjoris said:

I just bought FM2018 and haven't played since FM2016. On some screenshots on these forums, I see lines drawn between players. Like a link-up on the tactical analysis screen. What do these lines mean? I exclusively play FM Touch. Are those lines exclusive to the full version of FM?

 

1 hour ago, Hovis Dexter said:

 

Bright green lines indicate that the players have a strong on pitch relationship and play well together. Yellow or orange lines mean that a relationship is developing. The lines grow over time as the players relationships develop. In my experience it links defenders, attackers, midfielders and wide players into four separate groupings. When you hover over the lines you are given more specific information. I am almost certain that this is not only on the full fat version but also applies to FM Touch.

Kind of, the issue is that the game doesn't tell us why the players play well together or not as the case may be.  It just says they (don't) play well together and players x & y are (not) well suited to their roles.  There are also many positions which don't ever get linked together (good or bad) regardless of how well your team are playing.  I could show you a screen shot of where my central defenders have a red line between them and no line at all to my striker from any other player, yet we're top of the league with a solid defence and scoring for fun.  It's potentially a useful feature but needs work if it's going to become useable.

9 minutes ago, RedNomad said:

What's the difference between a DLP(D) in the midfield strata compared to one playing in the DM strata? I'm playing with a midfield three, and I've heard previously that playing with the holding mid in the midfield strata (and no-one in the DM strata) pushes the LCM and RCM further apart and makes the space between midfield and defense more compact? Is this true? And would a holding midfielder playing in the DM strata drop deeper in both possession and in defense?

The difference is basically his position on the pitch - he'll be deeper in the DMC position, both in possession and when defending.  In a midfield 3 the LCM and RCM will sit slightly wider and whilst there would also be a slightly higher def line if there is nobody at DMC, that still gives you a gap between midfield and defence to manage (which is quite feasible of course).

[jorisjoris]

24 minutes ago, herne79 said:

 

Kind of, the issue is that the game doesn't tell us why the players play well together or not as the case may be.  It just says they (don't) play well together and players x & y are (not) well suited to their roles.  There are also many positions which don't ever get linked together (good or bad) regardless of how well your team are playing.  I could show you a screen shot of where my central defenders have a red line between them and no line at all to my striker from any other player, yet we're top of the league with a solid defence and scoring for fun.  It's potentially a useful feature but needs work if it's going to become useable.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I've been playing 3 seasons with (almost) the same squad in the FM 2018 Touch version on PC. I haven't seen a line of whichever color yet. However, I do have a lot of players that show "likes to play with [player]" in their information screen. I don't know the exact text since I don't have access to the game at the moment. Shouldn't this relationship translate to a (positive) line on the tactic screen? On the top of my head, I know that my DL and AML like to play together.

Edited July 16, 2018 by jorisjoris

[RedNomad]

Cheers herne. Another question, sorry - how wide do mezzalas drift? Do they push out to the half-space, or all the way to where a winger would operate? I'm trying to figure out whether to partner one with a IF or a winger. 

[Hovis Dexter]

2 hours ago, herne79 said:

 

Kind of, the issue is that the game doesn't tell us why the players play well together or not as the case may be.  It just says they (don't) play well together and players x & y are (not) well suited to their roles.  There are also many positions which don't ever get linked together (good or bad) regardless of how well your team are playing.  I could show you a screen shot of where my central defenders have a red line between them and no line at all to my striker from any other player, yet we're top of the league with a solid defence and scoring for fun.  It's potentially a useful feature but needs work if it's going to become useable.

Agree that it would be really good if the game told us why players play well, or not, together but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for this. I don't think that there is anything in the game that tells us why something is working or not working.

[Elitee]

How would you describe Modric's role? 

[Zaku]

Does the idea of using a Carrilero to cover for an IF(A) rather than a FB(A), make sense, or am I misinterpreting the role?  My idea behind it is to keep my back four (mostly) in line as much as possible.

[zlatanera]

One of my players has been unhappy for 65 days over a fear of being replaced, despite the fact that the transfer target that worried him (Walter Gonzalez) priced me out in the contract negotiations, I removed him as a transfer target (and from my shortlist), he moved to Corinthians and I've not signed any other strikers. Furthermore, captain-doesn't-want-to-fight-for-his-place Rodrigo Mora has only missed 3 of 10 games, starting the other 7, since his unhappiness began. I've had 5 Team Leaders talk to him (a few guys spoke to him then lost their position as TL so their replacements also had a go) yet he's still unhappy. Suggestions on how to fix it? 

[Snorks]

12 minutes ago, zlatanera said:

One of my players has been unhappy for 65 days over a fear of being replaced, despite the fact that the transfer target that worried him (Walter Gonzalez) priced me out in the contract negotiations, I removed him as a transfer target (and from my shortlist), he moved to Corinthians and I've not signed any other strikers. Furthermore, captain-doesn't-want-to-fight-for-his-place Rodrigo Mora has only missed 3 of 10 games, starting the other 7, since his unhappiness began. I've had 5 Team Leaders talk to him (a few guys spoke to him then lost their position as TL so their replacements also had a go) yet he's still unhappy. Suggestions on how to fix it? 

Am guessing time or a new contract.

The fact that you were looking at another player in his position has unsettled him, just because that player didn't come through doesn't mean you aren't still looking to replace him. 

I'm guessing the quick-fix would be a new contract, otherwise, praise him (praise conduct could work) talk him up in the press, tell him he is training well etc. and play him regularly.

[warlock]

1 minute ago, Snorks said:

The fact that you were looking at another player in his position has unsettled him, just because that player didn't come through doesn't mean you aren't still looking to replace him. 

I'm guessing the quick-fix would be a new contract, otherwise, praise him (praise conduct could work) talk him up in the press, tell him he is training well etc. and play him regularly.

Or just ignore it, keep playing him, and he'll get over it in a month or so.

[zlatanera]

33 minutes ago, Snorks said:

Am guessing time or a new contract.

The fact that you were looking at another player in his position has unsettled him, just because that player didn't come through doesn't mean you aren't still looking to replace him. 

I'm guessing the quick-fix would be a new contract, otherwise, praise him (praise conduct could work) talk him up in the press, tell him he is training well etc. and play him regularly.

 

31 minutes ago, warlock said:

Or just ignore it, keep playing him, and he'll get over it in a month or so.

Thanks for the quick responses guys!

He's 32 and contract for two more years after this one - a top earner too - so no new contract, press haven't asked about him, I refuse to praise conduct of anyone who complains (but I do dole it out en masse when we're in a poor run - everyone who hasn't complained to me gets an instant morale boost which helps pull us out of a slump 9/10 times), and am already playing regularly. So I guess the training level suggestion is my best bet, followed by just ignoring him. Weirdly this is the first time I've ever failed to talk someone out of making this specific complaint in the first conversation.

[Viking]

How do I defend against this tactic? Every single team uses this against my 4-4-2, and I am helpless against it. Apparently I get "seriously overun in the midfield", which baffels me as they have no players at central midfield at all, as far as I can see. I am useless at tactics, so explain like I was a two year old ferret.

 

[jorisjoris]

1 hour ago, Viking said:

How do I defend against this tactic? Every single team uses this against my 4-4-2, and I am helpless against it. Apparently I get "seriously overun in the midfield", which baffels me as they have no players at central midfield at all, as far as I can see. I am useless at tactics, so explain like I was a two year old ferret.

Hard to say without actually watching the behaviour of your players. However, the following might be the problem with midfield.

Your DL and DR probably mark their AML and AMR. Your ML and MR probably mark their DL and DR. Your DC's probably mark only their ST. DC's tend to stay in line, giving their AM room to move between lines.

That leaves their two DM's + AM for your two MC's. That's a 3 vs 2 in midfield.

One solution is to have your DC mark their AM. Through a player instruction or through high defensive line + closing down. However, this might cause your DC's to be drawn out of position, leaving you 1v1 at the back.  Another solution is to drop one ST to AM, offering help in midfield.

I don't often talk to two year old ferrets, so hopefully this makes sense.

[HUNT3R]

3 hours ago, Viking said:

How do I defend against this tactic? Every single team uses this against my 4-4-2, and I am helpless against it. Apparently I get "seriously overun in the midfield", which baffels me as they have no players at central midfield at all, as far as I can see. I am useless at tactics, so explain like I was a two year old ferret.

 

This isn't a quick-fire question and answer, so it'll be better to just create a thread with everything in it. Will help to see your system too.

[Fritz13]

Learning a new position - does simply playing the player in the new position enable them to be competent?

Or do they need retraining in the new position as well?

[Snorks]

9 hours ago, HUNT3R said:

This isn't a quick-fire question and answer, so it'll be better to just create a thread with everything in it. Will help to see your system too.

Yepp, much more information is needed for a proper analysis. As a stop-gap kinda generalization, one thing immediately comes to mind for me is that they are playing in between your lines. three players in the AM strata exploits the space between your defence and midfield, and two in the DM strata blocks anything between your midfield and strikers. 

I would look at trying to get a bit more control in those areas, either with Roles/Duries to pull a MC back into that space defensively, or tweak the formation a bit - a 4-1-4-1 might help.

[RedNomad]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this, but I've noticed that poaching other clubs' youth intake prospects is a lot harder this year (the players tend to not enter contract negotiations). Are there any strategies for signing them? I'm playing as Ajax, so I usually don't, but there's a newgen with 3.5* CA at 15 years old...

Edited July 19, 2018 by RedNomad

[Fritz13]

What is the difference between increasing the overall team training intensity versus increasing all of the individual player training intensities?

[zlatanera]

7 hours ago, RedNomad said:

I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this, but I've noticed that poaching other clubs' youth intake prospects is a lot harder this year (the players tend to not enter contract negotiations). Are there any strategies for signing them? I'm playing as Ajax, so I usually don't, but there's a newgen with 3.5* CA at 15 years old...

Wait 3 months, usually makes them more willing to switch clubs. But they may sign a pre-contract / turn pro, so start unsettling them after one. 

3 hours ago, Fritz13 said:

What is the difference between increasing the overall team training intensity versus increasing all of the individual player training intensities?

I don't 100% know but my logic says this: If you increase the overall intensity it affects everyone, including players who share facilities i.e. your u20s / reserves may share with your first team, this will affect them as well. If you increase individual intensities you have more options, i.e. lowering intensity for an injury prone / low natural fitness player or one who constantly complains about their training. Personally I always go for the former as the latter is a level of micro-managing too far for me but its up to you.

[Fritz13]

17 minutes ago, zlatanera said:

I don't 100% know but my logic says this: If you increase the overall intensity it affects everyone, including players who share facilities i.e. your u20s / reserves may share with your first team, this will affect them as well. If you increase individual intensities you have more options, i.e. lowering intensity for an injury prone / low natural fitness player or one who constantly complains about their training. Personally I always go for the former as the latter is a level of micro-managing too far for me but its up to you.

Cheers 

Edited July 19, 2018 by Fritz13

[Park]

I asked this before but was hoping I could get more detail... Is creative freedom still partly defined by player role? For example, does a Trequartista still have more creative freedom than an Attacking Midfielder? And does a player's duty affect their creative freedom (e.g. if you changed an AM's duty from Support to Attack, would that player get a bump in creative freedom)?

I'm referring to 'creative freedom' as it was in the days of the sliders. I assume it's still there in some guise as we have the 'more expressive' & 'more disciplined' team instructions.

@Cleon, @herne79 and others? (Hope you don't mind the tags.)

Thanks!

[Ali2112]

Hi. I'm using christmas tree formation midfield looks like this

CM (D) Regista BMW(D) 

how can i encourage my BWM and CM to defend wide areas more.. Cause i noticed they don't defend wide areas at all and all 3 of them sit very close to each other.. I used play wider in TI but didn't help.. 

Any suggestions? Thank you and sorry for bad English. 

[zlatanera]

1 hour ago, Ali2112 said:

Hi. I'm using christmas tree formation midfield looks like this

CM (D) Regista BMW(D) 

how can i encourage my BWM and CM to defend wide areas more.. Cause i noticed they don't defend wide areas at all and all 3 of them sit very close to each other.. I used play wider in TI but didn't help.. 

Any suggestions? Thank you and sorry for bad English. 

You could try telling them to mark wide players...but that may leave you overpowered in the centre. Or, presuming you're on FM18, play Carrileros instead as they are hardcoded to defend the wide areas. 

[Uncle_Sam]

OK. I've looked around and this is the best I could fine on what the "Retain Possession" team instruction actually does:

"What Does Retain Possession Do?

Retain Possession reduces tempo, shortens passing length for all players and reduces risky passes (formerly known as through balls)."

 But that is two years old now. As best I can tell, the only thing that Retain Possession actually does is to reduce passing length. My question is, does it have some function that is "hard-coded" and therefore not visible in tactics creator?

 

[warlock]

13 minutes ago, Uncle_Sam said:

As best I can tell, the only thing that Retain Possession actually does is to reduce passing length. My question is, does it have some function that is "hard-coded" and therefore not visible in tactics creator?

Just tried it my TC and it lowered both passing length and tempo. No way to tell about risky passes without playing several games, but it looks like the description you quoted is still accurate.

[herne79]

22 minutes ago, Uncle_Sam said:

OK. I've looked around and this is the best I could fine on what the "Retain Possession" team instruction actually does:

"What Does Retain Possession Do?

Retain Possession reduces tempo, shortens passing length for all players and reduces risky passes (formerly known as through balls)."

 But that is two years old now. As best I can tell, the only thing that Retain Possession actually does is to reduce passing length. My question is, does it have some function that is "hard-coded" and therefore not visible in tactics creator?

 

 

8 minutes ago, warlock said:

Just tried it my TC and it lowered both passing length and tempo. No way to tell about risky passes without playing several games, but it looks like the description you quoted is still accurate.

Yup, still accurate and still listed in the FAQs pinned in the "Please Read" thread at the top of the forum .

Until recently we believed Retain Possession had changed to only shorten passing length and reduce risky passes without touching tempo, but SI confirmed Tempo is now impacted as well.  Exactly when that changed again we don't know, but that's the latest information we have from SI.

[Uncle_Sam]

Well in my TC I ticked Retain Possession and Tempo didn't move. I tried it with every mentality and every team shape. I'm not saying it isn't affected, it's just not moving the bar in my game.

[Uncle_Sam]

OK, but I created a tactic from scratch and it DID lower the tempo. So... what gives? When does it stop affecting tempo?

[summatsupeer]

@Uncle_Sam its a UI bug, theres a few like that.

[Uncle_Sam]

38 minutes ago, summatsupeer said:

@Uncle_Sam its a UI bug, theres a few like that.

I see. Annoying, but what can you do. Thanks for the help.

[wixxi]

Are the training and development posts from fm14/15 still relevant for fm18?

[summatsupeer]

16 minutes ago, wixxi said:

Are the training and development posts from fm14/15 still relevant for fm18?

You might want to link them so we know what your specifically looking at.

[isignedupfornorealreason]

Here's one related to development (training);

 

As we know, a player needs match experience around 18 years of age on. 

In the coach report it'll say what level he's at; "Championship level" etc.

How do we work out what is the equivalent level for foreign leagues?

Example:

I have a loan offer from Portugal Premier League. Is that equivalent with the Championship, or the English Premier League? Stuff like that. Is using reputation of the league a good guide?

[Hovis Dexter]

I would go to World>>World>>Rankings>>Leagues and compare the reputational star ratings of the leagues. In my game the English Premier league has a reputation of four stars and is described as excellent. The Primeira Liga in Portugal is three and a half stars and impressive whereas the Championship is three stars and good. So the Primeira Liga is somewhere between the two English leagues. Mind you my game is in 2034 so the rankings may be different in your game.

[Fritz13]

Is there much of a difference between giving all the players a day off after every game set via team training

.... versus giving selected players a days rest via the player training>rest option ?

[Joey Numbaz]

12 minutes ago, Fritz13 said:

Is there much of a difference between giving all the players a day off after every game set via team training

.... versus giving selected players a days rest via the player training>rest option ?

I do both, and I've had pretty good success (typically a 15-25% reduction in injuries according to my sports scientists).

In preseason I play a friendly every 3 days, so I have no rest set. But the day after each game, anyone who has a high or very high injury risk (not injury proneness) gets a day off. It's, just sort by risk (I filter to show all levels, not just seniors) and give the days off as needed. Check the top one, shift+check the bottom and rest them all.

Once the season starts, I give a day off after each game. But on days where none of my teams had a game the day before, I'll check the whole squad again and throw in an extra day off. It seems to work out pretty well. Maybe there's a better way though.

[wixxi]

4 hours ago, summatsupeer said:

You might want to link them so we know what your specifically looking at.

from this post onwards

 

Edited July 22, 2018 by wixxi

[wixxi]

Is there anything actually hardcoded to make support duties help both defence + attack, defend duties to more inclined to defend/stay back and attack duties to get forward more, or is it solely down to the change in mentality when the duty is changed? Just curious.

[Majos Trajos]

My dad died 10 years ago . I played FM-CM since 2004 and my dad knew that I love this game . So he want to give me some inspiration and introduced me the Brazil 1950's tactic W-M .

I always want to use this tactic in somewhere else and earn success. I searched W-M and found this.I have 2 questions to ask :

1) My dad always said that W at the back M in attack. Is this the case how can I interpret player roles.

2) If this figure is correct am I going to use 2 Half Backs . I believe Anchor Man - Volante or DM(S) - Volante is more appropriate. You also see that there are 2 IFs in central attacking midfield.

What can I do now?

[zlatanera]

2 hours ago, Majos Trajos said:

My dad died 10 years ago . I played FM-CM since 2004 and my dad knew that I love this game . So he want to give me some inspiration and introduced me the Brazil 1950's tactic W-M .

I always want to use this tactic in somewhere else and earn success. I searched W-M and found this.I have 2 questions to ask :

1) My dad always said that W at the back M in attack. Is this the case how can I interpret player roles.

2) If this figure is correct am I going to use 2 Half Backs . I believe Anchor Man - Volante or DM(S) - Volante is more appropriate. You also see that there are 2 IFs in central attacking midfield.

What can I do now?

I'd advise turning this into a full thread and getting a bunch of people's help as its not a stupid question (The purpose of this thread), its a very interesting one. Try and have a team in mind to use and maybe just make something that you think fits, even if you never play it, to share so people can see where you're starting from more clearly. 

[Hovis Dexter]

9 hours ago, Majos Trajos said:

My dad died 10 years ago . I played FM-CM since 2004 and my dad knew that I love this game . So he want to give me some inspiration and introduced me the Brazil 1950's tactic W-M .

I always want to use this tactic in somewhere else and earn success. I searched W-M and found this.I have 2 questions to ask :

1) My dad always said that W at the back M in attack. Is this the case how can I interpret player roles.

2) If this figure is correct am I going to use 2 Half Backs . I believe Anchor Man - Volante or DM(S) - Volante is more appropriate. You also see that there are 2 IFs in central attacking midfield.

What can I do now?

 

6 hours ago, zlatanera said:

I'd advise turning this into a full thread and getting a bunch of people's help as its not a stupid question (The purpose of this thread), its a very interesting one. Try and have a team in mind to use and maybe just make something that you think fits, even if you never play it, to share so people can see where you're starting from more clearly. 

This sounds really interesting .. as @zlatanera    says if you turn this into its own thread I'm sure you'll get loads of feedback. I'd certainly like to see it

[LeonardSnart]

2 questions.

1. How to check my wishlist in FM18? I can't find it.

2. How to turn on/put in downloaded filters?

[Snorks]

2 hours ago, LeonardSnart said:

2 questions.

1. How to check my wishlist in FM18? I can't find it.

2. How to turn on/put in downloaded filters?

1: not sure - you mean the players you want to buy? Have instructed the DoF to buy or just shortlisted in scouting? Please clarify.

2: Make sure they are downloaded/extracted to the correct folder, then, usually 'Manage Filters' and 'Load' or 'Import' - not at my game machine at the moment so unable to check properly.