The Fulcrum - Silk & Steel. A complete Tactical System for 14.1.4 and beyond......

[burnum]

@ Uwe: Do you recommend any adjustments during the match? If I want to hold on to a lead should I switch to 'Counter'? If I'm down a goal late in the game maybe switching to 'Attacking'? Or do you keep your instructions the same in all situations?

Congrats on taking the Wigan job by the way. Brentford fans will miss you ;-)

EDIT: Can someone recommend a DMC who fits the mold of a big intimidator? Lucas doesn't really fit, I'm looking to cash in on him or play him as one of the box-to-box guys. I've had Kondogbia in mind for that role but I don't think I can convince Monaco to let him go for a reasonable price.

Does this tactic also work with a smaller, pacey, aggressive guy at DMC? Basically Gattuso in his prime, someone like Matuidi or M'Vila???

[Mr U Rosler]

@ Uwe: Do you recommend any adjustments during the match? If I want to hold on to a lead should I switch to 'Counter'? If I'm down a goal late in the game maybe switching to 'Attacking'? Or do you keep your instructions the same in all situations?

Congrats on taking the Wigan job by the way. Brentford fans will miss you ;-)

personally i leave the tactic 'vanilla' for every second of every match.

but that is partly due to the fact that as the tactics creator i want my results to be a accurate reflection of the tactic.

if i was to change anything;

Chasing game - go overload for last 10/15 mins

protecting lead - add retain possession to team instructions

i would not change the mentality to defensive or counter as that invites pressure

oh, and the Wigan job is just a stepping stone to the Man City job.....

[Taleron]

This has been a great help to my Paris FC save, in which we got back-to-back promotions to Ligue 1 (using v4 for National -> L2), and are currently doing this in the league (despite only one 1 non-free transfer):

Including a ridiculous win AT PSG:

Naim Sliti has held down the CM(A) spot for all three seasons and has been brilliant in it (goals inflated by him being the penalty taker):

Nice tactic! One of my favorite parts is how it makes team-building easier because there are less positions to back-up.

[burnum]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Can you/anyone recommend a DMC who fits the mold of a big intimidator? Lucas doesn't really fit, I'm looking to cash in on him or play him as one of the box-to-box guys. I've had Kondogbia in mind for that role but I don't think I can convince Monaco to let him go for a reasonable price.

Also, does this tactic also work with a smaller, pacey, aggressive guy at DMC? Basically Gattuso in his prime, someone like Matuidi or M'Vila??? Still a bully but someone who uses his sheer aggression/tackling to intimidate instead of physical strength...

[Timych]

It looks like you were 8-1 up at half time!........ what happened in the 2nd half??

I was shocked by the result, so I told them assertively, that I was happy how they had played. And put youngsters on the field.

By the way, I was predicted 13th.

[burnum]

In my Liverpool game my F9 (Suarez) is right-footed while my CF (Sturridge/Aspas) are both left-footed. Should I switch the sides of the strikers, putting the F9 to the right and CF left? If so, could you explain why (still trying to improve my tactical understanding of this game)...

[Mr U Rosler]

Yeah I would swap the roles over in that example.

Don't think it makes a massive difference but chances are more likely to fall on your striker stronger foot if the right footers play on the right side.

Also we 'drill' crosses in this tactic which has a bias towards the far post.

Imagine a drilled cross from the left flank to your striker on the right corner of the 6 yard box. What would be the easier finish. Inside of right foot or outside of left foot!

[burnum]

Ok, makes sense. I'll swap the positions for the strikers. Just about to start the season after the typical 11-friendly marathon to get the tactics fluent. Will report back on how my season is going... Completely forgot about the Suarez ban, seems I'm stuck with Sturridge (CF) & Aspas (can play both, F9 & CF) as my strikers. Gerrard is out for 5 weeks as well so Henderson & Allen will be my BBMs.

Is it of any importance in your tactics if a left-footed DC plays on left or right? Both of my starters (Sakho & Agger) are lefties, I could bring in Skrtel/Touré (right-footed) if it makes a difference.

[Mr U Rosler]

Ok, makes sense. I'll swap the positions for the strikers. Just about to start the season after the typical 11-friendly marathon to get the tactics fluent. Will report back on how my season is going... Completely forgot about the Suarez ban, seems I'm stuck with Sturridge (CF) & Aspas (can play both, F9 & CF) as my strikers. Gerrard is out for 5 weeks as well so Henderson & Allen will be my BBMs.

Is it of any importance in your tactics if a left-footed DC plays on left or right? Both of my starters (Sakho & Agger) are lefties, I could bring in Skrtel/Touré (right-footed) if it makes a difference.

I wouldnt worry about the DC's. One of them is set to 'cover', put the quicker one there.

[Powello]

personally i leave the tactic 'vanilla' for every second of every match.

but that is partly due to the fact that as the tactics creator i want my results to be a accurate reflection of the tactic.

if i was to change anything;

Chasing game - go overload for last 10/15 mins

protecting lead - add retain possession to team instructions

i would not change the mentality to defensive or counter as that invites pressure

oh, and the Wigan job is just a stepping stone to the Man City job.....

In my leamington save we were in the play off semis against altrincham, lost the first leg 3-0... So just for the hell of it I put overload on for the full 90 mins of the second leg... won 5-0 and made it to the final lol. We beat halifax to get promoted.

If my team are struggling to score, I usually go attack for 30 mins then overload if still failing. The way the defence is set up I rarely get broken too much when on overload to call it a risk.

[burnum]

Have you ever tried to man-marking a playmaking AMC with your Anchor Man?

[burnum]

I'm always struggling against Stoke City for some reason, no matter which tactical approach I use. They're always solid in defense and score a lot from corners...

[burnum]

@ Uwe: Which position do you take off if you have someone sent off? Common sense would say if I'm ahead/draw I'll take off one of the strikers, if I'm down I'll take of one of the midfielders. Any suggestions?

[Mr U Rosler]

@ Uwe: Which position do you take off if you have someone sent off? Common sense would say if I'm ahead/draw I'll take off one of the strikers, if I'm down I'll take of one of the midfielders. Any suggestions?

I always take off the CM/a and just leave the 2 box to box guys.

I still like 2 strikers on the pitch.

How you getting on with Liverpool?

[burnum]

A lot of up and down. Wins against Chelsea & Tottenham and losses against Stoke and Man Utd. Currently 7th in the table with 13 points from 7 games. Got the tactic fully fluent now so I'm looking for more consistency going forward. Had some key injuries & bans, at one point I had Suarez, Gerrard, Sturridge and José Enrique all out. Now everyone but Sturridge is back and I'm looking to chase the Champions League qualification spots. I'm playing with 1st transfer window off, so I have the original Liverpool squad. It's the end of October and some teams seem to have gotten a budget influx by their chairmen. Monaco came with a bid for Skrtel, he'll leave in January and will be replaced by Eder Alvarez Balanta. I'll also bring in Reveillière and Honda to provide some depth.

Various teams are interested in Agger and Lucas. If the offer is right I might cash in. Lucas doesn't really fit the mold as a big-bodied DMC and Agger could be the odd man out behind Sakho & Alvarez Balanta. Any ideas for possible reinforcements?

[Mr U Rosler]

A lot of up and down. Wins against Chelsea & Tottenham and losses against Stoke and Man Utd. Currently 7th in the table with 13 points from 7 games. Got the tactic fully fluent now so I'm looking for more consistency going forward. Had some key injuries & bans, at one point I had Suarez, Gerrard, Sturridge and José Enrique all out. Now everyone but Sturridge is back and I'm looking to chase the Champions League qualification spots. I'm playing with 1st transfer window off, so I have the original Liverpool squad. It's the end of October and some teams seem to have gotten a budget influx by their chairmen. Monaco came with a bid for Skrtel, he'll leave in January and will be replaced by Eder Alvarez Balanta. I'll also bring in Reveillière and Honda to provide some depth.

Various teams are interested in Agger and Lucas. If the offer is right I might cash in. Lucas doesn't really fit the mold as a big-bodied DMC and Agger could be the odd man out behind Sakho & Alvarez Balanta. Any ideas for possible reinforcements?

Not really, by the time i've got the 5 promotions i need to get to the prem its mostly re-gens and a few familiar 'oldies'.

Follow the attribute guides and you will be fine. It doesn't have to be a big name or even a 'name'.

[burnum]

Not really, by the time i've got the 5 promotions i need to get to the prem its mostly re-gens and a few familiar 'oldies'.

Follow the attribute guides and you will be fine. It doesn't have to be a big name or even a 'name'.

Got Reveillière signed, luckily, as Glen Johnson got injured for 3 weeks. Honda and Alvarez Balanta will join in January, Skrtel will leave. If I can get a good deal for Lucas or Agger (or basically anyone else but Gerrard) I will listen to the offer. My main objectives for now are DMC and the full back positions. Looking at Clyne from Soton and Neustädter from Schalke as possible targets, also have an eye on the Porto full backs Danilo & Alex Sandro.

I know it's probably the easiest way to just bring in loads of talent from South America for cheap but I don't consider that approach to be very realistic for a Premiership club, so I'm going with familiar names from the bigger European leagues.

[Aleynasdad]

Ive found that the def set pieces seems to be key in training. When I was focused on this ı was nigh unbeatable. As soon as I moved to def positioning I started losing headers in the area. After conceding four goals in a game from headers I switched back to def set pieces and the goals conceded have dried up again.

[burnum]

Won the last 5 (easy schedule) and now I'm up to 3rd, level on points with 2nd place. Morale is up, which is always important on this year's game. Will report back tomorrow how the season (and the winter transfer window) unfolds.

One more question: The only position I really struggle to find adequate transfer targets (for your preferred ratings/filters) is the DMC Anchor Man. Do you have any idea if his aerial strength is essential or can I get away with a typical holding midfielder like Matuidi or M'Vila? To make it clearer: would you recommend bringing in the best possible overall player for the position or rather stick with your 4 categories, even if it means signing a lesser overall player (3 stars instead of 4)???

[Mr U Rosler]

Won the last 5 (easy schedule) and now I'm up to 3rd, level on points with 2nd place. Morale is up, which is always important on this year's game. Will report back tomorrow how the season (and the winter transfer window) unfolds.

One more question: The only position I really struggle to find adequate transfer targets (for your preferred ratings/filters) is the DMC Anchor Man. Do you have any idea if his aerial strength is essential or can I get away with a typical holding midfielder like Matuidi or M'Vila? To make it clearer: would you recommend bringing in the best possible overall player for the position or rather stick with your 4 categories, even if it means signing a lesser overall player (3 stars instead of 4)???

Well, you can do whatever you like of course and i've had success before with smaller more mobile DM's before (Nigel De Jong).

The reason i like a dominant header here is to deal with goals kicks and when combined with the DC's enables you to dominate the area infront of your penalty area meaning that opponents are going to have to play some pretty decent football to get thru you rather than just lumping the ball forward.

I also like to have one 'big thug' in the team and the DM spot is ideal for him.

[Mr U Rosler]

Ive found that the def set pieces seems to be key in training. When I was focused on this ı was nigh unbeatable. As soon as I moved to def positioning I started losing headers in the area. After conceding four goals in a game from headers I switched back to def set pieces and the goals conceded have dried up again.

Under 14.1.3 i suggested leaving match training on def set pieces all season (after fluid) as you were very vunerable to corners. Also did a similar thing in FM13.

A pretty good and 'low risk' approach actually and certainly worth considering.

Nothing winds me up more than conceding goals from set pieces.

[Powello]

Finished my first season in the skrill prem in a very respectful 13th. Let a load of players go in the summer as I got the board to turn is professional. I was hoping it would help me attract some better players. It hasn't really haha. So I just let a load of players go for no reason now. But at least I can have full time training now which should help the players accelerate there development. I have a striker, young lad of 18, who has been at the club since he was 15. His stats have gradually increased over the years and hes now one of my main strikers. That was on part time training so I am looking forward to how good he gets with full time training

[Severus90]

Tottenham seem to have a squad almost perfect for this tactic! My only query would be out of Lamela and Eriksen - which would you play at F9 and which would you play as MC(a)?

Lamela is better defensively, a better finisher and has a fairly well-rounded game (lots of 14s) with plenty of PA to spread about, so I was thinking of retraining him for the MC position where he can break forward and drive into space with his excellent dribbling skills? Eriksen is much more creative and will link the play better, so retrain him as a F9 and work on his finishing?

[Mr U Rosler]

Tottenham seem to have a squad almost perfect for this tactic! My only query would be out of Lamela and Eriksen - which would you play at F9 and which would you play as MC(a)?

Lamela is better defensively, a better finisher and has a fairly well-rounded game (lots of 14s) with plenty of PA to spread about, so I was thinking of retraining him for the MC position where he can break forward and drive into space with his excellent dribbling skills? Eriksen is much more creative and will link the play better, so retrain him as a F9 and work on his finishing?

I think one of the earlier posters won the league with Spurs with eriksen in the MC/A position, so that could certainly work. But you could go either way. I would probably put the most mobile player in the MC position considering 'off the ball' as well.

[Mr U Rosler]

Finished my first season in the skrill prem in a very respectful 13th. Let a load of players go in the summer as I got the board to turn is professional. I was hoping it would help me attract some better players. It hasn't really haha. So I just let a load of players go for no reason now. But at least I can have full time training now which should help the players accelerate there development. I have a striker, young lad of 18, who has been at the club since he was 15. His stats have gradually increased over the years and hes now one of my main strikers. That was on part time training so I am looking forward to how good he gets with full time training

A season in a day......... Good job!

It takes a long time for your reputation to increase significantly. I have the lowest rep in Skrill prem and there are many Skrill north/south teams higher than me.

It makes attracting quality players difficult. If you have any, hold onto them.

[dkouv]

Hi Uwe,

First of all, just wanted to say a massive thanks to you for creating these tactics, they've really made me enjoy FM again! I'm the type of player who prefers to focus on squad building and not spend too much time tweaking tactics, and your tactics, both Fearsome Engine in FM 2013 and Fulcrum in this year's version, have done just the job!

I've had very good success with Portsmouth using various incarnations of the Fulcrum. Three back-to-back promotions and finishing 4th in my first season back in the Premiership, beating Chelsea 2-0 away on the final day of the season to clinch that 4th spot

It's going even better in the 2nd PL season after some reinforcements arrived in the summer, sitting 1st in the league in February and in the playoffs of the Champions League, although I hope I'm not gonna jinx it by writing about it...

Also got a couple of tips and one question:

Tips:

- Defending set pieces has worked a treat for me as match preparation, otherwise I was conceding quite a bit from these.

- I'm using a slightly different corner set up which I found on some other forum (or somewhere else on this forum) and it's working rather nicely too. The near post center back is scoring plenty of goals from corners and long throws.

Question:

Do you have any tips on which type of center back should be cover and which should be on defend? Should I look for stronger mental attributes for the one on cover and more of a physical beast for the defensive one?

Cheers!

PS Hope the images work since it's my first time posting like this...

[Mr U Rosler]

Nice post dkouv,

Congrats on your success. Season 2 in the prem is normally a tough one.

There are probably a few ways to squeeze a few more goals out of corners but I don't want to release a new version of the tactic at this point.

I am happy with a 2 or 3 goal 'profit' on corners each season.

I am however leaning towards leaving match training on def set pieces all season once the tactic is fluid.

I normally have the quicker CB on cover, if there is not much in it I go with higher positioning attribute.

Keep us updated on your save!

[Aleynasdad]

First time at this piccy business. As you can see season started well until I switched training away from def set pieces....

Things improved then resulting in knocking Kidderminster out of the cup.... leaving us with the first season crunch game top versus second!!

[burnum]

Your tactic is so good that I ran out of motivation for my Liverpool save because it's gotten quite easy. Maybe I'll get back to it later.

For now, I've gotten back to an older save with German 2nd Division club Paderborn (my hometown club). I'm in summer of 2016, already got promoted to the first Division and finished 6th in our first season there. Now I'm trying to mold the squad to fit your tactics, so I'm bringing in a new striker to pair with my F9 (Dyballa). I brought in Teemu Pukki for 1m from Celtic, he has all the skills needed for the CF position but his PPM would also make him a fit as F9 (moves in channels, places shots, one-twos, rounds keeper, comes deep). Do those PPMs exclude him from the CF position?

I really like your tactics. I've spent weeks going through numerous test-saves with 10-15 different tactics, only to find out most of them are flawed or only work in certain scenarios (players, opponent, level of play). Your tactic finally gives me some good consistency so I'll use it for most of my saves now (unless I have a squad with dominant wingers like Bayern).

Some thoughts about recruiting:

At the beginning of the thread you write about generalist vs specialist recruitment. I think a there's some middle ground between the two. I often find myself scouting a lot of players for a certain position and then using the star-ratings as a base. Then I close down my list to the best 3-5 players and have a closer look at them, comparing their key attributes, personality, PPMs, etc.

On the one hand, I think if you only take the generalist approach (star-ratings) you might miss out on some key elements (e.g. signing a 4-star striker who's a good overall player but only has 11 composure or someone who has an unambitious personality or injury prone). On the other hand, if you only take the specialist approach (key ratings) you might end up signing a player who fits exactly to your key ratings but miss out on a better overall player who is slightly worse in those key ratings (but better overall).

In addition to your (very useful) key ratings for the specific positions I also added Determination & Acceleration/Pace (depending on positions) to my filters. I will not sign anyone with less than 8 Determination. If it's an 'inside' player (DC, MC, DMC) I don't want Acceleration to be lower than 10 (Pace doesn't really matter because they won't run 40 yards in a straight line a lot of times so it's more about change-of-directions). For 'outside' players (players who play in space, DL, DR, ST) I look more for Pace than Acceleration.

Does any of this make any sense or should I just have a beer, shut up and play the game???

[rjh123456]

Your tactic is so good that I ran out of motivation for my Liverpool save because it's gotten quite easy. Maybe I'll get back to it later.

For now, I've gotten back to an older save with German 2nd Division club Paderborn (my hometown club). I'm in summer of 2016, already got promoted to the first Division and finished 6th in our first season there. Now I'm trying to mold the squad to fit your tactics, so I'm bringing in a new striker to pair with my F9 (Dyballa). I brought in Teemu Pukki for 1m from Celtic, he has all the skills needed for the CF position but his PPM would also make him a fit as F9 (moves in channels, places shots, one-twos, rounds keeper, comes deep). Do those PPMs exclude him from the CF position?

I really like your tactics. I've spent weeks going through numerous test-saves with 10-15 different tactics, only to find out most of them are flawed or only work in certain scenarios (players, opponent, level of play). Your tactic finally gives me some good consistency so I'll use it for most of my saves now (unless I have a squad with dominant wingers like Bayern).

Some thoughts about recruiting:

At the beginning of the thread you write about generalist vs specialist recruitment. I think a there's some middle ground between the two. I often find myself scouting a lot of players for a certain position and then using the star-ratings as a base. Then I close down my list to the best 3-5 players and have a closer look at them, comparing their key attributes, personality, PPMs, etc.

On the one hand, I think if you only take the generalist approach (star-ratings) you might miss out on some key elements (e.g. signing a 4-star striker who's a good overall player but only has 11 composure or someone who has an unambitious personality or injury prone). On the other hand, if you only take the specialist approach (key ratings) you might end up signing a player who fits exactly to your key ratings but miss out on a better overall player who is slightly worse in those key ratings (but better overall).

In addition to your (very useful) key ratings for the specific positions I also added Determination & Acceleration/Pace (depending on positions) to my filters. I will not sign anyone with less than 8 Determination. If it's an 'inside' player (DC, MC, DMC) I don't want Acceleration to be lower than 10 (Pace doesn't really matter because they won't run 40 yards in a straight line a lot of times so it's more about change-of-directions). For 'outside' players (players who play in space, DL, DR, ST) I look more for Pace than Acceleration.

Does any of this make any sense or should I just have a beer, shut up and play the game???

You make good points, I also like to have Work Rate and Leadership (if I'm being greedy )

[Aleynasdad]

Before the big game... this would be my best team:

Unfortunately fitness after the FA cup means it will be a weaker team.

Many of the players are the same ones I inherited (fazackerly and canham were bought before me). Smith, Asmundssen (thanks to my affiliation with Brighton) and Poyet are loans so the only players I can say Ive brought in and made a difference are Crowell, Sweeney and Ambalu ... Armstrong is a regen. left back has been a real problem but dont think its a bug as Rose was immense last year. To comment on recruitment I always check in scouting if consistency, big matches or injury come up as weaknesses. If so I dont touch them with a bargepole. So... to Forest Green...

p.s. How do I make the images larger? Different tag?

[Aleynasdad]

well... well ... well..

Looked like it was going to be a damp squib of a game until just before half time. At the end of last season I got the soon-to-retire (cos noone wanted him) Craig Easton on an NP contract and quite honestly he's been a disappointment. Not today. Filling in for the unfit Crowell he followed up a Moore shot that was saved and put us ahead. then on 60 Sweeney was sent off (only one yellow card before... for Sweeney but after the red the ref want on a yellow feast!) and rather than do what I normally do I took Uwes advice and replaced the MC and kept on the B2Bs. Worked a treat. We hit the woodwork twice before Jake Robinson scored the killer in injury time. The surprise that Ive been moaning about LB all season and today Richard Rose put in a killer performance. Until Sweeney went off I had more shots but less possession and that has been standard all season.

Onwards and upwards. League 2 here we come!!!

[Powello]

A season in a day......... Good job!

It takes a long time for your reputation to increase significantly. I have the lowest rep in Skrill prem and there are many Skrill north/south teams higher than me.

It makes attracting quality players difficult. If you have any, hold onto them.

A little advice to all, do not listen to your ass man on the player search when you are looking at unattached players. I managed to get a 37 year old defoe and a 35 year old jelavic on frees, cost a load on wages but its only for one season. I put all my transfer budget into wages. They only showed up when I unticked the ass man thoughts. They said they were unsure so I would have to offer them an amazing deal, but if I had listened to my ass man I wouldn't of even known they were available. Very helpful for lower league managers.

I am off work on sick leave at the moment so have plenty of free time

I signed a few bigger players on one year contracts and I doubt they will stay on as they cost too much. Jelavic has been poor tbf, I htought with his stats he would destroy defences but nope haha

[burnum]

A little advice to all, do not listen to your ass man on the player search when you are looking at unattached players. I managed to get a 37 year old defoe and a 35 year old jelavic on frees, cost a load on wages but its only for one season. I put all my transfer budget into wages. They only showed up when I unticked the ass man thoughts. They said they were unsure so I would have to offer them an amazing deal, but if I had listened to my ass man I wouldn't of even known they were available. Very helpful for lower league managers.

I am off work on sick leave at the moment so have plenty of free time

I signed a few bigger players on one year contracts and I doubt they will stay on as they cost too much. Jelavic has been poor tbf, I htought with his stats he would destroy defences but nope haha

Usually that means that those players are out of your reach. However, there are some occasions where you can still sign them but you'll need to overpay to get them (meaning a team with higher reputation could get them for less than your lower reputation team). If you're ok with overpaying for older veterans help that's a good way to get some short-term help in.

[Powello]

I am happy getting in players like defoe, yes I would have to pay over the odds but its only for a season or 2 to help us move up. I see at as worth the risk to improve. I only do it for unattached players, I wouldn't want to pay a large fee for player on top of the high wages

[Powello]

ALthough saying that, I have just finished second season in the skrill prem and I finished 13th again so getting those quality players didn't actually help much haha

[burnum]

@ Uwe: Do you think in your tactics there is one position that is particularly important? Like if you could get 1 star player for your team, which position would you choose him for?

[Mr U Rosler]

well... well ... well..

Looked like it was going to be a damp squib of a game until just before half time. At the end of last season I got the soon-to-retire (cos noone wanted him) Craig Easton on an NP contract and quite honestly he's been a disappointment. Not today. Filling in for the unfit Crowell he followed up a Moore shot that was saved and put us ahead. then on 60 Sweeney was sent off (only one yellow card before... for Sweeney but after the red the ref want on a yellow feast!) and rather than do what I normally do I took Uwes advice and replaced the MC and kept on the B2Bs. Worked a treat. We hit the woodwork twice before Jake Robinson scored the killer in injury time. The surprise that Ive been moaning about LB all season and today Richard Rose put in a killer performance. Until Sweeney went off I had more shots but less possession and that has been standard all season.

Onwards and upwards. League 2 here we come!!!

interesting, Kidderminster are my arch-nemesis.

Just had a crunch away fixture with them.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

3 points clear at the top with 12 games to go...............

[Mr U Rosler]

Your tactic is so good that I ran out of motivation for my Liverpool save because it's gotten quite easy. Maybe I'll get back to it later.

For now, I've gotten back to an older save with German 2nd Division club Paderborn (my hometown club). I'm in summer of 2016, already got promoted to the first Division and finished 6th in our first season there. Now I'm trying to mold the squad to fit your tactics, so I'm bringing in a new striker to pair with my F9 (Dyballa). I brought in Teemu Pukki for 1m from Celtic, he has all the skills needed for the CF position but his PPM would also make him a fit as F9 (moves in channels, places shots, one-twos, rounds keeper, comes deep). Do those PPMs exclude him from the CF position?

I really like your tactics. I've spent weeks going through numerous test-saves with 10-15 different tactics, only to find out most of them are flawed or only work in certain scenarios (players, opponent, level of play). Your tactic finally gives me some good consistency so I'll use it for most of my saves now (unless I have a squad with dominant wingers like Bayern).

Some thoughts about recruiting:

At the beginning of the thread you write about generalist vs specialist recruitment. I think a there's some middle ground between the two. I often find myself scouting a lot of players for a certain position and then using the star-ratings as a base. Then I close down my list to the best 3-5 players and have a closer look at them, comparing their key attributes, personality, PPMs, etc.

On the one hand, I think if you only take the generalist approach (star-ratings) you might miss out on some key elements (e.g. signing a 4-star striker who's a good overall player but only has 11 composure or someone who has an unambitious personality or injury prone). On the other hand, if you only take the specialist approach (key ratings) you might end up signing a player who fits exactly to your key ratings but miss out on a better overall player who is slightly worse in those key ratings (but better overall).

In addition to your (very useful) key ratings for the specific positions I also added Determination & Acceleration/Pace (depending on positions) to my filters. I will not sign anyone with less than 8 Determination. If it's an 'inside' player (DC, MC, DMC) I don't want Acceleration to be lower than 10 (Pace doesn't really matter because they won't run 40 yards in a straight line a lot of times so it's more about change-of-directions). For 'outside' players (players who play in space, DL, DR, ST) I look more for Pace than Acceleration.

Does any of this make any sense or should I just have a beer, shut up and play the game???

the only PPM i would worry about with Pukki would be 'come deep'. I think he would be Ok as CF, would just play out a little differently.

Sure, you could have minimum attributes for say, determination, pace, passing. Especially when you are in a top league and have a good player pool to choose from. I didnt want to have TOO MANY key attributes as it would be too restrictive, but if you want to follow the guidelines AND have an uber determined or uber fast team you can do it.

[Mr U Rosler]

ALthough saying that, I have just finished second season in the skrill prem and I finished 13th again so getting those quality players didn't actually help much haha

without sounding rude, it seems like you have messed up the team/squad building element as I would expect much better results than that.

On paper my team looks weaker this year than last year, but I'm having a good run at winning back to back promotions, i think Aleynasdad has just done that as well.

Dont be afraid if your ASS MAN is telling you a player is decent for skrill south/north, if his attributes match sign him. You dont need to be chasing old has beens on big money.

An example from my Skrill PREM campaign

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

27 league goals from 32 league games..... yet my ass man is telling me he's barely good enough for the division BELOW.

TRUST THE ATTRIBUTES!!

[Mr U Rosler]

@ Uwe: Do you think in your tactics there is one position that is particularly important? Like if you could get 1 star player for your team, which position would you choose him for?

GOALKEEPER then Complete Forward.

[Aleynasdad]

without sounding rude, it seems like you have messed up the team/squad building element as I would expect much better results than that.

On paper my team looks weaker this year than last year, but I'm having a good run at winning back to back promotions, i think Aleynasdad has just done that as well.

Dont be afraid if your ASS MAN is telling you a player is decent for skrill south/north, if his attributes match sign him. You dont need to be chasing old has beens on big money.

An example from my Skrill PREM campaign

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

27 league goals from 32 league games..... yet my ass man is telling me he's barely good enough for the division BELOW.

TRUST THE ATTRIBUTES!!

Have to agree. My assman, who is pretty good, has just told me this player should be changed to no longer needed.... likely to be Skrill Premier player of the season methinks...

[Powello]

To be fair uwe, I am still following the guidelines and getting in the best available players for their positions, I'm not just buying in players for the hell of it. It is hard when your club has a terrible reputation. I am keeping on at the board to iimprove facilities and stuff to help improve that rep and doing the best in the league. I think I will make the play offs this year though at least. I am going fo rpromotion this year. I have been in charge for 8 seasons so it's time we push on.

[burnum]

GOALKEEPER then Complete Forward.

Oh, that's a shocker to me. Thought you might say it's the full back positions as they're responsible for both, attack & defense. Any specific attributes you look for in a GK aside from the obvious (e.g. Reflexes, One on Ones, Handling, Positioning)? On my Paderborn save I currently have Timo Horn, brought him in from Köln for 2m. He's been the Germany U21 keeper for the last couple of years. Thought he'd be quite a steal for a mid-table Bundesliga side like us.

[Aleynasdad]

My assman(suitably named!) obviously knew something I didn't know!!!

[Mr U Rosler]

To be fair uwe, I am still following the guidelines and getting in the best available players for their positions, I'm not just buying in players for the hell of it. It is hard when your club has a terrible reputation. I am keeping on at the board to iimprove facilities and stuff to help improve that rep and doing the best in the league. I think I will make the play offs this year though at least. I am going fo rpromotion this year. I have been in charge for 8 seasons so it's time we push on.

Cool, sounds like you're on track. You're right about the rep. improving facilities is a good way to go. and a cup win, even fa trophy really helps. No offence intended

[burnum]

My Paderborn team 2016, 2nd season in 1.Bundesliga, finished 6th last season:

(original 2013 club in brackets)

GK: Timo Horn (Köln)

DL: Dodo (Roma)

DC: Kara (Genk)

DC: Alexander Milosevic (AIK)

DR: Vedar Eggen Hedenstad (Freiburg)

DM: Yannick Stark (Kaiserslautern)

BBM: Mads Albaek (Reims)

BBM: Andile Jali (Orlando Pirates)

MCa: Marko Pavlovski (Porto/OFK)

F9: Paulo Dybala (Palermo)

CF: Teemu Pukki (Celtic)

Notable backups:

DC: Alvaro (Zaragoza)

FB: Jens Wemmer (Paderborn)

DM: Yannick Gerhardt (Köln)

MF: Thorgan Hazard (Chelsea, Eden's little brother)

ST: Juan Iturbe (Verona/Porto)

I would consider my back four and the two box-to-box guys as our strength. Weakness could be DM & CF.

First season with the new tactics (Fulcrum). If everything goes well we might challenge for a CL spot (top 4). Any ideas, suggestions, comments???

[Mr U Rosler]

My Paderborn team 2016, 2nd season in 1.Bundesliga, finished 6th last season:

(original 2013 club in brackets)

GK: Timo Horn (Köln)

DL: Dodo (Roma)

DC: Kara (Genk)

DC: Alexander Milosevic (AIK)

DR: Vedar Eggen Hedenstad (Freiburg)

DM: Yannick Stark (Kaiserslautern)

BBM: Mads Albaek (Reims)

BBM: Andile Jali (Orlando Pirates)

MCa: Marko Pavlovski (Porto/OFK)

F9: Paulo Dybala (Palermo)

CF: Teemu Pukki (Celtic)

Notable backups:

DC: Alvaro (Zaragoza)

FB: Jens Wemmer (Paderborn)

DM: Yannick Gerhardt (Köln)

MF: Thorgan Hazard (Chelsea, Eden's little brother)

ST: Juan Iturbe (Verona/Porto)

I would consider my back four and the two box-to-box guys as our strength. Weakness could be DM & CF.

First season with the new tactics (Fulcrum). If everything goes well we might challenge for a CL spot (top 4). Any ideas, suggestions, comments???

looking good. Crack on!

[Powello]

Cool, sounds like you're on track. You're right about the rep. improving facilities is a good way to go. and a cup win, even fa trophy really helps. No offence intended

No offence taken

Its taken a lot longer than I hoped but yeah on track. I love building a club up from nothing and giving them a history for the future.

[burnum]

Its taken a lot longer than I hoped but yeah on track. I love building a club up from nothing and giving them a history for the future.

Agreed. That's the best part of the game. That's why I quit on my Liverpool save and got back to my hometown club Paderborn. I live 2 miles from their stadium, they've never played in the 1.Bundesliga before.

I remember back in FM 10 I set up a fictional club in London (via Editor) and started in League 2. Nothing better than building your own little club and conquering Europe with a real-world nobody. I also remember saves on past versions where I took HJK Helsinki to winning UEFA Cup (CM 01/02) or making Inverness Caledonian Thistle (2nd Div. at that time) the biggest club in Scotland in FM 06.