Can creative freedom boost flair?

[kevin3]

If a player with say a flair attribute of 10 is giving max CF, will it boost his flair rating, or does max CF allow a player to operate at their normal level? I'm unsure about this so I will post my own understanding of this topic.

I've read before that high CF allows a player to ignore your instructions, but I think that's just an indirect result from allowing high flair players the opportunity to use their flair. On my current FM14 save, I've experienced something like this whilst managing Real Madrid. I had allowed my team to "Be More Expressive", but I noticed it resulted in something I've never seen before on FM from a full-back. Twice, in the space of less than 10 minutes, Marcelo tried to chip the keeper from about 35-40 yards from goal.

Who does this guy think he is!?? He wasn't even set to "Shoot More Often", so I can only assume it was due to his high CF, combined with the following attributes:

Flair: 16

Vision: 15

Technique: 18

It's very rare to find a full-back with those level of attributes.

Back to debating the original question, I think it makes more sense if CF can encourage extra flair from a player as well as discourage it. Here's a rough idea of how I think CF might work as an in-game mechanic to modify a player's flair rating:

Player has flair = 1

- With min CF = no change

- With normal CF = fairly significant boost

- With max CF = significant boost

Player has flair = 10

- With min CF = fairly significant reduction

- With normal CF = about the same

- With max CF = fairly significant boost

Player has flair = 20

- With min CF = significant reduction

- With normal CF = fairly significant reduction

- With max CF = no change

Personally, the key aspect of CF revolves around two attributes, Technique and Decisions (as well as a few others).

Some players are capable of pulling off the most technically demanding moves (volleys, half-volleys, first time passes, first time shots, chips, lobs, long range passes, intricate dribbles etc) however, they struggle when to best utilise them due to their poor decision making. Because of this, some managers might simplify their game by reducing CF and encourage them to stick to the basics. More liberal managers might encourage extra flair so that they can make greater use of their technique. They are willing to suffer the drawbacks of their low IQ, in the hope that one moment of magic will unlock the defence.

Other players understand the game inside-out, but when it comes to making use of their technique, chances are they will fail spectacularly. So as a manager you are stuck with a dilemma; Do I give this kind of player the freedom to use flair and technique because I trust them, or do I save this player from potentially embarrassing themselves and ending up on Youtube?

Then you have geniuses like Lionel Messi with superhuman levels of technique and decisions. These guys were born to use flair.

Actually, there's quite a lot of potential factors when considering CF. It's not just about high flair players. It can also be used to encourage players with low flair to make more use of their technique and so on.

As it's quite a vague tactical instruction, I'm interested to hear your own understanding/experiences of CF, and how you make use of it.

[noikeee]

I've got nothing to add, other than I want to know too. Interesting question!

[swansongs]

Creative Freedom and Flair are similar concepts but I'm not sure why you'd want them linked so directly.

High creative freedom with low flair is a great combination in defensive and possession systems. I don't want those players gaining Flair.

[kevin3]

Creative Freedom and Flair are similar concepts but I'm not sure why you'd want them linked so directly.

It's because of this post (link) from the lead ME developer, who mentioned CF was simply a flair modifier.

Also, after a bit of research, I found this change from an FM08 patch:

Enhanced effect on flair of "creative freedom" slider slightly.

Now that above quote is quite a while ago, so there may be changes to how CF works, hence the reason for creating the thread.

High creative freedom with low flair is a great combination in defensive and possession systems. I don't want those players gaining Flair.

Out of curiosity, why do you give your players high CF. What effect do you think it has?

[swansongs]

Having reread some documents it seems Flair encompasses both concepts; directness/bravery on the ball AND tactical discipline/ability to follow orders. The latter of which does seem to fit your definition.

I have been labouring under the assumption that Creative Freedom opened up a player's options in both directions, not just More Risk but also Less Risk, depending on player personality and the type of gameplan/situation he finds himself in.

[Cleon]

Creativity and Creative Freedom are two very different things.

Creativity = Vision. ie. How many passing options the player can see. Creative freedom is the ability for the player to do what he thinks more often and break away from the tactical instructions you've set. Flair is a decision making modifier that makes them less predictable but this is still capped by their decision making and technique.

It really is that simple.

[kevin3]

Creativity and Creative Freedom are two very different things.

Creativity = Vision. ie. How many passing options the player can see. Creative freedom is the ability for the player to do what he thinks more often and break away from the tactical instructions you've set. Flair is a decision making modifier that makes them less predictable but this is still capped by their decision making and technique.

It really is that simple.

So high CF allows a player to ignore their tactical instructions? If so, what's the point giving a player detailed instructions if they are just going to ignore them? The only way that makes sense to me is if a player ignores their instructions so they can attempt a flair-based move, because high CF would allow a player to play with extra flair. For example, a CM with high flair is told not to shoot from range; With high CF, there's an increased chance the player will strike a 30 yard first-time volley at goal because it's a flair-based move. With low CF, there's less chance the player will shoot from range because their flair has been reduced, so they will stick to their instructions more.

[Cleon]

So high CF allows a player to ignore their tactical instructions?

To some extent yes.

If so, what's the point giving a player detailed instructions if they are just going to ignore them?

You're talking like it's one way or the other. Why? It can be a mixture of both and when the player decides the time is right (based on decision making) then he'll decide whether to carry out your instructions or ignore them at certain times. It doesn't equal ignoring them constantly for 90 minutes, it might only be a brief second or it might be more phases etc.

The only way that makes sense to me is if a player ignores their instructions so they can attempt a flair-based move, because high CF would allow a player to play with extra flair

It makes sense it lots of ways but you're too focus on flair only. There can be other reasons why someone would ignore instructions, it isn't always to do with flair to try the more difficult. It could be a player deciding to ignore instructions to get his side back into the game. It could be a player deciding to ignore his positional instruction to make a forward run that he wouldn't normally etc. It can be down to hundreds of different reasons and it can be for reasons that don't include the player being in possession of the ball.

For example, a CM with high flair is told not to shoot from range; With high CF, there's an increased chance the player will strike a 30 yard first-time volley at goal because it's a flair-based move

There's also a chance the player decided against a flair move because of something else he has in his mind too. There is no guarantee that what the player chooses will always be down to flair. Sure, there is a chance it might but there's also a high chance it isn't either. Maybe he shoots from 30 yards because of a lack of support options? Maybe its a rush of blood to the head and he gets excited? There can be many reasons for an action or behaviour.

With low CF, there's less chance the player will shoot from range because their flair has been reduced, so they will stick to their instructions more

This isn't true. There is no guarantee that someone with lower CF will shoot less than someone with higher CF or vice versa.

Flair is a decision making modifier not a creative freedom one, they're not exclusive to each other. Just because someone has high CF it doesn't mean he will try more tricks and play with more flair it just means he can break away from your tactical instructions more than usual when he sees fit, which is based on his decision making. For example your striker decides to shoot then the flair attribute might make him try a curled shot into the top corner rather than his usual preference and so on. Flair modifies the action which was decided by the players decision making and if he can pull it off successfully or not is down to technique and so on.

It's nowhere near as black and white as you seem to be suggesting with your posts. It's a lot more complex than that.

The ME and more importantly creative freedom have drastically changed in the past 7 years and don't work like they were once documented to work. Creative freedom has been reworked about 3 different times since then and decoupled from direct influence over certain attributes.

[kevin3]

@Cleon

Fair enough and perhaps I didn't word my example the best. There is definitely a multitude of factors that determines whether a player will attempt a long-range effort as well as other tactical options. What I'm trying to say is that with higher CF, there is a chance a player might operate with more flair (depending on their flair attribute). With that extra flair, the player might attempt different, more exciting options, some of those options might exist outside of his tactical setup.

Does CF have any influence on flair anymore? The FM16 online manual seems to suggest that it can still increase/decrease a player's flair attribute.