FM19 Tactical Changes

[herne79]

Lots of changes this year to get our teeth into, so with help from Rashidi, Cleon and review by Jack from SI this is a brief overview.  Do note we're not covering everything here, just the key highlights.  We don't want to spoil all the surprises .

Team Shape

Team Shape has been removed and has not been replaced.  There has been a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about this tactical setting for a long time now, so it’s been removed.  Any functions it used to perform, such as adjusting player mentality or creative freedom can still be utilised but now we’ll be adjusting team instructions or player settings instead. Which we could always do anyway.

Team Fluidity

Team Fluidity is nothing more than a label attached to describe how we set up our players.  It has nothing to do with Team Shape and should not be confused with it – despite using the same naming conventions.  The way Team Fluidity works is essentially as a guide on how to structure our teams in a way we desire.  Prior to this there was nothing to help us set up our roles.  So for example – if you set all your attackers to attack and all your defenders to defend you’ll be playing in a very “structured” manner: defenders defend, attackers attack.  Now change everyone to a support duty and your team will be playing with a more “fluid” style; everybody supports each other.

As mentioned, don’t confuse this with the old Team Shape naming conventions, despite their similarities.

In Possession / In Transition / Out of Possession

The tactic creator has now been broken out further to add in the “In Transition” section.  Here you can tell your players how to behave when possession is lost or won, such as counter pressing the opposition.  On screen diagrams help you understand how this can work.

Line of Engagement and Pressing Intensity

The Line of Engagement is a new addition to FM19.  In a nutshell, this instruction tells your players at which point on the pitch you want them to start pressing.  The amount of Pressing Intensity you set then tells your players how much or how aggressively to press.

Defensive Width

As it sounds.  We now have the ability to easily set how wide we want our teams to play when defending.

Tactical Presets

A whole series of ready made tactical systems have been included in FM19, covering a multitude of different tactical styles, from Gegenpressing to Tiki Taka, and much more in between.  However, these are not plug and play and win tactics.  They are a starting point, not the finished article, and may need further tweaking.  The team we pick may also have an influence – so expect less tweaking if using Tiki Taka as Barcelona compared to West Brom for example.  Your playing staff may also necessitate tweaks – perhaps your chosen preset asks for a Target Man but you don’t have a TM in your squad.  You could therefore perhaps tweak the role to better suit the strikers at your disposal.

Think of the presets as follows – before FM19 we had a 1000 piece jigsaw and no picture to help us put it together.  Now we still have the 1000 piece jigsaw, but the presets give us a slightly out of focus picture to give us at least an idea of how the puzzle fits together.

[herne79]

Some basic info for you all.  Ask away if you have questions .

[Bunkerossian]

Can pressing be divided into units? Such as telling the strikers to close down early, but leaving the rest of the team to stay behind?

[Joey Numbaz]

1 hour ago, Bunkerossian said:

Can pressing be divided into units? Such as telling the strikers to close down early, but leaving the rest of the team to stay behind?

I would assume this can be done with individual closing down instructions. Maybe not?

[herne79]

38 minutes ago, Joey Numbaz said:

I would assume this can be done with individual closing down instructions. Maybe not?

Yup .

[Experienced Defender]

On 16/10/2018 at 16:57, herne79 said:

Line of Engagement and Pressing Intensity

The Line of Engagement is a new addition to FM19.  In a nutshell, this instruction tells your players at which point on the pitch you want them to start pressing.  The amount of Pressing Intensity you set then tells your players how much or how aggressively to press.

Will the above setting automatically set the defensive line as well (off course, taking the mentality into account) or we will still be able to do it manually? I don't know if this was a bit stupid question, but given that in FM18 d-line and closing down TIs are/were interrelated, I guess it makes some sense to ask 

[RocheBag]

2 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

Will the above setting automatically set the defensive line as well (off course, taking the mentality into account) or we will still be able to do it manually? I don't know if this was a bit stupid question, but given that in FM18 d-line and closing down TIs are/were interrelated, I guess it makes some sense to ask 

As you move line of engagement up or down, the defensive line moves slightly along with it. You can just move it back wherever you want it after though.

[Experienced Defender]

16 hours ago, RocheBag said:

As you move line of engagement up or down, the defensive line moves slightly along with it. You can just move it back wherever you want it after though.

Thanx mate 

[Columnarius]

What happened to GK Personal Instructions regarding distribution (CBs, FBs, Playmaker, etc.) and corresponding option for type of distribution?  I don't see it on the GK PI screen and can't find it anywhere else.

[phnompenhandy]

6 minutes ago, Columnarius said:

What happened to GK Personal Instructions regarding distribution (CBs, FBs, Playmaker, etc.) and corresponding option for type of distribution?  I don't see it on the GK PI screen and can't find it anywhere else.

Isn't it under 'transitions'?

[Columnarius]

Yep.  Thanks!

[Fritz13]

I hadn’t been able to add the PI close down much more - close down more is the furthest I can set.

shoukd I assume the additional setting can only be made via the Pressing Intensity?

[herne79]

19 minutes ago, Fritz13 said:

I hadn’t been able to add the PI close down much more - close down more is the furthest I can set.

shoukd I assume the additional setting can only be made via the Pressing Intensity?

As before, there is only so much pressing you can set.  The total amount is an accumulation of all tactical settings, not just the PI.

[Fritz13]

Cheers Herne

That’s what I thought but setting some other stuff to far lower settings didn’t seem to allow the much more

On the way to football so will try again tomorrow 

[frank_olaf]

How exactly does defensive width work? Does more width mean there is more space between all the defenders?

I'm trying the understand the consequences of each setting. Would I go with wider if the opposition favours wing play, to make sure my fullbacks are wide enough to cover the wingers? Would I use narrow if the opposition like to play through the middle?

Or is it less related to the opposition and more about where my defensive strengths/weaknesses lie?

Thanks 

[tyro]

I love the tactical changes. One thing I have to keep in mind and people here keep mentioning. Things are kinda new. The attribute descriptions changed a bit, the roles changed a bit. Shape is gone. Things changed. 

And the theme is to approach things without looking so much at numbers but more at what is logical and what you would do in real life. 

As for me. I used a preset and changed the roles to my liking. And that's it. 

So far it's going well and players are doing as I expect them to do. 

At the moment it is more about rotation and managing the Dynamics and setting up training as tactics are going smooth for my save. 

[yonko]

10 hours ago, frank_olaf said:

How exactly does defensive width work? Does more width mean there is more space between all the defenders?

I'm trying the understand the consequences of each setting. Would I go with wider if the opposition favours wing play, to make sure my fullbacks are wide enough to cover the wingers? Would I use narrow if the opposition like to play through the middle?

Or is it less related to the opposition and more about where my defensive strengths/weaknesses lie?

Thanks 

I think logically if you defend with more width your players will be further apart from each other.

First, look and consider your formation. That is your natural defensive shape without the ball. If you're using wider formation (two players on each wing), then defending narrow will help because players will be closer together and there will be less space to play through/between them. On the other hand, if you're using a narrow formation (no wide midfielders or wide attackers), then defending wider will help those outer CMs/DMs to defend the wings.

 

[Zemahh]

11 hours ago, frank_olaf said:

I'm trying the understand the consequences of each setting. Would I go with wider if the opposition favours wing play, to make sure my fullbacks are wide enough to cover the wingers? Would I use narrow if the opposition like to play through the middle?

Ultimately it all comes down to what you want to achieve. There's no universal answer such as "always defend wide in scenario A" or "always defend narrow in scenario B".

Defending wide will naturally place your wide players closer to the opposition's wide players, but it will also create space in the middle - and the opposite goes for defending narrow. I think of it as trying to force the opposition one or the other way.

[Rashidi]

21 hours ago, frank_olaf said:

How exactly does defensive width work? Does more width mean there is more space between all the defenders?

I'm trying the understand the consequences of each setting. Would I go with wider if the opposition favours wing play, to make sure my fullbacks are wide enough to cover the wingers? Would I use narrow if the opposition like to play through the middle?

Or is it less related to the opposition and more about where my defensive strengths/weaknesses lie?

Thanks 

Defensive with, full backs will tuck in more, as your centre gets more congested. When you defend wide you leave more space open in front of the box. Ideally your decision depends on how your own team stacks up. Say you have poor players in the box to deal with crosses, then playing narrow could be a bad move cos of the space you are ceding, and vice versa 

[Jean0987654321]

Thank God the FM gods got rid of Team Shape. I used to go on and on with other gurus here about that thing. Mourinho and Simeone are the most disciplined coaches out there and their team were usually compact. It made no sense to tie something like that in team shape

[JamieTC13]

you can still change team fluidity tho this must be a bug

[Jean0987654321]

5 hours ago, jckc221013jamie said:

you can still change team fluidity tho this must be a bug

Well...time to create a new thread on the bugs forum :o

[kpsia518]

On 22/10/2018 at 12:41, Rashidi said:

Defensive with, full backs will tuck in more, as your centre gets more congested. When you defend wide you leave more space open in front of the box. Ideally your decision depends on how your own team stacks up. Say you have poor players in the box to deal with crosses, then playing narrow could be a bad move cos of the space you are ceding, and vice versa 

any requirement guide line for Team Fluidity in FM19 ?

some thing like,

Fluid = require 3 or less attacking role,or or not more than "how many" player been given "hold position" instructions
structure = require 4 or more attacking role,or not more than 4 ~ 5 player been given "hold position" instructions

very structure = what requirement ?
flexible = requirement ?

very Fluid = requirement ?

[tyro]

57 minutes ago, kpsia518 said:

any requirement guide line for Team Fluidity in FM19 ?

some thing like,

Fluid = require 3 or less attacking role,or or not more than "how many" player been given "hold position" instructions
structure = require 4 or more attacking role,or not more than 4 ~ 5 player been given "hold position" instructions

very structure = what requirement ?
flexible = requirement ?

very Fluid = requirement ?

Why do you still get hung up on the team fluidity?

I honestly don't care what it is. I set up my tactic and roles and whatever comes out comes out. 

[kpsia518]

3 minutes ago, tyro said:

Why do you still get hung up on the team fluidity?

I honestly don't care what it is. I set up my tactic and roles and whatever comes out comes out. 

i understand team shape gone

but i want "knowledge".

not thing loss if we know more thing.they can't just answer :"i don't care". 

Edited October 26, 2018 by kpsia518

[tyro]

I understand what you mean but I think it just makes no difference anymore. You will waste time with an "ancient" mechanic. 

[kpsia518]

5 minutes ago, tyro said:

I understand what you mean but I think it just makes no difference anymore. You will waste time with an "ancient" mechanic. 

is this SI official answer or what ? 
"don't care." ?

[tyro]

I am not an SI employee. 

Just trying to help. You want to spend time on fluidity. It is your choice. For me personally I don't really care if it says "Team Fluidity: Ice Cream" 

It makes no difference to me - personally. 

I set up my roles and duties and as you have seen in the new tactics revamp it seems to be only a label. It seems to be very counter-intuitive to click on your duties to make sure you get structured or whatever. Wouldn't you just select the roles and see what you want them to do and then if it is fluid or flexible or ice cream then that's what it is. Rather than oh all have to be support now I have very fluid. Makes no sense to me. 

That's why I think it is a waste of time. Again. My personal opinion. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by tyro

[kpsia518]

3 minutes ago, tyro said:

I am not an SI employee. 

so that is,we waiting for answer.

its a bonus for you too if they give us a guide line answer.

if don't what can we do ? we test we ourselves
 

 

[Rashidi]

1 hour ago, kpsia518 said:

any requirement guide line for Team Fluidity in FM19 ?

some thing like,

Fluid = require 3 or less attacking role,or or not more than "how many" player been given "hold position" instructions
structure = require 4 or more attacking role,or not more than 4 ~ 5 player been given "hold position" instructions

very structure = what requirement ?
flexible = requirement ?

very Fluid = requirement ?

Erm i don't care what the fluidity setting is. I just make a system and go. I know there are people who are gonna chase the rainbow called Team Fluidity, and I can't wait. Cos while they chase it and end up somewhere in the deepest darkest parts of  the world . I am in Tahiti, sipping cocktails playing FM.

[kpsia518]

2 minutes ago, Rashidi said:

Erm i don't care what the fluidity setting is. I just make a system and go. I know there are people who are gonna chase the rainbow called Team Fluidity, and I can't wait. Cos while they chase it and end up somewhere in the deepest darkest parts of  the world . I am in Tahiti, sipping cocktails playing FM.

 

Quote

i don't care what the fluidity setting is. I just make a system and go.

yea,i play like that too.

but i just want  "knowledge".

 

what happen if i do this ?

what happen if i do that ?

any effect or any difference between fluid vs structure vs flexible ?

or its just some thing like "ad" display there. 

[tyro]

Team fluidity: Tahiti

 

How many support roles I need for that? Someone to bring the cocktail? Someone to massage? Hmm

[Rashidi]

structured less support in transitions, fluid more support in transitions. How many support = number of support duties. Thats all i care about.

[Rashidi]

Just now, tyro said:

Team fluidity: Tahiti

 

How many support roles I need for that? Someone to bring the cocktail? Someone to massage? Hmm

Thats the setting i have in my game. So far I have been smashing every team i play. I used  Everton to hammer United 4-0 using a 442, then next game i played a 4231 to hammer Spurs 4-0. My Team Fluidity was Tahiti. I didn't care.

[westy8chimp]

@tyro @Rashidi good analogy and i agree...

The only trouble is.... The old system is still there in some capacity. This needs an answer... Is it a bug that the old screen happens to be available... Or is the wretched tag for fluidity actually still linked to the same old shape function! And we just lost control over it and @herne79 shot jfk, didnt land on the moon, took down the towers and then lied about team shape being removed!

Joke aside it is suspicious that they obv havent done away with it by completely erasing... And they left an annoying tag with seemingly no purpose, but far too similar, descriptions in its place. 

11 hours ago, jckc221013jamie said:

you can still change team fluidity tho this must be a bug

 

Edited October 26, 2018 by westy8chimp

[kpsia518]

11 minutes ago, Rashidi said:

structured less support in transitions, fluid more support in transitions. How many support = number of support duties. Thats all i care about.

that may not all correct,

i do some test for you,this is what i learn :

fluid = not more than 3 attacking duty,more support duty,& not too many player given "hold position duty" in PI.

structured = atleast 4 or more attacking duty,or too many player given "hold position duty" in PI.

*you will get structured if you set all your CD,IWB,HB,IF in support duty,but you give them "hold position " in PI.

so more support role + more player given "hold position " =  structured

[tyro]

12 minutes ago, westy8chimp said:

@tyro @Rashidi good analogy and i agree...

The only trouble is.... The old system is still there in some capacity. This needs an answer... Is it a bug that the old screen happens to be available... Or is the wretched tag for fluidity actually still linked to the same old shape function! And we just lost control over it and @herne79 shot jfk, didnt land on the moon, took down the towers and then lied about team shape being removed!

Joke aside it is suspicious that they obv havent done away with it by completely erasing... And they left an annoying tag with seemingly no purpose, but far too similar, descriptions in its place. 

 

I understand your concern. Herne, Rashidi (I don't remember if Cleon also mentioned this) saying it is a label or they don't care about it, is good enough for me. Additionally, you can't really control it, so it doesn't seem important. 

Maybe this is transitional so people still see this year what fluidity it is maybe they realize it is confusing to display it and they'll remove it next year. 

Either way, for me personally, I'm ignoring it, as I approach the game with what makes sense to me. I think it is one of those things that can take a lot of your time away and you will never have a final answer. 

 

[herne79]

31 minutes ago, kpsia518 said:

 

yea,i play like that too.

but i just want  "knowledge".

 

what happen if i do this ?

what happen if i do that ?

any effect or any difference between fluid vs structure vs flexible ?

or its just some thing like "ad" display there. 

Any difference between fluid / structured / flexible?  You have more or less players using a support duty.  That's it.  End of.  Nothing else.  Team Fluidity is just the label given to how many players have a defend / support / attack duty.

All that's happening here is you are associating these labels to the old extinct Team Shape because they've been given the same names.  That's the only similarity.#

 

12 hours ago, jckc221013jamie said:

you can still change team fluidity tho this must be a bug

Please raise this in the Bugs forum.  At best this is misleading, at worst it's just plain wrong.

[westy8chimp]

Need someone to create a skin that hides it 

[Rashidi]

11 minutes ago, kpsia518 said:

that may not all correct,

i do some test for you,this is what i learn :

fluid = not more than 3 attacking duty,more support duty,& not too many player given "hold position duty" in PI.

structured = atleast 4 or more attacking duty,or too many player given "hold position duty" in PI.

*you will get structured if you set all your CD,IWB,HB,IF in support duty,but you give them "hold position " in PI.

so more support role + more player given "hold position " =  structured

Like i said i am not following down the rabbit hole to the deepest darkest parts of the world.  So enjoy your trip :-)

[Rashidi]

14 minutes ago, tyro said:

I understand your concern. Herne, Rashidi (I don't remember if Cleon also mentioned this) saying it is a label or they don't care about it, is good enough for me. Additionally, you can't really control it, so it doesn't seem important. 

Maybe this is transitional so people still see this year what fluidity it is maybe they realize it is confusing to display it and they'll remove it next year. 

Either way, for me personally, I'm ignoring it, as I approach the game with what makes sense to me. I think it is one of those things that can take a lot of your time away and you will never have a final answer. 

 

Good one, in this edition I am more concerned with mobile and static pivots and how to create paths of resistance. This tactical creator has brought out the creative in me.

[herne79]

@kpsia518  What rashidi is getting at here, besides sipping cocktails, is that what you are doing is meaningless.  It has no impact.  You are trying to find reason in something that has a 0.0001% chance of impact on anything you do in game.

In other words, while you are chasing that meaningless rabbit, scratching your head and trying to find some reason in it, rashidi is off hammering ManU and Spurs 4-0 without a second thought about "fluidity" followed up by cocktails on the beach.

[kpsia518]

2 minutes ago, herne79 said:

@kpsia518  What rashidi is getting at here, besides sipping cocktails, is that what you are doing is meaningless.  It has no impact.  You are trying to find reason in something that has a 0.0001% chance of impact on anything you do in game.

In other words, while you are chasing that meaningless rabbit, scratching your head and trying to find some reason in it, rashidi is off hammering ManU and Spurs 4-0 without a second thought about "fluidity" followed up by cocktails on the beach.

 

i think SI should hide it or keep booming by this question.

from movie :"its only the begining..."

& you know other ppl will keep asking.

 

its not just me,for me i will get answer myself.

[westy8chimp]

4 minutes ago, kpsia518 said:

 

i think SI should hide it or keep booming by this question.

from movie :"its only the begining..."

& you know other ppl will keep asking.

 

its not just me,for me i will get answer myself.

Changing your duties will change the tag. It is just a tag, with no function. 

Would you rather choose your duties to suit your tactic, or change your duties to get a pretty tag? 

You can work the answer out yourself by switching between dutys and roles... But what will you gain by knowing the answer if the tag doesnt do anything? 

It the tag says structured it doesnt have any impact at all... It wont behave like structured used to in team shape.

[NabsKebabs]

People still talking about shape? It's irrelevant guys c'mon.

In previous editions it was extremely relevant because it REDISTRIBUTED your teams duties. Now it's just an interpretation of what you already have.

For example in FM18 you could create a system and play in on very fluid. That same system could be labelled "highly structured" on FM19.

Absolutely no point paying any attention to it anymore. Just get your roles and duties right. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by NabsKebabs

[phnompenhandy]

Far be it from me to join the OP in mutilating an equine corpse, but the responses do raise an interesting issue. I get the impression from the more experienced tacticians that support duties have an inherent advantage in general over attack and defence. Why would it be foolish to set too many support duties?

[kpsia518]

Just now, westy8chimp said:

Changing your duties will change the tag. It is just a tag, with no function. 

Would you rather choose your duties to suit your tactic, or change your duties to get a pretty tag? 

You can work the answer out yourself by switching between dutys and roles... But what will you gain by knowing the answer if the tag doesnt do anything? 

It the tag says structured it doesnt have any impact at all... It wont behave like structured used to in team shape.

 

you know football,so you don't need it.

but still some player got zero in football knowledge

but tag = guide for ppl with zero in football knowledge
structured = player not move that much.

when i see "structured",i may know my player may not move that fluid.

its a guide line for "baby". 

[westy8chimp]

2 minutes ago, kpsia518 said:

 

you know football,so you don't need it.

but still some player got zero in football knowledge

but tag = guide for ppl with zero in football knowledge
structured = player not move that much.

when i see "structured",i may know my player may not move that fluid.

its a guide line for "baby". 

It would be if it was founded on some sense  and thats a good explanation...

But seems as its just an arbitrary calculation looking primarily at duties, it isnt even a useful guide for babys

[NabsKebabs]

1 minute ago, phnompenhandy said:

Far be it from me to join the OP in mutilating an equine corpse, but the responses do raise an interesting issue. I get the impression from the more experienced tacticians that support duties have an inherent advantage in general over attack and defence. Why would it be foolish to set too many support duties?

There's no rocket science going on here:

Defend = defend

Support = defend and attack

Attack = attack

Is it an "inherent advantage" as such? No. Why would that be the case?

It would be foolish to set too many support duties if it didn't suit what you're trying to create. If you're looking for more penetration, you're going to need more attack duties. If you need someone providing more defensive cover in a certain area of the pitch, you're going to want to consider a defend duty there. 

[phnompenhandy]

1 minute ago, NabsKebabs said:

There's no rocket science going on here:

Defend = defend

Support = defend and attack

Attack = attack

Is it an "inherent advantage" as such? No. Why would that be the case?

It would be foolish to set too many support duties if it didn't suit what you're trying to create. If you're looking for more penetration, you're going to need more attack duties. If you need someone providing more defensive cover in a certain area of the pitch, you're going to want to consider a defend duty there. 

Well there's a little bit of Key Stage 2 level rocket science. On support duty isn't a player going to defend going to defend when out of possession and attack when in possession? There might be a difference in their reaction during transitions, but is it not generally safer to hedge by using support duties in most positions other than the ones where you can't such as poacher or centre back?