Adjusting tactic during matches

[woolymuffler]

Just curious what the concensus is (and how it's supposed to work if anyone knows).

I'm hesitant to change team mentality during a match, instead adjusting duties on individual players (change a FB(Su) to FB(Att) to get more players in attack, etc.) as well as changing team passing, tempo and width settings as seems appropriate. But I rarely change the mentality of the team (from Balanced in my current save) as I get the impression from the tactics creator that it's part of the core team style rather than just how attacking or defending you want to be at the moment.

So how do most people do in-game adjustments? Leave the duties/instructions largely the same and change mentality? Or leave the mentality the same most of the time and adjust duties/instructions as needed? Not changing mentality has been working okay for me, but I think my team just out-talents most opponents in my current division (relegated from Ligue 1 previous season and kept team together in Ligue 2), so probably anything remotely logical would work okay.

Am I just making things harder and more tweak heavy for myself? Could I get just as good results by adjusting team mentality instead of individual player duties and team instructions? Is leaving team instructions/duties the same and adjusting team mentality actually better? i have tried it a bit and didn't really notice a huge impact one way or the other but I was hardly scientific about it.

Does anyone know what the AI does? Do they change mentality during matches? I definitely see them get more attacking/defending as the game goes on, but obviously I don't know if that is team mentality as a whole or tempo/passing directness changes.

[Johnny Ace]

I'm much the same, I'll rarely change mentality and would rather change TI's, player roles and duties and the personnel  

40 minutes ago, woolymuffler said:

Am I just making things harder and more tweak heavy for myself? Could I get just as good results by adjusting team mentality instead of individual player duties and team instructions? Is leaving team instructions/duties the same and adjusting team mentality actually better? i have tried it a bit and didn't really notice a huge impact one way or the other but I was hardly scientific about it.

That depends I suppose on how much you're changing in game, 1-2 changes wouldn't be a problem, 10-20 then you risk deviating from your tactic too much 

42 minutes ago, woolymuffler said:

Does anyone know what the AI does? Do they change mentality during matches? I definitely see them get more attacking/defending as the game goes on, but obviously I don't know if that is team mentality as a whole or tempo/passing directness changes.

Yeah, the AI change mentality, they have all the tools we do 

[woolymuffler]

So the AI changes mentality but doesn't change instructions? Or does it change any and all settings possible? I realize only SI would know this for sure; have we ever gotten any details beyond the AI has the same tools as we do?

[drhay53]

personally I've trained three different tactics with the same base roles and duties; a high press based off of the gegenpress preset, a mid block based off of the control possession preset, and a low block based off of the fluid counter preset. The high press and mid block are on balanced and the low block is on cautious. I switch between them largely based on feel; but typically if things are going well I don't change much at all. Why change if I'm winning the xG battle? The goals will come, or they won't, but if we play better than the other team, I leave things alone. 

 

During the match, though, I do occasionally adjust a few things; sometimes I'll focus play depending on the opponents weaknesses (either formationally, tactically, or a certain player, or all of the above). Sometimes I'll use OI's and the pressing traps to funnel the ball to certain areas where I think I'm stronger. For instance funneling fullbacks onto their inside foot and trapping inside when the opponent looks weak in central areas, etc. Sometimes I'll move tempo a tick up or down, depending on how the opponent is pressing. Sometimes I'll change crossing instructions; either the type of crosses or checking hit early crosses. 

 

I don't like to change duties and roles in desperation simply because I know the passing options are well-balanced the way they're setup, and changing them always seems to reduce the effectiveness of our attack.

 

I would say the breakdown of how I play my tactics is roughly:

at home - 15% gegen, 80% control possession, 5% fluid counter

away - 85% fluid counter, 10% gegen, 5% control possession

 

I don't have the exact preset options for each of those; I tinkered with them a tiny bit. Usually removing things like run at defense. I tend to leave most things unchecked and let the players play to their attributes, only making adjustments if things aren't going well and there's a pretty obvious thing to try out.

[Johnny Ace]

2 hours ago, woolymuffler said:

So the AI changes mentality but doesn't change instructions? Or does it change any and all settings possible? I realize only SI would know this for sure; have we ever gotten any details beyond the AI has the same tools as we do?

The AI will adjust Mentality, TI's, player roles, Opposition Instructions, you can see this happen in game  

[The3points]

I don't know. There are sometimes where I like the gist of what I'm seeing, I just want it more aggressive across the board (if we're playing well but need a goal). Normally it is just PIs and TIs for me though

[CARRERA]

Whatever works is right.. Anyway, most likely I‘m making changes to TI‘s and duties. In a very few cases I’ll make changes to the formation and team mentality.

 

[Rashidi]

Changing mentality isn’t that bad of a move. It adjusts all the sliders by a small amount. Say you want to reduce risk and at the same time you want to drop your defence a bit. Changing the defensive line itself is a big change, but reducing mentality makes a smaller change to passing, tempo, creative freedom, width, line of engagement and defensive line.

I do this quite a lot on my livestreams. Sometimes I have a lead to see out. I  drop my mentality by one notch.

If you were to drop from say attacking to very defensive is that bad? No, not unless you have considered its impact on the sliders and how your duties react. When seeing our matches, it’s important to consider your overall shape defensively and then consider what you are going to do after defending a ball. Do your players look to release someone in attack? Or do they just hoof it? Your choice of duties and roles might affect how your team plays defensive phases out.

 

[phnompenhandy]

The way I set up my TIs, roles and duties is a very time-consuming, delicate process which is intended to be very fine-tuned. Changing any one part has knock-on effects that go beyond my understanding or ability to control. So my first tactical adjustment is usually to change mentality. I start balanced most of the time and will adjust to cautious or positive, and then maybe in the last 15 mins to defensive or attacking if circumstances require.

[Cleon]

I wrote this a while back and it's one of the chapters in my book. You might find it helpful as a detailed response to your question and might give you a different take on things @woolymuffler

Game Strategies

Before I start with my own plan b’s let's have a look at some of the game plans that other people might or could use.

Before a game

A second formation is something people often use when they feel a team will play a certain way based on the pre-match odds, scout's reports and the analyst's reports. Others might just take a stab in the dark and decide they need to change shape based on how they believe the team will play irrespective of what the reports or odds are.

• The use of team instructions is also another popular one, people might add more of them or remove some if they already use various ones. One of the reasons for adding or removing them is to either counter or nullify a possible threat.
• The use of player instructions also ties in with the above and people might want specific players to do something slightly different from normal for the reasons highlighted above.
• Changing player roles seems to be one that I see people talk about frequently. They’ll change the role to get the player to change the way the team usually plays. Again it comes back to trying to take advantage of a possible opposition weakness or to cover the weakness of the user's tactics.
• Match plans are not something I see people talk about but they can be used to create a specific set of rules for certain points or circumstances in a game. You can use them for certain scenarios you anticipate might happen.
• Using different players is one I see from the odd time. Someone might use a slightly more defensive/attacking player for a particular game because of a certain type of danger or to take advantage of a weakness in the opposition's lineup. Player selection can also be used to target certain individuals in the opposing team.

Those are some of the ways people do and can utilise certain tools available, as well as showing a variety of ways to play before a game has even started. Some users even do more than one of the above before games.

During a game

Some of the changes you can make during a game follow a similar pattern to the above.

• Changing the shape during a game is a drastic change. Nonetheless, a lot of users still seem to do this. They change shape to either protect a lead and see out the game or because they are chasing a result. A change of shape can see them be more aggressive or passive.
• You can use team instructions to change the style of play and to either try and win the game, protect a lead or even take advantage of a weakness in the opposition. They can also be used to cover up your own weaknesses.
• If you want something just as effective but less drastic than affecting all your players like team instructions though, you could attempt to use player instructions instead. These allow you to tailor players and select different instructions which are available depending on which role and duty someone has to give you something different that you might currently lack.
• Swapping player roles is also another good one to use as it allows you to make players more or less aggressive depending on what you need. If you want to hang on to that 2-0 lead but your midfield is very aggressive and leaving lots of space to be exploited, then a quick role or even duty change can make all the difference.
• One of the other things people do is make tactical substitutions and swap out those players who might be underperforming, tired or just because you feel someone else might do a better job.

There are other ways to change games too but these seem to be the most common ways that get discussed. None of them is better than the other and they all can be viable options to utilise at some stage. Which, though, tends to be based on the user's playstyle and which fits best with that. Some of the above are what I class as really extreme though, especially changing shape during a game. I understand why people do it but it’s not something I’d ever contemplate doing but that doesn’t mean those who do, are wrong. It just doesn’t suit my own playstyle.

My Own Playstyle and Strategies

So how do I play the game? I don’t micromanage half as much as people believe I do. I’m more of a subtle change kind of game. In reality, my plan A is my plan B, C and everything after. Obviously, if I’m creating a tactic then I take a slightly more hands-on approach until I believe it’s balanced enough and offers me the style of play I was aiming for. After that point, it’s all about keeping it as simple as possible in order to fly through the seasons in the quickest possible time.

What this means for me is that, if I make changes it’s purely based on what my own players are or aren’t doing. I totally ignore the opposition and just focus on my own side, some might think this is strange because AI is a big part of the game and they’d be correct. However, you don’t always have to set out to play the perfect game and adapt constantly for the AI. You can make subtle changes to achieve this and you don’t always need to be drastic. Also by focusing on your own side, you can stick to the style or brand of football you are creating without constantly trying to adapt and match the opposition.

This allows me to stick to my own game plan. Giving up space to the opposition is fine, in fact, giving up space, in general, doesn’t have to be a bad thing as long as your side is doing everything you want them to do. This is what I focus on. If my sides do what I want and expect of them, then in 90% of situations I will get a result. Let’s break it down and give a few examples of how I adapt in-game for certain situations.

Before I play I never change anything. I stick with whatever my base formation is and choose the best starting eleven I can field. This means I don’t look at the match odds, I don’t pay much attention to the scouts or analyst reports and. There is no adding or removing of team instructions, or player instructions and I don’t even change player roles.

In-game changes

During a game, I don’t tend to tweak much truth. I try my best to stick to the things my team does well, even if I go behind in a game. If I go behind in a game then the context and the manner in which I am currently playing is the most important thing. Even if I go 2-0 down, the context of why is everything. You can be playing extremely well and go behind due to bad luck, or just for the fact, the opposition made a great move. It happens and at times no matter how well you are playing, you have to accept you’ll concede goals against the run of play.

If a game isn’t going well though or I am chasing a result then I do have a hierarchy of sorts that I try to follow;

• Substitutions.
• Player instructions.
• Role change
• Mentality change
• Team Instructions.

That’s the order I tend to follow. If I get to 3, 4 or 5 on the list then **** has really hit the fan. I’ve not used any of those in any of my saves so far for quite some time though. I tend to stick to the first two mainly as it’s simpler for the style and the way I play the game.

Substitutions

90% of the changes I do in games are based on substitutions. For me, this is my playstyle and allows me to influence or change games by doing substitutions. The way I squad build and develop players allows me to use this as a tool because I don’t buy/develop players who play the same position and are similar to what I already have. What I like to do is either find or develop players who will play the role differently from what the others who I have in the squad play.

Rather than getting hung up about someone not having role suitability or that the attributes determine a player can’t play a role, I focus on the opposite. Football Manager isn’t restricted just because someone can’t play a role based on the suitability on their profile screen. Any player can play anywhere, you’ll just find his decision-making may take a hit and it’s not up to the standard of someone more familiar with the role. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t play it and cannot be successful or good at it. If someone has the attributes to play a role he doesn’t have listed in his profile, still play him there. It’s the attributes that make up the skill set of a player so he will be fine.

If we take the striker as an example and for argument's sake say he is a creative (creative as in player attributes) advanced forward. I will build a squad in a way that allows me to also have two other types of players who can play as my advanced forward too and each one of them brings a different skill set. The other two players I utilise in that role could be, one of them offers me a more physical presence and is more akin to a target man above all else. He’s like a battering ram. The other one is your more stereotypical advanced forward. Each one will play the role vastly different and give you a new take on the role.

Now if I was chasing a result and needed to change things around and I knew the advanced forward position wasn’t doing what I wanted, I’d make a change. The player I brought on though would depend on what I felt was the right move. If the creative player was being bullied then obviously I’d bring on the target man type of player so he didn’t get bullied as much and could hold his own. But if I felt I just needed a simpler method and nothing too fancy and flash, in other words, nothing too specific then I’d revert to the good old-fashioned type of advanced forward instead.

That’s just one example and I don’t restrict myself, it could be any player I changed really. It all depends on the context of the game and which players I felt were struggling to do what I expected. This is why I build to bring in and develop different kinds of players, so I can have a lot of variety on the side with players I can bring on in any position and they’ll offer me a different take on that role.

Another example might be that of my defensive midfielders. I have the usual type of player for the role but I also have a very creative player who lacks the usual defensive skills for the role. But more than makes up for it with his creativity. I tend to bring him on if I feel my defensive midfield is doing okay but getting caught in possession time and time again and slowing our play down. I might also use him if I feel that the defensive midfielder is struggling for time on the ball. I’d sacrifice the defensive side of things for someone who can distribute the ball better and might be a calmer head under pressure while having the ball at his feet.

Now I could simply do a role change but that would usually impact how my tactic functions and would have massive knock-on effects elsewhere. So changes like that are usually the last resort and why do I change the player instead. It’s all about finding what works and fits in the way you play the game to simplify things for yourself.

If you were watching me play the game and I made a substitution you’d likely just think I was changing a player and don’t realise it would be a tactical tool that I was using. And switching things up to get a different outlook. It would be very subtle but in most cases, would make a huge change to how the role was functioning before.

That’s my number one method. For my second way we look at;

Player instructions

There is nothing fancy or complicated here but rather than impact the entire team and use team instructions, I might focus on an individual from time to time if I see them doing things I don’t like. An example would be if my midfielder was getting pressed heavily and didn’t really have time on the ball but he had short passing. I might decide that going more direct might help him better and release him from the pressure he is currently under. So depending on the situation or scenario, this would impact what I change.

This isn’t something I do frequently though and in my current save is something I’ve only done four times in six seasons.Nonetheless, it’s still an option.

Role/Duty changes

Now we are treading squeaky bum territory and things are starting to go very wrong. Things aren’t that bad yet but they’re well on the way to being disastrous at this point. So if my usual methods highlighted above had not worked then I’d look at changing player roles to give me whatever I was currently lacking but this has drawbacks too. In most cases, my tactics are set up to play a specific way and what might seem like a simple role change would mean somewhere else, another role was likely to be changed.

An example would be if my roaming playmaker was having a rough time and he usually is the one supplying the ball from midfield to the front players. Not necessarily being a creator as such but more that he was the link and the one bridging the gap from midfield to attack. If I changed his role to let's say, a central midfielder on a support duty then the whole dynamic of what the player offers the team changes. It’s clear that what usually works wasn’t either and a change has to be made so now he’s a CM support.

What I then have to look at is how does this impact the forward players? If they struggled to get a ball from the roaming playmaker but were seeing it the odd time, how are they now going to get the ball from the CM support? He’ll not link in the same way, which was one of the reasons I initially changed him from an RPM. But exactly how does the CM fit into the current play and now where does the supply come from, to the front players. I need to identify this and see if it’s going to be a major issue and then begin addressing it.

My options would be seeing if any of the other midfielders could possibly supply them the ball and if they can, how does this impact how we usually play and how do we make it work. Another option may be asking a striker to come deeper for the ball but then again I have to ask who is then scoring the goals? Sure, a deep striker can score goals but now the way we attack has totally changed which will impact how we score.

While you can make this work, for me, this is one of the most complicated changes I’d make. It’s probably one of the most drastic things to do that is on my list. But it’s not at the bottom of the list for one very simple reason, sometimes, just a simple duty change can be enough. You can make the player more/less aggressive with a quick duty change.

To give you a quick example, if we go back to the striker coming deep. Let’s say we started out that way and I felt the defensive unit of the oppositions were having an easy time because my striker was dropping off, so they didn’t really have any defensive duties to do. I’d maybe give the striker an attack duty if possible and instantly he would be higher up the pitch and suddenly the opposition's defenders would now be occupied.

A duty change is a lot more subtle than a full role change and in most cases has less drastic consequences elsewhere because the role is still essentially the same, it’ll just be starting higher up the pitch or lower down depending on the duty.

Mentality

Changing mentality is relatively simple and you can change the way you are playing in an instant. However, you need to remember that it changes it for everyone on the side and will impact your defensive line and tempo as well. The higher the mentality the more risks you’ll take and the lower the mentality the fewer risks you’ll take. But this is far down my list due to me normally creating a specific style of play and changing mentality would change everything on the side yet again and mean I’ve possibly strayed away from my style. Now I know what you’re thinking, stop being a stubborn ***** and change if it's needed and you’d be correct. However, I am trying to keep things simple and change as little as possible. So this doesn’t really fit that due to how it changes every player's behaviour as we spoke about at the very start of the book.

Team instructions

Team instructions are a great tool to use but again this falls in line with the above, I’m not keen on using things that change the entire team's behaviour unless I really have to. This for me is the last option I’d use and is my ‘out of ideas’ approach. Now I understand how the team instructions work and I understand what they actually change under the hood but for me, it’s still a farce using them. I’ve normally got team instructions selected more than likely anyway based on the style I was creating. Adding more or removing them would take me away from that style or add another layer of complexity to things which I can do without.

So this is how I approach games and think and view the game. It’s probably a lot less micromanaging during games than you were expecting though right? I guess that stems from the guides I normally do but you have to remember, those are normally targeting those who struggle with certain aspects, want to learn more about how the game works or discuss certain footballing philosophies and concepts. So they go into more details than your usual stuff.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Cleon

[woolymuffler]

Wow, got a lot of replies (including some heavy-hitters) while I've been away! Thanks all for the responses. It's interesting that Rashidi and Cleon advocated opposite positions, just showing that there is no right/wrong per se, just what works best for you.

As for myself, I seem to have answered my own question as I've gone on with this Toulouse season. Pushing for automatic promotion, I suddently couldn't buy a goal using the same techniques that had gotten me to that point (Balanced mentality, only tweaking Duties and TIs for the most part), and my attack just looked lethargic, passing the ball aimlessly, with no dangerous runs by the front line or from deep, players very static and indecisive. It's like they had forgotten that the point of the game was to score goals. My setup on Balanced had never exactly been dynamic or fast paced, but we did score enough and had a great defensive record. But even the defense started getting shaky, with aimless passes getting intercepted and turning into opposing breakaways.

After trying my secondary formations (with two strikers) to shake things up by having more forwards on the pitch, plus lots of tweaking duties/TIs, I finally gave in and started changing mentalities based on the match situation at that point instead of only tweaking duties and TIs in Balanced mentality.

And voila; suddenly we were dangerous again and no longer looking aimless, despite having the same players in the same roles and duties. And not just on positive and attacking either; if the other team was pressing hard, Cautious mentality produced more dangerous attacks on the counter than Balanced had been producing, while being more solid defensively due to not having as many aimless passes between the defense and the midfield. Suddenly the Attacking FBs were actually bombing up the pitch, the outside attackers were taking on their fullbacks and running at goal and the forwards were actually making dangerous runs instead of standing around offside constantly.

I still change up team instructions a bit before the match based on who I am playing (They are 3/5 at the back with WBs? We are going down the flanks. 4-4-2? Attack down the middle where we outnumber them, etc.).

And I do still change occassional settings in match as I see things going wrong (Drop Def Line and Invite Crosses if they are killing me with ground through balls, change my creative single striker from AF to DLF(Sup) if he's struggling with offside) but I'm largely letting team mentality do the work.

And so far, it not only is easier but seems to produce better results for me. Which probably means I'm not that great at logically tweaking player and team settings, but also that the player mentality levels that are controlled by team mentality are clearly more crucial to how they play then I ever realized before.