swede

This is some excellent stuff @Cleon! Started reading yesterday, and it 's well written and informative. Certainly looking forward to more. In parts I think it's a bit sad that SI has to rely on people like you to explain how the tactics engine works and how you can get your team to do roughly what you want, but on the other hand the quality of the stuff you come out with is good enough to actually be officially part of the game. It's also a joy to read, so there is an upside. I've always had a bit of an issue with how FM fails and emulating real word communication with players in the sense that we can't just stand in front of a tactics board and say 'ball goes here you press for 4 seconds then go here' etc, but people like you go to great lengths to reduce that deficiency in the game, and SI should be at least as grateful for that as we plebs are.

Love this skin! Althou I can't get stadium pictures and backgrounds to show.

Thanks for answering! Yeas, pretty much what I tend to do with Villa. Just 12 games in but sitting at 4th, with a lot of draws, but it's consistent points at least. I tend to win possession mostly, but probably need to upgrade my IWBs next season. I like the style of play, and the movement created can lead to some really sublime attacks.

This is really well put together, and even a tactically inept virtual manager like me can see the patterns here. How does this deal with counter attacking teams, sitting back and easing off? Any particular things to take into consideration?

Pause the game during highlights at key moments, when you lose the ball for example and your team transitions from attack to defense, and the other way around. See where your players are, try and find better positions for them for that particular situation if you struggle for some reason. Take it from there and keep it simple.