[Anyone here not rotate their squad?]

6 hours ago, Spurs08 said:

It's always been there, but in FM18 it became much more visible to users and therefore easy to manage through a dedicated Medical Centre screen. It was one of the major new features for this year's game.

Thanks.  Would have been a bit annoyed if SI overlooked this, to be honest, plus annoyed at some poor results obtained when resting players who could have played.  If I were to discover long-term wear and tear isn't in the game, I might even be tempted to continue to rotate as before to role play its existence, which would be awkward, to say the least.

[Anyone here not rotate their squad?]

Surely even if particulars and interface change, someone must know whether something so fundamental exists in the game or not?  If so, it would probably have existed for many years, and if not, its introduction would be a big deal.  As I said, I play like it does, because I assume it does—FM has a great level of detail and leaving out something so important to football would seem a huge oversight that makes no sense—but I've not actually seen any evidence.  Are you certain it exists in FM 18, or are you just talking about the usual Condition percentage (or something that's replaced that)?

[Anyone here not rotate their squad?]

I don't see anything like a Medical Center.  The Injury column simply states what current injury, if any, a player has.  Doesn't even say the expected length out.  It certainly doesn't show how worn out a player is.  I suspect whatever you're talking about may not exist in FM 16.

Regardless, I'm not entirely sure you've answered the question—when you say "it shows you how worn out a player is," what does this look like?  Is it a number differing from the usual Condition percentage?  Does it exist in FM 16, whether visibly or not?

[Anyone here not rotate their squad?]

What about injuries?  Is there a measure of fatigue the game keeps track of we can't see (that is, "behind" the condition percentage), over the course of a season or multiple seasons, where a player being played into the ground gets jaded or has an increased risk of injury even if his condition on a given day seems fine?  I play like there is.  I mean, I try not to rotate too much just because I don't have quality backups, and I certainly will play a player whose condition is in the 80s if I feel I have to, but I will sometimes rest a slightly but not overly tired player for no reason other than he's been playing a lot.  Is this a waste of sorts?  Am I voluntarily handicapping myself in those matches (setting aside the fringe benefit of pleasing the backup)?

[Quickfire Questions and Answers Thread (Tactic and Training Questions Only)]

On 3/9/2018 at 05:03, Deserter28 said:

How does the affiliate thing work with a senior club? I'm AFC Wimbledon and we've just signed a deal with Liverpool. It's mid-season so I don't think I'll get any players until the start of next season. Do they send me a few to pick from, or should I try and loan any of their U-23s / U-18s that might work? Do I get a choice on who they send?

This seems to have been satisfactorily answered but I'd like to piggyback on it.  I'm playing FM 16, managing Curzon Ashton in the National League, and my senior affiliate is Luton in the Championship.  They have plenty of youngsters available for loan and they always accept offers without requesting a fee.  (Though this was NOT the case for a couple of older players who were loan listed only because they were on the fringes and unhappy.)  And yes, I get a report (I think twice a year) on these players.  The problem is that these players fall into two categories: players who are not nearly good enough and players who don't want to come.  Luton accepts offers no problem, then the players turn them down.  I understand that I'm playing at a much lower level with a low reputation, but should Luton not be leaning on these players to go on loan for the experience and to increase their chances of making the first team someday and because that's the whole point of the affiliate agreement?  Also, I know it's not really tactics or training, but the second term of the agreement is that I'll host an annual friendly and keep all gate receipts.  However, Luton never accept friendly proposals, saying they're too busy.  What's up with that?  In short, the affiliate is useless to me beyond the 9500 pounds they give me each year.  Do I just have a poor one?

[How many of you still use 2D Classic?]

I apologize both for this question being somewhat off-topic and for posting it multiple times in the forums, but I'd really like to be able to do this and don't know where to ask.  If someone knows, please advise.

Is there a way to be able to see player numbers (NOT names) in 3D?  I prefer 3D (though the 2D option is nice to have for post-match analysis) but I find it hard to distinguish the players.  The floating names are too large and would obscure the action, but numbers would suffice.  Oh, and I'm playing FM 16.  Anyone?

[Pairs & Combinations FM2015 - UPDATED]

On 9/19/2016 at 20:25, isignedupfornorealreason said:

You've identified conceding as the issue yeah? How are you conceding the goals? Positional errors? Long shots? Sustained pressured?

Yes, I should have figured I'd be asked.  The problem is that I've conceded so many (43 in 18—worst defense in the division) that it is very difficult to pick out an overall pattern.  I've certainly conceded from positional errors, long shots, sustained pressure and more.  (I know that the latter two are at least partially a consequence of a low block but I think it must be possible to figure out how to concede fewer.)  Perhaps I would say that angled crosses through the area, long balls over the top and simple failures to clear balls defenders have gotten to are the leading causes, but I'm not even totally sure of that and I'm not sure how helpful it is if true.

According to the game, I've conceded 36 to placed shots, 6 to headers and 1 penalty.

In terms of assists, I've conceded 2 from corners, 1 from a free kick, 5 from passes, 15 from crosses, 2 from long balls, 2 from mistakes and 9 from through balls.  That would seem to confirm my concerns about crosses.  It would seem to contradict my memory of conceding to long balls, but I'm not sure how exactly the game classifies these (notice they don't add up to 43).

11 goals have been scored from the goal mouth and 24 from the outer-central part of the box, which to me suggests weakness in my central defenders and in my goalkeeper challenging for balls.

19 assists have come from my left wing, 4 from my right, 5 from inside the box, 4 from beyond the box and 4 from far out.  (Does this mean my left back should definitely be a FB and not a WB?  Maybe even drop him down to FB(s)?  He is my main provider of assists, though.)

Not sure what can be made of all this, but any advice would be appreciated.  Also, to be clear, I'm not complaining.  I understand that I have the worst team in the division and conceding a lot is going to happen no matter what I do, but I am tied in 9th for scoring.  So if I can go from conceding very, very many goals to just regular old very many, that could be enough to keep me up.

[Pairs & Combinations FM2015 - UPDATED]

Hi all,

I'm managing Curzon Ashton in FM16, playing FM for the very first time.

First, I'd like to thank llama3 for the great guide.

Second, I'd like some advice on the tactic I'm using.  If this would be more appropriate in its own thread or elsewhere, please let me know.

I'm in the Conference North playing possibly the weakest playable English team in the game (media prediction 22nd, dead bottom), so I've kind of had to make the most of my resources.  I have been able to find very few players to improve my squad who are willing to join and wage money is tight.  In this tactic, the only positions occupied first-choice by new players are left back and right wing, though I have managed to bring in a few others as backup.

                

                 P(a)   TM(s)

DW(s)   DLP(d)   B2B(s)   W(a)

FB(a)   CD(d)      LD(d)     FB(s)

                    GK(d)

 

Mentality: Counter

Team Shape: Structured

Team Instructions: Higher Tempo, Slightly Deeper Defensive Line, More Direct Passing, Stick to Positions

 

Overall I'm looking for a relatively direct, physical counter-attacking style based on being defensively compact.  I am struggling, though.  Obviously as much as I would like to score more, I would say that generally speaking I'm scoring enough (considering I'm perhaps the worst in the division) but I'm conceding too many.  I'm closer to the average for scoring than for conceding.

I have tried the P as an AF, which worked okay, but I think the change to the P was beneficial.

DW may seem a somewhat unorthodox choice on the left, but this guy, possibly my best player, is actually a natural left back and far better suited to DW than to W or WM.  Plus, defensive stability.

I've also tried the left back as a WB but he's less comfortable in that role.  He seems to overlap enough as a FB.

Central midfield does okay but I'm not sure that a DLP(d) is a solid enough sitter.  Both of these guys could play CM(d) if they had to but are less good at it than their assigned roles.

I've tried the left central defender as a stopper.  He was okay but I think I want him on defense to hold position more with the Counter mentality and deeper line.

I'm using no player instructions and there may PPMs that are counterproductive or advisable ones missing.

I'd hope the thinking behind my team instructions should be pretty self-explanatory.  I used Look for Overlap for awhile but I think the full backs overlap enough anyway, especially the left back, who is probably my most prolific crosser.  In the interest of a tighter defense, might I want Close Down Less?  A Much Deeper Defensive Line?  Stay on Feet?  Be More Disciplined?

Sorry for the length of this post, and thank you in advance for any help.