cocoadavid

First of all, I think FM23 is one of the best FMs ever, overall the ME is great, it is a big improvement (I know every ME has its flaws, but still..). But this year this question really bothers me. The effect of mentality on passing directness has always been pretty clear to me in previous versions of FM, even tough they changed it from time to time, you could see it on the UI of TIs and PIs, the effect from very defensive to very attacking was clear and linear. But now, for the first time in almost 20 years, it is not straightforward to me and I am confused, I'm pretty sure they changed it compared to previous versions. (I'm sorry if you've already seen my question on this forum, but nobody has answered me since. If someone from the SI staff would clarify this I would be very grateful.) FM21 For example in FM21 the default passing directness went from slightly shorter to slightly more direct, it was visible on the TIs : very defensive mentality: slightly shorter very attacking mentality: slightly more direct Older versions In older versions of FM there was a time when it worked like this - it worked differently, but it was straightforward, you could clearly see this effect in PIs: more defensive mentalities (cautios and lower): - defend duty players: more direct passes - attack duty players: shorter passes more offensive mentalities (control and higher ): - defend duty players: shorter passes - attack duty players: more direct passes FM23 ??? Now it is mixed up, because when you look at the In Possession TIs, the default passing directness looks like this: very defensive mentality: slightly more direct positive mentality: slightly shorter until this point it seems like it is almost the opposite to how it worked on FM21, at least according to the UI but! on attacking mentality it starts to go more direct again... attacking mentality: normal very attacking mentality: sligthly more direct So... how does mentality affect passing directness in FM23? Cheers, David

Question: this year (FM23), what effect does mentality have on passing directness? FM seems to be changing the effect of mentalities on passing directness/longness from time to time (at least according to the UI), and this year the effect is not clear to me yet, so if someone from FM could clarify this, it would be very welcome. To me it was clear how it used to work previously, but for FM23, looking at the UI, it is confusing. Older FMs: In older FMs (around FM17 or something), it worked like this (you could clearly see this effect when you looked at the player instructions): more defensive mentalities (counter/cautios and lower): - defend duty players: more direct passes - attack duty players: shorter passes more offensive mentalities (control/positive and higher ): - defend duty players: shorter passes - attack players: more direct passes FM 21 On FM21 the UI suggests that it it has an effect on the whole team ('In Possession' TI): more defensive mentalities (cautios and lower): - shorter passes more offensive mentalities (positive and higher ): - more direct passes So, for example, according to the UI: - Defensive mentality: the default passing directness for the whole team is "Slightly Shorter" - Attacking mentality: the default passing directness for the whole team is "Slightly More Direct" FM 23 Now, according to the UI: Defensive mentality: Slightly More Direct Positive mentality: Slightly Shorter BUT on Very Attacking mentality, it is: Slightly More Direct, just like on Defensive mentality. So when someone looks at the UI, it seems like that mentality does not have a linear effect on passing directness, it goes from More Direct to Slightly Shorter to More Direct again. Do you see why it is confusing? So could someone from the FM staff please clarify what is the effect of mentalites on passing directness this year? Thank you in advance, David

FM seems to be changing the effect of mentalities on passing directness/longness from time to time (at leat according to the UI), and this year the effect is not clear to me yet, so if someone from FM could clarify this, it would be very welcome. To me it was clear how it used to work previously, but for FM23, I'm confused. Older FMs: In older FMs (around FM17 or something), it worked exactly how @Feron has described it above (you could clearly see this effect when you looked at the player instructions): more defensive mentalities (counter/cautios and lower): - defend duty players: more direct passes - attack duty players: shorter passes more offensive mentalities (control/positive and higher ): - defend duty players: shorter passes - attack players: more direct passes FM 21 On FM21 the UI suggests that it it has an effect on the 'In Possession' TI: more defensive mentalities (cautios and lower): - shorter passes more offensive mentalities (positive and higher ): - more direct passes So, for example, according to the UI: - Defensive mentality: the default passing directness for the whole team is "Slightly Shorter" - Attacking mentality: the default passing directness for the whole team is "Slightly More Direct" FM 23 Now it really is confusing, because, according to the UI: Defensive mentality: Slightly More Direct Positive mentality: Slightly Shorter BUT on Very Attacking mentality, it is: Slightly More Direct, just like on Defensive mentality. So when someone looks at the UI, it seems like that the mentality does not have a linear effect on passing directness, it goes from More Direct to Slightly Shorter to More Direct again. Do you see why it is confusing? So could someone from the FM staff please clarify what is the effect of mentalites on passing directness this year? Thank you in advance, David

I just want to add a few more sources to back up my opinion. Mikel Arteta, the one who might know Saliba's qualities best, said: "I think the way he has established himself, the composure and leadership that he's shown on the pitch – it's done in a very natural way without any flashlights, just being himself. Being very quiet but, at the same time, very confident." (https://www.arsenal.com/news/every-word-artetas-pre-liverpool-presser) The Athletic's Arsenal correspondants: "His composure and his coolness at the back of the team is blowing my mind." (Handbrake Off - the Athletic's Arsenal podcast) Video showcasing his composure:

I just want to add a few more sources to back up my opinion. Mikel Arteta, the one who might know Saliba's qualities best, said: "I think the way he has established himself, the composure and leadership that he's shown on the pitch – it's done in a very natural way without any flashlights, just being himself. Being very quiet but, at the same time, very confident." (https://www.arsenal.com/news/every-word-artetas-pre-liverpool-presser) The Athletic's Arsenal correspondants: "His composure and his coolness at the back of the team is blowing my mind." (Handbrake Off - the Athletic's Arsenal podcast) Video showcasing his composure:

Hello, I did not consider his PA, so 16 might really be too high, I must agree. But I still think that his composure is definitely well above average even at Premier League level, it is one of his most talked trait - and a lot of football analyst/writer share this opinion - that is why I think 13 is too low. As you have said, generally he is composed, and I think the mistakes he makes could rather be influenced by other attributes in the game, such as consistency and concetration, as these can improve as he gets older. Even the best defenders, like Van Dijk, make sometimes mistakes from time to time when out of form or have a bad day. I respect your opinion, composure is not something that can be measured easily, but I hope that you will consider improving his composure attribute in future updates.

Arsenal's Saliba's composure is 13 in the game,which I think is not high enough. One of his main strengths is how he can keep his cool with the ball at his feet and he remains calm even if he is pressured by multiple opponents at the same time. Multiple sources, such as the Athletic and Skysports, highlight that his composure is one of his skills that makes him so good. If you rewatch Arsenal's matches or search twitter you can find multiple examples when he was extremely calm in dangerous situations. Sources: https://theathletic.com/3652063/2022/10/04/william-saliba-arsenal-tottenham/ https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/12717881/william-saliba-allows-arsenal-to-move-up-the-pitch-and-dominate-opponents-as-evolution-under-mikel-arteta-continues https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/rio-ferdinand-arsenal-william-saliba-28133635 Recommendation: Increase Saliba's composure to 16. Thank you, David

Sections Prologue How teams in real life defend using 442 Implementing the compact 442 in FM 1. Prologue A mid-block 442 is my favourite defensive shape. I have had great successes in FM using 442 formations, most of the time using an Advanced Forward. But despite the good results, I was never fully satisfied, because our defensive shape was not as compact and as organized as I imagined, it was not how teams using 442 defended in real life. Diego Simeone and Marcelino are the masters of 442, but sometimes even Guardiola’s Man City uses a 442 defensive shape, more often than you might think. So I started experimenting, read a lot of articles and analysis, and I think I managed to create a good system that replicates a real 442 defensive shape, and now I would like to share it with you. 2. How teams in real life defend using a 442 Vertical and horizontal compactness is the most important part of a successful 442 defensive shape. The midfield is congested and the play is forced down the flanks. Both forwards are asked to track back. Most of the time, the opposition’s central defenders are allowed to have time on the ball, and the strikers, instead of pressing the central defenders all the time, focus on blocking passing lanes to the defensive/central midfielders. But as soon as the ball goes to a full back, the pressing intensifies, forcing the full back either out wide, or forcing a pass back to the central defenders. The opponent’s central passing options can be marked tighter. Balance is important: since the opposition's center backs are not under intense pressure, teams try to stay deep enough to protect space in behind in order to prevent a dangerous long ball from a ball playing defender, while simultaneously staying high enough to avoid intense pressure in dangerous areas closer to the goal. Below a classic 442 by Marcelino's Valencia. Below you can see that the forwards do not press the center backs and the full backs are left free. Below you can see how Atletico man mark’s the central passing options. 3. Implementing the compact 442 in FM OPPOSITION INSTRUCTIONS Implementing this defensive system, Opposition Instructions are crucial, so I’m going to start with this. central defenders: never mark tightly, never press wide players (DR/L, WBR/L, MR/L, AMR/L): always press defensive midfielders and central midfielders: always mark tightly, optional: always press This is how I set up: OUT OF POSSESSION INSTRUCTIONS Compact mid-low (Lower LoE + standard DL) or mid-high block (Standard LoE + higher DL) Force Opposition Outside I also encourage you to use either Get Stuck In and/or Mark Tighter, to ensure that your defending is not too passive. IN TRANSITION counter: you are defending in a medium or low block, and 442 formation is ideal for counter attacking, I don’t think it needs too much explanation. counter press: this is optional. I want my team, and my strikers to occasionally press the opposition's central defenders, high up the pitch, and the counter press is perfect for it. In real life you can see that sometimes teams press high up the pitch, but then retreat to their solid 4-4-2 shape. When the counter press is on, it overwrites the OIs. In my experience this instruction creates a good balance between pressing and standing off. I also instruct my team to play narrower, and a narrower shape always helps counter pressing, because more players are closer to the ball. But I don’t have this option always turned on, sometimes I turn it off or switch to regroup. PLAYER DUTIES In order to have a really compact, real-life defensive shape in FM, both your strikers and central midfielders should be on support duties. I think it is not surprising that both of your strikers should be on support duty - in my experience a Complete Forward - Target Man combo works really well together. I am going to explain why I avoid using defend duty on CMs. Central midfielders with a defend duty do not stay in line with their midfield partner, and instead act more like a defensive midfielder, creating a 4-1-3-2 defensive shape, and not a 4-4-2. Here is an example why I avoid using the defend duty on central midfielders. I changed my right central midfielder's duty to defend. He leaves his midfield partner, leaving a big open space on front of him (white circle), and this gives an opportunity for Ruben Vezo to pass the ball into a good position. If he stayed higher up the pitch, in line with his midfield parner, he could mark or immidietaly press the opposition's central midfielder. (I am not saying that using a defend duty player in CM is bad in general, I am saying that if you would like to create a real-life-like 442 defensive shape, you should avoid it.) As a starting point, I suggest the following distribution of duties, this has worked well for me. In the example below focus on the duties, the roles are flexible. Defence: one fullback on support and the other on attack duty. Midfield: attack duty for one (or both) of your wide midfielders, support duty for others. Strikers: support duty for strikers. PLAYER INSTRUCTIONS When the opposition plays with a Defensive Midfielder, I usually aks one of my strikers to mark the DM. Other player instructions are flexible, depending on the player roles. ATTACKING This writing is focusing on defending, but I also want to say a few words about attacking with this system, because it has worked really well for me. Since the hole shape is compact and the players are close together, I prefer a quick, short passing game with a narrower width. We can play with a quick tempo, because chances are that because of the compactness there is always a free teammate nearby, and the players do not have to think too much, they can make decisions quicker without losing the ball. My tactic The tactic you see below is a base, sometimes I change player roles, but never duties! I change the roles depending on my available players and the opposition. I also play around with TIs. A few examples: If I want to play more urgently and put more pressure on the opposition, I change the mentality to Positive and/or defend a notch higher (mid-high block). Sometimes I want to let the opposition have more time on the ball, maybe giving me more opportunity for a counter attack, therefore I turn off counter-pressing. If I want to protect a lead in the last 5 minutes, I may change to regroup. If I want to waste some time and save energy for the last few minutes, because for example I am going to have an important game 2 days later, I switch the mentality to Cautious, switch off counter, max out time wasting, and instruct my GK to slow pace down. I have the following PIs for this setup: FBL: sit narrower DCR: stay wider WBR: stay wider IWS: sit narrower, more risky passes, roam from position TM: mark opposition's DM The SK on support duty really works well. His first instinct is to pass the ball to the central defenders, but sometimes he plays the ball forward to the TM, or finds a free man on the flanks. IN-GAME EXAMPLES pure 442 Below you can see that my strikers are marking the opposition's defensive/central midfielders, so the opposition's CB can only pass the ball to the other defenders, or he can try a risky pass, but then we might win the ball back. Here we have won the ball back and are in an excellent position for a dangerous counter attack In possession we often have a 3-1-2-4 shape. Finally a short summary to this approach: never tight mark or press opposition’s centre backs tigh mark opposition CM and DM always press opposition’s fullbacks and wide players support duty forwards support duty central midfielders compact mid-low or mid-high block get stuck in and/or mark tighter I hope this was helpful for those of you who are obsessed with 442 and I could show you another way how to approach this beautiful, sometimes underrated formation. This is not the only right way to play 442, this is just another way. Cheers, David