De Nile

I feel like this Barca had the most eye catching counter attacks than the later and more successful Barca squads. FM2014 could be for Atletico Madrid's 442: La Liga win and 2nd in the Champs. League.

This is great analysis and something I should consider doing in some games but Nine Cloud Nine is right on what it meant to be a classic 10 and how it's easier to utilise their talents elsewhere. I do think your player can be a fantasista(magic man) more than a classic 10/ trequartista. If you look closely at players who show ingenious and creative plays most of the time, they can be the teams magic man, like Messi. I wouldn't call Messi a classic 10 because I think he is more complete offensively than 10s of the past, but he has the magic that all the 10s of the past possess.

I think you are right when we talk about the classic 10 in the AMC position both in real life and in game but what about all the other players who were tagged with the 'classic no 10' but were in more advanced positions such as Del Piero, Zola, Cantona, Roberto Mancini, Bergkamp. These players were very much forwards (second strikers) but still behaved as a classic no 10 most of the time while still being very effective in front of goal. Some of them were born as classic 10s but were forced into playing up front however their talents didn't diminish. I do think these players can be a lot easier to create in game with the 2 striker formations still effective means of progression and easier to create spaces. In real life there still are players who are fantasistas; players who have great imagination and creativity as well as tactical intelligence high up the pitch. With the few chances they have in a match- they are players who make the difference, but these days are more complete or are asked to do a lot more than the players of the early 00s and below. It is just that a fantasista can usually play as a no.10 but not every no.10 behaves like a fantasista. Think of Messi, Iniesta, Neymar, De Bruyne, Illicic, Hazard, Dybala. You can arguably call these players fantasistas but they aren't playing in the 10 spot all the time. Just wanted to shed some light on players who still have the spark of a classic number 10 but are relocated to show their talents in a different position.

Concerning rest attacks how do you exploit the fullback aggressive runs like Ronaldo at Man United and Real Madrid as a winger. He sometimes positions himself after the fullback overcommit and stations as a wide forward. Usually the winger is a bit too defensive and an asymmetric such as a lopsided 433/442 doesn't always defend well.

It is very useful in low leagues but are not overpowered. They are usually only strong enough 2 levels down your actual division and have poor consistency if you sign them but they do tend to have qualities which make them look good on the pitch but not attributes wise. They perform well on the pitch and do enough to bench whoever is not performing. You can sell them and see how far they go in the lower leagues. They are kind of a last resort player which I use only to fill gaps and terrible real players/newgens. Greys should be weak but a lot of international teams use them too.

Extended if anything I got a DOF to sign players for me and now I'm like a head coach instead of a manager so now I need to take more time to see my tactic in action. Never full match though.

Has anyone had a grey player(s) who has astonished you either on the pitch or statically done better than a professional player. Of course, there are times when you can't field a lot of players (common in the non leagues) and usually you get a certain feeling, some players of lesser value on paper perform better than intended on the pitch. Include players who you signed that were formerly greyed out.

For the Hakan situation you could also draw inspiration from times when there were more than one magic player on a team. Like Pirlo and Baggio (Brescia), Pirlo and Rui Costa (Milan), Laudrup and Redondo (Real Madrid)? and more. I also have begun to think more about the classic 10s and I think there seemed to be two different types. The ones who were 9.5s (playmaking + goalscorers mainly forwards) and the ones who were 10s (more focused on playmaking mainly midfielders). Of course it easier to label such players as c10s to prevent confusion but when you compare them between each other there is usually those who have better career goal ratios and those who were more a scorer of great goals than a great goalscorer. Sometimes in FM I tend to not play my 10 in the AM section and opt for playing them in the CM section because most 10s tend to be more inconsistent in front of goal so it can be easier to drop them back and focus more on the playmaking side. Of course there are poor defensively or lacking physically then there usually are runners around the player to clean up for him and to make space.

If you want a player like them it is best to move them wider into the amcl and amcr positions as they so they can drift into the halfspaces more often. More times the AMC will pickup at one person so that's why it is best to use them on attack most of the time. Other place I would use them is as WP very strong in the half space

I don't really care where he is going to be in future, I'm concerned what he can do for me right now. It's no certainty whether the said player will even reach his potential but for now if he has good attributes and can hold his own in the team(i.e. good personality) then it is easier to help development because when it comes to matches I can bring him on knowing he can decipher situations on a same level as his older teammates, that's the first thing . CA comes second, it gives more hope than PA (in a sense it is less unpredictable) and helps me with giving out contracts.

This is great, I'm doing a youth only save too in the lower divisions of Argentina. Despite being semi-pro, only thing is we are unable to give players part-time contracts - only youth contracts for under 17 players so once expired most are taken away. Hopefully you make it the top.

I think of last year's Lazio when I look at the title albeit they were more vertical tiki taka combined with sparks of genius play and they were able to transition well even when the counter wasn't on. Created overloads on both sides of pitch when in the middle third and they didn't send half of their squad on the opposition backline when in the attacking third which made it easier to press when out of possession.

Looks good - similar to last years Roma

Option to check if a league accepts retired numbers or not. Numbers should be described for either posthumous, legend of club or number dedicated for fans.

That looks really good, this is the second recreation I've seen that uses a back 3 to get a back 4. The WCB has to be really good to cover the left half space and the left flank, I suppose the regista defends the space in front of the defence and mezzala helps when the ball goes out wide.

True he reminds me of Van Nistelrooy at least when it comes to dominating the penalty box, sure these days you ask a lot of a striker but sometimes it is good to know that simplicity is still important.

I think this is similar to the Lukaku situation at Chelsea where most descriptions about how to use him were target man like whereas he was more suitable as a poacher.

Maybe I could apply No Bosman rule like china or try and work around that problem. I'm not sure where in the nation transfer rules I should look; could you point me in the right direction.

I would like for my league's nation to able to enter contact/ pre-contract talks with any player at any time or to simply be allowed to bid on any player for free but I would like this to be for my nation only. I believe this isn't possible but if anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate them.

does it work the way you intended

Catenaccio can work for majority of a season but I would advice to use as a defensive tactic against a big team or when you are ahead it is different from parking the bus so do you need an plan to attack. Usually the stats you get from your tactic show give a title but you need to look through your tactic using the data hub if you want to go after a specific style.

4-2-4 High risk, High reward also you got an idea from Rashidi so you must understand his reasoning with said tactic. In previous FM's DMs occasionally were a bit passive than CMs when defending but were very solid in controlling the space to the forwards and aggressive against the AMs, so at least in your tactic your control the midfield happens more quicker and regularly than the DMs in FM23.

Had a team meeting right now because some players were unhappy about my team talks. Morale Manager coming in strong

Some of my players on the starting 11 before playing are originally complacent. Bench almost everyone is complacent. How can I stop this? I already tell them to not be complacent on half time and sometimes at full time. Is it to do with expectations in the league?

The AP and RPM are the more offensive playmakers on the CM strata so if you think an AP isn't it for you than try the RPM.