[How much use is my B-team that doesn't play matches?]

En 16/2/2024 a las 22:06, Bahnzo dijo:

I'm in Germany and I was asked if I wanted to setup a B-team. I thought, sure, great idea! But my save only has the 3 German divisions and this club is not in those, so it doesn't register as playing games. I mean, it technically does play matches, as players on that squad show matches being played, but if I put a player on that squad, it's not affecting their conditioning (they never reach match shape despite showing games played). 

So how useful is this team? What I'm really worried about is using it with youth players whom are too good for U19, but not ready for first team. Are they going to continue to train and improve as well as they would otherwise, or am I risking the development of that 17yr old with a great potential?

In Germany, many reserve teams play in unloaded leagues, so maybe that's the reason they aren't affiliated in one. However, they are still useful.

Your reserve team manager can set up friendly matches every week, so the players in this team will have playing time, although their growth won't be as good as when playing competitive matches. It could be useful to develop young players with not enough potential for your first team but who may grow enough to be sold for a profit. Also, it allows you to accommodate more players in the club, so you can make some business. Loan the best ones and let the rest develop until they can be sold (even if it's only a couple thousand euros, if you can trigger a next sale clause, that's good business).

It's also useful to provide match recovery and keep match sharpness for players who are recovering from injury or who won't play enough as starters.

Finally, I'm not sure if Germany is the same, but in some leagues these teams may move up the ladder to a playable league (never to the first division). After all, theoretically, they are playing the pro ladder.

[Getting boring now same outcomes over and over]

hace 5 horas, Delicate Dave dijo:

I don't think you understand how computer coding works. But I'm not here to teach Computer Science so I apologize, what I mean by the story is how the game plays out. IE you go 2 goals up then draw the game. I'm not changing anything during the time of the score being 2-0 to 2-2 so yes the drew is predetermined based on my choice pre-game, but I don't know why. Could be stamina but that doesn't show on the player at the time. Could it be just the keeper's stamina or concentration? I don't know but the times this is happening in FM24 - I've managed about 12 clubs now - It's annoying and I can't seem to resolve it by the players or tactics.

For those that think they are playing a "live events" let me explain how computer code works in all games (by the way I used to manage computer coders, not an expert in code but know how it works). You as a player are offered choices, this produces actions and then those actions are executed along with existing pre-coded actions. In Football game terms all that FM does is produce a set of different ways games will be won or how many goals will be scored & many other events. At the start of every game yes the result and score are predetermined to the extent that only you making changes during pre-set periods in the game will change that outcome. The pre-set periods are the spaces in actions that have been stored now being processed. You interrupt these when you click pause but the game doesn't re-calculate till the end of a process. That's why you see delays in instructions you offer and why you can't do things like "shout" instantly from the touchline as a real manager can - IE your action choice needs to be processed, calculation re-done and slotted into the preset period.

Before discussing tactics, I'd like to acknowledge something first. I'm not a code engineer or anything but I think you're contradicting yourself. It's true that there's a difference between when the ME calculates outcomes and when you see the visual result, but that doesn't invalidate the engine as a representation of football. Comparisons with real life are unfair for obvious reasons, but even if you could narrow the time between calculations to the point a scream was calculated right when you do it, in real life a scream from a manager doesn't necessarily make any difference. However, you seem to believe, to a certain extent, that the outcome is decided before the match even starts. This is not the case. The delay is neither that long nor that simple. Many of the ME inputs are variables that interact with each other. Energy levels, for example, aren't fixed because they depend on how they interact with the physical attributes of the player and how you change your tactics mid-game (focusing play down the wings drains stamina faster in those players, both for you and for the opposition).

Now, talking about tactics themselves:

I am, again, no expert, but I can point out some conceptual failures that may benefit your playstyle:

• The shape you see on the tactics screen is your defensive shape. The roles determine the offensive shape by each player's movement. Currently, you have nobody covering the DMC position, neither in defense nor in attack. Your CBs aren't stepping forward, and your CMs aren't retreating (BWM is a hound dog, he doesn't drop or hold position). This means you are giving away the edge of the area for free, especially when defending.

• You don't have any cover behind the wing-backs, because a NCB won't always be in a position to cover for his partner and the center defense at the same time. This means more through balls behind their backs, more crosses without opposition, and more goals in later stages of the game when your tired players may can't cover that ground fast enough.

• I don't know your players, but a CWB has to be a superb player to do this effectively. The most important are the mentals. They can't be average; they must be outstanding. If not, they will be out of position constantly and fail to perform in later stages of the game.

• Some of your instructions are contradictory. Pass into space asks for quick transitions, but if you tell your players to regroup after gaining the ball, many of them won't make the forward runs to counterattack. Being more disciplined tells your creative roles (CWB, WB-at, AM, and MEZ) to not risk the passes and not roam that much, so they sometimes won't create enough or they will make outstanding passes while their partners hold position. Your NCB will kick out the ball when they are pressed. This means you are giving away possession, contradicting the instruction to play out from the back and giving the opposition team a lot of chances in late game when your players are tired and may not cover space quickly enough or make good enough decisions.

• As said before, you are exhausting the wings when focusing play left/right. They already have difficulties covering the space behind them. This would explain why you concede late goals, when they can't cover effectively or are caught out of position. Even if you substitute them, the substitutes are probably not good enough to perform in exactly the same way as your starters.

• Finally, "step up more" is the new wording for the offside trap, which won't work that well in a mid-block and may be even worse for the plays behind the defense.

Finally, consider that even in real life, late goals against and having to fight back from an early goal is pretty common. Just look at the last Man City games. So it's not necessarily unrealistic, although maybe by correcting the above stuff you can diminish it happening.

Hope you can fix it, mate. Have a nice day

 

[Rondo]

I wold guess that actually is impossible not to have rondo in your training schedule. IRL every youth academy and pro team I have visited uses rondo as a primary excercise in training, from U8 to 1st division. Is not even a "training focus", is just the baseline (in Latam).

In game there's no mention of it other than ball possession training.

[Wage Structure Spreadsheet | Revamped and overexplained]

En 8/2/2024 a las 7:17, lilljons dijo:

Im going to try this out!

 

How ever, i play with a different currency - will it affect or is it all the same? Just look at the numbers per se.

Doesn't matter, they are just numbers. The currency is just to add flavor cause In Game there's only one global currency. Hope you find it useful

[Wage Structure Spreadsheet | Revamped and overexplained]

hace 8 horas, st4lz dijo:

Looks awesome! Clearly, a great effort was put into this.

I like all types of analytics people use while playing the game, but appointing the wage structure is something I can't fully grasp.

Firstly, when I want to sign a player, I negotiate hard. Even if I plan to use the player as a first-team member, I don't hesitate to give him an Impact Sub, if he agrees to. Regarding wages, the transfer fees often surpass the yearly wage multiple times, so the wage is usually secondary. If I can sign a player for 500k and I know his value is around 5M, I can easily give him 500k p/a like other First Team players in my team, even if I know he wouldn't play regularly. Also, the problem with pre-defining key players is, that if I see they are underperforming, they immediately sit on the bench. I don't care who is the Important Player and who is Fringe, if they earn their chances, they play. This may change a couple of times throughout the season, and I am not too attached to it. If a player is unhappy about the playing time, well, everybody will have to leave eventually, if a good offer comes at the right time I sell, no matter how unsettled he is. 

I am worried the wage budget would put too many constraints on the way I am managing clubs. Don't you feel it is too much corporate management for a football club?

Yes, I do the same, hard negotiations where I try to get the lowest wage / agreed playtime. And obviously performances are almost always > dinamics.

However, that's not the use of this table. You can think of it like a lite moneyball style. It only gives you a picture of a given moment in wich you can see what's the state of the finances relative to the agreed play times so that you can make decisions. For example, in the picture of my Ajax save, I know from first day that Bergwijn and Berghuis must deliver good performances, otherwise I should start looking for replacements while if they perform I may consider not replacing them, or can try to lower their wages (If, for example, I value their leadership, position in dinamics, personality or ITs as very useful)

Realistically, in Ajax this sheet will probably get used as a simple guideline for new signings after two seasons, but I find it very useful the lower I go down the league ladder. In non-league I have to be very cautious of who is getting paid and wheter or not they are performing accordingly, or if a new signing demands ceratin wage I just end negotiations and go next. Also, as I go up I can be on top of how much I am willing to pay for an improvement.

Yes. Is kind of too much corporate haha. But I'm playing football manager :P There's folks in here who have gone a lot deeper in the moneyball rabbit hole.

[Wage Structure Spreadsheet | Revamped and overexplained]

TL;DR: I shamelessly copied and gathered inspiration from various sources, and now I'm sharing my new wage structure spreadsheet with you. Below are instructions on how to use it, explanations in the middle, and downloads at the bottom. Maybe it'll be useful to you.

Credits: This is my own spreadsheet, but I gathered information and received inspiration from the following sources:

- https://www.reddit.com/r/footballmanagergames/comments/15v0zyf/club_wage_structures_anybody_else_implementing/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/footballmanagergames/comments/17jxuuz/how_do_you_not_screw_up_your_wage_structure/
- https://community.sigames.com/forums/topic/564908-how-do-you-setcalculate-wage-budgets-to-set-a-wage-structure/ 
- https://fminside.net/guides/financial-guides/54-how-to-use-a-wage-cap-in-football-manager 
- https://community.sigames.com/forums/topic/577189-wage-structure-excel/#comment-14110950

I am aware that there must be other places where this has been shared or discussed, but these are the ones I looked into.

How does it look?

This is an example of my Ajax save in the first season (23/24). As you can see, there is a nice color scheme that indicates some overpaid starters and important players from the start, as well as room for squad players who could be given more playing time.

 

This is an automated sheet, so every time you modify the info, colors, and calculations will change accordingly.

How to use it?

1. First, you must download it. There is one protected version, so there's no risk of breaking formulas by mistake.
2. Enter the required info. You can fill the cells surrounded by a black border:

 

 

A. Player's info. Wages are in £ per year/week according to the one you downloaded. End of the contract is dd/mm/yyyy.

• Key player: Star & Important players.
• Starters: also includes the first-choice GK
• Squad players: squad players and below, I make no distinction.
• Prospects: the most important upcoming youngsters. In big teams, usually the best among U23/U21/B team.
• Youth: future prospects and below, practically everyone in U18.

B. Total budget: transfer budget + wages budget + scouting budget. (you can see all three in the finances tab, to the right, in the default skin)
C. Scouting budget (you can set this according to your level and finances) I usually do it by multiplying Scouting package cost * 0.5.
D. Your preferred percentage of wages budget against your transfers budget. In small teams and non-league, this usually is 100%. For big teams, I have found that 80% is a healthy ratio and then I test it over time.
E. Percentage of Buffer: it's healthy to have some non-spent money that can alleviate bleeding cash for unexpected needs, like increasing the scouts' budget or paying bonus fees.
F. Number of matches that you expect to play in a season (this helps to better calculate the recommended appearance fee)
G. Important dates for the end of contracts. By default, I want to know which players are in their last 1 or 2 years.
H. Ideal number of players you wish to have eventually. The ones by default are based on a team with U23/21/B team and U18 team. The exact numbers and calculations are in the EXPLANATION below.
I. Change these as you wish. The ones by default are the ones I use, but feel free to redo.

 

 

Once you enter the info, everything else will calculate itself. There you have it.

 

EXPLANATION

Why is this important?

Many managers fill the forums with issues derived from upset players who want their agreed playtime, and others avoid this issue by overspending. Having a strong financial structure ensures you are always in the green, or at least, that you can have enough reaction time to see the issues coming.

Also, a clear wage structure tied with the agreed playing time allows you to evaluate your players. Who is being paid for poor performance? Who doesn't deserve their playtime? Who deserves a raise?

In my experience, although it's difficult at the beginning (it's tempting to give a superstar whatever they ask, and negotiations can take a hard turn once you see a player who accepts a squad player position but charges an important player wage), the end results are extremely healthy finances, a full squad of happy players (I already know who will not get next season's Christmas), and a tight planning. Also, the naturally growing room for wages allows you not to be afraid of buying megastars when the time comes.

How am I calculating these numbers?

OK. By researching in a lot of places and some testing, my ideal configuration right now is based on a 75 players full-squad, 25 per tier (senior, U23/B, U18)

4 Key players
7 Starters
11 Squad p.
14 Prospects
36 Youth
 

and for smaller teams, a 50 full-players squad (senior and U18)

4 Key players
7 Starters
11 Squad p.
7 Prospects
21 Youth

Obviously, we're talking about the ideal. Those are the numbers that I expect to achieve during the first two seasons after rebuilding.

Now, the numbers.

Total budget is all the money you, as a player, have at your disposal. It's divided between transfers, wages, and scouting. The reason I use this added number is so I can manage the squad building and club finances at the same time. With other methods, there's a tendency to break the bank account if you suddenly enter on a takeover or have to make emergency signings in lower leagues.

Every club and every manager has a style for scouting, so I allow myself to decide my scouting budget based on the pack that I can afford. Also, since you always want to have some extra for individual scouting, I usually calculate this by +50% (pack cost * 1.5). Unless you have a very long shortlist with the checkbox for keeping the reports up to date at all times, usually it's ok. And if you spend it all, there's always the buffer.

To me, 80-20 in the wages-transfers budget ratio is more than enough unless you are already ahead of the curve.

Once you have filled the spaces, you can see the percentages each tier of player takes from the budget. In my first example, Key players account for 29% of the wages budget. This is then calculated per player on the left.

Bear in mind that the entire sheet uses only two values: base wage (weekly or yearly) and appearance fees.

The formulas are:

For recommended max base wage: ((wages budget * %tier) / #players per tier) * 0.8

For recommended max app. fee: (((wages budget * %tier) / #players per tier) * 0.2) / (#matches per season * %matches expected per tier)

As you can see, I have divided the 100% of a player's contract (when you sign it) into 80% base wage and 20% for the maximum app. fee. (the number displayed is purposely taken down, so in reality, you have the buffer + some unaccounted budget for other bonuses, but I don't want to math. The point is, you can put in other bonuses and maybe never notice the difference)

Also, I assume these numbers for the % of matches each tier expects to play in a season:

Key: 90%
Starters: 65%
Squad: 50%
Important prospects: 20%
Youth: 1% :P

This is matches played, so matches paid for, NOT matches as a starter. Even if you substitute a prospect, he is being paid the full app fee.

 

DOWNLOADS

Everybody plays differently, and honestly, who knows if this will be used by anyone, but just in case, I have created different files for different kinds of FM managers, so that you can play with the numbers and configs as much or as little as you want. Also, I usually play in the local currency of my club, but since the majority of you are playing in £ that's what the protected versions use. I have divided the community into:

"I just want to use it but not break it": protected sheet, only allows you to write into the black boxes.
- Beta weekly wage guy: same formulas but divided into 52.
- Yearly wage enjoyer

"I want to break it": you can edit as you wish.

 

Thanks for reading. Let me know your thoughts or if there are mistakes, and have a nice day.

 

Just_use_not_break_YEARLY.xlsx Just_use_not_break_WEEKLY.xlsx I_want_to_break_it.xlsx

[Tactical Question-Player instructions more direct]

Hello. Sorry if I'm late, was having family bussines. Without image is complicated but I'll do my best. 

Try first reviewing your duties, since having both forwards and the ap in attack is not gonna give you the required movements to liberate a player. You can use the pinged thread on Pairs and Combinations in this forum to create a more balanced team. Specially since you want the through ball is useful to have a nice balance between the aggresive and supportive forwards and the attackers incoming from behind, otherwise you are just pushing the oposition's cbs against their own goal and the space will be harder to find at the back.

In the meantime I would also sugest for you to try playing without work ball into box, since this artificially lowers your tempo in the final third, wich summed up to your duties will create a steady defensive oposition, tucked back. Work ball into box is used specially when you have a team that's so superior that you can just pass the ball around, but the actual ball at the space is hard to achieve, since there's less space there once the other team is positioned. You need very skilled players with the right IT's to make it work. Otherwise is just paralizing your own flow. 

Also, bear in mind that having a higher line of engament doesn't only make you press higher up the pitch. It also pushes the oponents cbs against their own goal as said above. Unless you have a good reason to press that high (be it because your cbs can easily win aerial balls/fast af to prevent counters, you have very hard working forwards who win the ball consistently or your midfield sucks) you may want to retreat a little, so that the other team's cbs have more space to get forward and preventing both, that they send deep balls on counter attack all the time and creating more space at their backs, so it's more likely the through balls can actually have a target and the oposition needs to cover more terrain to get in defensive shape.

If you find the way to reduce the picture of your tactic maybe we can tweak it a little more.

Have a nice day

 

[Only Support Duties?]

Any place where I can see examples on the use of only support duties on a tactic? Or at least, the most support duties possible?
What are your thoughts regarding using only supp roles?

[Tactical help needed, relegation side in the premier league.]

Nice. That looks like a fun game to watch.

Regardnig your tactics, I guess you could probably tweak it a little (and you should) according to your players performaces and what you watch on the field. From what I see you may wanna take out the pressure on goalkeeper destribution, since you have already a lower line of engament you basically are running for nothing. Actually you may want his goalkeeper to distribute so that you can instead pressure the CBs. They are more likely to hoof the ball and when you win the air duel your striker will be in line with the defense and more prone to beat the offside trap, wich with him up field would find him completely outside.

Also, you may want to avoid the take short kicks on distribution, since you want your gk to hoof the ball to start kick counter attacks, but this one depends highly on wheter you have Cbs capable of playing the through balls or not, if you have them then maybe you can kick short and play out of defense, effectively compressing the team shape before the forwards run.

Is not written in stone however, so you should try stuff as you go, specially when in counter attack, since this kind of tactic is hard to make it work from the start, since it relays a lot in who are you playing with  and against.

One advice would be for you to read the pinned guides in the forum. A lot of stuff may not be viable for you, but can give you some insights in how certain stuff in the tactics interact within each other. Also your team doesn't look too weak in general, judging by those last games, so you should try, as a secondary tactic, to use the pairs and combinations guide to create a more "standart" tactic, neither gegenpress nor counter attack, but something you would play against a team of equal strenght as you.
That may help you understand the basics of combinations without abandoning your safe tactic and maybe find out how really strong are your players. Sometimes you may be playing too conservative and that can be a problem too, cause a counter attack tactic against a weaker team is less effective.

Keep the good job mate, and let us know how your save evolves.

[Tactical Question-Player instructions more direct]

Neither. Assuming that you have the players to play a shorter passing style as you say, that killer ball should come naturally as a result of the roles and duties of players, tactic draw in attack and traits. 
Playing more direct will make them more likely to hoofball, even in your playmakers, cause the Player Inst. cant change the behavior of the role.

I would suggest:
1. Post your tactics and relevant info, so that we can help you with a little more context.
2. In the meantime, try shortest pass and slow tempo (not the slowest though, since that could backfire depending of your players). Set the line of engagement and defense in standart. The pressing, shape and In Transition as you see fit, but make sure to mark Play out of defense and Distributing to Centerbacks/Playmaker. This way you wil play more in the midfield without overpressing, creating the space you want at the back. If you set the right roles, so that someone can exploit said space the you will have that passing style with killer balls. Also the killer balls individual trait could be useful in the playmakers, even of not necesary, but that can take some time

[CM act as FB/WB Cover in build up phase.]

You can set a CM in defense or a DMC with the PI of staying wide when in possession. That way he will take the vacated space once the FBack goes up. Another option is to use the Carrilero, wich sole purpose is to provide wide cover when in retreating shape. You just have to set the Fb to look for overlap so that he doesn't go up when the carrilero is out of position.

[Tactical help needed, relegation side in the premier league.]

If you have players fit to counter attack or feel too overwhelmed then try with a DMC in front of your CFs. Position your IW and trikers to attakc and then lower line of engagement and defensive line, up the tempo and play into space. That assuming you have decent defense and fast forwards can give you some punch at the counter. 
If that is not the case the get standard lines and keep playing with a DMC but mix the duties so that you can have some ballance in attacking a defense (use the Pairs and combinations pinned guide to this effect)

The reason for the DMC is beacause unless you have very goo defensive MC or CBs that space will be empty and can be heavilly punished by the AMC in the other team. 

Try to use the most basic tactic you can and then you can readjust, so that you can look for what works best with your players. A good hint is to look at the comparison page so taht you can assess where are your gaps and where can you achieve some advantages.

About the crosses. Ussually you should leave it unmarked unless you have a very good header so you throw tall crosses or you have a possession scheme (low crosses). It wont affect that much in other circumstances. Also, if you don't have good crossers or use IW is pointless, since they wont deliver them correctly regardless of which you mark.

[My false nine is useless and other tactical issues.]

En 10/2/2022 a las 7:04, _mxrky dijo:

This is the tactic. The aim is to create a 3-1-6 shape on the ball. A sort of 442 off the ball of sorts. I want to the inside forward and amc to be the two main people in the tactic since they are my best players. I have added get further forward on pi's for both so they get behind the false nine. Why no attack duty? I find the attack duties start to high up the pitch which is bad for build up possession and they are to greedy due to individual mentality of very attacking. But I think I may have to change this because it's not really working. Why weird assymetric formation? Only way to press effectively on fm21 from my experience is having at least 3 players in amc strata and because I don't like how wide the mezzala is and how narrower the amr is since I won't him as wide as possible.

Player instructions 

AMC - take more risks, get further forward, move into channels, 

IF - get further forward, hold up ball, mark specific player (lb)

cm - roam from position, move into channels

iw - a - stay wider 

dm-s - hold position, shoot less often 

wb- s stay wier

fb - d - sit narrower, cut inside with baller

rcb - stay wider

My main issue is that my false nine is completely useless. He doesn't drop deep to recieve the ball. he doesn't play others in or create. Just completely anonymou. here is the player I am using:

He's obviously incredible and ideal to play the role, but the performances are poor:

Essentially what I want to achieve is: Getting my inside forward and amc to produce as much output as possible, but not being so aggressive that they ruin the possession dynamics of the team. Getting my false nine to create for them and others. Creating a 316 in possession with the rb forming part of back three. 

If what you want from your F9 is the creative output then the problem right now is your tactic. 

Lets begin by anknowledging the tasks of a F9. Essentialy this would be to stay in front as a tradicional forward, dropping then deep to participate in the buildup play and from there setup the attacking midfielders/forwards/inverted wingers that can fill the space inside the box and score.

From that point of view, your are using your roles in a wrong way, cause right now there's nobody in your team who is been asked to consistently get inside the box to fill the gap, neither someone who supports him to create space in first place. To explain why, you have to think in the kind of runs that your players do according to their roles. (This is better explained in the Pairs and Combinations pinned guide)

Basically, depending on the role, a player will be more likely to do one of three kinds of runs:

Suntained runs - in wich the player runs at an average speed all around the place in an attept to be relevant. This is done in exchange to a lack o explosiveness in movement. This would be your classic box to box working midfielder.
Dynamic runs - where he usually runs or jogs around at a slower pace and then he explodes, using his pace and intelligence to either look for the space, make himself available for pass or disrup the  opponent's defensive line. This could be the Mezzalla, IW or SS.
And whatever is called the FB running - wich is like a crescendo run, where they start a low pace and speed up as they get closer to the box and then they jog or run slowly to either reposition to continue attacking or going back to defensive shape.

A F9 is usually set to make dynamic runs. And that is one of the reasons you usually shouldn't leave him alone as a striker whitout an AMC, a second striker or a highly aggresive IW/IF. That's because his movement most of the time is running at a low pace while looking to exploit the space. However, a lone F9 will be most of the time covered by two CF and/or DMC, where they can basically take him out of the game without even man marking him. Your player is good, has the right attributes and physically fit, but he is been asked to behave in a manner where is hard for him to participate. He may take the defensive line with him, but the space liberated is not been exploited by your AMC, neither for your wingers. In essence, he is been downplayed by your tactic.

You mentioned that your AMC and IF/IW have the get further forward PI. But you may be confusing Get further forward with Get into box. The first one basically tells them to get at least one more strata up the field than normally without playing or, more importantly, running, in a different way. The second one is a personal trait wich tells them to dynamically run into box once they get near enough. 

Your AMC is a player who makes most of the time sustained runs. Specially when he is in support duty, What your F9 needs is someone who makes dynamic runs from the AMC strata in order to disrupt the defensive shape and either make space for the other to run and score or get free from the CBs to get to the ball and use his creative skills without the enourmous pressure of the defense. That's why the most common companion to a F9 is a SS or an attaking AMC, since those can aggresively take the CBs with them as they run, liberating the creative striker.

Right now, you don't have the kind of runs needed in your other players so that he can get rid of the markers. The AMC will get forward, but his running is not aggresive enought to make the defenders move. And your IF is in support, making him much more conservative. Your attacking IW is too far back, and by the time  he possitions himself the opposition usually has rotated the marks or the DMC has man marked the striker.

So, how can you fix it if you want your F9 to deliver his part? Well, you have some choices:

- You can put behind the F9 an SS or an attacking AMC so that this one can make the runs into space as explained above.
- You can have a much more aggresive IW/IF. This one is less effective deppending on the type of player you have and if they can really get into box or just get to the final line to cross.
- You could tell the F9 to roam from possition. Is way less effective, since he will go to the sides, where he may not be that isolated by the CFs, but also makes him have a lesser impact on game. If your player has a lot of physicals he may get the ball here and fast forward run into box, but is not the more consistent.
- You could expend some time teaching him the Comes deep to look for ball (don't remember the actual name, but you get it) so that he wont get to the AMC strata when going deep, but much much deeper, kinda like 2022 Messi, making him more participative in the creative scheme but making him less of a score trait.
- You could teach some AMC or IW players the trait to get into the box for simmilar outcomes.
 

Remember that the F9 is essentially a playmaker, so the opposite CFs will be by default more willing to follow him around than they would do with another player. If you don't support him he will never be in a possition to affect the game. My favorite variation is playing with a F9 + SS until I can teach the striker the coming deeper trait, and then I can change him to a Complete Forward in support whitout the SS, and instead two aggresive IW/IF. That way he will drop deep to be very creative, we wont be that bullyed by the CFs since he is no longer considered the main creative force (on paper  ) and the inverteds can exploit the space and give the back pass to him to score from penalty mark.

 

Hope this helps you.

[Changing no. of substitutions rule mid save?]

However, some leagues do change between seasons. Eredivisie for example, after first season subs rules are back to pre-pandemic (3 subs), even the selection requisites change to be a little more restrictive than covid related ones.

[Next opponent analysis]

It depends of whether or not you use opposition instructions and man marking. Also, unless you change your tactics completely (shape or roles) most of the time these modifications will bring only small advantages, so it isn´t too helpful against weaker teams. If you're clearly better, leave it untouched. However, if you're the underdog it can bring marginall altought valuable advantages.

eg. If your next opponent analysis says they have lots of speed, but maybe are short on crosses you can try playing a narrow deffense and instructing your players to force the legs (righ lb/force right leg, left winger/force left leg) in the opponents fullbacks or wingers, so that you have better chances by guiding those fast players to the sides and forcing them to throw crosses. Or, if the other team happens to be way better than you, but their goalkeepers are bad at passes or they lack bravery, you can force your way by pressing the keeper aggresively in corners.

There are some guides, but there are ways to assess certain situations so that you can have at least some gains, even if they are marginal, and maybe even perform a giant killing or take away a really dangerous player by zoning correctly. For example, PSV's only real threat is Gotze. If you can take him out by man marking him and forcing them to use other players as playmakers then you have half of the match done.

For more specific situations you can just ask here or mathe a thread.

[Wingers and Inv. Wingers, Advanced or Middle]

I cannot seem to understand the behavior of a winger/inv. winger when it's an advanced one or in the midfield. I understand that one of them starts in a more advanced position, but I'm not sure if the advanced one will get furter forward or they both get to same finishing relative spot, only that one of them has to cover more distance. And of course, what would be implication of using each one if the only change in the system is the starting spot.