[How to handle a game when a player is sent off]

I'm usually off down the tunnel chasing the player that got sent off 

 

I'll opt for a 4-3-2. I feel it keeps the opposition CBs honest and stops them from pushing up as high as they'd like to. It gives me a way out, with the 2 up top if the opposition try to camp in my half and press my back line. I tend to place both FBs on support to avoid us being passive on the flanks and my midfield 3 can be placed on support. Although, I like to have a CM on attack just to try and grab something on the break. As Delboy said: "He who dares, wins!"

When you're down to 10 men I find it takes the pressure off a little bit. Strangely I find it calms me and allows me to make better decisions. Therefore I'd be a little more aggressive with 1 midfielder and possibly both strikers. Nothing to lose now lads, type of scenario.

[How do you use touchline shouts?]

For me it depends on a few factors. As @Hilly1979 said, the opposition do play a part. For example if I'm managing Ludogorets and I'm away to PSG, there is no way I'm going to berate the team if we're losing. Morale is already going to take a hit if we lose and lose heavily. I don't want to compound it further by losing it with the players and potentially running into a poor run of form in the next few games.

New signings: If I have made a few new signings and they're in the line-up, I won't be too hard on those players. I will individually talk to them (encourage mostly, occasional demand more) and then give the others a kick up the arse.

Youngsters: It's the same with youngsters. I like to build them up and allow them to play without added pressure. If I have a youngster with good determination and a positive personality I may test the waters if he has a poor game by giving him a rocket but he would have to be playing really poor for this to happen (6.0 for instance). He would also have to have been generating poor match ratings for 2, 3 or maybe even 4 games for me to want to crack the whip.

Time in the job: I also like to take into account how long I've been in the job; my reputation and level of support from players. If I've just come through the door and the managerial support isn't great then I'd be wary of gobbing off at the players. It would disrupt things early on and possibly make my job harder.

Player personalities: Considering the hierachy and dynamics is another thing I take into account. For example in my previous job at AC Sparta Praha I was playing away against FK Teplice. According to the betting odds we were being touted as comfortable favourites. I noticed before the game that several players were complacent. I tried to rectify it with a stern pre-match team talk. We were winning 2-1 by the hour mark and playing reasonably well but still a few players were showing signs of complacency. We eventually won 3-1. I berated the team at full-time.

After the match, Bořek Dočkal (Team Leader & Icon) informed me that he wasn't happy with the team-talk and felt it was too harsh. I thought "here we go" I was ready to let him have it until I realised that 14 players agreed with him.  Our relationship soon fell apart after that lol.

 

Now I have no idea if any of the things I like to do actually make that much of a difference or how long morale would stay low after games if I gave the team a verbal volley. It's just how I like to approach shouts and the fragile subject that is morale.

[Recruitment, adaptability and language families.]

Thank you Daveincid for clearing that up. It is much appreciated.

[Recruitment, adaptability and language families.]

I've been thinking about this question for quite a bit now and I can't seem to find anything that answers it.

 

Let's say I'm managing in the Netherlands and I want to bring in a player from Germany. Will the fact that the German player speaks German, which is in the Germanic Language family like Dutch, have any bearing on the time it takes him to learn Dutch? Or is it down to the player's adaptability attributes, personality or random chance?

 

It would certainly change the way I view recruitment if it were based on the language families.

 

 

[[FM22] Attempting a Graham Potter style 3421 tactic]

I agree with Cam NBH regarding the aggressive press. A quick ball out to the flanks and depending on the opposition formation/roles you could face an overload down your flanks instantly. Your midfield are then forced to cover spaces and could be pulled apart.

Your top 3 players will struggle to get back during the defensive transition to help so it's left to one of your CBs to step up if players in front of them are overloaded and can't track runs because they're filling in holes or covering your WBs.

It also looks like a lot of pressure on your SS to score goals. He is also only really being fed by your AP. Potentially your DLF could weigh in with a few passes, too.

There is the concern that your attacks could become a bit predictable as it looks like you're trying to smash your way through the center. You could become crowded out by a static defence.

All of the above is just my opinion and could be rubbish though and you could end up doing well. That's what I love about this game. You just never know.