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

[heathxxx]

i finished 3rd last season but my defense was one of the worst, so i want to try the famous nike defense. so, how do i set it up? (using the wizard)

Using the tactics creator, I usually select one defender to be the "Stopper" and the other to be the "Cover".

The more aggressive centre-back I use as the "Stopper", whilst he with better acceleration and anticipation, is the "Cover".

Good examples in my current Man Utd save, are Ferdinand as the "Cover" and Vidic as the "Stopper".

The stopper has the higher playing mentality of the two.

[SCIAG]

As a caveat to what heath says- some people find the stopper as too aggressive when it comes to closing down. Putting the player on a "defend" duty should sort this, and still allow a cover-stopper system (or the "Nike defence", as you put it).

[heathxxx]

Good points SCIAG. Can depend in no small part, upon the suitability of the players you're going to use as the "stopper".

I'm just finding Vidic to be very good with the role at present, because it seems every time he aggressively closes down, he aggressively gets the ball too

[GreyedOutMan]

Why is this game so hard?! Why cant I win even though I have followed all the conventional advice about lower league management?! This game just hates me... it's simple.

Does that qualify as a stupid question?! Does anyone have a good answer?!

[SCIAG]

Good points SCIAG. Can depend in no small part, upon the suitability of the players you're going to use as the "stopper".

I'm just finding Vidic to be very good with the role at present, because it seems every time he aggressively closes down, he aggressively gets the ball too

I also haven't found any problems (though the only stopper I've used in 10.3 is Terry...) but I thought it would be worth letting the guy know in advance that some people feel that way. I saw quite a thread about in on FM-Britain.

Why is the game so hard? Well, there are a lot of variables. Some you can control, some you can control to a degree, others you can't control. To win consistently, you need to be consistently in control and on top of all the variables you can control, and be in a good position with the ones you can't control. It's a tough game in that respect.

[SFraser]

Why is the game so hard? Well, there are a lot of variables. Some you can control, some you can control to a degree, others you can't control. To win consistently, you need to be consistently in control and on top of all the variables you can control, and be in a good position with the ones you can't control. It's a tough game in that respect.

Very much so. It is a game premised not only on paying attention to detail, but actually learning the simulation of football much like you have to in real life.

The "hardness" of the game is a designed simulation of football management in the respect that you must learn the tricks of the trade. Teamtalks are probably the best example of this, one of the simplest mechanics to use yet one of the toughest mechanics to use. It's easy to use teamtalks, it's significantly harder to understand your players "psyche" and use the right teamtalk at the right time.

All the guides in the world pale into insignificance when it comes to actually watching and learning your own players, opponents, and how things work. This is why the phrase "It's your tactics" is so prevailent. No one can fix things for you without playing your saved game.

It all comes down to manager skill at the end of the day, no matter how much you read and watch and understand and test and explore. No guide/discussion/debate/explanation can actually help you make the right decisions at the right time for the right players. That's the real beauty of this game. That's what makes it the best football mangement simulator around.

[LEWI5777]

Hi,

Penalty question. FM2008. I have some pretty good penalty takers according to stats. My training has someone doing nothing but set pieces and this is rated at full stars, so is attack.

And yet in January we have had 4 penalties so far and missed 3 of them!

Is there a way to get them to specifically practice pens? Any other advice?

Thanks.

[SCIAG]

No, there isn't.

It might be worth your while to look at other attributes- especially finishing and composure, with technique and decisions playing small roles.

[Jenko_EFC]

Quite a stupid question, hopefully not the first of many .

Would playing 'Very fluid', 'More disciplined' and 'Stick to position' a good idea for lower leagues as they wouldn't have much freedom, wouldn't roam and be compact or would it lead to them being too creative and attempting things they can't do?

[olejosed]

Hi, just a quick question on where i could find a good corner instructions, both attacking and defending (not the corner cheat)

[Ville Valo]

Quick question about Marking, for a title chasing side, what would be the ideal marking style, zonal, or man? Would midfielders have an effect on this aswell?

[olejosed]

i would also like to ask if there is a decent way to use the search engine. I always end up with being more confused searching for answers than i was before. I tried + and " but im not sure how it works.

[shakeable]

i would also like to ask if there is a decent way to use the search engine. I always end up with being more confused searching for answers than i was before. I tried + and " but im not sure how it works.

Use advanced search on google instead. You can restrict your search to individual sites or domains so type in community.sigames.com . To limit your google search to this community.

http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en

[Freeman21]

Quick question: does having the counterattack option set to "yes" considerably reduces your team's chance to get normal scoring opportunities ?

[vasilli07]

Quick question: does having the counterattack option set to "yes" considerably reduces your team's chance to get normal scoring opportunities ?

Read this.

http://community.sigames.com/showpost.php?p=2906696&postcount=315

[Freeman21]

Wow, a very good explanation, thanks for the link !

[SCIAG]

Later in that thread, PaulC says that he has also increased levels of forward runs when a counter attack is in progress.

RE: Marking. Both systems are good. I prefer zonal marking as there isn't the same chance for your players to be pulled out of position.

[PhroX]

Not sure if this is stupid or not, or even if it's been already answered and my search-fu sucks, but at what point does the "automatic" duty switch between the other settings? I'm guessing Attack has it on Attack, Standard has it on Support and Defensive has it on Defend, but what about the inbetween ones like counter and control?

[shakeable]

Not sure if this is stupid or not, or even if it's been already answered and my search-fu sucks, but at what point does the "automatic" duty switch between the other settings? I'm guessing Attack has it on Attack, Standard has it on Support and Defensive has it on Defend, but what about the inbetween ones like counter and control?

Go to the tactics screen and click the green pitch. That way you get the team instructions on the left side of the screen. Change the strategy and you will see when the duty changes.

It will only change to a defend duty once the strategy is on defend. The same with attack.

[SCIAG]

On counter and control, the duty remains as "standard", and in case you hadn't worked it out, the extremes are the same as their less extreme counter parts.

[PhroX]

Thanks guys

[KharNivore]

now personally i wouldnt consider this a stupid question, but the fear of being flamed has made me post it in here in hope that unlike the stupid questions i dont get a stupid answer.

WHY is their no tactical help/downloads or training schedules for lower division sides and even non league sides.. it seems everyone has developed amazing tactics and training for allreayd top teams, with excellent coaching staff and players, i have yet to see anything for the lowly sides who struggle and the exact sides it would benefit most in the long run.

now if im wrong and maybe i have just missed it (i tried searching it came up blank) could somone link me to a thread where there IS tactical help for lower divisions and training regimes for pretty poor players.

thank you

[SCIAG]

Crouchaldinho's threads tend to focus on widely applicable tactic principles, and the basics of how to build a formation and tactical set up. Crouchy mostly plays in the lower leagues, so his threads tend to be tailored that way.

Here are some of Crouchy's "tactic creation for a formation" threads:

4-2-3-1 formation

Roy Hodgson's 4-4-2

SIMPLICITY - How to make a SOLID & SIMPLE 4-4-2 set

Crouchy’s Highly Disciplined 4-4-1-1: Structural Solidity & Individual Imagination

[Cleon]

The tactical thread's in the tactics bible are all applicable to lower league sides as well as strong sides. I'm not quite sure why people assume you have to play differently, you don't.

[heathxxx]

I've followed similar principals and core tactical approaches, at lower league clubs, top clubs, in different countries.

I can somewhat understand the frustration, as there does seem to be a great majority of shared tactics, having being used with the biggest and most powerful of clubs.

A big problem when it comes to doing tactical posts about lower leagues, is it's invariably the squad building I do, that overshadows the particular tactic I've made. Both go hand in hand though to be fair.

[KharNivore]

Thanks for the input and links guys ill check them out appreicated

[crouchaldinho]

Not so much a stupid question, more just a question for the moderators of this forum.

I wondered if it might be quite a cool idea to have a thread on here devoted to the World Cup and, specifically, analysing the matches tactically and talking about how such tactics might be implemented in FM. It could be a bit like the Zonal Marking website or the Football Lineups one, or whatever.

In fact, with the European Champions League and the Europa Cup finals coming up, plus plenty more domestic football at the business end of the season too, it might also be worth having a general real life tactics thread.

For each real life tactic, posters would be encouraged to post up the team line-up, formation and so on. Then they could give their observations and opinions on the tactical aspects of the match, e.g. player roles, team instructions and so on. Following that, they would need to talk about how to implement the tactics in FM, either using the creator or using the classic mode.

Any takers for this idea? Could bring the tactics forum alive and show people how real life tactics can be represented in the game.

[SFraser]

Not so much a stupid question, more just a question for the moderators of this forum.

I wondered if it might be quite a cool idea to have a thread on here devoted to the World Cup and, specifically, analysing the matches tactically and talking about how such tactics might be implemented in FM. It could be a bit like the Zonal Marking website or the Football Lineups one, or whatever.

In fact, with the European Champions League and the Europa Cup finals coming up, plus plenty more domestic football at the business end of the season too, it might also be worth having a general real life tactics thread.

For each real life tactic, posters would be encouraged to post up the team line-up, formation and so on. Then they could give their observations and opinions on the tactical aspects of the match, e.g. player roles, team instructions and so on. Following that, they would need to talk about how to implement the tactics in FM, either using the creator or using the classic mode.

Any takers for this idea? Could bring the tactics forum alive and show people how real life tactics can be represented in the game.

I like the sound of that one personally.

A World Cup Tactical Match Day thread I think would be excellent for the forum. As long as the comments and discussion was kept on topic and in the theme of the T&TT forum, I think the thread would be a different beast altogether from other World Cup matchday threads in other forums. I could understand how the Mods might be concerned it would be a duplicate to other Matchday threads, and generate similar kinds of discussion, but as I said if it was on-topic and tactical only it would be a great thread for this forum.

I can imagine it being something that I and other users would really enjoy. A match on in one window/on T.V. and the thread open and reading the tactical analysis and tactical discussion of the game from other users. Would certainly trump the analysis and punditry of all the mainstream media, and very likely be a big help to a lot of people to see tactical concepts explained using a real match, ask questions about what is going on/how to set something similar up and more besides.

Excellent suggestion Crouchaldinho. The success of that one-off World Cup thread could maybe be used to judge the merit and ease of maintaining more regular Tactical Matchday threads for other competitions in this forum.

[DocSander]

Not so much a stupid question, more just a question for the moderators of this forum.

I wondered if it might be quite a cool idea to have a thread on here devoted to the World Cup and, specifically, analysing the matches tactically and talking about how such tactics might be implemented in FM. It could be a bit like the Zonal Marking website or the Football Lineups one, or whatever.

In fact, with the European Champions League and the Europa Cup finals coming up, plus plenty more domestic football at the business end of the season too, it might also be worth having a general real life tactics thread.

For each real life tactic, posters would be encouraged to post up the team line-up, formation and so on. Then they could give their observations and opinions on the tactical aspects of the match, e.g. player roles, team instructions and so on. Following that, they would need to talk about how to implement the tactics in FM, either using the creator or using the classic mode.

Any takers for this idea? Could bring the tactics forum alive and show people how real life tactics can be represented in the game.

Cheers for this excellent idea...

Besides the things mentioned above by SFraser, this type of thread could also serve to bring up ideas for future development of FM as the reaches of the current tactical form of implementing tactics in FM are stretched and tested to the limit...

[thawley]

Can someone please help me..

I cannot actually understand how form can change so suddenly in this game.

I'm brentford in league one, yeah fair enough we're relegation candidates but with some very very solid buys i think we should be finishing top half.

Surely it is not realistic to real life football that with the same formation, same/similar players (yeah fair enough the opposition will be able to read it, but really?!) that form can change so drastically. What am i doing wrong? Will give screenshots of any stats etc if people would be kind enough to enlighten me!

I guess i'm not the most 'intense' player, like I dont really look through analysis and choose a formation to fit the opponents etc.. is this a must-do to do well?

heres my results list:

[heathxxx]

crouchaldinho, SFraser, DocSander...

Sounds like a good idea to me. Perhaps we should set something up a little bit closer to the event. I know Cleon is looking at WC tactics, starting with Brazil.

Perhaps we could do a thread for each of the more "popular" sides, or even one for each of the teams, but that would be a lot of individual threads. The only problem with a single thread though, might be it could end up a jumble of mixed discussions for all the teams.

[SCIAG]

thawley- injury to a key player? A poor team talk selection? Players becoming upset about something in the media? An unavoidable defeat (against Crewe) or a tactical mistake? All those things could lead to a drop off in morale, motivation, form, etc. That could start a dangerous spiral.

My suggestion? Find a player who's not in great form. The better he is, the more success you'll have. Tell him he's below par, or your disappointed in him, whichever is more fitting. At the same time, if you have any players in good form, praise them. You should fire up two men by doing this, which will give you a much better chance in your next match.

[crouchaldinho]

crouchaldinho, SFraser, DocSander...

Sounds like a good idea to me. Perhaps we should set something up a little bit closer to the event. I know Cleon is looking at WC tactics, starting with Brazil.

Perhaps we could do a thread for each of the more "popular" sides, or even one for each of the teams, but that would be a lot of individual threads. The only problem with a single thread though, might be it could end up a jumble of mixed discussions for all the teams.

Thanks for the feedback from all of you regarding this idea.

Clearly it needs a bit of thinking through.

Perhaps a thread for each group initially might make sense, thereby limiting the potential number of threads but also allowing enough separation so that discussions do not become confused?

I really like the potential for the idea anyway and I think it could generate some great discussion.

Perhaps you could have a chat with your fellow mods Heathxxx and decide on how it could work in terms of the threads?

[pcmac1980]

Hi. Touchline instructions question.

By adjusting the sliders manually (and not through the tactics creator), do the touchline instructions work?

[Jenko_EFC]

Hi. Touchline instructions question.

By adjusting the sliders manually (and not through the tactics creator), do the touchline instructions work?

If you mean by converting to classic then no, all tweaks would have to be manually.

[pcmac1980]

If you mean by converting to classic then no, all tweaks would have to be manually.

Thanks Jenko_EFC but I don´t mean converting to classic. What I mean is by doing minor tweaks in the "specific instruction", do the shouts work? Example: if I tick the box in the def line slider and use, let´s say, 10 notches. If I use the shout "Drop deeper", does it has any effect?

Thanks in advance

[Jenko_EFC]

No it doesn't sorry I thought this too a while ago .

[SFraser]

Thanks Jenko_EFC but I don´t mean converting to classic. What I mean is by doing minor tweaks in the "specific instruction", do the shouts work? Example: if I tick the box in the def line slider and use, let´s say, 10 notches. If I use the shout "Drop deeper", does it has any effect?

Thanks in advance

No they wont. Touchline Shouts are shortcuts for controlling tactical instructions, so if you have ticked ANY tactical instructions to adapt them manually, they will not be controlled by the touchline shouts.

Shouts do not over-ride the tactical changes you have specifically made to your team.

This area of "customisation versus ease of use" is one of the big issues in the current Tactical Interface, and no doubt a really complicated problem for SI. The current system will not over-ride your specified tactical instructions, and therefore the Shouts will not work with those specific instructions.

You can however leave some of the key instructions unticked and manipulate them with shouts, while unticking specific key instructions for individual players and set them manually. This gives you something of the "best of both worlds" but is not perfect.

[pcmac1980]

Thanks for your help Jenko_EFC and SFraser. Guess I´ll try to adapt this new tactical setup and see how it goes.

[olejosed]

Is there a way to deal with confrontational players or do you have to live with your own stupidity of signing them? Signed some talents, and they wont bother being tutored

[SFraser]

Is there a way to deal with confrontational players or do you have to live with your own stupidity of signing them? Signed some talents, and they wont bother being tutored

If a player is "confrontational" then taking a hard line approach will rarely work, and will only provoke more and worse behaviour. To get the optimum out of them you will have to be supportive, kind and complient.

If a player rarely confronts you or anyone else, i.e. has a rare outburst then a very hardline approach is desired, even if it is your fault. Sticking someone in the reserves for badly reacting to you, even if it was justified, will quickly solve the problem. If they are regularly confrontational then you need to adapt your criticism and your approach to their mentality.

[DeadZone]

Sticking someone in the reserves for badly reacting to you, even if it was justified, will quickly solve the problem.

Does this really work though?

Or is it something that is presumed to have an effect because of RL? (ie. is the game actually programmed to recognize this?)

[MisterX]

Does anyone know a good training schedule for all kind of contracts?

[Jenko_EFC]

Does anyone know a good training schedule for all kind of contracts?

Well, SFraser explains his theory in his thread and there is a tool which makes it easy yo understand and create your own schedules.

[MisterX]

Can you show me the threads?

[olejosed]

how long does it take after you have tutored a youngster until you can do it again?

also, how long until you can ask for a new feeder club?

[Jenko_EFC]

Can you show me the threads?

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=185812

That's the thread.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?p=5085224&highlight=Prozone+tool#post5085224

That's the page with the tool. Ctrl F and search tool and it will bring you to the post and download it. Also, after downloading the tool it says what contract they're on in the left corner with youth, part-time and adjusts for you. Hope I helped .

[MisterX]

Great thread and great tool

When I look very quick, I think it only for fulltime and youth? Not for parttime and amateur? (I ask the same question I that thread)

[Jenko_EFC]

Oh sorry but I guess the same principle applies and will be very close to youth? Although I'm not 100% sure.

[SFraser]

Does this really work though?

Or is it something that is presumed to have an effect because of RL? (ie. is the game actually programmed to recognize this?)

It does really work. If someone has an uncharacteristic outbust because of a harsh Teamtalk or any other perceived "wrong" other than demanding more first team action, then sticking them in the reserves will often produce a public apology as they "realise their behaviour will not get them near the first team".

The crucial point is "uncharacteristic". If they have a Personality whereby bad reactions are a regular occurance then you must apply different man management techniques because the usual/effective ones will simply produce a different (and therefore negative) response in these players.

It is the kind of thing you will not see happen if you are loathe to send first team players to the reserves as punishment, or indeed take other harsh measures to reinforce your authority over the squad. You must make this leap in order to actually see the consequences, and the consequences as I have explained do very much exist and are very effective at nipping these kinds of potentially ongoing issues in the bud.