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

[infisert]

I have a young right winger with all the right attributes for what I want him to do, except he has the PPM "Cuts inside from both wings." I have tried to make him unlearn the PPM, but it didn't work. Is there any randomness involved, or is it set in stone that he can never unlearn it?

I don't mind making him try several times if there's a chance it'll work, but if he will never change then I have to just sell him.

[Experienced Defender]

1 hour ago, infisert said:

I have a young right winger with all the right attributes for what I want him to do, except he has the PPM "Cuts inside from both wings." I have tried to make him unlearn the PPM, but it didn't work. Is there any randomness involved, or is it set in stone that he can never unlearn it?

I don't mind making him try several times if there's a chance it'll work, but if he will never change then I have to just sell him.

If you ask me, having a winger with the "Cuts inside" PPM is great IMO. Let's assume he is right-footed and I play him on the right flank in a winger role. He'll normally stay in wider areas until he gets the ball. Once he's with the ball, rather than running out wide, he'll look to drive diagonally toward the box and then either cross the ball from a lot more promising position than a regular winger would, or play a cut-back pass for an onrushing teammate arriving in the box. And of course, the PPM "cuts inside" does not mean he will do that in every single situation. Sometimes (for example) he will be forced by an opposition defender to run out wide and behave like a standard winger. So what you would get is a sort of "hybrid" between a winger and IF, which can be quite nice.

[Experienced Defender]

6 hours ago, Fieldsy said:

For example, blocked crossing seems to be an issue

It's an "issue" only if the tactic as a whole is set up in a wrong way. Like anything else btw.

[Fieldsy]

10 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

It's an "issue" only if the tactic as a whole is set up in a wrong way. Like anything else btw.

Disagree to a point. SI have already stated it is an issue they are looking into for FM20. I would agree there may be work around or set ups that won’t see it as much but it is an issue nevertheless 

[Experienced Defender]

12 minutes ago, Fieldsy said:

Disagree to a point. SI have already stated it is an issue they are looking into for FM20. I would agree there may be work around or set ups that won’t see it as much but it is an issue nevertheless 

Well, if you think that crosses being occasionally blocked is an issue ("bug"), then okay, but then think about how many crosses (attempts) get blocked in the real-life football. The problem is that people want to have a lot of things at the same time. So you have people who complain about too many blocked crosses, whereas others complain they see too many assists coming exactly from crosses, but very few via through (killer) balls. When I want to base my play on crosses, I set up the tactic that helps me get just that. Some of them will of course be blocked even then, but not to a degree that I would think of it as a ME issue (bug).

[infisert]

31 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

If you ask me, having a winger with the "Cuts inside" PPM is great IMO. Let's assume he is right-footed and I play him on the right flank in a winger role. He'll normally stay in wider areas until he gets the ball. Once he's with the ball, rather than running out wide, he'll look to drive diagonally toward the box and then either cross the ball from a lot more promising position than a regular winger would, or play a cut-back pass for an onrushing teammate arriving in the box. And of course, the PPM "cuts inside" does not mean he will do that in every single situation. Sometimes (for example) he will be forced by an opposition defender to run out wide and behave like a standard winger. So what you would get is a sort of "hybrid" between a winger and IF, which can be quite nice.

I am not opposed to that in theory, but I need to remove that PPM. What I was asking was whether I can still remove the trait if I have tried and failed removing it once already.

[Experienced Defender]

Just now, infisert said:

What I was asking was whether I can still remove the trait if I have tried and failed removing it once already.

I guess not, but not 100% sure. Hope someone who knows will read your question and give you the right answer 

[Fieldsy]

6 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

Well, if you think that crosses being occasionally blocked is an issue ("bug"), then okay, but then think about how many crosses (attempts) get blocked in the real-life football. The problem is that people want to have a lot of things at the same time. So you have people who complain about too many blocked crosses, whereas others complain they see too many assists coming exactly from crosses, but very few via through (killer) balls. When I want to base my play on crosses, I set up the tactic that helps me get just that. Some of them will of course be blocked even then, but not to a degree that I would think of it as a ME issue (bug).

I’m not looking for an argument but if a staff member state that they are looking to sort the issue for the next game then, yeah I think it is a slight bug. More to do with the type of crosses that happen. Of course crosses get blocked in matches but looking at my matches it is not occasionally and yes it isn’t just about my tactics

[axelmuller]

Is false9 a playmaker role or not?

[Gee_Simpson]

3 hours ago, axelmuller said:

Is false9 a playmaker role or not?

Nope. 

[mikcheck]

Would you consider composure important for a central defender? 

[Experienced Defender]

17 hours ago, axelmuller said:

Is false9 a playmaker role or not?

Playmaker roles in the game:

- DLP

- REG

- RPM

- AP

- WP

- TQ

- ENG

[Experienced Defender]

1 minute ago, mikcheck said:

Would you consider composure important for a central defender? 

I would certainly prefer my CB having at least decent composure. Not a key attribute, but certainly welcome.

[DjangoSrna]

If I set up with symmetrical roles, am I destined for failure?

For example below. I see now, ME deems yes. All my transitions, and build up play brilliant. If I could only get the IF to actually use a brain, and not be so dogmatic would be wonderful. Bit of variety wouldn't go a miss. 

 

SKA;

WBA

CB

CB

WBA

LCM(s)

CDM(D)

RCM(S)

IFs

Is

AF

 

 

My take on it is that I've elite players, and I'd rather not bog them down with individual instructions. I want them to get into a variety of positions, and then themselves determine what's best by their rating. It works. 

What's pissing me off, and would be a clear way for my tactic to create tons of chances - that the ME is holding back on - is that the IF to have the brain power to actually go down the line once in a while and get a cross from by line. I've Osmanne Dembele, all he's good for is running, dribbling; square to a full back, cuts inside. Go down the line actual monkey, cross from by line there are going to be 5 in the box!!! 

Same probems with Messi played on the left hand side. All he wants to do is move inside, even when perfect opportunity to act like a winger. That's the best player on the game. So don't talk about ME not setting tactics up to fail.

 

[herne79]

6 hours ago, DjangoSrna said:

If I set up with symmetrical roles, am I destined for failure?

For example below. I see now, ME deems yes. All my transitions, and build up play brilliant. If I could only get the IF to actually use a brain, and not be so dogmatic would be wonderful. Bit of variety wouldn't go a miss. 

 

SKA;

WBA

CB

CB

WBA

LCM(s)

CDM(D)

RCM(S)

IFs

Is

AF

 

 

My take on it is that I've elite players, and I'd rather not bog them down with individual instructions. I want them to get into a variety of positions, and then themselves determine what's best by their rating. It works. 

What's pissing me off, and would be a clear way for my tactic to create tons of chances - that the ME is holding back on - is that the IF to have the brain power to actually go down the line once in a while and get a cross from by line. I've Osmanne Dembele, all he's good for is running, dribbling; square to a full back, cuts inside. Go down the line actual monkey, cross from by line there are going to be 5 in the box!!! 

Same probems with Messi played on the left hand side. All he wants to do is move inside, even when perfect opportunity to act like a winger. That's the best player on the game. So don't talk about ME not setting tactics up to fail.

 

Please mind the language in this forum.

To answer your question, no you are not "destined for failure" with symmetrical roles.  Personally I prefer variety in attack but that doesn't mean you can't be successful with symmetry.  As ever though, any system needs to work well in combination with all of its' factors and we don't know what all of your factors are so can't really give you any ideas at the moment.

[DjangoSrna]

2 hours ago, herne79 said:

Please mind the language in this forum.

To answer your question, no you are not "destined for failure" with symmetrical roles.  Personally I prefer variety in attack but that doesn't mean you can't be successful with symmetry.  As ever though, any system needs to work well in combination with all of its' factors and we don't know what all of your factors are so can't really give you any ideas at the moment.

Yes, yes yes. 

So... 

You haven't actually helped me have you Mr Mod. Convoluted way of saying the sum of zero.

[Snorks]

3 hours ago, DjangoSrna said:

Yes, yes yes. 

So... 

You haven't actually helped me have you Mr Mod. Convoluted way of saying the sum of zero.

Well, actually, what he has said is that your idea of symmetry can work in the game even though it's not the way he would play. He has also said that he would like to see more information about your tactical approach and what is actually happening in games before he knows enough to comment, or offer help. Which is a lot more than 'zero'. So rather than be sarcastic, try offering some more information so that a knowledgeable man can try to help you with your question.

If you really think that a simple list of roles and duties is enough for anyone to draw tactical conclusions from, then I suspect your problems may well lie in your approach to FM rather than the tactic/players.

12 hours ago, DjangoSrna said:

that the ME is holding back on - is that the IF to have the brain power to actually go down the line once in a while and get a cross from by line. I've Osmanne Dembele, all he's good for is running, dribbling; square to a full back, cuts inside. Go down the line actual monkey, cross from by line there are going to be 5 in the box!!! 

Same probems with Messi played on the left hand side. All he wants to do is move inside, even when perfect opportunity to act like a winger. That's the best player on the game. So don't talk about ME not setting tactics up to fail.

 

If you give  a player the IF role, then he will always be far more likely to cut inside than go wide - it's up to the rest of your roles/duties to proved an outlet for that other than a square pass to a Full Back. If you have a right-footed player on the left flank, you would be asking him to cross with his weaker foot which won;t help your attacks much, therefore the intelligent player would tend to favour his stronger foot (right) and cut inside to use it.

Using the Messi example, you have set a role that instructs him to come inside, so, in order to manipulate his behaviour you have to go into his PIs, or Player Traits would be better - train him to run with ball down the left, add PI to do the same (not even sure it's possible with an IF) and these might help. But, with Messi, why would you want him to do that anyway? Surely he is far more effective with the ball at his feet and running at defenders driving into the box. You have said that you want these 'elite' players to do their own thing and not be constricted by extra instructions but then complain about it when they do - I don't know the history of the development that well but I would imagine this is exactly why we were given the option to train/untrain Traits and individually select player instructions.

BTW, I don't think calling Ousmanne Dembele a monkey is a good idea either.

So that's my 'zero pennies' worth offered - up to you what you do with it.

[Armistice]

Is CF-S considered a "False 9". What roles do you usually pair him with when you use it?

[Marabak]

Once tactical familiarity is nigh-on-perfect, is there any point in having training sessions dedicated to Match Preview and Review or will they stay nigh-on-perfect just by playing matches and I can utilise the sessions more efficiently on something else? Cheers.

[viperswhip]

On 13/05/2019 at 16:19, Dfs said:

Dear FM community. Recently i ve experienced my most sudden drop of performance of a player in all my years of playing FM. My striker, Moise Kean went to world cup in 2022 being my top player and after he came back the second half pf the season was a disaster. He scored only 1 goal and had 2 assists and total rsting of 6,45 or something like that (he was still just below 7 for the whole season which speaks how huge the trop was). I manage Celta Vigo for the 3rd season and ended up on 4th place. I didnt change my tactic neither did I notice other teams playing much more defensively against me. Kean is only 22 he didnt have any injury or my physios didnt say he was jaded. I rotate quite a lot so I assume he wasnt very tired overall. His stats dropped a little only at the end of the season. I have never seen such prolonged drop of performance from a player and my question to you is is it something you experience more often than before in fm 19?

 

Looking back I should have benched him earlier but I tend to stkck to undeprefrorming players for quite some time cause usuallh they regain form. Oh and also Kean is descrived as consistent performer in the scouting report and from mh own exoerience those players usually outperform their visible attributes. At least after all my critique of him his determination grew by 2.

There is a hidden attribute called Jadeness give him some time off, tell him you will do so, maybe just a couple week vacation. Use some of your training time for team bonding and stuff, but mostly don't play the same players too often. What is too often? The game doesn't tell you of in big red letters, you have to look at their info.

Edited May 23, 2019 by viperswhip

[yolixeya]

11 hours ago, Marabak said:

Once tactical familiarity is nigh-on-perfect, is there any point in having training sessions dedicated to Match Preview and Review or will they stay nigh-on-perfect just by playing matches and I can utilise the sessions more efficiently on something else? Cheers.

Match review improves your team cohesion, as fa as I can remember, so I would still use it.  Match preview contains match briefing so you would not have that by removing it. I don't know how much it matters to have match briefing, but it makes sense to have them even if you leave it to AM.

[91836]

I'm finding whatever my tactics are I get almost exclusively only 4 types of goals - goals from crosses, set pieces, lobbed through balls and long shots. Long shots in particular I'm finding really annoying, it seems players with the ball on the edge of the box ignore any possible through balls or intricate passes and just go for goal every time. Is there any way around this or is it just down to issues with the ME? 

[Piperita]

On 21/05/2019 at 12:48, Armistice said:

Is CF-S considered a "False 9". What roles do you usually pair him with when you use it?

It is a true allrounder role that does everything a little but especially liks to play in teammates. Think of a Target Man but without attracting the ball as much or as high by default.

I think(!)* a big difference to the F9 is the following: The CFs drops deeper to receive the ball in buildup and for that purpose he roams around opponents half a good bit, also on the sides if need arises. Meanwhile the F9 roams around closer to the opponent in the center to halfspaces to draw the defenders out of position and create spaces. 

Conventional wisdom might be playing him with someone more offensive. Someone running right at the spaces the CFs created. 

However, two usages I grew to like a lot: 

1. Narrow formations (e.g. 4132, 4312, to a lesser extent 41212) with two CFs next to each other. They hold the ball, play each other to chances, and create plenty of chaos for the midfielders running into the box later. Creativity or (but preferrably *and*) bulk make them absolute beasts that don't need that high finishing or technical stat because they either are at the right positions or just make the time for deeper players. 
2. Just a single CFs with somewhat contradictory PPM. Coming deep but trying first time shots and getting into the area. They start low to receive the ball and after sending them to the flanks or not getting it, they run into the box like crazy and from there often shoot directly. 

 

*Haven't used a F9 in a good while. Too many fun big guys in my teams I don't want to get rid of. 

[Tom14]

What are the conditions for my youth team coaches being able to train first team players? Is it possible for U19 coaches to be included in first team coaching duties at all. Playing in lower leagues in Spain if that makes a difference.

[Dfs]

On 24/05/2019 at 01:11, viperswhip said:

There is a hidden attribute called Jadeness give him some time off, tell him you will do so, maybe just a couple week vacation. Use some of your training time for team bonding and stuff, but mostly don't play the same players too often. What is too often? The game doesn't tell you of in big red letters, you have to look at their info.

Thank you for your help. At the beginning of next season he was mostly playing off the bench but slowly his performance picked up. I guess he was just jaded from the World Cup and I should have reacted faster but I rotate quite a bit so I thought it d be fine.

[Alerion]

Could someone explain to me, or point me to a thread, how different the pressing mechanics ingame are ?

For example, if I use "Gegenpress" in a 4-4-2, it will afffect my midfield 4 and my strikers. How does that work with a striker role that presses less for example ? 

Also, if I dont use Gegenpress and instruct my midfield 4 and my strikers to press more, where is the difference ? Surely the "Gegenpress" will be more aggressive right after losing the ball, but what if I do split press and go more aggressive on the slider opposed to "Gegenpress" ?

Please pm or @ me as I am not online everyday, thank you very much !

[Experienced Defender]

4 hours ago, Alerion said:

Could someone explain to me, or point me to a thread, how different the pressing mechanics ingame are ?

For example, if I use "Gegenpress" in a 4-4-2, it will afffect my midfield 4 and my strikers. 

If you use Gegenpress as a preset tactic, team pressing will be set to extremely urgent (AFAIR), and will affect not only strikers and mids but also defenders (i.e. the whole team). 

 

4 hours ago, Alerion said:

How does that work with a striker role that presses less for example ? 

A player who is told to close down less will press less than he otherwise would, but under high team pressing (extremely urgent in this case) he will still press more than under normal or lower team pressing. Team pressing affects all players (roles). Individual pressing affects only the player in question, but works in conjunction with team pressing (and both are affected by team mentality).

 

4 hours ago, Alerion said:

Also, if I dont use Gegenpress and instruct my midfield 4 and my strikers to press more, where is the difference ? Surely the "Gegenpress" will be more aggressive right after losing the ball, but what if I do split press and go more aggressive on the slider opposed to "Gegenpress" ?

The difference is that your defenders will hold their positions better than they would under gegenpress (or any high-pressing system), so split-press is safer defensively than gegenpress or any other tactic that involves higher levels of team pressing. 

[mikcheck]

Hi,

Will look for overlap influence a fullback with no other wide player ahead of him? Or it only works with 2 wide players on the same side?

Thanks

Edited May 28, 2019 by mikcheck

[zlatanera]

12 minutes ago, mikcheck said:

Hi,

Will look for overlap influence a fullback with no other wide player ahead of him? Or it only works with 2 wide players on the same side?

Thanks

Yes it increases his mentality. 

[herne79]

11 minutes ago, mikcheck said:

Hi,

Will look for overlap influence a fullback with no other wide player ahead of him? Or it only works with 2 wide players on the same side?

Thanks

Look for Overlap's intended use is to encourage wide players to hold the ball up and wait for a fullback/wingback to overlap them.  It therefore slightly increases a full/wingback's mentality.

With no wide player ahead, it will still slightly increase a full/wingback's mentality - just don't expect any other player to hold up the ball for them.

Of course player mentality (like many other settings) is finite.  So if you've already maxed out a player's mentality through a combination of role, duty and team mentality, then adding in Look for Overlap will have no impact on a full/wingback's mentality in this scenario (wide players may still be encouraged to hold up the ball though).

One other thing to remember - increasing mentality may also increase defensive risk.  Your full/wingbacks may get caught out higher up the pitch when possession is lost, so consider whether this is a TI you actually need to use or not, especially when you account for the roles/duties you select as you can get natural overlaps anyway.

[mikcheck]

Thank you both.

I'm asking this because i'm playing a FM17 save where we can't choose which side we want to overlap, have to be both. In one flank I have a CWB(A) with a IF(S) and it's the one I wanted to use the instruction, on the other side I only have a WB(S), but I'm afraid that will make him too much adventurous for my liking

[herne79]

21 minutes ago, mikcheck said:

Thank you both.

I'm asking this because i'm playing a FM17 save where we can't choose which side we want to overlap, have to be both. In one flank I have a CWB(A) with a IF(S) and it's the one I wanted to use the instruction, on the other side I only have a WB(S), but I'm afraid that will make him too much adventurous for my liking

The best thing you can do is first watch the behaviour of the players concerned without using the TI.  Then and only then if you want to encourage more overlapping use the TI.  A CWB(a) is already very forward thinking so using the TI may be overkill - watch how they play first before using the TI .

Two other things though: 1) the CWB has roam from position built in so he may do things other than overlapping.  If you only want overlapping then a WB(a) or even a FB(a) could be an option instead.  2) consider the player as well, especially attributes such as Determination & Work Rate which will encourage him to put a lot of work and also if he has the Trait gets forward often which again may encourage the behaviour you are after already.

[vara]

On 19/05/2019 at 01:50, Experienced Defender said:

If you ask me, having a winger with the "Cuts inside" PPM is great IMO. Let's assume he is right-footed and I play him on the right flank in a winger role. He'll normally stay in wider areas until he gets the ball. Once he's with the ball, rather than running out wide, he'll look to drive diagonally toward the box and then either cross the ball from a lot more promising position than a regular winger would, or play a cut-back pass for an onrushing teammate arriving in the box. And of course, the PPM "cuts inside" does not mean he will do that in every single situation. Sometimes (for example) he will be forced by an opposition defender to run out wide and behave like a standard winger. So what you would get is a sort of "hybrid" between a winger and IF, which can be quite nice.

Further to this, for example, my AML is playing as an IF-S. He has the trait 'Runs with ball down right'

This apparently affects the 'Cuts inside with ball' instruction for the role.

I've not really noticed too much change, but perhaps without the trait he would venture further into central positions?

Any idea how much affect this trait would have on the instruction?

[herne79]

1 hour ago, vara said:

Further to this, for example, my AML is playing as an IF-S. He has the trait 'Runs with ball down right'

This apparently affects the 'Cuts inside with ball' instruction for the role.

I've not really noticed too much change, but perhaps without the trait he would venture further into central positions?

Any idea how much affect this trait would have on the instruction?

"Runs with ball down right" has no impact on a player playing on the left flank.

[mikcheck]

15 horas atrás, herne79 disse:

The best thing you can do is first watch the behaviour of the players concerned without using the TI.  Then and only then if you want to encourage more overlapping use the TI.  A CWB(a) is already very forward thinking so using the TI may be overkill - watch how they play first before using the TI .

Two other things though: 1) the CWB has roam from position built in so he may do things other than overlapping.  If you only want overlapping then a WB(a) or even a FB(a) could be an option instead.  2) consider the player as well, especially attributes such as Determination & Work Rate which will encourage him to put a lot of work and also if he has the Trait gets forward often which again may encourage the behaviour you are after already.

Thanks!

[mikcheck]

Hello all,

If you want your striker to score most of your goals and he is surrounded with roles/duties to achieve that, would you give him a DLF(A) or something like a Adv. Forward? Can a DLF(A) score loads of goals too? Unlesse there is something under the hood for the DLF(A), he is not that different from other attacking strikers, he just holds up ball more.

Thanks.

Edited May 30, 2019 by mikcheck

[w1nstar]

How do you counter in FM19? In FM17 it was as easy as setting your hard tackles, direct passing and high tempo, but the same isn't working in FM19.

[Piperita]

17 minutes ago, w1nstar said:

How do you counter in FM19? In FM17 it was as easy as setting your hard tackles, direct passing and high tempo, but the same isn't working in FM19.

Look at the two counter presets (or three when counting Wing Play) and tweak them to your liking. Especially the 4411 fluid counter system is gorgeous against slightly better teams. 

My cheat sheet goes simething like

• Deep and compact defense to lure opponents in while blocking the goal
• Winning the ball: If the team is not well balanced maybe a BWM in front of the DLine or other aggressors to win the ball and safely distribute them. 
• Transition: Players to get the ball to the runners, striker or more offensive playmaker (if selected). Be it fullbacks switching the ball to flanks, deep lying playmakers or just intelligent centrebacks. 
• Runners. Someone to exploit the spaces opened. I personally like the outer positions here 
• Finisher. Just anyone knowing to hit in the break. Besides the striker I personally also like my runners to have some aptitude here; my IWa was my MVP as countering team. 

9 hours ago, mikcheck said:

Hello all,

If you want your striker to score most of your goals and he is surrounded with roles/duties to achieve that, would you give him a DLF(A) or something like a Adv. Forward? Can a DLF(A) score loads of goals too? Unlesse there is something under the hood for the DLF(A), he is not that different from other attacking strikers, he just holds up ball more.

Thanks.

Purely personally speaking, I like more supportive strikers in more fluid attack systems that get their deadliness through PPMs. Especially the holders but with First Time Shots can be, with good mentals, be ridiculously fun to play with as they immediately go for it when they sense a good chance but they also participate more in the buildup phase and help their teammates. 

I am guessing by your description that around your striker there are plenty of support duties? In that case a Pa or an AFa would run a lot of spaces and probably would do barely more effective than running and shooting. Once they are sent there are good chances they'll be on the very front and team mates will only arrive later in the danger zone. This is mainly because they lurk around the opposition's DLine and thus can run though and have that urge to score, especially if there are no teammates around them.

A DLFa would start deeper and, before starting to get into the box, try to get overlapping wingers into play or let the deeper MCs rebuild the play. Thus there are probably lesser overall chances but more that come from open play. 

In the final third the more advanced strikers often are primarily focussed on scoring that the PPMs of rounding, lobbing, placing can make more effective. A DLFa still will go for it on good chances but also looks for better positioned teammates and on lesser chances tends to hold the ball instead of risking or dribbling it. This can be well-countered with aforementioned first time shots, PI to shoot or dribble more often. With these they'll score a lot more often in the box but still help in transition — not as much as good advanced strikers as those are on level with the defenders and such have some good solo runs and can be better customized. 

[Experienced Defender]

2 hours ago, w1nstar said:

How do you counter in FM19? In FM17 it was as easy as setting your hard tackles, direct passing and high tempo, but the same isn't working in FM19

There are different ways to play counter-attacking football, depending on the type of your team. I am a big fan of counter-attack styles and for me FM19 really offers a great number of options to play a successful counter-attacking game. But it's hard to tell what would be a good tactical approach for your team without any knowledge of your players or at least the formation you are using.

 

[mikcheck]

4 horas atrás, Piperita disse:

Purely personally speaking, I like more supportive strikers in more fluid attack systems that get their deadliness through PPMs. Especially the holders but with First Time Shots can be, with good mentals, be ridiculously fun to play with as they immediately go for it when they sense a good chance but they also participate more in the buildup phase and help their teammates. 

I am guessing by your description that around your striker there are plenty of support duties? In that case a Pa or an AFa would run a lot of spaces and probably would do barely more effective than running and shooting. Once they are sent there are good chances they'll be on the very front and team mates will only arrive later in the danger zone. This is mainly because they lurk around the opposition's DLine and thus can run though and have that urge to score, especially if there are no teammates around them.

A DLFa would start deeper and, before starting to get into the box, try to get overlapping wingers into play or let the deeper MCs rebuild the play. Thus there are probably lesser overall chances but more that come from open play. 

In the final third the more advanced strikers often are primarily focussed on scoring that the PPMs of rounding, lobbing, placing can make more effective. A DLFa still will go for it on good chances but also looks for better positioned teammates and on lesser chances tends to hold the ball instead of risking or dribbling it. This can be well-countered with aforementioned first time shots, PI to shoot or dribble more often. With these they'll score a lot more often in the box but still help in transition — not as much as good advanced strikers as those are on level with the defenders and such have some good solo runs and can be better customized. 

Thank you!

I have something like this:

AMR - IF(s)

AMC - AM(s)

AMCL - SS

STCR - DLF(a) or Adv. F

I'm always undecided upon which striker role I should choose.

[yourih3]

Right now my best player by far is a trequartista (sticker role). I am currently playing with the following roles as my offensive players in my 41221 formation:

If-a treq-a w-a

  Mez-s  cm-s

What are your thoughts on this and do you have any tips?

[Experienced Defender]

1 hour ago, yourih3 said:

Right now my best player by far is a trequartista (sticker role). I am currently playing with the following roles as my offensive players in my 41221 formation:

If-a treq-a w-a

  Mez-s  cm-s

What are your thoughts on this and do you have any tips?

This is just half of the setup, and there is nothing about mentality and instructions, so it's hard to have any particular thoughts. But my first impression is that I don't like what I see. I am opposed to disconnected setups where all forward players are on attack duties, even though the TQ is supposed to drop somewhat deeper in the build-up.

[Fieldsy]

What does ‘move into channels’ do for central midfield players? Would this mean they move vertically between the midfield and defence?

 

also, same question for the amc role

[kingjericho]

Putting it very bluntly, it means the players drift wide to explore spaces between central and wide players.

[Piperita]

20 hours ago, mikcheck said:

Thank you!

I have something like this:

AMR - IF(s)

AMC - AM(s)

AMCL - SS

STCR - DLF(a) or Adv. F

I'm always undecided upon which striker role I should choose.

Sadly I am no expert in asymmetry so I can only speak theoretical and from my gut here.

First of all, what I'd personally do: I'd give the IFs the PI to stay wider and use the DLFa. This striker role has some really good synergy with the SS — especially with a supportive midfield support it is hard for defenders to defend against both. The reason I'd position the IFs wider? It should create enough space in the idle formation for the DLF to drop deep but once the ball gets to the IFs he runs into exactly this space by nature, quickly forcing the DLF to rush forward again creating chaos *and* being the natural passing recipient. 

This would probably give your team something like

• 20-25 goals for the DLFa
• 15-20 goals for the SS
• 10-15 goals for the other midfielders combined. 

WIthout the stay wider PI, the IF would probably immediately cut into the DLF space (they are already standing close and any movement would be standing on each other's toes), urging him to go forward earlier. This would make the DLF a bit deadlier but make the offense more predictable and really hurt the SS. 

An AF has two things going for it:

1. He stands on the defensive's line making him run into spaces often and getting high quality chances.
2. If he can't run directly to the goal pr shoot, there might be something beautiful happening: He defaults to running into the channel, running diagonally outwards while the IF occupies his forward position and the SS runs to the opposite post. Thus he also has more utility than 'just' scoring because he can 

This would result in a scorecard with a stronger striker and an emboldened IFs, giving you another main threat. However, two dangers also arrive:

1. Mentally weak AF really, really love to run into the offside. 
2. The AF is more important than the DLF, making his off days harder felt — Not only does he score more but his movements also are more dangerous and he has he generally has to take a bit more risks in terms of dribbling and/or passing. 

So, in conclusion: If you want a heavy scorer who also helps the lower line, go AF. But you need to trust him to be consistent and to have a good and rounded skillset. Meanwhile the DLF is less risky and also creates some good, hard-to-defend against plays.

With two top guys, the AF might even be more dangerous both as finisher and assist giver inside the box but the DLF is no slouch either and also helps more outside the box which especially helps in matches where you are — meme alarm — 'seriously overrun in midfield' because he is available earlier without sacrificing his deadliness as he can then both send the SS or play it short and safe to the IF who shares his space before then running forwards.

 

3 hours ago, yourih3 said:

Right now my best player by far is a trequartista (sticker role). I am currently playing with the following roles as my offensive players in my 41221 formation:

If-a treq-a w-a

  Mez-s  cm-s

What are your thoughts on this and do you have any tips?

What are your Trequartista's stats and PPMs? And your general philosophy?

Of course it is hard to give any tips without seeing your current approach and philosophy, so just a few general things:

• Both your wingers are on attack duty giving them the instinct to bomb forward whereas your midfield is pure support, letting them stay deeper and, well, support. This creates some good space between midfield and attack and would, outside counters, make the final third entries from open play riskier than necessary as many balls come deep and long. 
• This results in the Trequartista being *the* player to bring everything together. For the record, I only used single AMC Treqs so far, so some assumptions from me: The player roams a lot and demands lots of liberties, coming seep or wide as necessary. If you have a Treq coming deep and being hot on directing the game (e.g. Dictates tempo, comes deep, pass>shoot PPM) the offensive looks pretty workable but if your player is another player focussed on running forward and finishing, aforementioned empty space becomes a problem. 
• So unless your Treq is perfect in linkup, I'd put one of the wingers in support duty and would consider(!) giving the MC on this side the attack duty for better balancing spaces and connectivity between the units. 

[yourih3]

3 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

This is just half of the setup, and there is nothing about mentality and instructions, so it's hard to have any particular thoughts. But my first impression is that I don't like what I see. I am opposed to disconnected setups where all forward players are on attack duties, even though the TQ is supposed to drop somewhat deeper in the build-up.

My full formation:

SK - d; fb -s cd-d cd-d fb-s; dm-d cm-s mez-s; w-a TQ IF-a 

About the instructions: shorter passing, play out of defense, low crossses, counter-press, distribute tot fullbacks and centre backs, more urgent pressing and slightly higher LOE (maybe missing 1 or 2 others).

My general philosophy is to build up with short passes from the back to get the ball to the front three, which will make the play and will hit the goal with shots. To create space for the TQ, I thought higher LOE would help. 

@Piperita atm im not playing FM, but my TQ likes to link up play, play beautiful passes to other players (if/winger/mezzela/left fullbacks) and also hit the goal with his long shots when he got the opportunity. 

[Experienced Defender]

58 minutes ago, yourih3 said:

About the instructions: shorter passing, play out of defense, low crossses, counter-press, distribute tot fullbacks and centre backs, more urgent pressing and slightly higher LOE (maybe missing 1 or 2 others).

My general philosophy is to build up with short passes from the back to get the ball to the front three, which will make the play and will hit the goal with shots. To create space for the TQ, I thought higher LOE would help. 

All this suggests that you want to play some sort of patient possession football. But then, having all three forwards on attack duty runs counter to such an approach. Possession football requires a more balanced distribution of duties, with support ones being dominant. Which means that at least one (if not 2) of the front 3 should be on support duty, but on the other hand you should likewise have at least one deep runner from the midfield on attack duty, and possibly one of the FBs also on attack, so that you can achieve some balance between keeping possession and having a decent attacking edge ("bite"). 

Which is not what you have with a setup like this one: 

58 minutes ago, yourih3 said:

SK - d; fb -s cd-d cd-d fb-s; dm-d cm-s mez-s; w-a TQ IF-a

I would personally change the IF's duty to support, and mezzala's on attack (assuming they are on the same side). 

 

58 minutes ago, yourih3 said:

To create space for the TQ, I thought higher LOE would help

I don't see how a higher LOE is supposed to create space for your forwards, including the TQ. Higher LOE means your players will start pressing the opposition earlier (i.e. higher up the pitch). It is actually more likely to limit the space than to make it. But if you want possession football, then higher LOE is a logical choice. 

Edited May 31, 2019 by Experienced Defender

[yourih3]

@Experienced Defender Thank you for sharing your thought about my tactic. I will overthink my tactics again and will take your suggestions into account!

[Adzke]

Not sure if this is quite the right place, but I'm hoping someone can help me with this. What are the requirements for having a youth level 1? I have just dropped down to 2, and I am able to see the requirements for level 2, but not for going a level back up. Can someone enlighten me?

[roggiotis]

On 03/06/2019 at 12:28, Adzke said:

Not sure if this is quite the right place, but I'm hoping someone can help me with this. What are the requirements for having a youth level 1? I have just dropped down to 2, and I am able to see the requirements for level 2, but not for going a level back up. Can someone enlighten me?