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

[RTHerringbone]

Another quick one from me...

Is it counter productive to have 3 play makers in a team ie a ball playing defender, a regista/dlp and a advanced playmaker?

Nope, you could have more if you wanted - but note that a BPD is not considered a Playmaker in FM.

[allyc31]

Thanks buddy

[Taleron]

Reading the Counter Attack 101 thread and an interesting question was raised that hopefully someone can answer...

Using counter attack, is it counter (ahem) productive to select 'More Direct' or 'Route One' as the set up of the Counter Strategy will incorporate that style of play when the counter is on?

If the counter is not on, you team will sit back and probe?

and, if they above two points are true, does that also mean that using shouts like 'Retain Possession' and 'Short Passing' are also not advised as this will also effect how and when your team go for the jugular?

Thanks

Curious to see the answer but have a related question: When does a "counter" kick on? In previous versions, there was the Counter tick box, but now, does it just happen at your own players' discretion?

[RTHerringbone]

Curious to see the answer but have a related question: When does a "counter" kick on? In previous versions, there was the Counter tick box, but now, does it just happen at your own players' discretion?

Tick-box or not, a counter only ever kicks in when certain in match criteria are met:

A counter attack is started when there are less than X opposing players between the ball carrier and the opposing goal. Using counter Mentality means X is a bigger number than with other mentalities, making it more likely that a team tries to catch the opposition on the break when winning back the ball.

Counter attacks can happen in each Mentality, they are just more frequent with a Counter Mentality.

[Taleron]

Tick-box or not, a counter only ever kicks in when certain in match criteria are met:

A counter attack is started when there are less than X opposing players between the ball carrier and the opposing goal. Using counter Mentality means X is a bigger number than with other mentalities, making it more likely that a team tries to catch the opposition on the break when winning back the ball.

Counter attacks can happen in each Mentality, they are just more frequent with a Counter Mentality.

Thanks, that's very informative!

[Hootieleece]

Stupid Question #1 from me:

What are good stats for a Doctor/Physio to have? and does a good one help reduce injuries and recovery time?

Sorry two questions!

[Marabak]

I like trying a new tactic out each season as my Real Madrid save progresses, and due to a plethora of AMC players, I am thinking of playing a 4-2DM-3AM-ST formation, aimed at retaining the ball high up the pitch and probing for openings against weaker teams that you can't draw out. The fullbacks will be CWB to add some width, with the DMs being an Anchor and Regista. I quite like the shadow striker role as well, so I'd like to slide this in. Obviously, I don't want the striker to congest the middle, so maybe a poacher/AF would be better than a False9/DLF.

What would be the best roles for the other 2 AMCs and Striker?

[jac4121993]

How do I get my Wide Midfielders to get more involved in play centrally? No matter what I seem to tell them to do (Cut Inside, Play Narrower, Roam From Position) they just seem to stay very wide no matter what.

[Dr. Hook]

Stupid Question #1 from me:

What are good stats for a Doctor/Physio to have? and does a good one help reduce injuries and recovery time?

Sorry two questions!

Physiotherapy and Discipline are the two useful stats. Their primary function is to give you accurate assessments about recovery time, and good physios I believe can aid in the recovery a bit. If it does happen, it's won't be dramatic, though- a blown hammy is a blown hammy. As of rule of thumb, with all staff jobs, better is better

[fosho]

OK, so I started my game and left the general training and match prep to my assistant, but half of my squad are 'unhappy at the low level of training'

I set all of the senior squad to their own individual training to match their role in the team. How do I keep the players happy without taking over all of the training?

[jac4121993]

Would it be better to tell my Goalkeeper to Take Long Kicks or tell him to Distribute to Specific and then select my Target Man? I've noticed in previous saves that when I tell my Goalkeeper to Take Long Kicks, he hits it out wide quite a bit.

[PhroX]

I would check this in FM, but I'm at work plotting my next piece of tactical genius rather than actually playing the game, but how do half-backs perform if positioned directly in front of a centre half? e.g. in the DMCL/R positions with a conventionally placed CB pair as opposed to the central DMC position between the defenders. Does the CB drift to one side? Or does the HB fall back diagonally? Or do the just end up on top of each other?

[Dr. Hook]

OK, so I started my game and left the general training and match prep to my assistant, but half of my squad are 'unhappy at the low level of training'

I set all of the senior squad to their own individual training to match their role in the team. How do I keep the players happy without taking over all of the training?

Probably not. If you pass off functions to your staff, they are going to do what they do and chances are you won't be happy with it. On the other hand, it really isn't difficult to manage the training the way it is now, and it's really the best (and only) way to get the kind of results you are looking for.

[Adzke]

What does the "run wide with ball" instruction do for a central player? Will it make him sit wider like a wide midfielder or will he act like a winger and take it towards the byline?

[MTM1977]

I already asked this on the feedback thread, but didn't get any reply, so maybe i have more luck here.

If i hire a foreign coach, does it matter that he doesn't speak the language that majority of my players speak?

Meaning that will he perform worse, until he learns the language, or is it just cosmetics?

[Sussex Hammer]

Silly question....

If you have players behind/in front of each other on the tactics screen can they get in each others way? I ask because playing a SS directly behind a lone forward seems absolutely hopeless goals wise. I have however started to get my lone striker scoring by moving him to the right sided berth (think two strikers I play the lone striker on the right). It seems odd but wondered if there is anything in it or just a coincidence?

[Larsson1888]

Could someone tell me if pass into space and retain possession could condradict each other.

[Dr. Hook]

Could someone tell me if pass into space and retain possession could condradict each other.

No- retain possession slows tempo and shortens passing length, pass into space tells players to try more through balls.

[Dr. Hook]

Silly question....

If you have players behind/in front of each other on the tactics screen can they get in each others way?

It can cause congestion in spots on the pitch, yes. They are not running into each other or anything, but depending on the roles, PPMs, mentality, etc. two or more players can be trying to occupy the same general area to the detriment of your team play.

[Larsson1888]

No- retain possession slows tempo and shortens passing length, pass into space tells players to try more through balls.

Thanks. I always thought retain possession would stop more through balls yet pass into space would encourage it.

[THOG]

What does the "run wide with ball" instruction do for a central player? Will it make him sit wider like a wide midfielder or will he act like a winger and take it towards the byline?

It will increase his tendency to move into openings in wide areas when he's on the ball. "Cut Inside" and "Run Wide/Move Into Channels" don't directly affect off the ball movement. Off the Ball movement is controlled by a combination of duty, width and roaming.

Attack duty players will all cut in towards goal off the ball while support duty players will be more likely to drift wide to provide support on the flanks. Higher width encourages players to sit wider to stretch the defence while lower width encourages players to sit narrower to offer more avenues of penetration through the middle (keep in mind, however, that play narrower and play wider TIs will also encourage players to focus passing down the middle or along the flanks). Roaming gives players license to just go wherever there's space to be found.

[Dr. Hook]

Thanks. I always thought retain possession would stop more through balls yet pass into space would encourage it.

You're welcome and for future reference, the shout that stops through balls is "pass to feet"

[Larsson1888]

You're welcome and for future reference, the shout that stops through balls is "pass to feet"

Learn something everyday lol

[james95]

What's the best way to alter a tactic so it's more successful in bad weather and poor pitches? Current play a 4411 that is very possession based but have started to struggle on poor pitches and going more direct etc hasn't really worked for me. Ay help would be much appreciated.

[Dr. Hook]

What's the best way to alter a tactic so it's more successful in bad weather and poor pitches? Current play a 4411 that is very possession based but have started to struggle on poor pitches and going more direct etc hasn't really worked for me. Ay help would be much appreciated.

Often in really poor weather you need to keep the ball away from the middle of the pitch if possible where its muddy and chewed up. When you say that direct hasn't really worked, what is going wrong with it? A lot of missed passes, giveaways and interceptions? Generally that is what you want to do in the poor conditions-not try to play pretty to-feet football.

[jere_d]

My long throw taker keeps throwing to the short option how do i make hime throw long coz everyone keeps getting into the box and its always short

I have mixed throwings on but he only throws short I but it on long but the fullbacks just kept throwing the ball away during defensive throw ins

its actually annoying now

[james95]

Often in really poor weather you need to keep the ball away from the middle of the pitch if possible where its muddy and chewed up. When you say that direct hasn't really worked, what is going wrong with it? A lot of missed passes, giveaways and interceptions? Generally that is what you want to do in the poor conditions-not try to play pretty to-feet football.

Cheers for the help and it's been giving me poor results any time I've tried to use it. So exploit the flanks and clear the ball to flanks could be quite useful with fast wingers?

[Dr. Hook]

Cheers for the help and it's been giving me poor results any time I've tried to use it. So exploit the flanks and clear the ball to flanks could be quite useful with fast wingers?

That's what I would do. If it's really wet or muddy, your direct passing might work better if your keeping it wide. Let us know how you get on, as if that doesn't sort it, a bit more analysis might be wanted

[james95]

That's what I would do. If it's really wet or muddy, your direct passing might work better if your keeping it wide. Let us know how you get on, as if that doesn't sort it, a bit more analysis might be wanted

That seems to have achieved the desired effect. Cheers.

[Pantelas]

Question from me guys (It might also make for a separate thread):

In the staff responsibilites tab, what does "Brings youth players into the club, and informs you of their development" REALLY do? Does he AFFECT the intake of youths (ie. does he choose the candidates) or is it just that he offers his opinion on signing the best of them once they are candidates?

As I understand it, whatever the case is, the person responsible would need to have high Judgement of PA, to choose the correct bunch of youth.

On a related note then, I always assign this duty on my Head of Youth of Development for obvious reasons. However I recently signed an under 18's manager and he is automatically selected for the role, and I can't change that. I'm wondering if this will have an effect on the quality of the next youth intake since he doesn't have high judgement of PA

Feedback appreciated

[Dr. Hook]

That seems to have achieved the desired effect. Cheers.

Glad to hear it

Question from me guys (It might also make for a separate thread):

In the staff responsibilites tab, what does "Brings youth players into the club, and informs you of their development" REALLY do? Does he AFFECT the intake of youths (ie. does he choose the candidates) or is it just that he offers his opinion on signing the best of them once they are candidates?

As I understand it, whatever the case is, the person responsible would need to have high Judgement of PA, to choose the correct bunch of youth.

On a related note then, I always assign this duty on my Head of Youth of Development for obvious reasons. However I recently signed an under 18's manager and he is automatically selected for the role, and I can't change that. I'm wondering if this will have an effect on the quality of the next youth intake since he doesn't have high judgement of PA

Feedback appreciated

The quality of the youth coming in is determined by your youth recruitment level- their starting attributes are determined by your junior coaching level. Your Head of Youth of U18 manager has no effect on this, other than some youths may reflect the same personality type as the Head of Youth (he recruits youths that he likes because they are like him I suppose). "brings youth players into club" refers to the group of youths promoted from the junior teams that comprise your yearly intake. Not sure why the U18 manager is locked into doing that; it hasn't been for me :confused: But either way, it isn't going to affect the quality, because the general quality level that comes out of your junior ranks is set by what i mentioned above.

[Pantelas]

Thanks for the super fast feedback Dr! So just to confirm, since this is a stupid questions thread after all, the quality of youth intakes - other than the personality types - is by no means affected by none of the staff members, even the Head of Youth?

[Dr. Hook]

Thanks for the super fast feedback Dr! So just to confirm, since this is a stupid questions thread after all, the quality of youth intakes - other than the personality types - is by no means affected by none of the staff members, even the Head of Youth?

Correct. To get better youths, you have to increase your recruitment network, and to get them to have better attributes in the intake, increase your junior coaching.

[Pantelas]

Thanks alot!

[MTM1977]

How to take advantage when opponent gets a red card?

It seems that whenever my opponents get a red card, the match immediately becomes much harder for my team.

It is much more likely that the opponent scores than me.

I have tried to become more attacking, tried to retain possession, tried to go without changing anything. Nothing works.

It seems that the opponent gets some kind of boost when they are down and i have no tools to cope with that...

Any suggestions?

[kozmik]

Does tutoring need to be completed before the player being tutored turns 22? Just signed Volland from Hoffenheim (summer 2014), planned to have RVP tutor him but can't, his name isn't on the list of tutee candidates. As far as I know all the requirements for tutoring (positions, squad status, rep etc.) are met, but Volland does turn 22 in a couple of months. Couldn't come up with any other explanation myself.

[llama3]

How to take advantage when opponent gets a red card?

It seems that whenever my opponents get a red card, the match immediately becomes much harder for my team.

It is much more likely that the opponent scores than me.

I have tried to become more attacking, tried to retain possession, tried to go without changing anything. Nothing works.

It seems that the opponent gets some kind of boost when they are down and i have no tools to cope with that...

Any suggestions?

Depends on the opponents, and how they change their shape. To be honest...

Does tutoring need to be completed before the player being tutored turns 22? Just signed Volland from Hoffenheim (summer 2014), planned to have RVP tutor him but can't, his name isn't on the list of tutee candidates. As far as I know all the requirements for tutoring (positions, squad status, rep etc.) are met, but Volland does turn 22 in a couple of months. Couldn't come up with any other explanation myself.

Possibly, otherwise there may be too many other players on the list in front of him too. Once they get assigned tutors, he might come up on the list.

[kozmik]

Possibly, otherwise there may be too many other players on the list in front of him too. Once they get assigned tutors, he might come up on the list.

I actually tried assigning key player squad status to some of the players on the list, only got more youth players in their place, no Volland. I can live with not being able to tutor Volland since he's already got a resolute personality, would just have preferred professional and a bit higher determination.

Anyway, if anyone could confirm my suspicion about the age of the tutee, I'd be thankful so I can better plan ahead in the future.

[llama3]

Think he can be tutored still at 23

[Aizo4576]

What have you guys had the most success with regarding roles in a two striker system?

I've got Mitrovic and Gallagher, both are capable of playing as complete forwards, so not sure what roles to give if I played them together.

And any suggestions for what to play behind them(AMC), if I don't have wingers?

[Ravenblood]

I'm using a 4-2-3-1 formation and my wide players seem to cross a lot,mostly unsuccessfully,I'm trying to reduce their crossing and instead I want to play a slower game by passing the ball to the middle and finding spaces to get the ball into the box.Are there any instructions to encourage this type of game?

[a.panda]

Is it advisable to ask defensive players with low aggression AND low bravery to learn "stay on feet when tackling"?

[RTHerringbone]

I'm using a 4-2-3-1 formation and my wide players seem to cross a lot,mostly unsuccessfully,I'm trying to reduce their crossing and instead I want to play a slower game by passing the ball to the middle and finding spaces to get the ball into the box.Are there any instructions to encourage this type of game?

What Roles are you using out wide? I tend to use Inside Forwards or Advanced Playmakers at AML/R, and it markedly reduces the number of crosses.

[THOG]

I'm using a 4-2-3-1 formation and my wide players seem to cross a lot,mostly unsuccessfully,I'm trying to reduce their crossing and instead I want to play a slower game by passing the ball to the middle and finding spaces to get the ball into the box.Are there any instructions to encourage this type of game?

Giving PIs to attempt "Fewer Crosses" and "Cross from Byline" works well for me.

[januszpa]

Physiotherapy and Discipline are the two useful stats. Their primary function is to give you accurate assessments about recovery time, and good physios I believe can aid in the recovery a bit. If it does happen, it's won't be dramatic, though- a blown hammy is a blown hammy. As of rule of thumb, with all staff jobs, better is better

I think that there is some evidence that good physios can help with recovery time. Simple test for this: when you send out players on loan, they will often get horrific injuries (much more often than your 1st team players). When this happens, RECALL them from loan. If you have a good setup and high-quality physios, you should see, e.g., 6-7 month recovery times drop to 4-5 months.

Now, this could be due to the fact that at the loanee clubs the physios are poor at assessing length of injury, and therefore their estimates are off (and the player would've been out for 4-5 months regardless), or it could be due to the fact that being back at his home club, with excellent facilities and physios, the player recovers faster. In any case, the recovery time DOES change drastically when you bring a severely injured player back from loan.

[Dr. Hook]

I think that there is some evidence that good physios can help with recovery time.

I recall someone from SI saying that it would help (back when I was with EHM we had questions like that all the time), and I think the manual also suggests this, but the question that I was never clear about was how much. What you posted is interesting as far as injury time with loan players, I hadn't ever paid attention to that. It could be there is a more drastic effect on injury time once you get to the the top tier.

[Cleon]

I think that there is some evidence that good physios can help with recovery time. Simple test for this: when you send out players on loan, they will often get horrific injuries (much more often than your 1st team players). When this happens, RECALL them from loan. If you have a good setup and high-quality physios, you should see, e.g., 6-7 month recovery times drop to 4-5 months.

Now, this could be due to the fact that at the loanee clubs the physios are poor at assessing length of injury, and therefore their estimates are off (and the player would've been out for 4-5 months regardless), or it could be due to the fact that being back at his home club, with excellent facilities and physios, the player recovers faster. In any case, the recovery time DOES change drastically when you bring a severely injured player back from loan.

SI have said this before in the past yeah. A good physio is also supposed to reduce the number of little niggling injuries you get because they stop them from happening.

[Ravenblood]

What Roles are you using out wide? I tend to use Inside Forwards or Advanced Playmakers at AML/R, and it markedly reduces the number of crosses.

I use CWB/A with IF/S and FB/S with W/A

[Ravenblood]

Giving PIs to attempt "Fewer Crosses" and "Cross from Byline" works well for me.

Thanks,I'll try that.

[Aizo4576]

What have you guys had the most success with regarding roles in a two striker system?

I've got Mitrovic and Gallagher, both are capable of playing as complete forwards, so not sure what roles to give if I played them together.

And any suggestions for what to play behind them(AMC), if I don't have wingers?

Does anyone have any suggestions?