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

[jstu9]

Would playing Counter but with higher tempo, higher defensive line, more closing down and a bit wider basically be the same as playing Standard?

[HUNT3R]

9 hours ago, brookie1402 said:

I meant the part where it says 'Confidence' and 'Little Knowledge' next to his name. What does this relate to?

That also means what it says. I'm assuming he's new? He'll need to build up his knowledge of the squad.

[herne79]

8 hours ago, jstu9 said:

Would playing Counter but with higher tempo, higher defensive line, more closing down and a bit wider basically be the same as playing Standard?

Yes and no.

Whilst the Team Instruction settings you mention may end up broadly similar, changing Mentality changes more than just Team Instructions.  For example, Mentality also modifies individual player mentality.

[Hanan96]

On 2/28/2017 at 16:18, herne79 said:

Make sure your players have the right personality (high levels of Professionalism and Ambition) to train well.

And do some/all of the following (you need to take control of Training under Staff Responsibilities for these to work):

Set their individual training focus to Stamina.

Set their role training to something that includes Stamina work.

Set your team General Training to Physical as that will focus the team on developing their Physical attributes (which includes Stamina).

And make sure they actually play in matches, so if your Youth squad is too large trim it down to ensure the players you want to develop are playing often.

 

I see. professionalism is the problem. And I got 2 player with this kind of problem. one got low proffesionalism, and good ambition, result poor stamina until age of 22. the other were low level at both proffesionalism and good ambition. this player PA is 185 but sadly, now he's 21 and stuck in 120, with coach keep saying he would be good player for serie B. I tried to play him in some matches, and seems he's really serie B player. keep playing sloppy, past 2 season I had already loan him out to serie b club and play at least 20 matches.

how should I deal with my 2 youngster? They got great pa, but weak in proffesionalism, and the other also at ambition

[superdave]

On ‎2‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 09:05, whoopy said:

what if we choose team shape as fluid whereas creative freedom was choosen as more disciplined ( this option also disallows roam from position option) ?

My belief (and you really should check with the experts) is that the "structured-flexible-fluid" choices are very misleadingly named.  The proper way to name them would be "vertical compactness."  To me, it seems to govern the spacing between your lines.

One of my huge complaints is that FM seems to work with "English football English" rather than just using English words with normal English definitions.  By that I mean they use words that mean something in English club football tactics.  An example is that "at sixes and sevens" is a cliché in Britain, but to an American, it's just a collection of words.  We have different phrases for different tactical ideas.

That's not an exclusively British thing; my wife is from Kenya and they have their own English language clichés.  (I'm not speaking exclusively about football here.)  I work with someone from India; she has her own clichés.  The mistake the game designers make is assuming that English as spoken in Britain is some kind of universal language.  Many of the complaints/misunderstandings on this thread come from this exact problem.  Words are used in the game incorrectly.  You would THINK that "fluid" would mean a centerback willing to maraud forward to take advantage of space, or that a forward would come back to the midfield to try to win a ball, but that's not really what you "see" when you watch matches.  "Fluid" merely means more vertically compact than "flexible."

The one most prominent example is that the counter setting isn't really setting you up to play the counter.  It just means less risky than standard and more risky than defensive.  Why they didn't just give it a name to reflect that who the hell knows.

Basically, when you, the player, want to implement your tactical ideas, you can't just look at your options and choose what you want.  You have to run your ideas through some kind of babelfish translator first.  That's poor game design.  And it's been that way ever since they got rid of wibble wobble.  That's just corporate arrogance.

[OCD]

27 minutes ago, superdave said:

 

The one most prominent example is that the counter setting isn't really setting you up to play the counter.  It just means less risky than standard and more risky than defensive.  Why they didn't just give it a name to reflect that who the hell knows.

 

I agree. Perhaps they should rename the "mentalities" to "risks" instead.

So they could have risks 1-7 (or a risk bar) and a description with each settings along the lines of "With this setting players will play slower, more compact and take less risk" on a lower risk (number setting), and "With this setting, players will play higher tempo, wider and take more risks" obviously a better description than what I've written lol, and obviously a description for each of the 7 settings.

Ultimately the team mentality settings are simply risk factors, a more attacking mentality will therefore mean players take more risks, play wider, higher tempo, more direct, close down more etc, and with a more defensive mentality meaning they take less risks, play narrower, lower tempo, shorter passes and close down less.

 

Edited March 2, 2017 by OCD

[whoopy]

53 minutes ago, superdave said:

My belief (and you really should check with the experts) is that the "structured-flexible-fluid" choices are very misleadingly named.  The proper way to name them would be "vertical compactness."  To me, it seems to govern the spacing between your lines.

One of my huge complaints is that FM seems to work with "English football English" rather than just using English words with normal English definitions.  By that I mean they use words that mean something in English club football tactics.  An example is that "at sixes and sevens" is a cliché in Britain, but to an American, it's just a collection of words.  We have different phrases for different tactical ideas.

That's not an exclusively British thing; my wife is from Kenya and they have their own English language clichés.  (I'm not speaking exclusively about football here.)  I work with someone from India; she has her own clichés.  The mistake the game designers make is assuming that English as spoken in Britain is some kind of universal language.  Many of the complaints/misunderstandings on this thread come from this exact problem.  Words are used in the game incorrectly.  You would THINK that "fluid" would mean a centerback willing to maraud forward to take advantage of space, or that a forward would come back to the midfield to try to win a ball, but that's not really what you "see" when you watch matches.  "Fluid" merely means more vertically compact than "flexible."

The one most prominent example is that the counter setting isn't really setting you up to play the counter.  It just means less risky than standard and more risky than defensive.  Why they didn't just give it a name to reflect that who the hell knows.

Basically, when you, the player, want to implement your tactical ideas, you can't just look at your options and choose what you want.  You have to run your ideas through some kind of babelfish translator first.  That's poor game design.  And it's been that way ever since they got rid of wibble wobble.  That's just corporate arrogance.

Thanks for your answer,Turkish is my native language and I always compare phrases in the game with English and it has more or less the same meaning.To your presume about risks on mentalities,I can say that I disaragree with you.It's not just about risk in my opinion and the definition on mentalities are correct through my experience.The Best part of the game that I like most is it enables and leaves some parts unclear and this lead us to discuss for years If everything was totally clear I wouldn't be addict and Love this game that much

Edited March 2, 2017 by whoopy

[Pivot]

What to do if my team has lost a form after long winning streak? (not break streak)

[Rummy]

Is there a difference between different roles with the same instructions?

For example, Box to Box Midfielder (Support) and Central Midfielder (Support) + Roam From Position PI?

Is there something hardcoded in certain roles (except for playmakers and target man) that cannot be replicated with a different role with the same PIs?

[Tom14]

15 hours ago, HUNT3R said:

That also means what it says. I'm assuming he's new? He'll need to build up his knowledge of the squad.

He isn't new. He was a player for 7 years, then a u19s coach for 5 years, and he has now been assistant manager for 4 years all at the same club so his knowledge of the players should be quite high although there have been around 14 changes to the squad recently with ins and outs.

Sorry I might be being thick here but I still don't get it. For 'confidence' it says he has little knowledge but I don't know what this means. Does this mean that he doesn't have much knowledge about the confidence of the squad. And if so; what exactly is confidence of the squad - does it just mean morale? And while we are on the subject I get that he has little knowledge of 'squad management' but where is this information pulled from, i.e. are there attributes that attributes that determine this or will it just increase the more familiar he gets with the squad? I'll post the screenshot again because a new page has started. Any help with explaining this is appreciated.

[looping]

This is really stupid but I don't know what else to say.

Does anyone know anywhere else where I can ask for help?

[herne79]

38 minutes ago, Rummy said:

Is there a difference between different roles with the same instructions?

For example, Box to Box Midfielder (Support) and Central Midfielder (Support) + Roam From Position PI?

Is there something hardcoded in certain roles (except for playmakers and target man) that cannot be replicated with a different role with the same PIs?

 

On ‎28‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 00:47, herne79 said:

There will be differences, some larger some smaller than others.  The larger differences relate to playmaker roles as they are coded as "ball magnets" which can't be replicated using a neutral role.  Smaller differences relate to variations in player mentality or creative freedom but aren't always noticeable.

 

[HUNT3R]

9 hours ago, brookie1402 said:

He isn't new. He was a player for 7 years, then a u19s coach for 5 years, and he has now been assistant manager for 4 years all at the same club so his knowledge of the players should be quite high although there have been around 14 changes to the squad recently with ins and outs.

Sorry I might be being thick here but I still don't get it. For 'confidence' it says he has little knowledge but I don't know what this means. Does this mean that he doesn't have much knowledge about the confidence of the squad. And if so; what exactly is confidence of the squad - does it just mean morale? And while we are on the subject I get that he has little knowledge of 'squad management' but where is this information pulled from, i.e. are there attributes that attributes that determine this or will it just increase the more familiar he gets with the squad? I'll post the screenshot again because a new page has started. Any help with explaining this is appreciated.

Could be his Tactical knowledge being low then?

[Tom14]

12 hours ago, HUNT3R said:

Could be his Tactical knowledge being low then?

His Tactical Knowledge attribute is 9 so it could be but if so it needs to be explained in game better than just 'confidence'. It would be nice to have an official concrete explanation as to what it means.

[LCFCEaves31]

Hi stupid one coming up... does anyone actually score from corners? And if so, what are the most important things to consider? I used to (FM15) be able to ping them near post and have my best header there to knock it in. 

With my Cambridge save I don't have great big giant centre halves or fantastic set piece takers. Not a great start I know, but I'm sure I can do better with them and I get so many corners but no goals it is costing me as I'm drawing a lot of games at the minute. 

Any advice or a point in the direction of a thread already existing would be great.

[HUNT3R]

I've scored 3 in the last 15 that I can remember. Maybe even more. This with unaltered settings, both in setups and takers.

[Pivot]

Is Ball-Playing Defenders duo a good idea? Will defence be solid?

[bosque]

31 minutes ago, Pivot said:

Is Ball-Playing Defenders duo a good idea? Will defence be solid?

The role of a central defender changes the way he will play the ball, the duty will affect his movement. 

[herne79]

31 minutes ago, Pivot said:

Is Ball-Playing Defenders duo a good idea? Will defence be solid?

BPDs should act in much the same way as regular central defenders when defending, so should be every bit as solid.  What they do with the ball when in possession is where the difference lies - take a look at their PIs.

[Marabak]

I play with a general 532 with a back 3. With no real width further up the pitch, the two WBs are expected to provide. I am pretty happy with how my team play apart from one aspect. My WBs come way to deep for goalkicks, effectively sitting on top of the outside centrebacks. I'd prefer them to sit further up the pitch when the goalkeeper is taking a kick. Anyway to do this without effecting the overall positioning of the players during the rest of the match?

 

Roles are CD[Co] DCB[St] CD[Co] for my back three and WB either side in the WB strata. Both WB have PI of Run Wide with Ball and Stay Wide. No PI on CBs. TI is Play Out of Defence. GK does have Take Short Kicks, but this behaviour happened before I set that particular PI.

Cheers.

 

Edit: For some reason I can't remove the strike through from the text. I didn't knowingly select it either.

 

Edit2: Like this...image hosting over 10mb

Edited March 4, 2017 by Marabak
Add pic

[kingjericho]

6 hours ago, Marabak said:

I play with a general 532 with a back 3. With no real width further up the pitch, the two WBs are expected to provide. I am pretty happy with how my team play apart from one aspect. My WBs come way to deep for goalkicks, effectively sitting on top of the outside centrebacks. I'd prefer them to sit further up the pitch when the goalkeeper is taking a kick. Anyway to do this without effecting the overall positioning of the players during the rest of the match?image hosting over 10mb

What is your GK distribution? Experiment with different setting (e.g. take long kicks) to see if the WBs start a bit further.

[kingjericho]

How come the role of Defensive Winger is no longer an option for the AMR/AML strata? Can you suggest the best way to replicate this? (apart from the obvious solution of having them in the MR/ML slots)

[MeMyself2k13]

3CMs vs. 1DM & 2 CMs?

Is it true that 3CMs tend to perform better in FM? I've been watching @Rashidi's Torino Diaries on YouTube recently and the fact that he won the Serie A back-to-back and Champions League in his first two seasons, without even making any big signings, made me question a lot of things that I do in my saves.

In one of the episodes he mentioned that 3CMs in a flat line tend to perform better. Considering the fact that he eliminated Barcelona and Real Madrid, without having a DM, means he's probably correct. I personally would probably play a DM in these kind of "tough matches", just for that extra security at the back, but maybe I shouldn't. I've also heard before that CMs tend to be "more careless", if they have a DM behind them, but I never took that too seriously. By my logic, having a triangle should be better than having a flat line, because the passing options are naturally easier that way, but are they really?

Which formation would be a better choice for a tough, away match, for example?

4-DM-2CMs-AML-AMR-1 or 4-3CMs-AML-AMR-1?

[Marabak]

13 hours ago, kingjericho said:

What is your GK distribution? Experiment with different setting (e.g. take long kicks) to see if the WBs start a bit further.

Originally, I had the GK on default and the WBs sat roughly in the same place, so I changed to short kicks to at least stop the GK hoofing it into space. I'll continue experimenting and see what happens.

[herne79]

14 hours ago, kingjericho said:

How come the role of Defensive Winger is no longer an option for the AMR/AML strata? Can you suggest the best way to replicate this? (apart from the obvious solution of having them in the MR/ML slots)

I think it stopped being an option in FM14 or 15, and they can't be given an attack duty any more either.

It's pretty contradictory in terms - AML/R are aggressive positions, almost pseudo-striker positions if you will, so a "Defensive" winger role here doesn't really fit the bill.

MR/ML are your best options, although using AML/R with players given a support duty along with complimentary tactical settings (such as a low risk mentality) and suitable attributes (eg., high work rate) will see players tracking back well.

[kingjericho]

1 hour ago, herne79 said:

I think it stopped being an option in FM14 or 15, and they can't be given an attack duty any more either.

It's pretty contradictory in terms - AML/R are aggressive positions, almost pseudo-striker positions if you will, so a "Defensive" winger role here doesn't really fit the bill.

MR/ML are your best options, although using AML/R with players given a support duty along with complimentary tactical settings (such as a low risk mentality) and suitable attributes (eg., high work rate) will see players tracking back well.

Thanks.

I interpret a defensive winger the same way as a defensive forward, as in they are aggressive in pressing the opposition, so I'd say that a defensive winger could be effective in the AMR/L position... oh well.

 

P.S.: I think the attack duty that used to exist is not the support duty for these roles. Like in the defensive forward, in the beginning this role had a support/attack duty, and now had a defend/support option.

Edited March 5, 2017 by kingjericho

[pedromanuelpinto]

Hi,

I want to creat a 4231, but I'm struggling with difficulties and knowing how to play with it.

 

This is my first try:

 

I'm in championship, with a 4-5-1, but I would like to change for something that gives me more oportunities.

 

What do you think?

Should I change the mentality or something else?

 

Thanks

[OhHoopedOne]

6 hours ago, herne79 said:

I think it stopped being an option in FM14 or 15, and they can't be given an attack duty any more either.

It's pretty contradictory in terms - AML/R are aggressive positions, almost pseudo-striker positions if you will, so a "Defensive" winger role here doesn't really fit the bill. 

What about the role Dirk Kuyt played for Liverpool? Not exactly known for his creative or scoring abilities, he was in the team for his willingness to run all game and defend from the front. What was that if not a defensive winger?

Edited March 5, 2017 by OhHoopedOne

[b28937]

Re: pre-season training

Over the years, most guides I've read said you should put your general training on high/very high fitness training, on the logic that players come back out of shape etc and need fitness.

Revently I watched a training guide on youtube that explained that the way general training affects the game is by *increasing attributes* of players (except maybe team cohesion).  Therefore, setting high general fitness training is not speeding up levels of match preparation, but rather focusing on increasing players' physical attributes.  The only way to speed up match fitness is through playing time in friendlies.

Based on my understanding of how general training works, I was very persuaded by the latter.  you might be better off focusing on team cohesion if you've brought in a lot of new players or maybe go balanced or whatever attributes your team needs to improve.  Fitness might be useful to increase physical attributes that were lost during the break, but it's not going speed up match condition/sharpness.

What do you think, who is right?

 

[kingjericho]

1 hour ago, b28937 said:

Re: pre-season training

Over the years, most guides I've read said you should put your general training on high/very high fitness training, on the logic that players come back out of shape etc and need fitness.

Revently I watched a training guide on youtube that explained that the way general training affects the game is by *increasing attributes* of players (except maybe team cohesion).  Therefore, setting high general fitness training is not speeding up levels of match preparation, but rather focusing on increasing players' physical attributes.  The only way to speed up match fitness is through playing time in friendlies.

Based on my understanding of how general training works, I was very persuaded by the latter.  you might be better off focusing on team cohesion if you've brought in a lot of new players or maybe go balanced or whatever attributes your team needs to improve.  Fitness might be useful to increase physical attributes that were lost during the break, but it's not going speed up match condition/sharpness.

What do you think, who is right?

 

I always go with Team Cohesion if I make many signings (3+). After pre-season I switch to Balanced.

I think the logic with setting Fitness training is to increase attributes like Stamina and Natural Fitness, which help maintain better levels of match fitness.

[herne79]

2 hours ago, b28937 said:

Re: pre-season training

Over the years, most guides I've read said you should put your general training on high/very high fitness training, on the logic that players come back out of shape etc and need fitness.

Revently I watched a training guide on youtube that explained that the way general training affects the game is by *increasing attributes* of players (except maybe team cohesion).  Therefore, setting high general fitness training is not speeding up levels of match preparation, but rather focusing on increasing players' physical attributes.  The only way to speed up match fitness is through playing time in friendlies.

Based on my understanding of how general training works, I was very persuaded by the latter.  you might be better off focusing on team cohesion if you've brought in a lot of new players or maybe go balanced or whatever attributes your team needs to improve.  Fitness might be useful to increase physical attributes that were lost during the break, but it's not going speed up match condition/sharpness.

What do you think, who is right?

 

Setting General Training to Fitness does indeed affect player attributes and not their match fitness.  You increase match fitness by playing matches.

If you check the FAQs sticky at the top of this forum you'll find a list of exactly which player attributes are impacted by each General Training setting. 

All Training Guides posted on this forum (also stickied) say this.  If you have read any other guides saying otherwise, I'm afraid they're wrong.

[Rummy]

What exactly does the PI "Get Further Forward" shout affect? 

Does it simply increase mentality? 

If so, does it affect both attacking and defensive positioning? 

I'm asking this because I instructed my DM to get further forward and it seems to make him more aggressive in defense also. He seems to stand in a more advanced position in defense and close down more than before. Or maybe I'm just mistaken? 

[herne79]

44 minutes ago, Rummy said:

What exactly does the PI "Get Further Forward" shout affect? 

Does it simply increase mentality? 

If so, does it affect both attacking and defensive positioning? 

I'm asking this because I instructed my DM to get further forward and it seems to make him more aggressive in defense also. He seems to stand in a more advanced position in defense and close down more than before. Or maybe I'm just mistaken? 

If you select this PI you'll notice the player mentality bar doesn't change.

Get Further Forward encourages players to make more forward runs into advanced positions while your team are in possession.

It may have a slight knock on effect to a player's defensive transition, as if he is in a more advanced area than normal when in possession he'll have a little further to run back to his defensive position.  I can't see how it could affect closing down though unless he just happens to be closer to an opponent during the transition.

[Scrench]

What is the difference in attacking behaviour between a regular winger and a defensive winger?

[herne79]

8 minutes ago, Scrench said:

What is the difference in attacking behaviour between a regular winger and a defensive winger?

Always start by looking at the default Player Instructions to get an idea of how any given role is designed to behave.

[Rummy]

To what extent does PPM's have impact on player performance if the player is already instructed a matching PI? 

For example, a winger (with dribble more PI) with "Runs with ball often" PPM. Does the PPM affect anything in this situation? 

Edited March 6, 2017 by Rummy

[DerKopite]

What should I do if I find that there aren't enough men supporting attacks quick enough; put them on higher mentalities? 

[Gee_Simpson]

On 05/03/2017 at 12:14, MeMyself2k13 said:

3CMs vs. 1DM & 2 CMs?

Is it true that 3CMs tend to perform better in FM? I've been watching @Rashidi's Torino Diaries on YouTube recently and the fact that he won the Serie A back-to-back and Champions League in his first two seasons, without even making any big signings, made me question a lot of things that I do in my saves.

In one of the episodes he mentioned that 3CMs in a flat line tend to perform better. Considering the fact that he eliminated Barcelona and Real Madrid, without having a DM, means he's probably correct. I personally would probably play a DM in these kind of "tough matches", just for that extra security at the back, but maybe I shouldn't. I've also heard before that CMs tend to be "more careless", if they have a DM behind them, but I never took that too seriously. By my logic, having a triangle should be better than having a flat line, because the passing options are naturally easier that way, but are they really?

Which formation would be a better choice for a tough, away match, for example?

4-DM-2CMs-AML-AMR-1 or 4-3CMs-AML-AMR-1?

Nevermind.

Edited March 7, 2017 by Gee_Simpson

[kingjericho]

7 hours ago, Rummy said:

To what extent does PPM's have impact on player performance if the player is already instructed a matching PI? 

For example, a winger (with dribble more PI) with "Runs with ball often" PPM. Does the PPM affect anything in this situation? 

PPMs mean the player will always look to perform that action, even if he has a contrary PI. For example, if you have a anchor man and he has the PPM "gets forward whenever possible", even though the PI for the anchor man role is "hold position" he will still look to do what is one of this regular movements of going forward.

In the case you mention, the player was already going to run with the ball, so you're telling him to do something that he would already do.

[kingjericho]

On 05/03/2017 at 12:14, MeMyself2k13 said:

3CMs vs. 1DM & 2 CMs?

Is it true that 3CMs tend to perform better in FM? I've been watching @Rashidi's Torino Diaries on YouTube recently and the fact that he won the Serie A back-to-back and Champions League in his first two seasons, without even making any big signings, made me question a lot of things that I do in my saves.

In one of the episodes he mentioned that 3CMs in a flat line tend to perform better. Considering the fact that he eliminated Barcelona and Real Madrid, without having a DM, means he's probably correct. I personally would probably play a DM in these kind of "tough matches", just for that extra security at the back, but maybe I shouldn't. I've also heard before that CMs tend to be "more careless", if they have a DM behind them, but I never took that too seriously. By my logic, having a triangle should be better than having a flat line, because the passing options are naturally easier that way, but are they really?

Which formation would be a better choice for a tough, away match, for example?

4-DM-2CMs-AML-AMR-1 or 4-3CMs-AML-AMR-1?

I would say this comes down to trial and error. Having 3 CMs instead of 2 CM + 1 DM will not make a bad tactic great all of a sudden. In this case Rashidi's tactic worked better with a flat line most likely that setup was though out with the rest of the tactic.

What you know about a flat line instead of a triangle, regardless of the system used, is the following:

1. the outer CMs in the flat line will be a bit wider;
2. the flat line will require the defense to be higher, due to the space vacated in the DM slot (this is immediately visible in the tactics screen).

[looping]

I use lower mentalities (Control sounds  almost suicidal to me). Against attacking sides my defence stays stubborn and I hit on the break. That's good.

When I face a balanced team (Standard/Flexible, for instance), my low mentality helps me to keep possession and patiently open them. That's good.

What shocks me is when I face a team using a low mentality the result makes no sense for me. I would expect if 2 teams are using a defensive mentality to end 0-0 0-1 1-0 1-1, but what happens is that I conced 2-3 goals against these teams. Even when they are extremely and hugely worse.

I think I have identified that they start short passing in front of my box with my defenders doing absolutely nothing. Finally, my cb are dragged out of position and they score. If, against these teams, I tell my players to close down more (to max) and push my defence higher (to max), or I play higher mentality (attacking/overload) I can defend against them (I can't score, but that's another matter).

So, the question is, am I right? If I'm using a low mentality and the opponent plays on contain/defensive, is conceding an outrageous amount of goals rational, according to FM parameters? Can be the case that I'm allowing too much space in front of my box because my defenders are reluctant to close down due to deep def line and low closing down? So, if I want to keep a clean sheet against a defensive team, I have to play attacking/high press? I can't just sit back and watch how they play safe passes (this is what I'd like to do)?

 

Edited March 6, 2017 by looping

[Dr. Hook]

1 hour ago, looping said:

What shocks me is when I face a team using a low mentality the result makes no sense for me. I would expect if 2 teams are using a defensive mentality to end 0-0 0-1 1-0 1-1, but what happens is that I conced 2-3 goals against these teams. Even when they are extremely and hugely worse.

So, the question is, am I right? If I'm using a low mentality and the opponent plays on contain/defensive, is conceding an outrageous amount of goals rational, according to FM parameters? Can be the case that I'm allowing too much space in front of my box because my defenders are reluctant to close down due to deep def line and low closing down? So, if I want to keep a clean sheet against a defensive team, I have to play attacking/high press? I can't just sit back and watch how they play safe passes (this is what I'd like to do)?

 

It shouldn't shock you because there is a ton of space available and it will get used- if not by you, then by the AI. If you are conceding an "outrageous" number of goals, it is because you are set up to allow it. Low mentality is not the same as shut up shop or park the bus. You don't have to go attacking or high press to deal with it, but what you do need to do is respond to what you are seeing. The best way if you want to keep a low risk mentality is to adjust your roles and duties to take advantage of the space.  Your deep line and low closing down will concede the areas in front of your box to some extent, and that is what you are seeing.

You can increase your closing down (at least for certain players, especially in your midfield) to deny that space, you can push your d-line a little higher to compress the space and confront them before they get to the golden zone in front of your box.  There are things you can do and a number of ways to setup your system to take advantage of the space.

[vasilli07]

Do you normally train a technical or mental attribute 1st? For eg, a gk with 11 for both handling and positioning. Which 1 do you put the individual training on?

[HUNT3R]

41 minutes ago, vasilli07 said:

Do you normally train a technical or mental attribute 1st? For eg, a gk with 11 for both handling and positioning. Which 1 do you put the individual training on?

In that specific example, Positioning every single time. For me, keepers in the right position don't have to make super difficult saves.

[OhHoopedOne]

32 minutes ago, HUNT3R said:

In that specific example, Positioning every single time. For me, keepers in the right position don't have to make super difficult saves.

It's strange how goalkeepers in FM can work on positioning all by themselves but to work on one v ones, they need a coach to be there. I guess it must be because positioning training is just spending time daydreaming by each post and occasionally standing in the middle of the goal picking your nose or, in the case of Sutton United, eating a pie 

[herne79]

3 hours ago, OhHoopedOne said:

It's strange how goalkeepers in FM can work on positioning all by themselves but to work on one v ones, they need a coach to be there. I guess it must be because positioning training is just spending time daydreaming by each post and occasionally standing in the middle of the goal picking your nose or, in the case of Sutton United, eating a pie 

You've mentioned this before.  If you haven't already, raise it in the request new features forum.

[howard moon]

This has probably been asked before, but here goes...

I have a question about players' individual focus. I'm confused by it, and there doesn't seem to be much help explaining it within the game.

Let's say I have a player training as a 'ball playing defender' and then give an additional focus of something that's already covered by the position training (say 'passing'), does this double-up the training on this attribute? Or should it only be used for something not covered by the position training?

Same applies to workload. Presumably individual focus means greater workload for the player. So is it best to not bother with it on older players who have less scope for development? 

[forlegaizen]

Hi, i was wondering if lowering the tempo as i play in a control mentality would help me to tone down the risk(?) and  some of the rushed decisions my players are making (shooting instead of passing to better position).

I have tried this for a couple of matches and it went well, i would like your insights to know if I am on the right track.

If you need more information just ask.

Thank you

[HUNT3R]

6 hours ago, howard moon said:

This has probably been asked before, but here goes...

I have a question about players' individual focus. I'm confused by it, and there doesn't seem to be much help explaining it within the game.

Let's say I have a player training as a 'ball playing defender' and then give an additional focus of something that's already covered by the position training (say 'passing'), does this double-up the training on this attribute? Or should it only be used for something not covered by the position training?

Same applies to workload. Presumably individual focus means greater workload for the player. So is it best to not bother with it on older players who have less scope for development? 

This is what Individual training does. It focuses on an individual attribute. So if you choose a role that already has the attribute covered, it now gets more focus. You can know this in-game because the player's workload increases when setting individual training.

[HUNT3R]

6 hours ago, forlegaizen said:

Hi, i was wondering if lowering the tempo as i play in a control mentality would help me to tone down the risk(?) and  some of the rushed decisions my players are making (shooting instead of passing to better position).

I have tried this for a couple of matches and it went well, i would like your insights to know if I am on the right track.

If you need more information just ask.

Thank you

Lowering tempo won't alter risk taking. That's what mentality does on a broad scale. You can alter specific decisions more with some PIs and TIs like more/less risky passes etc.

Lowering tempo just encourages players to hold onto the ball a little more before making a decision. It'll mean that they have a little more time to decide, so a little less likely to rush compared to before. It could help, if tempo is the issue. Just make sure that they have other options. If the options are there, but they're rushing, then a tempo adjustment could help them take the time to evaluate options better.

If tempo doesn't do the trick, there's more to it. PPMs, a poor attribute (composure, decisions) or even your instructions could all affect the choice to shoot when you don't want them to.