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

[herne79]

11 hours ago, AndyEs said:

I used to have images that I have now lost or possibly deleted from an old thread (can't remember who by).

But it was regarding the mentalities and passing distances. I was looking for more information and possible confirmation if it still applies or not.

From memory it said the more attacking mentalities would employ short passing from the back and more direct passing further up the pitch by default. Then the opposite for more defensive formations, long balls from the back and short passing further up the pitch. Do these variations in passing distance for each mentality still apply?

Thanks

Yup still applies.

57 minutes ago, ExeChris said:

Sorry if it's already been asked, but when tutoring, what is the difference between "I'd like you to tutor x as I feel you can help improve his game" and "I think it would be beneficial if you could take x under your wing and mentor him off the pitch"

Is the second one more mental than skills based?  I'm playing FM16.

Cheers!

The first option will attempt to pass on the Tutor's personality and one (or more) of the Tutor's Traits (PPMs).  The second will attempt to pass on the Tutor's personality only.

[roger_rs]

Hello, not sure if this is the right place but i didn't want to create a thread just to ask this.  Two seasons in and I need someone new to lead the line, done some scouting and came with two options:  Andrea Belotti and Kasper Dolberg.

I play a lone striker system(433) where i don't really have a specific style of play, i usually look for the opposition weaknesses and go from there, so i need a fairly well rounded player.  Both have been great last season with at least 25 goals/5 assists for Ajax and Torino respectively.  Money is not a problem, who would you guys pick?

[M4nager1a]

On 1/28/2018 at 07:31, roger_rs said:

Hello, not sure if this is the right place but i didn't want to create a thread just to ask this.  Two seasons in and I need someone new to lead the line, done some scouting and came with two options:  Andrea Belotti and Kasper Dolberg.

I play a lone striker system(433) where i don't really have a specific style of play, i usually look for the opposition weaknesses and go from there, so i need a fairly well rounded player.  Both have been great last season with at least 25 goals/5 assists for Ajax and Torino respectively.  Money is not a problem, who would you guys pick?

Belotti,Young and have alot of potential

[vasilli07]

I think Belotti has breaks offside trap ppm so he will always try to be on the shoulder of the last defender. May not drop deep as often even if you give him a support duty.

[Hovis Dexter]

If I move all of my U19s into my first team will my U19 coaches continue to coach the U19 players, or am I paying them to do nothing?

[HAMMERIRON]

What is the best combination to hold on to a one goal advantage...

Contain and very fluid or

Contain and structured?

Basically which if the two is more defensive?

Thanks 

 

[HAMMERIRON]

9 hours ago, Hovis Dexter said:

If I move all of my U19s into my first team will my U19 coaches continue to coach the U19 players, or am I paying them to do nothing?

As far as I know if you move the U19s into the first team they get coached by the senior coaches but will happily be corrected if wrong.

[joshhimself]

Is it okay to recall my loan players near the end of their loans (in June) after their teams have finished all their matches and the players are on vacation? Will the loaning clubs be less likely to do loan business in the future? I'm in the Eredivisie, and the early June 1 transfer window allows me to do this, even for foreign-loaned players.

The reason I'd like to do this is so that I can issue international friendly instructions for some tired and overworked players. I'd also like to view their attribute changes so I can better plan for the coming season.

(This particular save is FM16, but I also play FM18 if the answer is different for any reason.)

[joshhimself]

3 hours ago, HAMMERIRON said:

What is the best combination to hold on to a one goal advantage...

Contain and very fluid or

Contain and structured?

Basically which if the two is more defensive?

Thanks 

 

Contain and very fluid will do a better job of getting your forwards to drop deep and creating a packed formation, but with a couple of downsides:

(1) You will have a harder time relieving the pressure once you recover the ball. With few outlet options, you may see your players clearing the ball deep or attempting riskier outlets.

(2) You are more likely to see multiple players closing down the same opponent, which can disrupt your defensive shape.

Personally, I would go with structured if it looks like your forwards are defending the way you want them to.

Edited January 31, 2018 by joshhimself

[phnompenhandy]

7 hours ago, HAMMERIRON said:

As far as I know if you move the U19s into the first team they get coached by the senior coaches but will happily be corrected if wrong.

Yes, they'll be sat around doing nothing.

[Hovis Dexter]

6 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

Yes, they'll be sat around doing nothing.

 

13 hours ago, HAMMERIRON said:

As far as I know if you move the U19s into the first team they get coached by the senior coaches but will happily be corrected if wrong.

Thanks guys -

[qDizzy]

if a player is injured... can he still train, learn a new player trait or tutor/be tutored? 

Gordan Hayward of the Boston Celtics (NBA)  broke his ankle earlier this season (get better big guy)..  the celtics decided to put him in the film room and help the coaching staff by by analyzing film - he even was specficaly designated to focus in on the player whos replacing him in the line-up whos in his rookie year, and help him out.. (im pretty sure thats what i heard, and makes sense)

further more the guy was seen practicing his jump shot with a cast on, sitting on a chair in practice...

so yea - kinda thinking along thoose lines... perhaps if one of your players gets injured - maybe he can still learn from film and increase postioning or off the ball - or be able to gain familarity in a new postion some what...  and even tutor / be tutored 

maybe FM could do a better job by making some options not being able to be selected on what type of training a player can do when injured.. depending on the injury...

PS maybe determation would play a bigger factor in this case, compared to under normal circumstances...

Edited February 1, 2018 by qDizzy

[phnompenhandy]

15 hours ago, Hovis Dexter said:

 

Thanks guys -

I'll tell you why I retain a skeleton crew of U18 staff though.

I move the youth I intend to develop (ie all of them) into the senior squad asap so they get more training. However, there is a sweet spot, depending on youth facilities and coaches where the workload leaps from low to average. In my current set-up it's 36. In other words if I have 35 bodies in my first team and U23 squads getting full-time training, we're good. But the 36th messes us up. So currently my squad has to bloated 43 until I can work out which new kids don't have suitable personalities or are injury prone. The youngest ones therefore - 15, just turned 16, wallow in my U18 squad until there is a vacancy.

[qDizzy]

5 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

I'll tell you why I retain a skeleton crew of U18 staff though.

I move the youth I intend to develop (ie all of them) into the senior squad asap so they get more training. However, there is a sweet spot, depending on youth facilities and coaches where the workload leaps from low to average. In my current set-up it's 36. In other words if I have 35 bodies in my first team and U23 squads getting full-time training, we're good. But the 36th messes us up. So currently my squad has to bloated 43 until I can work out which new kids don't have suitable personalities or are injury prone. The youngest ones therefore - 15, just turned 16, wallow in my U18 squad until there is a vacancy.

i noticed that there's a sweetspot too.. but it did get me thinking... and i really would like to know, does it work by an added value or something, or is it like computer generated and as simple as: (35 = low , 36= average)

so guess what im asking is, altough u notice the jump from when it goes to 36 from 35... i wonder if theres a difference between having 34 vs 35 players?

also, if a player is injured... can he still train, learn a new player trait or tutor/be tutored? 

thanks..

Edited February 1, 2018 by qDizzy

[qDizzy]

On 1/27/2018 at 04:15, herne79 said:

On 1/27/2018 at 03:16, ExeChris said:

Sorry if it's already been asked, but when tutoring, what is the difference between "I'd like you to tutor x as I feel you can help improve his game" and "I think it would be beneficial if you could take x under your wing and mentor him off the pitch"

Is the second one more mental than skills based?  I'm playing FM16.

Cheers!

The first option will attempt to pass on the Tutor's personality and one (or more) of the Tutor's Traits (PPMs).  The second will attempt to pass on the Tutor's personality only.

still applicable im FM18??

[phnompenhandy]

1 hour ago, qDizzy said:

i noticed that there's a sweetspot too.. but it did get me thinking... and i really would like to know, does it work by an added value or something, or is it like computer generated and as simple as: (35 = low , 36= average)

so guess what im asking is, altough u notice the jump from when it goes to 36 from 35... i wonder if theres a difference between having 34 vs 35 players?

thanks..

It's a very good question. I can't know as a regular player; I think an answer would have to come from SI.

[herne79]

57 minutes ago, qDizzy said:

still applicable im FM18??

Yup.

[Vali184]

How would you create a 4123 wide tactic for a team that's predicted to finish last in Premier League? I have good players for AML and AMR positions but none of them can play at ML and MR. I am 8th in the league at the moment in January because I had a good streak of wins at the beginning of the season so I'm clearly overachieving, but recently I struggle to create chances. I concede in the first 15 minutes. I don't have attacking minded central midfielders. I find it hard to create a tactic this season because I was experimenting all the season, playing various types of football and I don't have any starting point, now I want to create a tactic so I can build my team around it but I fail to do so.

[roger_rs]

On 29/01/2018 at 06:36, M4nager1a said:

Belotti,Young and have alot of potential

 

On 29/01/2018 at 06:50, vasilli07 said:

I think Belotti has breaks offside trap ppm so he will always try to be on the shoulder of the last defender. May not drop deep as often even if you give him a support duty.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, just to give you a quick update, signed Dolberg and he is doing very well. 

 

Got another couple of questions though. Does having coaches/club staff  with their prefered formation the same one your team play gives you any kind of "boost"?

 

And how important are acceleration and pace for keepers? if i wanna play a Sweeper keeper for example should i take these attributes in consideration?

[qDizzy]

- do injured players train? if not, i wish to move 2 of my injured players from my senior squad to my U18. So i can then call up 2 of my u18 players to train with my 1st team. As some of you know there's a point when the coaches workload go from light to average after a certain number of players. If inured players dont train i rather then move them to the U18 squad then. would the 2 injured players miss out on training or is there any reason why i shouldnt move them to my U18 if they're injurned??

thanks..

Edited February 2, 2018 by qDizzy

[herne79]

1 hour ago, qDizzy said:

- do injured players train? if not, i wish to move 2 of my injured players from my senior squad to my U18. So i can then call up 2 of my u18 players to train with my 1st team. As some of you know there's a point when the coaches workload go from light to average after a certain number of players. If inured players dont train i rather then move them to the U18 squad then. would the 2 injured players miss out on training or is there any reason why i shouldnt move them to my U18 if they're injurned??

thanks..

Injured players don't train.  But you'll run the risk of upsetting players if you move them from your senior squad to the U18s.  Why would you do that anyway?  An average coach workload is fine.  And why do you want to move players from the U18s?  If they're in the U18s that suggests they are younger than 18, and the most important aspect of player development before the age of 18 is training.  Coaches play a big part in that so unless you have senior squad coaches with a great Working with Youngsters attribute you may upset their development.

And what happens when your two senior players come back from injury?  Move them back into the senior squad and move your young players back down to the U18s from the seniors?  That may also upset the young players.

I don't really understand why you want to move players between squads just because of injury?

[qDizzy]

2 hours ago, herne79 said:

Injured players don't train.  But you'll run the risk of upsetting players if you move them from your senior squad to the U18s.  Why would you do that anyway?  An average coach workload is fine.  And why do you want to move players from the U18s?  If they're in the U18s that suggests they are younger than 18, and the most important aspect of player development before the age of 18 is training.  Coaches play a big part in that so unless you have senior squad coaches with a great Working with Youngsters attribute you may upset their development.

And what happens when your two senior players come back from injury?  Move them back into the senior squad and move your young players back down to the U18s from the seniors?  That may also upset the young players.

I don't really understand why you want to move players between squads just because of injury?

thanks herne79

did a good amount or research here and a many times i see some of your comments, always helpful. I started playing FM last year (downloaded demo FM17) wasnt truly convinced but it was right in line of what i was looking for in a game. The real issue i had with the game is how much of it is unexplained, and how i had to do more research (on here, and other sites to get answers to the questions i had, answered) than actually playing the game. unfortunalty for me i somehow found it kinda fun doing all this research, ( kinda  ) but im still cool with it, and i found this forum so dope and how cool it is players helping each other out - that it makes up for my many a frustaions 😁).

I do mean to write something more on what i am about to say, in another thread or something; but for now i just wanna say the gist of it. the problem or difficulties i'm having as a new player to the game i think are shared by many others. i also think because you and many others who give very solid advise have a great understanding with the game and are very familair with the game mechanics and how everything ties in, that besacuse of that you guys may kinda not understand or see things the way a new player does. Now, i know that (because i get the feeling, and have heard it said here) that the reason why so much goes unsaid, is because FM wants to give the player a real experience of what it is like to be a manager, and not to get so caught up in game mechanics. I agree with this 100%, but i do feel there is a lack of explantion in many aspects of how the game works, that makes it very puzzling. Speaking for myself, im not looking for details of game mechanics and how things work etc etc, to gain some type advantage or expolit things within the game; really what im looking for is confirmation that what i am thinking to do - cooresponse with real life; thats pretty much it.

i think alot of the people posting questions here are doing pretty much the same. So what im tryna say is i think there is a grey area where FM should be treading in (giving some info but not too much). not giving any info leads to lots of questions. 

i really do wish to touch more on this but thought i share that portion of what i kinda have been meaning to get across...

(had to get that off my chest man) 

but seriousy im a big fan of the game - but because of what i just explained; is part of why i havent totally brought in yet. i just downloaded FM18 like 2 weeks ago. Really was siked to see what kind of improvments were made and if i its worth it, for me to get it. glad to see alot of improvments, but there are some other areas i still feel could use some minor changes here and there for me to feel like purchasing a copy. as much as i wanna get into the game, some of those things are what are stoping me from doing so (but i continue to play the demo to get a better understaning of it, im also writting down everything i feel where i would like to see improments - to share with on here) .. i do mean to share some of those things some other time... but back to the point, which was about training injured players or what not.. im a just make some points to asnwer some of the questions you asked..

- i do have good working with youngster coaches (better than my u18).. my philosphy is keeping a pretty young team (for the club im managing).

- coaches workload change from low to average, or average to high depening on the number of players in the team

- injured players, eventhough they arent training are taking that space in the the training sessions.

- therefore if theyre injured i shoudlnt have to move them to u18 in order to get that extra space to fit in a u18 in to the first team/u23 (as they share the same training session) - they should just go to another list of players like an "injured list" and show as injured in my 1st team but allowing me to put in a u18 player in his place in training so that the youngster gets the benefit of working with better coaches.

- in real life if you have a super good yongster but your 1st team and u23 teams are packed, and a player gets injured in the first team, and the youngster is called up to start practing with the first team/u23 team; all because of the injury, they would be super stoked, to know that he's one of the first choices from the u18 team to be called up. he'll know, he got the chance because of the injury and shouldnt be disapointed as if hes getting demoted once the injured player comes back.

- i said put a u18 in my 1st team, which was lazy of me, what i meant was ... injured player goes to u18 team, u23 player goes to 1st team, u18 player goes to u23 team.

well i hope i kinda explained why i wanted to move a player from u18 up.. and kinda explained a little bit of what some of the new players to FM are going thorugh with ya, cuz youve been extrmely helpful on this forum and maybe it'll help u understand or see things from a newbie's prospective... and maybe be able to kinda help make the game more understandable to newbies if your able to see things from a newbies view.

thanks again herne79 for the reply. sorry for my long reply, but hope some good stuff got across... either way herne79, thanks again your one solid dude,

cheers mate..

Bonus question, if i have a combined number of players of 35 players from both my u23 & 1st team - and if i add one more player to either my u23 or 1st team squad (making it now 36), i notice my coaches workload go from low to average as a result, would there also be a slightly less work load for the coaches if i removed a player making it now 34 players instead of 35?

- i believe in real life if a managaer and/or coaching staff would say there is a diffenece in training 25 vs 30 vs 35 players... although 1 less player to train is a very slight difference i believe it should be accounted for, because im pretty sure the diffrence of 5 players would be significant in training... so thats y i ask...

anyhoo cheers; sorry for the bonus question 😇

 

 

Edited February 2, 2018 by qDizzy

[herne79]

@qDizzy I totally understand where you're coming from.  I only started playing the game during FM13 but only really got into it from about FM15 so I fully appreciate when you refer to a lack of in game explanations.  It's something that's been raised with SI (by myself and others) but of course there's a fine line between giving us players sufficient information and simply spoon feeding us so that we do 1 + 2 = 3 all the time (if you see what I mean).

In essence, FM boils down to the type of game where the more effort you put into it the more you'll get out.  You don't have to do that of course - you can download tactics and be successful or you can just half-arse things and rely on luck.  I used to do that a lot.  But it's only when you start putting the effort in that you'll begin to understand what actually happens.  And asking questions or posting comments on a forum is all part of that process and demonstrates a willingness to make the effort, so good job .

In terms of your questions, be aware of shared training facilities and coaches.  All 3 of your squads (U18s, U23s and seniors) share the same training facilities (the gym, practise pitches and so on) but your U23s and senior squad share the same coaches.  The U18s have their own coaches.  So if you move a player from the U23s to the senior squad you're not really changing their training at all because they already use the same facilities and coaches.  They might get a bit of a morale boost from being moved into the senior squad, but that's about it.

Yes you can employ U23s coaches, just as you can employ U18s and senior squad coaches, but if you have an U23s coach (or manager/assistant manager) take a look at which squads they help train.  The U23s coaches help train not only the U23s, but also the seniors and the U18s.  That's pretty neat as you can use them to help manage coach workloads across all squads, especially if you are on a limited budget and are only allowed a small number of coaches per squad.  Take a look at these screen shots to see what I mean - note how my U23s coach Eddie Munnelly appears as a coach for all 3 squads; my U18s coach only trains the U18s and my senior coach (Dean Holdsworth) trains both the senior squad and the U23s:

[qDizzy]

 yea herne79, i totally realized u23 coacheas help out on both 1st team and u18 squads... even some 1st team coaches help out in the u18..

as for my coaching staff, i made a mutual agreement to release all my coaches and brought in a whole bunch of new ones that were really good WWY, and my 1st team coaches are really good with WWY, and what im seeing is my 1st team / u23 coaches do a better job of training youngsters than my u18, simply because i can afford to hire better coaches in my 1st team / u23 squad.

and well i guess thats a no regarding the bonus question, oh wells  :-/

fair enough, maybe thats boarderline asking too much, still think its a fair question though, but its cool i kinda understand..

thanks herne79, thanks for answering my question and thanks for hearing me out, glad to hear u guys are aware of what i was bringing up about lack of info and glad to hear u guys are bringing that up to FM.. with your guys help hopefully this game will go from epic > super epic.. really apprciate it man, thanks again and keep up the good work dude

cheers mate!

[qDizzy]

Question: player instruction and player trait, or PI and PPM, what if they are the same, what happens?

Answer: if the player has the PPM dribble more, and the player's instrution for his role is dribble more, nothing happens.

Moral of the story: becareful training a player a PPM he might already have to do in the role you would have him in, in your formation, as for the PPM could just be wasted...

[ took me awhile to find the answer to this, so i posted this here to make it easier to find for any one else intrested - trying to use the combination of words i myself was looking for ]

cheers, and good luck gaming yall !

[stevemc]

I'm probably missing something stupid, but why can't I give a team talk to a player I've subbed on a half time? I'm sure in FM17 you could give an individual team talk on this screen?

[Hovis Dexter]

Click on the button to the left of the PKD position of the particular player and then select the "talk to players" option.

[stevemc]

24 minutes ago, Hovis Dexter said:

Click on the button to the left of the PKD position of the particular player and then select the "talk to players" option.

Thanks, took me a bit to figure that, seems like a pointless click to have to make.

[Vali184]

'Curls ball' PPM is useful only for freekick and corner takers or it could be useful to some extent for wingers or other wide roles?

[qDizzy]

On 2/1/2018 at 19:14, roger_rs said:

Got another couple of questions though. Does having coaches/club staff  with their prefered formation the same one your team play gives you any kind of "boost"?

 

And how important are acceleration and pace for keepers? if i wanna play a Sweeper keeper for example should i take these attributes in consideration?

good question... i hear that for your head of youth develpoment (HOYD) he is more likely to bring in players that fit his prefred formation... not too sure about the other staff memebrs...

i would assume quickness is pretty important for sweeper keepers if your going to be playing a high line and need him to try and intercept some long passes... but maybe if he may be able to get away with being a tad slower if he has good postioning, anticpation and rushing out (i think its called the "rushing out" attribute - the one thats says he comes out the box more often)... but this is just my guess..

if anyone knows a little more about these queations, please correct me if im wrong or offer some more info.. thanks guys..

cheers

[qDizzy]

On 2/1/2018 at 13:55, Vali184 said:

How would you create a 4123 wide tactic for a team that's predicted to finish last in Premier League? I have good players for AML and AMR positions but none of them can play at ML and MR. I am 8th in the league at the moment in January because I had a good streak of wins at the beginning of the season so I'm clearly overachieving, but recently I struggle to create chances. I concede in the first 15 minutes. I don't have attacking minded central midfielders. I find it hard to create a tactic this season because I was experimenting all the season, playing various types of football and I don't have any starting point, now I want to create a tactic so I can build my team around it but I fail to do so.

heres what i did when i wanted to create my tatics... my starting point was to try and copy some of the tactics and formation of teams i liked...  i searched youtube to see if there was any videos of FM tactics based on those teams... i started from there and played around with them...

i encourage u to do the same, think u'll find some good stuff on youtube.. and probably practice that formation/tactics your thinking about to see how it goes by playing some friendlys on a new game diffenent than your current save...

6 hours ago, Vali184 said:

'Curls ball' PPM is useful only for freekick and corner takers or it could be useful to some extent for wingers or other wide roles?

- not sure about corners and free kicks... think its more about shooting from free play.. he will attempt to curl it rather than blast it... defintly helpfull if u have wingers cutting in looking to shoot or inside fowards.. IMO

cheers mate... good luck gaming...

[TheJanitor]

Got a question relate to the Concentration attribute and forwards... So in my save I got a killer regen who seems like a good DLF or even CF in the making. His attributes are good in almost every department bar his Concentration which is 5. I always rated this attributes for keepers, defenders, fullback and more defensively minded midfielders, but never considered its impact on forwards- which brings me to my question: how does the Concentration attribute affect attacking play and does a striker who lacks it could still do well?

[CaptainSa]

Any advice on team or player instructions to target an opposing fullback who is weak in the air? I imagine some combination or Clear Ball to Flanks, More Direct Passing and having keeper distribute to specific player would help?

[roger_rs]

21 hours ago, TheJanitor said:

Got a question relate to the Concentration attribute and forwards... So in my save I got a killer regen who seems like a good DLF or even CF in the making. His attributes are good in almost every department bar his Concentration which is 5. I always rated this attributes for keepers, defenders, fullback and more defensively minded midfielders, but never considered its impact on forwards- which brings me to my question: how does the Concentration attribute affect attacking play and does a striker who lacks it could still do well?

I believe it's crucial only for poachers , it makes sense since they try to chase rebounds and score tap ins.  Although this is me talking out of my ass,  the fact is strikers are less involved in the game and can go for long periods without getting touches, plus a lot of strikers in the game have average to low concentration and perform well. 

[LeonardSnart]

Does Dribble Less team instruction colides with Dribble More of inside forwards?

[Vali184]

19 hours ago, LeonardSnart said:

Does Dribble Less team instruction colides with Dribble More of inside forwards?

Player instructions override team instructions. At least to some extent.

Do fairly poor player partnerships improve over time?

Edited February 7, 2018 by Vali184

[kingjericho]

On ‎06‎-‎02‎-‎2018 at 21:11, Vali184 said:

Player instructions override team instructions. At least to some extent.

Do fairly poor player partnerships improve over time?

It seems to me that partnerships depens on various factors - players quality, but also their form, more specifically their goals, assists, match ratings, etc.

So yes, partnerships can improve over time.

[zigaliro]

If I have my left back on attack duty, what duty should my left inside forward be? Attack or support duty? What would be more effective? Would left side be too attacking if both of them were on attack duty?

Edited February 8, 2018 by zigaliro

[Hovis Dexter]

1 minute ago, zigaliro said:

If I have my left back on attack duty, what duty should my left inside forward be? Attack or support duty? What would be more effective?

I would have thought support. If they are both on attack duties they'll charge up field leaving nobody to defend the left side of the pitch.

[herne79]

41 minutes ago, zigaliro said:

If I have my left back on attack duty, what duty should my left inside forward be? Attack or support duty? What would be more effective? Would left side be too attacking if both of them were on attack duty?

 

38 minutes ago, Hovis Dexter said:

I would have thought support. If they are both on attack duties they'll charge up field leaving nobody to defend the left side of the pitch.

Careful when using words like "should" .  It's one of those absolute type of words which would indicate a rule or something that "must" be done.  With FM, things like "should do this" is rare.

For your question, a support duty IF with your left back on attack can indeed work but so can an attack duty IF.  As always it depends on the rest of your system, the risks you are prepared to take and how you go about mitigating those risks.  An attack duty IF + attack duty left back may perhaps be more risky and thus more tricky to balance but by no means impossible.

Talk about muddying the waters .

[Hovis Dexter]

Good point. I guess if you have the both the wide left players on attack this could be balanced by having a midfield centre left on defence or a defensive midfielder left on defence or support. 

[Domac]

Question about youth intake.

[As a quick preface, I can't complain as my previous years' intakes so far this save with Arsenal have produced  wonderkids allover the pitch.]

It's 2020 on my Arsenal save and my facilities, staff responsibilities, and affiliates are as follows:

 

Basically, I have maxed out facilities, a model pro in Arsene Wenger to bring in my youth, and an agreement with all of these clubs where I can recruit their players into my youth teams for intake day.  Despite this, I've just had my worst youth intake of the save so far.  Here are the young lads:

 

My team is not much better or worse to dictate a massive change in relative potential star ratings versus intake players of years past.  And I tend to pay more attention to mental stats, and the players attributes instead of the scouts potential rating for the kid.

What I'm more concerned about is the personalities of these players.  Previous intakes have seen driven, model professionals, and excellent personalities in general among new prospects with Bernhard Peters or Wenger handling youth intake with their Model Pro personalities as staffers.

 

Is it just the luck of the draw that caused this intake to be so poor compared to my previous years on this save (happy to post intakes from years past so folks can compare)?

Or can someone spot something I'm doing wrong to get a youth intake like this?

Could changing my staffer responsible for youth intake from Bernhard Peters to Arsene Wenger possibly have caused this?

 

[Bigpapa42]

Mentoring question.... I've run into this a bit before. Pretty sure I even asked about but don't recall getting much of a response. 

Brought in a 39 year old winger on a freebie, pretty much entirely so he could mentor. He's decently versatile and hasn't bottomed-out physically yet, but his main purpose was to pass on his personality. He's described as Fairly Professional, but he has good Determination (14) and reasonable Ambition too. I looked at his other hidden attributes and all the personality traits are between 12 and 15 except Controversy, which is 9. No PPMs at all. 

I've tried 4 different youth players and all have rejected him as a mentor. Multiple times, as I've gone back and tried a different approach. Does't matter how I make the request, it gets rejected. Two of the players are strikers and two are DMs. The veteran is a different nationality but shares the same language - and others have accepted mentors with the exact same combination. 

What could be making the youth players reject the mentor? It looks like he's pretty much useless as a mentor....

[HUNT3R]

This is a guess, but possibly a low reputation? Or at least, a reputation below a certain level.

[HUNT3R]

6 hours ago, Domac said:

What I'm more concerned about is the personalities of these players.  Previous intakes have seen driven, model professionals, and excellent personalities in general among new prospects with Bernhard Peters or Wenger handling youth intake with their Model Pro personalities as staffers.

I'd say you're perhaps just unlucky, especially as you've had other intakes that were better. Not every year is a good one, unfortunately!

[Domac]

4 minutes ago, HUNT3R said:

I'd say you're perhaps just unlucky, especially as you've had other intakes that were better. Not every year is a good one, unfortunately!

Thanks, guess so.  Can't complain though the kids I've been getting are such class.

 

[BrianMunich]

I've an 18 year old regen striker that is quite possibly the star of his generation.

His physical stats have shot up, way quicker than technical and mentals, and are at an elite level despite my best efforts to halt PA being loaded onto them.

Acceleration 18 
Agility 16
Balance 17
Jumping 11
Natural Fitness 13
Pace 16
Stamina 18
Strength 13

They're at a level now we're I'd be more than happy for them to stay until his mid 30s! 

I'm managing as Bilbao, and trying to develop this player with a view of an elite forward partnership that could potentially elevate me to one of the best teams in Europe. Inaki Williams has developed into a devastatingly quick, near perfect Advanced Forward. So I want this guy to make up the creativity within the partnership. Now he's already got fairly solid physicals, but his mental stats are lacking massively - and developing at a snail's pace. 

He's had 68 first team appearances in coming up to 2 and half seasons. First I had him training as a poacher, but over probably the last 10 months I've noticed his physicals really need little improvement so have had him training on a Treq. training role in an effort to boost up as many of his mental stats as possible, whilst also still working on the technical that are needed. 

Basic point is - I've never once played him as a Treq in my tactic, always as a Advanced Forward, or Complete Forward. Do I actually have to play him as a Treq for the key attributes in that role to develop quicker? 

These are his current stats that make up the TQ. role, and ones that the training is meant to hit... My thinking is that whilst he still has plenty of potential in him, still only 18 - if I can bring up these stats, he will turn into a monster of an all round creative forward.

Anticipation 11
Composure 12
Decisions 13
Flair 14
OTB 15
Vision 10
Finishing 14
First Touch 16
Passing 11
Technique 16

Dribbling 12 (Additional Focus)

 

How realistic is it to expect that by just keeping him on this plan I can funnel all his development into these stats, instead of further boosting already stand out physicals - not to mention wasted areas such as corners, FKs, marking etc.. 

Edited February 9, 2018 by BrianMunich

[herne79]

52 minutes ago, BrianMunich said:

Do I actually have to play him as a Treq for the key attributes in that role to develop quicker? 

No.  Set his individual training to the TQ role to focus on developing those attributes.

53 minutes ago, BrianMunich said:

How realistic is it to expect that by just keeping him on this plan I can funnel all his development into these stats, instead of further boosting already stand out physicals - not to mention wasted areas such as corners, FKs, marking etc.. 

Any training strategies you set will focus and increase player development on the related attributes but it'll never completely eliminate the development of other less favourable (or even useless) attributes - although these can be reduced to such an extent you'll never notice any change.

Out of interest the young striker with the great Physicals, have you set any Training to focus on developing Physical attributes such as General Training - Fitness or any individual physical development?

[BrianMunich]

3 minutes ago, herne79 said:

No.  Set his individual training to the TQ role to focus on developing those attributes.

Any training strategies you set will focus and increase player development on the related attributes but it'll never completely eliminate the development of other less favourable (or even useless) attributes - although these can be reduced to such an extent you'll never notice any change.

Out of interest the young striker with the great Physicals, have you set any Training to focus on developing Physical attributes such as General Training - Fitness or any individual physical development?

Thought that might have been the case with the TQ role, was just not 100% as progress on those stats have seemed to stall despite regular games - when fit, he's in my starting XI. 

General Training has been set to Low - Balance - did read that this allowed for maximised individual training or role training to happen...

[Kingstontom88]

'Shoot on sight'

I have never used this instruction and to be honest I don't see when I would ever want to given the erratic manner of shooting in FM18 - however, this obviously serves a purpose - is it target goalkeepers who are carrying a knock / they've had to throw a CB in goal?

and/or is it useful for trying to force set pieces to win a goal that way?