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

[hxp]

I want to hire some good coaches for my "B" team but i can't offer any wages, it doesn't go higher than $0 p/w. I can't even see the B team staff on the Board screen, only A team and youth staff is listed. I don't think it's a bug, just weird B team mechanic that someone can hopefully explain to me.

Yes, i have taken full control over B team responsibilites which inlcudes "hire/fire B team staff" and i'm playing in the spanish Segunda B2 if that matters.

[kingjericho]

Does the "Position/Role" tactic familiarity ever reach 100%? mine always seems to stop at ~95%

[wixxi]

If you have a player's additional focus set as something they're already training does it still help them to improve that attribute? e.g training someone as a DLF and setting their additional focus as off the ball

[Robson 07]

If you have a support duty in midfield and you tell that player to 'hold position' does that mean he'll no longer make forward runs or you've prevented him from any roaming?  Maybe both?

[herne79]

On ‎30‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 09:12, kingjericho said:

Does the "Position/Role" tactic familiarity ever reach 100%? mine always seems to stop at ~95%

It can do but there is so little difference it's negligible.

1 hour ago, wixxi said:

If you have a player's additional focus set as something they're already training does it still help them to improve that attribute? e.g training someone as a DLF and setting their additional focus as off the ball

Yup.

25 minutes ago, Robson 07 said:

If you have a support duty in midfield and you tell that player to 'hold position' does that mean he'll no longer make forward runs or you've prevented him from any roaming?  Maybe both?

No, there are very few such absolutes in FM.  It means he won't make as many forward runs or won't roam as much.  Even a defensive midfielder with a defend duty will make an occasional forward run.  Most things are about tendencies - so he'll tend to do something "less" or "more" rather than "always" or "never" if you see what I mean.

[Cleon]

1 hour ago, wixxi said:

If you have a player's additional focus set as something they're already training does it still help them to improve that attribute? e.g training someone as a DLF and setting their additional focus as off the ball

Yes it gives that attribute extra training.

29 minutes ago, Robson 07 said:

If you have a support duty in midfield and you tell that player to 'hold position' does that mean he'll no longer make forward runs or you've prevented him from any roaming?  Maybe both?

You don't actually prevent him from doing anything, you just reduce the chance of those things happening. Someone told to hold position will tend to try and stay closer to the actual position they play. But they'll still make forward runs and roam from the position should they see fit.

 

[Jonas1987]

I was wondering what is important to select future tutors. I know of their character / determination, but read left and right also about hidden things. How is reputation involved? 

Is there a list of good tutors available somewhere?

[Joey Numbaz]

On 30/07/2018 at 04:12, kingjericho said:

Does the "Position/Role" tactic familiarity ever reach 100%? mine always seems to stop at ~95%

The team familiarity that bar is an aggregate for everyone on the team that is in the lineup when you view it.

I started a separate thread on this the other day for the individual players and what impacts it. I have plenty of players at a perfect 10000/10000 for certain positions.

Things that can help players towards 10000 are moving the Match Training slider on the team training screen more towards the max.

Also, having the player train at the position (the role doesn't matter) that you want him to get perfect at helps a lot.

So to get that team bar perfect, pretty much everyone will have to be perfect for the position they are playing or close to it. Note how Davies, Aouar, Mbemba and Galloway aren't quite 100%. They are all 100% with everything except the position/role/duty.

Now note what happens when I move some players around:

[hxp]

vor 20 Stunden schrieb Jonas1987:

I was wondering what is important to select future tutors. I know of their character / determination, but read left and right also about hidden things. How is reputation involved? 

Is there a list of good tutors available somewhere?

My top priority is their character. I always try to get tutors with ambitious and/or professionell personality. I use this list to find out how ambitious or professionell certain personalities are.

Determination is obviously important too but i feel it's less important than ambition and professionalism so if i can change a players personality for the better at the cost of a few points of determination i will do so.

I don't think reputation means very much. It might be easier to get lower rep players to be willing to get tutored by a higher rep player but i'm not sure about that.

Another priority are preffered moves but i don't really understand how it works myself. I used to think tutees learn all of the ppm's of the tutors but that hasn't been the case for me. Sometimes players don't learn any of them, sometimes they only learn some but not all of them. I think if a player has a low long shots attribute then he can't learn "shoots from distance" ppm. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

[Snorks]

5 hours ago, hxp said:

 

Another priority are preffered moves but i don't really understand how it works myself. I used to think tutees learn all of the ppm's of the tutors but that hasn't been the case for me. Sometimes players don't learn any of them, sometimes they only learn some but not all of them. I think if a player has a low long shots attribute then he can't learn "shoots from distance" ppm. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

The preferred moves only transfer to the the tutee if 'Mentor on the pitch' is the option selected. Mentoring Off The Pitch will only improve personalities I think.

And yes, some players are not suited to some traits.

[herne79]

5 hours ago, hxp said:

Determination is obviously important too but i feel it's less important than ambition and professionalism so if i can change a players personality for the better at the cost of a few points of determination i will do so.

Determination is arguably the single most important attribute in the game as it affects a wide variety of issues, from training through to on pitch player behaviour.

5 hours ago, hxp said:

I don't think reputation means very much. It might be easier to get lower rep players to be willing to get tutored by a higher rep player but i'm not sure about that.

Reputation also means quite a lot.  It's one of the aspects which determines whether or not somebody can tutor someone else, it can influence which players you may be able to sign and can even influence the quality of your new youth players on Intake Day, to name but a few.

5 hours ago, hxp said:

Another priority are preffered moves but i don't really understand how it works myself. I used to think tutees learn all of the ppm's of the tutors but that hasn't been the case for me. Sometimes players don't learn any of them, sometimes they only learn some but not all of them. I think if a player has a low long shots attribute then he can't learn "shoots from distance" ppm. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

As @Snorks above says, this can depend on which option you choose when asking for tutoring.  If choosing the relevant option then some, none or all of a tutors PPMs can get passed along but factors such as Versatility, the player's age and their profile can all influence the success or failure of this.

[hxp]

vor 7 Stunden schrieb herne79:

Determination is arguably the single most important attribute in the game as it affects a wide variety of issues, from training through to on pitch player behaviour.

Yes, but changing a players personality from being unambitious and/or unprofessional with a media style of "volatile, media-friendly, confrontational" to a more balanced personality at the cost of some points of determination is still very much worth it, don't you think?

vor 7 Stunden schrieb herne79:

Reputation also means quite a lot.  It's one of the aspects which determines whether or not somebody can tutor someone else, it can influence which players you may be able to sign and can even influence the quality of your new youth players on Intake Day, to name but a few

That's all true but i was talking about tutoring more specifically. Of course the tutor always has to have higher reputation than the tutee but does it make a difference if the rep is only slightly higher as opposed to much higher? Is the tutee more likely to want to get tutored by a player who has much higher rep or does it affect the quality of tutoring?

vor 7 Stunden schrieb herne79:

As @Snorks above says, this can depend on which option you choose when asking for tutoring.  If choosing the relevant option then some, none or all of a tutors PPMs can get passed along but factors such as Versatility, the player's age and their profile can all influence the success or failure of this.

Yeah, i always choose the first option if i want to get the ppm's passed on but i still fail to pass them on quite often. It must be like @Snorks said and how i thought it works, some players just aren't able to learn certain ppm's through tutoring because they don't have the required attributes but thanks for clarifying what makes a good tutor, i will keep that in mind.

Edited August 3, 2018 by hxp

[Seb Wassell]

On 17/07/2018 at 13:23, Fritz13 said:

Learning a new position - does simply playing the player in the new position enable them to be competent?

Or do they need retraining in the new position as well?

Playing a player in the new position will see a small increase if they have very little ability there, but beyond that they need to train there.

A player cannot reach Natural in a position without playing there regularly, even if training in it constantly.

[beardymouse]

I have a few formations and a control mentality that's working well (currently third with Everton after expectations of a top half finish). We're scoring lots of goals (66 in 27 games - third best in the league) but also conceding a lot (40 - 9th worst in the league and more than anyone in the top half)

I've looked at my stats and it's hard to identify an issue when all the comparisons are with my (excellent) attacking stats. What I have noticed is that with clear cut chances, my team has converted 32 of 50 (64%) whereas the opposition has converted 27 of 40 (68%). In the past 20 games those % have been 60% for and 69% against.

So I guess my stupid question is this: is this simply because I've come up against excellent goal scorers? My strikers have composure of 12 and 13 - is this likely to be a factor?

Also, is there a way of identifying who has had these clear cut chances and who is converting them better?

[Fritz13]

5 hours ago, Seb Wassell said:

Playing a player in the new position will see a small increase if they have very little ability there, but beyond that they need to train there.

A player cannot reach Natural in a position without playing there regularly, even if training in it constantly.

So both then  

cheers Seb

[warlock]

6 hours ago, beardymouse said:

What I have noticed is that with clear cut chances, my team has converted 32 of 50 (64%) whereas the opposition has converted 27 of 40 (68%). In the past 20 games those % have been 60% for and 69% against.

CCC is not a particularly great stat in FM (although it can be an indicator). I'd guess the difference is likely to be what their defence is doing vs what your defence is doing. Outscoring the opposition is a perfectly valid tactical approach, but if the number of goals you're conceding is bothering you then defence is where you should be looking.

Just as an example, if you're getting caught on the counter, the AI will put away a higher percentage of chances simply because their attacking players are under less pressure or facing a disorganised defence (which is pretty much the same thing, really). Watch some of the games back and see why you're conceding, then you can work out what the common factor is.

[mt123]

7 hours ago, Seb Wassell said:

Playing a player in the new position will see a small increase if they have very little ability there, but beyond that they need to train there.

A player cannot reach Natural in a position without playing there regularly, even if training in it constantly.

Is there a way to tell my u23 and u18 coaches to play a player in a certain position? For example I have a am I’m trying to retrain as a striker but the u23 coach keeps playing him as a am so it’s taking forever!

[sgevolker]

Hi,

is there a possibility to load more then one Set-Piece Routine at the same time? How do you handle this, when you wish to have more flexibility and not only use the same routine every time?

Regards

Volker

[Hovis Dexter]

1 hour ago, mt123 said:

Is there a way to tell my u23 and u18 coaches to play a player in a certain position? For example I have a am I’m trying to retrain as a striker but the u23 coach keeps playing him as a am so it’s taking forever!

Before each youth or reserve match you will be asked which of your first team players you want to make available for the youth / reserve team. At that time you can choose the starting line up for the youth / reserve team. The youth / reserve team manager will always pick your chosen players in whatever position that you have specified. However, you have no control over any substitutions that are made during the match.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Hovis Dexter
Made mention of reserve team

[zlatanera]

53 minutes ago, sgevolker said:

Hi,

is there a possibility to load more then one Set-Piece Routine at the same time? How do you handle this, when you wish to have more flexibility and not only use the same routine every time?

Regards

Volker

Yes, if you're in your routines, where you would go to load a saved routine you also have the "create new routine" option - you can have three each in attack / defend corner, all four types of free kicks (Attack and defend) and throw-ins. 

[sgevolker]

Thanks zlatanera 

[LeonardSnart]

On 29/07/2018 at 03:57, Snorks said:

1: not sure - you mean the players you want to buy? Have instructed the DoF to buy or just shortlisted in scouting? Please clarify.

2: Make sure they are downloaded/extracted to the correct folder, then, usually 'Manage Filters' and 'Load' or 'Import' - not at my game machine at the moment so unable to check properly.

I'm not sure, but i think i want to see "shortlisted in scouting".

[Snorks]

7 hours ago, LeonardSnart said:

I'm not sure, but i think i want to see "shortlisted in scouting".

It is one of the menu options at the top of the Scouting screen - but you need to have added them to the shortlist yourself.

[mikcheck]

Hello all,

How do you guys do when you play from 3 to 3 days almost on a weekly basis (champions league and league games) and there are players that you can't afford to rest because they're so important? Obviously there are periods with longer distance between games or those early cups stages where you can basically do a complete squad rotation, but when that doesn't happen what to do?  I always let the team rest after a match, should I rest them before too?

Thanks

 

[Zemahh]

1 hour ago, mikcheck said:

I always let the team rest after a match, should I rest them before too?

With a congested schedule of important matches like that, I would, yes. Or at least manually rest your first team players who're playing a game every 2-3 days, so they don't need to train.

[Snorks]

15 hours ago, mikcheck said:

Hello all,

How do you guys do when you play from 3 to 3 days almost on a weekly basis (champions league and league games) and there are players that you can't afford to rest because they're so important? Obviously there are periods with longer distance between games or those early cups stages where you can basically do a complete squad rotation, but when that doesn't happen what to do?  I always let the team rest after a match, should I rest them before too?

Thanks

 

I always have Rest after match on, and any particularly tried players, or a big match coming up in a few days, add a few extra days off training manually.

Over all of that though, none of my players are so important that I can't afford to rest them - my Key Players will generally, at most, play around 80% of games, most players a lot less than that. My last season at Milan, we had the 38 league games, reached the final of Europa League and final of the Coppa D'Italia - nearly 60 games all up. The player with the most appearances (starts) was Biglia, with 44, and that was with a first team squad of 22 players.

I am always looking 2,3 or 4 games ahead if there is a run of midweek fixtures, so I know if I play player A this weekend, he will be available for the two big games in a fortnight, I can rest him for the easier game next Wednesday, and maybe have him as a sub for next Saturday.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Snorks

[khodder]

Is there anything tactically that will lead to a team spurning a lot of good scoring chances and/or hit the woodwork a lot or is it more luck and poor players?

[Velodromè]

The PPM "Arrives late in the box", what does that do? In my mind I picture it as something similar to a Frank Lampard sort of movement, always arriving at the edge of the box to finish off crosses/passes from the flanks. Is that a correct interpretation?

[Snorks]

35 minutes ago, Velodromè said:

The PPM "Arrives late in the box", what does that do? In my mind I picture it as something similar to a Frank Lampard sort of movement, always arriving at the edge of the box to finish off crosses/passes from the flanks. Is that a correct interpretation?

Yes, that is my understanding.

[LeonardSnart]

On 05/08/2018 at 03:41, Snorks said:

It is one of the menu options at the top of the Scouting screen - but you need to have added them to the shortlist yourself.

Thank you, I found it.

[safcrhys]

Playing a 4-1-3-2 at the moment and wondering what role works best alongside a poacher? Have been using a target man recently but no longer have any players at the club who suit the target man role... was thinking about using a DLF or trequartista?

[Snorks]

3 hours ago, safcrhys said:

Playing a 4-1-3-2 at the moment and wondering what role works best alongside a poacher? Have been using a target man recently but no longer have any players at the club who suit the target man role... was thinking about using a DLF or trequartista?

I would look at partners who can pull defenders around to create space, or create chances for the Poacher - so DLF, Treq etc could work well.

[Zemahh]

5 hours ago, safcrhys said:

Playing a 4-1-3-2 at the moment and wondering what role works best alongside a poacher? Have been using a target man recently but no longer have any players at the club who suit the target man role... was thinking about using a DLF or trequartista?

Here's a thread that you might find useful.

A DLF(S) and a Poacher should be a good starting point.

[Joey Numbaz]

Not a stupid question, but a good tidbit I just saw fly across my screen re: tutoring.

"Players must share at least one accomplished position to enable tutoring".

I'd always wondered what it was, and I'd seen some players that I thought could work, like say a player with competent DM/accomplished CM not being able to tutor a accomplished DM/comptent CM (just as a generic example here) and not being able to figure out what the issue was.

Giving us more crystal clear information like this in other areas would be a big help.

[herne79]

1 hour ago, Joey Numbaz said:

Not a stupid question, but a good tidbit I just saw fly across my screen re: tutoring.

"Players must share at least one accomplished position to enable tutoring".

I'd always wondered what it was, and I'd seen some players that I thought could work, like say a player with competent DM/accomplished CM not being able to tutor a accomplished DM/comptent CM (just as a generic example here) and not being able to figure out what the issue was.

Giving us more crystal clear information like this in other areas would be a big help.

If that's what one of those hints and tips said, it needs updating.  Players do not need to share an "accomplished" position to start tutoring.  All that's needed is for Tutor and tutee to share similar positions. Similar means the same or in some situations adjacent.

So for example below are two players with their positions highlighted.  The young fullback at the top can be tutored by the older player at the bottom - note how they don't actually share any positions in common at all (ie., in this case they share an "adjacent" position):

[Hovis Dexter]

@herne79   Thank you for that - I've learned something new ... the exact wording is "A tutor must share at least one Accomplished playing position with the proposed player being tutored"

... I'll report this in the bugs forum.

[Joey Numbaz]

36 minutes ago, herne79 said:

If that's what one of those hints and tips said, it needs updating.

Yes, it was one of those hints and tips while the FM hamsters inside my laptop were running the game. Thanks for the clarification!

[ZoDiAC_]

When you try to give a youth player a new player trait, what controls / why do coaches come back and say:

he already has enough about his game.

Just had it with a 20 year old with a high potential with no existing PPMs. Huh?

[herne79]

1 hour ago, ZoDiAC_ said:

When you try to give a youth player a new player trait, what controls / why do coaches come back and say:

he already has enough about his game.

Just had it with a 20 year old with a high potential with no existing PPMs. Huh?

Potential doesn't really impact Traits.  A few things may be happening here:

1) Your coach might be wrong.  Even the best coaches aren't infallible and you're free to ignore their advice.

2) The player may have low Versatility.  Versatility is a hidden attribute and can affect the likelihood or amount of Traits a player may be able to learn.

3) The player may have low Ambition and Determination.  As with Versatility, low ratings here can affect a player's ability to learn Traits.

[ZoDiAC_]

2 minutes ago, herne79 said:

Potential doesn't really impact Traits.  A few things may be happening here:

1) Your coach might be wrong.  Even the best coaches aren't infallible and you're free to ignore their advice.

2) The player may have low Versatility.  Versatility is a hidden attribute and can affect the likelihood or amount of Traits a player may be able to learn.

3) The player may have low Ambition and Determination.  As with Versatility, low ratings here can affect a player's ability to learn Traits.

Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for those stats. I did try other coaches who said the same thing, but it does change if you choose a different area to train.

Seems like it could be the wording throwing me off, my immediate thought was "huh, he's a kid! He needs more to his game!"

I'll pore over the next one I get, and maybe even fire up the in game editor to find Versatility.
 

[mikcheck]

Hello all,

I have a question. I do you defend the flanks when you use a narrow formation like 4-1-3-2, ask the outside midfielders to close down more so they can help the fullback? Or you use players with more defensive attributes to play as the side midfielders? Maybe its a space that that's not much we can do to protect it more, the strength is in the center.

Edited August 9, 2018 by mikcheck

[Zemahh]

On 09/08/2018 at 12:23, mikcheck said:

I do you defend the flanks when you use a narrow formation like 4-1-3-2, ask the outside midfielders to close down more so they can help the fullback?

I'd make sure that my outside central midfielders had good Aggression, Bravery, Anticipation and Positioning, so they can read the game and aren't afraid to put in a tackle. A BWM is a role that you could use, if your main concern was helping the full-back.

You could also try pushing your defensive line higher (if your defenders can handle it), to make sure that you don't give the opponent's full-backs time to overlap and cause overloads.

[zlatanera]

On 09/08/2018 at 11:23, mikcheck said:

Hello all,

I have a question. I do you defend the flanks when you use a narrow formation like 4-1-3-2, ask the outside midfielders to close down more so they can help the fullback? Or you use players with more defensive attributes to play as the side midfielders? Maybe its a space that that's not much we can do to protect it more, the strength is in the center.

To add to the above point, you could use the Carrilero role - its specifically for defending the flanks (and in many people's opinion shouldn't be allowed if you have wingers)

[mikcheck]

Thank you both.

I wonder if the Carrilero role has something built under the hood?  I believe so, because it looks like a pretty generic role, looking at his instructions

I'm also asking this because I'm playing FM17 

Edited August 10, 2018 by mikcheck

[herne79]

49 minutes ago, mikcheck said:

I wonder if the Carrilero role has something built under the hood? 

It does, yes.

[mikcheck]

So what's the closest role and instruction I could use to replicate it in FM17? CM(s) with more closing down? Move into channels?

Thank you.

[herne79]

50 minutes ago, mikcheck said:

So what's the closest role and instruction I could use to replicate it in FM17? CM(s) with more closing down? Move into channels?

Thank you.

You can't really replicate it because of the coding.  However, if I were building a narrow formation in FM17 (which I did - a 442 narrow diamond) I'd start by using a CM(s) and adapting if necessary from there.  Whatever you do though, don't overlook the player's attributes.  The physical and mental ability to get involved in the action can make quite a difference.

Move into channels is for when you are in possession btw, so it won't help a midfielder move towards the flanks when defending.

[mikcheck]

Thanks herne.

Do you remember what type of players you used there? I believe stronger and better defensively so they can be helpful defending the flanks?

Edited August 10, 2018 by mikcheck

[herne79]

7 minutes ago, mikcheck said:

Thanks herne.

Do you remember what type of players you used there? I believe stronger and better defensively?

Pretty much iirc.  I wrote about it here 

 

[jasonbuids]

I have a question about player's PA.
Is it a fixed number at the new game, or it will change after some time?