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

[furiousuk]

I have a read a number of posts that advise players to avoid sliders, but I would like to know if that meant that people do not utilize the boxes under the individual tactics screen as well. For example, I am currently playing with both of my CBs with the tight marking option activiated, my TM with hold up play on, etc. Would forum members suggest skipping out on these commands as well?

I was also operating under the assumption that under the TC screen, it is OK if you plan to utilize say a AM as a playmaker, you tick that box, etc. Am I correct?

Thanks

If you're reasonably comfortable what the sliders and checkboxes do then no probs with manipulating how you like, the problem only occurs when you dont really understand what is happening and then run into trouble. If you dont know whats actually happening, and things go wrong, then you cant really solve the problem. You can try randomly to change settings but it would be pretty random, and you might hit the solution, but best bet is to be comfortable with the match engine, comfortable with how players' attributes influence play and then comfortable in what you want to do and then to tweak as you need to get the results you want.

What you are doing all sounds reasonable enough.

Remember that any checked or manually tweaked instructions override shouts. This can be used to your advantage by changing the literal meaning of the shouts. For example, I think Retain Possession changes passing length and narrows play, if you manually set your width then the shout only lowers passing length (possibly tempo, I forget exactly and dont have it fired up at the mo). It could also scupper your plans because you might see a situation where you want to play more aggressive, or play wider, or play quicker, you do the shout but then nothing discernible happens because your manual tweaking render the shout useless. Again, it comes down to your understanding of how the instructions influence the play.

[glyndav]

This is more a general query than a stupid question (at least I hope so!) as I never tend to use the assistant manager to do much, but how much impact do their attributes actually have?

For example, if I have an ass man whose tactical knowledge is 20, will his opposition instructions feedback be better than one with, say, 15, or will he still make a lot of wrong decisions? On the flip side, if I have one that is 20, should his advice always be followed for team talks and would he offer better advice than, again, one with 15 for motivating?

I know they should do, but the reason I ask the question as although I don't tend to use them, I do look at their advice for opposition instructions and team talks and in my Leicester save, I've just hired a new one with much higher attributes. He tends to offer exactly the same advice as the one I had in the championship when I first started though.

I'm also intrigued if the same is true for scouts (does a scout with tactical knowledge of 20 give better feedback on the next team than one with 15, and also do the JPA/JCA attributes really make that much difference when you scout a player), but I don't think that is a question for this part of the forum.

Hope that makes sense,

Cheers

[Äktsjon Männ]

A quick one, is there any actual difference between the 'nothing specific to say' team talk and literally saying nothing i.e giving no team talk?

[vasilli07]

So to what purpose are the stars? I'm not being difficult I find they have added another layer of complexity to the game in that I'm forever looking past players that have poor star ratings for a role but the attributes to play the role.

I think I've explained this issue poorly but you still may have given me the answer! I don't want him to stop and create chances or stop and shoot I want him to continue running towards goal and shoot closer in. If you imagine an imaginary line around 20 yards out they seem to shoot from there, I wanted to know if I could push this imaginary line back to say 16 yards and have them shoot from there. I've no issue with him deciding to shoot it's the best option I just think he could shoot from closer to goal.

Thanks for your help though.

If I'm not wrong, attributes indicated the CA/PA of the players. I only use it to gauge the young players that I want to keep. Other than that, I will look at the players attributes to decide who to play.

[Falahk]

A quick one, is there any actual difference between the 'nothing specific to say' team talk and literally saying nothing i.e giving no team talk?

players seams to react to the "nothing specific to say" option

[Soldatino]

One quick question guys: I have couple of players that according to my assistant are "struggling to blend into the squad"

Is there anything I can do to help them? Is team cohesion oriented trainings meant for this? But is it worth to spend a long time during season on team cohesion traiings?

[Tom14]

How do I know if a Goalkeeping coach would be good at 'shot stopping' or 'handing' before I hire them? I have one GK coach who has an 18 attribute and one who has a 20 but they are both better at 'shot stopping' training. Is there a specific attribute I should look for to get a 'handling' specialist?

[prince0102]

I have a very successful save with Blackburn (won CL and PL last season) and the way I started out was to play Rhodes as a DLF-s and Rochina as a poacher in a 442.

However after a season or two I sold Rochina and switched to a single striker formation (4231 and 41221) and used Rhodes as a CF-s. He was a great striker for me and usually lead the team in goals and assists. I eventually sold him for a younger and better version (after 4 seasons or so.

That is an interesting way to use Rochina indeed. I never thought of that since his natural position is AMC and he has comes deep to get ball too but a poacher would keep him far up the pitch so it might work well.

[furiousuk]

One quick question guys: I have couple of players that according to my assistant are "struggling to blend into the squad"

Is there anything I can do to help them? Is team cohesion oriented trainings meant for this? But is it worth to spend a long time during season on team cohesion traiings?

Couple of points. Sometimes players don't settle, if their personality is at odds with the general team personality then they may always struggle. Secondly, do you notice it actually being a problem? If not, it'll probably just settle and you won't need to worry about it. Just keep an eye on morale.

[Soldatino]

Thank you furiousuk! It doesn't seem to affect their performances, it's more affecting my mind seeing the assistant constantly pointing that out.

[liamgriffiths85]

Just had my training facilities expanded from 2 stars to 3, Will this make much difference in increasing attributes and even attracting better players?

[Cleon]

Just had my training facilities expanded from 2 stars to 3, Will this make much difference in increasing attributes and even attracting better players?

No training facilities are how good the facilities are that the players use. So you should have mire individual attribute focuses available now but how well the player develops is still mainly down to his personality/gametime etc.

[liamgriffiths85]

Does it make that much difference in getting them upgraded then? It was the first thing i did when i got money in save with Bangor City! Don't know whether to upgrade again when i get more money or save the money to improve the ground or youth facilities

[Cleon]

Does it make that much difference in getting them upgraded then? It was the first thing i did when i got money in save with Bangor City! Don't know whether to upgrade again when i get more money or save the money to improve the ground or youth facilities

Better facilities are better, so its always worth upgrading. You should have more access now to specific attribute training etc. You need the facilities because you need to make sure you can distribute the CA to correctly to the areas you focus on.

[realtimshady]

Is there a way to have my keeper play short on Goal Kicks? I'm playing as Barcelona, and Valdes consistently has under 60% pass completion, with virtually 100% of his goal kicks "intercepted". I'm almost always rated lower than my opponent in the air so I can understand why it happens, but it seems like it wouldn't be a problem if he just played it short to a CB. It's really frustrating.

I figured out the orders for short corners (similar problem), now if I could just get the team to execute them short!

[Gee_Simpson]

Is there a way to have my keeper play short on Goal Kicks? I'm playing as Barcelona, and Valdes consistently has under 60% pass completion, with virtually 100% of his goal kicks "intercepted". I'm almost always rated lower than my opponent in the air so I can understand why it happens, but it seems like it wouldn't be a problem if he just played it short to a CB. It's really frustrating.

I figured out the orders for short corners (similar problem), now if I could just get the team to execute them short!

Yes. Go to the GK's individual instructions and there is an option to set his distribution. Set this to defender collect (whichever defender you want).

[liamgriffiths85]

I've been trying to observe a rival teams tactics recently, and i noticed in every single game they play that on the heatmaps and average position, their 2 cb's (442) are almost directly on top of each other, So what sort of instructions have they had to be like that?? and can i exploit it?

here's a picture

[Bruce Drundrige]

I've been trying to observe a rival teams tactics recently, and i noticed in every single game they play that on the heatmaps and average position, their 2 cb's (442) are almost directly on top of each other, So what sort of instructions have they had to be like that?? and can i exploit it?

here's a picture

Maybe they are set to swap positions with each other? :s

[däkkä]

One way or the other they are swapped around. Averages lie... these heat maps should be available for shorter time frames than 90 minutes.

[Miek]

Some of my players get tired quickly and get the orange 'Rst' bar beside their name. What's the best way to adress this problem? New physical coach?

[vasilli07]

Some of my players get tired quickly and get the orange 'Rst' bar beside their name. What's the best way to adress this problem? New physical coach?

Lower their training intensity, give them more rest days manually and squad rotation.

[MeesterCat]

Is there any difference in terms of Team Cohesion between bringing in 3 new players from promoting 3 players from Reserves/U18s?

I.e. In one close season, if I promote some youngsters rather than buying players, is the time for tactical familiarity or 'gelling' reduced?

[Deisler26]

In the last three games, I've missed three penalties and hit the woodwork 10 times. All three games were heavy defeats for me (0-3, 0-4 & 1-4)

Am I playing at too high a tempo, are my strikers terrible or is it just one of those things?

[däkkä]

I don't think tempo applies in penalty kicks though

Maybe your players are nervous? I don't know if the game really works that way but I'm more concerned about a striker without confidence than a centre-back.

[kandersson]

ok probably I should know by now but still a couple of stupid questions...

1. Does the 'cuts inside' instruction/PPM refer to movement with the ball or off the ball, or maybe both?

2. Assuming it's only off the ball, how do I instruct a wide attacker to run with the ball towards the centre? Is the IF role enough? PPM 'runs with the ball through the middle'?

Thanks!

[vasilli07]

ok probably I should know by now but still a couple of stupid questions...

1. Does the 'cuts inside' instruction/PPM refer to movement with the ball or off the ball, or maybe both?

2. Assuming it's only off the ball, how do I instruct a wide attacker to run with the ball towards the centre? Is the IF role enough? PPM 'runs with the ball through the middle'?

Thanks!

Imo, it's an on the ball instruction.

[djohnson11]

im realling struggling to break down teams that park the bus is there succesful methods to open them up?

[furiousuk]

im realling struggling to break down teams that park the bus is there succesful methods to open them up?

Depends on a lot of things. Usually you need to take more risks.

I either:

a) Push higher up but really open up my play. I play creative anyway but I’ll play wider to open gaps, play through balls to exploit those gaps, get my goal scorers up front (and those in form) and sometimes actually play a longer pass style. A slightly odd strategy can be to increase time wasting—this sounds ridiculous but the bus-parkers often go in hard to try and disrupt you so roll with that and get your guys falling over to gain the free kick and then punish them with set plays, don’t keep this strategy up too long unless you are getting the free-kicks, sometimes they’ll sit and not be going in hard or the ref will just be happy with a rough-and-tumble game.

b) Play deeper, play cautious and play longer. You’ll want your fast chaps up front and you’re basically playing a counter-style game but you must be cautious enough in the first place to draw them out. This means getting defenders and deep-midfielders who can play with the ball and make very good decisions, with the longer pass style a stupid or technically inept team will play the ball longer and waste it but a smart technical team will be happy to keep the play but are free to play the longer 'killer' pass (not necessarily a through ball—which is an FM killer pass) when they deem it sensible.

---

Playing really attacking and just trying to batter at the door isn’t usually a good idea, at least, I’ve never found that it is, you’re just playing the way they want you to and they way they are prepared for, in effect, you’re being tactically dominated because you’re doing what they want and not the other way round. Attacking is usually too direct and too quick and rushes your players unnecessarily.

If your team are up the top because they rely on physically dominating teams or on counter attacks and lack the technique of other top teams then playing against the bottom teams can often prove difficult, unless you’re got a very good free-kick option.

edit: oh, and while I think of it, if you have a determined/professional team then be patient. It’s often taken me 70 minutes to break down a negative team but ended up winning 3 or 4 to nil.

[furiousuk]

I've been trying to observe a rival teams tactics recently, and i noticed in every single game they play that on the heatmaps and average position, their 2 cb's (442) are almost directly on top of each other, So what sort of instructions have they had to be like that?? and can i exploit it?

here's a picture

If youre playing one guy up top then he may be being marked by both defenders, particularly if he gets isolated and/or you dont have runners also using that space.

[Äktsjon Männ]

Nah, it's central defenders swapping. I often notice AI teams do that for whatever reason. Marking a lone striker wouldn't get them that close anyway as they'd still be holding a line most of the time.

[furiousuk]

Nah, it's central defenders swapping. I often notice AI teams do that for whatever reason. Marking a lone striker wouldn't get them that close anyway as they'd still be holding a line most of the time.

Yeah. I agree.

[djohnson11]

thanks lot will give this a try

[siambluebird]

2. Also, I have heard some people mention they asked their xyz player to mark a certain opposition player. How do you do that ? The only place is I see is selecting always in opposition instructions but you can never choose a certain player from your team.

Is it just by looking at the zone and seeing which player will end up marking ?

3. Has anyone able to make a 4-1-2-1-2 work ? The diamond has no width and I get slaughtered on the wings.

I don't think point 2 was answered. On the tactics screen you have a tab for team instructions and player instructions. Go into player instruction and choose the player you want to give the instruction to. Look for the marking button and change it to specific man marking and then choose the position you want to man mark.

[kazm]

I hope someone knows this for FM14: I am playing with Achilles 29, an amateur promoted to Dutch 1st div, now a semi-pro club. When/How can I change to full pro? I can only sign players/staff on part time base. I make around 100k profitt a month atm and have a nice bankroll (2.5mil). I couldn't find it on google and can't ask the board for it.

[Cleon]

I hope someone knows this for FM14: I am playing with Achilles 29, an amateur promoted to Dutch 1st div, now a semi-pro club. When/How can I change to full pro? I can only sign players/staff on part time base. I make around 100k profitt a month atm and have a nice bankroll (2.5mil). I couldn't find it on google and can't ask the board for it.

This isn't a tactics or training question. It does state in the thread title

Try asking in the General section of the forums

[Liverbird93]

Hi,

Not sure if I'm being stupid or not but does anyone know how to get your team to mark zonally in FM14?

[Cleon]

Hi,

Not sure if I'm being stupid or not but does anyone know how to get your team to mark zonally in FM14?

Zonal marking is the default marking system now.

[Liverbird93]

Zonal marking is the default marking system now.

Ok I had a hunch that was the case but just wanted to check. Thanks

[mikcheck]

Hello all. I have a question. With a heavy pressing system, does a player with defensive mentality still press heavily?

[sakrai]

Fellas, is the "Play through defense" shout gone for good on FM14 Beta? Thanks.

[Adzke]

How do I train a player's weaker foot?

[Colorado]

Please can the logic in the combination of these two shouts be explained:

Play wider / Work the ball through the middle

I've seen posts from people using this but surely if you're playing wide, your not going to want to play through the middle?

[Cleon]

Please can the logic in the combination of these two shouts be explained:

Play wider / Work the ball through the middle

I've seen posts from people using this but surely if you're playing wide, your not going to want to play through the middle?

I wrote about this for FM13;

Exploit the middle and play wider.

This allows my players to play wider than normal but due to me normally outnumbering the opposition’s midfield it allows my central players more space on the ball. The opposition’s central players will also be stretched and this can create bit gaps to exploit. Obviously using this shout will depend on your own formation and how capable you are of actually playing through the middle. I like using this against 4231’s, 442’s and any other formation with just 2 central midfielders and no defensive midfielders.

You can also do the opposite and use;

Exploit the Flanks and play narrower.

I find this useful sometimes when the opposition out number me in the middle and I want to stay as compact as I can. Yet at the same time cause them problems down the wings. This is great to use against teams who don’t use wide players. I know this is a rare occurrence but sometimes you will face a team who don’t use wingers or wide attacking midfielders. This isn’t a shout I use often but I’ve used it a few times throughout the season.

[Colorado]

Ah... thanks for that Cleon! I get it now.

Cheers!

[dooro23]

After manually adding tight marking to my DCs (which was mostly on by default in FM13, iirc?), i perceive that my defense is much more stable. That's just a subjective perception, which I can't put data on, so my question would be, why is it off by default, contrary to FM13? Both SHOULD of course be viable and a matter of tactical choice, but there must be a reason for the change.

Sorry to re-post above quote in this thread, but I'm still a bit puzzled about that question.

[Cleon]

Sorry to re-post above quote in this thread, but I'm still a bit puzzled about that question.

I always believed tight marking should be an added option and not on by default as it can cause you to lose shape and have players dragged out of position.

[Firthy99]

I really don't know how to make a tactic properly this year now the sliders have gone.

How do you all go about making tactics?

[jigsaw]

Hi every one,

Pls let me know how to beat 4231 deep, and 4231 wide. I often loss them

[greekgeorge]

I really don't know how to make a tactic properly this year now the sliders have gone.

How do you all go about making tactics?

Use the shouts for the team tactics (eg marking, offside trap, wide or narrow play, possession or direct passing etc) and try to combine it with individual player tactics. I find it much better now that the sliders are gone, since I can make better use of the team shouts than before.

My main aim is to link the defence to the midfield and the midfield to the attack. For example, have one of the full backs go forward while the other stays back, have one central midfielder help out defensively while the other has a more creative role, have maybe one (or both) of the wide players join the attack and one of the attackers to stay a little bit deeper so he can get the ball and create opportunities for the other one.

Again, I think that the above can be done much easier without the sliders.

[shaunwwfc]

"Get Ball Forward" as a shout from FM13 is what in the new tactics system???

Also what is "More Aggressive" as tackling???

Thanks in advance!!