Go to route one

[brawla123]

When I was desperate for a late equaliser in previous FM games I used to love the option to Overload, go to route one, push higher up, take more risks and so on. In FM14 whenever I do it, I get no highlights or the opposition has even more possession, why does this happen?

Players don't show enough determination to get the ball up the field, all they do is clear it back to the other team. So I've come to the conclusion that if you want a late goal, don't bother with those options, for some reason it just makes things worse.

It's the same thing with late subs, by the time the game actually processes my changes, it's too late for them to make in impact.

I also noticed that SI made the opponents managers more smarter in terms of making game-changing subs and tactics and you can see the clear impact. I think that's a good idea but when yours never do anything similar it makes it frustrating. I like the challenge of this game because it's more competitive in terms of actually going toe-to-toe tactically with an AI manager, but it's too frustrating too enjoy.

I also noticed a lot of people on here seem to think that their tactics are the problem to a lack of good results but changing your tactic every minute will only make things worse. You have to actually analyse and see if your team are actually following your instructions and in my case they rarely do. The only think I notice is that they follow my formation in terms of positioning, everything else in my eyes is them doing what they want, whether if it's due to the match engine bugs or them just simply not playing like they should.

I no longer notice the difference in the different roles, wingers do the same as inside forwards and anchor men do the same as ball winning midfielders.

Referees seem to be as bad as ever. They make wrong decisions which make it more realistic, fair enough, but when you're constantly on the receiving end of the bad decisions, it's not realistic at all. I've lost count of how many appeals I've won due to bad dismissals yet my opponents never have this problem.

[R1ku]

I've found Route One to be really effective in my six seasons with Spurs. Quite a few late equalisers in important matches as well, latter stages in the Champions League etc. But I guess it's down to the type of players you have, too.. and - of course - tactics as well.

[brawla123]

I must have a severe case of bad luck then because in all my saves that I've use it, it never makes a difference.

[9sublime]

It might not be bad luck, you might have very short strikers for example, so smacking it over the top doesn't achieve anything.

[looking busy]

I've certainly found the overload option to be much less effective in this version than in FM12 (the last one I bought before this one)

[Lawlore]

I've certainly found the overload option to be much less effective in this version than in FM12 (the last one I bought before this one)

I agree. It may have been toned down in shades through FM13, I don't know, but coming from FM12 the difference is stark.

[Dagenham_Dave]

Route one has been far more effective for me in this game than any previous version. Of course, just choosing 'route one' without changing anything else will dilute its effectiveness in the same way as simply clicking 'overload' and expecting to see chance after chance will. And as someone else says, if you don't have the right players to utilise it....

[Davy611]

You need a big strong beastman up top, high wingers and midfielders then a poacher buzzing around as well I'd suggest.

[oneronaldo]

Route One will have your players slinging high balls into the area like artillery shells, if your strikers are short/rubbish in the air it defeats the point of it. Rather than just allow you to change one mentality and score a billion goals in injury time, I think FM14 forces you think it over abit and find out whether you actually have an aerial target for those passes.

[OxfordUnitedFC]

I've tried route one and overload only to see my defenders knocking it around at the back wasting time for the last few minutes. Perhaps i need to add individual player instructions to make it work.

[brawla123]

Okay, thanks for the feedback, guys.

[Ollyh]

I've tried route one and overload only to see my defenders knocking it around at the back wasting time for the last few minutes. Perhaps i need to add individual player instructions to make it work.

Yeah, I've found that no matter what you do with the tactics, there still isn't quite the sense of urgency you'd expect to see when a team is chasing a game with 5 minutes to go, like for example seeing your players hurry after the ball if it goes out of play, so it is very frustrating when your team is chasing a game and they're not showing the sort of urgency you'd see a team irl show.

[brawla123]

Yeah, I've found that no matter what you do with the tactics, there still isn't quite the sense of urgency you'd expect to see when a team is chasing a game with 5 minutes to go, like for example seeing your players hurry after the ball if it goes out of play, so it is very frustrating when your team is chasing a game and they're not showing the sort of urgency you'd see a team irl show.

Exactly. Like I said I'm not asking for a last minute goal but I want my team to at least try and get one.

[lil ole me]

^^^ exactly.....dilly dallying around at the back with passes between CB,Fullback and keeper when you are 1-0 down and 2mins left on the clock......REALLY ANNOYING, things like this SHOULDN`T have to be implemented....it should be bloody common sense!!

[Svenc]

Don't see what you're on about. Well, in parts, I do. People expect everything to be followed to the letter, and that the absolute most extreme team settings should wield the most extreme results (even when used in isolation, rather than holistically, but more on that later). I used to be similar. However, you're instructing into a framework. And players have a bit of common sense. No direct ball instruction will yield much results if there is no option up-front, and even going "overload" mentality won't literally make every player just boot every single ball upfield in the vague hope of it hitting onto something.

By merely hitting "go route one"/"overload" you vastly increase the likelyhood of direct and long balls being punted (which doesn't equal to more goal scoring opportunity - teams in real football try to desperately overload rather than outplay only in the last minutes for a reason), and applied throughout a match, your pass completion rate will suffer, and on the analysis tab things will look like this:

You might increase this a little by applying the "pump ball into box" and "much higher temo" instructions. You could also consider fielding limited defenders as CBs, who are more likely to clear the lines/hit it upfield by their definition. However: Short passing instructions can look direct and direct can look short, depending on your overall tactics framework (hence why everything has to be used holistically for full effect). If you want even more balls just booted up you must make sure that upfield there are actually players, rather than hitting "go route one" and sticking to your one striker who your assistant has pointed you out is being outnumbered by opposition in his area all game (and thus likely marked out for the pass). You could argue that with such "extreme" options things should work that extreme all the time, just by clickin on them. But probably it's a good thing for most players that they aren't programming robots, but that FM is trying to model humans who still are meant to have some "common sense" as implied by SI (which no doubt also makes it easier for SI to balance the match play ). Enough of it that they only blast it up-field or get involved in swift and plentiful passing patterns when they deem either option is "on", which you have a huge influence on as it is you determining your team's shape:

[video=youtube;nU0TQkKMd7Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU0TQkKMd7Y

About players not following instructions, that also sounds like expecting players to be robots to a degree (also watch their Player Preferred Moves for things they will attempt regardless) or using "more expressive" instructions, employing a philosophy on the more fluid end of the philosophy scale – or having a team full of players with reasonably highish flair attributes from the go. This is the paradigm that makes and breaks a game like FM: Whereas in FIFA it is you being in full control of a player, here you're not, and occasionally things will go completely out of your hands. And boy, do I not like that.

[brawla123]

Okay Svenc, I understand your point. I guess my expectations are too high when I change instructions and I understand PPM overrides most instructions, which I learned the hard way with throw ins. Thanks for the reply.