Trying to Understand the Effect of Attributes

[jstu9]

I'm trying to understand attributes better. How to use them more effectively, what weight I should put on which ones, figure out what the key ones are etc.

In the past, I would use stars, natural positions and the green wheel (and genie scout) to figure who plays where and what role/duty to play. I think I am getting better with roles/duties and TI's and PI's. But what I read over and over about are attributes. So, this is me asking for help on this.

I started a new save with Bradford PA in the Vanarama North. I brought in a bunch of players on non-contracts. And I did something I hadn't done in years. I created an excel spreadsheet to calculate their best role/duty.

What I found interesting was my best players were my best players at every position pretty much. CRA is bravery, composure, determination, work rate and teamwork averaged. De, Su, Cr is @Rashidi's destroyer, support, creative which he posted a few days ago. Strk is composure and finishing. Spd is acceleration and pace averaged. Tec is dribbling, first touch, passing and technique. Int is anticipation, concentration, decisions, and vision. Prs is work rate and stamina. Pas is passing, vision, decisions and flair. Then all the roles/duties weight the primary attributes (the ones highlighted in blue) with 1 and the secondary (white) with 0.5.

What my intent here is get a sense of what a player can do, figure what attributes are really the most important, put the players in the best role/duty and hopefully learn enough from this so i don't actually have to make a spreadsheet all the time.

So, does any of this make sense? Am I weighting things correctly? Should their more important attributes considered?

So, the first player I found interesting was this guy, Carl Palmer, 37 yo midfielder.

His technical skills are pretty bad, his physicals are declining. But look at that Bravery, Det, WR and Tea. That's why i brought him in. Is this guy the best player on my team? Or is he completely useless? I'm not sure. If you look at the spreadsheet he actually has the highest score in my entire team as a Defensive Forward. So, does this guy have any use? How could I use him effectively?

But this brings me to my main question. How should one weight work rate, teamwork, determination and bravery (the core attributes)? And how should i weight the primary attributes for each role/duty? So, looking at Carl Palmer above. If I was comparing Palmer to a player with weak core attributes but very good primary attributes, which guy should i select?

I've just started the season. This is the current formation.

I expect that I will experiment this season. I actually played with a 5122 DM WB in the preseason and first game or two. I have Linley at DR even though he is a MC simply because I had him rated pretty highly there (according the spreadsheet). Same thing with Downes at DL even though he is a MC. I think this should be ok, right? I think Nicky Wroe is my best player and I have experimented with him in the MC and now at DM.

So, what I am trying to do is 1) pick guys who have the primary/secondary attributes for that role/duty while still trying to create a logical/solid formation. 2) Pick guys who have good core attributes. 3) And now I'm at the point where I need to figure out what the balance between those two things and also what other things I should consider. For example, Lacey is in the defense because he has decent speed. Shaw is there because he is decently tall. Rashidi just mentioned having good tacklers in the midfield. I just looked and the 3 I have there now are all at 11 in tackling.

So, what are those key attributes that I should ensure are there at each position? Have I hit on them already or are there more?

How do I want to play?

Tactical approach:

• Play a positive short-passing, possession-focused game.
  • Not possession for the sake of possession.
  • Triangles & diamonds facilitating a passing game.
  • Build up from the back.
• Solid defensive platform.
• Multi-dimensional attack.
  • Different goal-scoring threats.

I just pasted this in from @Ö-zil to the Arsenal!'s excellent post from a few days ago. I think this sums up exactly how I want to play. Though this post is more about attributes, how to use them effectively, and how to select the best players to help me win games.