Trying to do this properly

[Fantomas101]

Hi Guys

I've been playing Football Manager in various guises since CM93.  I am currently playing Football Manager Touch 2017 and finding I am a bit overwhelmed.  In order to try and get a better understanding I was hoping for some advice.  I have read that formulating a plan of how you want to play and how you want your team to play from the outset is a good idea, so here goes :

 

How I play the game ?

 

I prefer to play as Non-League/Lower League teams.  I have a particular soft spot for the Scottish leagues.  With that in mind I have recently started a save as manager of Edinburgh City.

The season expectations are to finish bottom of the 3rd division, so anything above that will be an improvement.

How I want my team to play ?

I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to formation and tactics.  I like to use an uncomplicated 4-4-2 formation, with two pacy, skillful wingers that can deliver crosses into a strong target man to get a header in or get a flick on for a poacher.

I’ve assembled a squad that I think ticks these boxes, my wingers have decent crossing abilities as well as decent pace etc.

How has it been going ?

Very much according to the media predictions.  We are currently sitting bottom of the league after 10 games having only won 1 game...just.  

I have brought in quite a few new players either from amateur clubs or on loan from teams slightly higher up the pyramid.

I am trying to look for a rating of 13+ in one key technical attribute and at least 2 physical stats of 10+

Not sure if I need to be looking for more.

Where are my problems ?

Hard to know for sure ?  Is it just that I am achieving what is expected, ie. I really can’t make the team any better ?  I have a really simple tactic with very few player instructions, but I’m not sure how I can see if the players are executing these instructions or at least trying to.  Just not sure if the players are that poor they just can’t do it or are my instructions etc. not up to scratch ?

Also, I’m not too sure where I can analyse a performance to see where I am going wrong.

I realise there is a lot of things that I need to be looking at, however, I’m not looking to win leagues etc at this stage, but just to learn some of the basics and improve a poor team into a mediocre one.

 

Any help or pointers that can help me develop tactics and plans would be really great.

Thanks
Matthew

[jorgvandervloed]

Player selection wise, try to get players to work hard! If you want to overachieve you need players that work harder to compensate for their lack of skills. 

Tactic wise, what have you tried so far? We know what you want; kinda... but what have you tried to accomplish this? 

[Fantomas101]

Thanks for the reply.

I have managed to finish my first season in 8th which I was pretty pleased with really, small things !!

I am currently trying a 4-4-2 formation, standard mentality, structured team shape, with Lower Tempo, Width as Fairly Wide and shorter passing.  I'm trying to avoid playing risky passes that they wont be able to complete and therefore turnover possession.

I was playing with wingers, but I have changed them to Wide Midfielders on Attack.  The ML has good crossing so I have him set to Cross More Often and Cross aim to target man.  The current MR is does not have as good Crossing so I dont have anything set there.

Also, I am a bit confused really with the difference between a winger and a wide midfielder.

Fullbacks are set to Defend as are both centre halves.  

I try to have as many players as possible with workrate, teamwork and determination of at least 10.

I am trying to get this tactic more or less right, before looking at creating other tactics for different situations, such as away to league leaders etc.

I'm just a bit stuck with how to check that my players are following my plans.  

Any advice would be great

Thanks
Matthew

[jorgvandervloed]

Well, I'm not entirely sure what you are trying to accomplish really? What kind of style are you trying to play? Who do you want to score? How did your TM do past season? 

Why did you go for the selected Team-instructions? What's the reasoning behind it?  

[Fantomas101]

Hi again,

Thanks for the reply.  I'm really looking to play a straightforward 4-4-2 system with my wingers/wide midfielders getting crosses into my target man.  I two central midfielders, one ball winner and one more creative player.  I'm not sure whether I want my fullbacks to overlap or not at this level.  I don't want them to get caught out if they are limited in their abilities.  My central defenders would be basic defenders really, who come up for corners. 

The reasons for the TIs are 

Tempo: I have this as much lower because I felt this would make the players hold onto the ball more and not rush passes and risk turning over position.
Defensive Line: This is on normal as I want my players to stick to their positions as much as possible.
Passing Direction: This is on shorter again as I don't feel that my players have the ability to play longer more direct passes without giving the ball away.  I felt that this in tandem with the lower tempo would help us keep possession.
Width: Fairly wide, as I want to use the wings as much as possible.

We are playing on Standard as I thought this was the most balanced approach, and give me the best place to start.

I would like the goals to come from my strikers mainly, probably my Advanced Forward, with the TM weighing in with a few and assists.

I would like us to be a strong, physically fit, hardworking team that has some skill and creativity out on the wings.

 I grew up watching my local non-league team play this way for years so this is what I would like to recreate.

Last season my TM got 13 goals in 32 games with 7 assists, so he did well.  Although I did use Instant Result for quite a few of those games, although only did this towards the end of the season.

My main problem is knowing how to analyse how well my players are responding to my tactics.  Also, are my tactics too basic ?  Even at the level I am at ?

I realise there are so many variables and things to consider.  I am just trying to get more out of the game than I feel I'm getting at the moment.  It seems a bit like I select a team and hope they win rather than having any control over it.

By the way, I am playing Football Manager Touch 2017 as I don't get to play a lot.  Do tactical discussions and ideas vary between Touch and the full game ?

Thanks for reading, hopefully I have been able to outline my ideas a bit more and someone can help me get me playing the way I want, and hopefully with some success !!

Thanks
Matthew