Do you use mentality more as a positioning tool or a passing tool?

[nappis]

Hello,

I still haven't got total grip of the mentality slider after couple of FM releases now. Sometimes I think it's more a positioning tool and sometimes a passing tool.

Here's a scenario:

I had this quite good AMC playmaker and I wanted him to drop down from the AMC position to collect passes and deliver them to the striker and wingers.

So first I tried defensive mentality because I thought that would bring him down and I had trough balls often so he could pass the ball onwards. To my liking he passed the ball way too much backwards and played his back against the opponent's goal.

Instructions:

mentality: defensive

creative freedom: much

passing: mixed

mixed forward runs

often through balls

free role

So I thought mentality as a passing tool and put it on attacking. Now I had problems to keep him down so he would available for passes. So I turned forward runs to rarely and that kind of fixed it: He would be easy to reach and tried to play the ball forward and take some risks with it.

I think there should be separate sliders: one for the fine adjustment of the position and one for passing.

I think now that the mentality is more of a passing tool: defensive players certainly seem to pass more sidewards and backwards ie. make "safe passes" and attacking players try to play it forward more. It's harder for me to notice the change in positioning after I adjust the mentality.

Your thoughts?

[John1987]

It depends on the mentality of the player around the AMC eg if you're play 4-4-2 diamond you want his metality to be lower then your lowest striker and and higher than your less offensive mids so he should postion himself in between the lines as a link man.

Should put his fwrd runs on mixed and give him a free role so he will look for space to receive the ball, and idealy you want him tto have high creativty and off ball.

[www2]

I see it as a positioning tool definetly....you could set your AMC like it was + FWR nad RWB often

[nappis]

When I put forward runs to mixed, he tend to wander too much forward and was unreachable for my midfields as I told. I had him on free role and gave him much freedom as I told. What do you mean "off ball"?

My team is quite crappy and the MC's can't really play themself with the ball, so the AMC much be reachable.

And I try to figure out what the mentality exactly does. You are suggesting it should be used as a positioning tool?

And I'm no way going to use any "rule of two" or "rule of one" systems. If those mentalities have to be so carefully adjusted and unique for every player to achieve any success then I think this game has gone too far into the slider adjustment zone.

[John1987]

what i mean by creativty and off ball is the stats if they are high he will find space better, decisions also helps with making the right runs.

If you play him with low metality he will not make the kind of passes you need to make chances he will take alot less risks which is kind of backward to his role.

It should be used as a role tool.

[www2]

I see it as a positioning tool definetly....you could set your AMC like it was + FWR nad RWB often

Or you can go the other way...set mentality to attacking and FWR to low

[knap]

Have a look at "TheBetterHalf" tactics especially for FM08, very interesting regarding positioning.

[TheBetterHalf]

Have a look at "TheBetterHalf" tactics especially for FM08, very interesting regarding positioning.

.....and the thread is called " Last tactic for 08", cant seem to find it though( still easy to find at FMB)

[Mitja]

from my observation mentality doesn't make much difference in positioning. forward runs influence it far more than mentality. forward runs instruct a player how soon he will leave his default position but let's say having a player on mixed forward runs and attacking mentality he will move forward sooner than having him on defensive.

so:

mentality - passing tool (more attacking the mentality slider more forward and risky passes a player will try to perform)

- a bit of positioning tool (slight difference)

forward runs + mentality - movement and positioning tool