An FM Dictionary
Channels: the space between full backs and centre backs. See Move Into Channels.
Closing Down: how far up the pitch players begin to pressure the opposition. At close down more, your players will press opposition defenders as fast as they can; at less, they will allow the opposition to come at them and only make an attempt to pressure when the ball comes near the area.
Counter Attacking: a style of play marked by sitting deep and launching extremely fast and direct attacks after dispossessing the opposition. Any good counter attack needs solid and reliable defenders, good dribblers who can carry the ball the length of the pitch, and pacy wingers/strikers.
Creative Freedom: the level of free-thinking that the player is allowed to do. High creative freedom will mean that he will stick less closely to his tactical instructions; he will roam more and look for more glamorous passes etc.
Cross Aim: where the crosser aims his pass. ?Target Man? encourages a cross towards the designated target man, ?Far Post? encourages a floating cross to onrushing wingers or full backs, ?Near Post? tends to be a lower cross for poachers, and ?Centre? is a simple cross around the penalty spot and six yard box. ?Mixed? allows the crosser to do whatever he wants, depending on his Decisions, Preferred Moves and the circumstances.
Cross Ball: how often the player is supposed to whip the ball into the box from a wide position.
Defensive Triangle: a trio of players who form a tight triangle that blocks opposition attacks and forces them to go wide. The players which form the triangle can be different depending on formation: in a 4-2-3-1, it tends to be the two midfielders and the attacking midfielder; in a 4-5-1, it tends to be the two centre backs and the most defensive midfielder.
Enganche: a classic No 10 playmaker who sits in the hole between the opposition's midfield and defence. More attacking than a deep lying playmaker.
Hold Up Ball: whether or not the player can put his foot on the ball and slow the tempo. Target Men and Deep Lying Playmakers tend to have this ticked by default because they are strong/composed and can keep hold of the ball while teammates are making runs. You may wish to turn this off if you want to play at a high tempo or simply don't have the players with the ability to keep the ball under pressure.
Inside Forwards: a player who plays on the wing and comes inside with the ball. See Nani/Ronaldo/Robben
Long Shots: how often a player shoots from outside the area. Teach Shoots From Distance Preferred Move.
Marking: the way in which a player looks after an opponent, usually his opposite man (e.g. fb vs winger). Man Marking means that your player will stick to the man specifically, which can be useful when his man is slow, unlikely to roam, or is generally less physical than your player. Zonal Marking means that your player marks a particular area on the pitch, and sticks to anyone who enters his area, which is useful when your players are intelligent and well-positioned.
Mentality: where a player positions himself within his stratum. Where Run From Deep refers to a player's willingness to make runs, Mentality controls his actual positioning. Mentality also affects a player's approach to the game; low mentality players will play it safer than a high mentality player and be less proactive.
Move Into Channels: a wide play option that encourages the player to move into the gaps between the opposition centre backs and full backs. Poachers are given this instruction by default, as they can find space to run in behind and get through on goal; Wide players given this instruction will tend to drift inside from the line a little and make their runs inside of the fullback, but won't go as far infield as a player with 'Cut Inside'.
Passing Style: how quickly players look to get the ball forward. Short passing encourages a player to look for a sideways or backwards pass rather than look forwards; they will still play forward passes but their first preference is for a short ball. Direct passing focuses on finding players ahead of the player in possession with a higher tempo.
Playmaker: the playmaker in a team tends to be the most creative and intelligent player in the team, and is unofficially tasked with retaining the ball and assisting his teammates with through balls, crosses and skill. Deep Lying Playmakers sit in midfield or just behind it (enganches just behind it) and dictate play from there; Advanced Playmakers and Trequartistas sit behind the striker and roam around to find space so they can supply wingers and strikers.
Philosophy: the mentality structure of your team. Very Fluid means that all players have the same mentality and therefore every player is involved in all phases of play; at the opposite end of the scale, Very Rigid means that each player is dedicated to only one phase of play.
Roam From Position: whether a player retains his position (as dictated by Runs from Deep, mentality and Preferred Moves). Too many roaming players can destroy a team?s defensive solidity (and players will look like they are not following tactics/instructions) and leaves the defence overloaded but when used sparingly, roaming players can wreak havoc by evading man marking.
Regista: another word for a Deep Lying Playmaker, a player who sits back, collects the ball from the defence and uses his vision and passing ability to dictate the play.
Run From Deep: how many forward runs the player makes. Players with Run From Deep Often, such as Poachers and Wingers, will make incisive runs beyond their starting position whereas players with Run From Deep Rarely, such as Deep Lying Playmakers and defensive players, will try and hold their position even when players around them are running on.
Run With Ball: how often players take the ball and dribble it. Teach Runs With Ball Often Preferred Move.
Strategy: how attacking or defensive the team is (see ?Mentality?). Strategy encompasses your general approach to the match and how positively you want your players to play.
Style: see Philosophy.
Swap Position: players with this instruction will change places every 10 minutes, which will help them evade man marking but can also put you under pressure if they swap when they should be defending. You might find this effective if you have two versatile strikers or wingers; swapping position will allow them to approach goal from a different angle and on their opposite foot which may increase their possibility of scoring if they aren?t having good luck.
Tackling: how often a player will commit to challenges. 'Easy' means they will only go into tackles they absolutely know they can win, but 'Hard' encourages them to go into many more whether they can definitely win them or not.
Target Man Supply: how passes are played to the designated target man. 'To Feet' focuses on ground passes, usually to target men with good passing and creativity; 'To Head' encourages high passes, when you are confident in your target man's ability to win aerial challenges; 'Run Onto Ball' leads to passes ahead of fast target men; 'Mixed' has no influence on the passer's decision making and therefore the type of pass decided upon depends on their tactical instructions and Preferred Moves.
Tempo: how urgently your players look to move the ball around. A high tempo means players? passes will be snappier; a slow tempo means that players will take their time, play slower passes and be generally less hurried.
Timewasting: how much players delay when on the ball. High timewasting is not necessarily a bad thing as it can allow your player more time to pick the right pass, but it should be limited if you want to keep the ball moving or if your players keep getting tackled.
Trequartista: Italian for 'three quarters man', this is a playmaking role, like an Enganche but at opposite side of pitch, where the player attempts to find space between the opposition's midfield and defence. He offers little defensively so that he can concentrate on finding space and being free to receive the ball when his team attacks.
Try Through Balls: how often a player attempts to play passes that a teammate has to run onto. Usually set to 'often' for creative roles, through balls allow the receiver to use his pace and/or intelligent movement to beat his marker. Works a treat in FM 14
Wide play: how a player behaves horizontally, especially when attacking. Hug Touchline is at one end of the scale, and Normal is at the other.
Width: how much of the pitch your players fill horizontally. Playing wide opens up space in the middle but prevents wingers from going around the outside; playing narrow opens up space on the wings but keeps it tight in the middle.