MANUMAD'S BOX OF CHOCCIES

mersk said:
Just a little correction there, Rajkovic is born in October 1995, and is 19 at the start of the game.
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This is actually the 2nd time you re correcting me on this. Shame on me!
 
calcal said:
Hi mate! Can I ask how you came across this? I wrote those! (I'm Callum) haha
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Hi Callum! I actually thought I was linking The Higher Tempo Press which I have been following since god knows (though your article IS quite interesting).
 
PRE SEASON GUIDE PART 1

INTRODUCTION

The first day at your new club is perhaps the most important day of your career (and every first day of a new pre-season is the most important day of that season).

There are a number of things that you absolutely MUST do if you don't want to have various problems later on. Most people find them boring as it delays the "real" action (ie buying and selling players and playing matches) for quite some time (it takes me between half an hour and 1.5 hours), but if you dont do them or if you dont do them properly you will suffer the consequences (delayed learning of tactics/no cohesion etc). But dont worry, if you do them once they become second nature and, I dare say it, enjoyable.

It would be helpful if you arm yourself with a couple of A4 size pieces of paper and a pen at the start of every pre-season ...


GAME START DATE

Aim to have as long a pre- season as possible. When choosing playable leagues bear in mind their start dates. To show you what I mean by an example say I start a save with GENK and Belgium game start date is July; I would then choose game to start in a different country with an earlier season start (eg Germany) so as to have it start in June and have an extra month of preparation.

Before the start of every new season you will get a message asking when you want pre-season to start. Choose early but also look for balance (give your players a reasonable holiday!).


NEW MANAGER? THEN GET TO KNOW YOUR CLUB!

1. Look at your squads, and decide

(a) who your best players for every position are,
(b) who the up and coming youngsters are, and
(c) who are the players you dont need.

Look in your reserve and other squads carefully as there usually are good players hidden there who for whatever reason are (wrongly) transfer -listed or just left there by the previous regime.

A good tip to make your life easier in a club you know little about in relation to who is useful and who is not, is to categorise players by value (press the relevant button in the squad screen) as value is a good starting indicator as to ability.

Take one of the A4 papers and carefully space out every position of your tactic (using dots on it for every position). Then put the players you will be keeping in the position you will be playing them hierarchically - eg in a club where Sviatchenko/Andia/Milosevic/Okore are your cbs decide the two pairs (Sviatchenko/Milosevic and Okore/Andia) and put them there. Thats your rotated cb pairs there for you and thats your cbs there for you. This should also tell you that you need another one cb (maybe promote one from youth ranks/loan one in) for when matches will be coming thick and fast.

2. Look to have two players per position plus an extra player apart from GKs where two are enough. This is especially true if you are a top team in a major league as you should be going after all possible trophies so you ll have to play more matches.

3. If you list the players you will be using from the existing squad on the A4 paper as above you will have a very concrete indication of what you need to buy- this will avoid mindless adrenaline rushes of buying for the sake of buying which will ultimately hurt your team cohesion and team spirit (cos people will start complaining about game time).

4. Team cohesion is important and very difficult to establish. If you bring in more than 3/4 players every summer and more than 1/2 in January then prepare for performances not to reflect squad strength for a pretty long time.


As a new manager you need to use pre season to get acquainted withyour new club, in addition to building up your players fitness levels.

When managing a new club you need to analyse the squads strengths and weaknesses (as above), set up your three formations, and schedule training to aid player development.


ARRANGE FRIENDLIES

Dont let the assistant do it! Do it yourself. If you are a poor team try to arrange friendlies away against better opponents but don't overdo it as another target during pre season is to build up morale and you cant really do that if you get your *** whupped repeatedly. Start with "easy" teams to build up morale and have the better teams in the middle of your schedule. Always arrange the last friendly against a team you know you ll whup the *** off, again for morale. Arrange as many friendlies aspossible (max 4/5 days between each).

By playing matches the players will both improve their knowledge of your tactics and their individual match fitness. The individual players match fitness will also be improved by assigning players to heavy physical training.

By arranging multiple friendly matches, you increase your players"comfort" with your tactics quicker AND give them match fitness which affects their performances. Rotate your players. But rotate cleverly - dont rotate both first choice cbs at the same time and instead rotate only one, dont put a newbie gk behind two cbs that are new to club/young/not first choice etc ... (this is also my advice about rotating in season btw; and remember that its better to give a youngster league time with a risk of a draw/loss than put loads of youngsters -not heeding my above advice in your starting lineup in Cup matches- with the potential certainty of failing to progress).


LOOK AT FINANCES

Look at your team's balance and sources of income. If the income sources are limited but you have a "big" transfer kitty (eg for Argentinian teams something in the region of 3m) so that your income can barely sustain that this means that if you spend it all you will be given (next to) nothing the next season. Spend wisely and put in wages what is left for two reasons: the board will be happy with your control over wages and apparently you will be getting interest on the (bigger) difference.
 
PRE SEASON GUIDE PART 2

General Training and Match Training

Dont forget to schedule training on the first day on a new save and if its an ongoing one do so right after your last match!

My advice of what to schedule is in the earlier post about avoiding injuries.


 Staff

Look at them from the training page and see who is below par. Give them mutual termination (doing it first day means they' ll leave for less). Then go to staff screen and clear the deadwood looking at that.

Make a note on your other piece of A4 paper what training categories you need staff for and how many coaches. Go to staff transfer centre and start looking. Make a note of who you offer jobs to in order to avoid getting more experts for a category than you need. Aim to have coaches with as many stars as you can and the indication of light workload. Look also at their personalities as this will be a factor influencing your regens. Once I get the best I can, if I have a free coaching position I search for somebody with 20 or near it for motivating, I bring him in and have him train EVERY category. Dunno if it works but it seems reasonable (note: passion4fm blog has helpful downloadable filters to find the best staff).

Once you complete your squad (and WHEN YOU FINISH PRE SEASON FOR NEW SAVE/IN THE FIRST SEASON) you then assign individual training. Do NOT do individual training in preseason. Have all players individually training positions which train most of the attributes you want improved for the season (unless somebody has a very low attribute for his position which sticks out where you will assign that particular attribute). In the following seasons you can look at individual attributes. Every 3/4 months go back to this and monitor player improvement. Look also at what PPMs you want to teach/unteach and schedule them as well. Tutor pairings should also be addressed at this stage and monitored through the season.

Another piece of advice is to train your younger players esp to be comfortable in more than one position as this gives you flexibility and saves money in the long term.

Once the season starts you should aim to gradually set the intensity to low and once you are done with tactics/cohesion you should assign something else as GT. Most people have it on Balanced. That is one option I use. I alternatively train ball control and attacking interchangeably (cos I like the attributes they deal with eg possession) and only train balanced one week per month. I also look at opponents and how Im doing (I will occasionally train attack or defence for example).

MT (during the season proper) should be opponent - orientated. An example that brings the two together: Im Bologna and scheduled to play Bayern in the second round (knock out) CL who are much stronger. If I have first match away Ill train MT Attacking set pieces cos I want to grab an away goal. If I then win or get a score draw for the return leg I match train Defend.

The slider should be less match training - 1 day match training. With rest after match only.


Set the Tactics

The orthodox way to do it is to look at your players and use a tactic to suit them (eg no wingers in the team? dont set a 442). Thats all fine and dandy but thats not what I do. I have a couple of tactics that I know work peachily and always set them and have a third to experiment with/play reactively with).

Be varied - I often see people who have eg 442 defend 442 attack and 442 counter to use depending on opponent. That to my mind is wrong. You should have a similar tactical/team instruction basis running through all three tactics as much as possible but the formations should be different. For example a wider one (eg a 451), a narrower one (eg a 41212) and eg one with 3 cbs. You could achieve this by having wingbacks instead of fbs in the first two. This will come in handy when you read the scout reports of opponents and particularly the tactics faced part and you notice that a particular opponent doesnt like a narrow formation. It may be a different narrow formation from the one your players know but believe me your narrow formation will usually work almost equally well.

Note: have the board set expectations of attacking /possession football? Use at least one tactic aimed at that. Also note that while mentality of tactic may be one thing the actual team instructions may be doing something different. Ive had whole seasons with a defensive mentality but team/player instructions being more aggressive and got repeatedly commended for my attacking football!


Setting up a scouting network/looking for Transfer targets

1. Import any shortlists into the game.

2. Have a look at the transfer/loan market.

3. If you are in an alien league to you eg Uruguay look at each team of similar/lowerlevel from the league table page. Press the value tab as its a good startingindicator and if you like what you see scout player and take it from there. Do the same with analogous reputation leagues (eg Chile).

4. Assign scouts to find transfer targets - but always relative to where you are and what you need. Eg it would be pointless at Penarol to scout European leagues as nobody of note would deign to join you.

5. Dont suffer from the obsession that all FMers apparently suffer from! ie dont always look only for youth! Look for players who will win you money/trophies/reputation asap (and these are not necessarily youngsters). As always balance is the name of the game.
 
And now some more players

Hussein El Sayed - plays along the left side but is better suited as winger due to stats
Eran Zahavi - cheap effective cf well suited to non-elite clubs
Danilo Asprilla - cheap youngish right winger
Zelarrayan - left midfielder young and wonderkid-ish
Juan Cazares - v cheap/free but with stats and potential of 10m plus AMC
George Puscas
Akram Afif - cf
Fredrik Oldrup Jensen - cf (young and v cheap)
Hakim Ziyech - expensive, class AM.
Florin Tanase cf - FM16 is full of pretty tasty Romanians!
 
More tactical musings

In order to ensure that goals will be scored in FM, as in real life, what is necessary is variation in attacking threats.

Width is crucial. This is not to say that narrow formations/settings are not effective, but the ability to stretch the width of opponents means that space will be found in the middle. So try to combine width with exploit the middle maybe (or do it with roles and instructions: eg am + run from deep/shoot often). By stretching teams wide, especially with overlaps, it becomes much easier to separate centre backs from full backs, as the wider defenders spread out; this means that there is space in the channels and in the box for midfield runners and strikers to exploit. If the opposition defence choose not to spread, they then sacrifice the wings and give you the chance to cross the ball.


Try to have vertical depth in your attacks. Players with "inbuilt instructions" to eg Run From Deep Often, such as Poachers and Attacking Wingers push the opposition defensive line back whereas playmakers tend to engage opposition midfielders and pull them out; a good combination can really open up the space in midfield and mean that you only have one line of the opposition to beat rather than two solid banks.


A nice way to put it all together is by using a high pressing aggressive set up that keeps pushing the opposition players back and doesnt leave them time on the ball. But see the value of having pace all through your team as indicated in previous posts.


I often see people on this site and elsewhere greatly limiting themselves by setting up tactics only having one line/outlet of attack that they rely on. The problem with this is that it relies on that one line performing to its full potential; thus if the opposition block it off or your player does not perform well, any attacking potential is completely wiped out. Therefore, it is essential that you add lots of little lines of attack that can add variation. Also try having a number of options on the bench that are completely different to the players who are already on the pitch, and ensure that you can attack through a number of different players and styles.

Suggestions:

1. Use a poacher up front and a deep lying playmaker in midfield with your best player in attacking midfield - he will find lots of space.

2. Use a winger on one wing, and an inside forward on the other - this gives you two different attacking threats even if the winger has support duty.

3. Where you use an inside forward, use a wing back or attacking full back on the same side - they will overlap and add width, especially if the IF is told to stay narrow and the wb to hug the line (or whatever exactly the equivalent PI is).

4. Situate your best creative players near your fastest players and best finishers - they will have good passing lines.

5. Use a creative striker when you are only using one forward, and surround them with runners from midfield - they will receive passes and get in behind as they are tough to mark.

6. When attacking players have Run From Deep Rarely, allow a midfielder nearby to attack from deep and penetrate the line.

7. If you have a creative winger set him up to be your playmaker (on the wing).

8. Use combinations ensuring ball retention - eg: dlp (defend) in front of defence + ap (support) in mf + an am with the proper instructions for ball holding.

9. Try set up with one cf (dlf support) with two oncoming ams behind him (eg one a shadow striker the other an am) on attack

10. Use asymmetrical formations even if its by only moving one player: eg in 442 move left mf up a bit and make him a winger support/if attack. This stretches/confuses the opposition.


And a word on defending:

Use defensive triangles: three players forming a narrow triangle, the tip of which is closest to the ball, and looks to force the ball-carrier opposing player to pass the ball away from the triangle, seeing as he can't run through it, and then quickly adjust shape to force them wide until they're forced onto the touchline where they're closed down, or they try to dribble through and are dispossessed.

Easiest way to make a triangle is by two cbs and a dm. Or in the AMC role with two midfielders in a 4-2-3-1, allowing teams to funnel counter-attacks wide earlier and close down high up the pitch this way against players who don't have a chance at playing a pass or dribbling through them. Or in the non flat 451 with the dm and the two cms. The latter two are very difficult to work in fm ...
 
A mullato, my libido

An team which isn't cohesive is not a team, its a group of individuals.

If you watch the game on Full or Comprehensive, as you ought to, you will see passes that don't go straight to feet, or first touches that are slightly delayed or wayward. At its worst, a lack of team cohesion will see your pass completion ratio plummet, runs go unnoticed and movement be completely senseless, all of which will undermine the success of your tactic (and MAKE YOU THINK THE ME IS BROKEN WHEN ITS NOT!!!).

The most obvious form of team spirit is how well the team is blended, and this depends on a combination of things:

1. Time spent together

This is the most obvious one and it is probably one of the reasons that in real life Barcelona have dominated football for the last few years. Most of their squad has come from La Masia. If players spend so many years with one another, they' re much more likely to know their role in the team and how to complement each other, and this is paramount to playing good football.

2. Languages spoken

If a player speaks a different language to the rest of the team, it severely damages his ability to play well and link up well; the impact is lessened if he is a less creative role where synchronisation is less important, but it is there nonetheless. It takes over a year for a player to fully learn a language, but less if you have a player of the same nationality who can speak both languages. Remember that South American and African countries tend to be former colonies and players from these countries will speak one of the major European languages, which is one less thing to worry about (Brazilians speak Portuguese, Argentinians Spanish, Ivory Coast French etc).

3. Personalities

Again all of the Barcelona squad have a broadly similar personality. There's no-one really in their squad, or in any successful team, who has a personality out of kilter with the team ethos (see also Man Utd till Moyes came in and did his best to destroy us or the **** under Wenger).

If you are patient you can change personalities and breed this ethos into players from your youth team by using stuff like tutoring etc.

4. Favoured personnel

The highest level of blending a team can achieve on FM is willing to die for each other and this should be the ultimate team building aim for managers. You want your players like one another as this will prevent disagreements and help them to link up more often and with better quality. There are obvious team cohesion/blending/spirit advantages to having players who like and appreciate one another as friends.


How to encourage blending:

1. Watch matches closely, look at player stats etc and see who is not blended.

2. Only play one or two unblended/new players at a time to slowly blend them into the squad and allow them to feel their way around your style. This will reduce their negative impact and allow you to grind out some results in the early stages of a season. This is slow but means you' ll be able to keep the board's and fans' confidence and get some decent form going. See previous post about avoiding second season syndrome for more on this.

3. Expect unblended/ new players to suffer in form till they blend. Dont be quickly disappointed or lose faith. Talk to them and utilise the option "I know you havent been scoring recently but I have faith you ll get through it" or similar. Throw them straight in the deep end and let them fight through for form. But not more than 1/2 per starting XI. This will be the quickest way of blending them into the squad, as they will get used to playing with one another, your existing players, and your tactics, but you will most probably get some badresults unless you try to do as per my post on second season syndrome. In my career as an FMer I very rarely if ever experience second season syndrome following exactly the advice Im giving you.
At the same time be the boss!

1. Dont let upset players call the shots.
2. Dont allow players to leave for any other reason than because you dont need/want them any more.
3. Do not give in to transfer requests.

Remember that in a team with most players on excellent morale you can afford to have 1/2 with bad morale because they ve fallen out with you. Keep playing the rebels and dont budge. Sooner or later they will kiss and make up (and while upset they'll keep playing for the team despite themselves - I lost count of the times players on red morale played well for me/scored crucial goals etc).
 
You' re going to reap just what you sow

This post should be read in the light of what I say above about avoiding second season syndrome.

Your targets in pre season should be:

-To get your FITNESS levels up.
-To get TACTIC familiarity to acceptable levels (if not to full)
-TEAM COHESION (absolutely crucial if you have more than two new players)

Concurrently to the above you need to increase MORALE.


Morale

Having players with high morale is crucial for success and its a really good idea to get it as high as possible straight away. To achieve this as soon as possible make sure you play friendlies mostly against extremely weaker opposition. You want the team to score a lot of goals. You can set up a couple of friendlies against more difficult teams but do it in the "middle" of your schedules and ensure you have at least 2 friendlies against much weaker opponents till the season starts.


Fitness

Every player at the club must be match fit before the season starts. If not then the risk of picking up injuries or little niggles from games is increased. Also by getting everyone match fit it means you can throw them into the first team should you suffer injuries/suspensions early on in the season and don't have to worry that they aren't fit. It also becomes easier to maintain throughout the season.


Tactic Familiarity

This is the most important thing to concentrate on. The sooner it is fluid the better because it means your tactic will play better and the players are used to every aspect of it. You can get tactic familiarity fluid before the start of the first game of the season (or near it) if you plan properly. Set up around 12 friendlies (mostly as above vs weaker teams). Dont forget that against weaker teams you can play some of your youths without any fear. But you should always put out a side to win and win emphatically. So a match every 3/4 days.

Set match training to tactics and general training to cohesion. If you go to training camps then while these are on you gain tactic familiarity/fitness a lot quicker.

Therefore:
  • Set up around 10/12 friendlies.
  • Signing new players will reduce tactic familiarity, so the more signings you make the longer time you need to become fluid.
  • You must set the scheduling bar in the training section all the way to the left so its set on 50%. That is where its 50% and not at the end of the bar.
  • When you've set up the friendlies check on the training calendar to make sure you have at least two training days before each match.
  • V IMPORTANT: Choose as early as possible pre season starting date (see previous posts on this)

Team Cohesion

Have all your squads training the same tactics always. That way if you ve promoted players from your youth/reserves team into the first team they will already have tactical awareness.

If you bought more than two/three players especially who speak various languages then you should focus on this heavily as the general focus from the third week onwards (so from third week onwards training should be general team cohesion, match tactics - but see previous posts). It helps them settle into the team quickly and get an understanding.


Friendlies

As above (and see previous posts)
 
Do you want wingers/wide midfielders to track back?

... then PIs are:

Run wide with ball
Close down much more
Mark tighter
Specifically mark opposing fb/wb
 
How to utilise substitutions ... and how to ensure you dont concede late in matches

This should be read together with my previous post (s) on how to ensure you dont concede late in matches and on how to avoid second season syndrome.

Generally, the average FM player substitutes tired players. But is that really wise?

What we are usually guilty of is forgetting the mentality of players. Determination, composure, concentration and even flair are very important attributes, especially late in matches. Players with high stats in these (esp the first two) will be better able to aid you in your cause the later in a match you are.


Other considerations would be:

(a) Players on yellow cards (esp defensive ones - ones who have been yellow carded very early in matches). Check their aggression stat - if high they re in danger of a red. Alternatively consider instructing them to tackle easy and/or shouting at them to calm down.

(b) Players who are very nervous, complacent etc. Try shouting at them to show passion/demand more etc but if no change then sub. Look at personality - players with no ambition etc tend to feel nervous no matter what.

(c) Players who you will be starting next match. But calculate the threat posed by the opposition before you take them off. In my experience, in FM15 you should always do your best to win the match that comes first/which you re involved in, than rotate thinking of the next one.

(d) Obviously players who are slightly injured.

(e) Players on low morale. Morale is extremely important in FM15. Players with low morale, especially late in matches in key positions (cb esp) is a recipe for disaster.


So, who to bring on and when?
  • players with better morale than the ones brought off; condition is nowhere near as important as morale is. Though if your tactics are spot on you CAN carry up to a couple low morale players as indicated elsewhere in this thread.
  • defenders with better mental attributes.
  • more experienced players, if you can see someone underpeforming and being very nervous, after your attempts of taking pressure off him failed.

When it looks like the fate of the match is decided, bring on:
  • young players; senior match experience is one of the most important factors in player development;
  • newly transfered in players, in order to help them get integrated without risking team cohesion.
  • those who are complaining about lack of first team football, even if their morale is not very good, as they might start getting over their slight concern;
  • match unfit players.
 
Mummy I had 38 shots on goal and 10 ccs and yet I lost 1-0 to a team that had 2 shots

1. You must watch matches on Extended at least (best on comprehensive) to understand whats happening in a match and how to deal with it.

2. Look at opposition reports, opposition squads, previous matches of opposition but esp opposition's league position and reputation - TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER they will attack you OR be happy to sit back give you space in front of them soak the pressure and hit you on the counter. It really is that straightforward: the AI in all matches has these two options and works to exploit space (esp space behind you).

3. The logical outcome of the two ways that the AI will choose to play against you is equally simple: those who attack and press you aim to push you back and restrict space in front of you (but - CRUCIALLY - leave space behind them to be taken advantage of). Those who sit back are happy to give up space in front of them but restrict the possibility of your players finding any space behind them.

4. If you do the background work as above you ll be able to predict which of the two options will be used against you so that you will be able to try and deal with them.

5. As alluded to by the post title, too often I see people coming on fm base to complain that they got beaten by a weak team despite total domination in match, having the (far) better players and when I read about their experience I see that they essentially play the same way against all opponents. Or if they dont, they make counterproductive changes.

6. People usually have a tactical setup that is more defensive (counter even) to use against stronger sides or away and a more attacking one to use against the weaker ones. Thats not necessarily the way to go (at least not always).

7. As indicated above, sides who attack you leave acres of space behind them for you to take advantage of. Through balls work better against them for example. But also mentality changes and role changes of a couple of crucial players (eg wingers). If you watch matches properly you ll see whether they tend to attack more from one side (so - aim to exploit it by having players running into the space behind opposition players on that side). You can go more attacking yourself (either as a whole or particular players) but that is risky as it would leave space for the opposition to exploit. Another option would be to sit deep and get them to come forward then fight for the ball, win it and launch quick counters to exploit the space left behind the opposition.

8. But, more to the point, what do you do if a team refuses to come out of its shell and restricts space behind it to be exploited by you? Do you press and attack like **** hoping they'll make a mistake to let you through to score? I sometimes do that myself but if the opposition can retain their shape then you re likely to lose (because you really leave acres and acres of space behind you to be easily exploited), and blame the game when really you should be blaming someone whose name starts with "s" and ends with "elf"! What if you set a trap of your own to lure them out of their shell so that you can find pockets of space behind them to exploit? What if you set your own team to be defensive or with a counter or standard mentality or not use pressing TIs? If you are the better team, they'll see the space in front of them and try to move forward and you can then easily pick them off and use the now exposed space behind them.

9. Dont forget width. You can use it to go "round" players or to restrict space yourself. Dont thinkthat width is only the "play narrower" or "play wider" TIs. Its other things also such as: instructing fbs/wbs to stay wide, using the right mentality (attacking naturally employs wider formation for example), different roles (eg: the Raumdeuter is a space finder ...) etc

10. So what do I do against teams to park the bus? In a simple step by step process:

(a) Start with a standard mentality and a formation which has width (note that formations such as a 4231 with the 3 "AMs" being narrow in the middle (eg SS-EG-SS) can still have width if the players in the fb positions are wbs on attack and if the the two SS are given TIs to run towards the flanks).

(b) Watch the match carefully esp the first 15/20 minutes. If you see your players being forced to shoot from distance, have little penetration or keep losing sitters then time to change.

(c) Using the above narrow 4231 formation as an example- push the (currently sitting narrowly) SSs in the AMR and AML positions and turn one into an IF (support) and the other to a WINGER (attack). Have the IF sit narrower and instruct the wb behind him to overlap (TIs stay wide and move further up). At the same time add the play wider TI but also change your own mentality to COUNTER.

(d) Watch match for a while. Do you see any changes in the behaviour of both sets of players? Try to change individual player roles and/or give them additional PIs to press and/or move into channels and/or more direct passes (ie instructions which are designed to exploit space). If not much changes then go DEFENSIVE.

(e) Still cant break them down? In the 50th minute change formation in reaction to the oppositions play till that point.

(f) Still cant break them down? around the 65th minute become more aggressive (eg change mentality to control).

(g) Whatever you do dont play the last 15 minutes of such matches (where you re the much better team pounding the opposition) with attacking and/or overload and with too much pressing as thats when the AI/the game tends to punish you.

(h) Generally be mindful of the need to create movement to stretch opposition.

This wont always succeed but at least it will help you to be able to understand what is really happening in matches and you will be satisfied that you tried, by taking steps, to change stuff to gain advantages.

This thread in a way was sparked by my yesterday's match against BRENDN in the FM BASE league thingy. I started with a set of tactics went 2-0 in front but he changed approach a number of times, scored a goal in the 61st minute and I then had to keep tweaking to keep him out in what was a progressively very nervous last 15 minutes for me ...
 
Player attributes for dummies part 1

Attributes are mentioned in order of importance.

Goalkeepers

1. The most important attribute for a keeper is REFLEXES.
2. Perhaps surprisingly, COMMUNICATION is also very important. If it’s low then you should stayaway from that player. It is strongly linked with Adaptability – one of the hidden player attributes. If the player that you want to sign doesn’t speak the language of your club’s country and your scout tells you he finds it hard to adapt to life in another country then dont purchase.
3.AERIAL ABILITY, AGILITY, ANTICIPATION, COMPOSURE, CONCENTRATION, DECISIONS, JUMPING REACH and POSITIONING.


Central Defenders

1.HEADING, MARKING and TACKLING aren’t as important as most people think. Remember that marking relates to the skill a player has to follow somebody.
2. ANTICIPATION, POSITIONING and WORK RATE are by far the most important attributes imho.
3. ACCELERATION is also v important. As indicated elsewhere in this thread I also like pace relative to position (at least 12 but better 13-16).
4.JUMPING REACH, COMPOSURE, BRAVERY and DETERMINATION.


Full Backs/Wing backs

Note: I have noticed that, tactically, full backs/wing backs are perhaps the most important players in a successful tactic plus (or maybe, consequently) they are among the first players to tire.

1. ACCELERATION, PACE, STAMINA, WORK RATE and TEAMWORK.
2. ANTICIPATION, CONCENTRATION.
3. CROSSINGand TACKLING.
4.MARKING.


Defensive Midfielders

1. ANTICIPATION, COMPOSURE, CONCENTRATION, DECISIONS, DETERMINATION, STAMINA and WORK RATE.
2.PASSINGand TACKLING.
3. Decent FLAIR, ACCELERATION and PACE (relative to position).
 
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Player Attributes for dummies part 2

Attacking Midfielders

1. TECHNIQUE is by far the most important attribute. It is essentially a multiplier of everyother technical attribute. PASSING is the other imperative.
2. DECISIONS, FLAIR, TEAMWORK and VISION.
3. DRIBBLING, FIRST TOUCH,OFF THE BALL, AGILITY, BALANCE, and ANTICIPATION.

Note: A more attacking "AM" role such as a Shadow Striker needs: FINISHING and COMPOSURE.

Also, for a Target Man or similar position, replace ACCELERATION with HEADING and JUMPING REACH .


Wingers

1. DRIBBLING, FIRST TOUCH, TECHNIQUE, OFF THE BALL, ACCELERATION,PACE and AGILITY.
2. COMPOSURE, FLAIR, VISION, PASSING and CROSSING.


Forwards

1.FINISHING, FIRST TOUCH, COMPOSURE,OFF THE BALL and ACCELERATION.
2. AGILITY, ANTICIPATION and CONCENTRATION.

Note: TECHNIQUE works like a multiplier of all the above.


General considerations

DETERMINATION is very important for every player. Players which are highly determined won’t get nervous easily. during matches. Always try building a squad of driven characters, especially if you want to avoid sudden drops in morale and/or form slumps and/or "2nd season syndrome" (see separate previous post on how to avoid 2nd season syndrome).WORK RATE is how much a player will get involved and run for the team.NATURAL FITNESS relates to how fast a player gets fit and stays that way. In essence is a multiplier of STAMINA.
 
Randomness awesomeness

  1. Use in match team talks - they are very effective. Even passionately encouraging every 15 minutes seems to make a difference.
  2. Morale makes more of a big difference. So do team talks yourself, praise your players etc and you'll be surprised.
  3. Manually search the best teams in the world, starting with the best national teams. Look in the U21 squads. You can find a LOT of class players this way esp regens later on in saves.
  4. If you dont want to lose your players DONT react to transfer speculation.
  5. When scouting for players, filter for one technical attribute and see if you can find a player with better mentals. It could make a big difference to the quality of the player you get as mental attributes influence greatly how well a technical attribute is executed.
  6. To evade man marking have players change their position. This may also drag defenders out of position leaving gaps to be exploited.
  7. It is better for an am/cm to arrive late in opposition area.
  8. Try mixing up the passing in your team. Having a team build up play at the back with short and slow passing then up front make it quick and direct.
  9. Do NOT let assman take over team talks and/or press conferences. I know they are tedious but they DO make a difference morale wise (MUCH more than you think). As far as talking to the press is concerned its safer to mix it up by choosing ether the 2nd or the 4th option with the 1st sometimes thrown in if merited by the facts.
  10. Dont be afraid to lose. If you re losing or about to play a tough match - just go for it. Attack them and or be aggressive with tackling etc. Its just one match and if you take the shackles off your team may surprise you.
  11. Pay attention to the weather (prediction). Not only for passing but also for gks. GKs will be at risk from wet surface so why not try some quick, long, frequent shots on goal to try to catch opp. gk out?
  12. Think about the mentality of the referee. If he's strict you may consider instructing your players to take it easy with tackling.
  13. Tall players with bad jumping attributes will compensate due to hight.
  14. Understand the following (the theory can be applied to other positions). A lot of people may consider a striker to be weak if he has 14/13 finishing. Thats not necessarily the case. Technical attributes are factored against mental attributes such as composure so if a player with 13/14 finishing has 19/20 composure then he's suddenly not that bad an option.
  15. Your youth team(s) should ideally be playing the same tactics as the first team. This establishes a culture in the club and helps young developing players know the formation so that they ll settle in easily when you want them to play a first team match.
  16. Every season make a couple of tweaks to your tactical set up, especially if there is an upwards jump in your reputation as a club.

NOTE ON IN MATCH TEAM TALKS

I encourage every 15 minutes as a general principle (passionately or assertively). But if by the 30th minute I havent scored Ill demand more (assertively/aggressively depending who opponent is). Even if Im ahead by 1 goal but Im not playing that well Ill (assertively) demand more. If I fall behind - and depending on body language and performance Ill ask passionately/aggressively to show passion or demand more. If I need a goal ill ask to push forward. If I want to protect a lead, the choice is tighten up and/or concentrate.
 
REMEMBER:

THIS IS ALSO AN "ASK UNCLE MAD" TYPE OF THREAD!!!
 
Manumad, i've always thought that, if i go just mental and physical, the technical attributes would not be so important. I mean, using Thomas Muller as an example, getting all players like him (in terms of more mental and physical than technique, not his stats), would make an invincible team. what to you think?
 
Are you 100% sure the "sell players at 200% value" trick still works?
 
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