Players ignoring instructions, Free kick advice and how to tell if you'll lose

[united762000]

Ok I need help becuase this latest version of Football Manager is really starting to get on my nerves. Players seem to constantly ignore instructions. I set them to long shots rarely and they still play thinking they are all Christiano Ronaldo and shoot from miles out. I tell them to get stuck in and they just constantly run alongside players without making a challenge. I have players with strength of 17+ and seem to get knocked off the ball by opposition players with much less strength. I also have problems with free kicks in the attcking third of the pitch. My players just constantly shoot and it never goes anywhere near the goal. Anyone know of any good free kick tactics? Also I dont know if this is a flaw in the gameplay or just a massive coincidence but if you play the match in split screen at the begining as the teams kick off with 0:00 played if you look at the bottom where it shows the average player rating for the teams the team with the highest average is the team that will win. if the ratings are the same then it is a draw. I have watched this for the past 20 matches and 100% accurate