At xmas now and having a form downturn, any ideas?
ps im using V3
All about the teamtalks. IMO the main teamtalk guide for fm14 leads to complacency and nervousness. The goal with teamtalks when you're playing well is to get players at high morale and then keep them there without causing complacency. IMO you should NEVER use an aggressive teamtalk. Ever. Nor really assertive. These tones cause huge swings in mood. When you're playing well you don't need huge swings in mood. You need small tweaks to mood.
So the way I handle it is this:
-If your players are nervous or frustrated at halftime, like half your team or more, do not EVER EVER EVER tell them you're disappointed in them. You will never, ever, ever turn around a result by telling nervous and angry players that you're disappointed in them. You will just make them more nervous and angry. Tell them they were unlucky. It doesn't even matter if you believe it, it's your only chance.
- Do not tell every player "you have faith". Before the game, anyone with less than "superb" morale I will tell "you have faith". At halftime anyone who does not have either "looking calm" or "looking motivated" I will tell "you have faith". Telling players "you have faith" too much will cause them to be complacent.
You have to separate different kinds of issues. You should tell your team you're disappointed if they didn't try hard enough. This means if they were complacent or not motivated. If they played hard and created as many chances as the opponent but lost, why are you so angry with them? It's not fair to yell at them for losing or drawing the occasional game. They will then fear you yelling at them after 15 minutes without scoring a goal, which will cause them to not score goals.
This is just a general philosophy, and my ideas from trial and error, but IMO the midseason dip in form is all about using teamtalks poorly and causing too many swings in emotion and morale from the team.