If you're going to play a game which says it's trying to be the most realistic football management simulation it can possibly be, then it makes sense to me that some basic knowledge of tactics would be a good idea.
You don't need to be a genius, just a decent knowledge of what works in real life or a willingness to learn. If you don't have the knowledge already or aren't willing to learn, then this really isn't going to be a game which you'll enjoy playing over the long term.
Best book on football tactics I've read is called [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inverting-Pyramid-History-Football-Tactics/dp/0752889958]'Inverting the Pyramid'[/ame] by the Guardian journalist Jonathan Wilson. It covers the tactics and playing styles from the dawn of the professional game to the modern day. If nothing else, it's a great read. Well worth asking for as a birthday or christmas present if you really want to learn about tactics and formations. (edit: If you want to delve into the philosophy of total football, then Rinus Michels' Teambuilding: The Road to Success is possibly the bible for anyone who believes football should be less about talented individuals and more about a team which performs to a level greater than the sum of its parts)
Jonathan Wilson also does articles for the Guardian which you can read for free on the Guardian website (eg
is the box-to-box midfielder dead?) which cover random tactical stuff which you can use to broaden your knowledge of the game. Sky Sports is absolute tosh when they pretend to 'analyse' the game - even now they still sometimes have Liverpool lining up in a 4-4-2 with Kuyt and Torres as the partnership up front...!!!.
The hardest part of the game for me is then relating that knowledge back into the game because the use and functions of the sliders has changed so much since I last properly played (05 or something). But with a bit of time and effort, it can be quickly learnt through trial and error or by asking people who do know questions about them.
Really it boils down to the player - if you're expecting a 'buy players, choose 4-4-2, win 5 or 6 trophies a season' type of game, then you've bought the wrong game. This is a game which always rewarded players who paid attention to the game and especially rewarded those who were able to put tactical knowledge into the match engine (think it was CM3 where the game more than amply rewarded you if you'd figured out why Cantona had been so successful in the English league - and if you couldn't buy Cantona, Neil Lennon was the next best option...).
