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In the past I have been in regular conversation with a fellow FMer (he is superb

at tactics creation and explaining them). Having followed some of his advice as
well as implementing my own theories I have found (and ammended) this:
Basically this is a re-writing of a thread posted by Cleon on the SI board.
In this thread I will try and post about how I set up for certain matches and wh
at I look for in players.
These are a list of criteria each position should be
Keeper
This man will have different expertise from rest of your players.
You should always look out for handling, reflexes and agility. These are all ver
y important keeper attributes you should look at straight away. These are the co
re of his ability and are what essentially make a goalkeeper.
He also needs to have good jumping, positioning and strength for if the goalie i
s being bombarded game after game with high balls into the box. It will also hel
p him when defending set pieces.
Vital Skills
Positioning, command of area, agility, communication, jumping, handling, and aer
ial ability
Other
throwing, concentration, composure, bravery, kicking and anticipation.
Fullbacks
The man who can raid down the wing like Ashley Cole, or keep your oppositoon win
egr quiet, like Gary Neville.
Vital Skills
Positioning, Pace, Tackling, Anticipation
Other Skills
Jumping, Heading, Determination, Work Rate, Stamina
Centre backs
everybody as a view of a traditional centre back being a bruiser, strong and pow
erful player who just hoofs the ball anywhere.
But there is a lot more to him that just the above, this is only a small part of
his game.
Youll find a lot of good defenders at lower league level. But to be a world class
or even a decent centre back you must have more than just brawn to succeed at t
he top.
Vital Skills
Positioning, jumping, tackling, anticipation, aggression, strength, bravery, hea
ding
Other Skills
Stamina, marking, determination, pace, acceleration, composure, teamwork
Defensive Midfielder
The defensive midfields are key players for breaking up play and beginning attac
ks,
Whether it be a killer ball to your strikers or a last ditch tackle. These men a
re the engine room of most teams when played correctly.
Attacking sides may not want to use one of these as they would have to sacrifice
a player. A lot of lower league teams use anchormen to break up play of creativ
ity and flair. These men act as the first line of defense in some cases and can
make the defenders work a lot easier.
Vital Skills
Tackling, strength, aggression, marking, stamina, work rate, teamwork, determina
tion
Others
Pace, passing, concentration, creativity
Attacking Mids or Forwards
These guys are the links between midfield and strikers and play in a very import
ant position of the pitch. The ball is often there to be won in the last third o
f the pitch, so ideally you want an all round player a bit like a DMC.
Also they can be the creativity of a team pulling the strings for all the game.
These are the most difficult players to find on the game as they are a rare bree
d.
If you find one who works well try and keep hold of him as they are quite rare.
Vital Skills
Creativity, passing, off ball, technique, decisions
others
Stamina, teamwork, flair, long shots, pace, acceleration.
Wingers
These men provide the ammunition for your striker while hopefully chipping in wi
th a few goals them selves. Many fans love wingers with their entertaining style
of attacks.
But many clubs cant afford these types of player, or they cant fit them into there
team. These days a winger is also expected to defend which is far from the trad
itional winger. So now days a midfield who can play on the wings is a good idea.
Vital Skills
Crossing, dribbling, pace, acceleration, agility, balance
Others
Technique, passing, teamwork, work rate, off ball
Strikers
Strikers such as Owen and Fowler (OK a few years ago ) are absolute diamonds fo
r your squad. Give them half a chance and they will put the ball away for you.
Vital Skills
Anticipation, off ball, composure, finishing
others
Technique, Acceleration, Pace, First Touch
Target Men
The big men of any team, stick a good cross in and they will head it into the ba
ck of the onion bag. Stick a long ball in and they will head it down or knock it
on. Marvellous! Jumpers for goalposts.
Make the wingers and midfielders support him as much as they can.
Play to the Target Man's strengths.
Vital Skills
Strength, Jumping, Heading, Bravery, Aggression, Determination
other
First Touch, Passing, Technique, Anticipation, Off the ball, Teamwork, Creativit
y.
Match Preparations
Pick the player you want to play is the easy part? You just pick the best 11 pla
yers with the best all round stats dont you??Wrong.
Stats are important yeah im not denying that but there are a number of factors t
o take into consideration also. If player has a low morale then you maythink twi
ce before playing him, Because he may underperform. As were a player with superb
morale may play above expectations.
Match fitness is also vital, a player with less that 85% is a big risk , try to
avoid playing players less than 95% although thats just my preference.The player
should be rested if hes below 85%.
Make sure the players you have on the bench cover all the position not just 5 st
rikers. You need to have a bit of flair to add to the game if things are going w
rong etc. Also a versatile defender who can play across the back line is always
a good bet.
Pick the right players for the right match.If its a important game check that th
e player is good when under intense pressure.Plus if you have a player youve sig
ned from a club and you happen to play that team its always good to have them on
the field or the bench.They seem to give a better performance maybe there tryin
g to show they were wrong to let him go.
Keep an eye out for player who may get suspended in the game your playing.
Its no good playing your best player in say a game you ought to win. He may get
booked and if you have a very important game next he could miss that one.So be s
ure to plan ahead if possible.
There are 3 types of views on tactics imo. Theres the one were people think play
ers are more important than a tactic. Then theres the view that its actually the
tactic that makes up for rubbish players etc. Then theres the 3rd view which im
o is correct,any good manager will try and mix both the above up. He will get pl
ayers in to play in certain areas. Any player can play a position the thing you
need to do is tweak it so you get the best out of the certain players when you p
lay a certain formation.
You need to find a tactic that suites your players and the way you want to play.
It may take a month or so to get into the stride of things .So the formation you
play should represent how you want the lads to play wether it be all out attack
and dont care if you conceed 3 because youll score 4.Or do you want to score 1
then shut up shop etc.
Its entirely upto you have a good hard think about how you gonna play.If you don
t have many skill full plays you may want to pack the midfield this sometimes ma
kes up for the lack of skill as your players will make it hard to keep the ball.
Team Instructions
When you've got the players in the positions you want,its time to start thinking
how you want them to play.You have a very wide selection of mentalities,tackiln
g etc to choose from.Keep the ability of your team inmind before selecting anyth
ing straight away.
Mentality
Alwyas try to balance the style of play to suit your formation.It doesnt make se
nce to choose 5 defenders and only 1 striker and opt for a attacking style (unle
ss your an advanced user).Look for a flexible formation that allows you to chang
e things if there going wrong.Thats the main reason why 442 and 352 are popular
choices.
Ultra Defensive: This is very simple. Your team will stay in their own half. The
y will not make any effort to go forward. Defensive: The team will play defensiv
ely, however they will go forward if a quick attack occurs. Normal: Your team wi
ll play rather normal. They shall defend when its needed and will attack at every
good opportunity. Attacking: Your team will look to attack at every good opport
unity. They will play a lot of football in the oppositions half. All Out Attack:
The suicidal style of play. Your team will have one thing on their mind and tha
ts goals. They will always look to attack and wont bother with much defending.
Passing
You need to study your players really carefully before deciding what passing to
choose.Particular the ones in midfield as hopefully these will have most of the
possession your team has.In LLM you probally dont have the players to play a sho
rt passing gameas they lack technique and creativity.So if thats the case try a
director long ball type.As the players available at LLM should be widely availab
le to pull this off.
Mixed: Players will attempt all styles of passing: short, direct or long. Short:
Your players will just pass the ball to the closest player that isnt marked. He
will just play the basics. Direct: Your players will attempt to get the ball up
field as quick as possible. They will go through the positions until it has reac
hed the front men. Long: Your players will always hit long balls forward. They w
ill play the ball over the top. This works well if players have poor passing sta
ts, the weather conditions are bad or if you are playing against tough oppositio
n.
Tackling
Most teams opt for a normal tackling style.But if you want to put the wind up th
e opponents choose a hard tackling game especially if the opposition are more sk
illed than your own.
Hard tackling and closing down can always make it harder for teams even at the h
ighest level.But be sure to check the strictness of a referee before doing this
as you dont want to get all your players sent off now do you? Also even with har
d tackling you can miss tackles. For eample a defender could go diving into a ch
allenge and watch a Ryan Giggs type winger skip past him.
Easy tackling is a good choice for friendlies or if you have the game won by now
.By choosing easy tackling your player will suffer less injuries and less bookin
gs. Easy tackling can also increase your tackles won ratio, especially in wet we
ather or against tricky wingers. I sometimes have fullbacks on Closing Down:Alwa
ys and Easy tackling.
Easy: Your players will take it easy when entering a challenge. They will only c
ommit if they believe they will come out on top. Normal: Your players will go in
to the challenge if they believe they have a good chance of retrieving the ball.
They wont be to hasty and will try not to be to reckless. Hard: Your players wi
ll rush into any challenge no matter what. If there is only a small chance of re
trieving the ball your players will take the opportunity.
Closing Down
In an ideal world you would want all your players to chase the opposition all ov
er the park.But im afraid its not an idea world and only a select few can keep t
his up for 90 minutes.By choosing close down always as soon as the opposition ge
t the ball your player will start to close him down and hopefully forcing the op
ponent to make errors and win the ball in important areas of the field.But if yo
u choose this option you players need good workrate and stamina if not they will
tire too quickly.
If you choose close down mixed only your player dont need as much stamina. This
means when a player crosses the halfway line with the ball your players should s
tart to hassel him and hopefully win you the ball ack so you can him them on the
counter attack.
Offside Trap
The offside trap is a dangerous part of the game.Get this wrong and you could lo
se a game were you should have won.But get this right and your defence will be s
olid.To pull this off youll need defenders with great positioning and anticipati
on as you need them to read the game very well. The back four will also have to
play as a unit so defenders who have played together for a while and have good T
eamwork should be able to pull this off.
Even if your defenders are up to the job be sure to check who the attackers are
your playing against and their anticipation skills.If they have high anticipatio
n they are more than likely will beat your offside trap more often than not.
Counter Attack
A good style of play especially if you choose a defensive mentality.The two go h
and in hand.Very effective if your side is blessed with pace and off ball skills
.Hopefully you will be able to punish your opponents when they come too far up t
he pitch and you disposess them.Lack the right players for the job and youll har
dly move forward at all and you will be under a lot of pressure.
Creative Freedom
Little: Your players will play a more defensive style of football. They will tak
e no chances and do the more simple things. Normal: A more normal style of play.
Your players will try and create chances but will also stick to the basics. Muc
h: The much more attacking style of play. Your players will always strive to cre
ate chances for the team. They will try the unbelievable if they believe it will
help the team.
Tempo
Slow: Your players will not rush while playing. They shall adopt a slow pace and
will be patient in their build up. Normal: Your team will play a normal paced g
ame. They wont exhaust them selves with fast play. Quick: Fast, frantic and enjoy
able to watch, many words to describe quick tempo. You will definitely need a te
am with good fitness and stamina or else they will become tired very fast.
As a basic rule of thumb regarding tempo I stick to the following:
1. If the opposition always seem to be in position (that is a good defensive pos
ition) when I have the ball then I increase tempo.
2. If passes are going astray quickly then I will reduce tempo.
The above is based upon watching matches quite closely. Of course with point 2 i
t can depend on your player passing instructions vs. his passing ability. Howeve
r a classic example is a MC having the ball and quickly passing it down the flan
k before the winger has time to run into a position in order to collect the ball
. Same applies to a MC playing a through-ball to a FC.
Another good example of (2) would be a DC having posession, the opposition FC la
ying off (i.e. he just covers the space between your DC and MC but does not pres
s your DC) and your DC quickly passes to your MC. If you played at a lower tempo
then he might take a bit more time on the ball - though this depends on attribu
tes such as Composure and Decisions.
Width
Narrow: Your players will play football in the middle of the pitch. They wont all
ow your opposition space to play in the centre. Normal: Your players will play n
ormal. They shall play wide or narrow when appropriate. Wide: Your players will
play along the wing. They will look to get your wingers involved with play at al
l times. This will work well with focus passing down both flanks and also a quic
k tempo.
Defensive Line
Deep: Your defensive line will sit very back. They will not venture forward. Wor
ks well when against a pacy attack. Normal: Your backline will play in the middl
e of their own area. They wont push up or stay to far back. Push Up: Your defende
rs will play close to the half way line. They will put pressure on the oppositio
ns players. This however is risky on the counter attack so fast defenders are nee
ded.
Focus Passing
Through The Middle: Your players will focus passing and the majority of the play
through the centre. Down Both Flanks: Your players will look to get your winger
s involved in the play. They will focus passing down both flanks. Down Left Flan
k: Passing and general play shall be focussed on the left wing. Down Right Flank
: Passing and general play shall be focussed on the ring wing. Mixed: Your playe
rs will try to get all involved. They will make appropriate decision where to fo
cus passing during the game.
Marking
Zonal: Your team will mark players in certain areas. This means they are more un
likely to get caught out of position but may struggle when confronted by 2 oppos
ition players. Man: This is simple your players will man mark the opposition pla
yer closest to them e.g. your MC will mark the opposition MC. Specific Marking:
Your player will mark the man he is told to mark. Ideal if the opposition has a
stand-out danger man. Tight Marking: Players will keep close to the opposition p
layers at all time. They will not allow their marked player any time on the ball
and will look to take him out of the game.
One final tip:
Once you've picked your team and gone to the match, don't think you're finished
there. Match up your players to theirs to take advantage of their strengths/weak
nesses. It's been made even easier since SI introduced the line-up overview at t
he start of each match.
If they have a striker who's particularly good in the air, put your DC with the
best jumping stats up against him. Same goes if they have one who's a bit nippy.
Put your quickest DC on him.
Even if you're not man-marking, the opposing players on the overview tend to com
e up against each other more often than not. For example if they have a creative
MC then put an MC who is strong and good in the tackle opposite him.
Same goes with your forwards. If they have a defender who's slow or with low jum
ping stats, put your quickest/best jumper on him. If you play with a target man/
creative forward combo, make a copy of your tactic but reverse the forward roles
and load it up once you've gone
What area covers which attributes:
These are the attribute categories that can be found within FM.
As stated above, it is uncertain if all of the attributes they contain are actua
lly affected by training, rather than age or, indeed, nothing. To simplify thing
s though let's assume that they all are, except Natural Fitness.
Strenght:
Natural Fitness
Stamina
Strenght
Work Rate
Aerobic:
Acceleration
Agility
Balance
Jumping
Pace
Reflexes
Tactical:
Anticipation
Decisions
Off the ball
Positioning
Teamwork
Ball Control:
Dribbling
First touch
Flair
Heading
Technique
Defending:
Concentration
Marking
Tackling
Attacking:
Creativity
Passing
Shooting:
Composure
Finishing
Long Shots
Set Peices:
Corners
Crossing
Free Kick taking
Long Throws
Penalty Taking

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