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Team Talks
You are 2-0 down as the whistle blows for half time. The players trudge back into the dressing room, arguing over who should have been picking the big lad up at the corner for that 2nd goal. They grab their drinks and sit down, trying to get their breath back after spending 45 minutes chasing shadows. Your team is staring defeat in the face and the teams body language suggests they would rather face a firing squad than go back out onto that pitch. A quiet hush descends on the room, you are the focus of attention. Your side look at you for some kind of inspiration, and you now have around 7 minutes to try and re-group and rally the troops to do battle in the second half and turn it around. Time to earn your money...
The half time team talk is a new addition to the CM/FM series, and in my own opinion, its a fantastic one. It gives you more interaction with your players, and allows you to express your own personal character onto the game that little bit more. How do you react in any given situation, do you like the Fergie hairdryer treatment or the Wenger arm-around-the-shoulder treatment. I think this new addition can play a big factor in the final result of a match, and should not be underestimated. There are no 100% accurate rules as to what to do in a certain situation, but there are certain guide-lines that tend to work well. Following these guide-lines could mean the difference between three points, one point or no points at all.
It is no coincidence that morale levels of your players are shown on the team talk screen, and this plays a major role in what's best to say to your players. If a player is performing badly and is on low morale, then it may be best to encourage them rather than kick them when they are down as this is a sign they are short of confidence. Alternatively, if a player has high morale levels and is playing poorly then that could be a sign they aren't giving it their all and it may be best to give them a kick up the backside. I tend to accept a rating of 7 and 8 as a good average for my side, and if anyone is playing below that they will get an individual team talk, as will anyone getting a 9 or 10. Once again, this team talk depends on the morale of the player.
The following guide-lines assume that team talks are a vital factor in determining 2nd half performance and post match morale. The ideas on how to approach team talks are based upon the following assumptions:
1: The programmers at SI are aware of how the general populace reacts to praise/criticism in work/sport environments and have used that as a basis for a general approach to morale and motivation issues. The assumption is that the programmers are a group of bright and talented people who react positively to well-judged praise and constructive criticism but respond badly to hostile criticism and anger, and have programmed the engine to mirror such reactions. Such reactions would also be valid in conjunction with modern day management theory on how to motivate staff. Thus, team talks should be more Arsene Wenger than Graeme Souness.
2: Experience from previous CM/FM games has shown that, in general, it is better to keep petty and negative personal comments to yourself. This is obvious in how manager stats alter in relation to media responses, improving with positive comments and worsening with negative or controversial statements. Hence, positive vibes, historically, are more likely to succeed. In slight contradiction to this, praising two players to the media in quick succession brought a sarcastic response from a player representative, stating that they always took the manager's praise with a pinch of salt, so overpraising is likely to have a negative effect too.
3: Reasearch on the forums suggests that teams can fall asleep after half-time if given an exceptionally praiseworthy team talk and an amazing comeback will follow. Threads have also suggested that encouragement or praise will invariably lead to breaking a deadlock or overcoming a goal defecit.
The following suggestions are based on these assumptions and are intended to give a guide as to how the team will react en bloc to the various team talk options.
Anger
The general assumption is that anger based management does not work, with a manager that relies on fear to motivate his employees finding himself with a bunch of people who would rather work elsewhere. Thus, an angry team talk at half-time is likely to lead to players, most of whom it can be assumed are trying, feeling alienated and unappreciated and a performance drop will follow. Anger at full-time is, in my opinion, totally counter productive, as it will only lead to a drop in morale. In real life, nobody wants to come into work the morning after an angry confrontation, as embarassment and further confrontations are likely.
Disappointment
Again, it is a poor manager who tells his employees he is disappointed with their achievements. Again, it has to be assumed that people are actually trying, and to be constantly told your performance is not good enough is demotivating in the extreme. Thus, disappointment at half-time is also likely to lead to a drop in performance in most instances. Disappointment at full-time is slightly more understandable, as long as you know your team is onboard and is coming from the same direction as you, and thus is also disappointed in the result of a team effort. I am not sure if the gameplay is sophisticated enough to mirror such a situation and believe it to be risky to be disappointed at the end of a game,
Sympathy
This is the option I find most difficult to analyse, in conjunction with how difficult it is to show sympathy in real life. In order to be sympathetic, you must be sure that your sympathy will be accepted in the same manner in which it was intended. The most common times sympathy would be used in a day-to-day working environment is when somebody has been told they are losing their job, and I believe you have to be close to the person in order not to sound condescending rather than sympathetic. In terms of football management, I would only use it if a team has been hopelessly outclassed.
Encouragement
I believe that this is one of the best motivational tools a manager has at his disposal. If an employee is struggling to come to terms with an issue, but obviously trying hard, a good manager will encourage the employee to keep working at it, in the belief that it will come. Hence, in a close match, winning or losing by the odd goal, or drawing, encouragement is the 'go to' option at half-time. Indeed, I have been two-nil down at half-time due to two howling defensive errors, yet playing well, and an encouraging half-time talk led to a comeback and my team dominating possession throughout the second half and a two-two draw.
Pleased
Well-judged praise is also another major motivational tool for the good manager. A pat on the back and a 'well done' can work wonders for motivation, and should keep performance on an even keel. If you are leading and playing well at half-time, or have done as expected at full-time, then the pleased option is the one to choose. This could also be a 'good effort, lads' if beaten by a much superior team, but with a solid performance none the less.
Delighted
I would use this option sparingly, for two reasons. Firstly, as mentioned before, the CM/FM series tends to see overpraising as a negative. Secondly, to overpraise in a situation in which performances have as good as expected and no more will lead to performance dropping, as employees begin to feel the manager is a chump and would praise the tea-boy for a good cup of coffee and a chocolate digestive. I believe that this kind of reaction has been programmed into the game engine in FM06, and thus 'delighted' or 'sensational' team talks should be used very rarely. I could see the 'sensational' option being employed after a dramatic away win against the division leaders, but not after a 3-0 home win against a team in the bottom five, especially if you are gunning for promotion yourself.
Good but Watch Out
This option is a tricky one, but I believe it to be detrimental in general. It is similar to micro-management in my opinion, in that a manager will be constantly looking over your shoulder to see if you are still doing what he expects rather than letting you get on with it. Thus, the 'guard against complacency' option suggest to the team that you do not trust them. The 'performance like this every week' also is difficult, as it suggests you expect the team to perform like world beaters in every match, which is just not possible, and I believe morale will drop if this option is used. Just tell them 'well done' and let them enjoy it, rather than using the management cliché, 'Now we must look to the next match' seconds after the game has finished. Relax, dude, and have fun!
Last edited by hrvatska; 02-12-06 at 10:13 AM. |
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