DrFager

perhaps im boring people with my problems!!!

assuming anyone is reading or cares to guide a newb here is my current update...

im five games in to the new season. 2 wins, 3 draws. for some reason im on fire against the "big four" by using the 5-4-1 counter attack. i beat United last night 3-2 after going down 2 in the first 20 minutes. it weird considering that I have a very solid back line, but i leak goals against lesser teams for draws, but i win at a 60% rate against the big four by going with a five man back line. im going to try using that formation tonight for 3-4 games against mid table teams and ill report back on the results.

if anyone can explain to me how to be effectively attacking oriented id be all ears.

my current squad.....

Strikers
Huntelaar
Defoe (bought him back)
Keane (nobody is interested in him)

Midfield
Downing
Flamini (bought for 22m)
G Barry (bought for 25m)
Bent (nobody interested at 14m i offered for)
Zokora (turned down 7.5 million)
Huddlestone (turned down 11m)
Boetang (nobody interested)

Defense
Bale (turned down 22m)
King
Woodgate (turned down 17m)
Hutton
Gilberto
Borre
Koboul

GK
Lloris (bought for 22m)
Grohe

Sold during transfer window
Vander Vaart (37m - bought him for 22m this was a nice profit and he was not performing well and was unhappy. would not have sold him but the 37m had me get bids for Sergio A and then Queresma accepted, only for them to turn down contracts)

Arshavin (10.5 - he was a whiner and not effective regardless of where i put him. i figured id keep him because nobody would bid 10 or over with his value at 9.5, so I had to take the offer)

Lennon (10m - other then pace he offered nothing. Bent proved much more effective on the wing from an attack perspective, and both of my right backs *Hutton and Borre* can cover at the wing)

Jenas (11m - I couldnt turn down 11m for him. for one he has a hard time making it on the pitch with my squad, but he is 26, so i guessed his ability wasnt going to improve dramatically)

Dawson (4m - hated to sell him because he did well filling in for injuries last year, but ive got more depth at defense then anywhere else)

Robinson (5.5m - Grohe played much better then him last year and I decided to splash some money on Lloris after you guys went on and on about him. he was dead weight and I think thats good value for him)

Just missed out on in the window
Sergio Arguero (I had a 70m deal in place for him but he rejected 3 years at 175k a week with a 10k appearance fee!!! perhaps i need to finish higher then 11th in the prem to get him interested)

Queresma (had 50m accepted for him but he turned down a maxed out offer)

Lucas (Liverpool wont sell this a-hole for anything. his value is like 10.5 on my game and they rejected 22m because they didnt want to sell to a rival? He is my main target in Jan. I have offers for 17m for woodgate so I can go as high as 30m for him and I dont know how they can turn it down)

Emmanuelson (bid accepted at 15m, wont sign the contract)

Zarate (11m bid accepted, wont sign)

Van Persie (tried to get this deal done in the last 4 days of the window. i only had 20m in transfer money available, but i read here a trick about backloading on the appearance fee and then selling before he hits the mark, so after several negotiations the window ended with me offering 20m up front and 70m after 50 games and they were looking for 90m after 40 games.)

Upcoming Concerns
After selling Vaart i made a big gamble on Flamini at 25m for a one year deal. (he would sign nothing else) Im banking on him being willing to re-up his deal, im going to offer it when his morale is superb.

I had to do a five year deal for Barry. He has done fantastic so far in 5 games, but he is on the books for some time. If i can dump him for 10-15m in another 2 season the deal wont be entirely out of whack.

DrFager

question about training....

i read on a FM blog that the key to maximizing the training is to assign coaches to only teach in the area they are strong at. the problem im having is hiring enough coaches to do all of those individual tactics. the board only allows me to have 10 caoches and 8 scouts and thats not enough for every skill... which is also created because......

why do i have more coaches training my youth squads then my senior teams? for some reason a few of my coaches who were not signed on as youth coaches are only listed as youth trainers. weird.

also what is the opinion of Poyet. in real life he seems like a fantastic assistant and a possible top rated head coach. on the game he does not have one rating over 16, which in my newbie mind means he doesnt excel at any one point. granted he has alot of 14's and 15's in a variety of areas but he is not a standout in any area. should i be looking to upgrade him for the game? from what ive read the main thing you need from an assistant is high scores in tactics, judging player ability and judging players potential.

BirdyFC

10 coaches is plenty and you can also use Assistant manager to help out.

Also just offer the guys that can only do youth training new contracts to make them a full coach.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowser Birdy Is A Legend, Birdy Is A Legend, na na na na *clap* *clap* na na na na. He's a low league legend, hes a low league legend, na na na na, na na na na!!

Status: 09/10 Season - Belgian Second League

Hartynips

Maybe a trick to get the lesser teams beaten is one I tried for a while in the Championship with Brum.

I had a 5-3-2 going with the wingback system. I then set my Defend/Attack setting to about 4 notches above ultra-defensive with a counter attack option. I played my three quickest players from my selection of Midfielders and the results were blistering counter attacks and several goals on the break. I found it particularly good against Derby at home and away at Norwich that season, and I beat wigan 5-3 using it too in the second half having gone in at the break 3-2 down.

Its just a case of identifying the teams that play slow stodgy football and drawing them onto you. If you can score 3 times from 3 counters then they get the late goal (Which tbh seems to happen alot in my games) it wont matter. Late goals are also caused by bad concentration levels in your DC's or DM's so check that out it may be worth bringing fresh faces on in the last 10 minutes or so in those positions.

DrFager

thanks harty! i will try your system tonight.

whats frustrating is im not identifying whats the kink the chain. last night i got knocked out of the Carling Cup by Stoke in the first round. Im currently standing 9th in the Prem but only 3 points seperates 9th from 2nd.

im now wondering if my problem is not just my defending, but my inability to consistently score.

from 14 games against the Big Four i now have 7 wins and a draw. not shabby and my starting lineup is...

------------------Huntelaar-----------------
----Gilberto----Barry----Flamini----Borree----

---Bale---King---Koboul---Woodgate---Hutton

------------------Lloris----------------------

Generally I start with a defending mentality, narrow width, deep back line, counterattack

What happens in these games either i keep them nil-nil at half, then i adjust my mentality to normal and turn off counterattack. or i go to those settings as soon as a go a goal behind. then very late in the second half i increase the tempo to quick, and set the mentality to all out attack and waste time rarely.

generally if Lloris is on his game, i can wreak havoc late with this approach. when he is not on the mark then im in trouble and a draw is the best thing i can hope for.

what i find with lesser teams if i go with this approach is i dont create enough chances on the other end, and an early goal makes me have to abort the style much quicker. against a big team ill stay with the tactic much longer because frankly my only goal for the first 60 minutes or so is to keep the game close or not get blown out.

when I go to a 4-4-2 im not neccesarily creating any more chances and i obviosuly have less cover in the back. i had some slight success with a 4-4-2 diamond shape but i find my midfield gets overrun much easier and lesser teams get more possession and thus create more opportunities for a fluke goal.

ive only been playing the game for 10 days now, so i should be expecting some growing pains, but it pisses me off to no end to watch me field a significantly better team and watch them lose.

also, Downing is a useless player ive come to the conclusion. his lack of pace all but garuntees his ineffectiveness. if he cant beat anyone to the ball his crossing skill are pointless. ive had better results using a 32 year old Gilberto on the wings. at least he can command an area of the field with his tackling and defensive skills.

BlackSunEmpire

This site has give me a heap of knowledge, I just need some slight questions answered. (There may be another Thread which would answer all these).

Starting a new game, does anyone have a list of "Things to do".
My list looks something like this.

1. Determine where each player is best used. I do this by checking their player profile/positions.
This is where my first question starts.
Do you "always" attempt to put the player in the position where they are considered "natural"?
How do farrows affect their position?
If I have a "natural" AMR but I place him in the MR where he is "competent" with a farrow, does this now mean he plays in his natural position sometimes?

2. Set up a formation that hopefully suits my team. I design two main formations, one away and one home. I've moved into individual instructions for each position, this will allow my subs to play in the same style (I am assuming).
Been reading a heap on formations, still having problems with determining what works. Currently have two games going, one Watford and one Ipswich. (I get bored sometimes with my team.

3. Set up a training schedule, once again this is slightly individual. CD, def, mids, wingers, forwards, GK, DM...
How do I save these training schedules so I DONT have to redo them each new game?

4. Scout new players and coaches.
Is there a way to have a list of already scouted players? aka save my shortlist and use them from game to game? I get sick of looking for players like Saivet, Paitti, Mota, Torje, Lualua..... each game I start up.
.................................................. .......................................

That is basically how I start a new campaign, just wondering if there is a thread which helps with this?

Is there a thread where I could post my team and get some help with formations?

Thank you in advance for any help.

Redhawk

For both your training schedules and your shortlists you can EXPORT them i.e. save them in the 'Sports Interactive' folder for future use. For your training schedules, go to your training players module, click on the drop-down menu 'schedules' and select 'edit schedules'. From there you can export your training schemes, so that you can IMPORT them in a new game.

The same is true with your shortlist - go to you shortlist. In your bottom right there is a drop-down menu. save your shortlist first, then export.

Arrows - forward arrows mean the position a player runs to while you are in possession, a backwards arrow indicates where they will move to when you are not in possession. For example, your fullbacks will push forward when you are attacking or your defensive midfielder will drop back to help out defence when you aren't in possession. Of course player instructions impact on this also.

Natural and accomplished aren't too far apart. The MR example you gave will work 99/100. Players can sometimes play in a position they are not trained for, but usually only positions that are fairly related to their natural/accomplished positions. For example, I have a player who I had to play at AML once, even though he was an AMR and untrained for AML, and he ended up playing there the rest of the season, he played so well.

There is a whole forum dedicated to tactics and training. It's called.... 'Tactics and Training'! You can find it on the main forums menu page.

Hope that helps.