AdZV

Hi, Ive been playing FM since 2006 and CM the couple of previous years before that. I've had great success in each game eventually finding myself the right tactic.

In FM2008 I just can not find a decent tactic to work. I mea im playing freindly and I try to use my tactics to keep the ball and slowly work up the pitch. So short passing slow tempo and narrow width. But I find myself having 30% possession. so i thought to myself I need to close down get the ball but then it seems both my CM's just want to close down 1 player. I have eventually cut this down to a minimal.

To cut a long story short im leaking goals and losing possesion all the time against teams I should be dominating. I'm Liverpool and these teams i play pre season friendlys are easily beatable.

I cant seem to set up a good partnership or get a good run going. I personally think I cant find the right balance. I've had a good read on tactics on these forums and stil no result.

So I was wondering if anyone else has had similiar problems and how did they correct them.

Any suggestions please.

paul09

Hi
Im really strugling too,ive gone Everton and dont know whereim going wrong ive played champman since i was very young and like a challenge but this game seems too hard

AdZV

Well I'm glad its difficult because its something new then but I just need putting in the right direction.

Any suggestions????

ntfc

If you are basing this on the pre-season then RELAX! Pre-season is for two things: Ensuring players are fit and have enough match practice and to buy new players and organise your team.

AdZV

I was using pre - season to describe how bad i'm playing. This form continues onto the league and CL etc.

The Fox69

I seem to be strugglin abit too, the formation I used on 2007 game just doesnt seem to be workin for me in the new game, can anyone tell whether using high tempo & having attacking mentality works or not?

Gandelf The White

The main problem that people face in these forums is this - YOU THINK TOO MUCH!!

Step1) Go to your tactics screen and selct a formation - ANY formation!

Step2) Set everyone in your sqaud to the pre-set player instructions (if you want them to adhere to the team instructions for certain actions simply untick the box). This will give you more of an overview on how to get the best out of players in those positions.

Step3) In your team instructions leave everything as normal.

STAGE ONE COMPLETE! THIS IS THE BASE YOU WILL NOW WORK WITH
Ok your past the first hrudle, all you need to do now is tweak it here and there.

PRE SEASON
Many people say that pre-season is only there to ensure your players are fit. This is true - to a point. It is also the perfect time to work on perfecting your formation.
Using the settings you have already set up start a game:

15-mins in - STOP(Pause)
Go to the stats screen and try to make out whats happening. Check the action zones and see which parts of the field the problems are, then look at your players stats in those particular positions and adjust accordingly (E.g. if they haven't completed most of their passes make them pass slightly shorter, not enough tackles -raise closing down a few more notches.)
IF YOU FIND YOU HAVE TO CARRY OUT THE SAME INSTRUCTIONS/TWEAKS ON MULTIPLE PLAYERS SIMPLY ADJUST THE OVERALL TEAM INSTRUCTIONS INSTEAD. EVENTUALLY YOU WILL BUILD UP A PICTURE OF HOW YOUR TEAM PLAYS BEST AND YOUR TEAM INSTRUCTIONS WILL BEGIN TO EVOLVE.
(The tip to adjusting these instructions is patience. Don't dramatically move the slider, instead move them slowy, perhaps once or two clicks, three max, and see what effect it has. if it doesn't work go back and adjsct it again)

30 Mins in - Stop again
Carry out the analysis/adjustments again. Though this time look at the oppositions stats also. They should have had time to settle into the game now so look for patterns in their play. Has one of their midfielders done all the passing? If so, get someone from your team to mark him tightly (possibly use opposition instructions to show him onto his weaker foot). Has one of their defenders dominated tackle wise? Perhaps you should bring on a faster/more skillfull player...etc.

Half Time
Analyse again. Though this time take "match stats" into greater consideration. Do you have a high percentage of tackles won? Fouls? If no, adjust accordingly (Tackle harder/less, close down more/less - remember, steady does it).

Last Resorts
Sometimes, no matter how much you tweak and change your team just still wont seem to click...there's just something missing. This is were the "big three" come in. Counter Attack, Target Man, and Playmaker. Sometimes this is all that was needed and you'll be slapping yourself at how easy it was to fix. These usually work best with less able teams who are finding it difficult in the middle of the park in particular. Allocating a targetman in particular can vastly improve the teams performances, though it is very important the you choose the right personnel and get the supply right.

**Such a method can take a while to get right though, which is why i suggest you use it during pre-season where there are alot of unimportant games.

Summary
The point i'm trying to prove here is that you cannot simply make a tactic, knowing what you want to acheive and expect it to work. Tactics have to be developed over a period of time, and according to the performance of the opposition. You could be trying to keep possession against a team that you really don't need to and, if you were a little more direct, would probably rip them to peices. Obviously you might want to play a certain way (e.g short passing) However you can't know how short to make that passing unless you actually play games and tweak it slowly until it becomes affective. This is what i mean about thinking too deeply. Just play the game using the last effective formation and only adjust you tactics if necessary. You might "want" to play a specific way but what if you dont "need" to. A win's a win right?

Thats all i can give you at the moment, if anyone wanted specific tips on where they might be going wrong, simply post some screenies and ill see if i can help. Hope you found this useful... (took long enough to bloody write)

sv_darlo

Im glad to discover im not the only one struggling initally with FM2008 - my particular problem is that im absolutely haemorraghing goals no matter how finely i tune my defensive tactis & adapt them to individual opposition, or how defensive i play. my goalkeepers all seem to be utterly dreadful (best averaging 6.6, conceded 19 in 9) i can partially ascribe this to bad players, but as coventry in the championship the defence isnt THAT bad.

I have tried as well to be more adaptive to the situation as it develops as the previous poster suggests but so far no joy. i shall keep on tinkering.

rashidi1

Gandelf makes a lot of sense. You need to keep things simple, and only attempt the really intricate small things once you get used to things. And the presets do work well, I'm surprised so many people refuse to use them

AdZV

Thanks alot for the excellent feedback Gandelf. It does make sense and I will report back with results.

Thank You.