retired_kellyk

Fundamental FM2008 - Bootroom Basics


Disclaimer - The opinions listed below are my own and in no way constitute any official point of view. These are the general principles I play by and should be construed as such.

Football Manager is a very basic game, Its early days yet. A lot of the information contained within is stuff we do in the game including training and hunting for the right coach. These are some of the stuff I see so far and most of you will probably notice that has some looks different from 07.

This is my attempt at helping others speedtrack the learning curve of the game.


1.0 - General Principles

There are plenty of formations you can base your tactics on but there are some things you need to bear in mind before you start, and this involves managing your expectations.

<LI>FM2008 is a simulation and as such it has to be treated that way.

The game does not aim to accurately replicate tactics in the real world. Your job is to use concepts of football and translate them into the game, simple concepts like 5 vs 5 which actually means 5 men defense and 5 men attack can work, so can 6X6, but that'snot all. You can even create tactics that are on paper a 442 but attack like a 424. Knowing that this is a game is the key, hoping that real models can be replicated should be avoided, they can to some extent only. Some basic stuff and the differences between FM2007 are FM2008 are covered next.

The 2D Screen isn't a 100% accurate reflection of the match engine and we need to accept that, its just so hard to programme every little nuance into a pixel! So pay attention to commentary and to match stats and to action zones. If 2D is the only criteria you have to judge a tactic by, you may find problems later.

What's interesting in FM2008

Tactical Approach

Tactical Formations
<LI>The formations that seem to be favoured in this game include four man backlines, that's apparent and they are the easiest ones to start with.

Basically, my approach of playing the game is still relevant for FM2008. Set up your mentalities, player instructions and closing down instructions for all tactics, and then adjust your dline, width and tempo for home and away matches. You can also use sliders more easily by setting whole groups on one mentality.

This approach still works and for me it means I can create 1 formation use it home and away with just those slider tweaks. Before we head into tactical creation, I think I should take some time to cover stuff that's new in the game or plays differently.

<LI>Pitch size New* - There are various pitch sizes in the game, but in the premiership it seems fairly common to find yourself on a congested pitch. These kind of pitches are harder to break down apparently. The key lies in the flanks, if you are playing with wingers, getting them behind the fullbacks is the key. If you want to break through the centre, then consider the use of holding midfielders. These force the AI to come out leaving gaps behind.

<LI>Judge a tactic not by the number of shots it gets you on target with, but the kind of shots. Bear in mind whether its a home/away match and the weather. Effects of weather appear to be more apparent in the game now. Closing down high on muddy pitches won't work well. Furthermore the 2D engine is only a version of the game ingame truth, not a perfect one at that.

Judging Players -

<LI>Scout reports are good to read, if they give you information about a potential thread like a hitman. Whatever it is do your homework,or if you find a player harassing your backline by finding easy through balls, get him manmarked with the DC closest to him. Be careful though, personally I prefer not using this option unless its absolutely necessary, the AI does swap strikers. Coaches also provide scout reports on your own players for a change and let you compare how they stand in a team.

<LI>Choose the right player.
There are some undeniable attributes that are critical in the game, one of which has to be determination. For me that's easily the attribute that will save your side when you are a goal down with 5 mins on the clock. A team will fight to the end with this attribute.

<LI>Gel factor - When introducing new players to a team, be aware they make take a few games to settle in. And if you in the habit of trying out different formations then it may take longer. The best way to approach this is to use a stable formation such as a 442 or a 4132. Both formations are fairly solid and allow you to bleed players. Note too that morale has a knock-on effect on performance, bringing lots of players into a new squad will increase the time it takes you to put together a winning formula. Try to change tactics only when your squad's morale is good.

<LI>Rotation policy - If you plan to rotate a lot, be aware of the positions they are playing in. Key positions are important and may take players a longer time to settle into


Your right hand man or your curse?- the Assman

<LI>Tactics are only half the work.
You also need to concentrate on morale issues. A team with poor morale can make a good tactic look bad. And a team with superb morale can sometimes make a good tactic look fantastic. So understand morale and how you can use it.

<LI>The assman option is not something I like very much when you go to match flow there is an option to set
team talks based on what the Assman recommends. Take it with a pinch of salt. For example, I had just taken over at liverpool. Being an unknown manager it would be reasonable to expect morale having on knock-on effect on performance. The assman recommended "none" when we won a game 1-nil. Choosing that option did not make my players happy. In FM2007 it was reasonably easy to get your team to go on a massive winning streak from morale boosts, not so now.
Having said that if you do want an Assman to help you out, then choose wisely. One who is determined,has tactical knowledge and motivational skills is a must. Then he can give team talks and you can supervise by finetuning it here and there. I find that this actually works better. I've tested this feature out and it works much smoother than in 07.


<LI>Morale effects take longer to kick in especially when you are managing a big side, big wins in preseason may not necessarily give you the same early season boost as before, so ease your team into playing offensive football. Make sure your defense is watertight before you start punching for holes higher up the pitch. I needed an undefeated run of 10 games before seeing morale boosts, and even that depends on how you manage teamtalks as well.
Choose the right captain well and you could also see a morale boost early on as a popular players choice is exercised. To do this make sure that the player has been at the club for more than 2 seasons and is not younger than 21.


<LI>Teamtalks and media affect morale, there is an option to use the Assman in the game, but individual talks are still the best if you want to get the extra boost. For instance if a team is only leading by a goal, and you are expected to beat them;then its fine to tell them what a disappointment they are. But, if you do that with someone who has poor morale, chances are he is going to perform much worse.

<LI>Confidence New*
Overall the feedback has improved its not perfect, but it has moved in the right direction, to make matters more interesting there is a new feature called Confidence. This feature gets feedback from the club spokesman to find out what the fans think of your last few matches. Its certainly a good feedback device.Even when you win 1 zero and had like 20 shots at goal the fans notice and the feedback actually indicates that they were happy with the chances created.

Its an indicator of where you are going wrong or right.More often than not it will tell you what you might already know. More importantly it also gives you an indication of how your tactic is faring. You also get advance warning of a player who they are concerned with due to bad performance. This can be a good barometer of how your tactic is faring. It will also give you feedback on players if they are playing well in your side, or players who are beginning to look problematic.


Some new features in the match engine

<LI> Overlapping runs- finally here. Fullbacks will do overlaps much more easily than before. To get overlaps, make sure FBs are on FWRs often, they should also have at least a normal mentality. Overlaps happen more effectively when you they try to work the ball with MCs instead of the wingers, who tend to bunch up with them higher up the pitch. To get them to overlap set runs to often and give em mixed RWB instructions.

<LI> Closing down has changed somewhat, I'll cover this in more detail in another thread perhaps. For now, understand that a player will close down when he thinks the ball is in a danger zone. So even if you set someone to 1 or 20, they will still close down, the question is when do they start. Its hard to see the effects of closing down in the game when you set players up with 1 and 20. Look out for areas of the park when they start. These are affected by mentality and the defensive line as well. In general the higher the closing down the closer to the opposing goal CD will begin

Generally you just want to remember some simple things..if you want your midfield to drop back and support your backline give them low to medium closing down and a normal mentality.

<LI>Try through balls. In FM2007 I found that the best settings for this used to be mixed for all players. For FM2008 its especially important to apply this to the team you are managing, if you are a weak team in a weak league, then the best thing is to play simple football and keep this instruction ideally to one or two players you want to see orchestrate play, that way you keep the ball better. In better teams the preferred setting is mixed. Bear in mind setting it to full for fullbacks is not recommended I've seen a fair misplaced passes.

<LI>Forward runs hasn't changed, in fact its become better. There are more intelligent uses of space.There's a lot of running into channels, you may want to take this into account if you want to play through the middle. The use of an AMC who can hold up and distribute balls in the opponents third can be a weapon.

<LI>Dribbles are happening more often now, you will see wingers attempt and actually beat the fullbacks with dribbles, this is nice to see as there is always a shimmy and a change of pace. This says a lot about the kind of players to choose.

<LI>Long kicks from keepers - Keepers can get some good distance on kicks, which mimics real life. If you have a good centreforward with pace, jumping, first touch. You'll be able to get quite a few goals.

<LI>Freeroles. I used to set it up in such a way that my wingers would drop back. I notice that free roles are best used even more sparingly than before. Any observations on this are more than welcomed.

<LI>Defensivel lines seem to be more apparent now, if a team is playing with a high defensive line you will notice your defenders actually try and win the ball higher up the pitch sometimes. You will also see more closing down happening higher up as well. In general you want a high defensive line if you want to play attacking football that emphasizes pressure. Defensive football and defensive lines will work together. A defensive line may not necessarily be a straight line either, with it higher up for Fullbacks than for DCs.

Width does not affect defensive line; defensive line takes effect when you're defending in your half. Defensive line is also linked to team mentality. Playing deep and having a defensive mentality should prevent you from being exposed to fast strikers

If you're going to make a defensive tactic then you shouldn't be looking at high closing down up front, but low closing down and a deep dline coupled with defensive mentalities, with perhaps 3 players on attacking mentalities. You can also play a game which takes the grief to the AI, by playing a high dline with high closing down up front.Of course as some of you know I was never one to be defensive

<LI>Slow tempo unlocks lots of tight defenses. The higher the tempo is the quicker they will move the ball around. Slow tempo implies patient build-up and this works hand in hand with mentality



Tactical Training is important for all players

Identify which are the key areas they should focus on and make sure they are at least high or intensive. Overall training intensity should never be intensive, This could cause players to pick up injuries. Look at a players overall satisfaction to see if the schedule works for him. Don't forget to assign coaches for youth training as well.

Note that at lower league levels since you have limited coaches to avoid having too many training schedules as this will spread the coaches too thin and dilute their effects. Since fitness and pace are very important for low level football, make sure their aerobic training and tactical training is good. You can get away with the majority of midfielders on one schedule, the defenders on another and the strikers on one. That way,including the keepers you should have at least 4 schedules.

The next step is trying to figure out getting the best out of coaches, I've tested these out on FM2008, I may not be entirely 100% right but I know I'm close, incidentally you'll notice things are a bit different from FM2007.


Player Development

covered in the FAQ


Players

As a general rule I want my players to have the vital skills there first. For premiership players I tend to start looking for those around 15 I do however have to make certain trade offs, when that happens I focus on balance. So if a defender has to forgo pace, I then look for high anticipation and positioning. If a striker has poor pace, I look for strength, decisions and passing.

General Guide -
Premiership attributes around 15
Div 1 - 13
Div 2 - 11
Div 3 - 10
Div 4 and below - 9

So for example you want to evaluate your defender vs the rest. You should ask yourself what the best defender in the league is at around.Generally the best will have them at least 15 and higher for the vital stats. So you should use that as a yardstick. And in the conference the best player there could have attributes of 9 and above for key attributes... etc etc..

I generally have a base template for my team, which I will recommend as the best approach. To have a base template...identify what your defining characteristics of your team should be. Do you want to play like Wimbledon of old or be a hardworking Evertonian? For me I choose hardwork so all players must have at least 12 and higher for hardwork, determination. The attacking pack must have at least 15 for pace.

retired_slayerbing

you going to sticky this? Very good reading. :thup:

retired_kellyk

I don't know just yet...lets see how things go.

retired_nsample

rashidi1- for how long have you been playing 08 and at what level of team to arrive at these suggestions? Does all of this apply to lower league teams?

retired_kellyk

I've been testing it for a while now, played it with Blackpool, west ham and liverpool Like I said before these were my impressions based on the builds I was using. The build that went into the new demo is different, but the principles remain the same.

For instance the defensive line is FACT, the attributes level I listed haven't changed since god knows how long, as far as the rest go..everything there is my impression thus far. Its open to discussion as nothing is cast in stone. At least its a starting point. Compared to FM 06 and FM 07, I'm back to getting a running start. Furthermore some of these impressions I have especially defensive side of it came after discussing it with PaulC.

retired_kellyk

Forgot to add, finished 1 and half seasons with Blackpool, one with liverpool and was halfway through with the Hammers top of the premiership when the demo was released. Incidentally this is not meant for the seasoned pros like yourself whom I fully expect to challenge this , which I'd love . Its for the noobs who're picking the game out for the first time and had so much trouble.

That's the reason for the FAQ and this. I'm confident my thoughts will evolve as they always do.

retired_nsample

As I said in the FAQ thread, that one is a terrific piece of work which will be uaseful for all users and help to keep this forum sane.

retired_nayelita

greaaaaaaaat post. exelent reading while downloading the demo and preparing. to bad i got work in 2 hours..... AIK solna-GAIS göteborg.

u are a rock rashid sharing this

cheers

retired_Cat1123

First impressions are not good and all i've done is check out the West Ham player stats.

Are these going to be the finalised stats for the full game release?, if so i've already saved myself £25.

Thanks SI

retired_maverick8

There'd no way Agbonlahor has more pace than Ronaldo!

First Impressions - not bad, I don't like the skin but that's ok. I can't say I'm blown away by the game but it's early days.