retired_starke

So I picked Forest for this and so far:

Won all 5 pre season games.
won first 5 competitive games (4 league, 1 cup).
Lost last 3 games.

This is where things always get away from me - I'll probably lose almost every game from here on in until I'm sacked.

Although there are many guides here, they're spread across thousands of posts and it's too difficult for me to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I shall just persevere for a while and see.

retired_elpata

So I picked Forest for this and so far:

Won all 5 pre season games.
won first 5 competitive games (4 league, 1 cup).
Lost last 3 games.

This is where things always get away from me - I'll probably lose almost every game from here on in until I'm sacked.

Although there are many guides here, they're spread across thousands of posts and it's too difficult for me to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I shall just persevere for a while and see. </BLOCKQUOTE>

The unofficial tactics bible thread at the top of the forum is the best starting point to learn imo

retired_starke

I'll try again but there's so much to read!

Since losing those 3 games, I've now won 5 in a row =P All with my main striker injured!

Not sure how to look at it yet. I could look at it as winning 15 out of 18, but I still feel a bit nervous about each match!

retired_curly123

Just like to further develop a point Cleon made about tactics and starting new games.

I also find when talking to people, my cousin for example who plays FM quite a lot, that when their tactics don't work they also tend to start new games and then make a new tactic in the new game.

Why not make a new tactic and use it in your current game rather than wanting to have the perfect tactic from the very beginning of a new game?

I guess my point is that a good manager doesn't just give up, he perseveres and develops and adapts his tactics until he is successful. Plenty of times I have started poorly, changed things around and ended up improving enough to win things.

Tactic building is a process, I would recommend not expecting to find the perfect set up at the very beginning of your games, just keep trying and eventually with a bit of work you can get things working a treat.

retired_starke

I am now just 8 points away from clinching League 1 with Forest, and my tactic is holding up very well. 7 games to go and on a rich vein of form.

It's not a killer tactic (won 33 out of 52 games) but it's the most fun I've had on this game for a year or more.

Cheers folks, glad I gave it one last shot.

retired_alisham007

hmm, very insightful opinions there by all of you.

i would categorize myself as one of those who download tactics and try to adapt my team to it.

it was not always like that, when i started cm in the old days where i didn't know a forum existed i played with the settings and i didn't mind losing, just played for fun.

i would love to create my own tactics etc and believe me i've tried, but it's really frustrating when it dosnt work and you're not sure why.

i've read most of the "guru's" articles around here and i find them very interesting and helpful but when i try to implement them, somehow they do not work as well. i believe this is what cloen was getting at, in trying to make someone else's ideas work for you.

i would definitely try working on a tactic soon, but it's very time consuming.

haha but with all the ups and downs, i still love the game.

retired_mc78cj98

I am and have always been at developer of my own tactics, allthough I find that the "art" of making a consistant tactic for CM/FM hvad gotten very much harder over the years.

I have followed these forums for a long time, and have tried a lot of the different things suggested here over the years. The one thing that have always worked for me is following the KISS principle, Keep It Simple Stupid.

I always build a tactic to suit the players in the squad, and when I purchase new players, I look for players that will enhance or play to the strenghts of the formation. I have been known to switch my formation to suit a new player if he is a worldclass player. Right now I am Everton (a first) and my tactic is a 433/451 build around Cahill and Yakubu, who has 12 goals in 10 games and Everton is first in the league beating Man U 2-3 at Old Trafford.

As I mentioned the KISS principle is that any new formation will start by having the indivdual and team sliders kept fairly normal. ANd then I adjust a slider here and there and see what the result looks like before adjusting something else. It works very well if you are patient, and it has the plus effect, that if something goes wrong you can adjust it back.

So in all in all my advice is KISS....

retired_aries

I could'nt agree more. I tend mostly to play LLM games as I like to see just how far I can go with the Altrincham's or Bognor Regis' of this world

I would have thought that using a tactic posted on the forums that's a wonder for Milan or Man Utd, is not going to have the desired impact on say, Burton Albion...

... it's also interesting when browsing the forums that you rarely see a tactic that works wonders for LLM managers. (Bear in mind this is since FM2007, as we all know the tactics of the past such as Diablo worked for anyone.)

It's true to say that both in RL and in game, you have to work with what you've got and adapt your tactics to get the best out of the abilities your players DO posess, rather than hoping a wonder tactic for a top club will miraculously work with a lower league team.

Basic principals of football apply throughout though and it's usually no surprise that dispite having world-class players available, even the most successful big clubs, mostly do well because they are proficient at the basics of the game.

I love FM2007...

... because it´s changed in one important way. For all the previous games, way back to the original CM (even a couple of the "new" CM games under the Eidos banner - that have a face only a mother could love!! :p ), there´s always been a "cheat" tactic. I´ve played all the games down the years and am embarraced to admit that even though I´ve had success with some of my own creations, I usually ended up switching to a "cheat" tactic if things were´nt going to plan.

Why? Because they were there.

I´ve yet to try or find anything like Diablo-style tactics that work and i´m enjoying the game more for it. I´m learning more about the game by working with the tactics and get more satisfaction when I do achieve success.