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Leroy's Tactical Guide To Attributes Part 1 - Physical Stats
Introduction
Understanding how players perform is a key part of designing an effect tactic in FM2007. In the game, players have attributes ranging from 1-20 in value allow the manager to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a player. These attributes are split into 3 core groups, physical, technical and mental. Attributes do not work in isolation and the key to choosing your tactics, first team, subs and most importantly your transfer targets is to have an understanding of this interaction.
Here is my take on the physical attributes in the game, these are just my views, others my have different opinions, but football is just that a game of opinions.
Acceleration & Pace
The Acceleration attribute indicates how quickly a player can move to his top speed, his Pace attribute.
If your defence has pace and acceleration you will be able to play your defensive line higher up the pitch. Even if the opposition break, you will be able to catch them. However if your defenders lack pace then just play a deeper line so they are in a better position to intercept the attack. If you defenders don’t have acceleration then you will need to play narrower, the gaps will close quicker and that they will not have as far to move to close down the opponent. Acceleration is more important than pace for defenders in my view as you can adapt to a lack of pace at the back though tactics.
Strikers with good pace and acceleration are useful especially when there is the room to run, so pace is more important when playing defensively or on the break. Acceleration is more important in attacking formations because a striker will not have the room to get to his top speed. In these situations off the ball and agility become important so that the striker can use his acceleration to loose their marker more easily and create opportunities. Some of the greatest forwards don’t have great pace, but they make up for it in other ways. Does the term poacher ring any bells?
Wingers and attacking fullbacks are where pace is most important, however if a winger cannot dribble then it doesn’t matter what his top speed is because he cannot carry the ball. Set Run with Ball to rarely or mixed so that they pass the ball to another player and can move into dangerous positions up the pitch ready to cross the ball. Stamina will need to be higher or else these players will tire and become less effective overall...
Strength
The strength attribute is used by all players when trying to win or keep the ball. Strength is useful both in the air and on the ground. It is useful for defenders who don’t have good tackling skills because the player can use his strength to push the player of the ball rather than sliding in reducing the likelihood of a bad challenge. In the air, players with strength may be able to beat better jumpers with lower strength off the ball. Forwards can use strength to hold up the ball, keep possession when under pressure from defenders allowing time for his team mate to get forward to support the attack.
If you find your team is losing a lot of headers or tackles then it maybe because of a lack of strength in your team.
Stamina and Natural Fitness
The Natural Fitness attribute is an indication of how quickly the player will lose condition throughout the course of a match. It also affects how well the player will recover their condition in the days after the match and how quickly the player will suffer from being jaded. Also consider a players age. Young or very old players will not be able to recover as quickly as a player in his prime.
Stamina also effects player condition during a match, but in relations to how much physical work you are asking the player to do. Attacking mentality, quick tempo, forward runs and run with ball will all decrease your player’s condition quicker than normal, how much is determined by the stamina attribute.
Balance and Agility
The balance attribute affects how good your player will be at staying on their feet when being tackled or challenging in the air. Balance is good for players who dribble the ball as they can ride the tackles and leave the challenger stranded. Balance also has a slight affect when challenging in the air especially against strong opponents who will try to knock you off the ball. Players with low balance can be used to your advantage if you set them to run with the ball. When tacked if the player goes down like a sack of potatoes then the ref is more inclined to give a free kick against the other team. Even better if it is in their penalty area.
Agility affects a player’s ability to turn quickly. Agile forwards will be able to turn quickly and if faster than their opponents will give them time to shoot or race past them leaving them stranded. Agile defenders will be able to deal with this better. Don’t forget to consider the condition of the pitch or the weather as this affects agility in a negative way and could be a leveller for poorer teams in the cup.
Jumping
The jumping attribute indicates the maximum height a player can leap off the ground. If a player wants to be effective in the air they will need some bravery, so they do not chicken out of the challenge, strength to hold of the opposing player and balance so they don’t fall flat on their ass. All these factors have an affect on how high the player has actually jumped up to the maximum. Heading has nothing to do with winning the aerial challenge, although if you want the player to do something useful when they do, like score or head it toward one of their team mates then you will need a good heading attribute to control the ball. Obviously, Jumping is important to have for central defenders and target men, also important though out the team when playing a direct style of football.
Note: In FM2007 Height and Weight are additions to the game that have not been integrated yet, they do change over time, but they do not yet have an effect on the match engine. Future versions of the game I am sure will incorporate these into the match engine, but at the moment they have no effect.
Conclusion
Consideration of the interaction between attributes is a key part to success in FM2007, both in terms of tactics and players. By understanding the relationship between the attributes you should be able to ascertain whether your team’s performance was down to them being outclassed, out muscled, out jumped etc or maybe unsuitable tactical decisions. If your players can win the key battles on the pitch you will invariable win the game.
Thanks for reading this guide to the physical attributes; I’ll get around to writing up the Technical and Mental one’s as soon as time permits.
Good Luck
Leroy
06-20-2007, 08:25 PM
Leroy's Tactical Guide To Attributes Part 1 - Physical Stats Post #2
Okay heres part 2 of my guide on player attributes.
Could I make a request to Cleon or rashidi1 to edit the name of this thread, dropping everything after the work 'Attributes' as due to forumers requests I'll be sticking them all in this thread.
Cheers in advance.
06-22-2007, 05:28 PM
Leroy's Tactical Guide To Attributes Part 1 - Physical Stats Post #7
Corners
Corner routines are a good way of adding to your team’s goal tally during a season. Crossing ability is essential and a little creativity and technique would also be useful. If you do not have naturally gifted corner taker in your squad then consider playing the ball short to a team-mate at corners, if this guy has a good crossing ability then they will be able to play the ball into the box.
Also consider the foot of the player taking the corner as this will affect whether the ball swings into or away from the goal. For example don’t use a left footed corner taker on the left if you intend to aim for the near post for the flick on as the player is more likely to go out of play before it reaches its intended target, wasting the chance.
Crossing
As with corners , you will need good creativity and a little technique to increase the quality of your crosses. You will also need someone in the box who can win the aerial challenge. If your crosser can easily get past his marker then set his crossing to be from the byline to increase the difficulty for the other teams defence to handle the cross. If the crosser cannot beat their man, either because he lacks the ability to do so or the opposing player is playing so deep that a cross form the byline would be difficult, play a deeper cross. These will be easier for the opponent to deal with, but at least you will be able to feed you target man.
Dribbling
When you have a player with high dribbling skills you have a real weapon to cut through a defensive line to either create chances or score. Dribblers benefit from having good balance as they will be able to ride tackles and leave their opponents stranded, however even low balance forwards can be useful when instructed to run with the ball in the penalty area. The ability to twist and turn one’s body also help in dribbling the ball, so look for Agility also. Obviously good acceleration is needed to beat your man and pace as well if running from deep. Flair can sometimes be useful in beating your opponent, but only if the tricks come off.
Consider also increasing the freedom of a agile dribbler as they will be able to use the licence to run into better positions. Be careful though, too high and they will be running quite far from there normal position which could be a problem when losing the ball.
Finishing
Vital for any goal scorer, without it you will miss a lot of chances to score. Good finishers also need good composure or they will fail to fire properly under pressure. Lack of technique is another likely reason behind a players inability to score as they fail to strike the ball cleanly.
Free kicks
Being dangerous at free kicks is another good way to add to the goal tally. Free-kick takers will need good crossing, creativity and technique if you want to score from indirect free-kick. Long shots, Finishing and technique will see you score more direct free kicks. Again if you do not have a natural free-kick taker in your team consider offering a short option with a player that can cross or shoot.
Heading
Ball control is vital when winning an aerial challenge. Defenders will be able to clear the ball to a team-mate or safely out of play and forwards will be able to score goals with headers. Heading can be especially useful for converting set pieces. However your players will first need to be able to win the challenge in the air. So they need to have good strength, bravery and jumping skills or good off the ball and anticipation skills to loose their marker and make use of the free header.
Long Shots
Long shots allows you to be able to test the opposition keeper form range and is especially effective if the opposition keeper is a poor shot stopper (Low Reflexes). To be able score form long shots the player will need good finishing to get the ball on target and be have good technique to strike the ball properly.
Long Throws
Long throws can be a useful addition to your arsenal in winning the game. Long throws can travel from the touchline straight to the head of your striker creating a chance to score. Players with good technique and creativity will be even more effective at long throws. If you do not have a player who is good at taking long throws then set them to short in the tactics screen. I tend to use my fullback to take my throw-in because even if you have another player who can take a long throw I would like to keep them in position if the ball is lost.
Passing
Good passing is important if you want your team to play the ball in pretty triangles along the ground. However if you are not blessed with good passing then just play the ball in a direct fashion. Good decisions will your team to play shorter passing at a quicker tempo. Creativity will allow you to be effective at playing killer through balls for you forwards to run onto.
Penalty Taking
To take a good penalty, a player needs to be a good finisher, have good composure and good technique. Event then if the goalkeeper is a good shot stopper (High Reflexes) he may still make the save. Good luck with your pens.
Marking
This is the ability to shadow a player, denying him space a being a general nuisance. To be able to mark effectively you will needed to have good concentration skills to be able avoid being wrong footed by an opponent with good agility or off the ball skills.
Tackling
Without the ability to tackle you will be unable to gain possession of the ball, limiting your opportunities to score and relying on mistakes by the opposition to get hold of it. Tackling is a skill that all of your defenders should possess. Also your midfield should have at least one good tackler to be able to win the ball higher up the field. Tackling is enhanced by aggression and bravery. Strength also is useful as you are able to use it to muscle the player off the ball without having to slide into the tackle. For me though concentration is most important as it affects the timing of the challenge.
Technique
This attribute works in the background enhancing certain other technical skills. It is more useful for your forward players to have good technique, especially if it involves striking the ball cleanly. You are likely to see more use of bending the ball by players with higher technique.
06-22-2007, 09:58 PM
Leroy's Tactical Guide To Attributes Part 1 - Physical Stats Post #8
First Touch
When a player receives the ball, they will need a good first touch to get the ball under control, before they can decide what to do with it. Good first touch is important for all players, but especially strikers who will be able to get shots in on goal by shooting first time. Players with poor first touch will be more prone to being closed down as their lack of skill increases the time they need to do anything.
06-23-2007, 01:36 PM
Leroy's Tactical Guide To Attributes Part 1 - Physical Stats Post #9
Could a mod edit the title of this thread and Leroy's last two posts (so first touch is in the previous one) to keep this thread 'tidy' as it's really really good stuff here that Leroy is writing.
Leroy's Tactical Guide To Attributes Part 1 - Physical Stats 
But it's not written yet, just in my head and on my notepad. 
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