INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTIONS
Individual Philosophy – The heart of my first article was concerned with this and how it is probably the most neglected thing for many managers. I will touch on that again soon but for now I will simply run through the important things to remember for each position.
One thing I would like to point out is the use of creativity… I have a theory that matching a players actual creativity attribute to his individual setting might be a very good way of implementing his instructions. For example if he has an attribute of 11 for creativity then you should give this to him as a creativity instruction – 11. Therefore the link between a players exact creativity attribute and his instruction will allow him to EXACTLY be as creative as he is capable – not too much and not too little.
Please remember this is a theory of mine and as such is not set in stone yet so if you feel it does not work for you then just make sure as a general rule that only your most creative players are given any creativity.
I will not talk about mentality as each positions mentality is dependent on the system you are using for the team – global, RoO, RoT etc etc.
Goalkeeper
If you are playing a higher D/line with offside trap on your players will naturally be further up the field. Therefore a sweeper keeper is a good option so he will clean up any balls lodged over the top of your back line. To set him up thus give him a mentality at about 13-15.
If you are playing away and have a deeper D/line give you keeper a mentality of about 4 - ie, a very defensive minded keeper who will not come out of his line much.
Distribution… If you are playing away and are counter attacking set his passing to direct and look to distribute to a winger so that the break down the wings can be initiated. At home in a more built up match distribute to mixed or to the fullbacks if you are possession conscious.
Backline - Defence
Fullbacks - Fullbacks should not just be seen as defenders. They can also be quite dangerous in terms of getting crossing in for your target men. Therefore at home or whenever you are playing an attacking game getting your fullbacks involved in the attacking process can be highly beneficial.
Creativity… Look at their individual attributes for this. If they are high give them first notch of much when playing at home. Give them about 11-13 away. If they have low creativity then give them the same for this.
Passing… Try to match this with the team width. If the width is wide then apply a more direct passing instruction, conversely a narrow width with a shorter passing.
Closing down… Giving your fullbacks high closing down means that crosses into your area by the AI are going tobe made under pressure and are therefore not going to be as accurate. So giving them high closing down would be advised.
Forward runs… At home giving them forward runs is a good idea as they will get into good attacking positions. When playing away it is best to put this on rarely so that balls aren’t continuously lobbed over and behind them into the space created.
Crossing and where to cross from… When playing away get them to cross from deep so they don’t have to back track when possession is lost. At home crossing can be set up to you though mixed is probably the best bet.
If your Fullback is not good at crossing set it to rarely or he is probably just going to cross the ball away and lose possession.
Centrebacks – Your two centrebacks are one of the most important positions in the team. Set up wrongly these two can be the absolute downfall of your side.
Passing,… Direct passing is best so that you don’t have them passing between themselves too much and end up with interecepted balls flying into the net.
Closing down… It is best to leave these two on very low closing down. This means that they will be effectively becoming a wall which the AI has to somehow navigate. It also means they will not get dragged out of position. They will be relying on other players such as your DMC to do the closing down and pestering of the AI while they provide the last line of defence.
Tackling… Never put them on hard tackling since most of the time they will be in the penalty area and if they draw fouls then you will be looking at conceding goals through penalties.
Marking… If you are playing an offside trap then give them zonal marking with tight so they keep the line better, If they are playing away then man marking might be preferential .
Tight marking… Use this for them combined with zonal.
Of the five slider instructions a the bottom the only one you should consider is try though balls. Put this on mixed or if they have super passing then on often. Forward runs, run with ball, long shots and crossing should all be rarely.
Midfield
DMC - The DMC is an important position as he is being tasked with providing cover for the centrebacks and attempting to win as much of the ball of the AI forwards as possible to safeguard against shots on goal. The attributes you should look for in a good DMC are Workrate, Jumping, Tackling, Stamina and Positioning.
Closing down… The DMC’s role is to hamper the AI and win the ball back therefore his closing down should be high so that the AI is under constant pressure from him. If he is beaten by the AI then at least the centrebacks are still there to deal with anything he misses.
Passing… This should be mirrored with the team tempo and width.
Tackling… if he is excellent at tackling put the DMC on hard tackling however if and when he gets a yellow make sure you drop it back down to mixed.
Marking… Zonal would be best so that whoever comes into his area with the ball becomes a marked man (no pun intended).
Run with ball… Look at his attributes to decide this.
Forward runs… rarely away and mixed at home.
Long shots… Again look at his attributes and make your decision based on that.
Through balls… attributes should be decisive here too… If they are good put this on often otherwise mixed.
Crossing… rarely as a general rule otherwise he will be getting out of position.
AMC – What you need for a typical AMC = Midfield Passing, Off the Ball, Creativity, Technique, Dribbling.
Passing… mixed is best to give him options. He is likely to be one of your better players so therefore the more options he has to put others into good positions thebetter.
Tackling… base this on his attributes otherwise normal is fine.
Closing down… If he is your playmaker give him less closing down so that he is in space more often and is available for passes. Otherwise giving him high closing down will help pester the AI.
Marking – Zonal
Forward runs… best set to mixed. This position will set up others for good attacks but is less likely to do that if he is too far advanced.
Run with ball… Look at his attributes to decide this.
Long shots…as above
Through balls…. Mixed.
Crossing… rarely unless he is good at crossing and then put to mixed.
Wingers – key attributes are - Pace, Dribbling, Passing, Off the Ball, Creativity and Crossing.
Passing… set between short and mixed depending on how good he is at passing.
Closing down… often as he will need to put pressure on AI’s wide players often.
Tackling… If he is good at tackling put him on hard but not many players are that play as a wing so normal will suffice.
Marking… Zonal unless you identify a super winger on the AI’s team in which case man mark him out of the game if possible.
Forward runs… often obviously.
Run with ball… look at his attributes to decide this.
Long shots… another attributes dependent setting.
Through balls… look at his passing skills.
Crossing… Hopefully your winger is good at crossing in which case set to often. If you are attacking or at home set his crossing to be from the byline but if you are away set it to mixed.
Try to always cross to either the target man if you are using one or the best header out of the strikers.
Strikers and Target men – Wwfan wrote a good article on that so instead of regurgitating it I though I would direct you to his sound thread.
http://community.sigames.com/eve/for...7/m/8712035403
SUBSTITUTIONS
The following paragraphs are probably one of the most important parts of this article to take on board.
“Whenever there is a substitution due to tactical change or injury and someone else takes their place albeit temporarily you will need to adjust the instructions for that position so that the incoming player is playing to HIS strengths and not someone elses.
An example of this is The England National Team. Aaron Lennon has pace to burn but is only an average passer and average creative ability. So he will make forward runs often and since he has high dribbling you can let him run with the ball often too. BUT... if you decide to change him for David Beckham for example during the game or before kickoff you will have to adjust the individual instructions because Beckham does not have much pace but he can pass well and is much more creative. Therefore his instructions will be to try through passes often but not to run with the ball since his skill is more to do with the passing and long shots. Since he can cross well you can tell him to do forward runs so he gets to the byline more.”
Tactic building for dummies - A guide for newbies. part 2 
Linear Mode
