A Dummies Guide To Finding Santiago...

Santiago. Wang. Igor. Ponti. Pinho. Lockwood. Sangala. Ashton. Giardi. Klarin. Smuk. Borja.

Regen Spotting - It's an Art Form.

 

The thrills, spills and glory of the worlds favourite simulation game keeps us coming back after crash dumps and despair. Although there is just a fraction between success and failure in our fictitious paradises' - and that fraction is regens.

 

Finding the next best thing on Football Manager isn't hard, nor too technical but as I said - it's an art form that needs learning...
 

The Five Step Plan...

 

1. First of you need to set reminders on each 'regen birthdate'. All you need to do is click on the date tab - click 'Create a Note with a reminder on this day' and then input your data! Here are all of the regen dates. *make sure you set the note to recur yearly*


 

 2. The day is here - you will receive a note! You must now click the globe (on the top bar), then select world and then, finally, transfers.  

 

3. Next to where 'Transfers' is written in green text there is a drop down menu - click it and select 'Youth Intake'.

 

4. You can now see all of the regens produced in the current month - you can narrow it down by selecting 'Show Filters'. 

 

5. Finally you need to look through the profiles and scout any promising prospects - simples!

 

When looking at a players profile it will sometimes be blank, if so this is how I decide if they're any good.

 

High Rep Team - Low worth = don't bother.

High Rep Team - High worth = Scout.

Middle Ground - Scout.

Low Rep Team - High worth = Scout.

Low Rep Team - Low Price = don't bother.

 

Santiago. Wang. Igor. Ponti. Pinho. Lockwood. Sangala. Ashton. Giardi. Klarin. Smuk. Borja.

 

You can find them now...

 

What Does It Do? - The Wide Target Man

By Luke - The Football Manager Addicts and Luke's Stories of An FM Addict

Before I get going today I'd just like to apologise for not blogging much recently; I just haven't a had chance to spend some time on one!

Welcome to thee eighth blog of 'What Does It Do?'! My blog series was set up because I had been getting a growing number of requests to talk about how tactics work on Football Manager and insights into what I'm thinking when I'm making my wacky formations!

Today I'll be talking about 'The Wide Target Man'...

What is it?

 

A 'Wide Target Man' is basically a big striker who has been shifted out into the wide area's to terrorise a small full-back.

 

The idea is that they stick right on the flank of choice, near the defender in question; hold up the ball and play it onto the onrushing forwards (or midfielders).

 

A well known example of a WTM in use would be Romelu Lukaku against Arsenal. Roberto Martinez, current Everton gaffer, deployed his powerful striker on the right so he would face up against the often timid "Nacho" Monreal. (The Match I Speak About...)

 





Miles will love you!

 

Miles Jacobson (Studio Director at FM) is a Watford fan - take that as you will - and a player he seems to mention a lot is Troy Deeney; my ultimate WTM!

 

Troy Deeney, and all other players with similar attributes, is such a good Wide Target Man is that he is:

1. Reasonably quick,
2. Strong,
3. Good in the air and
4. Work hard.

Those 4 attributes are all that you really need for a Wide Target Man to be successful!

Troy Deeney - Why not!?

 

 Applying the role!

 

Using a WTM isn't difficult at all - there are only two things I recommend you do...

1. Instruct your team to 'Clear To The Flanks'
2. To play with a poacher

The reasoning behind this is that you can use this role in practically any shape and be successful!

 

That's all for now I'll be back next Monday at five!

Before I go. If you want to keep up to date with all things AYO, FM Lord Chris and me: go and like or subscirbe to our other ventures!
 

AYO - https://www.youtube.com/user/AYardOut

FM Lord Chris - http://fmchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/team-fa-england.html

Luke - https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lukes-Stories-of-An-FM-Addict/1460077947553932

Our Joint Page - https://www.facebook.com/TheFMAddicts?ref=hl

 

What Does It Do? - The Sweeper Keeper

By Luke - The Football Manager Addicts and Luke's Stories of An FM Addict

Welcome to the seventh blog of 'What Does It Do?'! My blog series was set up because I had been getting a growing number of requests to talk about how tactics work on Football Manager and insights into what I'm thinking when I'm making my wacky formations!

Today I'm going to talk about how to deploy a 'sweeper keeper'!

Football Manager's Definition!

 

'The Sweeper Keeper aims to perform two roles, those of a standard goal keeper and those of an outfield sweeper.

 

Alongside normal goalkeeping duties, he will sweep up balls in front of and wide of the penalty area and initiate counter-attacking moves with direct through balls to breaking players.'

 

My Defintion...

 

A Sweeper Keeper's role is to be a 'keeper and just a little extra! Your SK must be good on the ball, confident, quick (or strong) and be able to read the game.

 

He will have a slightly higher starting point than a usual keeper; it is this that enables him to charge out and break up attacks (much like a defender).

 

Real Life Example's!

 

Well when we're talking about Sweeper Keeper's the conversation starts and ends with Luke James! However, on a more serious note, your next best thing is Manuel Neuer!

 

 

Not only is Neuer a phenomenal shot stopper; he is a fully rounded footballer! He can read the game like a man 10 years his senior, he is very quick and most importantly good on the ball. The German number one is constantly outside his box passing and clearing the ball to help his side. He tends to also crop up with the occasional diving header...

 

In-Game Example's...

 

I find that there aren't many Sweeper Keepers on this years game unless you have one of the best young 'keepers. Courtois, Neuer and Ter-Stegen all perform the role brilliantly but apart from them I'd look at regens (a lot).

 

When To Use?

 

You can use a Sweeper Keeper in any formation or strategy. However they work the best when you have a slow defence: because players will look to play balls in behind!

 



JOB DONE!



That's all for now I'll be back next Monday at five!

Before I go. If you want to keep up to date with all things AYO, FM Lord Chris and me: go and like or subscirbe to our other ventures!
 

AYO - https://www.youtube.com/user/AYardOut

FM Lord Chris - http://fmchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/team-fa-england.html

Luke - https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lukes-Stories-of-An-FM-Addict/1460077947553932

Our Joint Page - https://www.facebook.com/TheFMAddicts?ref=hl

What Does It Do? - The Anchor Man

By Luke - The Football Manager Addicts and Luke's Stories of An FM Addict

Welcome to the sixth blog of 'What Does It Do?'! My blog series was set up because I had been getting a growing number of requests to talk about how tactics work on Football Manager and insights into what I'm thinking when I'm making my wacky formations!

Today I'm going to run through what an 'Anchor Man' can give to your team!

Football Managers Definition...

 

'Sometimes referred to as the 'Water Carrier', the Anchor Man's main duty is to sit in the whole between defence and midfield, intercepting the ball, winning the ball and laying off simple passes to his more creative teammates.

 

Since his key job is to anchor the defence he doesn't venture far from his position either to close down the ball or help his more advanced teammates.'

 

My Definition...

 

An Anchor Man can be right footed and have two left feet as long as he has high mental attributes!

 

An AM's duty is to sit just in front of the back four: protecting them from counter attacks and offering an extra hand in defence. Playing with an anchor man will enable you to play with advanced full-backs because he will sit with your centre-halves until they get back!

 

Offensively an Anchor Man will give you less then nothing. When he gets the ball he'll play it as safe as possible, weather it be long to your striker or short to a wide player.

 

Some Real Life Stories!

 

Anchor Men have got out of fashion a little of late, deep lying playmakers are preferred. However Claude Makélélé championed the role during his career!

 

At Chelsea the Frenchmen was key to Jose Mourhinio's midfield by breaking up their oppositions attacks! The current PSG staff member also carried out his distinctive role at Real Madrid.

 

However today's Anchor Man of the moment is Sergio Busquets of FC Barcelona. He often sits deep allowing the more creative players in his side to flourish!

 

Possible Formation's.

 

I'm a frequent user of the Anchor Man so I have three very different formations to share with you: here goes...

 

4-1-4-1 Counter

 

My 4-1-4-1 is strong defensively but still has bite going forward...



This formation works because it is balanced quite well balanced, because I have few players in the oppositions final third you should play more directly: and we do!

The ball is played quick up-field for the striker to do it alone or set it back to an onrushing teammate. You'll also play with width...

 

4-3-3Lions

 

This tactic took me to the top of the world with England! So it can't be to bad...

 

This tactic is a lot more attack orientated: which you'll like! Your players will look to keep the ball, knock it out wide and score from inside the box.

 

When attacking your anchor man sits back with the two centre backs (a bit like Sergio Busquets).

3-6-1 Controlling

 

This one's a bit different...

 

 

For this tactic to work you must have a high quality team: it's a MUST! Your defence needs to be protected by your two anchor men and they do just that! With this strategy you'll practically have 5 centre backs: and it works!

 

Your attacking players will, again, look to keep the ball...

 

JOB DONE!



That's all for now I'll be back next Monday at five!

Before I go. If you want to keep up to date with all things AYO, FM Lord Chris and me: go and like or subscirbe to our other ventures!

AYO - https://www.youtube.com/user/AYardOut

FM Lord Chris - http://fmchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/team-fa-england.html

Luke - https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lukes-Stories-of-An-FM-Addict/1460077947553932

Our Joint Page - https://www.facebook.com/TheFMAddicts?ref=hl

What Does It Do? - The False Nine

By Luke - The Football Manager Addicts and Luke's Stories of An FM Addict

Welcome to the five blog of 'What Does It Do?'! My blog series was set up because I had been getting a growing number of requests to talk about how tactics work on Football Manager and insights into what I'm thinking when I'm making my wacky formations!

Today I'm going to tell you all about how best to deploy the player role 'false 9'.

Football Managers Definition.

 

'The False Nine, in some ways, similar to a more advanced attacking midfielder/playmaker role, is an unconventional lone striker or centre forward who drops deep into midfield. The purpose of this is that it creates a problem for the opposing central defenders who can either follow them - leaving space behind them for the onrushing midfielders, forwards or wingers to exploit - or leave him to have time and space to dribble or pick out a pass.'

 

My Definition.

 

The False Nine is a striker who is, pretty much, given a free role. The idea of a False Nine is to confuse the defenders: resulting in space to get in behind. However not all F9's are small, extremely talented footballers; they can also be your big bruising target men! If you deploy a more physical striker as a False Nine he will look to flick the ball on to his teammates, again exploiting gaps behind the defence.



Chalk and Cheese...

 

Andy Carrol or Lionel Messi? Sam Allardyce or Pep Guardiola? Tough choice, right? Well that's a decision you'll have to make if you want to use this intriguing role!

 

Here are two tactics I've made incorporating the False Nine...

 

Chalk

My first tactic for you guys is, well, chalky? It'll produce dull, mundane football but will grind you out results...

 

Who can beat a 4-3-3, eh?

This formation (although I've used it very little) works really well! The ethos of this tactic is very much 'smash and grab'!

 

Your players will boot it straight up field to your striker, who will flick it on and then your wingers (should) have a 2 v 1! Defensively your side will also compact and make it very difficult: you'll form a 5-2-3...

 

Cheese

Here's my second tactic...

 

Less Alardyce... More Pep!

This bad boy is more Barca then Stoke! The hole idea of the tactic is that you keep possession: with your False Nine roaming free!

 

Your False Nine and Shadow Striker will complement each other perfectly; one sitting and one pushing on! Your wide men are pretty standard, they will buzz up and down looking to either put the ball into the box or recycle the play!

 

Piece Of Cake!

 

That's all for now I'll be back next Monday at five!

Before I go. If you want to keep up to date with all things AYO, FM Lord Chris and me: go and like or subscirbe to our other ventures!

 

AYO - https://www.youtube.com/user/AYardOut

FM Lord Chris - http://fmchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/team-fa-england.html

Luke - https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lukes-Stories-of-An-FM-Addict/1460077947553932

Our Joint Page - https://www.facebook.com/TheFMAddicts?ref=hl

 

 

 



What Does It Do? - Retain Possesion.

By Luke - The Football Manager Addicts and Luke's Stories of An FM Addict

Welcome to the second blog of 'What Does It Do?'! My blog series was set up because I had been getting a growing number of requests to talk about how tactics work on Football Manager and insights into what I'm thinking when I'm making my wacky formations!

Today I'm going to tell you all about how best to deploy the team instruction 'Retain Possiesion'.

It Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin...

 

This may sound blatantly obvious: when you deploy the 'Retain Possesion' instruction your team will look to keep possession of the ball. It doesn't mean they play nice football on the floor: two different things!

 

It's very important you understand that!

 

How Do You Use It?

 

I find that 'Retain Possesion' works best when you have several triangles in your formation.

 

I can see 8 triangles - What about you?



Having triangles in your formation will enable your players more options when passing the ball, like Barcelona. It will give the player in possession two options: rather then one!

 

I find that it is best to use the instruction in a tactic that is either set to 'control' or be 'balanced'; if your team is set to attack and keep the ball it will get confused!

 

The Pro's

 

Of course there are good points to using 'retain possesion', just look at the success's Barcelona have in real life and on your saves they are usually epic!

 

The best thing about the instruction is that your team will have a high share of the possession. Your midfielders will be confident on the ball and if set to 'hassle opponments' if they do lose the ball they should win it back quickly!

 

You will also be in control of a lot of matches.

 

The Con's

 

However there are issues with the instruction:

 

First of all you will get FM'ed (if you believe in that (I don't)). To put it simply you will have games where you'll have all of the ball, all of the shots and completely dominate but lose 1-0 to Stoke but if a game is heading that way you should change your strategy!

 

You may also have an issue scoring. I'm a fan of possession football, I use it a lot, but my teams tend to score very few goals but let even less in! Although I'm a real life 'keeper so it could just be me being defencive!

 

That's all for now I'll be back next Monday at five!

Before I go. If you want to keep up to date with all things AYO, FM Lord Chris and me: go and like or subscirbe to our other ventures!

 

AYO - https://www.youtube.com/user/AYardOut

FM Lord Chris - http://fmchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/team-fa-england.html

Luke - https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lukes-Stories-of-An-FM-Addict/1460077947553932

Our Joint Page - https://www.facebook.com/TheFMAddicts?ref=hl

What Does It Do? - The Traditional 4-4-2.

By Luke - The Football Manager Addicts and Luke's Stories of An FM Addict

Welcome to the second blog of 'What Does It Do?'! My blog series was set up because I had been getting a growing number of requests to talk about how tactics work on Football Manager and insights into what I'm thinking when I'm making my wacky formations!

Anyway, today I'm going to be running through what the traditional 4-4-2 shape will give you on this years edition of Football Manager!

The 'Traditional' 4-4-2.

At least in my mind, the 'Traditional 4-4-2' features the most mundane role's on the game, the players are also set up in three flat banks and there is usually a big striker and a little striker.



Yep, it's boring but the 4-4-2 can be extremely effective!

 

As you can see it is pretty obvious how this tactic plays: the team will not through everyone forward or keep them all back, they will look to get the ball wide and put it into the box where one of the strikers will knock it down to the other and they will smash it home (at least that's the idea!).

 

The Pro's

 

As you can imagine the tactic above is defensively strong, you wont surrender goal's easily. With this formation your team will also play with a lot of width: you will test both the oppositions full-backs (with one-on-ones) and the centre-halves with your crosses.

 

Your goalkeeper and centre-halves will look to distribute the ball long up field: hence your two central midfielders may become isolated. However the do seem to see a lot of the ball because of snappy wall passes and 1-2's. This means that you'll need two solid CM's but they will need a stand out first touch and brilliant passing.

 

Another strong point of this tactic is that it doesn't take long to train up so it is ideal for any quality of team: Bognor Regis or Bayern Munich, it should do the job.

 

The Con's

 

Unfortunately when operating with  this formation you will have less of the ball then usual. This tactic isn't meant to produce Tik-Taka because there are no triangles on the pitch: therefore it's more geared to latitudinal passes up the pitch.

 

Another concern people have with this formation is that the full-backs contribute very little (especially in the January update). On Football Manager wing-backs work significantly better but if you used them in this formation it can upset the balance of your team.

 

Does It Actually Work?

 

Yes, it does actually work (well most of the time!).

 

I tend to find this tactic most effective with teams that play at a low level: I regularly use this tactic on my Gibraltar save and any other lower league saves I do. Although I have had success with it at the highest level too!

 

Here is how I got on with Trojan Horse United against Steve Kean FC!

  

Two very strong teams for the maiden game of Eclipsing Abramovich Division One.

And the hosts prevail! Trojan Horse out done the 4-2-3-1 of Steve Keen FC.

 That's all for now I'll be back next Monday at five!

Before I go. If you want to keep up to date with all things AYO, FM Lord Chris and me: go and like or subscirbe to our other ventures!

 

AYO - https://www.youtube.com/user/AYardOut

FM Lord Chris - http://fmchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/team-fa-england.html

Luke - https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lukes-Stories-of-An-FM-Addict/1460077947553932

Our Joint Page - https://www.facebook.com/TheFMAddicts?ref=hl