Tactics - Using Common Sense
Average Rating: 9/10 Hits: 748 Submitted: Feb 3, 2008
Whilst browsing the various specialist tactic websites our fm scene has to offer, it is easy to become bogged down, if you will, by the technicalities of this side of the game. I mean - genuinely, who really adds all their player mentalities up, divides by eleven and uses this average one as playmaker? Anyone here bother to consider the 128975684 mentality theorems before selecting one? I know I don’t, and I am guessing I am in the majority.
I’d like to think that we, the not-so-tactically-astute players of the game, play Football Manager in it’s true essence. We may not follow a certain “Bible” to the letter of the law, however we do what the game says on the tin - we simulate football management.
We may not want to comply with the various 'regulations' for making tactics, however we certainly ain't stupid - common sense is the highest skill needed to make a tactic. If you want a player to run forward or get in the channels, you click 'forward runs - often'; if your wingers are fast and skilfull, you instruct them to cross from the byline and run with ball. Likewise, you probably know that alot of width leaves gaps for strikers to exploit on both teams.
The above paragraph is beside the point. I'm not here to patronise you and tell you what to do. My message is simple - apply common sense. You are in no way obliged to manage anyone else's way other than your own. Carve out your own style of play, and make the team work your way. Whatever you want the players to do, there is a corresponding instruction or slider. You need to read into the stuff on screen and, for god's sake, apply common sense!
By writing this, I am in no way undermining the work of such tactical geniuses as Cleon, wwfan, TND, Millie and the rest. I admire their work, and they are pioneers of the game in the way they present their theories to the world. I am a avid user of the RoO mentality theory, and I read most of their framework/theorems articles and guides. Ultimately, though, I will always play my way. Call me stuck in my ways, but my tactics will always have my trademarks on them. These are thought-trains in my mind that are purely mine, and I wouldn't change it for the world. The aspect of using tactics to manipulate your style of play has always interested me. For me, it makes Football Manager the game it is.
We may not want to comply with the various 'regulations' for making tactics, however we certainly ain't stupid - common sense is the highest skill needed to make a tactic. If you want a player to run forward or get in the channels, you click 'forward runs - often'; if your wingers are fast and skilfull, you instruct them to cross from the byline and run with ball. Likewise, you probably know that alot of width leaves gaps for strikers to exploit on both teams.
The above paragraph is beside the point. I'm not here to patronise you and tell you what to do. My message is simple - apply common sense. You are in no way obliged to manage anyone else's way other than your own. Carve out your own style of play, and make the team work your way. Whatever you want the players to do, there is a corresponding instruction or slider. You need to read into the stuff on screen and, for god's sake, apply common sense!
By writing this, I am in no way undermining the work of such tactical geniuses as Cleon, wwfan, TND, Millie and the rest. I admire their work, and they are pioneers of the game in the way they present their theories to the world. I am a avid user of the RoO mentality theory, and I read most of their framework/theorems articles and guides. Ultimately, though, I will always play my way. Call me stuck in my ways, but my tactics will always have my trademarks on them. These are thought-trains in my mind that are purely mine, and I wouldn't change it for the world. The aspect of using tactics to manipulate your style of play has always interested me. For me, it makes Football Manager the game it is.
