***** Official Football Manager 13 Thread *****

New update today

GENERAL

  • Fixed runtime error when viewing other users match in network game
  • Fixed rare FMC crash in February 2015
  • Fixed rare edited Dutch competition crash
  • Fixed rare instance of save not loading with edited db
  • Fixed No Transfer Windows achievement/unlockable completion


GUI

  • Fixed sorting of player training focus columns
  • Fixed display of competition news screen
  • Fixed potential rating of youth candidates displaying incorrectly


MATCH ENGINE
v1339

  • Tuned dribbling generally
  • Fixed issue that counted too many dubious instances of running past opponent
  • Toned down poor decision long shots
  • Fixed some instances of short, under hit passes
  • Made keepers more aggressive in meeting short back passes
  • Slight improvement to defender positioning for short goal kicks
  • Fixed bug that could cause players to try to clear ball from in front of own goal instead of scooping it clear
  • Improved last ditch tackling and engaging of ball close to own goal
  • Slightly reduced defender reactions at lower levels
  • Improved engagement of ball player to reduce effectiveness of running with ball
  • Fixed some instances where defenders don’t engage ball player around own area until it’s too late
  • Further tuned kick and header accuracy
  • Reduced aimless passes into channel from high up pitch
  • Fixed rare instances of dead ball not being delivered correctly into opposing area
  • Further tweaked defending against ball player
  • Fine-tuned run past opponent counts slightly further
  • Made dribbling slightly harder to achieve at higher speeds
  • Made most players a favour more direct passes slightly
  • Small fix to player reactions to loose balls
  • Made defenders more aggressive in terms of looking to tackle ball player
  • Fixed players with low closing down settings doing it so high up the pitch
  • Fixed players set to specifically man mark opponent from leaving him too eagerly to engage ball player
  • Small fix to specific man marking when opponent goes close to opposition d-line
  • Fixed some interceptions being logged as tackles
  • Fixed some instances of players playing opposition onside when defending free kicks
  • Fixed some more instances of players not reacting to loose balls
  • Fixed corner phase of play not ending when ball cleared way outside area, causing some bizarre knock-ons
  • Fixed rare occurrence of play not restarting after a goal
  • Fixed player not trying to turn and shoot when close to goal
  • Fixed rare instances of unrealistically inaccurate kicks and passes
  • Fixed some further issues with players closing down or not closing down properly
  • Fixed some headers being unrealistically unchallenged due to collision avoidance code
  • Fixed too many unrealistically weak penalty kicks
  • Fixed some instances of unrealistically poor first touch
  • Fixed players getting stuck in nets when retrieving ball
  • Fixed rare issue causing keepers not to pick up routine ball near edge of own area
  • Reduced crowding of players going for same ball on some crosses/corners
  • Fixed assigned throw in takers not always being used for throws in attacking areas
  • Further refinements to closing down and engagement of the ball player
  • Some fine tuning of the weighting of short passes
  • Made wide midfielders pay a bit more attention to opposition full backs
  • One minor ball physics related fix
  • Fixed unrealistic dallying on ball
  • Less aimless clearances up field when not under pressure
  • Couple more tweaks to closing down logic
  • Fixed bug where keeper fumbles ball then doesn’t react properly
  • Reduced risky passes across defence line
  • Fix for ball passing through net occasionally
  • Couple more small tweaks to closing down logic
  • Further improved wide midfielder tracking of full backs
  • Fixed goal kicks not being taken short
  • Fixed quick free kicks rarely being taken
  • Fixed bug where keeper moves a long distance to retrieve ball at free kick and is caught out of position when it’s taken quickly
  • Fixed bug where keepers’ don’t always try to dive at attackers' feet
  • Fixed players dropping too deep on some free kicks
  • Fixed a couple of bugs causing keepers not to intercept speculative balls properly
  • Fixed a couple of bugs causing players not to react to loose balls or passes correctly
  • Fixed bug causing player not to attempt jump for ball that he cannot quite reach
  • Tweak to off ball movement
  • Slightly encouraged high reward lofted passes
  • Made players who have just done a burst of running more prone to miscontrol
  • Fixed bug where player may over-run ball unnecessarily
  • Slight toning down on accuracy of more difficult kicks
  • Further fix for incorrect players taking attacking throw-ins
  • Team talk fix relating to overfamiliarity with manager talk
  • Improved challenging for headers on long kicks
  • Fixed nasty knock on relating to players switching off when taking control of ball
  • Fixed some lofted passes being a bit extreme
  • Reduced power of ball bounce off post and crossbar
  • Fixed rare instances of players dallying on ball
  • Yet further tweaks to closing down logic
  • Fixed some instances of keeper short distribution not working
  • Couple more fixes relating to player reactions to ball
  • Reduced some instances of dangerous passes in defensive areas
  • Fixed rare bug where play freezes when two players close to stationary ball
  • Fixed rare bug where quick free kick is decided upon but never taken resulting in deadlock until end of period
  • Fixed unrealistic instances of players deciding to take over receiving ball from team mate
  • Very slight increase in width of defensive unit to try to open play up slightly
  • Fixed bug in pass choice AI that should now result in a bit better decision making
  • Slight reduction in 50:50 challenges for lower aggression players
  • Small ball collision fix
  • Fixed a couple of bugs causing keeper to not try a save
  • Fixed a rare bug causing players to double up on closing down an attacking player prematurely
  • Made first touch a key attribute for sweeper keeper
  • Fixed a bug with players going for the ball too early in the animations
 
simisker said:
4-4-2, direct, fast tempo. Quite wide at home, narrower away. Hard tackling, high pressing. Rigid philosophy.

Centre backs: Limited Defenders; set your fastest one on Cover duty. Set both to be Defensive/Ultra Defensive mentality and no creative freedom.

Central midfield: Ball-Winning Midfielder [Support if he can pass, Defend if he can't]. Team him up with an Advanced Playmaker, one of the few players you can give a bit of creative freedom to. BWM is crucial: needs to be strong, determined, fast and have good tackling and positional awareness. A good BWM will quickly become your cult hero :)

Wingers: Cross from Byline. Train Player Preferred Moves - Hug touchline, knock ball past opponent, get forward often, run down left/right. Keep them wide in Wide Play.

Up top: One AF or Poacher, one DLF or Target Man, if you've got a strong tall one good at headers. Run into channels from Wide Play. Neither should have as much of an Attacking mentality as you may think, as they don't have the Finishing/Composure to be that attacking at that level [if you're getting Clear Cut Chances but not converting them, this is a prime suspect]. Pace and Acceleration important for Poacher/AF, obviously.

Set pieces: really spend some time with the Set Piece creator, as it can reap huge dividends. Got a tall, fast player with good Anticipation, Jumping and Heading? Get him to attack near post at corners, and make sure corner takers are aiming at the near post or 6-yard box with inswinging corners [so your right-footed corner taker takes corners over on the left side of the pitch, and vice-versa].

I should point out that this is all stuff I've learned from FM2012, but the match engine hasn't changed very much from what I can gather, and the principles are all sensible.

HTH :)
Click to expand...

Very nice post, and informative too, thanks very much. You obviously have a lot more experience in game than I do. I am using much the same formation and tactics as yourself funnily enough - although I am using very fluid rather than rigid as I want my wingers to be more creative, and I was under the impression that the very fluid philosophy was best choice in this case. But I could be wrong?

I find tactics the most difficult aspect of the game because it is so hard to judge if a philosophy is working or not due to the nature of the game. There is such a depth to this game it makes it very difficult to master.

Edit: Wow! In my Ayr save, that Noel Makombo-Eboma who is now worth £95k just got third place in African striker of the year awards. He was up there with players worth £22million. Shows you the potential he has!
 
Last edited:
Played 20 - W3 D10 L7. 16th in the BSBN.

I have a decent squad, great midfield, I bossed the last game and lost 1-0. I have lost all 3 games I have played so far against the bottom 2 :(

Not sure what to do, tried a narrow 451 and a wider 442, my strikers simply aren't scoring :(
 
philstanbridge said:
Very nice post, and informative too, thanks very much. You obviously have a lot more experience in game than I do. I am using much the same formation and tactics as yourself funnily enough - although I am using very fluid rather than rigid as I want my wingers to be more creative, and I was under the impression that the very fluid philosophy was best choice in this case. But I could be wrong?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've sacrificed many, many hours [and at least one relationship!] on this glorious damnable series [and all the way back to the original Kevin Toms' Football Manager].

Fluidity and Creativity are two different things; I'll have a crack at explaining the difference, and then I'll answer your question.

Fluidity involves the range of tasks you ask of a player during a match. A winger in a highly fluid tactic will be expected to do the bursting runs and crosses of course, but will also be expected to track back and cover/defend for team-mates that roam. A striker can cover for a defender in a very fluid philosophy. It's Total Football, a la the 1970s Dutch team.

Conversely, a winger in a highly rigid tactic will only be expected to be involved in transitional [turning defence into attack] and attacking moves. They don't track back and defend against opposition players, because the philosophy says "wide defending? That's the job of the full backs". Player roles are clearly defined, and the range of tasks for each player is narrow.

A player's Creativity isn't to do with their role; it's the individual ability to do the unexpected, to see things that less creatively-minded players don't. Cruyff, Gascoigne or Laudrup [all kneel and praise]. Those types. Think of it as a combination of vision and improvisation. You're right - it is a useful attribute for a winger, as they're one of your attacking threat opportunity makers [possibly your only ones, if you don't have a midfield Playmaker]. But a creative player can fit in with both rigid and fluid philosophies; as I said, it's not linked to their range of tasks.

Now: Creative Freedom, in terms of team tactics? That's a subtly different thing. I prefer to think of it as "licence to disobey my instructions". So if, for example, you've told your team to work the ball into the box, and yet you've still got a midfielder attempting long shots... that guy's got too much Creative Freedom [though he may also have the "Likes to shoot from range" Player Preferred Move, or whatever it's called]. Grab his Creative Freedom slider and slide it back a few notches, and he's more likely to do as he's told.

So, back to your question: what instructions should I give my wingers? Well, it depends on their overall skill level.

Non-league wingers aren't likely to have all the necessary attributes to do well in a fluid philosophy. Yeah, they may have double-figure pace, acceleration, crossing and first touch... but if they've got single-figure marking, positioning, anticipation and decision-making attributes, they're going to be a liability when the philosophy calls for them to do defensive duties.

When your players are pretty much double-figures in ALL attributes, then they have the attributes to be competent in a more fluid philosophy. They're simply more versatile in roles that demand greater versatility. With top-flight players, you can - but not necessarily should - create a successful fluid philosophy.

If you want your wingers to be more creative, then yes, give them more creative freedom. Bump that slider up a notch... but not too much! If you've got too many players with too high a Creative Freedom, that's not silky intelligent football, that's chaos - they're all thinking as individuals, not as a team, running round and disobeying instructions.

I seem to recall that in the FM game tips, they say to try and think of Creative Freedom as seasoning, and I think that's a great analogy. A pinch of salt in a bowl of soup makes the whole soup better. A ladleful of salt in a bowl of soup? That's just going to taste of salt. Ain't nobody got time for dat.

The inescapable tl;dr:

- Lower-league wingers: *some* Creative Freedom in a Very Rigid/Rigid philosophy.
- Top-league wingers: more Creative Freedom in a Rigid/Balanced/Fluid philosophy.
- Legendary wingers: lots of Creative Freedom in any philosophy you damn well choose.

- Rigid does not equal BAD. It just means Defenders will defend, and Attackers will attack.
- Fluid does not equal GOOD. It just means Defenders may attack and Attackers may defend.
- Creative Freedom is like salt, or soup, or something. I don't know what he was on about there.

HTH! :D :) Right, I'm off for a lie down away from a computer that has an all-too-easy way of buying FM2013 right now...
 
Last edited:
Egon said:
Played 20 - W3 D10 L7. 16th in the BSBN.

I have a decent squad, great midfield, I bossed the last game and lost 1-0. I have lost all 3 games I have played so far against the bottom 2 :(

Not sure what to do, tried a narrow 451 and a wider 442, my strikers simply aren't scoring :(
Click to expand...
If you can post some screenshots of your tactics, I'll happily spend my working day trying to diagnose your problem :D :)
 
Egon said:
Played 20 - W3 D10 L7. 16th in the BSBN.

I have a decent squad, great midfield, I bossed the last game and lost 1-0. I have lost all 3 games I have played so far against the bottom 2 :(

Not sure what to do, tried a narrow 451 and a wider 442, my strikers simply aren't scoring :(
Click to expand...

simisker has posted a great bit of advice but there is nothing set in stone, i got promoted from BSBS with havent and waterlooville by playing a very fluid formation with lots of short passing and moving.

im not having as much success in the BSBP with it though.

im sitting 14th after 24 games with a 9/4/11 record. im pleased so far as i only planed to avoid relegation, so sitting mid table is great so far.

ive now brought in a second tactic to try which is a very fluid 4231.
 
simisker said:
If you can post some screenshots of your tactics, I'll happily spend my working day trying to diagnose your problem :D :)
Click to expand...

lol, thanks. If I get a chance today I'll try put some screenies around lunchtime. Anything particular you need to see?

utajoker said:
simisker has posted a great bit of advice but there is nothing set in stone, i got promoted from BSBS with havent and waterlooville by playing a very fluid formation with lots of short passing and moving.

im not having as much success in the BSBP with it though.

im sitting 14th after 24 games with a 9/4/11 record. im pleased so far as i only planed to avoid relegation, so sitting mid table is great so far.

ive now brought in a second tactic to try which is a very fluid 4231.
Click to expand...

Both my formations are rigid, I haven't tried fluid as I didn't think a lower league team could handle it. But anything is worth a go right now.

What do people use during a game to help adjust tactics? I'm using the assman observations, but that's about it. Anything else I should be looking out for?
 
Current tactics - 442 at home or against weaker opposition. 451 used away or against tougher opposition.

442
w1xsll.png


451
317d1l4.png
 
utajoker said:
what about it :p

i dont do any of that.
Click to expand...

:p

Going to stick it out at Harrogate, but I'm expecting the sack before the end of the season! There are already 'rumours' in the media :(

If someone could analyse those tactics though, would be swell :D
 
From my own perspective I don't change tactics or use shouts at all.

I have been using a 41212 without changes for probably 3 and a half seasons now. I start all games as standard/balanced and will generally change to control/attacking/overload as and when the situation demands it.
i.e. If I'm playing well in a game but struggling to score I might switch it to control. Or if I'm losing I will switch to attacking etc...

I find momentum and happiness to be more important factors when playing. Maybe I've been lucky in the players I have, in that they very rarely react badly to team talks. If I lose and blast them at the end of a game, 95% of the time they become fired-up or motivated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom