I don't care I've seen plenty of people on the official forum say workrates aren't as noticeable. Once again though Sonny must be right eh?
I've seen plenty of people on the official forum say they are noticeable so what does that tell you then?
If you cannot see them working in the games engine, it shows how poor your "connection" with the engine is.
I think it's blatantly obvious they make a big difference, put it this way I always notice Vidal has made runs forward at times (CDM) yet De Rossi (CDM) hardly ever does.
I also have noticed since using medium/medium full backs they sit back a lot more and although they do still make that forward run/overlap it's not as constant as it was with high/medium full backs which just leave you exposed at the back for the counter attack with every offensive move.
Mind you when I watched your stream your defending was the old legacy barging into the striker at full speed with the CB, not only where you pulling them miles out of position leaving them exposed you were risking a lot of bookings which lead up to sendings off.
Don't believe me about work rates? Then here is a guide and the first thing it talks about is work rates
http://forum.ea.com/uk/posts/list/2629820.page
"Possibly the most important thing in a 4321 team - with the "right" workrates, the team can become very effective in both build-up play and a counter-attacking style of football:
The Midfield:
Workrates here will determine the workrates of the rest of your team. When starting a 4321 team, the easiest thing to do (before experimenting with the workrates) is to go for a fairly standard set. I found that having a LCM and RCM with Med/Med workrates works best in the 4321 formation. The reason behind this is that I find they are able to be involved in play when both attacking and defending as they do not push up either end of the pitch too far - enabling them to become the main playmakers in the team. This allows for the CCM to be a bit more defensively minded to cover the defence and allow a connection in play between the defence and the midfield - I find that a Med/High workrated player works best here so that he will get involved with the attacking but his main concern is with defending.
The Attack:
With standard workrates in the midfield, this allows for the workrates of the attack to be fairly "standardized" also. For beginners, I found that a LF and RF with High/Med workrates works great here - this allows them to be able to link up with play as they are not too far up the pitch whilst also creating space and runs whilst on the attack. These workrates allow for the striker to be a bit more flexible. In FIFA 13 I found that a High/Low striker would work the best in this formation, however since playing FIFA 14 I've found that this is not the case as he cannot get involved with play and setting up chances for others as he sits too far behind the defence - however saying this if your style of football is to "chip-through-ball" all day long the a High/Low striker will work. In my teams and play-style, I've found that the most successful strikers are the High/High and Med/Med and M/L strikers. The reasoning behind this is that with the LF and RF focused on attacking, the striker can become the link-up players between the midfield and will run riot across the pitch to create chances for himself and others.
The Defence:
This part of the team can be fairly flexible regarding its workrates, however there are some key-points I've found that should be followed. The CB's should be more defensive than attacking as that helps to defend the counterattacks, which 4321 can suffer against. The most ideal I've found is the Med/High workrated CB's - although a Low/Med and Med/Med workrated defender can work also however this means the rest of the team may need tweaking. The LB and RB need to be worked into the rest of the team. I've found that having one that is High/Med and one that is Med/Med can work best here as it allows for a build-up side of the team and a "quick-movement"/counter-attacking side of the team.
Customisation of the "standard" workrates:
The important thing here is to remember that if you change one workrate around the pitch, then you must compensate for that. For example if you wish to have a RF with a high attacking workrate such as Nani, it is a good idea that the RCM should then have a high workrate to compensate for that to keep the links between players whilst in play. If you also decided to have a CCM with Med/Med whilst having Nani, the perhaps the RCM should be High/High workrate to cover the other players whilst perhaps making the CB's have High defending workrates due to the loss of the defensive CCM. Following these "guidelines" almost any player can be used effectively in 4321 formation. Also, sometimes a variation on workrates could be used - instead of High/Med LF you could have Med/Low or have a CB with Low/Med instead of Med/High. Just ensure you accommodate for any changes you make around the pitch "
http://forum.ea.com/uk/posts/list/2623092.page
another example from above
"Defense
They have to mark the opponent's attacker(s). Make sure that you've at least one fast defender (and one tall defender) in the centre and two full-backs with 70+ pace.
Requirements: Heading Accuracy, Marking, Interceptions, Strength and Acceleration/Sprint Speed
Examples (full-backs): Łukasz Piszczek, Kieran Gibbs, Bacary Sagna, Micah Richards and Stefan Radu
Examples (centre backs): Laurent Koscielny, Miranda, Nemanja Vidic, Thiago Silva and Giorgio Chiellini
Best workrates (full-backs): Med/Med
Best workrates (centre backs): Med/High
Chemistry Style: Anchor/Shadow "
"Defensive midfielders
The defensive midfielders are playing in front of the defense. It's their goal to intercept the ball, but also to give it to one of the attackers. It's ok if you use one 'more attacking' defensive mid like İlkay Gündoğan right next to a more holding midfielder.
Requirements: Long/Short Passing, Sliding/Standing tackle, Interceptions, Strength and Aggression
Examples (holding midfielder): Fernando, Yaya Touré, Alexandre Song, Luiz Gustavo and Lucas Leiva
Best workrates (hm): Low/High
Best workrates (adm): High/High
Chemistry Style: Anchor/Shadow/Backbone "
i'm sure you can read the rest from that post yourself about other positions
here is another thread talking about how work rates have ruined certain players
http://forum.ea.com/uk/posts/list/2577570.page
I see Cavani mentioned there in that last one and one that is the most obvious to me in the game, I have used Cavani and I have seen him outside my own box tackling wingers, CAM's and strikers at times and I'm thinking "really?" did you need to come "this deep"? leaving me with less forwards to counterattack with.
If you use high defense players in attack it doesn't mean they will never attack, it just means that they will come back to defend then move forward when you regain possession, sometimes this in ineffective if your wanting a quick counter, making the person useless for such situations.
Another Example is Diego Costa, another player I really like and he does come deep but nowhere to the same extent as Cavani (I don't know why but Cavani is ridiculous for coming back very deep), he will come back and play CM-CAM at times but never CB-CDM like Cavani does, therefore he is more useful than Cavani for counter attacking.
Work Rates definitely do effect the players movements in game when being controlled by the AI, it's so easy to prove as well, just switch to medium/medium full backs and instantly your defence will tighten up a lot.
There is a reason why I have
Konko, Mariano, Enrique and Radu alongside Ramos, IF Miranda, SIF Benatia and Chiellini.
My full backs cost peanuts compared to my CB's but thats because work rates don't effect CB's as much, in fact I would say CB's are the least effected by work rates (they are effected just it's very slight compared to other players). My full backs were chosen because they are all medium/medium.
http://forum.ea.com/uk/posts/list/2728501.page
another example above where someone's defence is crap due to work rates of full backs
