First of all, you need to know that every team has a unique squad character, so the tactic you would use should also be unique.

There have been a lot of so called "magical tactics" in all CM-FM series. Let me tell you that, there is no such thing.

The whole point of FM is simulating "managing a football team" experience, which includes tactics and strategies that will lead your team to success.

This guide will be in two parts. In this guide we will focus on Part 2

• The General Structure Of A Tactic

• Player Instructions

Player Instructions are essantial for your tactic to work as you want. On the previous guide you have created the basic structure of your tactic and assigned some roles to players on positions in general. Now we're going in deep and focus on details that makes your tactic effective on the pitch.

Player instructions are essential for your tactic to be successful.

You need to know what a player is capable of and to do so, you need to analyze your players' attributes.Afterwards, you need to decide the gamestyle you think that will suit your players best.

So first of all, you have to go to the player instructions screen. To do so;

Go Team Name > Tactics > Player tab.



On the right side you will see the formation of your team on the pitch and on the left side you will see Key Attributes of the player on selected position ( You already picked right positions and roles of your players on our previous guide. That's the screen you'll get an idea how good Attributes your players have for selected positions.

After that, click on Show Instructions on the right top corner of Attributes screen



And you will get a window like this ;



Here is the tricky part. You really need to know what your players are capable of and what kind of playstyle you would like for your team to play.

Please note that those instructions you set on Player instructions overrides the Team Instructions you set when you create your tactic.

I will explain every single option on that window with what attributes they'd require.




Mentality is used to set how offensive or defensive your player is gonna play. Basicly, if you want that specific player to be defensive you move the bar closer to defensive, if you want him to be offensive move the bar closer to attacking.

• Midfielders

You can decide how good they'll perform attacking or defending by judging on their attributes.

For defending, your midfield players must have 12~18+ values on the attributes as below;

• Marking
  
• Passing
  
• First Touch
  
• Tackling
  
• Positioning
  
• Determination
  
• Team Work
  
• Work Rate

For attacking, your midfield players must have 12~18+ values on the attributes as below;

• Dribbling
  
• Finishing
  
• First Touch
  
• Long Shots
  
• Passing
  
• Off The Ball
  
• Teamwork
  
• Creativity

For defending, your wing-back players must have 12~18+ values on the attributes as below;

• Marking
  
• Tackling
  
• Acceleration
  
• Stamina
  
• Concentration
  
• Anticipation
  
• Positioning
  
• Team Work

For attacking, your wing-back players must have 12~18+ values on the attributes as below;

• Crossing
  
• Dribbling
  
• Tackling
  
• Team Work
  
• Off The Ball
  
• Marking
  
• Stamina

For defending, your wing-back players must have 12~18+ values on the attributes as below;

• Marking
  
• Tackling
  
• Acceleration
  
• Stamina
  
• Concentration
  
• Anticipation
  
• Positioning
  
• Team Work

For attacking, your wing-back players must have 12~18+ values on the attributes as below;

• Crossing
  
• Dribbling
  
• Tackling
  
• Team Work
  
• Off The Ball
  
• Marking
  
• Stamina

Rest of the positions are self-explanatory. You can't really expect a Striker to play defensive all the game or a Goalkeeper to go offensive on the pitch.




This option will set how Creative your players are going to play. There are three options. Those are ; Little, Normal and Much. The Technique and Creativity attributes must be around 13~19+ to get a good performance if you want them to be creative. If you think they're limited players, go for Little. If they're avarage, Normal should be your choice




This option will give you to ability to choose for a player with which player to swap positions occasionally, when needed. If you're using Fluid or Very Fluid playstyle, you might want to use that option between Wingers-Wing Backs & Midfielders-Defensive/Attacking Midfielders.




This is all about the freedom player has on the pitch. If you have Creativity freedom and Roaming settings on for your tactic all players will roam on the pitch. But if you want a certain player to stick his position, you can set it from here.




You have three options here; Own Area, Own Half, Whole Pitch. If you want a certain player to close down just on the area he is positioned. You should go for Own Area. Which will let him to close down and control the pass traffic on his own area. Own Half; the player will perform closing down between his own goal-midfield.Whole Pitch; the player will close down to control the area on the whole pitch.




That's also another option that you set when you're creating the tactic. But for players who has high Aggression and low tackling attribute you might want to set it on Easy.That'll make them to engage the opponent more calmly instead of going all in.If you are sure your player will have control when he is attempting to take the ball from opponent, you can choose Hard which is more effective when you're trying to take the ball.




Another option that you set when you're creating the tactic.Your options are; Zonal and Man If you have it set on Zonal for your tactic, when you're playing against against harder opponents you might want a certain opponent player controlled. Such as playing against Messi, Ronaldo etc. So you just set one of your defenders to Man Marking. Tight Marking will also decides if your players priority is going to be Mark the Area/Player or do his general duty for the team.




You have four options; Short, Mixed, Direct, Long it sets how the certain player will going to pass the ball. If you have low Passing attribute on certain player, you want to choose Short. Otherwise, just decide what option you'd like by judging on your current tactic and playstyle of your team.




If the certain player has high values on; Pace, Stamina, Dribbling, Acceleration, Balance, Agility attributes. You can set this option to Sometimes/Often. Otherwise your choice should be Rarely. That option will decide how often your players will run with the ball on the sidelines of the pitch or go in deep.




Basicly, if you think your player is not capable of have to ball for a long time and pass the players who engaged, set it on Rarely. If you think he can go far with the ball and create an oppurtinity for an attack to score set it on Sometimes/Often by analyzing your players technique.




That is one of the most important player instruction.Because most of your players will try to shot if they can't unlock the opponents defense and if they have low values on Long Shots your attack will just be wasted. If your player is good at Long Shots, set it on Sometimes/Often




If your player has a good Passing, Anticipation, Creativity and Decisions attributes and if others have good values on Positioning, First Touch, Technique and Concentration. You should set this option on Sometimes/Often, otherwise pick Rarely.




This option requires almost everything Through Balls requires, and Crossing.

This determines, if your players go deep into the penalty area and croos the ball short & low OR stay byline and cross the ball from the line long & high.




This option is highly related with Cross From Instruction. Your options are; Near Post ( low and drill crosses ), Far Post ( high and float crosses ), Centre and Target Man.




You can choose how wide your players going to play when they have the ball.If you choose Hug Touchline they'll stay close to sidelines and force the opponent to engage to win throw-ins and corner kicks. If you choose Cut Inside they'll run deep to the box or send the ball to the middle as much as they can. Move Into Channels with or without the ball, your player will look for empty zones in the field to create an oppurtinity and space for his teammates.




That requires high Technical & Mental Attributes. The certain player will hold the ball instead of passing it instead and make a play when the situationg is called for. But be aware, if your player is not good on Technical & Mental Attributes, the opponent can take the ball and comes fast to your half with really dangerous counter attacks.

The Player Instructions are as important as Team Instructions. To set them right and to get highest performance from your team and players. You need to be aware of what your players are capable of. You need to analyze their attributes and personalities well to decide what kind of instructions you're going to set for them.

Hope this guide would help you to get maximum performance from your players.

After all, we all want to win all the cups there are possible!

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