Football Manager 2010 SG talk

[Dantski]

Alright

Corners, free kicks, long throws, penalties

What Ich said about these, I assume indirect free-kicks also use the free kicks stat. I'd guess passing helps with corners and free-kicks that are crossed in as does crossing. Penalties seems strongly linked to finishing/composure and maybe a hidden attribute. Does strength affect long throws? I don't know

Crossing

How well a player can cross the ball?

Linked to passing/creativity/decisions

Dribbling

This combined with technique is what I'd describe as a players ball control skill after the first touch.

First touch

How well a player controls the ball at first. More noticeable on long balls and direct play. I guess this is important if you want your team playing fluid football

Heading

How accurate the players heading is. Possibly composure comes into play on a header at goal.

Passing

self explanatory, creativity + flair probably influence how extravagant the player is with his passes and how much risk he takes

Tackling

Accuracy of tackling? Aggression always helps and bravery helps with the 50-50's. Strength is also useful

Marking

How well a player can execute his marking orders. How well a player sticks with his man when man marking etc

Technique

A somewhat all encompassing attribute. How gifted your player is with a football, how well h strikes it etc

Aggression


Strongly linked with bravery. A player with high aggression will look to get stuck into tackles even when it's not always the best idea.

Anticipation

How well a player sees the pass coming. I think a good example is when clearing a corner towards your forwards. A player with good anticipation will react quickly and start moving to the ball quicker. This will affect how many interceptions players make during the match.

Composure

Only ever heard people associate this attribute with finishing, however I'd not be surprised if it also affects whether the player is comfortable on the ball under pressure. Players with low composure may be hurried unnecessarily and pass poorly or make terrible decisions.

Creativity

Affects a players ability to see that through ball is possible ahead of him. I would typically say that a player with high creativity rarely passes the ball backwards. Also highly creative players love the little balls round the corner.


Decisions

Going on from the last one, is the through ball realistic? Or should you make the safer play. I guess I'd associate this with player intelligence.

Determination

Could almost be renamed 'ambition'. I assume this reflects how hard a player will try in training to improve. Also might work with bravery/aggression/anticipation is some ways.

Work rate

Usually high work rate is backed up by high teamwork. A high stat reflects someone who will chase a long ball they are 2nd favourite to get.

Flair

One of the old footy games described this stat as 'player ego'. I guess a better word is confidence or overconfidence in their ability. Seems important on anyone you want to be dribbling past 2-3 players.

Influence

How much effect this player has on his teammates. A captain with very high influence should be able to improve the performance of players around him and also maybe encourage them to work harder.

Off the ball

Important for virtually every player who isn't a goalkeeper or central defender. Ichabod explains it well

Positioning

Does a defender play someone onside when the rest of the defence is pushed up? Does the player adjust position when needed?

Teamwork

derp?

[Mist]

Now, see why I asked?

You all seem to have a general idea. But at the same time neither of you has a completely clear picture. Which means you have to rely on guesses and hunches when buying, using and developing players. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and more often than not you can't tell why a player does not perform exactly as you want him.

Which was where I stood before FM 2010.

Since then I started to watch full games on medium speed, analyse outcomes and statistics ( download Prozone panels if you don't use them yet ) . I also bounced my conclusions off things other people wrote on SIGames forums, reaching the point I can reasonably predict what to expect from a player. I can also form an informed opinion on which attributes to value more and why considering my style and favoured tactics.

Now sit down, compare notes and decide what do you want to look for in your players.

Then have a look at your squad and see what you got.

[Twinkletoes89]

Corners, free kicks, long throws, penalties

I'd say how consistently good they are at these set pieces. Basically the higher the attribute, the more times out of 10 they are going to provide a successful/threatening outcome.

Will have some links to some mental attributes. Most likely technique for all of them and add in composure for penalties & free kicks. Doesn't matter how technically good you are if you don't have the balls or technique to manage it.

Crossing

Pretty similar to set pieces. Technique key here.

Dribbling


Ball control once it has been received & controlled by first touch. How good they are at carrying the ball and beating defenders.

First touch

How strong their initial touch is. Do they on receiving a pass immediately have it under their control or have to run a mile to catch it back up as it bounces of their leaden feet.

Heading

How accurate they are at heading it. Needs strength so they aren't bullied off the ball before they are in a position to head it. Technique again very useful along with composure and determination to win the header.

Passing

How wide a range of passing they possess. Combined with a strong technique means how successful those passes will be. Needs strong anticipation and decision making to pick the pass, off the ball to be in the right position to make it, creativity and flair to see the killer ball.

Tackling

How successful they will be in making tackles. Decision making critical for defensive players so they choose the right tackles. Bravery and aggression to have the cojones to make the crunching tackles required.

Marking

How competent they are at marking a player. Anticipation absolutely a must here so they can think of where the player may move and track them. Stamina & Pace useful for marking pacy forwards. Decision making again useful so they know when to stick with the man and when to go for the ball.

Technique

For attacking players especially - and absolutely critical attribute. They can have all the technical ability in the world but if they are unable to translate it into proper accurate use then it will be a big waste.

Unfortunately uncovered by any training category.

Aggression

Linked to bravery, determination and to some extent anticipation. How prepared they are to 'go for it' and take the risks which maybe needed to cut out that attack or reach that cross.

Anticipation

How well they can see what could happen next. Whether its picking up the movement of a striker to cut out their run or to find them with a killer pass, this is crucial. Need to be able to see the next move or will miss the chances.

Composure

How confident they are in their ability. Able to think calmly and pick out the right options more often than not. Critical for any striker but also for pretty much any player. More composed, less likely to buckle under pressure either in the game or the media.

Creativity

Affects their range of what they can achieve with their passing/crossing. High creativity, more types of passing they can attempt. Success of it depends on technique, anticipation and flair.

Decisions

Almost a kind of 'wisdom'. The higher it is, the higher the likelihood that they pick the right pass/tackle/finish. Good decision maker would make a decent captain but ideally as many players as possible should be able to make the right decision more often than not.

Determination

How willing they are to work hard and succeed, both in training on the pitch. Can have a high PA but without strong determination they are unlikely to ever reach it. A critical attribute for all players so they will work their arses off to win or get that late equaliser rather than not.

Work rate

How hard they will work throughout the game. The higher the stat, the less likely they are to just go 'missing' in the game and will instead be working to get results or to get into winning positions to help the team.

Combined with high determination and teamwork and you get a really hard working player.

Flair

How prepared/able they are to 'attempt the impossible'. The higher it is, the more likely they are to look for that killer run/ awesome pass / crazy overhead kick into the top corner. Great for playmakers but needs to be combined with creativity/technique/anticipation to be truly utilised.

Influence

A reflection of how much 'command' they may have. Critical trait for a captain.

Off the ball & Positioning

How strong they are at getting in the right places to either receive the key pass or move in such a way to create gaps for their team mates when it comes to attacking. Needs high anticipation along with some strong decision making and pace/acceleration to get into those places before the defenders do.

Defensively, it is basically about their positioning so they don't get 'caught out' and combined with anticipation will get them into the positions they need to snuff out the attacks.

Teamwork

Are they a selfish bastard or a selfless team player effectively.

[Brian Shanahan]

Lads what's the story with the game, are we continuing on with it or do we want a new challenge?

I know I blew up spectacularly, but I've calmed down and stepped back a bit, so I'm willing to step back in, for shorter turnsets.

[Twinkletoes89]

Well we put it on hiatus so we could all cool down and then come back to it.

I still want to carry it on but am also open to suggestions of new challenges if we think we need a fresh start to keep enough players interested.

[Ichabod]

I want to keep going, but I think we need to make this more like an SG - more discussion, shorter turnsets.

Like Mist pointed out, our team has a lot of problems, going from squad management, staff management, training, etc. We'll have to fix those.

I have the last save, there's 4 games left in the season and we have a shot at taking 2nd place. The play offs are pretty much certain. Anyone want to play the last games?

[Brian Shanahan]

I want to keep going, but I think we need to make this more like an SG - more discussion, shorter turnsets.

Like Mist pointed out, our team has a lot of problems, going from squad management, staff management, training, etc. We'll have to fix those.

I have the last save, there's 4 games left in the season and we have a shot at taking 2nd place. The play offs are pretty much certain. Anyone want to play the last games?

I can finish out the season, probably not tonight but tomorrow. I've a certain lassitude tonight for some reason (probably the shock of seeing the sun for the first time in a month, coupled with my landlord doing a spot of painting giving me the fumes high).

[Katon]

I want to keep going, but I think we need to make this more like an SG - more discussion, shorter turnsets.

What length turnsets should we be aiming for? I'd vote for three months long at the most - make sure everyone gets the squad for at least part of every season. If more discussion is a goal anyway, there's less need to make sure everyone gets control of a transfer window, and more need to make sure everyone's recently used a squad at least vaguely related to the current one; a lot can change in a two-year gap between turns.

(and Brian, what on earth were you doing to avoid seeing the sun for a month?)

[Ichabod]

(and Brian, what on earth were you doing to avoid seeing the sun for a month?)

If I had to guess, I'd say the sun didn't want to see Ireland for a whole month :neenernee.

[Dantski]

and Brian, what on earth were you doing to avoid seeing the sun for a month?

Its a hard life in the mines

What length turnsets should we be aiming for? I'd vote for three months long at the most - make sure everyone gets the squad for at least part of every season

I'd keep some kind of rotation in the lineup, one player's 3 months might be 1-2 months of no games in the summer. Also some people like to spend a lot of time scouting for new players, perhaps they'd prefer playing when the transfer window is open.

Anyway hope you guys continue this game as I'm very much watching with interest