I’ve actually already put some of your advice into practice. I’m already following all the points except the 6th one, which I wasn’t aware of.
Another point you didn’t mention is that I don’t play players who have a “High” injury risk.
I’m going to read your thread about half-time team talks during lunch today. Expand
One thing I am trying lately is to build two separate teams with a shared set of reserves. Each team plays one match while the other rests, and reserves are usually from the youth team. That ensures players are in top shape during the entire season, and I try to make sure my favorite team plays the most important matches (which means I can swap teams when I have one match during the week, to make sure team A faces my rival in the league, or decisive matches in the cup).
Dkstick said: Today I’m bringing you an update full of regrets...
I’ll start by picking up where I left off in my last update (I’m at the office, so unfortunately no screenshots today).
At that point, I was sitting comfortably in first place, but things gradually changed as the season went on. During February, I went through a run of a draw, a loss, and another draw, which I think left me just 1 point ahead of my friend by the end of the month.
Later in the season, I drew again and dropped to 1 point behind him. Then, with three games left, I was still only 1 point behind, but I lost away against Legia, which put me 4 points behind and basically buried my title hopes for good.
The encouraging part is that I managed to stay top until March, whereas last season I had already lost first place by December. The negative part is that the same scenario keeps repeating itself: I win, I lead the league during the first half of the season, and then after one rough spell during the year, I lose the title because of one month where everything goes wrong.
I took the opportunity to compare our squads and, honestly, at this point they’re not really comparable lmao. Factually, he has much better players than me in almost every position.
On one hand, that’s encouraging because I’m still managing to compete with a clearly weaker squad. On the other hand, it’s pretty frustrating to lose my lead because of such short bad periods.
For this new transfer window, I decided to apply the strategy I had read in your replies. I fully explored the market, took advantage of every possible upgrade, and showed absolutely no mercy. Even players I liked were replaced if I could find someone even slightly better.
And so far, the result looks very positive!
I got through the first Champions League qualifying round by knocking out Panathinaikos. In the second round, I beat Sporting, and in the third and final qualifying round I eliminated Rangers.
So, after qualifying through the playoffs for the first time, I finally started my Champions League campaign!
I’ve already had the chance to face some big clubs, including Atlético Madrid, who I somehow beat 5-1 lmao, before then losing 1-2 against Fiorentina. That was actually my first defeat of the entire season.
In the league, after 12 matches, I’m currently sitting at:
12W – 0D – 0L
So honestly, there is literally nothing more I could be doing right now, and I’m absolutely delighted!
This is my year, guys. I’m finally going to win this damn Polish PKO league and beat my friend.
Oh yeah, and I completely forgot to mention this in my previous update: last season in the Conference League, I lost in the quarter-finals against Bournemouth after Penalty, who eventually went on to win the competition by beating Napoli in the final. Expand
There are a few things you can do to recover from a losing streak, or even preventing it from happening. We are talking about managing fatigue, match sharpness, and morale. 1. Add a column to your squad selection screen with "fatigue". Any player with fatigue below full should avoid playing matches. 2. Add columns with training rating and form (rating from last 5 matches). Once a week, anyone with high value should be praised, and anyone with low value should be criticized. 3. Add a column with last match rating. Praise people with very high value (like 8+) after every match, and criticize very low values after every match. 4. After every match of weeks with a single match, create a U-21 friendly, and set your players that did not participate as available, to keep their match sharpness. 5. During matches, use shouts all the time. If you are not winning, encourage them. If you are winning for more than 15 minutes, you can praise them. There are other effective shouts too, but they are more dependent on situation. 6. Check my thread about opposition instructions, and apply it after half time. Basically, check the one or two biggest circles in the "passing map", and set your team for tighter marking against them.
RetroFmTester said: Hey @ZaZ just wanted to ask if you still have player Instructions for your 4231, I'm testing tactics on older game versions and would be lovely if you still have it Because I'm on console Expand
Unfortunately I did not have the game installed anymore, so I had to reinstall it. BPD: Dribble More, Shoot Less Often, Stay Wider, Tackle Harder IWB: Shoot Less Often, Tackle Harder Vol: Take More Risks, Dribble more, Shoot Less Often, Get Further Forward, Move Into Channels, Tackle Harder SS: Shoot Less Often, Tackle Harder IF: Shoot Less Often, Sit Narrower, Tackle Harder F9: Shoot Less Often, Move Into Channels, Tackle Harder
Since FM-Arena has no Discord server, I created one to discuss the game and integrate with other players. If anyone is interested, feel free to join here.
juliius said: See i might use this, because i'm going to be completely honest, the morale and keeping players happy part of the game doesn't really interest me. This allows my focus to stay on training and tactics without negative stuff from that playing time mechanic. Expand
I think people can play the game in any way that brings them joy, so go ahead. It is only a problem if you use against others in multiplayer games, without them knowing, but other than that, anything is valid.
In case anyone wants to know, there is an exploit to change the agreed playtime without causing players to get unhappy. Steps to reproduce it are presented below.
1. Click to change the agreed playtime, then select the option to persuade the player to accept reduced playing time. 2. Pick any option like "I want to give time to every one", then back down and agree to keep it his way. 3. After that, you are free to change playtime without getting the player upset.
I am not saying you should use this exploit, but it is good to know it exists, because others might use it against you in multiplayer games.
DIgor44 said: I have noticed that form tends to dip towards the end of the season - is there a good way to handle this within the tactic? Still creating loads of chances, but finishing seems to be off. Maybe it is just game mechanics? Expand
That has more to do with game mechanics than the tactic. Stuff like player hidden attributes, fatigue, overconfidence, and stuff like that.
Dkstick said: “Small” league update — I’m adding a few extra screenshots as well. I’m Belgian, so my game is in French, just a heads-up in advance.
In my last post, I actually got the date wrong. We were at the beginning of October, not mid-November, but I wrote the post from memory while I was at work.
So here’s a little recap of the matches from our latest session:
We started with an important away win against Legia, followed by a 10-0 Conference League win against Sheriff lmao.
The rest of the session was basically just two slightly annoying draws in terms of the title race, but apart from that, a lot of wins. An important thing to mention is that my friend lost three matches during this session, which means we currently have an 8-point gap in my favour, which is really nice.
The slightly worrying part is that we play each other immediately after the break at his stadium when we start our next session, so the gap could potentially be reduced to 5 points. Nothing too dramatic though.
I’m very happy with how the season has started, and with the last match we’ve now officially played half of the league season.
In the cup, I got knocked out in the very first round, but I fielded my U20 team because we were constantly playing European and league matches. The prize money is something like €20k if you win the whole thing — I’m exaggerating a bit, but it’s basically negligible — so I preferred to focus on Europe and the domestic league.
Thanks again for all your feedback between my updates! I’ll keep you posted tomorrow or by the end of the weekend if we manage to play another session! Expand
Krycha said: I think something is wrong with the training. When I apply it, the players only gets “Rest” Expand
All I can say is that it works fine here, so I cannot identify the problem. Are you making sure to select the tactic after you load it? The game does not select automatically, it keeps the blank one until you select the one you loaded.
Temi said: What made you to change the training schedule from the original General 1 and General 2 in the first place.... Expand
It is basically the same. I created a second one because people used to ask "What do I do in weeks with two matches?", but then after I changed people ask "What do I do if match is on Monday?" and "Why are there two files?", so I realized no matter what I do, there will be people asking questions. The important thing is to have full rest after the matches, and sometimes people simply have to change it manually, because the game is too stupid to do it automatically. I wish SI made training easier to setup.
Temi said: Sorry but what is the new best that has been found... Also,Can The New General training Schedule be used for both one matches and 2 matches Expand
I put two options there. You can either use General the whole year, or alternate between Rebalance and Growth. Both options can be used for one and two matches, and for two matches you just remove the Recovery training after both matches, to ensure a full day of rest (this is necessary to activate super rest).
lee5010 said: So we only need 2xAttack and 2x Physical in a week for best growth? Also do you train the players in the tactics positions? Thanks Expand
About position, it is not needed, but I recommend training in the position if you need to gain position familiarity, using a role that highlights both pace and acceleration.
Training was updated because too many people were getting confused. It now uses only Growth with 2x Attack and 2x Physical, which should also increase the overall CA gain of players.
I also updated the version with striker since a new best was found.
A high intensity tactic that scores goals from inside the box, with most assists from the middle. Goals and assists are well distributed between all players.
Player Instructions, Opponent Instructions and Situational TacticsPlayer Instructions All: Tackle Harder GK: Pass Shorter BCB: Pass Shorter, Trigger Press More Often OCB: Shoot Less Often, Take More Risks, Pass Shorter, Trigger Press Less Often AWB: Sit Narrower, Cross From Byline and Shoot Less Often, Trigger Press More Often CHM: Roam From Position IF: Stay Wider CHF: Make More Runs, Trigger Press More Often
Opponent Instructions Only recommend people to use if they know what they are doing. You can read about how I use opponent instructions here.
Defensive Tactic The goal of this version is to hold a score without a noticeable cost of performance. Use when you want to concede less goals. This is also recommended against stronger teams if you want to play defensively. https://fm-arena.com/thread/20653-zaz-autumn-6-01-st-solid/
Light Tactic The goal of this version is to preserve players, saving condition while avoiding injuries and cards, at the cost of performance. Use when you have a comfortable lead. https://fm-arena.com/thread/20664-zaz-autumn-6-03-st-light/ Training and Set Pieces
You can read more about my suggested training schedules here. Schedules Ideally split 3:1 between Growth and Rebalance during the season, with Rebalance used around once a month. Optionally, you can use the General during all season. Rebalance ([Resistance]): Redistributes CA among the most important attributes. Growth ([Physical]x2[Attacking]x2): Improves secondary attributes, with focus on key attributes. General ([Physical]x2[Attacking]x2[Resistance]): Simplified version combining Growth and Rebalance, to be used during the whole season if you do not want to overthink with training.
Rest and Recovery Three Rest sessions are used after every match to trigger super-rest, and Recovery sessions are used to reduce the loss of match sharpness in days without training.
Automatic Intensity Double when full energy, and no pitch or gym training when below full condition.
Individual Focus Quickness, or Agility/Reactions for goalkeepers
Roles Not needed, but you can pick any role with highlighted Pace and Acceleration to train new positions
Set pieces and training are in the attachments. Pictures for people on consoles are below.
For youth teams, I usually do just the rebalance routine (Resistance x1), to ensure players grow Pace and Acceleration without compromising their potential attributes.
Preferred Player AttributesTop priority: Pace and Acceleration are by far the most effective attributes. Minimum requirements: 6 in Work Rate, Agility, Concentration and Stamina. These attributes hurt a lot when low, but do not improve performance significantly at higher values. Only look below if still in doubt between two players. Priority #2: Jumping Reach (especially for defenders). Secondary requirements: 10 in Balance, Dribbling (especially for flank players), Work Rate and Anticipation. Only look below if still in doubt between two players. Priority #3: Dribbling and balance.
Example of ideal player Pace: 18+++ Acceleration: 18+++ Work Rate: 10 Agility: 6 Concentration: 6 Stamina: 6 Anticipation: 10 Jumping Reach: 10++ Dribbling: 10+ Balance: 10+
There are two player filters in the attachments. You can use them in Recruitment > Player Database > Edit Search, loading them in the cog icon by the bottom left. One filter is to remove bad players, while the other is to show very good players (but might filter out some good outliers).
Credits to everyone in FM-Arena who did small experiments which gave hints to what might be working well in this patch. Probably there will be a better tactic inspired by this one in the next hours or days, so I am just happy to contribute.
Kamas1 said: What do you think about the idea of adding attributes from FM Arena tests to Genie Scout—but skipping Pace and Acceleration—setting the other attributes according to Genie Scout's weighting, and then manually selecting players who have, say, at least 15 or 16 (or higher) in Pace and Acceleration, depending on the need? Expand
I’ve actually already put some of your advice into practice. I’m already following all the points except the 6th one, which I wasn’t aware of.
Another point you didn’t mention is that I don’t play players who have a “High” injury risk.
I’m going to read your thread about half-time team talks during lunch today.
One thing I am trying lately is to build two separate teams with a shared set of reserves. Each team plays one match while the other rests, and reserves are usually from the youth team. That ensures players are in top shape during the entire season, and I try to make sure my favorite team plays the most important matches (which means I can swap teams when I have one match during the week, to make sure team A faces my rival in the league, or decisive matches in the cup).
I’ll start by picking up where I left off in my last update (I’m at the office, so unfortunately no screenshots today).
At that point, I was sitting comfortably in first place, but things gradually changed as the season went on. During February, I went through a run of a draw, a loss, and another draw, which I think left me just 1 point ahead of my friend by the end of the month.
Later in the season, I drew again and dropped to 1 point behind him. Then, with three games left, I was still only 1 point behind, but I lost away against Legia, which put me 4 points behind and basically buried my title hopes for good.
The encouraging part is that I managed to stay top until March, whereas last season I had already lost first place by December. The negative part is that the same scenario keeps repeating itself: I win, I lead the league during the first half of the season, and then after one rough spell during the year, I lose the title because of one month where everything goes wrong.
I took the opportunity to compare our squads and, honestly, at this point they’re not really comparable lmao. Factually, he has much better players than me in almost every position.
On one hand, that’s encouraging because I’m still managing to compete with a clearly weaker squad. On the other hand, it’s pretty frustrating to lose my lead because of such short bad periods.
For this new transfer window, I decided to apply the strategy I had read in your replies. I fully explored the market, took advantage of every possible upgrade, and showed absolutely no mercy. Even players I liked were replaced if I could find someone even slightly better.
And so far, the result looks very positive!
I got through the first Champions League qualifying round by knocking out Panathinaikos. In the second round, I beat Sporting, and in the third and final qualifying round I eliminated Rangers.
So, after qualifying through the playoffs for the first time, I finally started my Champions League campaign!
I’ve already had the chance to face some big clubs, including Atlético Madrid, who I somehow beat 5-1 lmao, before then losing 1-2 against Fiorentina. That was actually my first defeat of the entire season.
In the league, after 12 matches, I’m currently sitting at:
12W – 0D – 0L
So honestly, there is literally nothing more I could be doing right now, and I’m absolutely delighted!
This is my year, guys. I’m finally going to win this damn Polish PKO league and beat my friend.
Oh yeah, and I completely forgot to mention this in my previous update: last season in the Conference League, I lost in the quarter-finals against Bournemouth after Penalty, who eventually went on to win the competition by beating Napoli in the final.
There are a few things you can do to recover from a losing streak, or even preventing it from happening. We are talking about managing fatigue, match sharpness, and morale.
1. Add a column to your squad selection screen with "fatigue". Any player with fatigue below full should avoid playing matches.
2. Add columns with training rating and form (rating from last 5 matches). Once a week, anyone with high value should be praised, and anyone with low value should be criticized.
3. Add a column with last match rating. Praise people with very high value (like 8+) after every match, and criticize very low values after every match.
4. After every match of weeks with a single match, create a U-21 friendly, and set your players that did not participate as available, to keep their match sharpness.
5. During matches, use shouts all the time. If you are not winning, encourage them. If you are winning for more than 15 minutes, you can praise them. There are other effective shouts too, but they are more dependent on situation.
6. Check my thread about opposition instructions, and apply it after half time. Basically, check the one or two biggest circles in the "passing map", and set your team for tighter marking against them.
I created a server where you can ask people for help in real time. The link is https://discord.gg/WGYxknP639.
Anyway, good luck!
I already uninstalled again. =(
Unfortunately I did not have the game installed anymore, so I had to reinstall it.
BPD: Dribble More, Shoot Less Often, Stay Wider, Tackle Harder
IWB: Shoot Less Often, Tackle Harder
Vol: Take More Risks, Dribble more, Shoot Less Often, Get Further Forward, Move Into Channels, Tackle Harder
SS: Shoot Less Often, Tackle Harder
IF: Shoot Less Often, Sit Narrower, Tackle Harder
F9: Shoot Less Often, Move Into Channels, Tackle Harder
I think people can play the game in any way that brings them joy, so go ahead. It is only a problem if you use against others in multiplayer games, without them knowing, but other than that, anything is valid.
1. Click to change the agreed playtime, then select the option to persuade the player to accept reduced playing time.
2. Pick any option like "I want to give time to every one", then back down and agree to keep it his way.
3. After that, you are free to change playtime without getting the player upset.
I am not saying you should use this exploit, but it is good to know it exists, because others might use it against you in multiplayer games.
That has more to do with game mechanics than the tactic. Stuff like player hidden attributes, fatigue, overconfidence, and stuff like that.
In my last post, I actually got the date wrong. We were at the beginning of October, not mid-November, but I wrote the post from memory while I was at work.
So here’s a little recap of the matches from our latest session:
We started with an important away win against Legia, followed by a 10-0 Conference League win against Sheriff lmao.
The rest of the session was basically just two slightly annoying draws in terms of the title race, but apart from that, a lot of wins. An important thing to mention is that my friend lost three matches during this session, which means we currently have an 8-point gap in my favour, which is really nice.
The slightly worrying part is that we play each other immediately after the break at his stadium when we start our next session, so the gap could potentially be reduced to 5 points. Nothing too dramatic though.
I’m very happy with how the season has started, and with the last match we’ve now officially played half of the league season.
In the cup, I got knocked out in the very first round, but I fielded my U20 team because we were constantly playing European and league matches. The prize money is something like €20k if you win the whole thing — I’m exaggerating a bit, but it’s basically negligible — so I preferred to focus on Europe and the domestic league.
Thanks again for all your feedback between my updates! I’ll keep you posted tomorrow or by the end of the weekend if we manage to play another session!
Gratz! I hope the rest of the season goes well.
All I can say is that it works fine here, so I cannot identify the problem. Are you making sure to select the tactic after you load it? The game does not select automatically, it keeps the blank one until you select the one you loaded.
It is basically the same. I created a second one because people used to ask "What do I do in weeks with two matches?", but then after I changed people ask "What do I do if match is on Monday?" and "Why are there two files?", so I realized no matter what I do, there will be people asking questions. The important thing is to have full rest after the matches, and sometimes people simply have to change it manually, because the game is too stupid to do it automatically. I wish SI made training easier to setup.
Also,Can The New General training Schedule be used for both one matches and 2 matches
I put two options there. You can either use General the whole year, or alternate between Rebalance and Growth. Both options can be used for one and two matches, and for two matches you just remove the Recovery training after both matches, to ensure a full day of rest (this is necessary to activate super rest).
lee5010 said: So we only need 2xAttack and 2x Physical in a week for best growth? Also do you train the players in the tactics positions? Thanks
Yes, you can see a bit more of the reasoning behind it here and in the post with the data about training schedules.
About position, it is not needed, but I recommend training in the position if you need to gain position familiarity, using a role that highlights both pace and acceleration.
I also updated the version with striker since a new best was found.
Strikerless Tactic
https://fm-arena.com/thread/19850-zaz-autumn-4-5/.
A high intensity tactic that scores goals from inside the box, with most assists from the middle. Goals and assists are well distributed between all players.
Player Instructions, Opponent Instructions and Situational Tactics Player Instructions
All: Tackle Harder
GK: Pass Shorter
BCB: Pass Shorter, Trigger Press More Often
OCB: Shoot Less Often, Take More Risks, Pass Shorter, Trigger Press Less Often
AWB: Sit Narrower, Cross From Byline and Shoot Less Often, Trigger Press More Often
CHM: Roam From Position
IF: Stay Wider
CHF: Make More Runs, Trigger Press More Often
Opponent Instructions
Only recommend people to use if they know what they are doing. You can read about how I use opponent instructions here.
Defensive Tactic
The goal of this version is to hold a score without a noticeable cost of performance. Use when you want to concede less goals. This is also recommended against stronger teams if you want to play defensively.
https://fm-arena.com/thread/20653-zaz-autumn-6-01-st-solid/
Light Tactic
The goal of this version is to preserve players, saving condition while avoiding injuries and cards, at the cost of performance. Use when you have a comfortable lead.
https://fm-arena.com/thread/20664-zaz-autumn-6-03-st-light/
Training and Set Pieces You can read more about my suggested training schedules here.
Schedules
Ideally split 3:1 between Growth and Rebalance during the season, with Rebalance used around once a month. Optionally, you can use the General during all season.
Rebalance ([Resistance]): Redistributes CA among the most important attributes.
Growth ([Physical]x2[Attacking]x2): Improves secondary attributes, with focus on key attributes.
General ([Physical]x2[Attacking]x2[Resistance]): Simplified version combining Growth and Rebalance, to be used during the whole season if you do not want to overthink with training.
Rest and Recovery
Three Rest sessions are used after every match to trigger super-rest, and Recovery sessions are used to reduce the loss of match sharpness in days without training.
Automatic Intensity
Double when full energy, and no pitch or gym training when below full condition.
Individual Focus
Quickness, or Agility/Reactions for goalkeepers
Roles
Not needed, but you can pick any role with highlighted Pace and Acceleration to train new positions
Set pieces and training are in the attachments. Pictures for people on consoles are below.
For youth teams, I usually do just the rebalance routine (Resistance x1), to ensure players grow Pace and Acceleration without compromising their potential attributes.
Preferred Player Attributes Top priority: Pace and Acceleration are by far the most effective attributes.
Minimum requirements: 6 in Work Rate, Agility, Concentration and Stamina. These attributes hurt a lot when low, but do not improve performance significantly at higher values.
Only look below if still in doubt between two players.
Priority #2: Jumping Reach (especially for defenders).
Secondary requirements: 10 in Balance, Dribbling (especially for flank players), Work Rate and Anticipation.
Only look below if still in doubt between two players.
Priority #3: Dribbling and balance.
Example of ideal player
Pace: 18+++
Acceleration: 18+++
Work Rate: 10
Agility: 6
Concentration: 6
Stamina: 6
Anticipation: 10
Jumping Reach: 10++
Dribbling: 10+
Balance: 10+
There are two player filters in the attachments. You can use them in Recruitment > Player Database > Edit Search, loading them in the cog icon by the bottom left. One filter is to remove bad players, while the other is to show very good players (but might filter out some good outliers).
Credits to everyone in FM-Arena who did small experiments which gave hints to what might be working well in this patch. Probably there will be a better tactic inspired by this one in the next hours or days, so I am just happy to contribute.
Sounds like a reasonable approach.