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.
For more information or to discuss tactics in general, feel free to join my Discord server.
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
Skivinsk said: Zaz, I'm loving the tactic, but I have a question.
Can I play a player there who has no familiarity with the AM/SS position?
He has all the attributes you listed, but he's a striker, and his rating drops to half a star when I put him there.
Does this hurt his performance, or is it just a visual thing? Expand
Unfortunately, low ability in the In Possession position have a noticeable impact in performance (Out of Possession does not matter much, so you can ignore). That does not mean you must discard all your strikers, but sometimes it can take over six months to retrain them to a satisfactory level. In the beginning, you can bring them in when matches are secured, like winning by 2+ goals, so they learn the position with playtime. Once they become light green, you can feel more confident to use them as starters. Obviously, make sure to set them to train for the new position, so they become proficient faster.
Dkstick said: For example, I recently spent quite a lot of money on an Austrian player with 14 pace and 14 acceleration, which is very good for the Polish league, and over half a season he had an average rating of 6.02, which was extremely low compared to the rest of the squad.
Yet his CA was more or less around the league average, and the rest of his attributes were generally decent as well. Expand
There are some people with posts about how to optimize the performance of players based on attributes. One thing to watch is the scout reports for hidden attributes. I usually value a lot players with high professionalism, consistency, low injury proneness and dirtiness. You usually see in the scout reports if those hidden attributes are low or high, and I personally find players with low professionalism to be the most problematic (speaking about ratings).
Dkstick said: Regarding scouting and recruitment, what I’m currently doing is simply assigning my scouts with the silver star Current Ability and Potential Ability judging attributes to search for players in Central Europe, since that’s basically the extent of my scouting budget at the moment.
I’ve also set my entire scouting team to continuously look for players between the ages of 18 and 27.
Whenever I get the opportunity, I increase the number of scouts I can employ, as well as improve the club’s training facilities and youth facilities.
Should I be doing things differently? Expand
Scouts can only work in a number of players at a time. Do not waste them in players you would not want to hire. Make sure to tell them the attributes you want in players, especially a high level of pace and acceleration. Having fast players is probably the most impactful way of winning. Slow players are just bad, even if their other attributes are amazing. The best tip for someone wanting immediate results is to aim to be the quickest team in the league, with the fastest players. From there, market is all about developing your players or replacing them with even faster ones, or players with the same speed and better overall attributes.
In my opinion, there are several factors that impact a season, so it is hard to point out where exactly you can improve. What I can say is, if you want to play a multi-season game with a friend, it is often better to play different leagues, so you can both win together, instead of having a winner and a loser. Competitive saves are better in the same league, but the nature of football is that teams winning get more resources to keep winning, while others chase with much less.
That being said, the most important aspects of the game are the tactic you play, the players you use (including transfers), and people management. By people management, I mean keeping players in top shape (condition, match sharpness and fatigue), optimize contract and transfer costs, develop the most important attributes (pace and acceleration), and keep players with high morale and not unhappy.
Depends on your definition of "best". If you mean the forward role that maximizes possession, then DLP is probably your best bet, because they are playmaker (set to receive ball on their feet instead of on space). Players that run into space are more likely to decrease possession, because they encourage longer passes.
First of all, thanks for sharing your incredible research and schedules. I have a question regarding the long-term development of young players, and I’d love to get your insight.
I’m currently managing a team strictly made of young prospects with high potential (mostly between 18-20 years old). Since they are very young, my main goal is to fully develop them and push them toward their PA, rather than just maintaining or reshuffling their current attributes.
After testing the setup for 2-3 seasons, I’ve noticed a pattern: my players' Pace and Acceleration increase nicely by 3-4 points, which is amazing. However, their overall CA remains completely stagnant. It feels like the game motor is just converting and shifting current CA points into physical stats without actually increasing the total CA volume.
While we all agree that Pace/Acceleration are the most impactful attributes, won't a player perform significantly better if they also gain overall CA and reach their PA? A player with 18 Pace and high technical/mental CA will always outperform a player who only has 18 Pace/Acceleration but low CA. Meta ratings don't just look at Pace and Acceleration.
Given that my squad consists entirely of 18-20 year olds who need heavy development:
1. How can we trigger both overall CA growth and Pace/Acceleration at the same time? 2. Once a young player hits that 17-18 Pace threshold, what is the exact transition plan to stop the CA stagnation and force the game to fill the remaining PA gap? 3. Should I completely ditch the Rebalance schedule for this age group and move into a specific Role Training layout?
Would love to hear your thoughts on how to optimize this for pure wonderkid development! Thanks! Expand
These are the tactics marked as "Growth": - 263 [Physical]x5[Attacking]x5: 27.85 CA - 214 [Physical]x2[Attacking]x2: 33.83 CA
As you can see, 214 has a much higher CA growth. If you want to promote more growth of CA, then ignore 263 completely and use only 214 for Growth. I still recommend to use Rebalance ([Resistance]x1) every now and then, but you can reduce the frequency to once every other month, for example, just to train some attributes that are not activated by 214.
Dkstick said: Sorry either I didn't understand the answer, or I worded my question badly, as my English is limited. The person I'm playing against uses the Autumn 4.5 tactic, and what I'd like to know is whether there's a formation that gets good results against Autumn 4.5. Do you know of one, or should I just go with Autumn 4.5 myself and try to simply have a better squad than him, even though I like that option less? Expand
My bad, I meant this one, but forgot to put the link.
bf3metro said: Hey, based on all the testing you’ve done here, do you have what you’d consider an optimal schedule to actually use week-to-week over a full season?
I’ve been using ZaZ’s Growth 2, but in my save it really isn’t delivering the development I expected.
What I’m mainly looking for is a schedule that pushes CA growth as fast as possible so players reach their PA quickly, rather than just maximizing CA efficiency.
Would you recommend switching fully to something like 260 / 214 / 156 depending on the players’ CA–PA gap, or do you have a specific weekly/monthly rotation you think is optimal in practice? Expand
I recommended 5x (Physical + Attacking) because it provides similar results than 2x (Physical + Attacking) in the important attributes, but with lower overall CA gain. However, I might change the recommendation to 2x during the entire season for simplicity, as well as because it fits better for semi-pro teams.
ahmet said: "Thanks. What is the difference between ZAZ 3.46 and the 4.5 you sent? Actually, I am happy with 3.46, but as I said, I completely mess up—especially in away games—against teams that are stronger than mine." Expand
There are a few changes, including CHMs roaming from position, frontliners triggering press more often, neutral defensive line, and goalkeeper in a different role and passing shorter. I am not sure if there are more changes, but you can see all team and player instructions in the first post.
ahmet said: "Hello. I am using the ZAZ Autumn 3.46 tactic and it is amazing. I can win the championship with almost any team, but I am looking for a tactic to beat teams that are stronger than mine. Especially in away matches, I cannot beat teams that are better than me with this tactic." 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.
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.
For more information or to discuss tactics in general, feel free to join my Discord server.
Sounds like a reasonable approach.
Can I play a player there who has no familiarity with the AM/SS position?
He has all the attributes you listed, but he's a striker, and his rating drops to half a star when I put him there.
Does this hurt his performance, or is it just a visual thing?
Unfortunately, low ability in the In Possession position have a noticeable impact in performance (Out of Possession does not matter much, so you can ignore). That does not mean you must discard all your strikers, but sometimes it can take over six months to retrain them to a satisfactory level. In the beginning, you can bring them in when matches are secured, like winning by 2+ goals, so they learn the position with playtime. Once they become light green, you can feel more confident to use them as starters. Obviously, make sure to set them to train for the new position, so they become proficient faster.
Yet his CA was more or less around the league average, and the rest of his attributes were generally decent as well.
There are some people with posts about how to optimize the performance of players based on attributes. One thing to watch is the scout reports for hidden attributes. I usually value a lot players with high professionalism, consistency, low injury proneness and dirtiness. You usually see in the scout reports if those hidden attributes are low or high, and I personally find players with low professionalism to be the most problematic (speaking about ratings).
I’ve also set my entire scouting team to continuously look for players between the ages of 18 and 27.
Whenever I get the opportunity, I increase the number of scouts I can employ, as well as improve the club’s training facilities and youth facilities.
Should I be doing things differently?
Scouts can only work in a number of players at a time. Do not waste them in players you would not want to hire. Make sure to tell them the attributes you want in players, especially a high level of pace and acceleration. Having fast players is probably the most impactful way of winning. Slow players are just bad, even if their other attributes are amazing. The best tip for someone wanting immediate results is to aim to be the quickest team in the league, with the fastest players. From there, market is all about developing your players or replacing them with even faster ones, or players with the same speed and better overall attributes.
That being said, the most important aspects of the game are the tactic you play, the players you use (including transfers), and people management. By people management, I mean keeping players in top shape (condition, match sharpness and fatigue), optimize contract and transfer costs, develop the most important attributes (pace and acceleration), and keep players with high morale and not unhappy.
Where exactly do you think you are failing?
First of all, thanks for sharing your incredible research and schedules. I have a question regarding the long-term development of young players, and I’d love to get your insight.
I’m currently managing a team strictly made of young prospects with high potential (mostly between 18-20 years old). Since they are very young, my main goal is to fully develop them and push them toward their PA, rather than just maintaining or reshuffling their current attributes.
After testing the setup for 2-3 seasons, I’ve noticed a pattern: my players' Pace and Acceleration increase nicely by 3-4 points, which is amazing. However, their overall CA remains completely stagnant. It feels like the game motor is just converting and shifting current CA points into physical stats without actually increasing the total CA volume.
While we all agree that Pace/Acceleration are the most impactful attributes, won't a player perform significantly better if they also gain overall CA and reach their PA? A player with 18 Pace and high technical/mental CA will always outperform a player who only has 18 Pace/Acceleration but low CA. Meta ratings don't just look at Pace and Acceleration.
Given that my squad consists entirely of 18-20 year olds who need heavy development:
1. How can we trigger both overall CA growth and Pace/Acceleration at the same time?
2. Once a young player hits that 17-18 Pace threshold, what is the exact transition plan to stop the CA stagnation and force the game to fill the remaining PA gap?
3. Should I completely ditch the Rebalance schedule for this age group and move into a specific Role Training layout?
Would love to hear your thoughts on how to optimize this for pure wonderkid development! Thanks!
These are the tactics marked as "Growth":
- 263 [Physical]x5[Attacking]x5: 27.85 CA
- 214 [Physical]x2[Attacking]x2: 33.83 CA
As you can see, 214 has a much higher CA growth. If you want to promote more growth of CA, then ignore 263 completely and use only 214 for Growth. I still recommend to use Rebalance ([Resistance]x1) every now and then, but you can reduce the frequency to once every other month, for example, just to train some attributes that are not activated by 214.
My bad, I meant this one, but forgot to put the link.
I’ve been using ZaZ’s Growth 2, but in my save it really isn’t delivering the development I expected.
What I’m mainly looking for is a schedule that pushes CA growth as fast as possible so players reach their PA quickly, rather than just maximizing CA efficiency.
Would you recommend switching fully to something like 260 / 214 / 156 depending on the players’ CA–PA gap, or do you have a specific weekly/monthly rotation you think is optimal in practice?
I recommended 5x (Physical + Attacking) because it provides similar results than 2x (Physical + Attacking) in the important attributes, but with lower overall CA gain. However, I might change the recommendation to 2x during the entire season for simplicity, as well as because it fits better for semi-pro teams.
There are a few changes, including CHMs roaming from position, frontliners triggering press more often, neutral defensive line, and goalkeeper in a different role and passing shorter. I am not sure if there are more changes, but you can see all team and player instructions in the first post.
My recommended tactics are:
For playing aggressively: https://fm-arena.com/thread/19850-zaz-autumn-4-5/
For playing defensively: https://fm-arena.com/thread/20391-zaz-autumn-5-42-solid/
You can use either of them for normal play, they are both very good.
No. That thing is probably just decorative and does not have much effect in performance.