Are there any guides for the 'Match Preparation' screen?
I'm new to FM and on my recent game I realized how important this screen can be to potentially winning a match.
Is it best to have 3 different tactics ready on the screen so you can be versatile to change during a game?
Is it best to keep it on team bled and heavy workload, or do you mix it up each week, with attacking movement or defending set pieces?
Or, has this screen not really proved to be that effective.
Well, it is best to have 2 decent tactics (as the opponents get used to it if you use the same one the entire season - though this resets every summer) and a third one is also reccomended.
If you figured out which tactics you want to use, you have to make sure that all the bars stay full.
So just put it on very heavy in the pre-season so they learn the tactics as quickly as possible (I don't know which mode it should be on, but I always put it on attacking movement and it works well :P). And after that I keep it on the first stance above 'none'.
Oh and make sure you check it about every month, as one time I had that at the end of the season my team suddenly forgot how to play the first tactic..
During Pre season it's best to have "Team Blend" up, especially in the first season it should be to very heavy. After that, you should change it for every game, depending on the opponent and style of play.
For example, I usually keep it on Attacking Movement because I like to play possesion football and control the game, however during the first season I always used Defense Positioning against top teams in the league, and indeed it made the difference. It is a very important aspect of the game and you should definitely use it.
Just think of what do you need more for the next game, defense or attack, and make sure you don't forget to change it, it will take some time to get used to using it, but when you get the hang of it, you will see the results.
About the workload, just keep it on "Low", so players have at least 70% of their time focused on their training schedules, so they can develop as well. During my last save I used to set the intensity to Very Hard before the hard games, and I think it actually worked, so this is another interesting idea.
Good luck with it.
Wow, thanks guys some great advice which I'll be instantly taking on board.
What you say all makes a lot of sense and I've just started a new game with Leyton Orient so will make the best use of the match preparation screen and will report back with how I have done.
