Hard, hard, Football Manager. The SEGA game is truly not easy, especially for beginners. We spoke to a pro about tips and tricks to get you started without getting frustrated.
To completely change the squad once, train the strikers’ goal-scoring instincts to the maximum and then just watch the trophy cabinet get fuller and fuller – that’s not so easy in Football Manager from SEGA.
To make sure your first coaching stint in the game doesn’t turn into a nightmare, Tery Whenett tells eSport what you need to watch out for as a beginner.
Whenett is an expert on the subject: He provides help and inspiration for experienced players on his blog “FM.Zweierkette” and maintains a YouTube and Twitch channel – with guides and various Let’s Plays.
Tactics – success stands or falls on them
A topic that comes up again and again there: tactics. Even the first time you look at the choices, many questions arise: Which style of play is best for my team? What do I have to consider in terms of player roles? And which player attributes are important?
Basically, don’t panic when you see the many options, but first get to know your team. Which brings us directly to two questions, because the attributes are related to the style of play.
Tie alignment to player attributes
So if you are inspired by Argentine coach Helenio Herrera and his catenaccio, you should make sure that attributes such as positional play, strength, tackling or teamwork are high in your players.
If, on the other hand, you like Tiki-Taka, then passing, anticipation, ball reception, technique, flair, and without the ball are important.
Whenett explains why this is so important: “A playmaker with poor tackling will get a lot of yellow and red cards because he is supposed to go in hard. A playmaker with no vision and passing will give the ball away a lot, a centre-back with no jumping height will struggle against big forwards in the air. “
Player roles should fit each other
Once the formation and playing style are in place, it’s time for the player roles. This means which tasks the player performs in his position. Is he a ball distributor in midfield, or a clearer? Here it is important that the roles fit together “so that the players support each other optimally”, advises the content creator and adds:
“So if I put three playmakers in the centre, all three will try to feed the strikers with balls, but no one will feel responsible for the defensive work.” How good a player feels in a role is indicated by stars. But that should not necessarily be a criterion in the selection process:
“Basically, it is more important to me that the player roles fit each other than that the player plays in his best role. A playmaker type also brings his passing skills to the role of ‘central midfielder’, but does not orientate himself so strongly on the ball – and thus perhaps helps the team better. Especially when another playmaker is already playing on the eight.”
The attributes already mentioned take precedence. In the player profile, the most important attributes are highlighted depending on the selected player role. However, it is also worth taking a look at others, such as determination. A high value in this attribute means that the player remains motivated on the pitch.
Practice makes perfect
And if your head is already spinning, you may have noticed: there are tactics templates in the Steam Workshop. The ultimate cheat or useless? Neither, finds Whenett:
“If the subject of tactics only gives you a stomach ache, you can achieve quick success with something like this. But even there, success is not guaranteed: Many of these basic set-ups are tailored to top teams and then don’t work with your own average squad. This can also lead to frustration. But if you simply want to see which team instructions/player roles could fit together, you can definitely get inspired.”
The best way, however, would be “to learn the ropes yourself, get to know the settings and roles – that’s the most fun in the long run.
