CPW10-Book-Full

Communication & Psychological Warfare 2

Communication and Psychological Warfare ’10 – The Ultimate Media Guide for Virtual Football Managers

Written by Matt vom Brocke (The next Diaby), with Gareth Millward (Millie)

and Thomas Levin (Levo)

Copyright © FM-Britain.co.uk and the individual authors, 2010.

Communication & Psychological Warfare '10 is an unofficial and unauthorized source for educational purposes. FM-Britain has composed this guide independently and it is not endorsed or authorized by SEGA or Sports

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This version: 1.0, published 16 March 2010

mailto:[email protected]

3 Introduction

Contents Introduction................................................................................................................................................. 5

Personality in FM2010 .......................................................................................................................... 6

How to use this guide ........................................................................................................................... 7

A note on formatting ............................................................................................................................ 8

Increasing your match performance ............................................................................................................. 9

The Match Build-Up ................................................................................................................................11

Preparation .........................................................................................................................................11

Pre-match press conference ................................................................................................................12

The Match ..............................................................................................................................................18

Player Ratings......................................................................................................................................18

Morale ................................................................................................................................................19

Motivation ..........................................................................................................................................20

Team Talks ..............................................................................................................................................23

Pre Match Talks ...................................................................................................................................24

Half-Time Talks ....................................................................................................................................25

Post-Match Talks .................................................................................................................................27

Individualising the talks .......................................................................................................................28

Using player reactions to judge player personality ...............................................................................32

Post-match Reactions ..............................................................................................................................36

Post-match press conference...............................................................................................................36

Fining players ......................................................................................................................................37

Fitness and form management ............................................................................................................41

Communication & Psychological Warfare 4 Squad Management ....................................................................................................................................42

Commenting on a player’s form ..............................................................................................................43

Options ...............................................................................................................................................44

Reactions (PR) .....................................................................................................................................46

Using this information to judge personality .........................................................................................46

Building harmony ....................................................................................................................................49

Choosing your captain .........................................................................................................................50

Selection policy ...................................................................................................................................52

Transfer Policy .....................................................................................................................................56

Tutoring ..............................................................................................................................................58

Player recommendations.....................................................................................................................61

Using and acting on staff feedback ......................................................................................................62

Warfare ......................................................................................................................................................66

Press conferences ...................................................................................................................................67

Interaction with other players .................................................................................................................72

Admiring Players .................................................................................................................................73

Declaring your interest ........................................................................................................................74

Interaction with other managers .............................................................................................................75

Making Friends ...................................................................................................................................75

Making Enemies ..................................................................................................................................76

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................77

Credits ....................................................................................................................................................77

5 Introduction

Introduction

Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes.

Brian Clough

Many a time have I seen Brian Clough used as the example of the manager who “played without tactics”. They point to his famous dominoes quote as proof, and proceed to tell us that spending time worrying about tactics is bunk. Players win matches. And those that say different are over-complicating the beautiful game. Suppose, for a second, that the sceptics are correct. How do teams with obviously inferior players get wins over better teams? “Ah,” they say, “the coach got them fired up and playing their best”.

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

Sun Tzu

Even those like us at FM-Britain, who analyse (or even over-analyse) tactics, must concede that there is a beautiful logic to this. The inferior team wanted it more. They tried harder. They won the battle. The truth, as always, has elements of both. Sure, we must admire the beauty in the tactics which allowed David to slay Goliath, but we must also delve deeper to see the strategy out of which victory evolved. In a nutshell, this is what Communication and Psychological Warfare is about. Battles may be won by tactical decisions, but wars are built on strategy. How were the little team motivated to play better? Why were they fired up? What can we do to ensure this happens on a regular basis? And perhaps more importantly, how do we avoid being on the receiving end? CPW is the complete guide to squad management in FM2010. Taking you from the build-up to the match, through the game and on to longer term club concerns, this guide is designed to show you how to motivate your team to play at their very best in every game they play.


Personality in FM2010 Understanding of personality is a key part of management, in the real world as well as the virtual one. Players with strong personalities will perform better, train harder and develop quicker than flaky ones. You can, however, learn certain tricks to keep those with less favourable characters performing as efficiently as possible. This guide is about maximising the positive effects of strong personality traits and mitigating the negative effects of weaker ones. It is also about learning to identify those players who are most likely to possess these strong traits and, crucially, spreading them throughout your squad from the captain right down to the teenagers in the youth team.

Effects on performance This guide will cover the ways in which you can get players to perform at their maximum in games. Covering morale, motivation, form, team talks and player interaction, we will describe how to judge each player’s individual needs and how to use this information to your advantage. Players who are prone to nerves, for instance, will need encouragement to take the pressure off them. Those who are highly motivated will need encouragement to play even better. Similarly, if you can build a team of highly determined, professional players, they will perform far more consistently and far better than those with little determination and an amateurish mentality. It is therefore very important that you buy and develop players who are most likely to behave in this way. We will show you how.

Effects on development Those same traits which inspire good, consistent performances on the pitch will inspire them off it. To develop fully, players need to train hard and to be determined to “make it” as professional footballers. By using our scout and coach reports, our own experience and tutoring, we can instil these traits in our youths and get them to reach as much of their potential as possible.

7 Introduction

Throughout the guide, we will provide

key information which highlights a particular paragraph in these helpful hint

boxes. They will summarise important

information and help when skim-reading the guide for extra help.

Strong personality traits like this are also incredibly important later on in a player’s career. Those with lots of high mental attributes, as well as professionalism, will be able to perform at a higher level long after their legs have gone and their physical stats go into decline. Thus, there are immediate and long-term benefits to filling your squad with strong personalities. Again, we will show you how. Of course, not all of our players will be model professionals, and that is the other aspect to Communication and Psychological Warfare. We will also show you how to make the best out of a bad situation and how you can get the best possible reactions from those who need a good kick up the rear to achieve their potential.

How to use this guide We will begin by taking people through the match day experience, covering the pre-match build-up, team talks and the post-match post-mortem. On the forums, this appears to be the most talked about aspect of man management. Partly this is down to its immediate nature, and partly because of its direct effect on results. Certainly, knowing how to deal with your players before, during and after the match is important, and this will be covered in great detail. In the second part of the guide, we will move on to the long-term planning of your squad: how to spot players with strong personalities, how to engender these traits within your squad, and how to make sure that the whole squad pulls in the same direction. This is, perhaps, the most important part of the guide. Understanding player personalities for the match is very important, but unless you can keep those fires burning over a 30, 40 or 50-game season then they remain useless. Similarly, if your players fall into terminal decline in their late 20s, your youths never progress beyond the U18s squad and your entire team hates each other – well, you will never be able to build a side that can win titles on a regular basis.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 8 The third and final part of the guide will cover the other miscellany of the game’s media management through what we term warfare: press conferences outside the match day, tapping up transfer targets and playing mind games with the opposition. Effectively, this covers:

Team talks and player interaction – communication

Personality management and moulding – psychological

Using the media to affect other teams – warfare Obviously, there are overlaps between all three, and without a good dose of all of them, even the best tactical masterminds will come unstuck.

A note on formatting To improve the readability of this guide on computer screens, the size of the pages have been adjusted so that the text on each page should fit and be legible on a standard monitor at 75% zoom. When printing, this may leave large white spaces at the bottom of each page. This is intentional.

9 Increasing your match performance

Increasing your match performance

Managing your team on and around the big match We start Communication and Psychological Warfare ‘10 with these chapters because they are probably the most sought after. They have an instant impact on match performance. This does not mean any other chapter is any more or any less important, since you always should keep an eye on squad development and long-term perspectives. But in the long run, getting the right attitude before, during and immediately after a match can be just as important for winning a single match as your tactical skills and judgement. While you may feel the advice given here seems to be a little bit “robotic” or even “gamey”, we can assure you it is not! It takes a lot of experimentation and a sharp eye to know how to react properly to the needs of your squad and your individual players. And if you really try to analyse how great managers handle themselves, their players and the media before and after big matches, you may recognise that they are following their experience and intuition. This is exactly the same plan we have here: to learn how to improve our decision making. We want to have a highly motivated squad. We want our players to have best morale. We want those in good form to maintain it, and those who have been dropped to be determined to prove us wrong. We want to see during the game if we can help a player by criticism or support. We want them to recover quickly after a loss and stay focussed after a good win or even a great win. And, last but not least, we want to make our squad feel comfortable and motivated when going into every game. So, as you can see, this is the ideal which most managers strive for in real life, and this is the dividing line between a good tactician and a great manager. A game can be won or lost in the dressing room or in the morning papers. He must handle (or even manipulate) the media perfectly. Much of this is common sense, lifted from the real world. There is, however, a slight exception regarding the internal and external behaviour of a manager in the FM series. Sadly, we cannot enjoy this kind of Jekyll and Hyde game some managers seem to enjoy. You know the types – defend their players for the most inexcusable behaviour in front of the cameras while throwing cups of tea at them in the dressing room. Certainly there is something missing here. The game's lack of internal player interaction is, by now, obvious compared to the progress in realism made by other areas of the game engine. However, we would not rate

Communication & Psychological Warfare 10 this as too serious a loss, since we are still able to achieve what we need to – and maybe, at some points, with much more efficiency than our real-life counterparts would even dream of. Whether you believe this is worth the effort or not, I am totally sure that getting praise from your players for the first time after you turned a game around with your fantastic half-time team talk is a great moment for any manager. If you can afford to lose these extra points at the end of the season, then maybe you can avoid man management. For the majority of us, though, this is a luxury we can ill afford. In our opinion, these chapters describe the most exciting non-tactical parts of management, since it is totally down to us whether we turn a draw into a win or avoid defeat. After all tactical preparations are made and the last tactical changes are applied in the game, this is what is left. We can download a tactic, but we can’t download that killer team talk. This is what can make the difference. And, back in the real world again, I am sure this is one of the secrets behind the success of the biggest managers we know.


The Match Build-Up

The Psychological Warfare Campaign Being well prepared for an important match and having your squad at the top of their morale and form for this match can be key in achieving your goals for the season and have massive impact on your results. Again, have a look at how these matches build up in real life and you will recognise how much emphasis cunning managers may put on this. You may suddenly see key players rested for one or even more matches before. You may see managers giving a series of positive remarks on his own players if he wants to put emphasis on the superiority of his team and if he is aiming at morale-boosting effects on his players. Or you may see the opposite: big teams neglecting the favourite role, building up pressure on the opposition by playing down their own chances and showing public admiration of the opposition key players. Between close rivals, often enough this may result in a fierce and bitter battle and sometimes you really get the impression that one or both sides may lose control. Toeing the fine line between defending your team’s honour and being seen as an unprofessional lunatic can be incredibly tricky. And, just like in real life, you may find yourself in a bad position if you get carried away by raw emotion when a rival coach challenges you this way. Just ask Kevin Keegan how much he “would love it” or Rafa Benitez about such “facts”. So in fact there is only one really professional way to handle this quest – and most likely there is not the slightest difference between game and real life here – whatever helps your team to perform at the best level is good, anything else should be avoided. Of course, this is a very basic and rough analogy since we find ourselves strongly restricted in our options by the game; on the other hand, we have less to consider than any real-life manager. And probably at this point, the game is much easier than it is for our real-life counterparts.

Preparation If you are facing key games, you should start your preparation very early, at least seven days ahead if you want to achieve the best results. Of course nobody can always take everything into account for every single game, but looking at the calendar at times and setting your eyes on these big dates can improve your performance massively.


Never underestimate the effect of reserve matches for rebuilding the morale of

underperforming first team players.

Also consider allowing occasional rests

for key players before important matches – if you can afford to do so, of course.

See also the sections covering squad rotation (p. 52) and player

interaction (p. 43)

There is a difference between “commenting on the opposition” through

the manager and doing it through the pre-match press conference. See

Interaction with other managers (p. 75).

If you are, for instance, facing a top match in seven days and know that you may need some rotation players or even key players who are currently in a bad mood, you should consider giving them a morale-boosting reserve match on Wednesday, if possible. Good morale may make up for any loss in condition, and you can rest them for a day after the match. If you are a perfectionist and very slow player (or just have the luxury of time), you may lead this reserve match and take your players off at a peak but early enough to recover easily. Also, you should consider using the game’s media interaction to increase their morale. Since it is not always possible to give them anytime, you may already have looked ahead and saved it for this occasion. If you are playing a fierce rival, you may also make a comment on your next opponent about three days before the match. The best-proven comment is to ‘expect a good rivalry’ as this will often take away pressure from your own players and occasionally build up pressure for the opposition. This is another great example of the modest approach working best in FM2010. Unlike the press conferences, it does not help you much to play the strong guy in this game. This may be a slight lack of realism and a one-dimensional interpretation of interaction by SI games, but again I feel that generally 80% of real life examples prove SI to be spot on here. It is not as easy to succeed as 'the special one' in real life as it may seem to us at times.

Pre-match press conference Finally, after so many preliminaries: the pre-match press conference. Now you can make up for anything you missed before. Check how your players react. Each and every one is different, and so each and every squad is different. The more ambitious, determined and professional your players are, the more you can stay on the positive side. And indeed it does take a while to get to know every new squad, even more so if you are a coach with rising reputation.


You can back up these assertions, and

maybe even build a relationship (positive or negative) by making specific pre-

match comments to the opposition manager by clicking on “manager

interaction” through the opponent’s squad screen and using the drop-down

menu in the top right corner.

Choose your options wisely and remember that being over-confident rarely is rewarded in the game – but it also pays to err on the side of gentle positivity to keep the squad confident in you and let them know your expectations. How many managers regularly go into games telling the press they expect to lose, even at the lower end of the table? To make things clear: good pre-match comments will not win a game for you, but giving the wrong comments can have catastrophic effects and giving the right comments can boost your morale strongly.

Can your team win? The exact wording of these questions can vary depending on the strength of the opposition, your recent results and the importance of the upcoming match. In general, however, the possible responses will follow a pretty regular pattern We have a really good chance (the most positive response). The option to go with if your team is having a good run, if your odds are looking good and if your players are determined and can handle pressure. We can win if we stick to the game plan. If your form and odds are less brilliant, if you are additionally playing away and if your players suffer from a lack of self-believe, this option will cause less pressure and you will see your squad being more relaxed. Useful, too, as it remains reasonably positive. I can’t see us winning today. If you really do not see many chances to get away with a result or a point. Takes the pressure off your players and most likely will result in a good morale despite taking a loss. Don’t underestimate your team though, it may also lose motivation, if you do so.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 14 There’s no chance of us winning today (the most negative response). One to definitely leave for those cup games where you genuinely expect the team to get thrashed. Yet, even in these circumstances your professional players are likely to be concerned at your lack of ambition. Even if the odds really do look bleak, this option is best avoided for one of the less negative or slightly positive responses. No comment/Neutral response. Only advisable if your morale already is superb across the board and you do not want to risk anything to gain the extra motivation tags.

Current form Much like the comments on your chances of winning, you will most likely get a series of questions related to your current form, your last result, and the frequency of fixtures. Although we have already said that over-confidence is rarely rewarded, it is actually the case with these questions that there is often little negative effect to talking up the dressing room atmosphere, particularly if the team is doing reasonably well in the league. Form: You are likely to get questions surrounding your form, including winning streaks, unbeaten streaks and, if you’re unfortunate, losing streaks. It pays to remain positive. There is little to be gained from telling the team that you expect your winning run to end imminently. Since these are questions of form rather than specific questions about your up-coming opponent, we have yet to see a team react badly to being told that you’re enjoying their run or that you expect them to bounce back soon. Previous match: Whether you won, drew or lost your previous match, the press are bound to say something. Again, it is often better to say that you want to bounce back or that the win has given you confidence than to play down your chances. On the other hand, if you have progressed deeper into the game, the press may ask you about your last encounter with today’s opponents. Treat this much like you would any question about the upcoming game – confidence without naive optimism or arrogance. Fixture congestion: Or a lack thereof. From time to time the media may want your opinion on your build-up of fixtures or your relatively long break. Usually, if you’ve waited over a week for a game or have to play again 2-4 days after your previous encounter you will get asked this. As with the form question, there seems nothing to be gained from being negative here.


There is a difference between

commenting on a danger man via the

press conference and via the scout

report. Commenting via the scout report makes a direct comment to the

opposition player, whereas the press conference allows you to be more

manipulative with the entire squad of the

opposition.

In general, younger players and ones

who have low bravery will react badly to you heaping extra pressure on them. This

is as true for the opposition as it is for your own players; so bear this in mind

when nominating a player to “deal with the threat” of your identified danger

man.

Team morale: If the dressing room atmosphere is good and your morale is high you might get asked about it. Is the team playing with freedom because of their confidence? Do you feel a drop in morale is just around the corner? Once more, negativity seems counter-productive here. Besides, if the team is confident enough to be noticeable to the press, chances are that the dressing room is a hotbed of positivity – praise them and their spirit. Danger man Not only during the press conference but also from your “next opponent” scout report, you may get the opportunity to comment on the opposition’s danger man. But beware, it is a gamble, otherwise the game may get too easy. You should always look first at the form and personality of these players. If they are model professionals, driven or highly determined players, better stay away from commenting on them if they are not in a crisis. Players in a crisis and with less determined characters are more prone to buckle under the pressure than those who are on top of their form. One of the authors once tried it on Klose while he was playing for Manchester United, and he said thank you with a brace… so be warned. During a press conference, the media will occasionally identify what they see as the biggest threat to your side. You can agree, in which case you are likely to have to name who in your team is charged with countering the threat posed by the danger man. Or you can strongly disagree, which may give you the opportunity to name a danger man of your own. Identifying a new danger man can be entertaining during a press conference, but we cannot say that we have seen significant effects by doing so, other than the ability to be able to try and shift the focus from one player to another. You may get a good laugh for picking somebody from the youth team, but certainly this is hardly worth the effort; besides which, your players will not get the joke. Maybe you could spend some time on another gamble and pick another key player having trouble and a more


It may well be useful to give an area of your squad a boost if you feel the game

will need it (i.e., you may “stretch the

truth” by suggesting you will attack in

order to boost the confidence of your forwards with low morale), but this will

depend on your own convictions and managerial style.

favourable personality for being influenced. The one option that seems to get decent results on a regular basis is “I wouldn’t concentrate on just one player”. This might get the opponent fired up to prove you wrong, but it could also unnerve him as he gets a public snub from you. And, if nothing else, it may be the honest answer if you are the kind of manager who does not make wholesale changes to counter individual threats.

The strongest area of your squad If you are confident about the up-coming game, the press may ask you which area of your team you consider the strongest. There is no right or wrong answer here – you may prefer to say that all of your squad are up for the challenge, or maybe you prefer to let everyone know where your best players play. When you do take the plunge and mention a part of the squad that you feel is better, you may get asked a further question – who, out of this strong area, do you consider the best? This can be a good opportunity to talk up senior players with low confidence, or just to continue to massage the ego of your biggest star. In any case, this carries the usual risk/rewards of praising players. Some love it; some think you are putting too much pressure on them. And there’s always a chance that some of the other senior members of the squad will get annoyed that you didn’t mention them.

Tactical approach The press may also be interested to hear how you intend to take on your opponents – whether you intend to go all out attack with expansive football, or whether you’re likely to park the bus. Or something in between. As with most questions, it can pay to be honest. Be aware that certain areas of the team can get annoyed with you if you declare yourself to be over-attacking against strong opposition, or if they feel their area of the pitch will be neglected (e.g., forwards can react badly if they think you are going to play very defensively). On the other hand, it is also possible that you can get a positive reaction from some players if they like your intended style of play. The neutral answer tends to get the journalist to push the point but will at least avoid a negative reaction from your squad.


Judging the best way to do this is tricky

at first, but this guide will show you how

to make distinctions between different

personality types and how they react to praise and criticism. See the relevant

sections in Player Interaction (p. 43) and Team Talks (p. 23).

They may also quiz you on your preparation for the game. How well do you know the opposition? Do you expect them to create any tactical surprises? Or have you got anything interesting up your sleeve? Again, honesty seems the best policy, although often have the authors said “I could name their starting eleven if you wanted” and not got any reaction at all from the squad. As with other answers, confidence short of arrogance is the best approach.

Individual form and injuries Some of your own players might get highlighted by the journalists for their recent performances, be they positive or negative. In general, it is best to react honestly, but also in a way that the player will accept. So, if a player genuinely has been awful, it is best to say so; and similarly if a player has been performing well then let the world know that you’re happy. Overall, react slightly more favourably than you would in a normal player interaction situation, since this is a public press conference. Occasionally, both before and after games, there will also be comments about players who have been injured. Will they be missed, or will you get on fine without them? Again, this is down to player personality. In general, those who are prone to suffering from low confidence (unprofessional players, or those poor at handling pressure) will need a boost from you talking up their ability. Similarly, senior players may crave praise here. On the other hand, professional players with a good team ethic will want you to concentrate on the rest of the team and may see your apparent reliance on him as a weakness of your management. If the player is injured, you can be asked who will replace them or be asked how suitable a certain member of the squad would be as a replacement. Once again, be aware of the personality of the replacement. Professional and determined players will react well to you saying they will slot right in; less strong personalities will need the pressure to be taken off them. When in doubt, a neutral or no comment answer may spare the player’s feelings.


This section is not just a manual to show

you what each team talk does and how to use it. It will also be a key tool in

learning how to spot different personalities in your squad and how best

to deal with them.

The Match

Understanding the tools at our disposal Before launching into team talks, it is important to know what our aims are. It is all very well saying that we want our team to play “well” or “better” – but until we know what a “good” performance actually is, we would be wasting our time. Similarly, we want to motivate our players and make sure that they play to the best of their abilities. But, again, how can we tell whether what we have said has had any effect? And how will we know which players need to be shouted at and which ones need an arm around their shoulder? Thankfully, FM2010 provides us with feedback on how well our players are playing and what they’re thinking out there on the football pitch.

Player Ratings Player ratings are not an exact science, either in the newspapers or in FM2010. The FM ratings are derived from how useful a player has been on the night: how many passes he completed, headers he won, interceptions, goals, assists and so on. These are modified slightly to reflect where the player is on the field. So, a defender isn’t going to get punished too hard for not scoring, while a striker won’t be criticised for not winning enough key tackles. Despite what we may think about the accuracy of the ratings (I’m sure we’ve all had a player go from a “4” to a “7” simply by scoring a penalty), it is clear that the game takes them rather seriously. Players lose confidence if their ratings aren’t high enough, and great ratings can improve your assistant manager’s view of a player when giving advice on your best 11. But what do the ratings mean? Well, in earlier versions of the game players were given a flat, integer rating from 1-10. Any

In the older versions of the game, the

ratings roughly meant the following:

4 – abysmal 5 – bad

6 – average 7 – good

8 – very good 9 – outstanding

10 - perfect


player who played and did nothing of note would get a “6”. Not great, but not bad. Then, depending on his effect on the game, his rating would rise or fall. Any team with any sort of ambition would want players to at least put in a “7” performance. A “6” would leave any player in danger of being dropped, and certainly a couple in a row would indicate a player in very poor form. Anyone who played a “5” or below was a candidate for being fined for being so bad; anyone who put in an “8” or above was to be commended and shown as an example to the rest of the squad. Not much has changed. We still want our boys to go out there and play to a “7” standard. But since the introduction of decimal places, things have changed slightly in the way we view our players. We now have far more information as to whether a player has put in a “high 7” or a “low 7”. And, depending on the player, this can really affect his view on how well he is playing. Depending on your player’s ambition, the team’s expectations and so on, we want our players to perform at 7.00 or above. This will not always happen, but a good, solid performance should be in this area. In the 6.50-6.99 range, the player is doing OK, but we really want him to perform better. Below 6.50 and serious questions need to be asked about this player’s commitment to the cause. Above 7.50 and we have a player who really is on fire.

Morale This whole guide is about maintaining morale. Happy, confident and motivated players play far better than moody, nervous and lazy ones. But morale is in itself a good indicator of a player’s mood and character. Morale comes on a sliding scale from very poor to superb. It has six stages. Ideally, we want all of our team to have superb morale. Very good is fine, but nothing beats a player who has superb morale.

Post-decimalisation, think of the

performance bands slightly differently:

1.0-4.4 – abysmal

4.5-5.4 – bad 5.5-6.4 – average

6.5-7.4 – good 7.5-8.4 – very good

8.5-9.4 – outstanding 9.5-10.0 - perfect

Communication & Psychological Warfare 20 We can use changes in morale to judge how a player is reacting to our management. One of the best ways to improve it in the long run is to win games. However, we can also use team talks, player interactions, new contracts, and so forth to boost that morale and so ensure that as many of our team have superb morale as possible. If a player has a sudden change in morale, often there will be a “PR” indicator in the player’s full status. Check the player’s personal section of their profile to see what it is the player has reacted to. Other possible changes can come from an extraordinary result (positive or negative), a relegation or promotion, or general concerns about the way the squad is being run. This guide will be all about exaggerating the positive effects of these changes, and minimising the negative ones. In general, players with lower morale lack confidence. It is usually best to be more encouraging and sympathetic to such players if they are playing slightly below the level you want than shouting and criticising them too heavily. Take this as an extra consideration when judging how to deal with individual players.

Motivation One of the little “widgets” we can use on the TV view of the match screen is the motivation tab. On it we can see the mood of the players on the pitch. This is an incredibly useful resource out on the pitch. Before this came along, we had to wait until after the match to be sure what effect (if any) our team talks had produced. Now, we know minute-by-minute how our talks, match incidents and score line are getting into our players’ heads. This information can let us know how to treat our players during the particular match, and can be used to show a general trend in player behaviour. For example, a player who is regularly “nervous” will need more encouragement from our team talks and possibly more praise in the press, even if his performances haven’t been that outstanding. Similarly, a player who always seems to be motivated is likely to be very professional

You can tell a player’s morale very easily either from the squad overview screen or

from their profiles. There are six indicators, in the following order:

- Very poor

- Poor - Okay

- Good - Very Good

- Superb


and may need more strong words if his performance falls below the level required.

Negative Feedback Playing nervously: Your player is being a little overawed by the occasion and is starting to worry that things might not go his way. Clearly, he needs some confidence from somewhere or he may start making mistakes or doing something stupid. He may remedy this himself if the score line gets better or he puts in a good pass or a goal. Alternatively, he may need some encouragement at half time. Players who are regularly nervous should be given more encouraging team talks before and during the match in order to take some of the pressure off them. Mistake led to goal: This is a complicated issue. It could be that the player is sufficiently motivated to correct his mistake and so needs no further encouragement. It could be that the player is shaken by his mistake and his head has gone down. Or it could be that the player is doing fine but one blunder has blighted his game. It will be up to you to judge the player’s personality and whether this is a player who needs to be encouraged or shouted at. Looking complacent: The player thinks this game is going to be a walk in the park, so he might get sloppy. Much like the nervous player, this might rectify itself. If it doesn’t, however, you’ll need to remind him of his duty next time you get a chance to talk to him. Use harsher words to make sure he knows that he needs to put in a performance if he is so right about the team winning this fixture. Playing without confidence: Clearly your player doubts his own abilities. Despite your words of encouragement, he doesn’t believe that he can do what is required, and this may manifest itself in a poor performance. Try to get his mojo back by restoring his self-belief and improving his performance.

Positive Feedback Looking motivated: Great! Your player is up for this one and it’s having a positive effect on his performance. Your job will be to maintain that motivation by ensuring it doesn’t turn into complacency. Encouraging words or similar words to the last talk you gave him may well keep his motivation high. Having a good game: The game is not giving you any specific feedback on the player’s mood but, no matter, he is playing well anyway. Such a player may need a bit of a boost at half time to maintain his performance or he may need to be told he is doing well to get rid of any last remaining nerves. Much like the “mistake led to goal” feedback, you will need to use your previous knowledge of the player to judge the correct

Communication & Psychological Warfare 22 response. Playing with confidence: This player is happy in himself and with the team. He is playing well and this is because he believes that he has what is needed to win this game. Again, this player will need to maintain this confidence. So, encourage him, let him know he’s doing well and keep him confident for the rest of the game. Don’t go overboard, however: we don’t want confidence to turn into complacency. Deserves his goal: The opposite to the “mistake led to goal” advice in many ways, but also not specific. This is a player who has scored and has a high match rating, but there are no further clues as to his state of mind. Once more, previous experience with the player should alert you to the correct response to his performance.

Questionable Feedback Looking fired up: A fired up player is angry at something someone has said. Whether he’s determined to prove you wrong, get one over the opposition or just get stuck into this game, a fired up player can be a blessing or a curse. He will be more aggressive and far more motivated to play well than other players, but he will also be prone to taking excessive risks with his tackling and other decisions. That could be a hindrance rather than a help. Depending on the player, you might want to calm him down with an encouraging talk or keep the fire going by telling him to go out there and get stuck in. Be aware, and if a player is regularly fired up and regularly getting into trouble with the referee or making bad decisions, consider a different approach. Playing Okay: This is pretty useless feedback in many ways. The player is doing fine. He’s not playing particularly well, but not that badly either. He’s not confident, but he isn’t nervous. He’s not overly motivated, but he isn’t complacent either. This is useful in some ways – if you know his personality you can try to gee him up or let him know you expect more. But you will need to use the rest of your knowledge about the player in order to truly get the best from him.


A general hint for all team talks,

individual talks and media interaction: every player and every team is different

and requires a different approach. Driven superstars will not need the same

encouragement as unprofessional part-timers. The more determined and

professional your squad the more

demanding you can be of your players. Until you know your team very well, you

should always check your team talk feedback to find out the right way to

handle them. Read more in Judging Player Personality (pp. 32, 46).

Team Talks

The dressing room is yours – now make the most of it Team talks are the key to influencing your team's performance and to giving you a good start to the game. The half-time talks have even more impact on the final score and often decide whether you are giving away a comfortable lead or turning around a game if needed. Some players claim that they have fantastic assistant managers who do this perfectly, but in most cases these team talks are rather lousy if you look them up using the team talk feedback. Even if his attributes for motivation and man handling are very high, he still will not do the best possible job. If you do have any doubts about this, you should play some games following these recommendations and see if there is a difference. I am totally sure that you will notice it once you get used to this. After all, what happens in the cabin is probably the very heart of managing and the secret of both fantastic success and miserable failure. What is more, it is difficult to understand how you can have a management game without this fundamental piece of man management! Team talks are one of the factors that add a little of the “human” element to the computer simulation, and make the overall game experience more sensitive and less predictable. If you do not have much experience with giving team talks, there is a helpful option available which will make things easier for you: the 'Ask assistant' button. This is especially helpful for selecting individual options for performance-based talks since it will remind you to spur those. However, you will still see that the AI standard choice is ‘for the fans’ and picked far too frequently, almost match by match. With little effort you can do it better! So, as a tip: select ‘Ask assistant’ to single out some of the individual comments based on performance (not all are selected, again), but then select your overall team talk for the remaining squad. Please note that the quality of both individual and team recommendations given by your assistant differs strongly depending on his man management and motivating abilities.


You will soon see that “Tell the players

they can win this game” can become your standard team talk once you

manage to assemble a combination of solid tactics, a gelled squad and

consistent performances. In fact, despite the advice to vary team talks given by

the in-game hints, there is not too much room for variation if you have reached

this state of stable performance. Your

best alternatives will become: result will

come and expect a victory. But obviously, despite becoming the default

you should look to vary your talks when the need arises.

Pre Match Talks After hitting the ‘Ask assistant’ button and singling out some of the individual player talk suggestions he made, you should now make your personal choice how you want to send your squad into the game. In certain circumstances, the wording of these options may be a little different – however, it is usually quite clear that these options have an equivalent. In our extensive testing, it seems that though the wording in the menu might differ, the end result is the same. Tell the players they can win this game. Probably a good choice for most home games in which you are favourite, also if the odds are in your favour for away games and you feel this is a realistic view of your team. Wish the team luck for the match ahead. This should be your choice for away games or home games where odds are clearly against you. The message is simple: you do not have to win today, we’re happy to take the single point. So you should not be too angry if you don’t get any more, but your team may be much more relaxed and eventually get a result, especially if they are prone to nerves. Tell the players you expect them to win the match. A clear and simple statement and it will be understood as is. However, this can make your players buckle and succumb to the pressure. It can be helpful under these circumstances: you are clear favourites for the match and have a very determined, ambitious and professional squad. You will see that these kinds of squads often react very positively and are delighted if your objectives are clear. If you lack these kinds of players and/or are not favourites for the match you should steer clear of this choice. Tell the players to do this for the fans. For some strange reason, the default assistant choice. But this should be reserved for the rather few games (depending on your league) against fierce rivals and occasionally for cup finals (get the trophy for the fans!). Always add individual talks.


In addition to the general half-time talks, it is now possible for you to give team

talks to substitutes. When bringing on a sub, use the “team talks” tab in the

tactics screen to give words of encouragement the incoming player.

Usually, you will only have the choice of you can make the difference, no

pressure, I expect a performance or none. Treat these like you would any

other player just about to start a match.

Tell the players there is no pressure on them today/result will come. An option if “wish luck” seems to be too much. In other words, useful if you expect your team to lose anyway or to face one of the hardest games of the season, no matter if you manage a top team or a relegation candidate. Combine this with encouraging individual talks to all key players to achieve the best possible results.

Half-Time Talks The most important part of the match is the half-time talk, since you now have the chance to keep your team on its toes if they are already winning, spur them on if they are behind and need to turn around the game or make them more focused if they are playing well but cannot score. Wasting your half-time team talks can mean throwing away games and points and will definitely come back to hurt you. Show your anger at the team/I expect nothing else then a win. You are behind or drawing a game which you should clearly win without any doubt. Make some tactical changes, bring on a new player, add individual talks and you should see a different second half. Most likely you will be hailed by your players for turning around this game if you should succeed. But getting angry too often will make your players unhappy with you and will lessen the effect of shouting in the future as the lads will have heard it all before. Disappointed/I want to see more from you. You are behind in a game you would like to be doing better in, but do not expect a resounding victory. Your players are generally putting in a pretty average performance and need to improve. Or, for more ambitious squads, you are drawing against a quite good team at home or you are leading by only one scrappy goal. Demand more and you may get it. You can win today. Encourage your players in a positive way. Use this route if Angry/Disappointed may be too harsh since you are playing strong teams. Also useful if you’re still surprisingly holding onto a draw away

This is the most valuable team talk if

your team is in a crisis and has lost its winning form for several games and now

will play a seemingly small opponent at home. More then once I have seen a

team recovering using this route. It seems to work equally well for highly

determined squads, which have started to dominate a league at will and have

several leading members with high influence and determination on the field.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 26 without being favourite and think you have potential to win. Also, this is the way to go if you would have preferred Angry/Disappointed but your team has low morale. Sympathise. The way to go if you are unlucky to be behind or drawing, but see a good performance. Pleased. For sustaining a good at least two goal lead against a good opponent, or when you are playing well after some poor performances and need to keep morale up. Beware that unprofessional and inconsistent players may see this as an excuse to stop trying. Show encouragement to the team (if available). If you are leading closely against strong opponents but your team is playing well and should maintain the performance to win. Don’t let your performance drop (if available). If you are leading closely and feel your team is in control and dominating but has to stay focused to keep the lead, especially if you expect a more committed opposition in second half. Pleased at the performance (if available). Shows this: “you are outplaying them everywhere!” If you have dominated from first to last but have failed to score yet or just scored once and all you need is more luck with finishing. Thrilled. For a clear cut lead of three goals at half time, or a good lead away, or leading against a very strong opponent. Whenever your teams performs above themselves (even if they do it every week). For the fans. See pre-match. Only for fierce rivals or cup finals. Go out and enjoy the rest of the game/The pressure is off! For friendlies, if there is not much left to win, or if you are already clearly behind and playing a team which is also clearly better than your own. This can banish any nerves and get the team to play freely in the second half, or it could make them go to sleep and let in a further sack-load of goals.

There are some very rare options e.g. in

finals like 'you’ve already got one hand on the cup'. These options are generally

variations of the common talks and should be read similarly. In this example

it translates into 'don't let your

performance drop'.


Post-Match Talks The shortest and least important part of all, since most of the time your players don’t listen anyway! The only bad mistake is not to give enough praise after good performances, and your players will let you know if this happens. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge key performances and single out poor ones. Youngsters and new players tend to listen more often and will be happy if you praise them. Have a look at individual morale and praise those who are still in bad mood after a win. Generally, be positive post-match. If your team has lost away but played well, be pleased or sympathise. Only lay into the players if they have performed way below expectations or if you are running a top quality side. You will know if you have judged the mood correctly if morale stays high. Show your anger at the team. This may work once or twice, especially if your team is usually performing very well in the national competition. But be aware of creating a really bad atmosphere in the dressing room and if you go on this way you will sooner or later see unsettled players and more bad results in return. As with the half-time talk, repeated use of it diminishes its effect, so use this sparingly unless you want your words to sound hollow. Disappointed. The better way to go, even if you feel like showing your anger. You may make clear the result wasn't up to standard, be it a draw or even narrow win. If your overall squad morale and performance were fine, this could be the way to say what you are thinking. Give some individual praise if someone deserves it. Don't say a word. Sometimes the best you can do if you feel like showing your anger but your squad morale may already be down. Can also be useful when with a big team and the performance was unremarkable, such as a two-goal win at home against weak opposition. Some players, however, will react badly to being told nothing. Use the team talk feedback to judge whether your players can handle such a talk.

This is a tricky issue, since morale after a

loss will also be influenced by individual performances, characters and your

handling of pre-match media. If you have been playing down the chance of winning

when facing a really hard match, morale loss may be less harsh. However, the

downside may be that your team will invest less into these games.

Angry responses, used sparingly, can

really let the players know that they have produced an unacceptable performance.

However, used too often players can get annoyed with you, or worse take no

notice of yet another tongue lashing from their manager.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 28 Warn against complacency in the next match. After very narrow wins, especially if you see a series of narrow games you used to win easily before. Sympathise with the team/good effort. You lost or didn't win but your team has shown a good effort in second half. Or your team dominated but simply failed to convert clear cut chances, or maybe conceded an unlucky goal to something out of their hands like a refereeing error. Pleased. They have done what you asked for, maybe one notch more. Delighted. You have seen a convincing game. Fantastic. Beware now, this is a little trap! You are making a bad choice not to use this if available. Why can’t you play like this every week. Again, beware because this is a little trap too! You are effectively saying that you expect your team to play at least this well every single week. It is good after a run of bad form for a title-chasing team who win 1-0 or 2-0 with an average-to-good performance. But it is not useful for a small team who have just won 6-0 away from home against Barcelona. Watch out!

Individualising the talks As with everything in life, one size does not fit all. Indeed, individual players all have individual needs. While the generic team options will help in most cases, there will always be certain players who are performing differently and will need different things from you to maximise their performances. Nearly all the individual talks follow the same pattern as the team talks, with a couple of exceptions. Getting these correct is the key to perfect man-management. We spoke earlier about player ratings and the motivation widget. Later, all of this information, including the feedback we get from these individualised talks, will help us determine our players’ personalities. For now,

If you are able to praise individual players and the whole team with a

'fantastic' feedback, you should not be too reserved with your post-match

comments. These options are only available if the engine has clearly seen

you outplaying your opponents, and your players will expect an according

feedback. Any other choice and you may be accused of not giving enough credit.


though, we will make some generalisations as to the sorts of approaches necessary for motivating your squad. First of all, players who are playing well need to be encouraged in such a way that they maintain their performance. Those who are playing badly need to be encouraged to improve. How we do that boils down, effectively, into three main categories: we can criticise a player; we can support a player; or we can praise a player. There are also some other options, used less often, which can add a little more spice to your talks in more specific circumstances.

Criticism Criticism is most useful when a player is performing below expectations, but is a reasonably professional player who can be motivated to perform better. Saying you are disappointed or angry with a player comes under this category. You could even say that you expect a performance from you today, or I want to see more from you in order to criticise earlier poor performances. This can spur the player on to do better, or it may just make him upset with you. Criticise players who you know will want to prove you wrong and who are most likely to become complacent. You should also be more demanding of senior players, particularly if they have been putting in average performances of late. Bear in mind, though, that players with low morale are likely to have less confidence, so shouting at them may just make things worse. Temper your criticism with low-confidence players in order to make sure you do not destroy whatever spirit they have left.

Supporting a player There are really two types of support. We can try to motivate our players to perform better, or we can try to motivate them to keep playing as they are. Both, though, rely not on praise or criticism but on appealing to the player’s inner belief.

In general a disappointing performance is one below 6.5 and a really bad

performance is below 5.5. However, this depends on circumstances such as the

match, the player’s personality, the team’s expectations and so on. This is

only a rough guide to “good” and “bad” performances.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 30 If our players need to improve, sometimes getting the old hairdryer treatment won’t work – and it certainly will not always be necessary. We should support our players who are doing pretty well and we would like them to do slightly better or maintain their performance. It is also useful to support players who are prone to getting nervous or have little experience. The encourage and sympathy options are good in this regard, as is the you can win today, or the I have faith talk. Use this for players who are doing okay, but need to step it up a little to move onto the next level, or for players doing poorly for whom criticism seems to seldom work. It may also be more useful for players with low morale in order to keep their spirits up. However, if we want to maintain our player’s level of performance we need to make sure they don’t get complacent. Let the player know this by telling them don’t get complacent or don’t let your performance drop. Both will appeal to the player’s professionalism to keep going. This can be helpful if praising the player tends to make him complacent.

Praise For a brief moment you may stop being the joyless school master and you might want to offer some grudging praise. The time to do this is with players who you need to encourage and let them know that they are doing just what you expected. You might be pleased or delighted with their performance so far, and therefore want them to go out and give you more of the same. Beware, though. Some players may think that their job is done if they get too much praise, and they will become complacent. Similarly, you may not, privately, be that impressed with a player, but they might respond very well to being told how brilliant they are. Use your knowledge of the player to judge whether they will need more stern words to encourage them to maintain their performance or whether praising them will work best. As a general rule, those players who tend to become nervous easily, who have lower morale or who tend to react poorly to criticism will need more praise than others.

Again, in general most player will see

any performance above 7.5 as good, and anything above 8.5 as fantastic. But once

more, this is relative to the player’s ability, expectations and the match they

are playing in, and should be used as a rough guide only.


Miscellaneous options Some options don’t quite fit this pattern, and are used more sparingly. However, do not dismiss them because they are powerful tools in your arsenal. The most obvious one is the “none” talk which effectively says nothing. Some managers like to use this for players who are having unremarkable performances and who do not need any special motivation or encouragement. Others will try to say at least something to every member of the team. This depends on personal preference. However, saying nothing can backfire in two ways. First, it can make the player confused and angry with you, and therefore less motivated. Second, it may be that you have missed a golden opportunity to encourage a big performance from a key player. Use the team talk feedback to judge which players can benefit from the “none” option and in which circumstances it works best. There are other options which are designed to fire up the team and get them in the mood for battle. Do it for the fans and prove a point! are clearly there to get the players up for the occasion and to elicit a performance from players who need to show the world that their previous average performances have been put behind them. Firing a player up may get them playing well, but it runs the risk of him making rash decisions and giving away free kicks and cards in dangerous circumstances. Finally, there are the calming options, designed to take the pressure off nervous players, new players or players who have spent a long time out of the squad. The no pressure or the pressure is off talks can be effective in giving the player the freedom to do his own thing without worrying too much on the final result. Players who suffer from nerves, especially when the game is going against them, can be inspired once they know that they won’t be criticised too heavily if everything goes wrong. Similarly, players with low morale may thrive once the pressure is off and gain in confidence. For others, though, this might be an invitation to stand around and put in no effort for 90 minutes.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 32 Using player reactions to judge player personality Once the game is over and the feedback has been absorbed, we can begin to make some judgements about our players’ personalities. There are many factors in personalities in FM2010, just like there are in real life. Unfortunately, since we cannot employ sports psychologists or sit down and have a nice chat and a beer with our squads, we have to use our interactions with them to understand who they are and what their needs are. We know the rough reactions of our players: did they get nervous, did they get motivated, were they complacent, or was there no visible effect at all? We also know what we said to them: did we praise them, did we encourage them, did we try to take the pressure off or did we get angry with them? Given all of this information, then how do we process it, and what does it tell us? There are many combinations of actions and reactions, and cataloguing them all will be a difficult task. However, for the team talks aspect of interaction we can certainly begin to sketch out how players of different personalities react. Sometimes we won’t get any reaction, which does not help. Other times we will get it right, and this is partly useful because we can note what the player likes. It is when we don’t get the desired reaction, though, that we begin to see the inner personalities of our players.

Judging Reactions to Criticism If the player becomes angry: Some players cannot take criticism too much. They believe they have been more than acceptable and object to being shouted at. If the team talk feedback suggests this player has become unhappy, then perhaps he is egotistical and needs more praise; or alternatively he may have low ambition or low determination and therefore expects less of himself than you do of him. On the other hand, you may have been too harsh, and in reality the player’s performance was not as bad as you suggested. Getting angry with average performances is likely to provoke this reaction.

This information should be used in

conjunction with the other “judging personality” sections, especially the one

in Player Interaction (p. 43).

As we will explain later, dealing with players is about getting the right mix

between what they need to hear and what they want to hear. Bear this in

mind before giving too much or too little praise.


If the player becomes nervous/plays without confidence: The player thinks you are asking too much of him, or he needs more encouragement. Not every player is playing badly because they are not trying. If the player thinks this, then he is likely to become nervous. Players with low self-confidence or nervous players are likely to think like this. They may actually need praise or some form of support to get them playing better. Alternatively, you may just be too ambitious for the squad. Expecting them to play better than they believe they can is likely to have a negative effect on the squad’s confidence.

Judging Reactions to Supporting Comments We will encourage a player to a better performance or to maintain his performance sometimes not through praise or criticism but through encouraging words such as “don’t get complacent” or “I have faith”. When we do this, we hope to let the player know that his performance isn’t perfect and that we still expect more from him. If the player becomes complacent: Despite our words, the player hasn’t taken any notice. He has become complacent anyway and cannot motivate himself to keep playing. This might suggest the player is unprofessional or unmotivated and that he has low ambition and low determination. Such players will need to be constantly reminded of their duty, and it will be necessary to be more harsh with them. On the other hand, it could be that all the player wants to hear is great words from his coach, indicating the player is a bit of an egotistical sort. However, there might be a mistake in your own talk, and that actually this player’s performance and mood needed criticism for not being good enough or a different type of support. For instance, if you “encouraged”, perhaps the player actually needed to be told “don’t let your performance drop”.

The motivation widget and the team talk

feedback should be used to gauge the reaction of your players.

Some players can become confused

about the talk you have given. In these situations, it is very likely that you gave

an inappropriate talk. Remember this for the future and try a different approach

next time.

Players can get confused about any type

of talk, so this is general advice to be aware of.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 34 If the player becomes nervous: The player may have thought that they were playing quite well and is now unsure why he has not been praised. This has made him nervous because he is not sure he can keep playing this well. This can indicate a nervous player with low self-confidence who needs more praise for his performances.

Judging Reactions to Praise The effect we want from praise is to encourage the player to continue playing at this level. If we are delighted, we believe that the player has performed exceptionally well; if we are pleased, then we want the player to play like this again on a regular basis. If the player becomes complacent: Clearly, praising this player has caused him to think his work is done and that he no longer has to try as hard. These sorts of players may well require more support than praise in the future. This could be the sign of an unprofessional or unmotivated player, or it could be that you gave too much praise for a performance which did not deserve it. If the player becomes upset: In the team talk feedback, some players may be angry or upset with you despite the praise. In these circumstances, clearly they expected more. Again, this might be due to an unprofessional outlook, or they may be egotistical. On the other hand, it may be your fault for not praising what was actually a very good performance in the circumstances.

Other negative reactions “No talk”: If a player gets angry, confused or de-motivated from your silence, then it is probably best in future to say something to him. However, any professional player should be able to motivate himself, so perhaps you have an unprofessional guy on your hands. If the player gets nervous, though, it is clear that this is someone who needs someone to give them guidance, such as a young or nervous player. Unfortunately, since you are saying nothing it is difficult to pin down what a negative reaction says about the player in question. Do it for the fans!/Prove a point!: If you get a player nervous from this talk, then they may need more encouraging and supporting words than this. Your attempts to get them fired up have just got them more scared of the situation, suggesting a nervous or low self-confidence type of player. Conversely, if the player gets too fired up, he may be too aggressive and will need to be calmed down.


Pressure is off: This quite clearly has the possibility to backfire and make players complacent. If it does, you might want to check if the player is unprofessional or unmotivated. Again, this is difficult to judge because you have deliberately tried to remove the nerves and the fear from the player so we cannot be surprised when this happens. Use this information as best you can. Players who regularly turn out the same reactions to the same interactions are likely to fit into one of the personality types highlighted here. Also use the positive reactions to help your judgement. For instance, while a nervous type player may react poorly to certain talks, a player who always reacts well in the same situation may have great self-confidence. Everything needs to be considered. However, this is just one tool to judge your players by. Later, we will discuss another which will help pin down your players’ characters even further.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 36 Post-match Reactions

Once the players have left the ground and the dust has settled, it’s time to take stock of where you and the team stand. Handling the media in the direct aftermath of the game is not as important as the build up, since often you will have time to make up for any mistakes before the next match. However, to ignore it would be foolish, and good answers here will help you to continue to build a good relationship with your squad and the club.

Post-match press conference Good answers post-match can help maintain good morale or give players a boost if they are in a bit of a rut. The pre-match conferences have more direct effect on match performance, but you should not waste this opportunity to maintain your relationship with the press and with the players. The following questions are likely to come up depending on what went on during the match. How acceptable is the result? If you won, how good was it? If you lost, how bad was it? Essentially this is an extension of the post-match team talk. As this is more public, it pays to be a little more positive about the team, but with a team with high expectations and professional players a public admonishment may well ensure that a bad result remains a one-off. If you feel that your team will not benefit from a tongue-lashing, but are not in a position to praise them, then a “no comment” or neutral response will dismiss the question. How good was the man of the match? This comes in two varieties – how good was your player, or how good was their player. Whoever gets the man of the match will, naturally, change the nature of the question. When commenting on your own player, it is best to be full of praise, unless he is a player you know to react poorly to too many kind words. For the opposition, a neutral or no comment response will stop your players reacting badly to giving too much credit to another club’s employee. How did a specific individual perform? Sometimes the press will want to know about certain players on your team. Players who scored a goal, new signings, players on the transfer list: there are many reasons. Treat this much the same as you would an individual team talk, but err towards praise when talking about

These two sections cover the general match day-related questions you are

likely to hear on a regular basis. For more specific questions and how to

generally attack press conferences, see the Press Conferences chapter of the

Warfare section (p. 67).


your own players. Again, though, do not offer too much praise to guys you know react poorly to it. Will you be dropping this player? If one of your players performs particularly poorly or gets himself sent off, you will probably be asked about his short-term future in the team. It will depend on the player’s personality and your own convictions as to whether you publicly drop him or support him. However, erring towards criticism is best, especially if you have or are planning to fine the player for his behaviour. Will this run of form continue? Again, this can be positive or negative. Will you keep winning, avoid losing, or just keep on being defeated? In nearly all circumstances, be defiant and suggest the most positive response: either we will get out of this slump or we are determined to continue this run. Very few, if any, players will react badly to such confidence, and if they do it will suggest a very nervous or unmotivated player.

Fining players In certain circumstances, a player will have such an exceptionally bad performance that you may wish to hit them where it hurts – their pay packets. For these circumstances, the game provides us with the ability to warn or fine our players depending on the severity of the offence. There are two main reasons why you would wish to fine a player after a game:

They performed well below expectations

They received a red card If either of these occurs, clearly the individual has made the previous game much harder to win. By playing very badly, the player has made life much easier for the opposition. By being sent off, the player has forced you to play with fewer men than the opposition – again, making life much easier for them.

Dealing with red cards Dismissals are contagious in FM2010. If you allow one player to walk free from a red card situation, other

This is also related to the fining system

which you can use to discipline players.

There is a third type of fine – missing training. However, this is not directly

related to the match day. In these circumstances, it’s best to fine the

player heavily for unprofessional behaviour. If a player misses training,

you will be informed via a news item.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 38 players will consider it acceptable to make dangerous tackles, continue to foul players when on a yellow card and generally lose their discipline too. It is often the best practice to nip it in the bud early so as to stop one red card multiplying throughout the team. Appeal against decision: If you genuinely believe the player has been hard done by then you can choose to appeal against the red card. In these situations you shift the blame from the player to the referee and will be unable to fine the player. You may get lucky and have the ban overturned, but in most circumstances the authorities will side with the referee. Use this option only if you genuinely have reason to feel aggrieved. First offence by the team: If this is the first player in your squad for a while (say, a few months) to get sent off, then it is best not to go in too heavy-handed straight away. How you deal with the individual will be down to your own personal tastes, how fussy the player is with regard to criticism and how bad you feel the offence was. If the player threw a punch, for example, you may want to treat that far more severely than a second cautionable offence. For the first offence with a team with good discipline or a player who takes criticism badly, an official warning may be enough to stop it happening again. For more professional players from whom you expect more, a one week fine should also keep him in line and send a message to the rest of the team. Second offence by the team: If your team gets a second red card within a few weeks of the first, it may be coincidence – but it is far more likely to be the beginnings of a loss of discipline. It is important to nip it in the bud as soon as possible. In general, it is best to ramp up the fine from the one you gave to the first offender. So, if you only gave a warning, give a one week fine. If you gave a one week fine, then jack it up to two weeks. It is important to let the team know that red cards are unacceptable.

Also check you tactics if players are

prone to being sent off. Anyone forced, through their positioning or instructions,

to make last-ditch tackles, especially those on heavy tackling or with a high

aggression stat, are likely to pick up far more cards than those who are not. You

can avoid red cards by substituting players who are continuing to foul on a

yellow card or ones who you see are too “fired up” to last the 90 minutes.


Further offenses by the same player or by the team: The only real recourse is to max out the fines and slap a two week fine on any further dismissals. This may not make you popular, but discipline in the long-run is much more important than keeping players happy in the short-term. Any professional player will accept your decisions and why you made them – and at the end of the day these are the sorts of people you want in your squad anyway.

Poor match It will be down to the manager, the player and the context of the season and the match as to whether you believe a player has had an unacceptably poor match. However, any performance below “6.0” must be considered. If you have just played a much bigger team and a number of players have performed badly, a performance of 5.6 may be bad, but not necessarily all that surprising. Similarly, if you know your player reacts badly to criticism, fining or warning him for such a performance may not inspire him to play better but is more likely to inspire him to hand in a transfer request. You must use your own judgement as to what constitutes “unacceptable” in any given circumstance. But much like with red cards, a graduated system of fines will allow you to punish the player as well as giving you room to make harsher judgements should the situation demand it. First offence: For a bad, but not especially bad, performance a warning is usually enough. Players don’t tend to make a habit out of playing badly, and a reminder to them about their professional duty should be enough to elicit a positive response. Be aware, though, that truly terrible performances (say, lower than “4.5”) may need more drastic measures. Second offence: If the player then goes and plays badly again within a few weeks of the previous warning, it will be time to upgrade the punishment to a one week fine. After all, you pay him to play well – if he doesn’t, then it’s time to take the money back.

Sadly, we cannot fine a player privately

while backing him up in public like many real managers would do. For this reason,

you are likely to get negative reactions if you use the press to support the player

and then fine him anyway. It is best to have a united front to both the media in

public and the player in private.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 40 Further offences: Throw the book at him and give him a two week fine. Such continued poor form is unacceptable and should be punished. However, if the player has genuinely played that badly three or more times within a few months, perhaps the problem is more deep rooted than a lack of motivation, and such a player should either be a candidate for the transfer list or should be employed in a different role within your squad.

Dealing with negative reactions Providing you are firm but fair there should be no long-term problems with such a system. Individuals may get upset over individual incidents, but they will often quickly get over them. However, on occasion you may see that a disgruntled player gets support from his teammates. They will argue that you have unfairly treated a certain player and will get angry themselves as a result. In many circumstances, it will not take long for them to accept your decision, so stay firm. But if you find that their grievances continue longer than a week or so, it may be down to a few reasons:

The player was well-liked in the dressing room and his friends are showing solidarity

You have a number of unprofessional players who cannot accept discipline

You genuinely were too harsh and will have to re-think your strategy In the case of the first, do not worry too much. You can make a note of the reaction of the team and perhaps deal with such players differently in the future, but at least there is enough camaraderie in the camp to make your squad stand up for one another. Providing your players don’t make a habit of protesting or start making transfer requests left, right and centre, try to maintain discipline by holding firm to your principles. In the case of the second, this is a longer-term problem. For players who are consistently a bother to you in this regard, you may want to place them as candidates for a transfer away from the club. Yes, you want a happy squad who are motivated, but you also want a squad who can accept when they have behaved inappropriately. A player who cannot handle being disciplined or who reacts vehemently to the disciplining of others is likely to cause more problems than he can solve. He is also very likely to be unprofessional, and unprofessional players perform less consistently, develop slower and decline quicker in their attributes. Of course, the third may be true and you may have completely misread the situation. Always make a note of


negative reactions – if the same action causes the same reaction again, then a change of approach may well be necessary. Every squad is different and reacts in different ways. It is up to you how much you bend to their will and how much you impose your discipline on the squad.

Fitness and form management The whole point of management in the post-match arena is to make sure that the players are in the best possible position to do well in the next match they play. With that in mind, it is important that you keep all your players fit and available for the next fixture. If you have another match within the next week or so, it may be necessary to look at the squad and see who might be rested and who will be needed. Ideally, this decision will have been made prior to the game you have just played but, as we all know, injuries and suspensions can cause a change to even the best laid plans of mice and men. If you have a player who you want to play in the next match but whose condition has dipped below around 75%, you might want to consider resting them from training. One or two days should be enough to at least get the player to a state where they can start the next match unless they have chronically poor stamina, injuries, or are just exhausted from the amount of fixtures they have played recently. Take a note of players who cannot cope with this sort of regime and either look to substitute them earlier the next time you have fixture congestion or simply look to only play them once a week. You should also take a mental or physical note of those who played poorly in the last match or whose morale has dipped. These players should be prime candidates for some sort of morale management when the next match comes along. This can come in the form of player interaction, or in the form of pre-match team talks such as “I expect a performance” or “The pressure is off”. By dealing with individuals in this way, you can hopefully nip any potential run of bad form in the bud before it becomes an issue.

You should also see the selection policy

chapter which deals with these issues (p. 52).


Squad Management

Day-to-day morale maintenance Unfortunately, the last few FMs have not introduced a feature many players have been hoping for: internal player interaction. It still seems to be quite strange that you need to criticise all of your players in public through the media rather than just calling them into your office. On the other hand, it may explain just why player interaction has such an effect on individuals, and why it is the most powerful morale boosting tool in your psychological arsenal. Just imagine reading your boss’s statements about you in the morning paper. It does happen in this business, of course, but there should be other steps first and in fact I think most coaches are very cautious regarding explicit comments to media. As we have said before, there are plenty of managers famous for backing their players 100% in the public arena while slamming their behaviour behind closed doors. But this is a game development issue which we cannot circumvent in FM2010, so we will work with what we have been given. At this point, it may be helpful to draw some real-world parallels by taking a quick look at some of the more interesting users of the media and man-management in football. Men like the self-styled 'special one', José Mourinho, are brilliant examples for this type of manager. Despite showing an arrogant and often confrontational attitude in public, he is worshipped beyond any normal measure by his players. Therefore, he must have some kind of knowledge and skill in handling (or, dare we say, manipulating) the media in public and his squad in private. We cannot do this in FM2010, but we can be just as loved as the special one. When interacting with your players, you should always think about how you would want to be treated as a player. You can build up and you can destroy players, and, for some players, their inability to get motivated for their club and play well must be, in some part, down to their manager. If you use your options wisely, you will gain more consistent performances, fewer cards and fewer game-changing errors. This section is all about such consistency: boosting morale and managing your players so that they remain motivated and ready to go in every game, no matter how big or how small.

43 Squad Management

Commenting on a player’s form

The easiest way to superb morale The most obvious way to boost morale throughout the season is to make comments on your players’ form. By praising and criticising at the right moments, you can keep your squad in almost perpetual high morale, which in turn will produce better performances, more wins and higher morale. Furthermore, it gives you the opportunity to become one of the player’s “favourite staff”. Players who respect you are much more likely to take what you have to say on board in a positive light. Commenting on form can usually be started if the player has been playing in your last 5 games or has played reasonably regularly in the side. Certainly, they will need to have played recently (in the previous game or within the last week or so). This is one benefit to keeping a settled starting eleven, although we will come to this in the later sections. Unfortunately, this cannot be done for players who are on loan at your club. You should be looking to comment on a player’s form whenever you can. Even those players who already have superb morale can become more motivated for the next match if you use the right words. It is also a good opportunity to build an even better relationship with the player. The best time to comment is around 24-48 hours before kick-off. In FM2010, that is usually around the time of the pre-match press conference and the announcement of the betting odds for the up-coming fixture. Commenting directly after the press conference gives you the chance to make up for any negative reactions your answers there may have provoked. How you react to a player’s form will depend on two main issues:

1) What the player wants to hear 2) What the player needs to hear

This may sound obvious, but some players will expect far harsher criticism of average performances than others. Similarly, although you know a player likes to hear praise all the time, his performances may not merit it. So, the trick is to find a balance between the two – let the player know how well he is performing to your expectations, but do it in a way that elicits a positive reaction.


Options There are six options to choose from which will be available from the player interaction menu. Delighted: The player is in the form of his life, consistently putting in performances well above that which you would normally expect. Pleased: The player is doing well, performing at a good standard and helping the team. Acceptable: The player is performing at the level you would expect, but he could do better. This is a cross between praise and criticism. Below-par: Recent performances have been below the minimum you would expect, but not by too much. Disappointed: The player has played poorly over the past few games and needs to seriously improve his game to stay in the team. Deeply Upset: The player has been very, very poor over recent weeks and his form is absolutely unacceptable. What constitutes an “acceptable level”, however, is down to individual players and down to the standards of the club. Nervous players with little confidence will need more praise than professional players who are highly motivated. And clubs going for the top-level championships will be expected to put in much better average ratings than those involved in a relegation dog-fight. The best guide for your normal reactions to form is the player’s average rating. At the simplest level, an average performance of “7” is acceptable. Below that and the player needs to improve; above and they are performing well.

Also check the chapter on player

ratings (p. 18).

45 Squad Management

Given this information, the changes in severity of criticism or enthusiasm of praise work in roughly blocks of 0.50. This produces a rough guide like this:

7.50 – 10.00 – delighted

7.00 – 7.50 - pleased

6.50 – 7.00 – acceptable

6.00 – 6.50 – below par

5.50 – 6.00 – disappointing

1.00 – 5.50 – deeply upset However, this is just the starting point for your interaction! Whilst a lot of players will fit into this scheme, there is a sizable minority that won’t. And it is up to you as the manager to understand which players and clubs expect more or less from themselves (what they want to hear) and what level of performance you expect them to turn out (what they need to hear). As we have seen before, more professional players will demand more from themselves – i.e. they will not think that an average of 6.85 is “acceptable”. Similarly, you may have a very nervous player who thinks that a rating of 6.45 is pretty good, and will be unhappy if you tell him it is “below par”. Unfortunately, until we talk to a player, we won’t know what he likes. We can make some generalisations from his performances and reactions in matches, from his scout and coach reports and so on – but until we take the plunge and interact, we will still be guessing. The more we interact, the more we will learn about the player. So, what reactions can we get from our players – and in turn, how can we use that information to improve our interaction performance the next time we comment on them?

This will not apply to all teams! You

will need to modify the scale according to the expectations of your team and the

expectations of individual players. The rest of this chapter will go into more

depth about how you should do this.

Older and more mature players tend to be more responsive to criticism. Youths

tend to be less mature and therefore need more kind words so that they do

not lose confidence.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 46 Reactions (PR) When a player reacts to something you say in a press conference or a media interaction, they will get a “PR” icon in their full player status. Click on the “PR” and you will be taken to the player’s information screen where it will say exactly what the player has reacted to. If you have commented on a player’s form, you will get three types of reaction, although the exact wording will differ slightly from player to player. Essentially, you can over-praise a player, over-criticise a player, or your words may have been just right. Over-praise: If you give a player too much credit, or do not criticise them heavily enough, they are likely to get unhappy. They will feel that getting praise from you is too easy or that they do not have to play very well to impress you. This will make them lose respect and will de-motivate them. If you get a PR icon and their morale decreases, you know that something has gone wrong. Over-criticise: Again, the PR icon with a decrease in morale shows that your words didn’t have the desired effect. Being too harsh with a player may get them angry that you are not giving them the credit they deserve, or they may just get de-motivated by your excessive expectations. Either way, the players will lose respect for your leadership. Over-criticism can also come from not praising a player enough. Just Right: If, however, you’ve got your words spot-on, you will be rewarded by a big morale boost, a positive PR icon and respect from your players. Do this often enough, and you may see yourself become one of the player’s “favoured personnel”, which will make it much easier to handle the player in the future.

Using this information to judge personality Just like with the team talks, it’s great to get it right with a player, but getting it wrong teaches us far more about his inner personality. If a player regularly thinks you are too harsh or too accommodating, then this gives us clues as to how to handle him best.

Over-praising can mean not giving

enough criticism (i.e., you say that the player is “below par” when he thinks his

performances are completely unacceptable). Similarly, over-criticising

a player may involve only being “pleased” with the player when he thinks you

should be “delighted”.

47 Squad Management

If the player feels he has been over-praised: This player is clearly driven to put in higher performances than you would normally expect. He may be highly motivated or professional and will therefore expect his manager to push him harder to bigger and better things. Make a note of what interaction you gave and what his form had been over the past 5 games. Next time, be slightly more critical of his performances. If the player feels you have been over-critical: This player may be unprofessional or egotistical and will expect more praise from you. He may also have low expectations or low confidence and will therefore need to be praised even if his performances are slightly below what you would normally expect. Again, make a note of the interaction and form and use this information so that next time you can give the player a little more praise.

Modifying our approaches Let’s return to the guide we used before. We said that 7.00-7.50 was good form, form we should be pleased with. If, however, we have a player who reacts badly to praise when he plays a 7.36 average, we know that he is more demanding. So, next time, why don’t we use the following guide?

7.86 – 10.00 – delighted

7.36 – 7.86 - pleased


6.36 – 6.86 – below par


1.00 – 5.86 – deeply upset While we don’t have to be this exact, in essence we have shifted our scale up by 0.36 because this player has higher expectations. Next time, we will say a performance of around 7.36 is acceptable because we know he reacted badly to us telling him we were pleased.

More recent performances appear to hold greater weight when judging which

interaction to use in borderline cases. So

if the player’s most recent performance

has been exceptionally good or bad, bear in mind that they may not react exactly

how you might expect.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 48 On the other hand, what if we were pleased with a player who played 7.36, but that player got upset because he thought his form was much better than that? Well, we can do the opposite:

7.36 – 10.00 – delighted

6.86 – 7.36 - pleased


5.86 – 6.36 – below par


1.00 – 5.36 – deeply upset Here, the scale has shifted down by 0.36 because this player has lower expectations. Since we know he reacted badly to only being lightly praised for a 7.36 performance, next time we will tell him we are delighted. This is the basic premise. Over time, with more experience and more interactions with individuals, you will begin to realise which sorts of players need more criticism and which need more praise. In the meantime, we can use the notes system to make a note when we “get it wrong”. So, if you interact with a player and he reacts badly, make a note in his profile, along with the action taken and the form of the player at the time. Next time, you can check the notes and work out what changes you need to make to the scale.

49 Squad Management

Building harmony

A gelled squad is a happy squad So far, we’ve dealt with more immediate issues – direct interactions with direct consequences designed to build their full effect over anything from 45 minutes to a week. To be a truly successful manager, though, you will need longevity. How do you build a team that can stay happy for years, not days? How do you keep a player loyal to you for life, not until his next pay cheque? The answer lies in your overall management strategy. While the previous chapters may cover the “frequently asked questions” type issues, it is perhaps these long-term policies which will decide how successful you will be throughout your career. It is important to make sure that your entire club has harmony, works towards a common goal, and, since you are the boss, respects your opinion. The real strength of men like Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, who have built more than one team at their respective clubs over the past decades, lies not just in their transfer policies but in the loyalty they engender in their players. This begins from a young age. There’s also a reason why certain players and staff seem to follow their manager from club to club. Loyalty cannot be bought, and there is no button to “leave respect to the assistant”. In this section, we begin to delve into strategies which can create this long-term harmony. How can we treat players in a more effective way? What positive and negative effects can our management decisions have? And how do we emphasise the positives while mitigating the effect of the negatives?

“Long-term” planning can be anything from around a season or two to a decade

or two. Keeping an eye on the future is always important if you hope to achieve

sustained success.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 50 Choosing your captain Different countries and different managers look on the captain of the side in different ways. For some, he is a proxy for the manager, commanding the team from within the pitch while the manager shouts instructions from without. For others, he is simply the best player, or the most experienced. In FM2010, the captain can be an important tool. Teams with effective skippers will be more motivated, less likely to be unnerved by letting in goals and will be more determined to win games. Just as importantly, the choice of captain can have a positive effect on the rest of the squad. When you make the decision, players can get a morale boost if their preferred candidate gets made skipper. Choosing the right man, then, is a decision that shouldn’t be overlooked. There are a number of factors to consider, many of which are inter-related: Attributes: All captains need high influence so that they command the respect of their teammates – indeed, this is the attribute most highly recommended by the game for a captain. As well as this, you will want good levels of determination, team work and hidden stats such as professionalism. The reasons for these attributes are pretty self-explanatory. Determined players will play better and be more driven to make sure the team plays better too. Those with good team work will also play better as part of the team unit, which will help unite the players. Further, professional players will be naturally more driven to play well but also less prone to getting nervous or upset if things on the pitch are not going as well as they would hope. In general, though, those with good mental stats across the board should definitely be candidates for the job. Age: Older players have more experience. They also have better mental stats and therefore are likely to perform better individually as well as lead better as the head of the team. It is not a requirement that the player be over a certain age before you give him the armband (Rio Ferdinand and Nigel Reo-Coker were both captains in their early twenties), but in general it is better to give the captaincy to an older player who will more effectively handle the pressure. Seniority: Not quite the same as age, seniority reflects experience, time at the club and ability relative to his team mates. Picking a player to captain the side who has next to no first team experience is almost unheard

As you learn more about your squad, it will become clear who the more

professional players are.

51 Squad Management

of. Similarly, buying a player and immediately making him captain is likely to annoy the other senior members of the club (unless he comes with a massive reputation relative to the rest of your players). Besides, a settled and gelled player knows his team better and therefore can lead more effectively. Players who are considered “favoured personnel” of many other squad members should also be considered candidates for the role as they already have the respect of their peers. Ability: If you are going to make a player who will never get near the starting eleven your captain then you are wasting your captaincy. The club captain should be (when fit) a regular starter and one of your better players. This is for two logical reasons. First, good players play more, and can therefore lead on the pitch. Second, better players tend to put in better performances, which will in turn inspire the rest of the side to play better. Performances: If your captain has a tendency to play badly, he won’t be leading by example. Your captain should, ideally, be a player who regularly performs well, and can therefore inspire his teammates. It also tends to be the case that players who play well get picked more often. So this links in well with other factors such as seniority, attributes and ability. If the player’s performances appear to be dropping to an unacceptable level, it may be time to strip the player of the captaincy. Position: This is more controversial. Common wisdom in real football supports the idea of making a central player your captain. Midfielders and centre backs have, historically, tended to make the best captains. This is partly down to the determination and football intelligence needed to play the role well, and partly because from these positions the player can see more of the pitch than, say, a forward. In FM2010, we have yet to see an advantage to putting your captain in one position or another; but this is a factor to consider if you are looking for a captain and are unsure between a couple of players. For realism’s sake if nothing else!

Potential negative reactions Some players may react badly to you changing the captain and vice-captain of the club. The original captain may become disillusioned as anyone would to effectively being “sacked”. Similarly, the friends of the original captain may choose to stand behind their ex-skipper and become annoyed that you have unfairly (in their eyes) replaced him with someone else. One or two of your player may feel they should have been captain, which will cause issues. They may get annoyed and feel more senior or more deserving than the guy you have chosen to honour with the armband. As before, their friends may also disagree with your

Communication & Psychological Warfare 52 choice and believe that their friend deserves more respect. On the whole, however, if you make a logical choice as captain most of the squad will react well, or at the very least won’t hold a grudge for much longer than a week or so. In most cases you will also be changing captains in the close season, meaning there will be plenty of time to rectify any morale dips and give the new captain time to establish himself and win over his doubters.

Selection policy Squad gelling is an important factor in getting your players to play as a team. Players who know each other and, more importantly, like each other will pull in the same direction, following your tactics much better and being far more aware of their team mates’ movements. Because of this, it is often argued that teams with lower squad gelling should be looking to play with less expansive tactics, relying more on solid individual performances than flair play and intricate passing. That is open to debate, but what is for sure is that playing intricate, flair-based tactics is much easier with a gelled squad than with a fractured one.

Squad Rotation Policies Your selection policy can help in this regard. If you keep a reasonably settled side, keeping the same starting eleven as much as possible, the team will gel much quicker than if you employ a heavy rotation policy. This is for a number of reasons:

The more players play with one another, the quicker they get to understand each other.

The more a player plays in a particular position or in a particular role, the quicker he will learn it and become comfortable with it.

If a player plays regularly, it is much more likely that you will be able to use player interactions on them to comment on their form.

Players respond well to playing – if you keep playing the same players regularly, they will not get annoyed by sitting on the bench.

Looking at Aston Villa over recent seasons, or Birmingham in 2009/10, they have built relative levels of success by keeping a very settled first eleven, changing only one or two players a match.

53 Squad Management

Of course, this is not always possible, and most of these positive outcomes from a settled eleven are also turned into negatives. If you do not rotate enough and get your substitutes and reserves into the first team enough, then:

The subs will not get chance to understand their team mates and will look lost if they have to be thrown into a pressure match.

The less chance a player gets to play in a particular role, the less effective he will be when he finally gets to play.

If a player never plays, it becomes much more difficult to boost their morale through player interactions.

Players respond badly to never playing and are likely to get disgruntled, request transfers, or, worse, annoy their team mates with their complaints.

Juggling the need to get a settled, gelled squad with the need to keep all of your squad happy is difficult. In a country such as England, where teams can play between 40 and upwards of 55 games a season, it will be impossible to field certain players in every game. In somewhere like Uruguay, however, where you may only play 22 matches, it is much easier to keep the side settled. It is also possible to get a gelled side despite heavy rotation. Manchester United over recent years have been notable for how often they can change their starting eleven and have players slot in as if they had never left. Similarly, Aston Villa are famed for fading at the end of seasons as the number of matches takes its toll. Partly this is because of Manchester United’s transfer policy. They rarely see lots of players leave and bring in lots of players from other clubs. It is very important to note: settled and gelled squads can get away with much more rotation than un-gelled squads with a high recent turnover of players.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 54 So, as always, the best policy is one of balance. Although these can only be rough guidelines which individual managers will mould to their needs, we can give some general advice:

Try to keep changes to a minimum. In normal circumstances, changing more than 2 or 3 players in the starting eleven with an unsettled squad will slow down the rate of gelling.

If possible, try to keep a player on the team sheet in consecutive matches, providing their condition is in the 90s.

In the early days of trying to build gelling, be a little more lenient with a player before you drop him. One poor performance should be taken on the chin in order to keep a settled side; but obviously if the player makes a habit of playing poorly he will need to be dropped.

Try to keep turnover of first team players to a minimum. Following a promotion or relegation this might not be possible, and teams at the lower levels tend to suffer far more turmoil than those at the top, but keeping the majority of a squad together gives you a base from which to work in building gelling for the following season.

Resting and Dropping Players Obviously, to rotate effectively it is important to know which players need to be rested and which players need to be dropped. It’s a difficult decision to get right because every player is different and every situation is different. A striker who plays a “6.4” in a match against the worst side in the league may deserve to be dropped, but is the same true if that player gets a “6.4” against a team three divisions above you in the cup? Once again, we need to be aware of specific circumstances, but it is possible to begin to make some broad points about players. Dropping a player: If a player performs below the acceptable standard, he becomes a candidate for the bench. But the “acceptable standard” will vary from game to game. For the majority of teams, anything below “6.5” is a bad enough performance to consider dropping the player. Every manager has his own personal style. Some will look to give a couple of chances to a player, using the media and team talks to try to prevent a run of bad form occurring. Others will simply drop the player and give someone from the bench the opportunity to out-perform him, creating competition within the squad.

55 Squad Management

One poor game for a team with plenty of quality cover could be enough to drop the player. Especially for teams chasing silverware, poor performances need to be punished. It also gives the chance for another player to prove themselves, and keeps the squad rotated and, therefore, fit. On the other hand, if you are trying to build some stability at the club, you might give the player another chance to prove himself, perhaps commenting on his recent form to give him a morale and motivation boost (if possible). Resting a player: There are two ways to consider resting a player. Either it can be an immediate decision (i.e. the player is rested because he is not fit enough for the upcoming game), or it can be a forward-planning decisions (i.e. the player is rested because a game within the next few days is considered more important for him to play in). Whichever route you decide to take, it is important to know what games you have over the next 7 to 10 days. Any player whose condition is below 90% is unlikely to last the full ninety minutes. Certainly, if they do play a large chunk of the game (say, over an hour), they will be unlikely to be fit for a game three or four days later. Consider, then, resting a player whose condition is below 95%. If a more important game is coming up within the next 7 days, you may want to rest the player or at least make sure he plays an hour or less. This should keep him fit enough for the next game. However, if you are looking to keep the player in a settled first team, or he plays in a “less intensive” position in terms of stamina (such as goalkeeper or centre-back) you may choose to keep the player in the team.

Through player interaction, we can let a player know that he is being rested and

for how long. However, in our experience this seems hardly necessary, since most

players will accept missing the odd game here and there. Much more interesting

would be the ability to let a player know he has been dropped – but for now we do

not have that tool at our disposal.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 56 Transfer Policy As a manager, you should know the type of player and quality of player you wish to bring into the squad, as well as which players in your team are not good enough or need to be moved on. We will not discuss how to bring in the right players for your tactics or league. However, what is important is to realise the potential effects of transfers on squad harmony, and the tools at your disposal to minimise the damage of potentially unpopular decisions as well as maximising the impact of great mercantile cunning.

Potential Problems Buying too many players for a specific position: The more players you buy to fill a certain position, the more the existing players at the squad will get nervous about their place at the club. If, for example, you have five or six centre-backs, none of whom are youth players, then your defenders are likely to become concerned. You can solve this by moving on your weaker players by loan or transfer, but in general it is best to avoid this situation in the first place. Selling too many players for a specific position: Of course the logical opposite is that the club loses all its depth. If you only have one or two senior players for key positions, the players can get worried, although this is likely to happen only if you severely gut the side. As far as possible, ensure that you have a good 18-24 senior players on hand and you shouldn’t have any issues with this type of complaint. Selling a key or well-liked player: If a very well-respected or talented footballer is sold on, the rest of the team can get annoyed at the lack of ambition and the loss of a friend. Sometimes this is unavoidable, such as when a player has been unsettled by speculation or has been sold over your head by the board. Nevertheless, be sure that you minimise the damage when dealing with key players or transfer-listing senior or well-respected members of the squad. Some may get disgruntled with your treatment of them. Offloading older players: Clearly, the time will come with all players where budget and talent constraints mean that you will have to sell on players of a certain age. However, if the wage budget can accommodate them and they are willing to play a more minor role you can gain a lot of positives by keeping older players on board. Older players, with their superior mental traits, are ideal tutors for your youngsters. They may also become coaches, which can be ideal replacements for current staff whose contracts are expiring. Keeping players at the club for a long time can build a big relationship between the player, you and the club. Giving a player too high squad status: If you promise an average player first team football he’s likely to get

57 Squad Management

disenchanted very quickly if he doesn’t play. Unhappy players can breed unhappiness by getting into arguments and generally wrecking the dressing room atmosphere. Be careful about promising too much and be mindful when you sign a player where you intend to play him and how you intend to use him.

Potential Assets Signing a player with a large (relative) reputation: Big reputation players not only sell shirts and get people through the turnstiles, they inspire the rest of the squad, especially youngsters. Bringing in a player with great ability or reputation can really give the rest of the team a boost, especially if you handle the resultant press conference well. Signing an aging star: Okay, he may not be as good as he was, but ex-internationals and top-level players can be massive assets to a team looking to build for the future. Their high mental stats are excellent for passing on to youths, and they can also act as good leaders on the pitch. There is also a chance you may be able to use them as staff members later on as they come closer to hanging up their boots.

Other considerations With regard to squad management, it can also be very useful to bring in players who fit in with the personality and ethic you are trying to build. Bringing in lots of players who are unprofessional, confrontational and who don’t perform in big matches is counter-productive. The scout reports will help you work out what sort of man you are buying, as well as the player; this can be very important. You may find the personality of your squad rubs off on them, but equally you don’t want the new signing to be a disruptive influence. Of course, this works the other way. If you have players who constantly play poorly, question your authority and generally make the dressing room a less pleasant place then listing them may be for the greater benefit of the club as a whole.

To maximise or minimise the impact of buying in new players, you can use the

new signing press conference (p. 73).

For more information about how you can

spot the sorts of players who will fit in well at the club, see scout and coach

reports (p. 69).

Communication & Psychological Warfare 58 Tutoring Tutoring can serve three purposes:

It can pass on mental traits and preferred moves from a more senior player to a youth player, helping you mould the development of a youngster.

It can create long-term harmony by creating “favoured personnel” status between the tutor and tutee.

It can create short-term harmony by giving a morale boost to both the tutor and the tutee. Short-term morale boosts: If, for some reason, you are unable to comment on a player’s form but need their morale to improve, you can look to use tutoring. The boost may be given to both players, and has the added advantage of potentially creating a long-term bond between the two in the future. Bear in mind, however, that it also has the potential to backfire – some young players may object to you trying to tell them how to play, and some older players may be more concerned with their own game than trying to develop someone else’s. Long-term harmony: After successful tuition, there is a chance that the tutor and tutee will build a friendship. This can lead to either or both the younger and older player having the other as “favoured personnel”. It is an advantage to have as many of the team respecting other members as possible – this creates a gelled and harmonious atmosphere. Players are happier playing at clubs with their friends. It is another reason why you want to build your own reputations with players. But tutoring in this sense is not always advantageous – players can fall out, leading to rifts in the dressing room. This can affect both short-term morale and a player’s long-term plans, as they may seek a move away from any club that has people he detests working for them. Tactical and mental: Taking on traits such as determination, professionalism and motivation is vital to building a strong club. By instilling these traits early on in a youngster’s career you can keep a fresh supply of motivated players coming through the ranks. Determined and professional players train harder, progress quicker and are much more likely to achieve their potential. Similarly, passing on preferred moves can give you a tactical edge: if, for example, you like your wingers to hug the touchline

It cannot be understated how important mental attributes are to player

development. Without determination and professionalism, youth players will

never get near their potential. It is vital that you pass on these positive traits to

your youth players via tutoring.

59 Squad Management

and a senior player possesses this “move”, you can pass it on to his tutee without having to increase the youth’s training workload. When attempting to engage a tutoring relationship, you have three options:

State that the older player is an ideal role model for the younger player

Say that the younger player could benefit from adopting the older player’s approach to the game

Tell the youngster that he can learn from the more senior player Contrary to previous advice in older versions of Communication and Psychological Warfare, these options do not affect the amount the tutee will learn. They are simply different methods of trying to get the tutoring process to start. In all cases, the younger player will attempt to take on some of the mental attributes and player preferred moves (PPMs) of his tutor. The difference between the options is how the tutor will react. If the player is very senior and a key player at the club, you should be looking to call him an “ideal role model” so that you do not undermine his position at the club. Choose the option which best reflects the tutor’s position in the club. As far as possible, your best prospects should be tutored as much as you can. Passing on determination, motivation, professionalism and other characteristics is incredibly important to a youth player’s development and will create a much stronger player, mentally, in the future. Professional players, as has been shown through team talks and player interaction, are far easier to deal with than young tear-aways. They also perform better in training and develop attributes much quicker. It also has the added bonus of proliferating PPMs and high morale throughout the squad. As the youngsters take on PPMs from one or more tutors they can also become friends with more and more of their squad members. By creating a tight-knit “family” in this way, squad gelling ceases to be an issue and players will be much more likely to stay at the club in the face of interest from elsewhere and remain motivated.

John Schofield at Sports Interactive

has confirmed this position on the official forums:

“The short answer is that all three options have the same outcome [...].

The difference between the three

options is how the tutor will react to the request. For example, if you use

the middle option with a tutor who sees themselves as a key player then

they might react badly as you are undermining his role (as the tutor

thinks he'll be that player’s ideal role model).”

Communication & Psychological Warfare 60 A good tutor will be:

A senior player, one who already has an air of respectability within the squad

A player with a high “determination” stat, which is a circumstantial indicator of a strong personality

One with advantageous PPMs for the role you want the tutee to play in the future

With those factors in mind, try to tutor as many youths as you can. Tutoring lasts six months (if successful), but the effects can be permanent.

Player Preferred Moves (PPMs) We can also use interaction to learn or forget PPMs in the player profile. This can be useful if a player is “born” with certain traits that you want to remove, or if you have passed something on in the tutoring process that you wish you hadn’t. Bear in mind that some players may get annoyed with you for telling them how they should play the game (which indicates the player is unprofessional), or others will play the “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” card and politely decline your request. However, this is an important tactical tool which should not be overlooked. If, for example, you have an attacking midfielder who you want to penetrate the box, giving him this sort of PPM could really increase his efficiency. Training or removing a PPM through this method will increase the player’s training workload, so be aware that the player may need a new training schedule to stop him being over-worked.

Potential Negative Effects As with everything in FM2010 there is no reward without risk. In the short term, players may get annoyed either because you haven’t given them enough credit for their squad status or simply because they refuse to tutor or be tutored.

This is another reason why older players

are advantageous to the team: they usually have good mental abilities to pass

on to your youngsters.

For a more in-depth discussion on tactics and how these PPMs may affect the way

your team plays, be sure to read Tactical Theorems ’10 from the FM-

Britain website.

http://www.fm-britain.co.uk/


61 Squad Management

Tutoring can also break down. Sometimes this will happen early meaning that only some or even none of the mental attributes and PPMs will be passed on to the younger player. This can also lead to a mutual antagonism between the tutor and tutee which may end up becoming a rift in the squad further down the line. Sometimes it will happen at the end of the tutoring relationship, and even though the mental traits and PPMs may have been passed on, both parties can come away from the experience disappointed and therefore with low morale. Again, this can also lead to the players disliking each other. On the whole, the benefits of tutoring will outweigh the risks. The types of personalities prone to falling out over tutoring relationships are not the sorts that you want at the club in the long-term anyway. Be aware of such risks, though, before trying to initiate a tutoring system.

Player recommendations When building up a club, it always helps if you know that the players you are going to bring in are going to fit into the existing setup. This does not only concern their attributes and abilities to learn your tactical approach, but also their personality and ability to settle quickly. One way to find players who you know will get on with certain members of your club is to directly ask your own teammates for their recommendations. This has a double advantage: first, they may recommend players that your scouts have not yet seen; and second, at least you know there is no bad blood between the potential new arrival and your current squad member. Recommendations can come on both playing and backroom staff. You can either ask the player to recommend a general staff member who he knows from his own career and experience, or you can ask for a staff member at the player’s former club. If the player has a recommendation, he will tell you within a couple of days. He may even get a morale boost as he will feel honoured that you respect him enough to take his recommendations seriously. If you then go and buy the player, he may be even more grateful. Be aware, though, that some players will see it as a sign of weakness that you don’t know who your transfer targets are and have to resort to asking your players to do your scouting for you. While this can be useful every now and again for boosting your scouting knowledge and gaining little morale boosts, it isn’t the sort

Communication & Psychological Warfare 62 of thing that should be used as a replacement for good overall player interaction and a well-run scouting network.

Using and acting on staff feedback Your staff can be of great use to you. New to FM2010, we have backroom advice, where our coaches let us know what is going on around the club and offering suggestions for what you should do about it. On top of that, we have the classic feedback on things such as the strength of our first eleven, our youth team and our team talks. This information shouldn’t be ignored, especially when it comes to squad management. Our coaches will be able to tell us if players are getting annoyed at a lack of first-team football, whether our teenagers deserve a new contract and much more besides. There are plenty of places to ask for help in FM2010. Using this advice can be very important in developing strong ties with your playing staff as well as your coaches and scouts, and is a great tool for recruiting the right sorts of people into the club and building for the future.

Backroom advice There are loads of little nuggets of information coming from your coaches and scouts. We cannot list all of them here, but there are a few key ones that you should keep an eye out for in terms of squad management. Recommended player/prospects: The staff may let you know, from time to time, about players who might be available to buy for the club in key positions. They will often give you a list, and you can scout them from this page. This can be very useful, especially if you have only just joined the club and/or have very few scouts employed. Captain Suitability: If you are having trouble deciding who to make captain, the coaches might be able to tell you. Bear in mind that their recommendations are not always the definitive answer, but if a number of them agree it might be worth listening to them. As they will point out, though, changing a captain is a risky decision which can unsettle the dressing room so use this advice with caution.

You might also want to consider the

board room confidence screens which will also give you an indication of how

well your signings have impacted on the squad, as well as the players the fans

think are playing particularly well.

63 Squad Management

Reputation Analysis: Although tactically related, the coaches will give you some feedback about the general attitude of your players when confronting certain types of opponents. So, for instance, do the players get complacent when they think they should win easily? Or do they get fired up for the big games? Use this information to gauge your team talks – be harsher on the team from an earlier point if they tend to get complacent or more sympathetic if they get over-awed. Youth prospects: The coaches at the beginning of the year will let you know what the quality of your youth team is and point out the potential stars in the academy. This can be useful as you can give tutoring priority to the most important youth players, as well as giving you clues to who should be loaned out for first-team experience or given full-time contracts in the near future. Youth team strategy recommendations: At the beginning of the season, the staff will apprise you of the quality of the club’s training facilities and advise you as to the best transfer strategy in the short-to-mid-term. If you have great facilities, they may encourage you to develop your youths; if not, they might think your best chance for improvement comes from the open market. This can help you build for the future so that you do not waste time trying to develop players who, with your facilities, are unlikely to “make it”. Contracts: When a player’s contract is running low, the coaches in your side may chip in with some ideas as to the best course of action. Some may feel that the player is not worth hanging on to – others will suggest that you tie them down as soon as possible. Similarly, they will comment as soon as a youth player becomes eligible for a professional contract so that you can offer pro terms to them and keep them at the club. Very helpful for those border-line reserve players who you do not know too well but who keep the squad running, as well as keeping track of large youth squads. PPM Training: Some coaches will give you advice on training certain moves to certain players. In the end, the decision is up to you and your own tactical master plan. Bear in mind that not only can players get unhappy with you asking to adapt their game (especially if they are old or stubborn) but it will also increase the player’s training workload.

Offering a new contract to a player will also make him more settled at the club

as well as providing a morale boost. We have not covered this as a motivational

tool much in this guide simply because it overlaps too much with general transfer

policy. What is more, we would never offer a new contract for the sole

purpose of boosting morale. We have other less expensive and more effective

methods of achieving that goal.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 64 Player wants first team football: Always important to know is if a player is starting to get disillusioned at the club. Should a player feel they are not getting enough football, it is likely that the coaches will let you know before they start mouthing off to the press – at least, if the player has any professional integrity you should know in private before they go public. This can give you the chance to loan the player out or to give him a run of games to keep him happy; or it can give you the opportunity to transfer list him before he starts to kick up a fuss and ruin team harmony. Praise/Criticism: Given that this guide covers praising and criticising players in detail, it is unlikely that you will need this advice too often. However, it can be a good starting point for identifying candidates for praise, especially if their morale is already superb and you were not considering interacting with them. It is also a good indicator of who the coaches think are playing well and badly within your team.

Team Talk Feedback The team talk feedback page is a very important tool, because not only does it let you know how your players really felt about the way you spoke to them, it also tells you the extent of team gelling and the general level of team morale. Both of these factors are vital to running a good club and what this guide is all about. We have already covered team talks earlier in the guide. However, after a particularly good or bad performance following a talk it can always be useful to double check this page to make sure how the players did or didn’t react. Using this information, in conjunction with the reactions to player interaction, the motivation widget and the coach reports, can build up a wealth of evidence for what sort of players you have at the club and how best to treat them in the future.

The Assistant’s Team Report The assistant can be very useful to you in a number of ways. First, he can identify (based on the formation chosen) the best eleven out of the players you have available based on ability, form and general performances for the club, as well as a best eleven for the youth team. Second, he can give you transfer recommendations for problem areas in the squad, such as positions where he feels you don’t have adequate cover or a good enough first choice.

The assistant can also be asked to

provide a loan report for any position you choose – giving you a shortlist from

which to select a potential candidate for the team.

65 Squad Management

This can be useful for long-term squad planning. You can see where you have good enough players and where you need to bring people in; as well as getting information on who you should bring in. By planning ahead, you can build a stable and well-gelled squad from the ground up.

Coach and Scout Reports By viewing a player’s profile you can see what your coaches or your scouts think about his personality. This is incredibly useful for analysing your own players as well as potential recruits from other clubs. Scout reports will get more accurate the more times a player gets watched, and coach reports will be more accurate the longer the coach and the player remain at the club. This information can often give little more than an indication about the personality of the player, but in some ways it can be a key tool in transfer policy and man-management. Positive reviews can include anything which indicates that the player is professional, determined, or a born leader. The players are ideal for any squad looking to win trophies, and these traits should be passed on via tutoring to your youth players as soon as possible. You will be able to be more critical of these players in team talks and player interaction as well, meaning that you should get far more consistent performances at a far higher level. For this reason, anyone who performs well in the big matches or is a consistent performer should also be considered as a potential employee. You might want to avoid anyone who possesses the antonyms of these, such as unprofessional, doesn’t perform well in the big matches, inconsistent, and so on. But there are some traits which may or may not be positive or negative. Traits such as run-of-the-mill type person, spirited and light-hearted are not bad in themselves. However, they hint at players who are either unremarkable (run-of-the-mill) or who have the potential to be flaky. Yes, a spirited or light-hearted person is unlikely to suffer from nerves, but at the same time you must question how driven they are to succeed when the going gets tough. Finally, the coaches and the scouts will give an indication of how easily a player will fit or is fitting into the squad. This should not be taken lightly – if a player’s personality is likely to be at odds with the rest of the team it is important to recognise the potential problems that can bring to the dressing room. On the other hand, if the player has other positive traits he may be able to pass those on to the rest of the team, dragging the whole performance of the club up with him, especially if you make a few purchases of the same type.


Warfare

Changing the landscape around you Psychological warfare has long been played out in football. It is evident to see in so many ways where managers’ comments have spurred sides on, worried the opposition and forced the hand of other managers to derail title challenges. Used at pivotal points in the season it can have massive effects on winning games, but used incorrectly and history will show how it can throw away a season. The media battleground should not only be used to fight the opposition, but to befriend players and managers. We all need friends and having them in high places will reap benefits when you are looking to bring in players to your own squad or trying to negotiate a player transfer deal away from the club. Managers who are able to manipulate the media for their own devices will be able to influence the game away from their own club. Doing so can force opposition into mistakes or make it easier to attract and sign those players that have never even heard of you in the first place.

67 Warfare

Press conferences

Asserting you personality through the assembled media We have covered the day-to-day running of press conferences through the pre- and post-match interviews. However, these are not the only situations where you are likely to have to deal with reporters. Nor does it cover all the available questions depending on the events that go on throughout your simulated football world. Reacting in the right way to these questions can help settle new players, build loyalty with your club, or simply give you the chance to declare war on those who stand in your way. We cannot cover all the questions that are likely to come your way. There are too many. However, there are some basic rules which we can outline so that you can maximise the effectiveness of your answers. One of the weaknesses and also the strengths of the press conference module in FM2010 is its repetitiveness. Apart from some questions, most of which we have already covered in the match day sections, the conferences take a very simple format. You have 7 possible answers:

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

Neutral

Somewhat disagree

Strongly disagree

No comment

Storm out “Neutral” is essentially a more polite “no comment”, and will sometimes make the journalists press you for an answer. The “storm out” option is often good for a laugh (especially if you enter some choice words into the text box alongside it), and can put your point across if you object to the line of questioning, but it can also make the more professional among your players see you as a volatile and unprofessional figure. For the purposes of this guide, then, we will assume that you will not be storming out of press conferences, and that you will want to at least give a neutral/no comment answer to the media. This is not to say you should never storm out, or that it has no merits in the game, but since this is a section on how to answer press conference questions it is probably best we stick to answering them – even if we only give vague

Communication & Psychological Warfare 68 platitudes! As we said in the earlier sections, over-confidence is rarely rewarded in the game. However, a gentle positivity tends to gain respect from your players. You shouldn’t really be telling everyone how you expect to lose every match and how you hate the club, but promising the FA Cup to an amateur side isn’t the right way to go about things either. Since there are many different questions, we will take a few scenarios which will help you to understand the system and hopefully extrapolate a general strategy for dealing with the press in all situations. Inevitably, some questions will be missed, but these approaches should stand you in good stead.

New job Congratulations on becoming the new manager of the club. To celebrate, the board have assembled the local media and you, apparently, don’t have the choice to send your assistant. These press conferences tend to be pretty formulaic, with the usual questions about how you feel to take over, what you think your chances are of success and what your overall tactical approach might be. Bear in mind, though, that the morale boosts you may or may not get from this conference are very likely to have worn off by the time you play your first game, unless you join a club mid-season. Do not worry too much about getting things wrong at this stage. How do you feel about your new job? It seems illogical to think that anything other than enthusiasm is the right approach here. Of course this is your dream job: whether it’s Brazil or Basingstoke. There are no adverse effects by being positive here, and only something to lose by admitting that you hate the club already and will be looking for a move. What will be your tactical approach? Honesty is the best policy. Promising free-flowing football when you intend to park the bus is illogical. However, a positive answer (i.e. an inclination towards attacking football) often produces more positive responses than a more defensive mindset. How will you run the club? Do you intend to be hands on, or pass the buck to your assistant? Again, it pays to be honest. I have yet to see any reactions, positive or negative, from whatever I say here, so take your

69 Warfare

pick. How do you use the transfer market? Once more, there appear to be no reactions to this question from the players, so be honest. Are you a wheeler-dealer, a bargain-hunter or a youth specialist? Let the press know. Will you be clearing out the staff? You might want to impose yourself early and clear out deadwood, or you might be satisfied with the resources at your disposal. Whichever, letting the staff know your intentions is a positive here. Do you think you can hang on to your star player? If there is speculation over the future of one of your better players, the press may ask you about him. This can be tricky, especially as you do not really know the player in question. If you feel you can hang onto him and want to show ambition, then tell everyone you expect him to stay. There are obviously pros and cons to this approach. It may boost the side if they feel you have the ambition to keep the best players at the club but it may also annoy the player if he feels you might block a dream move away from the club. It is a familiar refrain, but once again honesty may be the best policy. Est-ce qu’il y a un problème? If you’ve decided to manage in a foreign country but you do not speak the language (in your profile), then the press may quiz you on this. Again, I’ve yet to find a positive or negative response from this question, regardless of whether you are positive or negative about the language barrier. Perhaps it gets lost in translation... How do you see the season going? This question can come in various forms depending on the club’s expectations and last season’s performance. For instance, you may be asked if you can avoid relegation, win the title, or whether following last season’s relegation you can bounce back at the first attempt. Based on the expectations of the board, again you should aim to be positive without being arrogant. Promising too much can put too much pressure on some players; not enough confidence can de-motivate and disenchant your more determined squad members.

Player signing When you sign a player, you can choose to call a press conference. The point of such conferences is to endear yourself to the player from an early date, boost his confidence and integrate him into the side.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 70 It is best to be enthusiastic about the signing itself, but more subtle answers may be needed regarding the player’s position within the club, the club’s financial status and what his potential impact will be. Position within the club: Declaring that the player is key to your plans and a first-team player is likely to make the player himself happy, but may annoy more established players. You may be able to keep other players happy by saying that your new signing is a prospect for the future, but if the new lad thinks he has a good chance of establishing himself as a first-team player he may get disgruntled. Similarly, being too enthusiastic can make nervous players worried that you are expecting too much too soon. Potential impact: Again, similar to the position within the club, the key is to make sure you are confident enough to boost the player’s ego without heaping on too much pressure. It is important that you make sure that your expectations are in-line with the players. It makes little sense to tell your 17-year-old prospect that he’s going to set the world on fire tomorrow. Will you need to balance the books? This is another balancing act – will you be selling players to keep the team solvent, or can you afford to keep people onboard? Saying that nobody needs to be sold will please the current players and the fans, but admitting financial problems is likely to make those on the fringes of the first team nervous. It makes sense to be honest with the squad, but err either towards saying that the club will not need to sell or making a neutral comment.

Miscellaneous questions, pre-match Sometimes you will get asked some pretty random questions which don’t fit in with the usual pre-match routine. As with all questions, honesty is usually rewarded, but an element of positivity goes a long way. Who will win the award? This can be a bizarre one. Sometimes as a part-time manager in the deepest back waters of the football world you will get asked “who do you think will win world player of the year?” In these cases you can pretty much answer whatever you like – it doesn’t make any difference to your team or the player you tip for the gong. However, once you reach the higher echelons of the game, it can be beneficial to back either your own players or a player you covet from another club. Bear in mind, however, that unless you have a massive reputation it is incredibly unlikely that anybody you mention or fail to mention is going to care one iota. Who will win the league? Every so often the press will want your tip for the title. This can be tricky, because

71 Warfare

it really seems to affect your players – they obviously care a lot about your punditry skills. If your side is likely to be there-or-there-about at the end of the year, you have a choice to make. You can back your team for glory, or you can try to put the pressure on your rivals. If you tip your side for the title, the ambitious players will love it, but the less ambitious players will feel there is too much pressure. However, the opposite is true if you back another team. This is also affected by your predicted position. Even if you do think you will win the league, if you’re predicted to finish in the bottom half of the table (or are a fair few points behind the leaders), chances are your team will not take kindly to you saying that you expect your side to win the league. As a final note, don’t try to be clever or humorous. Backing Burnley to win the Premier League title will see players becoming “confused” and losing morale. A shame, definitely, that players in FM don’t have a sense of humour, but something to watch out for. Are you looking to sign... ? Occasionally the rumour mill will go into overdrive and you will be asked about whether you intend to sign a particular player. If you declare your interest, you may goad a reaction from the player in question and at least make your intentions clear, but this might upset the players at your club likely to lose out with his arrival. Similarly, denying the rumours may placate your players but might also lose the opportunity to sign your target.

Player missed training Not technically a press conference, more a news item. Sometimes a player will just get lazy and not be bothered to turn up to training. This should never be taken lightly. It is more likely with players who are unprofessional and feel that they have no real future at the club (such as those with contracts running out, with low squad status or who are transfer listed). A firm line should be taken, and in most cases a two week fine is not out of the question. Any player who reacts badly to this is the kind of player who you don’t want around long-term anyway.

Links with another job If you have the good fortune to be linked with another job, you have three options in the resulting news item. You can release a statement saying you are interested, which will also count as a job application. This has

See also fining players (p. 37).

Communication & Psychological Warfare 72 the potential to anger the board who may then force your resignation or, worse, sack you. This option should only be used both if you really want the job available and you believe that you will get it. The speculation does not guarantee that you will even be offered the role, so be very careful. If you do end up staying at the club, you also risk alienating your playing staff. You can release a statement denying your involvement. This goes down very well with the players and the board, but unfortunately can dent you chances of getting the job. Here is a great opportunity to play politics, though. If you’re really heavily fancied for a job, you can deny any interest and then take the job when it’s offered anyway. This gives you both the short-term advantage of a morale boost at the club and the advantage of being able to take a better job. Be careful, though, because you may shut the door on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Or you can keep quiet and say nothing, which, as the option implies, does nothing. Some boards will be happy and take your silence as commitment to the team. Other more paranoid boards may get annoyed that you have not pledged your loyalty to them. You also lose the opportunity to make your candidacy known to the new club, reducing your chances of getting the job; on the other hand, you stand little chance of being sacked by your current employers either. The safest option, no doubt, but maybe not the best; it will all depend on your individual circumstances.

Interaction with other players

Persuading players that your club is the best place for them Interacting with players outside of your squad can have huge benefits in luring a player to your club. Making the right comments at the right time can change the player from not wanting to join your club to handing in a transfer request. You will be looking to butter up players making you stand out from the crowd when you make a bid for a player. The way you approach player interaction will depend on the player that you are targeting, their personality and squad status. Your reputation and that of your club will also make a difference. As useful as this feature is, you are never going to be able to persuade a loyal player from a ‘Champions League’ side to come and play for relegation candidates.

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But if there is a realistic target out there that will take some persuading, player interaction will be a long-term game played with patience and timing. Praise too much and you will begin to bore the player, not enough and it will lack any effect on the player. Reputations of the people involved will dictate how much effort you need to make to persuade a player.

Admiring Players Inflating a player’s ego is often one way that you can catch a player’s attention. The aim of admiring a player is to make sure that you’re the side they choose when it comes to make a transfer bid, even when a scout tells you they are uninterested. Throughout the season you will want to look to flatter the player every couple of weeks, judging the reaction, which will let you know the level of interest the player has in your club. The ultimate feedback will be that you or your club will be named as a favourite personnel or club. You may wish to start young: players under 21 will give you the option of commenting on their potential ability. The younger the player, the less loyalty he will have formed to his current club. The comments that are available are ranked in terms of how much praise you are giving. Depending on who the player is and how much you want to impress them, your response will vary from simply admiring his talent to being in awe. Building up the praise over time as you gain reputation yourself will make the praise more hard hitting and favourable with the player, which will stand you more chance of you becoming a favoured personnel.

Judging reaction to comments The feedback you will get from players within the media will allow you to know how interested a player is in your club and what they think of you. Negative or nonchalant remarks demonstrate that the player doesn’t really see your praise as valuable. Your reputation doesn’t entice the player to respect your opinion. It would make sense that a player who has been playing professional football for some time isn’t going to respect a manager with a Sunday League Footballer reputation. Therefore it may be a right that you will have to earn. Positive comments in the media suggest that the player has some interest in your club and respects what you have to say. You will have to do less work when it comes to touting him in the transfer window.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 74 It will depend on the player and your reputation as to how long it will take to turn a nonchalant response into a positive one. But once you have been able to sway the player in your favour it is then time to tempt him away from his club. Ultimately, you want to use your sway to unsettle your potential targets and make those players who are content and happy at their current club start considering a change. Once you have unsettled him, negotiations with the player will become much easier and the player will begin to force a transfer through as your interest grows strong.

Declaring your interest Declaring your intent is an attempt to try and put your opposition club into a position where they are forced to sell the player due to his own demands. Also when a player wants to leave a club it can help force down a selling price that has been over-inflated. Teams won’t want unhappy players upsetting the dressing room. Once you have made your interest known in a player, it can drive these players to play better football in order to impress a prospective manager, putting themselves in the shop window. If the player is interested in joining your club, the relationship should be strong enough by now and you will be sure of the interest he has in your team by his reaction.

Making your offer The final step is to make the bid or enquiry formal and concrete. Unsettled players in a squad will command lower prices. Making a bid that you feel is reasonable may still get rejected, but an unsettled player will now be looking for the move. Rejected bids could prompt a response from the player to complain that he is being denied the choice to go elsewhere or, even better, hand in his transfer request. All of these actions may cause a buzz and encourage other clubs to become interested and enter the race. Again this unsettles the player, but don’t worry about this. Hopefully by doing all the ground work before hand, you will hold the advantage when it comes to the player picking a club to sign for. This can also reduce the risk of trying to compete for a signature by offering a better contract.

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Interaction with other managers

Friends and enemies on the battlefield Interaction with other managers has always been a device that has been used in the media to disrupt opposition. Professional football has long seen its fair share of feuds. Whenever Sir Alex Ferguson pays attention to another manager in the media, you then know that he expects the opposition to be a cause for concern. Arsène Wenger, Kevin Keegan and Rafael Benitez all have been baited by Sir Alex and his psychology and all have lost. But it is also important to have friends within the game: managers who you admire and can form friendships with in order to build networks and connections within the game that will later on prove fruitful when you need a helping hand. Your players will react differently depending on their personality and their understanding of the media. Through trial and error and getting to know your players’ reactions, you will learn how your comments on other managers will affect them. There are two ways in which you can interact with managers. You can either come out in the media at any point to give praise or negative comments. Secondly you can make contextual comments before a game responding to any comments that may be made by your opposition. When you choose to comment on a manager will depend on the eventual outcome you are aiming for.

Making Friends Finding friendships with other managers across the FM2010 game, especially if you are a manager who likes to travel, can be a benefit. Target the teams with which you want to gain good relationships by making positive comments each time you play. If the team isn’t in your league or country, the use of a friendly could act as chance to interact with another manager. Having top managers as friends can make it much easier to negotiate transfer fees. The acceptance of lower transfer fees could happen much more easily just because a manager likes you. The same would apply to being able to loan players that you might not get otherwise. Managers will often want to keep hold of young reserve players who have had some first-team experience. But if you are friends with these managers it will be more likely that you can loan these players out for less of a wage percentage.

Communication & Psychological Warfare 76 Some of your players may not take kindly to the fact that you are praising other managers. But praising other managers can be a tactic that takes the pressure off your players before big games or towards the end of the season as you challenge for a title or just to stay up. Deflecting the media attention elsewhere can benefit players who are less able to handle pressure. Building a network of friends can really help your long-term strategy in your simulated world. Friendly managers are much more likely to support your players by making comments about them in the media, accepting transfer and loan bids, and are far less likely to try to stir discontent amongst your squad.

Making Enemies Fierce rivalries in football are the most newsworthy type of relationships within the media and the ones that are most likely to grab your attention. Creating enemies in the game can be a way to galvanize your team against rivals and spur them on to perform with more passion on the field. Making contextual comments before a game about your fierce rivals will be aimed to get a response out of your players. Firing up the rivalry between managers can see a rally from your players that may prove the difference against sides that you see as a possible threat. Although much of this can be achieved through the natural rivalries that are set up in the game, creating enemies deliberately is considered unprofessional. This will be reflected in the top tiers of the football league where your side is expected to be more professional. If, on the other hand, you have a squad of players who thrive in such an openly hostile environment, these sorts of comments can really get your players fired up for the campaign. Many a manager has built squad harmony with the “nobody likes us, and we don’t care” attitude (with the Wimbledon and Leeds sides of the 1980s and 1970s being prime examples). Be warned, though, that this is a very risky strategy and has the potential to motivate the other side as much as it might encourage your own. With so many personalities to deal with, making the right decision to either praise or criticise managers is your responsibility and much success will come with trial and error depending on what works with your squad.

77 Conclusion

Conclusion

Where to go from here? Having read through these pages, we hope you can now appreciate the complexity of the man-management systems in FM2010, and also understand how to use them. While it may seem tedious or even unrealistic at the outset, when you begin to investigate the whole structure properly it brings out some intriguing possibilities. We’ve barely touched, for example, on the possible networks you can build between managers using the “warfare” element of the game, short of a brief introduction to the sorts of relationships possible. We’ve mentioned, but not explored deeply, the implications of player personality on player development and bringing through the next set of wonderkids. And we could talk much, much more about the relationship between different player personalities, all the different hidden mental attributes and their effects on the match engine and the workings of your squad. Hopefully, this guide will inspire those who are interested in these game mechanics to go forth and experiment with such things. For others, we hope this guide has given you the tools to learn how to effectively manipulate the game’s media for your own purposes and your own goals.

Credits

Author and CPW concept – Matt vom Brocke (The next Diaby) Writing and editing – Gareth Millward (Millie) and Thomas Levin (Levo) General thanks also go to: The Tactical Think Tank and staff at FM-Britain Jordan Cooper for his support as publisher and Stalinist work policy crazy gra for his continued feedback and contributions to both the ’08 and ’10 versions of CPW SFraser, for his discussions on player personality within the game Emma and Helen for their proof reading and patience All our affiliates for supporting our first premium release around the FM Community Everyone who has purchased and read everything we have posted at FM-Britain over the past 5 years

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