1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Cairo140's Tactical Guide to Championship Manager 03/04 | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECTIONS OF NOTE::: Section II for information on instructions, SECTION III for specifications on positional play, SECTION V for an effective guide to formations, and section IX, for a Step-By-Step Guide to Success... THIS GUIDE IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS. IF YOU SPOT ANY ERROR IN THIS GUIDE, OR WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO IT, PLEASE E-MAIL ME AT CAIRO140@HOTMAIL.COM. ************************* * Introduction * ************************* This guide is designed to give back to the Championship Manager community. Its main focus is to deliver a comprehensible explaination of the tactical options available in Championship Manager and their applications to real life. It also covers the more in-depth aspects of the tactical gameplay in Championship Manager. I provide some creative and entertaining insight along the way that will make the read both an informative and enjoyable one. Each section listed in the table of contents will be the exact copy, letter-for-letter, in the body of this guide. As a result, all you need to do is enter the chapter title in the Find... menu (Ctrl-F) and click find next a few times, until you arrive at the section you were looking for. The Border for all new sections will be in astericks. They are easy to spot and also look cool. Instances of "Cairo Commentary," my own way to make the guide entertaining will be enclosed in a few @ signs. They too, are easy to spot, and look cool. Information provided in this guide will be from many soccer texts I have read, namely "Soccer Systems & Strategies" from Jens Bangsbo (ISBN: 0-7360-0300-2). And a large portion of the auxilary information is from my own personal experience with CM and stories of others. If the guide omits a topic of concern, then you have one of three options. (1) Leave it alone. (2) E-mail me at cairo140@hotmail.com. (3) Visit the incredible Championship Manager Forums at http://www.championshipmanager.co.uk/forums/_index_p2.php I strongly encourage you to consult the forum after you read my guide if you have not yet done so. Without more blabbering, Enjoy! ******************************* * Appeal for Information * ******************************* Obviously, I didn't develop the game; therefore, I will be unfamiliar with many parts of the game. Here is where I require your assistance if you are an experienced Championship Manager player. If you have any interesting insights that have to do with tactics in CM and the real world, please share them with me. My e-mail address is cairo140@hotmail.com A reciept will be delivered with every single tip recieved. You will be given due credit for any published submission, and your words will not be augmented, filtered, or changed in any way without your consent. ******************************* * Terminology to be Used * ******************************* I'm Canadian, so many people who view this guide may be confused with my wording. Here is a quick rundown for reference. Soccer: Sometimes, I may use this word by accident and I realize that it is offensive to hardcore English soccer (oops) Football fans. Team/Lineup: I'm not sure how you people say this, but in this guide, the words teams, squad, and lineup are basically synonomous. Man-to-Man: Same as man marking. *General Spelling*: I'm not an American pigdog so you will have no problem recognizing the Canadian spelling formats, which are very similar to those in England. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************** * Table of Contents * *************************** Introduction Appeal for Information ----- SECTION I - The Basics (a) Overview of Tactics (b) Configuring Tactics in CM ----- SECTION II - Advanced Tactics (a) Team Tactical Instructions (b) Individual Tactical Instructions (c) Set Piece Takers ----- SECTION III - Specific Roles on a Squad (a) Goalkeeper (b) Central Defender (c) Fullback (d) Defensive Midfielder (e) Central Midfielder (f) Winger (g) Flankers (h) Strikers (i) Sweeper (j) Free Role ----- SECTION IV - Formations (a) Introduction to Formations (b) 5-4-1 (c) 5-3-2 (d) 4-5-1 (e) 4-4-2 (f) 4-3-3 (g) 3-4-3 (h) 1-1-8 (i) Diablo (j) Finding the Perfect Formation ----- SECTION V - Player Attributes (a) Vision (b) Finishing (c) Flair (d) Stamina (e) Acceleration/Pace (f) Dribbling (g) Other Important Attributes ----- SECTION VI - In-Game Management (a) Substitutions (b) Tactical Changes (c) Extra Time ----- SECTION VII - Lineups (a) Choosing the Right Lineup (b) Lineup Rotation (c) Using Your Reserves ----- SECTION IX - Tactical Management Step-by-Step (a) Beginner Management (b) Intermediate Management (c) Advanced Management (d) Cheat Management SECTION X - Conclusion (a) Conclusion (b) Terms of Use (c) Disclaimer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECTION I - The Basics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************** * Overview of Tactics * *************************** Championship Manager is a game of soccer management and success. Every calculated move affects the deep CM world. Besides all the wheeling and dealing, what else is there to do? Tactics, of course. Sure, you can let your Assistant Manager handle everything, but I'll be he pretty much stinks at doing your job. The key to create a great tactic is not copy someone else's but it is, in fact, to learn from somebody else's. I don't mean to take 10 of the world's most successful tactics and piece them all together. I mean to learn from the worst and build up. I'll go out and admit it... the key to winning games is your personnel, but the key to getting the most out of your personnel in CM is none other than your tactics. Tactics are an assembly of gameplans that a team shares going into a game. Tactical changes are often made to accomodate game events or to counter the opponent's tactics. Like many things in life, tactics is a chess game; if you staticly copy one's opening, then that is by no chance a guaruntee of success, but if you learn from the ground up, bit by bit, you will find your ultimate success. You must learn to adapt, and open up your mind to others. That is what will make you a great tactician. The tecnicalities of tactics are simple. You have a formation, a lineup, and your instructions. The rest of this guide will be written assuming you have at least a basic understanding of the concepts of lineup, formation, and the rules of the game. ***************************** * Configuring Tactics in CM * ***************************** Your team selection screen and the tactics screen is where you will be handling your tactics and tactical changes. Your team selection screen can be accessed through the tab with your name on it in the menubar (by default on the left side of the screen). Through there, you should select your first team squad. Notice that the reserves and youth squads are also selectable, but those will be dealt with later. When you get to your first team selection screen, you should see a menubar where you can select from Traditional, General, Contract, Selection (recommended), Other, and Attribute Views. Here is an overview of the selections and their functions. Traditional - The way to view the greatest amount of players on the screen. There are two players to a row, and the information appearing next to the player can be changed with the View... menubar. This is the default view when looking at other teams, and the View... menubar is selected to display the position. General View - This view is basically used for just one purpose - to find the players on your team from a specific country. This is a modified version of the (in my opinion) superior Selection format. Finding players from a specific country is useful to check on work permit status. Contract View - This is and overview of how much each of your players gets paid, and the extent of their contract. This format is used to identify players with expiring contracts (especially on opponent teams) and to identify possibly overpaid players to be transfer listed. Selection View - This is, in my opinion, the best and most convenient format to view your players in. You should align the players by selection by clicking the PK'D column header in the upper left corner of the selection screen. This way, you can easily find a player in a given position, and can isolate the players who have not been selected. Also, using this format, you can organize the players by appearances (notice that, in this case, a start counts as as many appearances as a substitution). This can help efficient lineup rotation and keep your entire team match fit. Another useful tool in this view are the Recent Form tab (with up to 5 numbers e.g. 5-6-6-5-7 or 3-6-6) indicating which players are hot and which players are not. Finally, you can sort by value. A pretty meaningless way to sort, but can help determine which players are "better." Attribute View - The most efficient view for comparing your players attribute for attribute. If you are prepared to set your penalty shooter list, this is the place to go. Just sort by Attacking>Penalty Taking, and then write down the first 7 names. Likewise, you can find ideal set piece takes for corners, free kicks, and throw ins, without having to scroll through every player's personal information screen. @@@@@@@@@@ I never sort by value just because it is a poor judge of just how good a player is. Martin Keown, in the game is better than Sol Campbell (both Arsenal), but is valued at 10 times less because of his age. Also, a player with a soon expiring contract will have a lower value too. On top of that, a low-value player on a hot streak can be much better that a high-value player in a slump. @@@@@@@@@@ Moving, on, to access the actual tactics section, you must click the bar on the bottom labelled "Tactics." This will take you to a screen with your lineup on the left, and your formation on the right. Whenever you want to change your formation dramatically, I recommomend that you remove all players of their positional assigments, so you can see the acutal positions instead of squad numbers and names on the tactics screen. On the right, you can move positions around. Use the left click to move the position, and right click to encourage a run in any particular direction. On the left, if the lineup card is empty, switch the positional buttons (DR, GK, FC, etc) so they are aligned the way you want them. Remember that this is the exact way you will see the lineup card in a match. It's easier to see your midfielders beneath your defenders and your attackers beneath your midfielders in order because it's easier to manage in-game. If you already have a full lineup card, then you can switch around the squad number buttons in the tactics screen to change their position (NOT their spot on the lineup card). There are two menubars in the upper-right corner where you can specify instructions; they will be explained in the next chapter. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECTION II - Advanced Tactics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ****************************** * Team Tactical Instructions * ****************************** In the upper right corner of the tactics screen, there will be a menubar labelled, "Instructions." From here, you can access the team tactical instuctions. These are very simple to configure and can do a lot to change a game. Here is a rundown of the instructions and their functions, and their strengths and weaknesses. -IMPORTANT- The descriptions provided here outline the effects that this will have on your TEAM, not in particular the effects associated with the individual player. ----- PASSING - There are four options here. Direct: The most basic type of passing. This forces your players to pass only into open lanes. It, as a result, decreases the rate of which your players will look to lead a reciever and the rate of which your players will look for a reciever long down the field. An inefficient form of passing, in my opinion, but if your players are giving away too many balls to interception, this may be the ideal way to go. The plays will not be pretty, but you will reduce mistakes in your game - a good way to begin a season. Short: The favored way of passing for most teams in the EPL. This passing takes advantage of a team's individual talent. This form of passing encourages small forward runs and lead passes. As a result, you will open up many holes in the game, even for your opponent. Choose this if your players are secure at short passing and first touch, and are versatile at using both feet. This style of passing dramatically reduces the chances that a player will perform the chuck-and-pray. As a result, many players (and many defenders) will end up out of position beacause of the speed of this style of play. Therefore, teams using this style of passing must have players with excellent positioning in addition to passing versatility. Long: This style of passing is used by many Italian teams and lower division teams, because those players are less adept at dribbing the ball. They can run much faster than they can dribble. As a result, this form of passing discourages holding onto the ball. This is an exciting style of football, but it bound to cause a lot of turnovers. Giveaways in a game will be, on average 2-3 times more than what you would have using short passing. Fortunately, all those giveaways will be in the opposing zone. Once in a while, you will get an amazing long ball play, and that will be exciting and quite successful. If you have slow defenders proficient with only one foot, then long passing may be the style for you. To maximize efficiency, long ball teams look for players will lots of vision and acceleration. Defenders also tend to get less tired in this style of passing because they hold on to the ball for less. Mixed: This is a simple combination of those styles of passing. It basically leaves the style of passing up to the individual. If you have very stupid, young players, then you should stay away from this, and give the players more instrucitons and less choice. If you have a fast team with vision and high morale, letting the players handle their passing style is a good choice. ----- Focus Passing ----- This gives you the ability to tell your playres to concentrate on a specific part of the field in which to conduct their passing. The options are: Down the Centre: This is very useful if you players have much dribbling skill and little crossing or technical skill. Passing down the middle is no-doubt a game of quickness and flair. Teams like Arsenal excel at this sort of play because of their flair and individual talent. Because of the traffic in the middle, using this avenue of focus passing works very well with acceleration. If you plan on using the centre, designate many players to try through balls more often. Note that vision in this style of passing is imperative only among your midfielders. Because passing a long ball down the middle of the part is an easy giveaway, defenders play a lesser role in this style. Down both Flanks: This is good for teams who use wingers with lots of crossing ability and acceleration. In the game of CM, passing down the flanks is effective with long passing. This style of focus passing makes things happen quickly. Most counterattacking teams choose to use the flanks to pass. If you are one of those teams, make sure you have at least two good wingers with crossing ability and pace, and make sure you have midfielders with set piece skill and fullbacks with vision. Down Left/Right Flank: This is effective in two situations. First, if your opponent lacks greatly in one side of the field (i.e. If they only have one good fullback), you should try to fully exploit that side with pure speed. Also, if you have a playmaker on your team, encouraging passing on his side will encourage set pieces through this player. If the player is just a master header/finisher, encourage passing on the other side, and encourage crosses from players on that side to the far post. ----- Tackling ----- Remember that adjusting this option does not particularly change your team's tendency to close down. It is just how hard your players go into a tackle when they see the chance. Here are your options: Easy: The standard style of tackling, players will tend to avoid changing directions in order to tackle. This means that you will get a very low tackle success rate; however, an opponent will rarely run free of a player. I find that with this option is preferred with teams who have more speed than tackling ability. You will rarely see slide tackles, but you will expect to be outshot with this style of tackling. Hard: This is obviously the most aggressive style of tackling. Teams with good tacklers choose this option when they are behind, because hard tackling wins the ball more often and more quickly. The only downside is that when it fails, the opponent has plenty of room to run free. When using hard tackling, expect to see many more yellow and red cards and slightly more injuries for your team. Normal: The mix between the two, players will go in for the tackle hard, but will rarely slide tackle. Use this option when your opponent has excellent set piece and finishing talent. ----- Closing Down ----- Closing down is favored by some, and despised by others. Here are your options: Always: This instructs your players to go full on for the ball whenever they see a potential opening. This, when used in conjunction with hard tackling, forces plenty of quick turnovers, plenty of injuries, and plenty of mistakes. The advantage to closing down all the time is that your players will have to run around the field less because you don't have to worry about a full-on attacking sequence from your opponent. With always closing down, you should expect no opposing attacking periods longer than one minute or so. Whether the attack ends in a turnover or a goal will depend on the talent of your players. Tackling and decisions are imperative to closing down. Never/Stand Off: If you players are fast or very bad at tackling, this is a good option to choose. If players are instructed to Stand Off, then they will follow the opponent down the pitch, but will rarely go in for the tackle. This prevents a breakaway, but also allows the opponent to travel very easily into the zone, or to the touchline for a cross. This option is best to be avoided by worldclass teams and leagues because almost all forwards and midfielders will have excellent set piece and crossing capability. Own Half Only: I think that this would make more sense if it were "opposing half only," but what are you going to do. This basically encourages your defenders to close down, but for your attackers to back away from the forecheck (hockey term defined by trying to force a turnover in the attacking zone). The only case this instruction makes sense is in an individual instruction, which will be explained in a later section. ----- Mentality ----- This one is all-important. I actually believe that all of the other options can become obselete if you go into a game just selecting a mentality. Anyway, here are your options. Ultra Defensive: Useful for counterattacking teams. This is used very well in conjuntion with smart defenders with much heading talent. When going ultra-defensive, be absolutely sure that you have one good, fast, forward, because without that, you will never score any goals. When playing ultra-defensive, a sweeper is essentially useless because you will have at least one free central defender, who will naturally position himself to handle the sweeper duties. Ultra defensive play is used in conjunction with direct passing on the defenders, long passing on the midfielders, and run with ball and hold up ball with the lone attacker. The ultra defensive style is very much like what the Greeks used to win EURO 2004, and as a result, has become ever popular. Defensive: Because Italy uses this style of play, I am very biased against it, because Italy tends to be very unsuccessful in international play. Anyway, there's not much to say here. It's just halfway between ultra-defensive and normal. None (Normal): This is in the middle. Used my 75% of all teams. Attacking: This is pointless. Gung Ho: A funny word. Using gung ho with a 3-4-3 will score fewer goals than ultra defensive with a 0-0-5-5. ----- Offside Trap ----- IF YOU USE THE OFFSIDE TRAP, ~~~DO NOT~~~ USE A SWEEPER. It should be pretty obvious. This instruction encourages your players to advance a tiny bit in order to encourage an offsides call. Naturally, if you use a sweeper, this is useless. If you plan on playing the offsides trap, make sure that you have smart defenders who also have good heading skill and positioning. Offsides trap is most effective when used against a long-ball team. ----- Zonal Marking (Instead of Man-to-Man) ----- This assigns your players to mark a zone on the field instead of a man. If you are playing a team who is much more skilled or equally skilled as you for most of the season, you should almost always zone mark. It is best not to switch around man and zone marking. Just stick to one. Zone marking generally requires less individual talent, but it is more succeptible to teams who play through the centre (like Arsenal). Also, using zone marking will get your players less tired, because they can stay in the same general vicinity for an attacking sequence by the opponent. The largest downside to zonal marking is the counter- or the quick attack. When this happens, whole zones can be left empty. Some may argue that this would be better than having man open, I argue that open zones are very obvious and easy to find. Naturally, man marking is more succeptible to outside attacks. Also, man-to-man defense will make your defenders more tired, and less organized if they are not great players. In general, choose man only if you have a squad full or world class players. ----- Counter Attack ----- Despite its lure with the word (attack), this is an option you want to stay away from if you are an attacking team. This instruction forces your players to draw back to about a quarter of the field, and wait for the opponent to advance. When they do get deep inside your zone into scoring position, THEN you start to attack very quickly, hoping to strike the opponent with fewer defenders than you have attackers. NEVER use counterattack if you have less than 5 defenders (4 is excusable in very specific situations if you have all worldclass defenders). Generally speaking, the only situation you should EVER use counterattack in is: IF you have a great defense and not so great set piece offense. AND IF your opponent has a poor, slow defense, AND IF the opponent has aggressive forwards AND IF the opponent has an agressive game style, THEN, and only then, you should counterattack. ----- Men Behind the Ball ----- Roughly equivalent to playing ultra defensive. This tells your players to stay behind the ball in attacking sequences for your team, and also for your players to avoid tackling if there are fewer than 3 defenders behind them. Never use Men Behind the Ball in conjunction with Offsides trap, because you will get your defenders very tired, and very frustrated.