FIFA Manager 10 Walkthrough - Formations and Tactics

The tactical element of FIFA Manager 10 is less developed than that of Football Manager 2010 and other games – however there is still an opportunity to get the most out of your players by using certain pre-match options.

Via the Tactics screen under Team, you can prepare for the next match by picking players in advance – but which players will you pick?

This depends on the formation you have chosen. FIFA Manager 10 features a range of formation options to choose from, so it is a good idea to get a picture of your squad's strengths and weaknesses before selecting a formation.

For instance, if you have strong defenders, you might consider playing with three at the back rather than four or five in order to dominate the midfield with an extra man.

The most commonly used formation in British and European football is 4-4-2, where the players line up with 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 attackers. Note that all formations are broken down in this manner of Defenders-Midfielders-Attackers, except in cases of deep lying forwards or defensive midfielders.

A common variation on 4-4-2 is 4-1-2-1-2 which features 4 defenders, 1 defensive midfielder, 2 midfielders, 1 attacking midfielder and 2 attackers.

Other formations you might try are 4-3-3, 4-4-2 diamond (in which the 4 midfielders are positioned on the pitch as a diamond) and 3-5-2.

Note that players should be picked according to their position wherever possible. A central defender (CD) won't be too happy about playing at right back (RB) unless he already has experience of playing there. Similarly strikers almost exclusively want to be in front of the oppositions goal, so avoid moving them to the wings unless they have played there before.

From the tactics screen you can also select how your team will play in the upcoming match. The following settings can be selected:

As well as the more obvious special motivations such as offering a win bonus or declaring the upcoming fixture the "Season's Most Important Match" overall team tactics can be set based on player Committment, how often the opposition are Closed Down, whether your team engages in Time Wasting when they're ahead, adjusting the Crossing Height of balls into the box and adjusting the position of the Defensive Line.

You can also decide whether the team makes their attacks down the left or right wing, or through the center, instruct them to play the Offside trap or make counter attacks and also select an attacker to play as Target Man or any other player to act as Playmaker.

Also important are the roles your players adopt on the pitch. Use the tactics screen to select everyone from the team captain to the last man to take a penalty.

Some of these have more importance that it might seem – the best players to take a penalty can be easily identified according to their skill at taking penalties (rated as with all skill attributes out of 100) whereas selecting a captain can be a little tougher.