Evaluation: Positions, Specialisations, Skills and Upgrades

[Heinz von Stein]

Method of evaluation for the Positions, Specialisations, Skills and Upgrades.

10 best
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 worst

Please indicate your personal playing time and the most played mode.
Example: 750h / hard mode / new foundation

[Heinz von Stein]

Positions

10 GK, DM
9 FW
8 MF, DF
7 CD, LF/RF
6 SW
5 CF
4 AM, LM/RM
3 LD/RD
2 CM
1

Skills & Talents

10 Long pass
9 Cannon shot, Rainbow Feint
8 Slide Tackle, Layoff pass
7 Head play
6 Reaction, Olympic kick
5 Playing out, Intercept
4 Strong GK
3 Nutmeg
2
1 Throw in

Specialisations

10 Specialist. Talent
9
8 Dedication
7
6
5 Fan Favorite
4
3 Stamina
2
1 Versatile player

Upgrades

10 STADIUM SIZE, YOUTH ACADEMIE
9 TRAINING GROUNDS
8 defender coach
7 forward coach, second youth coach
6 bench coach
5 goalkeeper coach
4 first youth coach
3 midfielder coach
2 MEDICAL CENTER, chief physician, head physio
1 SCOUT CENTER, first scout, second scout

[Demolaye]

Originally posted by Heinz von Stein:

Positions

10 GK, DM
9 FW
8 MF, DF
7 CD, LF/RF
6 SW
5 CF
4 AM, LM/RM
3 LD/RD
2 CM
1

Skills & Talents

10 Long pass
9 Cannon shot, Rainbow Feint
8 Slide Tackle, Layoff pass
7 Head play
6 Reaction, Olympic kick
5 Playing out, Intercept
4 Strong GK
3 Nutmeg
2
1 Throw in

Specialisations

10 Specialist. Talent
9
8 Dedication
7
6
5 Fan Favorite
4
3 Stamina
2
1 Versatile player

Upgrades

10 STADIUM SIZE, YOUTH ACADEMIE
9 TRAINING GROUNDS
8 defender coach
7 forward coach, second youth coach
6 bench coach
5 goalkeeper coach
4 first youth coach
3 midfielder coach
2 MEDICAL CENTER, chief physician, head physio
1 SCOUT CENTER, first scout, second scout

Solid assessment.
Me 500'ish hours, all play modes, always fresh start, various leagues, NO MODS.

Positions
Same except:
-Move LM/RM UP 1 with CF,
-Starting GK should always be a top priority, however once a good starter is found/trained, the fining/grooming of a backup GK becomes about a 3 priority with LD/RD.

Skills & Talents
Same except:
-Move Olympic kick DOWN 1 priority,
-Move Reaction UP 1 to 7,
-Maybe move Intercept UP 1 as well.

Specialisations
Same except: Stamina UP 1.

Upgrades
Same except:
-Second youth coach, DOWN 3,
-Midfielder coach UP 2,

[_K_o_S_]

Interesting thread. Would like to see more thoughts

[Andrei Baciu]

It is interesting, but who has time for such an comprehensive review of the game mecanics? Sometimes its easier just to play and let the flow decide the next move.

[Andrei Baciu]

I will try anyway, about 1000 hours played...let me see...960 hours.

Positions

10 GK Long Pass+Cannon Stop
9 FW Cannon shot + Rainbow Feint
8 SW Long Pass
7 MC,MF Long Pass, Layoff Pass
6 LF,RF, Rainbow Fient, Cannon Shot
5 DC Tackling, Headplay
4 LD,RD, Tackling, Long Pass
3 DM Interception
2 CF Headplay, Cannon Shot
1 AM Layoff Pass, Cannon Shot

Skills & Talents

10 Cannon Shot/ GK Cannon Stop
9 Rainbow Fient/ GK Long Pass
8 Long Pass/GK Reaction
7 Layoff Pass/GK Playing Out
6 Tacking
5 Nutmeg
4 Olympic Kick
3 Headplay
2 Reaction
1 Intercept
0 Throw In

Specialisations

Skills Improvemets
XP bonuses
Fans, Glory...Value
Stamina

Upgrades

10. Youth Centre
9. Striker coach
... to lazy to continue, anyway its all subjective and adapted to my style of play.

I think i undervaluated the DM but i never played with one. Im too ofensive to do it.

[Demolaye]

@ andrei.alexandru.baciu "I think i undervaluated the DM but i never played with one. Im too ofensive to do it".

I like to play an offensive setup too.
I think waaaaay too many players think D is king.
That's why I like DM's
I (usually) use them instead of a Sweeper or 3rd CD.
Some games my back line is an LD, CD, RD, and I can often get away with that if you have a good DMid - who provides you with more offence than a SW or CD.
Especially if they have Long Pass or Layoff pass, they can become your team assists leader.

[View The Phenom]

LD/RD are good defensive classes that can work for a quick offense as well. Simply change their position before plays accordingly and you get the best of both worlds.
The days of 5 or 6 pure Defenders at the back are long gone, I think. Better to go with more mobile or versatile positions that can fill ROLES as necessary.

I'm too lazy to post a full rundown, but I'll give my input on positions (500 Hours, all modes, base and real leagues):

10. MF - Most versatile unit in the game that can be built for multiple roles. High mobility for both offense, midfield and defensive support, universal class means access to two skills/talents instead of one.

9. CF - Automatic positioning means plays are set-up for free, free level in Head Play for crossing. Only weakness is that they require some support/initial set-up to open up a tighter defensive formation.

8. FW - Similar to MF but with a boost to Control, making ball possession more likely.

7. AM - Ability to alter tight defensive formations with False Kick. Bonus to passing through Defenders, setting up plays to forwards in the opponent's box. Bonus to shooting through Defenders if you go with a high Accuracy option.

6. RF/LF - Access to the best non-skill ability in the game (Break In), which actually makes CDs a bad option due to the likelihood of drawing penalties.

5. CM, DM, LM, RM - All control the midfield position in some way, with bonuses that support it (mobility, defensive cover, pass bonus, pressing, etc).

4.LD,RD - High mobility, the ability to severely weaken Potential rolls on BOTH offense and defense (more so since the DLC). Easy to counter attack or provide mid-field support.

3. DF - Good universal coverage due to the ability to block adjacent pass lanes. Also, the ability to STACK blocking bonuses against shots provide even better coverage than a SW.

2. CD, SW - Serve very specific roles, good when those are covered properly but incredibly weak otherwise. CD can be a very weak class as the auto-tackle tends to result in fouls on failure, and it cannot block shots passing through adjacent squares. SW can be manipulated to allow tactics that wouldn't be possible with a static defensive formation (mainly Crossing).

1. GK - Serve one role, once you have a single unit there's no need to consider others beyond Retirement.

[Andrei Baciu]

I have some things to add from your post:

I like best now FW instead of CF because of their 2 square run behing the defensive line (if they play with a SW) and then a long pass to him. Its a pretty easy scoring method. Also they get specialization points wherever they are on the field.

CD's are very useful in stoping rainbow feints as they tackle automatic + keeps away strikers, they need to have high defence of course and you need more of them so they can backup each other.

SW is by far the most usefull in defence for me except gk, because can stop nutmeg only by positiong, can stop cannons only by positioning, he automatic recovers the ball even if it bounces near him and if you have long pass becomes a great servant for MC wich will deliver to the strikers.

GK the lock of the defence - a very good gk can lock your team for goals, he gets crazy specialization because he saves a lot and then within a few years his price will skyrocket on the market. Great value.

Cheers!

[_K_o_S_]

I think that AM is really undervalued. And I like that different players might have their own approaches to the game.

AMs are hard to train. But if you do, they might make wonders.

[RTG]

Originally posted by _K_o_S_:

I think that AM is really undervalued. And I like that different players might have their own approaches to the game.

AMs are hard to train. But if you do, they might make wonders.

yeah reallly
I think AM(set Side forward, cannon shoot) is super powerful. with passers(CM, side back)

[DeWitt]

I do like AM as well. It takes forever to train one, but if you find one with good accuracy he can score some goals for you.

[MotherAce[NO]]

980,8 hours currently played. Always hard mode and 90 turn rounds. Why would you ever play this game any other way.

Most used:

• GK: Well, it's the most important class to have. Any season where you are training up a GK, is a wasted one. You'll stand no chance getting anywhere without it.
  
  
• MF: At earlier divisions, it's the most versatile, and easiest to train. I wouldn't say its my favorite, but it's the most important, most used, and least chance of 'wasting' any potential from a player you are not sure how you'll use in the future. Therefore, it's my top pick!
  
  
• DM: Having the ability to completely stifle the ability of opposition to pass the ball centrally is invaluable. This position can make or break a season defensive turnover rate.
  
  
• DF: Been slowly increasing in rank for my games. While unspectacular, the ability to shut down passes and options in a circle around themselves make these players versatile everywhere on the field. I quite often field these guys more often in the midfield, or even up top, over having too many in the back. Close to MF in versatility, easy to train, and again very safe choice if you are unsure about the use of a player.
  
  
• SW: First class that might not be in every setup for every game, but it's easily the strongest specialist class. Getting past an over-developed and specialist SW can be a daunting task. Outside of Rainbow Feint dribbling them up in the luxury stands, these guys are you best last line of defence.

Commonly used:

• CD: One of them is strong, having at least 2 playing in tandem is often all you need to really mess up AI's offensive game. While more dependent on CTRL to be really effective, I have to say I rarely like any season where any of my CDs are inexperienced, or injured/banned.
  
  
• CF: At times, struggling to get any goals, and having to fight bravely for every point, having a lone CF is sometimes all you need to irk out a 1-0 result. Therefore, it's usually the only forward in some of games, and the most versatile in getting his feet on the ball for a random lucky shot. While I kinda dislike training them, its often quite hard getting goals without one.
  
  
• AM: Easier to train than CF, and harder to fit in a lineup, but maybe the most overlooked class. If you are failing to see how to get past the AI's full squad defensive lineup, usually getting an AM up there to mess up his positioning is the way to go. It's also a class that is quite good, no matter what attribute is the highest.
  
  
• CM: Quite often I find myself not having room for a CM in my lineup, and every match I don't, there's a point where I wish I had that very useful free "Pressure" option to guarantee myself a ball steal. Being the position it's also easiest to train a newbie, I'm often having to weigh my possibilities of training a talented player, or fielding a solid CM to dictate my play

Less common:

• LD/RD: Often the first non-central position I wind up having. While DF or MFs can serve the role well, having the option to raid the sides, CTRL the ball to wind down time, and/or minimising the effects of enemy skills is very useful. Every so often I get a goal or two using a surprise shot from these guys, but more often than not they are a good defensive safeguard whenever the AI get's too cheeky.
  
  
• LF/RF: Surprisingly, I tend to value these over the FW, as getting of a good shot, or using their cut-in ability might be the one offensive strategy the AI cannot properly cover in a game. Highly versatile in how you use them, the hardest part with these guys is actually getting one of them trained. Having an Amateur playing out of position up on the sides are usually a waste of position, and re-training a CF there is a waste of his most priced ability to advance for free.
  
  
• LM/RM: So, this is a luxury class. You'll always want to have one in your games, you never wind up having room for it. While it tends to be one class that gets overloaded, going up and down covering ground in your games, for some reason it's hard to justify one over having just one more universal class to get experience no matter where you end your turn. It's the class that causes the most grief when properly utilized, but it's getting there which is the problem.

Less useful or trained positions:

• FW: The ugly step-child. While most families have one, it's not the player you place centrally for your group shot. Playing second fiddle to MFs and DFs, while being much harder to train, these kings of CTRL tend to be utilized anywhere on the field, but the attack unfortunately. Often a victim to being another amateur player better utilized as a MF, getting a good FW with some high stats is often the second best thing when it comes to getting a goal.
  
  
• M: My goto position to train any player. Having any player with some PAS ability, is the quickest way to get them from ? to any positional training. Quite often, I train any class that isn't obviously gonna wind up in defence as an M first. Even then, they often become defensive players.
  
  
• D: Usually a CD, LD/RD or SW in training, maybe even a DM. If they are likely to wind up anywhere else on the field, they are more quickly trained from the M position.
  
  
• G: Not gonna lie, getting a secondary GK is such a luxury move, I'll never play a game for long enough to warrant such extragavant amenities. The G itself is a step-up from Amateur class, you cannot help but hope you'll train past this stage as quickly as possible. Quite often I wind up retraining a G into a defence class if having the time to do so.
  
  
• ?: I actually kinda like these guys; as I often aim them to be M; they can be fielded pretty much all over the playing pitch, being not such a hassle to train. If I'm in an obviously winning position; it's fun trying to use these guys to ctrl, pass and tackle the ball against more experienced position.
  
  
• F: This never-ending waste of space that never has enough CTRL to get those +5s fast enough is the literal bane of my existence. I despise training CFs this way, and while an FW tend to have more ctrl, it'll still take about a century and a half to train a forward from this position. Completely useless, it's nigh impossible to get these guys utilized in a way that isn't just a drain on your tactics.

[Chandoraa]

Step 1. Have an AM with Level 3 Nutmeg.

Step 2. ?

Step 3. PROFIT.