Game plan and approaches

The XI, position variants and bench available to the engine.

Mentality, duel intensity, approach, offside line, channel choices, captain, opponent focus, Fun Factor and set pieces.

Conditional match scenarios plus one position-compatible instruction for every selected player.

The deepest defensive setup.

• Teammates help your attacks ×0.70; they help your defence ×1.30.
• Eligible teammates’ contributions to blocking a finish ×1.30 relative to Balanced; no fifth defender needed. With five or more defenders, the surplus defenders also spoil the shot angle ×1.10.
• The offside trap, if enabled, tests only 8% of box entries.

Protects support and box density while accepting a smaller attack.

• Teammates help your attacks ×0.89; they help your defence ×1.11.
• Eligible teammates’ contributions to blocking a finish ×1.11 relative to Balanced; no fifth defender needed. With five or more defenders, the surplus defenders also spoil the shot angle ×0.94.
• The offside trap, if enabled, tests 14% of box entries.

The neutral reference: no mentality multiplier is added or paid.

• Opportunity and assistance multipliers stay at ×1.
• Teammates’ contributions to blocking a finish are the reference (×1); each mentality multiplies every contribution, not the final block chance. With five or more defenders, the surplus defenders spoil the shot angle ×0.85, because they are not all held back.
• Advanced midfielders (OM or wingers) may arrive on 20% of relevant chances.
• The offside trap, if enabled, tests 20% of box entries.

Adds attacking support at the price of defensive help; the high line leaves space behind.

• Teammates help your attacks ×1.12; they help your defence ×0.88. Help in attack and help in defence are two shares of the same team-mates: what a mentality adds at one end it gives up at the other. It does not change how often either team attacks.
• Eligible teammates’ contributions to blocking a finish ×0.88 relative to Balanced; with five or more defenders, the surplus defenders spoil the shot angle ×0.75.
• Advanced-midfielder arrival rises to 25%; trap test rate rises to 28%.
• Run in behind finds more space behind this high line, depending on the defenders covering the receiving lane. Regain and break can launch from a less decisive midfield recovery (trigger eased by 12), with no extra multiplier to the launch chance. Any counter against this line finds fewer bodies back: −5 to the defence’s help and +7 to the attacker in the box.

The most attacking support and the least defensive help, with the highest line and the most space behind.

• Teammates help your attacks ×1.21; they help your defence ×0.79. Help in attack and help in defence are two shares of the same team-mates: what a mentality adds at one end it gives up at the other. It does not change how often either team attacks.
• Eligible teammates’ contributions to blocking a finish ×0.79 relative to Balanced; with five or more defenders, the surplus defenders spoil the shot angle ×0.67.
• Advanced-midfielder arrival rises to 30%; trap test rate rises to 34%.
• Run in behind finds the most space behind this line. The midfield counter trigger for Regain and break eases by 16, with no extra multiplier to the launch chance. Any counter against this line finds fewer bodies back: −10 to the defence’s help and +15 to the attacker in the box.

Attempts Extra Effort in 8% of ordinary eligible close duels.

• Fewer attempts save stamina and mean fewer effort-related fouls and dangerous restarts.
• A defender in danger inside his own box is still twice as likely to try: 16%.

Attempts Extra Effort in 12% of ordinary eligible close duels.

• More attempts than Controlled use more stamina and mean more effort-related fouls and dangerous restarts.
• A defender in danger inside his own box is twice as likely to try: 24%.

The neutral route. It adds no approach bonus or pressing cost; actual Extra Effort still uses stamina.

Reads whatever the opponent does and blunts it: every opposing style recipe keeps only 60% of its effect.

• Covers the press (positioning, tackle and the counters it starts), Keep possession’s retention and press break, the long-ball launch, the through-ball space, Regain and break’s counter boost and Technical freedom’s clear margin and block cut. The extra counter chance Regain and break earns against a high line stays whole.
• Always weaker than the dedicated answer: against a press it recovers about two thirds of what Keep possession does, and against counters or balls in behind about half or less of what dropping your line does. Against Standard play it has nothing to blunt.
• Lets up to two flank defenders replace weaker midfielders in midfield control.
• Can refund up to one opportunity that the formation would otherwise concede, only when a cost exists.
• Your full-backs and wing-backs give half of their usual help blocking shots in your box: joining midfield, they cannot also give full cover.
• The ball looks for the players who suit the approach: a midfielder with more Passing than his fellow midfielders receives it more often, and a forward with more Offensive Positioning and Scoring than his partners is sought more often in the box.

For each midfielder, midfield control uses the higher of Passing and Ball Control.

• When heavy defensive pressure could force a hasty action, Technical freedom halves that risk.
• The side’s scheduled attacks are not reduced by an opponent’s Slow the game.
• When the opponent wins the ball in midfield, its chance of launching a counter-attack becomes ×1.25 the normal chance. This drawback does not apply when the counter-attacking side uses Slow the game.
• Unless the opponent uses Slow the game, Technical freedom cannot turn a lost reception into a successful one. Instead, once the midfielder keeps the ball, it becomes easier to escape the duel cleanly: the margin used for this check gets +5. Such an escape can unlock an advanced action; if play continues with the default short pass into the box, the reduction to the defence’s assistance is 25% greater.
• For foot shots, Technical freedom reduces each eligible team-mate’s contribution to blocking only when the finisher’s Ball Control exceeds that blocker’s Defensive Positioning. The reduction rises gradually from zero at equal skill to the full 60% when Ball Control is at least 20 higher. This applies against a back four too.
• With five or more defenders, the extra defenders also crowd the box. Technical freedom reduces each colleague’s blocking contribution and the shooting-angle penalty, using the extra defenders’ average Defensive Positioning.
• The ball looks for the players who suit the approach: a midfielder with more Ball Control than his fellow midfielders receives it more often, and a forward with more Ball Control than his partners is sought more often in the box.

Presses midfield receptions with up to +6 Defensive Positioning.

• The Defensive Positioning bonus is zero at Constitution 30, reaches full strength at 55 and is halved against high balls.
• The press also gives the player attempting the tackle a temporary Tackling bonus for that duel only. Its size depends on that player’s Tackling compared with the opponent’s Ball Control.
• At Constitution 55 or higher and against a low ball: there is no bonus when Ball Control is at least 20 above Tackling; when Ball Control is 10 higher, the bonus is +6; at equal values it is +12; and when Tackling is at least 10 above Ball Control, the bonus reaches its maximum of +18.
• Between these reference points, the bonus rises gradually. Constitution reduces it progressively to zero at 30 and allows full strength at 55, while high balls halve it.
• A ball won by the press can start a counter-attack at 60% of the Regain and break boost.
• Keep possession can neutralise the press only through sufficiently technical players. In the midfield duel, the receiver’s Ball Control is still compared with the opponent’s Tackling. As Ball Control rises relative to Tackling, the Tackling bonus supplied by the press falls and can reach zero. Keep possession adds no extra reception bonus to positioning or Ball Control against full or light pressure.
• If the receiver keeps the ball, the side can exploit the space left behind the press. The box attacker receives an advantage proportional to how well the press was beaten, up to +45 when the midfielder escapes the duel cleanly.
• Pressing increases the foul risk created by Extra Effort. In a midfield duel where the pressing bonus is active, the pressing player’s foul risk is multiplied by 1.35. This rule does not multiply every foul committed by the team.
• A press beaten cleanly leaves space behind. The side that escapes the press receives +8 to the phase advantage carried into the next pass or shot. This is not a permanent player bonus.
• Close down early uses extra stamina for every minute it remains active. The cost is highest for midfielders and forwards, lower for full-backs and wing-backs, and lowest for centre-backs. Changing approach stops future consumption but does not restore stamina already spent.

Patient build-up for control and a better entry pass; it needs passers who can work through pressure.

• +2 on the pass that opens the box.
• Without an opposing press, the receiver gets +2.5 to positioning and Ball Control. Against Close down early or the light press of Regain and break, this reception bonus is zero.
• Against Close down early, Ball Control versus Tackling still decides whether they keep the ball. The same Ball Control lead also cuts the press’s tackle bonus, and getting past the press gives your attacker up to +45 in the box duel that follows, in full at a clear margin and in proportion below it: the pressing side has players pushed up and its box stretched.
• A pass into the box loses quality when the passer is out-pressed: half of any shortfall of his Passing against the average Defensive Positioning and Tackling of the opponents covering that lane.
• The ball looks for the players who suit the approach: a midfielder with more Passing and Ball Control than his fellow midfielders receives it more often, and a forward with more Ball Control and Offensive Positioning than his partners is sought more often in the box.

Plays into space behind the line.

• +3 delivery. The runner receives a space bonus only against Front foot (up to +18) or All-out (up to +26), before defensive coverage is counted. Against Balanced, Cautious or Low block, the extra space bonus is 0.
• Defenders close to the receiving lane reduce the space according to their Defensive Positioning and freshness. Multiply the line cap by the remaining openness squared: at 50% openness, +18 becomes +4.5 and +26 becomes +6.5. A fifth defender reduces the reward further instead of switching it off; a fresh substitute restores coverage.
• The delivery bonus remains against every line. The extra space reward requires a high line and falls as coverage improves; the receiving run still faces the offside check.
• The pass is read and cut out with a total chance between 10% and 15%, increasing with coverage; the trap is tried 2.5× as often and receives +12 on its side of the test.
• The space helps this reception. It does not also create extra scheduled chances.
• The ball looks for the players who suit the approach: a midfielder with more Offensive Positioning than his fellow midfielders receives it more often, and a forward with more Offensive Positioning than his partners is sought more often in the box.

Sends one unique direct ball into the box per forward, plus 25% of the 6 scheduled base chances, spread over the match.

• 25% of the 6 base opportunities, rounded to 2 launches, also go directly to the attackers in the box, in addition to one unique launch per forward. Same scheduled volume — they skip midfield rather than adding extra chances.
• Ordinary high-ball frequency ×3.5, capped at 65%.
• Against Close down early, the press is halved on high balls. Aerial among the direct receivers still decides those deliveries; an Aerial lead of 8 over Tackling no longer adds extra opportunities or duel points.
• Every direct launch is first contested in the air: the target’s Aerial against the best Aerial in the opposing back line, with the defender 5 points ahead at equal skill. If the defender wins, he heads it clear and the chance ends. Forwards who out-jump the back line make this a weapon; against taller defenders it costs.
• Never wins midfield control; success depends heavily on Aerial quality.
• The ball looks for the players who suit the approach: a midfielder with more Aerial than his fellow midfielders receives it more often, and a forward with more Aerial than his partners is sought more often in the box.

Cuts both teams’ scheduled opportunity volume by 33% while active.

• Personal runs, counter-attacks and captain rallies are separate sources of opportunities.
• Does not stack with the automatic slowdown when leading by 3 or more goals, even when the opponent is the side slowing play.
• Starting later shortens the time it applies; the percentage stays the same while active.
• Useful as a volume trade: it does not improve the quality of your actions.
• Raises your booking risk ×1.5.
• Technical freedom ignores the opportunity cut, but still eases off when leading by 3 or more goals.
• A scenario that starts slowing the game stays applied after an equaliser; add an explicit return scenario to change back.

A half-strength press combined with transition hunting.

• Up to +3 Defensive Positioning on receptions, still dependent on Constitution and halved for high balls; the tackle part of the press also applies at half strength.
• Raises the opponent’s hasty-action risk ×1.5.
• With full support, counter chance reaches ×2.5 and the trigger margin falls to 15. Against Front foot the trigger eases by 12; against All-out, by 16. More recoveries qualify, but the high line does not multiply the launch chance. Those counters also meet fewer bodies back: +7 / +15 to the attacker in the box and −5 / −10 to the defence’s help. The extra counters come from the won duel, not from extra scheduled chances.
• Counter benefits scale with nearby support, mentality and fatigue. A fifth defender does not switch them off.
• Uses half the pressing stamina of Close down early; the work already done stays when the approach changes.

Early receiving runs can still be offside. The line does not deliberately spring a trap or give away the completely free finish caused by a failed one.

Tests 8–34% of eligible box entries according to mentality.

• The test weighs the line’s average Defensive Positioning against the forwards’ Offensive Positioning, without any fixed advantage for the line. A strong line makes the trap a weapon; a level or weak one makes it an expensive gamble against ordinary play.
• A caught runner loses the chance outright.
• A failed trap removes the box defender and leaves a completely free finish against the goalkeeper; the attacker still follows his finishing instruction when it activates.
• Run in behind feeds the trap: it is tried 2.5× as often and gets +12 on the defence’s side of the test.
• A sprung trap replaces the ordinary offside check on that pass. If the line does not spring it, ordinary offside risk remains.

Side weights come only from formation, player locations and the normal anti-streak model.

Multiplies the chosen channel’s chance weight ×1.5, then favours a receiver already there ×1.6. On a flank, the midfielder who starts the chance already there keeps the ball.

• It is a preference, not a guarantee.
• He carries it forward himself, with a dribble, instead of passing to a teammate who is not on that flank.
• An attacking Right channel meets the opponent’s Left defensive side, and attacking Left meets defensive Right.

No channel receives a positioning adjustment.

Adds +5 Defensive Positioning on the one selected side and subtracts 3 on each other side.

• These are your own defensive sides: Left faces the opponent’s Right attack, and vice versa.
• Only one side may be focused.
• The trade-off applies whenever the relevant defensive positioning is resolved.

His personality can change team-mates’ effective experience, discipline and the second-half rally while trailing.

• Positive traits lift experience; Team Player doubles a positive lift.
• Negative traits drag experience; Egoist doubles a negative drag.
• Charming lowers booking risk; Obnoxious raises it.
• Resolute strengthens the second-half rally; Diva weakens it.

If no captain is named, or the captain leaves the pitch, the most experienced outfielder takes over.

No player-specific receiving change and no opportunity cost.

The named midfielder is half as likely to receive ordinary midfield passes. His exact share also depends on the other available receivers; his personal chance is unchanged.

• Gives the opponent one extra opportunity over a full match, before the other volume modifiers. It does not remove one of your own opportunities: an otherwise equal 12–12 opportunity budget becomes 12–13.
• The cost remains if the target is absent or substituted until the order is explicitly cleared.
• Saved references to an invalid opponent or wrong role are removed before kickoff.

When he has a partner on the pitch, the named attacker is half as likely to finish in the box, to get extra Long Balls, or to take his personal chance. Isolating the only attacker has no effect.

• Does not give the opponent an extra opportunity.
• The other fielded attackers face −5 defensive assistance and +4 on the shooting angle.
• Target Striker can still find an isolated ST, with the waiting-defence tax of 8. Unique Long Balls still prefer an unused attacker first.

One entertaining match helps, but a club becomes known for its football only by repeating it.

The score changes attendance demand only. It never makes the team stronger on the pitch.

Each tactical choice counts for the time it was used. Thirty minutes of Slow the game in a 90-minute match costs −3.33 instead of −10.

Winning, losing, goals and shots do not add or subtract Fun Factor. The choices actually used move the reputation; the result itself does not.

The crowd already at today’s match came because of the reputation built earlier. Today’s setup changes the rating used by future crowds.

Field at least three FW/ST attackers.

Field at least five players in midfield-zone positions.

Each LWB or RWB counts separately.

No attacker uses Call for a high ball or Call for a low ball.

OM/LW/RW or a midfielder using Killer ball, Carry and finish or Shoot from distance.

Counts artistic/Showman players on the pitch, up to four.

Counts players with the Diva personality in the actual starting XI, up to two. Bench players and later substitutes do not count.

Use Slow the game.

Use Cut supply.

Field exactly one FW/ST attacker.

With multiple attackers, all use the same high/low demand order.

Each midfielder using Go direct counts.

More than one midfielder, all using the same individual order. Player’s choice/Normal counts as an order here, so an untouched midfield can trigger this line.

Each DM or midfielder using Secure possession counts.

A legal 3-4-3 can combine two wing backs, four attacking midfielders and three forwards without triggering a boring line.

• Example XI: GK; LWB, CB, RWB; LW, CM, OM, RW; FW, FW, FW.
• Give the CM Killer ball, Carry and finish or Shoot from distance so all four midfielders count as running at the box. Keep at least two different midfield orders so “one idea” does not fire.
• Three forwards +8; two wing backs +6; no forward demand +4; four attacking midfielders +8. Total: 50 + 26 = 76.
• An attacking 3-5-2 can also reach 76: five midfielders +6 replaces the three-forward +8, while five attacking midfielders contribute +10.

Add four fielded Showmen and at least two starting Divas to either 76-point tactical blueprint.

• Each Showman adds +3; only the first four count, for at most +12.
• Each Diva adds +1; only the first two in the starting XI count, for at most +2.
• Showman and Diva are player properties, not tactical switches. A player may supply both when he has the ability and the personality.

A deliberately extreme 5-4-1 can activate every compatible negative without receiving a positive formation bonus.

• Example XI: GK; LB, CB, CB, CB, RB; LM, DM, DM, RM; FW.
• Use Slow the game (−10) and Cut supply (−5). Give the lone forward one high/low demand so the +4 no-demand reward does not fire.
• Give all four midfielders Go direct: four long-pass penalties −8 and the uniform-order penalty −5. The two DMs add −4; the lone forward adds −8.
• Total: 50 − 10 − 5 − 8 − 8 − 5 − 4 = 10.

This is the standing Fun Factor that helped calculate the crowd already inside the ground.

For example: five midfielders +6, no forward demand order +4, and one uniform-midfield penalty −5. Starting from 50 gives a 55-point target.

round(49 + 0.35 × (55 − 49)) = round(51.1) = 51. The same update applies whether the club won, drew or lost.

A winning club with a 51-point played plan moves to 50.35 and rounds back to 50. Victory itself adds no Fun Factor.

Keep 65% of the old reputation and take 35% of the new matchday score.

The result is stored as a whole number from 0 to 100.

The strongest purely tactical setup adds nine standing points for the next fixture.

The maximum setup with four Showmen and two starting Divas adds fourteen standing points.

The minimum setup removes fourteen standing points.

Because the integer rating is rounded after every update, repeated targets from a new club settle one point inside the target: 75 for repeated 76, 89 for repeated 90 and 11 for repeated 10.

It is the home club’s stadium and most people in it came to follow that team. Its reputation therefore has the strongest effect on whether people buy a ticket.

FF 50 changes nothing. At FF 80 the home multiplier is ×1.30; at FF 20 it is ×0.70.

A famous entertaining visitor can make a fixture feel special, while a dull visitor can make it less appealing. The effect is deliberately smaller because fewer spectators are following the away team.

FF 50 changes nothing. At FF 80 the visitor multiplier is ×1.12; at FF 20 it is ×0.88 — 40% of the equivalent home effect.

Attendance is the lower of calculated demand and stadium capacity. If the ground is already sold out, extra Fun Factor raises unmet demand but cannot sell another ticket that day.

The spectators who fit inside the ground buy tickets. The competition then splits that gate, so Fun Factor changes money only by helping to bring people through the turnstiles.