Football manager 2011 game guide

The ability to swap two players is a handy option in here and it might confuse your opponent long enough for you to snatch a goal or spark a mediocre performance into life. Your final option is Instructions where you can change your overall strategic approach to the game, handy for switching to defensive after scoring a last minute winner.

You can also issue specific instructions to the players shouted from the touchline and the options in here are all useful when used in the right circumstances. Choose your Team Talk carefully and use individual instructions for players coming on, telling a sub that they can make the difference can be effective.

You get loads of detailed information in the Match Report after every game and you can access Analysis to see what individual players did in great detail. If you want to know where you went wrong then the answer is in here. In the post-match press conference you should avoid criticising the referee it will only get you into trouble. Research is currently ongoing. If you want to delve deeper and give some really specific instructions then click Advanced and you can access loads of details about they should approach the game.

Tell them where to stand for defending a corner or how often to try through balls. If you tick the box next to each entry you can override the team instructions and use the slider or drop down menu to select each tactic.

The last thing you need to do on the tactics screen is to select various player roles. You can also set up positions for attacking and defending corners and other set pieces. This is by far the easiest way of setting up your set piece tactics. The amount of information offered up by Football Manager is astounding.

If you really want to analyse where you are going right or wrong you should pay attention to the match reports after each game. You can see some basic info on each club by clicking on it or hit the Detailed Team Information button on the right if you want a look at the squad before you decide. You can now start the game proper. You can access everything you need from the drop down menus along the bar at the top.

Sometimes you can negotiate the starting expectations, so for example you may be able to claim a larger transfer fund by promising to win the league. Most clubs will also give you the option of sacking staff and hiring in your own. If your club is very poor they might veto this. Be careful about kicking out your Assistant Manager. You should use them to help you identify a replacement before you get rid of them.

If you are looking for a scout, indicate that you want them to have high attributes in identifying and judging potential players. If you want trainers, look for some with level 20 in tactics, technique, defense … and assign them just to that. They may not be the best in the trade, but they do their job like no one else. When you go to sign, your first offer is always very low.