Xbox 360 - Training / Tactics

When considering your tactics you should have a look at the makeup of your current squad. If you have a team with only 2 decent centre backs there is no point in establishing a defence based around more than 2 central defenders as you do not have the personnel to cover these positions throughout the season. The same principles can be applied to attacking play as well; if you have wingers who have poor crossing stats and speed you cannot expect to put them in a side where you have to get to the by-line quickly and cross the ball to be successful. If you know your players and all their strengths and weaknesses, you'll be able to get the most out of them with the right tactics.

To have a look at your team's attributes simply press Up or Down on the directional pad on the squad screen and sort through the various attributes by first highlighting it and then pressing the A button.

Of course, if you are managing a club with a lot of spending power and you really like the idea of a particular formation or strategy, you can easily delve into the transfer market and buy a player who fits the mould of your desired tactics. Otherwise you will have to go with what you have until the funds become available.

When looking at players attributes there are certain key stats to look out for in different positions:

- For a Goalkeeper it's Handling (Han), reflexes (Ref), Positioning (Pos) and Command of Area (CMD)

- For a Full back it's Tackling (Tac), Stamina (Sta) and Passing (Pas)

- For a Central defender it's Tackling (Tac), Heading (Hea), Positioning (Pos), Jumping (Jum) and Composure (Cmp)

- For a Defensive Midfielder it's Tackling (Tac), Stamina (Sta), Work Rate (Wrk), Team Work and Bravery

- For a Winger/ Attacking Winger it's Pace (Pac), Crossing (Cro), Dribbling (Drl) and Acceleration

- For an Attacking Midfielder it's Creativity (Cre), Decisions (Dec), Passing (Pas)

- And for a Striker it's Finishing (Fin), Heading (Hea) and Pace (Pac)

- Establishing a training regime

If you can't afford players to play in your preferred formation you can train those current members of your squad in the areas that need improving and this is all applicable in the training section.

Go to the squad screen and select Training using either the LB or RB button, from here you will have 4 options to view: Senior players, senior coaches, youth players and youth coaches.

When selecting players you will see every player either in the senior or youth teams depending on which option was selected. You will begin with only general training and goalkeeping training options highlighted. To create an individual training schedule simply press the Y button and select 'New' from the resulting table. Here you can give a name to the schedule and decide on whether it will be used by the full time players or the youth team. Highlight each option and calibrate it to your liking by moving the slider to your preferred position. Be careful though - the more areas you select and calibrate, the higher the Overall meter will move; the higher the Overall meter is the more likely your players using this schedule will become injured or more injury prone during matches due to them being tired because of over training.

Once you are satisfied with your schedule you can start assigning the players you wish to use it. To do this simply return to the Players option (all players should be either assigned to General or Goalkeeping training) highlight which player or players you wish to apply the new training schedule to and then highlight the schedule next to their name and press left or right on the analogue stick to change to the newly created custom schedule.

Once you are happy with your player's assignments it's wise to double check that your coaches have been assigned to their strongest areas. To do this go back to training and press either the LB or RB button and select one of the coaching options from the training menu. Here you will be shown a list of all the coaches and their attributes as well as what areas they have been assigned. To change the coaches assignments press X to go to assignments section at the bottom of the screen and press the A button to select or deselect each area you do not feel they are particularly strong in.