First of all I want to congratulate you on superb tactical guides. They are very popular in Poland - the most well-known is probably TT&F. Who was the initiator of this monumental creation and why have you decided to do this?

Thank you very much! The TT&F series was started by Richard Claydon, better known as wwfan, in 2006. Having just completed his Masters he was in Denmark with a lot of spare time on his hands. He criticized the match engine in a thread at the official SI Games forums, and went about trying to prove where it was flawed. In doing so, he found out that the ME was far more complex and in-depth than he thought, and he gradually developed theories than could be used in the game for creating a solid 4-4-2 tactic. This eventually became TT&F 2006, and he has released a version ever since.

My role, really, has been more of a researcher and tester, both of his theories and of the game. For 2010 I took a more front-seat role in writing the majority of the words for the guide. But it’s to Richard that we owe everything we know about the game, and it’s most certainly his theories and methods of testing the match engine that we’ve all adopted at FM-Britain. Just look at the credits page for the list of people who have helped write and develop the guide over the past 5 years!

What was the role of SI and FM-B forums users in creating TT10?

TT10 was a collaborative project between the members of what we call the “Think Tank” at FM-Britain – a selection of users who have helped out people in the past with problems in the game and who have an interest in the game’s match engine mechanics. A number of them post very infrequently in the forums and may be better know at other places.

Taking Richard’s lead from the previous years, we would produce chapters of the book and then debate what should be changed, what should be added and what should be left out. Over a period of about a month they took a rather rough and inaccurate document and turned it into (in my opinion) a great book. Without those guys, it certainly wouldn’t be half as good as it was, and Richard and I would definitely like to thank them all!

So a big thank you to The next Diaby, playmaker, Crouchaldinho, zagallo, cagiva, Abramovich, and everyone who has helped us on the guide past and present. The feedback from readers has also been incredibly useful, and I’m sorry there are too many to name in person.

What kind of guides are you going to put on FM-B in the near future?

We are currently working on a couple of projects. Obviously, TT&F2011 is the big one for next year, but we’re also working on our Tactical Bible articles which we will be bringing out at regular intervals over the spring and summer months. We also have a guide due out in the next month or so about squad management issues, and there should be an announcement about this very shortly.

 How does the cooperation beetween SI and FM-B look?

The co-operation is more between individuals on the site and SI than FM-Britain and SI per se. But obviously, with Richard’s influence in the beta testing more and more of our tactical minds have been able to communicate directly with Sports Interactive.

I suppose the most obvious link has been the input Richard has had into the Tactics Creator for FML and FM10 which I was very fortunate to have been invited to test. The site’s tactical guides, especially TT&F09 were used as the fundamental building blocks of the creator which was the brain child of Ov Collyer and Richard and has been expanded upon immensely from the feedback and testing of so many others who may or may not have read or endorsed TT&F in the past. The fact that it has won over so many non-FM-B people over the past few months is a testament to how hard these guys worked on producing a global and fluid system.

Beyond this, we obviously have a good relationship with SI. In return for our input on the match engine, we get to play the beta versions of the games which gives us some insight into how the game is progressing – and this means we can hopefully give better advice because we are a little more aware of the official thinking behind the match engine and the tactical interface.

But of course, we still don’t get to know everything. Paul Collyer still has his little secrets in that ME of his!

You are a tactical specialist. Could you tell us something about OI influence on the way od playing? Is there a some kind of scheme which you can recommend to other FM fans?

I really like Opposition Instructions and feel their biggest benefit is when you’re playing against a side who don’t play the same formation as you. For example, of late I’ve been using a formation without wingers because my lack of money at certain clubs has left me with no good wide men. So, I use the OIs to make sure my players close down and mark the opposition’s wide players (full backs, wing backs, wingers and so on).

They’re also useful for targeting certain areas of the pitch, like putting pressure on the opposition midfield to disrupt the game, or hard tackling opposition centre backs to try and make them make a mistake.

I don’t have any real “schemes” that I employ all the time, but I definitely feel that if you see particular areas of the pitch where you’re being exploited regularly that OIs can help keep your team’s shape better in defence and can plug gaps in your system.

A lot of players complains about  results which they has achieved on home pitch. Even if they are a favourite, they have a problem to draw the game. Why does it happen? Lack of motivation?

There could be a host of reasons. Every game is different, every team is different and every opposition has different ideas. However, if you seem to be winning against sides more on your level but can’t defeat the minnows at home then there might be two issues. One is motivation, and you can see if this is true by using the motivation widget in the TV view. The other could be that you are attacking quickly and hard against a side packing their defence. Sure, this is a great tactic if you are playing against a side who also wants to attack you, because you can exploit their gaps. But if the opposition are “parking the bus” as Mourinho put it then you need to be more patient and draw them out of their hole. A control strategy may help here, or you could play a little deeper and a little more patiently while trying to force an opening.

 And what can you say about match engine? A lot of fans say that all "bad" things has come from code and structure of game. Can you agree with this?

I’m not entirely sure how anyone can say the ME is getting worse. Far from it, it’s going from strength to strength. Is it getting harder to crack? Probably. It’s less and less likely with each release that someone will come up with a “Diablo” which exploits the game, simply because as the engine becomes more realistic you need more realistic solutions to realistic problems.

Personally, I think the problems most people have is the change in mindset from making on tactic file which you plug in to get the best results from the match engine and making a game plan which needs to be fluid enough to take into account match situations. As the ME and AI require you to make more strategic decisions, it tests your abilities as a coach and a tactician rather than your skills of analyzing the match engine and setting up a system to exploit weaknesses.

Does that make the game more enjoyable? For some, perhaps not. And I think it’s a genuine concern that will need to be addressed by SI. Are they after a full, in-depth simulation, or do they want to cater for those who want a more simple affair from years past. I don’t think one way is “better” than others, but I know which one I would prefer to play.

What do you think about Tactics Creator and Shouts? Needless things or powerful tools?

Powerful tools, definitely. They help combat situations in a much, much simpler way than all that slider fiddling. I’ve completely abandoned sliders in favour of shouts, and I’m not missing them one bit. Aside from set piece routines, it’s TC all the way for me.

How can you describe utility of TC in comparison to famous sliders from previous versions?

The sliders will always give you more control. Indeed, I never get why people complain about this. Of course having so many more options is better for micro-management.

The issue, though, is about being able to make changes in strategy quickly and effectively to counter the opposition’s game plan. I love the TC’s ability to do this, and I think it’s the biggest thing it has brought to the game. If the game becomes more about football decisions (when to go more attacking) rather than about slider mechanics (when to move the width slider wider and the mentality sliders up) then it becomes a proper football game.

I believe it’s so much easier to adapt using the TC. But it’s much, much easier to attempt to synthesise a “one size fits all” system for download using the advanced settings. It depends what type of gamer you are.

There will be those who always prefer the slider system, and they should be able to keep using it. However, having the TC work to manipulate those sliders in plain football language is a massive step forward. In my opinion, at least – although I’m obviously biased.

 And what about "Set Pieces" Creator? Is it possible to do this kind of tool? It could be very helpful, because a lot of players have problem with this aspect of game.

Set pieces need a complete overhaul. I really hope that they don’t just create a set pieces creator – I hope they gut the current system and replace it in the interface and the ME with something completely new that more accurately reflects the routines and strategies in the real world.

What do you think of chances to move old, trusted tactics from FM09 to FM10? Is it possible or not?

In terms of the technical specs, I don’t think FM09 tactics can be loaded in FM10. But you can transcribe them into the new version (annoying as that is).

But will they work? Fundamentally, if they were solid tactics based on football rather than match engine exploits they should work to an extent. But with so many different styles on offer from the AI in this version, I’m not sure they’d work in all situations at all times. Again, we’re back to the debate between those who see the game’s match engine as a strategic game where you have to adapt to the match circumstances or whether you believe you should be able to load in a tactic file that works well and win most of your games.

As far as I know, you are interested in moving "real football" to "FM world". In FM10, is there an opportunity to copy all of real football issues to virtual world?

Not all, no. Marking in FM10 doesn’t appear to reflect the coaching manuals, as a number of people have suggested in various forums. Also, passing patters don’t appear to mimic real life at the moment, and there are issues with players swapping positions and covering for each other.

But it’s getting there. The Appendix for TT10 is designed to collate this knowledge so that people can share ideas about real world teams and styles. It’s growing daily, and we’ve already released one update and plan more.

My hope is that as people find that they can’t do stuff in the ME they report it so that SI can begin to work on different styles and different solutions to real world problems.

Now we will back to your passion. Why has you chosen Football Manager? Have you ever tried other managers, like Fifa Manager?

I used to play a lot of management games when I was younger, like Ultimate Soccer Manager, Premier Manager, Premier League Manager and many more. But CM01/02 was always my favourite, and eventually I bit the bullet and bought SI’s FM2006, my first management game for 4 years. I’ve never looked back. I love the direction the game is going, its depth of database, the way it doesn’t automatically give Ronaldo 20s for everything and the care in all the details. And, crucially, despite the jibes and the jokes it’s far less buggy than any other football sim I’ve played.

The biggest thing, though, is probably the community. I joined the SI forums when I bought FM06, and loved the chat about the game mechanics, the updates, and everything. No other game I’ve played (well, no other football game I’ve played) has had that sort of community support. It’s quite amazing when you stop and think about it.


You are a very experienced player, for sure. Could you tell us something about your biggest successes in FM?

Blimey. Biggest success. Well, I’m experienced, but I wouldn’t say I was necessarily that successful. I suppose winning back-to-back Champions Leagues with Arsenal and then jumping ship to Barcelona to win the UEFA Cup was my best save, and it only lasted 3 seasons that one (FM08, I think).

But my favourite save probably has to be my one in Romania with UTA Arad. Took a team tipped to go down up to the Romanian Premier League, and over three or four season gradually built a team by wheeling and dealing to win the league. I then got offered the Shakhtar Donnetsk job, and stayed there for 2 seasons, never losing a game in the Ukraine (unbeaten in the league and cups, and only lost in the Champions League semi-final to Real Madrid by losing in the Bernebeu).

Not amazing, but I’ve had fun!

Gareth, could you reveal,  for Football-Manager.info users,  some "secret clues", which have helped you im FM10?

I think most of my secrets I blab about on FM-Britain. I’m not really the kind of guy to find out that kind of stuff – either I read it elsewhere, or I discuss it with other people. Usually to find out my great master plan fails at the first sign of trouble!

I suppose the biggest thing that’s helped me is reading about football in general and watching games of football purely from a tactical level. In the game as well as on the TV/at the stadium. It makes you look at things in a different way (something I learned from being a football referee). You notice movements, subtleties in formations and different things going on that you don’t get by ball watching or admiring the dribbling of Ronaldo or Torres. Watch things critically – try and watch what one player does, or look at what’s happening off the ball. If you do that in the game as well as in real life you’ll notice far more of what goes on. And usually, once you identify a problem, the solution is pretty easy. It’s identifying the problem that’s the trickiest part.

 Have you got some favourite players? Do you always try to buy them?

I tend to play in the lower leagues, so I rarely have players who I can regularly buy. Legends for me are players like Leam Coyne on FM06 who headed me so many goals on my way from BSN with Vauxhall Motors to the Football League. Or Vladimir Illie who scored 25 on my way to the second division title in Romania.

I suppose if I do play in the bigger leagues I have a soft spot for Darijo Srna at Shakhtar (20 goals and 20 assists in one league season for me on FM06), or Miguel Veloso in FM09. Players to me, though, need to be right for my tactics and for my club. So, I’ll buy who suits based on how good they are than the name. Fun though it is to stick some legends in there.

What do you think about tactical changes in modern football? Have you noticed some particular ways of development?

Well, the trend to forwards and attacking midfielders becoming blurred is the obvious one. It also seems to me that the game is becoming more physical, and yet at the same time seems to be breeding very skillful forwards who can play anwhere in the final third of the pitch.

The trend to the wide forward cutting in to cause space is also quite interesting. But on the whole I think the best man to ask is probably Jonathan Wilson at the Guardian newspaper. He has some very interesting theories on football, and he also wrote Inverting the Pyramid and Behind the Curtain. One book is on the history and development of football tactics, the other about Eastern European football through the eyes of a roaming English journalist. Both have some excellent discussions about tactics and the future of football. Not sure if they’re available in Polish at the moment though.

In TT&F 09, you were trying to copy "real managers strategies", like Keegan or Ferguson. Do you think that in near we future, we will be talking about "style" of Guardiola, Blanc or Deschamps?

Well, certainly Blanc is a much better tactical mind than Keegan!

I think we will, and I think it’s interesting to see the raft of ex-professionals doing well at so many clubs. I suppose Guardiola, Blanc, Deschamps, Rijkaard, Klinsmann (who perhaps has not done so well!) and so on are the first of the “Champions League generation” to hang up their boots. So, they’re already world famous millionaires when they arrive at their clubs. Compare that to Wenger, Ferguson, Redknapp and so on, and it’s completely different. Sure, you had coaches like Clough, Lobanovskyi, Cruiff and so on who were great players in their heydays (Cruijff moreso than the others), and even Redknapp and Fergie could play a bit. But they earned peanuts compared to these guys, and their reputations were local or national rather than inter-continental.

So, Blanc is a legend before he even turns up at Bordeaux. And I think that helps him establish his presence there before he even points to a chalkboard. Plus, the second he gets some success, he is instantly lionized by the media.

I think we will talk about these managers in the future, definitely. But I think these coaches will establish themselves at winning things far quicker than the previous generations. That could lead to a very different style of football over coming years, because instead of learning their apprenticeships at smaller clubs and developing their styles, they will come in and coach a top club from day one in the style they knew as players. It could be interesting to find out if this leads to hegemony in the top ranks, or whether it means that we will see lots of top sides experimenting with new systems with relatively young tyros at the helm.

Have you got some online battles in FM-B office? If yes - who is the best?

No, not at the moment. We’re in such desperate places and in completely different lives that it would be difficult, I think. Richard is in Sydney, I work in London, The next Diaby (Matt vom Brocke) lives in Germany. I’m sure if we did have a battle I wouldn’t fare too well. I’ve played Richard a few times on FML, and while I can usually grind out a 0-0 win (as I do a lot on FM10, to be fair), he’d easily crush me over a season.

Thank you for interview and good luck in creating next tactical guides:)

No problem at all. And thank you guys for translating our work and getting it out to a completely new audience. It really is appreciated.

Good luck to all your native readers for 2012 as well. Let’s hope England get there to meet you this time!