14 DAY TRIAL // When I start a new version of Football Manager, after choosing to manage my favorite team in the world, Liverpool, I usually race through choices and menus to take a look at the Tactics screen and see what modifications the developers at Sports Interactive have made.
This year, I was forced to pause and ponder for a while if I wanted to be a Tracksuit or a Tactical-minded manager (I opted for a balanced approach), but once I finally opened the sidebar tab, I found that the studio has introduced a few new roles and has made it easier for gamers to visually see how their choices can affect the performance of the team.
The most interesting new role introduced in Football Manager 2015 is the Raumdeuter, which seems to have been specifically created to suit the playing style of Thomas Muller, one of the best players in the German national team.
He used the term, which features some word play and can be explained as “dream interpreter,” in order to refer to the way he plays, trying to find space in the opposition defense which he can explore either to actually score or to create a shot for one of his teammates.
I have tried using this approach with Liverpool, but my team seems to be unable to adjust to how such a role works and I have been getting better results with classic wingers so far.
Football Manager 2015 places more of an emphasis on words
The other big change made to tactics is the way team talks can be shouted from the bench during an actual match and their pretty big impact on the way a team performs.
These directions are different from the classic instructions, which can be implemented based on how the other team is setup and uses the pitch.
The shouted talks are best used to target just one player, encouraging him to try and show off his true potential if he is not performing as planned, or asking him to keep up performance when he is over delivering.
They can be effective if the team already has a solid tactical setup and only needs a little push in order to deliver that crucial goal in the final minutes or to defend better even if they are one man down.
Football Manager 2015 also introduces some interface changes which make it easier to see how well-suited players are to positions and roles, which cuts down on micro management.
