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Before a match you will need to select an 18 man squad consisting of a starting 11 and 7 match day substitutes from the players at your disposal. However, not everyone will always be available for selection due to injury or suspension.

To change a player within your starting 11 either click on the drop down arrow on the desktop site or a player's name on the app and a list of suitable players will be displayed for you to choose from. On the desktop site you can also click and drag a player's shirt number on to the player you wish to change. As you drag a player the Player Position Helper will indicate the ideal positions where the player should play.

Naturally a player will perform better in his preferred position (green) and his performance will suffer if he is played out of his natural position (orange). The more a player is played away from his natural position (red), the more his performance will suffer. If you make any changes make sure you confirm them by clicking on Confirm Changes.

Please note that within the Tactics page, player concerns will only be displayed if they are related to the Lack of Games concern.

If you are a Gold Manager then selecting the formation and tactics for your team is the same process as any other match day.

If you are not a Gold Manager then your Assistant Manager will decide the tactics and team. Your Assistant Manager will not change the tactical screen. This means that you can set your team for the following match and it will not change.

Regarding fitness and SMFA Cup/Shield matches within non Gold Game Worlds, all players are 100% fit for the game, and no fitness is reduced. Players will not be able to pick up an injury whilst playing for their club. Also a player could pick up an SMFA suspension, but this will only apply for SMFA competitions and will not effect domestic competitions.

The very first thing you should take into consideration is the formation you are going to play. Your decision could be based on a formation that best suits the players at your disposal, your opponents, or selecting your best players into an 11 and then picking the formation based on your players. You can select any of the formations for your starting 11 by simply clicking on any of the formation buttons and your formation will automatically change.

There are also a variety of instructions that you can choose from. The instructions are an array of tactical options where you set up how your team is going to play in the forthcoming match. The Team Instructions include Tackling Style, Mentality, Passing Style, Attacking Style, Tempo and Pressing. You can select any of the Team Instructions for your starting 11 by simply clicking on any of the buttons and your instructions will automatically change.

You also have the option of selecting individual Player Instructions by choosing a captain, penalty taker, corner taker, free-kick taker and play maker. This is done by assessing your squad to find out who is more than likely adequate for the job.

If at any point you wish to make a substitution or tactical change during a match you can create and edit your instructions. Each substitution and tactical change is set in advance for a specific time and situation during the forthcoming game.

To do this you will need to click on Substitutions prior to setting the situation and time you would like your changes to be carried out as well as any formation changes, new instructions and substitutes that you would also like to change.

Here are some basic steps:

• Click on Substitution;
• Set the situation and time you would like the substitution to be carried out using the two drop down boxes;
• If you wish to change your formation click on a button to change your formation;
• If you wish to make a substitution with your current or new formation (which you have changed to) then either click and drag a player’s name from your substitutes bench into your starting 11 or click on the drop down arrow on the desktop site or a player's name on the app and a list of suitable players will be displayed for you to choose from;
• If you wish to change your instructions then just click on the drop down box and choose the style you want;
• If you make any changes make sure you confirm them by clicking on Confirm Changes.

If you follow the above steps you will create a substitution. This will automatically become Active. You can make any of your substitutions Inactive by clicking on Active and likewise you can make any Active by clicking on Inactive.

If you would like to view/edit any of your In-Game Instructions simply click on each individual Situation. You can also delete any In-Game Instruction which you no longer use by clicking on the Red Cross next to each Situation.

In your role as a manager you’re inevitably going to want to know as much about your next opponent as you can prior to the fixture. Due to this you can request a Scout Opposition report from your scouts and they will then predict their likely formation and starting line up. You can use Scout Opposition in conjunction with Match Preview to obtain as much information as you can for your next fixture. Please note that Scout Opposition is a prediction and will not always be right.

Stored Tactics is only available for Gold Managers. It saves all aspects of your tactics including the starting 11I and substitutions. It can be used to store up to 7 preset tactics for each of your club's.

You can give each tactic a descriptive name, for example 'Cup Tactics 4-5-1', so that you can easily identify the tactics to use for a game. Before storing a new Stored Tactic, ensure you have confirmed your Pre-Match and In-Game Instructions.

The fitness that is displayed on the tactics page is a player's predicted fitness for the next game and not their current fitness.