Football Manager 2013 and the individual training schedules!
So Football Manager 2013 introduced us the individual training schedules, for certain types of players which depends on their position. A lot of people may see it as a handy feature while others want to use the sliders so they could adjust it to their own feeling.
What I am going to explain in this small guide is which types of individual training a player can be set to depending on their role in the field, while also explaining which attributes get trained by the various individual training schedules.
What you have to keep in mind by selecting the individual role, by training more attributes at a time, the workload also increases. So if a player focuses on only 4 attributes the workload is rather low if he has to focus on 18 the workload gets way heavier. This means players might complain about their workload.
Another thing about the individual training schedules, even though you select an individual role the other attributes that are not a part of the role will get trained. But they increase slower than the attributes that are part of the role, neither will they increase as much compared to the attributes part of the role.
Last thing you have to think about is, that you can of course select a new field position to train, this way you get more options to choose from and improve your player in different areas of the game.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the individual role also helps the player to get better at that role on the pitch.
1-6 is low amount trained and colored red.
7-12 is average amount trained and colored green.
13-20 is high amount trained and colored orange.
The positions and roles!
Goalkeepers:
Sweeper Keeper
A sweeper keeper has to be able to do more than just defend his goal, the sweeper keeper is used to set up quick counters while he tries to intercept ball earlier then a normal keeper would do.
Attributes trained: 15
Aerial ability
Command of Area
Communication
First Touch
Handling
Reflexes
Rushing Out
Composure
Concentration
Creativity
Decisions
Positioning
Acceleration
Agility
Pace
So as you can see a sweeper keeper is trained in a lot of areas to be able to intercept that ball earlier while being able to set up those quick counters. Training the keeper as a sweeper would be a good choice because it will train most of his attributes, and if many of these attributes are decent already or maybe a bit low they will definitely improve big time.
Goalkeeper
A goalkeeper won’t take any risk and only aims at defending the goal, when he has the ball he either shoots it forward as soon as possible or lays it back to a defender.
Attributes Trained: 10
Aerial ability
Command of Area
Handling
One on Ones
Reflexes
Composure
Concentration
Decisions
Positioning
Agility
My advice on training a keeper as goalkeeper would be to use it, only if he has really low one on ones. All the other attributes are also trained when training him as a sweeper keeper, so training him as a goalkeeper hardly has any benefits.
Sweeper
Sweeper:
A Sweeper is the last Defender on the pitch, he is there to intercept through balls pick up extra attackers and tries to save, block or intercept any attempt on goal
Attributes Trained: 12
Heading
Marking
Passing
Tackling
Anticipation
Composure
Concentration
Decisions
Positioning
Acceleration
Balance
Jumping
As you can see from his stats everything is aimed at defending and preventing attackers from getting a chance to score a goal. The sweeper won’t focus on any attacking part during his training since he won’t be going forward anyway.
Libero:
Libero has the same duty as a Sweeper, which comes down to intercepting the opponent before he gets a chance to get to the ball, but the Libero also goes towards the midfield to help there if your team has possession.
Attributes Trained: 15
Dribbling
Heading
Marking
Passing
Tackling
Anticipation
Composure
Concentration
Creativity
Decisions
Positioning
Teamwork
Acceleration
Balance
Jumping
As you can see the libero gets the same training as the sweeper but gets extra training in dribbling and creativity in order to go forward if the time is right. Also he will improve his teamwork in order to make the right decisions regarding passes.
This one should be easy, just go for the Libero training he gets the same attributes trained as the Sweeper and aims at 3 more attributes to improve. So if you decide to retrain your sweeper to become a Defender you can instantly use him as a ball playing defender.
Defenders:
Limited Defender:
His only aim is to get the ball and get it cleared nothing more nothing less.
Attributes trained: 6
Heading
Marking
Tackling
Positioning
Jumping
Strength
Only the most important defender stats will improve with this type of training
Central Defender:
Central defenders are mainly focusing on defending but have to be able to pass a ball decent enough so the others can start the buildup.
Attributes trained: 9
Heading
Marking
Tackling
Composure
Concentration
Decisions
Positioning
Jumping
Strength
As you can see all the important defender stats get trained together with concentration, decisions and composure. The 3 I mention here are not trained by the Limited Defender, but are very useful with a higher concentration and better composure and decision making he’ll make far less mistakes or stupid tackles. Why these aren’t trained by the Limited Defender Is because of the play style, a Central Defender also has to be able to decide what pass to give.
Ball Playing Defender:
The Ball Playing Defender has the same duties as the other 2 defender roles but! Also has to be able to provide a wider range of passes then the normal central defender.
Attributes trained: 12
Heading
Marking
Passing
Tackling
Technique
Composure
Concentration
Creativity
Decisions
Positioning
Jumping
Strength
As you can see a ball playing defender gets 3 more attributes to aim at during his training sessions, his passing, creativity and technique gets trained as well to be able to give the correct pass at the required moment. This means a through ball or a long ball to set up a counter for example or to play a cross to the other side if there is an opening at that side of the pitch.
My advice would go to either Ball Playing or just Central Defender, the training in Concentration and Composure as well as Decisions is very important to provide a decent Defender in your squad, that doesn’t make end up making any stupid mistakes. If you want your defenders to be able to play a Barcelona kind of football then go for Ball Playing Defender or if you just like high stats for showing of your players.
Defenders (Right/Left):
Full back:
Are mainly used for Defending but also have to be able to go forward to help with attacks and provide crosses towards the penalty area.
Attributes trained: 10
Crossing
Marking
Tackling
Anticipation
Concentration
Positioning
Teamwork
Work Rate
Acceleration
Stamina
The full back will be training all the crucial defender attributes, so this also explains why he is more based on defending the wings then helping the team out attacking the opponent. While this covers most of the defending you might want to change to wing back every now and then to gain some points in decisions just in case.
Wing back:
The wing back focuses more on attacking while still having his defending duties to fulfill.
Attributes trained: 9
Crossing
Marking
Tackling
Decisions
Positioning
Teamwork
Work Rate
Acceleration
Stamina
As explained above the only advantage wing back has compared to full back is the training in decisions, which is a must for wing backs to decide to go and help attack or support the mid field, or to stay back and defend the wing. If your right or left defender already has a high amount in decisions train him as a full back.
Defensive Midfielders:
Defensive midfielder:
The defensive Midfielder is used to hold onto a ball when you got it back from the opponent, he will hold it until most of your players are more or less back on their place and then continues the play.
Attributes Trained: 9
Marking
Tackling
Decisions
Positioning
Teamwork
Work Rate
Acceleration
Stamina
Strength
As you can see most of the important (defender!) stats get trained by selecting Defensive Midfielder, but also a few of the midfielder aspects get trained, this to make sure he is able to make the right decisions while defending or when he has to start a build up
Deep Lying Playmaker:
A Deep Lying Playmaker has to be creative but also has to be able to defend, because this is will be his main priority unless he is set to a support role, then he will aim his focus to helping the team building up attacks.
Attributes Trained: 8
Passing
Tackling
Technique
Composure
Creativity
Decisions
Positioning
Teamwork
For a Deep Lying Playmaker the training gets aimed more at being able to provide all kinds of passes, while still being able to do some defensive work but he won’t improve in the most important defensive attributes.
Anchor Man:
All the anchor man does is sit in front of the defense to pick up incoming opponents while not venturing to far from his position on the pitch.
Attributes Trained: 9
Heading
Marking
Tackling
Anticipation
Concentration
Decisions
Positioning
Work Rate
Strength
Compared to the DM an Anchor Man gets training which is totally based on the defensive part of the game but this also has a downside, if you want a more versatile defensive midfielder he will lose out on some of the stats like team work or passing but he’ll be the best help towards your defenders.
Choosing a good training for your defensive midfielder might be hard, but in my opinion DM turns out the best out of the 3 options. Something else that is an option is to set a new position and set it either to DC or MC and then train him as a ball playing defender or go for one of the options a normal midfielder has. This will be explained next.
Central Midfielders:
Central Midfielder:
A Central Midfielder is a very good all-rounder he can either defend or support your team but is also able to help in the attacking part of the game.
Attributes Trained: 11
First Touch
Long Shots
Marking
Passing
Tackling
Creativity
Decisions
off the Ball
Positioning
Team Work
Work Rate
As you can see his attributes are mixed towards all kinds of aspects, he gets trained in defending, slightly in attacking and in supporting abilities. Training a midfielder as a center mid will be useful if you want to increase his creativity and team work while holding back on some of the physical attributes.
Deep Lying Playmaker:
This one already got explained in the Defensive Midfielder part!
Ball Winning Midfielder:
A Ball winner aims his play style at closing down the opposition to win the ball back and give it to other players, so while he needs some good defensive attributes, he also has to be trained in other aspects which are required to help the attacking side of your team to get scoring changes.
Attributes Trained: 6
Marking
Tackling
Teamwork
Work Rate
Stamina
Strength
The Ball winner gets trained towards defending duties and nothing else, it might be a useful training schedule for those midfielders that are high in everything except defending while you want to be able to play them in any role.
Box to Box Midfielder:
A Box-to-Box is a very good all-rounder and is a somewhat improved version of the central midfielder. Providing more danger as an attacking player while providing more cover as a defensive player then the center mid would do.
Attributes Trained: 16
Dribbling
Finishing
First Touch
Heading
Long Shots
Marking
Passing
Technique
Anticipation
Decisions
off the Ball
Positioning
Work Rate
Acceleration
Stamina
Strength
As you can see a Box To Box midfielder gets training in even more areas then the central midfielder. This will help him provide better defensive actions, while also being able to switch to attacking duties when required. Only downside of this schedule is that he misses out on team work and creativity while both can be quite important for a midfielder.
Advanced Playmaker:
The Advanced Playmaker is the opposite of the defensive playmaker, and will be aiming to dive into spaces between the opponent’s defense and midfield, to be able to receive a ball so he can set up an attack
Attributes Trained: 7
First Touch
Passing
Technique
Creativity
Decisions
Flair
Teamwork
The Advanced Playmaker gets focused on attacking game play and nothing else, this is only useful if you have a good midfielder that has slightly higher stats in physical and defensive stats, but lacks flair creativity and team work.
So to have a good all-round midfielder that can either defend or attack I’d suggest focusing on box to box or central midfielder training, both increase quite a few attributes and can get the best out of any midfielder. If I player does fall behind in some area you can always switch to one of the other 3 options of course. But I wouldn’t recommend them to start with when a young player just joined your team.
Midfielder Right/Left:
Wide Midfielder:
A Wide midfielder can be compared to a winger at the AMR position, but lacks dribbling skills and pace, but makes up for it by having defensive skills while also being able to assist a team better.
Attributes Trained: 10
Crossing
Passing
Tackling
Technique
Anticipation
Decisions
off the Ball
Teamwork
Work Rate
Stamina
So the Wide Midfielder gets trained in attacking/defending/supporting abilities, this to make sure he can provide his duties as well as possible.
Winger:
A Winger focuses less on providing defensive help towards his companions on the midfield, while providing crosses or attacking movement near the line.
Attributes Trained: 10
Crossing
Dribbling
Technique
Decisions
Flair
off the Ball
Acceleration
Agility
Balance
Pace
Well this is quite obvious were the wide midfielder compensates his training to be able and help with the defending part of the game, the winger is focused purely on attacking and providing goal scoring changes
Defensive Winger:
The Defensive Winger tries to provide some attacking help but does this by playing through balls or crosses, while trying to provide defensive actions at the same time, trying to win the ball back as soon as possible and hold on to it or lay it back to a partner in the midfield.
Attributes Trained: 10
Crossing
Dribbling
Marking
Tackling
Technique
Decisions
Team Work
Work Rate
Pace
Stamina
And as you can see the Defensive Winger gives up on training his attacking skills, to be able and focus more on being able to help the team defending.
The decision here is totally up to you, the wide midfielder gets training on both aspects of the game, while a winger gets his focus mostly towards being able to attack and the defensive winger is focused more on defending. If your M(R/L) is already decent at defending go for winger or the other way around, if he’s decent at both go for the wide midfielder.
Attacking Midfielders:
Attacking Midfielder:
The attacking midfielder has to be able to create chances for him or his team mates while being covered by defenders.
Attributes Trained: 7
First Touch
Passing
Technique
Creativity
Decisions
Flair
Work Rate
The Attacking Midfielder only focuses on a few attacking abilities, but these are very important for his role on the field.
Inside Forward:
The inside forward tries to cut inside to open space for upcoming fullbacks, or to overload the defense of the opponents, it might however end up with him running himself into a dead end.
Attributes Trained: 8
Dribbling
Passing
Decisions
Flair
off the ball
Teamwork
Acceleration
Pace
Compared to the Attacking Midfielder, the Inside Forward is trained at being able to pass an enemy and at the same time is trained to be able and find an open spot to receive a ball.
Advanced playmaker:
Is the same as explained at the central midfielder’s part of the guide.
Trequartista:
A Trequartista does the same as an Advanced Playmaker but focuses even less on defending then an AP does which is also hardly nonexistent. He also tries to find open spaces even when you are not in possession.
Attributes Trained: 10
Finishing
First Touch
Passing
Technique
Anticipation
Composure
Creativity
Flair
off the ball
Agility
The Trequartista is trained to be able to score a goal. But also gets some training to support the team by being able to pass the ball to open up space for others to create chance.
Every role you can select trains a slightly different set of attributes the Treq role however only misses work rate which is trained by AM, but misses a few attributes that are covered by IF. This means that if you have a player with a high work rate already and decent dribbling or pace to aim at Treq training, if either of these stats are a bit behind rotate the training a bit.
Attacking Midfielder (right/Left)
All of these roles are already explained in either the Attacking midfielder section or the midfielder (right/left)
Winger
Inside Forward
Advanced Playmaker
Defensive winger
Striker:
Deep Lying Forward:
Drops deep into space to hold up the ball, either providing supplying passes to players around him or give an assist to his strike partner.
Attributes Trained: 6
First Touch
Passing
Technique
Creativity
Decisions
off the ball
As you can see the Deep Lying Forward is trained to be a connection between the midfield and his strike partner, and is not really trained to finish chances himself.
Advanced Forward:
His main focus is to either score or create goals, a side from this he has to chase misplaced through balls to win back possession and create a new chance.
Attributes Trained: 10
Crossing
Dribbling
Finishing
Heading
Anticipation
Composure
Flair
off the ball
Work Rate
Pace
The Advanced Forward gets a training which is focused on either scoring himself or to provide an assist through crossing the ball. He doesn’t get trained to be creative or to make any decisions however.
Target Man:
A Target main is used for 2 reasons being strong and good in the air.
Attributes Trained: 6
First Touch
Heading
Team Work
Work Rate
Jumping
Strength
The Target Man gets trained to be a big threat in the air, nothing more nothing less.
Poacher:
The poacher hardly does anything else then waiting and grab his chance to score a goal, he won’t help with setting up attacks or defending when the opponent has the ball.
Attributes Trained: 10
Dribbling
Finishing
First Touch
Anticipation
Composure
off the ball
Acceleration
Agility
Balance
Pace
It’s obvious that the Poacher gets trained to be a fast striker that knows how to handle a ball while using his speed and finishing skills to score a goal. Next to the pace and acceleration he also gets training to improve his anticipation and off the ball skills to be even more dangerous on the field.
Complete Forward:
A complete Forward functions as the all in one striker, having the finishing skills of a poacher, combined with the strength of a target man. But is also technical skilled like a trequartista or deep lying forward.
Attributes Trained: 19
Dribbling
Finishing
First Touch
Heading
Long Shots
Passing
Technique
Anticipation
Composure
Creativity
Decisions
off the Ball
Teamwork
Acceleration
Agility
Balance
Jumping
Pace
Strength
Almost all attributes that get trained by 1 of the other striker roles are combined in the Complete Forward training. This to make sure he can indeed act as the all in one striker, who can setup attacks finish attacks and even help defend.
Defensive Forward:
The Defensive Forward mainly focuses on putting pressure on the opponent’s defense, next to this he acts as a supporter for others to finish.
Attributes Trained: 6
Marking
Tackling
Teamwork
Work Rate
Stamina
Strength
The Defensive Forward doesn’t get any attacking or support training but is only focused on defending attributes.
Trequartista
Already explained at the Attacking Midfielder section.
For strikers my choices goes to Complete Forward training and maybe switch to poacher or treq from time to time to improve a few points that get missed with the complete forward training any of the other options are not really worth it, but it’s still a personal choice.
Screenshots to show some of the players progress on different schedules!
Keeper
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Defender Right/Left
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Defender Central
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Midfielder Central
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Attacking Midfielder Central
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Striker
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Attacking Midfielder Right/Left
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Defensive Midfielder
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I'd love to know how y'all do whilst using it!