Special abilities

[MagpieG]

Do all of the special abilities make any difference. I know the free kick specialist can be worthwhile but what about more vague abilities such as playmaker or dribbler, do they make much difference?

[cracicot]

I like the dribbler and playmaker special abilities in my wife, but not the free kick.

[MagpieG]

Thanks mate, big help ha ha.

[shwanko07]

dribblers gave me lot of headache
head ball will save you plenty of corners/freekciks crosses
corner will create more goals from corners

keep in mind , i think having ability will boost players ability like 5-10 more in his shooting for example, so sometimes having a player with no SP can a better choice if his relevant skills are better

[SimplySimon]

I just think of a player with ability as being about 10 better in his quality for a relevant skill e.g playmaker=passing/creativity, defensive wall=positioning/tackling, or brilliant at a specific but unrated skill e.g free kicks

[cracicot]

I have not noticed anything special about the dribbler or playmaker, but I have to say Freekick and corner rule the roost.

[Narf]

I've got a Playmaker MC, an Aerial defender DC/DR, a Defensive wall DC, a Free-kick specialst MC and a Penalty-kick specialist ST. I'll just share my experiences with them:

Playmaker - used to lead the Top passers table, but he isn't that effective lately (he did score plenty of goals though).

Aerial defender - one of my initial players and has played in every single match so far, so I can't make a decent comparison. I do often see him heading clearences from him in comments though.

Defensive wall - bought him a week or two ago, haven't received a goal from a free kick since.

Free-kick specialist - one of my latests signings, but I've seen enough to confirm what everybody says - 75% of the times I get a free kick (excluding the ones on the sides, where only crosses are made) it's a goal. I have to say though - first free-kick against a stronger team is never a goal.

Penalty-kick specialist - I've only received a penalty once and once I have played a penalty shoot-out in a friendly match. Didn't have this player on both occasions.

[SimplySimon]

I have not noticed anything special about the dribbler or playmaker, but I have to say Freekick and corner rule the roost.

I've been tracking my passing success rate, and it's better with my playmaker in the side even if he doesn't have a particularly high number of assists. I know you're not a fan of the idea that results are influenced by managers or dependant on match stats, but it seems to be working for me ;-)

[cracicot]

I've been tracking my passing success rate, and it's better with my playmaker in the side even if he doesn't have a particularly high number of assists. I know you're not a fan of the idea that results are influenced by managers or dependant on match stats, but it seems to be working for me ;-)

Just so we are clear, I am of the belief that all the decisions are made before the game. For example: If you put the playmaker in the starting lineup, I would suggest that your passing stats will increase and assists for that matter. Should you have a defensive wall defender, I would suggest that the results will show that there are no free kick goals. And so on...

I firmly believe that anything you do DURING the game is a non-factor except to move the nice coloured possession bar back and forth and to change the names of the pre-determined scorers/cards/assists etc.

[Kukilon]

craicot I know you and a lot of others hold this view but I highly doubt it because changes I have made during games has seemingly changed the outcome of games quite a lot. Sure there may be some factors that are just precalculated but going from being totally dominated both stats wise and "highlights" wise before certain changes during the game to taking over totally to me at least seems to favour my view of it. Calculations do not happen every second in game though and you need to wait around the time it takes to for example make a substitution 5-20 minutes. Am I totally sure of this? No ofcourse not but to be honest neither can you.

The best way to try this out is to choose the worst possible formation and tactics against your opposition and play with it the first 20 minutes. Change it to the optimal and I bet you will see a big difference.

One thing that most overlook about SAs is that it gives you and advantage in the cup "not that I pay that much attention to it" because you are paried up according to quality and SAs are not taken into account there.