Set pieces — takers and routines
Choosing corner, free-kick and penalty takers, and tweaking routines on both sides of the ball.
Set pieces decide a meaningful chunk of matches. ManageFC gives you control over takers and routine modifiers for corners, free-kicks, throw-ins and penalties. Default takers are auto-selected by attribute, but you should override them — the auto-pick doesn't always know you trust your veteran captain on penalties more than your young winger.
Choosing takers
- Corners — highest passing wins, but pick a player who's actually on the pitch most weeks. Rotate left/right based on foot.
- Free-kicks — shooting and technique; set each routine to a direct strike, a cross, a short routine or a planned variation.
- Throw-ins — strength and range; pick a full-back who can launch it long.
- Penalties — composure under pressure (a hidden derivative of shooting and decisions). Pick someone who actually wants the ball.
Attacking routine modifiers
You can tilt corner routines towards near-post flick-ons, far-post overloads, or short corners. Near post is best with a quick, aerial striker. Far post rewards a tall centre-back arriving late. Short corners protect possession against a side that's vulnerable in transition. Mix them across the season — opposition AI gets wise to a single pattern.
Penalties — composure matters
The engine rolls penalties against a player's composure-weighted shooting. The same 85-rated striker can have wildly different conversion if his morale and condition are low. A confident veteran is often a better penalty taker than your top scorer.