Tactical Question - is it just mechanical exercise?
 

When playing out games, in the tactical screen you assign each player his tactical role and he has a score....1-5. Once the game starts, I'm able to play a few minutes, go back to the tactics screen and then I just basically optimize. For instance, if a player is in a tactical role and given a "5" I can often find a "5" that also has a counter (yellow or red bar). So I switch it. Basically, he still gets the same numerical score but now has the advantage of being in a countering role as well.

I do this for each player, 5v5, power play, short handed. When I go back to the game I usually have the tactical advantage in 3 of 5 areas. This is because my numerical score hasn't changed but I've added a bunch of countering roles (I only switch player roles for a role with the same score but has a countering effect). Essentially, I'm optimizing.

Is this cheating? A simple mechanical optimization exercise? I guess what I'm trying to figure out is if this just really becomes mechanical then do you really have subjective judgement as a in-game coach. What's the value of me being a coach if I just do a mechanical exercise each game? Or, am I missing something?

For instance, in Football Manager, players are assigned tactical roles and you can see their ratings (a little green circle). However, in many cases, you'll still pick a tactic or role that isn't the player's optimal because that tactic has other important attributes against a team.

I guess I'm asking, do I just optimize the numerical and countering roles, or should I also be looking for nuances of the tactical role - such as "a punishing defenseman gives me a better numerical advantage and is a countering role, but I'm down by 1 so I want my defenseman to be more offensive...so I'll pick offensive defenseman event though I'll lose a little tactical advantage?"

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Yes, each of the roles adjusts some of the player's attributes. So, for example, if you assign your centre to the screener role, his Screening score will get an increase, but his Passing one will drop. That may make sense if you've got him playing with people who can either get the puck to him in front of the goal, or get into shooting position on their own without needing the centre's playmaking skills. But if he's the only guy on the line that can distribute the puck well, they're probably going to be less effective. Or, as you've mentioned, if you desperately need a goal, choosing more offense-oriented roles will help. It's a balancing act, though, between doing that and still choosing roles that are the most effective at executing your tactics and preventing the opponent from executing theirs.