I heard the same baggytrousers, but mine have been great so assumed that the design had changed a little.
It hangs off the bolt at the front of fork, just behind the caliper, tighten it up, keeping it central to the tyre (look through the holes in the 'guard behind the fork).
Attach the stays at the bottom of fork, not totally tight, then loosen the nuts at the mudguard end, then put the wheel in and slide the guards a couple of mm clear of the tyre. Tighten everything up.
Only difference with the rear is 2 more nuts on the extra stays and (EDIT

the mounting on the back of the seat tube, so attach to the brake bolt, then the mounting on the back of the tube - do not overtighten this because it will twist the rubber grommet through the slot in the guard and twist the guard from the straight and true.
Tighten the stay bolts a pair at a time, starting at the bottom, 'cos it's easier to spot rubbing. Once you have the stay length set correctly with no tyre contact, whipping them off and on again takes 5 minutes.
Ooh, a trick with tightening caliper bolt back up is to squeeze the brake to centre the caliper and mudguard bracket while you are tightening it up.
Hope that helps.