I'm ready to admit it already - I need serious help / advice

I don't want to give up on this game, I really don't. I used to love the older CMs, and I really want to be able to bring success to a team on this game too. So far though it seems like I just can't do it, and the frustrating part is not being able to identify *why* things aren't working.

I've only done two games so far, one with Man City (favourite club in real life) and one with Stalybridge Celtic, trying to take an awful team to the high flights of the league and beyond!

My stalybridge season hasn't gone well. I started being told that I should be around the playoffs and my likely spot was 5th. About a dozen games in and I'm rock bottom, with one lucky win. Not only that, but these games aren't being close - I'm getting pummeled from all sides. I just got beat 3-0 by the team that was above me (and had lost 7 games running) and realise I *must* be doing something wrong. But what?

- I havent changed my team all that much, bought a few players that are better than what I already had.

- I've been playing the "Razor" formation taken from this board. 4-4-2 is no better.

- Tried all combinations with the sliders, upping the tempo with short passing or just hoofing it long.

The trouble is, nothing works. But I don't feel like I have any real way to identify what the problems are. My players just play bad, all score 5's and 6's, and I lose. The system doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference whatsoever. I figure that there *must* be something I'm missing, but just don't know what.

My other game is similar. With Man City I've spent a ridiculous sum of cash, and have a quality starting eleven. But I still find myself getting hammered by newly promoted Preston and Cardiff. Especially away from home, I don't think I've won away from home yet in my current game (half way through the season, in 6th place, out most the cups already). This is my third year and I'm yet to qualify for champions league.

Its not that much experience in the game yet I admit, but I realise the dynamics are completely different to the old CMs that I used to play. I imagine that there are great things and ways I can easily at least start to turn around my fortunes, which is why I've posted this big long rant.

The main thing I'm after, is helping finding out *why* a system isnt working. I don't want to sit and watch 90 minutes of each game, so what is the best way? How should I be reading the statistics and what should I be doing to improve? How can I easily identify tactical problems and see what could be better?

Any advice on these things would be great. I've read plenty of theory on the game engine already, I just don't understand how the hell to identify problems when I'm 3-0 down at half time to Sunderland and have had zero shots on goal. Then the next game I go and beat Man utd 4-0 at old trafford, where I dominate, despite playing the exact same line up with the exact same players.

Sorry for writing way too much. I'm *desperate* to enjoy and love this game the way I used to the old CM's, but getting beat over and over again just isn't fun after a while.

Thanks

You need to *stop* putting them little asterisks at either end of your words, it was windong me up, sorry

On a serious note, the tactics foruum may be your best bet. There are guides and people that are better placed to answer your question in there

You need to *stop* putting them little asterisks at either end of your words, it was windong me up, sorry

On a serious note, the tactics foruum may be your best bet. There are guides and people that are better placed to answer your question in there

Heh, sorry about that. I was just feeling particularly annoyed for a second there

If a mod would like to move this thread across then that's cool. I thought about putting it into tactics, in hindsight it's probably a better place. I'm not looking for a new tactic as such, just some sort of insight into how I'm supposed to understand, process, and respond to what happens in the game. I don't mind losing if I can understand the problem, its just a bit upsetting when regardless of what I do the team never plays well

If you can find wwfan, and butter him up, shower with gifts/praise then he may have a look at it for you personally? He is the one who helped write the guide for tactics!

Tesl - if its true that "regardless of what I do (tactically) the team never plays well", then perhaps your problem isn't tactical?

I'm going to throw out some suggestions - I'm sure you'll be "on top of" some of them, but hopefully one or two spark a "Oh, I didn't think of that."

Have you read wolfsong's guide to team talks? Also, Communication and Psychological Warfare? You can find both linked from the tactics bible. That would be my first guess; something psychological/motivational.

Are you experiencing the team gel effect. With all the cash at Man City's disposal, its easy to go on a purchasing binge .. but purchasing too many new players all at the same time has seriously destabilizing effects on the team chemistry. There's a similar temptation when taking over a tiny club. Time (without making radical changes) may help.

Do you tend to buy veteran players or young superstars? In my experience, a squad needs a backbone of veterans (27+) with high Determination, Work Rate, and Teamwork. A squad of youngsters is highly susceptible to "streak" effects: a couple of losses, morale plummets, and loss builds upon loss. They also go on ten-match winning streaks. A squad of veterans will be much more Consistent (hidden stat) as well as likely having better Important Match (hidden stat) ratings.

Is your captain the right choice? I used to pick the guy with the highest Influence, but it turns out that there is much more at play. What, exactly, is he Influencing your squad to do? If he's full of negative attributes, he's having a negative impact. Determination, Work Rate, Teamwork, Composure, and Bravery are all excellent attributes for a captain to have. Going back to the Psychology thought, if your captain has very low Morale, that can also have a highly detrimental effect on the squad. You may need to concentrate specifically on him, to start with.

If you're golden in all of those categories, then, and only then, would I return my focus to the tactical side of things. If that really is the case, I'd say its worth watching three matches on Full Match, paying close attention to how your side loses possession, and trying little changes to see if you can address it. (wwfan's tactical theorems and frameworks will help you through that process.)