Throwing away 2/3 goal leads

Just wondering if anyone else finds this a big issue in this version of the game...cos I'm getting sick an tired of completely dominating a game, and winning 2-0/3-0 only for the opposition (who often have offered little threat) to suddenly start playing like world champions and scoring 40 yard 'goal of the season' type goals left right and centre.

I know it can happen in football (look at the famous Liverpool win in Istanbul) but this seems to happen to me every few games

i've tried taking attacking players off and putting defenders/dmc's on to counter it, tried switching the mentality to defensive...tried doing nothing and leaving everyone on, tried replacing the forwards as 'fresh legs' to run at the opposition

of course it all could just mean that my defense isn't very good...but as i say its not just letting in goals, its just the way all the goals usually seem to be 'wonder goals' which makes me wonder if its a problem with the game?

Has not happened to me often so far, usually when I am 2-0 up, I tell them not to let your performance drop, and I win 2-0, or even 3-0 versus Man Utd.

Team talks and tactics, mate. The Taxtics forum is full of excellent tips.

I just had this but countered it, i was 3-1 up at half time, the opposition came out second half a completly different team and leveled it up to 3-3, so i changed my tactics and we started to dominate again, we won 4-3 in the end. You can tell when your tactic is failing so always have a plan B to switch to, and maybe even a plan C.

When im 2/3 goals up i tend to concede 1 and thats it.

Team talks and tactics, mate. The Taxtics forum is full of excellent tips.

It's a problem with the game, I believe - too simplistic to blame somebody's tactic, although I agree that the disproportionate effect of team talks probably has a fair bit to do with it - AI managers seem to have an uncanny knack of getting them spot on all the time!

I just won two games on the spin 3-2 after being 2-0 down.

I don't think there's a problem, for what it's worth I beat Spure away from home 2-1 after being a goal down in the League cup (1st season) playing as Leeds.

I think it's alot to do with tactics and having different options for different circumstances.

All to easy to blame the game.

All to easy to blame the game.

I believe that the game places a disproportionate emphasis on team talks and that these have too great an influence on results both ways (ie turning losses into wins or wins into losses). The difficulty is that the choice of team talk which you need to give seems frequently to be entirely random if you are ahead.

its not the game, i have had this kinda problem, i must have let a goal in in the first 10 minutes for about 6 consecutive games, i ended up moving some players around and changed some tactics and we went on a good run, i ended up going 3(CB)-2(DM)-2(LM/RM)-1(AMC)-2(ST) and went counter attack defensive, high closing down, deep defense...... ended up building my team around this formation for a few years

I went 3-0 up at home against a lowly Hereford team at the bottom of the league, whilst I was top of the league and with just 30mins to go they brought it back to 3-3.. It turns out I needed those points as I came 2nd to leeds by 1point. 8|

Just had a game as Man City away against Tottenham. They went 1-0 up with 30 yrd shot, but Robinho & Zhirkov got City 1-2 up at HT. Nicely dominating match and getting shots in. 1-3 to Al-Citeh by SWP at 58 mins.

Then, 30 yrd Tottenham shot gets in..2-3. 2 mins later Pavlychenko shoots from 40 yrds, 3-3... 4 shots on goal by Tottenham in match within 65 mins, 3 times 30-40 yard shots go in.

I did quit in disgust. SI is not keeping up my "suspension of disbelief" in this game. But then, I have played the series since CM 99-00 to CM04-05 and from FM2008 to FM2009, so I know where this stuff is coming from.

It's not isolated incident. In CM04-05 the main ways to make game more "challenging" were:

1. Stealth injuries (at least now you are told that someone had gotten a knock "but is able to shook it of"..not. But this is not as prominent problem of match engine as it used to be.

2. Super goalies. I made statistical study for myself in CM04/05, just for fun, about AI goalkeeper save percentages, against shots/headers inside penalty box and against shots/headers within 6 yrd box. Those stats would have made NHL goalkeepers quite happy. That still happens, but it's made less apparent.

3. "Downgrading" your squad. This is the main method now, it seems. It does not show in statistics, but suddenly your players start to make LOT of mistakes. Passes go straight to opposition, your strikers miss constantly, defenders do not defend etc. To me, sometimes it seems that game engine just slashes 10 out of every attribute from human team player, just to make you really struggle. But of course, "it's your tactics".

FM2009 is just a game and not a simulation. Thus I have no qualms pressing "Quit Game" from menu when I see something that really annoys me. I have no problems accepting fair defeats, mistakes and occasional flukes.

BUT:

I do have trouble find AI team goal scoring being realistic vs. number of chances. Especially against "supposedly" world class defenders and goalkeepers. I am not too happy with so called "Team Talks" either, when you can easily turn 3-0 lead to 3-4 defeat by selecting wrong option.

But I can live with those. I have become quite prominent with using "Quit Game" when I feel something is not right. I think game engine does cheat, so I have no problem cheating myself. Quid pro quo.