New Manager Tips

Hey all,

I just downloaded the game last night and started tooling around with the game, just to see how it is. (Thanks to everyone who pointed me in the right direction!) I found myself getting confused and a little overwhelmed at times because I have never seen such an in depth game before. I LOVE IT. It's nothing like I've ever played before. It is truly fantastic. I wish there were more games like this...well at least a newer version of Eastside Hockey.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to see what tips you could give to a new player like me.

Is there anything, besides the basic initial download, that I should get? And how do I make it work. I know there are threads on all types of things, but still, the amount of things on this forum is overwhelming as well.

Are there any key attributes I should focus on to develop players?

When first starting a team, what do I need to do from season to season, and from the initial startup?

Or just any other suggestions you may have. Any help would be much appreciated.

P.S. I started with my Red Bull NY for now. I was going to start with them or Manchester United, but figured it might me a little more fun to build a team rather than start with an already great one.

Well firstly, it might be an idea to get used to the game using a really good team e.g. Man Utd or Barcelona, because it can be a long hard and sometimes fruitless slog with a smaller team and become very frustrating.

Have you downloaded the patch? Here's a link in case you haven't 8.0.2 Link

And here's a link to a very helpful hints a tips guide, Click

Thanks for those 2 links! I'll have to download both of them when I get home later.

I was thinking about switching over to Man Utd tonight when I got home. I started to think that it would make more sense to start with a great team and work my way down.

The one problem I've had so far, I've only had a few games, is that I always seem to go up in the 1st half, hold on to it til about the 70th minute, then the other team comes back and ties it. I've been up 3-0, 2-0, and 3-1 and had the other team tie it in the final minutes. I guess I'll have to work on the in game stuff.

I've started to win now! Thanks guys.

Another 2 questions as well.

1. Is there anyway to get a player transferred to your team fairly easily. I've been going after Lahm, highly over paying at times, and have only had success once. Lahm then turned down the contract offer.

What really gets the other team to bite onto an offer and what gets the player to stick with the team?

2. Is there any way to raise your transfer budget, during the season (besides winning things/transferring players)?

I read the guide that is mentioned above and that has already given me a few ideas to change my style of play, however I haven't gotten the patch yet. I'll need to do that later. The forums here weren't working for me last night, not sure why.

Thanks again guys. You're all very helpful

Ooh, someone new to Football Manager.

I'm interested to hear what you think about the game, because a lot of threads on this board question FM's impenetrable learning curve.

I would think Lahm didn't accept the contract because MLS has a poor reputation. Players want to play for the biggest teams, in the biggest competitions, and for the biggest managers.

You will probably not be able to get many players playing in Germany, England, Spain or Italy to come to MLS, to be honest.

Try sending your scouts out and see who they find. I've never played in MLS, so I can't be any more specific.

First thing I do when i start a new game is check out my staff especially my scouts.Try signing scouts with a high judgement on current ability and potential ability.Send them to Various regions around the World.I find Central America,South America and Eastern Europe good for a few bargains.

Whoops. Forgot to update that. I switched to Man Utd as suggested. So any suggestions knowing that?

Also, I'll tell you what I think after I'm done playing again

Don't forget to use the forum search.

Originally posted by Coreybalint:

Whoops. Forgot to update that. I switched to Man Utd as suggested. So any suggestions knowing that?

Also, I'll tell you what I think after I'm done playing again

Well, most players should come. If Lahm didn't, I guess he's happy at his club - who are, to be fair, quite big.

I would concentrate on finding good value players in any case, get the scouts out there. I would also look for a striker.

Whaddaya want ANOTHER left-back for anyway (I know, I know, he can play right as well...)

Still not having much luck with transfers. I've had to overpay the estimated value of the player in every deal. Lahm is also still a no go, after offering double the value. I did land a few players, but again had to overpay.

As far as what I think of the game so far. It can be rather frustrating. It is nothing like I've played so far, so I'm just not used to the style yet. The game has a lot of potential (to me), its just a matter of me getting used to it. I'm very poor in my match managing skills so far. I'm very impatient and don't change the tactics during the matches too often, or even before matches. (Note that I'm not a huge fan of PC games) I think its a matter of me reading the manual for once as well. I've seen some things mentioned on the forum that I have yet to discover/figure out in the game. I think I need to get on that in order for me to truly love the game.

I can definitely see how many would thing the learning curve is far too hard. I've been tempted to say "Screw this game. I'm not playing again. Its not cooperating with me." But I realize that is how things are in the real world. This is a truly realistic sim game. As much as I love the gameplay of FIFA, the actual managerial skills you need for this are light years above what FIFA has. The fact that I've played FIFA for so long has made it harder for me to love this game and become more accustomed to it faster.

PS. Is there any way I can just have the matches simmed over, and not have to worry about them? I just want to get used to the game outside the actual matches first before having to stop, manage a match, and then go back to transfers/practice/etc. There are a lot of those things that I need to learn before I want to worry about the games...which at a later point, I'll have to worry about a lot.

You could go on holiday for a day every time there is a match. It isn't advisable, but if you want to get used to the rest of the game then go for it.

A quick tip from me is to always have replays on of goals.

This way, if you concede a goal, you can say "Hang on, the ball played through there by the opposition player meant that my central defender was too far up the pitch to stop the striker scoring"

This, in turn, should leave you to change your CB's defensive mentality if you feel it merits it.

The replays aren't the be all and end all of solutions, but they are building blocks. Good luck and please persevere! A great game awaits you!

You should note that the estimated value is pretty meaningless, and something that I would be pleased to see removed from the game.

By the way, the matches are a million times more important than anything else, figuring out tactics is the main challenge of the game.

Let me encourage you to persevere with this game. I am new to the FM series as well. I just started playing a few months ago. The learning curve is very steep or at least it was for me. If not for the help I received from lurking and searching on this forum I would have given up. I am now addicted and it sounds like you are on your way as well. I tip my hat to the folks responsible for this incredible game.

woooooooo red bull new york, my fave usa team i live in manchester, england and support manchester united. i wanna move to new york

I'll give that replay thing a try tonight.

I also figured that the estimated value is pointless as well. And yeah, I thought about that Holiday idea, but I figured fans/players would hate that, and it would do more damage then good.

Also, what is this genie scout thing I keep seeing. I can't find a source thread with info on it, just a whole bunch of threads on people asking for it or for updated versions?

Welcome to the addiction!

First of all be patient with the game there are a lot of variables and moving parts to the game. There are so many bits and pieces to understand and then figure out how they work together. So be patient.

i started the game about 1.5 years ago, with pretty much zero football knowledge...played as a kid, but i had no idea what a cross was etc...but the game seemed fun. There is a steep learning curve so try to understand one bit at a time. Maybe start by understanding the stats and how the players react to it. Then perhaps tinker with a few formations to see how things roll with that.

I will say though once you get to a degree of comfort with the game, a light bulb will pop on and you will go oh...hey...now I know how to counter it.

Play games on either extended view or the whole match to see how your tinkering with the tactics affect things. It seriously is a fun game, you just have to get over the learning curve. keep at it!

Here is a thread that has a lot of good information from a newbie angle.

http://community.sigames.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1519717/m/1882043703

It helped me A LOT to understand the game.

Originally posted by Coreybalint:

Also, what is this genie scout thing I keep seeing. I can't find a source thread with info on it, just a whole bunch of threads on people asking for it or for updated versions?

Not sure how much you know about CA/PA because you are a newbie so i'll try and explain it a bit.

Each player in FM has a Potential Ability (PA) score out of 200, they also have a Current Ability (CA) score out of 200. As they approach their PA they will get better and better eventually peaking at their PA score. E.g. A player with 190CA and 190PA will be at the peak of his game, whereas a youth team player with a 100CA and 190PA, still has work to do, but has the ability to become as good as the other player eventually.

Personally I don't take much notice of CA/PA and base all my signings on attributes, but i've been playing for 10 years

Here's a link to the FM Scout website that will give you even more info and the relevant downloads.

FM Scout Link