Away games, scoring goals and second season syndrome

Firstly, the whole home form/away form contrast is utterly proposterous, totally unrealistic and I can't think for the life of me why it hasn't been fixed in one of the patches. It isn't my tactics either - the top side in the league after 22 games (10 away) has won 1 on the road, the joint most in the league. I used to win 3-0 one week then lose 3-0 the next (up until my recent goal drought, see below), regardless of opposition. I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do about this or do I just have to hope I pick up 1 point on my travels all season (which will probably be the best away form in the league).

Secondly, scoring goals. Not so much a dig at the game, I don't think, I think this one must be my fault. I recently went 6 games without scoring (I lost three away games 3-0, drew two home games 0-0 and lost one 1-0) and can't work it out. My strikers have better finishing and composure than I've ever had (and I'm in the same league I've been in for the past 5, where I've never had serious problems scoring), and better than most in the league. It's one big man and one small, quick one. The assitant's feedback is counter productive so he can't help me. I basically don't know how to sort it out, I've adjusted my tactics, tempo etc but nothing does it. I'm creating a reasonable amount of chances (ranging from 15/10 shots on goal a game) but the problem is about 2 or 3 are going on target. I feel the creative freedom bar could be important here because I don't really understand its significance - does a high creative freedom mean they're more likely to miss chances coz they **** about? Some advice here would be appreciated.

Thirdly, and this sort of intertwines with point 2 as one of my barren strikers was prolific last season, the issue here is second season syndrome. Does anybody else find a lot of their players suffering from it? They light up the show in their first year then bottle it the next, and just get worse as time goes on. It means what I have to do is sell them and replace them with new players, who will be a massive hit before getting second season syndrome etc etc! This doesn't just apply to strikers but defenders too, who become calamitous (sp?) having been outstanding at first.

Oh, and those goals I concede on the road are always headers. Any tips? My three centre backs are massive (193+, all three) so it can't be that.

Thanks

Niall

Firstly, the whole home form/away form contrast is utterly proposterous, totally unrealistic and I can't think for the life of me why it hasn't been fixed in one of the patches. It isn't my tactics either - the top side in the league after 22 games (10 away) has won 1 on the road, the joint most in the league. I used to win 3-0 one week then lose 3-0 the next (up until my recent goal drought, see below), regardless of opposition. I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do about this or do I just have to hope I pick up 1 point on my travels all season (which will probably be the best away form in the league).

Secondly, scoring goals. Not so much a dig at the game, I don't think, I think this one must be my fault. I recently went 6 games without scoring (I lost three away games 3-0, drew two home games 0-0 and lost one 1-0) and can't work it out. My strikers have better finishing and composure than I've ever had (and I'm in the same league I've been in for the past 5, where I've never had serious problems scoring), and better than most in the league. It's one big man and one small, quick one. The assitant's feedback is counter productive so he can't help me. I basically don't know how to sort it out, I've adjusted my tactics, tempo etc but nothing does it. I'm creating a reasonable amount of chances (ranging from 15/10 shots on goal a game) but the problem is about 2 or 3 are going on target. I feel the creative freedom bar could be important here because I don't really understand its significance - does a high creative freedom mean they're more likely to miss chances coz they **** about? Some advice here would be appreciated.

Thirdly, and this sort of intertwines with point 2 as one of my barren strikers was prolific last season, the issue here is second season syndrome. Does anybody else find a lot of their players suffering from it? They light up the show in their first year then bottle it the next, and just get worse as time goes on. It means what I have to do is sell them and replace them with new players, who will be a massive hit before getting second season syndrome etc etc! This doesn't just apply to strikers but defenders too, who become calamitous (sp?) having been outstanding at first.

Oh, and those goals I concede on the road are always headers. Any tips? My three centre backs are massive (193+, all three) so it can't be that.

Thanks

Niall

Have you had a look in the tactics thread? Maybe you will find a good answer in there?

Firstly, the whole home form/away form contrast is utterly proposterous, totally unrealistic and I can't think for the life of me why it hasn't been fixed in one of the patches. It isn't my tactics either - the top side in the league after 22 games (10 away) has won 1 on the road, the joint most in the league. I used to win 3-0 one week then lose 3-0 the next (up until my recent goal drought, see below), regardless of opposition. I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do about this or do I just have to hope I pick up 1 point on my travels all season (which will probably be the best away form in the league).

The problem with playing away from home is that the opposition has the motivation advantage and is playing on a pitch that is chosen to perfectly suit their tactics. WWFan has stated that playing away is 6% harder than playing at home, and I am sure that was not taking pitch sizes, tactics and motivation into account. All in all playing away from home is significantly harder but only a tiny fraction of this added difficulty is beyond a users ability to manage or otherwise deal with.

If you consistently fail away from home then either your squad is of insufficient quality to deal with this 6% advantage under perfect management conditions, or you are not taking into account motivation and the tactical problems posed by pitch size.

Secondly, scoring goals. Not so much a dig at the game, I don't think, I think this one must be my fault. I recently went 6 games without scoring (I lost three away games 3-0, drew two home games 0-0 and lost one 1-0) and can't work it out. My strikers have better finishing and composure than I've ever had (and I'm in the same league I've been in for the past 5, where I've never had serious problems scoring), and better than most in the league. It's one big man and one small, quick one. The assitant's feedback is counter productive so he can't help me. I basically don't know how to sort it out, I've adjusted my tactics, tempo etc but nothing does it. I'm creating a reasonable amount of chances (ranging from 15/10 shots on goal a game) but the problem is about 2 or 3 are going on target. I feel the creative freedom bar could be important here because I don't really understand its significance - does a high creative freedom mean they're more likely to miss chances coz they **** about? Some advice here would be appreciated.

Creative Freedom is one of the most interesting feature of this game by a long shot. I play an incredibly high Creative Freedom system in the Blue Square South and my top goalscorer has 19 goals in 35 matches with a Finishing of 5. He is however smart, fast and a great teamplayer that is being fed the ball by a midfield 4 of minimum Creativity 10. Relatively clever players thrive on Creative Freedom, irrespective of their absolute quality level. If your players are clever in relation to your opponents then cranking up their Creative Freedom and slowing down the pace of your game will allow you to out think and out play your opponent.

For a striker, Creative Freedom allows him to attempt shots on goal that might not be considered "standard" or likely, and that others will not anticipate. Likewise high Creative Freedom in midfield will allow your players to attempt passes their opponents cannot see. I am currently playing as Bognor Regis, media prediction 22nd in the Blue Square South. I play a 4-4-2 of neutral mentality with maximum Creative Freedom and Free Roles for 6 players and I am 13th in the League and into the Semi Finals of the FA Trophy having put no less than 15 goals past 4 Blue Square Premier teams in 5 matches. That is an average of 3 goals per game against opponents 30-40 places above my predicted position in the league system. I am the 6th highest goalscoring side in the league with a front two of Finishing 5 and 10.