Is the game too pace dependant?

I loaded up my lower league save last night and it brought back to me just how easy pacey players make this game. Anyway just to get to my point, both centre forwards have less than 10 for finishing, which is expectable for this level but have pace of 15 or more. Wingers, terrible crossers, passers and low technique, but again both over 15 pace. My centre backs are young players with pace. It's easy to say, don't buy them but quite frankly pace is a huge asset in the game in all positions. Despite Bruno N'Gotty being by far better than either centre back in all places that matter for defenders other than pace; he performs much worse when watching games. I might be wrong, or it may just be the lower levels but whilst I'm pretty decent at the game, I don't think I should be capable of doing what I currently am doing with pretty much any team - which is getting them automatically to the top of the league or in promotion contention, even at the top of the game it does seem to be somewhat too effective it is a thing hard to truly judge, but I think at the lower levels especially getting someone young, not much talent but can run works out to be far more effective than getting a veteran in seems to.

I remember this at FM08, in the lower leagues I always signed a vetran called Babandiga who had pace an acc 18/19 and he'd just be my star player despite having low stats elsewhere. But i think the physical aspect is more important in the lower leagues

Agree with pace, but i do feel determination plays a big part in it aswell.

It is still a big help if the player has brilliant physical stats.

There is a striker at a certain Spainish club that has around 16 plus for all physical stats, his finishing is 14 and composure is 14. Playing for me he got 46 goals in 49 games and 40 goals in 40 the following season, only David Villa and Messi have scored that well for me in any games.

Its a fact that the lower you go the more important becomes the physical aspect of the game. So pace is one of the key features for a starplayer in LLM. If you find a striker with 10+ for Pace and Acc you own a topnotch striker for that division.

Even in higher Leagues Pace is a raw weapon and I'm not talking about in FM. Aston Villa against Liverpool is a great example of how Pace can cause havoc at any level of football.

The key to Pace is how it allows for the recovery of mistakes all across the pitch and in most aspects of football. This is magnified in FM by the tactical weakness of the AI and of more than a few users meaning that Pace seems even more important and effective than it is. In a mistake riddled match Pace is going to dominate.

The weakness of Pace is the over-reliance on Pace to recover mistakes in games you cannot afford to make mistakes in. If you are heavy favourites then Pace is not going to get you a goal because the opposition have packed the box and never leave it. In top level games like the European Cup latter stages or top Premier League matches then mistakes become the hinge of the match and you cannot afford to make any mistakes regardless of Pace and you cannot simply rely upon Pace to win games.

The higher up the ladder of football you get the more that Pace of movement and passing and action and accuracy matters more than the pace of any individual player. You are forced to stop thinking of the pace of players and instead think about playing at a certain Tempo with high quality tactical organisation. You might be top of the Premier League or favourites for the BSS title, but then teams are going to sit back and hit you with pace on the counter so you need to adapt your tactical approach.

I agree with the comments above, it is pretty realistic I think. If you watch FA cup matches of higher league opposition against lower league opposition, the difference in acceleration and speed is usually quite marked, so it stands to reason, if you have a player with speed fitting of a higher league player, he is going to cover his technical flaws quite a bit just because he has the pace to beat a better player to the ball.

Every monday I play football, just a kick about, now im not the greatest off football players,

I tend to play on the left or right wing, I dont have the greatest first touch, I can cross well, I wouldnt say im an superb goalscorer either, but im faster than most the people I play with. And if there not sitting in deep its quite easy to cut in and get a shot away. Now when you start getting these chances its a fair bet you will eventually put them away. Same applies for fm

Pace is crucial to take advantage of situations. If you're faster than another player, you'll probably get to the ball before them. You'll find it easier to get away from them too. If you run at someone with lightning pace and keeping good control of the ball, you'll be harder to tackle than somebody who keeps great control of the ball at slow speeds (which is why Ronaldo is better than Messi, kids!). So yes, pace is important.

It's not just pace.

Physical stats have always been overly weighted within the game.

I think that it mirrors real life quite well. Older players become less effective because they lose physical stats. Players who don't have physical prowess in real life usually make up for it by having exceptional skills.

Yes it is, which is why pacey Prem players have their stats artificially dropped so they dont become the worlds best players.

* how to force Usain Bolt to sign for me? *

* how to force Usain Bolt to sign for me? *

Yes indeed