I don't get FM :s

I've recently quit my swansea save on FM after 3 seasons.

first season i came 12th.

second season came 12th again and got to quarter final of league cup.

3rd season they give me £4.2m to spend for a top half finish.

now by this time i have a very strong squad.

(names might be spelt wrong)

GK pontdeme

LB D. Delaney

CB Nyatanga

CB Leacock

RB Kovacevic

LM Stephen robb

CM did have bodde but the chairman accpeted an offer for me :S not i got tate

CM britton

Rm victor (deportivo guy)

CF killen

CF scotland

other players in squad

GK alex smithies

CB ryan bennett

RM mizuro (jap winger)

CF john sutton

LB painter

DM tudor jones

CB serran

LM caso (think he's a regen player from italy, and he's amaizing at only 18)

CF pjorvic (totally wrong spelt but he's 19 regen from blackpool i think

CM gary mcdonald

ok so that was my squad. one of the best in the champ i reckon.

also completely changed staff and are much better e.g. massimo neri as assistant.

so i play a 4-4-2 for the 3rd season like i did for the second. had a decent start in the league. knocked united out of league cup 3rd round at old traffod! 2-2 AET then won on pens. which hagreaves, brown, foster, o'shea, scholes all on the pitch!

then i had a bit of an injury crisis but nothing major. like tudor jones breaking a leg, pontdeme out for couple of months etc.

then all of a sudden im getting hammered like 5-1 away against leeds, 4-2 watford. couldn't even beat oldham at home 1-1! lost 6 out of the last 7 and i've just completly given up on the game!

i improve the team and staff by way better yet the results get worse and worse!

i bet your going to say its tactics. but they wern't too far different from what i had always been playing.

i did try changing them too but the horrible run just continued. even when the players came back we were playing krap!

the game just seems to be random!

What's the morale like? Try organising a friendly against your reserves/youth so you can get a big win and boost morale in the squad.

However, sometimes, teams just figure out your tactics. After so long doing the same, teams get used to it and learn how to counter it. Try tweaking your tactics slightly.

Fwiw, losing to Watford is nothing to be ashamed of

Just getting better players in the same tactic doesn't guarantee more success

become a manager all ur doing is just buying players and keeping same formation and then you think everyone is tip top TAKE CONTROL change the formation make your players happy interaction with the ones playing good change their contracts make your starting 11 happer then your reaserves make preseason your formation tester season look at your new players and see if you really needed them and use their abilitys do win matchs and make your players not have over confidence and think about the future and present

Don't give up because of a bad run. I feel frustration at my team sometimes, but that frustration often turns into elation pretty quickly as I get a good win to end a bad run.

I'm currently managing Lazio and we've had a really frustrating run away from home where we were missing too many good chances and drawing and losing games we should have won. That was all forgotten when I played away to deadly rivals Roma (Who are much better than my team) and won 2-1 though.

Remember what you did right when your team was playing well and don't panic with new formations and players because of a bad few games. You'll soon get a good result again.

Say your angry at each player individually. Tell them u expect a win.

Can buck their ideas up.

It could be a fitness thing, to Many games played. Could be that the players injured are important and it gas an affect on the rest of the team.

In my first season in the championship with Salisbury City (season 9) I was relagated with a very tiny 18 points from 46 games. I changed most of the squad won promotion back to the championship and then consolodated a mid table position. When I acheived just 18 points from 46 games there was never a moment where I wanted to quit, but I realised that the players were not working together and there were a couple of disruptive ones in there too.

My advise is stick with it, scout some new talent. Always make sure the players you sign have a Workrate of 12 or more.

This might sound an odd reply. But here goes....

I always used to start a game with Swansea and haven't done so in a long while, as when I start the game with another team, from starting unemployed I have no reason to keep hold of 'attached' players, so I learn't to play FM a little more some times venturing into the unkown. Can help, with playing the game. Plus other bits and bobs.

Just that might just be a moral issue, you know.

If you do not change your tactics at some point, you are almost guaranteed to have a poor run of form. The game is programmed this way, and whenever I've fallen into a poor run of form while managing any club, there is always a media item that suggests that I've chosen not to change tactics. To me this is a sign that it's time to change tactics.

There are many factors that will affect your squad's performance, from morale and training to personalities and captains. But the key is that you need to scrutinize everything when you start to have a poor run of form. Pay close attention to every tactical setting, every individual player instruction, and every other detail you can conceive. Don't leave anything unattended. You might just be doing something stupid like not maximizing your corner chances by not using the right attacking corners settings. Or it could be something more obvious like your captain having very poor morale and dooming you from the start of each match.

There are lots of possibilities. Just don't give up.

That media item means nothing imo. I had a bad run playing 4-4-2 (about 20 matches actually). I switched to a 4-5-1 that had been successful for me in the past, drew my next game and got the media item saying I seem reluctant to change from my 4-5-1.

Agree with the rest of your post though.

Yeah sounds like a morale issue, if you have just bought players in who have not been playing regular 1st team football then they are not going to be overly happy.

I think the OP will find all the answers he needs in the "Does the game cheat" thread.

CHIPPY I JUST TOOK OVR THE SWANS WHO WERE 20TH AND IN THE POO

has not been easy but I am up to 15th and look safe..............I have changed tactics a lot and still not happy with them

Aye, Chippy, the match engine in FM09 is random and some of the realism is poor, but I don't think you should quit. Look at morale and try and mke players happy. Try not to say anything negative, get a decent win and you'll be back on form.

Its just a bad run of games, every team has a bad run every season, just try to play more cautiously until the results start picking back up.

Its just a bad run of games, every team has a bad run every season, just try to play more cautiously until the results start picking back up.

That is so true, mate!!

Try a change of tactics, give it a long run and don't just chop and change after a few games. Players need time to adjust and gel. I'd recommend Tyler Bodes Piranha tactic. It's a 4-4-2 that keeps the player roles simple. It got my Southampton squad to the Prem in the 1st season.

Also take a look at The art of Team Talks thread by Kimoss. It has some very useful advice on what to say and when.