Sacked!

Well, for the first time on any version of CM/FM (i've been playing since the Amiga days) i've just been sacked. Was manager of Valencia and was 9th in the league in February in the first season.

I've really struggled in FM10 despite spending a lot of time trying to tweak my tactic and reading in depth in the tactics forum. I'm just finding the game too hard and although i have no problems scoring (was averaging 2 goals a game, Villa had 37 goals in 37 apps) i simply cannot keep a clean sheet. The opposition seem to be able to score at will and my defenders seem powerless to do anything about it.

Anyone else struggling?

I think playing Valencia the expectation is much higher. It doesn't help muvh but try a less demanding team perhaps and grow innto learning the tactics etc

I think it better if its not easy personally

just a quick comment about game. I think its nice when a game doesnt have a difficulty setting . Sos to hear bout your sacking. Maybe u needed to look into your backroom staff and have more coaches with higher tactical atrributes to pass onto players, i dont know really as im still on day 1 xD.

Just a thought anyway.

hmmm, i am conceding quite a few goals too but i am wolves so its more than likely my defence. is there a particular time that you are conceding or is it random eg with wolves i constantly concede a goal within 10 minutes, so i brought some defenders in with high concerntration etc and it has slowed alot. Not something i have seen posted before so it may very well be your tactics or your defenders?

I think playing Valencia the expectation is much higher. It doesn't help muvh but try a less demanding team perhaps and grow innto learning the tactics etc

I think it better if its not easy personally

On previous versions of FM i've managed both small teams and big teams and always had great success. I just find on FM10 the defending seems to be broken and it's just almost impossible to keep a clean sheet. I should say too that the majority of the goals i conceeded were wonder goals and 35 yrd strikes..

I just got sacked too. Bah!

Just started again, going for a long term save before, I re-install a newer Operating System just that I need to get a feel this. I too; am conceding loads though I do believe it is my tactics for now.

im finding it harder, im playing with PSG and its taken awhile to get the team gelled and playing the way i want

I think a problem is bringing in new players

In friendlies I try to start with my best team and change mid game on the basis they learn to play well together before the season starts to 'gel' the team

IRL Wolves, like Pompey don't have great players. try to do what the real life managers do and look to disrupt opposition more. Go easy on giving them a hard time, look to play more defensive, say 5 man midfield away from home

As the great manager's say, you dont concede goals if you keep possesion. Direct ball means you give away possession more. Look how teams line up, if they have a narrow midfield play wingers and play wide with passing to the flanks. I'm no expert but this is what I look for

I think the problems to do with adjusting tactics to suit your opponents. On previous games it was possible to carry a single set of tactics throughout a season with relative success, where as now it's a lot harder to put 2 wins together using the same tactics.

I am not struggling at all with Liverpool(clear winner 1st year, and CHL winner). At first I just played with their given tactic. It went alright. Then I changed it to 4-1-2-1-2 with some minor adjustments and everything works pretty painlessly.

I have never in 20 years tried to change tactics before a match, midway, or anywhere else. I just stick to my tactics and man-management. People trying to fiddle with small tweaks for each and every game are bound for serious trouble. Making them change tactics game in game out is never a good idea either. It might be good to figure out a super tactic, but winning while testing it, is a pretty hopeless ambition.

I am not struggling at all with Liverpool(clear winner 1st year, and CHL winner). At first I just played with their given tactic. It went alright. Then I changed it to 4-1-2-1-2 with some minor adjustments and everything works pretty painlessly.

I have never in 20 years tried to change tactics before a match, midway, or anywhere else. I just stick to my tactics and man-management. People trying to fiddle with small tweaks for each and every game are bound for serious trouble. Making them change tactics game in game out is never a good idea either. It might be good to figure out a super tactic, but winning while testing it, is a pretty hopeless ambition.

That's not entirely true. Take a club like Newcastle, I've just got them back in the premiership. It's hard to bring in world class like Liverpool have so rather than play to Newcastles strength (Whatever that might be... Andy Carroll's kinda tall I suppose?) it works nicely to play to the oppositions weakness. I agree you can't go from 5-4-1 to 4-2-4 to 4-3-3 week in week out, but to tinker tempo, long balls, use of flanks ect. depending on your opponents can make a huge difference.

You need to use the KISS factor in FM when making defensive tactics.

Keep It Simple Stupid.

Keep your defence to little closing down, short passing, low creative freedom, zonal marking and no tight marking unless they are really world class with high decisions.

I learnt that from playing FML and its working for me in FM2010.

That's not entirely true. Take a club like Newcastle, I've just got them back in the premiership. It's hard to bring in world class like Liverpool have so rather than play to Newcastles strength (Whatever that might be... Andy Carroll's kinda tall I suppose?) it works nicely to play to the oppositions weakness. I agree you can't go from 5-4-1 to 4-2-4 to 4-3-3 week in week out, but to tinker tempo, long balls, use of flanks ect. depending on your opponents can make a huge difference.

I doubt that any of my transfers were too big for Newcastle. My game has a bug, that almost didn't generate any cash. I dare say, you could have given me the Newcastle players and I would still fare better with a offensive game than a defensive one. This has always been the case of FM/CM - or so it has for me, and it has never ever failed. Who can win many games playing on the backfoot for most of the match? No one - at least not in FM. Who can win games irl or in FM by tweaking things they haven't trained at all or very little?

I find the difficulty of the game just right. I was sacked too on my game. Got appointed eventually by a Serie C2-side in Italy who was struggling, and now I have conceded the least goals in the league 3 times in a row. Finally got my promotion last season and find myself struggling in the Serie C1.

The reason many people are leaking goals I think is because the unrealistic expectations of keeping it tight at the back, and banging them in at the other end. My best advice would be to find your own philosophy. Are you from the "score one more goal than your opponent"-school, or do you want to strive for that clean sheet, and hope to counter one in to get the points. Find your philosophy and build your tactic around it.

I've not struggling, but I'm not clearing all before me.

Won Serie B first season and in 7th so far this season. This release is the one that makes me feel more like my tactics mean something.

I was sacked for my first time in an FM game recently as well. Was playing as Sunderland and after a blinding start to the season that saw us sitting pretty in 6th, we then went on a 18 match winless streak, or should I say losing streak, losing 16 of those 18 matches. Entirely my fault though, was too big headed to make drastic changes to the side that started off so well and I couldn't motivate any of my players to turn it around.

No, my name is not Phil Brown!

No, my name is not Phil Brown!

Are you sure..?

Maybe it's just Valencia? I've carried on with my demo game with Valencia and I'm in mid-table with Valencia and having major defensive problems. I am about to get fired there too....

I played with Valencia in the demo game and I retired around november before they would have sacked me (was 11th or so).

Then I began a "real" game with the full version and it worked much better if you drop your defence line deeper (that is why I was quite successful with counterattacking). Was 3rd at the end of season.

to be fair with the defender's you can get at the start of the game even some of the free transfer list you shouldnt be having such a problem with valencia improve your defence matey and give the team time to bond millito from barca you can pick up for 5.5 which i consider as a bargain

Oh and i agree with peperino make sure your wingback's aint attacktive if conceding to many goal's and make sure your defence line hold's back, I cant remeber there keeper but sign oscar ustari has a min fee release off 5.5 mil mite do a better job in goal.

I've been sacked three times on the trot on the same save, really struggling with the tactics system. Finally got myself a good tactic and was heading out of the relegation places, but just ran out of games to save myself.

at's amazing what you can get on loan as well with the like's on van der vart and van nillesroy on the transfer list for cheap if you afford to buy then you can take them on a long season loan for a % of there wage's to improve the squad, also Jadson from shakter he won't come up on your list unless you have a decent brazlian scout but he is only 25 very good in his posistion and also signed on a free to start in january just get looking !

I got sacked as Valencia manager too, they have some seriously high expectations and a trigger happy chairman

I am only 9 games in with my Newcastle team and it's scoring goals that i'm finding difficult. I am top of the league having won 6 and drawn 3 but i have never won by more than 1 goal.

With regards to tactics i never try too much on my 1st game i keep everything pretty much basic and just tweak things slightly until i get used to the new version.

I got sacked as Valencia manager too, they have some seriously high expectations and a trigger happy chairman

It's not the expectations of the board i have the issue with, i deserved to be sacked for my league position, it's the fact that no matter what i did i couldn't stop leaking goals which in the end got me the boot. David Villa scored 37 in 37 apps in all comps and my team we only second to Bara and Real on goals scored. I just felt i was banging my head against a brick wall trying to stop my team letting goals in..

But does not Valencia's real life defence also struggle to keep clean sheets? Have you not bought better defenders?

I think that your problem maybe tweaking the team to much as they will not get used to a certain way of playing and also the valencia defence is pretty weak and especially the keeper cesar if thats who you are playing

Well, for the first time on any version of CM/FM (i've been playing since the Amiga days) i've just been sacked. Was manager of Valencia and was 9th in the league in February in the first season.

I've really struggled in FM10 despite spending a lot of time trying to tweak my tactic and reading in depth in the tactics forum. I'm just finding the game too hard and although i have no problems scoring (was averaging 2 goals a game, Villa had 37 goals in 37 apps) i simply cannot keep a clean sheet. The opposition seem to be able to score at will and my defenders seem powerless to do anything about it.

Anyone else struggling?

I am Arbroath (Scottish Division 2) & I am joint top of the league in the first season but I had only kepy about 4 clean sheets at the halfway point. I simply changed my settings from 'fluid' to 'control' & I've only conceded 1 goal in 4 games now