Team morale

I'd like to hear some thoughts on the subject of player morale. A lot of people seem to be experiencing problems with team collapsing mid-way through seasons. Generally this will have a lot to do with team morale slumping with bad results and subsequent negative team talks. Death spirals have been a feature of the game for years (and do mimick what happens in real life - losing can become a habit). My problem is that FM10 now seems to make at least one death spiral per season an inevitable part of the game (I've played games with Ajax, Werder Bremen, Norwich and Crewe and all 3 have experienced a death spiral to a greater or lesser extent) consequently I am still yet to finish a season - partially because the Ajax and Werder games were just experimenting with the game.

My question for everyone is what people think about morale. Personally I'm not sure if it has too much of an effect on games, but I think building and maintaining morale has become too hard (it takes at least 3 wins to get most of the team to Very Good or Superb) while losing morale happens too quickly (one bad result kills morale for everybody). Compounding this is the fact that many goals result from mistakes so a 'missed header' that IRL would be considered to be just part of the game kills a defender's morale instantly and potentially has an effect for weeks. The twist here is that media interaction and team talks are meant to tilt the balance back towards the manager, but most gamers seem to be more or less mystified by how to handle both aspects of the game.

Thoughts appreciated.

I'd like to hear some thoughts on the subject of player morale. A lot of people seem to be experiencing problems with team collapsing mid-way through seasons. Generally this will have a lot to do with team morale slumping with bad results and subsequent negative team talks. Death spirals have been a feature of the game for years (and do mimick what happens in real life - losing can become a habit). My problem is that FM10 now seems to make at least one death spiral per season an inevitable part of the game (I've played games with Ajax, Werder Bremen, Norwich and Crewe and all 3 have experienced a death spiral to a greater or lesser extent) consequently I am still yet to finish a season - partially because the Ajax and Werder games were just experimenting with the game.

My question for everyone is what people think about morale. Personally I'm not sure if it has too much of an effect on games, but I think building and maintaining morale has become too hard (it takes at least 3 wins to get most of the team to Very Good or Superb) while losing morale happens too quickly (one bad result kills morale for everybody). Compounding this is the fact that many goals result from mistakes so a 'missed header' that IRL would be considered to be just part of the game kills a defender's morale instantly and potentially has an effect for weeks. The twist here is that media interaction and team talks are meant to tilt the balance back towards the manager, but most gamers seem to be more or less mystified by how to handle both aspects of the game.

Thoughts appreciated.

Morale in fm2010 seems to be crucial in winning games. A player with good stats but low morale often does some really dumb stuff and makes the manager think the game is broken or something. For instance, my Di Maria was unhappy because i kept rejecting offers and morale was very poor. when I watch a full match, his performance was pathetic, he constantly gave away possession and his crosses were not even close to his "17 crossing".

Thanks for replying. On a slightly less glamourous level I've had the same problem. At Crewe I have a striker who was initially pencilled in for a starting spot. I brought in a talented young striker from the Championship which pushed my striker down to 3rd string. He started the game with poor morale and to this time I don't think I've ever seen him on okay or above. I've given him 3 runs in the team and he is always crippled before he even starts by his poor morale (ie always listed as 'playing nervously' or 'short of confidence').

try and offer a new contract, it usually boosts morale.