Ideas for Improving Press Conferences & Assistant Feedback

Over the last few weeks have had a few small ideas for adding to and improving press conferences. So have a read, add your own suggestions and let me know what you think, and hopefully it will be of interest to SI.

In press conferences it is all directed by journalists etc, and maybe it would be good to be able to start making comments of our own, where we can talk about things and pressing issues. For instance you can complain at the standard of refereeing, the number of foreign players, the attitude of a player, a player refusing a contract, a transfer bid or speculation, speculation about your own job, your board for refusing to give you more money, your players performances etc.

You could also talk about things like success, youth development, using cups to give youngsters experience (whereas we tend to be asked about changes to a side at the moment), your clubs finances, your satisfaction over a transfer period, style of play.

Regarding assistant feedback, we could maybe have suggestions on what roles a player works well in (key attributes highlighted on tactics screen) this could be used to suggest the best use for a player, or maybe the best style for the team to play. Also advice about how to get the best out of a certain player, with suggestions on media tactics that work, or teamtalk tactics, training changes etc

what do you think?

Press conferences need to be improved. Take tonights Birmingham v Man Utd match. Darren Fletcher got sent off and that was rightly one of the questions that Ferguson was asked. Far too often you don't get asked questions about contentious descisions but still get the inane ones.

i like your idea's Hama, especially about youth development. Also the way you posted, giving idea's and not the usual slating of 'SI are crap, worst game ever, im burning it and naming my son 'ihateyouSI'.

Totally an area that could do with improving. I like your ideas, and would also like to see a job interview feature implemented.

For instance, the chairman could ask you what you think your goal is for the club before you get the job, eg "I believe I can save the club from relegation" or "I could get us established at the end of 3 years". You could also discuss length of contract instead of just having one offered to you. I know you can negotiate now but a job interview feature could also determine whether you get the job or not instead of the standard 'we are considering' mail. Makes things more various.

Assistant definitely needs to play a bigger role too absolutely.

id just like to see it removed from the game. in its current form, at best, its tedious. the same questions over and over again throughout the conferences, and perhaps repeats in the same on....it just doesnt add anything to the game. until a computer is powerful enough to recognise anything a user writes and act upon it anything that is changed is still going to end up repetitive because it is from a limited amount of choices.

A job interview is good idea but i just dont see how it would work unless you can type directly your own words in to the game.

Otherwise you will get a list of what to say , meaning you could always same something inspirational to your interviewers

as its usually so obvious what the correct answers is with the

-Of course

-Yes

-Maybe

-No

-Definetely not

Obvious replies

yeah like the job interview idea. it could work as you have a series of options to select. e.g. you are interviewing for vacant portsmouth post on april 2nd, with pompey rooted at foot of premier league:

- i will keep us up

- i will do my best to keep us up, but we will go up again next season

- i wont be making any promises

- i can keep us up with investment

- we will go up next season with investment

etc

and if you are interviewing at man utd after ferguson's retirement in june

- we will win all trophies

- we will win the league

- we will win the champions league

- we will win the fa cup

- we need investment to achieve (blah blah)

we will aim for europe

etc

On Press-Conferences - I think this is an area that needs attention; while the (wording of ) answers to questions are better and make more sense they are still very repetitive. While I think we have to understand that to do Press-Conferences 100% realistically would take AI that could understand, compute and respond to individual responses from users (which is unlikely i'd suggest) it could be improved by simply adding hundreds of new questions/possible answers.

I like IIama's ideas about sections - IMO probably the place that whoever owns Press-Conferences within SI should start. Compile questions and answers to sections such as forthcoming opponents; transfer speculation, Job security, runs of games, upcoming games (i.e that cup game beyond the next league one etc), player performances, player comments, and so on and so on

I think my main frustration with them is the repetitiveness and that they don't evolve. How many people have taken on new roles after several seasons of management to be asked... what's your approach to the game? I could accept it if they said at X club you preferred an open game however with X team in the mire will you need to change your philosophies OR last season you played a direct game during the relegation scrap, as you face this new season will you be looking to adopt a new style etc etc

The other aspect (and this is true also of club/chairman expectancy) is when you take on a club mid season. Press-Conferences (and some media stories) talk as though you were there before hand rather than from x point forward.

I also agree with other posters about the impact of Press-conferences and manager interaction on staff (or the suggestion of impact.) Sir Alex talks of another club warmly hardly sends his players into a fit of annoyance; its called respect.

On Job Interviews - I have previously suggested this prior to FM10 and totally agree it would add something. While like Press-Conferences it could be difficult without AI to understand individual responses it could be set up based on some questions like "what type of game would you adopt" - short passing, more direct, flexible etc; "we don't have much money for transfers; what level of success do you feel you could bring with the players already at the club?" and so on.... This would require chairmen to be changed to have preferences they look for in a manager i.e. thrifty; big spending and so on

i had a few more thoughts the other day so decided to add this to my old thread:

it would be nice if in press conferences we could raise issues on our own about opponents and players, things that pressure referees too:

"i feel that player x dives a lot"

"i don't feel that referees give player y much protection"

"the last time we played team k committed a lot of fouls"

"i dont feel that team m will earn a champions league spot"

few more ideas there