Is it just me, or is the importance of club reputation exaggerated?

I'm currently playing as St. Albans, originally in the Blue Square South. I managed to get them promoted to the Blue Square Premier, and I've been noticing some strange patterns based on the reputation of the team I am playing against.

There is an interesting mix of teams in the BSP. There are teams with high reputations, such as Luton, Bradford City, and Oxford. There are also teams with reputations similar to myself - borderline non-existent. The likes of Bradford are seeing gates of 8,000 a game, while I'm lucky to break 500.

The bit I'm struggling with is how much of a difference the reputation of the team I'm facing seems to make in the match itself. I can understand players not wanting to sign to a nobody minnow team like St. Albans - that makes perfect sense. What I can't understand is why my team gets outplayed by some of the high reputation BSP sides (seeing 30% versus 70% possession split in their favour) when my players are largely better. I do great against the low rep sides: 3-0 and 4-0 wins, in some cases. Then I face the likes of Oxford, and lose 1-0 or 2-0 with barely a shot all game, hardly any possession, and an almost anonymous performance from the team.

The issue isn't down to morale or motivation; morale is ranging from Very Good to Superb, and motivation is at worst "Playing Okay", usually with at least half the team in "looking motivated" or higher.

My most recent match with Oxford just had me shaking my head. My team barely touched the ball, with Oxford stroking it around like world beaters. They scored twice - one a 60 yard through ball that their 8 pace 8 acceleration striker apparently managed to reach ahead of my 11/12: 11/12 centre backs, and the second a 40 yard screamer from a striker with long shots 4, and technique 6. Oxford's morale was poor-to-middling (they're mid-table in my game at the moment, underachieving by their standards), and their motivation was complacent/nervous for many of their team, with only one player in blue.

My team have generally done ok in the big games; many of my players are said by my coaches to relish the big occasions, and I've generally done ok with higher division teams in cups (they beat 3 BSP teams in the cup when I was in the BSS, for example).

In a nutshell, I can't make sense of why this is happening. It seems like the only advantage Oxford (and the other BSP big teams) have over me is their reputation, and yet they almost roll over me during games without effort, despite sometimes having a team I would describe as inferior (attribute wise).

Has anyone else had similar experiences? Does the reputation of the clubs involved really play such an important part in results now? And if so, how on earth do I limit the effects of this?

Two potential reasons, off the top of my head:

1) The high rep clubs do actually have better players than you

and/or

2) The AI managers of the high rep clubs are more inclined to play attacking strategies against you, and you're not adjusting your tactics to account for that.

Well, 1 certainly isn't true. I've spent time looking into this, because it is driving me nuts. Some of the front men are...poor, to say the least. Like I mentioned in the first post there, 4 long shots.

As for 2...I have considered it, and I've made changes based on what I see at the time. I've tried defensive approaches, counter attacking, you name it. Nothing helps me bump up the possession.

I do watch the matches in at minimum extended, and often in full for at least part of the match). It's just the same pattern in every game with a big rep team: my players suddenly can't touch the ball while Oxford/Luton/Bradford's latest Ronaldinho with 4 in dribbling and 7 in pace runs past my entire team.

It's the same pattern every time I play a league game against a big rep team, whether home or away. Against lower rep teams in the same division, my team does fine. They don't win every game, but they do at least put up a fight.

To give some context: I'm currently 8th in the BSP. I'm 5 points of the playoffs. It's not like I'm barely keeping my head above water here!

I just can't understand how I suddenly drop to 30% possession, or sometimes even less, against these big rep sides! It's like my players forget what the ball is...

whilst i understand your predicament and dont want to denounce everything youve said as nonsense (because its rational to think as you have done), i think you must remember that despite these players only having low attributes for pace....long shots etc....they are playing against players who have similar stats. in my eyes that means that a player who, in world terms, is absolute rubbish, can become a world beater at a lower level. you only have to look at certain teams to know there are players that play above the level of the league they are in but if they moved up would perhaps make only "average" at most at a higher level.

i too however have recognised the same issue as you before and i fonud that it ws very much down to my tactical decisions. i know that sounds like a copout but that is how i fixed it to not lose against higher reputation and bigger clubs. sometimes they even had better players and i was able to take advantage through tactial means. at the minute i have only managed to sort this issue at home, and not away so i have not fully conquered the problem. however to succeed at home i found the best policy is to play to your strengths even if it seems like a losing alley - in my case that was to attack quickly and it has helped me a lot

Your players get intimidated by playing against the bigger club?

That seems like a logical reason.

Your players get intimidated by playing against the bigger club?

That seems like a logical reason.

I agree that this seems likely. I just don't understand what I can do about it, on a tactical level. I can't see hide nor hair of the ball. It's not so much the fact that the team loses as the way it happens; my team makes little-to-no impact, even at home! I'm sure I'm missing something on a tactical level, but I can't work out what it is. The obvious answer would seem to be defensive/spoiling/counter attacking style tactics. That doesn't seem to do me any good, though. I still can't touch them.

Yet if I play the team currently 2nd in the table, with a reputation closer to myself, and I can get a 3-0 result away.

I've got no bones with getting mashed by a bigger team who have better morale/motivation/players; that just makes sense. But when *I* have the better morale/motivation/players and the only thing that they have going for them is their rep, getting played off the park is a lot more difficult to take, and I admit I'm scratching my head about a way to fix this. About the only thing I can think of is playing the same way as I would if facing a Championship/Prem team in the cup (for example), but that seems rather over the top when facing a team made up of equal or inferior players from the same division that your team is in.

I realise this is a somewhat strange issue. Most of the time, when you play a team with a rep that much higher than you, they're a divison or more higher (if not more), with a much better squad. For me, I'm playing as a team with basically no reputation against some teams that used to be big, but have now fallen out of grace - leaving them with a poor squad and a big reputation. I doubt this situation happens that often.

I think the AI-controlled manager instructs his team to attack you because his team's reputation is higher. Attacking tactics seems to work a lot better than defending in this game (especially in controlling a game), so you should probably attack right back from the outset.

Anyhow - the AI-controlled players always seem to outperform their ratings to some degree. I guess this is one of the challenges of the game - the computer can't compete with you in the transfer market, but it can get more out of players with lower attributes.

Lastly, as posted several times recently - there are certain games where all the factors seem to be unrealistically stacked against your team getting a win for whatever reason. If you replay that game thirty times, maybe you'll get one win. Maybe the Oxford game and some other games you've had fall into that category.