I Can Never Commit To A Save

Is anyone else like this? Or has anyone gone through a stage where this has happened to them? I have tried using my favourite team Ipswich and i got about halfway through the season and i decided to end it. I then tried using Liverpool and i found it too easy, i was winning the Premier League by about 12 points and i decided to quit that too, as i wasn't finding it enjoyable anymore.

That being said i tend to prefer using well known clubs as i never get past the pre-season with lower level teams. Its frustrating as i really want to settle with a team and have an career that i can have fun playing. Any suggestions guys? I know it might sound a little bit stupid to those who can settle into games easily.

First half of the first season it always most difficult for me. The save has no history yet. Nothing to endear you to it. I have learnt I just need to battle through it. After a season or two I find myself going back to it more often.

That being said I still find the first half of the season fairly tedious for want of a better word.

All the exciting stuff happens pre-season with signings/new funds/upgrades or towards the end of the season with trophies etc.

The middle bit seems like a chore sometimes.

Start abroad?

First half of the first season it always most difficult for me. The save has no history yet. Nothing to endear you to it. I have learnt I just need to battle through it. After a season or two I find myself going back to it more often.

That being said I still find the first half of the season fairly tedious for want of a better word.

All the exciting stuff happens pre-season with signings/new funds/upgrades or towards the end of the season with trophies etc.

The middle bit seems like a chore sometimes.

I think you've described everybody's game there.

i have recently had this, i just couldn't seem to get into a save. I tried 12 different teams to start with i just couldn't get into one, so now i have started one with my team (Tottenham) and is in Feburary and is out of both cups already and being average in the league but im loving it so far!

First half of the first season it always most difficult for me. The save has no history yet. Nothing to endear you to it. I have learnt I just need to battle through it. After a season or two I find myself going back to it more often.

That being said I still find the first half of the season fairly tedious for want of a better word.

All the exciting stuff happens pre-season with signings/new funds/upgrades or towards the end of the season with trophies etc.

The middle bit seems like a chore sometimes.

I think that is the key right there mate.

I had this problem. Then I took up Dafuge's Challenge and I'm now in 2013/14 with FC United, and no sign of interest waning.

I have the opposite problem. I overly commit to a save. I've only just purchased FM2010, today in fact, because I didn't want to give up my long long save on FM2009.

First half of the first season it always most difficult for me. The save has no history yet. Nothing to endear you to it. I have learnt I just need to battle through it. After a season or two I find myself going back to it more often.

That being said I still find the first half of the season fairly tedious for want of a better word.

All the exciting stuff happens pre-season with signings/new funds/upgrades or towards the end of the season with trophies etc.

The middle bit seems like a chore sometimes.

Nail on the head.

Never have that problem unless I mess up the loaded leagues, in which case I have to reload them all.

I always start off unemployed and take a new squad each time I play. I consider it realistic to be lost in a new country, not knowing who to sign, or what teams are in the lower leagues. After a few months, you get the hang of it, and you "settle in" the area.

Not me personally, but I have had many goalies who have experienced this problem.

Well I usualy have the same problem.

But I just love my Liverpool game now, are the 5. season and want to play it for like forever!

First of all Liverpool got new owners in first transfer window so i got money to buy for, and now I am Brazil manager too. We are also building a new stadium, and my team is comming to the point that I have to start rebuilding again. Just love it.

I am also enjoying a liverpool save right now. However i do often get bored of saves quite quickly.

I have been this way since FM08, it took my months & months to actually commit to a save when I played it. But when I did finally get stuck into the save I played it on & off for 18 months without ever starting another save so much so that I didn't bother buying FM09.

Then I was given FM10 as a present, again that same thing happened...just couldn't get past the first few months without losing all interest despite absolutely loving the game! So ended up back playing my long save no FM08 until tragedy struck and the save became corrupt, I wept and my wife thought there'd been a death in the family. So then decided enough was enough time to start FM10 and haven't looked back since.

It seems to be a widespread thing!

I've had a similar problem for the last two series of FM.

I think what might help is if SI introduced some little events, tasks etc that just mix the game up a bit. It doesn't necessarily have to add anything but just be something break-up the monotony that can set in. Some suggestions could be good here, below are what I think could be introduced:

- Mid season fans forum. Lots of clubs seem to be holding one of these a season now. They are basically just press conferences but you take questions from the fans. I know not everybody likes press conferences in the game but becasue these are questions from the fans there is a bit more scope such as a question on who the fans think you should be buying, why aren't you playing this player, how the heck does this player get into your team etc.. I dont think it would become a chore to handle these because it will only be once a year and it can help make or break your relationship with the fans

- Attending schools tournaments. This is two fold really, periodically you could be invited to attend a schools tournament in the local area to boost your rapport with the local community. The schools players (lets say an under 15's tournament) would be a way of introducing newgens to the game earlier and you could watch the matches and perhaps invite the best youngsters you see to trials with your youth team. I like newgens and I think everybody likes finding that new talent but for the first year because there are no newgens you have to slug it out until the youth intake comes in.

- Punditry. You could be invited to watch a game as a pundit and then answer a few questions on the game afterwards. This could be used for all levels of the game, a Premier League or championship manager would be invited along to ESPN or Sky games and lower league managers would be invited to local games covered by the radio.

I've had a similar problem for the last two series of FM.

I think what might help is if SI introduced some little events, tasks etc that just mix the game up a bit. It doesn't necessarily have to add anything but just be something break-up the monotony that can set in. Some suggestions could be good here, below are what I think could be introduced:

- Mid season fans forum. Lots of clubs seem to be holding one of these a season now. They are basically just press conferences but you take questions from the fans. I know not everybody likes press conferences in the game but becasue these are questions from the fans there is a bit more scope such as a question on who the fans think you should be buying, why aren't you playing this player, how the heck does this player get into your team etc.. I dont think it would become a chore to handle these because it will only be once a year and it can help make or break your relationship with the fans

- Attending schools tournaments. This is two fold really, periodically you could be invited to attend a schools tournament in the local area to boost your rapport with the local community. The schools players (lets say an under 15's tournament) would be a way of introducing newgens to the game earlier and you could watch the matches and perhaps invite the best youngsters you see to trials with your youth team. I like newgens and I think everybody likes finding that new talent but for the first year because there are no newgens you have to slug it out until the youth intake comes in.

- Punditry. You could be invited to watch a game as a pundit and then answer a few questions on the game afterwards. This could be used for all levels of the game, a Premier League or championship manager would be invited along to ESPN or Sky games and lower league managers would be invited to local games covered by the radio.

Sorry, this probably breaks the code of conduct but those are quite possibly the worst ideas I have ever heard on this website.

And that takes some doing.

I am definatley like this!!! Agree 100% with godber69!

Well i have tried to settle into a game using Chelsea. The first time i have had money to spend which could help, when i used Liverpool they only started with about £6m as their transfer budget. I have never got to the end of the first season with any club yet on FM2010, its that bad for me. I must of started about 20 different games.

For me I love the ealy weeks in the 1st season, I tend to make sweeping changes and always plan for the future. Somewhere after January the game gets a bit boring for me.. I have my squad settled, with my favoured 11 and I can't wheel and deal etc. I find the time from February to August incredibly boring untill I decided this to be the crux of my scouting system

I always have as many scouts as possible, and I get them trawling league after league country after country and building up a huge base of players. Then when the game looses a bit of interest I send my scouts out to get the 3 game indepth reports on anyone with 5 or 4 star reccomendations then down to 3 two and one star recommendations. Before the end of february I have a wealth of potential signings, who I go and watch in a match personally.

When you sign Joe Bloggs at the age of 15 and watch him develop it's brilliant, it adds a real edge to the game. Got the title sewn up by Christmas? great that 17 year old left back from Napoli can play a few extra games.

Mid-table boredom is easily relived by watching "The Next Kaka" destroy Birmingham at 17 years of age.

Sometimes the first season can be a drag, but usually after this I start to feel attached to the club and players and this makes it interesting, so I can then go on for years and years with no wane of enjoyment.

As crazy as it sounds, maybe you just don't like the game anymore? I mean, if you can't get into the game then maybe it's time to move on, or have a break.

When I take over a new club (usually part way through a season) there's an initial rush of dull but essential basic chores to do, before even pressing "continue" for the first time.

I find the team doesn't "belong" to me until the end of the first transfer window, with some of "my" players now playing my tactics.

But without this bedding in period, the game wouldn't have such long-term addictiveness.

As crazy as it sounds, maybe you just don't like the game anymore? I mean, if you can't get into the game then maybe it's time to move on, or have a break.

I dont think thats it, i am already feeling hopeful my current game can last. First two league games have both been 4-0 wins and i have got a few good signings. I just always seem tempted by other clubs during my games.

I suffer from this also. You can try to holiday into the game for a couple of years and then take charge of some team?

I suffer from this also. You can try to holiday into the game for a couple of years and then take charge of some team?

Thats not a bad idea actually.

I always try to choose a lower league team to begin with as with choosing a top team you can achieve all your goals in one or two seasons while it may take 10 or 20 years to do so with a league 2 team for example.

I also love going unemployed or starting in a completely different country, like Japan, to get a fresh look on the game.

Sometimes you just have to find the right team, took me a while but I eventually tried Ajax out and loved it, currently in the 2023/24 season with them

dafuges Challenge, or something similar form CSE, is DEFINITELY the way to get into a long term game. If anything, just the banter between the forumites about the save games, was enough to keep me going quite often. When times were hard, and things weren't going my way, someone in the challenge thread would offer advice, as they'd have been in the same situation at some stage.

I am using my home club Ipswich right now and the game is going great, got to January 2010 and we are on course for automatic promotion. I think reaching the Premier League will help me stick with this game, i am going to try and not just delete the save if i miss out of promotion though. It has happened where i missed out on the playoffs on the last day of the season and i just could not face another long Championship campaign.

If you still can't commit properly to a game, try go watch a game with your local team who you can play as in the game. That usually motivates me to a certain extent.

Also, maybe find a country that you find interesting/funny, start learning more about the clubs, and before you know it, you have a long term save going.

i always feel like this in between the release of the game and patch 3

now im in my second season as arsenal and have plans to play this for a while

i get bored quite easily but im really enjoying my current game

If you still can't commit properly to a game, try go watch a game with your local team who you can play as in the game. That usually motivates me to a certain extent.

Also, maybe find a country that you find interesting/funny, start learning more about the clubs, and before you know it, you have a long term save going.

I go and watch nearly all of Ipswich's home games, so i know all about them and i feel i know a lot about the Championship. I just find it the most frustrating league in the game. It for me, is the hardest league to win out of the ones i have played.

I've never lasted more than 3 or 4 seasons in any save. The only reason i managed that long is by changing clubs halfway through. My problem isn't the dull periods between transfer windows etc, it is the game's inconsistency

e.g.

1st season as Gladbach (German Prem), aim to avoid relegation. Finished 14th (out of 18) - plenty good enough.

2nd season, aim to steer clear of relegation. Signed 2 or 3 better players. Didn't win any of the first 15 games. Didn't change tactics or sign too many new faces.

1st season as Blackpool (CCC), aim to avoid relegation. Finished 6th, lost in playoffs - great.

2nd season, aim mid-table finish. Signed several new faces, didn't change tactics too much. Won 3 out of the first 20 matches.

It has happened halfway through seasons before and just generally going on a good run before getting hammered by bottom of the league then beating top of the league. I appreciate these things do happen in football, but not near as often as they do on FM.

It's a lot like writing a story, I suppose. You start off all eager and excited to get things to happen, then you realise that before you can get to the fun parts, you need to have a period of background build-up which can be slow and a bit of a chore.

Once you get to the end of the first season, that's when the fun really starts.