Anyone else finding the game rather easy?

I don't mean to brag here and I really don't class myself as a tactical genius, so this is definitely not me saying I'm better than anyone else.

It's just that over the last couple of editions of FM I've been doing so damn well and it's mistified me because I'm not a tactical genius. I tend to pick a formation and tinker with it a little. I don't pick a 4-5-1 to play away and a 3-5-2 to attack at home. I play a 4-4-2 at home and set it to counter away. When I find new players I scout and trial as I believe is the realistic way and is it not the rules that LLM's tend to go by? But then the following occurs:

In FM10 I started a game unemployed, with an ex semi-pro reputation, and I got taken on as manager of KFUM in Norway. The first season was okay and I maintained the mid table position they were in. I bought a few players, found a formation that seemed to suit the squad I had and promtly went unbeaten for the entire second season. I never felt tested, yet never did anything special.

In FM10 I started a similar game and am manager of Juventus Bucharest. It started worse than FM10 but a quick change of fortunes has seen me lose one game in about 14. All I did was sign three players that aren't really any better than a lot of players in my current division, bring my wingers in a bit so that they play with normal width mentality and get them crossing before they get to the byline. Suddenly I'm a tactical genius and no one can beat me.

It's actually gotten to the stage where I'm cheering the opposition on and hoping they score so I feel like I've had a game. I just don't feel like I've really had to do anything to get the squad playing and winning. It's almost as if I've picked a formation that is called 'winner'.

Perhaps I'm getting lucky and picking the teams that are destined to do well. I know Juventus Bucharest have a high wage budget so perhaps much is expected of them in Romania, though not judging by the latest league table I looked up. I grew rather attached to KFUM so I follow their results now and they have a good squad that challenged for their division last season.

To add to the ease of winning I can honestly say my squad has had 3, at most 4, injuries all season and just one suspension from yellows and two from red cards. I've been able to pick the same squad for pretty much the whole of this mysterious run of form. I guess consistency has something to do with results.

Is it just me? Anyone else a bit miffed at winning too easily? Maybe I am better than I think, but I just don't believe it. I'm not a guy that beats games easy. I'm usually not that good at the Civs of this world. It's just, I like this game and I don't want to lose interest because I don't feel tested.

Well thanks to anyone who's decided to read my thoughts. I'm gonna go see if I can get the opposition to thrash me before bed.

I don't think it's easy but if you manage to find something that works for you then it can become easy. I was finding my Nottingham Forest save easy. Had a tactic that worked on and off 4-2-3-1 which sometimes changed to 4-3-2-1 or 4-4-2. It was fine and I got to the start of February and had just beaten Derby 1-0 and was 13 points clear at the top of the Championship. I then went on a horrid run of form picking up 13 points from 49. I didn't change a thing. Players morale dropped and I managed to get it back and get in to the Play-Off final. I lost that.

Perhaps it's just that then. I've found a formation that clicks but all it takes is one bad result and everything will go pear shaped? I have an away match against the team clear at the top of the division next and my away form isn't quite as convincing as my home form. Perhaps this will show me what I'm up against.

I know I shouldn't want to lose.

I don't know if it's easy but I'm playing as Liverpool and, yeah I know people say that it's easy to win with one of the big teams, I've won 19 out of 20 games this season. That includes 5 friendlies, some Europa qualifier and league games, and 8 in the Premiership. I've won all 8 Premiership games conceding a grand total of 0 goals. Of course I'm proud and hope it continues but I'm using the same tactic I developed for FM10 which took advantage of the strength I had in central defence and centre midfield.

I expected to do worse. I don't expect it to last but still seems a little unrealistic. Or maybe it isn't! Has the match engine changed sufficiently between these versions to prevent a winning tactic from earlier versions of FM working in FM11??

I've put together a good squad and have good morale. If I go on holiday I find the game easy, but if I try to play a tactician it gets pretty hard

I'm personally finding it quite tough. I'm liking it, don't get me wrong, but yeah.... I'm struggling

I'm personally finding it quite tough. I'm liking it, don't get me wrong, but yeah.... I'm struggling

I think that may have a lot to do with you being Knockbreda, Nep. You're having a troubling start but I am fully of the belief that you'll rock the world in a few seasons.

I have had a think about what I wrote last night and I have to be more truthful and say I'm not doing quite as well as I did in FM10 with KFUM, but I'm not struggling and I'm not really feeling like I'm having to stretch my tactical ability to the limit.

I draw the majority of games away and win the majority at home of late but I'm staying mid table due to the draws not being losses. Since I upped my training to try and improve players it has become harder because players don't seem to be performing and I am getting a few more injuries.

I'm enjoying it still, so that's one thing, so I'll see how it goes. Maybe I have just been lucky with transfers and landed on my feet with a good team and tactic that suits things. It might all change next season as my players are getting on a bit and I foresee a few changes. My finances are really struggling so I think the wage budget is very ambitious and I might need to cut it. If I don't then I think the board will. Our attendances just aren't high enough to make ends meet.

You can actually follow my game in Anagain's Bucharest to West over in the careers forums...there that's my plug. If people like it then I'll feel much more compelled to keep going.

I'm personally finding it quite tough. I'm liking it, don't get me wrong, but yeah.... I'm struggling

Yeah me too - the hardest game yet - not that I am complaining mind.

I wanted to start the same topic. I've been playing CM/FM Series since 1997 and had always some succeces, but never it wasn't as easy as this year. In FM 2011 (patch 11.1.1) I started the game as Lyon, bought Kryvtsov and Kadlec in the first transfer window and play with one tactic at home and other (similiar, but with counter attack) away from home. At the end of the first season I got 99 points (Bordeaux was 20 points behind), I won also Coupe de Ligue and - last but not least - Champions League (sic!). I'm not tactical genius at all, so it must be something with the game. Don't get me wrong, but it spoils the joy of playing FM.

I'm no shabby tactician, but i am finding it hard to get the team to stop defending idiotically. Have key players injured, but when WBA put 3 past you, or Celtic split your defence apart, it's a long road ahead. Still, i'm 4th in the league 8 games gone.

Is it just me or is it harder post patch?

my league 1 hereford side beat 2 prem sides in the cup but they weren't full strength sides so i can't tell if its too easy.

I like to think that I can come up with semi-good tactics, but the fact is I never had one of those amazing seasons. The best I had was last year with Benfica, 28W 1D 1L, but I was expected to win the league. Something like being predicted 7th place and ending up being champion, that I never pulled off.

I have felt exactly the same way as Anagain. I remember in the earlier versions you would initially get thrashed time and time again to begin with, and then from there you may improve assuming you werent sacked in the process. It felt like an achievement to finally obtain success.

In my Sport & Leisure save, I have barely paid any attention to tactics nor players (spending most of the time browsing the web) and finished 3rd with a team expected to come 13th. Second season is nearly identical. A new game with a Belarussian side expected to finish bottom has them at mid table half way through the season.

The challenge just isnt there.

Morale seems to have quite a large effect on this, once you win a few matches and your morale is high your team just crushes everything in their way. This also seems to be the cause of the extreme losing streaks, once you lose two or three times your morale is quite often already poor or worse and then your players don't seem to know how to play football anymore.

I'm no shabby tactician, but i am finding it hard to get the team to stop defending idiotically. Have key players injured, but when WBA put 3 past you, or Celtic split your defence apart, it's a long road ahead. Still, i'm 4th in the league 8 games gone.

Is it just me or is it harder post patch?

I'm of the mind that the defense AI is worse since 11.1.1 hit.. see a lot more obvious defensive mistakes, particularly by the fullbacks.

I feel the game is a bit too easy as well. I ended up winning the premier league with 5 games to spare and had ~110 goals scored that season with Chelsea. I didn't buy anyone other than Neymar and Paulo Henrique, who were restricted to cup games generally. Though I did struggle in Champions League during the group stages, the rest was fairly easy going.

This in addition to the fact that managers are getting fired every other day, making it even easier to get one over a few teams.

Try a club with no finances and in one of the lowest league's.

Try a club with no finances and in one of the lowest league's.

I've just gone seven games without conceding a goal and thirteen straight wins. As Blyth Spartans, with a pre-setup 4-4-2 with no tactical instructions.

It's actually even easier in the lower leagues for some bizarre reason.

Just to show I'm not talking nonsense ^^

Honestly though, nothing fancy with tactics, no overpowered signings - just a 4-4-2 and pressing Continue every now and then.

No not at all!

I'm struggling big time with Dover. I find that defending is REALLY hard to get even half right in this game, and all too often my team seems to be at the mercy of my opponents that can attack and create opportunities at will. I'm especially vulnerable to crosses (I just conceeded two goals, one header from a cross and one bicycle-kick, also from a cross) and I really don't know how to defend myself in such scenarios.

Im playing arsenal but im using someone elses tactic and its been very easy. I might start a new game with my own tactic, need challenge!

I started as a Sunday l;eague manager, unemplyed. Got offered job at Woking FC in BSS who had a totally carp team. signed a few players, won a few, lost a few finished mid table, next season signed some more, let some more go and was told to win the league by the board, which I duly did. first season in BSP has been above expectations as I was expected to finish outside relegation by board, I told thenmid table and I have been in the playoff spots all season. To me the balance is just about right as my form has been up and down and I doubt I will go up this year as there are better teams than Woking in BSP.

I am enjoying it though as it is enough of a challenge to keep me interested whilst not being stupidly hard and making me want to murder my entire family.

I'm struggling big time with Dover. I find that defending is REALLY hard to get even half right in this game, and all too often my team seems to be at the mercy of my opponents that can attack and create opportunities at will. I'm especially vulnerable to crosses (I just conceeded two goals, one header from a cross and one bicycle-kick, also from a cross) and I really don't know how to defend myself in such scenarios.

You should basically attack more Put the opposition under pressure and they can't touch you.

I basically get the ball to feet of my Deep Lying Forward and everything plays off him. I hold possession most of the time in and around their box - eventually, the ball will either be slid through for a tap in or worked ride, whipped in low and tapped in at the far post. Remember, the defensive problems also plague the AI, not just you.

Just won BSN with Blyth at an absolute canter. 15 points clear with two games left xD

So I've now played 35 games and still unbeaten in all competitions. I've had only 1 draw in my 16 Premiership games so far and conceded a single goal.

I was expecting the AI to figure out a way to combat my tactics especially when I drew against the Hammers (a game which I played 3 times because FM crashed at the same point twice after the end of the match - each game was drawn), but since then I've continued along the same lines. Maybe my tactic is just too good!

Im finding it too hard. Failing with any team that I manage. Not sure what Im doing wrong,

It's been easier for me than FM10 was.. but not finding it extremely easy, enjoying it atm.

i've started as Genoa, came 2nd in season 1 and just won the serie A. So i am happy to be doing well, because in the last 2 versions of FM i have struggled. Why FM11 my ideas of making a tactic work, but when i have tried to make a tactic in the last 2 versions it never works.

So yeah maybe it is too easy because i am rubbish and doing well. But i like to think the game is bang on and i am good at it.

I've just gone seven games without conceding a goal and thirteen straight wins. As Blyth Spartans, with a pre-setup 4-4-2 with no tactical instructions.

It's actually even easier in the lower leagues for some bizarre reason.

Its easy in the LL because there are some amazing free agents out there. Its just a matter of time before we have a squad of young talented players at minimum fulltime wages.

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was that really necessary?

Yeah the game is way to easy. When you buy world class for 5 million pounds what is the point of even playing the game? It is a joke, and it is the worst installment of the FM series ever. Simple as that.

Its easy in the LL because there are some amazing free agents out there. Its just a matter of time before we have a squad of young talented players at minimum fulltime wages.

I find it easy as Everton in the Premier League too. Half the time I just ask my assistant to auto select, press Continue, pick up the win and continue.

BSP at the moment with Blyth. 11 games, 1 loss... it feels more like an ego boost of a game rather than a challenge at the moment at every level!

I started my second season the other day (and my amount of time in the game has dropped now I'm not off work and on holiday) and it had started rather tricky. I lost a few games and was struggling to get some form together. It pretty much mirrored my first season. I did well in the first game then hit bad form. It just happened that the bad form coincided with a weekday games for the cup period of the season. After I was out of the cup in season one my form picked up and it's done the same this season. I'm unbeaten in a few games now and not having to do anything to make it so. I should give it longer but I am struggling to find interest.

Minecraft had taken a huge back seat to FM the other week and now it's the other way around. I love this game and I certainly think it's the best FM yet with no bugs affecting me and the new additions making it the most realistic yet, in my view. It does seem to have become way too easy though.

It can't be just us few in this thread either. I have seen quite a few mirror posts over the last week or so and then this one was resurrected. In past years I've seen people calling for difficulty settings to make the game easier and I've always took a stand against that. Now I want difficulty settings to make it harder.

was that really necessary?

Maybe it will help kill the cancerous threads like these?

Maybe it will help kill the cancerous threads like these?

doesn't look like its killed anything to me

Maybe it will help kill the cancerous threads like these?

It's not up to you to kill them. I've tried to be constructive and I've said I enjoy the game, I just want more challenge.

If someone wants to argue in a reasonable and constructive fashion then I'd welcome it. You didn't.

Someone mentioned free signings above and I think that may be a big part of the problem. Perhaps free signings are too easy to acquire and they should be saying a big no no to the small clubs.

I could argue that myself though because, a) one of my free signings from the firsts eason signed for a top league club pre-season and has not made a single start since, and b) stat-wise these players seem little different than those at other teams in my league.

I still think there is something in this though.

I also think team talks and the media are big reasons as to why games become easy. Now I am not going to ask for the removal of these additions to the game because I like them, but if you consider how badly assistant managers are said to do in team talks and add in the fact that AI managers must work on similar programming when making their team talks then does that equal a reason. Maybe AI managers are just so bad at the media and player communication side of the game that it gives us human managers an advantage?

It always happened on every FM tbh, to have the ability of signing free agents or players in a Bosman that normally IRL would never join a lower stature club.. having said that if you can manage your players morale to always be superb and that they never get complacent with the right team talk and press conference, it can go a long way in getting results.

I'll say again that i've been finding it easier than FM10 but not easy to the point where i get bored.. but if you are finding it so easy in some obscure norwegian division then maybe you are just good at this game.

Yes very easy, and whilst I'm not complaining right now, I won't be playing the game the other side of Christmas - I will be bored by then.

Anyone maybe think that it's an attempt by SI to make a previously at times inhibitively difficult game franchise more appealing to a wider audience, rather than their traditional tactical micromanager fanbase? I really hope that this isn't the case but I'm tempted to think otherwise...

Anyone maybe think that it's an attempt by SI to make a previously at times inhibitively difficult game franchise more appealing to a wider audience, rather than their traditional tactical micromanager fanbase? I really hope that this isn't the case but I'm tempted to think otherwise...

I wouldn't be overly surprised. I'd certainly say there have been more occaisons of posts saying it's too diffiuclt than there have been posts saying it's too easy, especially in the past.

I know it's bordering on the verge of me being superstitious, and I hate it when posters declare super keepers and the like, but in some matches I'd swear my own keeper was possessed. He'll manage saves that I wouldn't have expected of Banks. Similarly, my outfield players will often manage to pass the ball about a la Arsenal or Chelsea whilst the opposition end up passing to the fans. We're only goddamn Juventus Bucharest. My team's highest passing attribute is probably 13. It's basically League 2/Conference standard in the Romanian Second.

I am not sure why Blyth is so popular. I picked them at random.

So far I got promoted in my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seasons and am now 2-0-1 in Division One. This is the first time where I cannot easily sign lots of cheap players who are better than league average (mostly because my wage limits are still very low). Though let me caveat that by saying that in 3rd and 4th seasons, I was the bottom qualifying playoff team and barely won promotion.

As others have mentioned, tons of free players available, who, while not superstars, are better than the average player on my starting roster and cost less, so it is easy to have good players for your league at every position without spending anything.

Most of the players I have signed are young, though a few are in the last part of their careers. The kinds of players you would find in lower leagues. I don't know if the issue is there are too many players, or rather the issue is that the AI teams are unwilling to sign them.

come to think of it, I am signing lots of players from Scotland, Ireland and other parts of England. The question is, how many semi-pro players would move from Ireland to play at a tiny club for 40 quid a week? I imainge that most small semi-pro clubs are full of locals, because they all have day jobs and families and such. Perhaps the game should take this more into account at the LL levels?

Nope, most difficult FM game for me since FM10.2's "Super Keepers".

I think it's because I'm constantly making changes to my tactics, or maybe I'm just poor at team talks, but I'm struggling.

My main issue is how easy is to sign good players for free when managing low league teams, and it has been that way for a few releases.

I have started a game unemployed with sunday leaguer rep. Mid season i was hired by Dover in the Blue Square South. I managed to avoid relegation without any new signing (the signings period was over).

Then in my second season is when things become too easy. I signed 13 players that were unemployed that are way better than the average for my league level (most of them would be good League one players by my scouts), and signed them for really low wages, so i have now a top team for the BSS with cheap wages and so far i have won the first 11 games in the second season and my team feels really better than my rivals.

Maybe i should play with an smaller database so there will be harder to find that much unemployed players to play in the lower leagues for cheap, but it's been a few years when i find too easy to fill low teams with players too good for the league level that were unemployed or had their contract expired.

i definately think its slightly easier. playing with telford managed to bring them to championship very fast (4 years in succession). 2 as winners and 2 as runners up.

got stuck in championship for a few years but managed to get to premiership now.

my only issue is that the club rep is still regional (reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?????????????????????????. i am a prem club FFS)

Findiing it extremely tough, have no idea why. I am playing with Liverpool though - can that be my excuse?

i agree with you im finding the game getting progressivly easier i never change my formation away or home and just build a team to fit it and i find i win like 70% of the time no problem doesnt matter what league. it gets boring after a while...