Opponent coach fears player threat - selects kind of randomly?

Has anyone noticed that it's really kind of random who the opponent coach chooses to single out among the active players? I have some players who have consistently outperformed others but they aren't selected more often. It tends to be evenly distributed among around 15 players that are in the rotation while avoiding those with the lowest form. It doesn't really otherwise consider recent form.

I'm not saying anything is wrong with that but I just found it interesting. I'm curious what this is based on.

Do opponent manager's comments ever make you change anything? I've often had them single out bench guys I never intended to play. So I've been thinking if I should put them in because they might be a particularly good match-up for some reason.

not really, when i get the message i make sure he plays, i think its based on who the other manager thinks can cause problems to his team.

not really, when i get the message i make sure he plays, i think its based on who the other manager thinks can cause problems to his team.

It makes sense but wouldn't it then be a really stupid comment to make by the other manager? He'd be giving away information that can be used against his team.

true, but what do you or your asst say when they ask you the same question?

I haven't been asked that exact question. Or maybe I just can't remember it but I usually select "I don't want to comment on individual players" on such specific questions that may motivate opponent players.

Here's what I find interesting...

My right fullback gets "Player has to be stopped" comments quite often. He's my captain and club's icon - so it's probably right. But when I try to interact with opponent's fullback, I can only comment on "weakest link" but "Dangerman" is grayed.

So the question is: Why AI managers can target my defenders with "Dangerman" comments and I can't?

I believe they did this as a quick fix to eg your star striker been singled out every game and it basically ruining his form and morale no matter how determined ect he is. I often get random squad players some who rarely make my bench singled out as dangerman, for example had Insua my 3rd choice left back singled out as my dangerman when he ain't played in weeks!!

It's not at all random on my game (11.1). My top striker got singled out every week (causing his morale to crash) until he was no longer my star striker. Then after a few misses when they targeted him after I'd dropped him, the oppo managers switched to my next best striker and did the same to him. They know who to target alright!

By the way. have you worked out that 'dangermen' are strikers and 'weakest link' are defenders?

My issue is a bit of the fact that managers do it much too often and the probabilty a manager comments on a player should be based on two things, importance of the game and the personality of the manager. So far it seems that pretty much every manager in the "gaming" world has the personality of Jose Mourinho, making comments etc.

not to mention when I comment, the Media comes back to me, telling me i should shut up and concentrate on my own team... -.-

Yeah, I think it's a bit of a flaw in the game that before every match, opposing managers (regardless of skill, personality, position in the table, whatever) have something to say about "stopping" one of your players. I think it makes people who play the game a lot just kind of tune it all out - whether they say they have to "stop" my third best CB, my 17 year old LW or someone who actually plays in the side well and regularly, the effects are usually minimal.

Some kind of diversity in those comments would be welcome. Have smug-ass jerk managers say that they are sure they will beat you, etcetera. I just don't see why the same comments need to be made before every match, it's a little immersion-breaking.

It's not at all random on my game (11.1). My top striker got singled out every week (causing his morale to crash) until he was no longer my star striker. Then after a few misses when they targeted him after I'd dropped him, the oppo managers switched to my next best striker and did the same to him. They know who to target alright!

By the way. have you worked out that 'dangermen' are strikers and 'weakest link' are defenders?

I don't think it is completely random, but it definitely isn't realistic either.

I've had strikers who haven't played for weeks been singled out as dangermen even though other strikers had been banging them in. For me my 8 first team strikers seem to share the spotlight fairly even.

Also I find it ridiculous that almost all players at lower levels get a huge morale hit when being singled out. It's a bit better at higher levels, but I still find it confusing and very much out of touch with reality that a player with superb morale goes to okay or low because the opposition manager 'praises him in the press?

yeah its the "[player name] must be stopped" i find quite annoying, it can be fine most of the season when it quotes one of my players in good form, its whenever they're injured and it starts picking randomers it seems, i remember it picking canales for most of my games at one point and he could barely string together two decent preformances at the time.

asides from that ive noticed it saying it about players who havent played or dont play regularly or ones that have come back from a long injury are also used quite frequently "Lukaku must be stopped!" ehm no mate he's on 68% fitness he's not even going to be on the bench thanks

By the way. have you worked out that 'dangermen' are strikers and 'weakest link' are defenders?

For human managers it is as you say.

The point is that AI managers target my defenders with "Dangerman" comments. It's a bit unfair because I can't do that.

Generally its done to put pressure on said player.

What never makes sense to me is when my assistant suggest that I release a comment about a player being a potential dangerman, he always suggest a player who has very high determination. All that does is motivate the player to prove me wrong where as I want any player I make a comment about to crumble under the pressure.

If its not random then its surely just bad. Because I get Mourinho and Wenger saying they "fear" some of the most ridiculous players. The player is not the worst in the squad but there are a lot of other players to "fear" in my squad. And I some how doubt Madrid or Arsenal would fear the kind of play the AI talks about.

Seems a bit silly when the fullbacks or 2nd choice DM are picked out as the dangerman.

I wouldn't mind if it was simply who has scored the last goal for me, or achieved the highest average rating in the last game. That's how the media hype here.

And if I had a player who had scored 5 in his last 5 games, he should get a similar comment to the dangerman ones, but more full on and perhaps not from the opposing manager - "The feeling in the media is that PLAYER will continue his great run of form this Saturday against Wigan."

It is a bit silly, whenever I see they've targeted a random squad player my reaction is one of relief, as in phew they haven't targeted a key player! Do media comments really travel that far in the lower leagues anyway? I can't honestly say I can ever remember an opposition club targetting one of my team's players IRL.

It's not at all random on my game (11.1). My top striker got singled out every week (causing his morale to crash) until he was no longer my star striker. Then after a few misses when they targeted him after I'd dropped him, the oppo managers switched to my next best striker and did the same to him. They know who to target alright!

By the way. have you worked out that 'dangermen' are strikers and 'weakest link' are defenders?

they stopped that happening with the second patch, they also reduced the affect it had on players, i think they just put together a quick fix to stop what your describing happening and i think it will be tweaked further in the next patch.

they stopped that happening with the second patch, they also reduced the affect it had on players, i think they just put together a quick fix to stop what your describing happening and i think it will be tweaked further in the next patch.

It all sounds very hit and miss, without a lot of thought or testing put into it. First implementing a feature with huge impact, scrambling to fix it and then walking it back.

It all sounds very hit and miss, without a lot of thought or testing put into it. First implementing a feature with huge impact, scrambling to fix it and then walking it back.

well the feature was in the last game, and it worked fine, it could be used to good effect and it didnt seem to affect players as much as it did in the first patch of this version. Why it changed or had a greater effect in the first patch of this game i have no idea.

With the second patch it really becomes one of those news reports you skip past without any thought, it never ruins moral of my players if they are happy, it can have an effect if i have lost a few games and a player gets singled out but even then i find players will still play fine, if your team goes a couple of goals up all the moral in your team jumps up anyway.

If its not random then its surely just bad. Because I get Mourinho and Wenger saying they "fear" some of the most ridiculous players. The player is not the worst in the squad but there are a lot of other players to "fear" in my squad. And I some how doubt Madrid or Arsenal would fear the kind of play the AI talks about.

They want to put pressure on that player because they feel that player is most likely to buckle under the pressure and make a costly mistake in the match. It doesn't necessarily mean they are scared of the player. I mean what would be the point of say you fear messi or ronaldo or fabregas? All it would do is motivate them even more.

I think they target players with low bravery/determination/composure though not always.