One last try

I am prepared to give this game one last try, otherwise will not change my mind that FM11 is the worst manager game released. It plays you, you cannot play it.

If you can advise what the first things you guys do when you start a game/join a new club, or what are the most important points to get right, then I can see if I am missing anything.

I have been manager at Rotherham, Leicester and Airdrie United. I know, not exactly world beaters, but I see posts from people winning the premier league with Blyth Spartans or some other ridiculous story!! How, how is this possible. What am I doing wrong?

what??!!

just because your not great at the game doesnt mean its the worst manager game released, your just maybe not a very good manager.

there are so many things you could be doing wrong there is very little way of us finding out, if your really struggling look in the different forums, tactics, good players, good training schedules can all be found, there are various manuals written by third partys which can help you.

I had Football Manager 2008 and 2009 and loved it, but this version is ridicolously hard.

Someone told me to back to basics with 442 balanced, get players playing in right posistions so massive gaps are not left...that has stopped, but i am scoring goals that are not offside but being flagged, and the teams i play score goals that fly in top corner from 30 yards everytime.

I agree with the above. In my opinion, the most important thing is to have a good tactic and then its simply a case of getting quality players to command those positions and success should follow. I honestly believe its no more difficult than that (or it hasn't been for me since i've played manager games).

define a good tactic, as I have tried them all! I promise

as i say search the forums, there is an almost unlimited supply of help from people with massives of experience in this game. Dodgy offsides are part of football and so are long shots goals, it will all be your tactics that are not working for your team or are just not good enough in general, try something basic, build from there, if your really struggling play with a big team and get more experience in the game where you will get a bit more leway because of the quality of players, try an easy league like scotland or spain with one of the huge teams.

But if your wanting help and advice avoid posts like your first one, it doesnt come across well and wont encourage people to offer you any real advice.

Dude, do us a favour. Pick a team and put up the first XI and formation you would play.

If you want, this thread can be a reclamation project, to help you get into it.

That is if you want?

define a good tactic, as I have tried them all! I promise

there is no way you have tried them all, there are thousands and thousands of possible tactics in the game.

read through the sub-forums. tactics and training, good player guide, etc... see what other people are doing.

stick to simple aspects. play players that are fit and happy. low fitness levels will see your team fall apart in the second half. low morale will not help players either.

fit a tactic around your players and make sure they learn it through match preperation. no point in creating a super tactic if you don't have the players to fill the roles.

Diesler 26, i would like that, because I honestly cannot be me that is that bad at this game. I am starting a new game with Charlton, I will post my Tactics screen on here. I will be using balanced 442

go for it post your tactics, line up and we can take it from there, ill even start a charlton game, tell me what your loading league wise, we can all point you in the right direction hopefully!

Now I am going to look Stupid, i have not posted images on here before...how do I do it??

Now I am going to look Stupid, i have not posted images on here before...how do I do it??

Upload them using This link

just because the OP have troubles winning he gives up ? that's a quitter, no 1 likes a quitter. No body said football management was easy, if it was, Liverpool would be winning the Premier League every year in real life.

Go to the tactics forum and read a few threads in there, lots of help threads in there, also the good players thread. This game is very technical, and if you take it 1 little bit easy, it will eat you up for breakfast, just like real life football management

been ages since someone genuinely asked for help as they were struggling instead of just whinging about how bad it is, looking forward to this one!

I am prepared to give this game one last try, otherwise will not change my mind that FM11 is the worst manager game released. It plays you, you cannot play it.

If you can advise what the first things you guys do when you start a game/join a new club, or what are the most important points to get right, then I can see if I am missing anything.

I have been manager at Rotherham, Leicester and Airdrie United. I know, not exactly world beaters, but I see posts from people winning the premier league with Blyth Spartans or some other ridiculous story!! How, how is this possible. What am I doing wrong?

Go to this thread http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/251005-The-Master-FM2011-Scouting-Handbook and download the file in that thread and give it a good read, I am sure it will help you out in a big way

http://img813.imageshack.us/i/teame.jpg/

OK, looking at that, it's not a bad team

First thought is that your team isnt good enough to play fluidly, it should be balanced or rigid.

Then how do you want to play?

the 4-4-2 is a good start, easy formation to get to grips with, i personally would set the team up to play direct, pressing football, but with a deep defensive line, Dailly is probably going to be important in the first season but he is slow, you dont want him caught out. I would look at getting some loan signings from the prem league to boalster the squad, if your going to play the 4-4-2 your going to need cover in the wide positions. A good thing to have in lower leagues is pace, Febian Brandy will be avaliable for free in the first season, get him at all costs if you can, he will score for fun in that league, set him as a poacher with and as your teams target man, give him run onto ball service and i promise it will work well.

Also as stated above, get the team playing rigid and not to roam from positions at that level keeping a balanced tight team is the most important thing.

Ok, fair point. I have changed to balanced. I would like in an ideal world, to have a controlled passing game, but not boring where we go back, forwards, back and forwards, and end up losing the ball or shooting from miles out. I think in League 1, i should be dominating teams...am I wrong?

Ok, fair point. I have changed to balanced. I would like in an ideal world, to have a controlled passing game, but not boring where we go back, forwards, back and forwards, and end up losing the ball or shooting from miles out. I think in League 1, i should be dominating teams...am I wrong?

Hmmm, it's a good idea, but I don't think it's practical with the team you have. However, if you wanted, I would play 'Balanced' and 'Control'. Have the players passing set at 'Shorter', the marking at 'Man' and Creative Freedom at 'Default'

Can you click 'Advanced' on the Team Instructions screen and post it up please?

In the Tactics screen. Click the 'Views' bit, above the players info and you should get the below menu.

Make sure the long shots are set to 'Rarely' for everyone.

OK, what's the pace of your DC's?

Because if it's over 11, then have your:

Starting Strategy at 'Control',

Defensive Line at 3 clicks to the right of centre,

your Width and Tempo at three clicks to the left of centre.

Time Wasting at 'Default'.

Focus Passing 'Through the Middle',

and Play Offside at 'Yes'

Then save as 'CHARL1'

Then go to the match preparation screen like so

Put CHARL1 as your main formation, and set the workload to 'High'

Then click 'Team Blend' as the Special Focus Area. This will mean that any new players will have the chance to integrate better within the squad.

one is 8 (daily) the other is 12 (fortune)

I see so many threads filled with sarcasm and whining, this is like a breath of fresh air Glad to see someone genuinely looking for help, and even more glad to see people doing what they can to provide it.

Unfortunately, I'm having a horrid time of it in my game at the moment, so what I'm doing clearly isn't working and I doubt I can provide anything useful

OK. Look for a good DC with pace of 12+

Right, will do, I think all of mt other DC's are slow as well. Is it worth me trying offload certain players at this early stage? Do not want to upset the apple cart already.

seriously, sign Febain Brandy he will walk through that league and he is available for free if you get in there quickly!!

I have out an offer in for him, Peterborough have also bid for him as well though, so will see what happens there. I do not have a striker with any real pace, so that could help.

I have out an offer in for him, Peterborough have also bid for him as well though, so will see what happens there. I do not have a striker with any real pace, so that could help.

give him as good a contact as you can, with the pace he has, and like i said before set him as your teams target man (not target man role) and set him to recieve through balls, with his pace he will get you a lot of goals, i have seen AI teams getting him to score 20/30 a season, he used to rip up the Scottish league for my aberdeen game in the last version, his stats are almost identical in this version

I think in League 1, i should be dominating teams...am I wrong?

Yes... just look at real life ;-)

Biggest piece of advise I can give for anyone managing in the lower league's is to find CBs who can jump and head! I had an awful time managing in the lower leagues with teams in Slovenia and then League 2. at least 5 years of struggle and sackings from clubs like Port Vale and Crewe.

I was conceding so many goals from crosses and set pieces. So I decided to find some better defenders. The taller the better! 6' 5"+ and Jumping and Heading 16+.

Seriously the difference is unbelievable. Since then I have taken Oldham from L2 to the cusp of European football in 5 years. (Back to back promotions from L2 and L1, 2 years in the championship and currently sitting 5th in my first year in the Prem.)

And also as previously mentioned quick/dribbley strikers really dominate in the lower leagues.

Also a tip to sign players who want bigger wages to what you can afford. Offer them a lower wage but add in the 'team of the year bonus' and set it to its max. You can usually half their wage demands this way. And 9 times out of 10 they wont activate the bonus. And if they do then they have had a great season and desrve it!

Right, will do, I think all of mt other DC's are slow as well. Is it worth me trying offload certain players at this early stage? Do not want to upset the apple cart already.

I wouldnt buy/sell too many players atm. 4 max of each. This is the easiest way to bad results.

Right, so apart from Heading, Tackling, Marking and Pace, anything else you would consider an important attribute for a centre back. I guess anticipation? Aggression?

Right, so apart from Heading, Tackling, Marking and Pace, anything else you would consider an important attribute for a centre back. I guess anticipation? Aggression?

Anticipation and Decisions. That's about it really.

Concentration and determination are also quite useful, as they mean your CB is less likely to become complacent

Right, sorted one, I had a CB set at DM, so moved him to the back.

Also, is there a training schedule you always use? Or do you make your own one? I downloaded one as I must be honest, I couldn't be bothered to make my own, mainly as I was not sure what I was doing :/

Also, is there a training schedule you always use? Or do you make your own one? I downloaded one as I must be honest, I couldn't be bothered to make my own, mainly as I was not sure what I was doing :/

I use the default at the minute. once I can upgrade my staff better, then I'll make my own

[video=youtube;r00ikilDxW4]

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there you go mate 3 inspirtational songs to keep you going !

weve all been there some of us are stil there !

Right, so apart from Heading, Tackling, Marking and Pace, anything else you would consider an important attribute for a centre back. I guess anticipation? Aggression?

positioning is vital! i thought this was a given??!! pace is probably the only position its not vital for a CB tbh (pacey fullbacks sure but not DC's). bravery seems to hold alot of weight for CBs too and of course strength. i always look for heading and jumping too.

We could go on forever about what attributes are important it seems! I am in League 1, so surely it will be a bit of a struggle to get defenders with all of attributes high? P.S. if you know and bargin defenders, let me know, as Chalrton start with £0 budget for transfers.

You need to go through the big Premier League sides reserve and youth teams to find players you can sign on loan. Even if they aren't listed they usually are allowed out on loan and you won't have to pay wages mostly, some players will reject you but it's worth a try. That applies for all positions obviously.

Well, done you everything you said, had a good preseason, played Hartlepool at home in 1st league game, they dominated us, drew 1-1. I changed to 4-5-1 as they dominated midfield in the first half. Gained a bit more control, but done nothing going forward

Right. Can you post up a pic of the shots and passes on the Analysis tool please?

Played 2 more games since, Northampton in the Cup, won 3-0 and Yeovil at home, won 2-0. Both games I was expected to win confortably, think finishing let me down so far. Anyway, I will post screen shot of the 1-1 game against Hartlepool. I have made a 'CHARL2' also, 4-5-1, although i have 2 wingers/attacking midfielders who support the lone striker, seems to help against teams playing an extra midfielder.

http://img256.imageshack.us/i/passing.jpg/

http://img546.imageshack.us/i/shooting.jpg/

Just lost away at Plymouth 2-0. Had good possesion in stages, but cannot think of a clear cut chance, looked clueless going forward sometimes, boring/frustrating to watch.