Things you do in FM you wouldn't do as a real life manager

What are the things you do in FM you wouldn't do if you were a real life manager?

I wanted to ask out of curiousity but maybe this thread can even help SI to make the game more realistic by ensuring you can't do these things in FM either anymore.

The first thing that came to my mind was having no GK on the bench. I wouldn't do that in real life because although you rarely need a sub-keeper, people would blame the defeat on me in those games I would have needed one. In FM this doesn't evoke a negative reaction from your board/fans, you only lose a game which isn't too bad when you dominate the league after a few years.

What are your things you wouln't do as a real life manager?

The first thing that came to my mind was having no GK on the bench. I wouldn't do that in real life because although you rarely need a sub-keeper, people would blame the defeat on me in those games I would have needed one. In FM this doesn't evoke a negative reaction from your board/fans, you only lose a game which isn't too bad when you dominate the league after a few years.

Neil Warnock anyone?

I watch football at Conference South level and teams often don't name a goalkeeper on the bench. It's a legitimate tactical choice. Even if your goalkeeper goes off and you have no replacement, you might still win or draw; a loss isn't definite (just as it isn't in real life). And even if you lose, you still get the negative feedback of losing (even more so if it is a heavy defeat).

I would certainly consider not naming a GK among my subs if I was a real life manager in a league with 5 subs to give me extra options. It's certainly not something that should be removed as an option from FM just as playing an archaic 2-3-5 pyramid formation shouldn't be (and the fans might go a bit mad if you played that system and lost too!)

What are your things you wouln't do as a real life manager?

There aren't really many things because I try to play FM in a realistic manner.

Some of the very rare and few things that I do which are very unrealistic, and that I would be very unlikely to do in real life, might include managing a Non-League side to Champions League glory or managing a national team and a club side at the same time. But these are both just good fun options.

This sort of thing is an example of one area of the game where the more 'purist' side of me doesn't come out to full effect. Mostly because it's just good fun and I think you need the fantasy, even if it is highly improbable.

I think sometimes people call for realism, realism and more realism, when the fact is that the game needs some fantasy in order to continue to be fun and enjoyable to play.

Arranging friendlys away from home against teams from New Zealand or Asia every 3 days as a Non-League team to bring in some cash.

Bad greenwhitearmy. Bad, bad, bad.

No. Bad boy.

Arranging friendlys away from home against teams from New Zealand or Asia every 3 days as a Non-League team to bring in some cash.

Same, but away to Irish A teams, and it's for my reserve team, and it's a friendly every single day!

Telling my players to have a 13/20 mentality etc.

playing group stage of the champions league with second choice players on every position

Holiday between games?

Praising or criticising players based on their match rating. A lot of the time a player will score but might miss 4 or 5 guilt edge chances as well. His eventual rating will still be 8.0 or something and so i have to praise him for playing well.

Rotate the entire squad for cup matches, that never works IRL.

Rotate the entire squad for cup matches, that never works IRL.

Doesn't work for me in FM either!

cheating :-)

Sleep with my secretary.

Being able to relegate badly behaved players to the U18's, putting them on harsh training regimes, taking them of training all together till their contracts expire so they are useless to anyone, refusing transfer requests, telling them I'm the boss. Just about all the things a real life manager can't do nowadays due to the players pretty much all the power (Thanks for that Bosman, thanks for ruining football)

Quit and reload.

That would just be silly.

I think I wouldn't win a match

Save the game before the Champions League 1st Kncokout Round against Barcelona.

Sometimes I wish Arsene could do that.

Selling off half your squad knowing you can buy another half who is much better and knowing youll play well

Manage my team in my underwear whilst eating pizza and drinking Jack Daniels.

Saying that, I've never managed a team in real life so have no idea if I would do these things or not!

Signing a rake load of players in January for free just cause they're going out of contract

I wouldnt move to Finland!

Being able to relegate badly behaved players to the U18's, putting them on harsh training regimes, taking them of training all together till their contracts expire so they are useless to anyone, refusing transfer requests, telling them I'm the boss. Just about all the things a real life manager can't do nowadays due to the players pretty much all the power (Thanks for that Bosman, thanks for ruining football)

This sounds like exactly the way Jim McLean ran Dundee United in his time there, so it's not entirely unheard of. About the only thing missing is signing 18 year olds to 10 year contracts on 50p and a copy of the Beano per week. Tannadice used to be a sweatshop on a par with anything seen in the far east.

At the OP :- completely blanking my players at half-time, and refusing to utter a single word in press conferences. Not just rarely as happens in real life, but every single press conference. Don't trust the Ass Man not to cause WWIII, and I cba with the same generic and pointless Q & A over and over, so every single one is the same. Click, Click, Click, Click, Time up. Done in about 5 seconds without a meaningful word spoken on anything. Such a purposeless and banal chore.

Sell all your old players and replace them with kids from Africa and South America.

In RL I would be accused of running a child slavery ring

Forget that my back-up goalkeeper is still in the team.

Making it so my assistant arranges and controls friendlies is probably the biggest one for me.

I also think I would spend more time scouting players as an IRL manager than I do in-game, but, then again, there isn't a real way to reflect that completely realistically in the game. I also wouldn't sign so many 16/17 year-olds.

Manage my team in my underwear whilst eating pizza and drinking Jack Daniels.

Saying that, I've never managed a team in real life so have no idea if I would do these things or not!

this made me lols

And I have to agree with people about taking non-league sides to CL glory. You cant take a tiny little team and have them in a 50k stadium packing it out for championship games after 10-15 years. IRL never going to happen due to a million factors, but in FM its fun!

Sleep with my secretary.

.........liar

1. Firing almost the whole staff room upon my arrival as the new manager.

2. Repeat the same thing verbatim at every press conference.

3. Have a stadium named after me.

4. Rotate the whole squad every game because my players aren't at 100%.

5. Play the same tactic every game for the sake of full match prep bars.

6. Never get a pay raise because I can't use my salary for anything.

this made me lols

And I have to agree with people about taking non-league sides to CL glory. You cant take a tiny little team and have them in a 50k stadium packing it out for championship games after 10-15 years. IRL never going to happen due to a million factors, but in FM its fun!

I guess noone told this to Dave Whelen? In 1995 Wigan were in the conference and in 10 years he had them in the Premier League

I guess noone told this to Dave Whelen? In 1995 Wigan were in the conference and in 10 years he had them in the Premier League

Been done before, and even still, Wigan are not playing CL football, and certainly not infront of 50,000 people.

Been done before, and even still, Wigan are not playing CL football, and certainly not infront of 50,000 people.

Also he said Championship football, i assumed he actually meant the championship.

My point was that it is possible for a team to rise though the leagues as it has, as you again pointed out, happened before to a number of teams.

Not train my players with five-a-side game.

I'm disappointed that you can have them play training matches against each other that don't involve using the reserves.

I wouldnt move to Finland!

What's wrong with Finland?

As for the OP, I wouldn't negotiating ANY contracts, not for staff and especially not for players. I'm terrible in those sort of things, I suppose I'd have a lawyer and a finance consultant (or somebody like that who actually knows something about the clubs finances) to make the contracts.

What's wrong with Finland?

As for the OP, I wouldn't negotiating ANY contracts, not for staff and especially not for players. I'm terrible in those sort of things, I suppose I'd have a lawyer and a finance consultant (or somebody like that who actually knows something about the clubs finances) to make the contracts.

nothing atall

Just seems a bit cold to me!

Manage a football club.....

Have two completely different sqauds. One for important matches and other for easier(usually rotate after every match). No common player in either.

Manage a football club.....

If you were a real life manager you wouldnt manage a football club?

Arranging friendlys away from home against teams from New Zealand or Asia every 3 days as a Non-League team to bring in some cash.

Does this make much money? Not that I'd ever do or condone such a thing, just curious.

Forget that my back-up goalkeeper is still in the team.

That reminds me of that time when Stuart Pearce took over as manager of Nottingham Forest. For those of you who don't know the story, he was sat at home working out the team he'd put out the next day, and showed his wife to see what she thought.

"That's ok," she said, "but you've forgotten to pick a goalie"...

Pre season tours of Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and North Korea. I'm pretty sure the insurance would bankrupt me in real life even when I'm at Man U

Have private chats with non-English speaking players which involve phrases like "Hello, you wanted to see me?", "I think this meeting has run it's course" and "I better leave before I say something I might regret."

Pause the game to make subs.

Pause the game to check Facebook.

Pause the game when nature calls.

Use a giant white hand to attempt to distract the opposition 'keeper.

Use a giant white hand to attempt to distract the opposition 'keeper.

A genuine LOL there.

Having two complete squads of 11 + 3 dedicated subs (1 x striker, 1 x versitile midfielder and 1 x versitile defender). I play squad A for the first game, squad B for the 2nd game then back to squad A, etc. I play the dedicated subs as an when needed and use them to fill in for injuries. The rest of the subs bench is made up from players from the other squad.

When it gets to a cup final I pick a squad from the best players available; regardless of what squad they are in. In Fm, it doesn't matter if they have played together or not.

Sack players so I can increase the transfer budget.

I wouldn't sign journeyman players from South America who have never left the country of their birth but happily move half way around the world to play League 1 or Championship football or one or two seasons.

I'd also happily shout and rant away at my players after a bad performance. In the knowledge that come training on Monday morning I could deal with the team with a clear head, and apologise if necessary. Plus the players would be capable of actually adapting to my way on managing, rather then having to having to always manage the "correct" way that so annoys me in FM.

Plus there wouldn't be any rage quitting mid match after a particular bad losing streak :o.

I would be very unlikely to do in real life, might include managing a Non-League side to Champions League glory

I know an example in France with manager named Guy Roux who managed AJ Auxerre from 4th division (a very bad amatory league in France) to French Champion title, with very good UEFA campaign and Champion's league qualification, with expansion of the stadium, very good youth academy etc....

Being able to relegate badly behaved players to the U18's, putting them on harsh training regimes, taking them of training all together till their contracts expire so they are useless to anyone, refusing transfer requests, telling them I'm the boss. Just about all the things a real life manager can't do nowadays due to the players pretty much all the power (Thanks for that Bosman, thanks for ruining football)

Oh yes, amen those things. I always do that. Sign a pre-contract with another team eh? Right, let's retrain you to a totally useless position and then stick you in goalkeeper training coupled with iron-man fitness sessions, see how you like that eh?

Shout "IT'S YOUR TACTICS!" at another manager who rang me for advice, and then hang up.

Only watch highlights of my games on Match of the Day, instead of attending the game and watching the whole thing.

Give tactical advice over the Internet to other Managers who are struggling.

Blame bad results on bugs rather than my management skills (not me, but about 90% of this forum).

Allow one of my players to wear the number 9 shirt.

Since FM2009 nobody wears it. Everyone who wore was unlucky. Harewood, Ireland, a regen striker for whom I payed £30M and didn't score...