Faults and missing features in FM2011

After playing the game fo some time, I've discovered some faults and missing features.

- A manager can only manage one club in the Italian Serie A per season. E.g. I've seen Giampiero Ventura be appointed Roma manager mid-season. IRL that's impossible.

- I've also seen Arsene Wenger move to Milan from Arsenal and Guradiola leave Barca for Spain in mid-season. That's highly unrealistic.

- Co-owned players cannot be loaned in the game. IRL a player can be co-owned between two clubs and loaned to a third. E.g. Davide Lanzafame is co-owned between Juventus and Palermo but plays on loan for Brescia.

- The 4-2-3-1 formation is poorly balanced. IRL the space between the four lines in the team is more or less the same, in the game there's a much bigger space between defense and midfield.

For future games:

- The introduction of agents in very interesting. But where is my own agent? I'd like an agent who could deal with new clubs and even notice me of interest from other clubs.

- In Italy and other countries the manager doesn't deal with transfers. This is done by another staff member, often a general manager. I'd like to have this feature in future games. As a choice, at least.

I voted maybe, because I don't really want an agent but a personal assintant (not connected to the club) to help you identify when there is a realistic opening for a new job and whether you should apply for it.

I dont see the point of an agent for me, more money and people to get in the way, I think I'd sack him straight away

- In Italy and other countries the manager doesn't deal with transfers. This is done by another staff member, often a general manager. I'd like to have this feature in future games. As a choice, at least.

Thats dangerous, people moan when the chairman sells their star player for a good offer, you wouldnt want the director of footy spending 50% of your transfer kitty on some useless player that wont fit in

After playing the game fo some time, I've discovered some faults and missing features.

- A manager can only manage one club in the Italian Serie A per season. E.g. I've seen Giampiero Ventura be appointed Roma manager mid-season. IRL that's impossible.

- I've also seen Arsene Wenger move to Milan from Arsenal and Guradiola leave Barca for Spain in mid-season. That's highly unrealistic.

- Co-owned players cannot be loaned in the game. IRL a player can be co-owned between two clubs and loaned to a third. E.g. Davide Lanzafame is co-owned between Juventus and Palermo but plays on loan for Brescia.

- The 4-2-3-1 formation is poorly balanced. IRL the space between the four lines in the team is more or less the same, in the game there's a much bigger space between defense and midfield.

For future games:

- The introduction of agents in very interesting. But where is my own agent? I'd like an agent who could deal with new clubs and even notice me of interest from other clubs.

- In Italy and other countries the manager doesn't deal with transfers. This is done by another staff member, often a general manager. I'd like to have this feature in future games. As a choice, at least.

That would be crazy having the general manager deal with your transfers. This is what would causes moaning and complaints to SI and regarding the 4-2-3-1 formation, you need to be a bit more explicit. I don't really see the difference irl and the game. Its is about how you set up the 4-2-3-1. If you have the two midfield CM OR DM pushing forward too much there is going to be a bigger cap, thats's the whole point of the game and regarding the manager having his own agent, totally against it

After playing the game fo some time, I've discovered some faults and missing features.

- A manager can only manage one club in the Italian Serie A per season. E.g. I've seen Giampiero Ventura be appointed Roma manager mid-season. IRL that's impossible.

It's not always the case... Often managers in Italy don't get actually fired, but they're just "excused from working" while still on the club's payroll... (the English equivalent is called 'gardening leave' I think). That's the reason you don't see many managers joining another club mid-season after being "fired", because they're still legally contracted to the original club.

That's because for a club it's cheaper that way...

- I've also seen Arsene Wenger move to Milan from Arsenal and Guradiola leave Barca for Spain in mid-season. That's highly unrealistic.

Agreed, that's one of the biggest issues I have with FM... Contracts for managers are virtually meaningless.

- Co-owned players cannot be loaned in the game. IRL a player can be co-owned between two clubs and loaned to a third. E.g. Davide Lanzafame is co-owned between Juventus and Palermo but plays on loan for Brescia.

True, but I suppose it would be complicated for the game to "understand" what could look like a double-loan... Probably SI thought it wasn't really worth to implement, as a minor feature used only in one nation

- The 4-2-3-1 formation is poorly balanced. IRL the space between the four lines in the team is more or less the same, in the game there's a much bigger space between defense and midfield.

Yeah, but the 4-2-3-1 is still too effective, so the attacking power will just solve the problem...

For future games:

- In Italy and other countries the manager doesn't deal with transfers. This is done by another staff member, often a general manager. I'd like to have this feature in future games. As a choice, at least.

This has been suggested for ages, as the Manager role we play in the game is more or less a UK-only thing, while in the rest of Europe a "Manager" is more like a Head Coach, and the finances/market parts are taken care of by the Director of Football/Sporting Director/General Manager.

However as FM is a British game made by Brits for Brits, the idea of taking plenty of key features away from the player would be a bad move, or at best would just become one of those optional features nobody really cares about.

Still I'd really like to have such an option... Just like we can let the Assistent Manager take control of training, team talks, contracts etc... why not having the DoF or the board working on the transfer market, with us just able to suggest which kind of player we'd want?

All the "tactical gurus" out there, all the "I can lead Crapton FC to Champions League glory" manager, all those who complain about the game being too easy would finally get the challenge of their career!

It's all to easy going from rags to riches when you can basically run wild on the transfer market and slowly but steadly turn FC United into Man United just because the AI managers don't know better...

Now let's try to be equally successful trying to deal with the crappy players your League Two DoF keeps on bringing in... No more "promising Latvian striker you scouted", no more "obscure Costarican playmaker you found in Ukraine", but prepare yourself to the excitement of getting a couple of seasoned veterans and plenty of "he needs a miracle" not-so-hot prospects.

And if AI still suffers from poor judgment, at least the playing field is even now...

- The 4-2-3-1 formation is poorly balanced. IRL the space between the four lines in the team is more or less the same, in the game there's a much bigger space between defense and midfield.

Take it that you are playing with MCs then and not DMs?

- Co-owned players cannot be loaned in the game. IRL a player can be co-owned between two clubs and loaned to a third. E.g. Davide Lanzafame is co-owned between Juventus and Palermo but plays on loan for Brescia.

Yes, normally that isn't allowed but for some reason an exception has been made with him. In reality he is co-owned by Juventus & Palermo but is on loan to Brescia till the end of the 2010/2011 season.

I don't know why it has been allowed in his case but it has been.

Regarding General Managers/Directors of Football: yes, this is an increasingly common feature of modern football and is becoming increasingly common in the EPL. you have some clubs where the board choose the players (Real Madrid) and others where the manager offers a list of options but the board does all the negotiating (Spurs, Chelsea and many others). To my mind, these should be implemented into the game where it exists in real life. The information should be clearly displayed in the information screen. Thus, when you are choosing which club to manage, you are clearly informed as to their transfer policy; if you don't like it, you don't apply for the job, just as in real life.

Once you are a manager with a big reputation you can negotiate with the board over transfer policy as well as budget. Similarly, in game, just as chairmen/boards can change, so can transfer policy.

Where's the problem with that?

And having your own agent is a good idea. You instruct him to sound out other clubs when you want, to negotiate a better deal if you want, or tell him you are settled and not to stir anything, if you want.