Can't get a good game going

I've started countless new games on FM 2011 but after playing for a few hours I give up. I don't know if I'm striving for perfection with my squad assembly in pre-season or I don't have confidence I know what to do when the season starts - a poor result or teamtalk in the opening games and I don't know how to turn it around. I think I try to put in all the attention to detail that is needed but this prevents me from progressing with the season as quickly as I would like it, but I fear if I try to go too quickly I won't have any success.

Has anybody else 'suffered' from this? How did you motivate yourself to persevere with a game?

Could you give more information like who you are playing as, what your formation is, who you are playing against etc?

I'm horrible when starting a new save specially if i don't have any knowledge of the team that i will be managing, i don't normally have the patience to go through my entire team to find out any weaknesses or to even sort the staff decently, and i never find the motivation to go through those first few months of the pre-season and first competitive matches, i just drag it for a long time or maybe even take a break from the game for a couple of weeks.

I've started countless new games on FM 2011 but after playing for a few hours I give up. I don't know if I'm striving for perfection with my squad assembly in pre-season or I don't have confidence I know what to do when the season starts - a poor result or teamtalk in the opening games and I don't know how to turn it around. I think I try to put in all the attention to detail that is needed but this prevents me from progressing with the season as quickly as I would like it, but I fear if I try to go too quickly I won't have any success.

Has anybody else 'suffered' from this? How did you motivate yourself to persevere with a game?

Starting a new game is a chore. The setup at any team you start with is normally terrible, and if it isn't the game is boring anyways. I can't wait until I have replaced all the worthless players in the squad, have set up a good training regime and have everything sorted so that I can concentrate on finding new players, talents, tutoring youngsters and making them grow into first-team material. This takes at least two seasons. It is after that the game becomes interesting - when it is your team and your players and your club!

I don't understand the career players. They must be from another planet entirely...

But at the same time, it is amazing that so different people plays the same game!

Could you give more information like who you are playing as, what your formation is, who you are playing against etc?

I like to play as Hull City but as BiggusD said, I want to totally revamp the squad, selling players for as much as I can get and replacing them with more cost-effective players. If this doesn't work how I want it to I give up. If I do get the perfect squad, I make some mistake with tactics or teamtalks or whatever and give up a couple of games into the season. Or I get the perfect squad but stop playing before the first league game (either because of time or because I don't want to wreck it), and am out of 'the zone' when I reload the game another day so start a new game.

Or I would like to have a long game taking a team from the very bottom division and trying to work my way to the top. But as Coentrao said, doing this with a totally unfamiliar team takes ages.

FM 2011 seems to be the worst for this, I haven't had one game go into the second half of the first season.

i'm the exact opposite. I love going to a new club and not knowing anything about them, to give you an anology it's a bit like dating a beautiful girl, you nothing about her but can't wait to find out all of her intricate details

I'm playing a saved game and i'm in the year 2041. Just taken over a very average Roma side who were bottom of the table. My last 3 years have been about getting rid of the deadwood and slowly building a team (all italian) and now i'm challenging for the title in my 3rd season. Sometimes it's better to build something, at least then you feel like you've earn't something. Instant gratification isn't all it's cracked up to be.

i'm the exact opposite. I love going to a new club and not knowing anything about them, to give you an anology it's a bit like dating a beautiful girl, you nothing about her but can't wait to find out all of her intricate details

Your analogy is a bit freaky, but I'm similar in that I find joining a new club a fairly exciting process. It takes a while, but it's so worth it.

Has anybody else 'suffered' from this? How did you motivate yourself to persevere with a game?

I myself have suffered from the same condition as you but am currently enjoying a relegation scrap with Newcastle "yuck". How I finally got motivated by FM11 was by starting a new game, Leagues don't matter but have at least 2 leagues with different start dates (ie; 1 summer & 1 standard) for example Ireland & England. Put start date in Ireland, game starts, pick a team in England, depends on personal preference of course.

End result, You find yourself mid season in one of those divisions which allows you to play the game & get a feel for the nuances of this particular version. It's worked a treat for me and while I may be completely inept at Premier League Level, I'm getting into the game at last! It's starting to give me that "I don't want to stop feeling" which is exactly what was missing.

i'm the exact opposite. I love going to a new club and not knowing anything about them, to give you an anology it's a bit like dating a beautiful girl, you nothing about her but can't wait to find out all of her intricate details

I'm playing a saved game and i'm in the year 2041. Just taken over a very average Roma side who were bottom of the table. My last 3 years have been about getting rid of the deadwood and slowly building a team (all italian) and now i'm challenging for the title in my 3rd season. Sometimes it's better to build something, at least then you feel like you've earn't something. Instant gratification isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Building up is fine, it is leaving that club behind watching everything you've built up being torn down in a matter of months that bothers me!

I had the same troubles!

Didnt get the game till March, but havent been able to get into many games... started off at Newport county, but after twice missing out on the playoffs on the last game of the season I was offered a job at QPR, who were in league 1... Biggest mistake going there, the squad was full of useless overpaid crap which i couldnt offload to get my own players in.

Started games in Brazil with Gremio and Santos, but both of them bored me a little as I found them pretty easy! Had a good Everton save, produced a wonderkid winger in my 3rd Season... but ruined my squad in the 4th season.

Now with Southampton and enjoying the save, League 1 has been a pushover so far... however I have just hit a bad patch of form, still should definately win the league though. However next season in the championship should be a little more testing.

I don't mind hiring/firing staff at the start of the game, I have my training schedules saved so it's a simple case of importing them and putting the players in the right schedule. As for tatics, I enjoy trying to create a new tatic for each team. I'm usally a 4231 man, but Southmapton has seen me play 442, Gremio 433 so to speak, but the one striker being pushed out to the AML posistion!

i had this exact same problem before i started my save with southampton about a month a go and havent looked back since!

i had one very long save on FM2011 from release, which i lost to an computer error...and since then i havent been able to get into any save at all...normally starting, getting through a couple of games then not playing it for weeks!

but this save with southampton has really reignited my love for this game as im focused on youth development through my own players...and with southampton, you get a couple of great regens each year!

Same here actually, i'm playing a fantastic onliner a few nights a week but just can't get into any other save, my hearts with my Coventry team and whenever i try a new game i get rather bored of it, i was tempted to load up version 2 of my onliner and play it offline, but i thought it might ruin the fun of the onliner.

I've started countless new games on FM 2011 but after playing for a few hours I give up. I don't know if I'm striving for perfection with my squad assembly in pre-season or I don't have confidence I know what to do when the season starts - a poor result or teamtalk in the opening games and I don't know how to turn it around. I think I try to put in all the attention to detail that is needed but this prevents me from progressing with the season as quickly as I would like it, but I fear if I try to go too quickly I won't have any success.

Has anybody else 'suffered' from this? How did you motivate yourself to persevere with a game?

It's your tactics

Starting a new game is a chore. The setup at any team you start with is normally terrible, and if it isn't the game is boring anyways. I can't wait until I have replaced all the worthless players in the squad, have set up a good training regime and have everything sorted so that I can concentrate on finding new players, talents, tutoring youngsters and making them grow into first-team material. This takes at least two seasons. It is after that the game becomes interesting - when it is your team and your players and your club!

I don't understand the career players. They must be from another planet entirely...

But at the same time, it is amazing that so different people plays the same game!

I'm completely the opposite, for me turning around a squad is the best bit. Typically my managers have a serious Third Season Blues, but I invariably leave my teams with a better squad and in better financial shape than when I joined.

I like to start with unemployed with minumum reputation and fight my way into a good job. in my new start (with every single league and player loaded) i'm delighted to have landed the relatively cushy job of Aberystwyth :-D

Maybe, if i'm really lucky, in ten years or so i'll manage in the Premier league X-D

It's your tactics

What is my tactics? I can go a pre-season winning every game then switch off and start a new save game next time.

I had this, I must of went through about 20 games

BUT.. after some club research I found some interesting games to play as and am now currently in my second season as Forest in the Premier League, and in my second season at Napoli in a seperate save and am in the semi-finals of the champions league against sevilla, and currently top of the league above Milan by 5 points

just experiment, and once you find something interesting do some reading on wikipedia and learn to know everything there is to know

Started one save on release day and I'm still playing it. Been up and down and have moved around quiet a bit, started in league 2 in England and at the moment I'm at Sampdoria, trying to build a squad that will be competitive in Europe in a couple of seasons. Unfortunatly there is a huge lack of Italian homegrown players of good quality so the strategy is to find young players that have the potential to be good enough that will get home grown status.

With every team I have managed in this save I have put up a goal to work against and different strategies to get there. Sometimes I reached them sometimes I don't but for me it keeps it interesting.

I'm completely the opposite, for me turning around a squad is the best bit. Typically my managers have a serious Third Season Blues, but I invariably leave my teams with a better squad and in better financial shape than when I joined.

I like to start with unemployed with minumum reputation and fight my way into a good job. in my new start (with every single league and player loaded) i'm delighted to have landed the relatively cushy job of Aberystwyth :-D

Maybe, if i'm really lucky, in ten years or so i'll manage in the Premier league X-D

How is it on Betelgeuse? Here it is 25 degrees and sunny, fine spring afternoon!

You would think that when everything is sorted and the club is running perfectly, and I could win the league with my 2nd 11 - then the game is soon becoming boring. But I have found that I thrive best then. I then finally have the time to develop world class youngsters and replace my 4* continental class player with a 4,5* world class player with slightly better stats and be incredibly pleased with myself. Then I go around the world looking at previous club players who didn't quite make it and see how they are doing, and sometimes I feel the need to "save" big clubs doing miserably like Manchester United and Milan and Inter by adding another manager and getting rid of deadwood - getting some quality players and then leave before the new season starts.

Moreover, the thought of starting the same process over again in another club is so revolting I'd rather just wait for another version of FM... So I continue rebuilding the squad having a leisurely time, even though the game is "beaten" long since...

I like moving to a new club and sorting them out but I do not stay for that long. I have just joined my ninth club in 2025 and quit as manager at the third country I have taken control of.

When looking for a new game the challenge forum is well worth a look.