Random computer I WIN mode

I'm playing in the championship as QPR and everything was going fine, then all of a sudden the comp activates I WIN mode and I can't do anything. I've played games where they say "I can't see anything but a QPR win in this match" and lose 4-0 I'm on a 7 game losing streak scored 2 conceded 18. Before my team was solid only conceded 2 goals in the previous 10 games and scored 21, only lost 1 in those 10 games (two if you include the Arsenal game in the FA Cup) I haven't changed anything but I can't win, driving me nuts.

Is it normal for the comp to become invincible all of a sudden?

No but it is normal for your team to hit a bad run of form, and you can get stuck in a catch 22 where losing lowers morale, which makes it more likely you will lose, which lowers morale and so on and so on. They were also probably suffering from overconfidence after sweeping all before them. Sometimes taking the team down a peg or two helps maintain a good run of form

The computer doesn't have an "I win" mode.

The AI has exactly the same options as you do, it simply is using them better atm.

by the sounds of it, the AI has cracked your tactic and found a way to defeat you. You will now need to tweak your tactic and maybe even bring in players where you feel your 1st team needs improvement, all over the play by the looks of it.

by the sounds of it, the AI has cracked your tactic and found a way to defeat you. You will now need to tweak your tactic and maybe even bring in players where you feel your 1st team needs improvement, all over the play by the looks of it.

The AI doesn't "crack" tactics either.

As said above, your team became overconfident and if you don't change anything, you will continue to lose every game until the end of time.

So change something.

Is it normal for the comp to become invincible all of a sudden?

Yes it is. I'm sure most of us have suffered from sudden, inexplicable losses of form. Let me guess... giving away soft goals, constant mis-placed passes, missing easy chances.

In the long term you have to prevent complacency with team talks etc. Morale needs to be balanced not maxed out.

Meanwhile, be nice to your players and don't panic.

It maybe your reputaton has grown so much that teams will now "Park the bus" against you and hit you on a cheeky counter attack. Its happend to me when i took the siants from league 1 to the EPL. If you play attacking football set it to controll. If you use controll set it to counter attack. This has a desired affect of "drawing teams out" so you can exploit the space they leave and crush them. Try it see if it works, did for me

In these situations myself I have watched the games and based on how teams play against me have tweaked my tactics slightly.

If you are doing well then teams will start to play differently against you (I seemed to have teams playing 2 anchor midfielders and 2 wingers to try to nulify my domination of the space in between their defenders and to try to use the wings against my attacking full backs).

I definately have noticed teams change their tactics when I am on a good run so looking at your tactics and trying to tweak them may be an option to cause the oppostition some issues.

The computer doesn't have an "I win" mode.

The AI has exactly the same options as you do, it simply is using them better atm.

The AI doesn't "crack" tactics either.

True on both counts.

The match engine cannot differentiate between the computer team or the human controlled team. It will calculate events based on any number of factors, from the tactical and player selections both make. When either changes, the outcomes are re-calculated.

Believe it or not, the human user actually has the upper hand, always. You can make far more changes and decisions, both logical and illogical, that the computer controlled teams never can. If a match isn't going as well as planned, or you lose, it's up to you to make changes, man manage to avoid complacency or lift morale. Tactically, you need to consider opponents strengths and weakness' as well as your own.

One thing that's glaringly obvious when I look around the tactics forum... a great many times, people using what are said to be the most successful "plug and play" tactics they've downloaded, are usually in control of teams like Chelsea, Man Utd, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, etc... teams that have such good players, it's actually harder to do things wrong tactically with them anyway. When one of these downloaded tactics is actually a good base tactic, then it's unsurprising that with the strongest teams, they can seem amazingly successful. Try them with lesser quality teams and players and they invariably don't work so well.

That's not to tar all creators of downloadable tactics with the same brush though, because there are contributors like knap or thebetterhalf, who appreciate that from time to time and depending on different circumstances during games, you need to be more flexible tactically, hence why they often create tactic "sets".

Although I exclusively use the tactics creator settings, I have three different formation shapes, that have the same core ideas and principals for how I want my team to play, but offer different approaches to different scenarios in games. I over-achieve with teams not because I'm any sort of tactical genius or know how to crack the AI, but because I'm observant and use all the statistics and tools in front of me.

For example, if during a game I see one of my players is complacent, then no matter how good his match rating, I'll tend to substitute him for another player. Same thing if a player is playing nervously after half-time and I can't make any further motivational changes.

All the tools are there at our disposal. If you go on a losing streak, player morale drops, then as "manager" it's up to you to change things. Most of the time, they don't need to be sweeping changes either and can be quite subtle little things that can make a big difference. For example, one of your key players is under-performing and suffering low morale? Have a private chat with him. Criticise if he's genuinely under-performing or be more coaxing if he's simply not getting the rub of the green. More often than not, you can lift his morale. Manage your players as well as your tactics.

I definately have noticed teams change their tactics when I am on a good run so looking at your tactics and trying to tweak them may be an option to cause the oppostition some issues.

Indeed, I do the very same thing myself.

With my Granada CF side, I know full well I'm never going to compete on level terms with the likes of Barcelona or Real Madrid. So going into a match against them and hoping to out-play them at their brand of attractive football, my team will likely be on the receiving end of a good hiding.

So, I take the same sort of approach Ottmar Hitzfeld used to good effect, when his Swiss side beat eventual winners Spain at the 2010 World Cup. I look to nullify, contain and stifle their creative players, then hit them on the counter with more direct passing to my target man or wingers. He was criticised after that match for his approach, but his response was fairly simple. He knew full well his side would never match the Spanish playing pretty football, so he basically took an "Anti-Football" approach. It worked.

Basically, it's wrong to think that you can beat different teams, with different styles of play and players, with the same approach every time.

Hell, i was managing Inter, beat Roma 4-0, Napoli 1-0, AC Milan 3-0, Palermo 3-1, went on an 8 game run without conceding, then i proceed to lose 2-1 to Bari. Let's just say that stuff happens..