Balls always landing on players feet/heading needs fixing

So... ive been testing this out for quite some time now. How come do long balls and crosses always land on players head or feet?

Ill throw in an example to explain myself.

I was playing a lowly team just now with an incredibly better squad. Two of their team members were injured and had to leave the field. I was winning by only a one goal marging (merely because i was playing an away match, and i wont even get into this now, but players get incredibly better playing home games, its unreal).

So the computer had 2 players injured leave the field. They suddenly switch to a 2-2-4 strat on the last minutes of the match. And every time my players kicked a long ball forward it landed on one of their players feet. I mean seriously, how can a team playing with 2-2-4 can dominate midfield possession? Only because every ball landed exactly on one of their players feet, and they immediatelly kicked it forward, leading to silly counterattacks.

Another game to use as an example. Both wingers on the opposing team were at 40% condition on the 2nd half. I subbed both of my fullbacks. Both my fullbacks were @ 100% condition and they were both pacey and strong. Their wingers were not only winning every forward run against my 100% fit Fbs, as they were also getting every single cross to land on their Forwards head. Not one of the 20 crosses landed on any of my players feet, on the ground or just went straight outside. And i dare to say both their crossing skill were under 10

Those were not the only examples i tested. Ive been testing this for a while now, and all the crosses either land on one of the opposing teams head or one of your own, but it just never lands on the floor or misses. Whats the point of having good players crossing if they always land on someones head either way?

Its just the same with keepers kicking balls forward. If you have a good midfield with high heading he will just head to the forwards, leading to an immediate attack

This is just silly aint it? Why cant balls land on the groun, and players actually fight for possession? That way you wouldnt have silly 4-2-4 strats dominating midfield.

Everytime a player reaches the byline, you can be sure that he will either get a corner or the ball will reach someones head. Why cant the cross suck so bad that it flies all trough the area, or he kicks the ground or something different than it always landing on someones head? The way its coded, all you need is a pacey winger and a good header and you win games, no matter who youre playing against

Are you watching full match?

Because if you are just watching key highlights, it's likely the game is only picking out the successful crosses / long balls to show you.

I've played a lot on FM this year, and have seen loads of wayward crosses and long balls, often going over heads and bobbling out of play.

Try it then. Play a 4-2-4 strat and see for yourself. All you need is a home game and youll dominate the match

Midfield possession will never be accurate while balls always keeps landing on players feet.

To be honest, I'd be more than a little worried if my balls landed on my feet too.

Seriously though, some players do have miraculous ball control. To see the keeper kick out a ball and a striker taking it down perfectly as it goes over his shoulder and then continues his run towards the goalie should be an amazing feat. I remember Rooney doing that at some point last season and it was a "Wow!" moment. Really don't think players in League Two and lower do it on a regular basis....

This is from playing FM10 btw, but it sounds like the same happens in 11 too.

Are you watching full match?

Because if you are just watching key highlights, it's likely the game is only picking out the successful crosses / long balls to show you.

I've played a lot on FM this year, and have seen loads of wayward crosses and long balls, often going over heads and bobbling out of play.

This is one aspect to consider.

The other is the number of animations available to the 3d graphics. Although the number has been increased in FM11 there are still no where near the number needed to show everything that happens in real life during a match. If the ME calculates that the winger receives possession the graphics pick the best fit animation that shows that therefore missing out many of the bobbles, bounces, deflections etc that happen in a real life game.

Its not saying the midfielder played a perfect pass to feet, simply that the final outcome of that pass was that the winger had the ball at his feet.

That can't be right, I see stray long balls forward and crosses going too far or behind the attackers all the time. Getting to the ball before it bounces is part of basic training though, so if you play at a very high level, I'd imagine players will more frequently be able to read the play and get there in time, especially if we're talking short clearances to the halfway-line, than a couple of levels down where I am.

I second the key highlight theory (I play on extended).

Why dont you try what im proposing instead of guessing?

I said try a heavy attack strat with 2 midfielders or even 1 defender. Try using 3 forwards and 1 amc set as attack or something. And play a home game. And tell me you didnt at least match the opposing teams ball possession.

now think a little. How many teams can actually hold possession with only 2 midfielders? It just doesnt make sense that a team can keep possession of the ball when they dont even have enough ppl defending. this only happens because the balls always land on their feet.

Just try it. Try a 4-2-4 strat and play a home game and tell me you didnt match your opponents possession. If you wanna try something drastic, try playing 3 defenders and 2 midfielders on a home game. Youll still keep possession of the ball.

I tried an even better strat to prove my point. 3-1- 3-3 being 3 defenders, 1 dmc 3 amc and 3 forwards. I still won by a large margin. Just try any bogus attack strat and youll still keep possession.

That can't be right, I see stray long balls forward and crosses going too far or behind the attackers all the time. Getting to the ball before it bounces is part of basic training though, so if you play at a very high level, I'd imagine players will more frequently be able to read the play and get there in time, especially if we're talking short clearances to the halfway-line, than a couple of levels down where I am.

I second the key highlight theory (I play on extended).

I also second this. I play on extended and see stray passes and crosses all the time

Why dont you try what im proposing instead of guessing?

I said try a heavy attack strat with 2 midfielders or even 1 defender. Try using 3 forwards and 1 amc set as attack or something. And play a home game. And tell me you didnt at least match the opposing teams ball possession.

now think a little. How many teams can actually hold possession with only 2 midfielders? It just doesnt make sense that a team can keep possession of the ball when they dont even have enough ppl defending. this only happens because the balls always land on their feet.

Just try it. Try a 4-2-4 strat and play a home game and tell me you didnt match your opponents possession. If you wanna try something drastic, try playing 3 defenders and 2 midfielders on a home game. Youll still keep possession of the ball.

You haven't answered the question about what highlight mode you use, as this could be a major factor.

Also, you say you've tested this theory. Over how long a period / how many games?

I use extended mode. If you havent tested any strat with 1 or 2 midfielders on a home game (especially against rivals, where the players seem to become inhuman), dont come in the topic bashing my point.

Ive had enough time to fiddle with almost every possible strat in the game, and im telling you theres something awfully wrong when you have a strat with 1 player on the midfield dominating possession simply because everytime they grab the ball and do a long kick forward the ball keeps landing on their strikers feet.

Just try it ffs and stop trying to post smart remarks til youve tested it.

Home game + any number lower than 3 (midfielders + attackers) = profit

It might have something to do with the fact that everytime a single striker runs against 4 defenders only one defender goes for the tackle, meaning that single striker will only have to skin 1 defender to reach the goal. Also having the ball always land on his feet when the defenders kick long balls forward doesnt help it either.

You play with extended highlights and every pass goes to feet?

Sorry but something is wrong there, I play on extended highlights and in Serie A last night I played five matches. I lost count of the number of misplaced passes by both teams within the first 20 mins of each match.

Alright, calm down!

I was just asking you to provide some more details and gave a possible solution, I didn't 'bash' your point at all. There is no point saying you've tested this without explaining how.

It seems to me like you are convinced there is a problem and won't listen to advice anyway.

p.s. I wasn't attempting to post any smart remarks, but I guess they look smart next to yours...

I use extended mode. If you havent tested any strat with 1 or 2 midfielders on a home game (especially against rivals, where the players seem to become inhuman), dont come in the topic bashing my point.

Ive had enough time to fiddle with almost every possible strat in the game, and im telling you theres something awfully wrong when you have a strat with 1 player on the midfield dominating possession simply because everytime they grab the ball and do a long kick forward the ball keeps landing on their strikers feet.

Just try it ffs and stop trying to post smart remarks til youve tested it.

Home game + any number lower than 3 (midfielders + attackers) = profit

It might have something to do with the fact that everytime a single striker runs against 4 defenders only one defender goes for the tackle, meaning that single striker will only have to skin 1 defender to reach the goal. Also having the ball always land on his feet when the defenders kick long balls forward doesnt help it either.

Untwist your knickers mate. It's pretty obvious you're exaggerating. Maybe if you answered peoples questions instead of blindly insisting that you're right, you'd get somewhere.

The Passing attribute is "turned off" almost entirely. If you make three completely similar players except one has 5 in passing, one 10 in passing and one 15 in passing - all 15 in creativity, you won't really see that much of a difference between them. The same goes for Technique, where a player who is on a good streak of form will have no problem controlling the ball regardless of how bad his technique is.

I completely disagree with the OP's view on Crossing. I have hardly ever seen a cross connecting with a striker's head and ending up in the back of the net. The wingers often does that, though, but that is because they are normally unmarked at the far post. My strikers are normally not even trying to connect with the ball, unlike the central defenders and the wingers. SI tried to fix the unbalanced nature of jumping/heading from FM2010 but has clearly overdone it.

I kind of agree with the original post, in the sense that, when im watching the game, I dont see the ball going loose alot. Passe either hit feet or are perfectly intercepted. There arent any scrambles for posession. Everything is a little too clean, even at the lower levels.

But like someone mentioned earlier, I dont watch full matchs, just key highlights, so maybe Im just missing the scrappy bits!