How Do People Win All The Time? I Can't Buy A Win!

Yes I am absolutely crap at this game. I must be, I can't win games. I keep seeing people on here saying the game is too easy etc. and seeing countless threads where people have won promotion in the first season then doing it again the next season and basically not really losing games. What do I need to do? What's the main contributor to becoming great at the game? Is it simply tactics? When I highlight the player roles on the tactic screen the players attributes always seem to fit well, I've read advice from the forums saying that you should keep it simple but It's still not working. I need help on how to win games and consistently win games with an average team.

Start out with that TC tactic of yours, identify problems one by one and remove them, while strengthening your team's weak points one by one.

I'd cut off my own arm to be one of those people who win all the time.

Find a tactic, and get players to fit that tactic and the style of football you want to play. And scout, scout, scout! Scout everywhere. Scout nations. Scout leagues and scout competitions. That's the only way to constantly stay ahead of the competition.

If at first you don't succeed, save and reload

If at first you don't succeed, save and reload

I'd suggest a moderator infract you for that, but, well, you know..

Depends where and who you're managing. In low reputation leagues you just leave the tactic to default and buy cheap Africans, who are just better (read faster) players than what the others have

Obviously you dont know the secret to team talks yet. Thats the easiest way I find to be consistant,

I find that it depends who I choose to manage. My favourite save is Leicester, I can almost always be a success with them, but when I try to manage a different side, whether it's in the premiership or a lower league side, I seem to fail miserably even though i'm using the same formula.

With the TC i just generally copy a tactic/formation/philosophy from RL and have good success with it, everytime i try to come up with a system of my own i'm mediocre at best though..

But even a basic 442 can work very well, you just need to avoid complacency and keep your squad motivated with team talks while managing fitness and injuries and of course having good players always helps.

i have these blips too, i always used to put attacking as philosophy and never wont for 11 games put it to counter and i starting to get waaay better results, check your tactics buddy

I'd suggest a moderator infract you for that, but, well, you know..

He was only joking, and besides, how people play their own game is their own decision.

Direct passing seems to make the game a lot easier. I've had saves where I have struggled along trying to play a short passing game, then making only that one single change to direct passing seen the same squad romp to promotion.

After around 5 seasons, tactics become somewhat irrelevant due to the stupidity of the AI. they begin playing forwards as fullbacks and so on. Oh, and what Ackter said.

Direct passing helped me too, tried short passing, believing maybe short passes might be easier as my team wasn't good in the air at the time, turned out direct passing was a lot easier, just fewer passes to mess up and sometimes you'd get lucky and have one of those direct passes put your striker in a position to outrun the defence.

I need help on how to win games and consistently win games with an average team.

I think this is the problem, other than the tactical geniuses and the cheaters, this sort of thing doesn't really happen.

It sounds simple and a bit silly, but the easiest way to win the majority of your games is to have better players than your opposition. Transfers and squad building is what I consider the most important aspect in becoming successful, but obviously that won't happen overnight.

I think this is the problem, other than the tactical geniuses and the cheaters, this sort of thing doesn't really happen.

It sounds simple and a bit silly, but the easiest way to win the majority of your games is to have better players than your opposition. Transfers and squad building is what I consider the most important aspect in becoming successful, but obviously that won't happen overnight.

i completely agree with this. I've been playing the game long enough to know when someone claims to have won the PL, in the first season, with the likes of Fulham, they are generally talking bull. Don't doubt they have won it, i just doubt they have won it whilst playing the game the way it's intended to be played.

Saying that though, i think the player has a huge advantage second time out as most of us know which players will perform and which players won't. Most of these players can be bought on a budget, so obtaining them isn't always an issue.

1: Know what you are doing tactically (either by developing a coherent tactical system or through logical decision making to adjust and adapt to conditions / formations / opposition / match score)

2: Know how to build a squad that fits with our tactics, or how to fit a tactic to a squad

3: Know how to develop a training regime that is logical for your tactical style

4: Know how to develop a professional, well-disciplined and well-integrated squad

5: Know when to build expectations and reduce pressure through team talks, player and media interactions

6: Develop a good back room team and facility / scouting infrastructure

Imo my problems with FM have never been about tactics but morale. With the introduction of TC it's pretty simple to get a working tactic. So it comes down to two things first and foremost: morale and squad strength.

If I may be blunt, (a few / some / most of) the people that tell the game is too easy are simply avoiding poor form by reloading if they lose a match. Everyone knows that when morale is high, you go from win to win and everything goes your way. When you lose one, getting back to winning ways is difficult. All you need to do is reload the few focal matches that didn't quite turn your way.

People might set past experience to international (or w/e the highest rep lvl is called) when playing in a lower league. The players will obey your tactical instructions better and you'll find getting better players easier. Finding and attracting players way beyond your league is too easy and some people make it even easier than it's supposed to be. I reckon a lot of people use some scouting software to find the best players available and don't hide attributes so that they don't even need to scout possible signees. They can just go to player search and find Phil Younghusband.

1: Know what you are doing tactically (either by developing a coherent tactical system or through logical decision making to adjust and adapt to conditions / formations / opposition / match score)

2: Know how to build a squad that fits with our tactics, or how to fit a tactic to a squad

3: Know how to develop a training regime that is logical for your tactical style

4: Know how to develop a professional, well-disciplined and well-integrated squad

5: Know when to build expectations and reduce pressure through team talks, player and media interactions

6: Develop a good back room team and facility / scouting infrastructure

You see, that kind of generic reply doesn't help one bit, especially given the fact the OP seems to know all that. It's partially why many people who struggle only find some more frustration when asking for help here.

For example, "if you see the opposition strikers are pacey and get many one-on-ones, you should drop your defensive line a bit deeper" helps a lot more than "keep it simple, build a logical system etc." People need more detailed and concrete stuff, without much philosophy and general theories, which is what many guides, unfortunately, provide.

It took me 6 seasons to win the premier league with sunderland. But after about the 3rd season I was up in champion leagues spots.

I just know the players that perform well. I always seem to buy the same players, and I know what price I can get them for. For instance, Paulo Henrique seems to say in Brazil all his career but you can snap him up for €30m. I do bend the way the transfers work in the game, where I buy players for €30m over 48 months. Which just makes a small dent in the transfer budget.

Doing this I can buy some quality players and build up the squad very quickly.

And I hope that transfers have changed in 2012 to stop this. It's very difficult for me to stop buying players that way.

To the OP - I find that if you get some quality coaches in, I usually have a coach for each activity in training, usually have most up all stars.

I also watch the stats of the game very closely. Too many long shots, tackles per game, wayward passes (pass completion) etc. I can then say if I want closer marking, man marking, shorter, direct, longer passing etc.

I then tweak the tactics, what areas I'm covering/not covering etc.

I do have my favourite tactics. But sometimes the players aren't suited to it. I have to change it, maybe push the wingers higher, or back. Play with a DM in front of the back 4 or not. Play with a AM or not.

You see, that kind of generic reply doesn't help one bit, especially given the fact the OP seems to know all that. It's partially why many people who struggle only find some more frustration when asking for help here.

For example, "if you see the opposition strikers are pacey and get many one-on-ones, you should drop your defensive line a bit deeper" helps a lot more than "keep it simple, build a logical system etc." People need more detailed and concrete stuff, without much philosophy and general theories, which is what many guides, unfortunately, provide.

Good point mate.

You see, that kind of generic reply doesn't help one bit, especially given the fact the OP seems to know all that. It's partially why many people who struggle only find some more frustration when asking for help here.

For example, "if you see the opposition strikers are pacey and get many one-on-ones, you should drop your defensive line a bit deeper" helps a lot more than "keep it simple, build a logical system etc." People need more detailed and concrete stuff, without much philosophy and general theories, which is what many guides, unfortunately, provide.

Or maybe the OP could be a bit more specific than just "Help me be better!"

Ask a generic question, get a generic answer.

Or maybe the OP could be a bit more specific than just "Help me be better!"

Ask a generic question, get a generic answer.

If a man says "I'm hungry, I don't know what to do", do you say "doh, you should learn how to fish" or actually show him to do it?

If a man says "I'm hungry, I don't know what to do", do you say "doh, you should learn how to fish" or actually show him to do it?

If a man says on an internet forum "I don't know how to build a house, it keeps falling down" should every reply address every possible reason why his house might be falling down? Should we all write a complete guide on how to build a house?

Or give him some high level tips on what he should be considering and allow him to look into it further or ask a more specific question.

If a man says on an internet forum "I don't know how to build a house, it keeps falling down" should every reply address every possible reason why his house might be falling down? Should we all write a complete guide on how to build a house?

Maybe not a complete guide, but not a bunch of generic stuff, either. Something in between would be ideal, something that can get him going.

Don't why people just can't answer the question?

Someone looking for help. You don't have to reply.

Don't why people just can't answer the question?

Someone looking for help. You don't have to reply.

Yeah exactly...

maybe you could go into the tactics forum, and fish out a tactic of your choice? might help?

maybe you could go into the tactics forum, and fish out a tactic of your choice? might help?

All the tactics in there never seem to work.

Don't why people just can't answer the question?

Someone looking for help. You don't have to reply.

Yeah exactly...

As has been said above the problem is you have asked a very general question which is almost impossible to answer on a forum as there is no right or wrong answers. People win games with many different approaches/formations/players/instructions etc, there is no key secret answer that will let you win games constantly.

If you want a better detailed answer you need to provide more information, including screenshots helps a lot:

A) Which team are you?

B) Which players do you have?

C) What formation are you using?

D) What roles are the players using?

E) What are your team/player instructions?

F) Who are your opposition?

G) What formation do they play?

H) Which players do they have?

I) What touchline shouts do you use?

J) What do you do during a match to change it?

That's a bit more constructive of an answer, in fariness; than the old "teach a man to build a house and fish" and philosphical nonsense that was been posted earlier

Using Swansea and I'm losing every Premier League game with a basic 4-4-2

Cole - if you can fill out the questionairre that Cougar posted, I'm sure we'd be able to help.

And now we know you're Swansea, it's hardly a surprise you're losing every game jk

The problem with flat 442 tactics is that the midfield four contributes less both in the attack and the defense than the setup I (and many others) use with two defensive midfielders and two advanced wingers.

It is a very difficult tactic to pull off with "an average team" in my opinion. It provides no competitive advantage over the opponents who play the exact same formation and tactic.

Thus, running a 442 with Swansea in the PL with a weak team will require great skill in team talks and squad morale management, as well as micromanagement in the matches.

Using Swansea and I'm losing every Premier League game with a basic 4-4-2

Ok thats a start, I'm guessing your in your first/second? season as well.

I'm not familiar with the players but some points you could consider:

A) You probably have the worst squad in the league or at least one of the worst.

B) Your reputation is probably the lowest in the league.

C) Other teams will look to attack you as they see you as an easy three points, especially when you are away from home.

D) A flat 442 isn't a good formation for struggling teams, its easy for your DC's to be faced with 1v1 situations against good strikers while your wingers/strikers can become easily isolated.

Some of the things I would do:

A) Morale - Losing hurts morale so you need to do something to keep it up, lessen the pressure before games, if the opposition are the favourites use good luck, if the odds are close you can win (more for home games) and if you have no chance admit it - No pressure/do your best (Away games at top teams). After the match again keep the pressure low, don't just use disappointed if they lost, if they played fairly well but lost use sympathise or even pleased if you thought you were just a little unlucky.

B) Match - When you are the underdog I always go into a match looking to keep a cleansheet, especially early on. If you can survive the first 20 minutes you can then build on that as the match progresses. If the opposition are playing well try to defend and earn a point or maybe catch them on the break whereas if they are playing poorly your team can grow in confidence and start attacking.

C) Formation - A lot depends on the opposition formation but against better teams who use 2/3 strikers you will struggle. Personally I would look to use at least one DM to protect your two DCs. If you have MCs who can play in a DM position maybe even use two, keeping men behind the ball is the easiest way to defend - In my save Inter are leading Serie A using a 442 (ML/DM/DM/MR in midfield). Post up a screenshot of your tactics though for better advice.

Thanks for the helpful post. I managed to get a 1-1 draw away to Manchester United but then got beaten 4-1 by Sunderland, It's really frustrating.

He was only joking, and besides, how people play their own game is their own decision.

You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding. I was obviously not being serious! I can tell when someone's joking. Can you?

You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding. I was obviously not being serious! I can tell when someone's joking. Can you?

Sarcasm makes you look so cool.

There was no sarcasm whatsoever in my post.

You see, that kind of generic reply doesn't help one bit, especially given the fact the OP seems to know all that. It's partially why many people who struggle only find some more frustration when asking for help here.

For example, "if you see the opposition strikers are pacey and get many one-on-ones, you should drop your defensive line a bit deeper" helps a lot more than "keep it simple, build a logical system etc." People need more detailed and concrete stuff, without much philosophy and general theories, which is what many guides, unfortunately, provide.

Firstly, it answers the OP question. That is how I win. Secondly, where on earth did you read between the lines to determine he 'knows all that?'

If I did a series of conditionals or explanations for each point, my post would have to be as long as War and Peace. It is also impossible to advise based on assumptions of what is going wrong. For example, your advice about one on ones could actually make things worse if he was conceding one on ones by not putting deep players under enough pressure. In such a scenario, if you drop the d-line, your team will be even less effective when closing down, which would enable the deep creative player to have even more time to pick his pass, allowing him to be more accurate and hurt you more. It might also result in the attackers having a lot of space in front of the d-line to exploit, which could result in missed tackles, especially if he has aggressive defenders. That would also result in one on ones, but from the striker skinning the defender rather than running onto a through ball. If this is the problem, pushing the d-line higher, employing a DMC and having higher closing down midfielders would be the solution. You might also be being hurt down the channels, which would mean you should play more narrowly rather than deeper. Either way, I'd be guessing as the OP hasn't told us anything about his system.

The tactical forum already provides masses of feedback on every one of my points. I've written a number of very precise and detailed guides that will help him. As have others. He can read TT&F for tactics, FM11 Training Masterclass for training, Back Room Staff: What They are Good at and How to Use Them for infrastructure, the How to Play FM threads for expectations and pressure, and Heath's Lower League Management Approach or Meet the System for squad development. That's circa 60,000 words, if not more.

Firstly, it answers the OP question. That is how I win. Secondly, where on earth did you read between the lines to determine he 'knows all that?'

If I did a series of conditionals or explanations for each point, my post would have to be as long as War and Peace. It is also impossible to advise based on assumptions of what is going wrong. The tactical forum already provides masses of feedback on every one of my points. I've written a number of very precise and detailed guides that will help him. As have others.

He can read TT&F for tactics, FM11 Training Masterclass for training, Back Room Staff: What They are Good at and How to Use Them for infrastructure, the How to Play FM threads for expectations and pressure, and Heath's Lower League Management Approach or Meet the System for squad development. That's circa 60,000 words, if not more.

Any links to these guides? Because I am useless at this game, and I'd like a bit of help to at least achieve my team's goals most of the time.

Any links to these guides? Because I am useless at this game, and I'd like a bit of help to at least achieve my team's goals most of the time.

They are all stickied in the tactics forum.

There's really no tactic that will help you consistently win with a team like Swansea. Your players just aren't that good, and even if you have a perfect tactic for that particular match, your players are still likely to flake out due to relatively low Decisions, Concentration, etc.

People who win almost every match win because they have a coherent tactic and world class players. People who take Dag & Red to Champions League glory do so by being patient, building a stronger squad via the transfer market and taking advantage of the consistent season-to-season degeneration of AI squads.

The thing to understand about Football Manager is that, like a real football manager, you don't have complete control. You can do everything right and still an ill-timed fart from the random number generator will destroy all your brilliant plans. The frequency with which this happens, again, depends on the quality of your squad.

In short, your solution: buy better players.

There's really no tactic that will help you consistently win with a team like Swansea. Your players just aren't that good, and even if you have a perfect tactic for that particular match, your players are still likely to flake out due to relatively low Decisions, Concentration, etc.

People who win almost every match win because they have a coherent tactic and world class players. People who take Dag & Red to Champions League glory do so by being patient, building a stronger squad via the transfer market and taking advantage of the consistent season-to-season degeneration of AI squads.

The thing to understand about Football Manager is that, like a real football manager, you don't have complete control. You can do everything right and still an ill-timed fart from the random number generator will destroy all your brilliant plans. The frequency with which this happens, again, depends on the quality of your squad.

In short, your solution: buy better players.

Yes my Las Palmas game didn't become easy before season 5 or so, after I won the Liga BBVA for the first time. It didn't become -really- easy before season 10; at that time I won most of the games with 3-4 goals and had little competition in CL.

Now I have started a save where I took over Southampton being last in the PL the 31st of January 2015. That is going to be difficult, and will likely require everything I know about the game to keep them up. I suppose his situation at Swansea is the same, and quite frankly - if you're struggling to understand what you can do to make a difference, starting with Swansea is not the best idea. In addition to it being a weak team; one of the weakest in the league, an updated database for season 11/12 will have added so many new players that the team will not have gelled, making it very hard to motivate them properly.

I suppose the best advice would be to start a new game with another team; one which is competitive in its league.

There's really no tactic that will help you consistently win with a team like Swansea. Your players just aren't that good, and even if you have a perfect tactic for that particular match, your players are still likely to flake out due to relatively low Decisions, Concentration, etc.

People who win almost every match win because they have a coherent tactic and world class players. People who take Dag & Red to Champions League glory do so by being patient, building a stronger squad via the transfer market and taking advantage of the consistent season-to-season degeneration of AI squads.

The thing to understand about Football Manager is that, like a real football manager, you don't have complete control. You can do everything right and still an ill-timed fart from the random number generator will destroy all your brilliant plans. The frequency with which this happens, again, depends on the quality of your squad.

In short, your solution: buy better players.

Very good post, thank you.

i have got to be honest and say i have often achieved success by living beyond my means. i have had the habit of putting up the wage budget and signing players of 48 month payments knowing that when i get into debt the chairman will often put in for running costs and put me on an even footing for a while. i think there is too many ways of achieving success because of the way the game lets us spend more than we have got.

the other thing thats gets me success over a long period is the fact i spend a lot of time scouting for bargain regens from all over the world. scouting is probably the most important tool on the game if you want to build a great squad. btw i have never used genie and dead against people that do.

I think this is the problem, other than the tactical geniuses and the cheaters, this sort of thing doesn't really happen.

It sounds simple and a bit silly, but the easiest way to win the majority of your games is to have better players than your opposition. Transfers and squad building is what I consider the most important aspect in becoming successful, but obviously that won't happen overnight.

You don't need better players as such. Just players better suited to what you want to do.

An absolutely awful striker with good physical stats can get you a couple of promotions in a row.

Really, rising from the lower leagues is all about getting in the right players. Get your transfer policies right and you can climb fairly easily.

For example, your advice about one on ones could actually make things worse if he was conceding one on ones by not putting deep players under enough pressure. In such a scenario, if you drop the d-line, your team will be even less effective when closing down, which would enable the deep creative player to have even more time to pick his pass, allowing him to be more accurate and hurt you more. It might also result in the attackers having a lot of space in front of the d-line to exploit, which could result in missed tackles, especially if he has aggressive defenders. That would also result in one on ones, but from the striker skinning the defender rather than running onto a through ball. If this is the problem, pushing the d-line higher, employing a DMC and having higher closing down midfielders would be the solution. You might also be being hurt down the channels, which would mean you should play more narrowly rather than deeper.

That's exactly what people need, THAT kind of advice. That kind of detailed analysis of a problem and its possible solutions.

The tactical forum already provides masses of feedback on every one of my points. I've written a number of very precise and detailed guides that will help him. As have others. He can read TT&F for tactics, FM11 Training Masterclass for training, Back Room Staff: What They are Good at and How to Use Them for infrastructure, the How to Play FM threads for expectations and pressure, and Heath's Lower League Management Approach or Meet the System for squad development. That's circa 60,000 words, if not more.

Unfortunately, most of the guides you mentioned there don't provide that level of detail and focus on particular tactical circumstances like you provided by simply explaining how to solve "too many one-on-ones" problem. I've read most of them when I was a newbie and they don't help as much as you think. They do point you in the right direction, but when a specific situation occurs, you're at a loss what to do...so you're back to guessing (more educated, but it's still guessing). Every now and then there's a thread where people who have read all the guides still find it hard to be successful (especially tactically) which proves the guides are too broad. Don't get me wrong, they are useful, but they're just a starting point, a way off what people really need.