How many people actually use the match or do you just trawl stats and fast forward matches

What I would like to know is SI have in my opinion put an awful lot of work and detail into the match engine and the 3D and 2D representation of the match as it unfolds.

I myself like to put a lot of preperation into each and every match and when matchday arrives I like to watch the full games and tweak formations and players as the game unfolds.

In doing this I only manage about 5 or 6 seasons worth of gameplay until the next FM is released.

Yet on the forums people are in the 20th 30th season for the multiple time and complain about the engine and matchday graphics endlessly. I for one can't find time to play the game as I like to or even get close to this so how do you all play your game and if you are just fast forwarding the match action are you surely not missing the managers most important job??

I view every game.

"View Highlights" on the last notch back from full-speed.

35 seasons played and still going strong.

I watch the games in key on slightly quicker than realtime, and occasionally use the analysis section to be able to tell what we might be doing wrong (not crossing enough, too many long shots, etc) and adapt to that.

Largely though, I only have two formations to choose from, and no matter who the opposition, they'll face one of them.

23 seasons btw.

watch extended highlights for all games except the really big ones i watch on full, 22 seasons in now. but i do go through weekends without moving from the sofa.

I watch most games on extended highlights, at normal speed.

But for friendlies I normally switch to key highlights, or just skip all together and let my assistant take charge of them. Occasionally I'll switch to key for the last few minutes of a game if we're comfortably ahead.

I will make changes to tactics for various opponents and keep an eye on the analysis screens, but normally nothing too in-depth except for key games.

I think I'm 15 seasons in now (maybe 16), but 4.5 of those were in Brazil where a season meant 60-ish games even before accounting for cups or continental competition, so I probably had 6 or 7 seasons' worth of matches (in any other country) during those 4.5 years.

I watch on key highlights, i used to watch on extended for a while but i don't really have the patience to waste so much time on it, though it's better to do it so you can have a better idea of what is going on and use strategies and shouts to counter what the AI is doing.

Friendlys i just use commentary and on maximum speed unless i'm trying out a new formation.

I've only ever used commentary, I'll sometimes watch the highlights of goals but that's about it!

Key moments for me, every match - I don't have the patience for full match or extended highlights!

key highlights. if you going to watch full matches.. its going to take ages to finish a season.

key highlights. I spend ages prepping against each opponent though

Key highlights. Don't even make adjustments for the other team. It's their job to stop what I'm doing, not the other way around.

As good as the matches are to watch (although 11 definitely has way more 'looked like the keeper got a touch but it's a GK' moments) in reality it's all meaningless. Player CA and Team Rep matter far more than any nebulous micromanaging.

There is no place in the way it's structured to have a plucky bunch of overachievers who outwork the opposition. So why waste my life pretending that I'll glean some insight into the best way to run my team when the tactics are only vague suggestions at what a player should do?

I wish it had a "just gimme the score" function tbh.

<insert hatred and disbelief below>

Key highlights for every match, apart from pre-season friendlies or matches that I attend to view potential signings.

Extended highlights, normal every game. On average it takes me a month of real time to get through a season. I nearly always start again after patching so I never get past 5 or 6 seasons myself.

Key highlights for me then extended for big games. Always tempted to go up to extended to get even more tactical, can often find it quite hard to judge how my team are doing or when to make changes on key.

Once past the pre-season and first few games I switch to Key highlights.

It's not unknown for me to put the first half of games I don't really care about up to full speed nor to put a game like Liverpool vs Madrid onto full. I'm also pushing 40, have a wife, a job, bees to look after and friends that want my attention to so the days of being able to run a couple of seasons in a week are long gone. I don't envy those who can do 30-40 seasons any more than I envy the tactical or training geniuses, I play the game and float around here for my own enjoyment.

This is one of the few games left that is pretty much totally up to you, as an individual, to enjoy. I've tried to play, even run a website back in the day, games with other people based on CM/FM and it's always boiled down to different things for diffent people. Some want to spend hours tweaking training, others just want to sign the world XI and go for it, the rest of us probably sit somewhere in between and I love that after 20 years or so of FM, in all its guises, that's exactly what it lets us do.

It remains one of the precious few games that I can have running in background while I do something like write this post safe in the knowledge that Edin Hazard will only be down to 69% condition because I let the game run to 70 minutes.

I have only commentary, no replays, very fast. I watch my team's stats for condition and form issues and that's all. I have zero interest in the match day experience of it all.

Once past the pre-season and first few games I switch to Key highlights.

It's not unknown for me to put the first half of games I don't really care about up to full speed nor to put a game like Liverpool vs Madrid onto full. I'm also pushing 40, have a wife, a job, bees to look after and friends that want my attention to so the days of being able to run a couple of seasons in a week are long gone. I don't envy those who can do 30-40 seasons any more than I envy the tactical or training geniuses, I play the game and float around here for my own enjoyment.

This is one of the few games left that is pretty much totally up to you, as an individual, to enjoy. I've tried to play, even run a website back in the day, games with other people based on CM/FM and it's always boiled down to different things for diffent people. Some want to spend hours tweaking training, others just want to sign the world XI and go for it, the rest of us probably sit somewhere in between and I love that after 20 years or so of FM, in all its guises, that's exactly what it lets us do.

It remains one of the precious few games that I can have running in background while I do something like write this post safe in the knowledge that Edin Hazard will only be down to 69% condition because I let the game run to 70 minutes.

Top post

You look after bees?

Nellie's way of playing is eerily similar to mine (except the part about apiculture - Is that right?).

I generally try and watch as many games as possible (on key highlights), especially when I'm involved in a tight title battle, but family comes first!

Thanks Guys some interesting and varied ways of playing the game we all love. My GF thinks I'm barmy sitting watching all those games in full and tweaking tactics etc. but I remember doing the same on Championship Manager in the old days with a few mates and the Commodore Amiga hooked up to the TV. No other game has stood the test of time with me and doubt it ever will. Keep Playing and Well Done SI for evolving such a awesome game

I'm with your GF on this one, you are off your head doing all that. Not sure what your point is about Champman either as I would say I am from the Champman generation and therefore text commentary is the way to go.

I keep it on key and full speed (or one notch back, depends on how interesting the moment is). You know, sometimes you just know that the moment you are shown is not going to bring a goal, it's just the way they move, the way the ball moves and so on. You just know there is going to be a shot over the goal :-)

I am 21 seasons in and I plan to stop after the 22nd, as I am one of the most successful managers ever and I don't intend on playing FM11 until the day FM12 comes. I need a break between those two

I watch most games on extended highlights, at normal speed. I always have my teams player ratings, motivation boxes as well as the match stats minimised for regular checks. Sometimes I might check AssMan feedback with games that are tight. At end of season matches I will constantly check live league table and latest scores.

I have only commentary, no replays, very fast. I watch my team's stats for condition and form issues and that's all. I have zero interest in the match day experience of it all.

me too on this one.

I used to watch more of them, now the rest of the game is so bloated (with things that you can't skip) I have little choice but to skip watching the matches to save the lost time. I have way too many other things to do + watching real football to watch an animation that is mostly just a pretty touch up rather than anything substantially accurate.

Just goal replays for me now - on 80% speed or so and if I want to look at anything again I can. Still don't get through as many seasons as other people though, or as many as I used to when I had even less time. Pity.

Well in every new FM release I am always saying that I will watch the full match which of course is the best..You can control the match much better..But after some games I lose patient (which I don't want) and start playing on extended...

I watch Key Highlights for the most part, two clicks to the right from default. If I don't create chances I switch to extended or even full match for a while to see what's wrong, but there is often little help in that either. Normally the cause is that they're employing one or two defensive midfielders successfully against me, and what I do then is to set the four attackers to Hard Tackling and max Creative Freedom as that seems to help.

There is a lot of poor TV editing in FM11. All the yellow cards are shown in Key, where the referee and the player walks sloooooowly towards another from opposite ends of the pitch, talks for a few minutes then he is given his card. Highlight suuuure! Then there are the corners where the corner taker walks slooooowly to pick up the ball, sloooooowly putting the ball by the corner flag, sloooooowly takes aim and curls it in. The same with the penalty kicks. The injuries takes a minute real life time each, unless I fast forward. The red cards show the player walk slooooowly off the pitch, over to his substitute bench, where he even more sloooooowly slithers backwards before merging with the player already sitting there... All the times I have done tactical changes the game displays completely pointless gameplay for no reason, until the tactical changes can occur. The keeper can obviously stand there wasting time on goal kicks as long as he wants without being penalized - I have seen him do so for almost a minute... so why, if his team is in the lead, doesn't he just stand there the rest of the match?

I am for more ruthless editing in FM12.

yeah i hate that, red cards take ages, the other night i was playing and one of the opposition took down one of my players but injured himself at the same time, he was on a yellow and was away to get a second yellow, but i had to wait for the physio to come on, treat him, the player walk off the pitch, then walk back on, then walk up to the ref, then go through the red card animations, it honestly took about 4 minutes of "highlights" to get through it all. Hopefully they have looked at that a bit more for FM12.

yeah i hate that, red cards take ages, the other night i was playing and one of the opposition took down one of my players but injured himself at the same time, he was on a yellow and was away to get a second yellow, but i had to wait for the physio to come on, treat him, the player walk off the pitch, then walk back on, then walk up to the ref, then go through the red card animations, it honestly took about 4 minutes of "highlights" to get through it all. Hopefully they have looked at that a bit more for FM12.

Yes that is the worst one of them all...

Thankfully it is the only time i have seen it, but i was screaming by the end!! The other is when it shows you a replay of a missed pen in injury time and it shows you the entire last 2/3 minutes in slow mo!!

Thankfully it is the only time i have seen it, but i was screaming by the end!! The other is when it shows you a replay of a missed pen in injury time and it shows you the entire last 2/3 minutes in slow mo!!

I haven't seen that one before! Must be awful

I haven't seen that one before! Must be awful

I had one better as well the other night, i think FM was trying to annoy me for an evening, missed a vital pen, well hit the bar and the ball ended up back to the 18 yard line so the ball was still in played and the game continued, my team went on the attack again and built a very promising move, ball went wide, ball crossed in and before it reached the middle the game went a bloody replay of the missed pen!!!! Never did find out how that move ended up Like i say i think FM was just trying to wind me up for an evening.

Will view most matches in extended highlights. Especialy when designing a new tactic. I like to see whats going on with player motivation and injurys. Also tweak things tacticly a bit as the match goes on.

Only speed through matches when I am on the verge of ragequitting.

Extended highlights. If I'm 2 goals up, I switch to key. I found extended highlights much better when trying to determine what's really happening on the pitch.

The useless 'highlights' being shown has been a complaint for as long as I can remember, so I doubt anything will ever be done about it as it obviously must be too hard to fix or something. My favourite must be when it deems a foul or a ball going out of play a key highlight, then proceeds to show the player slowly trudge up to take the free kick/corner/throw in and then cuts out right before the set piece is actually taken. Or players getting a warning by the ref where it absolutely most certainly has to show the whole motion of a player crawling from one end of the pitch to another, and then back to position just to drag it out even more.

I normally watch Key Highlights in normal speed. I might go back to commentary like on CM, so I can get through seasons quicker

I think that it should be a goal in itself to make sure that Key highlights in itself should be a setting that limits the matches to a couple of minutes. Of course, if there are 40+ chances in a match that will be difficult, but most matches have between 15 and 30 chances and that is what SI needs to take as a starting point. This means that incidents like injuries, fouls, corners, free-kicks, the ref booking or warning, waste of possession through long shots, situations that could be penalties but are not, or finishing from difficult positions should not be shown at all in Key Highlights. Basically, it should be a setting that enables us to watch the goals and huge chances, red cards, and other absolute key moments and be completely useless to determine the flow of the game or the direction the match takes. "Key Highlights" now tries to be too much! Setting it to Extended should show the game much like Key does now, and then there should be another setting; Extensive, showing all the chances no matter what. Only on Full Match setting should you actually see the players walk up to the corner flag to take the corner...

I watch a majority of my games. In 3D from the Touchline. As a manager should do.

Replays in TV mode

Only on Full Match setting should you actually see the players walk up to the corner flag to take the corner...

Would be even better if it wasn't shown on full either. Doubt anyone has any interest in watching it, ever.

i dont know, if i have full match settings on i want to see just that, everything that happens, but if i have highlights on i never want to see people walking up to take set pieces, or players taking 2 minutes of game time to get sent off.

mostly commentary cos I prefer to imagine the games. I use the stats for making decisions.

Why would you want to watch a player walk to a corner flag or down the touchline to take a throw in? What exactly does it add to the experience?

Guess there still could be a full 90 minutes mode for lunatics who enjoy watching poorly animated players waste time by just standing still for a full minute, but then there also has to be a 'full' mode that shows all the action without the off play bits inbetween. Especially as the game is getting harder and harder to be successful at without watching matches in full.

Why would you want to watch a player walk to a corner flag or down the touchline to take a throw in? What exactly does it add to the experience?

Guess there still could be a full 90 minutes mode for lunatics who enjoy watching poorly animated players waste time by just standing still for a full minute' date=' but then there also has to be a 'full' mode that shows all the action without the off play bits inbetween. Especially as the game is getting harder and harder to be successful at without watching matches in full.[/quote']

+1 I vote for a 90 minutes mode without time out or with automatic time accelerator.

Why would you want to watch a player walk to a corner flag or down the touchline to take a throw in? What exactly does it add to the experience?

Guess there still could be a full 90 minutes mode for lunatics who enjoy watching poorly animated players waste time by just standing still for a full minute' date=' but then there also has to be a 'full' mode that shows all the action without the off play bits inbetween. Especially as the game is getting harder and harder to be successful at without watching matches in full.[/quote']

Just the full match experience, nothing more, it doesnt add to your tactical side of things or anything like that, to me if i choose full game i want to see everything because thats the full match experience. Highlight mode i completely agree, pointless having those animations in there.

Always key highlights on 2D unless I'm developing a new tactical system. Then full to begin with and extended once it's fairly solid.

Currently in my 31st season, done maybe another 10 seasons total on assorted other saves.

Watch every game, make lots of in game adjustments.

Extended Highlights.

Only commentary for me.

Watch game in key highlights 3/4 to full speed, but dont make many changed to my team, i have 1 formation i just love and stick too 4-2-4. I always think key highlights should be like watching match of the day. Which sometimes it is and sometimes.....

Im now 44 seasons into the game.

Im a student....

Never more than key. About half of this season has been spent on commentary only as I've been working too much and wanted to see challenges through, but I've found that seeing my players on the field is a bit more entertaining. Being someone who started off around 15 years ago I go through the motions with the match engine though.

Only commentary for me.

This.

I sit through every match with the exception of pre-season friendlies which I put my Ass Man in charge of.

Extended or full when building a tactic, then switch to key highlights on one notch from full speed when I feel it's solid enough. On very important games like finals or promotion/relegation deciders I'll switch back to extended.

13 seasons into my first career, then abandoned it and have done 11 seasons on my new one since May. I like doing long savegames and have plenty of time to play when my social life gets boring after the Summer.

I use the split view screen and have the 2D key highlights on the right split view. The match stats inter-change with the 2D highlights on the right side. I have the match speed set to two above the default. I like making tactical changes during the games so on the left side of the split view I flick between different screens, I sometimes check the opposition teams motivation to see if I can target any weak links and I obviously keep an eye on my teams ratings to see how my players match ratings and fitness are.