This is why I hate FM...

I'm playing Chelsea at home and this is a match where the media expects me to win and I expect to dominate. Chelsea gets a freak PK when one of their players goes down in the box away from the ball on a corner. In fact the PK wasn't even called until one of Chelsea's players headed the ball off target. However, it's only the 9th minute and I'm dominating the game so I figure I'll win 3-1 or something. Wilfried ends up scoring in the 39th minute and immediately I change my strategy from attacking to control in hopes of not conceding a goal. Wrong! The match engine doesn't change my strategy until after Mata scores right before the half. Thanks, FM! I give my team the half-time team talk of the century and we go out into the second half firing. In the 57th minute after dominating some more Bertolacci scores and I try to change my strategy from attacking to control once again. Wrong! Lavezzi scores a fluke goal before my tactics change and once again I'm down a goal. I change my strategy from attacking to overload as well as make a few riskier touchline shouts in hopes that I can score an equalizer to salvage a point. Wrong! My possession goes from 63% to 56% and my passing completion rates goes from 85% to 84% yet no goal is scored. I've provided some screenshots for your viewing pleasure.

inb4 it's my tactics

Extremely unlucky having so many 'freaky incidents'

Extremely unlucky having so many 'freaky incidents'

This experience hasn't put me off FM, but it's really frustrating losing matches where you dominate so much especially when something happens before you see the "Making tactic changes..." commentary.

shouts are just that.... a shout from the manager to play a different way... irl you wouldnt expect the idea to filter through until a break in play... and you shouldnt in game either...

as for overload... that is just that.. overloading the opposition to get the ball out and generally work your asses off offensively... defenders will run 70 yards to just get into the box for a chance to get on the end of a cross type deal.... your posession is bound to go down...

get over it

also.. only use control for weak opposition... if your defending a lead... go for counter .. it'll mean you can break forward and still be a threat and also strong at the back.. not complacent and prone to mistakes like control is..

shouts are just that.... a shout from the manager to play a different way... irl you wouldnt expect the idea to filter through until a break in play... and you shouldnt in game either...

as for overload... that is just that.. overloading the opposition to get the ball out and generally work your asses off offensively... defenders will run 70 yards to just get into the box for a chance to get on the end of a cross type deal.... your posession is bound to go down...

get over it

no **** sherlock. i wasnt complaining about possession only stating that throughout the match i had much more possession than what the screenshot shows. also, you don't consider the time after a goal a stoppage in play? maybe you stop posting.

also.. only use control for weak opposition... if your defending a lead... go for counter .. it'll mean you can break forward and still be a threat and also strong at the back.. not complacent and prone to mistakes like control is..

thanks will give it a try

No need to be nasty

he had alot of more shots on goal, he only has his players to blame, train them in finishing also. Get players with a better finishing attribute

Firstly, no need to be rude.

Secondly, overload is rarely an effective tactic unless you're in a game where you have a large edge over the team you're playing but just can't seem to break through. Against a team like Chelsea you would expect to see a drop in posession and pass completion as you get far more players pushing up the field and more long passes being played to them, trying to get the ball up the pitch very quickly. Obviously you're not going to control the match using that kind of style.

Did you even look at the match stats?

he had alot of more shots on goal, he only has his players to blame, train them in finishing also. Get players with a better finishing attribute

Maybe so, good point.

Just get over it and move on, I somehow managed to beat Arsenal with this...

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc395/dishy91/arsvnufc-1.png

It's your TicTacs.

I can't even read the screenshots to see what was going on!!

How does he have all of those new players with finances like Fulham's? #48 Crisetig is worth a lot of money by himself.

I think you have to accept that you will not always win matches that you dominate. This is very evident irl in all leagues in english and world football.

Whilst I agree its frustrating you have to accept it happens. FM reflects this factor and this is what makes it realistic

I can feel some sympathy for the OP, the ME is sometimes too fickle to strategy changes, the amount of times i concede on the immediate kick off after scoring because the AI changed to Attacking or Overload it's somewhat frustrating.. it can also happen your way as well.

If it was like 2 or 3 minutes later i could take it perfectly, but right on the kick-off?

I can't even read the screenshots to see what was going on!!

laughed out loud with that one.

"Chelsea gets a freak PK when one of their players goes down in the box "

This is football. The best way to handle things like this is forget your playing a PC game and act as if its actually a real match. Players go down in the box all the time so act as if its part of the match. The game becomes richer when you accept that things that are happening may actually be randomn series of events like football as a game actually is, rather than thinking there is a set formula guarenteing you a win or loss. Possession, better players, better 'shouts' and good tactics has never ever in the real world ment a team will win a game of football. Nor should it in FootballManager2012.

Make the effort not to attribute 'strange' things to the match engine and a buggy game - instead attribute them to footballl itself. Its a wonderful thing and you'll get more out of the game if you can understand that...

Good Luck =)

First off, m2thedeep, sounds like you were extremely unlucky. Secondly, Chelsea's keeper had one heck of a game; you might want to inquire about his services.

You've brought up something that I thought about on several occasions. Now when we make changes, be it on the tactics screen or through shouts, we have to wait a period of time before those changes go through. With the AI it feels likes its changes are almost instantaneous. It would actually be nice to know if that is the case or there is a period of time that the AI 'waits' before its changes are implemented.

If it really turns out that the AI tactical changes happen instantaneously, then you might have a legitimate complaint.

At the same time, how do you know that switching to control was gonna stop Chelsea from marching down the pitch and scoring another goal? Remember the old adage 'you are weakest when you've just scored'. Whether or not it is true in reality, it is very true in FM.

You get teams who turn into supermen for a small period of time after you score against them, especially the highly determined ones, while your players players simultaneously become momentarily complacent. I'm the best team in the world in my FM10 save and there are still plenty of times that teams march down the field and create a chance literally from the kick off after I've just scored. And thats why I pay Alphonse Areola as much as I do.

How does he have all of those new players with finances like Fulham's? #48 Crisetig is worth a lot of money by himself.

Signed him on a free. As far as finances and players go I prefer the same approach as Arsene Wenger and will only spend money if absolutely necessary. I turned off the beginning transfer window and only bought players during the summer transfer window after the first season. Every other signing has been on a free.