How to make myself fall in love

I have the new FM2012, after begging my wife to let me get it before payday. I am having serious troubles getting 'into' it though. I love all the new stuff, the match engine looks great, the improvement sthat have been made seem to really benefit the game... but I'm just not 'in the zone'. Are others feeling this? I cant decide if its because it's hard to get into a new save at first, or whether the new features are slowing me down a bit. I've tried being numerous clubs ranging from Tottenham to some random Portuguese team. I was just wondering if people feel the same? And if so then what can I do! I have every intention of loving this game... i just don't at the moment.

For me - nothing like signing a genuine hot prospect to get me into a game. I'll look forward to watching him play and develop in every game. Applies at all levels of the game not just top divisions. Then it's a matter of hanging on to them...

I always find it takes me a few failed saves before I find one that I really get into.

Keep going, you'll get into it soon.

Will I... WILL I???? I have had it since release day :-( I worry that now I'm a grown up and have kids and stuff I'm just not cut out for managing anymore... I just can't commit like I used to.

There is nothing like money to help you fall in love....take my 101 year old wife who is a millionaire..

Seriously though I struggled in the first season as Pompey and lost in the play-off finals but had found some free but good youth talent to develop and got back into it

Season 2 lost in the play-off finals

Season 3 at Nov....7th

Am fully immersed and enjoying it! I found developing the younger players with potential quite reward and have 2 now in the first team doing very well

Sp are Pompey a good yet challenging club to start with? I have tried Preston, as I now live there, but.... struggling!

Pompey certainly are as each season the wage bill gets cut due to the debt - I'm sure you know all about that from recent news.

In season 1 they have 3 key rivals in same league with Southampton, Brighton & Reading

They have a relatively small ground capacity approx 21k.

They also have some good players, Varney, Huselklepp, Lawrence, Halford

The challenge is reducing the wage bill, find cheap but good players you can bring in straight away and free youth players you can develop.

I've been playing an attacking 4-2-4 (or 4-2-3-1 depending how you view it) and having some cracking high scoring games. Striker I got in has been scoring 30+ goals for last 2 seasons (a big, strong and excellent aerial striker who also scores many from his feet

I found the need to reconstruct the side somewhat with a mixture of youth and age to reduce wage bill very challenging. Certainly disappointed at being soooo close to promotion but I always resist the reload option as I would make the game less enjoyable in the long run.

Give it ago

Pompey.. but there is no chance for expansion there is there? I always like to try a team where I can see an impact for me being there... stadium expansion, youth development etc. I also don't like to start at the 'top' anymore really as it always feels a bit like cheating!

Try changing the way you play?

My preferred way of playing is as Director of Football - I let the Assistant handle everything he possibly can with the exception of contracts.

I sort out a starting tactic, sometimes a starting X1 (or only pick some players in certain positions if I feel they should be starting) and then tick the "use tactics" and "use current lineup" holiday options and then holiday for one day on match day.

It's then up to me to build the squad, deal with the board, negotiate with players, set up (maintain and peruse) the scouting networks ensure the future of the club by developing the infrastructure and youth teams etc.

You get through the season a lot quicker, which may help suck you into the game.

Life has taught me that you can't force love, it either happens or it doesn't whether you like it or not.

But there is the old saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder, so maybe take a break from the game for a while. I did this in FM11 and then found myself getting fully immersed in a new game upon my return and enjoying it more than ever.

Pompey.. but there is no chance for expansion there is there?

In game they can expand I think upto 35k which the board have done in previous versions when I've played. They may also build a new ground which I've never had in recent versions but I did many editions ago

However for either they will need success and money ......

Life has taught me that you can't force love, it either happens or it doesn't whether you like it or not.

But there is the old saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder, so maybe take a break from the game for a while. I did this in FM11 and then found myself getting fully immersed in a new game upon my return and enjoying it more than ever.

have you ever had a girlfriend with a shabby UI but great menu structure and is very performant !!

Love comes in many guises

Gotta have goals in the game to make it fun.

For me, the fun is building up a crap low-league club in a crappy league. Work on the club for 5ish seasons and then work on UEFA rankings for the league the club is in. Eventually enter UEFA champions and win it. Beat Barcelona like a dead fish and stand on the top. And hope that the nation of the league will give me a job and take it. Win the world cup with my club first-11.

Improve the crappy stadium I have to a massive 80000 stadium.

And so on.

Try playing in a league that's totally different; that sometimes spices things up. I started in MLS this year, and that's been a lot of fun; never played there before, and won't stay there forever, but it's a good place to start. I'd imagine Australia is similar.

minimize the hours/day spent on a save. avoid 3rd party programmes and opinions(that means stick around this forum) and start a new game and play 2hours every time you actually have a free time

I feel the same, I've not been able to really get into the game, I find myself going back and playing Fm2011 for my Fm fix.

I am extremely interested in Achter's 'Director of football' approach. I might try this when I start a new game. Questions:

1) You go on holiday AFTER the team selection for the game is made, or before?

2) The fact that, as manager, you miss all the team's matches, doesn't get negative comments from anywhere?

3) Do you, or the AssMan get credit for a successful season?

I would like to get through the season's games a little quicker because the 'end of season team building' is the best part of the year for me.

before when i've gotten bored of my normal way of playing fm i've taken obscure clubs in smaller countries and tried to build them up. poland, norway, things like that can be fun. its more fun now that the leagues are dynamic. before it was pretty futile.

Even with Dynamic league, trying to improve a low-standard league is pretty much still impossible - unless - you manage Portugal, Belgium, Scotland = the leagues that have the potential league (prize, TV, sponsorship) income to be above 10m a season.

I've played a long time for few Sweden clubs. The best I could do was 800k for league prize, 1.2m for TV rights, and 2m for sponsorship (combined).

Though, as my club progressed higher, any league prize and TV rights money was nothing compared to my gate receipts (combined) which came about 9m a season.

I think you kind of answered your question:

... after begging my wife to let me get it before payday...

Looks like you've gotten into a mode of asking your wife what to do, feel and behave.

Happens for many men, though. In the short run it seems like life is getting easier that way In the long run it doesn't...

In the past (which I found with FM11 specifically), the more games I created to try and get into it, the worse it got because you're rushing through the start doing all the same things (sorting tactics, coaching, scouting, getting rid of players etc etc).

The best way is to come at it with a fresh mind, start with a club you really want to, and take your time with the starting bits, making sure you get it right. You'll feel better about setting the foundations well and you can go from there.

As has been mentioned, unearthing a gem of a youth really does help, but the problem is that tends to happen AFTER the first season, the rest you might have seen in a previous attempt to get a career going, etc (i'm talking regens here, when your scouts unearth him and you haven't had to use a scout tool or player search).

Essentially, the more you rush, the less you get into it I think.

Another thing that got me into it this year was choosing a club I knew nothing about in the BSN and before playing I read up about them on Wiki - just to get a feeling for the clubs history.

After I had played a few games i went on to the club website and read up on the players and even managed to watch highlights of a cup game they had played which was absolutely fantastic! I was laughing my head off watching MY PLAYERS on the pitch - I was itching to dive back into FM after that.

Club was Blyth Spartans BTW

Try changing the way you play?

My preferred way of playing is as Director of Football - I let the Assistant handle everything he possibly can with the exception of contracts.

I sort out a starting tactic, sometimes a starting X1 (or only pick some players in certain positions if I feel they should be starting) and then tick the "use tactics" and "use current lineup" holiday options and then holiday for one day on match day.

It's then up to me to build the squad, deal with the board, negotiate with players, set up (maintain and peruse) the scouting networks ensure the future of the club by developing the infrastructure and youth teams etc.

You get through the season a lot quicker, which may help suck you into the game.

I started to play this method for the last 2 evenings, started as an alternative to a rage quit (i'd thrown away a 2 goal lead in the fa trophy semi and a 12 point BSP lead in an evening). So I started doing this and really enjoyed it. Board started building a stadium yesterday evening, was playing in it tonight.

You could always download one of the many mods that are available? A quick look through the Editors section of the forum and you'll find loads of new league structures to play with. Sometimes a wee change from the norm is all thats needed. Just started Kenco's World League mod and loving it so far.

I started to play this method for the last 2 evenings, started as an alternative to a rage quit (i'd thrown away a 2 goal lead in the fa trophy semi and a 12 point BSP lead in an evening). So I started doing this and really enjoyed it. Board started building a stadium yesterday evening, was playing in it tonight.

It's also fun hiring and firing "managers"

OK after many hours of 'forcing' myself to try to love this game... and it has taken some forcing, i have finally found out what it was I was missing... winning games!!!!! Yes, as simple as that. I'm Preston, currently on a 9 game unbeaten run (probably jinxed that now) and I'm as merry as anything. God love FM

You could always download one of the many mods that are available? A quick look through the Editors section of the forum and you'll find loads of new league structures to play with. Sometimes a wee change from the norm is all thats needed. Just started Kenco's World League mod and loving it so far.

I'd recommend this one too!

Check out the challenges forum, there's plenty to keep you busy - all the small to big club challenges in various leagues around the world and winning all 5 (or 6) champions leagues across the globe in one save are top of my list.

What about building new tactics from the tactics forum? Some of the ideas in there are worth trying out.