Wants 1st. team football.... getting beyond a joke!

So this idiot complains about wanting 1st. team football. He's made about 3/4 public complaints. I have wanted to keep him so I play him when I can.

I check the stats & he's played 7 out of 11 games, as a starter! He missed a couple of games due to injury & just not being fit enough.

Next complaint I'm putting the whinging git straight on the transfer list myself.

Seriously though; once a player has it in mind he wants 1st. team football you might as well list him there & then, because anything other than playing him any match will not satisfy him.

I really think this is now one of the worst elements of the game; along with the ridiculous meeting comments about changing a players status. Is anything going to be done about these banal additions to the game?

i agree, it is a pain when you have a young player wanting first team, i got one guy to be OK with 1 or 2 games. but he is annoyed again, and now a match got postponed.

It's known as management!

Pretty much every user manager will have a few too many players in his squad to keep happy. This will lead to requests for more football, which is only natural. You have a number of options:

1: Rotate the player in for some games and regularly use him as a sub

2: Loan him out

3: Tell him he can have a few games but needs to play well (then drop him if he doesn't)

4: Tell him to impress you in training, then start him if he's done well in reserve matches or the coach tells you he's been working hard

5: Sell him

6: Let him know who is boss

Option 2 is the easiest, but can result in players losing home-grown status if not properly managed. The others require a little more nous from the user. Some require some level of development tracking, so you know when to give him games. Others require you to know how to enforce your decisions through the interaction module. You might make things worse the first few times you experiment. However, over time, you will be able to keep your players in order.

Tbf, if he's started in 7 from the last 11 games that he's been fit, he shouldn't really be complaining about not getting first team football.

What's his squad status?

What's his squad status?

Good point. It was a hard time for me back in times to learn that I should not try to sign all the players if the only way is to promise all of them that they are key players and then keep them on bench. Very bad for team morale

In case this is the case here...but I certainly not find any problems regards to this.

He's 21 years old & down as "rotation;" the catagory has been unchanged since I took the club over 15 games ago. He's useful & worth having (as a rotation option) but I have better players in the left wing position that I am giving less games to as a consequence of this. His morale is low, yet he is getting the games.

BTW, thanks for stressing my point again Kain. No-one should still be complaining of lack of 1st. team football if he's played 7 out of last 11 games as a starter. This is complaning for complaining's sake. This feature must be broke!!!

In future I think I will get shot of these players. Mind you, I sure the game will throw up other moaners.

I am not sure but it may be that this individual is a pain in the a**? In that case your only option is to get rid of him. I can see that at 21 he might feel ready to be an important first team member and so he wants his status to be changed. Now if you have better players for that.... as wwfan said above. interact, loan, sell.

He's 21 years old & down as "rotation;" the catagory has been unchanged since I took the club over 15 games ago. He's useful & worth having (as a rotation option) but I have better players in the left wing position that I am giving less games to as a consequence of this. His morale is low, yet he is getting the games.

BTW, thanks for stressing my point again Kain. No-one should still be complaining of lack of 1st. team football if he's played 7 out of last 11 games as a starter. This is complaning for complaining's sake. This feature must be broke!!!

Players want to play. He will either have a very inflated opinion of his own abilities, which means he'll want to play almost every game, feel he needs some first team football to develop, or just want, at 21, to be playing first team football full stop.

Does he have the potential to be a top player? If so, you need to manage him so he develops fully, which means first team football, either at your club or on loan. His complaining can be a warning that his development is stagnating and he might not reach his PA. Or it can be an indication of a problem player. If he has moaned 4 times in 15 games, which your posts suggest, then it is likely to be the latter. If however he is going to be a star, then you need to work out how to manage the situation.

I think the constant complaining for first team football could be somewhat manageable if we were able to explain the situation to the player. We should have more subtle options to let the player know where he stands now and in the future. Currently we're only able to tell them to "Shut up", "I'll loan you out", or "I'll let you go". It would be nice to be able to tell the player something like "Be patient, you'll be in the first team at the beginning of next season". This could be listed as a promise made by the manager and then the player could decide if he wants to wait that long (and then hold the manager to his word).

yes i agree, i have 23 and 24 year olds i would love to use, as they have potential.

you can of course use, see where were we are at the end of the season. that usualy works if you plan to use them at some point.

He's now played 12 games (only 1 as a sub) in the 18 game season. He's just asked for a transfer. He is welcome!

However, this doesn't get to the bottom of the problem with this element of the game. This player has no right to be requesting a transfer or complaining about a lack of 1st. team football. As a manager, what more can I do for an ambitious kid (as regards playing him in 1st. team) than what I have done.

This is an absolute no win situation & is starting to smell "buggy".

I think the constant complaining for first team football could be somewhat manageable if we were able to explain the situation to the player. We should have more subtle options to let the player know where he stands now and in the future. Currently we're only able to tell them to "Shut up", "I'll loan you out", or "I'll let you go". It would be nice to be able to tell the player something like "Be patient, you'll be in the first team at the beginning of next season". This could be listed as a promise made by the manager and then the player could decide if he wants to wait that long (and then hold the manager to his word).

I am not sure how much that would help, as it would arguably only affect a minority of players. Many whom you promise future starts will have to reject it, or the feature is worthless. Agree that telling a player he'll get a few starts and sub appearances this season and be considered as a starter for next should be an option though.

Good squad management is worth its weight in gold long-term. For example, I had two like-for-like AMC/MCs of exactly the same future potential (Teissier and Rousseau, both regens), whom I couldn't both fit into my first team plans when they were 20. Rousseau was a better player, according to my coaching team, so I kept to use as a rotation player, whereas Teissier, who was slightly behind in his development, went on loan for two consecutive seasons. Two year later, my staff evaluated Teissier as the better player, currently and potentially, resulting in Rousseau being loaned the next season. Now they've both reached 23, I've sold my more experienced but less talented MC, with Teissier, a model pro, now first choice and club captain, with Rousseau a very capable rotation option. Teissier, in particular, is playing very well, scoring 15 odd goals from midfield in his first season and looking to repeat it this time around.

I have a similar position with my AMR this season, loaning out the player I think will be my starter in that position next season for a year to get lots of playing time. That allows me to start the most experienced player, who, valued at 6m and playing well, is attracting a lot of attention from other clubs, with offers of twice that value coming in during the transfer window. By the end of the season, I will have two younger players of his standard or better, one of whom is HG, allowing me to sell him at a good price. I'll hope for 12, but will settle for 10.

I am not sure how much that would help, as it would arguably only affect a minority of players. Many whom you promise future starts will have to reject it, or the feature is worthless.

I think if their ambition is high or the manager has lied to them in the past, then yes they should demand playing time or a transfer. My first few seasons in FM2012 I would respond to the complaints, but it just made the situation worse (player unhappy I wouldn't let them go). If I want to keep the player, I've found it's better to just ignore their concern and start them in the next match or two.

Good squad management is worth its weight in gold long-term. For example, I had two like-for-like AMC/MCs of exactly the same future potential (Teissier and Rousseau, both regens), whom I couldn't both fit into my first team plans when they were 20. Rousseau was a better player, according to my coaching team, so I kept to use as a rotation player, whereas Teissier, who was slightly behind in his development, went on loan for two consecutive seasons. Two year later, my staff evaluated Teissier as the better player, currently and potentially, resulting in Rousseau being loaned the next season. Now they've both reached 23, I've sold my more experienced but less talented MC, with Teissier, a model pro, now first choice and club captain, with Rousseau a very capable rotation option. Teissier, in particular, is playing very well, scoring 15 odd goals from midfield in his first season and looking to repeat it this time around.

I actually haven't been able to successfully loan out a single player in FM2012 or have any of them agree to join a feeder club (playing in MLS). I've only played about 10 seasons (over 3 careers), but loaning out players hasn't been an option for me. Other clubs are interested in the players, but never make an offer.

I'm not sure I understand the OP's complaint that some players are unreasonable. The game is designed so that some players are unreasonable. Everyone is not reasonable in real life and FM models that. Pretty well, I'd suggest.

I sell these players. Because it's a game, it's limited.. the reasoning and debate only goes so far. If the player is a nob then he's a nob, his complaints about first team football when he has first team football mean that after a few attempts I get bored of this 'broken' player and sell him. He can be someone else's irritation.

I get aggravated when i sign guys as back ups with the back up squad status and they start to complain that they dont play all the time. you signed as a back up! your job is to fill in if someone gets hurt so shut up and sit on the bench.

I sell these players. Because it's a game, it's limited.. the reasoning and debate only goes so far. If the player is a nob then he's a nob, his complaints about first team football when he has first team football mean that after a few attempts I get bored of this 'broken' player and sell him. He can be someone else's irritation.

same here bud......either listen OR GET OUT!!

It's known as management!

Pretty much every user manager will have a few too many players in his squad to keep happy. This will lead to requests for more football, which is only natural. You have a number of options:

1: Rotate the player in for some games and regularly use him as a sub

2: Loan him out

3: Tell him he can have a few games but needs to play well (then drop him if he doesn't)

4: Tell him to impress you in training, then start him if he's done well in reserve matches or the coach tells you he's been working hard

5: Sell him

6: Let him know who is boss

Option 2 is the easiest, but can result in players losing home-grown status if not properly managed. The others require a little more nous from the user. Some require some level of development tracking, so you know when to give him games. Others require you to know how to enforce your decisions through the interaction module. You might make things worse the first few times you experiment. However, over time, you will be able to keep your players in order.

Fair enough, but what about those instances where you sign a foreign player who is unsettled before the season starts so you give him leave for a couple of weeks and when he comes back, he want a talk about not having 1st team football even before the next game??!!

Can see how this can sometimes get annoying but in older FM's I've stockpiled massive squads and that's kind of taken the enjoyment away. Have quite liked having a smaller more balanced squad for FM12. In regards to the 7 from 12, in those situations it is dependent on the player's temperament - I find often listing them makes them release they're being stupid and will quickly force them to come back with their tails between their legs. Or you end up shifting a player clearly not that committed - almost win win.

But surely there should be a "better" option then a fix like that? When do you hear of Mangers Tranfer Listing players just to make a point of that 7 in 12 games is "First" team football, but actually talking to them in the correct manner, and keeping promises doesnt work, surely this doesnt need coating over and is some sort of bug, or something is wrong or flawed somewhere??

But surely there should be a "better" option then a fix like that? When do you hear of Mangers Tranfer Listing players just to make a point of that 7 in 12 games is "First" team football, but actually talking to them in the correct manner, and keeping promises doesnt work, surely this doesnt need coating over and is some sort of bug, or something is wrong or flawed somewhere??

How much do we really know what goes on behind the scenes? I mean, given recent news, it seems as though Joey Barton threatens himself with the transfer list every week!

In anger, on the training pitch or after training, you could have a wee chat with a player, disagree and then say they're on the transfer list. Before the next day they realise they don't want to leave and then stay. I think FM has the erratic, unexplainable human nature down to a tee!

How much do we really know what goes on behind the scenes? I mean, given recent news, it seems as though Joey Barton threatens himself with the transfer list every week!

In anger, on the training pitch or after training, you could have a wee chat with a player, disagree and then say they're on the transfer list. Before the next day they realise they don't want to leave and then stay. I think FM has the erratic, unexplainable human nature down to a tee!

Agree with some aspects, but in this case, the OP has spoken to the player, he suggests he wants first team football, the OP has stated that he's spoken to the player, stated that he will get to play and be involved. He plays 7 out of 12 games, and i think he'd of played more but due to injury/fitness didnt.

The SI response is the most disturbing, just put him on the transfer list he'll soon come back with his tail in between his legs! Awful!

The flaw seems to be with the conversation between player and user is invalid and has no bearing onto the actaully request, surely the response after the 12 games or the 2nd conversation should be about the time played which is enough, or is still not first team in the players opinion.

I get aggravated when i sign guys as back ups with the back up squad status and they start to complain that they dont play all the time. you signed as a back up! your job is to fill in if someone gets hurt so shut up and sit on the bench.

Yeah, this is annoying.

I don't think the player interaction is very good. When I have somebody moaning about not getting enough football it's ridiculous that my options are either to make a promise (that I don't intend to keep), tell them to work harder in training (which just upsets them, especially if they have been working hard), decide to sell/loan a player (how reasonable is that?) or hope to win a 'Do as I say!" argument.

For starters, selling or loaning players in LLM is hard enough at the best of times (so that option isn't very good) but more importantly, why don't I have the option to say that the guy in front of him is currently playing too well to drop?

I THOUGHT this has been fixed in the latest patch?

almost win win, until you cant unload them either, i kept my side of trying to find them a club. not my problem.

one i have refused to let go because i want him as backup, and with injuries would probably get a game.

Strange, my back up keeper complains every 6 months about not getting enough games, play him for a month, boom problem is gone for another 6 months.

Strange, my back up keeper complains every 6 months about not getting enough games, play him for a month, boom problem is gone for another 6 months.

is he THAT old?

im confused......

im confused......

We know.

still trolling i see

Got some good advice on this thread & would like to thank all contributors. I thin Atchyman might have a point which is that SI have thrown in a few loose cannons who are never going to be satisfied; like the one I have.

Back to this player in particular, he is on the Transfer List at his own request, he is in the reserves because I can't be pestered with him any more, he is contracted to the club for another 4 years & he is now requesting I pay him 950K to allow him to terminate his contract. I don't think so! Being the vindictive ba**ard I am, & certainly not a perfect manager... sorry) he will spend his next 4 years in my reserves, or maybe the U21's, for seriously vexing me!

Is there no chance of rescuing him through tuition? You may be able to adjust his ambition or whatever else is causing the problem.

to me its not how many games they play and even if they do they kick up a fuss, i think the problem is the of the amount of times it happens, in my save with brighton i'm in FEB BUT NO FEWER THAN 5 PLAYERS HAVE MOANED ABOUT FIRST TEAM FOOTBALL thats just unrealistic.In FM11the amount of times it happened was about 1 a year ITS GETTIN ON MY NERVES!!!!!!!!

start playing your players then, or sell them.

i dont agree that the player will leave regardless.

Coates wanted to leave me because he wasn't getting enough games. i even transfer listed him on request. i played him in a League Cup game and a Euro cup game in quick succession about a month later and he wants off the transfer list and says he's now happy.

i have a young goalkeeper who wanted first team football as well so i gave him a few matches and after awhile he becomes happy again. i dropped him soon after that because i wanted Reina to have some more matches but the young keeper isn't moaning yet.

Is this related to the coach saying that a player that has played plenty of competitive matches and is 100% match fit has stalled because of lack of match experience?

Show him who's boss! I was giving a regen right back a few run outs and my usual starting right back started complaining, so I told him to prove he deserves a spot in the first team and he started giving it all the mouth! Didn't bother selling him, I just terminated his contract. Nobody's bigger than the club.

The whinging backup goalie is the worst though. IRL most backup goalies never get starts except for maybe a cup tie vs. a really weak team. I have a young goalie playing for my reserve squad--ie he's an up and coming #3 goalie right now who just recently "wanted to have a word with me."

Had a related case which was almost even more stupid.

The 1st choice goalie was injured in the first part of the season and my backup goalie was so good, I kept him on. 1st choice goalie decided to complain. So far, so good.

I said, OK, I'm going to give you a run... He promptly gets a small injury (one of those annoying two day-injuries at the wrong time), so he was ineligible the next game. Which happened to be the last game before winter break (playing Eredivisie). So, with no competitive games left for a month, he handed in a transfer request in January...

I mean, surely the player should have realized there simply were 0 games to play. How was he able to conclude I'm not fulfilling my promise?

As to OP: 7/11 games as a starter, the rest of the matches with injury or low fitness; this should have fulfilled the manager promise.

Thanks for the selective reading of my post

Thanks for a non-constructive comment and and clouding over a flaw..

did you read what he posted at all or just that one line?

start playing your players then, or sell them.

how can i if my first 11 are much better than my subs/res plus it seems to be completely unbalanced with 3 of my strikers throwin a wobbly but my goalies who have had 2 apps all season sit there silent

Has nobody ever played sport at a club? Team selection is fraught with difficulties, problem players who want to play at a higher level than their standard, players who don't want to play with each other, mates who want to play with each other even though their standards are different, cliques who select themselves en masse, people who play for themselves and not the team etc, etc.

Case in point. I head the selection panel for my club. Two years ago we had a player who was promoted a team by the slimmest of margins. He had marginally the best stats in his previous season, but the captain's report suggested this was a combination of missing matches against the top sides, playing against the weaker ones, and being partnered by the actual best player in the team for key matches. He was told, on his promotion, that he'd have to perform to justify his place. He didn't and was statistically by far the worst player in the team. He was told he would be dropped the next season, not replaced by his rival / ex-partner in the team below, but by a new player who was far better.

He responded to being dropped by attempting to get support from his own team members, rather than discussing with the selection committee, which is considered to be very bad form. He found he had no support from any of his team members, who all thought he wasn't good enough for the level. He then threatened to leave the club if not selected where he wanted to be. Ultimately, he was reselected in the higher team because of injury and unavailability issues, and his rival/ex-partner being happy to stay in the team below, as was one other player who would have been considered for the slot as well. He was told, in no uncertain terms, that this was a last chance saloon and if he came bottom of the stats, he would be dropped the next season. However, if he performed, he would keep his place.

He then "injured" himself and was "out" for the season. However, during this injury, he was spotted, many times, practising with his friend, on club facilities despite not having paid his membership. We had actually given him the benefit of the doubt, assuming he was just trying out his injury, as we did like him on a personal level and wanted him to play for the club in the future. However, it soon became apparent that he was extracting the urine and was just using our facilities for free. Eventually, the club had to threaten to ban him from the premises unless he paid his fees. We then discovered he had actually joined a rival club and was going to play for them anyway, so our attempts to remain on friendly terms with him had been a waste from the start.

This is one such example from many I've experienced over the years. If real life is like that, why shouldn't FM be the same? Why should a goalkeeper who has been dropped after injury decide to wait for a few months to see if the manager will keep his promise to play him? Why should a player demanding regular 1st team football be happy with a 60% starting ratio? Why should young, upcoming talent be happy with a spot on the bench? Why should an older player, wanting to eke out the last vestiges of talent, be satisfied being a backup? Why should all players behave in a professional, 'do what is best for the club / manager' manner? Shouldn't we just be thankful that many do?

This is one such example from many I've experienced over the years. If real life is like that, why shouldn't FM be the same? Why should a goalkeeper who has been dropped after injury decide to wait for a few months to see if the manager will keep his promise to play him? Why should a player demanding regular 1st team football be happy with a 60% starting ratio? Why should young, upcoming talent be happy with a spot on the bench? Why should an older player, wanting to eke out the last vestiges of talent, be satisfied being a backup? Why should all players behave in a professional, 'do what is best for the club / manager' manner? Shouldn't we just be thankful that many do?

Because they've agreed to do so but then decide that their manager's inability to play them in matches when none have taken place is 'breaking a promise'. At the very least it's a flaw in the game's cause - effect logic and the feedback to the player. More likely problem is that the game doesn't calculate the percentage of matches played when determing whether a promise has been kept. I've had a similar issue when a team I'd taken over not too long before the winter break was apparently underachiveing (despite taking 26 points out of 30 under my guidance and shooting up the table) and then players started throwing tantrums because of this during the break not realizing that improving ones league position without having any matches to play is rather difficult. All it could see was league position instead of recent form and since the position hadn't been improving for a month due to the break it was apparently my fault. You could try and reason about this, fit some real life logic behind it but ultimately it's clear in both cases that the interaction module needs some improvement. The logic behind all the manager promise stuff should be clearer and the feedback more relevant than it currently is.

Something that could do with being added to the player interaction is the ability to lead the conversation to the fact that another player is simply performing better, from there the conversation could go in a few directions that either has the player understanding your position, becoming determined to prove you wrong by taking the other guys place, going off in a huff or even causing friction with the other guy.

For me it's all well & good having a player complain about a lack of 1st team football but when the only options are either to play him or sell him the feature is incomplete & unfortunately we currently have the predominantly negative side of the situation.

This is one such example from many I've experienced over the years. If real life is like that, why shouldn't FM be the same? Why should a goalkeeper who has been dropped after injury decide to wait for a few months to see if the manager will keep his promise to play him? Why should a player demanding regular 1st team football be happy with a 60% starting ratio? Why should young, upcoming talent be happy with a spot on the bench? Why should an older player, wanting to eke out the last vestiges of talent, be satisfied being a backup? Why should all players behave in a professional, 'do what is best for the club / manager' manner? Shouldn't we just be thankful that many do?

I'm not complaining about jerks, or players who demand first team play even if their rivals are (a) better players and (b) playing really well. Players can be impatient or unrealistic. I accept that.

But promising a player "Yes, I'll play you soon", the last game before the break, he gets a small injury (you know, one of those "2 day injuries just before a matchday"-type, so the "long term injury, of course manager cannot fulfill promise"-logic won't kick in), and thus no more games to be played before the month is up. Tell me how I could've played him more often? It was literally not possible. This is not breaking a promise. It is a flaw in the game logic / feedback logic. I really cannot see another way about it.