I never realised how much manager rep mattered

So I thought I was pretty good at FM, able to take weak teams to European glory, solve financial issues and eradicate world hunger.

Thing is, in previous FMs always started as an international footballer. This time I decided to start out with automatic experience and picked a newly promoted Danish second division team with no players.

I bought a bunch of players and by the second season I had taken them to second place (just missed out on promotion) and decided to jump ship to a pro team in the first division. Unfortunately I joined a club that was in a dire financial position, and the board wanted me to both gain promotion and reduce the wage budget. I sacked all their big names, got their wage budget down and finished fifth (predicted third, and only top two get promoted). However I had bought extremely well for the next year and was excited about my chances. However in the off-season the board turned us semi-pro and cut our wage budget to about two-thirds what it was. And I had a bunch of talent coming to the club as soon as the transfer window opened.

So of course when my free transfers arrived we were about 50% over our wage budget, but I assumed we would get promoted and it would all work itself out - we had a much better squad than the previous year when we finished fifth, and I was sure I could finish in the top two.

While my existing players were all performing for me, the best of the new players I had brought in were giving me a series of 6.7 and 6.8 performances and nothing better. The only time they ever responded to my team talks was when they were unhappy at me. By October we were sitting in sixth position, morale was through the floor and I got the arse.

So I wondered if this was the 'morale bug' people had been complaining about in the new patch. I've just recently started a game in the French Ligue 2 with international footballer as my experience level and I've got seven wins and a draw in my first eight games. This club was newly relegated and by the time I took over, the wage bill needed slashing and all their stars were already on their way to other clubs. But the new players I've brought in are reacting to my team-talks perfectly. It's gotta be my reputation.

Anyway this feels like the way it should be - players aren't going to want to perform for a manager who's only been involved with the game since breakfast. Also, I've decided pure LLM is a lot harder than I'd led myself to believe.

Well written post and conclusion.

It's only that important since the last patch and i agree it's the way it should be.

My most recent save I, for the first time, changed from automatic to international rep. I did this due to players not listening to me as the op has described. Whilst I agree that this is ok and not what i'd call a bug it was still annoying when new players didn't respect me. If they think my reputation is too low then why sign in the first place?

Any way i've convinced myself that this is ok as in the world of FM I consider myself to be experienced so deserve a decent rep. Also when i've won the championship first season and followed it with finishes of 9th and then 6th in the prem and added a league cup I feel I deserve a bit more respect from my players. Have to admit I love the fact that positive responses are easier to come by.

Nail on head

People say FM should have different difficulty settings so some can enjoy a challenge and others can just build a team and win every week.

Well, it does.

People say FM should have different difficulty settings so some can enjoy a challenge and others can just build a team and win every week.

Well, it does.

Good point to an extent. Don't think it is difficult to overchieve with any rep if your managing a club in fairly good condition on your arrival. If, on the other hand, you take over at a club with serious problems then it is much harder. Your starting rep does make it easier initially but that advantage will surely disipate as your career progresses meaning you'll have a difficulty level until success increases your rep.

I'm sure to go back to lower rep when starting a lower leaugue save but I'm enjoying my current save so it will be a while yet.

That's right, I'm at automatic right now and boy, my players look like they never feel like smiling. Is there a way to change manager experience in-game?

That's right, I'm at automatic right now and boy, my players look like they never feel like smiling. Is there a way to change manager experience in-game?

Without using an in game editor the only way to increase rep is by being successful as far as I know. Winning trophies will make it even quicker but just over achieving and continously improving will get you there eventually.

To be honest I wouldn't worry too much if your already deep into a save as it will naturally increase and the difference in actual performance isn't big enough to worry about. It would be nice if the players cheered up a bit but it is managable.

Whilst I agree that this is ok and not what i'd call a bug it was still annoying when new players didn't respect me. If they think my reputation is too low then why sign in the first place?

Yeah I was wondering about this myself.

I think it's reasonable that these players would come to a club even when they don't respect the manager (everyone needs a job) but I couldn't help but think the team might have gone better if I'd signed players who weren't quite as good - better to get good performances out of average players than ordinary performances from stars. But it's counterintuitive to try to improve your team by avoiding the best players available, and it adds a whole new level of complexity. I also wonder how close it is to real life.

Anyone have any ideas on whether or not this is realistic? My gut instinct says it probably is.

I have never played football for a club EVER so I feel I have to choose automatic, If I choose Sunday League Footballer I would feel like I was lying on my CV

Good post though OP, really good actually! I am glad manager rep is having an effect like it should do, as someone who knows nothing about football I should be ignored by most people in the game. Most of my shouts, subs and formations are based on statistical analysis (no I dont go around doing ANOVAs on my FM players), I mean looking at the stats and seeing what works!

Doesn't automatic just set you to align with the lowest playable league?

I like that reputation dictates how players (both internally and externally) perceive you initially, but I do have an issue with the rigidity of it, as once you've been at a club for a certain period of time your players should have formed an opinion of you. Why can't my star striker, who I've worked with for three successful years, be motivated by me if my reputation isn't higher than his? There have been examples raised where a manager has taken his team from the Championship to top six in the Prem, but he still can't get players to respond to team talks as his reputation is only national. So what? He's proven himself internally and won a promotion with them, even if he never made it as a player himself.

There have been examples raised where a manager has taken his team from the Championship to top six in the Prem, but he still can't get players to respond to team talks as his reputation is only national. So what? He's proven himself internally and won a promotion with them, even if he never made it as a player himself.

Maybe there should be a third reputation value ie club. So it goes World, Home, Club

the first two do their current job but the third, club, starts related to the home rep but increases or decreases depending how you perform with that club. So it can be much higher than home rep and affect only YOUR players or maybe your players and players with the favorite club set to yours.

The only way you can change your rep in game would be with FMRTE.

And I remember correctly there was a time when players wouldn't sign for you if they felt your reputation was too low.

I'm also experienced how low reputation effects performance in my AVB-inspired career.

I set my starting rep to '1' with FMRTE. After some hard-won success I've worked my way up to being hired by a below-average Swedish 2nd Tier club. Hiring me was a shock as they are way above my supposed caliber

I brought in loads of half-decent South Americans but am having trouble motivating them because my reputation is so minescule.

It is nice that big-name players don't respect no-name managers. However, if the results are good and you do a good job in general, even the international players should start to like you after a while. This isn't happening. You need to win trophies in order to surpass your players' reputation, because after taking Roma to Champions League in the second season cutting their wage budget in half and making squad harmony excellent I am still of National reputation while the club and many of the players are Continental. Without trophies you are nothing. This begs the question: why do big-name players want to play for me but when they arrive they think I'm a nobody?

The current model is a step forward, but it needs a lot of work in order to both reflect real-life logic AND improve playability. Right now the reputation model is too unsophisticated to do so, and sadly it is a model that underpins large parts of the game.