Squad Numbers: Lets give them some meaning

I raised this point when 2008 first came out, but its probably been forgotten since then so i am going to re-raise it.

At the moment, Squad numbers dont matter, a player dosnt care if he is number 9, or number 72 etc.

I say players should be (de)motivated by which squad number they get...so lets say a club has two forwards 'fighting' it out for number 9 which usually given to the best forward, the player who gets it will be very pleased, the player who didnt would be upset...this could be the same for all number 1-11.

Clubs/Countries could even have their own favorite/speacial numbers e.g. Man Utd - 7, Brazil - 10, (Everton - 9)..and it is considered extra special to have that number.

Also players should be able to request which squad number they would prefer, and they could have favourites (e.g. Anelka likes the number 39)

and when a player is given a squad number, a history of all the players who have worn that number could be given.

just a thought

I don't know about the history of all players thing it would be huge.

I think it's a good idea, but I would have one number per club and where applicable e.g. Man Utd and 7, having every number mean something would be irritating and then you would have to take into consideration player superstitions/preferences etc.

yes, one number per club/country would be the best

Squad numbers mean nothing and should not affect the game. It will only lead to bugs and more people whining about the game.

I dont care at all about squad numbers, only that I never assign 13 to anyone. Silly superstition, but...

Only a couple of players get attached to their numbers in real life - seem to remember Shearer demanding the number 9 when he moved to Newcastle... and one player who moved to an Italian club couldn't get his beloved no. 10 shirt so accepted the number 19 and sewed a "+" in between the numbers. But these are exceptions rather than rules.

It won't add anything to the game IMO. Personally I do like to issue my first-11 the 1-11 shirts and give the 2nd choice goalie the 13, but aside from that I just randomise it.

I save my favourite number (18) for special players or ones that I really like. Defoe for example already has it so I keep him on it when he is at spurs Dunno what he is at pompy thou.

That was Zamorano with the 9+1 shirt.

I take everyones point that it won't add anything to the game, but I don't think additions need to necessarily add to the game play and can be thought of as nice features e.g. when you go and watch a favourred club and the newspapers say your a loyal fan, doesn't mean anything but it's a nice touch.

I have been thinking of this today actually. Unlike the the idea posted, I figure on my next game, I will give numbers that match when they signed. So for eg, if they are the 35th person to sign on, then that will be their shirt number.

It is similar to what they do with cricket, players get presented a baggy green, and the number on it represents what number person they are to get the baggy green......

I quite like the general idea, and I personally wouldn't mind the extra hassle of one or two 'special numbers' per club, and choosing which players to give them to. Although I would understand if quite a few others thought of it as slightly pointless or irritating.

Maybe a more subtle approach would be better, like for example:

I sign a quality new player for Manchester United, and decide to give him the No. 7 shirt, which has history in the club. Now, I wouldn't want it to make such a difference to the team that we start losing games because my other star player is peeved about him not having the shirt, just a little acknowledgment by the game would be enough, eg. a news item appears in my inbox - 'XXX Given No. 7 Shirt' - (Similar example: http://www.arsenal.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=507505).

And to take it further so it has a bearing on the game in some way, check the players general happiness, where it could state something along the lines of 'Delighted to be handed the No. 7 shirt' etc. Just my two cents on the matter anyway!

I believe the researchers have been asked for this kind of information this year, so it may well be a new feature.

I believe the researchers have been asked for this kind of information this year, so it may well be a new feature.

Norbaek was going on about it, then someone (Norbaek himself?) deleted his posts (and mine where I'd quoted him).

Researchers have also been asked to fill in ethnicity and hair colour fields- face gen for all players? Improved ME graphics?

Sometimes I like to assign unique numbers to unique players - for example, Tappa in "Blade" wore the number 99 kit, which made him easy to spot on the pitch and seemed to reflect his playful, spirited personality.

I wouldn't mind a bit of a news story about the number 7 shirt or the number 9 shirt, for example, or the number 1 for goalkeepers .. but I'd imagine that this might simply be a slight positive boost to morale and popularity for that player. I don't want players to get all primadonna about a number.

(Oooh ... though a Confidence section about how "The supporters don't feel X's recent performances justify the number 9 on his jersey" might be very entertaining!)

However, before we go there, there are a couple of things I'd like to see:

1. Squad numbers used during club friendlies

2. International squad numbers as persistent and used during most internationals (e.g., World Cup qualifiers, friendlies), not just major tournaments

Researchers have also been asked to fill in ethnicity and hair colour fields- face gen for all players? Improved ME graphics?

Intriguing...........

I like the idea. It's happens IRL, players wanting special numbers, and being pleased when they get the number they want. I remember Rooney last summer announcing "I'm delighted that I've been given number 10, it's a special number in the history of the club". Also when West Ham signed a player (forgotteen his name) and he demanded the number 10 and wouldn't play unless Harry Redknapp gave him the number. It does motivate players, for example if you were playing for Brazil and you were given the number 10 you would feel that you had to be the main man and be the best. It counts for nothing but means everything to some players.

Oh! Neat! I may just have to go in and set that for every team ...

Ter when I tried to set friendlies to 'use squad numbers', the database wouldn't load ingame and would only load when I went back and unchecked that box.

Probably just a co-incidence, but Anelka has the the no. 39 shirt in my game and he's playing for Birmingham.

Have you reported that in the bugs forum? Don't think that sort of thing is meant to happen.

why when you search in the editor there is 2 friendlies

I usually pick numbers for my team that I want them to be and get some delusional satisfaction from putting players who are bitching about stuff as number 75 or something even tho it makes no difference to them, I think the implications of putting something like this into the game are a little too loaded, cuz like Ter said giving Ronaldinho no. 80 would really wind him up in game whereas in real life he loves it, I tend to play the game giving people numbers that I know mean something but bear no relevance to the game, way too frought with danger to implement imo

im sure there are loads of meaningfull numbers

but would the game be smart enough to recognise them

such as giving a striker the no.14 shirt at arsenal

or giving a winger the no.11 shirt at man u

signing a now old c.ronaldo and giving him the no.77 because of someone else at your team

every number can be important in a way

i like the idea thought

Number 10! IRAN! ALI DAEIS NUMBER! Ali daei world top scorer for national teams. karimi always had number 10 for irans nationall team

and number 8 ALI KARIMIS NUMBER, Ali karimi = asian maradona and when he got famous he got number 8

when in the data editor for friendlies in the competitions menu when you tick use squad numbers there are 2 friendlies wasnt sure what one so ticked both but still doesnt work during game is there another way

I suppose. I think this could be a good addtion if the chairman regarded such as Man Utd having his own special number like 7, and would only give it to a player with a high enough potential ability to be a legend

:thup:I like the idea. Anything that adds some more touches to the game should be welcomed, especially if they have the possibility of having some impact (not too much though), ie in this case, on player happiness which would in turn require you to take this into consideration with your man management.

There seems to be a few of these 'small additions' threads around at the moment. Maybe this says something about the need for SI to pay more attention to features that can add to the depth, individuality and unpredictability of the game. For me at the moment, once you've got a decent grasp of the tactical/ME system, team talks and media interaction (ie what not to say), the game has become far too predictable and same-ish.

I think it would be a nice touch. Some clubs also designate (?) certain numbers for their fans as well.

It would actually be pretty cool if you could retire certain numbers for the club you're managing. I've always wanted to do that after Del Piero made 500 apps for his club.

interesting idea but it's another feature that would be annoying after a couple of seasons and that doesnt affect the main thing in FM: matches

I rekon it would just lead to more bugs, and I wouldnt take any of it. If they have fights over a bloody number then they wont get paid.

Checking squad numbers in the editor doesn't work anyways. In fact there are several things in the editor that don't work but never really deemed them important enough to bother with, especially after the biggest flaw in the editor(max year in competition history is 2006, so last years' winners cannot be edited) wasn't fixed in 8.0.2 when I mentioned it before even 8.0.1 was released.

I think it would be a nice touch. Some clubs also designate (?) certain numbers for their fans as well.

It would actually be pretty cool if you could retire certain numbers for the club you're managing. I've always wanted to do that after Del Piero made 500 apps for his club.

But then you end up in complicated situations. Wasn't there talk of Milan retiring the number '3' unless or until such time as another Maldini was worthy of it?

But then you end up in complicated situations. Wasn't there talk of Milan retiring the number '3' unless or until such time as another Maldini was worthy of it?

Yes, Milan are retiring the number 3 until Maldinis son comes up through the ranks.

I like the idea of certain numbers having a certain significance but what I would love to see would be when a key player retires he nominates a replacement for his number (Hopefully a young player he has tutored). Then both you and the younger player have to approve it, and the young player could be "Flattered he has been given player x's number" or "Feels under pressure to perform after inheriting player x's number". It could be a good way of making the game more interesting, without having an influence on the performance or morale of the other players in the team.

It would also be nice to see certain numbers given a bit of prestige about them, almost like a locker room with all the players to have played a certain amount of games for the club in that jumper having their name shown alongside it, this could also mean you could have news articles where when players are assigned those numbers they could be "Flattered to be given player y's number 4" or that player could comment that they feel "Player z is a good choice for my former number 4".

i like soupman's idea

mentoring players and saying they think the player has the ability to step into their shoes is one thing, but i dont think veteran footballers would go as far as to say he should wear my shirt when i'm gone

I'm managing Reading FC and i never give anyone the number 13 shirt as, in real life the number 13 shirt has been allocated to us fans and a player will never wear it.

Ah you're not THE ginger Roy are you? - back to HNA with you!!

I was actually going to make the same point as this post as well, I never assign 13 when I manage Reading

Some great suggestions here, and I'm a real squad number nut as well so I'll add my thoughts, most of which have already been mooted here:

I'd like teams to have the option of ONE "favourite" number, and not every club will have one. E.g. Gillingham don't have one, but Brazil's is 10, Man United's is 9, Arsenal's is 14, Liverpool's is 7, etc.

If a player is allocated a team's favourite number, the fans could react unfavourably if the player taking the shirt is a donkey (do we want to factor in positions? i.e. if a defender takes Henry's no 14 shirt - do we want the fans annoyed? Probably not - it's too much hassle).

I'd like to see IRL squad number retirements, but I see no reason to make this happen in-game. Here's the list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retired_numbers_in_association_football Make it happen SI.

I'd like some players to be given ONE favourite number and request that number (e.g. Henry 14, Shevchenko 9, Ballack 13, Anelka 39, etc). Depending on their mentality, they'll react different if they don't get it. Someone professional like Henry will react with a gallic shrug if he doesn't get it, whilst someone like Anelka will cry.

I'd like to have a stronger number/position association. At the very least, this should be the "English" squad number system (i.e. 6 is a centre back, 11 is left winger, 9 is striker, etc), but I'd like to see this extended, so other countries have their squad numbers sorted appropriately. So Brazil often give the number 5 to their midfield enforcer, number 6 is left back, number 3 is centre back, and so on.

With regards to players being unhappy at being given certain numbers, I don't agree. However, a player might be unhappy if their stripped of their favourite squad number. But that's about it.

Nice one.

I think this would be a good addition to the game that would have slight affects on morale.The Idea though for one number per club would be quite difficult for a club like man utd.I was thinking up until gillsmans comment that the no.7 was the only significant no. in the clubs history.As Gillsman said,9 is to.so is 10.

At No.7,we've had George Best,Steve Coppell,Bryan Robson,Eric Cantona,Becks and now Cristiano.

At No.9,we've had Bobby Charlton and Andy Cole

and at no.10,Dennis Violet,Denis Law,Sparky Hughes,Teddy Sheringham,Ruud,Wayne Rooney

Also I think the International number positions is a good idea.

How about a news item saying "player given the famous number 9 shirt" or something like that.

I don't think that it should have any effects on performances, moral or anything like that, I think that at least a history of what numbers a player has worn during his career shoul be kept. Perhaps it could show under the achievements screen what number he wore while at each club, and when the AI signed a player it could take into account what numbers a player has worn in the past when choosing his number.

For example, lets say a player has just signed for a new club. He has worn the number 9 shirt for three of the four clubs that he has played for in the past, wearing number 10 at the other club. Number 9 gets priority so the AI first tries to give him that - however, if it is occupied the AI then goes to number 10. Finally, if that is occupied they then go with whatever system is used currently (not sure what element of randomess there is to it?). So basically, the shirt numbers don't mean something to the club, but rather to the player.

As I said, the player being given a favoured shirt wouldn't affect the player whatsoever, I think it just adds an element of realism.

Brilliant ideas here and I think all of the original post ideas would make the game more realistic and better. I always take the annual squad numbers seriously and I hate it when I arrive at a club mid-season and the numbers are just really random e.g CM no.9 CB no.3 etc.

Infact, I had been thinking of doing a thread on this subject a week or so ago but I'd forgotten about it.

Good, make it happen SI. You know you want to.

I just want to know why I cant use #13 in friendlies and non competition international finals......

Just wondering if lots of other people do what I do...

In friendlies with automatic numbering, with a 442 formation, your wingers get 6 and 9 and your strikers get 10 and 11.

Am I the only person who, with their own numbering system, swaps these to 6 and 11 for the wingers and 9 and 10 for the stikers???

Nope, I do that too.