suggestion: monthly report improvements

So much more can be done with the confidence/board interaction/board confidence updates aspect of the game, I thought I’d put a few suggestions forward and see what you thought. Be prepared though, it’s a bit of a long read…

Rather than just the short, basic statements we get each month from the board, I would like to see them expanded, basically into three different areas: fixtures/results, players, and finances. Each moth you get an assessment of your team’s performances in the previous month, and the board’s expectations for the upcoming month, and are given certain short-term goals to achieve, rather than what we get atm:

“So, Mr. manager, what are we going to do this season?”

“We’re going to win the league!”

“Ok, here’s £50m for transfers, and £2m for wages, get to it!!”

And that’s it! Surely there isn’t a chairman/board in the world that does this? If there is, get me installed as manager!!

To give a bit more detail for each area now:

Fixtures/Results.

Again, this can be broken down into a maximum of three sections: league, cup, and European.

League: you would be set specific targets regarding points haul, performances vs lesser/bigger teams, ie

• The board think we are capable of gaining “x” points this month.
  
• You should be targeting the fixture vs “x” for plenty of goals.
  
• Any points in the game vs “x” are a bonus, but the performance matters.
  
• The game vs “x” is a “must win” game.
  
• Don’t worry about the result vs “x” but make sure we don’t embarrass ourselves.
  

Cup: again, targets for progress and performances, although the scope is a lot more limited than for league games.

• Expect a win vs “x”
  
• Expect a good performance vs “x”
  
• Expect a big win vs “x”
  
• Result not important, performance is vs “x”
  
• Try our hardest vs “x”
  

European: again slightly more limited than league games.

• Expect the team to qualify (with ease) for the group/next phase/next round.
  
• No pressure on the fixture vs “x”
  
• Use the away leg vs “x” being first to secure a good advantage.
  

Obviously there are more things that can be added into these, and I would welcome ideas/suggestions for this part. Imo it’s the easiest bit to create suggestions for.

Targets for players next.

Basically related to the confidence section really, but the board have more of an input in matters, giving their opinions on player’s performances throughout the month previous, and what they think the players should be achieving in the coming weeks.

• Improve/monitor carefully/maintain the performance of “player x”
  
• Its about time “player x” started performing
  
• Its about time “player x” started justifying his transfer fee/your faith in him.
  
• “player x” is past his prime, and you should be looking to offload/replace him
  
• we feel “player x” should be playing a more important role at the club
  
• we feel “player x” has no future at the club.
  

The last few could also be used as an indication as to which players the board are likely to accept offers for over the manager’s head.

Lastly, the finances.

Currently, we get a short statement telling us me made a loss/profit, and of £x. and that’s it.

How about these:

• Happy with the bank balance, keep things as they are.
  
• Very happy with balance, don’t worry about spending.
  
• Rein your spending in, money is diminishing.
  
• Stop spending!
  
• You should be looking to offload some fringe players to help balance the books/boost the finances.
  

Again, the last two would indicate situations where the board/chairman would be more likely to accept offers from clubs against the manager’s wishes.

Thanks all for reading, if there’s any suggestions/comments/abuse, please feel free!!

This post does not warrant abuse.

I like it, some nice ideas which would enhance the game.

It doesn't warrant abuse, but I would suggest the majority of it implies that boards know far more about football than they actually do. The finances one is good, though.

It doesn't warrant abuse, but I would suggest the majority of it implies that boards know far more about football than they actually do. The finances one is good, though.

I think most of it is pretty good, although I don't believe the board will have any knowledge about how good a player can/will be, so the player comments shouldn't be made.

Also, the match expectations shouldn't be made static, as you find yourself often without your entire front line due to injuries/bans. A board shouldn't be expecting a 7-0 win then, since that would be unrealistic.

All of it is brilliant mate. Top stuff.

I think most of it is pretty good, although I don't believe the board will have any knowledge about how good a player can/will be, so the player comments shouldn't be made.

Also, the match expectations shouldn't be made static, as you find yourself often without your entire front line due to injuries/bans. A board shouldn't be expecting a 7-0 win then, since that would be unrealistic.

Not all boards are staffed by incompetant clueless muppets.

A few clubs have members who act as head-scouts giving good advice and suggestions on the managers submitted wishlist of transfer targets, and yes there are also those who give bad advice.

Whilst boards are primarily made up of business men, accountants, politicians or pop/film stars it doesn't neccasarily follow that none of them know nothing about the game or those that perform in it.

Board activity and interaction is only a minor part of the game, and only time will tell how much effort SI are prepared to invest in developing this area of the game.

Not all boards are staffed by incompetant clueless muppets.

A few clubs have members who act as head-scouts giving good advice and suggestions on the managers submitted wishlist of transfer targets, and yes there are also those who give bad advice.

Whilst boards are primarily made up of business men, accountants, politicians or pop/film stars it doesn't neccasarily follow that none of them know nothing about the game or those that perform in it.

While I admit that's true, I doubt any 'fan' with such a job would be able to comment on the level of a (head)scout (which I hope will be in the next FM, as it's been heavily requested). The only time I believe they will/should intervene is whenever a player is giving the club a bad name/image. Head Scouts wouldn't be members of the board, they would be seperate staff specialists, imho.

Nothing against business men, accountants, politicians or pop/film stars, by the way, but I think that they simply don't have the knowledge to challenge the people who have the job of being coach/scout/whatever is working in the football world. Surely they have minds of their own, but how often would they overrule the manager? If a manager believes he needs a mediocre winger with lots of speed ($1 million) rather than a first-class winger who is slow ($2 million), then the board shouldn't feel the need of rejecting that and instead changing it to the slow winger. Imho, that is.

I know it happens, but still I believe that shouldn't be the case.

I'd like the monthly report to develop more along the lines of a board meeting: input in both directions, concerns able to be raised, etc.

I'd like to feel like my board has a personality.

See "Sharpening a Rusty Blade" for some examples of board meetings, I didn't put a ton of detail into them, but covering things like:

Excitement at progressing further in a cup than expected / better in league than expected

Sympathy for hard-luck losses

Concern about injuries, sympathy for injuries, etc.

Request more transfer funds for the January window

Complaints about results.

I'd like to see the manager able to complain about

- injuries

- lack of wages

- lack of transfer funds

- the fact that the chairman sold our star player two days before the window closed

- poor pitch

- poor training facilities

- not enough coaches

- not enough scouts

Most of all, I'd like to see dynamically adjustable targets.

For example, with recently-promoted Southampton, I set my pre-season target to whatever the respectably avoiding relegation target is. (Mid-table? Or is there one other - "Avoid Relegation" between that and "Battle Bravely"?)

However, on December 1st, we're in a solid 7th place, and have even captured some points off of a couple of big-name clubs .. upsets to be sure, but:

I'd have loved for the board at that point to come to me and ask something like .. "If we make another 10M in transfer funds available for the January window, do you think you can make a successful push for a European placing?"

Yes = plus funds, plus ambition, public statement from the board, additional pressure on players, and an increased target ..

No = funds remain the same, ambition lowered, target remains the same.

Alternately, its February 1st. We're 12th in the league, but have qualified for the League Cup Final. I'd love to see the board say "If we can beat Chelsea in the Final, we'll have qualified for Europe .. Focus on that. As long as we don't get relegated from the League, qualifying for Europe will absolve you of failure to achieve our League targets this year."

Normally, I'd like to see next year's targets and transfer budgets tentatively discussed on May 1st, and then finalized on June 1st, so that I can prepare for the July transfer window with a comfortable amount of lead time. In situations where the board can't predict revenue for next year (promotion battle, relegation battle, European placing battle), the board would project out the revenue from your worst-possible finish, and set the transfer value on May 1st to that ... and on June 1st, would add additional funds based on whatever you achieved in June.

For example: Its May 1st. I'm a new manager taking over a Championship club which currently sits 7th after a pre-season prediction of first. The board set their new target for me: Qualify for the promotion playoffs. If we'd been sitting 3rd, they might have set their target as "Win promotion", either via coming 2nd or by winning the playoffs. However, the board would set, in both cases, my transfer budget as though I'd finished about 7th in the Championship, missed the playoffs, and were set for another season in the Championship.

On June 1st, if I'd won promotion (or, say, qualified for Europe unexpectedly via the F.A. Cup), they would make additional funds available for the coming battle against relegation, based on the additional TV revenue, etc.

The converse would also be possible:

Its November 1st. We're steadily losing money, our bank balance is abysmal, but our league placing is respectable. The board might come to me and say "We need to sell players in the January window to cut the wage bill. Pick who you want, but we need to cut 100k p/w total. We're willing to reduce our seasonal expectations to "Avoid Relegation", but you've got to get the spending under control or we'll sell some players out from under you. Oh - and we've removed the remainder of your transfer budget, save for the 2M you've committed for the purchase of Joe Bloggs, and we're going to have to personally approve each Bosman you try to arrange for next summer."

I'm not entirely sure whether I want my board interfering with the playing side of things, i.e. telling me which players are good/bad, or who I should be getting more out of. I don't think that it's necessarilty realistic for all clubs to have a board like that. There are a few exceptional circumstances, i.e. Chelsea, Barcelona, but I'm not sure that Sir Alex Ferguson would have Malcolm Glazer telling him to get rid of Giggs cos he's too old.

When it comes down to it, I'm the manager, I'm the person the board pays to manage the team, and if it all goes wrong I want the blame. I don't want to have an unhealthy relationship with the board simply because I don't pick my star striker.

Some of the ideas are good and should be looked into further, but as for the chairman making comments about my players that may affect my standing with the board, I'm against it.

On the specific-players comment front, I can certainly imagine, say, the L.A. Galaxy board telling the manager that they have to play Beckham: the fans expect it, we've been marketing the heck out of him, and people are buying tickets to see him play.

So, it makes me wonder if this type of complaint should be reputation related, and essentially amount to "If player rep sufficiently outshines team rep, board expects player to play." So you'd be pretty unlikely to get into that sort of situation with Man U due to the high club reputation, but you could see it on smaller clubs.

Alternately, it might be based on transfer fee: you spent 50M on this striker, he failed to score a single goal in his first 20 starts, and eventually you're looking at selling him on for 5M ... that's got to be egg on your face in some way.

The interaction with the board can definetaly improve. Monthly reports was a really good addition but I know SI can do even better. I personally hate to be fired if I have string of succesfull seasons and then one bad one comes and I can not even make to christmas. That usually leads to loading a previous saved game but it does not feel good neither. I sometimes would like to take risk and maybe even drop back to invest for future but board usually can not show enough patience and worse I can not even know how close they are to fire me. Well, we receive a warning news in advance but usually it comes so late that after that message it is almost impossible to recover your fate and you can not negotiate with board or try to concinve them that team will be much better next year.

Excitement at progressing further in a cup than expected / better in league than expected

Sympathy for hard-luck losses

Concern about injuries, sympathy for injuries, etc.

Request more transfer funds for the January window

Complaints about results.

I'd like to see the manager able to complain about

- injuries

- lack of wages

- lack of transfer funds

- the fact that the chairman sold our star player two days before the window closed

- poor pitch

- poor training facilities

- not enough coaches

- not enough scouts

agree with both of these points, summed up nicely in the line...

I'd like to feel like my board has a personality.

at the minute, theyre not much more than an annoyance in the game and they tend to have very little to do with the club apart from selling the odd player and doling out the cash at the start of the season.

the "dynamically adjustable targets" are a great idea, and i'd say there something that should be looked at seriously for future versions of the game. the ability to adjust expectations midway through the season would save many a manager their job, and could also end up costing others theirs. would be another challenge for us to negotiate.

also like the point about the transfer budgets being discussed prior to the season ending, so you know roughly what kind of finances you will get for the coming season to strengthen your squad, rather than having to wait until the season refresh date and just being landed with it.

dont know if there would be scope here to add an option to go to the board to ask them to fund a specific transfer, maybe once a season or so. say your team is in dire need of a goalscorer, or a neew cb to shore the defence up, and you know the current back-ups arent good enough. could go to the board with a proposal along the lines of either taking the fee out of the follwing season's budget, or buying with a promise to sell certain players asap to recoup the money. or possibly saying the player would be just the kind you needed to make sure you hit the targets you set at the start of the season, and, if you ultimately fail, then it would count against you even more than normally.

Brilliant ideas, Amaroq, especially the one which is about dynamically adjustable targets.

Just some examples from my native country in the past years, which all have happened IRL.

- DVTK gathered an unusually strong squad together, aimed for top half finish (usually they are lower midtable). They did just that, but one of the main sponsors left during the winter break, meaning they had to sell key players. Of course the board set "avoid relegation" as the new target.

- FC Fehérvár was tipped to be a mid-table team, but after an amazing autumn they were right in the title race. Board talked to the manager, they both agreed that they'll re-adjust the goal to "European qualification", and they tried to strengthen the squad accordingly.

Yeah, nice ideas, I'd like to see it done like press conferences (stop your shock/horror/drooling over keyboard at the sight of the words 'press conference', P.C. haters!), i.e board say 'minimum expectation is, say, 9 points out of 15, then you could increase/decrease your expectations, say 'OK, we can get 9 points', 'I think we can go for 10 points', 'WE should get 12 points' etc etc, and the board can rate you accordingly.

Also, you could include a special monthly board confidence bit to see how you're getting on...

Edit - Sorry for mega bump, only just noticed the date! (Though this idea is worth it )