Stats dont matter rant!

i have a centreback with a heading stat of 19, positioning 17, concentration 17 , anticipation 14 and decisions 18 yet he has consistently lost over half his headers season after season. It all came to a head against man u after rooney who coming into the match had only won 4 from 27 headers so far this season, preceded to win 8 out of 11 headers against my defender. But it happens all the time regardless of the abilities of other players. Their are only three other attackers in the Premiership with heading stats 19 or above, so this guy should clean up surely? i am currenly managing Barnet and i was just wondering am i victim of reputation? Because Man United have a higher rep than me does that mean my players stats mean anything. By the way i also have a striker with heading stats of 19 but has only won 35 from 78 headers.

Errr how about his jumping stat ?

The jumping attribute plays the deciding part of whether a header is won or lost. Heading has to do with how accurate the header is when aimed at goal, a team player etc.

Yes what about the jumping?

That's a bit like saying "my striker has finishing of 20 but never scores" and neglecting to mention his composure is 3.

People always come out with the 'only reputation matters' line... - ITS NOT TRUE!!!!!! <- (Caps for emphasis )

The league your managing in will be on full detail. Reputation is only the overriding factor in leagues that are NOT on full detail, i.e ones your not managing in. And its possible to go to 'options' -> 'detail level' tab ingame to set all leagues to full detail.

....which means its probably your tactics (Joke! Im not that good at the game so i cant/wont give you any tips im afraid)

Yup it's the jumping stat. The strength stat will play some part as well.

Most of this is speculation but that's never stopped me before

Ignore the match stats and look at the headers. How many of those headers involve Rooney getting to a ball quicker (losing his man on a cross, being faster to a cleared ball thus getting a step on your guy, etc.)

Bravery, strength and determination play a role in winning the header.

Acceleration, pace, positioning/off the ball, determination, anticipation play a role in the player getting to the relevant position to win the header.

Condition and morale will also play into this as will team talk effects (player X looks fired up).

Relative width differences between attacking and defending and general movement mean a cross to the far post usually results in the striker competing with the full back and not the centre back. How many of Rooney's headers were of this type?

Does that explain his sudden bump against your team? Possibly if the other teams set up their tactics differently such that their defenders tend to be closer to the striker and more aggressive in challenging.

Or it's all one giant conspiracy against you

Also you need to bear in mind that if you are coming from 07 that the impact of physical stats has been toned down. The optimist in me hopes that this is due not to simply tweaking probabilities but to making the match engine more realistic in terms of the who wins a header algorithm (see what I posted about other attributes and relative movement and positioning).

From what I've watched in 2D my observation is that this is the case but no doubt many will disagree

But admittedly with all that said I would like to see a bigger attribute differential. All things being equal a high acceleration/pace player should be able to burn an inferior player as they do in real life but it doesn't seem to happen as regularly in game. For example I've played as Man Utd and seen Ronaldo go by a slower player but said slower player would catch back up to him. I'm not a Utd supporter so I don't see him week in week out but any time I have seen him against most opposition players of inferior acc/pace once he's gone, he's gone.

Jumping, as has already been mentioned plays probably the most important part in the player actually connecting with the ball. Also have a look at the players Strength as well as if this is low, there is every possibility that your player is completley outmuscled either in the air, or on the ground, meaning he can't jump as high as he otherwise could.

stats != attributes :-|

Ok on that basis a defender with composure, finishing and first touch under 5 shouldn't be able kill a ball stone dead turn and finish from the edge of the area.

also...how tall is this defender? I he's like 165cm then he probably won't out jump rooney.

also...how tall is this defender? I he's like 165cm then he probably won't out jump rooney.

I think that height and weight in the game are purely cosmetic and don't have an impact.

I think that height and weight in the game are purely cosmetic and don't have an impact.

Correctamundo.

I hope I never use that word again.

Ok on that basis a defender with composure, finishing and first touch under 5 shouldn't be able kill a ball stone dead turn and finish from the edge of the area.

No, but it's harder for them to.

I think that height and weight in the game are purely cosmetic and don't have an impact.

are you serious? So as long as my 160cm winger can jump then I should stick him to score goals off corner kicks?

are you serious? So as long as my 160cm winger can jump then I should stick him to score goals off corner kicks?

Yeah, I am sure that height and weight have no effect.

well that's completely stupid...

I think that height and weight in the game are purely cosmetic and don't have an impact.

Not entirely true. Height works towards the jumping attribute, so a player who's 150cm will most likely never have a jumping attribute of 20, but a player who's 202cm has a mucher better chance of reaching the best jumping attribute.

also agility seems to help somewhat with winning headers....

Not entirely true. Height works towards the jumping attribute, so a player who's 150cm will most likely never have a jumping attribute of 20, but a player who's 202cm has a mucher better chance of reaching the best jumping attribute.

I never knew that. Does weight matter for anything?

I never knew that. Does weight matter for anything?

Like jumping, a 7 stone striker is going to be weak, while an 18 stone guy will probably be pretty damn strong.

And jumping>height isn't silly. Jumping is how high his head can reach when he leaps. If a 5 foot tall striker could outreach Crouch when jumping, he'd have a higher jumping stat than crouch, simple as that.

And your winger might jump, but can he head the ball? Is he strong? composed? Balanced?

If not he'll be knocked away from the ball or will fluff it up. :-p

Like jumping, a 7 stone striker is going to be weak, while an 18 stone guy will probably be pretty damn strong.

I know that is the way it is in reality but I'm sure someone said on the forums that it is not programmed in the game to do that.

Neither height nor weight are inputs into the match engine calculations but when newgens are created there is a link between the height they are assigned and their jumping attribute and the weight they are assigned and their strength.

Neither height nor weight are inputs into the match engine calculations but when newgens are created there is a link between the height they are assigned and their jumping attribute and the weight they are assigned and their strength.

That clears it up. Thanks isuckatfm.

Neither height nor weight are inputs into the match engine calculations but when newgens are created there is a link between the height they are assigned and their jumping attribute and the weight they are assigned and their strength.

Weight also effects pace and stamina, possibly the other physical attributes as well.

Correctamundo.

I hope I never use that word again.

use that word again and i will feed you to "angry-that fm09-isnt-coming-out-neither-is-10" fans myself!

stats don't matter? my wife says size doesn't matter either but she's lying.

Now that made me smile.

I know Rooney has a very high strength rating in the game, perhaps that has something to do with it?