Next Opposition Scout Reports Improvement

I know this won't make it for FM 09 but it would be good to be looked at for FM 2010.

Right now the next opposition scout reports are still very basic so I thought of a new layouts and improvements.

Scouts

I think you should be able to set more then one scout to watch next opposition in order to get a much more detailed report and also make sure you never get in the situation of poor scout reports as scout couldn't make it to the game.

Scouts shouldn't always need a game to be able to judge how good a team is and they should be able to use past tapes etc. This problem occurs a lot in Champions League Games.

Scout Report Layout and Information

I think that your scout report should have a new screen and not be stuck in a news item so heres how it could be set out

The opening panel of information could refer to the date of the game, location, pitch size and the opponents, with a little information on there odds for the game and the result.

eg.Team X played team A on the 19th of January at the Team A stadium, on a small pitch. Team X were expecting the result and won 3-0.

The next part should refer to the teams style of play and formation as well as key players and weak links in attack and defence. Also a little information on the goalkeeper could be interesting.

eg. Team X play a attacking 4-4-2 with emphasise on short passing and wingplay. John A is a key player in the centre of midfield for Team X and runs the team, whilst his partner in midfield Claude T breaks up many attacks. Striker Joe M is a tad slow and has been of poor form recently, whilst centreback Tim F struggles with aerial battles. Goalkeeper A struggles with balls in the areas and we should try to take advantage of that.

The next part if we do have more control over set piece settings could relate to that

eg. We should watch giant centreback Joe, who is a danger from set pieces. We should try and not concede freekicks on the edge of the area as Shunsuke X can take a beautiful freekick. Rightback Alan O has a huge throw and we should watch out for him. Our goalkeeper should also know that Shunsuke also takes penalties as he can now study on his technique.

The next part could offer more detail on things like there type of marking, how they play defence(sweeper, attacking fullbacks), how hard they close down and when they start, if they use offside trap, who the team like to feed the ball too and any set piece systems they have.

The final part could offer overall team strengths and weaknesses, a few things he thinks we should utilise to take the win and any final comments on players to watch or injured. A expected player Line up would also be good.

Your ideas here are great.

I disliked how the 'next opposition' scout report were repetitive. At the moment it's essentially just what sort of football the opposition plays (defence, attack), and their dangerman.

It should definitley go more in depth, it would help you to improve quite substantially regarding tactics.

Your ideas here are great.

I disliked how the 'next opposition' scout report were repetitive. At the moment it's essentially just what sort of football the opposition plays (defence, attack), and their dangerman.

It should definitley go more in depth, it would help you to improve quite substantially regarding tactics.

agree with this.. it doesnt really tell you that much and now i tend to not really pay much attention to it

quality ideas!! very rarely get any variation in the scout reports at all atm, i tend to only use them as a reminder for who im playing, and ignore everything else they tell me, as its usually the same for every damn team!!

i think scouts overall need improving. one of mine just told me signing a player described as "wonderkid" would be a bad idea. he doesn't even require a work permit?

Good ideas! I think it could be further expended as well. Like if you scout a player for 3 matches, you'll know more about him, the same could go for matches. You prepare for 2 weeks in advance -> you get more info on the opposition.

I thought of a little more information which could improve the next opposition scout reports

Individual Players

If you have say two or more scouts watching the same team play you could get a report where you get some information on their starting eleven in depth.

You could get a box with information about a player. It could say at the top, the basics..his position, name, age, shirt number.

You then should then be able to get more information on their tactical role and strengths.

eg. Peter Crouch for Portsmouth is their main outlet of attack with him being used as a target man. Crouch is a big player but not very tough and is much better with the ball at his feet. He is a skillful player who can finish and should be watched.

Then at the bottom in another side panel you could get a summary of his main strength and weakness.

You could get one of these for every player in the line up with the amount of reports shown surrounding about the amount of scouts watching the game.

Detailed Attack

This will definitely be too advance for next years release but could be a good idea for the future

We could get in depth reports on how a team attacks.

It wouldn't have to be much to start with..just a little information on there general attacking style and some information on the set plays they use but you could also get a detailed look into the chances a team created in a previous game or the goals they scored.

You could get a picture of a pitch from a bird eyes view. You could then get in a detailed look how the attack was built. With after the play is finished, the players go and you just see arrows of players movement, passing etc. You could also get some basic information on who started the attack, who make the key action in the attack and who recieved the ball the most in the attack.

sorry to double post but just had another though relating to scouting players to sign although this could be too advanced for 2010.

Goalkeeper

Goalkeeper name, age, nationality placed at top of screen.

The next part of the report should relate to the game he saw him play. It could then be structured with overall notes about his style of goalkeeping.

eg. David James is a eccentric goalkeeper who is capable of making brilliant saves and big mistakes. He is a very good shot stopper and his handling is very good. You can see here(link to highlights) several saves he made during the match against team X. David James did make a mistake in the came as you can see here(again another to link to the highlights) where he mispunched a cross leading to team x having a chance on goal. His distribution was solid and he had quite a good game.

The bottom panel should just be an overall summary of his strengths, weaknesses and some statistics relating to his season and his performance in the game. Maybe a comparision.

I like almost all of the ideas in this thread!

Particularly the opportunity of scouting more games of a future opposition in advance of our match with them.

Though technically we can watch those matches ourselves I pretty much doubt that any of us have the time to do that, so a scout reporting on that would be good.

I never use the Scout Next Opposition

But I just had an idea.

The scout could watch the next opposition and the players could watch a video of the match. The players could pick up tips from the video - sort of like tutoring for the 1st team.

I only ever use it hoping that it unmasks some of the opposition's attributes.

millwallrules, brilliant ideas! Love them all, absolutely on board for these to go into future FMs

Some give this man a job at SI!

millwallrules, brilliant ideas! Love them all, absolutely on board for these to go into future FMs

Some give this man a job at SI!

Seconded. Top ideas.

wow...thanks for the response

two more ideas although again probably for future versions

Pre-Match Training Sessions

I believe you should be able to set your players up for a video session before a game. Training needs an overall improvement but I would love to just be able to tick..Pre-Match Scouting session on the training screen and when a game comes my players watch a past match. What this would do well...it could improve morale as players are more confident with the job they have to do but you could also get some input from them.

If you set your 35 year old veteran do one job, he could say that after watching a game he will be better utilised to do another job, whilst your 19 year old apprentice will just go do what you say. This could then help build personalities and see what roles players can do in the future

Assistant Manager

With players often complaining that the game is too hard, well lets get the assistant manager more involved. I would love it the day before the game, and assistant manager could just give you a few points presented on a page, with the amount and quality of notes relating to his attributes, which help you set up your team.

eg. In bullet points

.Player X is very slow so we should play a speedy player on him

.This team has a quick forward line so we may have to play a little deeper

.Watch out for playermaker G and we really should man mark him

He could also put on that sheet his ideal line up on current form, condition, morale and need for the game.

I'm all for it, millwallrules.

This should be looked at and taken very very seriously. Getting the assistant manager more involved sounds like an excellent idea. It's all about detail!

wow...thanks for the response

two more ideas although again probably for future versions

Pre-Match Training Sessions

I believe you should be able to set your players up for a video session before a game. Training needs an overall improvement but I would love to just be able to tick..Pre-Match Scouting session on the training screen and when a game comes my players watch a past match. What this would do well...it could improve morale as players are more confident with the job they have to do but you could also get some input from them.

If you set your 35 year old veteran do one job, he could say that after watching a game he will be better utilised to do another job, whilst your 19 year old apprentice will just go do what you say. This could then help build personalities and see what roles players can do in the future

Assistant Manager

With players often complaining that the game is too hard, well lets get the assistant manager more involved. I would love it the day before the game, and assistant manager could just give you a few points presented on a page, with the amount and quality of notes relating to his attributes, which help you set up your team.

eg. In bullet points

.Player X is very slow so we should play a speedy player on him

.This team has a quick forward line so we may have to play a little deeper

.Watch out for playermaker G and we really should man mark him

He could also put on that sheet his ideal line up on current form, condition, morale and need for the game.

Spot on about what you say especially about the assistant manager. They need to have more of an active role and should be able to help you out much more than they currently do.