(!) A few questions about FM2009

Hi all,

I just signed up on these boards and I have a few questions about the upcoming FM game that I hope some of you maybe know the answers to. I hear a lot about the new 3D engine, but not much about the changes that -really- matter to the game beyond aesthetics.

1: Often when I send my scouts out, they find various players of interest, however they are rarely interested in joining my club - Will I be able to instruct my Scouts to ensure the player is interested in my club before reporting back to me?

2: Will I be able to instruct my Scouts to not bother me with their findings unless they've found a player with a specific amount of stars?

3: Looking at clubs like Arsenal and Ajax who are so proficient at training young talents, will there be made more options besides 'train-a-trick' to build a club with a culture of seeking to their own talents instead of going out on the transfer market all the time?

4: Will I be able to read interviews in the media where my players are being interviewed?

5: Will we finally be able to found a brand new club from scratch (NOT using editor), going from an amateur level, to semi-pro, to professional level?

6: Will we be able to instruct senior players to give emphasis on certain aspects of training when we assign them as tutors to younger players? Like Influence, like determination, free kicks or handling of the ball etc.

7: Will we finally be able to instruct our Center Backs to properly apply pressure to the opposition player attacking the box - so often in my game my players just back off the player, and in 80% of the time the opposition gets a shot or through ball in - which is perhaps the most annoying thing ever in the game.

8: Seing as there will be an option to play as a female Manager, will there be female staff members in the game?

9: One thing that I really disliked in FM08, was how the chairman could just override all my plans, and sell a valuable talented player for a low sum, when I'm trying to hold on to the player or press the other clubs to pay more for him - is it possible for me as a manager to now require in my contract that the business of handling/dealing with the playing staff is my business alone to avoid serious annoyances when trying to build a new team?

10: Is it possible to be given more options in terms of sponsors, and be able to choose among the better options?

11: Sometimes all it takes for a player to get unsettled is that a opposition club says something nice about him in the media - of course a player can find that flattering - but to get "unsettled" by it? I think that's going too far unless it's the top 3 teams and they're not rivals. It's silly when a homegrown player responds that way when a rival team wants him.

12: Will it be possible to hire "Mental" trainers now, to fully focus on preparing the players for the psychology in football? Strong mentality, morale and a strong will to win when you're down a few goals could be the deciding factor.

13: Will it be possible to book places on training camps abroad in the off-season, and not have to plutter around with individual fixtures or 'tours'?

14: Will it be possible to arrange talent camps - where for example the local boys can come play and my scouts will reward the best the chance to play in the youth teams?

15: Will it be possible to get in-detail reports on the progress and negatives revolving a certain player - and how that player responds to the various emphasis given to his training schedule - so to be able to tailor a program to him specificly in a more proficient manner?

16: Will team talks, prior, during, and post matches be given way more options and finally, give the player-manager the ability to combine talk-options to cover more situations? Often the options that are there aren't enough, and they sometimes don't really give me insight as to what I am truly saying to my players. The feedback on the talks aren't good enough either.

17: Will I be able to get proper training reports, so that I can have more to judge from when selecting who's my sharpest players at the time prior to a game? It isn't enough to just judge by the previous game played.

18: Will we be able to poll players on certain issues, such as preferred playing style, preferred team mates, preferred staff, preferred training intensities, preferred actions during the off-/pre-season?

19: The interaction between the Manager and his players must be paramount, give the players more means to -know- his squad, and to make calls based on his squad, I feel that there aren't enough outlets for the squad to show their opinions and give the manager suggestions - that they suddenly show up in the media complaining isn't always realistic, are there any improvements on internal interaction within the club?

20: When deciding pitch size, will we also be able to decide on pitch type, such as artificial grass?

That's just some of the things I've been pondering about - I think that a FM09 game could be taken so much further, and I hope that's what Sports Interactive has thought as well when developing FM09.

Thanks to anyone who could shed some light on the above questions

Have you seen the official videos? Basically that's all anybody knows for sure.

I'm going to stick my neck out though, and say that the answer to all your questions is NO, except question 14 (you can have trial days at your club). Oh, and question 1, in my experience, your scouts don't generally recommend players who aren't interested (are you sure they wouldn't be interested in a loan?).

Perhaps my scouts have been poor? Although that can't be the case, as I've experience this -a lot- when playing top teams as well. They're listed as the scouts top results/reports however when I check the reports, "the player isn't interested in joining the club at this time" or equivalent messages. Sometimes interest can change if you give insanely high offers, but that isn't the same as the player truly wanting to join the club. There should be an option to instruct scouts to only report back on players they are convinced are willing to join the club.

The feature list of new additions doesn't seem to evolve the game too much, seing this:

http://www.play.com/Games/PC/4-/5822240/Football-Manager-2009/Product.html

Assistant Manager feedback and Press conferances are big new features? They're new additions, but to me they aren't worthy of being arguments of why someone should get 09 over 08 .. Hm... I'm hoping more details relevant to gameplay will show up soon.

5 and 10 are nothing to do with football management.

New teams are created all the time in the world - not many of them progress beyond the amateur/semi-pro leagues, but it does happen - and to be able to hold trials for the team, build it from the scratch, and manage it on to higher leagues sounds like an exciting ride and does have something to do with fooball management in my opinion.

When it comes to being able to weigh in opinions on selecting main sponsors for the club - has to do with both income and public relations - as well as how the kits will look with a beer advertisement on it and so forth.

But, it's not a manager's decision to create a new team

And even if it were the team would be way down into the leagues not included in the game anyway.

5 and 10 are nothing to do with football management.

10 it pretty important. It would be great to have a selection of sponsors to pick from with different pros and cons. For example:

Offer #1 - £1m upfront then 8k per week

Offer #2 - £5m upfront then 5k per week

Offer #3 - £10m upfront then 3k per week

Or you could even have offers for different time periods, where you could opt for a safe long term but low paid or take a chance on a high paid short term deal which could lead to more money if you have league/cup success or less money if you're relegated and have to find a new sponsor.

On an amateur level, sure, a founder could also be selected to manage the team, which would be the case if the player decided to start something fresh. But ok, I give up, as it seems there aren't more info flowing on these boards than what's uncovered in the podcasts.

EDIT: You are right though, that leagues that low aren't even simulated in the game. Which probably would make the 'create and manage your own club' approach to FM quite hard.

10 it pretty important. It would be great to have a selection of sponsors to pick from with different pros and cons. For example:

Offer #1 - £1m upfront then 8k per week

Offer #2 - £5m upfront then 5k per week

Offer #3 - £10m upfront then 3k per week

Or you could even have offers for different time periods, where you could opt for a safe long term but low paid or take a chance on a high paid short term deal which could lead to more money if you have league/cup success or less money if you're relegated and have to find a new sponsor.

Decsions which should be made by the commercial department, not the manager

That would depend on the size of the club, and whether or not the club has a "commercial department".

That would depend on the size of the club, and whether or not the club has a "commercial department".

What's next? Being able to mow the pitch for those clubs without a groundsman...

Decsions which should be made by the commercial department, not the manager

What, you mean just like wage negotiations being done by the chairman?

Sometimes we need to sacrifice a little realism for a lot of playability.

then play "football chairman"

Negotiating player wages are at least something that concerns the budget the manager has to work with. Sponsorship deals are absolutely 100% nothing to do with the manager. Sure we could remove the ability for a manager to handle player wages, but I think that would be over the top since, as I say, even if it isn't totally realistic it does at least directly concern the players that the manager is working with and the budget he has to bring those players in.

Some good ideas, though i don't think you'll get an answer as to wether any of them are in FM09 until all new features have been announced. You should consider putting the list into the "List Ideas" thread for consideration bi SI.

With regards to the Sponsor debate going on. I agree that its not neccessarily true to being a decision made by a Football Manager IRL, but it would add a little extra depth with various potential good and bad outcomes and could be handled in a similar way to Feeder Club decisions.

i also like the idea of starting a new club, but this would be much harder to implement i think.

the budget he has to bring those players in.

A fair chunk of a managers budget (wage and/or transfer) comes from sponsorship, so your "100% not to do with manager" comment is baseless.

Fair play if you don't like the idea, but it's little more than an extension of the current ability to alter your wage/transfer budget, so I can't see the problem.

8: Seing as there will be an option to play as a female Manager, will there be female staff members in the game?

9: One thing that I really disliked in FM08, was how the chairman could just override all my plans, and sell a valuable talented player for a low sum,

10: Is it possible to be given more options in terms of sponsors, and be able to choose among the better options?

12: Will it be possible to hire "Mental" trainers now

20: When deciding pitch size, will we also be able to decide on pitch type, such as artificial grass?

Point 8. There's already female staff in the game. Quite a few of the Physio's are female.

Point 9. I agree that this needs altered. Interfering chairmen are part of the real life game but I think it happens too often on FM.

Point 10. I dont think this is something that the manager would have anything to do with as arranging sponsorship would normally be a board decision.

Point 12. I'm prettty sure I've already seen coaches that deal with this in the game.

Point 20. I think pitch type will probably be hard coded. I know that in some leagues artificial grass is not allowed.

At the moment, I'd expect the answer to all but #8 and #14, is "no". There are already female staff, but are referred to as "he", and I believe one of the announcements was a trial day.

SI say most areas we complained about in '08 have been looked at, to which I expect regens, chairmen, board confidence and scouting (amongst others) to have improved, although I doubt in the specific ways you mentioned.

You may want to do a search for the "suggestions for future ideas" thread that is active, although it'll probably be more productive to wait until '09 is out and the new thread starts.

A fair chunk of a managers budget (wage and/or transfer) comes from sponsorship, so your "100% not to do with manager" comment is baseless.

Fair play if you don't like the idea, but it's little more than an extension of the current ability to alter your wage/transfer budget, so I can't see the problem.

But the decision over which sponsor is not down to the manager at all.

Firstly welcome to the forums and i will try to answer your questions from what i know.

1: Often when I send my scouts out, they find various players of interest, however they are rarely interested in joining my club - Will I be able to instruct my Scouts to ensure the player is interested in my club before reporting back to me?

I don't think the scouts take into account whether a player is interested or not, sometimes you can get such players on loan.

2: Will I be able to instruct my Scouts to not bother me with their findings unless they've found a player with a specific amount of stars?

Again i don't believe so but you could just ignore the ones who aren't good enough for your liking. Sort by *'s?

3: Looking at clubs like Arsenal and Ajax who are so proficient at training young talents, will there be made more options besides 'train-a-trick' to build a club with a culture of seeking to their own talents instead of going out on the transfer market all the time?

You can always ask the board to improve the training facilities and youth academy.

4: Will I be able to read interviews in the media where my players are being interviewed?

Not sure about this one but if not it seems like a good idea.

5: Will we finally be able to found a brand new club from scratch (NOT using editor), going from an amateur level, to semi-pro, to professional level?

Defiently not and i doubt this would ever be in football manager because it isn't deemed as Realistic.

6: Will we be able to instruct senior players to give emphasis on certain aspects of training when we assign them as tutors to younger players? Like Influence, like determination, free kicks or handling of the ball etc.

Not to sure with the latest addition of train a "ppm" (preferred player move) i doubt this would have been added aswell.

7: Will we finally be able to instruct our Center Backs to properly apply pressure to the opposition player attacking the box - so often in my game my players just back off the player, and in 80% of the time the opposition gets a shot or through ball in - which is perhaps the most annoying thing ever in the game.

Have you tried tight marking in the situations?

8: Seing as there will be an option to play as a female Manager, will there be female staff members in the game?

There are already a number of female staff in the game such as physios.

9: One thing that I really disliked in FM08, was how the chairman could just override all my plans, and sell a valuable talented player for a low sum, when I'm trying to hold on to the player or press the other clubs to pay more for him - is it possible for me as a manager to now require in my contract that the business of handling/dealing with the playing staff is my business alone to avoid serious annoyances when trying to build a new team?

I am afraid chairmen will always be interferring little gits, look at the premiership this season. Obviously some chairmen are more laid back than others, you should think about this when getting a job.

10: Is it possible to be given more options in terms of sponsors, and be able to choose among the better options?

Again this won't ever be in FM due to it being the Board's decision.

11: Sometimes all it takes for a player to get unsettled is that a opposition club says something nice about him in the media - of course a player can find that flattering - but to get "unsettled" by it? I think that's going too far unless it's the top 3 teams and they're not rivals. It's silly when a homegrown player responds that way when a rival team wants him.

I agree here, maybe it's been toned down a bit for 09.

12: Will it be possible to hire "Mental" trainers now, to fully focus on preparing the players for the psychology in football? Strong mentality, morale and a strong will to win when you're down a few goals could be the deciding factor.

I can't recall seeing it in the screenshots, videos or interviews but would be good. Of course SI haven't released all details yet so i can't be sure.

13: Will it be possible to book places on training camps abroad in the off-season, and not have to plutter around with individual fixtures or 'tours'?

Again i haven't seen any information on this so doubt this will be in 09.

14: Will it be possible to arrange talent camps - where for example the local boys can come play and my scouts will reward the best the chance to play in the youth teams?

This is sort of like Question 13 i think.

15: Will it be possible to get in-detail reports on the progress and negatives revolving a certain player - and how that player responds to the various emphasis given to his training schedule - so to be able to tailor a program to him specificly in a more proficient manner?

"Pre-match and in-match feedback from your Assistant Manager on how the team is performing and your player’s motivation levels, as well as hints on how your tactics are working and how you could outwit the opposition’s tactics."

Im not so sure about training but this will help alot during matches.

16: Will team talks, prior, during, and post matches be given way more options and finally, give the player-manager the ability to combine talk-options to cover more situations? Often the options that are there aren't enough, and they sometimes don't really give me insight as to what I am truly saying to my players. The feedback on the talks aren't good enough either.

Maybe what was said in Q15 will answer this better.

17: Will I be able to get proper training reports, so that I can have more to judge from when selecting who's my sharpest players at the time prior to a game? It isn't enough to just judge by the previous game played.

Hmm not sure.

18: Will we be able to poll players on certain issues, such as preferred playing style, preferred team mates, preferred staff, preferred training intensities, preferred actions during the off-/pre-season?

Not a clue.

19: The interaction between the Manager and his players must be paramount, give the players more means to -know- his squad, and to make calls based on his squad, I feel that there aren't enough outlets for the squad to show their opinions and give the manager suggestions - that they suddenly show up in the media complaining isn't always realistic, are there any improvements on internal interaction within the club?

I think with things such as press conferences this will be improved.

20: When deciding pitch size, will we also be able to decide on pitch type, such as artificial grass?

I don't believe so.

A fair chunk of a managers budget (wage and/or transfer) comes from sponsorship, so your "100% not to do with manager" comment is baseless.

Fair play if you don't like the idea, but it's little more than an extension of the current ability to alter your wage/transfer budget, so I can't see the problem.

Where the money in the manager's player budget comes from is an irrelevance to the manager. A fair proportion of the money in a player budget comes from season tickets or gate receipts too, but having the manager set ticket prices would be equally ridiculous.

The manager is given a budget which he can move around between transfer fees and wages, but that is as far as that should go. The board decide what that budget should be and whether they decide to give you an idiotically large or very small budget is their choice.

And judging by the amounts that clubs I have been at in FM get from sponsorship I'd have to question the statement that "a fair chunk of the manager's budget" comes from that because it forms a very small portion of total income. That may not be the case in FM09 - it may be unrealistically low, I don't know, but it still isn't a manager's job. If it is then you have to add everything else financial into the manager's job too to be consistent.

But the decision over which sponsor is not down to the manager at all.

Yes, in real life, but as I've mentioned there are aspects of FM which don't mirror real life at all. Either way, your post is missing my point. I'm not necessarily talking about choosing sponsors in the sense of Company A vs Company B vs Company C - it could easily be three offers from the same company from which you can pick more money but spread out over time or less money but given a hefty lump sum upfront.

Where the money in the manager's player budget comes from is an irrelevance to the manager. A fair proportion of the money in a player budget comes from season tickets or gate receipts too, but having the manager set ticket prices would be equally ridiculous.

The manager is given a budget which he can move around between transfer fees and wages, but that is as far as that should go. The board decide what that budget should be and whether they decide to give you an idiotically large or very small budget is their choice.

And judging by the amounts that clubs I have been at in FM get from sponsorship I'd have to question the statement that "a fair chunk of the manager's budget" comes from that because it forms a very small portion of total income. That may not be the case in FM09 - it may be unrealistically low, I don't know, but it still isn't a manager's job. If it is then you have to add everything else financial into the manager's job too to be consistent.

Yes, setting tickets would go too far as it would involve too much detail - however I fail to see how a simple three option choice is so complex? As for the "fair chunk" comment, that was based around reports of West Ham's difficulty after losing XL as their sponsor a few days ago (I know part is linked to their owner's involvement with XL, but most reports talk about how it affects West Ham directly).

I think that introducing something like even choosing between financial deals goes a step too far for what the manager does.

FM has unrealistic aspect, sure but sometimes realism has to be sacrificed for fun. I'm not sure adding in sponsor choices would be much more fun. Also, once you introduce this.. you go down a slippery path and soon we will end up designing our own stadiums.

Yes, setting tickets would go too far as it would involve too much detail - however I fail to see how a simple three option choice is so complex? As for the "fair chunk" comment, that was based around reports of West Ham's difficulty after losing XL as their sponsor a few days ago (I know part is linked to their owner's involvement with XL, but most reports talk about how it affects West Ham directly).

I didn't say it would be complex, just that it is nothing whatsoever to do with the manager. Setting ticket prices wouldn't be complex either, just a case of picking a single number (since I doubt FM includes so much detail as different prices in different parts of the stadium)

I didn't say it would be complex, just that it is nothing whatsoever to do with the manager. Setting ticket prices wouldn't be complex either, just a case of picking a single number (since I doubt FM includes so much detail as different prices in different parts of the stadium)

Again, the "nothing whatsoever to do with the manager" comment is moot as FM includes plenty of other things which 'real life managers' would never do. Ticket prices wouldn't be too complicated, I agree (at the start of a season, picking high/med/low prices which would need to be justified by lots of good performances), but as I said I think it would be too detailed as it would need to be looked at each year plus I can forsee big knock on problems with the game in regards to finances.

Again, the "nothing whatsoever to do with the manager" comment is moot as FM includes plenty of other things which 'real life managers' would never do.

Like I posted above, sometimes things need to be in for fun rather than just realism. Dealing with contracts and transfers as hands on as we do, for example.