Managerial History

Okay, so this was originally going to be in the Player / Manager thread, but I wrote enough to warrant its own topic, apologies if someone has mentioned something similar before.

One thing that has always bugged me about starting a new game in FM is the complete obscurity from which the manager (yourself) has got the job. Setting yourself as International reputation is fair enough, but with what clubs? how many caps did I win? was I a towering centre back with the same club for 15 years, or was I a goal poacher, been abroad, been back, 150 goals with 11 different clubs... etc etc

Along the same lines, if I set myself to a Sunday League reputation, what youth club let me go? what clubs did i try to earn a living at? was i so awful i gave up at 25 to obtain my coaching badges? was it an career ending injury?

i digress, what im trying to write is that sometimes id prefer is a little background history to my 'character', such as clubs ive played for, clubs ive previously coached for up to the point of taking my "first job" on the game. whether the game generates this info randomly or not isnt really an issue, though could prove interesting - you create yourself as a new manager at MK Dons, 35 years old, first managerial job... you click your history to find you spent 8 years / 350 games at, say... Ipswich, starting your career at Liverpool maybe? then at least when you look around for jobs you have something to sway your decision (refusing Norwich because of your links at Ipswich, refusing Man Utd because of your youth years at Liverpool).

you could go as far as select your city of birth from a drop down list, giving the history generator an idea as to your club history (select Glasgow, and your history sees you started at Partick Thistle, had a brief spell at Celtic before ending your career somewhere else). A step up from just putting your favourite club, which doesnt really do much...

thoughts?

but surely it wouldnt have the slightest impact on the game?

Good idea, i would like to see it in the future.

A step up from just putting your favourite club, which doesnt really do much...

It does have an effect. It makes that club is more likely to offer you a job.

But yeah, it could be interesting to have some kind of playing history.

I think this would be a super addition.

Great idea Krist69

Whilst I like the idea of having a 'previous' career in your history, It would be impossible (I would think) for the AI to take that into consideration unless the teams you have named are in the game. It could appear in a news item or something but unlike your 'favourite team' which may help you get a job, not how much actual use this would have in the game!

Great idea

I love this idea, and would seriously be pleased if it was in a future game.

I reckon it would add more realism to the game. If a player had played at youth level for a team, it is unlikely that he would be offered the manager's job there. If he was, then it could be an interesting press conference. Press saying things like 'Fans are unhappy that a former _________ player is their new manager. How do you respond to these people?' would prove to be a very interesting question, and I am sure that there are many other examples.

Another reason I would like this is almost the opposite to the above. If you started your career at a club and returned as the manager a few years after, it would be interesting, asking you about your previous time at the club.

Lastly, it would give a twist to when you apply for jobs. Currently we are judged on wether we have done well or not. Adding in manager history would enable the employment in FM to become more indepth. Thierry Henry has a higher chance of becoming Arsenal manager than Edwin Van Der Sar because he's an Arsenal legend, the fans love him. There's nothing like this in FM, people are hired and fired depending on how well they do. I reckon adding in history would therefore improve getting jobs in FM, which IMO is one area which significantly needs improving

This should be optional though. Sometimes I like to just start a new game, get on with it. Other times I go into a game knowing it will last a long time. This is the sort of game I would like this for. But I wouldn't want to do this if I were only having a season long game.If this is possible, it should come up as a tick box when you start the game. Like 'Would you like to add a new user?'.

Despite liking this idea, it could be hard to implement. For example, there would be people giving themselves 300 caps, so all records would have to be changed. This means that the game would have to be coded so that records changed even when they hadn't been broken.

But if it is possible, then I am in full support of this idea. I reckon it would be great, not only improving the game but also adding a more personal touch to it.

If anyone from SI read's this thread, I seriously recommend you think about this.

Sorry for the long read, I'd appriciate any thoughts on my ideas.

Thanks:)

I think that this would be a great addition to future FM games. I totally agree with everything that Arsenal 2111 has said, I think that he has hit the nail on the head on how this feature should be involved.

Definitely an idea for future FM's .

This should be added,as it makes me feel a little daft,that some guy from India,sudenly came about and started managing West Ham

Yes i agree, one the very odd chance i start a game with international player at the start, i always wished i could have caps or goals randomly generated in my profile (having it randomly generated would not allow people to abuse this) Was i a one cap wonder? Or a legend for my country?

All of the different reputations you can start with can be expanded, like you've dabbled on, and would be a nice addition if it can be looked into and intergrated easy enough.

It does have an effect. It makes that club is more likely to offer you a job.

aha, learn something new everyday

If you started your career at a club and returned as the manager a few years after, it would be interesting, asking you about your previous time at the club.

to expand on it a touch, dual nationalities could also feature in your 'history', for example

nationality 1: English

city of birth: Newcastle

nationality 2: Spanish

Favourite Club: Newcastle, Real Betis

so your history could see you start your career in the Newcastle youth setup, released at a young age, disappear off to Bradford, then to Leeds, by which point youve gained a good reputation for a Spainish club to show interest, spend 5 years at real betis, only to return to Newcastle to end your career.

I think its good your a manager thats it not an ex player because you then build your rep from scratch

Would be good, as long as you had an option of excluding certain clubs from the generated list. I wouldn't want my virtual self have played for Manchester United. Maybe when you choose favourite club, you can pick up the rival clubs from the database as part of your profile too, this barring them from your playing career.

I think its good your a manager thats it not an ex player because you then build your rep from scratch

In all honesty, pretty much all manager's have played football before. Some at a higher level than others, admittadly. Many people believe that Arsene Wenger went straight into managing, but he played for FC Mulhouse, ASPV Strasbourg and RC Strasbourg. Even Jose Mourinho played for Belenenses and Rio Ave!

It also happens for lower league managers. John Still, manager of Dagenham, played for Leyton Orient, Bishop's Stortford and Dagenham.

Even those managers who haven't played as a football have almost certainly been a coach, scout or something in football. It is extremely rare that a manager becomes a manager without having an ounce of experience.

So to sum up this, it would make it more realistic, and would enable the manager to be more like real-life managers.

I've brought this up before and love the idea. I think it would add alot to the game because a) I don't have to imagine my history and 2) it could open up tons more in terms of media.

I think this is an excellent idea, and as arsenal_2111 touched on, it would almost go hand in hand with the new preess conferences that have been included in the game. It is quite un-realistic for a manager, with no history in footbal, to take charge of Man Utd, Chelsea etc.

Yes this is a game, but i feel the larger amount of realistic features SI include and the larger amount of unrealistic features they scrap can only be benificial to the game.

I've brought this up before and love the idea. I think it would add alot to the game because a) I don't have to imagine my history and 2) it could open up tons more in terms of media.

im glad im not the only one who thought up a history to how i get jobs, and what my playing career was like

Okay, so this was originally going to be in the Player / Manager thread, but I wrote enough to warrant its own topic, apologies if someone has mentioned something similar before.

One thing that has always bugged me about starting a new game in FM is the complete obscurity from which the manager (yourself) has got the job. Setting yourself as International reputation is fair enough, but with what clubs? how many caps did I win? was I a towering centre back with the same club for 15 years, or was I a goal poacher, been abroad, been back, 150 goals with 11 different clubs... etc etc

Along the same lines, if I set myself to a Sunday League reputation, what youth club let me go? what clubs did i try to earn a living at? was i so awful i gave up at 25 to obtain my coaching badges? was it an career ending injury?

i digress, what im trying to write is that sometimes id prefer is a little background history to my 'character', such as clubs ive played for, clubs ive previously coached for up to the point of taking my "first job" on the game. whether the game generates this info randomly or not isnt really an issue, though could prove interesting - you create yourself as a new manager at MK Dons, 35 years old, first managerial job... you click your history to find you spent 8 years / 350 games at, say... Ipswich, starting your career at Liverpool maybe? then at least when you look around for jobs you have something to sway your decision (refusing Norwich because of your links at Ipswich, refusing Man Utd because of your youth years at Liverpool).

you could go as far as select your city of birth from a drop down list, giving the history generator an idea as to your club history (select Glasgow, and your history sees you started at Partick Thistle, had a brief spell at Celtic before ending your career somewhere else). A step up from just putting your favourite club, which doesnt really do much...

thoughts?

I am all for it, but as i wrote in the player manager theard.. I feel it should be an option (story mode) or (as-is)

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=53568

i like this idea a lot. it should be in some future version of FM

yeah and me...fingers crossed it might be in FM 10

im glad im not the only one who thought up a history to how i get jobs, and what my playing career was like

Haha, it's sad really but whenever I start a new game I plan out how I got there in my head. I hate the thought that I just 'appeared'.

I think this is a great idea. And this could also affect which managers you are friends with and all. And it could enhance the media side of the game, because say, before a match with say a team you used to play for, you could be asked about your past ties with that club and answer accordingly. Good idea (Y).

It's a great ideia!!

It just gives some extra background consistency to our job!!

I believe it's something that can and should be developed...

It's a good idea, as long as the player has some control over it, perhaps if the game generates a history, but you are given the opportunity to ask the game to generate a different one until it comes up with an acceptable one.

I'd hate to start a new game, set my home town as Milton Keynes and find MK Dons in my player history. It would be a good to add this after also adding the ability to set disliked clubs (I would hope that's on SI's list of obvious future features, along with multiple favorite clubs).

Haha, it's sad really but whenever I start a new game I plan out how I got there in my head. I hate the thought that I just 'appeared'.

You're not the only one!

But what does it say about me that, in my head, my playing career was always rubbish?

But what does it say about me that, in my head, my playing career was always rubbish?

that you, as a manager, have a very strong point to prove?

It's a good idea, as long as the player has some control over it, perhaps if the game generates a history, but you are given the opportunity to ask the game to generate a different one until it comes up with an acceptable one.

that would be one way of dealing with this, I can imagine those who put 'Istanbul' in as a city of birth would not be happy with getting one of either Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe or Beşiktaş as a former team. Expanding the favourite clubs / disliked clubs option (which already exists for the players, so i cant see why it cant be the same for managers) is a much better option than fully leaving it up to the user to decide, where you just end up with someone playing 4000 times, scoring 2000 goals and breaking the realism barrier.

a 'pick a history option' sounds good, should the user decide to want a history. you'd have to leave in the generic option on how the game is currently played (ie no history)

Good idea!

As long as SI allowed for these things to be changed in game, I'm sure someone would come up with the extra program to make this happen.

Setting yourself as International reputation is fair enough, but with what clubs? how many caps did I win?

Just noticed this point in my game. Set myself as international reputation and on the profile screen it says i had 30 caps / 2 goals. It's probably old news but the first time I'd seen it.

I agree that this would be a great addition and would allow you to get more out of your own game. A club for which you played at previously would be less hurried to sack you if things went wrong while if ou joined their rivals as manager, that decision may be taken quicker.