Is football manger a long term Game?

I seem to notice in a saved game , when years go past the computer gets dummber and the game gets easier? .. i hope S.I can fix this.. sigh

the ai has improved since fm10 but they still dont do enough to keep their squad strong. they would still sooner have expensive players in the reserves than buy players for positions that they need.

i tend to see the best clubs in the game/real life end up getting average youngsters from 4th season onwards

The AI squad building has improved, but it's not brilliant. Some of the big teams seem reluctant to spend their transfer budgets, and if they do, they often get players for the same position and end up with too many holes. In my game, Man City bought 3 left wingers, all for £12m or more, when they already had 2 pretty good options on the left, but only one good right winger.

Also they seem to miss out on all the good young talent, or maybe that's because I am so good at getting them first!

I am in season 9 in a Las Palmas save, and this pre-season I added a new manager and took over Real Madrid, which had not made a big signing at all in the previous eight seasons.

I signed quality players for £230m, and then resigned. They are still the richest club in the world, having hundreds of millions in their bank account. Of course, they hired Ståle Solbakken as their manager, and his tactic was so cautious and defensive that they barely scored goals (while continuing to concede) so I tried to make his tactical skills and preferences more aggressive with FMRTE... and failed. In the end I had to release him, and he was replaced by Mourinho who got fired from Manchester City after one and a half seasons. The problem with Mourinho is also that his tactic is awful - he don't outplay anyone and thus he never wins anything either.

Another thing is that the better a manager's motivation skill, the more pressure he puts on his players (that's the only thing it does, apparently) - they are as helpless turning a losing streak around as any other AI manager (or assistant). It was Mourinho who didn't buy players in eight years before moving to City. I think I will have to go into FMRTE and see if I can make him improve his team...

I cant see the fun in playing a football manager game that cant be challenging in future years. the only fun isthe 1st season or maybe 2nd .. then the rest of the seasons ull might as well play ur reserves

I am in season 9 in a Las Palmas save, and this pre-season I added a new manager and took over Real Madrid, which had not made a big signing at all in the previous eight seasons.

I signed quality players for £230m, and then resigned. They are still the richest club in the world, having hundreds of millions in their bank account. Of course, they hired Ståle Solbakken as their manager, and his tactic was so cautious and defensive that they barely scored goals (while continuing to concede) so I tried to make his tactical skills and preferences more aggressive with FMRTE... and failed. In the end I had to release him, and he was replaced by Mourinho who got fired from Manchester City after one and a half seasons. The problem with Mourinho is also that his tactic is awful - he don't outplay anyone and thus he never wins anything either.

Another thing is that the better a manager's motivation skill, the more pressure he puts on his players (that's the only thing it does, apparently) - they are as helpless turning a losing streak around as any other AI manager (or assistant). It was Mourinho who didn't buy players in eight years before moving to City. I think I will have to go into FMRTE and see if I can make him improve his team...

How do you know this?

Well that's why playing on lower leagues on leagues with no significant prize money is more fun and challenging since it takes longer to reach the top.. but i agree that once you start winning the CL it gets boring and it's time to just restart somewhere else.

How do you know this?

Observation.

Another thing is that the better a manager's motivation skill, the more pressure he puts on his players (that's the only thing it does, apparently) - they are as helpless turning a losing streak around as any other AI manager (or assistant). It was Mourinho who didn't buy players in eight years before moving to City. I think I will have to go into FMRTE and see if I can make him improve his team...

What are you basing that on? I have also messed around with manager attributes using FMRTE but i have not noticed that at all.

Observation.

but based on what? you cannot check what team talks they are using or anything.

I would imagine if you started at the very top, you'd get bored after 5 years.

But for those of us who start very low down, it certainly is a long-term game. I'm in 2041/42 and showing no signs of getting bored.

I would imagine if you started at the very top, you'd get bored after 5 years.

But for those of us who start very low down, it certainly is a long-term game. I'm in 2041/42 and showing no signs of getting bored.

True... i remember my braintree season on 2009 that was a fun long term game.. i guess football manger aint good for them type of saved games, when being a top club ... sadly because the cups are fun like champonis league etc but Goshh it gets boring After a while.. :|

but based on what? you cannot check what team talks they are using or anything.

I can see the results of their team talks in-game, and I am very rarely impressed. Nervous players = too much pressure. Even the very best managers seem to be oblivious of their player's morale or "learn" from failed team talks. Mourinho had half his City-team at poor and very poor morale even when fighting for the title the first season. Why? If any manager in the game could know what the programming had set as "the right decision", it should be Mourinho!

It actually wouldn't bother me if world-class managers always got things right, and "cheated" so to speak. I would find ways to beat them anyways, given time.

I can see the results of their team talks in-game, and I am very rarely impressed. Nervous players = too much pressure. Even the very best managers seem to be oblivious of their player's morale or "learn" from failed team talks. Mourinho had half his City-team at poor and very poor morale even when fighting for the title the first season. Why? If any manager in the game could know what the programming had set as "the right decision", it should be Mourinho!

It actually wouldn't bother me if world-class managers always got things right, and "cheated" so to speak. I would find ways to beat them anyways, given time.

Which would make it a long term game, possibly.

In my game, Man City bought 3 left wingers, all for £12m or more, when they already had 2 pretty good options on the left, but only one good right winger.

So FM is pretty realistic then? Oh wait, it's left backs IRL with Man City, and midfielders being hoarded by Liverpool!

I'm 7 seasons in to my Blades save, and I've never really been bothered by squad issues like those being mentioned. My opponents certainly aren't getting any easier to beat

Good point about City and Liverpool SB!

I have to say that I am enjoying my long-term game more after 11 seasons than I did at the start. Even though some teams are not very good at squad building, there are still a few strong challengers every season to keep it interesting. But I think my main enjoyment is because it's 'my' team now, populated by youngsters I have trained, rather than a team I've inherited. More satisfying to win with plays like Carioca and Leon King (Simba) grabbing the headlines rather than Hazard and Aguero.

So FM is pretty realistic then? Oh wait, it's left backs IRL with Man City, and midfielders being hoarded by Liverpool!

I'm 7 seasons in to my Blades save, and I've never really been bothered by squad issues like those being mentioned. My opponents certainly aren't getting any easier to beat

Maybe you're suffering from AI Manager Syndrome:D

I find its hard to get into longer term games.

At the start of the game you know whos good etc, when you come up against Man Utd you know what expect from Rooney/ Nani or Fabregas and Nasri at Arsenal.

But with the regens you don't know who the stars are, unless you go through all the teams regens one by one which is pain staking. I find FM is great for the first 5 seasons its so realistic and the stars are all there because you know who they are, but once the regens come through FM does not involve you in the worlds best players.

So apart from your own players who you know are good you would have no idea about the others, you could come up against the next Messi and unless you clicked on his profile before the game you would have no idea.

I've done this, beat Arsenal loads of times and never noticed they had a top top class regen in there team, on the pitch he never played that great to make me think he was a top regen. But now I've started clicking on each players starting line up profile before the game, I've noticed there are a few good regens that i never knew about before.

I find its hard to get into longer term games.

At the start of the game you know whos good etc, when you come up against Man Utd you know what expect from Rooney/ Nani or Fabregas and Nasri at Arsenal.

But with the regens you don't know who the stars are, unless you go through all the teams regens one by one which is pain staking. I find FM is great for the first 5 seasons its so realistic and the stars are all there because you know who they are, but once the regens come through FM does not involve you in the worlds best players.

So apart from your own players who you know are good you would have no idea about the others, you could come up against the next Messi and unless you clicked on his profile before the game you would have no idea.

I've done this, beat Arsenal loads of times and never noticed they had a top top class regen in there team, on the pitch he never played that great to make me think he was a top regen. But now I've started clicking on each players starting line up profile before the game, I've noticed there are a few good regens that i never knew about before.

It helps to know what you are up against too.

I find its hard to get into longer term games.

At the start of the game you know whos good etc, when you come up against Man Utd you know what expect from Rooney/ Nani or Fabregas and Nasri at Arsenal.

But with the regens you don't know who the stars are, unless you go through all the teams regens one by one which is pain staking. I find FM is great for the first 5 seasons its so realistic and the stars are all there because you know who they are, but once the regens come through FM does not involve you in the worlds best players.

So apart from your own players who you know are good you would have no idea about the others, you could come up against the next Messi and unless you clicked on his profile before the game you would have no idea.

I've done this, beat Arsenal loads of times and never noticed they had a top top class regen in there team, on the pitch he never played that great to make me think he was a top regen. But now I've started clicking on each players starting line up profile before the game, I've noticed there are a few good regens that i never knew about before.

But you will learn who the stars are when they start banging in 40 goals a season. Keep an eye on things like the league player stats to see who is getting all the goals / assists / best average ratings, and you will see who the best players are. Also look out for the awards such as player / young player of the month / year, Champions Cup Dream Team, etc.

Also, you can't always know who all the best players / prospects are, there are bound to be some who sneak under the radar. I mean, who knew how good Javier Hernandez was before Utd signed him? You can make an effort to keep tabs on all the best players if you are willing to put the time in, like a real manager would. Do you think managers go home on Saturday evening and put their feet up to watch X Factor and don't think about football until their next match? I don't think so.

I tend to sign many of the best prospects in the game because I invest a serious amount of time into scouting.

I've played a save in the Bundesliga for 10 odd years and really didn't notice any big changes. Bayern are still as annoyingly dominant as always, and they've built a pretty strong squad.

I can't say the same about teams like Barca/Madrid/ManU/Milan, their teams have fallen in quality quite a bit. They sign too many mediocre players that they don't need and they don't replace their best players that leave or retire.

But you will learn who the stars are when they start banging in 40 goals a season. Keep an eye on things like the league player stats to see who is getting all the goals / assists / best average ratings, and you will see who the best players are. Also look out for the awards such as player / young player of the month / year, Champions Cup Dream Team, etc.

Also, you can't always know who all the best players / prospects are, there are bound to be some who sneak under the radar. I mean, who knew how good Javier Hernandez was before Utd signed him? You can make an effort to keep tabs on all the best players if you are willing to put the time in, like a real manager would. Do you think managers go home on Saturday evening and put their feet up to watch X Factor and don't think about football until their next match? I don't think so.

I tend to sign many of the best prospects in the game because I invest a serious amount of time into scouting.

Yeah i can see what your saying. :-)

The yearly awards one does not do it for me, its been the same regens winning them for the last 7 seasons who are in there 30's and dont look that good.

But goal scoring and assists and average performance chart could be very handy, i cant believe i never thought of this. Which screen can i find these stats? Are they on teams information screen?

Yeah i can see what your saying. :-)

The yearly awards one does not do it for me, its been the same regens winning them for the last 7 seasons who are in there 30's and dont look that good.

But goal scoring and assists and average performance chart could be very handy, i cant believe i never thought of this. Which screen can i find these stats? Are they on teams information screen?

You can views stats by team simply by choosing the 'selection' view on the squad screen. Or view league stats by clicking on the competition, then choose the player stats tab.

I would imagine if you started at the very top, you'd get bored after 5 years.

But for those of us who start very low down, it certainly is a long-term game. I'm in 2041/42 and showing no signs of getting bored.

Last time I started in the lower leagues I was in the Championship within 7 seasons

Last time I started in the top leagues I was still playing in 2062 when the save (and all my backups ) managed to die.

I would imagine if you started at the very top, you'd get bored after 5 years.

But for those of us who start very low down, it certainly is a long-term game. I'm in 2041/42 and showing no signs of getting bored.

Last time I started in the lower leagues I was in the Championship within 7 seasons

Last time I started in the top leagues I was still playing in 2062 when the save (and all my backups ) managed to die.

I feel the only real difference between choosing a lower-league team and a top team is how long it takes you to become the biggest, best and most dominating club in the world. If you take a BSN/S side, it would take you 4 seasons to get promoted to Championship, and while it is possible to go straight up to the Premier it is more likely that you'd need a couple of seasons to catch up. So let's say promotion to PL in the 6th season, Europa League Qual. in the 8th, CL Quals in the 9th and the Premiership in the 10th season. From then on you should be steadily steering towards total domination.

With Manchester United you'd win the Premiership in the first season surely, the second season is used to get rid of deadwood and therefore not too great a team improvement in that season - but PL should be secured along with at least one cup. From the third season and onwards, you should start winning everything just about every season. It is possible to win everything from the first season too, of course, but expecting it may be a bit harsh.

Fair enough, the journeys are very different, but as I am aiming for club improvement it is the time after securing my position on top I enjoy the most - partially because getting there is a matter of when, not if. I have never relegated with any club, but that is because if I can't get my tactic to work so that the team loses morale and everything is just awful, I start a new game and try again until I get it right (mostly because testing tactics with a team consisting of crybabies entering the pitch in fetal position sucking their thumbs, crying for mommy - is a waste of time... there's too many unknown factors).

Once I have a functional tactic, I build the team by signing the players I can find that I believe would fulfil their roles the most efficiently. It doesn't matter if this is done in BSN or the PL, really. Any human manager can do this much better than any competing AI team, as it is now.

Playing in the lower leagues isn't more difficult than playing in the top leagues, just different. If anything, finding players who improves the team is much easier in the lower leagues than for teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid, as there are more players to choose from and less difference between them in terms of CA. Although I believe that it is easier to get team talks right with the professional players than the semi-amateurs in League Two or below.

If you take a BSN/S side, it would take you 4 seasons to get promoted to Championship, and while it is possible to go straight up to the Premier it is more likely that you'd need a couple of seasons to catch up. So let's say promotion to PL in the 6th season, Europa League Qual. in the 8th, CL Quals in the 9th and the Premiership in the 10th season. From then on you should be steadily steering towards total domination.

I'll have to to disagree with that one!

Took me 23 seasons to reach the Premiership - working from Hungerford, Workington, Accrington, Bristol Rovers, Watford, Portsmouth and finally Peterborough. Once in the Premiership, it was 8 years before winning it (2040/41).

To prove the main topic point of it being a long-term game.

Unfortunately the AI squad building skills are still too poor to give the human player a run for his money once the real-life players get old and retire.

The AI will buy ANYONE with a high PA, regardless of the player's age, current attributes, attributes distribution, position etc.

So unsurprisingly even Top Clubs will bring in a lot of rubbish players just because "someday" they could turn into stars, despite their current attributes being BARELY good enough to be regulars one tier below.

Or they'll happily spend 10-20M on players pushing 30 who are going nowhere but downhill... but AI managers don't care because CA and PA are high, so he must be a great purchase.

And then you'll have a 33yo on a 150k p/w contract...

Also, you'll find 5 or 6 good strikers in teams that play 4-2-3-1, wingers in teams that play wingless formations etc...

Basically when you see a Top Newgen at an AI club it'll be either

* a product of the local academy (of a quality you'll never get one yourself)

* a can't-miss wonderkid they were lucky to sign, along with 4 hopeless "prospects"

So it's mostly a matter of the law of the large numbers... Every N awful signings, the AI will stumble across the next Rooney or C.Ronaldo... Too bad the amount of Caspers, Tomlinsons, Jefferses and Pennants will be much bigger and more significant...

P.S. as an example...

In 2017 Real Madrid forked out 9M to sign this kid from Arsenal (who had signed him at age 18 for 1M, which was a reasonable investment for a semi-promising kid).

This is his profile at the end of his first season in Madrid... He was quickly moved to Castilla, then loaned out to Aston Villa.

Finally, 5 seasons later, he was sold to Rennes for the princely sum of 700k

Signing like that are more or less the rule for AI clubs once the original players are gone...

No wonder you can get Bumfluff FC promoted all the way up to the EPL in 8 seasons or so...

I'll have to to disagree with that one!

Took me 23 seasons to reach the Premiership - working from Hungerford, Workington, Accrington, Bristol Rovers, Watford, Portsmouth and finally Peterborough. Once in the Premiership, it was 8 years before winning it (2040/41).

To prove the main topic point of it being a long-term game.

I was talking about club games, not career games. I don't switch clubs at all. You would probably reach the PL faster if you stayed at Hungerford.

Unfortunately the AI squad building skills are still too poor to give the human player a run for his money once the real-life players get old and retire.

The AI will buy ANYONE with a high PA, regardless of the player's age, current attributes, attributes distribution, position etc.

So unsurprisingly even Top Clubs will bring in a lot of rubbish players just because "someday" they could turn into stars, despite their current attributes being BARELY good enough to be regulars one tier below.

Or they'll happily spend 10-20M on players pushing 30 who are going nowhere but downhill... but AI managers don't care because CA and PA are high, so he must be a great purchase.

And then you'll have a 33yo on a 150k p/w contract...

Also, you'll find 5 or 6 good strikers in teams that play 4-2-3-1, wingers in teams that play wingless formations etc...

Basically when you see a Top Newgen at an AI club it'll be either

* a product of the local academy (of a quality you'll never get one yourself)

* a can't-miss wonderkid they were lucky to sign, along with 4 hopeless "prospects"

So it's mostly a matter of the law of the large numbers... Every N awful signings, the AI will stumble across the next Rooney or C.Ronaldo... Too bad the amount of Caspers, Tomlinsons, Jefferses and Pennants will be much bigger and more significant...

P.S. as an example...

In 2017 Real Madrid forked out 9M to sign this kid from Arsenal (who had signed him at age 18 for 1M, which was a reasonable investment for a semi-promising kid).

This is his profile at the end of his first season in Madrid... He was quickly moved to Castilla, then loaned out to Aston Villa.

Finally, 5 seasons later, he was sold to Rennes for the princely sum of 700k

Signing like that are more or less the rule for AI clubs once the original players are gone...

No wonder you can get Bumfluff FC promoted all the way up to the EPL in 8 seasons or so...

I must be AI then, as I tend to buy anyone with good PA (based on my scouts and their star system), many of which go on to be completely average.

But some turn into legendary players, so I think it's a good plan!

I must be AI then, as I tend to buy anyone with good PA (based on my scouts and their star system), many of which go on to be completely average.

But some turn into legendary players, so I think it's a good plan!

But I'm quite sure you wouldn't sign a 19yo guy with <10 in many key areas just because your scout thinks "he could become a leading EPL striker" despite him being "fairly inconsistent", "selfish" etc

I've bought as well my fair share of youngsters who didn't quite turn out as good as I would have wanted/hoped, but at least they had "something" that made me think they could become good...

What irritates me about the AI signings is that it's EVIDENT most of those "3* PA" players would need a miracle to fulfill their potential

Oh no, I don't buy 19 year olds, they must be 17 or under.

But otherwise if my scout says he'll be a leading EPL striker I will buy him. I don't need to spend money on senior players so I invest it all in youth.

In Response to RBKalle's point on player's being selfish

Selfish is a good trait to have when they are good to be fair!

My Striker at Aberdeen has that as his weakness according to the coaches but it doesn't stop him from not only scoring heaps but also bagging nearly the same amount in assists every season!

Selfish is a good trait to have when they are good to be fair!

My Striker at Aberdeen has that as his weakness according to the coaches but it doesn't stop him from not only scoring heaps but also bagging nearly the same amount in assists every season!

Wrong thread?

Wrong thread?

Nope edited post a little to make sense.

In Response to RBKalle's point on player's being selfish

Selfish is a good trait to have when they are good to be fair!

My Striker at Aberdeen has that as his weakness according to the coaches but it doesn't stop him from not only scoring heaps but also bagging nearly the same amount in assists every season!

Emmanuel Emenike is an excellent example of how you can be a good footballer (in FM) without ever passing the ball! He is a very efficient striker, and is recommended if you want your striker to be a battletank which receives the ball in the midfield, muscles off a few opponents there, turns around, steamrolls straight through their defenses and blasts the ball in the net... that is the only thing he does, though

This is totally off topic now.

The game does get easier, but in some cases it makes it even harder to sign players because of clubs spending silly money on them. They sign average players on large wages for high prices which means that when it comes to your club signing a player, they ask for a ridiculous wage

One of the most challenging aspects in 2020+ is wage demands IMO. There has been occasions when my 4th choice CM has wanted his wages increasing from 30k pw to 180k pw. And they want huge bonuses on top of that. I've had 17 year old regens trying to get over 50k.

But with regards to the OP, I agree that the game does get easier when managing one club for a very long period of time. My current save I spent the first 15 years with Milan and got to the point where it would have been impossible almost to not win Serie A. But if you play the game as a simulation, thinking of it as real life, and work as a real life manager would then there is definately longevity in the game.

I've found the best way to keep the long term challenge is to change teams every 2 or 3 seasons - then you're forced to deal with the crap job the previous manager has done with the team.

Agree this needs addressing - very unrealistic for management to get easier the more years you play. FM's attraction (for me anyway) has always been the long term challenge, probably for the majority of people aswell. So I think SI needs to improve AI managers ability so the game stays competitive for the very long term