Can someone explain this sick schedule please ?

[iliqueur]

hello,

this was the schedule in the last month of season.


Thu, 1.5.2014 - Fenerbahçe TV H 0 - 0 EURO Cup Semi Final Leg 2
Sun, 4.5.2014 - Fulham A 3 - 1 Premier Division
Wed, 7.5.2014 - Liverpool H 4 - 2 Premier Division
Sat, 10.5.2014 - Arsenal TV N FA Cup Final
Mon, 12.5.2014 - Man City H Premier Division
Wed, 14.5.2014 - Tottenham TV N EURO Cup Final
Fri, 16.5.2014 - Arsenal A Premier Division
Sun, 18.5.2014 - Man City TV A Premier Division



we had chance to be champions but how can we manage with this kind of sick schedule ? nonsense...

[FrazT]

This can happen if you are still in all the competitions. In real life, the FA can extend the season but the game cannot code this, so it is the price you pay for being successful

[SuperManager]

Personally, I'd sacrifice the EURO Cup...

[TSH]

You're not serious with this reply, are you?

He's playing in 3 competions, that's certainly not unheard of and you never see this kind of schedule in real life.

This is certainly the game's fault, so SI should really stop with these answers...

[iliqueur]

You're not serious with this reply, are you?

He's playing in 3 competions, that's certainly not unheard of and you never see this kind of schedule in real life.

This is certainly the game's fault, so SI should really stop with these answers...

+1


in the 3rd season with Newcastle,

i won league cup and fa cup but lost uefa final because of this sick schedule. also i had chance to win league but could not handle no more. you never see this kind of schedule in real life.

[Reccy]

This can happen if you are still in all the competitions. In real life, the FA can extend the season but the game cannot code this, so it is the price you pay for being successful

Many Thanks for your answer. Please provide Real life evidence that this has happened to a top flight team.

Expecting a quick response.

Thanks

Jamie

[FrazT]

Between 4/5/2008 and 22/5/2008, Rangers played 6 league game, the Scottish Cup final and the final of the Euro Cup.

[Reccy]

Between 4/5/2008 and 22/5/2008, Rangers played 6 league game, the Scottish Cup final and the final of the Euro Cup.

A game every 3 days - Normal i'd say. His suggests a game every 2.25 days..
8 games within 18 days, rather than 6.

Please provide evidence of a top flight club in England (eg Premier League)

Thanks

[lee_uk]

why the need for real evidence...Fraz just said its not possible to extend the schedule in game?

[milnerpoint]

Why must it be from the EPL?
Get over it to be honest, there is nothing that can be changed, make use of your squad and keep an eye on fitness.

[Reccy]

why the need for real evidence...Fraz just said its not possible to extend the schedule in game?

Then it needs to be re-evaluated and incorperated into the game. Simple.

[lee_uk]

i think this has always been an issue within FM to be honest,but like milnerpoint says,make use of your squad and fitness and accept the challenge

[Reccy]

i think this has always been an issue within FM to be honest,but like milnerpoint says,make use of your squad and fitness and accept the challenge

Im not that good of a manger to be in all comps at the same time, im just trying to work out why they haven't incorporated it in the game and just come up with, like it or lump it bolloc*s

Why must it be from the EPL?
Get over it to be honest, there is nothing that can be changed, make use of your squad and keep an eye on fitness.

Yeah, sure.. Thanks.

[footballhead]

A game every 3 days - Normal i'd say. His suggests a game every 2.25 days..
8 games within 18 days, rather than 6.

Please provide evidence of a top flight club in England (eg Premier League)

Thanks

What maths are you doing? from the 4th to the 22nd is 18 days with 8 games to play. That's a game every 2.25 days. Therefore it has happened

[milnerpoint]

The fact is this situation comes around so infrequent there really isnt a precedent for it, i cannot think of a single example when they have had to extend the EPL because of a team success, i dont even know if they would extend it due to their TV commitments through SKY. It caused outrage up here in Scotland when both the Old Firm needed the league extended i can only imagine the problem being much worse in England.

[Reccy]

What maths are you doing? from the 4th to the 22nd is 18 days with 8 games to play. That's a game every 2.25 days. Therefore it has happened

18/8 = 2.25 (OP's schedule)
18/6 = 3 (FrazT's schedule)

[milnerpoint]

I think you need to read again, 6 LEAGUE games ontop of a scottish cup game and a euorpean game, thats 8 games my friend

[samdiatmh]

So, you go a long way in all competitions, then you'll have a backlog of fixtures
going all the way in EVERY competition (or making the final) means you'll have at least 60 games, of which are split about 30-30
30 games in 5 months = a game on average every 5 days, but with most finals being in May, you normally get a backlog there

for a real example (top club in ENGLAND),
Liverpool (00-01)
May 5 - League - WIN vs Bradford
May 8 - League - DRAW vs Chelsea
May 12 - FA Cup Final - WIN vs Arsenal
May 16 - UEFA Cup Final - WIN vs Alaves
May 19 - League - WIN vs Charlton
so 5 games in 14 days for a 2.8days/game average
real enough evidence for you?

conclusion:
this CAN happen IRL (as FrazT and I have proven) but if you've got a paper-thin squad, then you pay the consequences

[Red_Arrow]

In Aldershot's conference winning season we had a run of 6 games in 15 days, or a game every 2.5 days. Didn't lose one In fact for the month of March we played 10 games in 29 days, one defeat. SO yeah this does happen and there is no excuse for not dealing with it.

[iliqueur]

Sat, 10.5.2014 - Arsenal TV N FA Cup Final
Mon, 12.5.2014 - Man City H Premier Division
Wed, 14.5.2014 - Tottenham TV N EURO Cup Final

guys i want to underline again one of matches was fa cup final and the other one is uefa cup final. and the pl match was the most important match of season bec. they were 1st. so how could we perform good ?

[milnerpoint]

You have to remember that players with a low condition can still play fine, they may run the risk of injury or get tired by the end of the 3 games but they can still play, i often play big players if they are around 85/90% fit if the game is important enough. Remeber and set all your important players to rest for a week, you wont need them training during that schedule and you should get through it fine.

[TSH]

Anyone who tries to defend this is simply out of his mind. This is not some crazy on-off case.

People are not upset because this is happening, they are upset with the SI responses. It's the game's fault, not the players' and SI should at least admit to that (since they can't do anything about it atm).

Isn't that the honest thing to do?

[iliqueur]

Anyone who tries to defend this is simply out of his mind. This is not some crazy on-off case.

People are not upset because this is happening, they are upset with the SI responses. It's the game's fault, not the players' and SI should at least admit to that (since they can't do anything about it atm).

Isn't that the honest thing to do?

[samdiatmh]

^ days off training are invaluable

it invariably comes down to the fact that most FMers (yes, me too) don't build a big enough squad, and then throw a tantrum when they get a big pile-up at the end of the season

look at most teams last season,
Barcelona used 31 players last year,
Real Madrid used 35,
Man Utd used 31,
Newcastle (for a non-top team) used 35,
Portsmouth (who are debt-ridden) used 27,

i could go on and on, but i'm 99% certain that most FM managers (myself included) don't use as many as that (okay, maybe as many as Portsmouth did, but then they barely had enough to pay any more)

edit: that arrow is obviously aimed at the 3 games in 4 days post, i just took ages for research

[milnerpoint]

Anyone who tries to defend this is simply out of his mind. This is not some crazy on-off case.

People are not upset because this is happening, they are upset with the SI responses. It's the game's fault, not the players' and SI should at least admit to that (since they can't do anything about it atm).

Isn't that the honest thing to do?

Clearly you have missed the 3 real life examples given where this has actually happened, please read the thread again.
Anyway SI have on numerous occasions accepted the game could be better in this area but it wont be an easy thing to change, leagues are coded to start and stop on specific dates, having these extended would be very difficult. They dont need to drop into every single thread on the issue and give the same response over and over, if anything they will just get constantly flamed for it.

[samdiatmh]

okay, (this actually happened to me on FM11)
would you rather have the games rescheduled so that the UEFA Cup final is played on June 1 (after EVERYONE has been called up for WC duty?)
i'm sure you'd be more up in arms about that (why is this crap game scheduling games on June 1, all my players have gone to WC duty)

Yes, this ACTUALLY happened to me in FM11, for the WC18... i raged at the virtual FA
of course, they then had the nerve to schedule a league game on Sep5 in the following season (Sep 1 - 13 is international duty remember)

personally, i'm glad they changed it, i was fed up of having a CL final in VERY late May / early June (May 28-June 1) just for the sake of having 100% players

[Kenco]

Unfortunately the game isn't quite advanced enough to predict how things will pan out. Games from early in the season et moved back to empty dates, but then these dates keep getting filled and games are moved back again. Eventually you run out of free dates, in particular if you are in the EURO Cup and FA Cup.

In real life they can re-schedule 2 or more games at once to fit things in correctly and can plan ahead, particularly to allow for Thursday EURO games, but the game doesn't have the code to do this complicated procedure.

Yes it can be annoying, but I've seen far worse schedules than the OP.

[FrazT]

Anyone who tries to defend this is simply out of his mind. This is not some crazy on-off case.

People are not upset because this is happening, they are upset with the SI responses. It's the game's fault, not the players' and SI should at least admit to that (since they can't do anything about it atm).

Isn't that the honest thing to do?

Nobody has said that it is necessarily right, but it does happen in real life and it is a consequence of being successful in all competitions in real life and in the game. SI have said that the issue of recoding leagues to take account of this is very difficult with knock on effects, so is not possible.

[TSH]

Nobody has said that it is necessarily right, but it does happen in real life and it is a consequence of being successful in all competitions in real life and in the game. SI have said that the issue of recoding leagues to take account of this is very difficult with knock on effects, so is not possible.

You can't equate one or two or even three examples of real life in order to justify something that happens so often in the game. I think a 10 year old could understand that, don't you think?

Besides, since I'm seeing that you are avoiding the issue, I must point out that this happenes even when the player is doing great in ONLY 3 competitions, which is certainly not rare in real life at all.

I don't mind that the game has problems, but not admitting to them and responding with arguments like "it's the price you pay for being succesful" is totally illogical and completely arrogant!

In addition, due to the fixture problem titles get lost more often than not, so players are not REALLY succeeding, are they?

[Coentrao]

This happened to me as well in France, the Europa league causes massive schedule congestion towards the end of the season, i played like 5 or 6 games with only two days of interval in between.

From now on i'll just ignore that competition unless i'm doing really bad in the league, it's just not worth it.

[Britrock]

On fm11 I played sat-mon-thurs-sun because of fa cup replays messing up my league games and the Europa league causing a backlog. There was no other way it could have been done because I was playing every single midweek. I just took all my players off training for the week and rotated every other match.

[milnerpoint]

There are also an infinite number of FM save games whereas we have one real life to find examples from. Its easy to find countless examples of this from an infinite number of sources.

[Lawlore]

...which is what happens in real life, with clubs fielding weakened teams in comps they don't prioritise.

[scfcbobby]

You can't equate one or two or even three examples of real life in order to justify something that happens so often in the game. I think a 10 year old could understand that, don't you think?

There are tens of thousands of FM players, a lot of whom play the game as a successful team, a lot of whom play multiple seasons in weeks. So the chances of these fixture backlogs are high enough to have a few people complain about it. I think a 10 year old could understand that

I think it's realistic and it's common in lower leagues. IRL there would have to be exceptional circumstances for any FA to even consider extending the season for one team because it raises so many issues and they'd be accused of bias.

[sheeshy]

These things happen. Rotate your squad.

[taytothief]

I've had this problem too. This season I had premier division matches on the 26th, 27th and 28th of December.

[FATPimP]

Took this screen when I was playing FM11 last year:
http://oi52.tinypic.com/72gco7.jpg

To this day it blows my dam mind.

[TSH]

These things happen. Rotate your squad.

Yeah, I'm sure they do.

We have tons of such examples each season in real life, right...?

[sheeshy]

Yeah, I'm sure they do.

We have tons of such examples each season in real life, right...?

You don't need tons of examples, just the fact that it happens once is enough, in my opinion.

[TSH]

You don't need tons of examples, just the fact that it happens once is enough, in my opinion.

So it's ok for this to happen every season in the game, when in real life it happens rarely?

Riiight.

[Kenco]

So it's ok for this to happen every season in the game, when in real life it happens rarely?

Riiight.

Does it really happen every season?

[Chris M]

Have you actually looked at a fixture list around Christmas/New Year and Easter?

[milnerpoint]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/n...stive-schedule

[hluraven]

Real life, this season, Bromley played on Saturday and Sunday. We have had no postponements, only in 4 competitions (out of 2 cups in first round) and its only December. Things like this happen every season, somewhere in the world.

[sheeshy]

So it's ok for this to happen every season in the game, when in real life it happens rarely?

Riiight.

It happens every season in the game? Going to need to see a screenshot of your fixtures for every single season.

[karax268]

OP how come you play city twice in 6 days in the PL?

[brookie1402]

To put it another way. Has an FA ever extended the season so that matches are more spread out in real life?

[stevvy]

OP how come you play city twice in 6 days in the PL?

It'll be because the original game will have been moved so many times that he'll have ended up having both games in a short space of time. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, it very rarely happens in real life, it's upto you to have a big enough squad and be able to rotate and deal with it. May not like it, but that's the way it is. How often does the season get extended in real life in any league due to fixture congestion? Just because someone happens to win in every round of every competition they play in (plus replays) and it means they have to play a load of games in a short space of time doesn't mean the season should be extended. Being blunt, deal with it. You may not like it, but it's the price you pay for success. If it bothers you that much, prioritise, and play some younger players in the Carling/FA Cups/European games once you've qualified from the group stages/PL once you've won the league if that's what happens, or if you can't finish any higher or lower with a couple of games to go. I've had games before where I have a large number of games in a small number of days, and I just accept it, I get on with it, and accept it's due to being so successful.

[brian JD]

this is seriously not fun..................

Sun, 22/12/2013 16:00 Chelsea TV H 2 - 5 Premier League
Thu, 26/12/2013 17:15 Arsenal TV H 7 - 2 Premier League
Sat, 28/12/2013 15:00 Newcastle A 2 - 3 Premier League
Mon, 30/12/2013 20:00 Man City TV A 1 - 4 Premier League
Wed, 1/1/2014 15:00 Everton A Premier League
Sat, 4/1/2014 15:00 Norwich H FA Cup 3rd Rnd

[MrBannystar]

People think that these schedules are bad? All 3 are in the prem...

26/12/2021 - Huddersfield (A) 1-2
27/12/2021 - Arsenal (H) 0-4
28/12/2021 - Manchester City (A) 0-3

Needless to say, I didn't end up having a great season.

[Charlie_B]

So it's ok for this to happen every season in the game, when in real life it happens rarely?

Riiight.

When does this happen? It happens whenever teams are very successful and still in many competitions at the end of the season. It's rare to see such success in real life, but when you do often these problems arise. It's common to see such things happening in FM because it's a game. People dump unsuccessful saves and stick to successful ones. People have learnt over the years how to play FM very successfully. People cheat. Therefore, people experience more fixture congestion than real teams do.

It's "common" to see such things happening in FM because there are thousands of people playing thousands of seasons in the space of a single season in real life. The vast majority of them don't experience this problem and don't post about it, but there are enough people on this forum that it's going to keep cropping up. Furthermore, it's an unusual and annoying event. It sticks in your mind. If it only happens once every ten seasons you're going to notice it and remember the last time it happens - it appears more common than it really is.

[scott MUFC]

a game every 2 days?
that isn't right

[Shakes]

Rest players from training, rotate your entire starting 10 outfield players each game, be smart with the subs (ie if you want a guy to start the next game don't bring him on until the 70+ minute mark), play a slow tempo game (especially if you get ahead). Even with a schedule like that so long as you pay a bit of attention it's not hard to have players close to 100%.

[Gambit]

The only thing I find odd about your fixtures is that you're playing Man City for the first time in the league the 12th then again on the 18th. Outside of that things like this happen when you're winning. Would you rather be fighting relegation or fighting to keep your players fit for important cup/league winning games?

[Apos]

The premier league is not called one of the most merciless leagues physically for no reason. I personally don't like it over the spanish one for example,but you got to be blind to not see that you must be made of bricks to be able to cope in it.

This happens in real life really often for teams that want to cope with many competitions at once. Can't see a reason why shouldn't it in-game as well. You just don't see teams trying to cope with 3-4 different things at the same time normally.

[scott MUFC]

that might be because of repeated postponements, on my second season as man utd i got both chelsea games after new year.

[imagine]

i have also had this issue because of postponements. some month like jan or feb will have 4 or 5 games each month, then later get piled up in april/may

[Cleon]

So, you go a long way in all competitions, then you'll have a backlog of fixtures
going all the way in EVERY competition (or making the final) means you'll have at least 60 games, of which are split about 30-30
30 games in 5 months = a game on average every 5 days, but with most finals being in May, you normally get a backlog there

for a real example (top club in ENGLAND),
Liverpool (00-01)
May 5 - League - WIN vs Bradford
May 8 - League - DRAW vs Chelsea
May 12 - FA Cup Final - WIN vs Arsenal
May 16 - UEFA Cup Final - WIN vs Alaves
May 19 - League - WIN vs Charlton
so 5 games in 14 days for a 2.8days/game average
real enough evidence for you?

conclusion:
this CAN happen IRL (as FrazT and I have proven) but if you've got a paper-thin squad, then you pay the consequences

You'd hate the Brazillian leagues then because you play a game every 2-3 days for a year.

[ndebergerac]

The only time I've had anything close was when I went the distance in both domestic cups and the Champions League, but it should be added I needed 2 replays in the FA Cup causing league games to be re-scheduled.

For the Rangers example used, they had requested a league game be postponed to prepare for a big European game plus had a cup replay, so it was partially their own doing. And to the Math Nazi, it was actually 8 games in 19 days, not 18. They played on both the 4th and the 22nd, use your fingers and toes if need be.

[hluraven]

Two things. One, there is a bug that in occasional (not every) season, there is a Premier League game scheduled on 27/12 when games are already on 26th and 28th.

Other thing, all the other examples are realistic regarding what happens over Christmas/New Year in English football, or at the end of a season after success in all competitions forces a backlog. You should see some real lower league English teams, 5 or 6 games in 7 days is far from uncommon around the country for teams who do well in all competitions - non-league teams enter about 6 after all.

[Menion]

Not ad bad as on FM10 (I think it was 10) Where I had 6 games in 7 days...

These things happen rarely in the EPL (one example has been given, which wasn't to the same extent)). The effort required to fix this would probably be too much. If you have qualified for the Uefa Cup then you run the risk of this. Realistically you shouldn't be challenging for all of that if you haven't qualified for the champions league...

[Katarian]

People need to realize that the reason these things don't happen to such an extent in the Real World is that a human being is involved in setting the fixtures. A computer can never eliminate these problems as it is dealing with a fixed set of parameters that it cannot deviate from. A human being oversees every part of the fixture arrangements in real life and they can adapt to the situation in a way a computer cannot.

[Govnar1]

Took this screen when I was playing FM11 last year:
http://oi52.tinypic.com/72gco7.jpg

To this day it blows my dam mind.

Two league games on same day!?!?!? Best feature ever!

[Sikker]

All these examples happens in seasons ending in even years (e.g. 2014). The reason for this is that seasons has to end earlier /cannot be extended as national teams need their players for friendlies/preparation before world cup or european championship.

[Apos]

Two league games on same day!?!?!? Best feature ever!

Take a closer look. They are on the same day and also on the same hour.

[CityAndColour]

Two league games on same day!?!?!? Best feature ever!

I'm sure there's millions of real life examples of this.

[nine_iron]

If I see I have this I rest players for the day after each match, I also rotate the top players and balance it so they play maybe 6 or 7 out of the 8 games. The other thing I do is play players who are around 85%, if you look at the match fitness rating rather than the fitness rating they can be in the 90s if you rest them properly so the only issue is a slightly higher chance of injuries.

All of these things have been mentioned before in this thread but it is important to state we have two fitness values now and to pay attention to both of them!

[Govnar1]

I'm sure there's millions of real life examples of this.

to quote the classic line (by lucas95):

"I'm waiting for a milnerpoint answer, gotta be funny..."

[Govnar1]

Take a closer look. They are on the same day and also on the same hour.

It's an epic tree way ala "Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo" in a weirdly bent space time continuum (one opponent at home other away).

[FATPimP]

I swear on my life the screen is real, I played one game and the ASSMAN the other and we used the same players too!
That was awesome!

[hluraven]

I'm sure there's millions of real life examples of this.

Not millions, but it happened to Newport County on Saturday, they played a Welsh Cup and a English Conference game at the same time.

[Govnar1]

Not millions, but it happened to Newport County on Saturday, they played a Welsh Cup and a English Conference game at the same time.

At same time in two different places (and on top of it at macroscopic level). Hello Nobel Prize in Physics!

[lucas95]

to quote the classic line (by lucas95):

"I'm waiting for a milnerpoint answer, gotta be funny..."

Yeah, i was thinking that

[Govnar1]

lucas95 you are my idol!

[lucas95]

lucas95 you are my idol!

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