Managerial Mistakes.

At the beginning of last week I made the awful, (panic) buy of an injury prone striker for £20M and have regretted it ever since.

After really struggling with form yesterday, I now realise that my AP had somehow changed to an AM. I couldn't understand why he was always in the same space as my AF.

Tight Champions League group in my first season of my current Barcelona save, horrible draw putting Man City and PSG in my group. I was 2-1 down to City in the penultimate game and went very attacking and conceded a third in injury time. Won the last group game and thought I'd pipped City on goal difference, but had forgotten head to head comes before goal difference. I'd beaten them 4-2 at home, so the 3-1 at Eastlands put them through on goal difference in the head to head. If I'd taken the 2-1 defeat, instead of going for the draw, I'd have gone through...

Then they beat me on goal difference in the first qualifying round in my second season. :o

Made a deal for a fantastic young Brazilian, but had to wait a couple of years for him to arrive. For some reason the game (at least back then, not sure about now) doesn't take the delayed transfer date into account when it comes to contracts and he ended up being released on a free just a day after arriving because I didn't notice. I did eventually sign him for a very large sum a couple of years later (having decided to try and get him back on principle) but I left the club shortly after anyway so I barely had much time with him in the end. For a time I was careful to check the contract end dates of similar transfers and even though I haven't remembered to do it for a while (though this is reminding me) it's thankfully never happened since.

Just recently I switched jobs. Was managing OM in Ligue 1 and winning trophies but getting a little bit bored of it. Athletic Bilbao asked me to become their manager and I took it feeling up for the challenge. Turns out they've sold most of their best players and I've only found 2 players to come in and strengthen the team. Feeling like I should have stayed in France.

No matter who I'm using, how I'm doing, or how they are doing, every time the Athletic job comes up I am sorely tempted.

From my experience so far I think it would be a better job if I had started the game as them and not try and salvage a team where you have severe limits on player purchases.

End of my fifth season with Oxford City in the Skrill Premier. Just missed out on promotion by losing in the Playoff semi-final to Dag & Red. Every season we were improving, and always exceeding expectations, but the finances were never going to be on a par with the likes of Gateshead, Wrexham etc in the same division. Seeing that Cambridge were just getting relegated to the Skrill Premier for the sixth season, I applied for the job and got it, anticipating almost double the wage budget available to me compared to Oxford City, and a squad capable of getting straight back into League 2. Unfortunately I took the financial figures presented to me during the application process as what would be available to me for the new season, but the figures (obviously now) were still their League 2 figures. I took over the club to find the wage budget trimmed by 1/3, and no transfer budget to speak of, and with players who would rip the Skrill Premier to shreds carrying expiring contracts, with very few willing to stay.

Lesson learnt, don't jump in too quickly just because what might appear to be an appealing job might turn out to be a horror show. I miss Oxford City a lot now, but this is the hole I've dug for myself! :o

After really struggling with form yesterday, I now realise that my AP had somehow changed to an AM. I couldn't understand why he was always in the same space as my AF.

What a huge difference fixing that little thing has made. Love this game.

I posted this when it happened, but my worst ever managerial mistake was resigning from my job as France manager because I thought I'd been knocked out of the European championships final (finished 3rd in group), only to then realise I had actually qualified for the next round! I hadn't twigged that the increase in size from 16 to 24 nations meant the best third place teams also got through. They subsequently went on to the final without me

Back when I first started playing FM I risked running with no sub GK in a Europa League final, low and behold my keeper gets injured in the 53rd minute and I lost the final 3-1 with a defender taking the gloves. Not a mistake I'm keen to make any time soon but at least I can call it a product of early experimentation haha!

Back when I first started playing FM I risked running with no sub GK in a Europa League final, low and behold my keeper gets injured in the 53rd minute and I lost the final 3-1 with a defender taking the gloves. Not a mistake I'm keen to make any time soon but at least I can call it a product of early experimentation haha!

Would call that bad luck more than anything else. I have never had a GK go off injured so I never name one on the bench. After 1000's of matches across several versions I'm sure I must be due this to happen to me at some point though.

Just lost my first choice DL/ML in the transfer window. Was advised 'decisions need to be made' but nothing about other clubs being able to take him from under my nose when there's only 6 months left on his contract, which is what I assumed happened. Can't afford a like for like replacement, so it's really giving me a headache. I'm debating whether to sneak back to a save three days before and try to tie him down for a couple of years.........

I accidentally passionately praised my players on a 3-0 defeat to a lower ranked team they got as confused as an Arsenal fan at a Cup final and when I tried to rectify it by an assertive bollocking they looked like they may have needed therapy and have struggled to win since.

I recall once, whilst making changes from a cup game to a league game, putting my first team players back in the side, I made a terrible mistake. I accidentally put a RB in goal, obviously misclicking, but I did not notice until after the game started. And even then it took until he actually touched the ball for me to notice...

Since I rarely have a GK on the bench, I thought I was a little screwed. But, somehow, I won 2-0. The opposition did not create any decent chances to test my keeper. I really dodged a bullet.