FM is Rigged!

FM is rigged

That title is sure to get the attention.

A while back, I encountered someone on a forum saying FM is rigged. That it decides before a game who will win and that there is nothing you can do to change the outcome. This particular poster said that he went up against a team as the clear favourites with morale being okay and he just couldn’t win the game. He reloaded (always a no-no in my book!) about 20 times and the best result he could get, was a draw. Different tactic tried. No matter what happened, he just couldn't win this game. Clearly something is wrong with the ME. Why can’t the favourites walk all over their weak opponents?

This is where I came in. I’m not a tactical expert or anything close to that, but I asked him to upload his save so that I could have a look. I was given the team of SJ Ver and their next game vs Freamunde. This is what I found:

The squad:

Now as you can see, there are a few issues already. 3 of his first 11 players are not match fit, so they won’t be at their best. A few of the better players are either on the bench or not in the match-day squad at all! I can only assume that he rested players in the game before. Looking at the stats, it’s strange to see Nani not starting more games and even stranger that Machadinho is a regular. Morale is good enough, so no issue there though.

Squad Mental State

This is something that gets easily over-looked, but it can help tip the scales in your favour. As mentioned earlier, morale is good enough. They’re on a run of 4 straight draws in the league. 5 draws if you include a penalty shoot-out win 2 games ago in the Cup.

The assistant tells me they’ve “attained a good level of understanding” which isn’t bad, but it’s not great either.

The last match was a dull 0-0 at home. We managed 5 shots with 1 on target. The opposition (14th) had 7 shots and 0 on target.

As for team talks, he took pressure off the team pre-match which is okay and a few players appreciated the calming words. Half-time he told the players they were unlucky and a few looked more motivated, appreciating the sympathy.

Full-time is where there’s a slight issue. After the 0-0 he calmly told the squad that he was happy with the result. 6 out of the 14 players lost focus, 7 looked more motivated and 1 looked unaffected. If any one player loses too much focus and makes a mistake in the next game, it could cost us dearly.

The tactic:

Oh dear. Suddenly it’s quite clear why things are going wrong. This is a team predicted to finish 21st out of 22, so the mentality makes sense. There are just so many team instructions!

It’s an attacking shape and will work using a direct passing game.

Hassle Opponents combined with Get Stuck In results in very aggressive defending and can go very wrong if you have the weaker squad which, in most cases, he’ll have. It’s just too risky.

Drop Deeper is also odd, considering there’s no DM (or anyone on a Defend duty) so he’s just separating defence and midfield more. Getting an effective pressing game going with such a deep defence is also not going to work. The opposition can't be given that much space. No-one is screening the defence!

Be more disciplined is also a strange instruction considering the team fluidity is “very fluid” and creative freedom is high in such a system.

So basically the game-plan is get the ball to the flanks quickly and float crosses. Strange then that Candido Costa has an ACC and PACE of 8, while Julio’s Jumping Reach is also 8. If by some miracle he out-muscles and out-jumps the defender, his Heading is 7. Good luck getting one on target. So they’re not fast and the target in the box is not much of a threat in the air.

Nothing here makes sense at all. Time for a new approach.

Where to begin?

The pressure was on. We’re 18th (from a 21st prediction) facing a team who is 21st (predicted to be 18th) and we’re favourites (although not clear, as was suggested) for the match, even though it’s an away game. I didn’t want to re-load. I was determined to get the win at the first time of asking. I'd never done this before, so I was excited and nervous at the same time. This is what I did.

The tactic:

Firstly, I decided that since we’re such a weak team in the league, I would really need a DM. Looking at the squad, we have a talented front 3. The formation then, was easy. What FM calls a 4-1-2-2-1 or the 4-5-1:

What I tried to make full use of, was our best 4 players up front.

Nani (MCL), who’s been brought in, has double figures for Agility, Decisions, First Touch and Creativity, Flair and Off The Ball. Perfect for an Advanced Playmaker / Attack and perfect on the counter attack.

Candido Costa’s (AMR) strengths are dribbling passing, crossing, first touch, crossing and long shots. He happened to be the only useful and fit AMR in the squad. He can sit and create with a Wing Back shooting past him. Dribble more instructed to make use of his ability.

Julio (ST) is the only striker of note, so I’m forced to use him. His strengths are his anticipation, composure and first touch. Decisions and Finishing is decent as well. He’s not fast, can’t run particularly well with the ball and his creativity is a measly 4. DLF that plays simple obvious passes will have to do. Fewer Risky Balls because of the lack of creativity and passing ability and Moves Into Channels added to open up space for Angelo or Nani.

Angelo (AML) is 10 years younger and has pace. His first touch, crossing and finishing are good enough for me to make him my Inside Forward and hopefully main source of goals.

The midfield players all have a work rate of at least 10 and the lowest on the defence is 13. We’re going to sit back, tackle hard and generally work our socks off to win the ball and counter. Nani and the DR (Batista) will be the main focus on the counter. Nani will run at the out of position defenders, creating havoc and either scoring himself or providing a through ball for someone else. Angelo the main target quickly or Julio and Candido Costa if the ball slows down a little. Batista can whip in early crosses to Julio/Nani/Angelo on the counter as most defenders in this league are fairly slow and I’m hoping to catch them out of position.

That’s my gameplan. I’ll deal with their mental states shortly.

How did the “impossible” match go?

First things first. The pre-match team talk. Time to get focused again:

That went fairly well, except for Andre Pereira, who lost more focus because he’s heard the talk before. Not from me of course!

Freamunde’s midfielder scored from a knock-down on a corner kick after losing his marker. Not a good start. I don’t change anything though. There were positive signs early on. Just have a look at this:

Look at the space Nani (MCL) has here. His superior Off The Ball attribute at play here. Perfect for him to create havoc. Watch the next few shots:

Nani receives and moves wide, dragging defenders with him. Perfect. He lays it off to Candido Costa (DM).

With defenders out of position because they were worried about Nani, Edu (MCR) has space now and receives the ball from Candido Costa.

Nani, meanwhile has drifted inside again and wriggled free of his marker(s). Edu finds him with a one-touch pass. Nani wastes no time either and slides Julio, making a late run, in.

He's under pressure, but it's a cool finish. 1 - 1.

For the more observant of you may have noticed Candido Costa in the DM role. That’s because somehow I swapped him with the very poor Ramalho before the game! My AMR position was wasted and I only noticed in the 55th minute!

The second goal was a luckier goal. The ball was played back to our keeper who cleared it upfield. Their DC mis-judged the flight and Julio pounced. 1 - 2 and the win. There were a few tense moments, but we held on.

The match stats showed that it was a close game, but we just about edged it, imo.

This is what the familiarity levels looked like after the game. Imagine if I had a pre-season to get the players to learn the tactic better!

This was a team I had to get to know in an instant. I had no prior knowledge of them and no idea how anyone would perform. I used a simple tactic that, while not perfect, took advantage of my players’ strengths. A tactic I created with a clear game-plan in mind based on the squad I had available to me.

If I wanted, I could have continued the save and I probably would have tinkered slightly with the tactic as I see how the players perform in their roles. My only aim was winning the game, which I achieved at the first time of asking.

FM can be bloody frustrating at times, but a little common sense goes a long way.

Can I just say.....

1. Love the thread.

2. Love the wide-screen stattage.

3. You have Candida-Costa playing AP(s) in your tactic pic but then in the in game screen he appears mid-pitch and you mention he is playing DM?

[Edit]

Ahhhh. Just seen you mention that.

Good thread but it's wasted on many I think, (although maybe less so in here). You should have posted it in GQ.

Thanks. Nothing ground-breaking in here, just a reminder to think.

If that's the general consensus, I'm happy to close this one and create it in GD again or just moving this thread over there. Heading off to bed soon, but one of the Tactical mods could also move it if it's better suited there.

Excellent thread, wish some of the "game is rigged" people would pay this some attention - moving it to GD in the hope that it enlightens some people.

Interesting post. On thing that intrigues me though is two of your team instructions. Do "work ball into the box" and "hit early crosses" not conflict each other?

Interesting post. On thing that intrigues me though is two of your team instructions. Do "work ball into the box" and "hit early crosses" not conflict each other?

Not at all. Work ball into box limits long shots and I didn't want promising counter attacks wasted by my players taking long shots. Early crosses, as I explained in the OP, was to catch the defenders sleeping and out of position on the counter.

That was my reasoning anyway. I am sure there may be a hole or two in my tactic though. The point was to show that you need a game plan. An idea of how you want to play. I tried to base my instructions on that and for the most part, it worked.

This is a really good post. Nicely done. I hope people will read this and try to implement it themselves.

Excellent clickbait title HUNT3R

In the slight defense of some of the "It's rigged" claimants, you can see from your post just how many different factors one must keep on top of, including things not covered by your post - transfers, contracts, training, media - that it can be easy to overlook one or two things when approaching a match.

Impressive.

Impressive.

Yet extremely basic at the same time. Its genius is how he superbly illustrates how keeping things simple and attending to the obvious is enough in itself to succeed to x degree. Obviously, to greatly over perform, you need to go a degree or two further, but so many FMers will get so much more out of the game just by attending to the things HUNT3R points out.

I KNEW IT!!!!! Glad you pointed it out though as being football fans and FM players we all think the football Gods (irl and in FM) have it in for us and it's all rigged, but it's not. Unless you're in Italy... Cheers for the thread

So i'm curious, wwfan, how do you go for that extra degree or two to overperform?

Yet extremely basic at the same time. Its genius is how he superbly illustrates how keeping things simple and attending to the obvious is enough in itself to succeed to x degree. Obviously, to greatly over perform, you need to go a degree or two further, but so many FMers will get so much more out of the game just by attending to the things HUNT3R points out.

I'm typically the kind of guy that likes to bounce through seasons in no time, (especially these days, and the minimal amount of FM I play) - so I pay little to no attention to many of the things in this post. Ironically, I would have a much better time with the game by taking note, and taking care of the little things that will allow me to bounce happily along quite quickly in the long term once I get these sort of things to become first nature.

So i'm curious, wwfan, how do you go for that extra degree or two to overperform?

Different strokes for different folks.

A for Hunt3r for taking the time and effort to show what can be done when you put a little thought into the game.

As has been said its nothing complicated, simply taking a little time to get the basics right.

I admit to getting annoyed at some of the "quirks" of the ME down the years. In the latest version I wonder why some of my players refuse to tackle even with a "Get Stuck In " and "Hassle Opponent" shout and of course there are balls in behind the fullback that drive me mad as well. In the moment, I think its rigged but after the game I realise its not and that in fact a number of the goals I have scored are from the same weaknesses.

Which Nani is that? Say's he an AMC/MC on the screenshot :confused:

Send me the save, see what I can do with it

Thanks all.

Excellent clickbait title HUNT3R

In the slight defense of some of the "It's rigged" claimants, you can see from your post just how many different factors one must keep on top of, including things not covered by your post - transfers, contracts, training, media - that it can be easy to overlook one or two things when approaching a match.

There are a few factors, yes. You can delegate all of that, so it doesn't have to be an issue. I don't delegate any of it though. It's again about getting more out if you put more effort in. It took a little while to get to know the team and the tactic I'd use, but that was only the first day. I can breeze through the season now, if I wanted.

I set my scouts up once and I don't have to change that again. Every once in a while I'll go into their reports and ask them to scout the players again.

Transfers you don't have to deal with or you can only pay attention to it once, when the transfer window is open and you need someone. In my own save I constantly check the reports I get back and my shortlist for players that are available on a free or for cheap enough that I can afford them. Their wage demands are also important. It takes effort, but I finish in the top 4 with the 4th lowest wage budget because I carefully picked my players.

Contracts I do once a season in October/November, before the 6 month window where other clubs can sign my players for nothing.

Media you can let your assistant handle, but I do all my own Press Conferences. I decline all new player conferences though. Don't need to inflate their ego on the first day!

Which Nani is that? Say's he an AMC/MC on the screenshot :confused:

It's not the Nani of Man Utd, if that's what you're thinking. This is the lowest division in Portugal.

Send me the save, see what I can do with it

No. You'll just embarrass me by getting an easy 4-0 with the most defensive conservative () looking tactic ever.

Probably not true.

My success comes from building up the team over a few seasons, have no idea how useful I'd be at a one-off match where I had no control prior to it.

I actually enjoyed trying out the save. I enjoyed getting to know the players and setting up the tactic. It was a new experience for me and watching Nani flourish in that tactic was almost enough to get me to ditch my one and only save for this one. Almost.

I wish more people would upload saves of impossible games. It's usually just a moan, but when it comes time to produce, nothing happens.

In my case, it was just an inexperienced player utterly frustrated with the game. He was attacked for being an idiot and moaning that the game was rigged, but over PM exchanges turned out to be a nice guy. He was determined to do it all himself instead of getting advice, so I gave him a few general pointers and he was happy.

Good stuff. I bet the person who reloaded this 20 times without a win is feeling pretty sheepish about now

Good stuff. I bet the person who reloaded this 20 times without a win is feeling pretty sheepish about now

Nah, not really. He really did think the game was rigged, being new to FM. He was pleased to know that it was possible to win and that it was his doing that he couldn't.

I received a PM from him a few days later to say that he's had a look at the stickied threads in the tactics forum (specifically wwfan's and llama3's) and results have improved a lot. He started paying more attention to his players and what their strengths were. In the very next game he managed to win 1-4 after being 0-3 up in the 80th min.

The game has come a long way from the 'click and hope' situation a few years back, certainly so this year, but I'd still like to see more help in-game if needed. Like you can out-source almost everything else in the game, why can't you say "I want to play a 5-4-1 possession based counter-attacking game" and have the AI set up a working tactic for you, no frills, but without conflicting instructions that make sense to a newbie but not to the game. Things like 'drop deeper' if you are playing a DM to give them space, 'moves into channels' for lone strikers etc etc don't come intuitively to most people but have a big effect on your tactics.

There seems to be some truth in this as I have to admit in the past that I always save a game just before a match and have re-loaded if I lost and despite using the very same tactics have won the game at the 2nd attempt,often easily !!

What a fantastic thread. Just a tiny insight for many as to what you need to consider when setting up a team and tactic. As a long time player I always felt I had a good handle on how to play the game, how to win games and get the best out of my teams. But getting FM14 has made me look at how I've played in the past and I have had to go right back to basics. After spending many an hour reading and re-reading I now have a totally different take on everything that I thought I knew back in November. Through this I can say truthfully that this version has been my favourite and I just can't wait to load up my save.

A lot of tactical problems can stem from what team you decide to manage.

For example, if you are a staunch Man Utd fan, you pretty well know who the best 11 are going to be and the way they set out to play because you have followed this team in real life, so you already have that little bit of knowledge beforehand.

Now start managing a team from a league you have no experience watching in real life and all of a sudden it becomes a different ball game altogether. You need to get to know the team from scratch and what their best position is. Then you can get them to play a system which suits these attributes.

All this can take time and effort which will breed failure at some point.

A lot of tactical problems can stem from what team you decide to manage.

For example, if you are a staunch Man Utd fan, you pretty well know who the best 11 are going to be and the way they set out to play because you have followed this team in real life, so you already have that little bit of knowledge beforehand.

Now start managing a team from a league you have no experience watching in real life and all of a sudden it becomes a different ball game altogether. You need to get to know the team from scratch and what their best position is. Then you can get them to play a system which suits these attributes.

All this can take time and effort which will breed failure at some point.

I agree that you can have problems if you're not used to it and rely on real-world knowledge too much. I never manage any well-known real players. It's the curse of the LLaMa. If I do, they're in their late-twenties or early-thirties so any real-world knowledge I have, is out the window.

What you're describing, I've had to do here. No real-world knowledge of the players or tactics that this team uses. I relied on my assistant a little, on the feedback FM gives me and on the player profile page, including attributes, of course. Once it's all set up, the rest is easy.

I love this thread, great work HUNT3R! Now can you fix my playing Away problem haha!

Don't play away. Next?

I just realised how that sounds haha! Seriously though, my players play like Sunday League players in away matches...

I can only direct you to the Tactics Forum to get advice. Remember, the more info you give them, the better the advice you'll get.

I've already tried that, one guy made a reply yesterday with some possible helpful information, but other than that it's been completely ignored.

If you still need help in that thread, tell them! Your last reply in that thread seemed to indicate that you were satisfied now.

Ok I'll stick with it, hopefully someone with experience can give a help in hand to point me in the right direction. I'm happy with the result I managed in the first match with what I've come up with, but it's only one match and could easily be misleading.

Tell them, not me

Really interesting read. I've been having a lot more fun with FM once I started making proper attempts to design my own tactics. One thing I haven't tried to do yet is to analyse a player's stats in detail to give them specific instructions or asymmetric game plans, I've mostly been relying on assistant reports to judge their ability in a role.

Really interesting read. I've been having a lot more fun with FM once I started making proper attempts to design my own tactics. One thing I haven't tried to do yet is to analyse a player's stats in detail to give them specific instructions or asymmetric game plans, I've mostly been relying on assistant reports to judge their ability in a role.

All of this will come with experience, but if you need advice on something specific, come and ask on the forum! Baby steps

Watch as much of the match as you can too. Not everyone can or even wants to, but it does help. You'll sometimes spot easy flaws, like your fullback getting beaten easily by the winger. Fixing them might not be easy, because it depends on what you see. Maybe you can provide additional cover (double-teaming) the winger. Maybe your FB is diving into these tackles too readily. Tell him to stay on feet or through OIs tackle easier.

Misplaced passes is another issue that can be easily picked up. Watch either in the game or using the analysis screen after a match to click on the red dots to see why it was misplaced. Were there passing options? Did the opposition close down heavily? What are his attributes for creativity, composure and passing?

In the beginning these issues may be hard to solve. You may be able to do it on your own. If you can't, come and show us a clip or the PKM or screenshots of what happened and we'll do our best to show you why it happened and how to improve.

well done on this thread.. but it confirms my point i over perform pretty much constantly but there's just so many components to analyse.... its just a game^^

It's a simulation.

If you want a more gamey experience, try the FMC mode.

I still believe that it is still rigged. Lead 2-0 with Zaragoza with a tactic that has been worked on all pre-season. Lost 6-2

It's not. A lot of it comes from the AI not being human, meaning it isn't "lazy". The AI managers will make numerous changes throughout the match; many human managers just coast through games and assume that what worked in the first half will work in the second as well.

I still believe that it is still rigged. Lead 2-0 with Zaragoza with a tactic that has been worked on all pre-season. Lost 6-2

Just think logically. For that to make any sense, why would they have programmed it? You are saying they have deliberately programmed something that means a tactic works in pre-season and then for some of a league game, before they deliberately sabotage you during the game? Aside from the incredible difficulty in programming all that, why would they? Not only that, but there is plenty of evidence in the forums of over-achievement, so why isn't this rigging universal.

It's a simulation.

If you want a more gamey experience, try the FMC mode.

FM 12 and 13 was not a simulation? never had to do anything as such then..

They were, but FM is improving each year. The ME and AI are more sophisticated and realistic each year.

I'm sorry- I'm gonna be that guy, because this thread proves two things.

First, that the game is not rigged. HUNT3R has done an excellent job of demonstrating that- his explanation is clear and concise, showing not only what he did but why he did it. To be able to take an unfamiliar team and debunk a claim as thoroughly as he has deserves a lot of credit. I mean to take nothing away from what he's shown here, and have a lot of respect for the way he has explained this step by step.

The second, however, is back to this point about the game not providing feedback, and it's a drum I'm finding myself banging quite a bit lately- for that I do apologise, but it's an important one. The quote that jumped out at me in this entire post is "Oh dear. Suddenly it's quite clear why things are going wrong." No. No, it's not. And that's the issue. I didn't see this specific original post, but for whoever it was, evidently it wasn't clear why things are going wrong. For them, this was a legitimate tactic- their idea of communicating the style of football they want to play. That 4-2-3-1 is a tactic that was set up by a human player of the game, with those shouts, and despite what may be glaring flaws to someone with a better grip on the game, the game is perfectly happy to allow it to exist without passing comment.

It doesn't warn him the things that HUNT3R has told him (such as the lack of anyone on a defensive duty with the "Drop Deeper" shout), which is precisely the kind of tactical advice it should be. Not, of course, holding his hand and forcing him to change things, but at the same time, saying "Just so you know, setting up like X will cause Y." or "X is probably going to struggle with high crosses." The manager could ignore it completely- that's fine. But then, it's the manager's decisions, not a lack of communication, which make the difference, as they should.

And really, that seems to be one of the biggest reasons FM has suddenly become that much more difficult for a lot of people. Not that the game is any harder, but simply because the feedback and information given in-game about what you're doing doesn't match the complexity of the instructions at your fingertips.

I'm sorry- I'm gonna be that guy, because this thread proves two things.

First, that the game is not rigged. HUNT3R has done an excellent job of demonstrating that- his explanation is clear and concise, showing not only what he did but why he did it. To be able to take an unfamiliar team and debunk a claim as thoroughly as he has deserves a lot of credit. I mean to take nothing away from what he's shown here, and have a lot of respect for the way he has explained this step by step.

The second, however, is back to this point about the game not providing feedback, and it's a drum I'm finding myself banging quite a bit lately- for that I do apologise, but it's an important one. The quote that jumped out at me in this entire post is "Oh dear. Suddenly it's quite clear why things are going wrong." No. No, it's not. And that's the issue. I didn't see this specific original post, but for whoever it was, evidently it wasn't clear why things are going wrong. For them, this was a legitimate tactic- their idea of communicating the style of football they want to play. That 4-2-3-1 is a tactic that was set up by a human player of the game, with those shouts, and despite what may be glaring flaws to someone with a better grip on the game, the game is perfectly happy to allow it to exist without passing comment.

It doesn't warn him the things that HUNT3R has told him (such as the lack of anyone on a defensive duty with the "Drop Deeper" shout), which is precisely the kind of tactical advice it should be. Not, of course, holding his hand and forcing him to change things, but at the same time, saying "Just so you know, setting up like X will cause Y." or "X is probably going to struggle with high crosses." The manager could ignore it completely- that's fine. But then, it's the manager's decisions, not a lack of communication, which make the difference, as they should.

And really, that seems to be one of the biggest reasons FM has suddenly become that much more difficult for a lot of people. Not that the game is any harder, but simply because the feedback and information given in-game about what you're doing doesn't match the complexity of the instructions at your fingertips.

Thank you and don't worry you're not the only one banging that drum. There are a few, me included. Good post, by the way.

The game can give more feedback, absolutely. You're right that there is no feedback/advice in-game that he's creating a potentially disastrous tactic. This is an area that could be improved. Allow me to argue the other side of the coin though.

It's not as clear as it could be and as I've argued it should be, but in FM14 we do have feedback that our tactic isn't working. The ME. I use it, because I cannot be successful in FM without it. I can't create an instantly successful tactic like Cleon does or RTH does every three days. I have to create what I think is a logical tactic with good movement, but I need to see it in action to know if it's good or not. The tactic I created in the OP isn't perfect either, but it did the job and I stuck with it because I was happy after watching it in action.

Going back to the original tactic for a moment. Freamunde played a 4-4-1-1 in this match. Watching the ME at any point during that game with them in possession, you could see their AMC in acres of space. Sometimes it was amazing to see how much space there was between the D-Line and midfield. It's bad against any team, but absolutely suicidal against a team employing an AMC. Most of the defensive problems stemmed from that single flaw. He didn't necessarily need an assistant manager pointing this out to him. Defensively, it was something he could and should have seen. I'd even argue that he should have been capable enough to know how to fix it. Playing a DM, changing an MC/Auto to a MC/D or pushing the D-Line higher all would have helped.

Maybe what was a little harder to pick up, particularly for an inexperienced player, was that "drop deeper" and "hassle opponents" is a bad idea, especially against a free AMC. When Freamunde's AMC picked up the ball, it took ages for either a MC or a DC to close him. Closing the AMC opened gaps everywhere. Perhaps here, an assistant manager could have provided a little advice.

Attacking-wise, an inexperienced player would struggle the most to find a solution on his own, imo. The TIs are all about exploiting the flanks. "Stay Wider", "Exploit Flanks" and "Clear Ball to Flanks" all point at this. When watching this tactic in action offensively, I saw the two wingers run forward to the D-Line, allowing the opposition FBs to mark them out of the game. The two MC/Auto players didn't offer anything different. They stayed next to each other the whole time and with no-one dropping deep, they were too static, because there wasn't any space to exploit. Again, an easy marking job for the opposing MCs. He did have an AMC, but the ball barely went to him. The fullbacks tried to pick out wingers or MCs and from there the move broke down because the markers were right on top of them.

It's a very one-dimensional tactic with limited (and I'm being generous by saying that) movement between the opposition lines. It's possible that he may have seen a problem or two here, but I'd argue that an inexperienced player won't have any idea of how to go about rectifying this.

That's just talking about the tactic. Then there were the problems of playing Candido Costa as a winger, when it didn't suit him at all. Not having the pace to play a W/A is a basic error. The game at least shows us key attributes needed per role, so no excuses for making such an error.

The float crosses to a short striker is also an odd choice. No excuses here either. It should be obvious to anyone that floating crosses to a short striker is a bad idea.

Tactic creating basics should be covered in the tactics creator or should be part of the assistant manager's advice after creating a tactic. "You have no-one covering the space between defence and midfield. Opposition players will have too much room to create chances. Consider using a DM or giving one of your MCs a defend duty role." OR "You have no variation on the wings. Consider giving one of your wide midfielders a different duty and get the fullback on the same side to overlap by giving him an Attacking duty." Something like this could have helped him immensely.

HUNT3R excellent work. A very good read. Who reloaded 20 times one match is a fool. Although sometimes I do not know what to think about FM, but I really do not think, that FM is rigged. FM can sometimes surprise and quite often can prepare unpleasant surprises, but it is also in the real football. FM and each game can include bugs. But I think that SI steadily working on improving the game and on eliminate errors.

You Can't Win Em All - Really true and best football song. Sometimes when I frustrated so I listening this song, when I lost some match in FM.

Thank you and don't worry you're not the only one banging that drum. There are a few, me included. Good post, by the way.

The game can give more feedback, absolutely. You're right that there is no feedback/advice in-game that he's creating a potentially disastrous tactic. This is an area that could be improved. Allow me to argue the other side of the coin though.

The issue of feedback is being brought up more frequently than ever now.

Who reloaded 20 times one match is a fool.

But that's the thing, not having that knowledge does not make you a fool, some things are only obvious when they are pointed out to you.

But that's the thing, not having that knowledge does not make you a fool, some things are only obvious when they are pointed out to you.

But 20 times reloaded for the one match. I'd probably go crazy. It's crazy. I hate repeat Matches though only after the crash dump

I think it was just the frustration of having such a poor team and finally being favourites in a match, but not winning it. Then re-load once or twice to try and win. After that, I imagine it became a case of "we're favourites; why the hell can't I win this game?".

i have an idea not sure if thats possible but see in the game when the assistant manager says: that guy is crossing the ball way too often you better mark him, and then you have to go in your tactics and amend it.. would be great to implement that the assistant manager tells you .. you should do this and you just press 'amend tactic' and it gets implemented while in the game?

also sorry for posting ideas.. a guide which i was always looking for was a formation one i.e. 4-4-2 pros and cons and works effectively against 4-2-3-1 tactic and suffers greatly against 4-3-3 etc... (an example)