This just happened way to much in FM 2014...

This happended in so much games on so many times..

I hope this will be fixed in the next game..

This happended in so much games on so many times..

I hope this will be fixed in the next game..

What? Poor tactics causing a draw? There's nothing to fix. If you want a game where big number always beats small number, go play with a calculator or something. Or play top trumps.

Poor tactics? Dont think i would have had 9 ccc's with poor tactics..

I want a game where a football player is at least able to score 1 goal from 5 to 6 open goal chances... does your calculator do that? then send it to me.. smart-ass-know-it-all...

Does being a douche bag give you the ability to look into people's computer to check their tactics?

Both of you cut out the sniping.

That said, there really is nothing to go off from this screenshot, other than if its constantly happening to you, its usually (but not always) down to needing to adapt your approach.

The Clear cut chance definition is extremely liberal, and really shouldnt be used as a measure of a good chance. How it's used in the game needs to hugely tightened up or the stat removed

Poor tactics? Dont think i would have had 9 ccc's with poor tactics..

I want a game where a football player is at least able to score 1 goal from 5 to 6 open goal chances... does your calculator do that? then send it to me.. smart-ass-know-it-all...

Does being a douche bag give you the ability to look into people's computer to check their tactics?

Oooh...

But like tms says, what are we supposed to go on from the screenshot? You want it "fixed" that if you have more chances you win. That's not football. And I bet if it happened the other way around, to the AI and benefitting you, you wouldn't be asking for it fixed. Sometimes teams batter other teams and still lose, and that's where the tactics come in. If you're having that many genuine chances and still not scoring, then why wouldn't you change things to try something else, since something clearly isn't working?

Both of you cut out the sniping.

That said, there really is nothing to go off from this screenshot, other than if its constantly happening to you, its usually (but not always) down to needing to adapt your approach.

The Clear cut chance definition is extremely liberal, and really shouldnt be used as a measure of a good chance. How it's used in the game needs to hugely tightened up or the stat removed

My apologies..

On the other hand... i accepted the fact that ccc's dont always show 'actual good chances'.. but my eyes do see good chances.

when a player is uncoverd in the 6-yard box in front of the goal with only the keeper in front you would say he would at least score 1 of the 5 shots no?

So my 'approach' has little or nothing to do with it i'm afraid.. if shots come out of the box, or under pressure, etc... it would have been. But not this way

Maybe the screenshot does not show that indeed.. but the above described situation happens far to often.. and usually it comes down to results as this: lots of shots for you, few for opp, lots of ccc's for you, few for opp..n finally you score a goal(one of the harder chances) and after the score out of one of their chances..

Oooh...

But like tms says, what are we supposed to go on from the screenshot? You want it "fixed" that if you have more chances you win. That's not football. And I bet if it happened the other way around, to the AI and benefitting you, you wouldn't be asking for it fixed. Sometimes teams batter other teams and still lose, and that's where the tactics come in. If you're having that many genuine chances and still not scoring, then why wouldn't you change things to try something else, since something clearly isn't working?

You said it yourself allready: SOMETIMES

Not 1 per 3 games.

I'm not saying more chances= win. I'm saying: 5 times kick in stupid easy chances to score mean :GOAL(at least once).

Nope i guess i would not complain and not ask for it to be fixed..

There is nothing to fix if you outplayed the defence completely and just have to open your eyes and kick the ball over the line.

My apologies..

On the other hand... i accepted the fact that ccc's dont always show 'actual good chances'.. but my eyes do see good chances.

when a player is uncoverd in the 6-yard box in front of the goal with only the keeper in front you would say he would at least score 1 of the 5 shots no?

So my 'approach' has little or nothing to do with it i'm afraid.. if shots come out of the box, or under pressure, etc... it would have been. But not this way

Maybe the screenshot does not show that indeed.. but the above described situation happens far to often.. and usually it comes down to results as this: lots of shots for you, few for opp, lots of ccc's for you, few for opp..n finally you score a goal(one of the harder chances) and after the score out of one of their chances..

I would really look at the way your chances created. I'd like to see the way you are set up. Also if you have the time, any chances you think really are unrealistically missed uploaded as PKMs.

The reason most will generally say from such screenshots, is if its only happening to you, and not your opp, its generally but again not always, something tactical rather than the ME, which would affect both sides.

It's also something that doesnt effect every user, which again, more times than not points to user based approach needing a look

You said it yourself allready: SOMETIMES

Not 1 per 3 games.

When Barcelona were at their very best a couple of years ago they were still dropping points in one out of every four matches.

Football isn't always fair and the dominating team don't always win both in RL & FM.

If it happens to you more often than once every three to four matches then you need to look at your tactics (By tactics I mean every single input from media comment to instructions to team talks) and work out what you can do to eek out that little bit extra.

Allright, i will give it a go with those pkm's (as soon as i figured out how it works).

I dont claim this only happens to me.. it does happen on occasion to the opp. But less..

Let me make clear that i am not ranting or raving about 'the game' cheating or whatever..

I love fm.. and when it does not work with a team or a tactic, i tend to look first at my mistakes rather then the AI or ME

I just want to mention that i noticed in fm 2014 'obvious' chances are missed way to often..

If it is a tactical issue that my player, who is completely uncoverd with the ball at his feet in the 6-yard box, still manages to pass/give it to the opp gk.... i am always open for hints or pointers to what i should alter..

When Barcelona were at their very best a couple of years ago they were still dropping points in one out of every four matches.

Football isn't always fair and the dominating team don't always win both in RL & FM.

If it happens to you more often than once every three to four matches then you need to look at your tactics (By tactics I mean every single input from media comment to instructions to team talks) and work out what you can do to eek out that little bit extra.

I dont mind dropping points.. i dont care if i tied 1-1 or lost 0-5.

I do care if easy chances keep on beeing missed. Probably I would not have posted it if i won this game with 2-1, thats true.

Barcelona indeed lost points, but Messi would never miss 5 open goal chances in one game..

Still, i'm not going to say it is only the games fault. If there is indeed a trigger (training, media handling, etc..) that could make a striker have shaky legs in front of goal, i would very very much like to learn this..

Are there any 'traps'(media, man management,..) you could fall into to make your striker complacent/scared/unproductive on the pitch?

Allright, i will give it a go with those pkm's (as soon as i figured out how it works).

I dont claim this only happens to me.. it does happen on occasion to the opp. But less..

Let me make clear that i am not ranting or raving about 'the game' cheating or whatever..

I love fm.. and when it does not work with a team or a tactic, i tend to look first at my mistakes rather then the AI or ME

I just want to mention that i noticed in fm 2014 'obvious' chances are missed way to often..

If it is a tactical issue that my player, who is completely uncoverd with the ball at his feet in the 6-yard box, still manages to pass/give it to the opp gk.... i am always open for hints or pointers to what i should alter..

Actually here's something you could look for, when your players are receiving a chance in the box to shoot, can you have a lot at how many times they a chance first time, or try and take an extra touch

I have experienced the same thing as well, 5-6 CCC on average yet my team rarely score over 2 goals.

I would say that is about 50/50 honeslty.. i promise you i would not have mentioned this if there would even have been the slightest possibility that he could have been under pressure, or that his first touch is bad, etc...

But cougar 2010 touched an interesting facet though..

Is there a way you could make your player perform worse with media handling or man management?

And i'm not saying the obvious thing as: reacting bad on his games, or not giving him enough confidence in the media.

Because it is the case that, for example, Siem de Jong scored a lot in the beginning of the competition (9 goals in 7 games). Now he misses A LOT (as mentioned numerlously above).

And this happend to a lot of my stikers in other saves (zlatan, Van Persie, Giroud,...)

Maybe there is something i keep on doing wrong in handling them..

I think the first thing you have to be aware of is the hidden attribute of "Consistency". Like all other attributes it goes from 1-20 and determines how often a player plays to the best of his ability. A player with good attributes but poor consistency will play much worse than expected most games with the occasional good game thrown in.

I think its easier to spot strikers performing poorly than maybe other positions as they miss chances. Strikers' form tends to run in groups, they'll have several good games then have a number of poor games. You need to be able to identify which players are in & out of form when you are picking your team.

What happens during a match also affects strikers, if they miss an early chance confidence drops and doubt creeps in meaning there is a higher % chance that they'll miss the next chance. This leads to games where sometimes they'll score 3 from 3 then others where they miss all three.

Man management wise get to know your players, what makes them tick? what fires them up? how do you motivate a particular player? Just like RL some want an arm around the shoulder whilst others need a kick up the arse.

Finally when it comes to strikers some players are just natural goalscorers whilst others seem to need to work at it. I'm sure this comes down to some spread of attributes but I personally can't tell from looking at the attributes I need to see them play over several matches.

Siem de jong has

and 16 for composure.. so i dont think there is a problem there.

Yeah the 'bad form' is indeed know. But then it is shown way to 'extreme' in this version. In previous fm's you had this also. But then you just very rarely saw him playing a good game. Now they do everything good up untill the actual kick.

Same story for 'early misses'. If this would be the case, way to extreme. I better sub him then after his first miss.. Altough i do understand what you say and agree with you on some level.

THe only thing i can think of is somekind of man management error i keep on making with strikers.. now only to find out what it is..

I think you've done an excellent job with NAC Breda to get a draw in those circumstances.

I think you've done an excellent job with NAC Breda to get a draw in those circumstances.

Obviously, i was Ajax..

fraeyke. While I sympathise, (a little), if it happens to you a lot of the time, but it happens to others very rarely, then at what point do you consider that you and the instructions that you set might be the cause rather than the ME?

This really isn't an attempt at a sly dig because if that was my intention I promise I would be far more blunt and obvious, so I hope that's not how it's received.

There are things that lots of others seem to experience that I rarely do, and by the same token there are issues that affect me that seem to be rarely mentioned on here by others. My conclusion is that I cause both the good and bad by the decisions I make. With that sort of attitude, (rightly or wrongly), then everything seems to just make more sense and seem far more reasonable.

While I agree for the most part on your post Jimbokav1971, saying that it happens to others very rarely might be a exxagerated.

I assume it happens to a smaller part of the players, but trough the season i've encounterd numerous similar posts: people asking for help why their striker cant score, why so many ccc's and no goals, etc.... Here and on other fora.

Your comment is totaly not a dig because it is said with respect and well constructed opinions (unlike another forum member earlier)

Then again, i regret the way i formulated my opening post. Giving to few of information wich made my thread look like another gamer blaming SI and FM of whatever bad intentions..

Next time i should just wait a couple of minutes opening a thread while still in anger of the problem i encounter.. Lesson learned i guess.

On topic then, i assume i must be doing something wrong in the man management of my strikers since i honestly cant imagine missing the most obvious open chances beeing a tactic problem.

In my eyes, tactics affect the amounth and sort of chances created(if any) and i guess how 'pressured' a player is. If all that went good, something else comes to play, wich i havent figured out yet.

Could you do me a favor and upload your save please, I just want to experiment to see if I can get them scoring. If I can, then I'll let you know my findings and hopefully solve your issue.

With pleasure.. if you could tell me how? i'm not very pro with how to put things on a forum.

It basically comes down to three questions IMO.

A) Is it the player?

Does he have the right skills? Is he a goalscorer? In form? Does he panic (nervous/complacent) in the widget?

B) Is it the tactics in terms of technical instructions?

Are the chances created good ones? Are they being rushed? Are the opposition packing the defence?

C) Is it the mental side?

Team talks/media comments, are your players in the right frame of mind? complacent? confident? good morale?

With pleasure.. if you could tell me how? i'm not very pro with how to put things on a forum.

Use somewhere to upload the file eg Dropbox, sendspace, filedropper etc

Then post the link to the file in the thread so people can download.

You can see how some posters will get confused.

If they post a screenshot that shows they have completely controlled the game but lost someone will point out "you never had many CCC's", maybe even adding some tactics to get some better chances ...

Then another poster comes along with a different screen with many CCC's and then he is told "shouldn't be used as a measure of a good chance".

Honestly if you read through these threads it is quite insane.

I am quite enjoying my new save but you can see why a poster never wins sometimes.

You can see how some posters will get confused.

If they post a screenshot that shows they have completely controlled the game but lost someone will point out "you never had many CCC's", maybe even adding some tactics to get some better chances ...

Then another poster comes along with a different screen with many CCC's and then he is told "shouldn't be used as a measure of a good chance".

Honestly if you read through these threads it is quite insane.

I am quite enjoying my new save but you can see why a poster never wins sometimes.

If you think its about a poster winning or losing then you are missing the point entirely.

Yeah I am missing the point ...

fraekyke: PKM's: Otherwise known as saves of matches

To save a pkm, in a match you'll notice when a match finishes in-game, on the match options there will be an option to 'Save'

Once you have 'saved' a pkm, it will appear at My Documents -> Sports Interactive -> Matches

Then upload it using one of the ways mikeenvo or cougar suggested.

If there are any of those chances you thought was unrealistically missed, can you note the time in game as well

So you have 33 points from 13 games and a goalscore 46-13. That tells me you're doing just fine in converting chances. Yes, sometimes that damn ball won't go in. Just as in real life you'll see games you totally dominate yet end up loosing. Happens for the best.

If this result you're showing happened almost every game, then I see where you're going. But obviously it's quite rare as per your screen shot you're winning most games easily...

_________

You being Ajax means the opposition will generally play defensively with players behind the ball. This often means your players will go more forward -> when finally the opposition may get a chance the finisher is not under much pressure -> easier to score.

On the other hand you'll dominate and creating lots of chances (opposition playing defensively with players behind ball). Though the chances created may seem easy to score the finisher is under a lot of pressure due to the amount of players defending -> easier to close down finisher more quickly (your finisher has to think/react faster than the opposition finisher).

That's how I see it often happens in real life (and quite often in FM as well).

So you have 33 points from 13 games and a goalscore 46-13. That tells me you're doing just fine in converting chances. Yes, sometimes that damn ball won't go in. Just as in real life you'll see games you totally dominate yet end up loosing. Happens for the best.

If this result you're showing happened almost every game, then I see where you're going. But obviously it's quite rare as per your screen shot you're winning most games easily...

_________

You being Ajax means the opposition will generally play defensively with players behind the ball. This often means your players will go more forward -> when finally the opposition may get a chance the finisher is not under much pressure -> easier to score.

On the other hand you'll dominate and creating lots of chances (opposition playing defensively with players behind ball). Though the chances created may seem easy to score the finisher is under a lot of pressure due to the amount of players defending -> easier to close down finisher more quickly (your finisher has to think/react faster than the opposition finisher).

That's how I see it often happens in real life (and quite often in FM as well).

That's actually a very good point, not something I picked up on on the original screenshot. So on average, you're winning each and every match 3-1. Doesn't look to me like it's happening "so many times". If it is, then that means the other times it's not happening, you're winning by six or seven. Look at those games, see what those teams are doing wrong, and the teams that frustrate you are doing right. Rather than blame the game, see whether you can find out any reasons that are fixable. If it's the game's fault - and there have been instances where it is - then that would be the last port of call for me.

These things do happen in football. Sometimes you cannot get the ball in the net, seemingly no matter what you do. A lot of things have already been mentioned here, but I will drop a few more in that I find useful to consider when playing games

- Do you struggle against any particular formations? Can you alter how you play to stop this? For me, I tend to have issues breaking down teams with 2 DMCs, because they limit the space for my DLF(S) and CM(A) to exploit. So when I come up against a formation containing this, I will change how I play to try to minimize how this disrupts my 'standard' way of playing.

- Are your players properly motivated? The difference between a set of motivated players and a set of complacent ones can be extreme. There have been times I have gotten the motivation wrong and been 2 down within 15 minutes and the game is more or less gone. The same over-confidence can lead players to think they are just going to win after scoring, and when the opposition equalise they lose their composure because suddenly they have to switch back on.

- Are the chances you create actually good? A right footed winger cutting in from the right to receive a CCC in the area is not the same as a left footed player doing the same. I would expect the latter to score more than the former in that situation. That goes for other situations. If this is common you should have a look for things like this. Something as simple as inverting your wingers can make a difference (assuming you have them, but the same idea works for every CCC).

Anyway, if you are still winning the league easily, just shrug and move on. Winning the league is the main thing, so focus on the next game.

I must admit i find the 'confidence dynamic' for strikers a bit OTT, if they miss their first couple of chances you might as well sub them at half time as you will likely see them miss loads of chances in the 2nd half. Conversely if they score early they have a decent chance of a brace/hat-trick. I get the idea, I agree with it but its implementation is a bit OTT in my opinion.

It seems similar with a strikers 'run of form', if you have one averaging a goal every other game it tends to be feast or famine, 5 goals in 3 matches then nothing in the next 7 matches etc. At the end of the season you look at your striker and see 16 goals in 32 matches and think that's ok, in reality he was useless in 70% of the matches he played.

Maybe that's what happens in real life or maybe its the hidden attributes but personally I would like to see a 'cleaner' tactical match up rather than player 'form' influencing match results so dramatically. Again, I get it, it has its part to play but player & team 'confidence' seems to be too influential on determining player performance and match results. I think this contributes to one sided matches going 'against the head' a bit too often, admittedly this works both ways and i've benefited from this plenty of times.

This is the kind of stuff that drives casual players from the game, they think they've battered a team and lost. They get in a run of games like this, get fed up, 'rage post' and go and do something else possibly never buying another FM game.

SI have a tightrope to walk, often the best team loses or draws in real life, that should always happen in FM but the 'presentation of failure' is brutal in FM14, 28 shots vs 4, 9 CCC's vs 1 and you still haven't won. Us veterans suck it up and move on to the next game, many more can't stomach that and move on the something else completely.

So, currently playing as Barcelona and reached a Champion's League final against Bayern, totally dominated the game, but lost on penalties. "Hey ho", I thought, "it happens".

Even though I usually roll my eyes when I see these threads, I got the feeling I just wasn't supposed to win that match, so I decided to do a little experiment. I saved after the final to come back and continue afterwards, then went and replayed the final ten times, and lost them all.

Every single time I dominated possesion, 8 times 60%+

Every single time I had at least double the CCCs (I know full well this is an awful stat, but even from watching the games I had the better chances every time)

Messi (123 goals over the previous two seasons) didn't score a goal in any of the ten games. He started at Superb morale, and no team talk had a negative effect.

6 times Bayern scored with their first clear chance, 4 times their very first shot, 4 times their first 2 chances and only missed 4 CCCs over the 10 matches.

Neuer didn't finish with a rating of higher than 6.9.

Now, I play a pretty open attacking tactic, so Bayern picking me off is understandable, but the Messi thing just smacks of the game deciding he's scored too many and isn't allowed any more. I'm sure there's a logical reason somewhere in the murky mists of the FM ME, but sometimes it's easy to see why so many people think the game is fixed.

It is quite difficult making a point on something when constantly people are putting words in my mouth that.i never said.

1)Yes the league went great and i played champions. Like i said allready a few posts back, i am not talking about the fact if I win, lose or draw.

It is about the way chances are missed in this game. Obvious/tap in chances that are stupidly missed or miracle saves..

2) yes this things happen in football.. and as we saw.on the WC, even messi misses chances.

I am talking about how many times.this can possibly happen in 1 game. Im a striker for my team irl, if i would miss 3 to 5 open goal chances every 3 games.. i'm put to the bench-reserves. Ingame it has lost realism..

3) i dont really consider myself a casual player of the game since i have not missed a game since cm 97/98. And spended lots and lotd of houres of my beautifull life on this beautifull game.

Tthis is actually the first 'rage post' i have done. Asking, during the year, for help allready but every time it comes down to tactics. Wich i doubt.. because

if my tactics would be that bad, im sure i would not have been able.to gain this league position.

Once more, my frustration comes from strikers (or any player that gets in this position) not able to finish the most easy chances.you will find.. by misses or saves. Unmarked, ball in front of best foot on the 6 yard box with just the keeper to beat... it happens, but not a lot.

These type of threads are as regular as clockwork and have a common cause.

1: The user develops a tactic and squad that inherently dominates possession and shot count. No AI teams play in quite such as extreme a manner.

2: Consequently, it is almost impossible for the user to come second in possession and shot count. The user will always have higher numbers than the AI.

3: As the user's team gains in reputation, the AI begins to play compact, defensive football against the user. This aims to frustrate and try and score from the few breaks it generates.

4: At times, the user team will be complacent and/or frustrated by these tactics (which can be dealt with via media and man-management, and team talks)

5: The failure to convert a great number of chances makes his team more frustrated and gives the AI team more confidence, making it increasingly likely they'll score on the counter.

6: The user doesn't react to the situation and drop deeper / play more conservatively / try to score through different avenues, allowing the AI to pick his pocket (which relates to the "it's your tactics" comments)

These type of threads are as regular as clockwork and have a common cause.

1: The user develops a tactic and squad that inherently dominates possession and shot count. No AI teams play in quite such as extreme a manner.

2: Consequently, it is almost impossible for the user to come second in possession and shot count. The user will always have higher numbers than the AI.

3: As the user's team gains in reputation, the AI begins to play compact, defensive football against the user. This aims to frustrate and try and score from the few breaks it generates.

4: At times, the user team will be complacent and/or frustrated by these tactics (which can be dealt with via media and man-management, and team talks)

5: The failure to convert a great number of chances makes his team more frustrated and gives the AI team more confidence, making it increasingly likely they'll score on the counter.

6: The user doesn't react to the situation and drop deeper / play more conservatively / try to score through different avenues, allowing the AI to pick his pocket (which relates to the "it's your tactics" comments)

So the problem is that the tactic is too effective and produces too many chances, which makes you less likely to score with your many chances and the AI more likely to score with it's few chances.

The solution is to cut your chances in half and allow the AI more chances?

So the problem is that the tactic is too effective and produces too many chances, which makes you less likely to score with your many chances and the AI more likely to score with it's few chances.

The solution is to cut your chances in half and allow the AI more chances?

In a way.

You need to stop hitting the barn door with a shovel and draw the defence out to give your attacking players more space to work in.

So the problem is that the tactic is too effective and produces too many chances, which makes you less likely to score with your many chances and the AI more likely to score with it's few chances.

The solution is to cut your chances in half and allow the AI more chances?

No. The problem is you aren't able to break the opposition down on that given day (for whatever reason) and you need to play more conservatively to stop the AI tactic of soaking up high pressure and trying to hit you on the break from succeeding.

The solution is thinking, not trying to score cheap points!

So the problem is that the tactic is too effective and produces too many chances, which makes you less likely to score with your many chances and the AI more likely to score with it's few chances.

The solution is to cut your chances in half and allow the AI more chances?

I'm sorry, but that is a deliberately obtuse comment and you know he is saying nothing of the sort. There are 10,000 ways to win a football match, and going hell for leather attacking is just one. Top coaches, in RL and FM, have to understand that.

WWfan is not saying that making less chances will magically break the game and mean you win easily, no tactic in the world can do that. But there are plenty of ways to alter tactics in order to unbalance a side which is defending deep and giving you plenty of chances. Change the point of attack, sit a bit deeper to try and entice the defence out and therefore create space. Keeper saving everything? Work on your set-pieces and make sure you have a top-notch corner taker and man in the box, that'll get you plenty of goals.

Or if the striker has missed a few and low on confidence, change up who you want in the penalty area. My wingers and central midfielder score a lot more than my sole centre-forward, who plays a more target man/ creation role. That way you have three guys + CF who can stick it in the net, and you are not relying on the whims of one player to score.

As someone whose tactics sees more of these type of results finishing in my favour rather than the AI, there is a solution for everything. It just takes a bit of lateral thinking, and taking responsibility when the hell for leather stuff is not paying off.

In my eyes, he's saying you need to look outside the box. Yes this amazing tactic is creating the chances and yes they should be put away, but you are failing to do the simple things and it is having a major effect...

It is also common sense that if your team is constantly pressurizing the oppositions, gaps will appear and this is where the opposition looks to exploit and is the reason that despite their severely low amount of chances, they are still in most cases able to put their chances away. It's also worth mentioning the word complacent, as with your strikers, they are expected to score with ease and they become complacent because of this, where as the opposition strikers probably have zero complacency and could be the result of them scoring when they get the chance.

Hope that made sense and wasn't just a load of waffle!

Hey mikenevo. I'm going t upload the save as soon as possible but i've been working lots the past days and did not had the chance to look into it further (the pkm's neither).

In accordance with the latest comments i can only fully agree and say that this has football logic in it.

I am very curious tough how to approach your team in the media and man managment in accordance to low moral or complatency... Since it lots of times seems to have a negative effect. :-)

If there has been a guide for it or smthg in that direction i would be happy to read it!

I guess thinking outside the box is indeed the way to break the opposition down if the game is telling you smthg trough these unbelievable misses.

Altough i do hope they find another way to show this in the next FM cuz its really misleading.. maybe more 'under to much pressure shots' due to the opp hanging back.

I just feel i'm not always keen on straying to far from my original tactic because i'm affraid i'll mess it up or breaking it (losing me the match anyway)

In any case my thanks to all for the help and info.. :-) don't stop cuz every solution brings 2 more questions..

These type of threads are as regular as clockwork and have a common cause.

1: The user develops a tactic and squad that inherently dominates possession and shot count. No AI teams play in quite such as extreme a manner.

2: Consequently, it is almost impossible for the user to come second in possession and shot count. The user will always have higher numbers than the AI.

3: As the user's team gains in reputation, the AI begins to play compact, defensive football against the user. This aims to frustrate and try and score from the few breaks it generates.

4: At times, the user team will be complacent and/or frustrated by these tactics (which can be dealt with via media and man-management, and team talks)

5: The failure to convert a great number of chances makes his team more frustrated and gives the AI team more confidence, making it increasingly likely they'll score on the counter.

6: The user doesn't react to the situation and drop deeper / play more conservatively / try to score through different avenues, allowing the AI to pick his pocket (which relates to the "it's your tactics" comments)

I'm so glad real football isn't like this.

I'm so glad real football isn't like this.

Of course it is. Good team that specialises in possession football has an off day and gets picked off on the counter. How else would Barca ever lose?

I'm so glad real football isn't like this.

Except that it absolutely is.

So, currently playing as Barcelona and reached a Champion's League final against Bayern, totally dominated the game, but lost on penalties. "Hey ho", I thought, "it happens".

Even though I usually roll my eyes when I see these threads, I got the feeling I just wasn't supposed to win that match, so I decided to do a little experiment. I saved after the final to come back and continue afterwards, then went and replayed the final ten times, and lost them all.

Every single time I dominated possesion, 8 times 60%+

Every single time I had at least double the CCCs (I know full well this is an awful stat, but even from watching the games I had the better chances every time)

Messi (123 goals over the previous two seasons) didn't score a goal in any of the ten games. He started at Superb morale, and no team talk had a negative effect.

6 times Bayern scored with their first clear chance, 4 times their very first shot, 4 times their first 2 chances and only missed 4 CCCs over the 10 matches.

Neuer didn't finish with a rating of higher than 6.9.

Now, I play a pretty open attacking tactic, so Bayern picking me off is understandable, but the Messi thing just smacks of the game deciding he's scored too many and isn't allowed any more. I'm sure there's a logical reason somewhere in the murky mists of the FM ME, but sometimes it's easy to see why so many people think the game is fixed.

I've done this a few times, then i remembered a really smart man saying: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So then i'd do something totally crazy like change all my roles, or create a completely new tactic with different formation, then I'd win.

What I'm trying to say is, FM is a game, a game that does a pretty good job of simulating real life, but it's not perfect, so if you apply real life logic onto it, you're going to get hurt.