*Official* Football Manager 2013 Constructive non-ME Feedback Thread

[formaggio]

'wingers are struggling to beat the last man, they turn and play the ball backwards in advanced positions despite my instructions'

Good to see you acknowledge this, Neil.

So you guys at SI aren't complete morons?

lol...kidding.

That is one of my main gripes. Wingers jogging down the sideline, then passing back. It happens 90% of the time. As if it were a set play.

I also assume this new 'force field' players have surrounding them is the reason fullbacks are no longer able to block crosses in Football Manager. As they struggle to position themselves now. Much more than last year's game, anyway.

Watched a pile of matches. You can probably still cut down on the one-touch passing.

This game is playable for me now, after your last patch. Though i still wish the match engine was more polished. In gameplay, detail and design.

Tackling animations are bad. Players stand next to each other, they bump, apparently that's considered a fight for the ball. Whistle blows. Foul.

Lame.

Ball size, physics, and animations could use some love. I trust everyone else has given you enough advice for general gameplay issues. Enough to fill a large truck.

The intelligence on the field has definitely improved, but could still use a few minor tweaks. (passing, positioning, wingers, fullbacks...)

Just my opinion. Which probably counts for nothing. xD

Have a great day, Neil.

Empty that truck. You're almost there!

[video=youtube;_rAHnwWfsaY]

[ilyuhman]

Hello,

I'm not really sure where to put this, so I'll just write it here.

The matter is that I'm russian and my steam is well aware of that, so when I wanted to buy FM13 I could only get russian version of it.

But the problem is this game is impossible to play in russian. I guess you have no idea about that but I've been playing this series since CM03/04 in English only and that language is the only viable for the game.

I know that russian version comes in discounted price but as for me I wouldn't ever play it even for free. I had a choice with FM12 and I really need it now.

Thanks in advanse.

[wwfan]

Just wanted to say thanks for this advice. After being incredibly frustrated with how stupid my team seemed to be when going forward, I tried to take this advice to heart. I went away from tactics that were tried and true with the old match engine and decided to add some creativity along with some shouts. My team is suddenly playing beautiful football and scoring goals again while remaining solid at the back. It seems that position swapping works extremely well in the new match engine and causes the AI defense huge head aches. Just one thing that's made a big difference.

I have to second this. I was very frustrated with the ME. But, once I took wwfan's advice and redesigned my tactics, I'm seeing much better football by my players and they are playing more or less the way I am asking them to play. My only remaining major gripe is the absolute refusal by central players, whether midfielders or forwards, to run with the ball. The second a central player receives the ball, regardless of their dribbling stat, their ppm (i.e. runs with ball), their instructions, or my shout (run at defense), they stop immediately and either shoot or pass to a teammate. I am not sure whether this is a deficiency in my tactics or a flaw in the ME. If it is an ME flaw, then it should be fixed, and if it is a problem with my tactics, then hopefully someone (ehhm, WWFAN, ehhhm) can advice me on how to rectify it.

Glad I could help.

I have to say that this backs up my thoughts about why people are struggling. I think a lot of people are relying on tactics that worked in FM12. A lot of these tactics "beat the ME" not the AI. The ME rewrite is, quite rightly, making these tactics play as badly as they should play. 90% of the screaming and ranting probably relates to people defending and attacking badly because they are employing tactics that would defend and attack badly in reality.

I've been using a very basic 4-4-2 and have scored circa 2.3 ad conceded 0.5 per game. Barely a foot wrong in defence and a razor sharp attack. I think that everybody struggling should KISS.

That's not to say the ME is perfect as pressing, long shot decisions etc need a lot of work. However, I think it is a number of steps up from FM12 in the overall structure of the football it produces. I also don't think it has changed the results I'd expect to see if you employ good footballing logic in your tactic construction.

Not sure why your central players aren't dribbling. I 'm not having that problem for forwards but don't really expect my central midfielders to RWB.

[lmarsha_926]

I got a new monitor today as the one I had could only do a 1024x768 resolution when my graphic cards could do a 1920x1080 resolution.

The problem I am having in FM is running slower with the higher resolution even though I have the same graphics card as before an an extra 1GB of RAM.

Would the higher resolution affect the processing speed. Also with FM12 running my CPU usage was around 50%, it is around 90% with FM13 running.

[Guest]

The reviews are putting me off. Every year its the same issue but sigames seem to think its better to have more.. The completely unrealistic and repetitive, un-simulatable interactions.

Its like 2011.. everythings great but the interactions can get repetitive..

2012.. Its great but theres even more of those interaction thingys nobody enjoys..

2013.. Great game but interactions are even more epically infuriating than the year before..

yeah, |I know get your assistant to do all the boring stuff.. but he says good game and my player decides it was sarcastic for no reason and takes a huff for the whole season.

[cl0k]

im still trying to update my client and dont work

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/324985-How-do-i-know-im-playing-FM13-now-and-not-beta?p=8235284#post8235284

every time i run the check Integrity it Update the client and before it say Completing Installation before when the game start still show the BETA version always the same i try delete the clientbob file too .

[Neil Brock]

The reviews are putting me off. Every year its the same issue but sigames seem to think its better to have more.. The completely unrealistic and repetitive, un-simulatable interactions.

Its like 2011.. everythings great but the interactions can get repetitive..

2012.. Its great but theres even more of those interaction thingys nobody enjoys..

2013.. Great game but interactions are even more epically infuriating than the year before..

yeah, |I know get your assistant to do all the boring stuff.. but he says good game and my player decides it was sarcastic for no reason and takes a huff for the whole season.

If you don't like interactions try FMC instead, you may find you prefer it.

[Neil Brock]

im still trying to update my client and dont work

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/324985-How-do-i-know-im-playing-FM13-now-and-not-beta?p=8235284#post8235284

every time i run the check Integrity it Update the client and before it say Completing Installation before when the game start still show the BETA version always the same i try delete the clientbob file too .

Create your own thread in the tech forums and I'll try to help - http://community.sigames.com/forumdisplay.php/295-Crashes-and-Technical-Issues

[Guest]

If you don't like interactions try FMC instead, you may find you prefer it.

Is their some link to what that feature does?

The review mentioned it but didnt go into any detail.. only that it was more old school which I think is what I would prefer but without losing all the good new features..

[Nikopol]

We are trying to start a tournament, but as soon as like 10 members are in the Versus-Game it crashes.

[Neil Brock]

Is their some link to what that feature does?

The review mentioned it but didnt go into any detail.. only that it was more old school which I think is what I would prefer but without losing all the good new features..

Try the demo, FMC is included in that.

[ckkj15]

There are never any long range goals scored in my games

[adidastar]

i have to say i agree with Mensell. i have never had so many issues with FM that i dread playing it. FM 13 is he biggest joke ever. Am playing the full game and am yet to see my more than capable gibson throw 1 through pass yet the AI seems to split my defence with them so effortlessly. FM 13 is a sham of a game when i played FM 12 i was happy with it FM 13 on the other hand makes my blood boil:mad: no matter your tactics AI always has the answer and if they dont your teams shrudy defending will do the trick.

[cl0k]

Create your own thread in the tech forums and I'll try to help - http://community.sigames.com/forumdisplay.php/295-Crashes-and-Technical-Issues

i just create the thread thanks for the reply

[Guest]

Try the demo, FMC is included in that.

I cant.. My PC is at deaths door and couldnt even run cm00 without crashing. It does the internet and thats it.

I'm building a new one next saturday and hoping to tests its beef with FM and every league going (hopefully).

I'm making it especially for FM. Do you know what kind of specs I would need to max the game?

[daylight]

Will there be a patch to fix this?

As you can see my defender is backing off facing the ball,he then gets a bit confused as to where the ball is and then he just vanishes from play,hopefully this will be fixed soon.

[thermo]

I am 30 years old and I have been playing Championship Manager ('till 2004) and Football Manager series since 1995. I bought every single game, and I must have literally spent months in front of the computer, playing this game so far in my life. So please do not take my comments as a newbie's rants.

Unfortunately, FM2013 is one of the worst game of the series, maybe even worse that CM4. During the last few years, every new game built on top of the previous one, and every one was more enjoyable than the previous one. And my expectations were also quite high for FM2013, too. I pre-ordered the game and started playing the BETA two weeks ago. I immediately noticed a certain number of, what I can only call "unrealities" (they are not technically "bugs", they are the outcomes of a very poor match engine). I hoped that the full version would have got rid of these, but to no avail. Ball bouncing even faster than when it hit the ground, heavy first touches that result in players running back towards their half of the pitch for meters, wingers starting running from their own half along the touchline, literally making a perfect "L" shaped run on the touchline and then the goal line to espace the defenders, are only some examples of there unrealities. Ok, maybe there is no corner bug or a 4-1-2-3 super tactic in this match engine, but I still think it is much worse than that of FM2012.

And the interface! Oh, the interface! If people in SI really believe the new interface is more user-friendly than what was designed for FM2011 and FM2012, I can only say I am shocked to the very deep of my soul. Player screens have way too much information, therefore small fonts had to be used which is not user-friendly at all. The increased number of interactions with staff also result in more than necessary number of available actions on player info screen.

I could have written more, instead I will keep playing for a little while more, hoping that I had been wrong before and the game is actually an improvement when compared to FM2012. But so far I definitely thing otherwise.

[foofighter23]

This is not a bug but when you get 'x player has taken a knock' in the match feed with the keep on/quick sub options if you go straight to make the sub without clicking one of the boxes then the item does not disappear from the match feed.

[hubx]

Dear,

I am here on these forums because I am a real, original FM fan since years. I really love this game. But unfortunately FM13 is a real drama in terms of speed. Impossible to play it this way. I have tried a lot of things but nothing has changed. The worst is that a lot of people say FM13 is running faster than FM12. This makes me crazy!!

I am 100% sure there is absolutely no problem with my PC. So it is a question why I have this problem...

A lot of people are disappointed about the ME. I have absolutely no comment on it because I haven't got any experience with it. And it seems that I will never get that experience...

[Nuno Dias]

I am 30 years old and I have been playing Championship Manager ('till 2004) and Football Manager series since 1995. I bought every single game, and I must have literally spent months in front of the computer, playing this game so far in my life. So please do not take my comments as a newbie's rants.

Unfortunately, FM2013 is one of the worst game of the series, maybe even worse that CM4. During the last few years, every new game built on top of the previous one, and every one was more enjoyable than the previous one. And my expectations were also quite high for FM2013, too. I pre-ordered the game and started playing the BETA two weeks ago. I immediately noticed a certain number of, what I can only call "unrealities" (they are not technically "bugs", they are the outcomes of a very poor match engine). I hoped that the full version would have got rid of these, but to no avail. Ball bouncing even faster than when it hit the ground, heavy first touches that result in players running back towards their half of the pitch for meters, wingers starting running from their own half along the touchline, literally making a perfect "L" shaped run on the touchline and then the goal line to espace the defenders, are only some examples of there unrealities. Ok, maybe there is no corner bug or a 4-1-2-3 super tactic in this match engine, but I still think it is much worse than that of FM2012.

And the interface! Oh, the interface! If people in SI really believe the new interface is more user-friendly than what was designed for FM2011 and FM2012, I can only say I am shocked to the very deep of my soul. Player screens have way too much information, therefore small fonts had to be used which is not user-friendly at all. The increased number of interactions with staff also result in more than necessary number of available actions on player info screen.

I could have written more, instead I will keep playing for a little while more, hoping that I had been wrong before and the game is actually an improvement when compared to FM2012. But so far I definitely thing otherwise.

Thank you for writting this for me, it is spot on my feelings about the game, and just like you i have played months of my life away with this series, but unlike you for now i will go back to FM12, i just can't see any more off this ME, i hoped they could fix it at the release but it still is incredibly bad, the wingers going like an L and scoring is just so stupid i can't take it anymore...

About the UI, i kind of like it, but that is a matter of opinion, i just hoipe they fix the ME, or i will just give this one a pass...

[daylight]

Dear,

I am here on these forums because I am a real, original FM fan since years. I really love this game. But unfortunately FM13 is a real drama in terms of speed. Impossible to play it this way. I have tried a lot of things but nothing has changed. The worst is that a lot of people say FM13 is running faster than FM12. This makes me crazy!!

I am 100% sure there is absolutely no problem with my PC. So it is a question why I have this problem...

A lot of people are disappointed about the ME. I have absolutely no comment on it because I haven't got any experience with it. And it seems that I will never get that experience...

When making a post of this type it is best if you post your PC specs.

Fair is fair and while I dislike the game the way it is I have no problems with the speed of the game,I do have a gaming PC though so of course that helps.

Maybe post your specs and a little more info on what the actual problem is,you may get a bit of help with more info.

[Guest]

When making a post of this type it is best if you post your PC specs.

Fair is fair and while I dislike the game the way it is I have no problems with the speed of the game,I do have a gaming PC though so of course that helps.

Maybe post your specs and a little more info on what the actual problem is,you may get a bit of help with more info.

Whats the most important thing your comp needs for speed.. Is it memory or the processor?

[jamesds]

Has there been an update today?

[hubx]

When making a post of this type it is best if you post your PC specs.

Fair is fair and while I dislike the game the way it is I have no problems with the speed of the game,I do have a gaming PC though so of course that helps.

Maybe post your specs and a little more info on what the actual problem is,you may get a bit of help with more info.

My laptop specs: (it is my preferred system for playing FM since last year)

intel core i5-2410 2.3 GHz with turbo-boost enabled up to 2.9 GHz

8 GB DDR3 RAM 1600MHz Corsair Vengeance

256 GB SSD OCZ Vertex 4 (firmware 1.52)

Intel onboard graphics (HD3000)

Fresh install of Windows 7 64bit Home Pro (original)

No crap installed on my system.

Everything is up-to-date and clean.

[RTHerringbone]

Whats the most important thing your comp needs for speed.. Is it memory or the processor?

When it comes to FM13, it appears as if certain hardware combinations struggle with processing the game. I have a pretty average 2 year old laptop which runs the game enormously faster than FM12, so it appears to be luck of the draw really.

[daylight]

Whats the most important thing your comp needs for speed.. Is it memory or the processor?

The processor is the backbone of the system but everything is relevant.

You could have say a quad core processor but only 2GB of RAM,that will bottle neck your system.

You need to have a balanced set up so nothing is holding your system back.

If you have the motherboard for it then these days everyone should have 8GB of RAM and a 64 bit OS,RAM is very cheap so no need not to have 8GB unless your motherboard does not support it.

For FM a good hard drive is also recommended,a good graphic card is not really needed for this game but you can get a maybe 3 or 4 year old card very cheap,maybe the 8800GT or 275GTX you could easily pick up for 20 or 30 quid these days and you are all set.

[daylight]

My laptop specs: (it is my preferred system for playing FM since last year)

intel core i5-2410 2.3 GHz with turbo-boost enabled up to 2.9 GHz

8 GB DDR3 RAM 1600MHz Corsair Vengeance

256 GB SSD OCZ Vertex 4 (firmware 1.52)

Intel onboard graphics (HD3000)

Fresh install of Windows 7 64bit Home Pro (original)

No crap installed on my system.

Everything is up-to-date and clean.

Have you checked to see if the game is set to render from your graphic card or from the software?

[hubx]

I have tested several times with both settings. I also have removed all downloaded graphics files. Nothing has changed. I'm loading only 1 playable league with small DB and it is still taking ages to process, espacially when matches are processed...

[daylight]

I would post this in the bugs or tech forum,there is no way your system should be struggling to run quite a few leagues let alone 1.

There is something not right as my game runs really fast so something is amiss.

[Guest]

The processor is the backbone of the system but everything is relevant.

You could have say a quad core processor but only 2GB of RAM,that will bottle neck your system.

You need to have a balanced set up so nothing is holding your system back.

If you have the motherboard for it then these days everyone should have 8GB of RAM and a 64 bit OS,RAM is very cheap so no need not to have 8GB unless your motherboard does not support it.

For FM a good hard drive is also recommended,a good graphic card is not really needed for this game but you can get a maybe 3 or 4 year old card very cheap,maybe the 8800GT or 275GTX you could easily pick up for 20 or 30 quid these days and you are all set.

I'm going for an i7 3770k but not sure about what memory

graphics card will be pretty good just for other games too.

There was a thread on here that kind of explained it all, but I cant find it.

[Loversleaper]

One thing that I haven't been able to get my head around, is why there are 21 notches in the TC opposed to the classic version where there are 20 notches...? I was trying to mess around with the wizard and came across this, maybe it's no big deal - but I was trying to put some old classic tactics into wizard format and naturally ran into this reality...

[hubx]

I'm going for an i7 3770k but not sure about what memory

graphics card will be pretty good just for other games too.

There was a thread on here that kind of explained it all, but I cant find it.

That's a great CPU, I have it on my desktop system. But be aware that 3770 = 3770k --> only difference is that the 3770k has more overclocking capacity. Otherwise no difference at all ;-)

[Johnnyhugs]

I am tired of game crashing. I can't just save the damn game after every match. we should get a fix for this.

[smgers]

Not had time to read all the posts but I take it it's just me that's enjoying the game so far?

Sure there are problems with the match engine but there are also many instances I've watched where you can really see the potential and why SI chose to use it for this version. I'm sure that through these forums they will end up making this a great match engine to be used on future editions to come. I suppose another option would be to delay the game which would have caused uproar and upset (CM3 and CM4 anyone). I'm just glad they've released the game and will continue working on it like they have done with previous editions.

I'm really enjoying the other aspects of the game and also the new look - totally has me immersed and hooked! As far as major bugs go I haven't really come across any (perhaps the odd little thing here and there but nothing game breaking.) Mind you I was the one that was obliviously happy playing CM4 for months little realising the furore that was going on on here!

Anyway I'm away back to play the game and will probably check in on here to read what the new 'update' has brought us.

[thinkadHi]

Worst version of the game I have ever played.

The defending, which was a joke on FM12, is even worse! How have you managed to make the defending worse?

My players are shattered after around 10 minutes. Please, try to remember that these are professional athletes.

Instead of changing the UI - which, for the record, is truly horrific - how about fixing the core aspects of the game? You had a year to do so, but failed.

Charging for BETA access was quite cheeky because it meant that we were then tied in - even if we hated the game. I will never buy another version of this 'game'. Shocking arrogance from those at the very top.

Oh, and just to compound matters, I can't even use the up arrow to move up the mail list, until I click on another piece of mail. Which genius thought that would be a good idea?

THIS. All the way.

[Neil Brock]

I am tired of game crashing. I can't just save the damn game after every match. we should get a fix for this.

Create a thread here and we'll look into it - http://community.sigames.com/forumdisplay.php/295-Crashes-and-Technical-Issues

[wwfan]

One thing that I haven't been able to get my head around, is why there are 21 notches in the TC opposed to the classic version where there are 20 notches...? I was trying to mess around with the wizard and came across this, maybe it's no big deal - but I was trying to put some old classic tactics into wizard format and naturally ran into this reality...

There are two possible interpretations.

1: It made sense when designing the TC to have a middle spot for each slider, which needed an extra notch

2: Ov Collyer's OCD

[wwfan]

i have to say i agree with Mensell. i have never had so many issues with FM that i dread playing it. FM 13 is he biggest joke ever. Am playing the full game and am yet to see my more than capable gibson throw 1 through pass yet the AI seems to split my defence with them so effortlessly. FM 13 is a sham of a game when i played FM 12 i was happy with it FM 13 on the other hand makes my blood boil:mad: no matter your tactics AI always has the answer and if they dont your teams shrudy defending will do the trick.

If the AI does it and you can't, then it's your tactics, I'm afraid.

The fault, dear Brutus, etc, etc.

[dsouthy]

When there is a patch / update will it be save compatible?

[daylight]

When there is a patch / update will it be save compatible?

Yes they always are.

[wwfan]

When there is a patch / update will it be save compatible?

Yes, it will.

[Gooner88]

1 nil up at Chelsea and i get a runtime error.....

[borobadger]

Fm 12 Was just a better made game plain and simple.... tbh there isn't any game changing features added other than the "improved" match engine and I'm seriously considering going back to FM12...

[thermo]

Ok, that's it for me! Defenders not tackling but only watching, pacey players moving like roadrunner, even when the ball is thrown far into the midfield by the invisible ball boys before a corner is taken, they all annoy me. I can not believe I am saying this, it feels like I am cheating on my wife, but I will not play FM2013 anymore. The match engine is beyond repair. I am more sad rather than mad, after all I still have FM2012 to play. But it is really disappointing when arguably the most consistently successful game-makers in the world screwed up this big!

I am 30 years old and I have been playing Championship Manager ('till 2004) and Football Manager series since 1995. I bought every single game, and I must have literally spent months in front of the computer, playing this game so far in my life. So please do not take my comments as a newbie's rants.

Unfortunately, FM2013 is one of the worst game of the series, maybe even worse that CM4. During the last few years, every new game built on top of the previous one, and every one was more enjoyable than the previous one. And my expectations were also quite high for FM2013, too. I pre-ordered the game and started playing the BETA two weeks ago. I immediately noticed a certain number of, what I can only call "unrealities" (they are not technically "bugs", they are the outcomes of a very poor match engine). I hoped that the full version would have got rid of these, but to no avail. Ball bouncing even faster than when it hit the ground, heavy first touches that result in players running back towards their half of the pitch for meters, wingers starting running from their own half along the touchline, literally making a perfect "L" shaped run on the touchline and then the goal line to espace the defenders, are only some examples of there unrealities. Ok, maybe there is no corner bug or a 4-1-2-3 super tactic in this match engine, but I still think it is much worse than that of FM2012.

And the interface! Oh, the interface! If people in SI really believe the new interface is more user-friendly than what was designed for FM2011 and FM2012, I can only say I am shocked to the very deep of my soul. Player screens have way too much information, therefore small fonts had to be used which is not user-friendly at all. The increased number of interactions with staff also result in more than necessary number of available actions on player info screen.

I could have written more, instead I will keep playing for a little while more, hoping that I had been wrong before and the game is actually an improvement when compared to FM2012. But so far I definitely thing otherwise.

[aiston]

So damn frustrating having teams in a lower league pass like Barcelona and your defenders just randomly stop tracking a winger as if the winger has just vanished.

Also on corners, a cleared ball, and not one player chases the ball.

[Guest]

I got to say that sigames probably have the best communication with the community than any other dev I have ever encounted.

Its late saturday night and they are trying to help individuals and looking for bugs.

Very honest as well. Most other devs run and hide if bugs get mentioned cos they are worried admitting it might effect sales or even worse that they then have to fix it.

If more devs were like sigames I think gamers would benefit and it wouldnt seem like they are only concerned about getting your money and then once they have it disappearing into the sunset.

Most other devs could learn alot from these.

[jep]

One thing that I haven't been able to get my head around, is why there are 21 notches in the TC opposed to the classic version where there are 20 notches...? I was trying to mess around with the wizard and came across this, maybe it's no big deal - but I was trying to put some old classic tactics into wizard format and naturally ran into this reality...

I have noticed this too and am hoping its not a big issue.

I had a tactic converted to classic, and have been using global settings so set my team to close down on last notch of Own Half. However, when I go into the individual player's settings and highlight his closing down its actually set at whole pitch despite it being set on the same notch as the teams closing down.

[Carmi88]

ball friction, players going on unchallenged runs, and defenders ignoring a through ball and trying to get ahead of the striker when the ball has just gone right through them makes this very frustrating

[teodoro]

So damn frustrating having teams in a lower league pass like Barcelona and your defenders just randomly stop tracking a winger as if the winger has just vanished.

Also on corners, a cleared ball, and not one player chases the ball.

Ask solution to Guru forum....

[Flashboy]

I have to second this. I was very frustrated with the ME. But, once I took wwfan's advice and redesigned my tactics, I'm seeing much better football by my players and they are playing more or less the way I am asking them to play. My only remaining major gripe is the absolute refusal by central players, whether midfielders or forwards, to run with the ball. The second a central player receives the ball, regardless of their dribbling stat, their ppm (i.e. runs with ball), their instructions, or my shout (run at defense), they stop immediately and either shoot or pass to a teammate. I am not sure whether this is a deficiency in my tactics or a flaw in the ME. If it is an ME flaw, then it should be fixed, and if it is a problem with my tactics, then hopefully someone (ehhm, WWFAN, ehhhm) can advice me on how to rectify it.

Thirded. Since the game was released I've tried multiple saves to try and formulate a tactical framework in the new ME but nothing was working - my players were simply passing laterally around the opponent's 18yd box with little to no penetration. Inevitably, someone would lose the ball and put my defence under pressure. Reading all the feedback on the forums, I was convinced it was an ME issue as the same tactics had worked wonderfully in FM12.

After reading wwfan's advice I took another look and realised that in every single one of my tactics there was very little roaming. In FM12 having little team movement between the lines didn't matter, because inevitably top-class players would individually unlock a defence. The new ME really requires you, as a manager, to think hard about how you are going to create space for your best players and how they can exploit it. This, in my opinion, is a huge step forward in representing football as the team sport it really is. The moments of individual brilliance are still there, but when they come as a result of great team play they are that much sweeter.

For anyone moaning about the ME - try get out of the tactical paradigms of FM12 and really think like a coach. When you get it right, it's incredibly rewarding.

All credit to SI for creating the best FM yet. Well done guys.