The game is called Football manager...

[Govnar1]

Legacy - AI should be able to learn from user, for example some of long serving players that turn into managers should follow users successful tactical, training and selection principles and thus create a new football school in game.

...Standard Liege in Belgium are quickly becoming the focal point for football development WORLDWIDE, countries are queuing up just to ensure they have people getting the opportunity to learn from them...

I think that my compatriot and hometown club legend, Tomislav Ivic, has contributed a lot to Standard's revolution.

[Kenco]

If you have nothing constructive to say.. please don't feel the need to post... looking back at your 10 posts is painful

Just read those 10 posts, painful indeed. There is some irony in the way he starts out abusing all the whingers and ends up as one himself!

[redhawk]

If you could have chat to players you wish to sign before you do contract negotiations, that would be far more realistic, and however much skill you have in speech/reputation you have affects how likely a player is to be swayed by your 'vision'.

While we're at it, time wasting should be a shout, as it's incredibly annoying going through four screens to get to that one common instruction.

[fmFutbolManager]

Some great ideas in here. A few from me.

Dugout view.

I'm a football manager, I would like to watch my games from the dugout, not from the stands, from TV, or from the top corner of the stadium. Please could we include a dugout view for the match?

Coaching qualifications

I've suggested this in another thread, but it would help so many people if you could incorporate the coaching qualifications for users, too. Those like wwfan could pre-select continental pro licence at the beginning of the game and not need the training. However, what a lot of people report as bugs and issues is in fact tactical ineptitude. Showing how to build a balance tactic, how to counter opposition instructions and play. How to react to assistant manager feedback during a game. It would make a lot of people happier if they were shown how to play it.

Better player interaction

My players just don't come to me about anything. The only reason someone will come to me is if they want to go on loan. But other than that they don't come to me with any problems they might be having. Real life players are always moaning and complaining about things. Sir Alex is always talking about players coming to him, I would like better interaction.

Report on my manager style and tactical ability

Our games are no dissected enough. How many times after a match do you read in the paper about how a team was beaten, picking out the tactical errors made, etc. There are no 'back pages' in the game where analysts will talk about the weekends match and the flaws.

Advice while building my tactic

I know we get the staff opinion on the team, but what would be great is if I could get assistant manager feedback whilst I'm building my tactic. For example, if I set a Wing Back on attack, he could tell me we don't actually have any players suitable for this position currently. Would you like me to produce a loan report, or perhaps we should try a fullback on support. There are some wireframes I put into the wishlist thread with more information on this.

These are just a few thoughts, I'm sure I'll have more.

[Welshace]

I agree wholeheartedly oneunited... apart from dugout view.. just not viable without licensing really, just wouldn't be very good seeing the player up close.

[dentistTubster]

There's a few things I would like to see - maybe some are the sort of things that don't need to be implemented, but it would be nice.

Fans

A major part of any football club, and perhaps the most important part, is the fans. They have far too little influence in FM at present - all they do is slightly affect the board when it comes to board happiness. There are a few things I would love to see in the game, and the following would certainly make the game far more immersive than it currently is.

- The first is to give fans from different clubs a personality. That is to say that if you are Milwall and you go away to Norwich, that your Millwall away support is more volatile and more likely to get up the noses of the opposition. Even if it's just commentary/news items after the game, and doesn't have an effect on the Match Engine, it would be nice to have. Vocal support from clubs like West Ham can really make a difference in their away games, when compared to a club that produces less noise.

- Knowing what the fans are chanting about is something that has been touched on by SI (the fans are right to be getting behind him, he's on great form at the moment etc etc) but it really would be nice if there are a set of chant templates, and that information can be displayed via a widget (fan mood, noise, atmosphere, support for the team, current topic etc). You could even have the actual chants displayed - "He's Robin Van Persie, he does what he wants."If you have loyal fans that are not glory supporters, then you would have the fans making lots of noise and getting behind the team, which could motivate the players whose personalities respond well to the fans, be it the opposition supporters or their own. Equally, if the fans are disgruntled with the performance that your team is showing, then some players react badly and look down, and others look motivated to improve their performance. Fan favourites are a big part of games, too, so when a player does well and his name is chanted, perhaps he gets a little more determined for the next few minutes in game.

- Equally, there should be a way of directly interacting with the fans during a game as a Manager, and quite often the chant "Give us a wave" and the response from the manager can help the mood on the terraces. Certain managers should have personalities that affect the likelihood of affection from fans - Di Canio is a massive favourite at Swindon due to his passion, and general arm-wheeling. He wears a Swindon scarf and openly displays his affection to the fans after games by clapping them for their support, no matter the result. It should be part of the post-match ritual to have some interaction with the fans - even if it's more questions in press conferences like "350 fans turned up for the away game at Gateshead today. As Plymouth manager, would you have expected more of a following?" with a variety of answers, including the obvious "it's a massive round trip and I want to thank all the fans that made the journey for coming." There should equally be a negative - if you praise the fans and clap them all the time, if you try to do it when you lose they react a little more negatively as they feel they haven't been treated to a good performance. Perhaps even bars can be displayed in the board confidence for fan loyalty, fan mood etc towards both you and the club, and show you who the fan favourites are by having a bar displaying fan opinion on each player within each player's information screen. Player personalities and performance would directly affect this.

Stadiums

- I've mentioned how fans can affect a player's confidence during a match, and their determination levels, but this could extend to the actual stadiums as well. Going to, say, Old Trafford would have a far bigger effect on the player's performance. Perhaps a player's personality will affect how they deal with more vocal opposition support, and how well they perform when playing in volatile arenas? Some of the programming is already there for 'big matches,' but perhaps it should extent to a stadium's reputation. How welcoming a club is could have positive and negative effects based on the current personality of the club's supporters (which could obviously change throughout a game). For example, a welcoming club could give a bonus to players used to playing at home at good facilities with a welcoming fan base, whereas an unwelcoming club with poor facilities and a volatile, vocal fan base would negatively affect the players and make them feel uncomfortable. How many times have we seen cup shocks when the premiership club has to go away to a BSP club, with poor facilities and unwelcoming fans? I think this is a genuine factor in a result, and having been an Oxford fan for many years I used to personally dread going to play Lewes away, as the ground was an awful place to be at, and you could sense some of that feeling transferring to the players. I'm being very liberal with my words here, but it could be a few simple bars, or even using existing information (ground condition, number of seats, age of stadium, corporate facilities) that affects a team that are used to higher or lower standards at their own ground. I'm not saying that teams with awful facilities should always get a bonus for having poor facilities, as you would never want a new stadium then, but I do feel that it could have a small effect on a team with higher rep, and used to having better facilities.

- Stadiums should also have ratings for fan happiness, visibility and atmosphere. For example, if you go to Upton Park the atmosphere is tremendous, whereas if you go to Huddersfield Town then you get a great view from anywhere in the ground, but the atmosphere is a little poor. Perhaps these things can help shape the fan's behaviour and personality throughout the game, especially if you get a new stadium. For example, imagine Liverpool get a new ground. The same supporters will go their initially, and with the same behaviour and attitude, but perhaps the new stadium gradually affects their personality and reduces the atmosphere if it's been built for getting more people in and making it more family-friendly, rather than aiming to go for the best atmosphere possible.

- Because of the above, I would like to see the manager having at least a little bit of input into the stadium's characteristics. If you request a new stadium, and the request is granted, then it's because of your request. Thus, you should get some input into it's design. Let's say in this scenario, that the board present you with a variety of options which show visibility, atmosphere, capacity, room for expansion, standard of facilities etc and you get to make a decision as to which you would prefer. The board take this into account and although they are most likely to go with a proposal that will prove to be the most financially viable option, at least they can alter designs to favour your chosen option (based on their personality, your performance and club stature increase since you took over, etc etc etc). I just think new stadiums in general are too generic and need to have individual personalities.

- Once again, further to the above, we need more 3D representations of stadiums, with a greater graphical variety. I know it's hard work but it makes such a difference to see your club playing in a stadium that looks unique, or even closely resembles the real life counterpart. I'm not saying create 600 new stadiums, as that would be ridiculous, but more variety is definitely in order. Most stadiums on FM look too modern, and it would be nice to see mix and matched stadiums. For example, create 10 stands that can be mixed and matched, so that you get a shiny new end stand if you expand your existing stadium, but the rest of the stadium looks as it did before.

Training and Facilities

- With regards to facilities, lets have more in-depth facilities rather than just 'good training facilities' etc. Let's have an option to improve individual facilities in order to help with training. For example, star ratings for the coaches AND star ratings for the facilities for individual training categories. So let's say you have the option for 3 fitness coaches, and an accompanying gym. You have 3 qualities fitness coaches for a rating of 4.5 stars, but only a 3.5 star gym, so combined you have 7 stars out of 10 for fitness coaching. If you improve your gym, your players will improve their strength and aerobic training and will improve quicker. Improving the gym becomes an option if you have spare cash, just like improving training facilities currently is in the board requests. Perhaps for attacking and shooting coaching you could have an option to expand the number of training pitches, whilst with ball control you could have indoor halls where 5-a-side football is played (for example - someone will have a better idea as to how to label the options for the other categories). I just think that being able to improve training facilities and the only effect being an increase in reputation and increasing the chance of players signing for you is wrong, and it needs to be more refined.

Long trips, tournaments etc

- In World Cups, some managers do certain things to their players. For example, not allowing them to go out after 9pm or something. Let's have more refined options on how to treat our players when it comes to big matches, or during holiday periods (or international breaks). Things like banning or allowing alcohol between matches (and having effects on morale and condition as a result), and allowing players to celebrate after cup games, and maybe even joining them (organising celebratory parties or allowing a bus trip through the home town for playoff promotion, for example) that has similar effects. Maybe this could link in to fan mood, and if your fans love you they will turn out and celebrate with your players, for example.

- Let's have a variety of options on how to get to and from away games, such as bus trips which are cheap and build inter-team relations, but may cause friction if you stick players that don't like each other in the same bus. Maybe setting instructions for forcing players who are tutoring youngsters to sit together, or making sure players from the same country are next to each other, or allowing the team to sort themselves out. Maybe you want to fly from London to Manchester to save time and allow for more match preparation training? Perhaps flying early to that away game in Moscow will help the players acclimatise at the risk of making the youngsters homesick? These are decisions that are made by the managers in real life that can make a difference.

Obviously, with most of my suggestions, they are additions to the main game, but now that we have FMC then making the game more refined should definitely be at the forefront of development for next year, and equally allowing your DOF, board or even Ass Man make the decisions will still be an option.

[v InterfectoR v]

Keep em coming!.

[Zilkin]

I agree with this to be honest. I know we have a wishlist, but what in particular would you like to be displayed and how to improve this?

All valid points - but again how would you like to see it displayed? More specific news items etc? More questions? Ideas here would be welcome. Thanks.

Here are few concrete examples(last game I won CL etc. was in FM11 so maybe some of these are already in). When you win something big actually have a proper celebrations with your team receiving the trophy on the field, etc. to make it seem bit more than just another league game. More news items about your player commenting on the successes or failures of the team. Could also have a news item about the clubs home city going crazy eg. Same for when they win personal trophies, surely they have something to say about eg. winning the Ballon d'Or. Adding to a later point add things like Ballon d'Or winners to club records.

I would also like to see some work done on the sounds department. More chants, etc. are always nice but especially make max couple thousand crowds sound more realistic. Would another thing adding to atmosphere if there was realistic difference in what playing in front of 1k or 50k people sounds like.

Perhaps my biggest wish would way, way improving the club, league, etc. record keeping and actually have more of them in the db so you don't break so many of them first season because there was nothing there before. My longest game in FM11 has lasted till season 36-37 and been mostly at the same club. I would love to see my club, league and country all time top goal scorers, who has the most games played, etc. Also make a news item when at least some of these all time records are broken, at least I usually miss them otherwise if they are only on match day window. Things like that would at least for me qualify for the leaving a legacy part. Also this should formatted to easily readable, not really a huge fan of the current, very limited, records page.

Improve the AI player development and use of current talent. This game kinda collapses the further you go, players like Messi, etc. really don't shine like they do in real life since AI managers don't really do a good job using them. Nor they do a good job of producing new Messis. Big part of managing top clubs is seeing stars like that.

[redhawk]

Opinions/Perceptions of yourself could also be more varied and would be different across different groups of people.

Current Board

Ex-Board

Fellow Managers

Current Players

Ex Players

Players who have never played for you.

Current Fans

Ex-Fans

Rival Fans

Neutral Fans

Media (could be split into tabloid, internet and broadsheet)

[LilSaint]

it would also help if your board would react happily when you decline an offer from another (bigger) club.

I'm managing Genk in Belgium & declined offers from Aston Villa, Marseille, Wolfsburg, .. You would think they'd be happy about that (as in previous versions of FM..)

[mixmkz]

Opinions/Perceptions of yourself could also be more varied and would be different across different groups of people.

Current Board

Ex-Board

Fellow Managers

Current Players

Ex Players

Players who have never played for you.

Current Fans

Ex-Fans

Rival Fans

Neutral Fans

Media (could be split into tabloid, internet and broadsheet)

I like this! Always makes me feel warm to see myself on players' fav personnel. Also I like how this year when you sell players or sometimes they didn't really like you news items pops up about how the relationship is cold when his team plays mine.

[Keyzer Soze]

Really hope that this thread dont be forgotten in the forum.

[Ty]

Or by overhauling the press conference system we can choose these attributes ourselves. Why can't we type what we want in the press conference anyway, foul language could be detected and fines handed out or even bans by the FA.

Just to point out, you can type what you want to say and foul language is detected. After playing my mate in a network game and losing thanks to Bale having a great game against me, I typed in the press conference 'Chimp *curse word*' as a joke. Then afterwards, this popped up on both our news feeds. Both laughed, as it detected the foul language and chose the only question I typed in *removed foul language from image*

[AAlywan]

And also, change the name from Football Manager to Player1 Match Engine Manager.

[Davey Boy]

Am loving this thread i see fantastic ideas here and there!!! but will SI have a look? will they take these on board? one can only hope.

[Jason the Yank]

I have some more ideas that will complement well with the expansion of the profile screen, as I believe only an expansion of profile screen would not help much with the problem.

Style of play

In the editor, there are several style of plays. For example, Wenger would have been known as manager who signs youth players. I would like it to be seen in the profile screen, and also for us.

This makes us to be known for our style.

For example, I almost always field a reserve team in lower important matches. I would like this to be considered by the media and shown.

That would be cool. Maybe if you're known for finding gems on free transfer (I usually manage in the lower leagues and pick up players released by bigger clubs), maybe you could get messages about a cash-strapped club looking at you as an ideal replacement because of it. (there already is a message about how you're adept at raiding the bargain bins, if you or the AI makes a raft of signings on free transfers)

In my current save, I've been promoted, relegated, and promoted again in a 3-season span. Something that calls the club or myself a yo-yo specialist or similar would be kind of cool.

[Jason the Yank]

Yup, that is what is missing. Personality for you (and the AI Managers)

There are over 30+ different personalities for players. How about doing the same for both us & the AI Managers? Dependant on what type of personality you have, you will naturally have players that graduate towards and away from you. Following on from that, the choice of answers you can select in interviews would differ dependant on what type of personality you have. Be a jovial type Manager, you will get one set of answers to a question, be an outspoken Manager, and the set would be completely different. The repercussions of the answers could then flow on to players, the fans and the Board. A conversational remark for example could cause a story arc that continues for a number of weeks. There would be no "Negative" personalities. All would have advantages/disadvantages. Team talks could also be need to be made much more diverse like the Manager interviews, instead of the cookie cutter replies you have now. Player reactions would be more dependant on what personality you are.

It seems to be going in that direction, with the news items about press conference now mentioning what kind of style you tend to have in them.

[Jibby123]

Some hoofing top ideas here to expand the game and the 'immersive experience' of developing an actual character.

[Kriss]

Best thread I've seen for a long time

[cyborgscouse]

I know other people have said it, but after winning the league/champions league the board should be able to react more than just 'good..now we want the same again' it's ok if you're a Madrid, Barcelona or Utd who are expected to win it, but when I do as Liverpool in my second year after barely signing anyone I expect a bit more of a response. The same from the fans, it should be more than just a message saying 'it's a proud day for the fans'.

On the other side of things, if you've had a lot of success over a long career in the game with one team the team the board should give you more leeway if one season you don't manage to win things.

[Jelle Slaets]

* I like the idea of managers attributes. And maybe not the ones there are now, which are basically meaningless, but a lot more, and making them have effect. This way, it could be a personal goal to reach higher stats, and feel proud of your accomplishments, and also seeing the effect in game.

Attributes can either start at a lowish level, or maybe give the player some freedom to decide where his main attributes are. These could be:

Judging Player ability/potential: Making it so a manager can already get an indication of what a players potential / ability levels are by attending games. This rating can go up if a manager signs / develops young players, and down if he only signs established players.

Board Persuasion: A stat which influences the ability to get stuff done from the board, which will increase by sucking up / doing good performances / staying for long term / ... . The stat can decrease if you fail to reach board targets, or make requests that don't plan out well.

Negotiations: A stat that affects buying selling players. Successful negotiations and many good relationship with agents, will mean players make less silly (high) demands, and transfers overall go a little quicker. Stat can increase by making good deals / structured deals / staying in budget / buying low - selling high...

Fitness / Rotation: Do you rotate a lot for ultimate fitness, or do you stick with the first teamers. Stat can influence players happiness to play less games for instance

Player loyalty: Do you keep players for a long time, or just sell them on. Having a high stat may make it easier to sign players or make renewal deals cheaper as they get older and past their prime.

You can think of a lot of additional stats, so the manager screen would end up looking like the player screen almost. Key point is though, that these skills can be raised, and have a (limited but visible) effect on your game, so it's something you can progress to.

* Also a very simple thing, which isn't in the game yet, a simple trophy cabinet. Now, I know a lot of people here may think this is just eye candy, but I still remember my Civilization II throne room, and while it had nothing to do with the actual gameplay, seeing it become more pretty actually was an extremely fun way to see how you progressed.

So maybe just have your manager office room, which starts out small (depending on club/stadium facilities), and when winning trophies / increasing rep / increasing wage, you are allowed to upgrade parts of it, like a nicer desk / nicer chair, nicer rug / nicer trophy cabinet. Not buying it with wages or anything like that, just a thing you can do, like once or 2x a year, or for doing an achievement / winning something.

* I'm not sure if it's currently even in the game, but not having a ranking of just managers based on trophies won, but a ranking system for manager based on other categories:

Time at club

Goals made

Goals conceeded

Reputation

Matches won / lost ratio

* As mentioned before, more feedback on how fans / board / ... feel about you. This may also be combined with an overview of the current board feedback system. Sorry, but if I won the champions league with a team from Luxembourg, I'm sure the board will forgive me I drew 1 game and not remind me. There should be a way more ecstatic feeling when winning a champions league, or main league.

* I also think increasing the involvement in things like Stadium Expansion / Facility expansion can help. Maybe only when you have been at a club for a longer time. This would give you the feeling you are becoming more important and respected in a club. Getting options to get some features / certain capacity / think out loan deals for stadium, and having more authority to make facility / training / youth improvements by yourself, as long as the budget it ok.

Since the game itself is quite repetitive (years go by fast, and are basically the same every time), having these things, like a new stadium once every 10 seasons is a nice and fun thing that doesn't happen much, so having some more reports and things coming out, will make you feel more involved.

* And maybe, getting a different screen for manager affairs. Right now, all these things come by in the news box, so it will be a spam of 10 messages from scouting / 5 from press confs / 4 from match reports / and then 1 "congratulations, we won the treble". Having the news box separate from the news Item for board / manager / team interaction may be a good idea. You could still have a digest in the news letter, but more info and more detailed / management things, could be presented like it is now with the board room screen, in a separate screen. So it feels like that is were you make all decision, get important feedback, while the newsbox is something you can scan once a week, just for all the news and reports and stuff.

The manager screen would then only show for instance if a wonderkid was scouted the scout really should see, board decisions like transfer funds, player concerns / staff concerns, ... but not all the news you shift through every day now.

[LilSaint]

*

Board Persuasion: A stat which influences the ability to get stuff done from the board, which will increase by sucking up / doing good performances / staying for long term / ... . The stat can decrease if you fail to reach board targets, or make requests that don't plan out well.

great one. when they decline to improve the youth setup we could just do a jedi mind trick & be done with it

jokery aside, i would absolutely love for this to be implemented

[Soverntear]

It's a small thing but I would love to see managers be able to do even small things with the wages we earn. I always sign to the lowest wages I can for the longest time to ensure it doesnt hurt the clubs balance. But if i could lets say buy a bmw or gamble then maybe i would take the higher pay. I'm aware it's purely cosmetic but it would add a tiny bit of realism.

[Jelboo]

This is a great topic, lots of good ideas. Most of the managing experience in this game is in your head. You do all the things a real manager does, but as a person you're sort of blank - you have to roleplay for yourself. It'd be much more immersive if you had a profile that, as said before, listed your traits, habits, personality, playing style and legacy. For people like me who randomly wander the database reading players' biographies, it'd be an orgasmic addition.

[Blaupunkt]

A little 3D avatar of ourselves that runs around near the bench reacting to the play based on attributes generated by your interaction with press and players.

For example, I rarely talk to the press, and when I talk to players it's always calm, so my avatar would be Sven-like on the touchline.

Not Steve McClaren with a nice brolly then ?

[santy001]

There needs to be the inclusion of a Tony Pulis style approach.

Put in a pathetic display and one of the players reacts badly postgame? Get in the showers and give him a naked headbutt.

No one has mouthed back at Tony Pulis since at Stoke. Players like Balotelli wouldn't last a week. Perhaps it shouldn't go that extreme but you can't have the total authoritarian approach on FM, at the same time you can never really be overwhelmed by player pressure. You get a little tidbit about losing the dressing room, but there is never any direct confrontation where a player won't accept what you tell/request of him. In modern football it is getting rarer but there are clubs where player power seems to be a prominent things, to the other side of the scale where a manager is nigh on untouchable.

It would be nice if there was some kind of disclaimer that provided a bit of immunity so we could have some of the more difficult to handle player issues brought back into the game.

[YKW]

This is an amazing thread and I've enjoyed all of the posts. For me, the User Character is one of the parts of the game most in need of an update. Most of the little nuances that I enjoy about my own character in the game are things that have been there (and that I have enjoyed) for over a decade. Such as becoming favoured personnel, having a player dedicate an award to me, and having my name on my fans lips (and other satisfying lines of text.)

For me a manager's success is very heavily dependent to the various relationships that that manager forms during his career. These are his relationships with:

• Chairman
  
• Staff
  
• Players
  
• Fans
  
• Media
  
• Other Managers
  
• The game of Football
  
• Everyone else
  

In FM, most of these are touched upon briefly through things like becoming a players favoured personnel, having a backroom exodus after you leave a club, or having your press conference answers misrepresented, but it really isn't enough to allow us to use these relationships for our benefit, or to fall to them through bad decisions. I have some suggestions for these bullet points, but it will probably take a few posts to get them all out.

Chairman

Why is it important? The relationship with the chairman has to rank as one of the most important because of his ability to fire you. A good relationship with the chairman coupled with bad performances should in theory allow you to keep your job (think Steve Kean) whereas a bad relationship with the chairman coupled with good results should in theory still allow you to get sacked (Mourinho at chelsea?)

How should it be implemented? When my relationship with the chairman is good I should have certain benefits such as greater job security, greater financial freedoms, increased ability to influence the overall direction of the club (new stadium capacity and name suggestions please) and, crucially, a stronger position in the club's 'hierarchy of power*,' meaning that other people at the club are more likely to do their jobs better (more on that later.) If I leave a club and still have a strong relationship with my old chairman then he may ask my opinion on a potential replacement for me, or ask me to let him know if i spot any players that may be useful for his club. If said chairman also has any good relationships with other chairmen in the game, then he may suggest me for jobs at those clubs.

With a bad relationship then the opposite should be true. Less job security, less financial freedoms, no "board request," and a weaker position in the clubs hierarchy, meaning there is a greater chance of people at the club not performing to their max, or defying you. Again, once I leave a club this relationship should remain, and perhaps this could prevent some chairmen (who are friends with my old chairman) from employing me.

How/when should it change? This would be one of the more stable and unchanging relationships, and would not be linked with "board confidence." Where board confidence is a measure of your achievement in comparison to set targets, the chairman relationship would essentially be a measure of how much "trust" the chairman has in what you do/say. (1)Fulfilling promises to him, (2)justifying yourself successfully, and (3)showing a high awareness of the world of football around you are examples of things that would increase his trust in you.

(1)Fulfilling promises: At the beginning of the season the chairman may say "The club is in a strong financial position, but it would be great if we could start generating some revenue from player sales this year." You would have a few options, such as agreeing, or declining and saying that you don't think it is possible, or declining saying it would take at least two seasons. If you agree and then generate the revenue your relationship with the chairman increases, fail and it decreases. If you decline because it isn't possible then your relationship would stay neutral, UNLESS during that season you do in fact generate the revenue the chairman asked for. He will see this as you not knowing what you are talking about, and your relationship will decrease.

These chairman requests could be anything from "rekindle the career of our icon striker" or "don't lose to a rival this season" and you would always have the choice of accepting or rejecting for various reasons. As said before, if you decline because you think your rivals are too strong, and then you don't lose to any of them, your chairman will think you are full of crap, and your relationship (or his trust in what you say) will decline.

(2)Justifying yourself: Simple. The chairman may bring your attention to something, such as declining results. You would have to explain why this had happened, with responses ranging from "I made some managerial errors" (big + if form improves, big - if form continues) to "The amount of injuries we have has hindered us" (+ if the injuries decline and form improves, - if the injuries go and the form continues.) Other things the chairman may say is "New signing x hasn't performed" or "Attendances are dropping" etc

(3) Showing your knowledge: Maybe your chairman wants to know who the best 5 players in the league are? Or the most dangerous strikers are? Or who you think will be relegated this season. You could say you don't know yet (relationship neutral) or you could say "X will be one of the top scores for sure" (relationship + if you are right, and - if you are wrong.

Staff

Why is it important? Assmans, coaches, scouts etc all do a job for the manager. Sometimes the coaches have complete control of training and have to be trusted to relay the managers message. An Assman may be in charge of the team for a match if I feel like going on holiday. The relationship between the manager and these staff will determine how they do their job, and with whose interests at heart.

How should it be implemented? With a good relationship my staff should retain a higher morale level. With a great relationship they should experience a determination bonus. Staff that have a good relationship with me should help my standing in the clubs hierarchy of power by always talking about me with respect. I should also be able to select groups of them and take them to new clubs with me. Unemployed scouts whom I have a good relationship with should still send me scout reports. Staff that like me who are employed elsewhere could let me know about players that may be looking to leave their club, or the job security of their current manager etc.

With a bad relationship my staff should become unhappy and suffer drops in their determination. They should be able to quit their job. They should have a growing interest in my failure the more they dislike me, and talk about me with disrespect in front of my players, harming my position in the clubs hierarchy of power. An Assistant that hates me should be trying to get my job.

How/when should it change? I would love suggestions on this because I'm not sure. I imagine it would be a gradual change and may be heavily influenced by success/morale during your tenure.

*I've been writing for an hour now and am not even half way through! I will come back to this but for now just let me quickly explain the hierarchy of power that I mentioned in this post. It would require a new screen in the game that would have a list of the personalities at your club and how "powerful" they all were.

So in theory: Chairman > Manager > Players (with the players being divided even further based on their own role within the friendship of the squad.) When the manager is above ALL of the players then the power structure is working.

Consider the post-Mourinho hierarchy of Roman Abramovitch > Terry, Cole, Lampard > Manager > Other players.

Disciplinary issues or "player power" start happening when players start to consider their positions more secure than that of the manager. This may be simply because of the manger's reputation in comparison to said players, but may also be a result of low job security, or fan pressure. If the high ranking players like you then you may be ok, but if they don't then you could be not long in the job.

To summarise, this first use of the hierarchy of power would be a measure of how much people were willing to work hard for the manager, and respect his instructions.

The second use would influence behaviour on the pitch, as the players respected the hierarchy among them. Some players, Berbatov being a great example, love being top of the hierarchy where they can do what they want, and if you, as manager, could recognise this and help Berbatov to the top of the hierarchy (by assuring him of his position, for example) then you could see much better performances from him. The hierarchy could also manifest itself through young players ALWAYS looking for the star even when its a bad idea, or through one player taking all free kicks and corners despite never getting any results (think VDV at Tottenham).

[Jordann]

I've read quite a lot of these and some sound like excellent additions!

Interviews

How would people feel about going through an interview when you apply for a job? They could ask questions such as plans for the club or why you should be chosen etc? Just an idea, not 100% how it would work.

[sfg]

I am so happy this thread exists, for me it's by far the biggest weakness in the game. A few ideas off the top of my head:

I'd like to see players, fans, media etc hark back to previous managers reigns if things aren't gong well for the new boss, protests demanding return etc. If you return to watch a match as international boss have the crowd acknowledge you for good or bad.

I think that your press conferences, match results should have a huge impact on how other clubs view you and affect your chances of managing there in the future (i.e Chelsea fan, Benitez).

I think that your actions should affect your future in other ways, so if you give young players a chance, more and better would like to sign for you over other managers. Likewise are you loyal to players, do you have a high turnover of players, are you regularly successful, would a potential new signing like to play for you, would they trust you with their career or not especially if they are desperate to win the Champions' league say - what is your record like?

Also if you are very successful over a long time, shouldn't more newgens across the game world have your club as a favourite, you as an favourite figure too maybe, or one of your great ex players perhaps, so that the game world moves in your favour the better you become.

And definitely, something more when you win, not just keep your head down for challenges ahead type message.

[Veg1ta]

human manager atrributes, can also gain fav personal and more fav clubs down the years.

[O'Leary's Trainee]

Stellar thread!

Lots of really good ideas that should be taken into serious consideration by the development team. The core of the game has always been a very solid one, and grounds for an always entertaining experience - but the one thing that's always been lacking is that extra gratification for your achievements, whether on the field or off the field.

I've always wanted more Management duties - player interactions (which has been improved, but could still offer more), interacting with the backroom staff and coaches.

I'd also like to see an initial meeting with the players upon being hired, much like the board and staff meetings. A meeting in which you'll be able to talk to the players and let them know how you intend to handle the running of the team and what you expect of them, whether you intend to bring in new blood (could cause unrest among players who fear they'll lose their place, or gain a positive reaction with players liking the prospect of more competition).

[O'Leary's Trainee]

One thing I've always had a pet peeve with in FM is how quickly I'm taken out of the match celebrations after winning a cup final, or a penalty shootout. You have just enough time to see the players start running around on the screen celebrating - players on the bench rushing onto the field to meet their team mates - and all of that is great to watch as I pump my fists in the air and celebrate with them.

Then, BOOM - quicker than Eddie Murphy can say Marlboro Man I'm back at the stats screen, and back to business as usual. Checking up on the stats, and preparing for the next match.

What I'd really like to see in future FM's is for the celebrations to remain on screen for some time to allow us to celebrate. It really shouldn't be a lot of work, since all the animations are already there. Players would just run around with their hands in the air, perhaps congregrate in front of the fans and take in the atmosphere - fans themselves jumping up and down (perhaps throwing confetti around for major Cup or securing the League Title). All while the losing team wander around the field with their heads in their hands, exit the stadium, or lie on the grass in tears.

A simple click of the mouse would take us out of the celebrations and into the stats screen, if we don't want to see it any more (or if we're on the losing side, and could well do without the celebrations).

These celebrations should be available for Cup Wins (Quarter Final and up), Penalty Shootout Wins - clinching the league title, or clinching promotion, promotion playoff wins and so forth. Any game with real cause for celebrations.

For me - this would enhance my gaming enjoyment immensely. It's not a lot, but as it is right now, I feel like I'm being robbed of the celebrations when I'm being taken to the stats screen so quickly.

[haunted1234]

2014, maybe

[Thunder88]

Totally agree with this but it's always been the same since these games have been around....everytime we won silverware we always had a small message from our board saying congratulations etc...then back to normal as if it wasn't that important.

I only play the game on 2d so seeing celebrations wouldn't help me out as much...but for us on 2d or even just commentary text why not have a news screen which shows a squad of players celebrating and lifting a trophy,surely this isn't difficult...

Seeing pictures or as the OP says also seeing celebrations would make us feel like we have actually won something and would make this game much more authentic.

It reminds me of the Fight Night boxing games...they used to just show a picture of a belt when you won it and say congratulations etc....people including myself asked for them to make it much more realistic,they now show your fighter actually lifting the belt in the ring and that feels much more realistic as it feels and looks like you have won something..

Surely SI can do something similar with FM.

[RobertPage]

Definitely needs to be done and the messages from the board need to be sorted out too. Maybe there could just be a few clips stuck together at the end of the cup final which simply by clicking the mouse you can skip that clip. Just have maybe 1 clip showing the players running onto the pitch and celebrating with the losing team with their head in their hands and laying on the ground. Another clip of the players maybe doing a dance around the center circle or holding hands and running and sliding. Then another one of them lifting the trophy on the pitch (i can only assume it would be easier then doing it in the crowd) and then a final clip of the players walking around the pitch applauding their fans with a medal around their neck. You could be looking at 30-60 seconds for those clips but i'm sure a lot of people would enjoy to see something like that over what is currently there and if they don't want to see it then just a few quick clicks of the mouse to skip the clips and then back to business as usual

[PSNBlade]

Sorry, but celebrations must be kept to a minimum so the club can focus on future challenges.

Couldn't resist.

I would love to have new animations for celebrations but at the current state the ME is in this should be in the bottom of their "to do" list.

[taylorsmen]

Totally agree with the OP, would love to see some sort of on the pitch celebrations after winning the league or a cup title, would really add some atmosphere to such a triumph.

This idea gets my vote 100%

[Astrix]

Amen to OP.

Or the one i hate the most

"We always expected ________ to win this competition and are happy our manager did not let us down"

[tenthreeleader]

I agree with this to be honest. I know we have a wishlist, but what in particular would you like to be displayed and how to improve this?

All valid points - but again how would you like to see it displayed? More specific news items etc? More questions? Ideas here would be welcome. Thanks.

Neil, American media is often fond of creating a "coaching tree" for NFL coaches. That is to say, if an assistant coach for a head coach goes on to become a head coach, he's part of the 'tree', which is like a family tree in appearance.

I see no reason why SI couldn't do that for this game. If a player of yours goes on to win something - for any club - he could go on your 'tree'. If a former player becomes a manager and wins something, he also goes on your 'tree'.

It is an 'at a glance' way to see how well you develop players and even future managers.

To see what it looks like, mash this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaching_tree

[Jordann]

Something I agree with, there should be more animation, but nothing too difficult to add to the game. Just something nice and simple! Think it was LMA you'd see the players run on the pitch or a newspaper articles!

[Thunder88]

Something I agree with, there should be more animation, but nothing too difficult to add to the game. Just something nice and simple! Think it was LMA you'd see the players run on the pitch or a newspaper articles!

Yeah LMA was brilliant for this,i also remember it showed your squad training which was a nice touch...simple ideas but very effective too.

[Jordann]

Yeah LMA was brilliant for this,i also remember it showed your squad training which was a nice touch...simple ideas but very effective too.

Yeah I remember that as well! I actually loved LMA and Total Club manager lol!

[Bobble2002]

i hate how you win trophies and its " Oh OK prepare for the next match " And there is no trophy presentation or anything when you get the trophy

Also you have no stats for coaching or anything . They should start off fairly low and improve like players stats do so the better you get at the job the more chance of players taking on board what you want them to do over a shorter time

[crocop]

Hello guys, I am so glad I have found this thread so here is my little contribution:

manager experience transfer

probably the most important thing for me is the option to somehow transfer my achievments from one FM to another (for example FM2013 to FM 2014). I prefer playing long career games, played only one save on FM12 for the whole year, s it's a pitty that now I don't have anything and start from scratch in FM13... it would be very nice if we were able to transfer our profiles and som data (such as reputation, favored personnel and clubs, hall of fame points, win percentage, ...) to another FM edition.

This way, the game will appreciate the players who buy and play this game year after year, and like in real life they would be given more credit for what they have done through years of experience...

thanks again for this nice thread, hope some of these nice suggestions would eventually be implemented in FM14!

cheers

[pearcey_90]

Just to point out, you can type what you want to say and foul language is detected. After playing my mate in a network game and losing thanks to Bale having a great game against me, I typed in the press conference 'Chimp *curse word*' as a joke. Then afterwards, this popped up on both our news feeds. Both laughed, as it detected the foul language and chose the only question I typed in *removed foul language from image*

Still makes me smile that Victory Destroyed at home on the opening day of the season!

[macca72]

A few ideas from me...

1. Program Notes - Most managers do these, so long as the preset options are varied enough this would be a much better way of interacting with the fans. Maybe a monthly or bi-monthly feature

2. Fan Q&A sessions - A twist on press conferences, but maybe only one or two a season to field questions from the fans.

3. Board confidence meetings - Maybe a way to get rid of the "board confidence updates" which as they stand contain at least one, usually ridiculous concern about a player you have let go. Again maybe one or two a season.

4. Manager profile - A full set of screens, much like a player, which shows tactical preferences, relationships with Fans, Media, Managers, Trophy cabinet, snippets in the press from various people etc.

5. Media Interaction - Would need to develop over time, but more emphasis & hype placed on grudge clashes (Wenger / ferguson, Guardiola / Mourinho etc). Also, would be good to get asked about players/transfers & what other managers have said about you.

I think the addition of more interaction would have to be balanced with less press conferences etc, but these set as preferences (for me personally would be great, something like below)

Results & Fixtures - Monthly

Press Interaction - Monthly

Program Notes - Monthly

Board Confidence - Twice per season

Fans Forum - Twice per season

[Donovan10]

Its a joke tbh. Basic stuff they just haven't improved upon. Winning stuff has been an utterly underwhelming experience for as long as I can remember, yet they won't budge and just introduce cool new aspects, instead we get this spiel about 3d match engine...so annoying.

They need to improve the AI in so much respects, but at least one thing give us managers that feel different. When I'm managing against Mourinho for example in a CL semi final, the build up should be a lot different to a random league game.

[Super Bladesman]

Wow, thank you for replying.

I guess it would be more an expansion on the profile screen where it shows the managers attributes.

Reputation.

The manager Luis Giordano -my manager name- was a name that legends would regard as a true professional, the likes of Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson -these names would change depending on hall of fame manager points- see him as their equal. Giordano's personality is that of friendliness and complete respect for his opposite number, even in defeat he is graceful, even rivals such as Sporting Gijon -My rivals as I'm Real Oviedo- have the upmost respect for the Italian manager.

Financial Control

The wheeling and dealing at the beginning of Giordanos 15 year Los Carbayones adventure -Real Oviedos nickname really structured the teams debt, unfortunately due to financial restriction at the once struggling club many big names and fan favourites had to be sold, however Luis Giordano brought in new and young talent who eventually lit up the world of many of the fans of Real Oviedo.

Having got into the BBVA Oviedo could start spending big, Giordano knew this but still stuck with buying cheap talent, something rare in this modern day football we have now. After retirement Giordano left the club in unbelievable financial state and the Luis Giordano stadium is were the faithful Oviedo fans still stand and cheer in disbelief at what they have become today.

Media handling

Media handling was mostly met by his assissant manager, however any signing that was made, Giordano was at the forefront singing praises for his new captute, something his players loved.

Squad discipline

Despite the praise Giordano received from his peers, he was also recognised as a fair but unforgivable manager. Players who where sent off or missed training would be warned once, they would then be fined and if complained, would likely not stay at the club.

Tactical consistency

Giordano since day one of his Oviedo adventure played 4-2-3-1, the tactics of control and fluid football really suited the players he bought.

Loyalty to players.

Giordano was also loyal to his players, many of his signings stayed until the end of their careers, baring Augustin Barcélo -newgen who was complainingt for a new contract when i could not afford it- whose outbreak out a new contract was the reason he left. Many players have Giordano as a favoured personal of many stars of the game, most notibaly Xavi and Steven Gerrard.

Hands on approach

Luis Giordano was with the player through rain or shine, they would always see him at training every day to greet them, he never took holidays outside of the pre season.

Domestic player bias

Giordano was not very domestically bias to his home country nor was he to Spain. His team consisted for many a year of italians, Spanish, Argentinians, South Africans, English, French, Paraguay, Turkey and Holland. Despite the many nationalities, there was also a huge feeling of proudness and togetherness under Luis Giordano.

There are so many possibilities Si. Obviously a lot of these would change depending on the character you were during your game.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/335048-This-HAS-to-be-changed-SI.-(Cup-victories-as-lesser-teams)?p=8350775#post8350775

This is another thing which lacks...passion.

This. This is a pretty spot-on post. There are plenty of people who complain about repetition in media items and press conferences but how many actually come up with anything themselves? I'm not known for being shy when it comes to customising FM via the editor etc., and a few years ago I decided to sit down and come up with a range of new press conference questions. I didn't get anywhere - it's bloody hard. It should be in the forum rules that anyone saying they want less repetition should have to come up with a good question and five unique responses before they're allowed to submit another post.

[x42bn6]

Many of these ideas have been in (previous years') wishlists thread in the past, and other discrete threads every now and then, in terms of personality improvements. This thread really just consolidates many of them. If anyone finds the threads, maybe they can be linked in the OP?

In general, it could be extended to not just the manager himself, but other managers, other staff and other players. Your best player who later becomes your loyal assistant until either of you retires would have just as colourful a footballing history, or your never-suffering assistant who helps you out time and time again, and takes press conferences for you; so the focus isn't on managers as such, but everyone in-game. Of course, a manager, especially one who was a former player with hundreds of games under his belt, would have a lot more interesting history about him than an 18-year-old whippersnapper whose CV is "lit a firework in someone's house".

It doesn't even have to be restricted to human entities, but things like clubs and stadia would have history too. A club that turns out huge, mindless, brawlers would have a lot of history, as would La Masia. Stadia too would have history, such as "The Brittania Stadium hosted the 2041 Champions League Final as fans watched Nottingham Forest thrash Barcelona 9-5 in a magical display of attacking football, finally proving that Lionel Messi, albeit as a manager, could not deliver on a cold night in Stoke."

Of course, like many things, it should never feel like a burden and many features should be able to be turned off with no gameplay impact if they turn the game into mindless clicking. Many of the things here are "reporting" issues which would be obviously-optional "by default".

[kingjericho]

I think the attributes should be restored like they were in CM4 iirc. Having attributes like every other manager is good if not just for comparing. Also, a personality could be built based on press conferences, player/board conversations, playing style. Basically the three sentences that exist today (avoids journalists, talks to players, etc) could be further explored to give personality to the manager and have the media and other managers like or dislike you based on that.