Football Manager 2014 - Update 14.2.2 - Feedback Thread

[Äktsjon Männ]

For a bit of positive feedback, I do not mind seeing goals like these at all

[video=youtube;2EQsdR2xC44]

Shame about the fact that it was against my team. I should probably have a whinge about the guy and his first touch attribute of 10

[mhaffy]

Generally enjoying new patch and just started a new, hopefully long lasting, career game.

Still in pre-season and wondered whether anyone else noticing high scoring penalty shoot outs since 14.2 update. My U18's just lost 14-13 in penalty shootout just after my U21's had lost 23-22.

Just "one of those things" or bug of some sort?

[MichaelBrown]

That goal is superb. What's the guys stats like who took the ball down?

[Tony Fallows]

Mhaffy, it's a bug we're aware of. It'd be good if you had the time to upload PKMs from those matches

[Ryknow]

Just had Craig Gardner score a freekick from near the half way line. A cruel bounce fooled the keeper.

Freekicks are definitely better, but I'll echo everyone's concerns about corners and goalkeeper distribution. They both are pretty terrible.

Also, side note: Can you ever praise a fullback for anything other than defending or passing. My fullback got forward heaps in the last game and scored a goal and I was only able to praise his passing or defending. He accepted the passing praise but I've seen them shrug off the defending praise if they didn't do much defending in the game. Wouldn't mind a 'creation' and 'threat in front of goal' praise option for all defenders, if possible.

[HUNT3R]

Freekicks are definitely better, but I'll echo everyone's concerns about corners and goalkeeper distribution. They both are pretty terrible.

Are you asking the keeper to distribute to a specific defender? Because that is bugged. Best to set "Distribute to defenders" rather than a specific player.

[Äktsjon Männ]

That goal is superb. What's the guys stats like who took the ball down?

Not great, but decent enough so you could accept it as a superb once in a lifetime hit. I mean Ashley freaking Young nearly broke the goal net two days ago so I suppose anything's possible

[Muzolini8]

What is it with the finishing in this game? I've played at least 20 games since the update and my strikers miss so many 1-on-1s and clear cut chances. It's unreal. I have Morata (Finishing 17, composure 14) and Podolski (finishing 19 and composure 16) and they just can't seem to score. FFS.

[HUNT3R]

Not great, but decent enough so you could accept it as a superb once in a lifetime hit. I mean Ashley freaking Young nearly broke the goal net two days ago so I suppose anything's possible

9 for technique? He'll never score another goal like that. Ever.

[Äktsjon Männ]

9 for technique? He'll never score another goal like that. Ever.

Ashley Young? You're damn right he won't.

[Auqakuh]

-Fitness level is now worse than ever and dont come up with "look at your player's natural fitness".My players are pressing but that doesnt mean i need to rest(not rotate but rest) them every 4-5 games.SI is simply telling me to not press or buy 22 world-class players and rotate.

-Way too many injuries after new patch.I think this is because of the "new magical fitness level setting"

-Too many long shots which ruins my possesion tactic,although i am working ball into box.

1. Wrong, yes you do need to rest them, and this is entirely realistic and in keeping with real-world football. In fact, ideally, your entire starting lineup should get a rest of a day after each fixture. Not your entire squad, of course; just choose the fitness view and sort by the one that says "tired after his last match". Select everyone it says that on, give them a day's rest (even if you only have one day's training before the next fixture, it's well worth it to keep fitness levels up, and I've never seen attributes atrophy or rise slower as a result because all the match experience offsets any loss anyway).

2. Tweak your training intensity, perhaps. Maybe your players will struggle less if you make the individual training focus "heavy" and the general focus "low" - works for me, I rarely have more than one or two players out injured, and it's usually only short-term injuries (including on this patch).

3. Too many long shots means that your tactics are not enabling players to find space in the final third. If there's no final pass on and you're not set to "retain possession" or "much lower tempo" or some combination of shorter passing and other tactical instructions that encourage ball retention, then if there is no option available but a backwards pass in the final third, any player with low Teamwork will go for glory and have a pop at goal (and indeed, this will happen with players with very low Teamwork anyway, because they think of themselves first and not the team or your instructions... which is fine if it's Leo Messi and less useful if it's Ashley Young). This is because that's what you're effectively telling them to do - they cannot work the ball into the box if there is no way to do so. You probably need to look at your player roles and fix the balance between attack/support duties in midfield and attack, or, if you're playing a fluid/very fluid system, perhaps take it down to balanced/fluid, depending on player roles. Go look at the tactics forum for more info.

[Auqakuh]

What is it with the finishing in this game? I've played at least 20 games since the update and my strikers miss so many 1-on-1s and clear cut chances. It's unreal. I have Morata (Finishing 17, composure 14) and Podolski (finishing 19 and composure 16) and they just can't seem to score. FFS.

Which side were they on - left or right? What was the goalkeeper's positioning? Were they having to hit the ball on the outside of their strong foot to ensure they could beat the goalie? Did they compromise and go for power instead of placement because they were at a wider angle than is ideal? Were they running through at pace? Was the goalkeeper closing down quickly? What's their Technique? Their Concentration? Were they outside the box, where Long Shots also comes into play? Are they missing chances regularly, thus lack confidence in front of goal? they under defensive pressure?

It's a bit more complicated, even in FM, than just saying "I have a striker who is ideally composed in front of goal and knows how to score and he doesn't score chances". I mean, Fernando Torres is a fantastic finisher with equally fantastic technique, but...

[milnerpoint]

For a bit of positive feedback, I do not mind seeing goals like these at all

[video=youtube;2EQsdR2xC44]

Shame about the fact that it was against my team. I should probably have a whinge about the guy and his first touch attribute of 10

Thats a hit! Get him on a new contract

[Auqakuh]

I have to ask, did you watch the video?

The player hit that ball first time, with his laces and on the half-volley. Do you know how difficult that is, for any player?

A half-volley isn't difficult at all. Actually, I always found it easier to hit shots on the half-volley, with a ton of power, because you can just lean a little off to one side and cut across the ball hard, putting more spin on it - that helps to keep it under control and it's a much easier technique to master than getting your body over the ball, getting your toe down and your knee forward, and lacing it when it's flat on the deck and rolling.

Indeed, the only thing you have to do on a half-volley once you've got the body posture for hitting it right is to aim where you want the ball to go and hit it. You don't even have to hit it as hard to get distance, because the ball is in the air already.

Now, if he hits it on the volley, I'll agree that that's a shot that takes a great deal of technique, because it requires exquisite timing to catch the ball before it bounces - but once it's bounced, the difficulty level drops massively, simply because you've had more time to track the exact movement of the ball and you know better where it's going to be when your boot smacks it one. Much more importantly, when it's bouncing up, it's moving slow and losing speed, whereas when it's falling, it's dropping quickly and, although the velocity is steady, it always "feels", instinctively, like it should be getting "quicker" (which is what often leads to volleys being mistimed - that sense we all have that falling objects accelerate perpetually until they hit the ground, which obviously isn't true).

To put it in game terms, though: when a player shoots and the goalie is there, he needs more Concentration and Composure to be able to pull off the shot, because those attributes are going to affect how "much" of his Finishing attribute he gets to apply to the specific action. But here, Finishing doesn't even come into play - there is no goalkeeper to beat, there's no "mental difficulty" to the shot, and he can just hit it dead centre of the goal. That's a pretty wide area to miss, so the required Technique for the shot in terms of aim is very low.

On top of that, the Technique required for hitting it first time is also quite low because it's not a pure volley and he's not in the hussle and bustle around the edge of the area with bodies flying at him to try to block the shot.

Tl;dr, it's a really easy shot and my grandma would take the chance if she didn't have ulcers on her legs.

[Äktsjon Männ]

Thats a hit! Get him on a new contract

I would, but he's playing for another team I'm managing Telford not Lincoln. The bugger had the nerve to score that against me.

[gipsy]

This is something we've never been able to reproduce internally, and have had a very small number of people report. Are you playing with a custom skin?

no i'm not, I do not add anything to my game: no skin, badges, pics etc.... funny it was working when the game was unpatched but immediately stopped working after first patch. Is there anything I can provide you with that might help?

[jayscfc]

Can you please post this in the UI bugs forum (http://community.sigames.com/forumdisplay.php/368-User-Interface)? If I understood you correctly, I can't get this to happen. So I'm assuming I've misunderstood what your problem is. Additionally, we'd also appreciate if you share all the other GUI bugs you're seeing so we can review them too.

I'm busy getting some last minute pre-Christmas work done and then away for the weekend so I'll do my best to remember to get some screenshots on Sunday evening. It's a really strange once because I've never experienced it before on any FM game I've played.

I'm playing Windowed, not Full Screen, if that helps right now.

[keithfc]

look at the amount of tackle attempt.. Actually do SI know this issue? I need to face this every game, no matter 14.20, 14.14, or fm13. I do not tell my team run at defense.

I watch full game, but not any highlight. I just see lots of slide tackle by opposite team every game. My players are just knocked down again and again. They need to go pitch outside for recovery again and again.

Most of their tackle come from tight marking. When my player receive the pass, they just slide tackle to win the ball back easily no matter who the ball receiver is. I just see Ozil, with 20 first touch lose the ball again and again lots of game by opposite tight marking and slide tackle.

I just check some statistics from Ozil. He is 45 times foul against within 15 games.........

[roykela]

A half-volley isn't difficult at all. Actually, I always found it easier to hit shots on the half-volley, with a ton of power, because you can just lean a little off to one side and cut across the ball hard, putting more spin on it - that helps to keep it under control and it's a much easier technique to master than getting your body over the ball, getting your toe down and your knee forward, and lacing it when it's flat on the deck and rolling.

Indeed, the only thing you have to do on a half-volley once you've got the body posture for hitting it right is to aim where you want the ball to go and hit it. You don't even have to hit it as hard to get distance, because the ball is in the air already.

Now, if he hits it on the volley, I'll agree that that's a shot that takes a great deal of technique, because it requires exquisite timing to catch the ball before it bounces - but once it's bounced, the difficulty level drops massively, simply because you've had more time to track the exact movement of the ball and you know better where it's going to be when your boot smacks it one.

I have to say i'm of the opposite opinion.

I, as a player, find a half-volley trickier than a volley.

Purely because if it's a half-volley the pitch-condition at that particular place can have an impact as well, depending on the spin of the ball.

Whereas on a volley all you have to do is have the technique, the agility, the patience and a decent amount of calculating where the ball will drop.

And if you have the agility you can almost have your body in any posture and it'll go towards the goal.

A half-volley on a dry pitch can be extremely different from a half-volley on a wet pitch. The same applies for the boot.

There's a lot more to consider when taking it on a half-volley.

That's my experience though. As i have scored more goals on a volley than i have on a half-volley.

[milnerpoint]

I would, but he's playing for another team I'm managing Telford not Lincoln. The bugger had the nerve to score that against me.

Haha damn me and only reading parts of posts!!

[Äktsjon Männ]

I have to say i'm of the opposite opinion.

I, as a player, find a half-volley trickier than a volley.

Purely because if it's a half-volley the pitch-condition at that particular place can have an impact as well, depending on the spin of the ball.

Whereas on a volley all you have to do is have the technique, the agility, the patience and a decent amount of calculating where the ball will drop.

And if you have the agility you can almost have your body in any posture and it'll go towards the goal.

A half-volley on a dry pitch can be extremely different from a volley on a wet pitch. The same applies for the boot.

There's a lot more to consider when taking it on a half-volley.

That's my experience though. As i have scored more goals on a volley than i have on a half-volley.

Especially as the example is a ball hit 40 yards with pace. You're not going to predict that bounce. Well maybe Aquakuh's grandma would, but most actual football players wouldn't.

[Auqakuh]

Anyway, can finally offer some solid feedback myself on the match engine:

It's great. Really, really great. There are some fantastic improvements, honestly; really great ones, in truth, because all the changes I've "had" to make to my tactic this time around are all the things I stuck on it against my own wishes in order to paper over cracks caused by bugs. In essence my player instructions are now much fewer and my system is much leaner and able to be more creative and attacking as a result. My results have been completely consistent with what they were before the patch. Although for some reason Phil Jones has suddenly gone from being a world class centre-back to an inept, brainless lump - but I think this is because I have two future world class Spanish centre-backs challenging for his place and the poor dear is frightened (...).

On the downside, however, I do think there's an issue with goalkeepers, primarily on shots that are very close to them and require great reflexes to stop. Goalies with weak handling and high reflexes in particular seem to suffer from a syndrome I'll call TFOG (terrified flap own-goaling). Fortunately my goalkeeper does not suffer from this, but I see it with opposing ones on occasion, where there's a powerful shot and they TFOG it into their own net and I don't really think they should be - it's more likely they'd beat the ball out into a dangerous area in their own box as a result of not being quite good enough to stop the shot in a composed, good-technique fashion. However, this could be a flaw in the animation rather than the actual underlying engine - although it does sometimes look like goalkeepers are just lying down to die instead of saving a shot.

[Auqakuh]

I have to say i'm of the opposite opinion.

I, as a player, find a half-volley trickier than a volley.

Purely because if it's a half-volley the pitch-condition at that particular place can have an impact as well, depending on the spin of the ball.

Whereas on a volley all you have to do is have the technique, the agility, the patience and a decent amount of calculating where the ball will drop.

And if you have the agility you can almost have your body in any posture and it'll go towards the goal.

A half-volley on a dry pitch can be extremely different from a volley on a wet pitch. The same applies for the boot.

There's a lot more to consider when taking it on a half-volley.

That's my experience though. As i have scored more goals on a volley than i have on a half-volley.

Sure, there's going to be variation, person-to-person, on what "feels" easier.

But I think in purely objective terms, almost anyone in the game would tell you that a volley is substantially more technical than a half-volley - you'll see far more top-notch looking strikes on the half-volley than the volley.

Yeboah's half-volley off the underside of the bar years ago is a great example of how a half-volley can make it easier to get a controlled but powerful shot... whereas a clutch of Zlatan's volleys are great demonstrators of just how much technique is required (in terms of body shape, positioning, agility, and knowledge of ball trajectory...) to hit it well on the volley. Particularly because a volley is almost always hit "closer" to your body than a half-volley.

[Cha Cha Cha]

Why is the "negotiable" button no more selectable?:confused:

[fruitavelli]

I'm gonna admit, I was wrong in my post earlier. I said it was better... It isn't, if anything it is worse. And before anyone blames tactics, tactics don't make players misplace most passes, make first touches terrible, make defenders have 3-4 serious mistakes per match, make goalkeepers give the ball to strikers, make players just wait about for the ball to come to them, make players ignore the ball, or make them just walk forwards with the ball until they're tackled. I've posted PKMs with these problems (particularly the walking until being tackled thing) for previous versions and they seem to have gotten worse with this one. Of the last 10 goals I've conceded (I'd conceded only once in the previous 12 to the update) 8 of them have come from serious defensive errors, and it is making the game unplayable. I'm sick of spending so much money every year to just be disappointed and frustrated time and again.

[roykela]

Sure, there's going to be variation, person-to-person, on what "feels" easier.

But I think in purely objective terms, almost anyone in the game would tell you that a volley is substantially more technical than a half-volley - you'll see far more top-notch looking strikes on the half-volley than the volley.

Yeboah's half-volley off the underside of the bar years ago is a great example of how a half-volley can make it easier to get a controlled but powerful shot... whereas a clutch of Zlatan's volleys are great demonstrators of just how much technique is required (in terms of body shape, positioning, agility, and knowledge of ball trajectory...) to hit it well on the volley. Particularly because a volley is almost always hit "closer" to your body than a half-volley.

Oh, absolutely.

It varies from player to player. That's why there isn't really anything that is objectively harder or easier than the other.

That comes down to a player's preferences and ability.

A half-volley's trajectory will, most of the time, have a long, vertical, diagonal trajectory. Unless the player slices it, of course. Enter roykela

A volley can be a dipper, a straight one, a slow rising one, a ballooner etc.

Not saying you're wrong, because you're not. But it's not entirely correct either. As it varies, as mentioned, from player to player.

[roykela]

Does anyone else experience a high amount of knocks on players just kicking, or heading, the ball?

Mine fall like flies after a throw-in, pass, shot, header.

Having other players come diving in two-footed is alright though. They can take that.

And it's just not my players. Players for all the teams i'm facing do the same.

[Äktsjon Männ]

Does anyone else experience a high amount of knocks on players just kicking, or heading, the ball?

Mine fall like flies after a throw-in, pass, shot, header.

Having other players come diving in two-footed is alright though. They can take that.

And it's just not my players. Players for all the teams i'm facing do the same.

Yeah. And the injuries are all random. I would sure like to know how someone can suffer bruised ribs from simply attempting a pass.

[chinch]

the idea that 'real tactics' are immune to ME changes and only 'bug exploiting' tactics will get found out by a changing in the ME is a nonsense. FM is one reality...which bits are and are not similar to real life are not separate entities...

[Guest]

Have you watched some real footie recently, many top players in the top teams are still misplacing passes/getting caught on the ball/blasting over the bar/missing sitters/ etc

Not to the degree that players in FM are. Look at someone like Iniesta - how often does the ball bounce off his foot with a poor first touch in real life? Maybe once, twice a season? Get your tactics wrong in FM and it'll be loads more than that.

[Ben Kenney]

Why is the "negotiable" button no more selectable?:confused:

It's an issue we are aware of and we are looking into the problem.

Cheers,

Ben

[roykela]

Yeah. And the injuries are all random. I would sure like to know how someone can suffer bruised ribs from simply attempting a pass.

Must be a lot of intensity in those passes

But yeah, the injuries doesn't seem like they have anything to do with what actually happens.

A hamstring injury from a pass, sure. But not a bruised head after performing a 5-yard pass, with his feet, ball on the ground, with no players from the opposition around.

For clarification; that particular example was taken from thin air.

[Sikker]

Oppostion get a corner.

Goal.

Opposition get a corner.

Goal.

That is all.

The games I've played so far with the new patch has had something like 200 corners (10-15 corners a game - a bit too much compared to real life I think). But not once have either my team or the opposition scored from a corner... So in my experience corners are a total waste...

[kilik]

the in match league table is always blank

[HUNT3R]

the in match league table is always blank

Care to expand?

[Pete S]

Here we go again. Another patch, another lottery. Morale plummeted for no reason at start and gone from being unbeaten, top of the league to poor results in every game. Also had 9 injuries in first week after installing new patch. Yes, I know there are reasons for this and I need to tweak my tactics etc but that is not the point. We buy a game that is not fit for sale, followed by regular updates that make the game look like its got schizophrenia. Every time there is a new patch, many of us have to rethink how to play. This goes against the very core of the FM/SI ethos i.e. to provide us with a satisfying long-term, immersive experience. We then come on here and debate what each of us is doing right or wrong on specific details of the game. What we should really be focusing on is why we let SI get away with this year after year. In my opinion, they should issue a product that is fit-for-purpose on launch and only make minor amendments that are unlikely to have a significant impact on long-term saves.

[kilik]

Care to expand?

when in a match the league table under overview is always blank for me since the patch

[PolandSKY]

We demand the release fix!!

[roykela]

when in a match the league table under overview is always blank for me since the patch

Custom skin? If so, then that's most likely the problem, as it happened to me too.

Works with the the official provided skins.

[Äktsjon Männ]

We demand the release fix!!

Who do you mean by 'we' and what on earth is a release fix?

[kilik]

Custom skin? If so, then that's most likely the problem, as it happened to me too.

Works with the the official provided skins.

nope the official dark skin

[roykela]

nope the official dark skin

Then i'm stumped. Sorry

[Arnoldzhu]

For a bit of positive feedback, I do not mind seeing goals like these at all

[video=youtube;2EQsdR2xC44]

Shame about the fact that it was against my team. I should probably have a whinge about the guy and his first touch attribute of 10

However I respectfully find that goal unrealistic.

[Äktsjon Männ]

However I respectfully find that goal unrealistic.

What about it?

[HUNT3R]

However I respectfully find that goal unrealistic.

If that kind of goal happens often (especially at that level), then it is. For a once off goal, imo, it's fine.

[milnerpoint]

Cant say ive come across many strikes as good as that in my 6 or so seasons now.

[Hit the upright]

Can't work out the issue with tactics, if anything mine have got better because players are now moving and passing the ball as I want them to. GKs acting a bit flaky is now my only real issue, wing play while much better could still be tweaked further, there is still a tendence to move the ball inside when wide would be better.

[Jacko007]

Way too many injuries for me - averaging 2.5 a game! Currently have 6 first team players out

[andymanlfc]

Not sure if this is a bug or not? But i'm not happy! My player was one on one, got to area, about to shoot and the ref blows for full time?!

[bieritarier]

Have you watched some real footie recently, many top players in the top teams are still misplacing passes/getting caught on the ball/blasting over the bar/missing sitters/ etc

Not to the degree that players in FM are. Look at someone like Iniesta - how often does the ball bounce off his foot with a poor first touch in real life? Maybe once, twice a season? Get your tactics wrong in FM and it'll be loads more than that.

The problem is not great players misplacing passes on occasion. I'm getting around 85% pass completion for my team most of the time, though not against the better team where it drops into the mid seventies occasionally. I'm ok with that,. especially since every clearance counts as a pass.

What kills me is that a relegation battler, when using a ball retention setup, can achieve 80+ % against my team. Doesn't matter if I tight mark them, hassle them, hard tackle them etc. They just ping the ball around. Same when these guys fall behind. They will just pass it around.

Part of the problem is bad positioning of midfielders. That's got a bit better with the patch. The much bigger issue to me is that there doesn't seem to be any sort of penalty on these teams for a) making passes under pressure. b) playing the actual pass and c) controlling the pass. I can see my own team (Thiago, Kroos, Schweinsteiger in the middle for the most part) not being any better or worse in their passing/first touch than Eintracht Braunschweig, Molde FK or whoever. I also get the feeling that the ME heavily favors teams plaing at a slow pace. Yes, that should improve your passing rating. Problem is, even when they are under pressure, and therefore have to move the ball quickly, the game doesn't seem to take that into account enough.

It sometimes just feels like you're winning most matches with big teams because the AI team doesn't really try to get a result/is content with a draw. That may be perception though.