[FM19] Manchester United

[Chapman7]

On 10/04/2019 at 19:40, Smaldini said:

 

 

How Fekir done for you in CM? Never seen him played in CM if doing well what role you got him playing in CM?

[phugalu]

I was wondering if ppl get rid of the crazy amount of scouts at Man Utd to get a few but a lot better scouts instead or do you keep them all for the knowledge?

[BigV]

1 hour ago, phugalu said:

I was wondering if ppl get rid of the crazy amount of scouts at Man Utd to get a few but a lot better scouts instead or do you keep them all for the knowledge?

I've kept them because the scouting system is slow and less players within the time/game frame you put in, having lesser scouts in my opinion will hinder your success in finding players that could be vital for the future and of now if you dont research it irl. 

[Chapman7]

1 hour ago, BigV said:

I've kept them because the scouting system is slow and less players within the time/game frame you put in, having lesser scouts in my opinion will hinder your success in finding players that could be vital for the future and of now if you dont research it irl. 

Would depend on the knowledge of the scouts combined I would have thought of what you would manage to find during the course of a game

[zlatanera]

3 hours ago, phugalu said:

I was wondering if ppl get rid of the crazy amount of scouts at Man Utd to get a few but a lot better scouts instead or do you keep them all for the knowledge?

I dump a lot of them - my criteria for remaining are either a) they were at the club before 2013 b) they’re really good. But it helps that I usually go into a United save with an incredibly clear plan in place due to knowledge of the club and players who could improve the squad, so I can be clinical in targeting and then buying players early on

[warlock]

5 hours ago, phugalu said:

I was wondering if ppl get rid of the crazy amount of scouts at Man Utd

Yes, I have, if only to keep the board happy. Many of them are just poor - anyone with less than 16 for JCA gets terminated; anyone with less than 14 for JCA *and* 18 for JPA gets terminated. It's not as if you can't find decent players with an 18-strong scouting team.

[warlock]

Advice needed. I'm playing a variant of a 442, so want four strikers for rotation. I'm happy with Lukaku and Rashford and I'm also happy to play Sanchez in rotation - prefer Martial as an IFL. Just won the PL but I need to bring in another striker - who do you recommend? Of the usual suspects, my scouts hate all of them... Jovic, Joveljic, Dolberg, Cutrone, Icardi. Arp is no longer available. I've been playing Greenwood and he's been OK but I think he's about a year away from being a starter.So who has worked for you up front?

[zlatanera]

@warlock Moussa Dembele has the same traits as Rashford, and a similar style (Icardi also has similar traits but is less of a dribbler). Has been doing well for me with Lyon as CF-Su but I imagine would be even better on At duty. Paco Alcacer is a solid rotational option as AF / Poacher / PF too, performed well for my Dortmund side. Cutrone is solid too in spite of what your scout say. If you want a more complete player, involved in the buildup, Dolberg is still good too. Or Lincoln, young guy in Brazil is even better

[warlock]

@zlatanera Cheers, mate. I'll go back over the list. Scouts, eh? 

[BigV]

15 hours ago, Chapman7 said:

Would depend on the knowledge of the scouts combined I would have thought of what you would manage to find during the course of a game

Should've been alot more specific, staff that have less than 15 in both departments go but if they are scouts to another country that isn't fulfilled by others then I keep and replace after. Keeping a large one IMO has benefits of finding a lot more since the scouting changes from report cards to fully pledging a week/match. 

[BigV]

12 hours ago, warlock said:

Advice needed. I'm playing a variant of a 442, so want four strikers for rotation. I'm happy with Lukaku and Rashford and I'm also happy to play Sanchez in rotation - prefer Martial as an IFL. Just won the PL but I need to bring in another striker - who do you recommend? Of the usual suspects, my scouts hate all of them... Jovic, Joveljic, Dolberg, Cutrone, Icardi. Arp is no longer available. I've been playing Greenwood and he's been OK but I think he's about a year away from being a starter.So who has worked for you up front?

There's quite a few so ill name some cause I dunno what type of striker you're looking for.

Rodrigo, patrick shick, lautoro martinez, adalberto peneranda, pedro (plays at fluminese complete forward type)- These players are first team like, their attributes are great for overall play as advance forwards or complete forwards. Lautoro martinez i've known for a very long time and could become a beast within a year scoring at least 20 goals a season.

Odsonne edouard, musa barrow, patrick cutrone, tammy abraham, Arthur (plays for SEP, brazillian), abel ruiz, pietro pellegri (MASSIVE WONDERKID), brenner - These are all wonderkids I think you should consider pietro has attributes like mbappe had at monaco, he's that good and he's only 18 and has 5* potential defos a ballon d'or contender in the future but not sure on the price.

Hope it helps. 

[Spiegel]

The young guys are starting to usurp the veterans! 

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by Spiegel

[zlatanera]

11 hours ago, warlock said:

@zlatanera Scouts, eh? 

When it comes to known quality players, I only use them to check if they're injury prone (its a reason I've never signed Dani Carvajal or Varane from Madrid). I prioritise JPP in most of my saves, as that's obviously the thing I can't discern myself by looking at attributes and injury records.

[MatthewS17]

So I give up on finding an English Defensive Midfielder who's of immediate quality. 

I just need a ready made DM at the moment. Matic is far too slow, Herrera is gone and Fred isn't good enough. 

I don't mind the type of DM. I'll adjust accordingly. 

Looking at Neves, Ndombele, Casemiro, Rodri, Allan and I probably forgot someone somewhere. 

Neves is great, and his positioning is decent(14), tackling okay(13), but I question his ability to be the last man before my defence. He also lacks quite a bit of pace. 

Ndombele has 13 for positioning and 13 or so for tackling which is a bit of a risk. 

Casemiro is great, but them wages are a problem. 

And Rodri has fantastic positioning but not much else. Doesn't look like he will develop too far either. 

Allan looks a good option, but is 28 years old and will require a fee of over 50 million,which isn't too smart. 

Quite a decision. :/

Edited April 18, 2019 by MatthewS17

[dan99]

12 minutes ago, MatthewS17 said:

So I give up on finding an English Defensive Midfielder who's of immediate quality. 

I just need a ready made DM at the moment. Matic is far too slow, Herrera is gone and Fred isn't good enough. 

I don't mind the type of DM. I'll adjust accordingly. 

Looking at Neves, Ndombele, Casemiro, Rodri, Allan and I probably forgot someone somewhere. 

Neves is great, and his positioning is decent(14), tackling okay(13), but I question his ability to be the last man before my defence. He also lacks quite a bit of pace. 

Ndombele has 13 for positioning and 13 or so for tackling which is a bit of a risk. 

Casemiro is great, but them wages are a problem. 

And Rodri has fantastic positioning but not much else. Doesn't look like he will develop too far either. 

Allan looks a good option, but is 28 years old and will require a fee of over 50 million,which isn't too smart. 

Quite a decision. :/

Wilfred Ndidi? Cheaper than most of the options you've said. Amadou Diawara could be worth a look as well.

[zlatanera]

@MatthewS17 what sort of role DM are you using? Because that changes what sort of player you need. I haven't had a good look at him but I'd see Rodri as a slightly less technical version of Sergio Busquets. 

Ndombele isn't a DM at all really, unless you use a Segundo Volante. He's a CM playmaker but his Knocks Ball Past Opponent trait makes him a little bit direct. 

 

[Juls317]

On 18/04/2019 at 11:29, MatthewS17 said:

So I give up on finding an English Defensive Midfielder who's of immediate quality.

I just need a ready made DM at the moment. Matic is far too slow, Herrera is gone and Fred isn't good enough.

I don't mind the type of DM. I'll adjust accordingly.

Looking at Neves, Ndombele, Casemiro, Rodri, Allan and I probably forgot someone somewhere.

Neves is great, and his positioning is decent(14), tackling okay(13), but I question his ability to be the last man before my defence. He also lacks quite a bit of pace.

Ndombele has 13 for positioning and 13 or so for tackling which is a bit of a risk.

Casemiro is great, but them wages are a problem.

And Rodri has fantastic positioning but not much else. Doesn't look like he will develop too far either.

Allan looks a good option, but is 28 years old and will require a fee of over 50 million,which isn't too smart.

Quite a decision. :/

I signed Declan Rice and have loved having him, though I would suppose his pace is probably too close to Matic for you.

Edited April 21, 2019 by Juls317

[zlatanera]

Having another go at it, original DB, but going to try and make more of our youth than last time out. No first transfer window as half the guys I want rid of start injured anyway. I have an ideal squad in mind for 2nd season, but given it involves 3 guys with £150m combined release clauses that I'd want to loan back to Benfica who knows.

Anyway, I've gone a bit mad on staff. Cleared out about 90% of the people who joined since the start of mediocrity (May 2013), brought in an entirely British & Irish staff to replace them and fill the gaps:

 

Also Rod Ruddick, scout, from Southampton. 

[zlatanera]

First competitive game, Brighton score a well-worked goal through Glenn Murray, but its called off for offside. 1 minute later, Lukaku picks up the ball out wide right, takes a touch...

Far corner, from there!

[Dong21]

Thinking of finally getting round to starting my annual United save. When I do, I want to focus on developing players from within after clearing out the deadwood (today’s result IRL has reignited my desire to do things better!).

I was wondering if any of you had any advice on how you have had your best results developing players. Have you found it as simple as just giving them first team playing time, or have you had results sending young players on loan or keeping them in the reserves? Interested to hear different perspectives. 

[MatthewS17]

Anybody have any experience with Richarlison? Today's game got me interested.

If you do, What sort of winger is he? 

I'm going for Sancho and Chiesa. Wanted Sancho and someone experienced like Douglas Costa, but he's 80m,and I like to sign wingers capable on both sides for versatility, so I always have cover. 

But yeah, Richarlison? 

[zlatanera]

4 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Thinking of finally getting round to starting my annual United save. When I do, I want to focus on developing players from within after clearing out the deadwood (today’s result IRL has reignited my desire to do things better!).

I was wondering if any of you had any advice on how you have had your best results developing players. Have you found it as simple as just giving them first team playing time, or have you had results sending young players on loan or keeping them in the reserves? Interested to hear different perspectives. 

Up to 18 training is most important so I keep them in the under 18s. After that, with an English or Italian club (no B team) I categorise them 3 ways:

1) future 1st team. Keep in u21s and play Carabao Cup games and sub apps

2) Not first team material but good potential (I.e. wrong position / role and can’t be retrained, or I just took a dislike to them) I loan out at a suitable level to increase sale value

3) not going to make it at the top level, I just let their youth contract run out or sell them. 

I never stick my United saves past season 3 but this worked for me in Italy

[DjangoSrna]

Started my first ever Man U save ever on FM. Tell a lie, there was a fun love save perhaps around 2014 where I brought Pogba just to play RB. 

Anyway, I've started up by loading some Asian backwater league so I can pick up the team end of season 18/19; jump right in to whatever storm is prevailing. 

Finished 5th. Comparitivly miles behind Liverpool who finished 4th. City won the league. Double blow there I guess....

Pre-season begins; I have men I want out of the club, and know who I'm going to build my team around.

Leaving by transfer, mutual termination or rotting in U18 on GK traning are Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly, Antonio Valencia, Paul Pogba, Fred, Lingard, Martial, Rashford and Lukaka. 

On the up side I'll see I'll be rid of all the toxic nature from the squad that finished 5th. I'll be looking to build a team around De Gea, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Dalot, Lindelof, Herrera, McTominay, Matic, even Darmian. Unsure where to stand yet on Sanchez, Rojo and Pereira - depends if I can find cleaner ideas in the transfer window. 

   

[darcbleu]

Some updates on my Man Utd game on mobile.

 

now into my Jan 2024 season.

Lukaku had been my main main since 21/22 season. Scoring 34, 45 and 41 goals so far in the season following.

Mbappe is still the most expensive player so far with Asensio following 3rd is Paqueta from Juventus.

 

Some of the wonderkids now are Rodrygo and Diego Lainez.

Sancho and Milinkovic Savic are in my team and doing well too.

 

Gotten Donnarumma for 122M for this season to progressively replace De Gea  who is 33 now.

Won the league in every season except for the 20/21 where Spurs are winners.

achieved unbeaten in the 22/23 season and lost to Fulham away this 2024 season away, can you imagine.

 

never won the CL though and furthest is the Final in 20/21 where I lost to Barcelona. still trying hard.

[DjangoSrna]

22 minutes ago, darcbleu said:

Some updates on my Man Utd game on mobile.

 

now into my Jan 2024 season.

Lukaku had been my main main since 21/22 season. Scoring 34, 45 and 41 goals so far in the season following.

Mbappe is still the most expensive player so far with Asensio following 3rd is Paqueta from Juventus.

 

Some of the wonderkids now are Rodrygo and Diego Lainez.

Sancho and Milinkovic Savic are in my team and doing well too.

 

Gotten Donnarumma for 122M for this season to progressively replace De Gea  who is 33 now.

Won the league in every season except for the 20/21 where Spurs are winners.

achieved unbeaten in the 22/23 season and lost to Fulham away this 2024 season away, can you imagine.

 

never won the CL though and furthest is the Final in 20/21 where I lost to Barcelona. still trying hard.

Congratulations, I scratched my balls when I woke up at 6AM sunday.

Tell us interesting?

[isignedupfornorealreason]

Hrm.

 

Just looking at the United team, since I always enjoy a United save. 

The defence looks better this year attribute-wise. I'm glad to see they're mostly weak mentally. Bailly was phenomenal on FM18, he looks a liability now with his lack of concentration and poor decision making. However, I don't agree with his defensive attributes being as high as they are, he needs downgrading to around 13-14. Phil Jones is pretty much a write-off. Smalling is rightly the best defender, though Lindelof is the most well-rounded. That's an area that needs improving.

Valencia I thought would be downgraded but he looks okay, Dalot looks a fantastic talent. 

 

That midfield offers plenty of problems; Pogba is great, looks a brilliant Mezzala. Matic is exceptional as well and McTominay can play a part. No idea where to play Fred though, his attribute spread looks a bit weak physically and he just doesn't stand out in anything for me.

 

Juan Mata still looks outstandingly overrated. Outside of his pace he is practically world class, which I think is frankly nonsense. He's been asking for a downgrade for the last three seasons tbh.

 

10 for Lukaku's first touch is a bit harsh I think, meme's aside he's not that atrocious with it. I think Rashford might need a point or two docked from his composure, and Martial needs lower work rate, teamwork, composure and decision-making. Sanchez looking swell as usual, he'll probably be amazing compared to how he's doing in reality.

 

It's an interesting squad with quite a few issues, and one or two over-rated players imo. I just fired up a save and have cleaned out the backroom staff (a la Moyes >_>) just having a bit of trouble finding an Assistant Manager...

 

Going to go for a 4-3-3 control set up and see how that works, with Pogba as the Mezzala attack. Hopefully I'll have success.

[phugalu]

45 minutes ago, isignedupfornorealreason said:

It's an interesting squad with quite a few issues, and one or two over-rated players imo. I just fired up a save and have cleaned out the backroom staff (a la Moyes >_>) just having a bit of trouble finding an Assistant Manager...

Try to get in Samaden or Bernhard Peters. Sometimes they have 17 or 18 tactical knowledge as well depending on the save.

[Juls317]

13 hours ago, DjangoSrna said:

Leaving by transfer, mutual termination or rotting in U18 on GK traning are Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly, Antonio Valencia, Paul Pogba, Fred, Lingard, Martial, Rashford and Lukaka.

On the up side I'll see I'll be rid of all the toxic nature from the squad that finished 5th. I'll be looking to build a team around De Gea, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Dalot, Lindelof, Herrera, McTominay, Matic, even Darmian. Unsure where to stand yet on Sanchez, Rojo and Pereira - depends if I can find cleaner ideas in the transfer window.

   

That first list seems...suspect

[TottenhamBoi90]

Currently managing United in march of the 2nd season, Won FA Cup first season and backed it up with a community shield. I am currently on for a treble but binned off the League Cup both seasons. 

playin a 4123 based around control possession and some custom corners attacking and defending. 

My team and roles are as follows...

SKS - De Gea, Romero

WBS - Dalot, Lirola (12m)

BPDD - De Ligt (30m), Lindelof

CDD - Smalling, Jones

WBS - Tierney (25m), Shaw

DLPS - Rabiot (free), Fred

CarrS - Dier (60m), Sandro Tonalli (12m)

MezaA - Pogba, Barkley (12m)

WingS - Lingard, Gnabry (12m)

InsiS - Martial, Joao Felix (60m)

CompA - Rashford, Lukaku

cant get rid of Sanchez to save my life but gave Garner some games last season before loaning him out and now Laird, Chong and Gomes getting some minutes this season. 

Overall a really enjoyable save, Still wanna add Donnarumma, Upamecano, Chilwell, Rice, Neves, Bailey, Sancho and maybe even Chiesa and maybe another striker to it but these things take lots of time and money lol. Another reason why Lirola, Rabiot, Barkley and Gnabry come in just to make some cash and fill some gaps before more of the big targets arrive. 

[BigV]

11 hours ago, TottenhamBoi90 said:

4123 based around control possession

How are you finding this type of structure? I tried this early on or something along the lines and it worked about 60% of the time. Im guessing it's positive with short passing or really short passing? Also how does it feel without using a playmaker in those roles for possession? because realistically a playmaker of deep or adv would help keep possession and add a bit of creativity. Are the support roles useful for the likes of martial because i've found he's quite poor when given the deeper option and build play rather being the direct attacking player he tends to be irl? Sanchez will go if you run his contract or loan him and get some wage structure back because he takes up massive amounts of room, ive loaned him to chelsea and they pay 70% atm and willing to flog him off down the line. 

[Puluzu]

Interesting to see other squad lists and see so many of the original players and the youngsters playing for you guys, I Just finished my third season and I have only De Gea, Pogba and Lindelöf from the original team in my starting XI.

 

Starting XI looks like this:

ST: Mbappe

AM L/R Asensio, Chiesa

MC Pogba, Milinkovic-savic

DM Ndombele

FB Grimaldo, Militao

CB De Ligt, Lindelöf

GK De Gea

 

Second team:

 

ST Rashford/Lukaku

AM L/R Richarlison, Chong/Schick

MC: Gedson Fernandes, Paqueta

DM Cook/Ndidi

FB Shaw, Vagnoman/Dalot

CB Sule, Jones

GK Henderson

 

 

In addition I have about a 100 mill worth of youngsters out on loan. Even with all these purchases my second season transfer budget was 300 million and third season 100 million... With ManU It really feels like playing on easy mode because you can overpay ridiculous amounts to get the players you want.

 

I've won the league three times in a row now and CL twice in a row (lost the final in my first season). Arsenal and Liverpool have been very good in the league though and I've had to get to around 100 points each season to win the title, haven't clinched it before the last 2-3 games so there has still been some suspense for sure.

 

Asensio has been my best player so far, playing Trequartista on the left wing. His passing is just absurdly good and he has over a goal/assist per 90 minutes. Mbappe came in this last season and was fantastic for 2/3 of the season or so, scoring a goal per 68 minutes at one point, but then he went on to not score in something like 12 matches straight even though I was still winning. Just CCC after CCC missed, he'd be through on goal and somehow **** it up multiple times per game. I taught him the places shots PPM and I'm wondering if that could be the reason. Sounds unlikely though doesn't it?

 

 

[BigV]

4 hours ago, Puluzu said:

I've won the league three times in a row now and CL twice in a row

How are your formation and tactics looking?be interesting to see how you're getting the best out of your players.Also which roles are you using for your mid/attacking line? I agree to that buying the best means you're likely going to win most but I can't seem to work my inside forwards alot. I've watched a good amount of 2d matches on full match to see how they get involved and they get really struggle compared to the wide players of the AI. I had chelsea a game or 2 ago and hazard was an absolute nuisance so I had to adapt and chance tactics often and starve him of possession but when he did he'd run full pelt and ended up getting 4 yellow cards just from him lol. Trying to replicate it and it doesn't work, tried with sanchez and he's as useless as a brick. 

[Puluzu]

2 hours ago, BigV said:

How are your formation and tactics looking?be interesting to see how you're getting the best out of your players.Also which roles are you using for your mid/attacking line? I agree to that buying the best means you're likely going to win most but I can't seem to work my inside forwards alot. I've watched a good amount of 2d matches on full match to see how they get involved and they get really struggle compared to the wide players of the AI. I had chelsea a game or 2 ago and hazard was an absolute nuisance so I had to adapt and chance tactics often and starve him of possession but when he did he'd run full pelt and ended up getting 4 yellow cards just from him lol. Trying to replicate it and it doesn't work, tried with sanchez and he's as useless as a brick. 

See pic below.

I use opposition instructions to always close down the opposing keeper and full backs. I also have a lot of individual instructions.

 

Mbappe: Dribble more, shoot less often. His dribbling is immense so I want him to use it as much as possible and also to dribble to a good spot before shooting instead of trying long shots. Against park the bus type opponents sometimes I switch him to Complete Forward (S).

Asensio: Mark Tighter, more direct passing. I don't want him to be completely useless defensively even though he is a trequartista and mark tighter means he follows the opposing full back a bit more. Loads of my counter attacks are still started with a pass to an unmarked Asensio who very often launches a chipped through ball from before the half way line to Mbappe. I probably scored around 8 goals exactly like this this past season. If I'm leading and want to be a bit more careful defensively I switch him to W(s) with take more risks.

Chiesa: Mark Tighter, tackle harder, shoot less often. Same as above, but also shoot less often because othervise Chiesa does loads of long shots with his weaker foot after cutting in and they weren't that great. Tackle harder just because he happens to have very good tackling for a winger. Also switches to a W(s) when leading at the end if the game is still close. The reason for both of the winger roles is that they are more unpredictable than the Winger/IF combo. I dislike the cut inside and run wide with ball instructions because they often follow the tactics even when there's a better option available. Both of my wingers can pick and choose what to do more with these insructions and I find it works really well.

Pogba: Dribble more

Milinkovic-Savic: Move into channels. This is the role I've had the most problems with. B2B with and without different individual instructions were all quite bad in terms of average rating and production. His rating is only this high due to him being my main goal scorer from corners. Still probably needs tweaking, but these latest instructions worked well for the past 5 games or so.

Grimaldo: Shoot less often, take more risks. Not a great long shooter but is a great passer, so a bit obvious. His role switches between support and attack depending who I am playing against.

Militao: Dribble less, shoot less often, take less risks. His role is also put to attack occasionally, especially if playing against a formation with no wide midfielders or wingers.

De Gea: I think sweeper keeper would work better here but De Geas rushing out attribute is his biggest weakness so I use just a vanilla gk role.

Edited April 26, 2019 by Puluzu

[Marc Lister]

Should I sign Alex Telles for £30m? I am in November 2019. I have Luke Shaw and Kieran Tierney. I'm concerned about Shaw's injury proneness but selling him to make way for Telles would rob me of a HG (club) player.

[BigV]

5 hours ago, Marc Lister said:

Should I sign Alex Telles for £30m? I am in November 2019. I have Luke Shaw and Kieran Tierney. I'm concerned about Shaw's injury proneness but selling him to make way for Telles would rob me of a HG (club) player.

If you enjoy a great crosser who assists alot a season then go for him but he will need game time. He's better than shaw in terms of attacking but defending not so much as shaw's physicality is stupidly OP. Although tiereny is a better overall shaw imo. First season for me he was pretty decent 33 games and 2 assists with 8.4 avg rating. Only 4 games into the season and he's already assisted 2 and will undoubtedly assist 9 or more in the season as lukaku seems to be a heading magnet as I've completely changed the team with better players and trying to integrate Tuanzabe who seems to play really well next to him. 

Don't do it if you're lacking HG players though, would be a huge mistake unless you promote youth or buy in English players. 

[isignedupfornorealreason]

I'm really not enjoying the match engine this year. It is very odd and gamey.

In FM2018 I won most things at United using a 4-4-2, indeed I went the entire first season with only 1 defeat, it was the best I've ever done using a 4-4-2 like, ever. I've been trying to figure out how to translate that to FM2019's new tactics format. Players seem to dwell on the ball even though there's plenty of passing options. Through balls seem non-existent and there's always a punt here or there.

 

But anyway, I started well, broke the consecutive win record of 11 games. This is just a boring 4-4-2 btw, press more and counter-press being the only instructions.

Chelsea: 3-0

Burnley (A) 2-1

Brighton 3-0

Wolves (A) 2-1

Newcastle (A) 1-0

Schalke (ECL) 2-0

Watford 2-0

Wycombe (League cup) 5-1

West Ham (A) 2-0

L. Moscow (ECL) (A) 1-0

Crystal Palace (A) 2-0

Spurs: 4-1

 

That was my 12 win streak. Lots of long shot goals and goals from bizarre crosses. Quite a few wins coming about due to individual opposition mistakes, ergo; tactically I'm not exactly dominating sadly.

I then lost three on the bounce: Valencia (ECL) (A) 0-1, Liverpool (A) 1-2, Bournemouth (league cup, reserves) 0-1.

The I turned it around: Bournemouth 5-0, Valencia 4-0.

 

Huge differences in home and away performances as usual, but I find it similar to FM18 in that when everyone defends it just becomes a matter of patience and hoping for a breakthrough as they congest the box. 

Rashford, being the best striker attribute wise is a permanent starter for me. Sanchez, who rocked in FM18 is awful for me in 19 as the DLF/S, I don't think he's scored yet. I've actually gone for Lukaku/Rashford instead.

 

Minutes given to Greenwood (broke the youngest scorer for United record by scoring vs Wycombe), Gomes, Chong and Garner so far.

Phil Jones on the transfer list by request. Darmian is going that way as well I think. 

All this with a backline of Young, Valencia, Smalling and Lindelof. Shaw got a virus infection to wipe him out for four months, he still isn't back yet. -_-

[Marc Lister]

12 hours ago, BigV said:

If you enjoy a great crosser who assists alot a season then go for him but he will need game time. He's better than shaw in terms of attacking but defending not so much as shaw's physicality is stupidly OP. Although tiereny is a better overall shaw imo. First season for me he was pretty decent 33 games and 2 assists with 8.4 avg rating. Only 4 games into the season and he's already assisted 2 and will undoubtedly assist 9 or more in the season as lukaku seems to be a heading magnet as I've completely changed the team with better players and trying to integrate Tuanzabe who seems to play really well next to him. 

Don't do it if you're lacking HG players though, would be a huge mistake unless you promote youth or buy in English players. 

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I knew I'd have to give Telles a lot of game time. If I had Shaw + Rojo say, I could justify giving Telles game time but as I have Tierney and Shaw I can't really buy Telles, sell Shaw and relegate Tierney to being the 2nd DL.

Not exactly struggling with HG players though. Just about met the 8 players requirement but haven't got a lot of room to play with until/unless I promote the youth players to first team such as Tuanzebe, Fosu-Mensah, Gomes and Chong etc.

[TottenhamBoi90]

On 24/04/2019 at 13:46, BigV said:

How are you finding this type of structure? I tried this early on or something along the lines and it worked about 60% of the time. Im guessing it's positive with short passing or really short passing? Also how does it feel without using a playmaker in those roles for possession? because realistically a playmaker of deep or adv would help keep possession and add a bit of creativity. Are the support roles useful for the likes of martial because i've found he's quite poor when given the deeper option and build play rather being the direct attacking player he tends to be irl? Sanchez will go if you run his contract or loan him and get some wage structure back because he takes up massive amounts of room, ive loaned him to chelsea and they pay 70% atm and willing to flog him off down the line. 

Good question mate. Basically i selected the control possession preset as i usually do then tweak it, I always set up the attacking corners as well because the preset is poor and its a good plan B which is important. In this case the trio of roles i have in midfield worked brilliantly well 1st season with Fred Herrera and Pogba but not so good 2nd season as Rabiot and Dier were less suited to the roles with Pogba and his goal numbers went down to about 14. Because of this lack of creativity and probably mobility as well the wide players numbers went down also. I addressed this in the summer and i now have Neves and Tonali with Pogba and everything has boomed again. Its still really in the testing phase but so far i have a conclusion. The better the trio in midfield you have, the better the wide players do and the worse trio you have, the better the striker does, weirdly. Generally speaking the wing backs are sensational, Tierney won footballer of the year for me so i think an advanced forward with attacking roles out wide would work because the possession play is so deep and wide but i have not tried that. I have tried Inside forward support on the right but doesn't really make much difference but it still works. I have also tried a support complete forward upfront with inside forward attack on the left but i haven't tested it as much because it doesn't suit Rashford i think. I have found that Martial loves just picking up in his own half and just flying at the defence but usually is tackled. I did go on 2nd season and secure the treble and the community shield and super cup since that and top in November 3rd season. The only real change i have made role wise now is Upamecano (75m) with De Ligt both Ball playing Defenders. I will probably try Neves Regista next season as well.

Edited April 28, 2019 by TottenhamBoi90

[BigV]

14 hours ago, isignedupfornorealreason said:

Huge differences in home and away performances as usual, but I find it similar to FM18 in that when everyone defends it just becomes a matter of patience and hoping for a breakthrough as they congest the box. 

First bit is true but it's massively lowered since the 1st update which was impossible for me to win away. I played teams yesterday that did this and you need to force them out, change your tactics through the game and you'll see it change. I never used to do this but I tried it and it works like a treat. Played wolves who do that dirty back line of a 5-4-1 and I was away. Put my closing down line the lowest it could be so they force their defence to move higher, after a while i'd say 20/30 min game time I literally pushed it back to the highest and went direct, next 20-30 mins I scored 3 goals. They changed to attacking and stayed narrow as their crossing is poor and they go direct so i changed to a 3 backline with wingbacks to keep possession. Adapt during games and don't pick 1 thing for all is a good tip i'd use for this FM. 

5 hours ago, Marc Lister said:

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I knew I'd have to give Telles a lot of game time. If I had Shaw + Rojo say, I could justify giving Telles game time but as I have Tierney and Shaw I can't really buy Telles, sell Shaw and relegate Tierney to being the 2nd DL.

Not exactly struggling with HG players though. Just about met the 8 players requirement but haven't got a lot of room to play with until/unless I promote the youth players to first team such as Tuanzebe, Fosu-Mensah, Gomes and Chong etc.

As I said if you want good crossers who are useful for aerial goals then he's your guy. Personally I'd say he's too similar to tiereny in terms of attributes and shaw offers something different but then again telles is touted by madrid and psg so if I was you I'd get him. He'd fit well then IMO and possibly get a good price for shaw around 40-60 as spurs are always touting for him. 

5 hours ago, TottenhamBoi90 said:

Good question mate. Basically i selected the control possession preset as i usually do then tweak it, I always set up the attacking corners as well because the preset is poor and its a good plan B which is important. In this case the trio of roles i have in midfield worked brilliantly well 1st season with Fred Herrera and Pogba but not so good 2nd season as Rabiot and Dier were less suited to the roles with Pogba and his goal numbers went down to about 14. Because of this lack of creativity and probably mobility as well the wide players numbers went down also. I addressed this in the summer and i now have Neves and Tonali with Pogba and everything has boomed again. Its still really in the testing phase but so far i have a conclusion. The better the trio in midfield you have, the better the wide players do and the worse trio you have, the better the striker does, weirdly. Generally speaking the wing backs are sensational, Tierney won footballer of the year for me so i think an advanced forward with attacking roles out wide would work because the possession play is so deep and wide but i have not tried that. I have tried Inside forward support on the right but doesn't really make much difference but it still works. I have also tried a support complete forward upfront with inside forward attack on the left but i haven't tested it as much because it doesn't suit Rashford i think. I have found that Martial loves just picking up in his own half and just flying at the defence but usually is tackled. I did go on 2nd season and secure the treble and the community shield and super cup since that and top in November 3rd season. The only real change i have made role wise now is Upamecano (75m) with De Ligt both Ball playing Defenders. I will probably try Neves Regista next season as well.

 Ngl I found that your theory is somewhat true, I bought thauvin and in pre season he was awful and thought I made a huge mistake, so when i brought ndombele as BBM with gedson as rotation of the same role with pogba they do quite well from wide. Movement in the trio isn't great regardless of the attribute but if the players are better then it works out quite well. But my strikers in the 1st season were great as lukaku scored 35 goals from 32 games and rashford on 19 with 27 games. I can never get my wingbacks to make strikers better unless its with telles and lukaku who seems to score headers more frequently. Yeah martial is 1st season was dreadful for me, really considered selling him but sanchez was worse so i loaned him off, kept martial and put lingard to the left side as a winger because his trait to cut in works sometimes. Complete forward is more lukaku style but peak rashford may work it, training him as a complete forward might be useful to upgrade his worse areas to be better and better improve him overall. Nice, good backline. I've got manolas, bailly (might sell), lindelof (barca want him so i might buy skriniar) and tuanzabe who seems to do brilliantly defending and attacking with some beautiful balls being made from deep.  

[isignedupfornorealreason]

21 minutes ago, BigV said:

First bit is true but it's massively lowered since the 1st update which was impossible for me to win away.

 

Was it that bad eh? I always expect away games to be more difficult anyway, as it's true to reality. I remember in 16-17 though it was OTT, you'd see it a lot in two legged ties, where one would win 3-0 or something and then in the away leg there were often huge comebacks of 4/5/6-0. FM18 I think got the balance right. 

 

Regarding the defensive line, it's on neutral settings. I'm not keen on dropping back further with a 4-4-2 as I don't have a DM in that central spot. With how good long shots are I'm concerned that dropping deeper will invite too much space in the long shot zone. Pushing forward is another story as well since it is easy to bypass a 4-4-2 in the middle or through a long ball. That's generally why I've stuck to neutral settings, so I can see how it goes and adjust on the fly. I find the neutral setting works for most situations. 

 

Still, it's food for thought. I'm actually wondering if counter-press is actually of any use, sometimes it leads to my formation going missing, but sometimes it gets rewards as the opposition panic and give the ball back to us.

[BigV]

23 minutes ago, isignedupfornorealreason said:

 

Was it that bad eh? I always expect away games to be more difficult anyway, as it's true to reality. I remember in 16-17 though it was OTT, you'd see it a lot in two legged ties, where one would win 3-0 or something and then in the away leg there were often huge comebacks of 4/5/6-0. FM18 I think got the balance right. 

 

Regarding the defensive line, it's on neutral settings. I'm not keen on dropping back further with a 4-4-2 as I don't have a DM in that central spot. With how good long shots are I'm concerned that dropping deeper will invite too much space in the long shot zone. Pushing forward is another story as well since it is easy to bypass a 4-4-2 in the middle or through a long ball. That's generally why I've stuck to neutral settings, so I can see how it goes and adjust on the fly. I find the neutral setting works for most situations. 

 

Still, it's food for thought. I'm actually wondering if counter-press is actually of any use, sometimes it leads to my formation going missing, but sometimes it gets rewards as the opposition panic and give the ball back to us.

For me it was, really hard to score away and ended up conceding but 1st season under united with that team is awful. Thats true, 17 did that quite often but I always found a way to bypass it with subs and formation changes early. Could always higher it and then have the pressing line (forgot its name- one where attackers press) lower down so it could gain possession closer to your defense and keep possession but you do then lose the position of your attacking line. Could defend narrow and close down less but then counter much like how leicester did in their winning season.

Well I do press urgently and have a high line and counter press does help but under harder situations in a 442 it'll be easier to bypass if you mess up. But do try it and see how it goes.  

[Puluzu]

Great start to my fourth season, 26 wins (including 6 pre-season) in a row with two goals conceded. I've been using two separate line ups about 60/40 as well.

Edited April 29, 2019 by Puluzu

[Smaldini]

On 15/04/2019 at 17:49, Chapman7 said:

 

How Fekir done for you in CM? Never seen him played in CM if doing well what role you got him playing in CM?

I usually play him as a #10 with an Attacking Midfielder - Support role, but when I've played him in central midfield he's been an AP Support and hasn't had a bad game there yet. 

[Klattsy]

Just thought I would share my Man Utd experience...I hadn't played FM for a long time. Probably about 5 years or more since I last did. So I went looking for a formation to get me started. I'm using a tactic I found on another website (not sure if I can mention) that is a 4-4-2 Attacking mentality and have absolutely brained it. In 235 games i've won 205, drawn 14 and lost 16 with 828 goals for and 130 goals against. Had a without losing streak of 82 games. Which included winning 28 in a row. Some may see it as cheating, but its really helped me get back into the franchise  and what Man Utd fan doesn't want to see them actually win SOMEWHERE  I'm going to start a new save with my local Australian side soon.

  

 

I've found Lingard has been a revelation as a left winger. Crazy good with the assists. Martial has been awesome as striker. Scored 57 goals in 19/20 (35 in EPL). I cant get rid of Sanchez. Held out for too much the first couple of years now he doesn't want to move to anywhere. Said he wanted to speak to Villa then wouldn't agree to terms. 

Had a restricted budget the first year but was grated $200m+ each season after that so i've been signing kids like crazy so that they get HGN status ASAP. Had so much spare cash last year (20-21) I splashed 169 pounds on Mbappe only because City wanted him. Well worth it. Also blocked Chelsea signing Paqueta last season by paying 45m pounds in 19-20. Sancho was my big signing 1st season (40m) but has been amazing as RW never falling under 7.80 average rating. Only get 20-25 appearances a season out of him though.

Best XI in 21/22 is

                                 De Gea

Shaw/Tiernney   de Light   Markovic  Dalot

Lingard        Paqueta          Pogba        Sancho

                      Mbappe         Martial

 

Bench is Plizzari, Lisandro Martinez, Tonali, Herrera (last season), Cengiz Under, Rashford

I've 23 others on loan around the place. Bought as many U23 players as I could after the first season. If they dont go on loan, they bolster my U23 and I can bring them into FT when required. Some of the amazing kids are Cengiz Under (now worth 64m), Exequiel Palacios (worth 52m), Svetozar Markovic (worth 38m), Franciso Trincao (worth 28m). Looking forward to bringing in Abel Ruiz, Chong, Amine Gouiri, Lincoln, Gravernberch, Max Aarons, Greenwood, Tuanzebe, Laird, Kaio Jorge, Jonathan Panzo over the next few seasons. Bought way to many but can always sell for profit, notht that I need more funds (kitty still at 295m and dont need it). Wages are killing me, but under budget. Hoping having them on loan doesnt contribute to FFP!

Since i'm sorted for players i'm going to start cleaning out Back Office. Signed Mauro Tassotti as Ass Man but his contract is up and will be looking elsewhere. Got bored last season and signed Michael Reschke as DoF but was a waste as I do everything regarding contracts and signings. I'm over press conferences so my next AssMan will be based on that. Just sacked Richie Merron this season as Head Physio because I was sick of injurries. Its my playing style that causes it though. Replaced him with Lieven Maesschalck.

 

On 22/04/2019 at 18:09, DjangoSrna said:

Congratulations, I scratched my balls when I woke up at 6AM sunday.

Tell us interesting?

I mainly posted this to **** this guy off

Edited May 2, 2019 by Klattsy
fixed pics

[isignedupfornorealreason]

So, I repeated my FM18 success with a more basic 4-4-2. Won the Premier League and Champions League, was 2nd highest scorer, best defence and had Rashford win the Premier League Golden Boot.

 

 

 

It kind of helped that City and Liverpool dropped so many points though. Liverpool were downright scary, thrashing teams 5, 6, 7-0 one week and then slipping up the next. 

I lost 4 games, all away games to Liverpool, Everton, Cardiff (final day of the season), and Arsenal.

 

Won the Champions League;

 

The biggest obstacle was Barcelona, and I got lucky because I had a very strict referee who basically sent off a Barca player within 10 minutes for a double caution. I ended up having to tell the team to stay on feet and stand off or he would have thrown the cards around like confetti. Because of that red card, we steamrolled them and then only had to shut up shop for the return leg.

As you can see, just the one transfer in; de Ligt. I activated his release clause and no other team bidded for him so he came straight to me as Key Player on 93k per week wages. Bargain really. Him and Lindelof were good enough to hold the backline.

 

For the next season I have issues. PSG bidded for Pogba and he's now causing a fuss because I rejected the bid. Annoying.

 

I've sold Smalling to Arsenal, but can't seem to shift Phil Jones at all. My squad for the next season is something like this:

 

GK: De Gea / Romero

DR: Dalot

DL: Shaw / Young

DC: De Ligt / Tuanzebe

DC: Lindelof / Bailly

MR: Mata / Pereira

ML: Martial / Lingard

MC: Pogba / Herrera / Fred

MC: Matic / Garner / Fosu-Mensah

FWD: Rashford / Greenwood

FWD: Lukaku / Sanchez

 

Rashford spanked 25 goals at Advanced Forward, but Martial hit 21 as LM. Lethal. 

Sanchez is the big issue at the moment, he's not been performing well for me, true to life. I want to sign Dybala for the DLF role to pair him with Rashford, however, I can't afford to have Lukaku and Sanchez rocking the boat.

Other than that, Fred is useless, as is McTominay. Mcsauce is at the age where he needs lots of games, but he's not reliable enough to shift out the main players I have. Also, he's too old and won't improve rapidly. Fred is too vanilla and I think Herrera is better than him as an all round player. So, I've been phasing Fred out by neglecting him. Garner and Fosu-Mensah are both better specialist midfielders for me, so barring injury I can't see Fred getting into my teams.

Trouble is getting rid of the deadwood to be honest, I get a lot of transfer bids that are non-negotiable but with a demand that I pay towards the wages. I'd happily negotiate a lower fee but they're always non-negotiable so... -_-

[BigV]

50 minutes ago, isignedupfornorealreason said:

Sanchez is the big issue at the moment, he's not been performing well for me, true to life

Some of us in this thread have had a hard time getting rid of him because he's awful and his wage is destructive. The question remains do you use lukaku as a complete forward/target man who gets on the end of things or complete play in which dybala would be wildly better at.  Fred is one we all see going tbh because the toning down on improving attributes although it is more realistic than previous versions. I did a simulation and only fred's movement, passing and agility/pace gets better nothing too major but not as near as what you could buy. Fosu and garner seem weaker attribute wise but they play a strong game mentally, garner is amazing at dictating games when he hits 19/20. 

 

56 minutes ago, isignedupfornorealreason said:

Trouble is getting rid of the deadwood to be honest, I get a lot of transfer bids that are non-negotiable but with a demand that I pay towards the wages. I'd happily negotiate a lower fee but they're always non-negotiable so... -_-

It's really bad trying to get rid. Young, darmian, rojo, smalling/jones or both are quite easy to sell, the rest is poor. Sanchez i've loaned out to chelsea where he seems to be playing like hazard, herrera was ballsy at me cause I regarded him a key player when i literally reduced his squad status to rotation and ended up selling him for 25 mill which I could've got 40 easily had I not run the window down. Fred went for 45 so useful, tried getting rid of matic but lowest I could get was 14m when he's valued at 37.5... run their contracts down to atleast 3/2 years and then they'll go at full price. 

[isignedupfornorealreason]

1 hour ago, BigV said:

Some of us in this thread have had a hard time getting rid of him because he's awful and his wage is destructive.

That doesn't surprise me, that wage is just... insane.

1 hour ago, BigV said:

The question remains do you use lukaku as a complete forward/target man who gets on the end of things or complete play in which dybala would be wildly better at.

Lukaku plays a DLF/S for me, though, only because I don't really have anyone better. I have to wait at the moment because Dybala won't talk to me until the Copa Americas is finished. =/

1 hour ago, BigV said:

Fosu and garner seem weaker attribute wise but they play a strong game mentally, garner is amazing at dictating games when he hits 19/20. 

Garner on my save has comes leaps and bounds. So much so, I don't have any issue fast tracking him to the first team in the second season. He's 18 now, so if I rotate him as a backup option he should really improve... In theory.

 

1 hour ago, BigV said:

herrera was ballsy at me cause I regarded him a key player when i literally reduced his squad status to rotation and ended up selling him for 25 mill which I could've got 40 easily had I not run the window down.

That's a shame.

I actually got him to agree a contract with me as a rotation option with the upper limit of the rotation wage threshold... If he hadn't agreed to that I'd be selling him unfortunately. I think he's a versatile player.

[BigV]

14 minutes ago, isignedupfornorealreason said:

Lukaku plays a DLF/S for me, though, only because I don't really have anyone better. I have to wait at the moment because Dybala won't talk to me until the Copa Americas is finished. =/

Seem's like dybala would do the trick better, plus his ability is better technically and mentally, just the physical side is lower. On my save I try to balance play between crossing and trying to work it through the middle, and lukaku 8/10 times bails me out when rashford upfront ALONE isn't working because telles/lingard, thauvin,mata just plong it in the middle for him to head it. 

 

18 minutes ago, isignedupfornorealreason said:

don't have any issue fast tracking him to the first team in the second season

Well I bought cook to take over and pushed fosu into the team as backup because matic started crying, I already have a budget of 140m at max so ima wait it out till 3rd season to offload and get some cash in. Might even try garner tbh because moving him up after half a season to u23 he still performs at full capactity, might even push him in for cup games and move fosu to RB. 

 

21 minutes ago, isignedupfornorealreason said:

I think he's a versatile player.

He very much is, didn't do great as a box to box because his movement was poor so it was defensive which pogba couldnt do alone in a 3 man mid. As a ball winner though in support he was amazing, like hitting vs hazard level every game, almost made him undroppable but his wage demands were ridiculous. So I got rid of him and fred to get ndombele and gedson. They're both still ishy and nothing major but "complete" midfield type. Ndombele always gets on the ball somehow and does some weird unpredictable pass and somehow manages to find players- passing 15 and vision 14 with 14 decision making lol. 

[Footygamer89YT]

Looking for a replacement for Lukaku guys i want a hard working pacey forward i was thinking of getting werner anyone used him or got any other suggestions

[BigV]

3 hours ago, Footygamer89YT said:

Looking for a replacement for Lukaku guys i want a hard working pacey forward i was thinking of getting werner anyone used him or got any other suggestions

I'll quote a previous message i've sent before.

Rodrigo, patrick shick, lautoro martinez, adalberto peneranda, pedro (plays at fluminese complete forward type)- These players are first team like, their attributes are great for overall play as advance forwards or complete forwards. Lautoro martinez i've known for a very long time and could become a beast within a year scoring at least 20 goals a season.

Odsonne edouard, musa barrow, patrick cutrone, tammy abraham, Arthur (plays for SEP, brazillian), abel ruiz, pietro pellegri (MASSIVE WONDERKID), brenner - These are all wonderkids I think you should consider pietro has attributes like mbappe had at monaco, he's that good and he's only 18 and has 5* potential defos a ballon d'or contender in the future but not sure on the price.