Anyone Else Struggling?

[Hummingbird Saltalamacchia]

I’m struggling big time in this years edition. Started out with Weymouth and have only won one game out of eleven, I’ve lost eight and drawn two. Made some shrewd free transfers and my team should be doing a lot better although the expectation was to avoid relegation, I have a good squad of players so I’m not sure what’s going on. Maybe I’ve just not got the right set up or potentially this years edition is much harder, I did really well on FM19Mobile with Bath but am doing terrible now. Anyone else struggling? Or doing as bad as I am? I’m not sure what formation is best. It would be great to hear from others who are struggling.

[RSeven]

First season will be tough. 

To built team relationship and find suitable tactics.  I think you will feel better in next season.  

[SMFC2014]

Same here! Although I've never been great at FM Mobile but pretty good at the full fat game. Been sacked on FMM21 once already and about to happen again in the same save. On FMM19 I got promoted in Belgium with Eendracht Aalst but got destroyed in the level above going straight back down while on FMM20 I did ok around the promotion playoffs with Seoul E-Land.

Once things start going badly I find it very difficult to reverse that form and I don't have a great understanding of the tactics in FMM vs FM.

[Marc Vaughan]

4 hours ago, SMFC2014 said:

Once things start going badly I find it very difficult to reverse that form and I don't have a great understanding of the tactics in FMM vs FM.

Tactically in FMM things should be pretty similar to what you'd expect in real-life, if you're playing as a smaller team then I'd recommend you keep things relatively simple go with a tried and tested formation which suits less skillful sides (4-4-2 anyone?) and keep instructions and such relatively simple, make sure you have complementary roles (ie. up top go for a poacher and a target man not two of the same role, ditto for MC positions) ... make sure you have a captain with half decent influence and keep your fingers crossed.

If you want to invest a little time setting up set-piece/corner takers and making sure you sign players who have positive mental traits (or at least negative ones which fit in with the rest of your squad ) then that can help also ...

PS - Finally mentor any promising youths and it'll help them come along a little faster, ditto with putting kids on the bench sometimes just being around the first team helps them come along.

[SMFC2014]

Thanks heaps for the tips Marc! 

[Marc Vaughan]

10 minutes ago, SMFC2014 said:

Thanks heaps for the tips Marc! 

If it helps I tend to use an asymmetrical 4-4-2 with one of the wingers pushed up into an AML or AMR position and set as an inside forward (normally next to the striker who is set to play as a target man) ... the theory being that the target man will then lay the ball off to the inside forward when as he cuts inside on goal .... 

Disclaimer - I only help make the game, some of the users on the forum appear to be far better at actually playing it than myself

[Hummingbird Saltalamacchia]

RSeven - you are spot on there. First season most certainly will be tough. I remember it was the exact same on the 19 edition, but the season after got better. Good thing being able to arrange your own friendlies in 21, good chance to play around with different formations etc. I started again anyway as I was on course to be relegated lol. 

SMFC2014 - I’m the same as you, I’ve never been great at the mobile version either, 19 was the first FM game I’ve played on mobile although I did okay it was still a struggle getting the tactics right etc. It’s strange how your better at the PC version but struggle with the smaller mobile version, maybe you’ve played the PC version longer than mobile. Did you get the sack again? And what team are you? Well you can do what I just did once things start going badly, just start again lol, I was around 11/12 games in and I just started again but in the lowest league in England in the Vanarama North League, expecting a mid table finish with the mighty Spennymoor Town lol, set up with a 4-2-3-1 formation although my squad is an ageing one and I am already operating just over my overall wage budget, so I’ll have to maybe stick with the squad I have. I also don’t have a great understanding of the tactics etc but I guess the more we play then the better we will get, good luck anyway 👍🏻.

Marc Vaughan - Now that is some very good tips on both your posts, that will help a lot of the people that are new to playing the mobile version who are struggling. I’ve started again as I was struggling with Weymouth, maybe I chose the wrong club and league so I’ve started out again with Spennymoor Town lol, which is appropriate as they have no penny’s lol, also less pressure and all. Set up with a 4-2-3-1 so fairly solid with good attacking options. I will certainly try out some of your helpful tips and hopefully will be better this time. Thanks again and keep up the good work 👍🏻.

[MeesterCat]

I would just like to chime in to this thread, as I too am finding this version very hard. I didn’t play FMM20 so maybe something has changed since FMM19. 
 

The two main problems I have are:

1. I barely create chances. Regardless of formation, players or tactics, my players seem to just pass the ball around in little triangles on the edge of the box, then give away possession.

2. I cannot get any solidity in the centre of midfield. It’s like my CMs are not there. They’re either constantly pulled out of position leaving huge gaps in the centre (causing my CBs to rush out to fill the gap), or my opponent is able to bypass them with regular through balls; something I cannot get my own players to replicate. 

Im careful to use usual FM principles - I try to have a good mix of creative and holding roles in my team . I try to have logical choices in tempo, passing style, etc. But I cannot get my teams to play in a way that I enjoy.

It’s getting a bit frustrating to be honest!

[Vane]

I’m an FMM veteran but I’ve started badly in my first career with forced resignations for my first three clubs. I was worried that I was going to be forced to retire! I managed to turn it around after many seasons though and now I’m doing well with Tottenham.

I did wonder if I’d made a mistake starting with Aston Villa as a newbie despite the ‘automatic’ coach level setting. The squad never really played for me and the same happened with the next two lower level clubs. It was only after I’d been around for a while that things picked up. So my advice is to stick at it.

Edited January 16, 2021 by Vane

[Marc Vaughan]

If you start a game with a low coaching reputation then it WILL be more difficult as you'd expect, especially if you take over a larger club initially.

If you do find players questioning your reign then you have various approaches open to you - 

1. Get results and do well and win them over
2. Talk them around (interact with them).
3. Drop any dissenters into the reserves and sell them, bringing in players who will be loyal to you.

Some combination of the above is normally best, if an unprofessional player doesn't like you at the start then I heavily recommend getting shot of them before they cause too much trouble.

PS - How much this unrest affects someone depends on their personality, loyalty and professionalism help mitigate against it ... a lazy unprofessional player will tend to be somewhat lackadaisical during matches in such circumstances.

[Marc Vaughan]

Oh and as usual if anyone is struggling in the game then I'd appreciate you sending me the save you're finding it difficult with - it helps me ascertain why (and where possible I'll help you with advice) ... but it can also help me with working out ways to make the game more expressive in showing issues to the manager so they understand why they're underperforming.

[passenger58]

6 hours ago, Vane said:

I’m an FMM veteran but I’ve started badly in my first career with forced resignations for my first three clubs. I was worried that I was going to be forced to retire! I managed to turn it around after many seasons though and now I’m doing well with Tottenham.

I did wonder if I’d made a mistake starting with Aston Villa as a newbie despite the ‘automatic’ coach level setting. The squad never really played for me and the same happened with the next two lower level clubs. It was only after I’d been around for a while that things picked up. So my advice is to stick at it.

I've said on here before that I generally find it hard to get any consistency the first season, mainly as it takes time to get to know the squad and working out your best team.

I almost always see a marked improvement the second season, even with the same players. I don't know if the game has been coded that way or if it's just because the players have stronger relationships and/or have benefited from a year's worth of training.

One thing I will agree with is the point that starting with a low (or no) reputation really sets you up to fail at the majority of clubs. 

It's better to start from the bottom and work your way up imo. 

[SMFC2014]

On 15/01/2021 at 23:34, Hummingbird Saltalamacchia said:

SMFC2014 - I’m the same as you, I’ve never been great at the mobile version either, 19 was the first FM game I’ve played on mobile although I did okay it was still a struggle getting the tactics right etc. It’s strange how your better at the PC version but struggle with the smaller mobile version, maybe you’ve played the PC version longer than mobile. Did you get the sack again? And what team are you? Well you can do what I just did once things start going badly, just start again lol, I was around 11/12 games in and I just started again but in the lowest league in England in the Vanarama North League, expecting a mid table finish with the mighty Spennymoor Town lol, set up with a 4-2-3-1 formation although my squad is an ageing one and I am already operating just over my overall wage budget, so I’ll have to maybe stick with the squad I have. I also don’t have a great understanding of the tactics etc but I guess the more we play then the better we will get, good luck anyway 👍🏻.

Still in charge at Karsiyaka in Turkey somehow for the moment. For this particular save I started in Greece but have Spain and Portugal loaded too. Have a couple other new save files I just started with other leagues I might focus on though.

 

Another thing I find a bit difficult in FMM is the badges for staff (bronze, silver, gold) where I can't really differentiate when hiring staff who is better at their job (eg: one bronze badge vs another), whereas on the full game with the ratings out of 20 its quite easy to select who should be your coaches and scouts.