What constitutes a 'Big Match'?

[SuperBiggles]

So, currently doing a Journeyman save, and I'm at Southampton. Been turning them into a top four side, and one of my star strikers is this guy;




Not sure how it's happening, 'cos apart from his physicals I personally think he's pretty lacking in some regards, but somehow he's become an amazing goalscorer. His record over the last few seasons is like this;



However, despite being super consistent in general and a killer in front of goals, his whole "Doesn't Feel Comfortable Playing In Big Matches' things makes him useless in certain games.

Every game in my recent seasons Champions League he was awful. In the first screenshot you can see he averaged a 6.6 and 1 goal across the 3 games I attempted to use him in. Any time we have a cup game, even against absolute minnows, he just seems to freeze and crap his little pants, and tanks his own performance. In the second screenshot you can see he's played 4 cup games, and scored 2.

As great as he is, I've pretty much had to sign another world class kinda striker just to play in any of these games.

Most recently he absolutely bombed in a league game against 6th place Chelsea (we're currently sat in 3rd), and again... any kind of top six kind of side he struggles?

Is a top six game a 'Big Game'? Are any and all cup games 'Big'?

Is there any way to train or ... "desensitise" him to these games?

I'm comfortable enough at this point that I've got another player to replace him, but it's just annoying that my best boy Obafemi, who's quickly becoming a club legend, isn't able to play in front of the fans in the cup games... just 'cos he can't perform.

Anyone have any definitive idea of what a "Big Game" is? And how does the whole "Doesn't Feel Comfortable" thing work? Is it a drop in a few stats that make him underperform, or just a few stats? Maybe his mental's just tank?

Edited February 16, 2021 by SuperBiggles

[XaW]

In very general terms; Cup games (major tournaments), derbies, matches against rivals, "deciding games" (a match were the league are decided, either winning, qualifying for Europe, or avoiding relegation, and the like). In general, any match that commentators usually hype up as big games.

It kind of depends how it affects, it's a scale of 1-20 as any other attribute, so if you player has 1, he is really bad, while 8 might also be low, but nowhere near as bad.

In general, it's meant to simulate players that really stand out (positive or negative) in the bigger games. Some players always delivers in high profile matches, while others struggle to make an impact.

[HUNT3R]

7 hours ago, SuperBiggles said:

However, despite being super consistent in general and a killer in front of goals, his whole "Doesn't Feel Comfortable Playing In Big Matches' things makes him useless in certain games.

It wouldn't make a player useless just because he has that trait. Also keep in mind, "doesn't feel comfortable" is a long way from "dreads playing in". 

7 hours ago, SuperBiggles said:

Any time we have a cup game, even against absolute minnows, he just seems to freeze and crap his little pants, and tanks his own performance.

This is an example of what I said above. This example is not a big match. Not every cup game will be a big match, especially if it's against minnows.

 

Maybe there's another reason why he's not performing? Is it just him, by the way? Maybe he's not Consistent? Maybe it's a combination of things. Maybe it's how top 6 and CL teams approach you, tactically, that is an issue. I can see he's rated highly in physical attributes, but not too much in other areas of his game. Does that pace and agility become less of a weapon against cup minnows who will be parking the bus? Is he getting the same chances against the top 6 and CL teams who will be quite aggressive in their approach compared to teams lower down the league, ie weaker teams? What's his Body Language like in general and also what is it like in CL matches? If he struggles with Pressure, he could be fluffing chances, making rash decisions etc?

[Weston]

I'm researching this same issue as I currently have two keepers of similar ability, one who "enjoys" big matches and one who "doesn't feel comfortable" in them.

The one who likes the pressure is better at distributing and less good with shot stopping, whereas his rival for the position is the opposite, so I was thinking I'd rotate based on games in which we're expected to be attacking more v games in which we're expected to be defending more.

But if this attribute is such a big deal, perhaps it should take priority - I'm just not sure how to interpret it. The bookies have us finishing 3rd in the league - is it a "big match" when we play our rivals who are predicted to finish dead last? We smashed them 4-1 last time we played.

And when we play our rivals with the 2nd highest odds? Would you play the shot-stopper against this strong side, or the one who would relish the atmosphere more even if his handling is poorer?

(I'm playing in Finland, by the way, so not sure how relative "big" is - are any of our games truly "big"?)

Edited February 13, 2023 by Weston

[HUNT3R]

I can't add much more to what I said above, but I linked what the attribute means.. or rather when it kicks in.

[Weston]

22 minutes ago, HUNT3R said:

I can't add much more to what I said above, but I linked what the attribute means.. or rather when it kicks in.

Thanks, but I see that's a post from 4 years ago about a game from 8 years ago - do you think it's still accurate? Not sure how much this sort of thing changes, if it changes at all.

[HUNT3R]

It's very much still accurate. That's why I linked it.

[Weston]

10 minutes ago, HUNT3R said:

It's very much still accurate. That's why I linked it.

Okay, just making sure!

I see consistency is brought up as being more important. I'm noticing that several of my players who don't prefer big matches, including the keeper in question, are marked as consistent performers.

To what degree does one's consistency cancel out / supersede a dip in these circumstances?

Edited February 13, 2023 by Weston