Strongest teams in the Premier League? In FM23, not in real life.

[danej]

How strong are the various teams in the Prem? Not least, how often would the given team, led by an AI manager, win the Prem?

 

I mostly ask because I am curious where Man Utd stands in the hierarchy. Until recently I thought that Man City and Liverpool are by far the strongest teams in joint 1st position. With Man Utd a distant third.

 

I still believe most of this is true. However, the more season I have played in the Prem, the more I get the impression that Man Utd are once again much stronger in FM than IRL. Much weaker than Liverpool and Man City. But strong enough to win the title perhaps 15-20% of the time.

 

I also ask because I contemplate whether Man Utd, along with Liverpool and Man City, are one of teams that is too boring to manage. Because they are so strong that it is almost impossible to not dominate, almost no matter how extreme save restrictions that you are using.

 

Btw it puzzles me why Man Utd seems OP in game year after year. I suspect that most of the the SI staff are hard-core Utd fans who have some To Madeira tricks up their sleeves.

[warlock]

28 minutes ago, danej said:

where Man Utd stands in the hierarchy

I just finished four seasons with Brentford in the PL. Liverpool and City were consistent challengers for the title and Arsenal were usually in contention before falling short. Brighton, Newcastle and Brentford were the other regular Top 5 finishers.  Man Utd were OK in season 1 and then fell away badly, often flirting with relegation and only once finsihed in the European qualification places. They were far from OP in that save.

[PAFC_Dugout]

Chelsea always up there on my saves too. Havertz is Massively overrated on FM23

[SergeiG]

I am a fan of Manchester United and even I can tell you they are overrated in the game.

Martial can play 50 games per season without getting injured, Harry Maguire is actually a competent defender, Sancho will rip your defense like he is still playing for Dortmund and McTomony is just good in the midfield with no real weakness. The list goes on... The reality is a little different.

[danej]

Just now, SergeiG said:

I am a fan of Manchester United and even I can tell you they are overrated in the game.

Martial can play 50 games per season without getting injured, Harry Maguire is actually a competent defender, Sancho will rip your defense like he is still playing for Dortmund and McTomony is just good in the midfield with no real weakness. The list goes on... The reality is a little different.

Yeah it is a bit amusing. Speaking of this, do you also have the impression that it has been like this pretty much forever? That is my impression, but I barely played the game before FM21 (as well as Championship Manager etc. back in the day), so I can't say for sure.

It would be a bit funny if a big part of the SI staff are hard core Utd-fans and give the team a boost year after year. Sure looks like it.

[Gee_Simpson]

58 minutes ago, SergeiG said:

McTomony is just good in the midfield with no real weakness.

He has 11 for anticipation, composure, decisions, OTB and positioning. He's not great. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by Gee_Simpson

[santy001]

SI Staff (outside of a head researcher and the few who are also doubling up as researchers) will have zero input on a player at any club. There is a researcher for Man Utd (who isn't SI staff the last time I checked) who does the player ratings.

Most of the players in the Manchester United squad typically come from other teams where they have been rated strongly by other researchers. It is a problem I've often had myself with the Stoke research. The biggest limitation right now is to create the kind of mentality that has leeched into football at its top levels. Where there are squads of very good players who don't play to their ability. Chelsea had it this season where their players were just going through the motions most weeks. Manchester United have had that for a number of years now. 

Recreating the disengaged aspect of players relationship with football is something very difficult. Whether that be lost faith in a manager, whether its because the rest of the dressing room is poor. It's becoming increasingly common for mental health to be playing an impact and that is something that is going to be very difficult to accurately portray and understand through the game.

 

[Pafnus]

City at least underpowered.