Cometdude

I never praise or berate the players and have never suffered for it. I used to and never saw a tangible positive effect from it but very often saw negatives effects. Same goes for team meetings etc.

I've never actually noticed that on the player of the week news item. Guess smashing space (or holidaying) until the next match means I miss some stuff

From a FM perspective the only league that feels like a huge step up in class is the Championship after promotion from League 1. That is the point where it feels necessary to significantly upgrade the quality of the players in order to progress. From conference to League 1 (in my experience anyway) it is possible to use a lot of the same players with just 1 or 2 additions each season. Championship to Premier does require a significant influx of new players BUT you are then at the point where attracting players and having money to sign them are significantly easier problems to overcome.

I have never ever found there to be any significant adverse effects of having a captain with poor leadership attribute. Determination and work rate are the 2 primary attributes I look for but often I just throw in whichever player has been at the club the longest and I like the best.

My only real gripe is that transfer logic and selection (and international call ups) still seem to be based more on CA/PA and reputation rather than performance.

He's a winger and has the right attributes to be a good Championship level winger (good crossing, dribbling, first touch, technique, determination, speed and agility) not really a surprise and pretty typical newgen type player.

You paid for it, you may as well use it.

Micah Phillips - scored an injury time equaliser in a cup game and for that got a contract. He was proper garbage but got a medal and spent 3 and a half years playing in the Donny Rovers reserves making 1 appearance in each competition so he had a decent hoard of medals by time both he and I left the club (me to Real him to footballing oblivion).

No idea why, other than personal preference based on the main "career" save I had, but for me FM15.

FM 07 I found the easiest with FM 12 a close second. I'd put FM 24 up there but we haven't seen it's final form yet.

I use my real name mostly, if not I use Wolfgang Schmidt. Wolfgang Schmidt was the name I used when adding a new manager to cheat at Championship Manager and it has kind of stuck.

It is an exploit that in the real world would see significant damage done to a club and managers reputation. The effect would most likely be that after the first couple of times clubs would probably cease to do business with you unless it was a cash upfront deal. I'd have no problem if that kind of logic was built into the game. Then again I wouldn't do it in the first place, I enjoy exploiting the ME to win trophies for financial gain too much.

60% fitness in the 92nd minute, totally unplayable

Steam will automatically update it when you next open Steam (if automatic updates are on) or you next start the game (if there is an update).

Last season my freekick taker scored 4 direct freekicks. The season before he scored 4 direct freekicks. Can't say if that is excessive or not but I am definitely happy to see them go in.

That is nuts but also genius. I wouldn't do it but then again I'm not you.

You've not deliberately save scummed and no doubt there will be times where the opposite happens ( I won a penalty shootout 11-10 only to have the game crash and lose the "replay" 4-0). Congrats on your cup win.

Far too early to speculate. There are some very, very good games made with unity and there are some very very bad games. Personally a prettier version of the current 3D would be great but not if it comes at the expense of loading or processing times.

Weirdly the advice doesn't appear to be linked to agreed playing time at all, striker is one of only two players with star player playing time at the club, the winger is a youth player with fringe player. That is probably what makes the situation even more vexing This is what happens when an old dog tries new things

Just as I suspected, I had completely misunderstood what the squad planner is for. I don't normall pay attention o the selection advice, it's just this one is peculiar. Squad planner is essentially a digital version of my trusty notebook, got it

A very small, but very frustrating bugbear of mine is the squad planner. I might not be fully understanding the purpose of the planner, or for that matter how it works but here is MY understanding of how it works in MY mind. Correct me if I am wrong. The squad planner is a way of me communicating to my staff which players I rank for each position on the pitch. The player in number 1 slot is my first choice, 2 second choice and so on. I add and remove players and juggle it around for the current season and the two following seasons so I can cast an eye on the players I have and if they are in contract etc. For me it serves two purposes, I can judge the depth of my squad AND I can tell my staff which players I want in each position and those I don't. Why is it then that before EVERY match the selection advice I get from my assistant manager is to drop my first choice striker (who scored 53 goals last season) and telling me to put my second choice left winger as a striker. Yes he has striker as an accomplished position but he is lacking in finishing and composure but is a very competent winger. He's a squad player and gets plenty of game time rotating with the other wingers in the team. The only reason I get from the ass man is that his ability warrants a place in the team. Am I not understanding the squad planner or is it not working?

The OP was talking about difficulty settings which would be moot against a human player anyway. Exploiting the match engine still works against humans, the only difference being that both could potentially exploit the it.

The recent FM games are no where near as easy as CM with a WiBWoB tactic but, just like CM if you stumble onto (or download) a tactic that exploits the match engine you're going to have an easy time of it.

I just wish you could turn off the VAR animations etc. I'm very impatient and want to get through matches, the VAR "tension" just aggravates me. Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky.

What is really weird is that the minimum fee release clause favours the player yet they throw a tantrum. Playing in lower leagues I regularly have to reduce release clauses to get players to accept lower wages and I would consider that to be sound logic. This appears to be a bug in my mind.