gunnerfan

Makes sense when you put it that way. Further evidence that the player interaction module needs serious work.

Just curious why you would have made this particular promise to the team in the first place. I could possibly see making it to the board as a condition of being hired, but the team? Personally, I've become rather allergic to the idea of making any promises to players at all, particularly those that can't be precisely measured (e.g. promise to strengthen the midfield).

So, he went to the press to complain about me breaking a promise I never made. And here I thought the player interaction module couldn't get any worse.

Interesting. I'm already 6 matches into my preseason schedule, so I'm not going to switch things up now. But food for thought for the future. Thanks.

I've never had a problem with complacency. My main concern now is how to deal with the manner in which strong teams will defend my new tactic, which is a 4-2-4 with emphasis on wing play. I don't want to be dealing with this for the first time facing Barcelona, away. Looking at your method, I like the idea of playing weak opponents away and strong at home. If your preseason schedule is as short as 6 games, how do you manage to get everyone "match fit"?

My approach to preseason friendlies has always been to schedule weak opponents at home, on the theory that a slew of wins helps build morale, thereby enhancing performance once the season begins. However, in my current save, I've decided on a new tactic for the upcoming season (25-26), and it occurs to me that I should probably have at least one quality opponent as a means of testing the new tactic for weak spots. I'm curious how others approach their preseason friendlies--weak sisters or tough opponents--and why.

I just discovered a new one. One of my young players is angry at me for not keeping a promise I never made to "convince him to sign a new contract". The notation on his "happiness" screen includes "(In the public domain)", which I assume means that it's something he read in the media. much like all the transfer rumors I see about players I'm chasing whom I have no interest in. Naturally, there is no way in the game to engage the player to resolve the problem. No choice but to transfer him out.

I know what you mean. Years ago, I was coaching my son's intramural team and I read Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch and have been an Arsenal fan ever since, in good times and in bad, in sickness and... well, you know. Oddly enough, though, playing FM all these years, I have found that managing a random team in a journeyman save sometimes results in an attachment forming to the club. I have adopted Celta di Vigo, Lazio, Santos, and Shamrock Rovers that way. My wofe can always tell when another hook has sunk in when a new shirt or replica jersey arrives.

I opt out. It only takes a moment.

I know what it represents. And I disagree, it's not more realistic. IRL, you would know when a player was tiring by the physical cues he gives on the pitch (bending over, catching his breath, etc). Since there is no way to accurately represent this in the game, the percentages allow you to gauge to a greater degree when a player is tiring and to what degree.

Watched Z's video, and I was surprised that he didn't go into the subtle (yet substantive) changes in the match engine. It's not just that way in which player movements are represented; it's the manner in which the AI reacts to how the human player is playing and the adjustments made as the match progresses. It's the way the AI can and does take advantage of your defensive line being gassed or playing up too far (or both) with late goals. I also suspect (although I haven't seen this discussed anywhere on this forum) that the AI now has some capability to "scout" your team and take tactical advantage (as teams do IRL). For example, I went through a stretch where I was having difficulty against teams playing a particularly aggressive genepress. Next thing I knew, three out of four sides that had previously used other tactics against me switched to the gegenpress. Could be a coincidence, but if the AI can adjust mid-match, it's not unreasonable to think it could extend beyond that. And I think that is a major improvement. Z also didn't mention how the new player roles post-FM18, and the reflection of those roles in matchplay, have improved the game. Because they have. He did mention--twice--the elimination of the percentage measure of players' condition in favor of the heart icon. As if it were a good thing. I disagree. Each heart icon setting reflects a range of condition, and one is left to guess where on the scale it falls. I prefer the percentages, and was thrilled to see the the Flut skin shows both. All in all, I do like FM23 better than FM18.

Not at all. It’s your game, so play it however you wish.

Definitely not a Swiss system.

I'm posting this here because I don't know if this is a bug (I suspect it isn't), and I'm curious on the experiences of others. Currently managing Vigo in the 24-25 season and have them in the UCL. My understanding is that in 2024, the UCL will abandon its traditional round-robin groups in favor of a Swiss System of matchups. As a chess tournament director many years ago, I was familiar with the Swiss System, which allows reasonable pairings for a large number of competitors by pairing like opponents against one another for the first round. In chess, 1st round pairings are based on chess ratings. For the UCL, the method for initial pairings is likely to be a random drawing, so I wasn't surprised to be drawn against Liverpool in my first match, and I was thrilled to come away with a draw. Subsequent matches are supposed to pair sides with similar records, so I wasn't surprised to be drawn against FC Porto, who had also drawn their first match. The result was another draw, so I expected to be drawn against one of the three other sides who also had two points. But, no, I drew Man City, who were 2-0. Another draw. In the fourth match, I've now drawn AS Monaco, who comes in with 7 points. I don't know what method the game is using for pairings in the UCL, now, but it isn't the Swiss System. I'd appreciate any comments/insights.

Excellent advice. By "press resistant players", I assume you mean high marks in anticipation, composure, and vision?

Also a handy one to have when crappy players come asking for a new contract.

Your intensity must be well into the red. That means your players will be gassed late in the match, which leads to lots of goals against. You may want to dial back on the high press and/or lower the tempo.

As much as I love Arsenal, I stopped managing in the EPL back in FM20. It is, as you say, a slog, and after a while I found the almost perpetual rain in matches depressing. I managed in Spain in FM21 and Italy in 22. Doing a journeyman save in 23 that started in Brazil and now has moved to Spain. Aiming for either France or Germany for the next phase.

Yes, we won La Liga, then lost to Bilboa and drew against Athletico Madrid, both times facing the gegenpress. I had some excellent luck with very few injuries and I picked up Ivan Azon at the January transfer window, thinking he would be a nice prospect for the future but he turned out to be a beast.

Thanks for the suggestions. Looking forward to putting them into practice.

Here is my tactical setup and lineup for the season-ending match with Athletico Madrid. I haven't posted screen shots of the match because in going over the hughlights, I realized that a lot of the problems were only partly due to the defensive system. Most of the turnovers came from poor first touches or weak passes. Aspas (playing as an IF/S on the right) and Viega (playing as a BTB) were repeat offenders. And I only played Aspas because he is retiring and it was his last match. Looking at the tactic, I'm thinking we should have played wider, with more direct passing and at a higher tempo.

If you go to the player's screen and click on the role and style, the key attributes for the role/style will be highlighted.

Playing as Celta Vigo, I had a great first full season. But coming down the stretch, my toughest opponents to beat played the gegenpress. It wasn't a problem during most of the season, but for some reason, I saw it more frequently near the end and it became tougher to play against. In the last two matches of the season, I lost to Athletico Bilbao (0-1) and drew at Athletico Madrid (0-0). The final match was very strange, in that we dominated possession playing a tiki-taka game in a 4-1-2-3, but were outshot 17-2. Most of AM's shots were way off target, which suggests that the AI was likely playing Shoot-on-sight. I started the match with a high LOE and very high defensive line, but pulled that back to mid-block mid-way through the first half. So, as my save heads into the off-season, I'm just looking for general suggestions on how other FMers take on the gegenpress.

I've had the opposite problem, wherein a coach will suggest individual training should be halted for a particular player because the attributes in question are no longer a weakness (when the attributes are 10 or 11).

This is something I think is more important in FM23 than earlier versions. I'm now doing personality-based recruitment of both players and staff.