F3NT20

That makes sense .... so again, using the above example above, signing someone like Hazard wouldnt be a wise choice as he wont suit the 4-1-4-1 formation? Lets say Hazard prefers the Inside Forward role. In a flat midfield four, there role of Inside Forward is replaced by other roles, thus making Hazard useless in this formation? I assume thats where the approach to transfers comes in that i was referring to in the original post lol ....

@Cougar2010 i understand that the attacking 'shape' is influenced by the instructions ..... however there are no instructions where we can ask a player to slot into a defensive position when the team are not in possession of the ball. The best example I can use is Mourinho at United. On paper, the team lines up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. However, when they are without the ball, they tend to drop into a deep 4-1-4-1 formation (or sometimes a back 6 in certain games)... ready to hit teams on the counter. The point i was trying to make, is that if i start with a 4-2-3-1 formation on the game, im unable to instruct the players to slot into a 4-1-4-1 formation when i dont have the ball. Are you suggesting that i should set up with a deep 4-1-4-1 formation as my base formation and use the PIs/TIs to influence a 4-3-3 when attacking? Im not sure thats possible as players will be considered to be out of position and likely to play poorly?

Love this idea, unfortunately it does seem like it will be a huge piece of work. In saying that, I do think these are the big ideas/changes that SI should be looking at to take the game to another level. I think there have been some huge improvements on gameplay and AI, but there hasn't been too many improvements in terms of what The Manager can actually do to make the game more personal.

THE IDEA: Fluid formations/tactics during matches: What this means exactly is the idea of an two in-game formations: One formation for when your team is attacking with the ball, and the Second formation for when you're defending without the ball. There are numerous examples that can be used for this, we see it weekly in the PL. When teams are defending they often have players behind the ball ... United tend to have a back six at times before looking to hit teams on the counter, Chelsea a back five and again hitting teams on the counter. We also see the other side, where sides like WBA set up in a rigid formation with 10 men behind the Obviously this would be a big change and probably have impact wider areas .. One area I would like to see improved on the back of this would be the tactical AI of opposition managers & in particular the transfer targets. Would someone like Mourinho really sign an attacking winger on the game if they dont have the work rate to get back into a defensive position? I think a new system like this could have transform not only the tactical aspect of the game, but also change the AI's approach to transfers targets.

@YKW ... Love this article, particularly the detail surrounding the Goals/Personality sections. I often read that SI dont want to lose their identity of the game being a Management Simulator and as a result are often having to reject some really good ideas that could potentially take the focus away from that... With that being the case, I think the Manager detail needs to go to another level. Like you mentioned in your post, apart from the name and the nationality, there isnt too much to distinguish the managers from one another. It would also be good to see these details applied to current managers and future re-gens.

I think it could be a nice addition to the start of the game when creating your profile/manager to be able to select a personality type (from a drop-down menu) and select a number of traits for in-game manager. As a result this could have an impact on you when applying for managerial roles at certain clubs. For example a club could reject a job application as you do not play the kind of football or have the personality they are looking for. In addition, this could help you get a job as you might have exactly what a club is looking for in their next manager. An example of this would be: Manager Name: Mr T Smith Personality: Calm/Quiet/Determined/Aggressive/Outspoken/Resolute Manager Traits: Likes to sign young players / Likes to play possession football / likes a large transfer budget - ect ect Favored Formation: 3-5-2 / 4-4-2 / 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 ect ect Playing Style: Long Ball/High Tempo/Possession/Defensive/Counter Attacking/Mixed - ect ect I think it would be good if your manager had a personality that can be reflected in the game. Would love to know your thoughts on this. Regards

Would love to see more aggressive/harsh media articles in the game, much like we do in real life. The media play a huge part in the modern game and it would be great to see that reflected in the FM world. We already see glimpses of this when the media tend to put pressure on your squad/team selections. However, in terms of media slander, we dont see much of it in the game. An example of this, would be if the club have become stale, or in a terrible run of form and the media start jumping on the band wagon - Especially when at the more reputable clubs & International management. Would it be possible to have headlines/articles of fans calling for managers to be sacked/replaced? Fans disliking the playing style or transfer business? Would it possible to see terms like ''DISASTER'' , ''IT STINKS'' , ''HUMILIATING'' , ''NO WAY OUT'' ... or even fan protests/not turning upto games? In recent years, we have seen alot of these stories - Wenger/Arsenal, Jose/Chelsea, Moyes/LVG/United, Hodgson/England and so on - it would be refreshing to see the pressures that come with managing at the top top level reflected in the games media. In addition to this could we see more realistic language around player transfers. I would also like to see an improvement in the general news articles that surround the in-game footballing world. In particular the lack of structure around Breaking News ... I feel the Breaking News should be ever present during the transfer windows, and also when a manager is sacked/resigned/appointed. Possibly have a Breaking News topic in Yellow in your inbox when something major has happened in the game. Instead of just bland ''ARSENAL SACK SMITH'' ... why not have a Breaking News article in Yellow ''BREAKING NEWS: TOM SMITH SACKED BY ARSENAL'' with an article on the story. For transfers ''BREAKING NEWS: TOMMY SMITH ARRIVES FOR MEDICAL'' .... ''BREAKING NEWS: CHELSEA AGREE SMITH FEE'' again with an article on the how the deal unfolded. I have many more ideas on this topic, however do not want to ramble on too much. Would love to hear your views on this. Regards

In the footballing world, Pre Season is one of the most important & chaotic periods in a clubs season …. Training camps, enduring transfer saga’s, board meetings and of course the lucrative friendlies to please the commercial partners. In Football Manager, I cant help but feel that Pre Season is no more than a few clicks of the "Continue" button, with the odd player transfer thrown in (should you have enough money) and maybe a week long training camp to Spain which has no real effect on the game itself. Would it be at all possible for the Pre Season madness of the real world to be simulated in the Pre Season world of Football Manager?? Below are some of the ideas I feel would help blend the two worlds together. 1) MID SEASON BOARD MEETINGS TO DISCUSS UPCOMING SUMMER: Board suggest friendlies based on commercial requirements. (We would like to play against either Club A, Club B or Club C in the USA as part of our commercial obligations) Board suggest Training Camp locations based on commercial requirements. (Please select which two weeks you would like to spend in China as a result of our commercial obligations) Pre Season tournaments with added income (We have been invited to play in the X Cup in Australia) *The results of these meetings to be kept in place even if the manager is removed from their position. (a similar situation happened when LVG was unhappy with Man United's pre seasons plans that were put in place by the previous manager/commercial requirements) 2) PRE SEASON INTERVIEWS: Interviews whilst on Training Camps or Pre Season Tours – reflect on upcoming season or latest in-game transfer/football news. 3) TRANSFER IMPROVEMENTS: Clubs transfer activity is often impacted by other clubs Pre Season plans. (Club A has to wait for Club B to return from tour in China before continuing negotiations) Players arriving for medicals! In today's world, players jetting off around the world for a Pre Season/Mid Season medical is big news. (Player X arrives for Club A medical) or (Player X jets in for Club A medical) Would love to hear your thoughts, responses and/or feedback on these suggestions. Regards.