[The opposition goalie problem...]

I've a feeling part of the issue with the 'shot' stat is that its slightly inflated because the game may be counting blocked shots which in real-life don't get tallied, I'll look into this, thanks for mentioning it.

You will notice this sort of thing in matches where the other team 'parks the bus' especially - and tbh if you're the equivalent of Manchester City playing against an away team who've had a man sent off ... then I expect that is exactly what they did.

Generally what happens is that eventually you'll sneak a goal and then the floodgates open to some extent as they try and get back into the match, but every now and again a team will manage to survive, just as in real-life.

One thing I generally recommend when playing against a 'parked' team is to not just go 'uber attacking' - but to setup a patient play for at least a while, try and draw them out from defense ... then towards the end if needs be throw the kitchen sink at them.

(the game doesn't 'bias' this sort of thing for or against any team - it just simulates the match as it sees it)

[Reserve team useless?]

Players in reserve leagues most definitely do progress and will improve, them playing reserve matches does help and as passenger58 indicated it shows you who is potentially ready for a run in the first team as well.

That being said reserve leagues are NOT as competitive as first team football and loaning a player out can help someones development if they're able to get consistent first team football and 'cut it' at that level (whether that is a loan to an active or inactive league club - inactive leagues are 'spoofed' behind the scenes and will give experience to players who go out on loan to them).

PS - I will however do some double checking on progression in reserves, I've a feeling by the sounds of it that it 'might' be possible the attribute graphs aren't updating correctly for reserve players (so they don't look like they're progressing even if they are) ... I'll check as I mentioned.

[Tactical Instructions Problem]

On 09/08/2020 at 20:20, AT13BA said:

I said Ball Playing Defender plays long ball. That's why ?  His role Ball Playing Defender. I select short pass but he play long ball.  My Advanced playmaker dont try dribble and dont carry ball. Please make new things. Thank you for reply. Good works

With regards to why sometimes players won't blindly obey their roles - somethings will come down to individual players and the situation within a match.

For instance if you have someone set as a 'Ball Playing Defender' but they've good decisions and are being pressed by opposition forwards without an outlet then they will most likely try and put the ball into a safe location (ie. attempt a long searching pass). A BDP with short-passing only works if you've players around him who have space for him to pass to).

Also - Do bear in mind that the 'clips' you see are the most exciting parts of a match, your players 'may' have been doing what you expect more of the time and it's the one time they didn't which made them unpredictable and got you a chance.

For instance at Brighton, Lewis Dunk is a BDP - he passes short and Brighton are known for short passing ... however if you watch our matches a fair few chances come from Dunk playing long balls accurately over the time, teams don't expect it from us and so its effective when its tried.

[Reserve Player Promotion]

Thanks for the detailed explanation of what was occurring - very useful to know.

[Tactical Instructions Problem]

The roles you give players are basically 'customised' individual tactics - most positions on the pitch have roles which should allow you to encourage or discourage certain things ...

For instance a winger will try and dribble and cross the ball, a box to box midfield will tend to have more latitude on where he is positioned on the pitch, moving up and down with play etc.

(that being said without giving too much away we'll be considering adding additional roles and such in future versions)

[Managerial mind games - a suggestion]

That isn't a bad idea at all - can't promise anything, but its a decent concept (it'd only be for 'big games/derbies' if its done - main thing with these is to ensure they don't get overly repetitive imho).

[Few questions about 'Relaxed' player personality]

Relaxed is low training combined with lack of ambition - think 'slacker' culture ...

This can mean they'll be easier to handle if you're trying to keep low wages.

Personalities can change over time, they're especially malleable at an early age and yes mentoring is a good approach.

[Set asking price for players]

The way it 'should' work is the game should remember the last bid you negotiated up / rejected and not bid beneath that for a while ... if that isn't the case then please confirm and I'll take a look shortly.

[Transfer Strategy]

For me it depends on the player and err my relationship with them ... some players are more professional than others, if the player is a leader at the club and professional then I'll trust them to stand by me when I reject offers.

If the player is ambitious and has been a prat in the past then it's more along the lines of 'don't let the door hit your arse on the way out' ..

[Does football manager mobile work on a google chromebook?]

On 23/07/2020 at 14:57, JHALTY2 said:

Does it fit the full screen as well and what do you mean that it isnt supported

The amount of revenue made through sales to Chromebook users would barely pay for my caffeine addiction and wouldn't scratch the surface of the studio costs to full QA and test the product.

The studio doesn't officially support the platform or do any testing to ensure it works. I've got a Chromebook at home (or more accurately did have one before my daughter adopted it and moved to Atlanta) and so have tried to ensure that the game functions upon one.

The game should work full-screen (there is a 'stretch to fit' option in preferences if it appears non-full screen on any android device). Feel free to message me if there are any issues, but do understand that I'm busy working on FMM21 at present so might not respond immediately.

PS - I'll be obtaining a new Chromebook at some point before 21 comes out, any recommendations?

[Unusual Transfer Situation]

4 hours ago, passenger58 said:

I've always found this odd too but it's the way the game currently works. Whether it's supposed to, I don't know. 

This is how it works in real-life also, its a legal contract between the clubs.

[Fm 2020 A Bit Too Easy?]

SI are like Santa Claus, we're always watching ... (but we don't always comment publicly on our plans) ...

[New to FM]

Hi - welcome aboard.

When you start the game it should start with relatively sensible and sane tactics and team selection for your team (the idea being that you're left with the state the prior manager had in place) ... this might not be 100% optimal but it should be reasonable and allow you to have some success.

Wolves are a decent side with reasonable resources (in comparison to Eastbourne Boro who I generally play as ) ... so I'd suggest scouring the transfer markets (through using 'Player Search') and using filters to try and find future stars.

I generally sign younger players with the idea they might improve and become more valuable, as in real-life players show their biggest improvements in ability when young (23 and under in the game generally although you can see players up to 26 shoot up sometimes) ... keep an eye out for warning signs about problem players, unprofessional players can especially disrupt a squad.

[FM2021 - beta testing?]

On 16/07/2020 at 16:29, Footix said:

Perhaps a broader beta testing would help with ironing out bugs before official release? The first patch is always kinda.. huge. I guess it would be beneficial for all if some of those tweaks and improvements could be done in an earlier stage. 

Just my two cents. 

Hope you don't take this the wrong way, didn't mean any harm. It seems the team behind FMM is rather small - kudos to you for delivering such a good game at all! 

No offense taken at all - we're always looking to improve our approach to development and deliver the best product possible and I appreciate any constructive feedback.

(but as I mentioned I can't go into details regarding this side of things)

[FM2021 - beta testing?]

We don't publicly discuss beta testing of our products generally I'm afraid (its like 'Fight Club' - the first rule of beta testing is not talking about beta testing ).

[Some features that are on pc and could be implemented]

On 13/07/2020 at 05:22, ElliottMS said:

Interesting, I always found the teams signed a whole squad before I could get started.

You could also make a team using 'myclub' and ensure they have minimal rubbish players (or hot prospects or whatever you prefer) and place them in the lowest league possible etc.

[Some features that are on pc and could be implemented]

The mobile game will continue to evolve and improve over time as devices become faster and have more memory.

Some of these will happen in the future (some faster than others) - a few like 'adding leagues after a save has started' are unlikely to occur for a long time, simply because of the constraints of mobile devices.

[Scouting Agency]

On 03/06/2020 at 06:32, passenger58 said:

Thanks. That is some sort of indicator but average rating doesn't necessarily equate to ability all the time. I assume the scouting agency page is driven by current and potential ability. 

Scouting agency is driven by CA/PA, reputation and form as a combination of factors .. 

[Cross device saved games]

We support cloud saving on iOS, Google's cloud save wouldn't support the size of our save game files last time I checked - if this changes then we might support it in the future.

[start with more leagues]

Out of interest - which 8 leagues do you want to run concurrently and which are the most vital of these to you?

[Misgendering]

21 hours ago, passenger58 said:

On the subject of this, I occasionally see female scouts in the game, but is it currently coded to feature female coaches and scouts? If so, what are the chances of seeing one appear in an existing game? 

I don't know the percentages involved as I'd have to analyse the database - but I believe it's based largely on the percentages involved in the game currently for each position at present (basically when someone is regenerated there isn't a bias for or against a female being generated).

(in case you didn't know there are female staff in all the non-playing positions in the game around the world - including management)

[Misgendering]

Thanks for mentioning this - originally the game (10 years ago) didn't contain the concept of genders for the manager and we've attempted to implement this since - however the game has hundreds of thousands of lines of text and now and again we find one has slipped through which we missed ... I'll try and make sure this is rectified for next years version, sorry for the oversight (and thanks for mentioning this - it's much appreciated).

[Chrome OS]

19 hours ago, edhdurham said:

Hi, I understand that Chrome isnt supported but the last time I played FMM on a tablet there was an issue with the in game editor in that when you amend any player details their stats drop...  its doing that still, this time on my Chromebook, any fix for that issue?

Can you explain what you mean in a little more detail (perhaps with screenshots showing an example?). If you drop a players 'current ability' then yes their attributes will drop - this is normal.

[İmprovements FM 20 Mobile]

Teamtalks might enter the game eventually - however if/when they do I'll streamline them and they will be somewhat different to how its undertaken in FM (and I won't be rushing to implement them) - until then I'll be doing my team-talks in my imagination as usual

Players retire 32/33 - When a player retires depends largely on how active they are, their attitude and fitness - plus please remember you can request they stay on and reconsider retiring (click on the retirement message on their profile page).

Transfers - The amount a player goes for depends on on whether the player is wanted by a club, your surplus players who aren't active aren't in demand so it's unlikely clubs will negotiate over them, similarly if you're bidding on a clubs key players they'll fight to keep them ... if you want cheap players look at cast-offs who are out of interest. (I will as always however keep tweaking this area)

[Fm mobile or touch]

At present I'd recommend Mobile for any phone device as FMT doesn't formally support them and isn't really designed for a small screen.

(I am somewhat biased obviously - but FMT is also partially 'my baby' these days ... so not as much as you might think .. I try to love all my children equally )