MatthewS17

The issue is that there are too many chances. If the chances are converted, we're looking at regular 9,10-0 scorelines, hence 1v1s have been nerfed substantially. This is, for me, a problem, because rather than working on improving the defensive aspects of the game to nullify the threat, it seems the complete opposite was done, resulting in an unrealistic amount of chances. Another problem is with pressing. Defenders should not be pressing players all the way back to the halfway line. And 2-3 players should not be running after one player. This just leaves gaps everywhere. Defensively, it seems interceptions have been the most notable improvement, but tackles are still issues, as it's way too easy for attackers to beat their man. All in all, this then creates the unrealistic aspect of attacking play. No excuses though. This was really something that should have been worked on. It's

I think it's safe to say that for me, "other games" have been the hook. Also, does anyone actually mind if you post here. It may be FM17, but I personally come here for the stories and to see how everyone likes to envision their team.

Tbh, your style and mine are completely different. However, in terms of wide players, I try to make mine the most expansive, yet dynamic players on the pitch. I have Rashford at IF(A) on the left, with the instruction to "Stay Wider". Rashford has 50 goals and assists combined in 55 games for me since I started this save( 42 goals and 8 assists). On the other side, I want a player with more creative output, so I have Sancho(Greenwood players here as well, but then it acts like a front 3, so you need your midfield and wingbacks to create width. Sancho alternates between W(A) and a Support duty. Mainly support against lesser teams, because they sit deep(and still somehow dominate possession), and then attack against the bigger teams, because he's got more space. So far Sancho's got 2 goals and 4 assists in 6 games in the league, I think. Not bad. The best example I can think of is to look at how Pep sets his wingers up. When Sterling and Sane played. Both hugged the touchline, until the final third when Sterling would cut in using his pace while Aguero dropped deeper. Sane always held width. Anyway, just my two cents. However, what do I know? MK Dons had 68% possession over me at Old Trafford for the entire game in the Carabao Cup.

I can't, mate. I've tried. I like the updated database.

Is the reason "Cautious Mentality" states "expected to lose the battle for possession" just SI half-heartedly copy pasting last year's text, or is it naturally supposed to be applicable. If applicable, I'm curious why every side that plays cautious tends to dominate possession (to an incredibly high extent) against me. Including a league 2 side. The moment they switch outside Cautious, I automatically start dominating again Confused as all hell.

I like the Carabao Cup. I see it as a platform to further success during the season. I find the FA Cup infinitely more difficult as it starts in January when fixtures are tight. And I like that the Carabao Cup ends before Champions League knockout stages begin.

The condescending tone tells me enough about you. Feel better about yourself yet? Good. I'm happy that attempting to subtly demean others makes you happy. You do you. The whole premise of many people having issues with this game has nothing to do with winning or losing. It's wanting to see good football. I don't have any problem winning, but I can't play FM20 in an enjoyable sense anymore because it's terribly dull and uninteresting to watch. Good football. It's not hard to understand. Aside from that, there's a complete dismissal by the system to actually adhere to tactics, and players seem to tend to do their own thing anyways. Hence, the ME seems to do its own thing. Defending is still iffy, as they don't seem to intercept and positioning still seems off. Possessional football seems confusing and watching a League 2 side play out the back against a team like Liverpool is just baffling. Aside from that, it seems player attributes matter little as the amount of threaded accurate passes in difficult spaces or over long distances don't equate to the players in question. I've yet to mention 1v1s,which ARE a problem. Although it's been mentioned that defence has been improved, I'm not seeing it. The 1v1 nerf seems like the ME's way of countering that. This game seems to have become more about an obsession with statistics that drive the game, rather than just trying to create good, attractive football. Or park the bus, what you prefer. I still love FM15, for the very reason that, although it was pitifully easy, I could see the system I wanted to play being effective. FM20 is incredibly difficult for me to get through, but I'm doing it because I enjoy playing with my football club, more than I'm actually enjoying the game. Even then, I have to put this down every week or so, because I just don't see any positive in playing it. This isn't Fortnite. Screaming 'Git Gud like a 5 year old isn't the only outcome

I use Cavani as a CF(A). While he's not Kane, they're pretty similar in pace and as forwards, however Kane is much more creative and rounded. I've noticed that Cavani drops deeper than Martial and plays in Rashford a lot from the Left Wing. Then again, I'm biased as the CF role is the only role I like to use for my forwards.

In terms of training, I handle the individual aspect, as Man United have a lot of players with key attributes slightly underdeveloped, especially in the Mental area. I replaced the backroom staff, and my assistant manager is Juan Carlos Carcedo, who handles the general training. Seems to do a good job at it too. However, I hit a stumble as one of my more defensive minded coaches(Danny McGrain) retired and I'm struggling to find an adequate replacement. In terms of the Loan Manager, I did at first consider hiring one, but when he demanded 30k, I told him very specifically where I'd like him to shove that wage. Very specifically.

Tbh, I keep them around to make it feel slightly realistic, given I'm in charge of everything. I have Luis Ocampos as my DoF and don't remember who my technical director is. The idea was to have something similar to the way Sir Alex used to do things, in which he was part of negotiations and meeting players alongside David Gill. However, more delegation is needed. I don't use the Loan Manager as it makes no sense. The Head of Youth development can do the same thing, and I've placed him in charge of signing any potential youngsters for youth teams. However, he never seems to do this. He just accepts or rejects incoming offers which is slightly frustrating. As for the scouts, I sack anyone with below 16 in in the Potential or Ability stats. This is Man United. Only the best will do.

Lo and behold, I've begun my second season of my Manchester United save, and I think I've done a fairly decent job of bringing in players that are needed and suit my style and United's club culture. In terms of transfers, in came: Sergio Reguilon - Free Donny Van De Beek - 28m Jack Grealish - 36m Jadon Sancho - 89m Edinson Cavani - Free Total: 153m Alongside, out went: Sergio Romero - 5m Eric Bailly - Loan(Nobody wanted to buy him) Luke Shaw - 39m Timothy Fosu-Mensah - Free Andreas Pereira - 22.5m Alexis Sanchez - 21.5m With Jones and Lingard already gone, the goal had been to remove the remaining deadwood, while adding quality and depth in order to realistically move for a league challenge. I think I've done that, with the squad looking like this: Goalkeepers: David De Gea, Dean Henderson, Joel Pereira Full Backs: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Diogo Dalot, Brandon Williams, Sergio Reguilon Centre Backs: Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Axel Tuanzebe, Teden Mengi Defensive Midefield: Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Fred, James Garner Central Midfield: Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Jude Bellingham, Donny Van De Beek, Juan Mata(Don't use AMs in my system, or hardly), Hannibal Mejbri Wingers: Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Daniel James, Jack Grealish Forwards: Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood The second and not so important goal was to lessen how many average players were on gigantic wages at the club. Hence, out went Shaw(160k per week ffs) and Sanchez. Mata and Matic both took pay cuts so they'll get to stay. Pogba signed a new deal that had the exact same wage as the old one. Now that depth is established, the next goal is to add the final pieces of quality, and then to make Man United the world's best team. Primarily, I need a new DM, and Rodrigo Bentancur has already agreed a move for 63m at the end of the season. He is my perfect DM, with great mentals, work rate, passing and defensive ability. That leaves me with the centre back and striker roles to obtain. Dayot Upamecano is my primary target as he's fairly cheap for a WC centre back, with Ben Godfrey being a decent alternative. In terms of a forward, Harry Kane is the primary target, with Lautaro being my alternative, as both are incredible all round strikers. The problem with Harry Kane is his undying loyalty to Spurs in my saves, and not willing to force a move which brings down the price. I watched and courted him for a full season before and got nothing for it. However, I may look to change striker profile if I can obtain either Mbappe or I will look to Haaland as a cheaper option. A lot depends on my budget for the upcoming season. However, with a net spend this season of only around 120m(65m before Bentancur), I don't see why I shouldn't be backed if I am still successful. Enough of that. On to the season. We started off beating City on penalties in the Community Shield after a 2-2 draw, with Set Piece Simulator doing its best to thwart me(Scored a goal in the 89th minute, immediate following highlight was a City set piece, instead of the usual kick off, which absolutely set me into a rage, as they scored. But we still won. Next important fixture was Barca. We scored first inside 12 minutes thanks to Cavani, but 10 minutes later Barca equalised and dominated the rest of the match, literally tearing apart my midfield. I stubbornly chose to let the game play out, until the final 10, where we really started to struggle. Switched to an experimental 4-4-2 diamond to body the midfield, which worked perfectly, as it shut them out. On came extra time, with me prepping for penalties, and Barca going absolute gung-ho. We hit them on the counter in superb fashion, and Martial finished superbly. What followed was quite emphatic. From Pogba heading out a cross in our box, to blasting his way into their box to score from our own cross. Who said he has no work rate?! And then Greenwood, who was having a shocker but I persisted, hit the final goal with a brilliant finish, as we ran out 4-1 winners. In the league, we're 5 wins from 5, with 17 goals scored and 1 conceded. My biggest problem is actually selection. Grealish is pushing Bruno for a place in the squad, as his creative output is exceeding Bruno's. In fact, Grealish has amazed me with how good he is in central midfield. Greenwood can't stop scoring from the RW, but neither does Sancho stop scoring and assisting. Donny Van De Beek offers brilliant control in the midfield and he tends to be involved in everything. Martial was first choice, except Cavani has just hit a hat-trick and scored in every game he's played. Martial has 4 in 5. I like these problems.

Haha, I'm trying to get the best of both worlds here, which is proving difficult. I think sitting Pogba as the AP(S) or keeping the RPM while Bruno drops into the MEZ(S) might work, but I'm not sure. Bruno on support will mean he drops deeper to provide more defensive cover, and would be more applicable to a system of alternating 8's. What concerns me is Bruno losing his ability to get into the box, leaving me a man short going forward.

I've thought about this, but I want Bruno to occupy a similar role to what he has for us IRL, which means his defensive responsibility ends at the halfway line. And Pogba needs to be the one to get back, with his passing able to control the flow and tempo of the game. Tbf, I'm not looking for so much out of them. 10G and 10A out of each of them would be something I'm happy with. Mostly assists out of Pogba, with Bruno getting into the box and position to shoot more. This is because I want Rashford as the LW(IF) to be my focal point goalscoring wise, with Martial adding up on it as well. It worked in my first season as both scored 35 goals across all comps(35 in 43 for Martial and 35 in 48 for Rashford). The issue here is I think I can get more out of this team, as I'm not fitting my roles in correctly. As for the 4-2-3-1, I don't prefer it as I prefer the extra man being able to hold in the midfield. I opt instead for a Diamond or a Back 3 when needed.

So, I'm looking for a bit of suggestion here. I'm trying to figure out the perfect combination for Bruno and Pogba. Last season for me, Bruno(MEZ on Attack) had 11 assists and 5 goals in the league. Pogba had 7 goals and 4 assists(DLP on Support). For me, that's disappointing as I want more goals out of Bruno. I play a 4-3-3 DM system. With McTominay or Matic as the deepest in a DM(D) role. Now, I'm wondering if it's logical to change Pogba's role to that of the Roaming Playmaker, with Bruno keeping his MEZ(A) role, or is the "Roam From Position" going to wreck me, especially since both will likely like to move into the box? I like the idea that the RPM role also builds on a player being more applicable in the defensive phase as well, which suits Pogba. The alternative is Pogba as the AP(S), and Bruno as the B2B(S), which I'm not a fan of for these two. Does anything think these will work well, or any further suggestions?

I did as well. I got turned off Tonali as, bar those two months of injury, he'd been a first XI regular, and yet he's barely showed any improvement. In fact, he's still too similar to Fred for me who IG isn't probably good enough. Edit: Nevermind. Game crashed in the middle of loading my save and the save has corrupted. Luckily I have a backup save. Stupidly, I only saved before the Europa League final. Not too bad I guess. Could be worse.