El Payaso

I'm really starting to like the looks that the newgens tend to have in this version. I used to hate them in the previous versions as physical attributes always tended to be way too high since the beginning. Now these look way more balanced. This version has many features that actually make me want to have a long term save for the first time in many many years. By the way: how long does it take for you to finish a season in general? And what highlights type do you use during games?

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I think BWM. I didn't think that anything could happen with the interaction so I basically told him to f*** off with his request. And the next day were in for a surprise. Same happened with Tenas also but as it is an international loan, PSG are not able to terminate it.

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He actually didn't react in any way and is 'delighted' with his playing time. I am of course planning on giving him the maximum minutes in Conference league and cup games and also looking for a solution to include him in January. Could well be that at least one of the duo mentioned will be sold in January. With Isco it is currently like playing with ten men and the team usually starts to perform when we take him out. Tempted to try him as a wide playmaker and see how he will do with Dest down the right.

Inspiring stuff once again. A big reason why I am so hooked on my own Betis career. I think we also struggle with lots of same things in terms of tactics.

Okay. I have clocked about three seasons in total and seen 0 for and against. The AI matches seem to produce some so it might just be bad luck.

Nothing that badly in my opinion. Throw-ins and set pieces in general are a bit of a mess but they have been like that for the last ten years. People should be used to it. I would enjoy if vision and intelligence would be easy to notice in the ME but on the other hand it's not totally non-existent as I got for example Cole Palmer performing magnificently well at Chelsea in Lampard-esque role. Players like Isco seem to be quite useless but this could also be down to my own tactics. I haven't seen a single goal from a direct free kick or a real long range goals from 30 yards out but this has also been the case in FM quite often. In general I like the match engine and the fact that for example wingers don't automatically perform well for me. Of course you need to sabotage your own gameplay somehow if you want to keep things close to realistic. This shouldn't be the case in my opinion but it's once again something that have had to do for years now. Avoid using gegenpressing, asymmetric formations, near post corner kick deliveries, short goal kicks etc. If you do these and don't use player and scout search, the game can actually be quite good even for long term saves.

Could well be. I think attacking minded wingbacks have been really effective ever since roles such as complete wingback were introduced in the game. Don't remember if it was FM 2015 or 16 but I remember Oscar De Marcos regularly escaping to a free crossing positions about ten times per game in a simple 4-4-1-1 formation. Not a good player in terms of attributes but in the game 'impossible to mark' for the AI.

Regarding the match engine: it does have some even major issues but I've come quite used to it that about 80% of the highlights start from some kind of a set pieces situation. This is because that is how the game has been for about the last ten years. I find it surprising that for example throw-ins are getting criticised only in this version when I have raised this since 2014, I think. Also if some issues drag on for ten years, for me it is quite clear signal that it is not even possible to fix them with the current limitations of the ME. As FM 2025 is going to be the next big thing for SI, I am not able to be surprised that the work was already done ages ago with this version's ME. But let's look at the bright side: it's still way better than many other versions such as FM 10, 12 and 17 that were horrible.

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Maybe the lack of ME changes is down to the tenth anniversary of the poor throw-in defense. To be serious, I'm not surprised at all that they have full focus already on FM 2025. Most of the match engine problems have been present for years and this tells you that these are not easy or even possible to fix with the current match engine. I'm happy with the game in general and have been enjoying it a lot. Will continue doing this and definitely also purchase the next version.

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The worst one ever to be honest. And not even joking. When you talk about the most balanced version, FM 2017 should never even be mentioned. Of support role strikers sum 80+ pass attempts and 5+ key passes per game, there is something really badly wrong with balance.

Really interesting posts once again. Those kind of 'boring' tactical victories against bigger sides are the ones I enjoy the most in FM.

If you approach tactics in a manner like you would in real football then style of plays will basically never be dependant on the match engine. Obviously there are extremes like FM 2017 but in general sensible approaches should always work quite well. This thread is brilliant by the way. And also a good example of different kind of approaches working in the game.

Decided to watch a game of football for the first time in about 5 months as Betis and Athletic are the two teams I like the most in Spain. What FM still lacks is the impression of lack of time and space and battling for possession that are practically all the time present in real life. This also is what separates FM from real football as this affects to so many things in the game in general (turnovers, pass competition, fouls, cards etc). This is also a thing that I used to talk about a lot when I was one of the beta testers. It's especially evident when you look at short delivery from keepers where you basically get a free path to the midfield as defending sides are not able to mark away passing options or block passing lanes like they do in real life.