samdiatmh

so isn't that kind of realistic then? if a regular Joe Bloggs suddenly came out of nowhere to manage the team, then how would you feel as the fan? or better yet, how did Leeds fans feel after ol' what's hit name took over a few years ago? Hockaday, who I had to wikipedia because he was so uneventful

It's purely based on reputation (and possibly average rating) Obviously it'll be hard to break the Messi/Ronaldo stranglehold on it until they retire Although I have seen some randoms make the top 3 when their nation won the World Cup (I had Gino Perruzzi and Sergio Aguero finish top 3 when Argentina won the WC, obviously behind Messi)

Minimum 3.5* potential is what's tripping you up there Most people can tell you who the brightest talents in a particular league is, which is why you're getting the same type of players each time (heck, everyone knows Aguero is a 3.5* [most likely better] PL player) Personally, I prefer them to scout a specific country, and then filter it down from there Unfortunately, you can't set it as "under" a certain current ability, so you'll have to weed out the Aguero's from the Pellegri's (the young star from Genoa) Which I think would be useful for the players that are "projects" so you can loan them out and develop them, rather than rely on the academy

I personally wish it was 5% for each of the last 5 (for a total of 25%) It makes it the same discount if you buy it every year, but then there's still a discount if you miss a year or two And then those that bought it last year for the first time still get a 5% discount

personally I tend to go with "not signing established names" after the initial setup of the club so I'll still have at it for the first window, but will then only sign youth (players under 19), players on the transfer list, or ones without a contract makes it interesting when you're looking for a future prospect, to then see StarPlayer XYZ go onto the transfer list and think about how to incorporate him plus it varies it up, as different players end up on there (Luis Suarez [15m] in FM15 was a good pickup, as was Son [current Spurs player, 22m] and VanGinkel [4m, contract expiring in 6 months] in FM16) and then only bringing in a first team player when someone is all but gone, to reduce the threat of having too many players in the squad (so only signed Van Ginkel after Lucas Romero left)

so we do what real clubs do and use FM for scouting in FM? FMception I also like how it basically pokes fun at most of the "transfer deadline day" cliches You've got a studio crossover to someone sitting randomly around A live cross to him about to interview someone A "Harry Redknapp" interview through a car window while on the way to work

I'm not a fan I used to have it, but found that he plonked too many of the "match highest earner clause" into contract renewals of star first teamers that don't draw a large salary (like a goalkeeper) that it crippled my financially when I offered the star striker a bumper new deal It got pretty annoying when I had 7 of my first teamers all on the same wage because of it edit: although I will stress this was in the first edition that the DoF was implemented in, so maybe it's been made more realistic since then

I think it depends on how you run your squad though Personally, I run a fairly thin first-team squad (generally under 20) so have plenty of opportunity for young prospects to step up and show their worth if I get a few injuries It also depends on how far down the pecking order they are too - I'm more likely to loan out a player if he's relying on 3 injuries to a certain position (let's say DC) in order to get a game But I'd opt against it if he's solely relying on one or two injuries to be in the side (like my 4th choice wing back) - obviously got my 2 starters, one reasonable versatile cover, and then him, then he'll probably stay as he'll most likely get a run out at some point If you run a stacked squad (like a Man City), then you're probably more likely to see a benefit of loaning players out, as you're giving them regular gametime that they simply won't get at your own club

I'm pretty sure FML was the beta-test for the ticker thing that logs the events in the match I didn't mind it as a open beta test for potential new developments (like the above ticker), but for actual gameplay it was pretty poor IF (and I don't think it'll happen) SI bought it back, then I can see it as pretty much a "this is what we're planning for future FMs, let's get some real world play testing on it" rather than a FM simulator so SI can have feedback on things that they're unsure about (building an academy in a new nation? - maybe a pure DoF mode) before it gets hastily released into a new FM and bug-ridden for the first year or so are SI willing to basically create a beta FM with "new features" being privately released before a new FM - no but it's nice to think about ----- I still think it should be an option where the clubs are frozen as of May (ie when the European season finishes) and then patch it with a "summer transfers" and the a "winter transfers" which you could test out in this scenario (so Chelsea still have the likes of Matic/Costa) you can then step literally into Conte's shoes, and choose whether to: - sign Bakayoko/Morata (as they did IRL) - keep Matic/Costa and not change much - pursue other players, as you do normally

fairly sure if he plays over 10 league games for the A team, then he's no longer eligible for the B team at least I think that was the case for my Real Madrid save (I only did a one season test, but called up a youngster in an injury crisis and couldn't move him back when the star returned because he had around 10 league games)

also for 32 games, that leading points tally of 61 is pretty low too

obviously it depends where I'm weakest.... as a general rule though, I'll tend to sort out the results-aspect positions first (GK and ST) and then work from there so as a blank squad - I'll look for a quality keeper and ST, then I'll potentially look for a quality DC, before figuring out how to structure a team around them edit: getting promoted means I would pour all of my promotion money into a quality keeper (as he'll most likely keep me in the division) and then strengthen around him

okay... it's December and January, slick Barcelona passing moves won't work too well when you're playing on muddy pitches (or even snow covered ones) - try playing a possession friendly style on a muddy pitch in a few months in real life, see how that works out for you given that it's December and January, you played a total of 7 games in December (an average of 1 every 4 days) and 5 games in January (an average of 1 per week) are you sufficiently resting players enough in December to allow for the increase in games? (you played Burnley on Dec30, and then Sunderland on Jan1 - that's 2 games in 72 hours, surely the players got a rest in there?) the reason why the FA Cup 3rd round upsets are frequent is that they come after 3 games in a week for top table sides (December 26, December 28th, January 1 are all typical fixture days) - so you have those sides rest a LOT of first team players and the smaller team gets hyped up for it personally, I tend to prefer these months for fixtures, as I can rest players (basically send most of them home rather than turning up for training) and then turn up to games a LOT fresher - which makes my goal-a-game striker even more deadly over that period (8 goals in 5 games was his December record last year) This happened purely because the opposition defence was tired and provided me with LOADS of opportunities for goals (6-0 CWC final, 7-0 vs low league team [eventually relegated], 6-0 vs a midtable team [eventually finished 14th]) - I was loving FM at that point, as my team was redhot (to the extent that I hit 30 shots against ManCity in the LeagueCup final - ran out 4-2 winners or something) edit: I also like how most of these "my players are now useless" or "the AI have turned into superhumans" threads are all losing streaks in December and January, when the fixture list piles up [read above for this person] - and the same 11 turns up each game (in a presumably knackered state before game) without any sort of squad management going on

and this is where real life differs from FM in real life, Robben will probably bow out at the end of a season, while he's still getting somewhat regular games for Bayern in FM, players generally don't retire unless they're gametime is poor (and generally they get an injury which cripples their stats, and then they're gone after a season or two) it does make the retirement age somewhat realistic (as they both retire around the same age - both ingame and IRL) however FM basically makes their physicals useless, and they spend the final season in the reserves before bowing out I've rarely seen someone bow out while still making 70% of appearances for their club side (as players tend to do IRL) - unless it's a pre-coded-retirement (like Lahm) Case in point, I've seen Ashley Cole retire at the end of the first season in numerous playthroughs (just simulating) in FM16, although I managed to extend that by another season because I played him 30-35 times in the PL [and he then retired because I signed in a replacement which relegated him to "bench cover" and he played around 10 games] ------ I would like to see that happen a bit more in FM actually, where a player chooses to bow out on his own terms, rather than spend the last season with no games wasting away in the reserves Maybe a "player interaction feature" where players of 33+ come up to you toward the end of the season asking for your plans for them next year and then this affects their retirement plans (they'll choose to retire if you tell them that their role will be reduced to merely backup) and then this can affect how other older players treat you when signing for you in future (If they leaked that they were going to get regular games, and then spend it with 10 games in some random cup competition)

a half-decent Asian-based player will sell more shirts than a Messi type if you're that way inclined I was VERY surprised to see my Chinese 2nd choice striker sell more shirts than my first choice (world player of the year) striker