Rashidi

That's entirely your choice, but historically the developers have engaged actively with the community as attested by the list of features that were were user recommendations that ended up being in the game. Some of us will continue to engage with them, and they do engage when they can. They just don't come in on each post they are tagged on.

Defend the game, go ask Miles himself. He’ll tell you the mods are some of the most critical out there. I for one have stirred the hornets nest more than once. Were you not around when I called the new headline features “lacking” and in some cases like the Data Hub useless? How about match engine issues, just cos you don’t see me openly vocally complaining like the rest doesn’t mean it never happens. If there is a match engine bug I am one of the most vocal. Why do you think some of the player instructions from the Ball Winning Midfielder were removed? I will not speak for the others, but to imply that we toe the line is insulting. Just cos we don’t come in here and turn this into an echo chamber doesn’t mean we “toe the line”. Personally I hate it when people go around using the term “meta” and “exploit” and in the same breadth say you need specific players for them. I believe in filing a bug report and if the issue persists I file another, if it isn’t addressed I believe SI may not see that as an issue, which means I might be doing something wrong. I do feel that perhaps SI can engage a bit more especially with regards to the current bug reports for FM24. If assets have been moved to FM25 then maybe they should identify the current issues for FM24 they wish to receive reports on, that way everyone’s time can be better utilised.

Several issues here. 1. If you face a 533 or 4231 the flanks are prone to being wide open if the IWBs aren’t fast enough plus IFs will attack the central defenders directly. 2. There is no hold duty in the dm tier and even though you may be using a Libero on support, each time he pushes up he leaves it open and you have something like four players moving up and down there. 3. If you turn the IWB to a wingback on support and the Libero is a defend duty you might get some stability at least the left flank isn’t nearly as open.

The underlying issue with throw-ins is clear, there are some players who when tracking back turn their backs to the ball and in doing so also lose their marker. I notice it’s usually one or two players and I usually attribute this to poor marking and anticipation. It happens sometimes and I believe it was raised, before it was even worse. That unfortunately happens differently for different setups and I expect it’s a nightmare to fix. And since it happens to the AI as well I usually chalk this off since I personally can’t effect any changes myself.

Like you should too. Cos I call on you to prove it’s a match engine flaw. Show me your set pieces. It cuts both ways. SI also have data that shows how many goals are being conceded from set pieces and it’s all within acceptable ranges, but you said it “constantly” happens, and then have a save where you have got loads of clean sheets! Which is it? Constantly? Cos by you mr own admission it’s not happening “constantly” otherwise you would have never produced an invincible season with loads of clean sheets. Or are your trying to make sure you NEVER concede from set pieces? Cos that sounds insanely unrealistic. I don’t need to prove anything to you. My help is reserved for the OP should he require it.

Cause I don’t need to. It’s not fixing a problem, it’s simple math. Have the right numbers defending and be smart about the priority lists. Want a guide go read one or watch a video. There are plenty out there. If you have 4 in your wall then you are doing things wrong. Wanna shut down the extra man have 2 edge of area. Wanna close down corner taker, choose the right players.

I have a great team too, 60% of my matches playing a low block ended with the opposition never scoring a goal off any set piece or open play. There is also a very simple answer to why players are unmarked which you haven’t addressed by showing me your set pieces. I don’t have the same problems others are having with direct free kicks either, the one where someone is left unmarked for a simple shot on goal. There are times when the Ai leaves that player unmarked and I can see why. Like I said earlier people need to see these set pieces before they agree with your point of view. if you want everyone marked from a corner then you have to set it up right. The AI sometimes does it and sometimes doesn’t which boils down to the AI managers set piece routine. There might be bugs, but I am one of those who when defending a corner or a free kick has no worries about defending.

Over on the GD forums you’ve shown you have great success producing quite a few 1 nils with Dynamo Dresden. Would that have been possible if set pieces were entirely bugged? Based on what you guys are saying, you’re conceding almost everytime, but your screenshot says otherwise. @bababooeyI would be keen to see your set piece set up. As far as free kicks are concerned defending sides are always going to be outnumbered so your setup is important and your priority lists as well. I would like to see the set ups of those who are having issues. Naturally having a bunch of short players in your side never helps, I find that at minimum you need at least 4 players who can win headers.

Last night, the FA Cup QF between United and Liverpool was completely scripted. Liverpool conceded a goal off a free kick because they didn’t get back into a good defensive shape in time. That should be a bug cos it “never should have happened”. Then Liverpool had two great counters one a 5v2 and another a 4v2, all Elliot had to do was pass the ball properly. How can the players who are all world class not see the obvious pass? Even a 10 year old can see the pass. Definitely need to log that as a bug. And finally the winning goal, with so many options to pass the ball and with the clock at 2mins left, the players should have tried to pass down the flanks, again another obvious bug. They pass to the opposition with so many options and promptly concede the winner. It’s a bug. Oh and ETHs tactical changes, would never have happened in real life, who plays an outright winger as a fullback, slab head as a forward and Fernandes as a defender in their tactic. It’s a bug… unrealistic tactics should never work. Oops confused real life with Football Manager. Bad stuff happens in the game just like in real life. Life must be scripted then, need to find the shaman hiding under the goalpost.

Been happening since beta.

When you are playing network or pvp, it’s usually on key highlights which means that there is little time for you to counter what they do or adapt. So it’s going to be the person who managed to fit his players into the right tactical system and knows the tactic well that’s gonna come out on top. The match engine is the same for humans and AI alike.

Don’t fall in love with pixels on a screen. Move them on if they don’t fit into your tactical vision and keep/sign players that do.

You don’t need to play on cautious to have high possession. It’s just a risk modifier. If your rest defence is set up well you can generate 60% possession playing on higher mentalities. It’s about your choice of roles/duties and team instructions. While a lower mentality does unmake it easy to play possession football, the cautious mentality could also see your players turn over the ball should they not have players in good positions to pass the ball. Play on positive and higher iince you get more comfortable.

Totally agree, at the moment while low blocks can perform well, they can be even better if the game recognises that the choice of a low block means every player shouldn’t press the backline when they are playing out from the back. It’s also my pet peeve. I would much rather them drop back and close the passing lanes to the wingers instead. This allows teams to play out but then be forced with a dilemma whether to dribble or pass. It seems to only happen when they are playing out from defence. The only low block games I have lost are those kind of games and it’s irksome cos it’s not what I had envisioned.

There is nothing wrong with playing on cautious mentality, been playing the low block on cautious this whole season and I am in with a shot at the title, playing a brand of football one can only call shithousery. Glad to see you making headway.

Its interesting like I said what people read into the match egnine, my point of the video was to highlight the animation of the player calling others to attack the box. This is the attributes of one of the players in the team that we were playing against. And he is their BEST player playing in defence And this is Hato The rb who gave up trying has determination of 4 The point of the video was to illicit a reaction, to show how people can react to what could purportedly look like a match engine flaw. If I were playing against a L2 Bundesliga side I would have filed that as a defending bug. The animation of a player recognizing space to attack was what I was impressed with. The poor defending I expected. Naturally I don't expect to see it happen for EVERY wave of attack, which is the point. I expect to see some movement towards the ball carrier and some hesitation and confusion, after all the determination of the entire back 4 was 17 in TOTAL. If I had scored 40 goals in that game yeah it would most definitely be an issue. I have been playing with a low block system this entire season, and I have seen some very good defending from top sides and from lower league sides. We're talking low blocking for the whole game. There is definitely some decision making I would like to see improve in the match engine. The one I particularly hate, is when I tell the keeper to play it long and he decides to play it short and we concede or when I tell him to play it short and he plays it long and we concede. That happens to be my pet peeve. Lower block systems have been possible for the whole FM25 cycle. AI systems need to recognise when I am playing a low block system that seeks to play it out of defence in and attempt to draw them higher up the pitch to hit through the lines.

Can’t agree here, not all sides play well. People here make the assumption that even amateur sides will defend some situations well. That is one highlight from one game that shows a distinct difference in quality. The point behind that highlight was to showcase the player telling others to attack the box. Just like real life people read into things what they want to read. I can also show you matches of brilliant defending where I get loads of clean sheets and matches where I tear teams apart. The reason is clear, ain’t the match engine.

Ah there is a distinct difference when two sides of different quality face each other. Anyone familiar with the Bundesliga knows that one of the first competitive matches for Bundesliga sides is a lower league match up in the DFB Pokal. So like some have noted, there is a clear attribute mismatch. The opposition are slower and also confused by the run of the BPD. In real life I’ve seen defenders make that kind of run leaving opposing sides uncertain on whether to close them down or not.

I respect anyone who is trying to play some form of route one football. I do think that one needs to consider their players and how their strengths can be leveraged into the style of play. Sometimes you may end up playing games where the opposition is also sitting back and not electing to come out and play. Route one into their packed defence may not work. Sides in real life will try and keep the ball on the ground and try and carve them up. Though with really strong fast players you could try it for an extended period, however I still think against stacked defences you would need to keep the ball on the ground at some point. For the last few weeks I have only been playing low block systems on my streams. In my long term save with Gloucester while I would love to sit back in a low block, the team is just so bad that doing so invites better sides to come attack us and we will eventually break. So I had to come up with different styles of play. One is a low block like this. The IF changes to an W if we are facing a team playing an IWB/IFB, WB/FB, and goes to IF if they are a 3 man defence. I will sit back like this and use pass into pass against better sides. When teams get tired I switch to my route one style which is very different. Sometimes I start games like this and then switch to a low block 523. With my lower league team we have really bad attributes so I spend a great deal of time evaluating the gaps in the oppositions system before making role/duty or TI changes. Sticking a tactic in and simply waiting for it to work with a weaker side doesnt' really work. The AI is simply not sophisticated enough to recognise me playing route one football. Can I win titles playing route one football, probably not, but I am more likely to do it with my low block 523 which has two plans. One I keep the ball and two, I go route one when I have to. With my weaker teams I force the issue with a 424 and then switch into my low block 523. Route one on its own is incredibly hard to pull off, and I doubt you could do it for 90 mins. I just choose to go route one when teams tire out after trying to break down my low block. Thats when my route one destroys their backlines. A style I call Rope'a dope

I was blind. You have a 1-4 buildout, with a defender sitting deep and two inverted wingbacks moving into the DM tier, so your rest defence is primed to allow the AI to attack you down the flanks. And with you playing pass into space on direct passing, you have a high chance of screwing things up. Your transitions are probably breaking down in the latter midfield phase just when you are about to break out and score. You might be able to get away with it against weak sides, but any team playing the system I was linking will eat your 433 up alive.

Attributes don't work in isolation. So any simulation like that would be a waste, plus one needs to play the game to see the impact over time, and I doubt anyone wants to sit there and do a run like that. If it happens it will do so across a save, and my anecdotal experience has suggested I avoid two kinds of players - unambitious and players with very low natural fitness.

Cant really see the roles and duties in the tactic, those team instructions are just going to give the ball away against a 424. Even a system like mine could tear your 433 apart and this is my route one football tactic, it was modelled off what I thought was a tactic used by some of the AI teams in the game. All it does is wait for you to lose the ball. And if your system ever passes the ball back because it found one of its passing routes blocked then its vulnerable. So how does a 433 not concede, it doesn't lose the ball in transition. Strange that others are talking like you have provided roles and duties, yet I can't see them. Maybe I am blind.

Gotta admit there are some nice animations on the match engine, here in one of our first few league games of the season my ball playing defender goes off on a mad dribble starting from his own half, what is interesting is how some of the other players react. One of them clearly recognises the danger of the run and instructs others to attack the box. Ball playing defender2.mp4

Take this over to the good player subsection of the forums. You will probably find the recommendations there.

I want that save. I have yet to have a season where injuries are so bad that I need to depend on a large number of academy players.