[FM12] Now You Do Not Punish Someone, English Or Otherwise, For Being Rubbish At FM...

[SnakeXe]

I don't understand Indian football but I think "not so good".

[SnakeXe]

This was 6-2 the first time then I had to replay it because of the squad selection bug for the Confederations Cup. Kerem Bulun filled his boots this time!

[SnakeXe]

Ok what the hell - the game has decided to choose the squad for the Confederations Cup for me?! Is this a bug or something? It's picked me players for a 4-5-1 or something so I have too few strikers and too many wide players. I might try reloading to before the Macedonia game.

[SnakeXe]

Reloaded and although it still wouldn't let me pick a squad I at least have the same squad as for the Macedonia game so although not ideal it's less bad.

[crouchaldinho]

Just stolen this guy off Germany - his one cap must have been a friendly!

Feeling a bit silly but is this really how it is? I didn't realise that caps in friendly matches don't tie a player down to that nation? It has to be in competitive matches?

Is this a new thing or has it always been like this? Feeling a bit stupid not knowing this but I honestly thought once you'd capped a player in any match he was tied down to that nation! :o

[crouchaldinho]

Ok what the hell - the game has decided to choose the squad for the Confederations Cup for me?! Is this a bug or something? It's picked me players for a 4-5-1 or something so I have too few strikers and too many wide players. I might try reloading to before the Macedonia game.

Did you holiday to next squad selection date?

Maybe it introduced a new friendly match while you were on holiday and therefore the squad selection date changed? That happened to me once and I had to go back to one of the autosaves to sort it.

[jayahr]

Feeling a bit silly but is this really how it is? I didn't realise that caps in friendly matches don't tie a player down to that nation? It has to be in competitive matches?

Is this a new thing or has it always been like this? Feeling a bit stupid not knowing this but I honestly thought once you'd capped a player in any match he was tied down to that nation! :o

That's the rule. Only your first cap in a competitive match ties you to a nation.

Irl this was discussed a bit re Timothy Chandler of the U.S. who has so far only played in friendlies (quite a few of them actually) but then refused the call-up for their competitive matches in early June. Soon it was suspected that he may have done so because he was getting into the focus of Germany, where he grew up and still plays (Nürnberg). He denied publicly that anything like that was the case. But we'll see...

[SnakeXe]

Feeling a bit silly but is this really how it is? I didn't realise that caps in friendly matches don't tie a player down to that nation? It has to be in competitive matches?

Is this a new thing or has it always been like this? Feeling a bit stupid not knowing this but I honestly thought once you'd capped a player in any match he was tied down to that nation! :o

As far as I know this has been the case for a long while - not always, as it used to be much more relaxed - Di Stefano famously played for Spain, Argentina and Colombia internationally. I think it may have been confirmed as a rule by the case of Fredi Kanoute, because he played for France in U21 matches but then wanted to play for Mali as a senior - I think he had to fight his corner for a while but eventually he was granted permission.

That's the rule. Only your first cap in a competitive match ties you to a nation.

Irl this was discussed a bit re Timothy Chandler of the U.S. who has so far only played in friendlies (quite a few of them actually) but then refused the call-up for their competitive matches in early June. Soon it was suspected that he may have done so because he was getting into the focus of Germany, where he grew up and still plays (Nürnberg). He denied publicly that anything like that was the case. But we'll see...

That's interesting - there was a sort of similar thing when England were thinking of calling up Lewis Holtby for us, but he said he only wants to be considered for Germany so it didn't become more of an issue. Shame, he's a very tidy player.

Did you holiday to next squad selection date?

Maybe it introduced a new friendly match while you were on holiday and therefore the squad selection date changed? That happened to me once and I had to go back to one of the autosaves to sort it.

No, I think it was a bit of a bug introduced by the fact that I had a World Cup qualifier very shortly before the squad selection date for the Confederations Cup, so the players hadn't actually gone back to their clubs after the previous match. It's a bit annoying to have to replay the match and have the players who originally scored lose their goals, and Kerem Bulun get what feels like 4 "fake" goals to me, but it'd have been far more annoying to have to go into a tournament with an almost unusable squad (for my systems anyway).

[AK22]

Even by England's standards, that was a pretty abject display at the Euros. However, to put a positive spin on it, at least it meant you avoided Germany in the knockout rounds

Looking much better with Turkey though, you should do well there. The squad selection 'bug' thing came up earlier in my save too, when I was managing Mexico. I had to name two squads within days of each other (Gold Cup and Confeds Cup), but the game didn't stop for the second squad selection, so a crappy bunch was chosen by the AI which didn't fit my formation, and certainly wouldn't have been my first choice 22 either. I didn't reload (in hindsight, perhaps I should have), but it certainly didn't help matters at all.

[SnakeXe]

Even by England's standards, that was a pretty abject display at the Euros. However, to put a positive spin on it, at least it meant you avoided Germany in the knockout rounds

Looking much better with Turkey though, you should do well there. The squad selection 'bug' thing came up earlier in my save too, when I was managing Mexico. I had to name two squads within days of each other (Gold Cup and Confeds Cup), but the game didn't stop for the second squad selection, so a crappy bunch was chosen by the AI which didn't fit my formation, and certainly wouldn't have been my first choice 22 either. I didn't reload (in hindsight, perhaps I should have), but it certainly didn't help matters at all.

Haha yeah who knows what a good team would have done to us!

Really annoying bug isn't it, I had no AMC so couldn't use 4-3-1-2, only 3 strikers so barely 3-4-3, and only 4 central midfielders, so 3-5-2 would have been limited as well. Not to mention only 4 centre-backs.

[SnakeXe]

Edit: This was previously 3-2 to Turkey, but I had a crash-dump after the Mexico game and had to revert back to a save before the Confederations Cup had started. We played quite well this time but no better than last time, and came out with a 4-0 win, which was strange. Kerem Bulun certainly had his finishing boots on this time.

[SnakeXe]

Edit: I had to replay this match again because of a crash, first time round we lost 2-1 despite playing them off the park and missing quite literally 4 or 5 gilt-edged chances, this time we played quite poorly but snaffled the two decent chances that came our way and won easily. Proof, if proof were needed, that it's better to play badly and finish well than play well and finish badly.

[SnakeXe]

Just had my first blue-screen in a while, let's see what I've lost.

[deltablue]

Hopefully Mexico.

[SnakeXe]

Well it saved the day of the Mexico game, but that one has an XML error so I have to go back to the save from yesterday, before the Cameroon game. Utterly infuriating, I hate replaying matches.

[SnakeXe]

I suppose at least I've lost a bad result for once - it's usually something like the 9-1 against Chelsea!

[SnakeXe]

Replayed the two games, both superior results having played slightly worse in each. Feels a bit cheaty, but what's a chap to do. I guess that's karma for the 9-1 against Chelsea I lost.

Edit: Just checked, it was a 9-0 in fact.

Let's just look at it again. Woof.

[SnakeXe]

Rotated the squad for the last group match against a vastly inferior New Zealand side (although credit where it's due - they shut us out until just after half time), and came away with a comfortable win. Albayrak played quite well on the right side of the front 3, I might consider starting him for the next match.

[SRL88]

Snake, could you explain the Argentine league system to me please?

I am considering an offer on my save and would like to know what its like.

[SnakeXe]

Snake, could you explain the Argentine league system to me please?

I am considering an offer on my save and would like to know what its like.

They have 2 championships per season, one over the first 19 games (Apertura/Open), one over the second 19 (Clausura/Close). The Copa Argentina is played throughout the season, whilst the Copa Sudamericana covers the Apetura, with the Copa Libertadores occurring in the Clausura. Argentinean sides are able to enter both, unlike Brazilian ones. Continental qualification and relegation are both decided on a points average system, which goes back a maximum of 3 years depending on how long you've been in the division.

I personally thought it was a great league - every side pretty much plays gung-ho and there's loads of goals. It makes it a bit difficult to adjust to the continental stuff as it's a bit more normal in the balance between defense and attack. I'd definitely recommend going there.

[SRL88]

So if I have understood that correctly, that makes a total of two league Championships to play for. A Copa Argentina which I am guessing is a cup? I know the Copa Libertadores is their version of the Champions League and the Copa Sudamericana as another cup?

[SnakeXe]

Yes, two league titles per season plus a domestic cup (Copa Argentina), Champions League equivalent (Copa Libertadores), and Europa League equivalent (Copa Sudamericana). Oh, and the European Super Cup equivalent, the Recopa Sudamericana, which is over 2 legs in around June IIRC.

[SRL88]

Spot on. Cheers fella .

I have decided to take the jump into Argentinian football .

[SnakeXe]

No probs, good luck!

[SnakeXe]

The scoreline doesn't reflect how absolutely we controlled this game. Despite the narrow lead I never felt worried Portugal would nick a goal, we just swamped them. Mexico are up again in the final after an extra time 1-0 win over Ghana.

[DBurns]

Going great with Turkey! Good luck against Mexico!

Judging by the players that didn't make the bench for your first game in charge, you have one hell of a team!

[crouchaldinho]

GL with the final. I fear the worst. Mexico always turn out to be really good on my game. Hopefully I'm wrong though!

[SnakeXe]

Another very good performance let down by the finishing. If we hadn't been winning already I'd have considered upping the tempo to try and create a bit more space, but it wasn't really necessary. First international trophy! Shame it's the one noone cares about.

[SnakeXe]

Going great with Turkey! Good luck against Mexico!

Judging by the players that didn't make the bench for your first game in charge, you have one hell of a team!

Cheers!

Yeah it's a quite ridiculous generation of players. I've noticed Turkish clubs get incontinently rich in FM so it's probably something to do with that!

GL with the final. I fear the worst. Mexico always turn out to be really good on my game. Hopefully I'm wrong though!

Thanks crouchy, your fears were fortunately unfounded! They are a good side, as I found out in charge of Brazil, but Turkey are on a different level.

[SnakeXe]

SnakeXe's Career - Season 29 - 2040/41

Story of the Seasons:

World Cup 2042 Qualifying - 1st after 6 games

Can't complain with a 100% record, although Czech Republic and Denmark aren't letting us run away with it by any means.

Confederations Cup - Winners

A great performance to win the trophy without conceding a single goal.

Results 1 - Results 2 - Squad

5 Most Important Players:

5. Ozkan Yengel - GK - A solid keeper is always essential for a successful international side, and Turkey of course have about 6 or 7, but Yengel's the most experienced and hasn't let me down.

4. Ediz Kurtar - DC - Very tidy mopping up as a sort-of-sweeper in the middle of our back 3.

3. Aydin Erol - MC - A colossus in our engine room, he and Ipekci are just an unbelievably good central midfield partnership to be able to call upon.

2. Mesut Ipekci - MC - Thanks to the squad selection bug, he unfortunately missed our Confederations Cup win as he was suspended for the Macedonia qualifier, but he's almost definitely our best player in terms of raw ability.

1. Kerem Bulun - ST - He may miss a few but his movement and pace cause the opposition so many problems it's hard not to let him off it. Of course he's still banged in 16 in 12 starts and won the Confederations Cup golden shoe, so who am I to complain?

History:

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| Season  | Team            | League/Competition    | Country      | Position | Notes                                                 |
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| 2012/13 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Semi-finalists                                |
| 2013/14 | Weymouth        | Blue Square South     | England      | 3rd      | Resigned in October                                   |
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| 2013/14 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 14th     | 15th on arrival in October                            |
| 2014/15 | Darlington      | Blue Square Premier   | England      | 2nd      | Playoff Winners                                       |
| 2015/16 | Darlington      | League Two            | England      | 16th     | Resigned in January                                   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2015/16 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 21st     | Relegated, 24th on arrival in March                   |
| 2016/17 | Southend United | League Two            | England      | 1st      | League Two Champions                                  |
| 2017/18 | Southend United | League One            | England      | 2nd      | Promoted                                              |
| 2018/19 | Southend United | Championship          | England      | 17th     | Resigned in October                                   |
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| 2018/19 | Wigan Athletic  | Championship          | England      | 4th      | 13th on arrival in October, Playoff Winners           |
| 2019/20 | Wigan Athletic  | Premier League        | England      | 15th     | Left in December                                      |
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| 2019/20 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 8th      | 14th on arrival in December, DFB-Pokal Winners        |
| 2020/21 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 1st      | B'liga Champions, Supercup Winners, EL Semi-Finalists |
| 2021/22 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 2nd      | Supercup Winners, CL & DFB-Pokal Semi-Finalists       |
| 2022/23 | Werder Bremen   | 1. Bundesliga         | Germany      | 1st      | B'liga Champions, Champions League Winners            |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2023/24 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 2nd      | Champ's League Semi-Finalists, League Cup Finalists   |
| 2024/25 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League Winners, League Cup Finalists          |
| 2025/26 | Arsenal         | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League Winners                                |
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| 2027    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao & Paulista Winners, Libertadores SF       |
| 2028    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 2nd      | Paulista & Copa Libertadores Semi-Finalists           |
| 2029    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao & L'dores Winners, CWC RU, Paulista SF    |
| 2030    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | B'leirao, L'dores, Paulista, Recopa Winners, CWC RU   |
| 2031    | Santos          | Brasileirao           | Brazil       | 1st      | Brasileirao, Paulista, Recopa Sudamericana Winners    |
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| 2030    | Brazil          | Friendlies            | Various      | N/A      | Appointed in July, P5 W2 D2 L1                        |
| 2031    | Brazil          | Copa América          | S. America   | R-Up     | Copa América Runners Up, Resigned in July             |
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| 2031/32 | Vélez           | Clausura              | Argentina    | 1st      | Clausura Winners, Joined in February                  |
| 2032/33 | Vélez           | Apertura              | Argentina    | 1st      | Apertura Winners, Left in December                    |
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| 2032/33 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 7th      | FA Cup Runners Up, Joined in December                 |
| 2033/34 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League & League Cup Winners                   |
| 2034/35 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League, FA Cup, & Champions League Winners    |
| 2035/36 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League & CWC Winners, League Cup & CL R-Up    |
| 2036/37 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League, League Cup, & Champ's League Winners  |
| 2037/38 | Newcastle       | Premier League        | England      | 1st      | Premier League, FA Cup, Lg Cup & CWC Winners, CL R-Up |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2038/40 | England         | Euro 2040 Qualifiers  | Europe       | 1st      | Qualified for Euro 2040 in First Place                |
| 2040    | England         | Euro 2040             | Europe       | Grp A    | Finished 4th in Group A, Resigned                     |
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| 2041    | Turkey          | Confederations Cup    | World        | Winners  | Confederations Cup Winners                            |
| 2040/42 | Turkey          | World Cup 2042 Quals  | World        | 1st*     | *1st after 6 matches                                  |
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Next Season:

Without wishing to jinx it, we should qualify for the World Cup, and from there the aim has to be to go all the way considering the quality at my disposal.

[SnakeXe]

A really poor result, but I can feel somewhat secure in that I was fiddling around in a way I wouldn't in a competitive match, so it's unlikely to happen again. Somewhat irritatingly, it was also a missed opportunity to try the 4-3-1-2 against a 4-3-3 - I should really have taken a look at Slovakia before choosing the squad! I went with the 3-5-2 as we haven't used it often yet and it probably needs a bit more work - this was patently unsuited to the opposition, leaving 3v3 at the back, whereas I always subscribe to the opposition strikers + 1 rule where possible. Regardless, Erbil bailed us out with a late equaliser to avoid my first defeat as Turkey manager.

[crouchaldinho]

Congrats on the trophy.

BTW, how are the Turkish wide players? I notice that your three chosen formations are narrow or with wingbacks, aren't they? Are players a factor in this or is there still quality out wide for Turkey?

[noikeee]

I think I haven't commented in like 20 seasons and I sort of got lost reading the career, so just started from the final page.

Looks like you've had an excellent club career, long sustained success both in Europe and in South America, but in international management... errm it's not quite the same thing. Hopefully the Confederations Cup win with Turkey will give you a boost in that. What do you think the federation will ask you for in the World Cup, a quarter final, semi final place? The European title must've bumped up their expectations to crazy levels. It's not exactly the most comfortable place to be in, even if the squad seems pretty amazing. Turkey always overachieve in FM. Actually overachieve isn't the right word.. what I mean is their regens are always way too good compared to their real life pool of talent.

[SnakeXe]

Congrats on the trophy.

BTW, how are the Turkish wide players? I notice that your three chosen formations are narrow or with wingbacks, aren't they? Are players a factor in this or is there still quality out wide for Turkey?

Thanks crouchy!

They're similarly excellent. There are some really great full-backs I have to leave out all the time, which is a shame. They'd be great if only their clubs would retrain them to MRL as well. It's a combination of factors really - my longstanding desire to use a 3-4-3, the fact that they used it in the successful European Championship campaign, the surplus of top-class, incredibly strong, tall and mobile central defenders Turkey have available, and obviously the similarly excellent quality in midfield and up front that makes the whole thing tick. After the World Cup I might switch round to a system based on a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 just because I can!

I think I haven't commented in like 20 seasons and I sort of got lost reading the career, so just started from the final page.

Looks like you've had an excellent club career, long sustained success both in Europe and in South America, but in international management... errm it's not quite the same thing. Hopefully the Confederations Cup win with Turkey will give you a boost in that. What do you think the federation will ask you for in the World Cup, a quarter final, semi final place? The European title must've bumped up their expectations to crazy levels. It's not exactly the most comfortable place to be in, even if the squad seems pretty amazing. Turkey always overachieve in FM. Actually overachieve isn't the right word.. what I mean is their regens are always way too good compared to their real life pool of talent.

Haha no problem, that's why I keep the career summary table up to date

Yeah definitely not had the breaks in international management so far. I think partly it's picking my jobs very badly. I saw "Brazil" and thought "oh they always have some great players regardless" and actually the quality and depth was very poor outside of a few 32-33 year olds who all played in the same position. Same problem with England, the player pool was abysmal compared with what I have with Turkey. I could put out 3 or maybe 4 entirely different XIs that would beat England comfortably, and that's no exaggeration at all. I posted the guys earlier I didn't even have room on the bench for - there's 15 or 20 more comfortably of international class that don't even make the squad.

[SRL88]

Excellent work with Turkey so far.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Your England was worse than the real England.

Doing much better with Turkey though.

Weymouth didn't last long.

[deltablue]

Good stuff with Turkey.

[SnakeXe]

Excellent work with Turkey so far.

Good stuff with Turkey.

Cheers guys!

Your England was worse than the real England.

Doing much better with Turkey though.

Weymouth didn't last long.

I know! We were awful. Although I don't know why I expected otherwise

Cheers, yeah it's all going to plan at the moment. Which is making me think it's going to bite me in the arse at some point...

If it takes them another decade to get back I might have to take over again just to sort them out.

[SnakeXe]

We tore them open at will in the first half, but eased off in the second as I took the opportunity for some more tactical fiddling. A home win against Ukraine in the next match essentially guarantees qualification due to our vastly superior goal difference.

[SnakeXe]

My scouts at Newcastle first alerted me to the goalkeeper Anton Saenko, I then found out how good he was first hand as he kept out a barrage to help his country beat my England team in Donetsk. I cursed his name again after this one-sided encounter ended in a draw.

[SnakeXe]

Although our lead over the Czechs was cut back to 4 points after that disappointing draw, we still only need a win from our remaining two matches against San Marino (a) and Norway (h) to confirm our place at the World Cup. Shouldn't be an issue.

[TheGreatTraveler]

You are in The WC as far as I'm concerned, especially when you have San Marino to play.

[jayahr]

what an amazing team you seem to have there

wre you aware of just how they are before taking over?

crossing fingers that you can replicate Spain's current dominance with that team.

[SnakeXe]

You are in The WC as far as I'm concerned, especially when you have San Marino to play.

Nooooo problem

what an amazing team you seem to have there

wre you aware of just how they are before taking over?

crossing fingers that you can replicate Spain's current dominance with that team.

Well I knew they were decent because they won the Euros, and I checked a couple of their key players out, but I didn't quite realise the ridiculous quality across the board. I really hope I can do them justice, because this really is a generation of players like I've never seen before, for any country.

[SnakeXe]

Just awful. We're qualified, but couldn't hit a barn door. Not that San Marino ever threatened to do anything themselves, but come on guys. Ramazan Akyun had 5 or 6 great chances, but the Real Madrid forward decided he didn't fancy a goal today and passed them all into the keepers arms.

[SnakeXe]

A much better display, the gloss put on the scoreline with a couple of rare set-piece goals.

[SnakeXe]

Overall I have to be happy with such a dominant procession to qualification, but a couple of blips along the way give cause for concern. Fortunately, they occurred in the types of games we shouldn't see too many of at the finals.

[SRL88]

Brilliant work topping the group .

Any thoughts of returning to club management yet?

[noikeee]

Good job on the qualification, now the real work starts for the European champions to prove their worth in the World Cup.

[SnakeXe]

A much closer approximation to the level of performance I expect from this group of players. Ozer Erbil had his best game in a Turkey shirt, tearing Russia's defence asunder repeatedly. I reverted to a 4-3-1-2 for this game, a formation I'm toying with using in the World Cup.