New Players Always Suck For a Year

[Zoetermeer]

Why is this? I've gotten to the point where I hate buying first-team players and only do it if absolutely necessary. In FM12, some players would need to adapt, but sometimes you'd get somebody who would be great right off the bat -- even if he didn't speak the language. In most of my games now I try to stick to bringing in players who speak the language and are from the same nation as the club, if possible. But new players never play well, and many of them play so lousy that I can't even think of playing them in the first team -- rendering the purchase pointless to begin with. It's like every buy I make turns into Fernando Torres. It happens in real life but not 90% of the time.

Meanwhile, it doesn't always seem to be the case for AI-controlled teams. For example, in my Arsenal save, I bought Thiago from Barca, and he went on to take the entire year to "adapt" and was generally useless to me for the whole season. In my Schalke save, meanwhile, Man Utd bought him and he won the Golden Boot. I realize that every game's diffferent, but quite a difference!

[m_fenton]

They don't.

[Koennn]

I don't seem to experience this kind of trouble with new players. In my current Sheffield United save I bought a new left-back which immediately became one of my best players. On the other hand, whenever I buy a striker, it seems they need to adapt for three to four months in which they sometimes score two to three times in a single game, but then go on a dry spell for a few games. This seems natural to me though.

[BiggusD]

If you play in England, this seems to be a bigger problem than in other leagues. Especially South Americans struggle to make an impact right away. Some do, but I recognize the 2-4 months (mid-November to January) of ungelled awkwardness most of the time.

Unlike earlier versions the "penalty" of bringing in new players sticks with the player and don't arbitrarily harm the team. That's my impression at least. You can bring in 14 new players but as long as the starting 11 remains the same as last year it looks like you retain the gelled football.

Edit: if you play quick football relying on lots of movement, an ungelled player will struggle more than if you play a simpler type of football - for instance crossing from the byline to players in the box.

[KevMaaan]

I had this problem too, baines, falcao and benteke were really torrid for their first season, falcao was still crap for his second season, and then i got sacked in his third...

[scott MUFC]

I found that some players/tactic combinations work better in FM13, perhaps it is because the player isn't an exact fit?

if you understand the basic functions of your tactics how players are behaving etc, you can get the players to work with tinkering, or buy players that do work with the tactic, I like crosses and good wide play, so bought Llorente, as my team were putting in crosses and no one was there to head them in, Llorente did that from day 1.

and players PPM's also come into play, if you like attacking Full backs, PPM's make them better at this role, so training them is needed, this takes time.

[danny_123]

my latest save i brought in a new left back and right back they both are playing amazing, i then brought in a new winger from real madrid one of the best players on the game he couldnt get above a 6.5 then it got to about march and he started destroying teams.

just have to wait till they settle but as for every player then thats just strange

[Zoetermeer]

I had the same problem with Falcao at Arsenal -- he was really bad, so bad I had to bench him so my team could actually score. I bought Phil Jones in January of 2013, and he wasn't effective until the following season. I had similar problems with Mamadou Sakho a year later -- I can understand him adapting a little with the language barrier, but he suddenly forgot how to defend and I wasn't able to put him back there without seeing a dreadful mistake. A mentally tough player like that?

Also, I started a new save with Atletico Madrid, and from the beginning Arda Turan had problems adapting. Apparently he doesn't speak the language. How many years has he already been with the club?

I exaggerated by saying "always" -- but for me it happens with much greater frequency than last year.

[KevMaaan]

I had the same problem with Falcao at Arsenal

I took over at spurs halfway through the second season and he was my first signing. He done OK i guess. 2nd season (his first full season) he was about average if im honest, i may have just felt he was terrible due to my high expectations. He held up the ball WAAAAYYY too often for my liking, but scored a fair amount, i just feel he should have returned more goals.

[MichaelBrown]

My players don't. :S

[thomit]

It depends on the player. Some takes a while before they put in steadily good performances. What "a while" is, also depends on the player. I've had players that played very well for their former team for many seasons come to my team and then needed 5 months to a year before they put in the same kind of performances for me. New team, new league, new tactics, new manager, new players ... some take to it quite fast, some "take a while", some never do.

[Zoetermeer]

It depends on the player. Some takes a while before they put in steadily good performances. What "a while" is, also depends on the player. I've had players that played very well for their former team for many seasons come to my team and then needed 5 months to a year before they put in the same kind of performances for me. New team, new league, new tactics, new manager, new players ... some take to it quite fast, some "take a while", some never do.

I understand all of that, but my problem is that the ratio of players who "take a while/never do" to those who take to it fast is way too large.

[Zoetermeer]

My players don't. :S

I know I'm impressed. Thanks for making explicit your desire to be simultaneously unhelpful and smug.

[thomit]

I understand all of that, but my problem is that the ratio of players who "take a while/never do" to those who take to it fast is way too large.

Well, then that is your problem, not that new players always suck for a year - because that statement is quite simply false. Maybe you didn't take much notice of what your scouts said about these players adaptability and consistency? Or didn't check the players match stats for their former clubs closely enough?

[Zoetermeer]

You didn't read the part where I said in a subsequent message that I exaggerated by saying "always". As far as your two questions, though -- I check both very carefully before buying, exactly because of the problem I'm having. Notice I also said I prefer buying players who already speak the language and are from the same nation as my club.

[MichaelBrown]

I know I'm impressed. Thanks for making explicit your desire to be simultaneously unhelpful and smug.

Don't worry about it. Holla me if you want anything else.

[thomit]

You didn't read the part where I said in a subsequent message that I exaggerated by saying "always". As far as your two questions, though -- I check both very carefully before buying, exactly because of the problem I'm having. Notice I also said I prefer buying players who already speak the language and are from the same nation as my club.

I didn't, you're right. But note that adaptability - or lack of - not only comes into play when we're talking about adapting to a new country/culture, but also to team, team players, tactic, formation, role etc. Even if players comes from the nation you're playing in, and speaks the language - they still need to adapt to all this that is new to them. A low adaptability means they will take longer to get used to things, period. If your scouts don't mention it - maybe they have just missed it, or didn't scout him sufficiently. Maybe his/their adaptability and consistency is not so low that scouts will mention it - maybe it's borderline. You'll find out eventually - just like managers in real life do.

[Zoetermeer]

So "adapting" is affected by tactic, formation, and role? I know some players can be used to playing at a certain tempo, closing down less/more, and maybe passing directness. But how do we find out what the player is used to, aside from these messages from the AM?

[thomit]

So "adapting" is affected by tactic, formation, and role? I know some players can be used to playing at a certain tempo, closing down less/more, and maybe passing directness. But how do we find out what the player is used to, aside from these messages from the AM?

In FM I'm afraid it works on the basis that everything is new, allways. Even if a player is used to play allmost exactly the tactic and formation and role that he's put into at a new club, the game treats it as entirely new to the player. That is my experience, anyway. The scouts only reports low adaptability as something like "does not adapt well to new culture" ... or something like that. But if you get that message, his adaptability for all things new is at a similar low level.

By the way, I'm not entirely sure that role is affected by ability - that is just my suspicion. But I'm pretty sure about the rest - I think it's even in black on white somewhere in the manual.

[Zoetermeer]

Ah, I see. So if a guy is "not used to closing down opponents as often as asked to", doesn't that imply that he is used to some other setting for closing down? If everything should be new to him when he switches clubs, then all closing down settings should be equally unfamiliar. Or maybe this resetting of familiarity means that he arrives with affinity for only "default" tactical settings (i.e. he's unfamiliar with "press more" and "stand off", but okay with "default").

[thomit]

I am not sure, but I think that it's only AI default tactics/formation with default settings. I remember I had a save in ... FM 10, I think, where I managed 2 teams simultaneously, using the exact same tactic(s) for both teams. A player I bought from one of the teams to the other, my ass.man tells me "he's not used to ...". Absolute rubbish, of course, but given that the game operates on the notion that everything is new, always - except maybe when switching from default tactic with default settings to another team with the same tactic on default settings - it makes sense. Well, not sense, but at least you can understand why you get messages like that.

[Furai]

I think it has a lot to do with a players adaptability. There are some players who come to a team, and will fit right in to the country and the squads personality, whilst there are others who will take longer to adapt and reach top form.

[Kenco]

I sometimes get the opposite - a player comes in and hits the ground running, having a cracking first season and then they struggle in their second season. Not always though, some of them go on to flourish, so I can't say there is a pattern one way or the other.

[QWERTYOP]

Happens from time to time, just like it does in, y'know, real life. I bought Blandi from Boca for OM - awful in his first season, over a goal every two games in his second season.

[backpackant]

Neymar took forever for me, but Llorente was a beast from the off. Perhaps it's the "adaptability" attribute combined with the number of other players at the club who speak the language or of that nationality.