Fixtures?

[mynameisjudge]

First let me say I'm still playing FM13, so this may have changed for FM14. If it has been, then this thread will look ridiculous.

I really think the way the league fixtures work in FM needs to be changed. Basically, in FM, everybody plays every team in the same order, but stars at a different point on that order.

So in my Newcastle save, Chelsea started the league with Swansea, Southampton, Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham. Us (Newcastle) began with Norwich and then played Swansea, Southampton, Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham. So I'm basically going through the season playing the team Chelsea have just played. Similarly, Man City began with Southampton and then played Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham etc.

This means that the teams I come up against have normally played City and Chelsea in there last 2. As a result, I tend to face teams who've had bad results in their last 2 matches (since Chelsea and City win most games) and thus they have lower morale. I feel like this has given me an unfair advantage. Similarly, next year I could be following the bottom 3 and so every team I come up against could just have hit form.

AFAIK this isn't how fixtures work in real life (they're more random) so why do they work like this in FM?

[Dagenham_Dave]

Ha, that reminds me of really old management games you used to get for the Spectrum, etc. That's exactly how they would schedule the fixtures. Don't think I've ever seen that on the later FMs though, weird. Certainly doesn't happen in FM14.

[SMV90]

I have sometimes noticed this on FM14, but not to that large an extent.

It always seemed that I (Shrewsbury) played Spurs in my first game of the season - this seemed like it happened for around 3-4 seasons in a row. These days, it seems like it is now Man City. However, I did have a seasons break as they got relegated.

[mynameisjudge]

It always seemed that I (Shrewsbury) played Spurs in my first game of the season - this seemed like it happened for around 3-4 seasons

Nono its not my fixtures are the same year in, year out. Its that in any individual year, every team plays their league fixtures in the same order, starting at a different point in the order. So this means that every team I play will have recently played (and normally lost to) City and Chelsea in their last 2. This means they tend to have lower morale. Meanwhile, other seasons you could be following Crystal Palace and Fulham in everybody's fixture list, thus playing every team just as they hit form.