Football Manager 2016 - 16.2.0 Official feedback thread

[Danchinaski]

your sarcasm detector is broken as I wasn't sarcastic at all.

Fair craic. In which case l apologise for my misinterpretation.

[Gerara]

Does anyone notice issue with too many offsides? I had 9 in 30 minutes and usually ten in every game. Should i change something in my attacking style tactic?

[shirajzl]

It certainly reveals how difficult it is to manage tweaking of the game when half people are in here saying its too hard to score and people like me are complaining that my striker has just hit his 60th of the season in his 41st game.

I'd release my tactic to workshop if steam were still hosting paid mods haha

You really should just either

a) release the tactic so that people can use it (if they want) and SI can take a look at it and fix the exploits if there are some

b) shut up already about the whole thing because you're repeating yourself without reporting it to the bugs section, with your tactic, pkms and whatever they ask of you.

You say you want game to be improved, both of those options would do that.

[tyler16]

I don't mean to pile on but it's unfortunate that it's almost a lock (in my mind anyways) that the ME will be all over the place until the final build, IF it's resolved by then.

I realize the sales don't reflect this and in general the game is still great, but at its core it's a football simulator that's gone off the tracks in this regard. It's easy to brush aside annoyances here and there but when every single year there's a new glaring issue that an overwhelming majority of people complain about it becomes too much. I can't enjoy the current ME or get any satisfaction because it feels so artificial with the OP crossing and repetitive goals that the sense of immersion is gone.

It's a shame because all the other new features are great and like I said, the game as a whole is still terrific, but a bad ME is crippling and seems to be an annual thing at this point. At best, it'll be decent 4-5 months after release. Not going to purchase any versions of FM until their final build going forward.

Sorry if this is a harsh but just my honest feedback.

[Guest]

Harsh feedback is fine & not something that warrants an apology.

[Marathon Dress Week]

Just out of interest do the moderators ever 'constructively' criticise the game?

Not a dig - I'm genuinely interested.

[Dagenham_Dave]

but when every single year there's a new glaring issue that an overwhelming majority of people complain about .

The 'overwhelming majority' of people who play the game come nowhere near this forum.

[KingCanary]

I don't mean to pile on but it's unfortunate that it's almost a lock (in my mind anyways) that the ME will be all over the place until the final build, IF it's resolved by then.

I realize the sales don't reflect this and in general the game is still great, but at its core it's a football simulator that's gone off the tracks in this regard. It's easy to brush aside annoyances here and there but when every single year there's a new glaring issue that an overwhelming majority of people complain about it becomes too much. I can't enjoy the current ME or get any satisfaction because it feels so artificial with the OP crossing and repetitive goals that the sense of immersion is gone.

It's a shame because all the other new features are great and like I said, the game as a whole is still terrific, but a bad ME is crippling and seems to be an annual thing at this point. At best, it'll be decent 4-5 months after release. Not going to purchase any versions of FM until their final build going forward.

Sorry if this is a harsh but just my honest feedback.

I agree with this, the amount of crossing and repetitive nature of the goals I'm both scoring and conceding is sucking some enjoyment out of the game for me. I've just played a game against a team in a relatively narrow 4-3-1-2, yet at halftime I noticed they'd already had nearly 20 crosses, including one player having put in 10 crosses. It just feels very unbalanced.

[RTHerringbone]

Just out of interest do the moderators ever 'constructively' criticise the game?

Not a dig - I'm genuinely interested.

A lot of very direct, constructive criticism comes from the mods; far more than people generally seem to imagine because we aren't (all ) SI puppets, in spite of popular opinion. It might not be in a section of the forum that you have sight of, but believe me it happens.

[An Olive Branch]

Does anyone know if things like Real Madrid's board craziness is in the game?

I'm Real Madrid and just won the league at a canter but got knocked out of the Champions League in the QF by Porto 4-0 0-5.

If this was real life I'd be very worried about my job status. I know the game has the differing confidence per competition and even though they are disappointed about my CL performance it isn't even rock bottom and isn't coming close to affecting my overall security. I feel like if this was Real IRL I could be fairly secure one day of the summer break and sacked the next but don't know if this features in the game. Does anyone know? If not, should it? I don't know if I think it should or not. I know I'd like it but I feel like many would be furious if sacked in those circumstances.

Maybe an easier fix would be for a super-club like Real to view Champions league competition confidence as far far more important than they do.

[Citizen Sandman]

when I joined Rennes they said i'd never won a trophy but I'd won euro U21, ok might of believed it to be unrecognised but my trophy win has been mentioned in interviews

[scott MUFC]

why is it always +1 added time, regardless of subs, goals and other delays?

[Marathon Dress Week]

why is it always +1 added time, regardless of subs, goals and other delays?

Is that in the game or in real life?

[themadsheep2001]

A lot of very direct, constructive criticism comes from the mods; far more than people generally seem to imagine because we aren't (all ) SI puppets, in spite of popular opinion. It might not be in a section of the forum that you have sight of, but believe me it happens.

I think people vastly underestimate this, or don't realise this happens. What people forget is that we don't do it for show. We could do it here, or we could do it somewhere that goes right to those that matter, even quicker than the feedback threads.

[johnhughthom]

Does anyone know if things like Real Madrid's board craziness is in the game?

Nothing like as crazy in game as real life, could you imagine the rage on here if someone won the league and got sacked!

In my game, from beta, Rafa is still there in February 2021. To be fair he has won four out of five La Ligas, but he hasn't made a Champions League final. I couldn't imagine Perez keeping someone that long without them winning the Champions League never mind not getting to the final.

[scott MUFC]

Is that in the game or in real life?

in game.

you never see 1 minute of added time at the end of the second half IRL often.

[Thengil]

To me the crosses problem is not that they are too easy to convert but rather that there are way too many crosses attempted per match. IRL teams in the EPL attempt on average between 20-25 crosses, in-game that number is closer to or even above 35. For some formations (for me especially 4-1-2-2-1) it is even more pronounced.

[RTHerringbone]

To me the crosses problem is not that they are too easy to convert but rather that there are way too many crosses attempted per match. IRL teams in the EPL attempt on average between 20-25 crosses, in-game that number is closer to or even above 35. For some formations (for me especially 4-1-2-2-1) it is even more pronounced.

Again, it depends on tactical input. Specific Roles will always increase the cross count, and certain Duties will increase that further. It is possible to create a silly amount of crosses (in the way it is possible to create lots of shots, passes, tackles etc.), but it is equally possible to create significantly fewer than real life.

[forameuss]

in game.

you never see 1 minute of added time at the end of the second half IRL often.

And I don't think I've ever seen it in game. It's usually 2 or 3.

[An Olive Branch]

And I don't think I've ever seen it in game. It's usually 2 or 3.

I agree with this, often more than one.

BUT, looking through my schedule I've had lots of goals scored in 90+1 but never any other 90+.

I can't remember if they were scored later and just recorded like that or were all scored in 90+1

[Freakiie]

Getting a super striker isn't hard to be honest. Give your fullbacks an attacking role and watch your striker go nuts. There, magical tactics explained. My rookie rightback that just took over from Lahm completely smashed the avg rating record in the Bundesliga. Raised it from 8.05 to 8.53 and guess who the previous record holder was. Aleix Vidal, playing at Dortmund as an attacking rightback, such a surprise there. Over the entire season he averaged 8.47, Alaba 8.26 and Bernat 8.18. If he had Lahms natural fitness levels and wasn't really incosistent he could easily rack up 25-30 assists in a season with the current ME I bet. Heck, Rode managed to crank up his average to 8.00 thanks to being the only other option I have for rightback and managed to get 11 assists from it.

I can definitely see how people struggle with getting their striker to score if they don't have people putting in crosses. With my Bayern squad, which plays narrow, has a IF/RMD out "wide" and a bunch of worldclass midfielders I only have 15 assists from the area in front of the penalty area. Compared to that I have 45 assists from the left flank and 36 from the right flank. It's not really one area you can pinpoint and say that's the issue here though, it seems to be a problematic caused by a combination of many elements in the ME. Teams tend to sit super narrow, resulting in fullbacks having miles of space. Even when closed down getting crosses into the box is still far too easy, defenders and goalies then often defend those crosses far too passively (at least that's what it looks like), goalkeeper positioning for those crosses is absolutely horrible and as a result we see a whole bunch of easy tap ins. On the other hand, if you actually manage to play your attacker free through the center they (seemingly) far too often blast it way wide or the goalie has some super reflexes and keeps the shot out. Decision making inside the box could probably be refined a bit further as well. Far too often a player with space for a shot seems to dwell on the ball to get closed down or a player that's already closed down by two defenders will still try to blast it straight through them rather than considering his options.

Perhaps the way Composure influences these chances could use another look at as well. Sometimes it actually seems as if it's easier to score when you have your back to the goal and have two defenders in your back compared to when you're one on one with the goalie from a good angle. Well speaking of angles, the worse the angle is the easier it gets to score again since goalie positioning on those impossible angle shots is still horrible. Got even worse thanks to goalies knocking in shots that would've gone way wide. That's a different story again though.

[Thengil]

Again, it depends on tactical input. Specific Roles will always increase the cross count, and certain Duties will increase that further. It is possible to create a silly amount of crosses (in the way it is possible to create lots of shots, passes, tackles etc.), but it is equally possible to create significantly fewer than real life.

True, however the problem is that the AI teams also have too many crosses attempted per match. And not by a small amount either. I suspect this is because defending is too narrowly focused.

[Tubbs]

I never actually fell out of love with FM. But, in the last 3 or 4 years I just found that after the initial burst of enthusiasm and the setting up of the game just as I like it. My interest would wain disappointingly quickly. Like many, I’ve been playing this game since the very beginning from the Amiga days. That in itself ages me (I’m 45) and it was indeed age I was assuming was the main reason for the reduced playing time and diminished enjoyment.

However. This year something has changed. I don’t actually know what specifically, all I know is that I’m truly hooked once again. Normally I would start a career with my real life team (Millwall) find my feet, them embark upon a career game with a team I knew less well. This year I find myself deep into January still on the same Millwall save that I started on release day. 5 seasons in after gaining promotion in year one, I’ve finally broken out of mid table obscurity in The Championship and find myself in the play-offs. So, despite no glory apart from the odd cup win here and there my save has been quite standard or mundane. Yet I’m loving every second of it.

The ME is in as good a state as it’s ever been, tactical changes are visibly represented to the extent that it’s very easy to see what you may have done right or wrong. Some tactics I’ve created and tried have been as dull to watch as van Gaal’s Utd team. Make a few changes to roles, instructions etc and the difference is marked.

The game is set up such that a lot of the minutiae that I personally find dull can be performed by staff members, leaving me to enjoy the game fully, just the way I like it. Once again I find myself daydreaming about who to buy, who to sell, which tactic to use etc. this has not been the case with me for at least the last 3 versions.

It’s not perfect, no game this large and complex could be. It has a few things niggle me. None important enough to even hint at spoiling my enjoyment mind you. Firstly, I had a player who would not sign a new contract as he felt that the club could not match his ambitions. No problem, I transfer listed him. Only to then find that a fair number of my squad were unhappy with this. I later sold him and they were moaning at me for doing so. Surely they would have been aware that he wouldn’t extend his contract and wanted out, so why they all got the hump is beyond me. Anyway, no biggie.

My other little niggle is added time at the end of the second half. It seems to me to be a bit inaccurate and doesn’t quite reflect real life. In game it seems that 2 or 3 minutes is what you seem to get more often than not. Now I cannot remember the last real game of football I watched where only 2 minutes were added. 4 or 5 minutes seems to more realistic amount imho. Once again, only a very small issue for me.

Thanks for reading, thats me done.

Great game SI. I’m loving it, Thanks

[benjawi.]

2-0 at half time - DON'T SAY ANYTHING

Since I saw this, been 2-0 up at half time twice. Both times didn't say anything, and the team continued to play well in the second half. Thank you!

[Julius Flusfeder]

Does anyone know if things like Real Madrid's board craziness is in the game?

I'm Real Madrid and just won the league at a canter but got knocked out of the Champions League in the QF by Porto 4-0 0-5.

If this was real life I'd be very worried about my job status. I know the game has the differing confidence per competition and even though they are disappointed about my CL performance it isn't even rock bottom and isn't coming close to affecting my overall security. I feel like if this was Real IRL I could be fairly secure one day of the summer break and sacked the next but don't know if this features in the game. Does anyone know? If not, should it? I don't know if I think it should or not. I know I'd like it but I feel like many would be furious if sacked in those circumstances.

Maybe an easier fix would be for a super-club like Real to view Champions league competition confidence as far far more important than they do.

Would you mind uploading your save game so we can have a look at this please? If you could start a thread in the Other Gameplay Issues forum, that would be great.

Cheers,

Julius

[An Olive Branch]

I'd only have a save file from the summer after the season ended?

I'm also not sure what the bug is - are you saying the Real Board should have sacked me for how I did in CL? I was only posing that question not demanding it. Also just for clarity the aggregate score in CL was 5-4 not 9-0, sorry if I made this unclear.

I also did not get sacked - sorry if that also unclear

If you still want a file I'll try to get it done this eve

[Defensive]

I never actually fell out of love with FM. But, in the last 3 or 4 years I just found that after the initial burst of enthusiasm and the setting up of the game just as I like it. My interest would wain disappointingly quickly. Like many, I’ve been playing this game since the very beginning from the Amiga days. That in itself ages me (I’m 45) and it was indeed age I was assuming was the main reason for the reduced playing time and diminished enjoyment.

However. This year something has changed. I don’t actually know what specifically, all I know is that I’m truly hooked once again. Normally I would start a career with my real life team (Millwall) find my feet, them embark upon a career game with a team I knew less well. This year I find myself deep into January still on the same Millwall save that I started on release day. 5 seasons in after gaining promotion in year one, I’ve finally broken out of mid table obscurity in The Championship and find myself in the play-offs. So, despite no glory apart from the odd cup win here and there my save has been quite standard or mundane. Yet I’m loving every second of it.

The ME is in as good a state as it’s ever been, tactical changes are visibly represented to the extent that it’s very easy to see what you may have done right or wrong. Some tactics I’ve created and tried have been as dull to watch as van Gaal’s Utd team. Make a few changes to roles, instructions etc and the difference is marked.

The game is set up such that a lot of the minutiae that I personally find dull can be performed by staff members, leaving me to enjoy the game fully, just the way I like it. Once again I find myself daydreaming about who to buy, who to sell, which tactic to use etc. this has not been the case with me for at least the last 3 versions.

It’s not perfect, no game this large and complex could be. It has a few things niggle me. None important enough to even hint at spoiling my enjoyment mind you. Firstly, I had a player who would not sign a new contract as he felt that the club could not match his ambitions. No problem, I transfer listed him. Only to then find that a fair number of my squad were unhappy with this. I later sold him and they were moaning at me for doing so. Surely they would have been aware that he wouldn’t extend his contract and wanted out, so why they all got the hump is beyond me. Anyway, no biggie.

My other little niggle is added time at the end of the second half. It seems to me to be a bit inaccurate and doesn’t quite reflect real life. In game it seems that 2 or 3 minutes is what you seem to get more often than not. Now I cannot remember the last real game of football I watched where only 2 minutes were added. 4 or 5 minutes seems to more realistic amount imho. Once again, only a very small issue for me.

Thanks for reading, thats me done.

Great game SI. I’m loving it, Thanks

So what do you think about crosses? Would be interesting to hear from someone who actually is happy with the match engine.

[fidelitywars]

Getting a super striker isn't hard to be honest. Give your fullbacks an attacking role and watch your striker go nuts. There, magical tactics explained. My rookie rightback that just took over from Lahm completely smashed the avg rating record in the Bundesliga. Raised it from 8.05 to 8.53 and guess who the previous record holder was. Aleix Vidal, playing at Dortmund as an attacking rightback, such a surprise there. Over the entire season he averaged 8.47, Alaba 8.26 and Bernat 8.18. If he had Lahms natural fitness levels and wasn't really incosistent he could easily rack up 25-30 assists in a season with the current ME I bet. Heck, Rode managed to crank up his average to 8.00 thanks to being the only other option I have for rightback and managed to get 11 assists from it.

I can definitely see how people struggle with getting their striker to score if they don't have people putting in crosses. With my Bayern squad, which plays narrow, has a IF/RMD out "wide" and a bunch of worldclass midfielders I only have 15 assists from the area in front of the penalty area. Compared to that I have 45 assists from the left flank and 36 from the right flank. It's not really one area you can pinpoint and say that's the issue here though, it seems to be a problematic caused by a combination of many elements in the ME. Teams tend to sit super narrow, resulting in fullbacks having miles of space. Even when closed down getting crosses into the box is still far too easy, defenders and goalies then often defend those crosses far too passively (at least that's what it looks like), goalkeeper positioning for those crosses is absolutely horrible and as a result we see a whole bunch of easy tap ins. On the other hand, if you actually manage to play your attacker free through the center they (seemingly) far too often blast it way wide or the goalie has some super reflexes and keeps the shot out. Decision making inside the box could probably be refined a bit further as well. Far too often a player with space for a shot seems to dwell on the ball to get closed down or a player that's already closed down by two defenders will still try to blast it straight through them rather than considering his options.

Perhaps the way Composure influences these chances could use another look at as well. Sometimes it actually seems as if it's easier to score when you have your back to the goal and have two defenders in your back compared to when you're one on one with the goalie from a good angle. Well speaking of angles, the worse the angle is the easier it gets to score again since goalie positioning on those impossible angle shots is still horrible. Got even worse thanks to goalies knocking in shots that would've gone way wide. That's a different story again though.

This. 1000x this. Chimes exactly with my impressions of the current ME. I say this with a heavy heart as there's so much that's so great about FM (and i'm a long-term devotee) but i'm really not enjoying this version. Feels like i've effectively bought the game for the database. Finding it so hard to get into a save owing to finishing/wide-play issues i'm encountering.

[forameuss]

I'd only have a save file from the summer after the season ended?

I'm also not sure what the bug is - are you saying the Real Board should have sacked me for how I did in CL? I was only posing that question not demanding it. Also just for clarity the aggregate score in CL was 5-4 not 9-0, sorry if I made this unclear.

I also did not get sacked - sorry if that also unclear

If you still want a file I'll try to get it done this eve

Could just be to get more information about a situation like this happening. It's pretty subjective what would happen in this situation - you won the league at a canter, so in my own opinion I would say that would earn you a stay of execution despite getting beat 5-0 in the Champions League. Real got put out a couple of times in the first knockout round (by Lyon if I remember right). What happened to those managers?

[An Olive Branch]

Yeah I wasn't refusing to upload, just checking he had read it properly to avoid wasting SI time

[Hingis]

Way too many undeserved 1-0 wins for the AI : Fed up of your AI constantly cheating his way to get wins ! And AI GK having loads of matches of his life ! Well done SI !

[themadsheep2001]

This. 1000x this. Chimes exactly with my impressions of the current ME. I say this with a heavy heart as there's so much that's so great about FM (and i'm a long-term devotee) but i'm really not enjoying this version. Feels like i've effectively bought the game for the database. Finding it so hard to get into a save owing to finishing/wide-play issues i'm encountering.

Not sure that explains me scoring 110 goals with only 26 assists coming from crosses for 100 goals that were assisted. And thats a setup with a bias towards the flanks as it's based on Bayern under Jupp Heynckes.

[themadsheep2001]

Way too many undeserved 1-0 wins for the AI : Fed up of your AI constantly cheating his way to get wins ! And AI GK having loads of matches of his life ! Well done SI !

Ai doesn't cheat, because the ME can't tell different between inputs. Stuff like this is incorrect, misleading and certainly not constructive, so please desist.

[Tubbs]

So what do you think about crosses? Would be interesting to hear from someone who actually is happy with the match engine.

Very broad question. I honestly have no issue with crosses. Thanks for asking.

[Julius Flusfeder]

I'd only have a save file from the summer after the season ended?

I'm also not sure what the bug is - are you saying the Real Board should have sacked me for how I did in CL? I was only posing that question not demanding it. Also just for clarity the aggregate score in CL was 5-4 not 9-0, sorry if I made this unclear.

I also did not get sacked - sorry if that also unclear

If you still want a file I'll try to get it done this eve

I think it would only be worth uploading if it's from the same season as your champions league exit.

However, if anything similar crops up again subsequently where it feels like expectations or confidence is too lenient, please do open up a thread in the bugs forum. Expectation and confidence at big, and famously impatient, clubs is something we're always looking at, so all saves are helpful.

[fidelitywars]

Not sure that explains me scoring 110 goals with only 26 assists coming from crosses for 100 goals that were assisted. And thats a setup with a bias towards the flanks as it's based on Bayern under Jupp Heynckes.

Statistics aren't really useful out of context and serve merely to provoke a slew of questions - which players are getting most of your assists/highest average ratings? How clinical are your attacking players? Are you managing Bayern and as such, in control of a phenomenally powerful team? How many goals are created from central areas? Just because assists are not classified as being from crosses does not automatically mean that they're not created in wide areas by overpowered full-backs.

That said, i'm far less worried about crosses (which many seem hung-up on) - it's the wasteful finishing that's driving me to shelving the game and ensuring that I spend far more time on these forums than I do actually playing the game.

To me, there are a few causally-linked flaws in the ME which lead to such frustrating scenarios; defending/closing down isn't great, which in turn produces huge numbers of crosses and key passes, leading to a number of chances being created. Consequently, in an effort to maintain a superficial veneer of realism, finishing is dismally profligate and goalkeeping bumped to keep scorelines in line with the real-life statistics which presumably inform the intentions of the game. Of course, this is speculative and whilst i've no doubt that all mods here are not SI apologists, I expect it to be strongly refuted. Still, these are my experiences and they certainly don't appear unique from what i've read here/heard from friends and as such, think this forum is an appropriate place to voice them in the hope(/faith?) that future iterations drift away from such annoyances.

[HUNT3R]

Statistics aren't really useful out of context and serve merely to provoke a slew of questions - which players are getting most of your assists/highest average ratings? How clinical are your attacking players? Are you managing Bayern and as such, in control of a phenomenally powerful team? How many goals are created from central areas? Just because assists are not classified as being from crosses does not automatically mean that they're not created in wide areas by overpowered full-backs.

That said, i'm far less worried about crosses (which many seem hung-up on) - it's the wasteful finishing that's driving me to shelving the game and ensuring that I spend far more time on these forums than I do actually playing the game.

To me, there are a few causally-linked flaws in the ME which lead to such frustrating scenarios; defending/closing down isn't great, which in turn produces huge numbers of crosses and key passes, leading to a number of chances being created. Consequently, in an effort to maintain a superficial veneer of realism, finishing is dismally profligate and goalkeeping bumped to keep scorelines in line with the real-life statistics which presumably inform the intentions of the game. Of course, this is speculative and whilst i've no doubt that all mods here are not SI apologists, I expect it to be strongly refuted. Still, these are my experiences and they certainly don't appear unique from what i've read here/heard from friends and as such, think this forum is an appropriate place to voice them in the hope(/faith?) that future iterations drift away from such annoyances.

I've used a standard 4-4-2, but have now switched to a 4-4-2 narrow diamond. I'm still generating decent and realistic stats. Both strikers (one Attack and one Support, with Hold Position) average a goal for every 4 or 5 shots. That's spot on. I'm in league 2 with a club predicted to finish 5th, to give it some context.

[Freakiie]

Well, I have 35 crosses out 146 goals which indeed doesn't look like an immediate issue. I do however also have 2/3rds of my assists coming from out wide, with like I said a rather narrow formation. That with the insane ratings/assist numbers my fullbacks produce does suggest there might be something that needs looking at. Personally the bigger issue with crosses (and I think it's the same for some others as well) is the graphical part, where almost every cross goal is an almost identical deep cross that nobody bothers defending and then gets tapped in by the far post by the striker/winger.

Once again crossing discussion aside. Why the hell do youth players that want a loan get unhappy when you haven't sorted out a loan for them before the transfer period has even started?! Especially considering I play with Bayern and German clubs are not allowed to make loan offers outside the transfer window. Player interaction at times...

[themadsheep2001]

Statistics aren't really useful out of context and serve merely to provoke a slew of questions - which players are getting most of your assists/highest average ratings? How clinical are your attacking players? Are you managing Bayern and as such, in control of a phenomenally powerful team? How many goals are created from central areas? Just because assists are not classified as being from crosses does not automatically mean that they're not created in wide areas by overpowered full-backs.

That said, i'm far less worried about crosses (which many seem hung-up on) - it's the wasteful finishing that's driving me to shelving the game and ensuring that I spend far more time on these forums than I do actually playing the game.

To me, there are a few causally-linked flaws in the ME which lead to such frustrating scenarios; defending/closing down isn't great, which in turn produces huge numbers of crosses and key passes, leading to a number of chances being created. Consequently, in an effort to maintain a superficial veneer of realism, finishing is dismally profligate and goalkeeping bumped to keep scorelines in line with the real-life statistics which presumably inform the intentions of the game. Of course, this is speculative and whilst i've no doubt that all mods here are not SI apologists, I expect it to be strongly refuted. Still, these are my experiences and they certainly don't appear unique from what i've read here/heard from friends and as such, think this forum is an appropriate place to voice them in the hope(/faith?) that future iterations drift away from such annoyances.

The wide play involvments comes from the wide forwards, mostly as slide passes, which is exactly how its supposed to be (they designed to be Robben and Ribery). The AMC was designed to be a wall player, much like Kroos was, which means he has respectable assists but key pass numbers are off the charts, links the DMCs to the wide forwards, and maintains supply to the front 3. I could get more assists from him but that would risk damaging the link play.

The full backs get up the pitch, their aim is to create outside options should the inside play break down, and play the ball back in the angle.

My Forward is clinical, 49 goals from 197 shots (thats in total, not shots on target), so that's a finishing rate of 24.8%, making him one of the most clinical forwards in the game, also makes him more clinical than Messi last season IRL (22.6%), It will take a little while to see just how many more major forwards he compares against.

None of what I do, is difficult to replicate, or i suspect, the best it could be done. I'm sure someone like cleon could probably spot a bunch of flaws in it, it can be relatively high risk, but then that was Bayerns nature.

FYI, the bold is incorrect, it may be your conclusion, but it's an incorrect one.

[Cougar2010]

Well, I have 35 crosses out 146 goals which indeed doesn't look like an immediate issue. I do however also have 2/3rds of my assists coming from out wide

So if an assist doesn't come from out wide where does it come from? The only possible answer is central which splits your assist location into three places: left, central, right.

From that you have concluded that 2/3rds of your assists from 2/3rds of possible locations. There doesn't seem to be a huge problem with that conclusion tbh.

[Freakiie]

So if an assist doesn't come from out wide where does it come from? The only possible answer is central which splits your assist location into three places: left, central, right.

From that you have concluded that 2/3rds of your assists from 2/3rds of possible locations. There doesn't seem to be a huge problem with that conclusion tbh.

Considering I play a narrow game and have to largely rely on my fullbacks to provide width in the final third it does seem a bit strange to me that I still manage to have an equal amount of assists from out wide than compared to the center of the pitch, where I have some of the best creative players around. Especially the really low amount of assists from centrally outside the box seems a bit weird to me. But who knows, perhaps it's just all my tactics. It's not like my midfielders are playing bad, they get their assists, my 10 also gets on the scoresheet regularly, but those sneaky passes from just outside the box into the run of one of goalscorers just seems to be missing. All in all I'm not too keen on massively tinkering and seeing if I can force more assists through the middle as my teams performances are excellent with my current set up, which I admit may or may not be down to aggressive fullbacks being a bit too effective currently.

[themadsheep2001]

Considering I play a narrow game and have to largely rely on my fullbacks to provide width in the final third it does seem a bit strange to me that I still manage to have an equal amount of assists from out wide than compared to the center of the pitch, where I have some of the best creative players around. Especially the really low amount of assists from centrally outside the box seems a bit weird to me. But who knows, perhaps it's just all my tactics. It's not like my midfielders are playing bad, they get their assists, my 10 also gets on the scoresheet regularly, but those sneaky passes from just outside the box into the run of one of goalscorers just seems to be missing. All in all I'm not too keen on massively tinkering and seeing if I can force more assists through the middle as my teams performances are excellent with my current set up, which I admit may or may not be down to aggressive fullbacks being a bit too effective currently.

Tricky balance, but anecdotally, which could mean entirely nothing, i'd like to see just a tiny bit more slide passing centrally. Though having said that, i get more of those the minute i switch my AMC from a modified AM support to a Shadow striker so who knows. Given he is doing his primary role brilliantly I'm loathe to mess around too much.

[fidelitywars]

The wide play involvments comes from the wide forwards, mostly as slide passes, which is exactly how its supposed to be (they designed to be Robben and Ribery). The AMC was designed to be a wall player, much like Kroos was, which means he has respectable assists but key pass numbers are off the charts, links the DMCs to the wide forwards, and maintains supply to the front 3. I could get more assists from him but that would risk damaging the link play.

The full backs get up the pitch, their aim is to create outside options should the inside play break down, and play the ball back in the angle.

My Forward is clinical, 49 goals from 197 shots (thats in total, not shots on target), so that's a finishing rate of 24.8%, making him one of the most clinical forwards in the game, also makes him more clinical than Messi last season IRL (22.6%), It will take a little while to see just how many more major forwards he compares against.

None of what I do, is difficult to replicate, or i suspect, the best it could be done. I'm sure someone like cleon could probably spot a bunch of flaws in it, it can be relatively high risk, but then that was Bayerns nature.

FYI, the bold is incorrect, it may be your conclusion, but it's an incorrect one.

Fair enough. Think i've exhausted this topic now so wearily and with huge disappointment, i'll admit defeat and drop it. There's clearly some fatal flaw in every approach i've used which is skewing my statistics and making the game seem misleadingly cruel. I'm sure i'll give it another go in a month or 2 (at the very least, i'll be eager to scour the updated database) but for now, i've totally lost the will with FM; the enjoyment factor has been entirely absent this year for me.

[themadsheep2001]

Fair enough. Think i've exhausted this topic now so wearily and with huge disappointment, i'll admit defeat and drop it. There's clearly some fatal flaw in every approach i've used which is skewing my statistics and making the game seem misleadingly cruel. I'm sure i'll give it another go in a month or 2 (at the very least, i'll be eager to scour the updated database) but for now, i've totally lost the will with FM; the enjoyment factor has been entirely absent this year for me.

It's not about admitting defeat. If you think a specific piece of finishing is buggy, upload it. But if you are asking if overall forwards can be clinical, then yes they can be.

[Cougar2010]

Considering I play a narrow game and have to largely rely on my fullbacks to provide width in the final third it does seem a bit strange to me that I still manage to have an equal amount of assists from out wide than compared to the center of the pitch, where I have some of the best creative players around. Especially the really low amount of assists from centrally outside the box seems a bit weird to me. But who knows, perhaps it's just all my tactics. It's not like my midfielders are playing bad, they get their assists, my 10 also gets on the scoresheet regularly, but those sneaky passes from just outside the box into the run of one of goalscorers just seems to be missing. All in all I'm not too keen on massively tinkering and seeing if I can force more assists through the middle as my teams performances are excellent with my current set up, which I admit may or may not be down to aggressive fullbacks being a bit too effective currently.

Well the first thing we would need to clarify is what is classed as left, central, wide within FM and does the pitch size matter. Is wide outside the width of the 18 yard box or is the pitch split into equal 1/3rds? An evenly split pitch would see the wide locations include areas within the width of the 18 yard box for instance.

Next you have to look at your team and the opposition. If you are more focused through the middle you would expect the assist split to lean more towards the central locations but its not like narrow formations totally ignore wide areas either. In terms of the opposition if they are often of lower rep/lower standard than chances are they'll be using a narrow tactic which is focused on defending the central areas which naturally will see your team drift wider to where the space is.

All in all having an even split is maybe not what you would expect but its not something I would be particularly concerned about.

[KlaaZ]

Is it me, or was the set piece creator for throwins removed? I can't give individual instructions to players anymore, which results in some very odd positioning sometimes (and some aweful goals conceded as well)..

[KlaaZ]

Well the first thing we would need to clarify is what is classed as left, central, wide within FM and does the pitch size matter. Is wide outside the width of the 18 yard box or is the pitch split into equal 1/3rds? An evenly split pitch would see the wide locations include areas within the width of the 18 yard box for instance.

Next you have to look at your team and the opposition. If you are more focused through the middle you would expect the assist split to lean more towards the central locations but its not like narrow formations totally ignore wide areas either. In terms of the opposition if they are often of lower rep/lower standard than chances are they'll be using a narrow tactic which is focused on defending the central areas which naturally will see your team drift wider to where the space is.

All in all having an even split is maybe not what you would expect but its not something I would be particularly concerned about.

He does have a point though, there seems to be an imbalance between assists from the flanks and through the middle. I've played a 4-4-2 narrow diamond where my right wing back, a player who only hadd the ability of a decent Vanarama National player, was my main assist guy in the League 2 with 23 assists in 45 games. The other wing back, who was slightly better in terms of ability, did slightly worse with 'only' 15 assists, but he had the DLF on the far end of his crosses, compared to the AF for the right back.

Now I'm in the League 1 with the same formation and my left wing back, same guy as last year, has provided me with no less than 12 assists in 11 games.

Maybe I'm a tactical genius, but there's just something not right about this in a formation where a wing back is, in most cases, opposed by two players..

[srvngrc]

When i made a tactical change all players dissappears at stats screen and i can only see my goalkeeper's stats. After a few minutes it becomes normal.

[Freakiie]

Fair enough. Think i've exhausted this topic now so wearily and with huge disappointment, i'll admit defeat and drop it. There's clearly some fatal flaw in every approach i've used which is skewing my statistics and making the game seem misleadingly cruel. I'm sure i'll give it another go in a month or 2 (at the very least, i'll be eager to scour the updated database) but for now, i've totally lost the will with FM; the enjoyment factor has been entirely absent this year for me.

Yeah, this kinda mirrors my sentiment as well. I play a 10 as an AP A (Mainly so he isn't stuck with the hold position PI) and both Götze and Lincoln perform really well with a good chunk of assists and goals, it's just not always the way I'd like to see them play.

Well the first thing we would need to clarify is what is classed as left, central, wide within FM and does the pitch size matter. Is wide outside the width of the 18 yard box or is the pitch split into equal 1/3rds? An evenly split pitch would see the wide locations include areas within the width of the 18 yard box for instance.

Next you have to look at your team and the opposition. If you are more focused through the middle you would expect the assist split to lean more towards the central locations but its not like narrow formations totally ignore wide areas either. In terms of the opposition if they are often of lower rep/lower standard than chances are they'll be using a narrow tactic which is focused on defending the central areas which naturally will see your team drift wider to where the space is.

All in all having an even split is maybe not what you would expect but its not something I would be particularly concerned about.

Well only someone from SI could confirm how exactly the goal analysis is set up. From the looks of it the cut off is indeed at the edge of the penalty area, but again that's just how it looks.

As for my team vs opposition, I indeed generally face smaller rep clubs as Bayern which tend to go super defensive (Too defensive at times for my taste, but again different story), but when teams get overrun out wide that badly because of this really narrow play you'd think the AI would at least try to compensate for this to a certain degree, which in theory should allow your players in the middle to have a bit more space. On top of that with the superior quality of my squad you'd expect them to be able to still force it through the middle a bit more often than what they're capable of now, but again that's just personal opinion.

All in all I don't want to go and tinker with my formation as it's working with the current ME, I just think attacking fullbacks in the current ME are a tad too effective. The switch from WBS to WBA for my fullbacks seems to have made a massive difference in their efficiency (For a large part because the bloody dwelling on the ball got a lot less) and it's not just my team. The seasons before I made this change Aleix Vidal was chosen best player in the Bundesliga, while he was playing as attacking FB for Dortmund and in general you can find some fullbacks high up on the assist/avg rating rankings. It just feels like teams ignore the flanks/fullbacks a bit too much allowing them way too much space because they all just clump up in the middle.

[benjawi.]

Any time I seem to go on holiday, a player wants to talk to me about something - like not playing, wanting a new contract. Because I'm on holiday, the conversation doesn't happen and then they're annoyed. Can they not wait until I'm back from holiday? It's like they're not smart enough to see that I'm not in the managers office and then throw a wobbly because I haven't spoken to them.