Football Manager 2016 16.3.0 Feedback Thread

[Guest]

iirc the game takes the database uses the injury end date to prevent user exploits when stating in January.

[Time_Consumer]

iirc the game takes the database uses the injury end date to prevent user exploits when stating in January.

I see, and it makes sense in a way. Just always the same two players out with a hamstring for a year(!) is just awful. Is there any way to remove or randomize it?

[Guest]

why go to all the effort to scout players, balance stats, painstakingly design an ME to look like real football, months tweaking it every year, code tactics, then make team talks cancel it all out. Sick of these 'prove a point' runs.

[HUNT3R]

why go to all the effort to scout players, balance stats, painstakingly design an ME to look like real football, months tweaking it every year, code tactics, then make team talks cancel it all out. Sick of these 'prove a point' runs.

I suggest you read this. Was a good post. Team talks account for a very small percentage of the match outcome. Tactics and players/player quality are by far the most important.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/453728-Football-Manager-2016-16-3-0-Feedback-Thread?p=10847352&viewfull=1#post10847352

[Guest]

Why? Maybe its not intentional, bugs arent intentional, but its the way it is. Every time I hit a prove a point run my strikers cant score and the oppositions are prolific. I have had a pattern of prove a point runs, I'm on one now, I was top of the league. On a 10 game prove a point run, I notice a pattern of this every season, when prove a point starts appearing as a team talk I know my strikers are about to go on a run of not scoring, Conceding from kick off, I know it ends about 10 games in. Did a bad team talk, I was getting beat 3-0 half time, couldnt kick the ball, didnt change a thing tactically, had a good team talk came back 3-3. If that wasnt team talk related I dont know what is.

My win ratio with prove a point as my team talk choice, (not necessarily selecting it) compared to when I dont have it is about 10%

In this game any kind of boost or handicap, or advantage and disadvantage can be enough, team talks are enough to push a result in your favour or out of it.

I know you cant criticise or question anything in this game that whoever says otherwise or is not the case but that is what I have found, a definite pattern when I have prove a point as a team talk goals suddenly dry up and conceding suddenly increases. Luck changes in other words

Edit. Just come out of a prove a point run, won the first game in about 10, the media asks after the match 'How important do you think the good team spirit at wealdstone has been to this recent run of form', what team are you watching? How do I answer that. I think its just an excuse to praise us so we can go on another prove a point run.

[HUNT3R]

Why? Maybe its not intentional, bugs arent intentional, but its the way it is. Every time I hit a prove a point run my strikers cant score and the oppositions are prolific. I have had a pattern of prove a point runs, I'm on one now, I was top of the league. On a 10 game prove a point run, I notice a pattern of this every season, when prove a point starts appearing as a team talk I know my strikers are about to go on a run of not scoring, Conceding from kick off, I know it ends about 10 games in. Did a bad team talk, I was getting beat 3-0 half time, couldnt kick the ball, didnt change a thing tactically, had a good team talk came back 3-3. If that wasnt team talk related I dont know what is.

My win ratio with prove a point as my team talk choice, (not necessarily selecting it) compared to when I dont have it is about 10%

In this game any kind of boost or handicap, or advantage and disadvantage can be enough, team talks are enough to push a result in your favour or out of it.

I know you cant criticise or question anything in this game that whoever says otherwise or is not the case but that is what I have found, a definite pattern when I have prove a point as a team talk goals suddenly dry up and conceding suddenly increases. Luck changes in other words

Edit. Just come out of a prove a point run, won the first game in about 10, the media asks after the match 'How important do you think the good team spirit at wealdstone has been to this recent run of form', what team are you watching? How do I answer that. I think its just an excuse to praise us so we can go on another prove a point run.

You can criticise, but your criticisms are just plain wrong and you'd do well to take some of the posts giving help and advice on-board. Matches are dynamic. You have to know this and be able to see it.

I wrote a piece for Cleon's CCC magazine where I chose the worst team response I could and I still did well. Turning a 0-3 to a 3-3 is definitely not solely team talk related. As I said, matches are dynamic. After half-time, the opposition may well have sat back too much, allowing you to get back into the game.

[Silver Twilight Sparkle]

Just when i thought strikers couldnt be worse...

Anyone knows what kind of team/player instructions to improve finishing/reduce striker stupidy? I think im going to create a thread in tactics forum if i cant figure this out to see if someone has ideas.

[video=youtube;dIIV1JHFUZk]

[HUNT3R]

Just when i thought strikers couldnt be worse...

Anyone knows what kind of team/player instructions to improve finishing/reduce striker stupidy? I think im going to create a thread in tactics forum if i cant figure this out to see if someone has ideas.

[video=youtube;dIIV1JHFUZk]

Finishing can't be that stupid if you won 4-0. Your video shows one isolated chance?

The miss is unrealistically wide though, which is bug-worthy.

[CityAndColour]

I actually think that is more realistic than some of the close range finishing, as it's just a complete shank. The ones where they wind up and powderpuff it into the 'keeper's hands from a couple of yards are far worse.

[HUNT3R]

Yeah, ideally, those fluffed shots should look a bit harder to save, but still saved nonetheless.

[Silver Twilight Sparkle]

Finishing can't be that stupid if you won 4-0. Your video shows one isolated chance?

The miss is unrealistically wide though, which is bug-worthy.

Eventually after trying a lot we managed to get something out of this game. 20 shots, 10 on target and 10 off target, only 2 long shots. 2 goals were from crosses and in one of the other two the GK did not try to save or reach the ball. So only one goal where the strikers actually showed any kind of skill.

[video=youtube;n_va2Xc37a4]

[themadsheep2001]

So you converted 40% of the shots you had on target? That's actually good finishing.

[Guest]

There's probably a really straightforward answer to this, but I just cannot work it out. Sometimes my players have the attributes they're getting trained on highlighted in their profiles (and so does every other player in the game), and sometimes they don't. What am I doing that highlights them? I know it's just a cosmetic thing, but it's driving me nuts.

I notice it every now and then and a while later the attributes won't be highlighted so I dunno if it's something I'm doing or not. I'm sure it is.

[herne79]

I think im going to create a thread in tactics forum if i cant figure this out to see if someone has ideas.

Based on the two videos you've linked and your shots to goals ratio, there's really no need to start a thread in the tactics forum - although by all means do so of course.

However you'll get the same answer there as you have here - the only possible "bug" is as HUNT3R has already pointed out, with the miss possibly being a little unrealistically wide. The fact that he did miss from that range could be considered unusual, but by no means unrealistic. Just search YouTube for Messi and Ronaldo misses, it happens to the best of them.

Edit - just noticed you've also put up this miss in the Bugs forum. I'll add our same thoughts there as well.

And by the way, constantly using phrases such as "stupid strikers" or "mentally challenged goalkeeper" (as you've called another "bug") doesn't help. Keep it neutral please.

[Silver Twilight Sparkle]

So you converted 40% of the shots you had on target? That's actually good finishing.

Considering 3 of the goals required no skill, that leaves me with 1 out of 17 off target or 1 out of 10 on target that required skill. Bad ratio.

Based on the two videos you've linked and your shots to goals ratio, there's really no need to start a thread in the tactics forum - although by all means do so of course.

However you'll get the same answer there as you have here - the only possible "bug" is as HUNT3R has already pointed out, with the miss possibly being a little unrealistically wide. The fact that he did miss from that range could be considered unusual, but by no means unrealistic. Just search YouTube for Messi and Ronaldo misses, it happens to the best of them.

Well its not just about this match it is a recurring problem, strikers are so bad everytime, mine and the AIs, have posted several examples of this in the last pages.

If what you say about the advice i would get is true, then it seems replacing the strikers again would be the only option left to try. Too bad because i had just replaced 2 supposed "world class" strikers 2 seasons ago.

I dont want to have to rely on crossing bug to get the job done (i play exploiting the middle and with support wide midfielders so i dont have a tactic that focuses on wide play), but this version i end up needing them to compensate for the strikers missing everything. Sadly so does the AI.

[herne79]

Well its not just about this match it is a recurring problem, strikers are so bad everytime, mine and the AIs, have posted several examples of this in the last pages.

If what you say about the advice i would get is true, then it seems replacing the strikers again would be the only option left to try. Too bad because i had just replaced 2 supposed "world class" strikers 2 seasons ago.

I dont want to have to rely on crossing bug to get the job done (i play exploiting the middle and with support wide midfielders so i dont have a tactic that focuses on wide play), but this version i end up needing them to compensate for the strikers missing everything. Sadly so does the AI.

If you are having problems scoring on a regular basis, then it sounds like you have a tactical issue in which case you may benefit from starting a thread in the tactics forum. However using a 4-0 win with a good shots to shots on target to goals from open play ratio as an example of this wouldn't help your case.

And there's no need to rely on a crossing bug when that "bug" is not much more than an urban myth. Have a read of Neil Brock's post on page 4 along with HUNT3R's posts throughout much of this thread on the subject to get a better idea of what is going on. I could even show you all sorts of tactics, from 4-4-2 to 3-1-4-2 (with no defensive wide players), where crosses actually seem under powered. Most of it is down to how you set things up.

[themadsheep2001]

Football doesn't weigh scoring chances like that STS. Shots on target to goals scored is a used objective measure. "skilful chances" is not. Moving the goal posts somewhat.

[Welshace]

There's probably a really straightforward answer to this, but I just cannot work it out. Sometimes my players have the attributes they're getting trained on highlighted in their profiles (and so does every other player in the game), and sometimes they don't. What am I doing that highlights them? I know it's just a cosmetic thing, but it's driving me nuts.

I notice it every now and then and a while later the attributes won't be highlighted so I dunno if it's something I'm doing or not. I'm sure it is.

The box saying goalkeeper (defend) on the right there, highlights those attributes.. is this what you mean? or do you mean the green progress arrows next to the highlights that show a players progress in training.. i.e the 'show attribute changes' button?

[Guest]

The box saying goalkeeper (defend) on the right there, highlights those attributes.. is this what you mean? or do you mean the green progress arrows next to the highlights that show a players progress in training.. i.e the 'show attribute changes' button?

The first one that highlights the attributes for that role. I can currently see highlighted attributes on every player in the game, but there's definitely times when I can't - I'm trying to figure out what I've pressed to set the highlight. I can clear them one by one for every player I happen across by selecting Clear Selected Role but I am 100% sure there's been times during the game where I've not seen the highlights on anyone.

[jujigatame]

If you are having problems scoring on a regular basis, then it sounds like you have a tactical issue in which case you may benefit from starting a thread in the tactics forum. However using a 4-0 win with a good shots to shots on target to goals from open play ratio as an example of this wouldn't help your case.

And there's no need to rely on a crossing bug when that "bug" is not much more than an urban myth. Have a read of Neil Brock's post on page 4 along with HUNT3R's posts throughout much of this thread on the subject to get a better idea of what is going on. I could even show you all sorts of tactics, from 4-4-2 to 3-1-4-2 (with no defensive wide players), where crosses actually seem under powered. Most of it is down to how you set things up.

I really do believe there is something wonky about finishing. Unlike with some attributes like acceleration, pace, touch, and dribbling, it's nearly impossible to tell great finishers from poor ones when watching the matches. There are games where I see half a dozen CCCs and almost as many HCs get wasted by strikers with 15+ finishing, and games where players with ~10 finishing are making incredible, high-difficulty shots. Part of the fun of FM is seeing the attributes express themselves on the pitch, and in this particular department it is a bit disappointing.

[herne79]

I really do believe there is something wonky about finishing. Unlike with some attributes like acceleration, pace, touch, and dribbling, it's nearly impossible to tell great finishers from poor ones when watching the matches. There are games where I see half a dozen CCCs and almost as many HCs get wasted by strikers with 15+ finishing, and games where players with ~10 finishing are making incredible, high-difficulty shots. Part of the fun of FM is seeing the attributes express themselves on the pitch, and in this particular department it is a bit disappointing.

Yeh I understand where you are coming from. Often I find myself thinking how did he miss that? Or how did the keeper save it?

And then I remember I also say exactly the same thing when watching real football matches, which I think has to be a good thing. It adds to the realism.

You're probably well aware, but I think it's worth mentioning, there is much more to scoring a goal than just Finishing. Mental attributes especially play a large part in the outcome, and I'd much rather have a striker with relatively low Finishing but high mentals than the other way around (ideally high in everything of course). Hidden attributes could also have an effect, depending on the match - consistency, big match player and so on. And we haven't even touched on other factors such as condition, player confidence, quality of through ball/pass/cross, opposition defender pressure etc.

This is why when we see examples like has been posted above it's important to take into account all of the conditions that led to this action, instead of just saying stupid striker, must be a bug.

[Danchinaski]

The gripes about finishing would probably be lessened in future editions if the animations were more varied. I accept that strikers fluff chances but it is frustrating to see the striker hit the ball directly at the keeper when clean through, and then do the same with the rebound. Then there is the corner flag shots mentioned earlier in this thread. I have to keep reminding myself that the animations are limited when it comes to strikers missing chances, and these annoyances probably wouldn't be so infuriating if l watched matches on 2D.

[HUNT3R]

I often see Finishing and Composure mention w.r.t. finishing, but that's all. There are so many more attributes that could factor into it.

Balance is one, imo, most likely for first time type shots, running in at an angle or at full speed before shooting.

Technique, but this depends on the shot. A simple tap-in may be fine, but a half-volley or curler wouldn't be.

Footedness. Sometimes a player is forced to take a shot with his weaker foot. That will dramatically affect the shot. Even a simple tap-in with the left boot by a "Right Only" player can be fluffed.

[enigmatic]

The footedness also presumably has some effect on there overall chance conversion with their stronger foot as well, as sometimes they take on shots from more awkward angles or slightly too late in order to be able to use that stronger foot. (related gripe: the current newgen system seems to produce too many very high potential strikers who are very one footed or fail to train them enough on their weaker foot as youngsters. Obviously there is the odd Vieri, but the most talented very one footed attacking players usually end up as wingers for good reason)

Via the player's current attitude, presumably hidden mental stats have some impact as well. Would definitely back a confident League 1 striker to put away a good goalscoring chance over a frustrated Rooney IRL, for example, despite the latter having the technical ability to attempt finishes the League 1 striker wouldn't even think of.

And if they've implemented it properly, consistency ought to affect the "finishing" attribute more than most attributes.

[jujigatame]

Yeh I understand where you are coming from. Often I find myself thinking how did he miss that? Or how did the keeper save it?

And then I remember I also say exactly the same thing when watching real football matches, which I think has to be a good thing. It adds to the realism.

You're probably well aware, but I think it's worth mentioning, there is much more to scoring a goal than just Finishing. Mental attributes especially play a large part in the outcome, and I'd much rather have a striker with relatively low Finishing but high mentals than the other way around (ideally high in everything of course). Hidden attributes could also have an effect, depending on the match - consistency, big match player and so on. And we haven't even touched on other factors such as condition, player confidence, quality of through ball/pass/cross, opposition defender pressure etc.

This is why when we see examples like has been posted above it's important to take into account all of the conditions that led to this action, instead of just saying stupid striker, must be a bug.

I understand what you're saying, I honestly do. But after hundreds of hours of gameplay I'm telling you I simply cannot tell good finishers from bad on the pitch. It feels like 50% of finishing is the quality of the chance created, 40% luck, 5% motivation/morale/confidence, and 5% attributes. It's like finishing had to be nerfed across the board because otherwise high-scoring matches would be too frequent. Once in a while you see a match where all your chances get converted and you end up with like 7 goals.

[jujigatame]

Also, I'd just like to point out that it's not the "fluffed" shots that go high or wide that are so vexing. It's the MANY shots that are put directly into the keeper at point blank range. That's something I really don't think I see too much in the real sport, but in FM I see it in nearly every match from one or both teams.

[Svenc]

I understand what you're saying, I honestly do. But after hundreds of hours of gameplay I'm telling you I simply cannot tell good finishers from bad on the pitch. It feels like 50% of finishing is the quality of the chance created, 40% luck, 5% motivation/morale/confidence, and 5% attributes. It's like finishing had to be nerfed across the board because otherwise high-scoring matches would be too frequent. Once in a while you see a match where all your chances get converted and you end up with like 7 goals.

Yupp, really weird ones those (4 from corners too).

Finishing isn't artificially nerfed, categorically not the case. If it would have ever needed evidence it wasn't, it was there in FM 2015, initially. SI toyed with the idea that giving attack dutys to advanced players meant they didn't bother to track back any, which made for some really funny results and brought up AI teams too that averaged up to 6, 7 goals/for against a match. More likely what you see is a mix of:

- perception bias

- unrealistic "gamey" expectations (i.e. Messi should put everything away whilst Agbonlahor shouldn't be able to hit a barn's door, but also i.e. shots from within the 6 yards box can't be possibly go off target when that happens regularly in football)

- some genuine bugs, i.e. player uses weak foot a tad too often, but perhaps some balancing things not notices, such as some attributes not being weighted big enough (thinking of the fact that SI seemed to be unaware how referee attributes have a huge and quite linear bearing on how much booking a ref gives, which can be from anywhere to <1 booking on average to up to 6, 7).

- and the fact that it must be quite something to model realistic finishing in a computer sim. This goes for finishing techniques, which obviously are going to be stereotypes eventually, as you're not going to have like every modeled player behaving like the individual he is, but everybody being a more/less consistent version of one another (outside of player prefered moves which influence things slightly). But also in terms of finishing ability. Data analysis suggests that really there isn't that hugely big a difference between the great and the average for the most part, and the football fan in general reads far too much into short trends which are more likely influenced by simply random chance rather than skill, in particular as there's so few goals in football in general (which would influence research too).

Also you would find the same if you would tone down penalty related attributes to lowly levels. It may slightly increase the chance of a miss, but it won't make the player miss like everything, as penalties unlike one on ones from open play are converted typically and the finisher is in a huge advantage over the keeper. This is pretty much MR Paul directly, even at the lowliest levels they try to simulate, when a player is loaded into things, he is by definition a footballer.

[cseyoum]

The one realistic thing i would really expect and want to see changed is make relationships count for something. If a player is close to me, there should be some benefit to me. If i manage another team I should be able to interact with him to tell him I want him at my club. The only way bonds between players seem to happen is if a player is mentored. I have 4 players that are young playing with each other for 7 years or since the age of 15-16 and none of them are in favored personnel.

Also i would like the money in the game to be more realistic especially with the new tv money coming for the Premier League, and all the money in China. With that said it would be nice if they increased the marketing side within football in the game. For us to be able to pick our sponsorship deals, and for the to be as lucrative as in real life; the inclusion of instagram followers or something as a partial meter for a players reputation, and how that translates to marketability and how much income we rake in off jersey sales.

[CityAndColour]

Also, I'd just like to point out that it's not the "fluffed" shots that go high or wide that are so vexing. It's the MANY shots that are put directly into the keeper at point blank range. That's something I really don't think I see too much in the real sport, but in FM I see it in nearly every match from one or both teams.

I think, due to very passive defending in and around the six yard box (and probably limited animations), there are probably a few too many chances from point blank range, which means some of them need to be saved.

[Sussex Hammer]

I really hope that player unhappiness is sorted for the next version,. Perfect example of how bizarre it can be. Darren Randolph is my back up goalkeeper. For a season and a half he hasn't moaned once and I have played him in Cup ties. His contract was coming to an end so I offered him another as a "back up" again. He accepted. A couple of weeks after signing the contract I suddenly see "sit" against his name. He is unhappy and wants a chance in the first team. A week later he comes to me and says he has moaned to the press because of his lack of appearances in said first team. I reply that he can't expect to start because he is a back up,. He just says "well that doesn't solve anything". Why sign a new contract as a back up then?

[Hilly27]

The one realistic thing i would really expect and want to see changed is make relationships count for something. If a player is close to me, there should be some benefit to me. If i manage another team I should be able to interact with him to tell him I want him at my club. The only way bonds between players seem to happen is if a player is mentored. I have 4 players that are young playing with each other for 7 years or since the age of 15-16 and none of them are in favored personnel.

Relationships is my big issue with FM. They are just so much window dressing as the game doesn't connect to them and react to them. For example, I just did a little experiment by creating in the pre-game editor a manager with a full playing record at Spurs. I then made him manager of Spurs. I started the game unemployed and using the in-game editor on day one made us brothers. Half way through the first season I take over Barcelona who have been knocked out of the CL. I am drawn against Spurs in QF of the EL but the game doesn't recognise that two brothers are competing against each other. In fact the game doesn't react to any relationships as far as I can tell, which as you pointed out should generate the ability to interact with them, create media stories etc. It would make the game more realistic, absorbing and more fun.

Whilst I'm typing, I also think that match attendances need sorting out. It's good that a local derby usually generates a full house, (as it should), but take the scenario that you are playing at home on the last day of the season and need 3 points to win the league. If you are playing against a lower reputation team you won't get a full house, where as IRL, regardless of the opposition, they would be swinging from the rafters.

[Guest]

I started off as wealdstone, non league south, 2.5k capacity stadium

Now heading into league 1. 1 new stadium, and 3 upgrades and millions of debt later I have a 2k capacity stadium. This worked better in fm 06, a decade later, and this is progress, Great work

[Guest]

Preferences>reset dialog messages

[Taunton]

Just wanted to share my experience with the game. I haven't played for a while, I think it is too time consuming to play through seasons as a club team and I was fed up with all the goals from crosses. But yesterday I started a game managing England only. I really will recommend playing as a national team if you want the FM experience, but don't have time to play many matches every season.

But, I have to say that I have seen a lot of positives in this save. My team plays exciting, fluent football. Lots of goals coming from clever moves and smart through balls, driblings and not that many crosses. My team (England) is fun to watch and I enjoy the save. I start to get fond of and attached to those pixel men running about again, and for me, that is what have made FM and CM fun, you see some individuals stand out that you care for. My defenders play with their hearts on their sleeves and make last gasp tackles, and Jamie Vardy, he is so Jamie Vardy. Running at the defenses and scores a lot of goals. He is well replicated I think, I even humm Jamie Vardy's having a party when he is scoring:lol:.

Anyway, keep working on this guys and I am sure it will bring joy to many gamers in the next editions. I acknowledge the fact that for me the overwhelming amount of information in this game makes it more difficult to comprehend and you get unsure of what you do right and wrong. and that may make it a bit exhausting for some.

But now I took another approach I have had an excellent experience and enjoy the game. So my plan is to take England to a couple of championships and then move on to another country.

I am happy now (maybe because I am winning;)), but seriously, it was nice to get my faith in the game back, and experience a variety in how the goals is scored. Wish you luck and all the best working on further editions.

[Johnleegriffin]

During the match, i make a tactical change and the changes are extensive then i go back into the match but think of something else to do.

I would like the option to amend changes not just cancel changes so i don't have to start all over again or wait for the ball to go out.

[Sussex Hammer]

An update to post 1828. Randolph has now requested a transfer a couple of weeks after signing a new contract as a back up!!! Bizarre to say the least.

[Guest]

There is a better balance to strike with clear backup keepers. I had to deal with the #2 keeper at St. Etienne early in the first season even though he's been a backup at the club irl for over a decade.

Sussex, do you have a saves shortly before you negotiated a new deal & before he started to be concerned about his backup status?

[Sussex Hammer]

There is a better balance to strike with clear backup keepers. I had to deal with the #2 keeper at St. Etienne early in the first season even though he's been a backup at the club irl for over a decade.

Sussex, do you have a saves shortly before you negotiated a new deal & before he started to be concerned about his backup status?

No sadly not I didn't think to do it. I have one back up at the end of the first season then tend to overwrite the current save after each fixture. I actually though his attitude was spot on in this save because he usually spits the dummy long before in the game so it was a pleasant surprise him agreeing to a new contract as a back up. Then he goes and flips a week or so later. Very bizarre.

What was annoying though is how difficult it was to get someone in at the last minute because the January transfer window was due to shut. Couldn't get anyone who is half decent to sign as a back up keeper. In the end had to get Alphonse Areola on loan/rotation because he wouldn't agree to back up status.

I have even had Raphael Spiegel the reserve keeper questioning why he hasn't played for the first team but he is no way near good enough.

A better balance is needed because I think in future I'll just try and get keepers on loan as it's very difficult to get a half decent keeper as a number 2.

[Citizen Sandman]

improvements =

only once a season should I be asked about chairmans ambitions, not fortnightly

a player unhappy about moving to bigger club, I should be able to shake him about that when I want, not when he decides otherwise

[haffaz77]

Was there an update today ? Steam downloaded smth ...

[Lord Rowell]

Was there an update today ? Steam downloaded smth ...

I got the same. But when I hit the "view updates" button it just shows the 16.3 Jan transfer update.

???

[Neil Brock]

Just an extraordinary minor update to do with advertising boards. Feel free to see if you can spot the change, you may struggle!

[Svenc]

Two AI upgrades I'd personally like to see:

- Making AI managers being able to spot if an opponent is without holding players whatsoever

- Plus conversely, and this is a bit more tricky likely for obvious reasons: make it able to spot if all you do after taking a lead is playing keep-ball and killing off a game for good (no this doesn't involve wildly formations either, fairly bog standard 4-2-3-1 narrow)

Comfortably leading the pack at winter break with like 12 points and like 11 shots on average per game (another case for quality over quantity and developing a sense for match strategies however simply rather than hitting continue etc.). Sure this is Juventus against whom everybody prays for just not getting hammered (as far as I understand from previous patch notes, AI managers work off "expected scorelines", so can actually switch to drop off even MORE and be MORE defensive if there's a couple goals scored already, plus can be content with a loss as long as it is not too damagingly high). So in the above extreme case where you take the lead early againt the leagues minnows and start sitting, against a side that is outnumbered centrally too, this is probably to be expected to an extent and about right. Still as of now anybody who isn't able to hold onto a lead with a good side against weaker opposition in particular must be one of those who has at least 7 players pushing up all match due to the role/dutys employed, something no AI man does outside of desperately overloads.

- There's a connection here to AI man's arguably being too readily defensive in general. As somebody has noted here, whilst tournament group stages and two legged Cup ties come with their own dynamics, as the standings/first tie results seem to be taken into account, you still get those bizarrely cases where Barcelona second season completely shut up shop and merely try to frustate Liverpool:

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2016-discussion/358243-why-barcelona-playing-defensively-against-me.html

Some of this will be connected to research likely, as AI manager's attributes can make a big difference (which is part of the fun in a way as you never fully know what to expect). Some of it probably won't. Personally I hope the solution won't be as simply as making play in general be more direct, and/or make players in general prefer forward/direct passes quicker, as that'd be a huge loss for the game. Contrary to all the claims of players just hoofing it despite their being options and contrary encouragements, thankfully not happening*. In terms of possibly, playing styles things haven't looked as diverse. By stark contrast, in the long-term fav that is FM 2011/2012ish, even just fielding a TM here up top sees more long balls played from back to front than in those even if you had every player tweaked to just hit it on overload mentalities.

Apart of the fact that recycling should be harder on lowly levels: It seems there's a very wide-spread misunderstanding of the BALL PLAYING DEFENDER role. He's supposed to play defense splitting passes and look for balls launched to everywhere when on rather than keeping it simple after all. It's right in the role description but also in the individual instructions.

[jlammi]

Just got 16000 expansion for seats my Dynamo Berlin club. total of 50039 for the new stadium, nice one for Bundesliga it will cost 58M pounds and won again championship 2023-24.

[Federico]

Just an extraordinary minor update to do with advertising boards. Feel free to see if you can spot the change, you may struggle!

Motorsport Manager?

[Neil Brock]

Motorsport Manager?

Good spot sir!

[Svenc]

Admittedly haven't looked at the tactical choices made in detail, but has it been found what the issue is with top teams oft barely scoring 2 goals on average? It's either as if they're content with a narrow win just as well and immediately decrease risk, but the overall performance can also be quite poor. Any human player would be able to outperform this straight out of the box imo. :-)

Long-term hoping for improved AI decision making anyway. It could benefit more casually players just as well in the form of upgraded assistant managers taking over match days (with more detailed match plans also for FM normal rather than Touch only), plus optionally better or more spoon-feedinglish in-match advice. Goals aside those are pretty shoddy performances considering the squad depths in general often. As for the goals themselves it must be a curious combination of general AI tactics, research and probably the approach taken for a match, i.e. managers being readily pleased with narrow wins plus the underdog opponents employing their spoiling tactics anyhow.

As for Guardiolaish in particular he seems to be working off highly d-lines in general. That's a big number of losses -- considering that most teams will typically drop off in the league against Bayern it might something have to do with that plus the more readily taken through ball opportunity. You see this in AI vs AI matches as well, plus in particular in away matches when you take the lead (and if it's after a corner counter as the AI only kept one guy covering at 0-0 and like 80 minutes from time......) they start to push up even more, which on occasion opens so much space at the back that they can be ripped apart, one pass and you're immediately deep into enemy territory. One the one hand it's neat that you indeed can punish more readily, on the other it's a bit of a turn-off that such managers just don't get the message even if they were already punished twice (it's not as if we had defended particularly well at all, bit of a quicklish test-run in an attempt there to replicate the Foxes). If they would be able to spot generally issues, that's where assistants could also be improved and some optionally generally in-match advice so that it could improve everybody's game from beginners to the SI regular. Must be a daunting task though!

[rumpelstiltskin]

Admittedly haven't looked at the tactical choices made in detail, but has it been found what the issue is with top teams oft barely scoring 2 goals on average? It's either as if they're content with a narrow win just as well and immediately decrease risk, but the overall performance can also be quite poor. Any human player would be able to outperform this straight out of the box imo. :-)

.

+1 ... I am six years into a save with about a dozen leagues playable and teams with more than 2 goals per game scored on average are outliers. And even then they are only a handful of goals over the 2 average.

[johnhughthom]

Twelve seasons in I've suddenly had new options in my team talks involving the media's portrayal of the team. I've been winning things for twelve years and it suddenly comes in now? I haven't used any of the options because I don't really care what the media say, and seemingly for twelve years my players haven't either. But it seems to be having an affect on the team, players who always had good body language are suddenly nervous, or very nervous and my striker has gone from hitting 34 goals in 21 league games to averaging 6.66 over his last five games. It just feels 'gamey', I don't believe a group of player who have won the lot for a period of time are suddenly going to turn to jelly because a few newspapers are writing nice things about them. Am I going to have to start using these options to get them to go away, or can I wait them, and the affect they have on my team, out?

[Dennis_Ajax]

Edit. Never mind. Will edit later because this was my first press meeting.