How did you learn FM?

[RyanOByrne]

We all know Football Manager is an extremely overwhelming game at times, and at times can even lead people to stop playing.

Personally I've been playing FM since 2016 but I'm constantly taking huge breaks due to the fact that learning the game requires so much time and effort.

So I was thinking how have other players learned how to play this game? Do they just keep playing and learn it by themselves or do they watch YouTube tutorials?

Feel like it would be an interesting subject to see how others have learned to play this game and possibly me or another person who struggles to learn the game might pick up a few ideas!

[FrazT]

I have been playing  this franchise for nearly 25 years, so it has been a long learning curve, based mostly on trial and error.. Some of the guides published are very useful, but are not always just a plug in to your own game, so I have read and watched, but make my own decisions and mistakes

[Deisler26]

I have purely blundered my way through CM/FM since CM Italia.

I skim the forums early on in each release, but I try to build a defensive team as much as possible in each setup so I have time to look at what works.

[zlatanera]

90% it was just a case of I downloaded the game, started the application, clicked "new career" and went from there. I don't know if I've ever actually been sacked - in my first FM I got pretty good at buying myself more time then finding a new job as I always started on recommended badge / experience levels so wasn't hamstrung there. Then I started looking at stuff online - first just fmscout's wonderkid lists, then had great success copying a couple of tactics from Passion4FM - a Mourinho one for FM15 and a Tiki-Taka one for FM16 - which eventually led me to strikerless.com, which had a tactics article posted over from here (O-zil's Bielsa thread), which then led me to this place. That's where I took my tactics to the next level, but everything else about the game I'd worked out myself and was quite happy downloading tactics (still occasionally will) and getting more into all the other areas of the game. 

[Snorks]

Like @Deisler26 says I too used to skim the forums, see what, if any changes I need to make to my approach BUT also like @FrazT I have been playing this game a long time.

FM20 is the first one, because of a change in circumstances, I am considering pre-ordering and getting the Beta from Day 1, so having to stand on my own two feet. It has taken me ten consecutive iterations to feel confident enough, plus a few years previous playing sporadically since CM first arrived.\

'Learning the game' never stops - it is a combination of trial and error, browsing forums and YooToobing

[mojojojo101]

I'm not so hot on it as I was a few years a go but the first thing to do was to stop pretending like the game was real life. Play the game, don't play what you want the game to be. Secondly, work out what you want to achieve and how to measure it, prefferably more detailed than just 'win games'.

[bowieinspace]

Been playing since the CM days so a lot of hours is probably the main answer. 

I do however spend time reading/watching and learning from the tactical forum and from experts such as Cleon and Rashidi

[phnompenhandy]

4 hours ago, FrazT said:

I have been playing  this franchise for nearly 25 years, so it has been a long learning curve, based mostly on trial and error.. Some of the guides published are very useful, but are not always just a plug in to your own game, so I have read and watched, but make my own decisions and mistakes

Same. When I started, it was a very simple game although still a bit of a learning curve after Sensible World of Soccer! I hadn't yet found this forum and its experts so I just taught myself. I simply evolved with each new annual iteration of the game although once I did stumble into this place my abilities took a quantum leap.

I doubt I could get into FM today if I'd just come across it. I've looked into a lot of strategy games that I'd love to crack, but they are all far too complex for me to learn, such is the way games have evolved over the decades since i discovered CM.

[Snorks]

5 hours ago, mojojojo101 said:

....but the first thing to do was to stop pretending like the game was real life. ....

This, just this.

 

So many people's frustrations and forum rants (thinking of other forums here more so) seem to stem from this misconception.

Once you hit 'Continue' the first time in the save you are in a fantasy/unreal/pretend universe.......

[Powermonger]

For me it was trial and error but also a lot of input from these forums before YouTube and blog posts were a thing. 

After that I invested heavily in consuming coaching and tactical books. It really opened my mind to the world of football from a coach/player perspective and hence my approach to FM. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by Powermonger

[MrPompey]

I'm old school and been in from the start

I have never really go to grips with training so always leave it. I make my own mistakes and learn as i go along plus often I find tips, even how to use the screens sometimes here in this forum

The first few days can sometimes be overwhelming for the new releases these days so its worth having a save just to mess around for say week or so and learn things before restarting and going for a proper save. The 2 week re-release version is great for this to learn then restart on official release day

[phd_angel]

I've been playing for 20 odd years. It seems that every 4 to 5 years there is some technological breakthrough that requires some sharp relearning. The last (not so) "big" one was the new training system with daily sessions in FM18 which threw me off for a while.

Other than that, I learn in bouts: I just like playing FM without overthinking. Then, I may get curious about studying some manuals or videos to increase expertise.

Overall, I think FM can be played at a basic level without much time investment, but maybe I've become just too involved already...

[AytchMan]

Mostly trial and error for me.  I started playing about twenty years ago and, being a Yank, was utterly clueless about both the sport and how the game portrayed it.  I didn't know the difference between an attacking midfielder and a physio.  So...facing what seemed an impenetrable learning curve, I set out to apply the strategy of "change one thing and see what happens".  And still I was never sure if it worked because, looking back, the tactical system was indeed mystifying.  But one thing that has greatly helped is that the tactical mechanics, imperfect though they may still be, have evolved over the years into a fairly straightforward and workable scheme. Now the system seems much more user-friendly and intuitive and I can usually see what this change does and why that change doesn't work.

Edited September 9, 2019 by AytchMan

[JordanMilly]

I originally watched WatchTheSpace and DrBenjy on Youtube, and picked up tips and tricks from them, which helped a lot.

[Svenc]

On 03/09/2019 at 07:59, Snorks said:

This, just this.

 

So many people's frustrations and forum rants (thinking of other forums here more so) seem to stem from this misconception.

At the same time, as the game somewhat tries to ape "real life", there's so many rants and misconceptions to that ignorance too. Off the top off the head:

- Players having no clue how Forward finishing streaks may come About in Basic Terms (and that for the majority of Forwards perceived hot/Cold streaks will be the norm, their own too, in particularly when they barely average 3 attempts p. match).
- Players developing the MOTD inspired misconception that having tons more Possession and shots would be the sign of "playing well" and desirable in and on itself (e.g. no Basic idea About data and what to make off it the game represents -- doubly important considering how often the AI Plays rigidly defensive Football, upon which "statistically" onesided Matches will be the norm)

Just for a couple more important ones imposing rages every year.   I think this is important, as whilst SI may take cue from "real life", they expect you to work out that all for yourself. Including battling some of the more common misconceptions… My personal enjoyment/understanding has actually increased as soon as I started to dig some deeper in some Things. Mind, not all. But... playing a Football Simulation game that intends to simulate Football somewhat whilst insisting it's exclusively your own Fantasy and should adhere to your Fantasy is at least sometimes a bad Thing for your blood pressure.
 

Edited September 10, 2019 by Svenc

[BuryBlade]

Been playing since the CM2 days so I’ve kind of learnt as I’ve gone along, accompanied by reading through these forums. People like Rashidi, Cleon and Mr Rosler have written some excellent pieces in the tactics and training sub forums so I tried to read as much as possible to help me become better at the game.

The biggest thing for me in terms of developing my understanding of the game was using the tactic creator to create my own tactic based on how I want/interpret football in real life. Rather than downloading someone else’s tactic, designing my own meant I learnt far more about the game and football through trial and error.

[Rashidi]

There's no bigger incentive to learn the game than a smashed up monitor.

[MrPompey]

3 hours ago, Rashidi said:

There's no bigger incentive to learn the game than a smashed up monitor.

haha, that made me laugh

[rich10]

An iterative experience for me, starting back when it was commentary only and Ian Rush was up front for Liverpool.

I've not played the full version for a few years now (but I always buy it to try out the new features and support the devs, the value I've got from the series makes me feel I should do that), so it's FM Touch thesedays as i have less free time.

These forums have been very helpful in sussing out the match engine, watching other people's mistakes and learning from my own, and being inspired to take on a new save.

I would imagine a good way for someone totally new to comfortably find their feet thesedays would be to sit beside a veteran and just ask questions.