the other important thing , and its probably stating the obvious but try to make sure your preferred tactics complement the type of players you buy, so if you prefer playing something like 4-2-3-1 then you obviously wont need to buy 4 or 5 strikers
if I start a game with a lower league team I usually set it to generate virtual players rather than use real players as it forces me to look around for players and scout well rather than base decisions on preconceptions of players from the real world and watching football or reading about it
That's a good tip about the virtual players i suppose. I've always had a habit of using the real name players for the exact reasons you've mentioned.
I'm struggling to get into fm. The last one I got really into was 13 where I had a very successful 80 year career and since I ended it I've not had same interest in FM. Just wondered if anyone else has felt same and if so how did you get the motivation back to continue playing it?
I'm not into it as much as i used to be either i'm still on FM14 but have only done 2 seasons, previously on fm13 and 12 etc i used to do at least 25 seasons.
Well since i've recently ditched Assassin's Creed Unity, I could actually get going and install this now. Although I have just installed Ghostbusters that I got on steam recently for a re-play
If I was gonna start playing it again I'd go back to 13. I think main reason though for loss of interest is before when was i playing I was unemployed so playing it gave me something to do where as now im working I don't really feel like it. Im sure at some point the interest will in it will come back.
Just installed it actually and taken the plunge and taken control of my old local club Ebbsfleet. Went to see them a few times when i was younger when they were still known as "Gravesend and Northfleet".
I honestly forgot what a wealth of information you're presented with with these games. I've just had the meeting with the board, the squad and the backroom team and that took bloody ages
Funny thing is, i just ran the game to check and spent another half an hour just pottering around, looking at stats, stats and more stats and trying to tweak the training and work out the best players for the tactics i want to play.
Well I've somehow managed to get my League Two team to the FA Cup semi-final... and lost to Chelsea reserves. Brought in a couple of million quid thanks to that cup run, spending it on training/youth facilities.
Still playing 14, I have things I want to do and achievements I want to get. 11 seasons in and I'm about to start my second season in the Premier League with Altrincham. Finished 6th last season and qualified for the Europa League which was very promising. The ulitmate aim is turn my team into a European power.
Thought I'd be able to sign some better players at the moment but it seems my club reputation hasn't shifted much since last season and significantly better players just won't come. I have the lowest rep of all the Premier League and it's lower than a couple of Championship teams too. Still got another year before the new 18,000 seater stadium is built so maybe that will help a little (currently playing in front of 6000) as might another good year in the league. Also hoping for a decent showing in Europe to improve rep, I want to make the knockout the stages but I can't even think about the group stages yet, I have a playoff game against an opponent yet to be decided.
My board finally has enough cash to accept my suggestion of upgrading the youth facilities which might help with rep too. I've had a level 4 academy (the worst rating) since starting out the game which quite frankly is a disgrace for a Premier League side. Got to be level 1, 2 at absolute worst.
Doing well with United so far, won 4 Premier League titles on the bounce, 4 FA Cups on the bounce, 1 Champions League, 1 World Club Cup and zero Capital One Cups. Luckily, the board don't set much stock by the Capital Cup so doing a full rotation pick for a third round match away to Yeovil and losing 3-0 didn't hurt at all. Well apart from me giving the old hair-dryer treatment to the players, causing a couple of them to moan that I was too aggressive with my team talks and I need to tone them down. They were sold the next transfer window. That'll teach them.
I'm about to start my second season in the Premier League with Altrincham.
If you get a chance, i'd be interested to know how you started out with Altrincham, mainly tactics wise.
Did you pick a formation you wanted to play and get the players to fit that, or did you pick a standard formation that was the best for the players you had ?
You don't have to give away all your trade secrets of course
I think this might be where i'm going wrong (as per usual) on my game. I tried to create a custom formation first which took in to account some of the players i had, but also that i needed to bring in other players to fit in to that.
When that wasn't working, i switched to a 5-3-2 to try and shore things up a bit and not concede as many goals, but that's not really doing much either.
I'm thinking of starting again and trying a different approach to see if i can not actually get battered in every game
Doing well with United so far, won 4 Premier League titles on the bounce, 4 FA Cups on the bounce, 1 Champions League, 1 World Club Cup and zero Capital One Cups. Luckily, the board don't set much stock by the Capital Cup so doing a full rotation pick for a third round match away to Yeovil and losing 3-0 didn't hurt at all. Well apart from me giving the old hair-dryer treatment to the players, causing a couple of them to moan that I was too aggressive with my team talks and I need to tone them down. They were sold the next transfer window. That'll teach them.
If you get a chance, i'd be interested to know how you started out with Altrincham, mainly tactics wise.
Did you pick a formation you wanted to play and get the players to fit that, or did you pick a standard formation that was the best for the players you had ?
You don't have to give away all your trade secrets of course
I think this might be where i'm going wrong (as per usual) on my game. I tried to create a custom formation first which took in to account some of the players i had, but also that i needed to bring in other players to fit in to that.
When that wasn't working, i switched to a 5-3-2 to try and shore things up a bit and not concede as many goals, but that's not really doing much either.
I'm thinking of starting again and trying a different approach to see if i can not actually get battered in every game
I'm afraid I used someone else's tactics that they were kind enough to post up on the SI Commuinity forums. http://community.sigames.com/
I've played lots of incarnations of this game and I've done that more often than not although sometimes I have gone alone. There's lots of elements that still provide me with fun when doing that such as getting the training, teamtalks and subs right plus transfers and squad development, handling the finances, managing in and out of form players etc.
So in answer to the question, I put the tactics first and then try to build the squad around that but realise that using other people's tactics might not be to everyone's taste.
In the FM14 save with Altrincham I looked amongst some of the popular tactics and went with one that sounded successful and fun to play. It was a 4-4-2 variant with wingers pushed forward in the AMR/AML positions, it scored lots of goals (let in quite a few too) and I enjoyed watching the highlights. That got me promoted from Conference North to Conference National in the first season which is where I got stuck, finishing mid-table 3 years in a row.
Not looking like going anywhere fast I went and looked for another tactic that people had reported success with. Came across one that was billed as working in non-league football and at higher levels too. The theory behind it from the person who created it was that all the teams have bad defences in the Conference North and Conference National so they were going to go against the grain and build something mean at the back to give a big advantage. It's got 5 across the back, 2 DMs, 1 AMC and 2 strikers with the FBs very attacking when in posession. I never liked watching it quite as much but it's been very successful indeed. When I changed to this tactic I had to make some pretty big changes in my squad, letting all my wingers go bar one who could also play AM, letting CMs who couldn't play DM go etc.
Thanks for the reply. I've often gone looking for other people's tactics in the past when i've tried playing the game but i suppose this time around I wanted to try to see if i could do it myself.
I've started again with Ebbsfleet and actually haven't had too bad a pre-season. I'm using a basic 4-4-2, but with a rigid defensive approach and i've made sure that all of the players are playing their preferred roles as well.
If things go pear shaped again, then i'll probably go and look on the forum for a decent tactic.
A tactic that I have used now for all my seasons is the 3-2-3-2, attacking and fluid movement. Signed a wonderkid from a German team and he scored 49 goals first season, 52 second season and at end of third season was on 60 goals. All competitions that is.
A tactic that I have used now for all my seasons is the 3-2-3-2, attacking and fluid movement. Signed a wonderkid from a German team and he scored 49 goals first season, 52 second season and at end of third season was on 60 goals. All competitions that is.
I've always found that the lower down you go, the more basic tactics are more suited. Remember, your players aren't as good - go 4-4-2, find a strike partnership that works (I tend to go for Advanced Forward and Deep-lying Forward), and play wide, getting crosses in.
I then moved to my 4-1-2-2-1 (wingers as inside-forwards) in League 2, and just stormed it with record points and goals scored.
I kid you not, the last full season I played, Man U finished with a goal scored of 149 and conceded of 29. Difference of plus 20. No fiddling with any editors or anything.
I had a couple of bad seasons with US Colomiers, Eastbourne Boro, Stenhousemuir and then ended up at Berwick Rangers. I managed to avoid the League 2 - Highland/Lowland League playoff because Montrose scored a 92nd minute winner at Peterhead!
I went into the next season with a big wage budget and put together a strong team for that level. I was expected to make the playoffs but in late November, I have already beaten Rangers, Celtic, Hearts (all Premiership), Hibs (Championship) and Morton (League 1) in the League Cup and Challenge Cup. I'm into the quarters and semis of those tournaments and I have League 1 Dunfermline in the League Cup so the semis beckon and it might be possible to win the Challenge Cup. I'll go back to the top of the league if I win my game in hand too.
Comments
That's a good tip about the virtual players i suppose. I've always had a habit of using the real name players for the exact reasons you've mentioned.
I picked up last years as well but I think I played it twice and not for that long.
I honestly forgot what a wealth of information you're presented with with these games. I've just had the meeting with the board, the squad and the backroom team and that took bloody ages
There's so many bloody stats though .. sheesh!
Funny thing is, i just ran the game to check and spent another half an hour just pottering around, looking at stats, stats and more stats and trying to tweak the training and work out the best players for the tactics i want to play.
I might actually start the season by christmas ..
Thought I'd be able to sign some better players at the moment but it seems my club reputation hasn't shifted much since last season and significantly better players just won't come. I have the lowest rep of all the Premier League and it's lower than a couple of Championship teams too. Still got another year before the new 18,000 seater stadium is built so maybe that will help a little (currently playing in front of 6000) as might another good year in the league. Also hoping for a decent showing in Europe to improve rep, I want to make the knockout the stages but I can't even think about the group stages yet, I have a playoff game against an opponent yet to be decided.
My board finally has enough cash to accept my suggestion of upgrading the youth facilities which might help with rep too. I've had a level 4 academy (the worst rating) since starting out the game which quite frankly is a disgrace for a Premier League side. Got to be level 1, 2 at absolute worst.
If you get a chance, i'd be interested to know how you started out with Altrincham, mainly tactics wise.
Did you pick a formation you wanted to play and get the players to fit that, or did you pick a standard formation that was the best for the players you had ?
You don't have to give away all your trade secrets of course
I think this might be where i'm going wrong (as per usual) on my game. I tried to create a custom formation first which took in to account some of the players i had, but also that i needed to bring in other players to fit in to that.
When that wasn't working, i switched to a 5-3-2 to try and shore things up a bit and not concede as many goals, but that's not really doing much either.
I'm thinking of starting again and trying a different approach to see if i can not actually get battered in every game
Hilarious!!
I'm afraid I used someone else's tactics that they were kind enough to post up on the SI Commuinity forums.
I've played lots of incarnations of this game and I've done that more often than not although sometimes I have gone alone. There's lots of elements that still provide me with fun when doing that such as getting the training, teamtalks and subs right plus transfers and squad development, handling the finances, managing in and out of form players etc.
So in answer to the question, I put the tactics first and then try to build the squad around that but realise that using other people's tactics might not be to everyone's taste.
In the FM14 save with Altrincham I looked amongst some of the popular tactics and went with one that sounded successful and fun to play. It was a 4-4-2 variant with wingers pushed forward in the AMR/AML positions, it scored lots of goals (let in quite a few too) and I enjoyed watching the highlights. That got me promoted from Conference North to Conference National in the first season which is where I got stuck, finishing mid-table 3 years in a row.
Not looking like going anywhere fast I went and looked for another tactic that people had reported success with. Came across one that was billed as working in non-league football and at higher levels too. The theory behind it from the person who created it was that all the teams have bad defences in the Conference North and Conference National so they were going to go against the grain and build something mean at the back to give a big advantage. It's got 5 across the back, 2 DMs, 1 AMC and 2 strikers with the FBs very attacking when in posession. I never liked watching it quite as much but it's been very successful indeed. When I changed to this tactic I had to make some pretty big changes in my squad, letting all my wingers go bar one who could also play AM, letting CMs who couldn't play DM go etc.
I've started again with Ebbsfleet and actually haven't had too bad a pre-season. I'm using a basic 4-4-2, but with a rigid defensive approach and i've made sure that all of the players are playing their preferred roles as well.
If things go pear shaped again, then i'll probably go and look on the forum for a decent tactic.
Who was that?
I then moved to my 4-1-2-2-1 (wingers as inside-forwards) in League 2, and just stormed it with record points and goals scored.
I went into the next season with a big wage budget and put together a strong team for that level. I was expected to make the playoffs but in late November, I have already beaten Rangers, Celtic, Hearts (all Premiership), Hibs (Championship) and Morton (League 1) in the League Cup and Challenge Cup. I'm into the quarters and semis of those tournaments and I have League 1 Dunfermline in the League Cup so the semis beckon and it might be possible to win the Challenge Cup. I'll go back to the top of the league if I win my game in hand too.