Football Manager, Part I

[soccercptn]

Hi Fellow WSM addicts.

Here's a problem I'm having that drove me to throw a tantrum like a toddler the other day. I finished my first season as DC United Manager, and guided the team to the MLS Championship game (lost to SJ). I was ready for a great off-season of moves when the draft came around. There was a normal draft, which was useless. It just had the A-league players in it. Then all of a sudden there was a supplemental draft and Freddy Adu was stolen from me!!!! Is there something I could have done to prevent this? I had signed him to a contract extension, but he was just a youth player. Was there a way to protect him? My other young players were also thrown in the draft, but I didn't care about them as much.

Any ideas?

Nope, you can't do anything about it. The game is messed up when it comes to youth players and MLS.

In fact, check this out - first season I was playing, after the season, I noticed Adu was unprotected (in say November), so I signed him on a free, away from United. Then, in February, before I got to play any games with him, I lost him to the draft! What a bummer!

[Eddie26]

Nope, you can't do anything about it. The game is messed up when it comes to youth players and MLS.

In fact, check this out - first season I was playing, after the season, I noticed Adu was unprotected (in say November), so I signed him on a free, away from United. Then, in February, before I got to play any games with him, I lost him to the draft! What a bummer!

It really sucks because I thought WWSM was made FOR MLS.

[TheImposter]

It really sucks because I thought WWSM was made FOR MLS.
I don't think so. I always thought it was just FM2005 renamed for the North American market. What makes it different from Championship Manager 03-04 is that they worked a deal with MLS to allow them to use MLS players in the game, unlike CM 03-04, in which most were absent. MLS is really no bigger a part of the game than any other league, and worldwide I'm sure is played by a fairly small portion of the FM2005 audience. MLS is run so differently from most other leagues, and player allocation and exchange rules are so cabalistic and arcane that no one understands them in real life -- can you imagine trying to code them into a game? If there are other "minor" leagues (as defined by their worldwide appeal) that deviate from more common practices, I would imagine those differences are slighted as well -- say if Peru, or Kenya, or Malaysia (is there a Malaysian league? If so, I bet it's in the game, though I haven't checked) had some particular rule about salary caps or youth contracts that was different than anyone else, it would surprise me if the game handled it realistically. Of course, that's an easily verified assumption, that I haven't bothered to try to verify.

[subbuteo]

ok, so now Caiman says that it will tak 21 business days. This is bull ********.

Where's your nearest GameStop? You can do a search on their website of stores near you and how many copies of the game they are carrying. That's how I got mine. Plus you can trade in some old games at the same time to cut down on the cost.

[Bluto11]

Where's your nearest GameStop? You can do a search on their website of stores near you and how many copies of the game they are carrying. That's how I got mine. Plus you can trade in some old games at the same time to cut down on the cost.
there is one close to me, i checked it yesterday, like 10 miles. I emailed Caiman and said if I don't get equipment by monday i'm canceling the order and calling a disputed charge on my card. think that will work?

[ibreak4coffee]

I don't think so. I always thought it was just FM2005 renamed for the North American market. What makes it different from Championship Manager 03-04 is that they worked a deal with MLS to allow them to use MLS players in the game, unlike CM 03-04, in which most were absent. MLS is really no bigger a part of the game than any other league, and worldwide I'm sure is played by a fairly small portion of the FM2005 audience. MLS is run so differently from most other leagues, and player allocation and exchange rules are so cabalistic and arcane that no one understands them in real life -- can you imagine trying to code them into a game? If there are other "minor" leagues (as defined by their worldwide appeal) that deviate from more common practices, I would imagine those differences are slighted as well -- say if Peru, or Kenya, or Malaysia (is there a Malaysian league? If so, I bet it's in the game, though I haven't checked) had some particular rule about salary caps or youth contracts that was different than anyone else, it would surprise me if the game handled it realistically. Of course, that's an easily verified assumption, that I haven't bothered to try to verify.

That was my impression too... MLS was added just for American version to boost sales, not necessarily as the centerpiece of the game. Personally I dont plan on playing the MLS portion of the game.

Concerning playing with England: anyone know what the restrictions on non-EU players are? Do guys in the reserves team and U18 teams count as well?

Currently I'm managing the first team and the reserves and leaving the U18's to the assistants. Anyone found the right formula for managing?

[Bonji]

That was my impression too... MLS was added just for American version to boost sales, not necessarily as the centerpiece of the game. Personally I dont plan on playing the MLS portion of the game.

Concerning playing with England: anyone know what the restrictions on non-EU players are? Do guys in the reserves team and U18 teams count as well?

Currently I'm managing the first team and the reserves and leaving the U18's to the assistants. Anyone found the right formula for managing?
I believe the game was rebranded for the States just based on the Euro name. If it was sold as Football Manager over here there would be a little confusion. I thought the FM version would have MLS as well. Someone with FM should be able to verify.

Typically the rules on foreigners are for the club. So that applies to all teams. However, I have not played WSM in England yet so I can't comment.

I always leave the lower teams up to my assistants, but I do decide on contracts and all that, I just let the assistants handle their matches. I do this because I'd rather focus on the first team and having three teams to manage is a lot of work. If you are trying to pic out future stars, it might be helpful to manage a few reserve games here and there.

[TheImposter]

I believe the game was rebranded for the States just based on the Euro name. If it was sold as Football Manager over here there would be a little confusion. I thought the FM version would have MLS as well. Someone with FM should be able to verify.

Typically the rules on foreigners are for the club. So that applies to all teams. However, I have not played WSM in England yet so I can't comment.
MLS is in FM -- my understanding is that the only thing that's different in WSM is the name itself. I think it also defaults to American English, so you get terms like PK instead of penalty, but I could be wrong. I haven't checked, but I think I could change from English English to American English (or any other language) on my FM2005.

Does England have any rules on non-EU nationals other than the requirement to get a work permit?

[subbuteo]

MLS is in FM -- my understanding is that the only thing that's different in WSM is the name itself. I think it also defaults to American English, so you get terms like PK instead of penalty, but I could be wrong. I haven't checked, but I think I could change from English English to American English (or any other language) on my FM2005.

Does England have any rules on non-EU nationals other than the requirement to get a work permit?

you basically have to change the English from American to the other English to get the editor to work with WSM.

[WarrenAbao]

Does England have any rules on non-EU nationals other than the requirement to get a work permit?

AFAIK that's the only restriction. In England there's no limit to the number of non-EUs you can have in your club, on your matchday squad, or your XI on the field.

[afgrijselijkheid]

ok, i feel like giving an update because after i have picked upmy preston nortth end CM4 game after staying away from the monster for months

a quick recap (IIRC):

1st season - miserable; injuries only the tip of the problems - we stay 12th to 19th the whole season, finishing a depressing 20th (2 pts. from going down) - on the upside, eddie lewis was all D1

we bring in sunday oliseh, john thorrington, stuart downing (loan), justin hoyte and utter steal omar daley

2nd - everything generally clicks and we finish 3rd, threatening for the title until the last week - however, we lose the promotion final on PKs

oliseh is all D1, thorrington has 18 assists - we bring in haruna babangida (loan), umit davala, stephen caldwell, trainos dellas and edwin van der sar

ok...

3rd - we finish second and go up, powerful season - i finish runner up in the D1 manager award, thorrington & daley are all D1 - we buy downing outright after 2 loan seasons, are unable to get a WP for bojinov and bring in a bunch of guys who dont pan out

4th - we reside in the drop zone all season long, only poking our head above water on the final day to finish 16th - 4 wins from our last 5 games (8 from our last 15) does the trick - the board stuns me my offering a 13M euro kitty, almost 10 more than i've ever had - we bring in kevin nolan, chris kirkland (free), julian gray (free) and jolean lescott - daley is all EPL

5th - we have a battling season, finishing 12th - we almost pretend to threaten for a UEFA cup spot until the last month - downing and daley are all EPL - we only get 5.5M, but sales bump me up to about 10M for transfers - we bring in maniche, h. babangida (free), ricardo gardner and sol campbell (free) - manchester united make noise about hiring me, horrifying the now enamored fans... eventually, they hire van basten


a few side notes:

-after one good half season at bayer, manU spend 11M on donovan - he remains with them to this day and is a starter at LW for van basten - he is now worth over 25M and has scored over 100 goals for the red devils, winning 2 EPL titles and 1 CL title

-freddy adu signs for hamburg - after 2 decent seasons as a supersub type for HSV, he explodes for 25 goals - a bidding war ensues and freddinho joins bayern for 12M - he only stays a season (scoring 22 goals) before moving to chelsea for 24M, but injuries chop up his first season at stamford bridge

-somehow, AJAX still have rafi, sneijder, zlatan, pienaar and maxwell - i tried like crazy to get VDV or pienaar before grabbing maniche near the deadline

-2 years after winning the CL and the EPL, liverpool go bankrupt after buying robben from psv for 44.5M and finishing midtable twice

-my first season in the EPL, blackburn finishes runner up in the UEFA cup and the EPL - friedel is world GK of the year

[Bonji]

I can't follow BlueDaddy in terms of quality, but here's my first experience with WSM 05.

I started a USA & Mexico game. I wanted something running fast to learn all the navigation, etc. This might be the biggest change in terms of UI since I started playing CM2. I think I've gotten it whipped. I took over the US Nats from Bruce Arena. Everyone thought that was rubbish since I am 27. However, I got the team through the first stage of WC 2006 qualifications without a loss. I "discovered" Brian Ching and he got 5 goals for me in 2004. As 2005 started out I played in the Gold Cup, losing in the final 1-0 to Brazil. I couldn't match them. The US "FA" was happy with the result and I plunged back into WC qualifying. The team was a little down after the Gold Cup, and the hexaginal started within weeks of its finish. So we tied Honduras, lost to Mexico and lost to Jamica. 1 point from three games was not a good start. Since then I've beaten El Salvador and tied Costa Rica so I have 5 points and sit in 4th in the group table. Jamica sits with 7 points above me. I'm headed to Mexico for the next game, so that is going to be a tough one. I'm not looking forward to it.

I think I'll start a new game in Europe this evening, especially if I can't qualify for Mexico. England or Spain are calling me.

[subbuteo]

I hope you qualify the US!
I am managing DC United (favorite team) and Chelsea (I like to win early).
Just beat MetroStars at Giants Stadium on penalties in the Eastern Conference final. There were no goals in regulation but OT ended 2-2. Have had a war of words with Bob Bradley all season, so the win was extra sweet.
San Jose advanced out of the Western Conference, defeating Colorado on penalties.

Chelsea has only seen one defeat, in CL play. Most recently they defeated Arsenal at Highbury in a league cup match. The Blues led 4-1 with about 35 minutes to play, but Henry scored twice and van Persie added one in a span of ten minutes. Finally, Chelsea snagged one late to win 5-4. Ironically it was Mutu who bagged the winner. In the pre-season Veron was still in the side, and immediately "disliked" the young, new, inexperienced manager. He was skipping practices, and fines didn't help nor did three leaves of absence. Finally he agreed to mutual termination of his contract. Arsenal picked him up, but he wasn't suited up for the league cup clash. Too bad.

After maybe one more season I probably will retire from Chelsea or resign and look for a club in the nether regions of Europe to begin a real challenge.

I would like to manage USA, but I just can't bring myself to sack Arena. Maybe he'll get fired on his own one day ;)

[Bonji]

Well, a 2-1 loss to Mexico in Mexico City has put me in a really tough spot in terms of qualifying. I'm taking a break from that game and I'm going to play in England. Hopefully I'll refine some aspects of the gameplay and be able to get the US into WC 2006.

My new game I've started in England. I also have France and Spain leagues running. I'm trying to get Leeds promoted to the Premier League. I've just made it through a couple pre-season games. The board expects to win the League Championship and get promoted but I only have a $280,000 transfer budget. Who of impact can I get for that. So I'm going to wait until January to spend it on a League I top performer who can help me make that final push. I've loaned David Bellion from Man U for some help up top, as that is the area my Asst. Mgr. pointed out needed the most help. I've got a strong skipper in Lucas Radebe and a solid keeper in Neil Sullivan. I'm not too worried about defense. I held Ajax to 2 goals in a friendly.

A strong winger and striker should help me get to the Premiership.

[subbuteo]

Try to loan in some more players is my advice.
Also do a search for players sort them by value, and find the ones that are 'free' or valued at $0. You may be able to find some good veteran players for a free transfer.
And get your scouts over to South America. You may find some diamonds in the rough, and try to sign them when their contract is near expriation.

[Bonji]

Try to loan in some more players is my advice.
Also do a search for players sort them by value, and find the ones that are 'free' or valued at $0. You may be able to find some good veteran players for a free transfer.
And get your scouts over to South America. You may find some diamonds in the rough, and try to sign them when their contract is near expriation.
The trouble with South Americans in England is their Work Permit requirement. One other problem I failed to mention earlier is Leeds starts $4,000,000 over the wage budget. So, I can't really sign too many free transfers. I will look into loaning more players, however they are mostly younger and aren't always consistent.

[astabooty]

I'm trying to get Leeds promoted to the Premier League.

The board expects to win the League Championship and get promoted but I only have a $280,000 transfer budget. Who of impact can I get for that.

good luck with Leeds. i heard they were one of the most difficult teams in the last version due to their financial crisis.

as for your transfer budget, 280.000 can go a long, long way if you try hard enough.

looking through scandinavia, africa, southern europe, and south america can find you players good enough for the premiership with only that much.

[ibreak4coffee]

2nd - everything generally clicks and we finish 3rd, threatening for the title until the last week - however, we lose the promotion final on PK's

The exact same thing happened to me with Not Forest last night. I dispatched Sunderland 6-1 on aggregate in the first playoff, and drew Birmingham in the final. They went up 1-0 after 10 minutes, and I changed to a more attacking style and scored with Marlon King in the 82nd minute (he scored 46 goals for me this year!!!!!). Went to penalties, where my three best players all missed (two of which hadnt missed a penalty all season). Go figure... I bet there's a bug in the game that makes us all lose these pk's.

I guarantee too that I'll gain promotion next year... I've already won my first three games. I think the fix is on.

One question on training: I like to vary the schedules of my players by using more than the first team schedule. I get sick though of changing the schedule every single day, since it always seems to default back to first team and reserves. I'd rather have my players do attacking or defending one week for the entire week and then switch and do containment and pressing or midfielders the next week. Is there a way that I can assign new training schedules for more than a day?

[astabooty]

The trouble with South Americans in England is their Work Permit requirement. One other problem I failed to mention earlier is Leeds starts $4,000,000 over the wage budget. So, I can't really sign too many free transfers. I will look into loaning more players, however they are mostly younger and aren't always consistent.

you will be able to find south americans with italian passports and the like, same with africans and a french passport.

also you will be able to find old players who have caps for their country, it isnt that hard, just look.

and if it is that hard, just scour through scandinavia.

[ibreak4coffee]

you will be able to find south americans with italian passports and the like, same with africans and a french passport.

also you will be able to find old players who have caps for their country, it isnt that hard, just look.

and if it is that hard, just scour through scandinavia.

Every time I hit the transfer market I always filter for EU nationality... it just makes everything that much easier. There are quite a few Canadian/American players with EU passports too... Jason De Vos has been a rock on my defense.