Football Manager, Part I

[Bonji]

It is 10 games into the 2005/2006 and Barca is 9-1-0 in La Liga with 28 points. Betis is already 5 points back, their one loss to me. I have a +24 goal diff. Things are going well but I don't think I'm going to make it out of the group stages alive in the Champs League.

[Bonji]

Ronaldinho is on fire. I was worried that he'd have trouble after breaking his leg last year but he has come back even better than before. Over 9 starts and 2 substitute appearances he has a rating of 8.55 with his last two games being 10. The 25 year old is going to win every award possible...again. Last season he was awarded with the 2004 European Midfielder of the year, 2004 Footballer of the year, 2004 World Footballer of the year & 2004 World Player of the Year. I expect 2005 to be the same. :)

[hoanger]

hey i have a question guys..how do i get good transfers in? everytime i go for enquiry..clubs rub off the enquiry and say the player is not for sale..and when they do accept they wonthuge amounts of money for it..but i see others clubs transfering players..and theyre like getting some players for half of what they are valued at..any help is appreciated..thanks

[Bonji]

hey i have a question guys..how do i get good transfers in? everytime i go for enquiry..clubs rub off the enquiry and say the player is not for sale..and when they do accept they wonthuge amounts of money for it..but i see others clubs transfering players..and theyre like getting some players for half of what they are valued at..any help is appreciated..thanks
Sometimes it is a total crap shoot. I bought Tomas Rosicky for $13 million. I didn't initiate the deal, I noticed Liverpool offer that much so I followed them in with my offer of the same amount. Whenever I chase someone, the asking price gets high. When a computer team does, I'm usually able to ride their coat tails. What you want to do is have a lot of players you like on your shortlist. Then you see when offers are made and you can match another team's offer.

[hoanger]

o and i bought tristan peersman as a gk..but i sent him into the reserves and for tactics i pick him to play..but whenever the reserves play..he doesnt show him having any games played..i even wentto options and put myself as controling the reserves team..so why wont he see any action?

[ibreak4coffee]

Sorry my point wasn't to denigrate your success but just a rant against silly homer reasearchers. Dawson is godlike in the coke league. I tired to pry him away but couldn't afford him.

Cannon no worries. I agree with you that the researcher must be a Forrest fan... its way too easy to attract premiership talent to the squad. I just got Mark Schwarzer from Boro and Le Saux for my defense, and I've entered into negotiations with Flamini of Arsenal.

Actually after writing that email I hit a really tough stretch yesterday, winning only once in eight games. Injury after injury... now I'm back on track and in 4th place in February.

One weird thing happened. I transfer listed a Brazilian player worth 40000 euros, and instantly got two Brazilian clubs to bid 250000 euros and 275000 euros respectively. I am shocked!

[hoanger]

also..anyone know of any good substitute DL for wayne bridge? and whats better..to enquire,declare interest or just make an offer right away?

[ibreak4coffee]

also..anyone know of any good substitute DL for wayne bridge? and whats better..to enquire,declare interest or just make an offer right away?

I find it depends. Generally if I have the money, I make an offer straight up. However, if I receive reports of unrest at a club, I like to declare interest and see how the player reacts. There's no science behind this claim, but I find I can get him cheaper if he's desperate to leave and I've helped make him leave.

[hoanger]

i have lots of money with chelsea lol...but when u make an offer...do u make an offer of what he is valued at or more or less?

[TheImposter]

Well I've decided to pack my game with CF Badalona in. After 3 seasons at the helm, it's just not going anywhere. First year in 2nd Division B3 (which I take to be sort of like the regionaliga [sp?] in Germany) was expected to fight against relegation, ended up storming into and through the playoffs and promoted to 2nd division. Second year, fought hard, but relegated back to 2B3 -- board was still delighted with my performance, proud of the players motivation during a tough season, etc. Third season, expected to fight against relegation again, finished 6th. Second highest attendance in the league, finances improved dramatically over when I took over. Going into 4th season the board has given me $2.6 mill in transfer budget, compared to something like 15K the first year, and the wage budget is tripled from when I started. However, I still can't spend any of that money, 'cause nobody will sign for me. I offer ridiculous transfer fees just to make sure the other club will deal, but when it comes time to negotiate salary, "Player X is not interested in a move to Badalona" -- even when in some cases I offered literally 20 times what they were making at their old club! I even got FM Scout so I could scope out players that were just barely better than or equal to the guys I have -- even they are not interested in moving. On my personal information screen it describes me as a "talented manager", and all my ratings are over 15, so it can't be me, it must be the club's rep.

I'm giving up and going back to Frank (the llama on the SI boards) to get a new team. This is the first game I've played where I felt like I did a really good job but got nowhere, none of the usual rewards of the game (my chairman loves me, though).

[ibreak4coffee]

If anything could tell me what the secret is to stopping 8 game losing streaks, I'm all ears.

[TheImposter]

If anything could tell me what the secret is to stopping 8 game losing streaks, I'm all ears.
I think the game is real streaky. It seems like, no matter what team I'm playing, I always go on a losing streat in November and December, catch fire in late January, stumble, then finish strong. On the other hand, countless statistical studies have shown that streaks in sports (win/lose, "hot" shooters in basketball, etc.) don't happen any more than chance would predict.

[Bonji]

Ronaldinho is on fire. I was worried that he'd have trouble after breaking his leg last year but he has come back even better than before. Over 9 starts and 2 substitute appearances he has a rating of 8.55 with his last two games being 10. The 25 year old is going to win every award possible...again. Last season he was awarded with the 2004 European Midfielder of the year, 2004 Footballer of the year, 2004 World Footballer of the year & 2004 World Player of the Year. I expect 2005 to be the same. :)
So this prediction was a little premature. The New Year just arrived and Ronaldinho didn't win a single thing. It must be because he was injured for 7 months of the year. Does anyone know how these awards are calculated in the game?

[DutchFootballRulez]

I think its totals. Or average ratings over the season. It may also be minimum number of matches.

[Cannon]

So this prediction was a little premature. The New Year just arrived and Ronaldinho didn't win a single thing. It must be because he was injured for 7 months of the year. Does anyone know how these awards are calculated in the game?

The awards are just broken. I've seen guys with average ratings on average teams who've missed most of the season win them. :rolleyes: The monthly awards are a bit better (with some bugs) but the team of the week can produce some real odd selections some times too. SI seems to see them as low priority because they've been broken for awhile. The weird thing is that sometimes they produce good results so its not a constant bug. I focus more on league position, promotion, cup runs, etc.

[Cannon]

I think the game is real streaky. It seems like, no matter what team I'm playing, I always go on a losing streat in November and December, catch fire in late January, stumble, then finish strong. On the other hand, countless statistical studies have shown that streaks in sports (win/lose, "hot" shooters in basketball, etc.) don't happen any more than chance would predict.

Streaks are still a problem with FM. I always seem to be in the middle of a 7-12 game streak. It might be realistic for the top teams (Arsenal, ManU, etc) to go on long winning streaks almost every season and the worst teams to suffer long losing streaks but it is much too common at all levels in FM in my opinion. I've had a few seasons that looked more realistic with a better mix of wins, draws, and losses but that should be the norm for the types of clubs I usually play not the exception. I think its a result of the way the game models morale and form but I couldn't prove it.

My completely unscientfic way to break the streaks is to shut the game off and restart. This makes the winning streaks a hard thing to walk away from. ;)

BTW, sorry to hear about the end of your CF Badalona game. Sometimes your stuck with a poor team, bad rep, limited fans, small stadium with no expansion, etc that make it impossible to get too far. I usually do what you did and start over. I find the initial success (first promotion, first great cup run, first big win over huge club) more fun then later rewards unless you can really get to the ultimate rewards of top division champs, CL, etc.

I'm glad FM makes it more difficult to take a club from nothing to world renown but I hate some of the artifical restraints due to bugs and poor research. I'm hoping that FM06 keeps the increased difficulty while getting rid of the bogus restraints on advancement.

[Bonji]

My completely unscientfic way to break the streaks is to shut the game off and restart. This makes the winning streaks a hard thing to walk away from. ;)
I do the same thing. When I'm winning, I keep the game on and when I'm not playing I minimize it. When I'm losing, I turn it off and step away for a day or two. I am worried that saving and quiting the game last night will end my Barca streak. I am now halfway through the season with a 16-3-0 record for 51 point total. I'm 10 points ahead of Betis and 12 points above Madrid. Things are looking great. Hopefully I don't go and lose 5 games straight. I'm also in the quarters of the Spanish Cup. I won it last year so I am defending my title.

[hoanger]

soo i just bought ronaldinho for 90 million..haha and hes only valued at like 47 mill...does anyone know if we can upgrade training facilities? and how? also is it worthwhile to sign young promising players that i scouted for? also i just lost to crystal palace 2-0...and im chelesea!!! how does that work..

[Bonji]

soo i just bought ronaldinho for 90 million..haha and hes only valued at like 47 mill...does anyone know if we can upgrade training facilities? and how? also is it worthwhile to sign young promising players that i scouted for? also i just lost to crystal palace 2-0...and im chelesea!!! how does that work..
Roni will do right by you, give him some creative freedom to dominate and he will. Let him run with the ball as well.

You need to make a board request to improve training facilities.

[eneste]

I just gave up on my career with Werder Bremen. Did well once I figured out training. Lots of fun, Fernando Torres is a god, but I got frustrated with little things such as how hard it is to loan out players. Can't wait for the new patch, I'll start a new game. I'm thinking about playing the Spanish league as it has B teams in real divisions and fairly loose international rules (I think).