Football Manager 2011

[britneyspearsisgod]

What kind of team talk do you give them to start the match?

[stokeriño]

The poor, naive fool Wayne Rooney renewed his Dundee United contract, which was set to expire in the summer of 2009 (currently 2008), but now runs to 2012.

This is excellent news, because it means I can be more leisurely in selling him off. We'll see how long it takes for him to be upset about being fourth-choice striker, behind Shaun Maloney, new signing Darren Bent and Steven Thompson.

Although weirdly, neither of my two top goal-scorers last season were strikers, but rather midfielders Maxi Rodriguez and Craig Easton (Maloney in third). Not sure what to make of that.

[The Quasi Juice]

Bastard. Going from promotion candidates to relegation candidates always sucks. I managed four games without defeat... but without a win either. Then I lost by one goal 0-1 in the dying seconds against the team expected to be bottom. Then I faced AFC Wimbledon who are expected to be second, I'm in the middle of that game now and am 2-0 down. Thankfully my squad has plenty of depth so I can tinker around a lot... only problem being that my team IS performing, they're just not getting the wins. It's not an issue of not scoring nor of bad defending, they just can't seem to go ahead. Every match that we've had a score draw it's been after we've come from behind. I'm struggling to find what will motivate them to take the lead. Ideas?

It could just be a case of lack of skills to be honest, you ARE a relegation candidate. Plus FM tends to put you through periods where everything goes wrong, even with the best teams in the world. I always get out of it by changing tactics a bit, or putting some fresh faces in the starting line-up or by playing either very aggressively or very defensively. You say you go behind and come back, you could start with a counter mentality, or you could try to beat them to the punch and attack from the start.

[Benji]

What kind of team talk do you give them to start the match?

Expect to win and you can win mostly, with the occasional good luck when it's a team who are blatantly better than us. Morale hasn't seen any drop from any match barring when I declared my anger at Uwezu because he managed to be at 4.5 by half time, and even then it said he was angry but motivated.

I've now gone 12 games, one win, the two losses I mentioned and EVERY other game has been a draw, whether it be surefire promotion teams or guaranteed relegation teams. I've decided to drop Uwezu for a month or two. His inconsistency was driving me insane and I think he might be the problem because he's simply not going for goal, but is trying to be a target man holding the ball for other players even after giving him instructions to the contrary and him having developed great tactical sense points in the off season. Signed up a couple more pacey strikers and I'm going to try and switch to a counter attack style, since my defence is as solid as ever and they're the best part about the team I'll use them to my advantage. The good news is that I have managed to take the lead since I last mentioned, but my defence was beaten by an absolute screamer of a 40 yard goal.

Thankfully I'm still exceeding board expectations thanks to my unbeaten streaks and the type of teams I've managed to hold out on, but I'm not happy myself. My target is 60 points, which I see as a relegation safe zone, so if I keep drawing at this rate I'll miss that target but judging by last year's relegations I should still be in with a chance of beating the drop. Got to say, it's honestly one of the most thrilling saves I've undertaken, and seeing my stadium suddenly getting more packed out (and thus, we're now turning a profit every month instead of inconsistently) thanks to the higher level of competition has made my accomplishments feel a lot more significant. If anyone's looking for an intruiging first couple of years that is somewhat easy but requires you to keep on your toes in regards to players then I'd really suggest Telford.

[YI]

From my experience, telling players that you expect them to win doesn't tend to work too well.

My game, now into the 2012/2013 season. Still at Man City (), won the league and Champions League (beat Barcelona in the final, game was shit in comparison to the Europa Final with Athletico the year before), but lost the FA Cup to Man Utd (in 2 seasons we've played 9 times, including 3 times in 10-days this season, which I won all 3. I've won 7, they've won 2, both their wins have been in shitty 1-0's).

Went on a 36 game undefeated run and won the league. I lost 2 Premier League games all season and they were the first 2 of the season.

Decided to do another year (although I'd been offered the England, Mexico and Athletico Madrid jobs) as I ended with 98 points, I'm going for 100+ this year.

Quite a few transfers in the summer. Park Ji Sung out on loan, which I'm a little sad about, but I've got so many players and he's getting on a bit.

Shay Given sold to Liverpool.

Kolo Toure sold to AC Milan as well. He's been amazing both seasons, but he's getting on as well, I wanted to sign some younger defenders. Got Salvatore Bocchetti and Neven Subotic (one of the starts of the European Championships) in. Will probably rotate with Cahill as my centre backs.

Zabaleta and Boeteng were sold too. Zabaleta told me he wanted out at the end of last season, as he wasn't getting games. Funnily, he was my 1st choice for the majority of my first season until he got injured and Micah Richards became a hero. Boeteng got bitchy about competition for his spot, so I got rid of him. He was a total bench player (because he could play anywhere across the back). But I've got more than enough cover for wide positions and he was a total fucking liability at centreback.

Just about to play my first friendly, got a total wet-dream-team going on;

GK: Joe Hart

DR: Daniel Schwaab (£15m from Leverkusen - January 2012)

DCR: Gary Cahill (£6m from Bolton - Summer 2010)

DCL: Salvatore Bocchetti (£14.25m from Rubin - Summer 2012)

DL: Gareth Bale (£37m from Spurs - January 2012 (I thought I was leaving at the end of the season, I wanted to spend my fucking transfer budget ))

DMC: Marouane Fellaini (£14.5m from Everton - Summer 2010)

MC: Mark Noble (£10m from West Ham - Summer 2012)

AMCR: Ivan Rakitic (Free Transfer/End Of Contract at Schalke - Summer 2011)

AML: Adam Johnson

STCR: Pato (£20m from AC Milan - January 2012)

STCL: Carlos Tevez

BENCH:

GK: Tim Krul (£600k from Newcastle - Summer 2011)

D(RC): Micah Richards

DC: Neven Subotic (£14m from Dortmund - Summer 2012)

DL: Aleksandar Kolarov

M/AM(RC): James Milner

DM: Yaya Toure

ST/AM(LC): Giovanni Moreno (£8m from Racing Club - Summer 2011)

Currently got a Squad of 23, with;

D(RC): Cedric Mongongu (£5m from Monaco - Summer 2010)

D/M/AM(L): Fabio Coentrao (£8m from Benfica - Summer 2010)

DM/M(LC): Gareth Barry [iNJURED]

M/AMC: Kaka [iNJURED] (£20m from Real Madrid - Summer 2011)

ST/AMC: Jo Inge Berget (Free Transfer/End Of Contract at Udinese - January 2012)

Salomon Kalou (stupid signing) and Park Ji Sung (awesome signing) are both out on loan.

Not sure whether to get a 3rd choice keeper or just risk an under 21 as my 3rd

[britneyspearsisgod]

What kind of team talk do you give them to start the match?

Expect to win and you can win mostly, with the occasional good luck when it's a team who are blatantly better than us. Morale hasn't seen any drop from any match barring when I declared my anger at Uwezu because he managed to be at 4.5 by half time, and even then it said he was angry but motivated.

I've now gone 12 games, one win, the two losses I mentioned and EVERY other game has been a draw, whether it be surefire promotion teams or guaranteed relegation teams. I've decided to drop Uwezu for a month or two. His inconsistency was driving me insane and I think he might be the problem because he's simply not going for goal, but is trying to be a target man holding the ball for other players even after giving him instructions to the contrary and him having developed great tactical sense points in the off season. Signed up a couple more pacey strikers and I'm going to try and switch to a counter attack style, since my defence is as solid as ever and they're the best part about the team I'll use them to my advantage. The good news is that I have managed to take the lead since I last mentioned, but my defence was beaten by an absolute screamer of a 40 yard goal.

Thankfully I'm still exceeding board expectations thanks to my unbeaten streaks and the type of teams I've managed to hold out on, but I'm not happy myself. My target is 60 points, which I see as a relegation safe zone, so if I keep drawing at this rate I'll miss that target but judging by last year's relegations I should still be in with a chance of beating the drop. Got to say, it's honestly one of the most thrilling saves I've undertaken, and seeing my stadium suddenly getting more packed out (and thus, we're now turning a profit every month instead of inconsistently) thanks to the higher level of competition has made my accomplishments feel a lot more significant. If anyone's looking for an intruiging first couple of years that is somewhat easy but requires you to keep on your toes in regards to players then I'd really suggest Telford.

Generally 46 points keeps you safe in the English leagues, so consider that your target.

As for the team, there's a complacency issue. I wouldn't just keep the "wish you luck" for the big teams - use it for similar teams as well. Sometimes you have to challenge them in a different way. It's not always "you have to win", but sometimes to just question whether they are good enough. They should try to prove you wrong. I find "Expecting to win" only works against the lower teams and it's not a great tactic to use. Teams play better with confidence - taking the pressure off players work for me in lower leagues.

[Meacon Keaton]

See, I tried questioning whether they were good enough against a few teams better and worse than me, and it always comes back to bite me in the ass. So I almost always make it positive saying "wish you luck" or "You can win tonight".

[Jimmy]

Is there a way to make your team keep possession? My Ipswich game is unbelievably frustrating. My attackers can't put the ball in the back of the net and all opposition goals come from giving the ball away or poor defeding.

I hate this game.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

I think that's just realism. :/

Seriously though, try the 'Retain possession' in-game instruction, coupled with short passes. Usually works for me.

[The Future]

My on loan Brazilian fired us to the Swedish Cup so Osters IF will be participating in the Europa League!

...We're gonna get killed

[YI]

I think that's just realism. :/

Seriously though, try the 'Retain possession' in-game instruction, coupled with short passes. Usually works for me.

Or if you're like me and can't be fucked watching matches, I've found that putting a few of your better quality players to "Hold Up Play" helps as well.

[Baddar]

You don't watch the games?

YOU'RE PLAYING IT WRONG! :@

Seriously though, watching the games is the fun part. I have my settings on key highlights, replays of goals and game speed around 3/4 of the way up.

[Benji]

What kind of team talk do you give them to start the match?

Expect to win and you can win mostly, with the occasional good luck when it's a team who are blatantly better than us. Morale hasn't seen any drop from any match barring when I declared my anger at Uwezu because he managed to be at 4.5 by half time, and even then it said he was angry but motivated.

I've now gone 12 games, one win, the two losses I mentioned and EVERY other game has been a draw, whether it be surefire promotion teams or guaranteed relegation teams. I've decided to drop Uwezu for a month or two. His inconsistency was driving me insane and I think he might be the problem because he's simply not going for goal, but is trying to be a target man holding the ball for other players even after giving him instructions to the contrary and him having developed great tactical sense points in the off season. Signed up a couple more pacey strikers and I'm going to try and switch to a counter attack style, since my defence is as solid as ever and they're the best part about the team I'll use them to my advantage. The good news is that I have managed to take the lead since I last mentioned, but my defence was beaten by an absolute screamer of a 40 yard goal.

Thankfully I'm still exceeding board expectations thanks to my unbeaten streaks and the type of teams I've managed to hold out on, but I'm not happy myself. My target is 60 points, which I see as a relegation safe zone, so if I keep drawing at this rate I'll miss that target but judging by last year's relegations I should still be in with a chance of beating the drop. Got to say, it's honestly one of the most thrilling saves I've undertaken, and seeing my stadium suddenly getting more packed out (and thus, we're now turning a profit every month instead of inconsistently) thanks to the higher level of competition has made my accomplishments feel a lot more significant. If anyone's looking for an intruiging first couple of years that is somewhat easy but requires you to keep on your toes in regards to players then I'd really suggest Telford.

Generally 46 points keeps you safe in the English leagues, so consider that your target.

As for the team, there's a complacency issue. I wouldn't just keep the "wish you luck" for the big teams - use it for similar teams as well. Sometimes you have to challenge them in a different way. It's not always "you have to win", but sometimes to just question whether they are good enough. They should try to prove you wrong. I find "Expecting to win" only works against the lower teams and it's not a great tactic to use. Teams play better with confidence - taking the pressure off players work for me in lower leagues.

Tried that but now my team morale is shot all to hell and we're losing instead of drawing >_> I think I may have to resign myself to fate and say I'm going to be taking the relegation this season because my strikers have scored a grand total of 4 goals between them in a combined 100 games (including subs), and it's not down to shots, their target ratio is horrendous despite a finishing stat all above 10 (Uwezu himself is at 17). There's nobody available on the market who I can see who might be reliable for them and it's so beyond frustrating. I've still only been beaten once by two or more goals so my defence is fine, my midfield is connecting the play and my strikers have the opportunities, they're just squandering them.

[EddieG]

You don't watch the games?

YOU'RE PLAYING IT WRONG! :@

Seriously though, watching the games is the fun part. I have my settings on key highlights, replays of goals and game speed around 3/4 of the way up.

Same here, do the exact same.

Speaking of which, how do you guys generally use your subs? I used to nearly religiously put 2 subs in between 56-60 and save my third in case of an injury, but I've been switching that about a bit lately, just wondering what you guys do.

[Benji]

I tend to wait until players are around 60/70% health depending on the overall state of the game. Any player performing under 6.4 at the 60 minute mark (IE, after showing the second half team talk hasn't worked) will be subbed. Always keep one substitute for the last 10 minutes, generally a striker - if we're ahead I'll use a different position and throw him in a defensive role to try and waste a bit of time, if we're drawing I'll switch him with my most underperforming/tired striker and if we're losing then he'll replace a defensive role and go for pure poaching (always the striker has to have huge determination and finishing to have the desire to come back from being down a goal).

[Jimmy]

Yeah, I try to wait until the 60th minute to bring on my subs. But poor fitness sometimes means a half time switch because my players drop below 70% quite quickly. Especially in the Championship when you're playing games every 3 or 4 days.

If I can, I don't like to change my defence unless I'm trying to defend the lead and bring on another defender. I usually find myself bringing on a new striker around the 60/70 minute mark in hope he'll make something happen.

[EddieG]

All quite similar to me then, normally a striker and/or a CM as they tend to tire quicker.

[The Quasi Juice]

Managed to retain the Premier League Championship with Chelsea after an amazing comeback. Getting ready for Champions League semi-final....Gervinho gets injured for 4 weeks, well shit but at least I still have.....Modric injured, EIGHT MONTHS. Okay that sucks but you know I still have Ashley Young. Oh what? He got a double hernia, 8 weeks? Mmmkay. Well I guess I can always stick Neymar on the left....oh, torn hamstring you say? At least I still have the best striker in the world Dzeko. 'Boss, Dzeko is suspended for one European match'. Well cock. I guess I can rely on my rock hard defence....oh wut? Alex broke his collarbone? Cool.

I'm fucked. This season has been full of injuries, just insane.

[YI]

You don't watch the games?

YOU'RE PLAYING IT WRONG! :@

Seriously though, watching the games is the fun part. I have my settings on key highlights, replays of goals and game speed around 3/4 of the way up.

Bah, I'm old school.

Full speed, commentary, spend a shitload of time looking at my assistant's feedback and if I want to make subs/tactical changes I 'cheat' and pause...well if I don't 25-minutes could pass.

53 game undefeated Premier League run comes crumbling down with a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea...although I played them off the park. Lost the World Club Cup on penalties, which was a fucking bitch too.

19 games into the 2012/2013 season and I am top on goal difference, with 50 points (COME ON 100!), with a game in hand over Arsenal (who I drew with at the Emirates, but again looked like I should have won). Signed an under 18 winger from Arsenal, who's ridiculous in January, that's the only signing I think I'll make (although I'm tempted to make a stupid signing to blow all my budget, like £60m on Fabregas or something).

Got Ferguson sacked by beating Man Utd 3-0 at Old Trafford (prompting Bruce to leave Sunderland to take over). Moyes has went as well and after 2-years of Top 4 finishes, Harry's found Spurs wallowing in the lower part of mid-table and he's been given the boot. I find it really intriguing which managers are where and who's still at their clubs from the start. I'm still at Man City, Ancelotti's still at Chelsea (although it looked like he was going to be sacked 1st season), Di Mateo at West Brom, Hodgson at Liverpool, Mowbrey at Boro and Ferguson at Preston, they're the managers remaining from the start of play.

And I've got no real set formula for subs. Given I'm Man City I tend to have a stacked bench, so even if someone's playing well I might take them off, if I think who I'm bringing on can play just as well/better/add a spark. Ivan Rakitic is basically my go-to supersub, he can proper fuck people's shit up. I also have a tendency to want to rotate around my left hand side during a match, as I have Kolarov, Bale and Johnson who are all having fucking ridiculous seasons.

Got my eye on the Newcastle job, hoping the manager isn't booted before the season ends though (they're basically relegated).

Edited January 15, 2011 by YI

[therockbox]

If there's somebody playing noticeably worse than everyone else, I'll bring them off at half-time (playing as Liverpool, at HT it was 0-0 against Blackburn, everyone's hovering around 6.8 except for Meireles, whose on 5.something. Got him off, got angry).

Otherwise I just try and make sure I've got one change left to use after the 80th minute, unless we're cruising by a good few goals, and having to see out a few minutes with 10 men isn't going to be a massive problem.