Football Manager 2015

[Whisper]

Spent some time over on the SI forums this morning and, my god, some people there treat this game like a second job. It's mental how much time they put in scouting, researching, trying tactics etc.

Don't get me wrong, I've played 500+ hours on each of the last 5 FMs, but I pretty much pick a team, buy/sell players, pick a formation and press continue.

Different strokes for different folks and all that, but I can't really imagine going home tonight and spending 5 hours scouting. I spend all day with numbers and spreadsheets as it is.

Anyhow, I guess the point of this is I wonder how you guys play? Am I the 'odd' one in not spending hours and hours doing all that stuff?

[TCO]

I generally avoid it before the age of 19 and never to a level below Championship. Anybody who's not at that level by that age will never see the light of the first team anyway. 

There are some exceptions though. West Ham got relegated in my first season and they wanted Jesus Vallejo on loan as a first team regular even though he was just 18. So he's played almost every game at the best team in the Championship ,who have essentially the same facilities as I do. Next season he'll go straight into my rotation of 4 centre backs with Steven Taylor being released

[Benji]

I will also note, I've become obsessed with developing young talent in my Leicester game (mostly because I like the idea of creating a dominating dynasty, but also preparing plenty of English talent for myself when the England job becomes available again). Last season we went invincible in the league with a team of an average age of 20.4 by the end of the season, so for once I feel like I know what I'm talking about

[TCO]

I'm equally as bad for that! I never sign a player who's over the age of 25 and unless it's a keeper or an exceptional talent, no player ever sees his 30th birthday at the club. That way you get a constant cycle of 23-28 year olds in their prime with youngsters rotating in to be ready for the next batch. Club rakes in the profits from buying low and selling high then!

[Benji]

Almost exactly how I do it too. I do have exceptions to the 30/Logan's Run rule though for club icons/legends and the such, but they'll generally become back up so I can phase them out without fans moaning, or so I can phase them into a staff role if their stats look like they might be good at it.

[Gazz]

Spent some time over on the SI forums this morning and, my god, some people there treat this game like a second job. It's mental how much time they put in scouting, researching, trying tactics etc.

Don't get me wrong, I've played 500+ hours on each of the last 5 FMs, but I pretty much pick a team, buy/sell players, pick a formation and press continue.

This is one of the reasons I've fallen out of love with the game.

If I spend ages tinkering with formations, roles, shouts etc., looking at stats and number crunching and you do what you do and get the same results, is the extra effort worth it?

I said a while back that there is no challenge to these games anymore, once you get to full fluidity, you win. It's proven by the fact that literally everyone in this thread is steamrollering their respective games.

[Liam]

I don't.

Clearly I suck.

[Benji]

I think part of that is that I and many people only continue games where I feel like I'm "winning"

Besides, plenty of challenges exist if you've achieved something somewhere, there's plenty of different clubs and leagues to try.

[stokeriño]

Don't get me wrong, I've played 500+ hours on each of the last 5 FMs, but I pretty much pick a team, buy/sell players, pick a formation and press continue.

That's basically what I do too.

 

This is one of the reasons I've fallen out of love with the game.

If I spend ages tinkering with formations, roles, shouts etc., looking at stats and number crunching and you do what you do and get the same results, is the extra effort worth it?

The question here is why all that number crunching is what you're after in your leisure time. I get enough of that at work.

 

 

 

[Benji]

Spent some time over on the SI forums this morning and, my god, some people there treat this game like a second job. It's mental how much time they put in scouting, researching, trying tactics etc.

Don't get me wrong, I've played 500+ hours on each of the last 5 FMs, but I pretty much pick a team, buy/sell players, pick a formation and press continue.

Different strokes for different folks and all that, but I can't really imagine going home tonight and spending 5 hours scouting. I spend all day with numbers and spreadsheets as it is.

Anyhow, I guess the point of this is I wonder how you guys play? Am I the 'odd' one in not spending hours and hours doing all that stuff?

I tend to tinker with roles and things, but yeah, outside of that I just like to play for the most part.

[stokeriño]

Oh, player roles and team instructions, sure. But I included that under the umbrella of 'pick a formation'.

[Whisper]

Spent some time over on the SI forums this morning and, my god, some people there treat this game like a second job. It's mental how much time they put in scouting, researching, trying tactics etc.

Don't get me wrong, I've played 500+ hours on each of the last 5 FMs, but I pretty much pick a team, buy/sell players, pick a formation and press continue.

This is one of the reasons I've fallen out of love with the game.

If I spend ages tinkering with formations, roles, shouts etc., looking at stats and number crunching and you do what you do and get the same results, is the extra effort worth it?

I said a while back that there is no challenge to these games anymore, once you get to full fluidity, you win. It's proven by the fact that literally everyone in this thread is steamrollering their respective games.

Not that I have ever really gone into that level of detail, but I agree. I'm not sure how it can be enhancing the game for people, especially when I've just strolled to the Premier League and Europa League titles in my first season with the starting Everton team. All I've done is pick a basic formation that suits them, added a few instructions which I used pre season games to adjust and thats pretty much it. I don't even adjust roles based on personnel. Kevin Mirallas is my starting AML as an Inside Forward. If I had to play Aaron Lennon there, he stayed as an Inside Forward even though he's a far better Winger.

I sill enjoy the game, but I don't feel that it's difficult enough to warrant the in depth stuff people do with it (and I'm glad about that, otherwise I wouldn't play)

[TCO]

Finished 2nd to Chelsea again, this time finishing on 91 points, absolutely gutting. 

Squad clearly needs a few additions to be elite and despite all the Champions League and Premier League money, Mike Ashley gives me £13mil to spend. So yeah, fuck him! I loaded La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A, so if any jobs home or abroad come up then I'm out.

[MDK]

lol, Adriano has natural fitness of 1. He probably gets winded walking upstairs.

[Gorka]

Spent some time over on the SI forums this morning and, my god, some people there treat this game like a second job. It's mental how much time they put in scouting, researching, trying tactics etc.

Don't get me wrong, I've played 500+ hours on each of the last 5 FMs, but I pretty much pick a team, buy/sell players, pick a formation and press continue.

This is one of the reasons I've fallen out of love with the game.

If I spend ages tinkering with formations, roles, shouts etc., looking at stats and number crunching and you do what you do and get the same results, is the extra effort worth it?

I said a while back that there is no challenge to these games anymore, once you get to full fluidity, you win. It's proven by the fact that literally everyone in this thread is steamrollering their respective games.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Gorka

[JasonM]

Edited July 8, 2015 by Jasonmufc

[Bobfoc]

What are you doing in Mexico?

[JasonM]

What are you doing in Mexico?

[Hobo]

I've gotten to a point with FM where I just either use the editor to give a small club a foreground chairman sugar daddy situation or manage in the MLS or China or, as I did for a bit last year, Gibraltar.

I think I want to do a wacky game but I can't think what. My go to thing is "load Irish club full of money and go nuts". I kinda want to do that now but instead of just one club pick a few Irish teams and give them lots of money and see how they go.

[Whisper]

Wait so you're like 10 seasons in and your Prem table could almost be season 1 in terms of where teams are finishing. Thats a bit dull - normally at least one of the big guns has fallen away/been replaced by a Stoke/Southampton/QPR.