retired_mugdozer

One major question:

I'm looking to improve my assistant manager, what would the most important attributes for an assistant manager be? In EHM, the way I used the assistant was to use him for his judging current and potential abilities.

In FM I understand that he also can give the team talks if I want, so I think for that motivating would be important and possibly man management for training.

I don't think his tactical knowledge is THAT important, since I can use whichever staff I want to recommend the lineup and tactics.

Any advice on this front?

retired_w0lfpack1

It definitely depends what you think you'll be using him for.

For FM'08, since I can't change the default person who gives Coach Reports, I think JA/JP are going to be the two most important attributes for me.

If you let him give the team talks - or just advise you - then yeah you'll want plenty on the motivation front.

If you let him manage games for you, then Tactical knowledge will be very important, but if you don't its not too useful.

retired_kbeth

You've pretty much got it right there, he's just the assistant, so he doesnt need to excel in all areas. Obviously, it's a plus to good stats accross the board, but the main ones I aim for are:

Man Management - Determines how good he is at keeping morale up and generally handling players. Not so important if you do your own team talks, but remember, he'll most likely be managing your reserve team

Working with youngsters - I doubt lots of people will have this as a must have attribute. If you're a big team with a youth coach, this sin't as important. But if you're a small team who can't (or won't) employ a youth coach and you have a lot of youngsters, this is important for their development

Judging Player Ability & Judging Player Potential - With the improved coach reports, it's easy to see your assistants opinions on all your players. This is important if you ever have your assistant pick the team or just look for his opinion on one of your players. If his attributes in this area are low, there's more chance that the 18 year old striker he told you to sell could become a world beater.

Motivating - For getting that extra bit out of players in matches and training.

Also, any coaching attributes in an area you're training isn't good in (so if your Defending training is at only 3 stars, signing an assistant with a good Defensive Coaching attribute will help in training)

So, to recap:

Man Management, Motivating, Judging Player Ability, Judging Player Potential, any specific coaching stat and, if you're a smaller team, Working With Youngsters

This isn't a definitive answer, but thats what I generally look for. Someone might have a different (and better) idea

retired_mugdozer

Thanks again, and just an FYI, according to the patch list I read on the Front Office Football boards:

retired_mugdozer

amack1n,

Thank you as well, the only downside to all this help is that I'm regretting not purchasing the game years ago.

It's extremely helpful getting all these different points of views, since in sims like this there really is no one right answer.

retired_mohit jain

if you want a couple of good teams to start out with, villa and everton would be my picks
they have solid squads, money to augment them and lower expectations than the top clubs

retired_kbeth

No worries. There was a time about a decade again, when even I could have done with some help

Now I'm the fully fledged Football Manager Champion Superstar Master of the World :cool:

retired_Frappin'

Btw if I remember correctly the sweeper started to fade out as teams started to get defenders who were pacey and able to play an offside trap.

retired_GoBlue31

Hey there,

I actually became interested in football mainly due to Championship Manager 1 and Sensible World of Soccer about what, 12 years ago ? These days I am a season ticket holder at Leeds.

Anyway... lots of good advice in this thread but my advice would be:

Play as a big easy team, don't worry about tactics too much at this stage, just try and have some fun and see what you pick up along the way.

retired_kbeth

Do you mean real football or FM? Cos I know using a sweeper is very much alive in Sunday football