[retired_lanebo]

So, we have many threads from people who put great effort trying to explain how they success playing this game. The Sheffield United project is one of those threads, as well as the closed Hammer and Cleon with West Ham.

But, wait a munite... they failed in a major aspect: since is almost impossible to replicate the scenario (given the tons of variants involved in each particular match) we couldn´t get empirical fact of what works and what doesn´t and (most important) WHY.

I came with this thread with an idea in my mind.
I think that the LAST experiment would be:

Someone who start a new game with a mediocre Primer League side, play some friendlies, set training, etc. and start a season. Then, upload the saved game just before a very tough match, preferably away from home (Arsenal, Chelsea, etc.)
This could bring a standard and unique scenario. My idea is to find some kind of consistency and how and why "succesful" FM gamers react to turn every game into their favour.

At a certain point this "test match" will give us some kind of walkthrough. What does it mean?
For example: Which is the best tactic to start the match and why, what to do if our team start loosing, what to do if our team start winning, etc. to finally understand how the succesful people manage to win that match over and over. Then, a great number of players would be able to try those approaches, and test the logic and consistency of them.

This way, we could finish with the: "Oh, Cleon, I tried to use your tactic and it sucked, you must be cheating!".
My final target would be that people could implement the set of tactics and tweaks to win the "test match" most of the times.

[retired_janellewood86]

Won't work.

I wouldn't play the same tactic as Cleon since we hav very different tactical styles. I'd go into this tough match asking my players to play a completely different system which they would be unable to get used to in time.

There's no guarentee that the match we go into will be the same. What if I nick a lucky goal, or what if the opposition nick a lucky goal. I would then need a completely different game plan. Obviously, I have these plans when I have my own game set up, but then we have to return to the fact that none of the players on this save would be used to my managerial style and it would fall apart.

There are too many variables to get "empirical facts" (and what is a fact? Dubito ergo sum?) about the game, just as it is impossible to get empirical facts from real football. We know there are sets of instructions and strategies which tend to work, but there's no way (over the internet, at least) of transmitting those instructions and ensuring that they are properly carried out be anyone else.

I use a set of about 6 tactics. However, to describe exactly how I use them (and bear in mind this is just my tactics, not my team talks, media, transfers and so on) would take an entire book! "If team x take the lead in nth minute then..." Ugh, would be impossible.

The fact is, that in-game responses to all sorts of stimuli are as important as the tactic or set of tactics that you use. Ultimately, no tactician can account for the fact that some people just aren't very good at the game, can't understand or won't follow the instructions or just a plain lack of information.

Sorry.