retired_west

Ok, after having played my current game for several seasons i find myself in the same position as quite a few people of my old formation no longer bringing me the success i crave and nothing i change seems to work either.

My main problem being that all the information on here is without doubt helpful but all of it is so time consuming, being busy at work and having a new born son, if im lucky i get an hour a night to spend playing the game and because of this i dont particularily want to spend the entire hour going through each individual players set-up and watching the extended highlights.
Instead i prefer to keep things simple, i dont mess around with training, i like to choose my teams tactics, pick the players, play a few games and make a few transfers but its got to the point where it seems that unless i am prepared to invest several hours of time purely on my tactics and training then i am going to acheive nothing but my mid table mediocracy as i have done for the past few seasons, never in a relegation battle and never pushing for promotion which has taken the edge off the game for me.

I dont expect to win the league without putting the time into the game but being able to have some relative success would be appreciated but it doesnt seem possible.

Im not quite sure if this is a cry for help or really me just making some observations.

As frustrated as i find myself with the game this definately isnt a moan as i think the game as a whole is excellent and i wish i had the time to use it to its fullest but as it is i look like ill be playing league one football and finishing mi-table for many seasons to come.

retired_nsample

This is the age old difference between those who want a quick game and thos who want a realistic simulation.

Those who want a quick out of the box game with little input will be able to get reasonable success but usually not get to the top in the game. The game is not easy and nor should it be, but it is clear that in order to take the game up a level or two, you require to do some initial work although I would dispute that it needs to be continual.

There are many threads on here with posters who are offering their tactic and explaining why it works so try some of those along with some downloaded training schedules and then let it run for a couple of seasons.

Personally I spend about 2 hours at the start of every new game setting up tactics, training, coaches, scouting, analysing my squad, buying/selling players etc, then run the season without too much further input although I do toggle between my 4 tactics during each game.

retired_monica90

Like Fraz alluded to, the beginning of your first season (or that first season with a new side) is the most time-consuming part of the game. I find that once I'm set up for the season, I make relatively few changes and whizz through a season. It can be done.

The Slider Apathy Thread might help. Excuse the thread starter though, he's a proper tool.

retired_DiVerL

I have full sympathy for you Prophet. I was exactly the same as you, I liked a lot of the new changes to the game but found the whole tweaking, tweaking, tweaking a monumental pain.

Now though I've just won the Premier League and Champions League with Cardiff and that was all with no tweaking whatsoever. Honest, here's what I did.

1. Use Digsy442 tactic - available in fmdownload.

2. Change corner settings, i.e. put big man on near post and hit him every time.

3. I bought a target man and used him (i.e. tick use targetman and put player in target an list). Target man will inevitably turn out to be your best player.

4. Do take a little time to sort training out - it's worth it. You only need to do it once, then save them and you can just load them up whenever you start a new game or change team.

5. Employ good coaches.

6. Employ the best scouts you can get and send them out into the world.

7. Continually look (I do a fairly thorough check every transfer window) to see if you can sign any players who your scouts say are better than you already have. This is KEY.

The tactic is not a miracle worker but it is by far the most consistent one I've come across. If you slowly but surely keep upgrading your players then you will eventually get success. Having great players is the ultimate key to glory but the Digsy442 provides a solid, reliable framework.

Oh yeah, I also changed the fullbacks to forward runs sometimes.

I NEVER tweak before a game, don't even bother to scout the opposition. The only thing I do is maybe go more defensive after 70 mins if looking to hold on to a lead.

There you are - Little Time - Maximum Success!