LFC Lloydy

Some of you may remember that a few months ago I started a few threads on my ideas for improving the role of the Assistant Manager. I was planning to write and post this thread soon after them but didn’t get around to it so I have decided to do it now. If you want to see my other threads they can be found in the following links:

Training Reports

Match Advice and Observations

This thread expands on some briefly mentioned points in the above threads. Some of it not only applies to the Assistant Manager but also other staff.

IMO non-playing staff in the game currently lack personality and individuality, my wish is for this to be changed. There are many ways in which this could be done but I am going to concentrate on 3 different things, “Tactical Preferences”,” Ambition & Career Plan” and “Working Relationship”, all are connected to a certain extent. If you have any other ideas feel free to mention them.

Tactical Preferences
This is the most simple of the 3 sections, at the moment if you look in a coach’s profile it will tell you his preferred formation, style of football etc.... I feel this could be made to have more of an impact in the game. For example, if he prefers very attacking football then he is more likely to give attacking advice, recommend attacking players and be better at coaching attacking attribute categories in training. To a certain extent this sort of thing is already in the game but I feel it doesn’t do enough, not which is noticeable anyway.

It would not just have an influence on the way he works though, it will also affect how he gets on with other people and how other people perceive him. For example, if your Ass Man likes the conventional 4-4-2 formation and you keep playing 4-3-3 then he may become annoyed with you and say how he disagrees with you. Possibly even causing controversy by saying it to the media which will cause numerous articles about how you are both having arguments etc... Of course it could also work the other way and you get along fantastically. This doesn’t just have to be between manager and his assistant either, it could affect the relationship between the assistant and your star striker or your GK coach and the goalkeeper etc. Obviously how likely he is to disagree and other things would be controlled by his attributes, it could be that you have completely different preferences and yet you get along fine.

Another possibility is that his preferences earn him a reputation which could be an advantage or disadvantage. For example, he becomes increasingly known for his entertaining style of football, this means that he is more likely to get a job at a club where they want that style (notice the Keegan and Newcastle similarities). Alternatively, fans may lose confidence in the manager if he signs an Ass Man known for his defensive football.
I think you get the point now anyway...

Ambition and Career Plan
Some people are more than happy to spend their whole career as an assistant at a Premiership club, other people will want to get to become a manager as soon as possible even if it means leaving a much bigger club for a small one. Again, to a certain extent what I am suggesting is in the game but I feel it could be improved upon.

First of all, one thing I would like to see in the game is people joining the club as an Ass Man with a view to taking charge once the current manager leaves. A good example of this Man Utd, Carlos Queiroz is expected to become manager once SAF retires. When hiring a new assistant you could tell him you see him eventually replacing you, or even further you could make it a clause in his contract that he gets first choice on the job when you leave. This would encourage them to sign, especially people with high ambitionto become a manager. The type of person they are would also effect their decision, for example, the person may already be a manager at a lower league club, if he is happy to just be a manager anywhere he may not join but if he wants to get to a bigger club as soon as possible he will join.

Alternatively, you may not promise him anything but in his profile it says “Hopes to become manager once manager x leaves”. This could create media speculation about your job security, especially if the Ass Man is liked by the club and/or he has a big reputation. You could then make a comment about it, for example “I think he would make an excellent manager” or “I don’t see him being capable of managing this club”. Your comment would then have an effect on the fans, players, Ass Man etc.., what type of effect it has would be dependent on various factors such as how the team is currently doing and the assistant’s loyalty.

Another thing it might say in his profile is something such as “Sees the club as an ideal way to get himself noticed by other clubs” which would then cause media speculation like above. There are lots of things that could be said in his profile which would possibly have an effect on the club or other people.
It might not be the case that the Ass Man says anything, the media may create their own story (possibly by seeing what his career has been like up until that point in time), the assistant could then come out and dismiss the story as rubbish which may or may not stop further articles from the media.

In summary, you should get an impression about what the person is like from the media and his profile. Is he looking to get to a top club, even if it means he won’t be a manager? Or his he just looking for a challenge? Maybe he doesn’t care where he is as long as he is a manager? I think if something like this was implemented then it would make each person more individual and add a whole new level to the staff part of the game. It would also improve the media quite a lot. I think you get the idea of this section now....


Working Relationship
The relationship between a manager and his assistant (as well as the other coaches) is important, if you get on you will work well as a team, if you don’t you may cause the players to perform badly. At the moment in the game nothing really exists to do with this. I propose that it is somehow implemented, working in a similar way to how the playing staff get on with each other and you. Again, there are many different possibilities of what you could do with this but I will provide just a few examples.
Involvement of the Assistant – Some assistants may be more than happy to sit in the background and have little to do where as others will want to be heavily involved in the management. You should be able to choose what the assistant gets control of, this would require more options to be added to “manager options” such “Assistant Manager will take control of training” and “Assistant Manager will handle the media”. Depending on how much responsibility you give him and the type of person he is he will have a different opinion. He may say he wants more responsibility or he may say you are giving him too much to do. What duties you give him will also give him an opinion of you, in his profile it may say “Thinks highly of the manager and enjoys sharing responsibility with him” or “Thinks the manager is lazy and should not expect others to do his job for him”. This may lead to him quitting his job or wanting to sign a new contract etc....

The amount of duties he has would also have other effects, if he is doing a lot he will attract the attention of other clubs who may then want him as their manager. Alternatively it may attract the attention of your own board, they may get annoyed with you for relying on others to do your job or maybe feel you’re not sharing the workload enough. It could even create speculation about your job security and the media may say that the board are considering replacing you with the Ass Man.

Bond between you and the assistant – How well you both get on is important, if you both clash then it will unsettle players, have an effect on training and performance in matches and then ultimately annoy the board. On the other hand if you get on well the players will be happy and everything will go smoothly, it could even become the case that you form a team, this team will mean he leaves when you leave and join other clubs with you.

This good or bad friendship would also be picked up on in the media, they may say that recent success is down to the great partnership you have formed or blame a poor run of results on a feud between both of you. You would also be able interact with the Ass Man (not just through the media but in private) in order to ease concerns or thank him for his work etc...

Anyway, thats all I have for now, I’ve not gone into much detail as it would of took too long but I think that gives you a rough idea of what my thoughts are. Feel free to give other ideas and expand on what I have said.

FrazT

This has been mentioned often with great support Lloydy- it has been an area of the game that needs some serious work on it and these threads go a long way to expanding and improving what could be a very useful management toll

Amaroq

Some good stuff there.

Tactical preferences - I wouldn't want there to be "controversy" just because I wasn't playing my Assistant's tactical preference. However, maybe it could be something that lingers in the background, only to surface if I have a high Controversy Assistant and the club hits a poor patch of form.

One thing I would like to see is my coaches learning my tactic. For example, I had a long-time coach, six to eight years, maybe? He left to take over Manchester City. IRL, he might be very likely to implement the "system he knows" from my club, especially considering we'd won the EPL and CL with it. In game, no. He went with his "preferred" tactic, and got hammered. Disappointing.

You can also see this in "Sharpening a Rusty Blade" over in FM-Stories; when I left York, my assistant radically changed tactics for the last two games of the season .. with disastrous consequences! IRL, he would certainly have played the same system I'd been playing the whole season to that point.

Ambition - Interesting points. I don't think there would be a "gets the job when I leave" clause IRL; your board would certainly want to interview candidates at that point (and might even be required to by law).

I would like to see the boards consider the incumbent Assistant more often, especially if the team is doing well; a successful manager departing of his own volition seems likely to be replaced by his assistant, who then might "keep the same system" going...

... where an unsuccessful manager sacked for poor performance, well, his assistant may get anything from a caretaker role to a pink slip of his own.

Working Relationship - I like the concept as a whole, but not the implementation details you went on to.

Specifically, letting the assistant handle things helps people with different styles get enjoyment out of the game: for example, some people love to handle training but despite team talks, and others are the other way around. Some love to micromanage everything, and others just want to Continue to the next match.

I don't think we really want to introduce a mechanic which would "punish" any of those styles, especially the bit about replacing you with the A.M. if you let him do too much!

There is probably a lot of scope for ideation on other ways to figure out if the working relationship is good or bad, though - it seems like a fertile ground to plow.

Amaroq

Thanks, spellchecker.