retired_mminderlein

Ok I'll try and keep this as short as possible;

I'm managing Man City, I have pretty much the same side as the first year. All I signed is Dean Whitehead, Johnny Jackson, Robert Green and Chris Riggot.

Basically with a 4-1-3-2, we would get 15+ shots with just 2 on target and lose 4-0 when high tempo and attacking, or when the tempo is down for a passing game I get about 1 or 2 shots a game and still lose?

The defence ignore all my options of being defensive and just stand around halfway up the pitch? I've tried everything from closing down tweaks, mentality tweaks and making sure it suits the player but still the defence do nothing. If I could get some actual shots then maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but on the rare occasion I do go 1-0 or 2-0 up, they'll always come back.

At the end of the day, the game is not enjoyable now due to nothing working over two seasons, morale is up but key players are playing useless and constant red cards for punching and pushing is just beyond a joke.

My brother's team West Ham ended up being 17th and surviving via goal difference in season one and got fired in season two within two months because despite having all the players including; Ashton, Tevez, Gordon, Duff and just about one of the best teams in the league, he had the very same issues with just 7 wins in a whole year!

Whats more confusing is how I'll lose 4-2 to Wigan, 2-0 to Reading, 3-1 to Middlesborough and then beat Man Utd 7-1, Newcastle 6-1 and Arsenal 4-1 at totally random moments!?

Can anybody help us out before we give up on this game?

retired_mgavlick

There are so many issues to deal with that one answer will never suffice. My base assumption is that you are using a relatively solid counter-attacking system that negates the aggressive systems employed by big teams but falls down against more defensively orientated sides. The sendings off are related to the team failing to perform against teams they should beat and frustrating setting in or failing to win despite a good performance. I would suggest reading through the threads stickied in the tactical bible for help.

retired_rotnem76

Your totally spot on DB.The game is a joke this time round with many errors which SI will not admit too,but this thread will be closed for speaking against the game probaly.As soon as you win 8 games the game is programmed with it's "reranking" in other words make your team lose system regardless of tactics and squad quality.It's beyond a joke.

retired_elpata

No it doesn't thats a load of ********. So you have already demonstrated a lack of understanding for the game, thats why its a joke for you.

James1226

If you tried to deliver your critic in a more constructive way this thread would not be closed.

What you describe does not happen to everyone, and second even for those it happen to, it does not happen to them all the time. I do accept that the engine is perhaps sligthly biased towards counter attacking (personally I found that it is just as easy - if not easier - to win the league with Wigan as it is to win it with Tottenham).

Like wwfan I do think the initial poster could get some help from reading in the tactics bible. Still - I have not found any solutions in the Bible to solve the "I dominate completely but lose" problem.

I currently have a game where my team play the best (aesthetic) football I have seen on FM ever. But my results are well below average because I give away easy goals, and fail to convert enough (I'm actually scoring alot, though not enough...). Here the tactic bible does not really help. No matter the tempo, team mentality, creative freedom, width, focus passing and all the other things one can tweak, I still fail miserably in terms of making my chances pay.

retired_mminderlein

Update: I battled on through the league and has since managed to control my wing backs better by unticking the tight marking... now they no longer hang around on the wings when set to defensive. Totally baffling why they never ran back before but now they sit back more and we're battling harder in defence.

Goal scoring has still been a bit iffy with games where every player on my team scores 7 and my strikers score 5. The biggest issue seems to be with SO many one on ones and yet the players shoot for a far post or blast it over time and time again, when all thats need is a pass down the middle.

With the defence now SLIGHTLY improved, my wins and draws are picking up... but yet again we beat Newcastle 2-0, Tottenham (Prem's #3) 3-1 and Blackburn (Prem's #1) 2-1... but lost to Reading, Crystal Palace and Fulham... the bottom three again.

Frustration IS a big issue with Joey Barton losing his temper so often that he's had SIX RED CARDS!!! Infact he's spent half the season on 2-4 match bans, only to come back the next game and punch somebody..... Now I WOULD punish him but with the bugs in 06 where you get fired for it, I'm having to just let him ruin game after game. (Anybody confirm if this was fixed?)

So my conclusion now is that the tactics are perfect for the bigger sides and murder the little sides, but anybody in the middle and near my rank will just wipe the floor with me, regardless of who I play. The donkey players are 99% of the team either a Centre Back (Noveski/Mclean) or the Goalkeeper (Robert Green) who just play like morons and pass to the opposition purposely - And I mean on purpose... ie... I have three men unmarked suitable for a pass and one guy to my far left who's marked by the top player on the opponents team, then we'll hit a short pass to the player followed by running in the opposite direction as they score etc...

If I could drill some common sense into my back four then I could see my team being a real 5th-8th contender, rather than 11th-15th.

retired_bgri

What are the stats like for your striker's COMPOSURE, WORK RATE & DETERMINATION? I have only ever played FM games as lower league but I think it's very easy to get lost in the idea that your striker needs to have 20 finishing & 20 off the ball but these count for jack if they have no composure, determination or work ethic. Mental attributes to me are slightly more important than a player's skill.

As for discipline, I always give any player who gets sent off a warning for their first offence whether it be a 2nd bookable or straight red. They always seem to take it on the chin and improve their discipline. If they then re-offend with a straight red they're getting a fine like it or not - you are the manager - you have to set the discipline if you get sacked for it - oh well go and manage a better team Hopefully it's not because you are falling foul of a bug in the game :thup:

James1226

It is not about players. The best strikers in the world will consistently miss big chances to score. The scoreline would be unrealisticly high for the good teams if the strikers converted more of all the one on one's.

IMO this problem is that there are too many of these chances. I get 4-5 in most games, and that is too many.

retired_mminderlein

Yeah Workrate, Determination and Composure are all high, I'm well aware of those needed stats and thats why I'm confused.

Fair enough, but it bugs me how I'll get 20 shots and most go on target, yet the strikers miss 5 open goals in one game? An open goal miss isn't a regular occurance in every game. Plus half the team the computer will get 6 shots and have 2 on target... and score 2? I'd understand it if my keeper or defence sucked but Green is ALWAYS caught with long shots by awful players