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I have a major problem that i dont get. It seems my first season i do well, at several clubs, at NAC breda, marseille, and man city on one file, and then with northampton on my new file.
My first season goes well, with NAC breda, was tipped for relegation i just missed out on europe, marseille i finished 2nd, man city i got promoted form the championship, then had a good first season in the premiership, finishes just outside the champions league.
The seasons after that, using the same formation, with improved players, everything seems to go downhill fast.
With northampton currently, my first season started badly, but i turned it round, had a strong mid - end of the season, and finished comfortably mid table, and was giving some of the top sides a good hiding, i had good players coming in like geoff horsfield, and tightened up my defence.
But now second season im propping the division up and cant score anything, i dont understand what im doing wrong, i dont know if its my training or my formation or what?
Think about it logically- you do well, your reputation rises. So, next season teams approach their games against you differently. They will play more defensively, and as a result you will have to change your approach. Space will now be harder to find, you will have to be more patient in order to break teams down.
This is where the real fun of FM lies. There seems to be a slight re-ranking of your team after 50% of a season, with a serious re-ranking at the end of a season. This results in the AI launching different strategies against user teams and is the reason for second season slump syndrome. The mid-season re-ranking results in slightly more defensive AI set-ups which can lead to a serious drop in team performance if the system you are employing is too conservative. If you then drop some places you will be re-ranked again in the next season based on your finishing position, which allows the tactic to succeed again and the circle restarts. However, if your tactical acumen is sufficient to counter the mid-season re-rank and you finish significantly higher in the table than expected, you will face a much more defensive AI next season and must adjust your tactics accordingly. Failure to do this will result in a seriously diminished performance.
Example
I took over Juventus after a season in which they had seriously underperformed (finished 4th after being 10th and struggling when I took over). I bought one or two new players to fit my preferred formation type, but in large had the same squad. I implemented my tactical system(s) and played out the season. Results: Won Seria A (34-3-1), Coppa Italia (won every game) and the CL. My goal scoring was untrue, with two players scoring 20+ (reserve striker and AMC), one netting 30+ and the regular FC 60+. The defence was less impressive (0.6 a game). The following season I still won the Seria A (33-2-3) and the CL but scored considerably less. I also conceded a lot less (0.4 a game).
The conclusion to this is as follows:
1: In Season One the AI still tried to beat me and played semi-attacking systems. My tactics countered this in terms of goal scoring (high mentality FCs and AMC) and was solid enough defensively to win all but one game all season.
2: In Season Two I was re-ranked as the best team in Italy. The AI then focussed on stopping me from scoring. My defence had less to do but my attack had to work harder. I came up against the 3-3-2-1-1 almost every game (with the exception on the Milans and Roma). I was nearly always forced to play my most attacking tactic rather than swapping between them as I had done the previous season.
3: Winning the title or over performing based on current ranking results in a massive shift in AI strategy against you. It will be more defensive and you must be more attack minded to counter it (see The Second Season Slump).
Quote:
The Second Season Slump
This is why it happens.
Season One
You are Aston Villa with a post-O’Leary game rating. Thus, if 100 is Chelsea and 0 is Watford, your team has an in-game rating of circa 25. Any team with a higher rating will play attacking football against you (75% of the division). You buy a few bargains, construct a quality counter-attacking tactic and over perform a la O’Neill. You finish 4th. All well and good.
Season Two
Your in-game team rating is now up to 60 (Premiership only, your European rating is still low as you have no pedigree in the competition). Therefore, most Premiership teams, expecting to lose, play a solid defensive tactic against you. Your tactic falls down as it is solid and defensive itself and offers too few attacking options. You get frustrated; give a bad team talk or two, morale drops and results go bad. You may do well against teams that expect to beat you (as your tactic is designed to deal with that) but results against poor teams are consistently bad. Europe-wise everything is rosy as the foreign sides think they have a chance against you due to your lack of European pedigree and your tactic is therefore still suitable. At some point you a) get sacked due to poor performance b) throw the PC out the window c) start a new game or d) enter the tactical forum to find an answer.
The slump will be exacerbated if you have made a lot of new signings as they will take time to gel and spend a few months performing below expectations.
Breaking Down the 3-3-2-1-1
My usual approach is to deepen the defensive line and widen the formation. I also advocate heavy closing down for the back 5 and low closing down/high creative freedom from the front five. I'll explain why.
The super-goalie effect is related to the AI playing ultra-conservative formations. Standards to watch out for are the dreaded 3-3-2-1-1, the 4-1-4-1, the 4-4-2 no farrows and, occasionally, the 4-4-1-1. These formations usually play tight (i.e. narrow and mentality matched defensive line) and flood the middle of the park with players. It makes it very difficult to pass the ball successfully and gain any space. The super-goalie happens because such ultra defensive set-ups force your players into a lot of rushed chances which also leads to players snatching at the occasional easier chance when it occurs (human vulnerabilities as coded into the AI such as frustration and panic). The goalie gets high ratings because the match ratings don't account for the easy save/hard save scenario and just award points for a save. Thus, the keeper may have been given a 10, but 95% of his saves been easy to deal with. So, how to beat it.......
A wide formation obviously gets your players space on the outside and stretches the opposition. This means you can play around them and look for a multitude of crosses into the area. Ideally, the wingers and full-backs should be pushing forward as much as possible. I long-farrow my wingers and short-farrow my full-backs to get them both in attacking positions as soon as I get the ball. This also means that for every cross into the box you will have four players (2 FCs, AMC/MCa and a winger) attacking the ball with the full-backs and MCd/DMC picking up any half-clearance to the edge of the area. Because you know you will get a lot of balls out wide you need to ensure your front players (FCs, AMC/MCa and wingers) are constantly looking for space so CF is very important. I use CF of 10 for the wide players so they are less likely to stray inside, but 15+ for the front three so they break with instructions and look for space/the unexpected. I also close down to <5 for the front three as closing down limits space.
I advocate the deep defensive line because the AI FC plays very deep. A deep d-line places the DMC/MCd into the first line of defence in that he is nearly always closest to the FC when the opposition clears the ball. His challenge invariably wins the ball and either propels it directly back into the area or recycles it to the deep lying DCs who, under no pressure, can initiate a new attack. If the DMC/MCd is bypassed and the FC gets a little space it is vital that the DCs are closing down quickly. This will instantly reduce the FCs time and space on the ball and, because support arrives slowly in ultra-defensive formations, enable the user team to regain quick possession as the FC has no one to lay the ball off to. The DC who wins the ball usually has three or four easy passing options and possession is easily retained.
I also advocate mixed focus passing and no target men because other settings reduce attacking options and allow the defence to close off chances. Likewise a playmaker can be a risk as he can be marked out of the game.
wow thanks a lot, i had no idea this happened, its at least gave me some explanation, and i will work on fixing it which is the fun of the game. Im not one to resort to "super tactics" so now i know whats happened ill see what i can do. Thanks again!
Second Season Syndrome 
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