Football Manager 14

[ypioca]

I hadn't really played since FM11, but I'm back in now. This will be my 21st iteration with Bayer Leverkusen (dating back to CM 00/01).
 
God damn why does BayArena have to be so fucking small.

 

[Drocca]

I was going to really focus on writing this year. I mean, I set a schedule, sort of worked out a plan.
 
And then I clicked on this thread a week ago.

 

[rembrat]

I was going to really focus on writing this year. I mean, I set a schedule, sort of worked out a plan.
 
And then I clicked on this thread a week ago.

 
Write about FM.

 

[DLew On Roids]

My 11-YO son was bored the other day.  So I loaded up Steam on the computer I let him use and fired up FM14.  He played six hours the first day.  Goodbye summer vacation!

 

[ypioca]

 
Write about FM.

 
In the mid-00's, I may have spent an inordinate amount of time on CM/FM boards, reading people's stories of taking Bahia, or whatever shitfuck Brazilian team, to win the Copa Libertadores. Full write-ups, on a game-by-game basis.

 

[DJnVa]

There's also youtube video diaries.

 

[Bosoxen]

Midway through my first season with Liverpool (I started with some crap team and couldn't figure out what the hell to do so I started over), I was in 6th place heading into the winter transfer window. I sold Martin Skrtel for 10 million (WOO!) and was going to use every scrap of that to bolster my midfield. So after the transfer was finalized, I asked the board for more transfer funds. I was rejected and told that I needed to sell a player in order to gain more funds. Thinking there was some glitch in the game, I tried it again. Same thing. I waited a couple of days and was once again rejected. I follow along to the next day and see the message that the Skrtel transfer had gone through. "Cool," I thought to myself. As I was about to go ask for more transfer funds, I saw that my team management options weren't available. Then I saw the message that I'd been sacked.
 
I don't feel guilty digging up my previous save from a couple games before, because, fuck that.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Well, you should be a shoo-in for the England job now.

 

[rodderick]

Midway through my first season with Liverpool (I started with some crap team and couldn't figure out what the hell to do so I started over), I was in 6th place heading into the winter transfer window. I sold Martin Skrtel for 10 million (WOO!) and was going to use every scrap of that to bolster my midfield. So after the transfer was finalized, I asked the board for more transfer funds. I was rejected and told that I needed to sell a player in order to gain more funds. Thinking there was some glitch in the game, I tried it again. Same thing. I waited a couple of days and was once again rejected. I follow along to the next day and see the message that the Skrtel transfer had gone through. "Cool," I thought to myself. As I was about to go ask for more transfer funds, I saw that my team management options weren't available. Then I saw the message that I'd been sacked.

I don't feel guilty digging up my previous save from a couple games before, because, fuck that.

The money you make with transfers will automatically be added to your budget as soon as the transfer is finalized. There's no need to ask the board for more funds before then. You could ask them for more money at any time, but if they refuse and you insist, they may lose their patience and sack you.

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

The money you make with transfers will automatically be added to your budget as soon as the transfer is finalized.

 
Not necessarily. Depending on the club financial health you may get just a portion of the transfer fee added to your budget or even none at all.

 

[DJnVa]

Midway through my first season with Liverpool (I started with some crap team and couldn't figure out what the hell to do so I started over), I was in 6th place heading into the winter transfer window. I sold Martin Skrtel for 10 million (WOO!) and was going to use every scrap of that to bolster my midfield. So after the transfer was finalized, I asked the board for more transfer funds. I was rejected and told that I needed to sell a player in order to gain more funds. Thinking there was some glitch in the game, I tried it again. Same thing. I waited a couple of days and was once again rejected. I follow along to the next day and see the message that the Skrtel transfer had gone through. "Cool," I thought to myself. As I was about to go ask for more transfer funds, I saw that my team management options weren't available. Then I saw the message that I'd been sacked.
 
I don't feel guilty digging up my previous save from a couple games before, because, fuck that.

 
6th place got you canned? Or begging for more money?

 

[rodderick]

 
Not necessarily. Depending on the club financial health you may get just a portion of the transfer fee added to your budget or even none at all.

 
He is playing with Liverpool in his first season, so I'd imagine at the very least 80% of the transfer fee will be made available to him after the deal goes through.

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

 
He is playing with Liverpool in his first season, so I'd imagine at the very least 80% of the transfer fee will be made available to him after the deal goes through.

 
Not if he keeps whining about it...  :q:

 

[Cellar-Door]

 
6th place got you canned? Or begging for more money?

Begging for money probably. Though it depends what he set as a goal and philosophy at the beginning of the year.
If he said the goal was winning the league, and he was 6th he might get canned (unlikely), or if he said the philosophy was one thing and did the opposite.
Likely it was repeatedly begging for money when told no.

 

[TheWinkleman]

When you're setting up a new game, are there good reasons to add more countries to your world? For instance, if you're playing as Liverpool, is just featuring England good enough? Or should you still add some other countries like Germany and Spain? I'm figuring there isn't much benefit unless you'd like to see results from their leagues and populate the world with more players.

 
Also, some national teams simply aren't playable? I've noticed that the list of coachable national teams seems to depend upon the initial countries you select for your world.

 
I've fooled around a bit, but I still don't really understand the tradeoffs to that initial nation selection.

 

[Bosoxen]

Begging for money probably. Though it depends what he set as a goal and philosophy at the beginning of the year.
If he said the goal was winning the league, and he was 6th he might get canned (unlikely), or if he said the philosophy was one thing and did the opposite.
Likely it was repeatedly begging for money when told no.

That was it. I didn't know when the funds would become available. Didn't realize it would take like a week for the transfer to finalize even after the terms were agreed upon. Just one of those learning curve things. That mistake won't happen again.

 

[swiftaw]

When you're setting up a new game, are there good reasons to add more countries to your world? For instance, if you're playing as Liverpool, is just featuring England good enough? Or should you still add some other countries like Germany and Spain? I'm figuring there isn't much benefit unless you'd like to see results from their leagues and populate the world with more players.

 
Also, some national teams simply aren't playable? I've noticed that the list of coachable national teams seems to depend upon the initial countries you select for your world.

 
I've fooled around a bit, but I still don't really understand the tradeoffs to that initial nation selection.

I may be wrong, but if you don't load in a particular league you don't get any players from that league.  So, for example, if you are Liverpool and want to sign Sanchez, you need Spain to be loaded.  Obviously making all these leagues available slows down the game, so there is a middle ground called "View-Only" in which the league is simulated but you can't manage a team there. 

 

[Seven Costanza]

Perennial FM Seven Costanza transfer target Dusan Tadic is currently undergoing a medical IRL at Southampton.  Le Sigh.

 

[soxfan121]

 
He is playing with Liverpool in his first season, so I'd imagine at the very least 80% of the transfer fee will be made available to him after the deal goes through.

 
Not necessarily. Liverpool's debt obligation in FM14 will prevent ANY transfer funds being made available after the initial amount allocated. Player sales - even when the transfer % is showing something different - seem to end up as $0 in January. 
 
Weird, because that's the only EPL team I've had that issue with but I've had it several times so it's definitely a "thing" and anyone asking Tom Werner for more money more than once gets canned. 
 

When you're setting up a new game, are there good reasons to add more countries to your world? For instance, if you're playing as Liverpool, is just featuring England good enough? Or should you still add some other countries like Germany and Spain? I'm figuring there isn't much benefit unless you'd like to see results from their leagues and populate the world with more players.

 
Also, some national teams simply aren't playable? I've noticed that the list of coachable national teams seems to depend upon the initial countries you select for your world.

 
I've fooled around a bit, but I still don't really understand the tradeoffs to that initial nation selection.

 
You hit the reason - I bolded it above. Choosing to include (for instance) Brazil, adds ~10K players to the database. This can help you in future years as new prospects continue to be generated in those "playable" leagues that you can eventually transfer in, if desired. 
 
And yeah, the Germany national team has never been playable and I never bothered to figure out why. 

 

[DLew On Roids]

Hey, if I wanted to play with Die Mannschaft, I'd be on Pornhub.

 

[LogansDad]

 
You hit the reason - I bolded it above. Choosing to include (for instance) Brazil, adds ~10K players to the database. This can help you in future years as new prospects continue to be generated in those "playable" leagues that you can eventually transfer in, if desired.

 
How does the "View Only" setting effect this?  Will players still be generated and transferable?

 

[soxfan121]

 
How does the "View Only" setting effect this?  Will players still be generated and transferable?

 
Not as many. Bigger database means slower processing, however. You do not want to add every league as playable and get the "game speed" rating down to half-star. I did that once...ONCE.
 
The difference I've noted is that the playable leagues each tend to unearth 3-5 potential superstars every year when new prospects are generated. I once played out ten seasons as the manager of Arsenal (in FM11), with the USA as a "playable" league and had, by the end of that, three or four world-class American prospects in my developmental pipeline due to the scouting efforts of Daniel Karbassyion. 
 
On that note, don't skimp on hiring staff. Especially if you are playing for the long haul. Good coaches help players develop closer to their potential. They help keep good players good, longer (especially fitness coaches). Good scouts (and good scouting diversity among the various leagues) help. But if you don't have the USA as a "playable" league, sending a scout there will not really help. Ditto Africa..which means far less African players, which leads to poorer national team squads in long haul games. 
 
Basically, as complicated as you THINK this game is now...you new players haven't even gotten to the really complicated (and awesome) depth this game goes to yet. 

 

[TheWinkleman]

 
You do not want to add every league as playable and get the "game speed" rating down to half-star. I did that once...ONCE.

 
Thanks for all the info. What have you found to be a good balance in regards to the above (for a longer campaign)? Which countries do you recommend including?

 

[wibi]

Hey, if I wanted to play with Die Mannschaft, I'd be on Pornhub.

 

[mgoblue2]

Anybody won anything yet? Chelsea knocked me out (Everton) in the Capital One Milk Littlewoods Carling Cup quarter final.

 

[DJnVa]

Okay, eff this game.
 
I have my Portland Timbers primed for a big game against the first place Galaxy--everyone is healthy, I'm on a 4 game unbeaten streak, my formation is gelling, I'm scoring goals, Landon Donovan and Omar Gonzalez are on international duty--and I'm up 3-2 in the 88th minute when they grab an equalizer. Fuck. My morale takes a hit.
 
A few days later I draw the Long Island Rough Riders in a US Open Cup game--my odds are 1-10 to win. Yes, 1-10. I do win. In a freaking penalty shootout. After 7 shooters. Uh oh. Team unraveling? Next game, the under .500 Montreal Impact at home. It's never close as I lose 3-1. Then another US Open Cup matchup against the Michigan Bucks. My odds to win? 1-30. That's right folks, bet $30 to win $1. If you had bet that, you would have lost $30.
 
And now second place Seattle is waiting. I may get fired.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

I got in on the iPad version. After a few false starts, decided the way to go is start unemployed.

Wound up taking Eastleigh to the top of Skrill North in my first season. Slightly less impressive when I found out it happened in real life, but I'll take it!

Then I looked up what the hell Skrill North is, which led to looking up the full English Football Pyramid, which led to my brain melting and now I truly understand that Mitchell & Webb football commercial sketch.

 

[rembrat]

Okay, eff this game.
 
I have my Portland Timbers primed for a big game against the first place Galaxy--everyone is healthy, I'm on a 4 game unbeaten streak, my formation is gelling, I'm scoring goals, Landon Donovan and Omar Gonzalez are on international duty--and I'm up 3-2 in the 88th minute when they grab an equalizer. Fuck. My morale takes a hit.
 
A few days later I draw the Long Island Rough Riders in a US Open Cup game--my odds are 1-10 to win. Yes, 1-10. I do win. In a freaking penalty shootout. After 7 shooters. Uh oh. Team unraveling? Next game, the under .500 Montreal Impact at home. It's never close as I lose 3-1. Then another US Open Cup matchup against the Michigan Bucks. My odds to win? 1-30. That's right folks, bet $30 to win $1. If you had bet that, you would have lost $30.
 
And now second place Seattle is waiting. I may get fired.

 
This is what I love reading about w/r/t simulation games. Your tears bring me great joy.

 

[soxfan121]

 
Thanks for all the info. What have you found to be a good balance in regards to the above (for a longer campaign)? Which countries do you recommend including?

 
Depends on what length of game you want to play. Remember, you can add leagues to your existing game, so if you start out (for example) in the Skrill North, get promoted, win league two a few seasons later, get promoted, etc. then you can add a league later. 
 
If I'm starting at a "big club", I usually add France, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Holland as "playable" (down to the their second divisions), along with a large database, ending up with around ~50K players. This helps keep the game balanced in later years because all those top league clubs then have access to up & coming prospects and can remain very competitive through a 20-year sim.
 
But if you're just gonna play England, just play England. You won't get as many exciting international prospects but the player pool will be large enough to keep it competitive for ~15 seasons. (never gone past that...may continue...who knows...spent way too much time with this game)
 

Okay, eff this game.
 
I have my Portland Timbers primed for a big game against the first place Galaxy--everyone is healthy, I'm on a 4 game unbeaten streak, my formation is gelling, I'm scoring goals, Landon Donovan and Omar Gonzalez are on international duty--and I'm up 3-2 in the 88th minute when they grab an equalizer. Fuck. My morale takes a hit.

 
THIS is why the game is so playable for so long. Because it does have a FU mode and it is vindictive and evil while using it on you. 
 
Good luck, sounds like the Sounders have a problem.

 

[DJnVa]

The problem is me
 
They just blew a 4-2 lead against 10 man Seattle, giving up 3 goals and requiring my team to score at the death to grab a draw.
 
I do have teams calling now for my striker--offers into 7 digits.

 

[Phil Plantier]

If I'm starting at a "big club", I usually add France, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Holland as "playable" (down to the their second divisions), along with a large database, ending up with around ~50K players. This helps keep the game balanced in later years because all those top league clubs then have access to up & coming prospects and can remain very competitive through a 20-year sim.
 
But if you're just gonna play England, just play England. You won't get as many exciting international prospects but the player pool will be large enough to keep it competitive for ~15 seasons. (never gone past that...may continue...who knows...spent way too much time with this game)

 
This is just my experience, but no matter where I start I like to add other good leagues in the region. For example, if I'm starting in Romania I'll add Turkey and Ukraine (or, if I'm in the US, I'll add Mexico), for the reason soxfan121 cited above. If I'm close to the Premier League, I'll add Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, for the same game balance issues
 
If I'm starting in a lower league in England, I add Wales and Scotland (and sometimes Ireland and N Ireland). Otherwise I've found I get players from around the world playing in the Skrill North, which seems unlikely.
 
But I like having the game move at a crawl (gives me time to get other things done), so your patience level may vary.

 

[DJnVa]

Now, even if leagues aren't added, you can still scout those areas right? I didn't load Australia but I had a scout there and signed my starting LB from down under.
 
So, what's the blindingly obvious thing I'm missing that I would get if I loaded a league as opposed to scouting that area. Transfers in and out? Offers to buy my players?

 

[soxfan121]

Now, even if leagues aren't added, you can still scout those areas right? I didn't load Australia but I had a scout there and signed my starting LB from down under.
 
So, what's the blindingly obvious thing I'm missing that I would get if I loaded a league as opposed to scouting that area. Transfers in and out? Offers to buy my players?

 
Did said LB play for the Socceroos (the national team)? Almost all national team players are part of the "default" player pool, especially when you start the game as a NT coach (which you did, correct?). Don't assume that same player will be available if you start a new game as a Ligue 2 coach in France.
 
Having the league/nation as "playable" simply makes more players available. If you load up just England and then send a scout to Africa, you will only get scout reports on guys like Yaya Toure - known players. You will never find a 16 year old African wonderkid without having loaded those nations/leagues to the game. Which is why I suggest adding the "big" leagues because they will auto-generate new players from traditional scouting areas (France will have a TON of dual-national eligible africans, for example). 
 
And yes, more transfer activity/offers result with more leagues/nations. But as Phil Plantier points out...that can make things more complex and SLOW. 
 
For example, I started a new game around the start of the world cup. It is a very deep setup (all the big nations, plus a bunch of associated territories (added Scotland & Ireland, etc. because I'm playing as Southampton/England NT). I usually get in an half-hour of play a day, on average. And I haven't yet played a match - friendly or competitive. I think 26 "game days" have passed (I started in Germany, which is June 22 IIRC, not July 1 like an England start) and I have: 
- Set up three tactical formations with team and individual player instructions, set pieces, etc.
- Fired the entire existing coaching staff and hired an entirely new group
- Same with the scouts; set the new staff to scout every player in every playable league, then culled through the thousands of "half-star" guys to find the few hidden gems and added those to my shortlist
- Cancelled the pre-loaded friendlies and scheduled new ones with more challenging competition
- Sold everyone over the age of 25 who isn't a first team contributor or a primary depth option
- Found a loan destination (as a Key Player or First Team Regular) for every prospect over the age of 17
- Set up individual player training and set new "position" training for some guys (example: Callum Chambers and Nathaniel Clyne learning to play LB in an emergency)
- Found mentors for almost all the guys who can have a mentor (Cody Cropper learns from Kelvin Davis)
- Talked to the board about upgrading facilities/staffing/etc. NEVER give the board an ultimatum, or you will be fired. 
- Did the SAME for the England NT as above (explaining why I scouted every player in the EPL, L1 & L2 when it is not strictly necessary)
- Told ManU to fuck off with their inquiries about Luke Shaw about 45 times
 
And that's not everything that CAN be done. But...you can see...the rabbit hole.........it goes VERY deep.

 

[DJnVa]

 
Did said LB play for the Socceroos (the national team)? Almost all national team players are part of the "default" player pool, especially when you start the game as a NT coach (which you did, correct?). Don't assume that same player will be available if you start a new game as a Ligue 2 coach in France.
 
Having the league/nation as "playable" simply makes more players available. If you load up just England and then send a scout to Africa, you will only get scout reports on guys like Yaya Toure - known players. You will never find a 16 year old African wonderkid without having loaded those nations/leagues to the game. Which is why I suggest adding the "big" leagues because they will auto-generate new players from traditional scouting areas (France will have a TON of dual-national eligible africans, for example). 
 
 

 
I'll have to check. Perhaps he was on a national team somewhere along the way. Just trying to tweak things is fun...you can add a league as playable, scout it, get some wonderkid, then remove the league, right?
 
EDIT: He played two games for Malta--one in a friendly and as a sub in a 2010 WC qualifier--Manny Muscat.

 

[Cellar-Door]

Any Wigan fans know is Dave Whelan is awful in real life too, because he manages to be both cheap and stupid in FM.
I took Wigan up to the premier league, and I am about to have a mid-table finish in my first year there.
I'm getting interest from other clubs since my contract is expiring.
He proceeds to offer me a contract at LESS than what I am making now, which is by far the lowest in the EPL already.

 

[veritas]

It's 2027 and I've taken a 3rd division German team to the Bundesliga, but have been hovering in the 3rd-6th place area for the past six years. I finished 1st in 2023 when I ignored Europa and the German cup and had some great luck with injuries, but finished 6th the next year when I couldn't afford enough depth to win Bundesliga games while going all out in the Champions League. It's nearly impossible to topple Munich and Dortmund as Bundesliga powers. I'm stuck fighting with Schalke and Leverkusen every season for the Champions League. But it's a fun battle.
 
FM 2014 is much much better to adapting to your tactics given enough time. There's some serious machine learning going on here and IMO, it makes the game much more enjoyable. In previous years I always thought it was too easy to find a tactical system, find players to fit it, and sort of put it on autopilot. Unless you're a huge market team, you need to be better at finding valuable players for cheap and finding ways to take advantage of them.
 
The most infuriating part of this career is watching Erik Lamela win multiple Ballon d'Ors leading Spurs to multiple EPL titles and a CL victory.

 

[veritas]

It's 2027

 
THIS is why I warned everyone earlier in this thread.

 

[DJnVa]

My 0-5-2 spell has doomed my outside shot at the playoffs. I should still finish with more points than the squad had last season, so that's a bit of progress, and after learning the myriad of transfers rules in MLS and bringing in better scouting and coaches, I'm sure next season will be fruitful.
 
If not, I'll be coaching in the Skrill South.

 

[Cellar-Door]

My 0-5-2 spell has doomed my outside shot at the playoffs. I should still finish with more points than the squad had last season, so that's a bit of progress, and after learning the myriad of transfers rules in MLS and bringing in better scouting and coaches, I'm sure next season will be fruitful.
 
If not, I'll be coaching in the Skrill South.

I never play MLS, does it accurately make up new rules on the fly every year so that the salary cap is a joke rather than an actual cap?

 

[Bailey10]

Never played FM but I'm wondering if someone can give pros and cons of it vs the manager mode in FIFA.
 
I understand it's much more in-depth and technical than FIFA, which ultimately comes down to how well you play.
 
Also, what is the normal length of a game in FM? Or perhaps a more fitting question is how many games can you play in an hour taking into account lineup tinkering, the transfer market, etc? I feel one of the main perks of FM would be the ability to finish a season quicker than in FIFA. 

 

[wibi]

Never played FM but I'm wondering if someone can give pros and cons of it vs the manager mode in FIFA.
 
I understand it's much more in-depth and technical than FIFA, which ultimately comes down to how well you play.
 
Also, what is the normal length of a game in FM? Or perhaps a more fitting question is how many games can you play in an hour taking into account lineup tinkering, the transfer market, etc? I feel one of the main perks of FM would be the ability to finish a season quicker than in FIFA. 

 
Having played a ton of both recently I can say both games fit specific gaming needs I want.  FM allows me to focus more on finding the best diamonds in the rough and building a team around them.  FIFA is a shallower system but allows me much more fun playing with the prospects I find.  My ability to play well matters in FIFA which means I can focus less on finding those diamonds (or more time letting my scouts search for players.)
 
FM allows me to get faster through a season than FIFA but I get immense satisfaction out of playing either game

 

[Zomp]

Yeah that was always the reason why I never played FM.  You just aren't playing the games.  I dunno...I take satisfaction in beating an opponent in a sports video game.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Yeah that was always the reason why I never played FM.  You just aren't playing the games.  I dunno...I take satisfaction in beating an opponent in a sports video game.

 
There's an appeal to both, but watching the games from a manager's perspective and being able only to tinker with the formation, sub, and tactics and hope that your players can execute is in many ways more intense than when you are in direct control of the players as in FIFA.  Playing FM has made me fully understand the Miguel Herrera types out there.

 

[mascho]

 
There's an appeal to both, but watching the games from a manager's perspective and being able only to tinker with the formation, sub, and tactics and hope that your players can execute is in many ways more intense than when you are in direct control of the players as in FIFA.  Playing FM has made me fully understand the Miguel Herrera types out there.

I pulled a Herrera the other night. Playing with QPR and we were in a big match, trying to earn promotion. We gave up an early goal and clawed one back in the 85th minute. I was going to be happy with a draw and instructed the men to slow things down. A CB played a very long back pass to my keeper, one Julio Cesar.

Julio watched it roll past him into the net.

I leapt off the couch and screamed into a pillow (to avoid waking up the kids).

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

And how long a game takes is your choice. You can watch the whole 90 minutes game if you want or have the game simulated automatically, with a lot of options in between.

 

[Snakebauer007]

How is the online? I know I can compete against my friends, but can you co-op one club in anyway?

 

[DLew On Roids]

I've been playing with Halifax Town in the Conference for my first game and it's incredibly frustrating how the mistakes I made in the first transfer window are just killing me.  I have to park the bus, playing 4-1-4-1 with 10 men behind the ball, to avoid getting killed away from home.  I have four-star transfers I brought in who aren't getting any playing time because they're attackers, while my left side is made up of 1.5-star schlubs.  My wage bill is way too high and I blew August and September tinkering with tactics while losing 4-0 or 5-0.  It's a miracle that I'm 16th.
 
Meanwhile, I'm totally hooked.  I know what my plan is for the January transfer window (shrink the squad, bring in free transfers on short-term deals, see if I can make a run at the playoffs, blood the kids if I can't).  I have a newfound appreciation for Jose's tactics, to the point where I'm thinking of buying a white puffy vest.  And I've pledged not to bring in any more 19-YOs on loan from Conference South.

 

[soxfan121]

Eh, I went looking for a white puffy vest and found this gem instead: 

 

[DJnVa]

It's interesting how, as you play on, real-world players begin to differ from what's actually happening. In my game world, I'm in 2016, and Yedlin just went on loan to the Carolina RailHawks and Lamela has led the PL in assists the last 3 seasons.
 
With my team, because of some injuries, I had to play some crazy formations, and I found one that worked perfectly--3 CDs across the back, a CWB out on either side a bit higher up, with a DM in the middle, two CMs, an AM, and a striker. I threw that out for 2 games where I had few options and it worked wonders--I even beat Seattle on the road. The problem is, my team only has 2 guys that can play the higher up CWB slot. And one just got hurt.
 
I also brought in 2 pretty good DMs in the offseason (Perry Kitchen and Yeltsin Tejada) and had another good one coming back--and now I'm wasting some of that talent since they don't fit the formation that's actually working--only 1 can play at a time. And then, this being 2016, I just lost 4 internationals to the Olympics.

 

[soxfan121]

It's interesting how, as you play on, real-world players begin to differ from what's actually happening. In my game world, I'm in 2016, and Yedlin just went on loan to the Carolina RailHawks and Lamela has led the PL in assists the last 3 seasons.

 
Yeah, this is one factor that may limit replay-ability for some. The development is extremely predictable, so a guy who is good and getting better in your first game does the same thing when you start a new game. Then it becomes about discipline not to just go for the known knowns.
 
Or, Khouma Babacar for FM11 fans. Won several Golden Balls for my clubs. FM11 thought he was gonna be a SUPERSTAR.