I'm back liking FM. I think they've done a good job with FM21. I like where they've gone with player interactions and how you actually have something of a relationship with them. In the past, it could happen that players just were unhappy because of something you did and you basically couldn't do anythinng about it. Now, it still happens that they don't agree with something (like selling a player), but you can actually win them back, if you say and do the right things. I also like the interaction with your staff like the scouting stuff or how your assistant can help you deal with tactics before and during matches. One thing I don't really like is that the UI seems kind of a clusterfuck with about a million different screens that do similar stuff. You have the team screen, then you have the tactics screen and then before every game you have another differennt screenn where you can change your line-up. They should tidy that up. And another thing I find a bit confusing is the various star-ratings depending on position, but then also depending on the specific role in a position. I think they need to tidy that up a bit. Not necessarily getting rid of the detail, but maybe making it easier to judge a player without having to go to different screens and clicking around. You can see a players best position and role when you hover over that symbol next to his name, but I would like something like the team screen where you can have all your players in a list and have their best position and best role next to them. I might have missed it somehow and it's there (with filters for attributes or by personalising the screens), but it should really be available without having to look for it. It would come in really handy, if you're starting with a team you have absolutely no clue about.
Having said that, I'm in my second season with 1. FC Kaiserslautern the 3.Bundesliga. Missed promotion in my first season mainly because I had injuries to my key-players in the final weeks of the season and it all somehow fell apart. I was level with the 2nd and 3rd placed teams with ten matches or so to go, but after that we just didn't get enough points and even got destroyed 6-1 in one match. The start to my second season went quite well, but I kind of messed up with transfers a bit. The 3. Bundesliga has a rule that you need 4 homegrown under 23 players in your match day squad. If you don't the number of places on your bench is reduced. So, if you have only 2 of those players, you have to leave two places on your bench empty. I completely missed that when I prepared for the new season. I got some new players, who are the right age, but they aren't homegrown. One is French and the othere is from Liechtenstein (I'm not even sure he'd be classed as under 23). Add to that, that some of my regular players who were under 23 the season before have gotten too old for that now. So, I basically just have my backup keeper who's still u23 and homegrown. I got two u23 players from the reserves and signed another two who were out of contract. That way I can have my full bench, even if they're onle half-decent. Sadly, it also means I have to leave quite a few players out of my match day squad who used to be there the season before. I'm still looking for some decent u23 players and will probably be selling some more of the older ones, but so far I'm okay fine with my squad. I hope I can get promoted this season...
