Topic: Football Manager 2017

[JerseyKloppite]

Yeah I will leave Leyton Orient regardless whether I go up or remain in the league. The board only wanted to consolidate in League 1 I think so a play off should give me some rep. Hoping to pick up lower prem or even relegated prem side or a half decent Championship side. Though I will go anywhere in the world. I have not managed in MLS before on FM, or Argentina league (which looks mental about 40 teams!) or few others. But I think once I get a bit of cred in Europe though jobs shouldn't be too tricky to pick up. Anyway, I will play a bit and update at a later date.

Blackburn at home in FA Cup in 5th round by the way. Winnable!

Foreign leagues can be bizarre sometimes in terms of who they offer jobs too. Have failed to get jobs in the MLS before and Brazilian league despite winning trophies in England/Europe.

MLS is a lot of fun I think, a very different challenge.

[Upinsmoke]

Managed to keep Accrington up! 

Just about to start a new season, got Hart, Philips and Lloyd Jones on loan from Liverpool and a few younger lads on free's. Be happy just to get mid table.

[paddysour]

Frustrating number of draws in there!

Started a new save last week, unemployed Sunday League footballer experience.

Got my first job at Forest Green, and managed to get them promoted through the Play-Offs to league 2. Consolidated it the following year but the club were being ridiculous with money (they wouldn't let me bring in an assistant manager or do any coaching badges) and I foresaw years of frustrating and stagnation. Resigned in third season and later that season went to Rochdale who I managed to steer to 2nd in League Two and promotion. Fantastic start to life in League One, on course for a play-off place until the final third of the season when the wheels came off spectacularly and I finished 19th.

Poor start to the following season and I started looking elsewhere again. To my surprise I got two good job offers, one with Huddersfield and the other with Swansea. Decided to try saves with both. Took Huddersfield to the playoffs where I lost, unbelievably, to Swansea Squad was quite thin and there wasn't really any budget to improve it so I paused there and gave the Swansea save a whirl. Won the Championship on the last day over Sunderland with Fabio Borini one of the stars, so think I'll persist with this save!

I'm quite surprised how quickly you can progress from an unheard of manager in non-league football to the Premier League. My first season in the top flight will be my 7th in the game overall.

I did the same thing almost. I started out at Ebbsfleet and was 25 points clear at the top of the table come February when Carlisle in League Two (2 leagues above) came in for me to save them from relegation. Took the job and finished mid table in my first season.

Second season I took Carlisle up via the playoffs to League One and then won it outright to go into the Championship.

Season 4 I lost in the playoff final    I knew I couldn't take them any further so applied for the Newcastle job who were a fellow Championship club. They turned me down and hired Reading's manager (who had just been promoted to the Prem). So I went to Reading instead

Spent 2 years there before jumping ship to Southampon, and now I'm 4 years in having made them a solid EL side. Making the final step up has been the most difficult thing so far, I apply to every CL club but no one wants to know

[JoeCole]

Has anybody ever successfully managed to take the same tactic from one season into the next? I've tried a few times and it never seems to work, teams have always sussed it out, but I've created two tactics in the 2nd half of my current season that have worked almost perfectly and I'm really reluctant not to continue with them (just about to finish the season).

[Upinsmoke]

The only way I seem to do okay on this fucking game is playing counter attacking football, I create quite a lot, don't score much but create lots. If I even attempt to play slightly attacking controlled football I create absolutely fuck all, the ME is a mess

[paddysour]

Has anybody ever successfully managed to take the same tactic from one season into the next? I've tried a few times and it never seems to work, teams have always sussed it out, but I've created two tactics in the 2nd half of my current season that have worked almost perfectly and I'm really reluctant not to continue with them (just about to finish the season).

The tactics are bonkers this year. I changed tactic mid season with Southampton as I was struggling - 13 wins out of 15, along with 1 draw and a loss. I then won just 4 more the rest of the season - no changes to the tactic or line up. How can that be possible?

[XabiArt]

The computer is against you. The opposition managers have attributes and if you keep the same tactic every game it will work out how to defend it and exploit your weaknesses. If you want a game to buy the best players, put them in a line up and press continue, then fm isn't for you.

[sminp]

I've used the same tactic for 5 seasons for my Liverpool side, I have 3 variations of it depending on whether I'm home, away or a massive underdog. My record stands at:

Season 1: 2nd in league
Season 2: 4th in league, League Cup Runners-Up, Champions League Semis
Season 3: 1st in league, League Cup Winners, Champions League Semis
Season 4: 1st in league, League Cup Winners, Champions League Quarters
Season 5: 1st in league, FA Cup Winners, Champions League Quarters

If you have a good tactic and buy the right players to fit into it then you can make one tactic work for a while.

['Mondzz']

Cracking little game with Morecambe on the go.

Promoted from League 2 via the play-offs in the first season and currently in December of the 2nd season top of League 1 with a 3rd round FA Cup tie to play at Blackburn.

Enjoying managing the finances, made up when we got 70k TV money from a first round FA Cup tie at Sutton.

Loaded the Norwegian leagues up and there's a few gems to be had at the start which the teams success is probably down to, that and loaning Liverpool players. Toni Gomes, Bobby Adekanye & Jack Dunn have all been boss.

[El_Pistolero]

I've used the same tactic for 5 seasons for my Liverpool side, I have 3 variations of it depending on whether I'm home, away or a massive underdog. My record stands at:

Similar record here.

1. League, FA Cup.
2. League, FA Cup, Champs. League Final
3. League, First knock-out
4.League, Semis
5. League, FA Cup, Semis

It's about taking a tactic, developing it, tweaking it and buying players for it. The match engine is fine this year, IMO.

[Welshred]

Similar record here.

1. League, FA Cup.
2. League, FA Cup, Champs. League Final
3. League, First knock-out
4.League, Semis
5. League, FA Cup, Semis

It's about taking a tactic, developing it, tweaking it and buying players for it. The match engine is fine this year, IMO.

The match engine is fine every year, those who complain about it are the ones who can't develop a consistent tactic.

[JoeCole]

Impossible mission trying to topple Bayern. In 2023 and they have won the title every single season. Been at Dortmund for 2 and a half seasons so far and  finished 2nd twice, a 63% win percentage after 111 games and still finishing 10+ points behind them. Did manage to beat them in the German Super Cup though.

['Mondzz']

Cracking little game with Morecambe on the go.

Promoted from League 2 via the play-offs in the first season and currently in December of the 2nd season top of League 1 with a 3rd round FA Cup tie to play at Blackburn.

Enjoying managing the finances, made up when we got 70k TV money from a first round FA Cup tie at Sutton.

Loaded the Norwegian leagues up and there's a few gems to be had at the start which the teams success is probably down to, that and loaning Liverpool players. Toni Gomes, Bobby Adekanye & Jack Dunn have all been boss.

[paddysour]

Awesome, I signed Rekdal for Carlisle too! Cracking little player. He ended up retiring at 27 or so because the manager after me never used him and I guess his rep wasn't high enough for anyone else to buy him

['Mondzz']

Awesome, I signed Rekdal for Carlisle too! Cracking little player. He ended up retiring at 27 or so because the manager after me never used him and I guess his rep wasn't high enough for anyone else to buy him

Been great for me so far. Mad that he retired on yours he still has 5 star potential for me. His rep might be why I don't have too many teams coming in for him but nearly everyone is after his compatriot Felix Myhre.

[JoeCole]

Impossible mission trying to topple Bayern. In 2023 and they have won the title every single season. Been at Dortmund for 2 and a half seasons so far and  finished 2nd twice, a 63% win percentage after 111 games and still finishing 10+ points behind them. Did manage to beat them in the German Super Cup though.

Get in! Wasn't so impossible after all, beat them by 5 points after it being so tight all season long. Looked like it would be decided on goal difference for a long time.

Also managed to break the Dortmund record for points total (got 83), a record amount of league wins (25), and a record amount of consecutive wins (11). Only downside of the season was an awful appearance in the CL and then losing the EL final.

[ToneLa]

Art imitates life yet again in the FM universe

[El_Pistolero]

The match engine is fine every year, those who complain about it are the ones who can't develop a consistent tactic.

There's that too, yeah.

Do think this one's is better though, which is understandable as isn't it the third iteration of FM on this engine? And fullbacks aren't stupidly OP.

Art imitates life yet again in the FM universe

Haha, Mourinho is banter this year. Every time I play United he gets triggered to fuck and goes all-out on me.

[Upinsmoke]

Got Accrington to the playoffs but got beat on aggregate 2-1 by Notts County. Still quite pleased with the progress made. For some reason though alot of my players have decreased by half a star or more, Is this because we did better than anticipated last season and therefor these players aren't up to the requirements to get promotion? There attributes haven't decreased, if anything the opposite but my coaches are rating them lower despite being in the same league.

[Welshred]

Got Accrington to the playoffs but got beat on aggregate 2-1 by Notts County. Still quite pleased with the progress made. For some reason though alot of my players have decreased by half a star or more, Is this because we did better than anticipated last season and therefor these players aren't up to the requirements to get promotion? There attributes haven't decreased, if anything the opposite but my coaches are rating them lower despite being in the same league.

Yeh I think that's it. I've noticed in other saves as my reputation increases then the star ratings of my players decreases because you're expected to have a better team.

[El_Pistolero]

It's exactly that. Basically once the first season is done with, the star ratings are completely useless. Like a 2.5 star player for me at the moment (Ward-Prowse) is a damned fine member of the squad.

I think Woodburn was a 3-star player last season (because Origi was still at the club) and he notched like 32 goals for me.

[Garrus]

In addition to the quality of the league, it's also possible that your players' potential abilities are being re-assessed. I had a 20 year old full back in the SPL who was rated as 4 star potential. He played nearly every game that year and his rating was re-assessed at 3 star at the end of the season as he was close to hitting his ceiling.

If you have coaches with high Judging Player Ability/Potential attributes you won't see too many variations barring the ones that result from promotions/relegations.

Also, as pointed above, star ratings are very relative. More important is your coach's assessment of his suitability for the division in the report.

[Upinsmoke]

Another question on the star rating here;

Why is it when i sort a scout report of potential ability in ascending star order does it sometimes list all the four stars then halfway down list a four and a half? it's just bugs me the fuck out.

[JoeCole]

December 2025, finally got the Liverpool job.

They are 14th in the PL after 14 games, KOEMAN(!!!) had lead them to 1 win in the opening 11 games when he got sacked. I got given a £1m transfer budget but have 370k p/w wage left over so should be able to adjust that a little. Their finishes over the past 9 seasons have been:

16/17 - 6th (Klopp)
17/18 - 5th (Klopp)
18/19 - 4th (Klopp)
19/20 - 6th (Klopp - Nuno Santo) *Klopp leaves for Man City mid season
20/21 - 6th (Nuno Santo - Cesare Prandelli) *Santo leaves for PSG mid season
21/22 - 10th (Prandelli - Marco Silva)
22/23 - 6th (Marco Silva - Neil Lennon)
23/24 - 8th (Neil Lennon)
24/25 - 9th (Neil Lennon - Koeman)

Remaining players from our current squad: Karius, Matip, Can, Alexander-Arnold. That's it. Woodburn is unbelievably at LA Galaxy having been let go on a free, Ojo is at Villarreal via moves to Newcastle and Inter, Wilson's in the Championship with Derby, Brannagan at Sunderland, Kent at Cardiff, Allan back in the Brazilian league, Stewart in the PL with Forest.

So, it's all a little disappointing. Was hoping more of the youngesters had been brought through. Gonna be a huge job to turn this around but after back to back league titles, 2 German Super Cups, a CL semi, and a EL final at Dortmund, I'm feeling confident.

[Garrus]

Another question on the star rating here;

Why is it when i sort a scout report of potential ability in ascending star order does it sometimes list all the four stars then halfway down list a four and a half? it's just bugs me the fuck out.

I assume the half star is faded?

This is because of your scout's uncertainty about the player's potential. For example: if you see a player with 3 filled up stars and one faded, it means that the scout is fairly sure that he has at least 3 star potential but he could be even better.

[XabiArt]

Right I'm doing a journeyman save and I've found myself at Chelsea in 2019. Made a few signings but can't get the team really flying. Can I have some advice as to what you would do with this (really good, exciting) squad.

Courtois Begovic

Azpilicueta, Mario Fernandes rb,

Christenson, Zouma, Luiz, Huth (needed a player trained at club) cb

Gaya Ben Davies lb

Camacho, Neves, Kante, Thiago, Fabregas, Saul cm

Cuadrado Berardi Rw

Martial Coman lw

Berlotti, Abraham st


Almost embarrassed I can't get anything consistent working.

[sminp]

433 with a DM, B2B and RPM, 2 IFs and a CF

[Adam_LFC]

Started a save with Liverpool. Very realistic in that I have shitloads in the bank but no one wants to join me. Trying to find a CB, LB, and Striker. Spurs beat me to Lacazette, Chelsea beat me to Gaya at LB and no potential world class CB wants to join me. Think I am going to give it a go in the league this season, try and get into Europe and raise my reputation to persuade some good players to join.

[Upinsmoke]

The game has gone mental in regards to transfers, Julian Brandt just moved to man city for 104 million but that's not the mental bit. The mental bit was I found a kid from Portugal how was rated three and a half potential, I needed some squad depth and thought I could develop him, he was only valued at 51k so I offered 60, no that got rejected so I kept going back with offers, by the time I worked my way up to quarter of a million and offered five times his value I thought I'd call it a day but then the club he played for negotiated the offer, oh yeah they only wanted 17 million for him

Get fucked SI.

[XabiArt]

Whats so mad about that? We sold Sterling for 50 million, Martial was 60.

[paddysour]

The game has gone mental in regards to transfers, Julian Brandt just moved to man city for 104 million but that's not the mental bit. The mental bit was I found a kid from Portugal how was rated three and a half potential, I needed some squad depth and thought I could develop him, he was only valued at 51k so I offered 60, no that got rejected so I kept going back with offers, by the time I worked my way up to quarter of a million and offered five times his value I thought I'd call it a day but then the club he played for negotiated the offer, oh yeah they only wanted 17 million for him

Get fucked SI.

Seems to be a problem with Portuguese clubs this year. I get that Porto are good in the market but that's not true for all of them. If I'm offering a years turnover to some relegation candidate for a youngster they don't use they should snap my hand off

[paddysour]

Ends up with some excellent players on the free transfer list in the future as no one can sign them, and they refuse to sign a new deal

[Original]

Thought I'd start a new game, choose Liverpool, after 4 games I currently have injured

Couthino - Broken Leg
Mane - Cruciate ligament
Clyne - Cruciate ligament

4 fucking games in.

[Upinsmoke]

Whats so mad about that? We sold Sterling for 50 million, Martial was 60.

We sold sterling for what, 5 times his value?

This is a bit different.

Even if we only valued sterling at 1 million we still only sold him for 50 times his value.

This is like 333 times a players value and he's a nobody playing for a no mark club who have insecure finances.

So yeah, it's a bit mad.

[please, I have my reasons for it but...]

That's when you know that you're just playing FM

[El_Pistolero]

The game has gone mental in regards to transfers, Julian Brandt just moved to man city for 104 million but that's not the mental bit. The mental bit was I found a kid from Portugal how was rated three and a half potential, I needed some squad depth and thought I could develop him, he was only valued at 51k so I offered 60, no that got rejected so I kept going back with offers, by the time I worked my way up to quarter of a million and offered five times his value I thought I'd call it a day but then the club he played for negotiated the offer, oh yeah they only wanted 17 million for him

Get fucked SI.

It's just the games way of telling you he's not for sale. If the club doesn't need to sell, then they won't.

Started a save with Liverpool. Very realistic in that I have shitloads in the bank but no one wants to join me. Trying to find a CB, LB, and Striker. Spurs beat me to Lacazette, Chelsea beat me to Gaya at LB and no potential world class CB wants to join me. Think I am going to give it a go in the league this season, try and get into Europe and raise my reputation to persuade some good players to join.

Just play bank your money unless you see a decent buy straight away. Once you're the CL (which is entirely doable with that squad) for the second season you'll be laughing your way to the fax machine.

Think I bought Donnarumma for 17 in the summer and then Bernat for 29 in January and that's it. Reidewald too maybe? All my big business like Pulisic/Brandt/Alli/De Vrij were from the second season onwards.

[Something Worse]

I found my old CM 03/04 disc and I've been playing it religiously for a week. Me and a friend did a LAN game where he was Leeds and I was Southampton and it's been really refreshing playing such a quick season. You don't even have to bother with training!

Any of you guys ever play the old versions at all? I finished 5th and 3rd so far with Southampton.

[Hoenheim]

Well this just happened:


They proceed to score 3 goals in 4 minutes, Drinkwater scoring a 30 yard screamer with 12 long shots, and I hit the post about 5 times, but I still got a point. Suprisingly satisfying game considering I was about to punch my screen after a few minutes.

[XabiArt]

Christ. My laptop would be out the window.

[JerseyKloppite]

Managing Man City in 2029.

Best final double ever. First, FA Cup against Man U. Go two up, then they turn it round to 2-3 with some regen scoring a hat-trick, two of which were massive deflections. Then my CF who missed a peno early in the game bags a stoppage time equaliser and I go on to win 4-3 in extra time.

A week later, CL final, again versus Utd. No such trouble this time - beat them 6-0