Football Manager 2012

[Soda Jerk]

The only time I go on holiday is for that empty gap between the end of the season and the players returning for pre-season training. Oh, and now I'm in the German league, I go on holiday in the winter break, because it takes fucking ages, and nothing at all happens, though it's still generating fixtures/results and transfer news, so it really drags. if I sit through it, I have to manually reject each transfer offer, where as the holiday allows me to just auto-reject everything. I'm not selling anybody. I'm not a selling club. I'm building an empire. Bayern Munich seem to think "Not for sale. Indispensable to the club" means "Hassle the fuck out of Wehen Weisbaden until they flog the player just to shut us the fuck up". They are the Barcelona of Bavaria.

I keep slagging off their manager to the press. It's just a shame there's no "Have a Kevin Keegan breakdown" option when talking to the press. I need to unleash the fury! The Big Bastard Fury.

Adam, when you say you watch the match to pick out flaws in your tactics. what exactly is it you look for? My assistant manager usually gabbles on about how we're making a shite job of keeping the ball, but despite changing from short to direct, or vice versa, I never seem to be able to correct it.

[Moose]

Retaining possession has a lot to do with the formation, the players, the tempo, where your directing your play and then whether your playing a direct or short game. I find a fast tempo with a narrower formation are my go to-s if I'm struggling for possession. Oh, and less "risky" passes.

[Soda Jerk]

So, I assume packing the middle with a 3 man central midfield will help get the ball back? I usually just switch to a short game, and use the "retain possession" and "pass to feet" shouts. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it is inffective. I'll try reducing the width like you do.

I feel a bit daft telling my team to "retain possession". It feels as if I'm stopping them from booting the ball out of the stands and into the car park.

[Adam Easy Wishes]

The games can take ten minutes at a time on extended, plus or minus five minutes or so for speed variations. This is far too long!

Also my habit of replaying over and over is something that's, uh, very difficult to get out of, as it were. If there was a quicker way to play the games I would do that. I can't stomach the thought of watching a fake 90 minute football game, gads.

That and the whole "being pumped dry" thing. Last time I watched a game it was against Dinamo Zagreb, a shit team who pumped my world-class Chelsea side 5-0. No thanks.

Are you aware it sounds like you're not actually playing Football Manager at all? You're like a Director of Football. FOOTBALL DIRECTOR 2012

[FOX]

It doesn't take 90 minutes though!!! It takes about 10 minutes with the extended highlights. Maybe 15 with subs and tactical changes.

Yeah, I've done that before. I just suck at it. And I much prefer dealing with the signings, the training and the scouting etc than the matches. That's just how I roll.

[FOX]

Are you aware it sounds like you're not actually playing Football Manager at all? You're like a Director of Football. FOOTBALL DIRECTOR 2012

To each their own Adam, to each their own. Watching a bunch of dots miss a load of headers just makes me a sad man.

[Adam Easy Wishes]

Adam, when you say you watch the match to pick out flaws in your tactics. what exactly is it you look for? My assistant manager usually gabbles on about how we're making a shite job of keeping the ball, but despite changing from short to direct, or vice versa, I never seem to be able to correct it.

More to do with fluidity than anything else. The player mentality plays a huge role in plugging 'gaps' and making space. Basically if you have a player who dwells on the ball for seemingly ages because there's no pass on then there's a probly with the overall fluidity of your formation. It's more when I'm trying out new systems that I do this. A very simple example is if you're playing a 4-4-2 and your two central midfielders are set to a defensive role, and both your strikers are set to attacking roles there is clearly going to be a massive gap between your midfield and attack.

[FOX]

By the by: TORNADO

[Flights]

Best haircut ever

[FOX]

Best haircut ever

I know right?! It looks like he's BEEN IN A TORNADO. What a dude.

[Flights]

He looks like a black Einstien! Is his name just Tornado?

[FOX]

He looks like a black Einstien! Is his name just Tornado?

His name is actually "Dmitri Granzotto" which is pretty lame for a Brazilian, so I guess he just decided to go with TORNADO.

There's another regen called "Tornado" too, also Brazilian, but with dreads.

[Flights]

He sounds like the love child of the Russian and Sicilian Mafia's!

[Soda Jerk]

Basically if you have a player who dwells on the ball for seemingly ages because there's no pass on then there's a probly with the overall fluidity of your formation.

That's pretty much my major problem. I have ball-dwellers who pivot and pivot and then end up on their arse after their midfielder pokes the ball away from his feet. Is there a way to stop midfielders pottering about whilst trying to make a decision, and usually getting tackled? I think that is pretty much going to be why I'll someday have to explain to a PC repair shop why my laptop has a fist shaped hole in it.

"Well, he wouldn't fucking pass it, would he?"

[The Milner]

PIVOT!!! PIVOT!!!!!!!!

[Moose]

That's pretty much my major problem. I have ball-dwellers who pivot and pivot and then end up on their arse after their midfielder pokes the ball away from his feet. Is there a way to stop midfielders pottering about whilst trying to make a decision, and usually getting tackled? I think that is pretty much going to be why I'll someday have to explain to a PC repair shop why my laptop has a fist shaped hole in it.

"Well, he wouldn't fucking pass it, would he?"

Look, my main advice to anyone is to get David Dunn in your team and get him to play long balls from deep, Charlie Adam style. Set him as your playmaker, put his passing up to "long" and give him all the creative freedom you can. Goals I tell you.

[FOX]

That's pretty much my major problem. I have ball-dwellers who pivot and pivot and then end up on their arse after their midfielder pokes the ball away from his feet. Is there a way to stop midfielders pottering about whilst trying to make a decision, and usually getting tackled? I think that is pretty much going to be why I'll someday have to explain to a PC repair shop why my laptop has a fist shaped hole in it.

"Well, he wouldn't fucking pass it, would he?"

This is my idiot head speaking but it might have something to do with the player's creativity or flair stats, etc? maybe.

[Eupraxia]

This is my idiot head speaking but it might have something to do with the player's creativity or flair stats, etc? maybe.

Possibly more the individual player instructions (ie. through balls, run with ball, and forward runs); I find that if I instruct a player to regularly make forward runs and run with the ball often, they do less dwelling and tend to take the ball forward - and if they have reasonable anticipation and decisions ratings, their little runs tend to be more successful and result in an eventual cross, through ball, or the pivotal move in an attacking sequence, mainly because they worked out where the danger areas were and avoided them. That said, it also means they'll look to make forward runs all the time (unless you set the instruction to 'mixed', but this seems to affect the number of little runs too negatively to be beneficial), which may not be what you're after from a full-back in an away fixture against a stronger opponent focusing their play down the flanks, as it could potentially leave huge gaps behind your defence when you lose possession of the ball, as your centre-backs will be playing opposing wingers onside. This could be combated by setting up your centre-backs to play a high line and play the offside trap, but you need clever and pacey centre-backs to pull that off, and they are fucking rare.

But a player dwelling a little on the ball and just spinning round on the spot can also be the result of the individual instructions of team-mates around him - perhaps they're not set to make any forward runs, and your opposing manager is tight marking your players, therefore denying a possible pass as your players won't be moving into positions to receive the ball. The off the ball ratings of team-mates is also a factor in this, I think, as players with a naturally high off the ball rating often seem to move for the ball regardless, especially when combined with good teamwork.

I also feel the overall tempo of your tactic will affect this, as a quicker tempo will dictate that players will look to release the ball more quickly, and a slower one will result in them possibly holding on to the ball a little longer and therefore dwelling slightly, as they take their time to make a decision. So many factors can affect the smallest thing, it seems.

I have wasted many, many hours trying to find tactical patterns and trends, but I still sometimes think they're rarely definitive. The most successful pattern and trend I have gleaned is that if you just get a team of fucking ace players, you win shitloads.

Fucking hell, I love Football Manager.

[soundian]

This is my current game. I'm using FM09 and I've been playing this one off-and-on for about a year now.

Dorchester Town

08-09 BSS 13th (I think I took over just at the end of the season, started unemployed and sunday footballer)

09-10 BSS 13th

10-11 BSS 7th

11-12 BSS 1st

12-13 BSP 4th

13-14 BSP 1st

14-15 L2 16th

15-16 L2 10th

16-17 L2 12th

17-18 L2 8th

18-19 L2 2nd

19-20 L1 4th (play-off winners)

20-21 CCC 19th

21-22 CCC 14th

22-23 CCC 16th

Time for a period of reconstruction as a lot of my players wan to to go to bigger clubs and their morale is affecting the others. I got my wage budget cut again this season so hopefully the new stadium coming online will sort out the finances for next season. Still got £4 mill in the bank so I'm not "penniless" as the game keeps calling me.

Cool fact: My total transfer spend this game is still £0.

[davidm]

I just won the Conference with Rushden and Diamonds on my third attempt on FM10. Came 2nd in the first two seasons and lost in the play-off final both times. This time, though, no fucking about, won the league with two games to spare and 100 points. Now to get relegated from League 2 on the first attempt. My eyes hurt.

[delboy]

lost the league cup final to Birmingham who've now won the competition three times on the bounce, oh well won't lose any sleep over that! Sitting in 4th with ten games to go, champs league qualification looking good again. Still in the competition, got a handy 2-0 lead from the first leg away at Shaktar!

[FOX]

lost the league cup final to Birmingham who've now won the competition three times on the bounce, oh well won't lose any sleep over that! Sitting in 4th with ten games to go, champs league qualification looking good again. Still in the competition, got a handy 2-0 lead from the first leg away at Shaktar!

I think you must be the best person ever to play Football Manager.

[Soda Jerk]

And the fastest.

[Lemonade]

I

I felt like it too. If Ashley Young had walked into my living room during that Crystal Palace game I may have punched him in the face. Thankfully RVP has found his shooting boots again. 5 games into the season he had an average rating of 5.94 and he hadn't scored a goal so I stuck him in the reserves for a few matches, I was on a run of 2 losses two draws and he came off the bench against Sunderland at half time (to replace Wellington Silva, who's getting sold to fucking Bolton, the useless cunt) and scored twice and I won 2-0. Now I have to stop playing because I'm flying to Scotland for 5 days. 5 days in which I'll be thinking about the North London derby waiting for me when I get back.

Finally after my absolutely shit start to the season (including that game against Crystal fucking Palace) I think I've turned the corner. Tweaked a couple of things and knocked the absolute fuck out of Stoke City away from home. Watch out Man United and Juande Ramos, you paella-munching Spanish cunt. I'm coming to get my title back.

[Moose]

So I finally got this! Started my obligatory first season with Blackburn and just finished a very successful pre season. Other than a couple of loans, I've only sold 1 player (Jason Roberts to Southampton for a tidy £1m). I've brought in Mahmadou Diarra and James McFadden on frees; spent £3m on wonderkid Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre; got Katlego Mphela from Sundowns for a measely £300k; signed Portugese wonderkid Tobias Figuerido from Sporting CP for £450k. I need to bring in a utility fullback somehow, as I'm short on RB and LB and Michel Salgado is shite. Don't know how I'll manage though as I only started with £500k transfer budget and had to beg for more money to sign Sanogo.

I've been playing a high 4-2-3-1 formation with a really direct and structured approach. After drawing with my reserve team 0-0, I went on to beat Fiorentina 5-4, CSKA Moscow 2-0, Athletico Madrid 5-0, Birmingham 3-0 and Wrexham 9-0. Confidence is extremely high with the first league game away to Swansea around the corner. Looking for a top half finish with a sniff of Europa League. Chris Samba is just ridiculous. I played him up front on his own against CSKA and he got both of the goals. Pedersen, Yakubu, N'Zonzi, Hoillet, Robinson, Nelsen and Dunn are all stupidly good too (unlike in the real world). Goodwillie scored 5 against Wrexham too, but that's well easy.

I sacked all my scouts and assistant manager too. I got Tino Asprilla as a scout!!! He's actually really good.