Alright boyz, here we go! FM 2010 first impressions thread

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

One of the things I like to do when I take over a new team is do a lot of research on the town, the country, the area, and such. It makes me feel more a part of the dynasty. Do you folks do the same?

I still remember tons about Zaporizhia, home city of one of my favorite dynasties in FM of all time.

+1 All of these things just add to the immersion for me.

Also when I started playing FM I was lost when it came to where these clubs were geographically. Show me a sports schedule here in the States, college or pro, and my mind instantly knows where they play, what kind of league they are in, the quality of the competition and facilities etc. Now move me to FM and I'm managing Cambridge City vs Bath and I'm like

So I like to use these map sites of English grounds to see where my club plays along with the other clubs in my league.

English Football Grounds - CommunityWalk
Fans guide to football grounds and stadiums in England and Wales

and this list of English football clubs also has some good info and pictures

List of football clubs in England: Information from Answers.com

[JetsIn06]

Let's say I have a save right now with the top 4 English leagues and then the top league in Italy, Spain, Ireland, etc.

I'm coaching in England. If I get relegated, I drop down to the next level. But do teams in La Liga get relegated even if I don't have that next level activated?

What if I was coaching the team in La Liga that got relegated?

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by JetsIn06

What if I was coaching the team in La Liga that got relegated?

You would no longer be the manager of that team and would have to find another job if you hadn't already been fired for poor performance.

[illinifan999]

My team is selling out every match at around 29k. It says we pay rent for our stadium, and when I asked to expand they said the local commission would never allow it. Does this mean that if I keep pestering them, they'll build a new stadium, or am I looking at only have a 29k crowd every game?

[Big Fo]

Verona got crushed in the playoffs 5-1, another year of Serie B is coming. I never expected back to back promotions but it's still hard getting beat so badly. With some skillful signings in the summer we'll shoot for direct promotion next season.

[Abe Sargent]

Man I love the Backroom advice feature!

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

You would no longer be the manager of that team and would have to find another job if you hadn't already been fired for poor performance.

Even if the team were one that was expected to be relegated?

[Blade6119]

Cant coach a team that isnt in a league

[Passacaglia]

I had that happen to me in an older version of FM. I took a job near the end of the season with some team in Conference North that was in the relegation zone. I coached them for one match and was relegated. Then they fired me.

[Passacaglia]

Foz, are there similar files that extend the pyramid down for other countries?

[SirFozzie]

I know folks are working on one.. there was one planned that would deal with Serie D for Italy, etcetera.. I do know there are ones extending the pyramid down a couple more levels for nations like Wales, etcetera

[MrBug708]

I thought I saw a pyramid league that goes down 10/12 levels for England

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I thought I saw a pyramid league that goes down 10/12 levels for England

Yeah, Foz has already said he's using that one (and has a dynasty for it). I was asking him about other countries (besides England). I think Northern Ireland would be really cool.

[DaddyTorgo]

that's ridonkadonk! 10-12 levels?

what are your players average ratings? 1's and a couple 2's?

[SirFozzie]

Not quite, but they're bad enough tht you'll see a lot less goals then you would at a normal level.

(Level 10, Racing Club Warwick, an amateur club).. it's definitely difficult!

[Toddzilla]

uh-oh

somewhere along the line, I clicked "don't ask me about this again" when I released a player. Now I don't get the pop-up asking me if I'm sure that also shows the cost.

How can I get that back?

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Not quite, but they're bad enough tht you'll see a lot less goals then you would at a normal level.

(Level 10, Racing Club Warwick, an amateur club).. it's definitely difficult!

I'm surprised that you're able to sign anyone, actually. You'd think that the only players in the game would be intended for higher leagues and have too much prestige to play for you.

[Izulde]

It -is- difficult to sign guys (I'm playing a Level 10 team, too... Wootton Bassett Town).

The problem is, you can't offer them any money. You don't have a wage budget, don't have a transfer budget. It's strictly amateur contracts, so you're not only having to fight with the other teams on your level, but teams who can offer actual money.

Competition gets particularly fierce for strikers.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

uh-oh

somewhere along the line, I clicked "don't ask me about this again" when I released a player. Now I don't get the pop-up asking me if I'm sure that also shows the cost.

How can I get that back?

Check under preferences - there's a morass of controls there ..

[SirFozzie]

If there's not enough players for the level you choose, it does create a mass of players for you.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Check under preferences - there's a morass of controls there ..

General Preferences --> "Reset Disabled Messages"

Thanks1

[illinifan999]

If you send a player on loan to an affiliated club, but the club is not in a league will he still see "action" or is it pretty much completely pointless if the feeder club is not in a league?

[Big Fo]

I just arranged to spend the largest fee yet in my third year at Verona (£5.5m - a big sum for a team in Serie B) for a 17 year old kid that has yet to play first team football for his club in Argentina. He won't even be able to join until the first transfer window after he turns 18 in ten months but his attributes are already good enough to start for me and his potential rating a full star above anyone in my squad plus Barca were trying to sign him too. It must have been the promise of immediate playing time that caused him to choose Verona over Barca.



Only 42 league games to go until next season! Hopefully his Italian league debut will be in Serie A.

[whomario]

what´s his position ?

That terrible marking rating could be an issue if he´s anything other than a striker or attacking midfielder, but impressively well rounded overal. Maybe too much well rounded, you should definitely put him on a individual training schedule. If he´s an attacker than do virtually no defensive or even set piece training to maybe redistribute some points away from those to scoring attributes.
Impressive find though, especially for a serie b team

I just all but wrapped up promotion with my best game of the year, beating Parma (4th placed) 5:2 to sepearte myself by 8 points from said 4th place with 4 games to go.
I´m highly anticipating what i can do with that team (remember, only 4 transfers of what i allready spend one on one of my loan players who´s a borderline Serie A player atbest right now but has some potential to be decet there).

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by whomario

what´s his position ?

That terrible marking rating could be an issue if he´s anything other than a striker or attacking midfielder, but impressively well rounded overal. Maybe too much well rounded, you should definitely put him on a individual training schedule. If he´s an attacker than do virtually no defensive or even set piece training to maybe redistribute some points away from those to scoring attributes.
Impressive find though, especially for a serie b team

He's a striker. My training schedule for forwards has only 2-3 ticks of defensive training. That's a good call on the set piece training, I might actually take a lot of guys off that except for wingers and fullbacks (crossing). Set piece training is purely crossing/long throws/penalties/corners/free kicks right? If I gave little training in it to defenders I wouldn't start conceded lots of goals on the other teams' set pieces?

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I just arranged to spend the largest fee yet in my third year at Verona (£5.5m - a big sum for a team in Serie B) for a 17 year old kid that has yet to play first team football for his club in Argentina. He won't even be able to join until the first transfer window after he turns 18 in ten months but his attributes are already good enough to start for me and his potential rating a full star above anyone in my squad plus Barca were trying to sign him too. It must have been the promise of immediate playing time that caused him to choose Verona over Barca.



Only 42 league games to go until next season! Hopefully his Italian league debut will be in Serie A.

he looks good. one way to tell if someone has high potential is to look at whos after him. at 17 if barcas already looking at him thats a real good sign

[bulletsponge]

oh forgot to mention, got me FM game last night from fedex. been playing since. fed ex 5-7 day ground shipment got here in 4, right before the weekend


btw i havnt found out how to put the game in windowed mode, where is it?

[whomario]

Originally Posted by illinifan999

If you send a player on loan to an affiliated club, but the club is not in a league will he still see "action" or is it pretty much completely pointless if the feeder club is not in a league?

he´s still gaining match experience. The amount of improvement is largely determined by the prestige/quality of the club, it actually seems that sending a youngster to an "inactive" club like f.e. Celtic Glasgow or RSC Anderlecht is better for them than sending them to an activated League 1 team even though no actual games are played out (i think he´s still getting stats though in his profile) .
I never do it though, seems a bit besides the point when i can´t "see" him competing for his spot and how he´s performing compared to his teammates.

@ bulletsponge : "FM button" ---> preferences ---> display and sound, there´s the window settings. Don´t think you can make a true windowed mode (alas with ability to seamlessly changes size) though.

[bulletsponge]

thanks whomario, i was looking for a click box that said windowmode, hehe silly me

[Marc Vaughan]

he´s still gaining match experience. The amount of improvement is largely determined by the prestige/quality of the club, it actually seems that sending a youngster to an "inactive" club like f.e. Celtic Glasgow or RSC Anderlecht is better for them than sending them to an activated League 1 team even though no actual games are played out (i think he´s still getting stats though in his profile) .

Development depends on a LOT of factors - I'll try and explain a few of them below:

* Injuries, these can be the bane of youth players and hold up a players development horribly. A broken leg for a Premiership bound youngster can potentially prevent him from ever reaching his peak if it keeps him out of the game for a prolonged period, they can also knock down physical stats for any player (ie. if he had 20 pace before an injury he might find he's lost that 'edge').
* Training facilities
* Coaches
* Attitude of player (if someones happy then they'll generally do better, although over-confidence can make some players cocky and lax, professional players always do better).
* Standard of the football they're playing at (you can only learn so much playing amateur football, first team football at a smaller club is generally better than reserve/youth football at a larger one - but not always etc.).
* Luck (always plays a part)

This was a VERY quick post and I've undoubtably missed some (my wife is waiting to go out xmas shopping) - one final bit of advice, while technically a player might improve from reserve football his mental (hidden) stats won't improve much until he's put under real competitive pressure ...

[henry296]

Interesting dilemma for me...

I started with Grimsby Town in League 2. In the second season, I won the league and was promote to League 1. I finished 16th in my first year after being predicted 23rd. The season, also predicted 23rd, but have made some good transfers and I'm now in 3rd place after 10 games and get an offer from Swansea who is 24th in Championship but since it is early they are only 3 points from safety. I'll have 6.25MM in transfer funds and a $200k wage budget. Currently I have about 400M in transfer funds and 50K in wage budget

As a rule, I have no problems witching teams provided I get a salary increase which I will in this case. Would you take the job?

[sovereignstar]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

* Luck (always plays a part)

Luck? Why would luck play a part in development?

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by henry296

Interesting dilemma for me...

I started with Grimsby Town in League 2. In the second season, I won the league and was promote to League 1. I finished 16th in my first year after being predicted 23rd. The season, also predicted 23rd, but have made some good transfers and I'm now in 3rd place after 10 games and get an offer from Swansea who is 24th in Championship but since it is early they are only 3 points from safety. I'll have 6.25MM in transfer funds and a $200k wage budget. Currently I have about 400M in transfer funds and 50K in wage budget

As a rule, I have no problems witching teams provided I get a salary increase which I will in this case. Would you take the job?

If you have some good young players or have become attached to any of them I'd stay at Grimsby, otherwise it seems like Swansea are a better bet. Plus one time I ate a pretty good cheeseburger in Swansea so I'd lean towards taking the new job.

I turned down Bologna (who actually beat me in the promotion playoffs and made it to Serie A) in the offseason partially because they had only £250k to spend while Verona had promised me £8m, although Bologna had more than double the wage budget it was taken up by a lot of expensive, not so great players. IRL I probably would have moved since they were offering 2.5x more money than I was making at Verona but I like my team and wanted to stick with them for now.

[henry296]

I took the job, but made sure to create a new save so I can always go back for an alternate view of history.

[path12]

Originally Posted by henry296

I took the job, but made sure to create a new save so I can always go back for an alternate view of history.

Heh. I always do that before accepting a new job as well.....but have never actually gone back to the previous team. I just like knowing I can.

[Sweed]

Took over Charlton in L1 after they had a disappointing start and sacked their manager. Sitting about mid-table when I came in and have had a good run losing only once as the end of Dec approaches. Cracked the top 6 which would qualify for playoffs and have bounced between there and 8th place due to tie breakers.

I'm sitting 7th with 37 points and Milwall, in 2nd with 41 points, is coming into "The Valley" for a big showdown. I come out attacking in my 4-4-2 diamond hoping to jump on them early but they hit me on the counter for a 1-0 lead. We're screaming for offside call but the ref has none of it.

I go to a controlled tactic looking to be patient and find a crack in their defense. Possession is starting to swing in my favor and a good through ball finds my fast striker in step and he fires a shot at goal only to be thwarted by a diving save!

More good possession football and my fullback on the left finds my winger and he's taken down just outside the 18yd box at about 20 yds, free kick. My AMC is the taker and sends a great ball over the wall with my DC, Semeda, attacking the far post. As soon as he hits it I can see it is going to be a good opportunity and Semeda doesn't fail as he hammers home a header! It's 1-1 and the fans go wild. And the half ends that way.

At the half I switch to a "small diamond 4-4-2" replacing my tired wingers with MCs. I didn't want to but they were totally gassed and with no depth on the outside due to injury the decision kind of made itself. I've told the lads to keep their form and control the possession with short passing. It's all going well, we're being patient and waiting for a chance. It comes at about 60 minutes with their left fullback again giving a foul just outside the 18 yd box. My AMC again lines up the free kick and sends it over the wall towards the far post. My target man this time is moving on goal and rockets a header towards a goal and glory but it hits the woodwork. Damn, so close and nothing to show.

80th minute comes and I get my fast young striker up to enter the game. As he waits on the sideline we win a corner. My taker sends the ball to the near post and my DC flicks it on and here comes Semeda again and this time he goes up and meets the ball in the air with his right foot and smashes home our second goal! 2-1 at the 83rd minute.

Lots of time left but we go defensive, hunker down, and await their best effort. 87th minute and Milwall gets a man in the box and a cross comes in but Semeda is there to make a challenge and stops Milwall cold. They shout to the ref for a penalty but he's not having it.

3 long minutes of injury time is announced. We shut up the shop with contain and play as safe as we can. The clock is just past 93 minutes when the ball goes off one of my players for a throw in. The ref will allow Milwall one more chance, I'm fuming the whistle should have blown. Their left FB takes the throw in and tries to get the ball down the flank. My MC goes wide and gets a head to the ball. Once the attack is broken up the ref blows the final whistle, 2-1 winner for Charlton!

We go from 7th to 3rd in the table. 40 points and only 1 behind Milwall for second place and now 4 points out of first.

This match is a testament to how great the new wizard and touchline shouts work. I made a ton of adjustments as the game progressed that I never would have in previous versions. The improved 3d view letting me see Semeda go up in the air to drive a ball that was four feet off the ground into the net with his right foot, just an amazing moment! Fist pumping and my goal call scaring the hell out of our puppy Thank god the wife was at work It's not that she hasn't seen it before but anytime I can avoid the "yeah, you're really cool,.... geek" look it's a plus

[Karim]

I'm thinking of picking this up but read about the Crash Dump/Memory Leak issue on the SI forums. From reading over there, it seems like a pervasive issue but I take it that no one posting in this thread is having stability issues?

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Luck? Why would luck play a part in development?

In this regard the 'luck' element models the un-predictable factors of a players life which might determine how he progresses which a manager might not be able to control ...

Some might be standard 'luck' - ie. the player happening to talk to one of your experienced pro's who shares some advice which he takes to heart, it was 'lucky' that the two spoke and that might be something which inspired great improvement which may or may not have happened.

Outside of that there are many other possible examples of 'random' factors to bear in mind ... for example you've got a 16 year old kid who is going through a growth spurt, his height shoots up by 2 inches within a relatively short period of time, some kids can 'handle' this growth spurt reasonably well with no hassle - some others might find they feel 'awkward' and not quite as agile because of it - thus for those while they're adapting to their new body their general progression in the game might be affected (or indeed decline slightly).

There are also players off the field distractions and suchlike which also play a factor but are handled 'quietly' within the game with the exception of if they might get extreme in nature in which case you'll see a player note he has 'personal problems' on his profile - such issues can sometimes affect a players progression, although do bear in mind some personality types actually do better in such situations, the 'lose yourself in your work' approach to life ....

You'll find similarly that some players in FM do better when 'miserable' or treated badly by you as a manager - they might moan about it, but they have a personality type where they strive for your praise more when they have lost it than when they get it.

Similarly watch out for lazy players who suddenly perform when they realise they're close to needing a new contract, as soon as they get it they might turn lax again - if you have a player like this keep him nervous and on short-term contracts ...

[samifan24]

I've asked before but didn't see anyone respond since the full game was released. For those that saw the graphical stuttering while viewing games in 3D mode in the demo, does this still exist in the full game? I had problems with it in last year's game and it was an incredible distraction.

[illinifan999]

Originally Posted by Karim

I'm thinking of picking this up but read about the Crash Dump/Memory Leak issue on the SI forums. From reading over there, it seems like a pervasive issue but I take it that no one posting in this thread is having stability issues?

I had it happen once during a save, but luckily the game made a back-up save at that exact point so I didn't lose anything.

[bulletsponge]

they also made a small patch to address the crash dump, doubt they got em all though

and sami its still occasionally choppy, but not too bad. then again

[Big Fo]

Now I have a hard decision, FC Twente in the Netherlands is offering me the job after a rough start to their season (and last season they disappointed, they finished 12th after a third place finish in 2009/10). They have money to spend, some good players, fill their smallish stadium but it can be expanded to 31k, and the great thing would be worldwide (I assume) scouting with no EU restrictions. I don't think I'd get Verona promoted this season despite making the playoffs last time around, we've drawn too many matches early on and my players don't like to defend well. Verona could have more potential (better league, bigger stadium - but also more competition once I do make it to Serie A) long term but it'd take some time. Twente are also offering to almost triple my wages so I'd be off like a shot IRL, I should probably take the job really.

Originally Posted by bulletsponge

and sami its still occasionally choppy, but not too bad. then again

It typically happens if I've been playing for a month or so, going back and forth between the game and Internet browsing. It is a little annoying, I have to exit the game and reload it every so often to get around it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by samifan24

I've asked before but didn't see anyone respond since the full game was released. For those that saw the graphical stuttering while viewing games in 3D mode in the demo, does this still exist in the full game? I had problems with it in last year's game and it was an incredible distraction.

I had the problem when running the game in windowed mode. As long as I don't run it in windowed mode, no problems.

[sovereignstar]

Originally Posted by samifan24

I've asked before but didn't see anyone respond since the full game was released. For those that saw the graphical stuttering while viewing games in 3D mode in the demo, does this still exist in the full game? I had problems with it in last year's game and it was an incredible distraction.

Integrated video for the loss!

[Toddzilla]

Pet Peeve:

"Your AssMan has noted you haven't organised a backroom meeting since god knows when.
The backroom team has some information that they wish to share with you and they hope you will find the time to attend a meeting in the near future"

Me- Hmmmm... *clicks on Backroom Advice*

"There is no advice at this time"

Me - fumes.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Pet Peeve:

"Your AssMan has noted you haven't organised a backroom meeting since god knows when.
The backroom team has some information that they wish to share with you and they hope you will find the time to attend a meeting in the near future"

Me- Hmmmm... *clicks on Backroom Advice*

"There is no advice at this time"

Me - fumes.

What I wanna know is, how do you call a meeting on your own? Is there a Backroom Advice tab I've missed from the squad screen just whenever?

[path12]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

What I wanna know is, how do you call a meeting on your own? Is there a Backroom Advice tab I've missed from the squad screen just whenever?

Click on your team tab at top and "Backroom Advice" is fourth on the dropdown list.

[SackAttack]

Ah, dropdown. Would explain why the only time I can find that screen is when my assistants chide me for not being able to find it. Thanks!

[whomario]

@ Big Fo : The Netherlands is fun to manage in, at least it was back in FM06 Good young talents from the netherlands coming through the (good to great) yout academies but you also have a healthy income of young players from both eastern europe and south america interested to play in holland. Plus you have established powers to try to beat out in Ajax, PSV and maybe Feyenord.

I myself just turned down an offer from Tottenham ... Want to coach at least 1 season in serie A and found it unrealistic they offered me outright just because i advanced from the Serie B. They managed to sell like all young talent as well, very old team and i really didn´t feel like a rebuilding job after doing just that with Piacenza.

Started the year with 1 draw and 3 losses against basically 4 mid-table teams though, will be a tough year ... Thought i did some good aditions on transfers but i´m still in great danger of being relegated ...

[path12]

I'm getting just tons of late game goals -- for both sides. Last two games we had a 3-3 draw which was 0-1 at 77 minutes and a 2-1 win in a game that was scoreless through 80 minutes.