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

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

An update on my career. I'm now in my 4th year with Aldershot. We started in Blue Square Premier and won promotion in my first year (was demoted previous year). The second year had us just miss out on the playoff, but then the third year had a relapse to 20th place in the league.

In my 4th year, I am currently in 5th place in the Coca-Cola League 2, which is in the playoffs. I'm also only 5 points from outright promotion with 12 games remaining in the season. The fans have just recently offered to name their stadium after me after I upset three Coca-Cola League 1 teams on the way to winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy (not sure if that first name is right) for the team's first Paint trophy.

I currently play a 4-3-3 formation. I have a 31 year old veteran striker up front that has set a team record for goals (22) with 12 matches still to be played. He scored 4 goals in our last game to set a team record for goals in a game. I rotate in 4 other young strikers with the main one to keep them fresh. I have some solid defenders and midfielders with a 19 year old goalie who is 2 stars, but has 4 star potential. I'm the youngest team in League 2 and have to keep it that way due to budget constraints. A promotion to League 1 would do great things for that bottom line.

[AlexB]

New patch is out on the FM fourms

[DaddyTorgo]

sexy

[path12]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

New patch is out on the FM fourms

List of fixes for those of us who can't connect from work? Thanks!

[SirFozzie]

I tried to post, it wouldn't take for some reason.. hold on.

[SirFozzie]

Crash Fixes
===========

- Fixed an issue where Barcelona's finance screen would crash
- Fixed a rare crash after a World Cup final
- Reduced the memory usage within the game
- Put fixes in to stop the tactics crash during a match

General
=======
- Fixed bug where a player who had gained home-grown status for one club, wasn't treated as home-grown in nation for another club in the same nation.
- Set African newgens with second nationalities to use African names only.
- Adjusted second nationalities for English newgens.
- Adjusted attendances for U20 World Cup and other international final tournaments.
- Older extra players created at some amateur clubs now all have amateur contracts rather than part-time.
- Adjusted the CA/PA levels of newgens created at the very small clubs.
- Adjusted the chances of better newgens being created at smaller clubs in big footballing nations.
- Fixed bug where kit pictures in low detail matches didn't match up with the kit colours used for the match.
- Fixed code in a players media history when they have been left out of a squad.
- Added support for multiple team chants in match_sounds.cfg file.
- Adjusted assistant feedback during the match on tackling.
- Fixed bug where returning from holiday on the day of a postponed match would allow the manager to play the postponed match.
- Away teams with the same colour shorts as the home team are now less likely to change to a different kit (Rangers and Celtic now both use first kits when they play each other)
- Players now automatically receive the most basic appropriate injury treatment if they get injured while their club has no physio.
- Added Composure and Concentration to be included in Goalkeeper training.
- Adjusted English cup attendances.
- Fine tuned physical attribute decline on average and below average players.
- The number of database changes made now is shown on the game information screen.
- Fixed a penalty shootout match divergence bug.
- Trial Days are no longer held at stadiums that aren't in use.
- Players now get a reputation boost when they win their first cap.
- Fixed bug where touchline instructions were already set going into a new match.
- Adjusted FA Trophy semi-final and final attendances.
- Fixed problem when more than one achievement was given at the same time, which would sometimes cause an achievement to not be properly registered as achieved.
- Key man watch correctly states that a player went of injured rather than substituted.
- Adjusted quality of newgens available in the MLS draft.
- Stopped the user been able to make lots of money as a small team by arranging lots of friendlies against high reputation opposition.
- Improved selection of organisation of friendlies.
- Fixed international manager getting inundated by scout reports on players who simply aren't good enough.
- Stopped some Irish players taking up British citizenship for no reason.
- Fixed Daniel Carvalho's days to gain nationality for Russia being incorrect (need to start new game)
- Improved World Cup squad selections, making sure teams aren't short on strikers.
- Stopped domestic division record attendance's being set by neutral venues at play-off finals etc.
- Stopped players being able to complete days to gain nationality by going on trial to that nation.
- Improved average ratings for lower leagues in the basic detail match engine.
- Reduced game memory usage.
- Improved squad rotation for basic detail matches, especially with regard to Europa League matches.
- Improved manager of the month selection.
- Fixed "Most Games Without Losing" not being updated for the recent records entry for teams.
- Fixed number of minutes played in player statistics not being recorded for friendly matches.
- Fixed issue with human managers registration of players at clubs with retired squad numbers, sometimes a player would be unregistered.
- Made it easier for players to get onto the icon & legends lists.
- Tweaked assistant feedback during match on players being played out of position.
- Made it easier to get a the feeder club when you get to pick a club yourself.
- Fixed a bug where trying to send a player to a feeder club is cancelled because the team cannot afford the fee.
- Allowed the PPM "Tries to Play Way Out of Trouble" to be removed via preferred move training.
- Made it more difficult for managers to get onto the legend list.
- Stopped some nations from retaining too many players from Africa at the start of the game.


Media
=====
- Fixed code appearing in inbox item about job interest.
- The media now picks up on the fact if a big player has been left out of the league squad.
- Players now get upset if left out of a clubs league squad.
- Weakest player is displayed on the post match analysis screen again.
- Delaying a transfer in a hot seat game results in 'Delay' action buttons appearing on other user's news screen when nothing to do with him.
- Fixed variable occasionally appearing in announcements about stadium improvements.
- Fixed User being told that they need to give a Squad Number to the player who went the other way in a transfer deal.
- Fixed individual player goal tally in match report news item.
- Fixed user getting Promotion Odds news item for the league they have just been promoted from.
- Prevented possibility of duplicate transfer window opening news item appearing in inbox.
- Fixed "has expressed a desire to take the vacant assistant manager post" news when position not currently vacant.
- Fixed news item declaring injury has resulted in player being disappointed to miss crucial game, but player is ineligible anyway.
- Player profile no longer states that the player 'may look to move to a bigger club in the future' and 'wants to move to a bigger club'.
- After signing a youth coach the news item [Assignments] button now takes the user to the youth coaching assignments screen.
- Nation release players news item button now takes you to the correct list of players.
- Declaring interest in a player on trial now mentions their owning club rather than the team they are on trial with.
- Fixed number of 'Goals' and 'Conc' in club mini-profile could become multiplied for teams in leagues with more than one stage.
- Fixed and occasionally appearing in national news item about player being suspended for a match in an international tournament.
- Fixed showing in a news item informing you the most man of the match record has been broken.
- Stopped press conference asking about star player missing for a final when the player is not a first team player.
- Fixed press conference question about bringing a player out of international retirement having a drop-down box instead of a set of answers.
- Fixed news item incorrectly states player failed to make a single appearance during loan spell.
- Fixed "No Shocks" cup round up wording where it picks a match that couldn't have been an upset.
- Fixed issue where previous awol status wasn't being stored which could lead to news items being received about a player being missing from training for the first time.


Subscriptions
=============
- Fixed players occasionally being removed from subscriptions without user unsubscribing.
- Setting/unsetting active shortlists should subscribe/unsubscribe you as appropriate.

Transfers
=============
- Adjusted code to allow more clubs to make offers for offered out players.
- Fixed an issue whereby coach/scout would state player would be interested in loan move, but in fact he wasn't.
- Adjusted code to fix a couple of issues regarding players starting squad status.
- Fixed issue whereby some lower league teams starting squad statuses contained too many key players.
- Helped clubs be more responsive to replacing first team players once sold.
- Fixed issue whereby certain teams would not look to renew player loans.
- Fixed issue of missing rejection news item when offering a player for transfer but stating player is unavailable for loan.
- Fixed issue whereby user receives multiple rejection news items when offering a player for transfer but setting player to unavailable for loan.
- Eased problem of trying to offload high earning players via offer to clubs by getting a lot more players ask the selling clubs to contribute towards his new salary.
- Fixed issue whereby player would ask for too much of a wage contribution from selling club.
- Added appeal hearing for Chelsea transfer ban.
- Changed dates for Chelsea's transfer ban.
- Fixed some issues to do with strikers being placed in reserve squads even though are playing first team football and scoring some goals.
- Fixed negotiation issue when player is transfer listed, has a lower asking price than display price and the bid involved monthly instalments, negotiation would be for more than asking price.
- Prevented massive clubs when not part of active division from targeting unusual backup goalkeepers from active divisions.
- Prevented clubs with global transfer bans from being able to 'Match Bid' for players at affiliate clubs.
- Fixed a couple of issues regarding a player not being interested in renewing his loan with his existing loan club.
- Prevented players returning from loan and being listed without human managers consent.
- Made it more likely for a staff member to accept a contract offer from his current club over a deal offered by a different club.

Confidence
==========
- Fixed issue whereby selling club would overate players when being sold and be too harsh in terms of transfer confidence.
- Fixed issue whereby selling club would place too much emphasis on recent performances, even though they weren't that good and return really low confidence values.


Player Interaction
==================
- Players can now be given a leave of absence when they are struggling to settle in the area.
- Linked players are now only displayed if there is player interaction that requires a linked player.

Finances
========
- Fixed Rangers starting finances.
- Adjusted ticket prices for the lower level English leagues.
- Removed collective win bonuses for Spanish cups as the prize money in these competitions is low and resulted in very low bonus money as well.
- Adjusted Swedish wages.
- Fixed Slovenia clubs don’t offer clean sheet, goal etc bonuses.
- Adjusted Slovenia wages.
- Adjusted South African Wages.
- Adjusted Mexican wages.
- Adjusted Danish national team attendances.
- Adjusted Scottish finances.
- Fixed some away teams not receiving friendly appearance money.
- Adjusted English low league finances.
- Adjusted rich Middle East team wages.
- Fixed budget Wage/Transfer budget discrepancy when transferring between the two.


Backroom Advice
===============
- Action buttons are now removed if you do the action using the right click menu e.g. setup a scouting assignment on a scouting recommendation piece of advice.
- Youth team goalkeepers ability advice is no longer separate from the youth team player standard advice.
- Stopped second opinion advice contradicting themselves regarding the standard of youth team players.
- Fixed action buttons causing screen over run.
- Improved staff members recommendations on which players deserve to get pro contracts.
- Stop backroom advice meeting reminders if the player has been to the screen since the last news item was sent.
- Made sure the player is taking to their inbox when the backroom advice meeting invites are sent.
- Made sure there is advice generated when the player is invited to a backroom advice meeting.
- Contract renewal advice is no longer generated if the user doesn't handle that players contract renewal.
- Current formation advice no longer suggests the same formation the user is currently using.
- Eligible for a pro contract advice is now offered on players on youth contracts who are not in the youth team squad.
- Withdraw bid advice button now always removes the transfer offer.
- Stopped advice about renewing players on trial contracts.
- Stopped numerous pieces of advice been suggested again after the turn of the month.
- The suggested nation to scout in the nation to scout advice no longer keeps changing.
- Decreased the amount of training advice generated in each meeting.
- Tactical advice no longer recommends formations or team instruction the current formation is using.
- Increased the time between staff advising you to recommend a future role to.

Board Takeovers
===============
- Added code which prevents non-nationals becoming chairmen if applicable in a given country.

Interface
=========
- Match formation panel now updates correctly when substitutions are made.
- Added missing space in A Thr(R) column heading.
- Nationality string on player profile will now display correctly if they are declared for that country.
- Fixed bug where squad number goes missing on pitch panel when a player is swapped for another player on the player list panel.
- Fixed bug where option to create a filter from the Filter drop-down when on player searches was never enabled.
- Removed team facts division column if it is not applicable rather than showing blank data.
- Fixed minor layout issue when creating a new note.
- Live league table on the competition screen now updates properly in network game.
- Contracts section is no longer going to be visible for unattached players.
- Ensured player duty/roles menu can't be selected for an AI tactic when they haven't selected a player for a given position.
- When confirming/cancelling tactics, the user is now always taken back to the previous view correctly.
- If user is on the assistant's feedback page before a highlight starts, he is returned there after it finishes now.
- Fixed problem that caused scrollbar to reset when assigning position to a player on the tactics screen.
- Fixed colour clash problem which sometimes caused the player numbers to be unreadable in the 2d match view.
- Centred the number when dragging a shirt on the tactics pitch.
- Fixed problem with the date panel which caused one of the column headers to appear selected when clicking one of the dates from 1st-7th January.
- Back/Forward buttons no longer changes state for a moment when changing screens.
- Latest Results button will now be disabled if it isn't possible to go backwards or forwards through fixture dates.
- Board confidence snapshot on manager home page will no longer be available for international youth teams.
- Make An Offer option will no longer be available if the user already has an active offer in place for a player.
- Fixed bug where Reports section would be missing from staff employed by a user's national team.
- Calendar timeline will no longer display data from an old save game when returning to the start screen.
- Phil Jagielka now listed as a DC instead of a GK when he is on the bench and the user is using the quick sub dialog.
- Fixed text bleed on holiday options dialog when using French language.
- Re-arranging an international friendly via a friendly rejected news item now shows the correct fixture dates.
- Fixed some minor issues with the match screen split view changing of views.
- Disabled advisor about placing a job advert if the human is unemployed.
- Disabled advisor about adding players to a shortlist if the human does not have a club job.
- Disabled advisor about signing a player when on the player search screen and right clicking on a player.
- Match analysis tab is now disabled for matches that were played without the full match engine.
- Remove picture button when adding a new manager will now only be enabled if the user chooses a picture, rather than whenever they select to add one.
- Last 5 games table for competition split over multiple league stages (Swiss Super, Scottish SPL, etc) now uses the correct fixtures.
- Fixed problem with international scout reports not appearing sometimes on the team squad screen.
- Added information about the current view on the shortlist/player search screens.
- Ensured sorting order of players on quick substitution menu is correct after making substitutions.
- Made sure the news snapshot panel is hidden when there is no extra information to display for the news item.
- Fixed a couple of problems which would cause the calendar bar to no update properly.
- Fixed a slowdown that would sometimes happen on the match preview screen.
- Ensured calendar timeline is cleared down if the player gets kicked out to the join network screen.
- Icons off the pitch will now be drawn on the small match view panel when changing tactics mid match.
- Nationality selection menus when adding a manager will now disable the corresponding selection (eg England will be disabled for second nationality if chosen for first).
- Split view action zones view menu will now always have the current view displayed 'ticked'.
- Match strategy changes on the quick tactics panel will now have "Pending" next to them until they are actually active.
- Removed touchline instructions will now only be removed from the list of touchline instructions when they are no longer active.
- It is now possible to hide the Touchline Instructions panel when waiting for a quick substitution to be carried out.
- Added international qualifiers to screen flow competitions list.
- Team Award and Best Eleven screens remember the year selected when leaving the screen and coming back.
- Fixed bug where user is sometimes taken to classic pitch view instead of the previous TV view after confirming tactics.
- The released players list is now kept on the transfers panel when going back to the panel after viewing a player profile or other screens.
- Fixed problem where recently made touchline instructions are removed if they are made just after making tactical changes.

Network
=======
- Blank rows no longer appear on the backroom advice screen on the client.
- Forced continue timer now doesn't stop when a user changes screens.
- Fixed some network game issues when using custom editor data.
- Clubs removed from the database when creating a new game now get shown correctly on network clients when viewing staff history.
- Fixed issue where highlights are sometimes set to "Full Match" during network game matches.

Editor
======
- Newly created teams and competitions can now be set correctly in playing histories.
- Can now enable the "Capacity for All Seater Competitions" option for stadiums in the editor.
- Added "Cuts Inside" player preferred move to the editor.
- U21 and U19 national manager jobs now show up correctly.
- Adding new award histories now works correctly.
- Club legends added in the editor now show in game.
- Permanent flag can now be set on favourite and disliked person relationships.
- Can now set a stadium for a Super Cup match.
- Sorting players by position now sorts from Gks to Strikers instead of alphabetically.
- Retiring a player in the editor now removes him properly from his club.
- Group stage cups now work if only 1 group is set.
- Club maximum age field can now be edited.
- Future transfers added in the editor are now included in the checks for retaining people at the start of the game.
- Descriptions table now added to the editor.
- Can now set negative non player potential abilities.
- Fixed issue where players with edited history would have their pre-game history cleared after the second time the game is saved then loaded.
- Super cups now start in the second season if no teams are found in competition history for the first season.
- Raised number of database records shown in list boxes from 1000 to 50000.
- Adding a B club to a club now copies the colours over from the main club.
- Minimum Percentage Of Games Played field in an award record can now be enabled correctly.
- Added missing MLS player variables to the editor.
- The editor will automatically use the same user data folder, if this has been changed in the preferences in the game.
- Can now set player homegrown at club/in nation status in editor.

Competitions
============

General
-------
- Fixed league scheduling issue where an Easter Monday matchday is scheduled next to a Tuesday matchday.

International
-------------
- Teams qualifying for the Final of the Caribbean Championship no longer get asked to pick a new squad for the match.
- Fixed U21/U20/U19 international applications.
- Host nation of World Cup now needs to be from a confederation which hasn't hosted it in the last 2 tournaments.
- Fixed international squad announcement news item reporting player as being 'left out of the previous squad' when he was called up to the last squad as a replacement.
- New European Championship 2012 qualifying format and correct seedings implemented.
- Fixed bug where top 6 teams from U19 Euro Champs were sometimes not qualifying for the U20 World Cup.

(more coming)

[SirFozzie]

Asia
----
- AFC Cup now uses 7 subs instead of 9.
- Some prize money changes for the Champions League.

Europe
------
- Small fix done for calculation of European club/nation coefficients.
- European competition prize money updated.
- Vaduz can now qualify to the Europa League through the Liechtenstein Cup.

Argentina
---------
- Bottom two Argentine Second Division teams in the average points table are now automatically relegated.

Australia
---------
- One less round of fixtures used for the Australian youth league.

Belgium
-------
- Removed rule that Belgian teams in Division 1 and Division 2 need to select 2 U21 players in their matchday squad.
- Added undersoil heating requirement for Belgian Division 1 teams.

Bulgaria
--------
- Fixed some squad rules issues to do with non EU players.

Chile
-----
- Fixed incorrect teams taking part in the Chilean First Division Closing Stage Knockout phase.

China
-----
- China trial day now occurs during the transfer window.

Denmark
-------
- Players from Cotonou nations now need work permits to play in Denmark.
- Some missing teams added to 2009 Danish Cup.

England
-------
- Fixed missing prize money for Semi Finalists and Runner Up of English League Cup

Greece
------
- Fixed Greek Superleague TV revenue distribution.

Hong Kong
---------
- Adjusted Hong Kong's continental competition qualifiers (League Winner and Senior Challenge Cup winner qualify).

Norway
------
- Stopped friendlies being scheduled after the start of the season.
- Norwegian Premier playoff semi final now is one leg.
- Added Norwegian Super Final

Northern Ireland
----------------
- Fixed Northern Irish Premier Division league match being rearranged due to a Reserve team fixture.
- Fixed Northern Ireland Premier Division number of subs named changing after league split.
- Three from Five subs for Steel & Sons Cup and County Antrim Shield.

Poland
- Trial players are not allowed to play in competitive matches.

Romania
-------
- Can now arrange friendlies for Romanian teams during the winter break.

Russia
------
- Fixed Russian Premier League fixtures and World Cup Qualifying fixture clashing in March 2009

Scotland
--------
- Both Scottish Cup semi finals are now played at Hampden.
- Correct prize money figures for semi final and final.

South Korea
-----------
- Fixed winning the K-League Championship Playoff not being regarded as winning the title in some places (e.g. board confidence).

Switzerland
-----------
- Fixed Swiss Cup seedings for 1st two rounds.

United States
-------------
- US Development League teams no longer keep hold of too many players.
- US Open Cup winner now qualify for the North American Champions League.
- Replacing a draft allocation with a different draft allocation on the transfer offer screen now correctly sets it as a new proposal.
- The Superdraft and Waiver Draft dates now appear in the league schedule.
- Contracts in the MLS now finish in December.
- Removed budget adjustment from the board room screen as MLS clubs aren't allowed to make any adjustments to their budgets.
- MLS teams can no longer offer loan wages over the maximum non Designated player limit.
- Improved AI squad management in the MLS.

Match Experience
================

- Added animation for player placing ball at set piece
- Fixed missing kick animations when players send ball to set piece taker or centre circle for kick off
- Added "Runs Past Opponent" to the match graphical analysis tool.
- Fixed some various small issues with tracking of certain type of passes and crosses.
- Added team talk option to the quick sub dialog.

Match Engine
============

Match v814
----------
- Couple of fixes to make player reactions to certain deflections more realistic
- Change to interpretation of what should be added to the tackle count
- Encourage first time finish when ball comes to player at pace close to opposition goal
- Reworked defensive positioning at direct free kicks to a more zonal based type
- Further fix to prevent rash decisions to leave ball to keeper
- Small fix to make extra sure players look to intercept balls coming towards them
- Tweak to make sure defending team players continue to mark ball player until it is clearly pointless
- Make players get a little tighter to ball player when possible (slightly more so when asked to mark tight )
- Allow players to drop back a little further to mark opponents when required and not logical to push D-line up
- Made more limited players who are playing higher tempo, more direct style a little more simplistic and direct in terms of on ball decisions
- Tweak to willingness to shoot long, try to make poor decision, vision or composure players rush into it more
- Cut down slightly on very wayward but not too difficult passes
- Slight tweak to ad hoarding positions

Match v815
----------
- Fixed bug where substituted player doesn’t get full condition boost at end of match
- Further tweak to player willingness to make tackle as long as not on easy tackling
- Made players a little tighter still on ball player
- Small tweak to first touch AI
- Slight increase in accuracy of simple passes and shots

Match v816
----------
- Adjusted tracking of run distance stat
- Fixed players not putting ball out when keeper injured
- Introduced concept of players chasing own header as a means to get ball under control
- Tried to make players quicker to close down pass receiver
- Further tweak to positioning of player marking opponent with ball, including accounting for opponent's pace advantage if applicable
- Slight increase on keepers effectiveness against power shots
- Fixed player set to mark "tall player" at set piece following him out of the danger area
- Fixed players dithering over whether to let ball run out or not
- Minor tweak to accuracy of passes and shots on weak foot

[kingfc22]

Sweet. Just did the 10.1.1 yesterday

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Holy moly. That's a lot of fixes.

[AlexB]

Started a new game with the same setup as the previous: it was on 2 stars before the patch on speed and 2.5 for performance (or the other way round, I forget), now half a star for both

Can't make my mind up if it is processing slower while on holiday or not: my impression is it is going slower, but I might be being led by the star drops as above...

[AlexB]

OK - it's not going any slower, just the star ratings are lower than they were pre-patch

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

OK - it's not going any slower, just the star ratings are lower than they were pre-patch

propably just messed up the fixed ratings back to pre-patch 1 status. Was very low there and fixed for the first patch, now apparently back to being very low as an estimate for Patch 2

So, i guess i´ll be busy this next week before christmas, good thing i have all my gifts bought allready

There was nothing about the striker scoring though, although to be fair : Overall in the season stats it wasn´t as bad in my Piacenza game really.

As for the teamtalks : I´d really like a whole lot more options still.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Holy moly. That's a lot of fixes.

The vast majority of them are fairly 'minor' in scope and in the main you'll probably not notice the effect of the majority of them - we're just perfectionists and imho every little helps (and someone somewhere will appreciate each one hopefully ).

[SegRat]

Is there a list somewhere that tells what attributes are important for each position?

[Big Fo]

Hooray for the defending set pieces fixes if they work like I think they will work from the description. Giving away tap-ins because nobody marked the opposition on free kicks was infuriating, seeing my center back set to "mark tall player" covering some guy outside of the penalty area was annoying too.

Hopefully the my tactics are still effective enough, gotta get my Sampdoria squad into the Champions League (I got Verona to Serie A but left immediately after since Samp offered me an 11x wage increase to manage them, I couldn't turn that down).

[whomario]

Originally Posted by SegRat

Is there a list somewhere that tells what attributes are important for each position?

when you click on any player in your tactics screen (on the field) you see the key attributes highlighted for the role he´s in.

a list (albeit an older one, though the basic FM system hasn´t changed all that much in that regard) : Sports Interactive Community

Keeper

When I choose a keeper I always try and make sure he as handling, reflexes and agility as these are what make a good keeper and someone without one of these stats will not even get a look in by me, unless I am really desperate. There are a few other stats as well but the above are like a standard base imo. Remember goalkeepers mature very slowly and are not in their prime until after the age of 30 in most cases.

He also needs to have good jumping, positioning and strength for if the goalie is being bombarded game after game with high balls into the box. It will also help him when defending set pieces.

Vital Skills

Positioning, command of area, agility, stamina, jumping, strength, decisions and aerial ability

Other

Throwing, pace, concentration, composure, bravery and anticipation

Centre backs

There are two types of centre backs in my eyes and they are one who lumps the ball forward and is the un pretty sort of defender or there is the fancy one who likes to bring the ball out of defence and is very comfortable with the ball at his feet. It is always good to get a good mix in your team as it will offer you different options later down the line or if things are going wrong in a game.

Vital Skills

[i]Positioning, jumping, tackling, marking, aggression, strength, bravery and heading[i]

Other Skills

Stamina, anticipation, determination, pace and acceleration

Fullbacks

You can do a lot with fullbacks and you can actually have them very attacking if you wish, but if you do you need to remember to get someone to cover their position or you could be vulnerable to attacks down the flanks. The fullbacks can be deadly if you get a couple who are good dribblers and crosses of the ball.

Vital

[i]Work rate, stamina, teamwork, decisions, positioning and acceleration[i]

Other Skills

Determination, strength, crossing and dribbling

Defensive Midfielder

The defensive midfielder are key players for breaking up play and beginning attacks,
Whether it is a killer ball to your strikers or a last ditch tackle. These men are the engine room of most teams when played correctly. Attacking sides may not want to use one of these as they would have to sacrifice a player. A lot of lower league teams use anchormen to break up play of creativity and flair. These men act as the first line of defence in some cases and can make the defenders work a lot easier.

Vital Stats

Tackling, strength, aggression, marking, stamina, work rate, teamwork

Others

Pace, passing, acceleration, determination, concentration, creativity

Attacking Mids

These guys are the links between midfield and strikers and play in a very important position of the pitch. The ball is often there to be won in the last third of the pitch, so ideally you want an all round player a bit like a DMC. Also they can be the creativity of a team pulling the strings for all the game. These are the most difficult players to find on the game as they are a rare breed.
If you find one who works well try and keep hold of him as they are quite rare.

Vital Stats

Creativity, passing, off ball, technique, finishing, work rate

Others

Stamina, teamwork, flair, long shots, pace, acceleration

Wingers

These men provide the ammunition for your striker while hopefully chipping in with a few goals them selves. Many fans love wingers with their entertaining style of attacks. But many clubs can’t afford these types of player, or they can’t fit them into there team. These days a winger is also expected to defend which is far from the traditional winger. So now days a midfield who can play on the wings is a good idea.

Vital Skills

Crossing, creativity, dribbling, pace, acceleration, tackling, balance, technique, passing

Others

Finishing, long shots, teamwork, work rate, off ball

Forwards

Forward score goals but in the modern game there is a lot more too it.
If you find a good creating forward who can also score he can be devastating for the opponents, a real nightmare to mark.
The real life examples over the years have been Beardsley, Bergkamp, Scholes, Lampard and even Henry.

Vital Stats

Creativity, flair, finishing, off ball, dribbling, passing, technique, pace, acceleration

Others

Teamwork, flair, balance, long shots, anticipation, crossing

Strikers

The goal machines of any team. The people who can single handily change the course of an entire game. If you get a good striker make sure he’s not isolated and gets a regular supply of balls, If not your team will suffer. Make the wingers and midfielder support him as much as they can.
Play to the striker’s strength’s. So if you use a fast striker get the ball to him as fast as possible so he can turn and run at defenders, defenders hate this. If it’s a target man you use make sure he holds the ball up etc.

Vital Skill

finishing, off ball, jumping, heading, anticipation, technique

Other

Pace aggression, acceleration, strength, long shots

decided to give it a quick go before going to bed and i beat Juventus on their field 2-1 ! And not even undeserved. Yeah, they dominated possession but i had more clear chances.
They are still only 10th but had won 3 in a row before that.

[SegRat]

Thanks

[sovereignstar]

I must be going mental. I'm giving serious consideration to starting a game in the MLS.

[Abe Sargent]

Wow, I just took the Zimbabwe job and then my club, finish 5th outta 10 in the Austrian league managed to win the Sporting Play and got its first EURO qualification after existing for just three years as a club. Awesome!

Man, I just love this game! I just tied Morocco in my first game as Zimbabwe in the African Nations Qual and now I get a surprise qualification.

[illinifan999]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

I must be going mental. I'm giving serious consideration to starting a game in the MLS.

One of my favorite FM games came from starting in the MLS. It was a couple versions back, but I started with Colorado. We sucked for a few years, but I drafted this fantastic striker, Nick Fisher. The first game he played in, he came off the bench to score a hat-trick in the last 30 minutes to help us beat the defending champs, DC, 3-2. He tore up the MLS, and the international scene, but never complained about wanting to move up. I took a job at Vitese in the Dutch league and made sure he was my first purchase. He then tore up the Dutch league, becoming Vitese's all-time leading goalscorer. He was 31 and still dominating when my computer died and I lost the game.

[whomario]

With Belarus i got seeded 5th for the qualifiers despite being 26th ranked team in the world and almost qualifying for the World Cup (seriously, i have no idea why they fired their coach)
My draw : Portugal, Sweden, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Malta. Yeah, that´ll go well ...

I went on to loose 3 games without scoring (0-3 to milan, 0-3 to Fiorentina, 0-2 to Napoli) but then beat Chievo 1-0 on a late goal despite playing 10 against 11 for 65 minutes after yet another red card (i´ve never had so many reds, but the again i´ve never played with a relegation candidate since FM06) .
Chievo is epically bad, 1 win and 3 draws in now 21 games, Yikes.
I´m now 16th and 2 points clear of 18th. The 12th and 19th spot are 4 points apart, that will be an interesting battle for survival.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

PROMOTION!!!!!!

My Aldershot squad went undefeated (6-0-1) in the last 7 games of the season and went from the last team into the playoffs (7th) to clinching 3rd place and an automatic promotion to Coca-Cola League 1. So I've now won promotion as a coach in 3 of my first 5 years coaching. Hoping to stay in League 1 because the revenue boost may finally allow me to upgrade my youth and/or training facilities.

[Ajaxab]

I realize that I'm wishing there was a way to interact more with my chairman. My Tours FC squad did end up being relegated, but now teams are swooping in for all my good players and the chairman keeps accepting offers because they are allegedly too good to refuse. My team is now 15 million pounds richer in the short term, but we're screwed when it comes to talent. The guys who could have helped us bounce right back up are gone. I place the blame entirely at the feet of the board. Might be time to resign...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

I realize that I'm wishing there was a way to interact more with my chairman. My Tours FC squad did end up being relegated, but now teams are swooping in for all my good players and the chairman keeps accepting offers because they are allegedly too good to refuse. My team is now 15 million pounds richer in the short term, but we're screwed when it comes to talent. The guys who could have helped us bounce right back up are gone. I place the blame entirely at the feet of the board. Might be time to resign...

I personally love those kinds of situations. I'm the kind of manager that loves the youth bargain hunting in this game. I love stocking my team full of players with potential and then selling them off for a high price. I rarely spend money on big priced veterans. I see $15M and all I could think about would be how many youngster and hot prospect contracts I could sign with that money through free transfers. You could stock both the reserves and U18 teams full to the brim with prospects with that kind of money.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I personally love those kinds of situations. I'm the kind of manager that loves the youth bargain hunting in this game. I love stocking my team full of players with potential and then selling them off for a high price. I rarely spend money on big priced veterans. I see $15M and all I could think about would be how many youngster and hot prospect contracts I could sign with that money through free transfers. You could stock both the reserves and U18 teams full to the brim with prospects with that kind of money.

that's typically what i do too...extensively scout the world for u-20 players and buy up everyone with a valuation over a certain level (typically $1mil+ for u-16, $3mil+ for u-17, $4.5mil+ for u-18 and u-19, $8mil+ for u-20).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

that's typically what i do too...extensively scout the world for u-20 players and buy up everyone with a valuation over a certain level (typically $1mil+ for u-16, $3mil+ for u-17, $4.5mil+ for u-18 and u-19, $8mil+ for u-20).

I need to pick up a Brazilian scout and see if my club will let me scout there after my latest promotion. Not sure if there's any way to convince the board to let me scout there in the latest version.

[Ajaxab]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I personally love those kinds of situations. I'm the kind of manager that loves the youth bargain hunting in this game. I love stocking my team full of players with potential and then selling them off for a high price. I rarely spend money on big priced veterans. I see $15M and all I could think about would be how many youngster and hot prospect contracts I could sign with that money through free transfers. You could stock both the reserves and U18 teams full to the brim with prospects with that kind of money.

This is where French rules make things a bit limiting. Only 4 non-EU players are allowed in the squad and Brazilian players will only travel across the pond once they become 18. There are also no reserve league games in France so it's tough to develop young players.

I think your strategy of stocking young talent works at a club like Juventus, but with smaller teams, it's tough. The hot prospects are too young to really help right away and when they do play, other teams unsettle them with bids. In order to try to stay in Ligue 1, I bought an 18 year old Brazilian striker last season for 2 million. His ratings were great and he had a lot of potential, but he played poorly for us. I was hoping he would stick around, improve and help us bounce right back up, but a 6 million pound bid from Internacional and he's back to Brazil. The offer was too good for my chairman to refuse even though I think we probably could have got 10-15 million pounds for him in two or three years. I also bought another 18 year old Serbian defender who could be a rock in my defense for years to come, but teams are bidding for the guy left, right and center. I want to keep him, but he gets upset if I don't let him talk to other clubs. The same thing is happening with my 20 year old Brazilian keeper. I would like to build through young prospects with all this cash, but I don't have time to develop them before other teams come in and destroy my plan.

[Coffee Warlord]

Port Vale won promotion after my first season in charge.

We SHOULDA won the damn league, but we just fell apart in the last month of the season, and Notts County passed us by. I guess my guys just got exhausted after the long season, 'cause they just couldn't do anything right. Grr.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

This is where French rules make things a bit limiting. Only 4 non-EU players are allowed in the squad and Brazilian players will only travel across the pond once they become 18. There are also no reserve league games in France so it's tough to develop young players.

I think your strategy of stocking young talent works at a club like Juventus, but with smaller teams, it's tough. The hot prospects are too young to really help right away and when they do play, other teams unsettle them with bids. In order to try to stay in Ligue 1, I bought an 18 year old Brazilian striker last season for 2 million. His ratings were great and he had a lot of potential, but he played poorly for us. I was hoping he would stick around, improve and help us bounce right back up, but a 6 million pound bid from Internacional and he's back to Brazil. The offer was too good for my chairman to refuse even though I think we probably could have got 10-15 million pounds for him in two or three years. I also bought another 18 year old Serbian defender who could be a rock in my defense for years to come, but teams are bidding for the guy left, right and center. I want to keep him, but he gets upset if I don't let him talk to other clubs. The same thing is happening with my 20 year old Brazilian keeper. I would like to build through young prospects with all this cash, but I don't have time to develop them before other teams come in and destroy my plan.

I'd disagree that it doesn't work at the lower levels. I went from Blue Square South to CC League 1 in 5 years doing exactly that. Did nothing but grab prospects from England and Ireland over that time. Ireland was a great place to pick up prospects. I had 5 starters on this squad that just got promoted to League 1 who were 18 years old or younger. Four of those 5 got big ratings boosts due to their first team play.

[Ajaxab]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'd disagree that it doesn't work at the lower levels. I went from Blue Square South to CC League 1 in 5 years doing exactly that. Did nothing but grab prospects from England and Ireland over that time. Ireland was a great place to pick up prospects. I had 5 starters on this squad that just got promoted to League 1 who were 18 years old or younger. Four of those 5 got big ratings boosts due to their first team play.

I don't think it can't work, but how did you prevent other teams from buying these prospects? What do you do when a team playing European football in a higher quality league comes in with a bid your chairman won't refuse?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

I don't think it can't work, but how did you prevent other teams from buying these prospects? What do you do when a team playing European football in a higher quality league comes in with a bid your chairman won't refuse?

One thing I do make sure of is that I have a good salary position and that a team has no debt if I take the job. They're MUCH less interested in taking those offers if they're in a good financial position. I still do have the occasional 'can't refuse' situation, but I usually agree that it's too good to refuse and just stock up on more youth with the money. I've been able to land CC League 1 potential players out of Ireland with free transfers.

Your situation regarding relegation obviously inserts a problem into the situation. Budget's going to go down and you'll start burning through that cash in a hurry. Not much choice but to sell that talent in that situation. Got to revamp to youth that is much cheaper.

[flere-imsaho]

I always loved selling young players on with a "% of next transfer fee" clause. It's great a few years later to get a notice that some kid is now a superstar and just got sold for 50 million, of which you got 25% or something.

[Flasch186]

game is playing much better on the field post patch.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

game is playing much better on the field post patch.

Agreed. I played several games after patch last night and noticed the play was much smoother.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

I always loved selling young players on with a "% of next transfer fee" clause. It's great a few years later to get a notice that some kid is now a superstar and just got sold for 50 million, of which you got 25% or something.

very true

[whomario]

Used to do that as well and is definitely the best strategy for success but it kinda is too easy to flip talent for money in FM, especially from outside your own country, imo.
Still love it though if i can pick up a free player, build him up and then get him a good gig elsewhere (while taking in some good money, yeah


@ ajaxab : Do you look at the players personality and scout reports here ? Try to avoid overly "ambitious" youngsters and maybe get some that are "loyal".
And i wouldn´t expect top flight prospects to stay long, maybe go for more 2nd tier prospects and then after a couple years you can add the next step by adding quality proven players to put around your solid build-up players.

As a ground rule i think a players potential shouldn´t be more than one step up from your current status (so 3.5-4 stars max) to have any chance at holding on to them.

f.e. with Piacenza my younger players i bought so far (none were/are teenagers though) are all good but not spectacular and will make decent/good serie A players for a long time but not great/leading serie A players ever. And i did have options with more potential, but i don´t want those guys, start them a year and then see them leave.

Once i´ve solidified myself as a good serie A team i can try my hand at the really great prospects. But to expect a guy with leading serie A potential to be happy with a Serie B team or bottom-dweller in Serie A, that i don´t do.

Plus i feel like i need to be able to connect with my squad to really enjoy the game (i´d also love for more communication with players and like mentioned the board) and thus try to have as many as possible positions on my roster intact over a long time.

Maybe a bit less spectacular and shortwhile, but fun in the long term.

Can´t wait to give it an extensive run the next couple days and see if i can keep Piace up Got almost everyone healthy and back from suspensions now and look forward to taking up the battle.

[Shepp]

I wanted to wait to start until I finished Dragon Age but the lure of the new patch is just to strong. Has anyone noticed any difference in training this year? I developed some decent schedules last year and I'm wondering if they will still work.

I've also got a small grip. I really liked how FM09 showed the club logo instead of the kit in the match screen. I've always found it to be a pain to find complete kit packs and this kind of made it a moot point. Its a shame they couldn't make it a selectable option if you wanted to show kits or logos.

[Ajaxab]

Originally Posted by whomario

@ ajaxab : Do you look at the players personality and scout reports here ? Try to avoid overly "ambitious" youngsters and maybe get some that are "loyal".

I always look at scout reports and take into account whether the player will fit in with my current squad, but I haven't paid as much attention to ambition and loyalty. That's a good thing to keep in mind.

Originally Posted by whomario

And i wouldn´t expect top flight prospects to stay long, maybe go for more 2nd tier prospects and then after a couple years you can add the next step by adding quality proven players to put around your solid build-up players.

As a ground rule i think a players potential shouldn´t be more than one step up from your current status (so 3.5-4 stars max) to have any chance at holding on to them.

Maybe baby steps are the better way to go with this version. I think I may have purchased players that have a much higher potential than my club's current status instead of those in that next step up. As long as I stayed in Ligue 1, that was okay, but as soon as we got relegated, then it became a problem. Thanks for the tips. These are definitely some things to consider.

[Qwikshot]

Couple of things I found that may be exploits I dunno.

I was trying out a few teams in League 2 (England) with France, Iceland and Scotland.

Exploit 1?

Spoiler

If you play in BSP or League 2, I know you can poach quality players from the French league. This in itself isn't too much of a surprise, but some players in the development leagues or National league have roving contracts, so you can bypass the whole transfer funds thing (again not a surprise). The surprise is how much better some of these players are. And I've found that this really only occurs with the French league, not Germany, Belgium or Italy. You can even sign away players from the top league's reserve squad if they are without contract rather easily. I would think that reputation wise, there is a flaw there.

Exploit 2?

Spoiler

Again, same team, same league, but start with Iceland's league date (December 2009) and basically you have no fixtures until July 1st. You can however setup fixtures with predominanly big teams (Wolves, Bolton, Hotspur) and you can do it multiple times. Realistically, I don't think this would occur often, perhaps maybe one or two, but not multiples. I would think Premere League teams wouldn't waste the time of day playing one League 2/BSP multiple times between December and July first. I'm not sure how much income I got from those...I think while it's perfectly reasonable for you to have friendlies between same level teams, getting a Premere team should be limited. Again I'm a novice, so I'm not sure if this is the case, I know they aren't playing their full strength team.

Observation: I offer a player to clubs. No one bites because player has just recently signed (probably prior to my appointment). It would probably be worthly that during the offer player to teams function that someone would state player has just signed and would probably not get much attention, because I'm sure it doesn't do wonders for your teams morale, player morale and fan morale. Now I'm sure you can find this information out, but I figure it'd be an easy blurb that could be put in.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying the game, I figure now that I've added the patch that I'll look into playing a serious game. I just wasn't sure if the two things I found are realistic, or exploits that should be resolved by house rules.

[whomario]

as for No2 : Definite exploit. Setting the start date to anything but your league/country date is a big no-go, seriously now ...

as for No1 : Can you explain what your word before contract means ? (too lazy to spoiler, so figured that´d be okay)

as for the differences between the countries : Have you got all on the same setting (view only/playable , how far down are the leagues loaded ?)

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

I always look at scout reports and take into account whether the player will fit in with my current squad, but I haven't paid as much attention to ambition and loyalty. That's a good thing to keep in mind.

always look at proffesionalism. someone did some work and found out proffesionalism is the #1 factor in how quickly a player develops. the more prof. player will develop much quicker than a low prof one. a low prof player with massive potential wont likely ever fullfill it

[Abe Sargent]

My stupid club accepted an offer to be the feeder to FC Koln. Stupid club. Beyond them sending me a bit of cash, some loaners, and making bids on my players when others make offers, does this have any other impact?

[sovereignstar]

hahahaha

This is why you never play the MLS -- Fmnorthamerica -> Patch 1.2 out!

SI will never figure it out.

[bulletsponge]

^^ its slightly easier to get players from loan there if you ask, and a few bucks every year. its really a no lose situation

[lighthousekeeper]

fyi, the game is on sale for $27.90 at GoGamer

All PC Games - Football Manager 2010 (I) for PC

[whomario]

I am still up against the wall.

After 30 games i am 16th with 30 points. Ascoli is 15th with 31, Catania is 17th with 27, Torino and Siena are 18th/19th with 26. (Chievo still dead last at 18)

And i have the toughest schedule playing 6 Top10 teams in my last 8 games. Gulp ... My team blew it, only drawing Torino, Siena and Ascoli at home in the last couple match days.
I am still hoping to stay in, but that might be more to the other teams incapability than my own teams results now.

I need to make some changes next year, the way my team is build isn´t working. I am not felxible in terms of tactics with basically no outside midfielders in my roster and no identity up front with strikers that are ok but don´t do anything really well. Plus my midfield guys are all great fighters but lack creativity and passing ability, i´ll try to add a deep-lying playmaker kind of guy.

My best man has been my goalkeeper who has some weaker games, but in part due to his 20 rating in reflexes is prone to some spectacular outings.

Bought my first player from belarus on the last day of the transfer window, a 25 year old DC/DM/MC with 18 heading and 19 jumping as well as great physichal stats, the guy is a real force. In 9 games averaging a 7.2 rating and has been great solidifying the defense.

I have like a super multicultural team and so i hope that there´s some "gelling" in affect once they learn italian and next year will be better.
As ratings wise i should have won a couple games i didn´t.

[laser]

In FM09 when I would trade with another MLS team they would then immediately release all of the players that they just traded for. Has this issue been fixed?

[kingfc22]

With 10 games to go in my 2nd season in Serie C1, I am currently on top of the table by 1 point over Benevento and I believe I am 10 pts. clear of 6th and missing the playoffs (don't have the game in front of me so not totally sure on this one).

We are also in the Serie C Cup Final.

What do I have to do to get fans to go to my games??? I have a 5000 seat stadium that is in good condition and the most fans to attend a game was 2200 which happened just recently. We are averaging roughly 1300 fans a game while we have been on top of the table all year except one week where we dipped to third.

That 2200 didn't even come from my Serie C Cup Semi-Final game either. What gives?

I'm worried that if I do promote to Serie B that I won't have the cash since nobody shows up to watch our games.

[bulletsponge]

more fans generally show up after a promotion year, and they sell for a higher price

[illinifan999]

Man, Bayern is determined to steal one of my coaches. They've now offered 3 of my coaches contracts. I've been able to keep all 3 with improved contracts, but man they are determined.