Alright boyz, here we go!!! (The Football Manager 2011 Impressions/General Thread)

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Ok, new computer, so naturally need to by FM to put it through its paces.

- Stupid question, why is it 39.99 on Steam and 19.99 on Amazon? Has anyone used the Amazon download service? The user reviews suggest horror stories.

I don't know if the problem was with Amazon per se or with the "Byteshield" copy protection that is on the non-Steam download versions. There was a thread on the SI forum about the "Byteshield" issues. I opted to get the DVD version of the game so I didn't really look into whether the problems were ever resolved. You could probably go over to the SI thread and see though.

[OldGiants]

If you're interested working out your own tactics, here's a great site I found:

Zonal Marking | Football tactics, formations, diagrams, chalkboards and graphs

I watched the Juventus-Napoli game on FoxSoccerChannel, and after reading the article, I'm itching to start a Napoli game and design the 3-4-2-1 described in the article.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

If you're interested working out your own tactics, here's a great site I found:
Zonal Marking | Football tactics, formations, diagrams, chalkboards and graphs
I watched the Juventus-Napoli game on FoxSoccerChannel, and after reading the article, I'm itching to start a Napoli game and design the 3-4-2-1 described in the article.

Just to second this recommendation - I read this site myself and its very well written in the main, I'd also recommend some of the non-tabloid English papers for a slightly less 'tactical' read on matches - the Guardian for instance creates most of the stat/pitch related graphics which Zonal Marking displays in its articles.

[Crapshoot]

Game gets here tomorrow. I'm excited.

Hey Marc, is there any reason for that large a price discrepancy (Amazon vs Steam vs all other retailers)? Just an Amazon / loss-leader kind of thing?

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Hey Marc, is there any reason for that large a price discrepancy (Amazon vs Steam vs all other retailers)? Just an Amazon / loss-leader kind of thing?

No idea tbh - very possibly to drive people to the site (that kind of thing is done frequently with UK supermarkets I know) .... but its not really my area.

[CAsterling]

Originally Posted by CAsterling

Aye to the Marc award thingy.

A couple of things I have noticed compared to previous versions.
1) The amount of jobs that come up at the same time seems excessive, 3-4 managers getting sacked by approx league game 10, all in my division, every year (i.e. It seems to happen enmass at the same time every year in every division)
3) So far I have only been able to sell one player for actual cash....about 8k, I can sell players for nothing and include a future persentage clause. Until this last season I haven't had a transfer budget, so I was signing free transfers and trying to dump players I didn't need any more, so it doesn't worry me, but just seems odd.

Earlier I posted the above.
Now in season 7 and about point 1 I actually noticed one week in November where 17 international managers resigned/got fired (must have been some event that triggers it, as they were all very small country teams e.g. Brunei etc) - and on the same day 4 managers in my division lost their jobs....so I got 21 notifies about clubs looking for new managers on the same day at the same time.....definitely seems a little excessive to me.

As for point 3.....this one is not a problem, I have been buying and selling players for actual money rather than giving them away this season....so that one was definitely a false impression.

I took a break for a few days after losing badly in the playoffs in season 6, and now almost half way through season 7 I am addicted again.....darn you SI, this is still more addictive than crack

[Karim]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

It is if you're at a club which isn't a 'power' unfortunately - there's a no mans land where you can be a successful manager at a smaller club and your 'natural' step up would be to a club which actually has a decent chance at Europe/winning things ..... but unfortunately the clubs in that position are all signing 'name' managers rather than taking a risk on someone who's been successful with smaller clubs.

Its the 'could he handle the budget/big names' situation - you see this a lot with managers like Allardyce (sp?), Coppell, Moyes and suchlike where they've continually done well but aren't even in contention for a position with one of the 'big' clubs.

A couple of years ago, I managed to take Vauxhall to the Championship with a 'Sunday League' reputation. I realized it was going to be a futile effort but I was in a safe mid-table position while Plymouth was in the relegation zone. When they fired their manager I applied and got the job.

I don't know if that's entirely possible in today's version but I'm still hoping a 'no-name' can take a 'no-name' team to glory and eventually take over a big club. Even if it's not realisitc, it should be a carrot in the game that would bring immense fun.

[Karim]

Question...

I'm in the BSS and have received the email that players on my shortlist have contracts expiring in 6 months (now 5) but I can't see any way to offer them a contract offer.

Is the Bosman rule no longer in effect? Or is it limited to League 2 and above?

Thanks.

[Crapshoot]

I didn't sleep till 2 AM last night. Goddamn FM.

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Karim

I'm in the BSS and have received the email that players on my shortlist have contracts expiring in 6 months (now 5) but I can't see any way to offer them a contract offer.

Is the Bosman rule no longer in effect? Or is it limited to League 2 and above?

I think that there is a different rule for players under the age of 23. The Bosman rule should affect teams at all levels.

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by Karim

Question...

I'm in the BSS and have received the email that players on my shortlist have contracts expiring in 6 months (now 5) but I can't see any way to offer them a contract offer.

Is the Bosman rule no longer in effect? Or is it limited to League 2 and above?

Thanks.

The rule is in effect, the big issue your running into is that if the player is currently playing in the nation you are in, it falls to one month...so any player currently playing in england, you have to wait an additional 5 months to get on bosman. Any players playing in france, germany, etc. are all available on bosman now.

[Karim]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

The rule is in effect, the big issue your running into is that if the player is currently playing in the nation you are in, it falls to one month...so any player currently playing in england, you have to wait an additional 5 months to get on bosman. Any players playing in france, germany, etc. are all available on bosman now.

Oh, I see. Thanks for that!

[Passacaglia]

Just got a funny email in my current game: "Hyde make Hyde bid"

[Karim]

A couple of more questions now that I'm in my second season...

1) My finances are 'insecure' with a debt-load of $650k. My wage bill is at my alotment and the board is 'content' with the finances. What are the long-term implications of this? I've finally built up a good squad that I think can challenge for promotion but I'd hate to see the board start selling players off.

2) My team (Wealdstone) is considered 'Obscure'. When/how will this improve? It should improve with winning, right, or at least long-term stability? It's impossible to get anyone on loan when the team has an 'Obscure' reputation.

[klayman]

Originally Posted by Karim

A couple of more questions now that I'm in my second season...

1) My finances are 'insecure' with a debt-load of $650k. My wage bill is at my alotment and the board is 'content' with the finances. What are the long-term implications of this? I've finally built up a good squad that I think can challenge for promotion but I'd hate to see the board start selling players off.

2) My team (Wealdstone) is considered 'Obscure'. When/how will this improve? It should improve with winning, right, or at least long-term stability? It's impossible to get anyone on loan when the team has an 'Obscure' reputation.

1) Is your debt load a loan that you are paying back or are you in the red by 650k? The former doesn't have much of an effect other than the monthly payments and possibly the inability to get an injection of funds if you run into trouble. The latter is more serious (650k would be frighteningly high for a lower league team), as you won't be able to pay maintenance costs and your stands will likely start to close, leading to less revenue, leading to a higher debt, leading to stands being closed and so on. You also have the board start accepting bids for players without your control to reduce expenses. After too long a period of that, you will likely go into administration where transfers will no longer be in your control and you will be docked points in the league.

2) I think the reputation will only increase as you climb in the leagues or win trophies. Even if you finish just out of promotion with a team consistently for several years in the lower leagues, you would still be an obscure team. If you gained successive promotions into the Championship, for example, your reputation would rise to regional or national fairly quickly. However, toil in the non-leagues for awhile and you will likely never see an increase no matter how 'successful' or 'stable' you think you might be.

[Karim]

Originally Posted by klayman

The latter is more serious (650k would be frighteningly high for a lower league team), as you won't be able to pay maintenance costs and your stands will likely start to close, leading to less revenue, leading to a higher debt, leading to stands being closed and so on. You also have the board start accepting bids for players without your control to reduce expenses. After too long a period of that, you will likely go into administration where transfers will no longer be in your control and you will be docked points in the league.

That's what I was afraid of. Unfortunately, the club simply doesn't get enough attendance to break even. There's not much I can do except try and win and hope.

[klayman]

Originally Posted by Karim

That's what I was afraid of. Unfortunately, the club simply doesn't get enough attendance to break even. There's not much I can do except try and win and hope.

Most clubs will run in the red during the season. They make up the money in TV and prize money at the end of the year. I think my last season with Liverpool I ran into -20 million before end of the season prize money.

Sorry, I forgot which league you were in again, but if you can, try to concentrate on the highest cup in your league, and try to make a good run in it. If you can get a top tier team away in the lower rounds you can go a long way to eliminating the debt. More money in the bigger rep leagues like England of course. Moving up leagues also helps a lot.

[Passacaglia]

I'm managing Worcester, in Conference North. First season, I finish mid-table. Second season, I'm doing pretty well, and I sign a striker -- I'm paying him $5500 per year, and his value is sitting at $90K (I got him on a free transfer since he was unemployed before). I figure he looks good, cheap investment, no big deal. He does okay -- getting about a goal every other game. But still, every time I go into the confidence, the fans tell me that signing him was a bad idea. Whatever.

So the end of the season arrives. We're on top through most of the final stretch, then we hit a bad stretch: 1-6 at Solihull Motors (we had only conceded 18 goals in the 35 games before this), 2-0 vs. AFC Telford, 1-1 at Northwich, 1-1 vs. Hinckley, 1-2 at Ilkeston, 0-3 at Droylsden. That last loss puts us 1 point behind Stalybridge going into the last game.....which is home against Stalybridge! 1-1 draw, so we get 2nd place and head to the playoffs, against Hinckley. We lose the first match on the road 0-1.

Then my striker gets busy. We win the 2nd leg 4-0, thanks to his hat trick, and get to the Final against Eastwood. We fall 2-0 after 30 minutes, then he hits a goal to get us back into the match. We tie it 2-2 by halftime, then in extra time, he draws the foul in the 105th minute, getting us a penalty (which we make) and a 2nd yellow card for the other dude. We win, 3-2, and are headed to the Blue Square Premier!

[OldGiants]

My Napoli career is going spectacularly well. Top of the table with only a loss at AC Milan to mar my record. I'm playing a 1-2-4-1-2 formation that I designed using the default Napoli tactics and the description of the Napoli tactics on the ZonalMarking site. Essentially it is a defensive 'V' with a Sweeper facing the keeper: SW; CD,CD; WB, DM, DM, WB on the DM/WB line and an AMC and two Strikers.

I have Cavani as a Complete Striker and Levezzi as a Poacher role. they are smacking in the goals. Hamsik is the AMC. they started out not liking me, but average ratings of 7.5+ seem to have changed their minds by November. These three guys are the only players positioned in the other team's end, so it looks like a heavily defensive formation. I have figure out that Counter is the best form of orders no matter whom we play.

This is the most enjoyable and accessible version of the game so far. The match engine no longer sits there doing nothing any where near as often or as long as in prior versions--my biggest gripe previously.

Oddities, therefore, stand out a bit more glaringly. the pre-match mind games puzzle me at times in that comments are directed against players who aren't regulars, or who are injured and will not play. For example, I got a message that a target player on Sampdoria would crack under the pressure, and sure enough, his morale had dropped to POOR. Then I looked further and saw he was not only not in the starting lineup, but had made a mere 4 appearances, only 1 start. Injuries weren't in the picture.

Like I say, oddities stand out more in this version.

[Flasch186]

I uninstalled FM'10 on this comp where I have FM'11, to save room, and now FM'11 is causing problems. Crashing etc. Just finished a game and in the post game processing I got a CTD.

[Big Fo]

I just had a first for me, three consecutive hat tricks by one of my strikers. This guy is just killing it for me this season. My Charleston Battery team has a great chance of winning my fictional North American Second Division and should at least get promoted to the North American Super League. Hopefully he can still bang them in at the next level.

[MrBug708]

I just had my "son" show up on my youth squad. He also is considered one of the greatest players of his generation. I thought it could be random but, he has my as his favorite personnel (not that unusal), but he has my first nationality as his second nationality (German) and his first nationality is where I've been currently working (Italy). Thought is was pretty cool!

Of course, it also means that I had a kid 6 years ago...

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I just had my "son" show up on my youth squad. He also is considered one of the greatest players of his generation. I thought it could be random but, he has my as his favorite personnel (not that unusal), but he has my first nationality as his second nationality (German) and his first nationality is where I've been currently working (Italy). Thought is was pretty cool!

Of course, it also means that I had a kid 6 years ago...

Cool twist. I used to like when OOTP would produce the sons of players in the game, so it's cool to see FM picking up on that.

Checking out the demo finally, but I think I just need to pull the trigger. Still thinking I'm going to wait though. A few of the things like dynamic league reputation that would affect player movement would be nice though.

[MacroGuru]

I haven't dug through this thread, I admit I am lazy. I have a new laptop with Win 7..I am wanting to use the level 11 mod as well as some logo packs...where do I place them on Win 7..cause everywhere I can think of...it's not working.

[Passacaglia]

Blah. My Worcester squad was down 0-1 to Ebbsfleet, when on one of my defenders gets sent off, in the 8th minutes. Ebbsfleet proceeds to pound us, and next thing I know, it's 0-4 after 35 minutes. We come back to make it 3-4 after 56 minutes, and 4-5 after 64 minutes. But no more scores, and it ends that way. Oh, well.

[flounder]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

I haven't dug through this thread, I admit I am lazy. I have a new laptop with Win 7..I am wanting to use the level 11 mod as well as some logo packs...where do I place them on Win 7..cause everywhere I can think of...it's not working.

I haven't done any logo packs, but I installed the face pack in "My Documents\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2011\graphics". I would assume logos go in the same place.

[Young Drachma]

I believe you're supposed to add a /logos folder to the graphics folder to do it. If you google it, he can find it because I've looked and searched before but adding graphics usually annoys me in that game and so I just don't bother and can't give a definitive answer. But the FM forums would be able to tell you for certain.

In other news, what countries do you all load? I want more geographic diversity in my league, but I don't want to manage in any other place but one particular nation. Should I just load a few nations? Load players via the db and just set the nations to view only?

[Big Fo]

I usually load USA, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands, Portugal, and Russia. Everything other than USA, Spain, Italy, and England is set to view only and it runs pretty quickly.

I also add all American players, current international players from all continents other than Oceania, and the players from the top clubs in all of those regions. Around 36,000 players.

Having leagues set to view only means they hardly take any time to process at all.

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I usually load USA, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands, Portugal, and Russia. Everything other than USA, Spain, Italy, and England is set to view only and it runs pretty quickly.

I also add all American players, current international players from all continents other than Oceania, and the players from the top clubs in all of those regions. Around 36,000 players.

Having leagues set to view only means they hardly take any time to process at all.

My current game has 125,000 players, but I have a top-end PC so I can't recommend that for everyone

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

My current game has 125,000 players, but I have a top-end PC so I can't recommend that for everyone

What kind of PC if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking to get one and one of the things I want to do is run large setups in FM.

[MrBug708]

That's what I need to get..

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

What kind of PC if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking to get one and one of the things I want to do is run large setups in FM.

Got this back at Christmas, im running 125k and its going faster then my old pc did when i was running 40k
http://www.frys.com/product/6388391?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[vex]

Could I have some more players injured? Because that would be excellent..


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[DaddyTorgo]

Aaaak - hate that!

[Sweed]

11.3 Patch is out. Steam updating as I type this.

Link to changes.

Football Manager 2011 January Update and 11.3 Patch OUT NOW!!

[MacroGuru]

And I have finally got my FM updated where I wanted it and started playing. I am excited and love what I have!

[OldGiants]

I simply wanted to post this fix for Steam not updating the patch properly. It worked for me.

What happened is I saw the patch being downloaded and completed. So turned off the computer and went to work. However, when I later fired up FM11, no new patch, it was still on 11.2. Two emails brought me this answer:

Please exit Steam and go to the folder called C:\Program Files\Steam\ (this is the default location for a Steam installation - if you set a different installation directory, you will need to browse to it). Delete all of the files in this folder except: The \Steamapps\ folder and Steam.exe (this file is listed as an application and features the black and white Steam logo) Restart your computer. Then, launch Steam.exe from within the Steam installation folder, and not from a pre-existing shortcut. With Steam running, re-test the original issue. Note: This process will not affect your currently installed games. Additionally, please complete this process for your installed game(s): Title: Verifying Game Cache Files (GCF) Link: Database Error Let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.

I did not need to do the first part (I might have been lucky there). Following the instructions in the link worked perfectly. Essentially that procedure checks the integrity of your game files; it found four needed downloading and redid the patch.

Now it works fine.

[Shepp]

Since 11.3 has come out I've finally started a long term game. I've noticed that with player conversatons you can comment on previous games. In past versions if you made media comments to frequently the player would tune you out. Do players still not pay attention to you of you communicate with them to much or are we supposed to comment to them about good or bad performances on a weekly basis?

[fortheglory]

I'm not much of a soccer guy. I am wondering if this game is any good or not? I keep hearing about it.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by fortheglory

I'm not much of a soccer guy. I am wondering if this game is any good or not? I keep hearing about it.

I'm just a tad biased - so I'll keep to just recommending you download the demo and give that a whirl, it'll let you try it out for free and give you a decent idea of what the games about.

Football Manager 2011 Demo

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by fortheglory

I'm not much of a soccer guy. I am wondering if this game is any good or not? I keep hearing about it.

I wasn't much of one, either. FM turns you into one. Lots of depth, and the latest version makes it much easier to get into tactics and player development.

Plus, the modeling of real world soccer is amazing. I don't usually go for real players in OOTP or FOF, but the way players perform and develop in FM is uncanny. They know who should turn out well before the player himself knows it.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by fortheglory

I'm not much of a soccer guy. I am wondering if this game is any good or not? I keep hearing about it.

It's fantastic. Start out with a top club and download tactics and training off the forums. If you get the really popular ones it will be very hard to mess things up initially. After you've played for a while and are hooked you can work on training and tactics and/or lower teams.

It's far and away the best text sim and if you like the genre it's criminal not to play FM.

[Mota]

I think you are mistaken when you call this a text sim in 2011. I'm playing right now, watching a bunch of guys on the screen chase down the ball, seeing their strengths and weaknesses play out on the field. I had completely forgotten I had this game due to Rift and an earlier slew of Xbox games, but I've been back in after reading some posts recently and am loving this game. So far my AFC Telford team is in 2nd place in the Conference North league so am looking forward to many challenges as I fight my way to the top!

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by fortheglory

I'm not much of a soccer guy. I am wondering if this game is any good or not? I keep hearing about it.

If you've never played it before, yeah. It's pretty insane. It's not as fast in terms of simming like any text-sim you'll play, it's truly about management and micromanaging details. But there's a way around most of that and it's a pretty immersive experience even if you know nothing about football. You can download tactics and pretty much whatever else you need and you'll find yourself getting caught up into it. It's crazy.

[fortheglory]

Downloading demo now...I do like the genre, but I know nothing about soccer...I never have even particularly liked the game. Maybe that's about to change!

[fortheglory]

In the meantime I've been snooping around the Football Manager forums...a lot of people there don't seem as a high on it as here, but then again, FOF is a fantastic game!

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by fortheglory

In the meantime I've been snooping around the Football Manager forums...a lot of people there don't seem as a high on it as here, but then again, FOF is a fantastic game!

I didn't upgrade to FM11 from FM10 this year. I'm not sure how big an advance forward the new version is, but...I wasn't suggest you buy the old version, because if you've never played it...makes sense to start with the latest edition.

I have noticed some people annoyed over there with 11 not feeling like it's as far a step forward as it ought to be, so that might be what you're reading. Dunno.

[fortheglory]

Actually what I am reading is that a lot of the features aren't working properly. It seems the United States soccer in particular. I won't really know the difference though because I don't really have a clue to start with. Is the game buggy overall? That's what the word on the boards seem to be.

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by fortheglory

Actually what I am reading is that a lot of the features aren't working properly. It seems the United States soccer in particular. I won't really know the difference though because I don't really have a clue to start with. Is the game buggy overall? That's what the word on the boards seem to be.

You really need to take what you read over on the SI forum with a grain of salt. I've been playing this FM for several years now and have never seen anything beyond minor bugs. I really liked last years version and was tempted not to get it this year. Since I've really been digging into this years version I don't see myself going back.

I you really want to make adjusting easier I recommend getting the "Theorums and Tactical Frameworks" guide. I think the like is still in the tactics forum at SI.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by fortheglory

In the meantime I've been snooping around the Football Manager forums...a lot of people there don't seem as a high on it as here, but then again, FOF is a fantastic game!

The SI forums have a loud contingent of bitchers that nevertheless buy the new release every year. If you have 10 I can see not buying 11, but if you don't own the game, start with 11. I would, though, keep an eye on digital download sites and wait until there's a good sale.