ALRIGHT BOYZ...FOOTBALL MANAGER 2015 ANNOUNCED

[Bobble]

Anyone got a good skin to suggest? Something on the darker side, perhaps?

[DaddyTorgo]

I need to share this story, because for me it's moments like this that make the game so great.

This story focuses on one player, in one game. I'm hoping that in some way it's a precursor to reality.

2018/2019

Gigi Buffon is 41 years young. Still a 2-star goalie by my scouts. He's no longer the starting GK for my Juventus squad, having been supplanted by the 27 year old Jeronimo Rulli in the everyday duties.

Still, with a heavy schedule, he manages to post 15 starts (and one substitute appearance that we're getting to) while only allowing 12 goals. Technically, better than Rulli. He actually performed better in his 10 Serie A starts then in his 3 Coppa Italia starts. But, like a true champion, he saved the best for the biggest stage. In 3 Champions League appearances (including 1 substitute appearance we'll get to) he registered a 0.43 allowed/90 rate.

I fight my way through Bayern Leverkusen, Chelski, and Man City in the Champions League, only to end up with Real Madrid as my opponent in the Champions League final. For the second year in a row.

Last year I won the game on a 118th minute goal by Domenico Berardi (one of an incredible 48 in 45 appearances he scored).

The game is to be played at the San Siro.

Madrid play a 4-1-4-1 versus my 4-3-1-2.

I start Isco and Alvaro Morata to really rub it in to Madrid (at least in my head). It also helps they've been the lynchpin of my offense this year.

Chiellini scores in the 2nd minute. I feel the party starting.
Berardi scores in the 31st minute and the party is in full swing.
Morata goes off injured at the half, to be replaced with Carlos Tevez.

Yarmolenko scores in the 63rd minute for Madrid.
CR7 scores in the 65th minute.
Disaster. Italian hearts are breaking.
BUT WAIT...CARLOS TEVEZ SCORES IN THE 68th MINUTE ON A PUTBACK. One of 3 FK's that Berardi puts off the crossbar in the game (Chiellini's first goal was one too).
I bunker down.
Toni fucking Kroos scores in the 84th minute from long-range.

At this point, having had to use 2 subs due to injury, I say "fuck it." If I'm going into a crapshoot and it may be his last Champions League final, I want to give Buffon a chance to go out in a blaze of glory (in case he retires before I get back to the CL final again). I bring on Buffon for Rulli.

Extra time is scoreless.
ON TO PENALTY KICKS

James Rodriguez scores the first for Madrid.
Tevez scores the first for us.
CR7 scored the next for Madrid.
Vidal scored the next for us.
BUFFON SAVES THE PK BY KROOS
Asamoah scores for us.
Bernat scores for Madrid.
Berardi scores for us.
All the pressure is on Yarmolenko now. He has to score to keep Madrid going.
You know what happened. BUFFON MADE THE SAVE!!!

If that's his last Champions League finals appearance, at least he'll go out a winner, having helped us to be 3x defending champions by virtue of saving (and legit saving, not having the guy miss high/wide) 2 penalties.

[MrBug708]

Got an urge to play fm 15. Kicking myself for not ordering it earlier on a discount. Are there any deals out now?

[MrBug708]

On sale again on steam....33% off

[Bisbo]

It is getting totally ripped on Steam reviews - can't remember seeing anything so negative there before.

[MrBug708]

It's a pretty big change IMO. Of course, Dwight Gayle had 8 league goals in 4 games earlier on

[MrBug708]

SoI just played the Euro Super Cup. I took a 4-1 lead into halftime. I blew the lead but recovered for an 5-4 lead, before squandering that. We go into extra time and I proceed to lose 11-6. Yup. I gave up 6 goals in ET. I gave up 41 shots, 18 of them on goal, while I had 30 shots, 17 on goal. Despite giving up 11 goals, my GK had a 6.2 rating and my lowest guy was just 5.0

Very crazy, especially since the game tying 5th goal was clearly offside.

[Grover]

That's why I'm having so much trouble getting into this year's version. The scoring is ridiculous.

[Icy]

I keep waiting for the final patch and roster update.

Sadly is happening me a lot in the last years. I pre-order, read about all the issues in the SI forums and decide to wait for the first patch before starting my first long term game. Then when the first one arrives, i decide to wait for the second one, then for the February one along the roster update... so I end waiting until March before I play long term careers and wondering why do i preorder it every year... but I'm sure i'll preorder again next year

I'm thinking if I should just stop visiting official game forums, this applies to most of games nowadays. I was way happier in my ignorance years ago when patches and forums did not exist for any game.

[QuikSand]

Wary of bad reviews, but looking to start up a career.

Does this game allow the cloud-based save feature under steam? I would like to play on two PCs, this would be a blessing.

[SirFozzie]

yes,you can choose to save to cloud

[MrBug708]

The finances are much harder (and probably realistic) in the game. I've won a few trophies (EPL, Champions) a couple times with CP, but I've unable been able to get more than about 30 million in transfer funds. Now I've got debts because the board is building a new ground for me. I cant get my transfer transfer wage bigger than 45 percent as it usually hovers around 30% so my young players dont help me bring money back

[TroyF]

OK, need some advice. Have a player like I've never seen before.

Defender, right. (Only position he can play) He's a wonderkid.

Acceleration: `7
Pace: 18
Work Rate: 20
Tackling: 16
Marking: 15
Passing: 13

Dribbling. . . . . 4
Crossing: 12

He's 19, so he probably still has some room to grow. Obviously, he's never going to be able to dribble the ball without looking like he's drunk.

What's the best way to use him? Limited full back with it set not to run with ball?

[whomario]

I assume Accelaration is really 17 and not 7 ?

Poor Dribbling to me was never a deal breaker. Still try your damndest (hard training on individual focus) to get it up into the 7,8 range and then live with it. I think i had a similar player do very well for me a while back in a FM14 save, actually had him play as an attacking FB (with less dribling ticked)

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by whomario

I assume Accelaration is really 17 and not 7 ?

Poor Dribbling to me was never a deal breaker. Still try your damndest (hard training on individual focus) to get it up into the 7,8 range and then live with it. I think i had a similar player do very well for me a while back in a FM14 save, actually had him play as an attacking FB (with less dribling ticked)

Yeah, 17.

I'll give that a shot. He's been on dribbling training. Hope he can get it figured out a little better

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Yeah, 17.

I'll give that a shot. He's been on dribbling training. Hope he can get it figured out a little better

agreed with previos comment. train his dribbling. most FB's dont go 1v1 as often a winger does so his quality of dribbling wont be as much as a hinderance as it would for someone else. plus his speed will make up for his poor dribbling. can you train him to knock the ball past opponents and to dribble down the side. those 2 will also maximise his offense and limit his liabilities down the side

[SirFozzie]

Happy Patch Day/Winter Transfer Update!

DATA

Database 15.3.0 included with winter transfer window updates
PERFORMANCE

Improved saving times
Fixed rare crash during processing
Fixed rare Mac-only crash when entering match
Fixed rare instability when accessing player profile using keyboard navigation
Fixed rare crash when setting player for release via specific news item
MATCH ENGINE (v1555)

Fixed issue where players would sometimes not make an obvious challenge for the ball
Fixed bug making saves too difficult at certain heights and angles
Fixed keepers not punching balls they can’t hold at certain heights
Improved goalkeeper reactions after an initial save
Fixed bug where fifth official moves onto the pitch over the course of a match
Fixed bug with physio walking across the pitch
Made first time kicks a little harder
Improved link between first touches and player attributes
Fixed bug where keepers sometimes hesitate on sweeping up ball behind defence
Fixed instances of free kicks being taken with wrong foot
Improved wall position at some free kicks
Improved marking and positioning at some throws
Made players run more directly with ball when on counter
Increased likelihood of players attacking space with ball at feet
Fixed some issues with close range finishing
Fixed a couple of bugs with player reactions to long kicks
Improved defensive positioning of support duty strikers and attack duty AMCs
Fixed bug causing defences to push up prematurely
Prevented d-lines from pushing up too quickly when ball with opposition
Made teams get back a bit quicker when ball changes hands
Fixed bug in dribbling speed that overpowered certain dribblers
Fixed some instances of centre halves engaging ball player and breaking their defensive line
Reworking of when players should look to commit fouls
Fixed some issues around reactions to rebounds, saves and deflections
Fixed high defensive lines at wide free kicks
Improved the balance of Goals Per Game in low CA leagues
TRANSFERS & CONTRACTS

Increased transfer activity in Israel
Improved balance of managerial appointments at big clubs in inactive or view-only leagues
Further balancing of both transfer and contract negotiations
Resolved issue where Chief Scout was not cancelling assignments when being instructed to do so
Resolved issue where a players full attributes were available to the user when player was signed on trial
Resolved issue where a current player would be ask to become a staff member on unrealistic wages
Improved logic behind affiliate club requests
INTERACTION

Improved the balancing of a number of player happinesses including decreasing the regularity of players asking to join interested teams.
Improved the balancing of teammates supporting unhappy players including players unhappy at the sale of a hot prospect
Fixed rare instances of players asking to join an interested team when no interest has been shown in them
Fixed rare instances of promises for continental qualification failing despite being achieved
Fixed rare instance of a new contract promise failing despite a new contract having been signed
Fixed players becoming happy with playing time despite not playing any games
COMPETITIONS & RULEGROUPS

Added new English Premier League TV Deal
Updated Foreign players rules in Turkey
Correct teams now selected for Playoffs in Belgium
Improved Romanian fixture scheduling from the 2015/16 season onwards
Fixed players staying on international duty for Oceania Cup
Fixed players staying on international duty between African World Cup Qualifying Playoff
Fixed scheduling error in Copa America 2016
Fixed lack of invite to select squad for 2017 pre-Confederations Cup friendly match
Fixed top goalscorer award not being awarded correctly for Copa Libertadores
Fixed some players not getting cap updates after appearing in friendly national matches
Fixed A-League squad building issuess
Fixed players joining A-League teams for a single day
Fixed Wellington Phoenix work permit issues
Improved MLS squad building
Fixed issue where it was hard to buy a 3rd Designated Player slot in MLS
Fixed MLS fixture schedule not having variation from second season onwards
MEDIA & NEWS

Fixed news issues relating to Nations League
Fixed some league odds
Fixed code in news item for 2020 European Championship
Fixed various news and press conference issues regarding Brazil v Argetina Superclasico
Various text fixes and improvements
USER INTERFACE

Fixed Facebook Login on Mac 10.10
Fixed league table widget having no scrollbar
Fixed player names not displaying on the best eleven pitch
Saved tactics are available to select from in-match tactics screen
Fixed substitutes not showing up on penalty takers list during a match
Fixed being unable to ask two players in central positions to swap positions
Fixed various illegible text issues in the light skin
Fixed issue with legends and icons being misaligned if the person was retired
IN-GAME EDITOR

Fixed Disliked People and Favourite People not working on any IGE menus
Fixed editing licensed kits
STANDALONE EDITOR

Fixed a few data extraction issues from Editor to Game
Further fixes and improvements to file verification error messages in the Editor
Fixes to registration dates on edit files
Fixed custom competitions not running for a second cycle
Fixed edited nation transfer preferences not extracting to the game
Fixed some kit editing issues
Fixed prize money payout on edit files
FMC-SPECIFIC

Fixed Union Espanola always qualifying for Copa Libertadores as winners of Chile Closing Stage winners every season
Bullet Throw PPM can now be learnt in FMC
Various cut off and skin fixes for dark and light skins
Manager Landmarks in Club History now correctly being updated
Non User teams now able to be imported into Versus Mode

[Ryche]

Hopefully my team will finally wear its home kits now.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Icy

I'm thinking if I should just stop visiting official game forums, this applies to most of games nowadays. I was way happier in my ignorance years ago when patches and forums did not exist for any game.

My enjoyment of games is directly proportionally to how little I visit official/Steam forums....

[whomario]

I am officially on the fence and found the game as a steam-key for 20€. Kindly sell me on the new version in 3,2,1 ... What are the substantial upgrades in terms of management and/or tactics?

one specific question; I saw tactic screen where it looked as if you could manually move players not just between "slots" (MR, AMR for example) but put them in between the slots for a winger or a midfielder manually, with no prefixed position slots. Is that true ? Does it work well ?

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by whomario

I am officially on the fence and found the game as a steam-key for 20€. Kindly sell me on the new version in 3,2,1 ... What are the substantial upgrades in terms of management and/or tactics?

one specific question; I saw tactic screen where it looked as if you could manually move players not just between "slots" (MR, AMR for example) but put them in between the slots for a winger or a midfielder manually, with no prefixed position slots. Is that true ? Does it work well ?

It doesn't work exactly that way.

You put players in a base formation and they start all lined up (say like 4-4-2). Then you give them roles, and they move based on those roles. So say you make your left-sided midfielder a winger-attack in your 4-4-2, it'll move him forward of the rest of the midfield line.

IMO, it's a good thing, as it gives you an actual visualization of how your roles are creating a team shape that you didn't get before.

[bhlloy]

So... how does this play with the new patch? Still serious realism issues with the # of goals scored?

[Ryche]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

So... how does this play with the new patch? Still serious realism issues with the # of goals scored?

Hadn't seen an issue before the patch with the number of goals, not seeing a problem after either. Playing with a team newly promoted to the top Turkish League though so I guess it could be an issue in higher ranked leagues.

[Shepp]

From what I can tell over at the SI forum is that the high scoring problem is still there but occurs mostly with teams that use a tactic that overloads on attack.

[Balldog]

With MLS getting under way soon I am getting the itch to play again. Does FM15 have update rosters and the ability to start in 2015?

[whomario]

@balldog: You can start in december 14 when selecting a country like brazil as a loaded league in the setup


so frustrated right now. Finally bought the game and have the fixed idea in my head have a south american centric setup/career, start in Argentina and now discovered that there is a major screwup in terms of continental qualification. Basically it happens that like the 4th or 5th placed teams don´t qualify, while teams finishing mid table do... I had similar frustrations a few seasons back and last year with Asia ...

Seems that playing anywhere but in Europe is bound to be disapointing again ...

quick editor question: When i want to change the foreign player numbers, where do i do this ? Want to give the APL a try but would like stricter foreign player rules (maybe 10 for APL teams and 5 lower leagues)

Also, if i wanted to take the setup (or any other league) and add a simple playoff structure, what do i need to take care of ? (i love the idea of a playoff, because that way even if i should end up dominating the league there is at least a chance for an upset)
Would love to install a playoff of some sort in most of the minor prestige leagues for my own amusement.

[bulletsponge]

can anyone tell me where i can find the pregame editor. i cant seem to find it anywhere and im certain it comes with the game

[SirFozzie]

In steam:

Library - Tools

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

In steam:

Library - Tools

thanks

[HomerSimpson98]

Waiting on this dude to go on sale again. If you see or hear anything about that on the horizon, please let me know. Demo is awesome and I suck at it but man is it fun.

[Mike Lowe]

Am I seeing this correctly? There are NO online leagues/universes on the SIgames.com site?

Where are all of the leagues, assuming there are some top-notch ones out there? Or is everyone just playing solo?

Thanks so much!

[SirFozzie]

The FM16 April Fool's is Up.

Exclusive: Football Manager unveils new animations for coaches in 2016 edition - Mirror Online

[flere-imsaho]

Are we sure that's an April Fool's?

[miami_fan]

For those asking - yes, we will be an Official partner of @watfordfcsays next season. Not on back of shirt as not allowed in Prem.

— Miles Jacobson (@milesSI) April 25, 2015

[Flasch186]

This game's defense still frustrates me to no end. Every team I manage leaks goals. Every game. Even when I think Im setting everyone to be the most defensive minded CD's, and LFB. We score a goal... I can bank on giving one up. Last ten minutes? Definitely giving up one. Oh, and every team becomes a bunch of pansies on 50/50's.

I'm a LLAMA and I have been with like 7 teams in this career and every team is the same F'n problems.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

This game's defense still frustrates me to no end. Every team I manage leaks goals. Every game. Even when I think Im setting everyone to be the most defensive minded CD's, and LFB. We score a goal... I can bank on giving one up. Last ten minutes? Definitely giving up one. Oh, and every team becomes a bunch of pansies on 50/50's.

I'm a LLAMA and I have been with like 7 teams in this career and every team is the same F'n problems.

If you're defending late in a game then I'd recommend not just tweaking mentality - but going for a 'screen' approach and perhaps dropping your midfield (or at least one of them) deep into a DMC position ... then have the the defense punt the ball out wide to wingers to waste time with ... bottling things up with bodies and time wasting is the key to seeing out the clock ... especially in the lower leagues.

[Flasch186]

Nope. We get upwards of 15 shots per game yet struggle to score and we leak goals like mad. Its every team I manage. Every formation. We score I can bet on being "pegged back immediately" and near the end of a game or half its quite often the defense just is apparently too dumb (perhaps not humans or maybe theyve never played the game before) to know that they should be tighter. I shouldnt have to tell them to tighten up every F'n game when we're up by 1 with 7 minutes left. Of all the iterations of this game Ive bought which seems like every one this one has been the most disappointing, from the phantom corner kicks that shouldnt have been but the game cant tell which side of the corner flag the ball left the field on, to the fact that when I take over a team they decide to all become pussies on 50/50's (so much so that the pressers even talk about their lack of aggression...every team I manage)... Damnit.

[Grover]

The Impossible Dream (FM15) - Front Office Football Central

Finally feeling it in FM15 and I'm chronicling it! Leicester was 9th on November 6 with 10 points. Currently midway through April and the club is 6th. We made no signings, all improvements have been done through tactics.

[Flasch186]

new team. Same results. different formation. same results.

[whomario]

At lower level i think that Stamina is sth that one should value highly for defensive purposes, especially if you leak goals late. As a player gets tired, essentially all his attributes go down.

Another thing i noticed in the lower leagues this version is that the "sit back and hoof the ball long" aproach did not work, i had more success playing only slightley more defensive and still try to get attacks in. Basically Having a decent back-to-the-goal striker who can hold on to the ball a bit is great to have as well when defending a lead.

What exactly are your adjustments when up with, say, 20 minutes left ?

Personally i tend to concede quite a few goals myself, but then again it is a bit by design for me (4:3 is better than 1:0 in my book ).

Have you tried playing 5 at the back or even a 3-5-2 type formation ? The latter helped me a lot, although admittedly at a CL contender (went from leaking goals with a 4-2-3-1 to being pretty damn stable with a more posession oriented 3-5-2 with both wide midfielders decent defensively).

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

new team. Same results. different formation. same results.

Do you have a saved 'late game w/ lead strategy'?

[I. J. Reilly]

Does anyone know what difference having a ssd will have in game versus a hdd? I know the load and save times will go down a lot, but what about the standard waiting time while other games are being simmed?

[Mike Lowe]

Thinking of picking this up. While I know the series is a slam dunk must own, is this year's version worth picking up still? I haven't played since FM 11.

Do I need to mod the game to get real teams, players, etc.?

Last, do we anticipate a drop in price soon via Steam or elsewhere?

Thank you, FM fans!

[Ryche]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Thinking of picking this up. While I know the series is a slam dunk must own, is this year's version worth picking up still? I haven't played since FM 11.

Do I need to mod the game to get real teams, players, etc.?

Last, do we anticipate a drop in price soon via Steam or elsewhere?

Thank you, FM fans!

Probably will be a sale the weekend of the Champions League final. We'll worth it in my opinion. No mods needed for real players.

[MizzouCowboy]

I've been playing what seems like non-stop lately, have logged 121 hours on steam. Pretty much every chance I get I try to get a few games in.

My career with Bury has been amazing. (I'm ALWAYS Bury, every since FM09)
We started out in League 2 and were picked to finish in 7th place. We far exceeded expectations and easily won the league with 96 points. This was accomplished with player loans mostly from Man City, getting Seko Fofano, Thierry Ambrose, Duane Holmes, Shay Facey and Mathias Bossaerts.

We moved on to League 1, with expectations to try to survive relegation. And again, Bury defied all odds and won the league with one match remaining. A lot of luck happened in the last few weeks as the top two teams couldn't get a win and we played flawless. Again we used loan players and actually made a profit for the year. Bossaerts, Holmes, Ambrose and a few others were key to the success.

On to the third season, and Bury is now in the Championship League. Obviously picked to be relegated but are holding our own through 18 games, mid table in 12th position, 7 points short of a playoff spot. This season has been injury after injury. We've had 6 first team players out at one time, and are slowly but surely getting some guys back. One of my key players got a BS red card and received a 2 game ban, only to come back for 21 minutes and get another. During training he hurts himself for another 6 weeks.

This game is crack.

[aran]

My very limited experience with FM (150 hours across three editions of the game, four careers always starting in lower leagues) has indicated to me that the game seems to go easy on you in your first season when you're in lower leagues. I can't remember a career I started, even when I was relatively incompetent with tactics (I've never been "good", nor have I used tactics from online) and still new to figuring out the right personnel to hire, where I didn't do well in my first season, achieving promotion or significantly beating the media prediction.

Then the game slaps me down the next year.

Definitely it's a small sample size and maybe I just got lucky, but it didn't feel right to me after happening in three straight careers when I'm not even totally clear on what I'm doing or what some important features do.

[3ric]

Football Manager Meets Moneyball (Pt 1) - The Set Pieces

An excellent 10-part article describing a Moneyball dynasty with Bristol City

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by I. J. Reilly

Does anyone know what difference having a ssd will have in game versus a hdd? I know the load and save times will go down a lot, but what about the standard waiting time while other games are being simmed?

Load times should be improved with an SSD. Sim times I'm almost positive are going to be processor-based.

Originally Posted by aran

My very limited experience with FM (150 hours across three editions of the game, four careers always starting in lower leagues) has indicated to me that the game seems to go easy on you in your first season when you're in lower leagues. I can't remember a career I started, even when I was relatively incompetent with tactics (I've never been "good", nor have I used tactics from online) and still new to figuring out the right personnel to hire, where I didn't do well in my first season, achieving promotion or significantly beating the media prediction.

Then the game slaps me down the next year.

Definitely it's a small sample size and maybe I just got lucky, but it didn't feel right to me after happening in three straight careers when I'm not even totally clear on what I'm doing or what some important features do.

What I think happens here is that most folks, between their first and second seasons, bring in large numbers of players for the first time, maybe even changing tactics. That drops the cohesion factor down quite a bit, and it continues to go south if you tinker in the beginning of the second season because you're struggling.

Unless you know exactly what you're doing (and sometimes not even then), I recommend a "slow and steady" approach. Put together a tactic you like and works for your team, work on replacing your lower-performing players with better-performing players. Resist the urge to drop the entire squad in the transfer season, etc....

[aran]

I think the transfer mania and dip in performance is more often caused by being promoted, in my experience. Upon promotion you typically have to get rid of at least half of your squad and also introduce a few new loaners in order to be at all at a similar skill level to the competition. Although It does depend on the league you're promoted into/from.

[MizzouCowboy]

My 3rd season with Bury and my first in the Championship League ended with a 10th place finish. With four games to go we were in 6th place and in contention for a playoff spot. Then we couldn't find the net. At all. In those final four games we were outscored something like 14-3. Big disappointment but if we had won promotion to the Premiere League it'd been a huge asskicking each match.

My striker, Marvin Sordell, ended up with 36 goals, one short of the league lead. He had one game with 4 goals, all from the spot. Weirdest game I've ever had. So of course, the next season rolls around and he wants to go to a bigger club and I end up selling him for 2.6 million, 3.6 with incentives. We bought him for 245 thousand. Now we have no one that can finish, but are still looking for a mid-table finish despite being relegation favorites.

And the USMNT came calling and I couldn't resist. I have no clue what to do, almost feel like it's my first game in FM.