***The Official Football Manager Thread***

[Hunkerdown]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Team USA:

Well had a lackluster WCQ against costa rica, 0-0, but it was in Costa Rica, remain 1 point behind Mexico in table.

Chicago Fire:

Chicago is on Fire, no pun intended. Just finished a 2-1 win over DC United that vaulted me to third place in East. East is very tight, anyones to stay on top. I added Conrad to Defensive line which has helped alot. Here is current starting 11:

GK- Busch
DL- Nunez
DC- Cochrane
DC- Conrad
DR- McTavish
DMC- Clark
ML- Cordoba
MR- Pause
AMC- King
AMC- Gaven
ST- Jaqua

Bench:
GK - Hall
D/M- Jewsbury
D- Tabe
M- Banner
M - Pappa
M/F - Smith
M/F - Noonan
F - Nyrako

[Acid]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Started a game with England, currently top of the group for WCQ. Had an amazing comeback against Croatia, went down 2-0 early. Scored 3 in the second half to win 3-2.



I'm loving my midfield. Young -- Gerrard -- Barry -- Walcott

[OSUFan_88]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

This is going to sound stupid, but does anyone have the face packs and or skins for 2008?

I really need to pick up 09...

[Tomasperez9]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

This is going to sound stupid, but does anyone have the face packs and or skins for 2008?

I really need to pick up 09...

http://sortitoutsi.net/2008/graphics#

[Hunkerdown]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Team USA:

WCQ:

USA 2 Haiti 0

Robbie Rogers gets first CAP and two goals!!

USA 0 Mexico 3

They just dominate me, cannot figure it out, tried a few different tatics, beat both WCQ games and in gold cup. I am 0-3 against El Tri. Dios Mio. I am in 2nd place still after loss, with matches against Canada and Honduras to go.

[Tomasperez9]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Team USA:

WCQ:

USA 2 Haiti 0

Robbie Rogers gets first CAP and two goals!!

USA 0 Mexico 3

They just dominate me, cannot figure it out, tried a few different tatics, beat both WCQ games and in gold cup. I am 0-3 against El Tri. Dios Mio. I am in 2nd place still after loss, with matches against Canada and Honduras to go.

...and there lies the problem. Be consistent with your tactics so your players can adapt easily. If you are constantly switching your tactics, your players will suffer. Subtle tweaks are necessary each and every game, but massive overhauls of the foundation of your tactics every several games can undermine and destroy your team's cohesiveness and the players' ability to gel, thus almost surely ruining your chances of success. Be wary, it takes 2-4 years for the players to adapt completely and play to their full ability, but once they do, the rewards -- their play on the field and their personality off the field -- are tremendous. Stick with what you have, unless you know it won't work in the long run...

[Tomasperez9]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Okay. After seeing everyone here talk about their national team saves, I decided to start one up of my own. I wanted to use a good but not great team. So, I chose Serbia, in part because they have my favorite player in that of Nikola Zigic (more on him below). I love the team. I had a dominating 3-0 win over Faroe Islands to start the WCQ campaign, where I had 77% possession and Stankovic put on a masterful performance (2 goals and a late assist to round of the scoring). Next up was a game at France. With an injury-ridden side (no Stankovic, Ivanovic, or Rakavina) I took an early 1-0 lead; however, my depelted defense was taken advantage of, conceding 2 late second half goals and falling 2-1. I dominated Lithuania 3-0 with another 2 goal performance from Stan-the-Man. Finally, I just finished a 2-1 win at Austria with a dramatic 35 yard first-touch late winner from substitute Dejan Milovanovic. I'm currently in 2nd place with 9 points from 4 games with a +6 goal differential, although I still have to face Romania twice and the other 4 teams once again.

Now, on to Zigic. I love Zigic. I think he is a rare talent that was wasted at Valencia but really showed his ability before he was at Valencia (with Racing and Red Star) and while at loan with Racing this past season. I have never used a huge striker like him before and don't know how to play with him. Currently, I'm running a 4-4-2 with him playing in a deep FC role as the link man between the midfield and Pantelic (the other striker). But, I don't think that this maximizes his ability. His "likes to beat offsides trap" trait doesn't really suit this role, so he wanders farther up the pitch than I would like. And no, I'm not currently playing with him as a target man, as I don't really like the ball being played primarily through one player (whether he is a playmaker or target man) as he, and thus my team, can easily be shutdown by a single good defender. What do you recommend I do with him, as I'm really not getting any good performances (or goals) from him?

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[Hunkerdown]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

...and there lies the problem. Be consistent with your tactics so your players can adapt easily. If you are constantly switching your tactics, your players will suffer. Subtle tweaks are necessary each and every game, but massive overhauls of the foundation of your tactics every several games can undermine and destroy your team's cohesiveness and the players' ability to gel, thus almost surely ruining your chances of success. Be wary, it takes 2-4 years for the players to adapt completely and play to their full ability, but once they do, the rewards -- their play on the field and their personality off the field -- are tremendous. Stick with what you have, unless you know it won't work in the long run...

Actually worded that wrong, I used a different tatic before, when they beat me in first game. I have been using same tatics through confederations cup, gold cup and WCQ games since. Also try to make sure players that have high moral, fitness and in a natural position. They just have my number i guess?

[Bruins]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

These are the settings for the "tall" striker in my tactic...

[Tomasperez9]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

These are the settings for the "tall" striker in my tactic...

Thanks. Mine has Zigic with a lot more freedom on pitch. I'm not going use exactly what you have as the difference in mentality and settings between that and the rest of team's will most likely create too large of a gap between him and everyone else, but I will definitely mess with yours to make it work with my team.

[Tomasperez9]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Well, I can safely say that whatever tweaks I made to Zigic sure worked. Bravo, Bruins, bravo. In the first game with the new settings...

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[Whitesox]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Congrats on finding something that works, although I don't know if you can be sure after one game.

[Qb]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Good to see TP's love of Zigic is alive and well. I fell victim to his awesome power once or twice in FIFA...

[Tomasperez9]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Good to see TP's love of Zigic is alive and well. I fell victim to his awesome power once or twice in FIFA...

To be honest with you, I first found out about Zigic in FIFA06 WC Edition and never have left him. I think it had something to do with my 50+ game win streak online where he and Mateja Kezman averaged 3+ goals a game each. Man, I played that game way too much. Either way, he's not as dominate in FIFA09 or in FM09 as he was in FIFA06WC, but I still gotta love him. It's too bad my Zigic Valencia jersey has a nasty stain on it and my Kezman Serbia and Montenegro jersey has become a tad tight, or I'd be showing my Serbia strikeforce pride more often than I do now. Once a fan, always a fan, I guess. If only Serbia would be in the next iteration of FIFA, some fools online would be in for quite a skill exhibition...

[Bruins]

Re: ***The Official Football Manager Thread***

Good to see TP's love of Zigic is alive and well. I fell victim to his awesome power once or twice in FIFA...

I was money with Valencia in FIFA 08.