I’ve played a fair bit of FM18, not a massive amount compared to a lot of the community, but by the time FM19 is released in November it’ll be my most played edition to date. Up until recently I’d have said that I was disappointed in this year’s game, not because it’s a poor game, but because I found it difficult (especially tactically) and I hadn’t really gotten into a save. A personal save with Manchester United has reignited my interest, and despite it not being a challenging save, it’s given me a few thoughts and realisations that will stand me in good stead as FM19 comes out.
Instant success isn’t needed (or really wanted)
I’ve been playing managment games (LMA, CM, FM) for over 15 years now, it was a huge part of my teenage years, and I’m sure I’m not alone in saying at that age winning was everything. Tactical sliders and arrows meant that I never gave too much thought to what I was telling my teams to do, but as soon as something clicked my train of thought was simple and unwavering – DO NOT DEVIATE. Why would I risk ruining something that I developed with a philosophy as complex as throwing a suspect substance at a wall and seeing what stuck?
The problem with this is that I tried going back to a save from FM11 where I had this recently, and I barely touched it. For a bit of background, I had a save with Manchester United (sensing a theme here?) on FM11 that I consider my best ever, by a mile. I went up to about 2035 and I won the lot, over and over again. I never looked to leave United, I managed England in a couple of different spells (winning the Euro’s and World Cup) but it was a save based on winning everything with very little challenge. I thought I had lost this save forever, but recently I found that a friend had an old copy on his laptop, so although a lot of progress was lost, I fired it up and let the nostalgia flow. I enjoyed looking back at some of my favourite ever regens (a few of which I posted on Twitter) but after playing about 4 games, smashing City twice and scoring about 20 goals, I turned it back off and haven’t loaded it again. Great memories, but memories they should remain.
Going forward I want saves that have a bit more about them, seeing a club grow, a tactical idea I’d like to pursue, or producing an array of young talent, something that provides a main challenge and something to provide a longer term challenge than just winning everything.
I don’t need to be a tactical expert to create a system I like
Tactics are comfortably the area of Football Manager that I’m weakest at. I have a basic understanding, but I have nowhere near the knowledge to replicate real life systems, or create complex, unorthodox formations and playing styles. I started my current Manchester United save during the World Cup, and wanted to play a similar shape to the England set-up under Gareth Southgate. I wasn’t going for a full replication, but I knew I wanted a back 3 and 2 free roaming central midfielders. Even I could produce that.
I started well, the team looked good, but it was all a bit toothless, chances were few and far between and we weren’t scoring much from open play. It was all a bit like the criticisms that Southgate himself faced for England’s campaign.
I’m far too quick to pack in a tactical idea, it’s a flaw that I’m aware I’ve had for a long time, and it’s all too easy to just set up a quick 4-2-3-1 and be done with it. I liked the basis of what I had though, and decided that small tweaks were a better option than an entire overhaul. My DM and a striker were replaced with 2 wingers to match the shape used by Antonio Conte at Chelsea, but the style of play remained largely the same; based on retaining possession and playing from the back. With further tweaks what I have know is the same defensive set-up since the very beginning, but further forward the team play a fast, exciting style with far more chances being created. Ultimately though, it started from a base that I wanted to use, and although the shape is different I have a system that I like, that I created.
Player Development is great, but I could do so much more
Developing young players is one facet of the game I would say I’m fairly good at. I’ve had a lot of youngsters come through at various clubs over the years, either brought in or through youth intakes, but for every star I’ve devoted time and attention to, there are 5 or 6 others that could have made it, and have fallen by the wayside. That isn’t just bad luck, its negligence on my part, based on an insistence on getting it right for my biggest prospects.
My issue is focusing on star ratings and obsessing on 5* potential players, when the fact of the matter is no team is full of 5* players, and everyone else needs to be nurtured too, either to make it into a first team squad or to be sold on and make a decent career for themselves.
One of the reasons for having so many players who don’t make the grade is that until recently I signed everybody from each youth intake, and 80-90% of those players never got any attention, any tutoring, before being released when their youth contract ends. Even in this post from my Climbing the Ladder series, where I completely wrote off an entire youth intake with the label of a ‘Golden Generation’ I still signed them all and let them sit and rot. At the lowest levels especially that’s complete idiocy, as it’s spending money on wages and wasting time of coaches on players that will never amount to anything or get anywhere near the first team.
In FM19 I want to develop a clear path for players through their youth careers and into the first team, but more importantly I want to also develop others that will not make the cut, but can still be developed into saleable assets.
A long term save would be great, but it’s not paramount to enjoying the game
I set out at the start of FM18 with the intention of having one long save to carry me right through the life span of the game. The idea was that by starting at the bottom and working up to the highest reaches of the game, I could encounter every type of challenge along the way. This didn’t happen, not by a long chalk, my longest save on this version of FM currently stands at just over 3 seasons. However, I’ve had some moments that I’ve really enjoyed this year. A season of over-achievement with Truro City, followed by joining Dover and sitting in the play-offs in a relegation predicted year is probably the highlight in terms of results. Besides this I have the satisfaction of developing an asymmetrical 3 man midfield for the first time, as well as finally setting up a 3 man defence and getting effective play from wingers for the first time in a while.
The joy of Football Manager is that there are so many different types of challenge within the same game, even from the very start. Saves can vary so much based on continent, country and even club, with finances and nation rules hugely affecting lots of areas of the game, and restrictions can also be applied by the player themselves. Homegrown, Youth Development, Director of Football, they’re all modifiers for a save without any actual in game restrictions, it all comes from the player’s own discipline.
With this in mind I have started to think about my plans for FM19, although I’m yet to decide for sure. I do have plans for a long term save, I think most people do, but if I reach a point in a save where I think it’s run it’s course, I won’t be afraid to call it quits and start a new adventure.
So those are the areas that I think I’ve learnt a lot about, and with FM18 not being done yet there’s still plenty of time for me to learn and improve some more. Thanks very much for reading!
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