Busting Football Manager Myths

Fuller FM's Blog: fullerfm.wordp...
Football Manager and it’s opaque nature go hand in hand and lead to a bunch of misleading assumptions and misconceptions. These myths eventually make it to me, and they make it to me in such numbers that I need to make a video about them to make sure you aren’t accidentally doing the wrong thing. It is all part of the FM experience figuring out what is true and what is false when nothing is actually giving you a straight answer and you keep just losing matches for no reason.
I mean there is a reason - we all know there is a reason, but actually zeroing in on it is hard to do. This is why I spend my life digging into this game so you have the answers you need on Football Manager without too much effort. If you have any other grand conspiracy theories about Football Manager I will see you on stream, because that’s the fastest way to reach me.
Much Love,
FM Senpai
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#FootballManager #Gaming #Hashtags

[@mlbv2]

Guilty of the luck modifier. Staying up that extra hour longer to get through that difficult run in while my "luck is in my favour", and only coming off once I start my next session with an "easy" team haha.

[@MyChoubaka]

I'm sure you're not the only one ! I cant count the times i went to bed 3 hours after i wanted initially go

[@paulleach3612]

Try explaining to your partner why you can't possibly stop playing it "Right now!" at 4am because you've taken Ghana to a world cup final and you can't risk your luck changing...

[@matthewcorrigan6450]

It feels so real tho 😭 my first game or two when I log back on are always shite

[@PvtVallen]

Yeah I refuse to believe that there isnt a luck modifier until I see someone literally rip the games code apart and prove beyond all doubt that it isnt there. I have had over a decade of seeing this genuinely seem like its a thing.

[@linkuppodcast9999]

Hi there! If you could spare some time and have a look at our channel it would be much appreciated! Drop a sub if you like what you see👍🏻

[@John_FMTV]

First team you chose to bust FM myths is Australian. I approve.

[@carldone6845]

One thing I’ve noticed on the mid-season slump is the oppositions team cohesion. At the start of the season when you look in data hub etc to view next opposition they will have no partnership lines. The ones that show if players play well together. If you look half way through the season you start to see them occur. Green lines from wingbacks to AMs, midfielder’s with connections etc. my team normally starts the season with good tactical understanding and a few player partnerships but I think the AI catches up.

[@keeganbanner3035]

Maybe in the first season, but the more you go through seasons the lines stick around

[@BlazinBlz]

loved that touch from the editors when he was pointing to the wrong corner, gave me a good chuckle

[@iamAyal]

Glad you enjoyed it, it was a fun one to make

[@BlazinBlz]

@@iamAyal it was the silly type of humor I love, so you have a random Aussie's mark of approval xD

[@Simon.Thornley]

Interesting explanation for the mid season slump - the one I had assumed before was the impact of weather during Dec - Feb on my usually short passing style.

[@whynot217]

I think there are a few reasons for it, of which this is one and the AI is another. There are also certain attributes that means certain players don’t like playing in that weather. And on top of that, once you draw or lose a couple of games the likelihood of winning drops. Again, this can be based off of certain players mentality. The AI is more of a factor in the season to season consistency eg ending one season really well and starting the next one poorly

[@joaonunogsm]

Positions don't eat CA, they make attributes more expensive though - so finishing is more expensive for a striker, marking for a defender, etc. So a player with many positions will have expensive attributes all around. The reason some positions don't appear to cost CA, is that they value the same attributes equally (like AML and AMR).

[@lillranga8464]

How does he have the current ability numbers showing

[@samn90834]

@@lillranga8464 in game editor turned on for purpose of the video

[@nurcirino]

Regarding the AI adapting, i only have one final question, ever, about these games: Can you do a video where you explain how to counter EVERY preset tactic? Like the 3-5-2, the 4-3-3, etc

[@nishanttalukdarmusic7224]

Against 352 If you're a good team, play cwb and inside forwards. Make your striker a CF , if he has physical presence TM , both wingers and your striker will create a 3vs3 against the CBs , your cwbs will harass their wingbacks. No10 on attack. BBM ,and DLP on defend.

[@jonpaul3868]

Put players that operate in the line between defenders and midfielders, that are: inverted wingers, DLF, AMC, Trequartista on AMC position, Second Striker, playmakers.

[@ben_crawford]

At that point are you even playing the game yourself

[@obviouscomments3832]

You’re not even playing the game yourself at this point

[@BrockMak]

1:52 ... except if you want to train someone into a goalkeeper. In PC version: If you change any outfield player into a goalkeeper, all their outfield positions are wiped out. On the other hand, if you try and switch a goalkeeper into an outfielder, you can't. You can technically train every position to 20 on mobile version, but because the primary position if from the further back position to the front (from goalkeeper to striker), this demigod probably would still be a worse striker than a goalkeeper.

[@Silver-lo6db]

One of the biggest issues I have with the game is when my whole team decides to be horribly bad and lose to the last team of the league, without even one or two players doing a decent match.

[@Kalebhaimes]

I support arsenal. It brings more immersion for me.

[@Mebsuta]

Complacency is a real thing in FM. If this happens to you all the time, you've probably failed as a manager to keep your team focused on a game they're walking in pretty chill not really caring. Manage your team talks and press conferences better and this should stop. It's what I've always heard being recommended and I think it works for me.

[@klotzinatorinho]

Are you over rotating your squad? I've toned down full team rotations unless everyone is match fit and had high tactical familiarity and my team stopped completely shitting the bed Also keep on top of dynamics and training Also also, keep match fitness up and have your squad actually be big enough for your schedule and the players are good enough for the league. I can't make bad players work like i could in the past

[@meko98743]

The trick is to have a team so OP that even at their most complacent, they smash the bottom team every time.

[@Silver-lo6db]

@@Mebsuta i do team talks every time in the locker room before games but if you have to do that to keep your team capable of winning against a bottom team it’s a bit sad because press conference are quite boring.

[@llSuperSnivyll]

About the "training a position consumes CA", I've also read that it depends on the attribute weights of the new position. Like, a Left Winger being retrained as a Right Winger is going to consume minimal amounts of CA if not none at all (because they value attributes the same way), but retraining to a Left Wing-Back is going to consume more because it gives more weight to other attributes. And about "injuries lower PA", well... maybe not in the absolute way, but it does reduce the odds of the player reaching that PA, so if you don't know the actual number it does look like the PA is getting lower.

[@FernandoOliveira-re7lr]

"magic smoothie cup" x'D

[@Kimera794]

I have a myth for you to think about, Zealand, regarding the accuracy of the youth intake preview: Closing the game (or the save) in between the "day you receive the youth intake preview" and the "youth intake day" will hamper the accuracy of the youth intake preview. Not closing the game/save during that period will lead to a youth intake that pretty much fits its preview. You can actually test this, using a HOYD with 20JPA and 20JPP, and probably make a video out of it 😃

[@Seamus2900]

I used to live in Greenland and have been to the Greenlandic football championships before. I am sure it will be a crazy experience for you and a lot of fun.

[@bagera8476]

After many years of playing FM i noticed that in the later stages of national cup football you way too often have to play against the team that you also have to play in the competition around that time period. And i had it happen in several different leagues.

[@vasilbatsev3297]

I would argue against the mid season slump being the better scouting knowledge of you're team. I've found it is (depending on your schedule ofc) more related to fatigue. In the start of the season your players are fresh and then normally the cup/s start, continental football starts and the time between matches becomes 3/4 days. My experience around this is building a wilder squat of players who can carry the easier matches.

[@nicofdarcyshire]

The luck seed actually existed in the past. In the old CM3 engine era, there were little guide books. Marc Vaughan (or someone of a similar level) talked about the calculation for how results are compiled. I believe this is in the 99/00 guide. A new seed hash for manager luck loaded each new game session.

[@paulleach3612]

I find having a back up tactic helps with the A.I teams shifting their tactical approach. Personally I run with a fairly simple tactic that is then tweaked into; balanced, positive, and attack focused versions. I'm not too interested in studying statistics and making dossiers on the opposition, with myself being more Clough than Revie in terms of approach - "Football is a beautiful game… It needs to be played beautifully,".

[@Kimera794]

Thanks for myth #8. People definitely need to learn about it. Real Madrid did it the UCL final. Smaller teams can do it against tougher opposition.

[@Gwynbleidd1724]

Was actively watching the clock on my day off waiting for a Zealand video to drop. Not disappointed

[@Tuck3tt]

I would've sworn that simulating a match gives you better odds at winning. Now I realise that I am simply worse at the game than my assistant. Thanks, Z. I needed that confidence hit today...

[@lordwaleane5397]

Agreed. Sometimes lost while im managing. Reload and go on holiday for 1 day. And voila, a win!

[@jucalebre7540]

For real lol

[@Butlee]

Welcome to my home town of Brisbane :) I believe the "Roar" part about because historically we mostly grew out from a club called Lions FC. But 'Brisbane Lions' was taken by another footy code here, so 'Brisbane Roar' came to be instead.

[@TheRatToys]

My save in football manager is now in the year 2048, this is only the 2nd ever football manager save I have ever done so I decided to go all in, I have watched every single game up to this point. My club is Boston United a small semi pro club when I started. We started in the vanarama north where we won in 2022, and eventually by 2027 we had made our way up into championship football. After 6 long years in the championship we made our way up into the premier league in the 2032 season. Since then we have became the greatest club in the entire world, we have won the English premier league in 2038,2041,2043,2044,2045,2046,2047, and 2048 (yes 6 times in a row) The champions league in 2036, 2044, 2045, 2046, 2047 and 2048 ( yes 5 times in a row) 8 super cups 2 club world championships 7 FA Cups 7 community shields And pulled off back to back sextuples (6 trophies in 1 season) Best player in the history of Boston United is Regen from Bosnia & Herzegovina named Denis Fejzic who has scored 512 goals in 595 appearances for the club. Yes we are the greatest club in the world and not finished yet

[@Chengyuan79]

Hi. Just wanna say we play similarly ... Used to take clubs for 30 seasons until the game forces you to stop for CMs. I tried Macclesfield once. Damn fun~! Think managed a Triple once ... FMs have no limits to the best that i know of. Took Blackburn for over 40 seasons in, i dont know, FM07/08? With just UK players after 20+ seasons, and getting 1st every season. The England bias is there all along .. Nowadays, not even watching any football for the past 10+ years, and only picked up FM20 because it is free (and a friend wanna go back to the good old days. Ah, growing up ...) Started with Arsenal expecting an easy game, and was sacked near the end of the season. Wow. The game (both rl and, well, the FM game) has evolved so much ... OK, next took AC Milan, thinking that it should be easier (so as to relearn playing the game). Damn, how the mighty has fallen~! Quite penniless, with a transfer budget of ... 4mil, in the 2nd season. Didnt even know how the transfer works, i kid you not. And despite qualifying for the Champions League (CL). Needed CR7 to retire in-game in "Zebre" just to have a chance to win the title. Actually won the CL before winning the league (and that's by playing "defensively" in an Attacking 4-4-1-1. Played Cautiously to win the final though, as most of my players are just 3*s.) After finally winning the title, it becomes relatively smooth sailing though. My CM/FM style generally still works. Like, practising very heavy rotation (to the point I use 27-34 players to win the league every semester, even the current one. That 25 player registration aspect is generally a part of the game i dislike) ... Fast forward to "today" in-game. Think it's 2043 now. Finally signed a 5* SC some seasons ago who can score 20+ goals (in admittingly

[@Chengyuan79]

P.S. Automated the opposition team talk and instructions. Too ... in-depth. Even about 20 years ago, I basically ignore the mid-year slump and stick to my guns. My belief is that the AI will over-correct itself over time, so just ... yeah, stick to your guns. They will eventually run out of ideas, and then you can just over-run teams with pure football talents. Until you meet an English team. *shrugs. Oh, yah, I also manages the Italian national team recently (as an English in-game, mind you). The luck aspect is real to me. Tried save-loading (first time in 20-30 years~!) to win the World Cup, and was disappointed at how easily this works. Until you meet THE English team. Then, just defend until you win with pure luck (like getting a penalty because you just cannot score in open play against England despite numerous SaveLoads). Or penalties. *shrugs

[@MattJordann]

The moment of pure joy when I saw my home town team Brisbane show up!!

[@thargoff]

The magic smoothie cup and the effects in the intro. Wow! Great work! A lot of subtitling work for editor. 🤣🤪

[@BrockMak]

4:58 Fair, my main tactic is 4-2-4 Wide, but if I know that I can exploit someone, I can switch to 4-1-3-2 or 4-3-1-2.

[@britpoint7022]

I'm not 100% sold on the Simulate thing. Sometimes I'll get frustrated that my team just aren't playing like they've been instructed in the tactic, instead of playing the through balls for my main striker they play it to his feet or he runs out wide with it. But then I'll simulate a match and watch the goals and lo and behold, they can actually play the way I've been telling them to! Maybe they all just respect my assistant manager more so they are happier to listen to the same instructions when he's the one giving them but I don't know. I can't shake the feeling there's a bit more to it.

[@PvtVallen]

Same, im not really sure what my assistant could be doing with ingame instructions that triples my shots on goal compared to playing the game.

[@RedScareClair]

Holy crap! 188k subs! Well done and well deserved!

[@CrispyCrow555]

Your videos well and truly make my day. Love this channel so much and your content, Zealand. It's got me back into playing Football Manager- which is a blessing AND a curse :P

[@Aflyingkittensoldier]

Quite interesting would be football manager save states. To see if replaying the exact same 45 minutes AFTER the game starts and all the consistency rolls happen results in identical play, or whether the calculations happen midgame too.

[@vikkiroxx]

Luck determiner exists. There are "bad loads" and "good loads". Also, it's important where you keep your mouse cursor (it has to be precisely on your team name). ;)

[@VileCAESARB]

I have been playing FM/CM for over 25 years, I can attest from that longitudinal study that some type of "applies" when you log onto the game, in terms of a positive modifier. The more you play in one sitting, the worse your teams performances get (which could be somewhat covered by the myth about AI adaptation). My most recent save (I have '22) but been playing a save with chester in '20 for about two years now. Took them From Vanarama North to Championship in 8 seasons I think. Reason I mention it I did an experiment this season. We all know that over time, your performances normally dip. You win 6-8 in a row and then it goes downhill, well when that started to happen, I saved and went on holiday till Jan, 8th to 2nd. That is somewhat anecdotal I agree but still makes no sense. I would concur that a modifier exists when you first log in, for sometime after that.

[@dwarakavamshi8955]

Zealand hiring elite editors so that he could include all sorts of crazy things he wants to 😂

[@iamAyal]

He really said "mono-footed", what is this man making me do in Photoshop

[@Zeerse_Chef]

On the mid-season slump, the myth and proof of it is correct, it's just the lack of sense from SI on that it is a thing, and a hangover from as far back as 2001-2002 or so where SI did indeed try to get the AI to counter human tactics and were overly successful, the irony being at the time it was during Arsenal's real life invincible run where they played the same way pretty consistently and no one could stop them, much like Man City and Liverpool today.

[@Tbuy1]

I am very ready to be corrected, but my understanding is that current ability increases with positional familiarity, based on other attributes. Certain attributes cost more current ability for players of different positions. Relevant attributes are weighted more highly by relevant position. Therefore, if a player can play more positions, then they will have more attributes with higher CA weighting. Therefore, making a player more familiar in a certain position will cost more/less CA, depending on that player's scores for the relevant attributes.

[@andreasaust1510]

When it comes to RCA on new positions: Couldn’t it be that it’s not about how familiar someone is with the new position but that it’s about how important the player’s best attributes are for the newly learned position? For example when you have an AP in Center midfield who has a speed of 18, learning winger positions will be more costly since speed is so important when you are on a wing

[@spsawyer22]

You are correct. If you have a midfielder with 15 heading and train him as a CB, heading "costs" more for that position

[@spsawyer22]

Also the cut off (I've spent too much time testing stuff with the editor) is usually 15 at a position (think it's when they're light green at a position).

[@dalewollaston6665]

We all got scienced! FM statistically bought the English football hype. Thanks for the videos Zealand, taught me loads over the last 2 years since I came back to the game.

[@joaopires1761]

Yep, I'd noticed that weak foot points ate away massively at CA points when I was creating a Captain Tsubasa database, haha. It's one-footed by the way, I think the game got a few text strings with that term.

[@fpl_djhammer]

I hate seeing the single-footed trait on players 😂

[@pontinrob]

I've been playing FM for years and the myths do make me laugh, it's facts you will always remember the times something has happened that make you think they're real, compared to the 1000s of times it hasn't happened

[@canihasfreeusername]

Great video. The info is good, the length is compact, jokes work and the editing game is on point.

[@iamAyal]

Yeah but he forgot Liverpool's UCL win so

[@haydnlee7492]

Lollujo really loves that luck myth . As good as this video is I was really mesmerised by that beard hair, Get your Manscape doohickey out big fella.

[@bradthewalrus]

Brisbane Roar are my boys!

[@JamesF9111]

coybb

[@BrockMak]

2:14 When you use a two-footed player to take penalties, their "preferred foot" to take penalties would still be the right foot. This is more like the Son Heung-min story arc. His father trained him to to everything with his left foot so it is as strong, if not better, than the right. However: When he takes penalties, he still takes them with his right foot, hence what you see on match engines, even if a left-footed player trained his right foot up to a 20 as well.

[@q0w1e2r3t4y5]

For the CA drop due to serious injury: I noticed that Bravery can drop the moment a several month long injury occurs to the player.

[@TheArccam]

The midseason slump. Think of it like this, one of the biggest thing you should do in FM to be ahead of all the managers is simply play a dozen friendlies. Now the drawback of this is injuries, but the upside is you will be full familiarity by week 1. This will always make a difference since the AI often doesn't do more than 3 and will of course be down in cohesion. Once you reach about week 7/8/9/10 of the season (excluding internation break, so that's around October in an August-May Season) you will see your team struggle. That's because the opponents now caught up in cohesion, the AI also now has a reasonable idea how good you are and doesn't play carelessly. What I will say is that during this period it's a good idea to also start training a defensive formation so that you can protect leads. The reasoning is, you have spent all preseason preparing your main formation, use this edge to prepare a secondary formation. Unless you are so good with one formation you don't need an extra. You can still just traing a secondary formation which is just a copy of your main with different roles, just for some stability when you switch strats.

[@clintonconstantine7442]

If you look at the fitness of your team and the fatigue levels, this is the biggest factor in the midseason slump. Usually as you reach Christmas and January you are playing an awful lot of games and if you haven't adjusted your training or managed squad rotation, then player's fatigue levels will be higher and thus they will struggle in matches to complete your instructions. I very rarely suffer a mid-season slump because I manage training levels and rotation all season long.

[@jimmyventura2048]

Your producer needs a raise

[@Wittttte107]

Zealand: I don't want to count. Also Zealand: *starts counting*

[@saintmobius5348]

The mid season slump doesn’t exist with some smaller clubs, especially in the first season. My local team Southampton for instance, now have the second highest transfer budget in the league out the gate with a predicted finish of 16th at the start of the first season - and after 20 or so different saves I’m still yet to see them finish below 10th.

[@jamesbrogan6657]

I gotta say, every time I save and close come, when I come back the game plays differently, could have a striker scoring every game, or CB consistently getting 8 match rating and after starting again striker can't hit a barn door and CB drops to 6.5 for most games. That's why I try not to close if possible but can't leave the game running 24/7

[@WERTYUIO821]

There is definitely some scripting into play. I was playing with Sheffield Wednesday a couple months ago and my first team Goalkeeper got injured. "It was ok" I thought, I had a pretty decent second Goalkeeper. He ended up injured as well the next day after the first Goalkeeper's injury. "Frustrating but it will be fine" was again my reaction because I actually had a third very good Goalkeeper that was even better than the second choice Goalkeeper. He was only sent to play with the U23 because we had arguments in the past. Unfortunately he was injured as well during the last U23 game a couple of days ago. My fourth choice Goalkeeper had been injured the whole season and I didn't paid attention as much as when I was out of Goalkeepers... . So the last chance was the 5th choice Goalkeeper, a 17 years old youngster, quite the prospect. He had a game with U19 but I removed him just in case anything happened during that game! Well... . The morning of the game against Leeds, I received a notification that he crushed into a different teammate during training and he was injured as well... . I had to play a fake player(one of those that the game assign to you if you don't have enough players) during the game. I doubt this isn't scripted "injury crisis"

[@cklambo]

LOL

[@TheArccam]

I believe that for the Formation thing, the AI sometimes ignores previous results and goes all out. If a manager is said to have an adventurous mentality then expect they come to your home as the worst team in the divisions with an aggressive 433 or 4231 which has funnily sometimes worked.

[@marcinmielczarek1699]

Regarding myth no 9, I once (I think this might have been FM14 or FM16) signed a 16 yo for 40 mil from Atleti to Barca who was rated at 5 star potential both by my scouts and my coaches when he arrived (so effectively Messi level). After 6 months he had a major injury and I got a news item saying that due to the severity of the injury he may not reach his potential (or something along these lines) and his potential star rating dropped overnight to 3.5 star.

[@kytaem]

Every save I’ve ever played, even though I rotate 2 lineups and rest after every match and constantly monitor fatigue, right before the most important match of the season (UCL semi, cup semi, showdown vs title rival), one of my top players will get fatigued. It will never be a squad player, it will be one of my top 3-4 guys. It will never happen during a quiet period. This has happened to me in EVERY SINGLE SAVE.

[@ThreeFoldPath]

The first 2 myths about lowering CA by training positions and training weak foot is good to know. I will stop doing that from now on.

[@Grabarz23]

about luck modifier .... not sure about FM22 or FM23 but I'm still playing FM15 and i think there is something like that. You can save just before the match. Play the match it ends e.g lik 4-3, now close the game without saving open it once again load your save before match play the match again without changing anything ... 2-2. then load it again 1-3, again 2-0 and so on Not sure why

[@Murtini2023]

I 100% believe there is a luck modifier. I refuse to believe I can win 6 games in a row all by 2 or more goals, save it, come back tomorrow and lose the first game 1-0. Consistency is a factor, of course, but as far as I'm concerned, we win the game if we keep playing on the same night.

[@MrDast140]

10:00 Z, I know Liverpool beat Tottenham in that final but it did count.

[@jamesflynn4951]

I actually had a midseason peak. I was clinging on to top of the league by a point, overperforming,bbarely winning games. Then I started blowing teams out. I chalk it up to the dressing room turnaround from.the start of the season from bad to.good

[@Jphw-]

I always forget about Liverpool wining the CL as well. Although its more likely I just repress it.

[@MeG__23]

Is it ok to use (in route one tactic DORFING, your tactic) next roles on mid: DM(BWM) (su) CM(at) BBM (su) AP (at)

[@Jayvees]

This is why get FM'ed exists but that's good to know about the myths of this very game.

[@seanpatrick34]

Subscribed, only because of the intro

[@zesevic5322]

I have a question. When simulating the match the tactics used in the match will be my tactics or preferred formation (and the player role too) from Assistant Manager?

[@ArjanSchaeffer]

On the last 'myth'... The difference between you coaching a match vs simulating a match surely is human input. It would boil down to how good your Ass Man manages the game versus your own potential inputs there. How you react, who you sub, how your teamtalks went... this all CAN make a difference and CAN be messed up by the AI..

[@spsawyer22]

My assistant manager won a Champs league during one of my saves (I had gotten fm'd everytime I had played Chelsea). I have yet to win one in that save lol Edited to add: the definition of anecdotal evidence

[@lemmingsftw2480]

i subscribed and my life has not changed in any meaningful way, you will be hearing from my lawyers

[@Kipcab]

Does what highlight setting you choose have any influence on the result? Ie key highlights over extended….

[@felixdoerfer]

nobody is going to convince me that there isn't a luck modifier

[@BrockMak]

11:10 I once threw the bottle on Manchester United's A-team. 56 shots, only won 2-0 against Inter Miami in a friendly, because they keep hitting the post or go inches wide.

[@velyanminekov175]

For Myth Number 3 -- I feel like its the other way around -- the AI on your team plays worse even if last season all players were putting in performances in and around 7.2-7.7 on average. Three years in a row in the bulgarian league my striker has been managing to score 20 or more goals,so why at the age of 24, when even the game says that's a striker's best age to play, he scores 13. The following season he scores 9, so I was forced to sell him under value. He went to a fellow bulgarian club and stayed for 4 years, where he scored 21, 24, 18, 19 goals in the league and the manager was the same throughout so the tactic was always the same. I've had lots of instances of this happening even when I play in top leagues and use top-top players. My conclusion -- The AI makes your player play like shit and not the other way around where the AI you face is better.

[@OwenTownson]

You need to do a video of what formations work best against each other

[@yaboykirby7789]

Oh so the reason that every AI in FM17 switched to 4-3-3 narrow against me whenever they were losing and there was like 20 minutes left was because everytime I played against 4-3-3 narrow I conceded a goal about every 10 minutes? Yeah that makes sense

[@thegreathadoken6808]

QUESTION: Is it possible for a player to have an injury so serious that their career is ended, or, at the very least, the injury in question affects them so badly that they are only any use to clubs way below their previous level?

[@sAYwaTT1000]

I honestly do think there is a script sometimes. There are some games that whatever you do, whatever your quality is compared to the opposition, whatever your form is you will loose or draw in disproportionatly high numbers. I made some tests. With a Real Betis side with whom i just won the champions league and is unbeaten after 13 games this season. Had a game against Celtic. Game that turned into a draw with 2 last min goals from celtic (1 imaginary pen). I was curious (and annoyed) so i decided to sim this game 10 times. On those 10 times there were 7 draws, 1 win for me, 2 wins for them. To note my team is leagues above theirs in quality, is in incredible form while they arent. To what other than a script can you attribute that to?

[@moerril]

One weird thing I encountered is that my loaned goalkeeper performed horrible against everything, even though I know he is good. I suspected it's because I loaned him to the worst team in the league, but obviously the moment I played against that team he put on an 8.0 and made life very hard for me in both games. In the second part of the season he at least gets 6.7 quite often, but I feel like he would do much better if I watched the games (maybe I should try that)

[@jat7018]

Does a young player getting an injury and losing braveness stat allow them to have more potential? Due to losing the bravery or does the entire thing drop how every many points they lost?

[@NobletheSavage]

I thought I knew pretty much everything about CA and PA but retraining position taking away from the PA just blew my mind. Wow.

[@danielwheels9529]

Representing Australia … love it

[@TheBusbyBabes]

so luck modifier is fms version of what momentum is in fifa?

[@ghostdesignstv]

Just checked my long term '21 save - a EPL team won 10 of the last 19 champions league. Biggest outside contender being Dortmund with 5 wins

[@55TheOracle55]

Similarly training a guy to be able to play in multiple positions is nerfed by making it harder for them to develop, which again makes no sense, in cases like Barca or Ajax, where they're taught total football meaning they have to know how to play in every position.

[@georgejoey4210]

I'd be interested to know, is there any way to reduce the prevelance of the England domination in football manager to make it more in line with what we see in the real world. Especially for the national team. I can understand the club level a little bit more as the premier does have quite a few moneybags teams with great infrastructure, even though it's still a bit too much normally. But I mean, everyone knows that england while being good isn't such a dominant national team as football manager usually suggests. Is there anything you can do in football manager, like in the editor that can tone that down?

[@markkajc]

They probably need to deepen their simulation of national teams. Put in dynamics and raise the pressure from media and fans

[@masterwesty]

Has anyone else ever had a son start playing in game in your u18s. Confused the hell out of me at first especially when by chance the game used my real middle name.

[@joeschmoe2030]

In the misnamed “Moneyball” video you claimed there weren’t biases in the game, something I claimed was a thing. A couple of months later we see that you have changed your tune, there is an English bias to the game. By the way, there is also an attacking bias to the game as well, but we’ll drop that for the moment. So I think we can say it’s official, playing any English league with full badges is the literal easy mode.

[@alezandercorben4122]

luck modifier, I was on a win streak, logged off then reloaded the game, played a match and lost.

[@Misqut]

How is not scripted if everytine I draw premier league side for FA CUP or carabao Cup, i Play the same team in the league following match. So it is always two matches against the same team in a row.

[@nikkofundano8436]

Wow. What are the chances of testing my home team. Thanks Zea!

[@lankyzac1]

I'm currently managing Grasshopper in the swiss super league. I've played 2 seasons and came 2nd and 1st whilst winning the conference league in the second season. Your tips have really helped but I disagree with the mid season slump. Both seasons I have performed far worse (like 10-20 points worse) in the 1st half of the season. And as soon as the mid season hits. The form picks up.

[@maciejbala477]

probably your team cohesion goes up? had the same in the past

[@robertmurphy1974]

This could also support Zealand’s theory though. Just as teams will adapt to your style of play if you’re over-performing by becoming more defensive, I assume when under-performing throughout the first half of the season teams might adapt and play more attacking, which might suit your style of play more. Just an idea though, I have no clue if it’s accurate or not 🤣

[@lankyzac1]

@@maciejbala477 very true

[@lankyzac1]

​@@robertmurphy1974 i get where ur coming from. good point

[@spsawyer22]

@@robertmurphy1974 I always have a tough time at the beginning of the year too as opposed to mid-season. I play build a nation saves and usually the season starts super early and half my team is on international duty so I'm quite "meh" until mid september

[@BrockMak]

14:25 ... except if your sole purpose is to secure clean sheets. I have lost 3 shutouts even after leading by more than 10 before.

[@bordeaux1337]

What is the evidence for the last one? I used to simulate the matches a lot in earlier FM's where I was ahead in the table just to get catched up to and then play normally again. It was very consistent that they would catch up to me.

[@middler5]

In real life the FM mid season slump usually manifests as 2nd season syndrome for promoted teams. In the English Premier League at least anyway.

[@mghrahul6944]

bro the intros are so funny

[@Moulii]

3:40 how do you guys deal with mid season slump? Generally I tend to over achieve in the beginning of the season then this starts happening and I drop down the table. Any proven tips that work?

[@treasuren]

I'm convinced that mid season slumps are curveballs that are intended to tank your squads morale. Hold a team meeting, encourage them, praise their training and schedule team bonding sessions in training. You might still lose a match or 2 to the teams at the bottom, but if you do this hopefully things won't spiral out of control and you will find for again

[@treasuren]

Also, don't be over confident in press conferences when you're in form and you're about to play a small team because that will motivate the team to beat you. Also make sure you're doing press conferences because if your Ass Man is doing them, then they will certainly get over confident if you're in good form and are about to play a small team

[@masterwesty]

If playing in England I think most of the mid season slump is due to fixture congestion. I would recommend rotating the team a lot. Play the “squad players” in my opinion a fully fit raring to go 2.5 star is better than a fatigued 3.5 star player.

[@planejoe5263]

@@masterwesty - I hadn't played FM since FM 2014, and FM 2022 makes rotation a lot harder than it used to be because of the players' status. It's a lot harder to keep a large squad happy because if you blood the young 'uns, the stars get stroppy; and if you play your strongest 11 often, the fringe players start forcing a move to another team - which is a pain if some of those fringe players are in the squad because of home grown status, or dynamics. I'm getting better at managing the mid-season slump, but it means putting a lot of focus on tedious things like press conferences, praising players, and making substitutions I wouldn't normally want to make. It sucks that even the best staff members are useless at things like handling the press and team talks, especially when you hit fixture congestion.

[@masterwesty]

@@planejoe5263 yeah it is harder to rotate. I tend to not give out star player status at all because it almost always causes bigger issues. I’ve had injured players come back and miss the first game they were available for but to unfit to play complain about game time.

[@adhhh13]

Needs to be series

[@ACMR6297]

I'm actually having a mid-season boost right now in January since November.

[@Morden]

I've created a database with 25 non-GK players at 16 years old with starting with 100 CA and 200 PA, 1 natural fitness, 20 bravery and 20 injury proneness, and 20 professionalism purely for growth experiments. After a complete 14 year simulation with autosaves on 1 year intervals, a decent amount of long time injuries, none of the 25 players had more than 8 bravery at the end of the experiment, and none, not a singular one had less than 200 PA at the end of it either. Also none had retired, somehow. I am not completely sure if professionalism had an effect on this, but I am still really skeptical that really bad injuries can lower PA.

[@stefankatsarov5806]

In my FM 21 save Niderland won worlds 2022, then England won the next 2 eros and world cup, afther that they started losing in quarters. And in the champions league PSG wone twice whit Mbappe and Halland and then it was Mainly Real Madrid whit Man City and ManU clolse 2nd, whit some teams wining here and there and resentlly Dortmund won 2 in a row. ( My save is at 2041 at the moment so it takes account of national youth levels for regens ).

[@caponeZR]

Nice smoothie-maker

[@xazarl3381]

The thing is though the last few years every champ league should have been won by man city or liverpool and real madrid got super lucky even vs chelsea so the fact that english teams winning in fm isnt wrong if you play it enough times they will win. It's just that on the day in real life teams like real madrid came together and got the result.

[@asfjbnsad]

I can confirm Football Manager games (at least FM10 or FM12, I don't remember which one to be exact) are in fact scripted(somewhat). There was one time I was constantly reloding a save to reply a match over and over again to get a certain result which I desired. I kept doing it for maybe 30-40 times in a row, and in the next match, I noticed my player Michael Carrick scored a 60-yard volley, and I remember clearly: that the same exact goal happened in one of my previous tries, in the exact same minute(a goal like this was rare therefore hard to forget). I also remembered during my initial try, one of my star player got injured badly nearing the end of the game, so just to experiment, I swapped out another player on my team(not the later-to-be-injured player), just to see if this action would result in the game engine re-calculating and alternating the outcome. However, I was proven wrong.The rest of the match was an exact repeat of the first match, and my star player got hurt again. Therefore I say the game was scripted. Although this was in FM10 or maybe FM12 but I doubt if the game engine has changed fundamentally over the years. Just wanted to share this with you.

[@mickcrummey5163]

Am I dumb or is the sound and video not synchronised midway through the video?

[@iamAyal]

At what time? It could just be the background music or just your device not playing back the video particularly well at that point

[@mickcrummey5163]

@@iamAyal yeah it’s just me don’t worry, rewatched it and it was fine haha

[@danlewis5977]

I get why English teams win the UCL more in FM, the amount of money given to them after a couple of seasons is insane (I can get over 100m at Arsenal after a season or 2) and means they can bring in the Haalands, Mbappes and future wonderkids by throwing money at them, In real life players care more about playing time and might have stronger preference to play for Madrid, Barca, Bayern and turn down a move to a Chelsea in the hopes they will get their dream move