Soccer Gaming Catch-All

I tried to get going with FM11 last year, but knowing next to nothing about professional level soccer, I found it too overwhelming and shelved it. Now, after playing FIFA on PSVita, I got the itch to try again and this time I seem to be having a better time getting it.

I'm playing NE Revolution (my local team). I read tons of guides on the FMScout web site and settled in with a 4-3-3 system.

My first mistakes were bringing in players that my scouts found, then losing them immediately because I didn't 'register' them. OK, fair enough. Now I get it.

Rewind to last save and fix that.

Now I have a problem where I have only 3 strikers on the team, and 2 are hurt long-term, including the 1 star I brought in when I took over. I have attacking midfielders playing out of position to cover the deficiency, but of course they aren't comfortable in that spot and no goals are coming from them. I don't have any room in my budget to bring in players even though I'm only using 22 of 26 roster spots.

What do you do here? There doesn't seem to be an Injured Reserve or Disabled List where you can designate players and then bring in others to fill out the roster spot, as far as I can see. I'm training midfielders to learn the new position, but I imagine that's going to take a while.

In baseball, I'd probably bring up a player from my AAA team to cover the spot. I don't know how that works in this game. Is it possible to do that and if so, is that different (against my salary cap) than signing a new player? Can I drop someone down to the AAA (equivalent)? Does that help me at all?

There are numerous players that my scouts have found who have good talent and potential that I could try to sign, but then to get them on the roster, do I have to cut an existing player to get rid of the salary? Do you then cut him first so you have salary room to bring in a new guy?

I'm a newb. Help!

IMAGE(http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/576699902945554311/9E8AE2D4081EDCD2A96FBAAF38CE6875EF2CE994/)

IMAGE(http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/576699902945555556/4700C8C4AE65007F854D656056EACE9858A7F0B4/)

Edit: pictures are hard to see when shrunken to browser. Here's link to originals: http://steamcommunity.com/id/DonD_GT...

All right, double post because...

One thing to keep in mind is that even when I've played an MLS club in FM I've never really gotten the hang of things. So many convoluted rules, though by actually registering the guys you have and not losing them you're a step ahead of where I am (I get impatient, holiday pass that date, and end up losing half the squad). The good news is MLS is about as complicated as it gets in the game and you seem to have a good hand on things already

First I should clarify the transfer window comment I made since it reads wrong to me. You don't have to wait until the window opens to sign guys but they won't join your team until the window opens. Basically the help won't be there right away. Your screenshots show June 1st though so it should only be a week or two until new players come in.

Re: injured reserve/minor leagues you don't really have them in MLS. Your group of players is pretty much what you have. Like I said, your squad is actually pretty big overall but playing 3 strikers means you don't have enough depth at that position. Occasionally you will have to play guys out of position and hope for the best -my favourite FM file I've played had me playing a 5'8 right-back at centreback during the World Cup because there wasn't any other decent option.

Since you're basically at the salary cap you will need to get rid of players to bring players in, either by selling or by (I think... could be wrong since it's MLS) by waiving guys and releasing them. There are at least a couple positions where you have more players than you will probably need.

My rule of thumb, though I manage in Europe, is to have no more than my best 11 players (your starting XI) plus another 11 players that can fill the positions I have. Basically I have 2 teams- my best team and then a second team that plays in lesser opposition or when the best players need a rest If I'm managing a team I doesn't play as many games since they aren't in the Champions League/Europa league I cut that way back and go with about 18-20 players total with guys who can play in multiple positions or play out of position.

For specific advice about what I would do you with your squad DonD I'd get rid of two of your lesser leftbacks and the two right-midfielders (Nyassi and Dane Richards) if they aren't exceptional or have great potential. You have 4 guys who can play leftback right now so there's a lot of redundancy and if you're playing a 4-3-3 you won't need the right-wingers unless you decide to change your formation (and Fred can easily play that role if needed).

If you can open up the salary cap room for one striker by getting rid of a bit of the excess in the squad you should be pretty good when injuries hit again. You might want a right-back as well if your four centreback guys aren't very good on the right but playing defenders out of position at the back hasn't hurt me too much when I've played.

DonD:

It looks to me like you can sign pretty much anyone since you have an international spot open (not to mention the Designated Player slots). Before anyone comes in you're going to have to wait until the "transfer window" to open - the transfer window is a set period of time where you can sign players for your team. According to FM11 the summer window for MLS opens June 9th. Once that comes around you can bring in a player, register him when he signs, and put him in your lineup.

Looking at your squad it's pretty big, but playing 3 strikers means you probably do need one extra guy for backup.

I'm heading out the door - I'll offer more advice when I get back.

Since my last post, I released outright my highest paid / highest rated striker and sold off 2 of my midfielders (Nyassi was one). I'd been scouting and shortlisting every youngster that's in the news or that my coaches found for later consideration. I then brought in some young talented (international) strikers that I signed for nearly nothing. I made an agreement to sell my highest paid midfielder (for a million dollars!), but then nothing happened. He's still playing for me. I was approached by a team that wanted him and accepted their offer. I never got a message saying the player rejected the deal. Is it waiting for the transfer window again? Financially, I'm now in good shape. The board is very pleased with me too.

I've been working on getting some of my midfielders to learn striker, so I have that coming along now too. I'd say, at striker, I'm pretty well stocked. Same for midfielder. Too well stocked still, I think. I can't get them all playing time and there's one guy whose entire ratings sheet has red arrows (he's losing ability by sitting). He's on the chopping block. Well, trading block for now, but soon to be chopped if nothing pans out.

I brought in more coaches. The docs/physios want more than I'm allowed to offer, so I'm still pretty weak there.

Next question: My forwards seem to like to take shots from outside the box. I do get crosses into the box now and then, but the usual play seems to be to take it down the sideline then pass it into the center around where the penalty box ends and then shoot from there. Most of those miss their target. I'd like to see the ball get in a little closer before shooting. During the match, I can tell them to pump it into the box (hopefully that's what I think it is), but how/where do I make that my default strategy?

I'm really enjoying the game. It's pretty addictive.

Sheesh, I knew there was a place I could put this, but I kept forgetting about this thread.

I picked up an extra copy of FM12 in the sale a while back.

I would love to find a goodjer in need. PM or message me here if you are wanting, or know someone that would appreciate it.

Edit: GONE. Thanks for the interest.

I hate this thread. I was looking to see if anyone was playing PES or FIFA and the I get sucked into reading about FM which I was set on avoiding this year. Then I went and looked up my favorite LLM team from FM10 and see the they were promoted and should be playable in FM12. Now I am looking at my Oxford City and Paredes (favorite LLM team) saves in FM10 and getting the cold sweats and twitches.

Ok, next question. I've read up a bit more and invested a bunch more hours into the game and although my team isn't winning every match, they are doing much better and I've trimmed the excess a bit.

My understanding of designated players is that they can have big contracts, but not count much against the salary cap (some preset number in the hundred thousands range). If I want to sign someone like that, does this happen automatically or is there somewhere you need to choose this option?

If I can add a bonafide superstar, for very little cap hit, I'd be stupid not to take advantage of that. I'm not sure how it all works though except that there's some creative math going on. Is this something that only MLS has?

For FM11 and maybe FM12 this is the way it should work:

The 2010 changes:[7]
The rule has no expiration date.
For each Designated Player, $335,000 of his salary is charged to the salary cap and paid by the league ($167,500 for DP players joining during the MLS summer transfer window), with any remaining salary being paid by the team's owner. This amount is halved for Designated Players signed in the middle of the season. The salary cap value of Designated Players can also be reduced using allocation money. Finally, teams whose Designated Players transfer abroad in the middle of a season can recoup part of the Designated Players' salary cap value.
Landon Donovan is no longer grandfathered into the rule and must be considered a Designated Player.
Each team is allowed two Designated Player spots, and they can no longer trade their Designated Player spots. The New York Red Bulls will receive $70,000 in allocation money in return for the nullification of their 2007 trade with Chivas USA for an additional Designated Player spot. This means that both New York and Chivas USA will have two Designated Player spots for the 2010 season.
Teams can pay a $250,000 "luxury tax" for the right to sign a third Designated Player. This $250,000 would be distributed equally to all MLS teams that have not signed a third Designated Player in the form of allocation money.

But the rule changed again so FM12 may implement:

The 2012 changes:[8]
Starting with the 2012 season, the rule will be changed with respect to younger players. MLS announced the changes in August 2011 after clubs expressed concern about signing young international players with no guarantees that they would develop into stars.
Designated Player over the age of 23 will carry a salary budget charge of $350,000, unless the player joins his club in the middle of the season, in which case his budget charge will be $175,000.
Designated Player 21-23 years old counts as $200,000 against the club’s salary budget.
Designated Player 20 years old or younger counts as $150,000 against the club’s salary budget.
The budget charge for the midseason signing of a young Designated Player (23 years old and younger) is $150,000 and this amount cannot be lowered with allocation funds.
Clubs will not have to buy the third DP roster slot to accommodate Designated Players 23 years old and younger.
Age of player is determined by year (not date) of birth.

But FM+MLS was always wonky when I tried saves in the past. Granted I haven't tried an MLS save in six years so maybe things have gotten better.

But yes this rule is MLS only. I pulled my info from this wikipedia entry if you want to do more reading.

I tried to pull the trigger on a multimillion dollar guy, but I have something like $500K in my transfer budget and the asking price for said player is a couple million dollars. Even if the salary cap hit is within my capacity, I don't understand how I can get him.

I'm missing something, clearly.

In any event, thanks to the generosity of Psych, I've now started over with FM 12. Surprisingly, I find that I know what I want to do, but have to look for where they moved the button or option. Scouting a player seems to involve 1 step more than it did in FM 12, which is an annoyance. Tactics screen layout is different, but for what I want to do, the information is the same. Funny how you get used to certain things. I want to get assistant manager to set up friendlies..click..click..click..click. Where can it be?..(google)..oh you click on the team name to bring up that screen (it's not represented on dropdown team menu). That sort of stuff.

The pep talk stuff is waaaay more detailed. Team pep talk and then individual pep talks for each player before after and at the half for each game? Um..yeah. I'll handle the team talk. Asst manager can deal with the rest.

It is nice that in the backroom, your coaches will say stuff like 'Jones needs to avoid using his weaker foot' and you can just click a button to make him train it, rather than the FM11 way where you needed to start up a conversation, tell him to try avoiding the weaker foot, and then he'd either say ok or say no and then you have to respond to his refusal. Much more streamlined this way.

I've only really dealt with the setup and started getting to know my players. The 'work' of getting the game and team going. I'm looking forward to getting some matches in and really shaping the team.

Didn't play new FIFA, so this video took me by surprise. Amazing stuff.

And reading DonD's posts: MLS sounds difficult even to me

It's hilarious yes, but I don't particular blame EA for that. Given the time they have to create a new game, and attempting that kind of minor revolution in gameplay, it won't be "right" until FIFA 2014.

I'm creeping up on 30 hrs with FM12, midway through my 2nd season with the NE Revolution. The first season was all about clearing out the dead wood and bringing on some young, cheap talent. Strangely, the game started mid-season (FM 11 started at the beginning of the season), which mean that the change to 4-3-3 caused my players to be unfamiliar with the tactic and showed it. We finished 2nd from last in the standings.

I sold off my captain, which caused the board (and fans) to be unhappy with me, but it freed up cap space and there was no way I was resigning him anyway. My 2nd best central midfielder replaced him, and I then signed another 6 or so players, upgrading my central defenders, left midfielder and a striker.

Since MLS limits the number of international players on a team, I had to get rid of some players that I might have otherwise kept so that I could bring in more quality.

Fastforward. Now we're sitting in 2nd place. The team has had major injury issues but our backup players have come through and even the games we lose are close games.

Just won a 6-0 victory and utterly crushed L.A. We weren't supposed to even have a chance against the $12.5M payroll (mine is $2.5M). LA is in first place in their division.

I have noticed something curious. No matter which player I transfer list or outright offer for trade, the only teams that will make offers are other MLS teams. I have not had a single non-MLS team offer me a trade bid. Weird, right?

The other thing I noticed with FM 12 (maybe I just don't know where to look) is the coaching staff no longer tell me about the team I'm about to face. In FM 11, I'd get backroom advice like 'LA struggles against teams that play with a wide formation'. I've looked around, but don't see that in any of the screens. Am I missing it?

UCRC wrote:

Didn't play new FIFA, so this video took me by surprise. Amazing stuff.

And reading DonD's posts: MLS sounds difficult even to me ;)

Prederick wrote:

It's hilarious yes, but I don't particular blame EA for that. Given the time they have to create a new game, and attempting that kind of minor revolution in gameplay, it won't be "right" until FIFA 2014.

Sorry, in my mind, the game shouldn't have shipped like that. That's clearly a half baked engine. Obviously it didn't impact sales. but that stuff is beyond absurd.

@Don: You can scout next opposition for that kind of information. They've tried to revamp that system that season but it's still lacking. You'll get huge amount of stats to chew through but almost no analysis from the staff preparing that report, so all important stuff is buried there somewhere. Hopefully they will build on that this year.

To scout next opposition go to 'scouting' tab after clicking on club's name. Then select one scout, give him new assignment, 'next opposition' will be one of possible choices.

edit: make sure to give that assignment to a scout operating locally (not someone you sent to Mozambique), or instead he will spent his whole time travelling back and forth

Thanks. I see it, but it's kind of hard to sift through. We're playing well, so I guess I don't need to min-max. Last night we faced #1 Chicago and beat them to take over 1st in the division. It lasted all of 1 game because we lost the next match and are back in 3rd. It's a tight divisional race.

If we're giving up goals at the very end of the game (last 10 minutes or so), what's the corrective action? If we're ahead, I go into a defensive formation near the end. If it's a tie game, I just keep plowing ahead with the same formation that we've been using all game if it looks like we're getting more chances than our opponent.

One thing that irritates me (and it's minor) is if one of my players shoots the ball and it deflects in off of an opposing player, he doesn't get credit for the goal. It isn't like hockey where the last offensive player to touch it gets credit.

Is there a gwj pro club for Xbox FIFA 12? I would desperately love to play with some easy going players who want to pass the ball instead of attempting to dribble through 8 people.

DonD wrote:

If we're giving up goals at the very end of the game (last 10 minutes or so), what's the corrective action? If we're ahead, I go into a defensive formation near the end. If it's a tie game, I just keep plowing ahead with the same formation that we've been using all game if it looks like we're getting more chances than our opponent.

One thing that irritates me (and it's minor) is if one of my players shoots the ball and it deflects in off of an opposing player, he doesn't get credit for the goal. It isn't like hockey where the last offensive player to touch it gets credit.

I'm not familiar with MLS, so my answers will have to be slightly generic. Also I'm not a brilliant FM player like some of these guys, but I do OK

Goals at the end of the game - Make sure your players aren't running out of condition...pause the game after about 75 mins and see if anyone is dipping under about 70% stamina. If you have a sub for their position, consider bringing them on. You might also consider changing formation - if you are ahead and play with 2 up front, consider bringing off one striker and putting a DM on to sit in front of your back 4.

As for the goals thing, soccer has always been keen to reflect credit to the scorer if he did the job...the usual rule for goals is that the striker will get the credit if the ball was already going in when it hit the defender, but if it went in because of the deflection, then it goes as an own goal. Most European leagues have something called a 'Dubious Goals Committee' or similar which actually reviews questionable goals and can reallocate the credit. Seems overkill, but again most countries have a prize for the leading scorer in the top flight, and therefore it is important to make sure there is no doubt.

If your team is good enough, the best way to keep the score is start playing possession football. In 'team instructions' slow down tempo of the game, set time wasting to high but switch to more defensive mentality only if you're feeling that players are taking too many risks. Taking a defensive attitude when you have an advantage means inviting the opposition onto you. "Defensive winger" is a good role to give to wide players in closing stages of the game: they will work harder at intercepting, interrupting the play and ball retention in the part of the pitch you want the football to be (as far from your goal as possible, that is).

I've won my second PL title with Southampton. And Carling Cup. And FA Cup. And Champions League, playing with 10 men half of the final. I have wage bill smaller than Bolton. Diego Buonanotte (1.1M from Malaga) is the best attacking midfielder in the league. Thanks to him I've beaten Barcelona 3-0 in the semi-final leg of CL. I was baffled myself.
Anyway, I think I'm done with FM for a while

bigred wrote:

Is there a gwj pro club for Xbox FIFA 12? I would desperately love to play with some easy going players who want to pass the ball instead of attempting to dribble through 8 people.

Do you also own FIFA 11? I skipped the latest FIFA, but would love to play some multi soccer with fellow goodjers. I'm in Europe though, so that might be a problem as well

My FM12 New England Revolution team made it to the MLS finals, but lost to LA. A very very good second season (we finished 6th the first season). We might have had better luck if my top defender wasn't suspended for 2 games (including the final) and 2 other starters out with broken bones (wrist and ankle). Playoff soccer apparently has some similarities to playoff hockey.

My assistant manager (whose contract is up and won't be renewed) kept telling me to drop my starting goaltender due to 'poor play'. Um, yeah. The guy put up shutout after shutout, ended the season as the goaltender on the AllStar team (whatever it's called in soccer -- magic 11 or something). I think there was only 1 game where he gave up more than 2 goals all season. I don't know how goalies get their number rating, but his always was right around 7. Clearly not rated consistent with his performance.

If you're a good offensive team your goalie will get very average ratings. So if he has one poor game your assistant will recommend dropping him, because his average rating for last 5 will be like 6.50. Don't listen to him, obviously.
If your goalie keeps making mistakes, though (sometimes his av. rating is only indicator, because it's hard to see by watching the game whether he f*cked up or not), don't hesitate to change him. Less skilled goalkeepers can sometimes be more consistent and it's hard to judge just by player attributes.

Can I just repeat that FM desperately needs to take after OOTP and introduce:

1.) Inaccurate scouting. A crap scout shouldn't be able to give you the most accurate possible scouting report.

2.) Potential changes over the course of a career. Some prospects flame out, some turn into world-beaters.

Prederick wrote:

Can I just repeat that FM desperately needs to take after OOTP and introduce:

1.) Inaccurate scouting. A crap scout shouldn't be able to give you the most accurate possible scouting report.

2.) Potential changes over the course of a career. Some prospects flame out, some turn into world-beaters.

Totally on number 1. I have sent an amazing scout to look at a player after I get a report from an average one, only to get the exact same report. Disappointing.

dejanzie wrote:
bigred wrote:

Is there a gwj pro club for Xbox FIFA 12? I would desperately love to play with some easy going players who want to pass the ball instead of attempting to dribble through 8 people.

Do you also own FIFA 11? I skipped the latest FIFA, but would love to play some multi soccer with fellow goodjers. I'm in Europe though, so that might be a problem as well :-)

I do but it doesn't work. It experienced the xbox ring of death scratch when my glass shelf holding the console dislodged and turned the console at a 45 degree angle. My girlfriend couldn't understand why I was so devastated because Fifa 12 was coming out in 15 days. 15 WHOLE DAYS WITHOUT FIFA, WHAT DOES SHE NOT UNDERSTAND?!?!

Amazon recently discounted EA FIFA Manager 12 to $10 and I had a $10 credit on the account, so I picked it up for none dollars.

Having played it for a couple hours I can confidently say I overpayed.

That's what you get for being football management simulators hipster.

Mr Bismarck wrote:

Amazon recently discounted EA FIFA Manager 12 to $10 and I had a $10 credit on the account, so I picked it up for none dollars.

Having played it for a couple hours I can confidently say I overpayed.

Yeah, I played the demo back when it was just released as Man City. I learned that Tevez was the supporter's favorite and Kompany was regarded as 'meh'. They really did their research...

bigred, I added you as XBL friend. If we ever have the same FIFA version, I would love to whoop yo ass online

dejanzie wrote:
Mr Bismarck wrote:

Amazon recently discounted EA FIFA Manager 12 to $10 and I had a $10 credit on the account, so I picked it up for none dollars.

Having played it for a couple hours I can confidently say I overpayed.

Yeah, I played the demo back when it was just released as Man City. I learned that Tevez was the supporter's favorite and Kompany was regarded as 'meh'. They really did their research...

bigred, I added you as XBL friend. If we ever have the same FIFA version, I would love to whoop yo ass online :-D

I'm going to decline so I can avoid said whooping! In all seriousness, I don't play much 1v1 or overall "team" play anymore but I'd be up for a game if you're on.

I find myself playing online pro ranked matches because it can be such a rewarding, enjoyable experience. Playing in a match with 6 other guys who actually pass the ball to each other, are easy going, and looking to have fun (and hopefully win) has provided me with some of the funniest/fulfilling conversations and experiences in my gaming history. And this includes when counter-strike was in early betas.

On the other hand, getting stuck in a game with a bunch of racist/homophobic ball hogs who try to dribble through the entire opposing team is extremely irritating but I find this occurs much less in Fifa. Whereas...in COD it's almost 100% guaranteed to be your experience.

bigred wrote:

On the other hand, getting stuck in a game with a bunch of racist/homophobic ball hogs who try to dribble through the entire opposing team is extremely irritating but I find this occurs much less in Fifa.

Obviously Suarez, Gerrard et al are on XBL....

davet010 wrote:
bigred wrote:

On the other hand, getting stuck in a game with a bunch of racist/homophobic ball hogs who try to dribble through the entire opposing team is extremely irritating but I find this occurs much less in Fifa.

Obviously Suarez, Gerrard et al are on XBL....

The worst is when you get Jon Terry on your team. Not only is he a poor teammate and racist in-game, he tries to sleep with my girlfriend after logging out!