So I took a shining to managing in Liga MX in Mexico on FM17, having two fun saves with Pumas. For FM18, I've continued that but with Lobos BUAP. A club that is a far cry from being one Mexico's grandes. They are a university club in Pueba that were a surprise promotion. They are a second division club in pretty much every way, but hey, they've got a cool logo. I had two saves with them earlier on FM18, but both died for the same reason - money. Liga MX has strong attendances (in reality and in-game), but cheap tickets mean you don't get tons of money that way (and BUAP have the lowest attendance by a large margin). all clubs are heavily reliant on sponsorship deals and especially the individual TV deals. But on those first two saves, the new sponsorship deals didn't improve much. The club reputation went up notably, but the new deals were almost the exact same size as ones signed while Lobos were still in the 2nd division. The club was losing about 4m a season, so that's not really sustainable. I posted it as a bug and it apparently got looked at. So I decided to try a new save.

The aperatura went well. Finished sixth so made the liguilla (playoffs). And won. That was wholly unexpected. I managed that on one of the earlier saves but with rage quits that meant it wasn't a legit accomplishment. This time, no rage quit replays. We had to get past Tigres but we avoided other powerhouse sides otherwise. Almost the entire way through the closure and sitting in first (equally unexpected), but really, will be content so long as we make the playoffs.

The squad isn't good for this level, really. About 2/3 of the first team players are on loan from around Mexico and there are zero good prospects at the start. I found a few first-day newgens and signed them up. One of two have played a role so far. The best is a Mexican rightback (well, actually a right-footed leftback who is being retrained) with strong starting skills for a 16 year old but he lacks top end potential. He's 17 now and starting regularly. I was going to offer him a new deal and accidentally clicked on DoF negotiate it. Immediate regret. I went in and he had offered him a deal as a Key Player. The release clause was at least reasonably high. After he accepted, I dropped his squad status. But I had him complain about playing time after 3 starts in a row and one match where he didn't start. Blame the DoF for that. Asshat.

Second grr.... Amongst the first-day newgens I snapped up were several from South America. The best of them is Brazilian who was 15 at the time and 5 star potential. Loads of flair and versatile but small and not all the quick for a winger. He's two footed, though. He can't join until he's 18, but he can be "on trial" so he can play in youth matches, train, etc. He's pretty good on the left wing so I've been training him to play on the right as well. And he's improved more than anyone else. He's reasonably well rounded, so I've given some consideration to retraining him at both fullback spots, as he could be an excellent complete wingback (assuming his pace and stamina both improve). But the frustration.... he doesn't join until December 2019. He's already pushing to be one of my better players but can't feature for another 18 months. Gah.

Final grr.... still losing money. Over 4m and we aren't through the first full season yet. Still 2-3 months away in-game from when new sponsorship deals will come through so don't know yet if they will improve enough to compensate for the losses. Really want to be able to dump some money into facilities as they are pretty poor to start with. But the only other option is to start selling players. Very few have the quality to attract interest from clubs that can and will pay except a couple of the prospects. I would happily lose that rightback.... but it will probably be clubs coming after the players I need more lol.
 
Players should be committed to your team for at least a season and not be whining about a transfer already in december when they have become a key player in your team and it isnt a playing time issue! No matter who comes calling. Teams shouldn even be poaching players that have just transfered to a new team!
 
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Hi all,

Now I'm not being funny but everytime a new patch comes out the great tactics stop working. I can't be the only one who is struggling. It's really p***ing me off now, every situation in every match goes against me, before you would get some luck but now nothing at all. I had tactics that worked amazingly well, now every tactic I try, nothing good at all. Next time I won't be updating at all, the same patch until the end. ****** rubbish. The game is not enjoyable unless you are a big team and quite honestly that's boring to me. I love everything else about the game except the stupid gameplay. If I am being unreasonable then please say.

Thanks so much for listening,
Swagg
 
Hi all,

Now I'm not being funny but everytime a new patch comes out the great tactics stop working. I can't be the only one who is struggling. It's really p***ing me off now, every situation in every match goes against me, before you would get some luck but now nothing at all. I had tactics that worked amazingly well, now every tactic I try, nothing good at all. Next time I won't be updating at all, the same patch until the end. ****** rubbish. The game is not enjoyable unless you are a big team and quite honestly that's boring to me. I love everything else about the game except the stupid gameplay. If I am being unreasonable then please say.

Thanks so much for listening,
Swagg


Have you tried adjusting your tactic?
 
OK...this is a wierd one...

It's the summer of 2022. I have just become Falkirk manager(Scottish Championship). My captain, centre-mid Moses Makeki, wants to transfer to Premiership MOtherwell.

OK, fine, Makeki goes to MOtherwell. Go to dynamics, give the captaincy to Ed Upson, previous vice-captain and very good centre mid in his own right. Give vice-captaincy to quality striker Bia-Biabi.

Next thing I know, I have Upson snarking at me for taking the vice-captaincy from him...and I eventually have to apologise to him and reconfirm later that he is my new captain. WTF?
 
Maybe you should have told him he was getting the Captaincy ;)
 
Today is the day I stop playing Football Manager.

I've deleted every copy back from 2012 and I don't intent to buy any future FMs. Not only the game did not progress, they someone managed to regress. I hope for their sake they will change something soon.
 
Its a 6 year long list with no improvements. I'm done paying money for database updates.
 
A new player who came in the team with a key player status and a good wage cant start demanding a raise even before his first season is over, and when I dont give it to him (out of principle) get mad and start talking about forcing a move... From the f*cking team he just moved to!

This kind stupid stuff have been in this game like forever and prove that nothing in this game really gets fixed. Like the posts say above, every year its just a database update with some cosmetic stuff thrown in to trick players.
 
The absolute shocking offers you get for your players... Issa Diop for example, signed for 8 million for Rangers he was basically the reason I made it to the CL Semi-Finals...Valuated at 18.5M, Man City want him, he wants to go.. unhappy..etc, said he's happy with me accepting bids of 24.5m, offer him out at the end of the season...not one bid over 11m..even after re-negotiating...what's the ******* point sometimes :S
 
this is even worse the game needs a MASSIVE change in transfers next year
Could be because of the 'Not Needed' status. To me that shows that you don't value him anyway.

Put him as First Team and TFR list for value see what happens
 
4 years into a save and something is bugged with transfers. Running Lobos BUAP in Mexico. Found some free agent newgens right at the start (day one generated) and poached more from South America. The kids played from almost day one, which means they develop well if they have the potential. And most of them have potential. Even managed to win the 2020 Club World Cup with a 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid (high point of the save). I sold two of the newgens for big money - rightback went to RB Leipzig for 24m (plus some clauses) after the first season and Dortmund triggered a 38m buyout clause for a striker after the 3rd season.

I'm pretty accepting of losing players in this save. Even with the club reputation near the top in Mexico, and Mexico having a pretty good reputation as a league, I'm not going to keep players when the biggest clubs in Europe are involved. Even the big three in Portugal are going to be appealing. And if these clubs pay up, sure, take the kids. I have some depth at this point, and while I have to prioritize Mexican-born players, there are some quality academies in Mexico that generate some great young players. And if I'm getting big money for players going out, I can poach those.

But starting in the winter 2021 window and continuing heavily in the summer 2021 window, something wonky has been happening. A MASSIVE volume of media stories linking clubs to my players and most of them are at about 10% above their player value. And these stories lead to bids. At barely above what their actual value is. I have German clubs, with 75m in transfer funds, offering 11m for 10m rated 19-year old striker/winger who just scored 30 goals in a season, is a full Mexican international, on a 5 year contract, no release clause, First Team status. Nothing there should suggest he would be a bargain rather than a massive cost - more than the previous two players sold when the club reputation was a step or two lower. And then several Portuguese clubs make the same offer. If I try to negotiate to something halfway reasonable - 20 or 25m - they walk. That particular had his value jump to 15m, and suddenly the offers were 16m. Its like they are stuck on a 10% markup. Also had Chelsea make an 8m offer for one of the only non-newgen players in my squad, a 25 defender who has no reason to be sold cheaply and is worth 10m. After I just reject that, another English club comes in offering 1m less.

What makes it feel really buggy is that amongst the barrage of laughable, derisory offers is a few valid ones. Got something like 60m from Monaco for an American DM and about 30m from Arsenal for my Bolivian GK. Also an Ecuadorian defender who has a Temperamental personality and I just don't wanna bother dealing with.

The interest and offers has unsettled a few players, but I've mostly fended it off by pointing out the squad harmony or having another player intervene. But at some point, that isn't going to work. I'm going to end up with a squad rebellion over a player thinking they HAVE to leave for a laughably low offer from Germany or Portugal or France.

I don't NEED massive fees for most of the players. If I got in almost 100m for those players... I'm not going to spend that much on replacements. Might not even buy replacements, as I have some players in house already. I will troll South America and snap up 4 and 5 star newgens that fit my style, but avoid the biggest clubs for cost reasons. More than enough in the bank to keep improving facilities. Want a new stadium but fall short of constantly selling out this one, so that can't happen yet. So in monetary terms, I could handle only getting 15m for these 10m rated players. But that just feels.... so wrong. If they, based on every measurable thing, be selling for 40m-plus, it just feels wrong to accept a third of that.

I'm only like 2 weeks into the summer window, but I've basically left off the save because of these offers. Just frustrating and constant to the point of not wanting to continue.
 
Just been sacked for the first time and I'm more annoyed with myself than the game.

Started a save unemployed with Sunday league rep, no coaching badges, got hired by Gateshead Redheugh 1957 (Northern Football Alliance Second Division) who are an amateur club, and my god I screwed up hard. Hadn't done a save that far down the pyramid for so long, I forgot all the basics I had learnt in previous versions. Don't over complicate things, focus on fitness, keep the team motivated....basic things. I've also gotten involved in the training in the past but not this time. And I'd also forgotten how different the contracts are at that level. Forget to renew amateur contracts? RIP the core of your team if you're not careful-your players will be poached. Also forgot just how important it is to rest them.

And the lazy players can come back to bite you on the ****. As I found out when I tried to ask one of the players to introduce new signings to the rest of the team. If the said player is selfish and lazy-he can/could/will REFUSE to do it, and it has the potential to set off a chain reaction of unhappiness. And I have NEVER experienced a player refuse to introduce new signings to their team mates. To be honest I like it, as it's something I can actually see happening at some point. Man management is absolutely critical at this level so if you try to take a club this far down the pyramid-bear that in mind.

So yeah. All this was completely my undoing, and down to being rusty as ****. So I guess you could call this a savage tutting post and not rage lol.

Now I've shaken that rust off, and dispensed with the salt-time to get back to being a manager.

Edit-time to see if I can bring the good times to Prudhoe Youth Club :D
 
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Sigh. Looks like my time at Prudhoe Youth Club is going to be just as bad. First match 2 own goals by same defender. I've never seen such woeful defending. And god forbid I have a go at them for it. Then they baby rage to the press about me. This is my worst start EVER in the FM series with a win percentage of 30%.

I enjoy the challenge of non-league. I don't enjoy the challenge of having to babysit man children who can't grasp the basics of defending. Good god.
 
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