Getting over the finishing line?

[MufcTactics]

Been playing this years football manager for a couple of weeks now. I started unemployed and quickly got a job at Uniao Madeira in the Portuguese second league. To gain promotion I needed to finish in the top 2. Year one saw me finish 3rd on goal difference, just missing out on promotion on the final day. Second season I finished lower in 5th. Third season started really well, with 6 straight wins, but then poor and inconsistent form cost me the chance to run away with the league. I ended up finishing 3rd losing out on promotion on the final day again. I've considerably strengthened this season, added quality to the side especially up front, but the league this season has started with a 7-3 loss, a 6-2 loss and a 5-2 win. I really need help cause I need the promotion to help increase my reputation so I can move onto a better job.

Usually, I tend to set up a formation and stick with it. This time round, after a few games of doing well, things go wrong, so I either tweak the formation or change it completely, trying to freshen things up, but this usually ends up with more inconsistent form, and for the most part I end up back with my original formation.

I'm really struggling to keep a good run of results going. I'm not sure what it is I'm doing wrong, but I really don't want to miss out on promotion for a 4th season.

Do you guys have any tips or suggestions for me? Like should I stick with one tactic, or be changing it when things start going down hill. Should I use the team instructions or stick to a basic tactic? Also, are there any tricks to team talks before and after matches etc.

Really need to get this sorted, really enjoying the game, the new features are really good, but this inconsistency is starting to get old.

 

[rocheyb]

A power cut interrupted my first attempt to reply to you - so I'll try again:

My Premier League finishes with Southampton went like this: 6th, 3rd, 6th, 6th, 8th... and then 1st, 2nd, 1st - and I'm top again by three points with 8 games to go. I've also won shedloads of trophies and reached the semis of the Champions League in each of the last two seasons.

I have written two detailed posts explaining my FM footballing philosophies, which you might get some useful info from:

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...ics/158222-you-need-more-than-one-tactic.html

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...1-real-4-4-2-how-i-learned-play-triangle.html

 

[MufcTactics]

Thanks for the reply. I'm actually having a really bad season so far, sitting 12th after 27 games, when we should be 1-3rd. Hopefully the advice from your threads will help. I've just set up two tactics, so we'll see how I get on. I'm on the edge of being sacked, so I'll let you know if you have saved me.