Maybe your defence is too deep and the rest of your midfield are too attacking?
Spot on, I agree.
Moving back to the original topic, I really do not believe this game is "ridiculously hard." While this year's iteration has, at times, wiped the floor with tactics I have utilized in the past, it is by no means a difficulty curve that will see you struggle for more than a week.
I played the demo for the last two weeks and proceeded to purchase the game today. After beginning a career I was randomly presented with an Australian A-League club, "The Mariners."
For those that do not know already, the A-League operates with a salary cap that does restrict finances to a degree. Presented with a transfer budget of 20k (Aus Dollar), there has not been a lot of transfer action minus the free transfers of a young utility FB and a former-Sydney CB.
My initial results were sub-par according to the fans and a few of the players.
I play a defensive 4-4-2, which plays the ball slow and short up the field with rotating strikers and a clever att-minded midfielder who threads the needle.
While the tactic did not go to plan immediately, by mid season I was starting to worry. For some reason the Australian media labeled the Mariners as having title chances, despite a small squad.
I languished through October and November, suffering one particular heavy defeat to our northern rivals, Newcastle Jets.
Now, however, after a I came through looking like a hero in a couple of press conferences that focused alot on squad/board confidence we have begun to turn it around. With the confidence of four wins in a row, some of the ego problems I was dealing with [from players] have become less of an issue.
Someone else mentioned earlier in the thread that consistency was a key to finding better performances and I think that is mostly true from what I have experienced so far. I managed to stick through a rough patch, kept my tactics and trained the players to play my style and the wins have eventually come.
Of course I cannot look through rose-coloured glasses now, but I have more hope now that with minor-tweaking and persistence I will find my through FM2009's vast world of tactics.
The game is hard. Yes. But it is also "ridiculously" addictive none the less.
