That is a SWEET tip - thank you!

I do think that the sim speeds are better in '08 than they were in '06 which I played previously. I'm really happy with the sim speed thus far and I've got quite a few active leagues.

well, they were massively improved from '06 to '07, I can tell you that.

Anybody can vouch for an improvement from '07 to '08?

FM

I've found the changes are worth it for the upgrade from 07 to 08. I'm enjoying the game more than I did with 07.

Just an FYI about the save game cleaner. The version I last used was for FM06. It was called "fmsavegamecleaner06". I don't know if there was an Fm07 version made but I read in some places that the 06 version wroked for 07. Personally, I never had the guts to try it. It is completely unsupported by SI and I think it was originally written in russian. It also has the ability to delete a lot more than just matches from save games, so if you click the wrong function it can royally screw your saved game file. You definately want to back up your saved game file before messing with this.

I used the 06 cleaner version in 07 and had no problems FWIW. Haven't tried it yet in this version.

are you talking about features in general or with the processing speed in particular?

FM

I'm enjoying the new features more, but I have seen a speed increase. I use the max database with all the teams btw.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Hundreds of leagues? That's crazy talk.

yeah, huh, wow.

And what kind of machine is that running on?

FM

If there are bugs found in PSP version, do you guys patch it? Or is it even possible to patch it? my PSP is online, that would be pretty cool if you could.

2.4ghz Intel Dual Core / 4ghz ram. WD Rapture 10,000 rpm HD.

I have to be a little patient, but when playing at work, it doesn't matter too much.

I misspoke too, I use all leagues, I eliminate some of the lower level tier's in some of the non-UK leagues.

Processing speed is a little better; load speed is quite a bit better; save speed is MUCH better.

+1

I'm still playing FM2007 but while I'm waiting for my copy of WWSM2008 to show up (thanks again dacman, and everyone who offered their help!), are there any graphical upgrades you guys would recommend for the '08 version?

Skins, logo packs, facepacks, pack packs, any kind of packs? Name your favorite... :)

FM

I'm using a skin called Steklo Black (or something like that) from sort it out si and that's been pretty nice.

I'm using the All-in-One logos and the SS08 kits. You can find both of these and a whole bunch of other stuff at fmglive.com

from the few screenies I've seen, that's definitely the kind of skin I'd like. I hate busy backgrounds (like grass or player or stadium pictures) when I'm trying to read text or player cards...

FM

Thanks for the link, sort it out is always so damn slow I'll check this one out tonight.

Are the logo and kit sets just for England? I'm playing France this time around (Grenoble Foot 38 FTW!!)

If you see any others like that, let me know -- I prefer a clean look also. I think my all time favorite skin was one called Cappucino from 06. There was also one with an itunes look in 06 that was very sleek.

I'd love to learn how to skin, but I don't know that I'd have the time and/or patience to do it well.

No, part of the reason I picked the All-in-one and SS08 is because they had the most coutries to choose from. You should have no problem finding what you need.

I like the dark skins, but I hate the colors they choose for the attributes.

There's a skin called "metallic" on Susie that mimics the default skin, but changes the background and foreground contrasts slightly to make it much more readable.

One thing I noticed last night for the first time (I have had the game for a while but my playing time has been limited in part because of computer problems) is that the transition from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 seems a million times faster to me.

In past versions it always seemed to take forever for the calender to flip over to the new year for me. Last night I noticed it flipped over like it was just another normal day. Very nice to me. And saves are much faster for me as well.

Ok, posting in here reminded me I was thinking of posting a bit of a game story, so here it is.

I started a game not long after the release, with the Albion Rovers of the Scottish 3rd Division. For some reason over the years this has become my 'regular' team. They are usually one of the worst in the 3rd and fun to build up. The problem with the Scottish leagues before the patch caused me to stop playing near the end of the first season, and then my computer died. New computer and it was start over time. I put it off until this week though because to me the only real annoying part of this game to me is the beginging as I dig through a million players trying to upgrade my team. I finally went ahead and started doing it this week though, and quickly fell in love with my team. Faster then I have ever done before.

I went crazy, releasing a few crap guys and bringing in as many new guys as possible. It was either suck all season, or bring in a lot of new guys and suck early on because of it but hopefully crank it up at the end of the year. Instead I jumped off to a great start right away. I was able to get two guys on loan from SPL teams, a young stud GK and a young stud striker. Both have been huge for my team. I also brought in a completely new starting midfield, a couple more forwards, and was only able to bring in one defender. my defenders are my weekness still.

Things were rough in the friendlies, not winning one of them and just not looking good. Once the regular games started though everything clicked. In the Scottish Challenge cup I ended up knocking off two SD1 teams before losing to the 1st place SD1 team in the quarterfinals. My on loan striker has been scroing goals like mad, even setting a record with 5 in one game before I pulled him about the 78 minute mark. My other young forward Hoogenwoth (Hoogs for short) is also playing great.

Because of my defense and a problem with figuring who my 2nd GK should be when my on loan guy was injured, it hasn't been perfect. Still, I am sitting in 2nd place at the begining of Jan. and have been rumored with the open job in Hamilton of SD1 already. This may be my best job of finding new talent early on in a game ever.

I brought in a few guys to Thurrock and we went through friendly season. Just tied our first Conference Premier game at 3-3 and we would've won if the last-second goal wouldn't have been disallowed.

We're $129,000 in the red, so the board is nervous, plus I've got two guys sitting here with $53,000 a year salaries eating a good portion of my wage budget.

Are we good enough to avoid relegation with the new guys I brought in? I don't know.... but I do know I'll be hitting the loans market soon.

I know there was a way in 07 to edit the colors on the attributes that was pretty easy (if I can do it I consider that pretty damn easy). I'll try and find the directions for it tonight, but I don't know that it's the same in 08.

Thanks for the tip on this one. I loaded it and absolutely love it. Great, great skin. I was using Flex. I like this one a lot better. Everything readable. Love the dark background.

Very nice.

i can't figure out this site. ack.

They have just revamped the site so there isn't a whole lot uploaded there yet. You have to go to the forum to get to most of the good stuff.

I know I have this game underneath the tree and just killing me that I can not play it.

Suggest to LSG that you exchange one present early!

fuckit. I wouldn't be able to wait. Play it now!

open it, take out the disk and install and play. then rewrap the empty box and put it under the tree! the perfect crime.... unless your woman is smart, then she will notice your on your computer all day playing FM, and then your screwed! but if that happens tell her she can open 1 present early. this is where you better have bought her a damn good present. might i suggest a vibrator, that will keep her busy while you play

I just realized I might not be patched -- is version 8.0.1 the most recent version? When I clicked check for updates, it said there was a newer version, but they couldn't find it in their database. Thanks!

It seems like the problems many people were facing have been fixed by the latest patches. I have 2007...is it really worth that upgrade to 2008? Is there really that much different?

A) She is very smart when it comes to computers and my gaming. Perhaps I have taught her too much.
B) I have this and two other 360 games under the tree. They all look the same.
C) I am a terrible wrapper.
D) It is kind of hard to offer to swap one present early when I do not have one for her yet.

I am also waiting on some memory to come in for the new lappy. It is going to have 2GB and I imagine FM will fly on it.

Does anyone actually play with fake players? I generally like having fake players in the game to actually make scouting more fun. Either that or I'll sim ahead 15 years

LSG told me it is actually one of those Burger King video games. Sorry.

My current game I'm using all fake players. I like it, especially with the facegen.

have you noticed that as the fake players age or facegenned players, their hair will change with time?

Seems to be the younger the player, the more likely they'll have a stupid trendy hairstyle. I haven't noticed any facial hair, is it possible?

I'm surprised how much facegen and fake players adds to the game for me, I havent used anything but fake players on the new version.

Ah this is what makes the Wee Rovers so much fun. I am ending the first year and have 6 straight wins. I am on fire after what could be considered a small slump in Jan. I have been inching up on Forfar, who has been in 1st place all year and get to within 2 points of them despite Dumbarton being the pain in my ass that they were all year (3 losses, 1 draw), ending my win streak.

Second to last match of the year is at home against Forfar, a win puts me in first place. It was a great game, especially on defense, and I take the 1-0 victory and first place. Last match of the year, also at home against the 6th place team in the league. The Wee Rovers struggle early on, but after the half manage to take a 1-0 lead. Then a lose a guy on two yellow cards, asshole! Then I give up the late goal right at the 89 minute mark, game ends in a draw. I was bummed out, Forfar probably won and I slip back into second were I have to play in the playoff.

Nope, I win the Championship. Forfar had a 4-4 draw against one of the 8th place team in SD3. I win the championship by 1 point. I win Coach of the Year. People love me. Down the stretch I was linked with most SPL and English Championship/League 1 openings.

The team made over $300,000 for the year, after starting with zero in the bank. That is what I get for transfer funds, zero, for the next season. No big deal, that is the Albion Rovers way. I am very happy with the big bump up to 10,000/wk wage budget and having a parent club (even if it is a SD1 club).

TIme to get going on season 2.

I managed to talk LSG into giving me the game early. What do I need to grab to get all the realistic team names, etc.?

I must confess...i haven't facepacked the game yet. Can someone link to comprehensive facepack that they're using?

So, I haven't opened the game in at least a month - is there a WWSM patch out now? I think I ended up buying it from D2D - do I have to get a patch from them, or will the SI site do?

Its Christmas time and I've avoided making any holiday commitments - here comes my week of sitting on the couch. :D

aaargh...i'm having one of those moments that I will agonize over for (in-game) years to come.

I have 2 offers accepted and contracts negotiated for 2 midfielders...there's a $10 million difference in transfer price and a $4/yr difference in wages, but I'm more concerned about which player to pick.

One midfielder is SLIGHTLY more defensively-skilled then the other. But the other has the edge in attacking SLIGHTLY as well physical talents. And by slight I mean "one line on the web" .

Both are 25 years old. One is "world-class" and one is not.


ANDDDD...posting this has helped me come to my senses to take the slightly more attackingly gifted one.

Cesc Fabregas here I come!!

I would take the attacking with slightly better physical as well.

So I came to post this: After my first game in SD2 I have been suspended for 1 match for comments I made after the game about a penalty. I guess I am building a reputation. :D

I lost the game as well, so I am not happy. 1-0 at home to Queens Park, whom 2 former players I have. I kind of expected this though. I brought in more guys then I originally meant to as I tried to make up for the defense I wasn't happy with while in SD3, as well as losing my goalie and top scoring striker who where both loan guys that did not want to come back. I managed to get guys on loan once again to replace them, and brought 1 new DC, 3 midfielders, and a couple forwards. I needed some depth and an upgrade at starting spots. Hopefully it starts to work out for me.

I love being able to transfer wage money to transfer funds. I was give $0 for tranfers and tried to work with it for a while. Then I found a guy I wanted and converted money over and spent all $70,000 on one guy. Then I converted some more over to help me add some better coaches. That is another good thing going on for me, as I could only have 3 last season, and am able to have 5 this season. They still say I should only have one, but what they say and what I can do are two different things. :D

Okay, so I'm playing as QUB in Northern Ireland, Second Division (so the third division, really). I'm down 1-0, and lose 1-0, after the refs miss THREE penalties that I should have had. So of course I bitch about it. But, since I've already been fined, I've received a touchline ban. My next game? The Antrim Trophy Final. So far, it looks like it let me set the initial tactics, but it told me I can't make any in-game tactics. Awesome!

Wow. So we score first -- my left winger hits a free kick in the 20th, but they score just before halftime to even it up. We end 90 minutes at 1-1, and go into extra time. In the 108th minute (just before halftime of extra time), we commit a penalty, and my captain draws his second yellow whining about it. Whoops. But, my keeper blocks the penalty! Then in the second half of extra time, again in the 108th minute, my right winger tips one in off the rebound, and we end up winning 2-1! Wow.

How do I get the logos and facepacks setup? Do I need to create the folders myself?

It doesn't really matter where they are placed as long as they are in your custom content folder (which is My Documents/SI/FM or WWSM by default). The config files are triggered no matter where the individual folders are. You can organize things however you want.

I am kicking the game around and I like it alot. It is a big upgrade over FM 2005, the last version I played. I am playing as Everton as a starter game just to get use to everything. I will play a season with Everton and then probably take over a BSN/S team.

ooh. multiple select is in (may have been in in 07 as well but i did not tinkered with that long term). i have been asking for that for many versions. yum.

i love those hints that show up while the game is saving. i just wish i could see it after whatever task it was has finished. i miss half of them.

i tried to use the steklo skin but it made the game too sluggish for me. i really liked the way it looks, too. meh. PLUS . . . the default skin does not have the "full screen" button for watching matches. at least not that i can find. waaah!!!

That is what happened to me yesterday. Got banned, my next game was Scottish Cup 1st rd. game, and we go on to win the game. It was actually pretty cool watching my team without me.

Oh I am PISSED. I'm in 3rd place, three points behind the 2nd place team (top two teams get promoted), Brantwood. They have a +9 goal difference, and I have a +6. I end up winning 2-1, and Brantwood was losing 3-0, but ended up scoring a late goal to make it 3-1. Our goal difference were both at +7, and our goals scored were both at 35. That's really all it says as far as sorting in the rules. I looked up head-to-head, and they won the match at their pitch, 1-0, while we won the match at ours 1-0. What happens then? I really hope I didn't lose based on alphabetical ordering.

I think there is a point at which they basically draw straws. i don't think it goes by purely alphabetical order.

What kind of specs does your computer have? How many leagues are you running?

I love the steklo skin. It is very smooth. I love the extra information it provides as well.

I guess I would have liked an e-mail, then. I mean, I know it sorts by alphabetical order before and during the season, so I just don't feel convinced it sorts otherwise after the season.

I put in the steklo skin. There are a few things that I am not a big fan of but once I get used to it I won't mind I am sure. Overall, I love the skin though. The best way to describe it for me is it is very smooth feeling.

On to training, I want some input here. Anyone care to go into some detail on the best way to train? I know about getting some extra coaches, and rotating training schedules. What I would like to know is how often it is best to rotate training schedules? Also, what are those schedules like?

Right now I set up two schedules each for Defenders, Midfielders, and Forwards. I just am not sure how different schedule A should be from schedule B for that position. Any screen shots would be nice if anyone has some.

And I know, check the SI boards. That site takes for ever to filter through....

Gah! I inquire about a transfer listed player and they give me the offer but there isn't an "accept" button on the email. When I go to negotiate the deal and take what they offer, they reject me! Annoying as hell. At first I figured it was because I didnt have enough money to make the deal so I adjusted my budget to make the deal. But it still doesn't show up. So in order to get the guy, I have to pay double his value...*sigh*

one of them dual core intel thingie running at 1.60 and 2 gigs of RAM. i'm running more leagues than i should be, based on the recommended setting. the sim speed is not as fast as if i was running fewer leagues but i don't mind that.

on the other hand, i don't see how running more leagues than my computer is recommended for effects the fact that having that skin on gives me slower response time. sim speed, yes. response time to the game, no.i really like it, too. using the default skin, i really miss having the full screen option.

i may just go back and tolerate the sluggishness.

I had a guy I wanted who had been transfer listed. I put in the value the team requested and bid. Then six more teams bid. They rejected all of our bids and got everyone into a bidding war. I thought it was kind of cool, even though I ended up, like you, paying twice what the guys value was to get him.

I actually used to pull that kind of stunt on AI teams in past versions of the game. I noticed that they've been doing that in this version.

Speaking of teams offering you a player, does anyone else have any problems with a certain team offering you a player over and over again? It seems like some teams offer the same player several times in rapid fire. Is there a way to permanently reject their offer so you don't have to bother with it every time?

As far as training -- and i'd be curious for a MV comment on this:

I used to train the HELL out of my young kids. Seriously intense, high-workload, etc. Figured that they'll either max out or burnout that way. And the burnouts are just...a cost of doing business and the cream would rise to the top, and I don't care about injuries to them as much.

Is this an "exploit" or would intense-training like this not necessarily bring out the best in everyone at say the U-20 level?

Basically...do some players develop better with less-intense training?

I wish it was like this. But he had a transfer listed offer of 18.5 million and one other team bid this amount and they excepted. If I didn't enquire about him they would reject my bid. (If I offered the 18.5 straight out) Oh well, I needed a AML really badly and this guy was better then my existing one so I'll have to settle for some guy I already had on loan.

Has anyone ever seen a spokesperson be replaced? The reason I ask is because mine is pushing 68 years of age and others I have seen are in the 70's

The Wee Rovers are starting to roll at the begining of December in our first year in SD2. It was a rough start, but things have started to turn around. I didn't have a problem scoring overall, but losing 5-4 sucked because my defense was blowing. I switched from my on loan goalie to a guy I signed who was supposed to be a little worse. He has performed much better and for the first time I am seeing the fans unsure about a guy I brought in on loan, paying nothing at all.

My defense is playing better as a whole though, with my defenders picking it up some. I have pretty much gone to all out defensive mode for 1 or both DC's (4-4-2), and it seems to have helped.

Also helping in finally getting more guys to sign full-time contracts. I am getting good training on them now compared to how it was before.

I have a bunch of guys I am very excited about now too, which is why I love this game. Over the last several games I have even brought up a 17 yr old MC and now a 16 yr old MC. They both just signed full-time contracts in the last week so I am super excited about them now. The 17 yr old was playing much better then I expected, but as I brought the 16 yr old up I sent the 17 yr old back down to the reserves. I remember from several versions ago that you want to take it easy with these younger guys some so it won't be to emotionally hard on them. I figured I would take that approach, and switch them back and forth for a bit to see what happens.

Sitting in 2nd place in SD2 right now, though the 4 teams behind me are not far behind.

Yes many players will develop better as youngsters without being worked into the ground ;)

The main ones to 'work hard' are those who need to grow physically in stature - its much harder to get a mature player to gain strength than a youngster so if thats needed for instance put them in the weight room straight away.

For kids who are reasonably developed or ones you really don't want picking up injuries (for instance a bad injury to a fast player might mean he never quite recovers that lost pace again) I'd suggest a more balanced approach when young ... if you don't and they can't handle it then they'll break down, if they do that repeatedly they might always be injury prone from then on (apart from it not helping their development obviously).

Oh crap, I know this was supposed to help but now it has my head spinning a little. Now I need to figure out what to do with all my younger players who I have on fulltime contracts. My 16 and 17 yr old that I just fell in love with. Also, what is considered young when it comes to being able to develop physical attributes? Now I need to figure that one out. I have several 18-19 year olds, and some 20 year olds.

I think I will run off and make a fulltime training schedule with more physical training then my normal ones. Then I can cycle the younger guys through that with the other position based training schemes I have. A couple guys won't need it, having pretty good physical ratings already, but some I want brought up more.

Hmm, hopefully this works....

What criteria should be used to align strikers? Like which guy should be on the right and which guy should be on the left? I use a fairly basic 4-4-2 and try to have both a speedster and a target guy on the field at the same time. Is what foot they are comfortable with the only thing I should consider?

that's beautiful. I love you guys...you don't cut any corners, hmm?

Well except QA when the game is due out. Sorry had to take the cheap shot.

Still loving the game.

Stupid fans!!

My Albion Rovers, at the end of January, are sitting in 2nd place in SD2. First year in SD2. To keep it short, we are rolling after a rough start.

January 31st comes around and we are playing in the 5th round of the Scottish Cup. This is the end of out Cup run though because the draw gave us an away game, at Rangers. Everyone in the fake game world knows we are dead, going to get creamed. My choice for comments to the media before hand are ones I haven't seen yet. Things about not wanting to be embarrased or having our heads kicked off I think. The media itself is saying we will get killed. Rangers are 1-20 favorites. Not 20-1, 1-20. I don't think I have ever seen that kind of odds before.

So I play the game. We go in defensive and wow, we actually keep it 0-0 for 40 minutes. Then in 3 minutes we give up two goals. I laugh it off, because I knew it was coming. I was seriously enjoying the game though. Then to my amazement we get a goal about 10 seconds before the whistle and it is Rangers up 2-1 at half. I was thrilled with that goal. After half Rangers scores again, 3-1. 10 minutes later though I score again, and I am loving it down 3-2. It wouldn't last, after the 70 minute mark Rangers took control and put 2 more in the net. I lost 5-2, but was very happy about how it happened and how my team played.

I leave the game and my fans are disappointed, are not just a little. This is the worst rating I have ever received for a game from the fans. They are so pissed that the Board is even telling me how the fans will not get over it anytime soon. What crap. I have taken this team higher then they have been in 20 years and I lose 5-2 in a game everyone knew I would lose 5-0 and they are pissed at me? Screw them!

The good news is I guess I get part of the away game gate receipts in the Cup game? I didn't know this, but in addition to my $150,000 in prize money, I noticed my gate receipts jumped a good $500,000. This more then doubled what was in the bank for the Wee Rovers, who started a year and a half ago with $0 in the bank. I love that part.

I always put the right footer on the right and the left footer on the left. If you have two right footers, I put the one with better heading ability on the left. That's just how I do it, not sure what is the "correct" approach.

You get half the receipts for away Cup matches (that's why in the FA Cup, starting with the third round, lower league teams will take an away game against a big team instead of a slightly more winnable game at home against a similar opponent.

ugh, open question to everybody else, is this a common occurence, or would it seem to be a one time freak event for Cringer?

If it happens about everytime you lose to a big team in the Cup, then it's going to get annoying real fast and would point to some much needed tweaking in the fans behaviour. Same could be said with how the board value each competition, as was pointed out earlier regarding early cup exit vs doing awesomely well in the league. Would certainly hate to see the team morale spiral down cause the fans are so pissed that you lost a unwinnable game against such an illustrious opponent as say, Rangers in Cringer's case, or the likes of Arsenal/ManU/Liverpool (name one you think is worthy) when playing in England...

FM

I just pulled off the trebble with Crystal Palace (including first time wins in the Euro Champ and Premier League) and the board can't get over my 5th round exit in the FA Cup and hope I can improve it. While I understand I under performed since I was supposed to make the Semi's, I think that after 5 months of that, they should have gotten over the results, especially after what I accomplished. I also won the Premier League like I said I would (and one year quicker) and the board hopes that I can accomplish my goal in the two years and is not solid. I would have liked for them to have offered my an improved contract to try and keep me around for the success I happened to bring them.

Oh well, nothing can be perfect :)

I love the game, but am not at all thrilled with the interaction of the board or supporters when it comes to losses.

At Arsenal, I've won 5 straight EPL titles, a Champions Cup, 2 FA and 2 League cups and the board has been please, very pleased or delighted all of about 4 months of my reign. This past year I got to read for five straight months how the loss in the Community Shield was unacceptable and something that should never again happen in the future or I'd get my eyes removed by a woodpecker before being publicly flogged. (OK, so the last part didn't happen)

I had a game two years ago where I'd already won the EPL with 3 games to go. I brought up everyone from the reserves and had them play a game against Everton. They lost 5-1. At the start of June my board was satisfied with the fact I'd won the EPL, FA and the CL, but the 5-1 loss to Everton is something that should be prevented in the future.

If there would have been a button where I could tell the board to go to hell, I'd have hit it and been fired.

I'm really enjoying the rest of the game and I understand that fan/board expectations are high, especially when you are running a top 5 team in the world. But I'm fairly certain the 5-1 loss to Everton or the loss in the community shield is going to be the thought on the minds of my supporters after I win the treble in a span of 14 days.

As soon as I replace Sir Alex as the best manager ever for England I'm going to start in the lower leagues and see what I can do. I don't look forward to my supporters crying over a 5-1 loss to ManU in the LC from my L2 squad.

While people are whing on here, I'll join in. This was my first season at QUB. The board's long term expectations were that I get a reasonable finish at the end of three years. But after my 3rd place finish in my first year, they've decided that they now expect me to get promoted. Man I hope that 3rd place finish wasn't a fluke -- 22 games is a pretty short season, so a little bad form can kill you.

if you put the left-footer on the right then he'll have the ball inside the posts on his stronger foot though. that's one thing i've never understood. as a striker (although I always played GK or SW/DC), I think you would WANT your stronger foot inside the posts, although i guess that it makes "making moves to the outside" more difficult that way...it eliminates the need-to-cutback-before-shot problem.

idk...traditionally though yes...put the guy on the side of his stronger foot.

yeah, more and more worried about that. And it's been sort of in there for a while too which is what prompted me to reply to Cringer's rant. In my current FM2007 career, I just finished the 2008 season with Luton Town, season in which we started as heavy candidate for relegation with both the board and supporters expecting us to fight bravely against relegation.

Things went quite well, not only were we not simply fighting to avoid relegation, we found ourselves in 1st place at the halfway point of the season. Things went downhill then when our chairman decided that one offer for our starting keeper was too good to pass and decided to let him go in the January transfer window. We went down from 1st, all the way down to 6th place with a couple games to play and ended up out of the playoffs in 8th place after drawing the last couple of games. We finish the season with the board still saying they expect us to bravely fight against relegation, that they are delighted with my work, but they are also disappointed in the team's performance in the Championship this season.

Hello!!! We did so much better than what everybody expected, what else should I do? Yeah, we missed the playoffs by a couple of spots, but damnit, we still finished 8th out of 24 teams...

Yeah, that was with FM2007, but the reports I'm seeing here are making me nervous for the '08 version and increased feedback regarding results, at least in the state that the game is right now...

FM

dola, I'm still feeling like a little kid everyday I go to the mailbox and hope my copy of WWSM2008 is in there. :)

Maybe today's the day :)

FM

Speaking as a right-footed striker that has a horrible left foot shot, I prefer to play on the right side. Inside the post or not, I have a lot more power and control on the shot when I kick with my right foot.

Not sure if I am defending the game or not, but figured I would give some more details. I am annoyed by this situation, but I don't think it is the end of the world quite yet. I just checked my game and the board itself is still happy with me. They expected me to only go to the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup, and are thrilled I made it to the 5th round. The fans are happy with my recent performances. Still, overall it says at the bottom in the sumary, that the 5-2 loss to Rangers will take some time for the fans to get over.

I could be completely wrong, but I am choosing to look at it like this: I have been just plain kicking but lately. I got to the 5th round by beating the 1st place team in SD1. With those things combined, maybe expectations from the fans, though unrealistic, had been raised a good deal. When I defeated SD1 1st place team Airdrie United it took two games. I had two guys out and still got an away draw, 1-1. I played them at home after that and killed them, 6-1. Expectations shot up perhaps? Add to it that I was actually hanging with Rangers for 70 minutes, losing 3-2. What I left out of my first post was they may have then blown us out by adding on two more goals because I changed up tactics. I stayed in a 4-4-2, but moved the top slider over to the attack side. Maybe the high expectations, and what could be viewed as my tactical screw up, caused the upset fans? I would hope so anyways, that is my best case scenario for this.

Also, my team did not drop in morale at all. We won our next game 4-2 on the road. After that I lost 0-2 at home to a hot Brechin team, and that was my fault some as well. I know in pre-game press that I should play down the game and it usually gets 2-3 guys up for the game, and 1 guy nervous only sometimes. I went and tried a different tactic and said we would win. Several players didn't like that and we bombed. I came back and beat 3rd place Ross County on the road after that though.

I will face Rangers again, that is all I know, and I look forward to it.

FYI.....I know you mentioned concerns about feedback, but I think you're going to be very pleased once you get the game. Granted, I'm not the hardcore player that some are, but I still play it a lot and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

though I'm probably a hardcore fan of the game, I'm not a hardcore gamer myself. Maybe it's why I'm such a big fan of it, I know a bit about soccer, but mostly just enough not to be completely lost (okay maybe a bit more ;)). Many subtleties go way over my head, and I'm happy that way.

The situation I described with Luton is not gonna make me stop playing, the same as a situation like Cringer's might not be all that bad, but I think they might need to be addressed by SI in a future patch...

FM

fair nuff. i've never had the pace to play up-top, and always had more of the ability to play between the sticks, so as i said, i never quite understood that from a striker's POV.

One other thing that is annoying is when a former player comes to visit. Especially with FA Cup, League Cup, and league play, sometimes I wish they don't look for comments two years after I traded my fringe AMR for pennies on the dollars to get him off the squad.

I've had similar situations to what Cringer is describing, but have a much different perception of the situation. I do think that the fan reaction needs to be tweaked a bit, but the increased level of feedback shows me that the effect of the negative perception of that game is relatively small to the overall board and fans feelings towards the coach. I also think the presentation of the monthly feedback e-mail from the board needs some tweaking. I think that last sentence in the e-mail is usually related to the most extreme feedback, good or bad, for that season. It doesn't matter how long ago the results were, if you have a terrible game or a great game during the season, they're going to talk about it all season to the point of repetition in some cases. Tweaking that e-mail engine should help as well.

ON the considering citizenship, I have players who've been in the country for a few years and do qualify for citizenship but it just says considering citizenship. Will they ever consider it? I'd much rather see them pick a citizenship or deny it :)

hell yeah!!! Today was indeed the day. I got the box in my hand right now, thanks a lot dacman!!!! :)

A week and a couple of days to make it from you to me wasn't too bad, especially on the cheapest possible postage. :)

I won't be able to install it until way later on this evening though, plenty of stuff planned out. Can't wait.

FM

Could we possibly be seeing a new dynasty on the boards from you? I love your writeups! :)

Sweet! :D

i've never played but it seems to be dependent on the style of play as well as the individual.

van persie, for example, is a left-footer who prefers to be on the right -- where i prefer to see him. my reasoning is same as yours -- it'd make it easier to shoot. his reasoning is he has the body between ball and marker and he can make moves easier. similarly, pires is a right-footer who excels on the left and henry is one who prefers the left.

on the other hand, eduardo (da silva) is a left-footer who you can tell prefers the left side.

what it seems like, to me, is those who prefers to cut back -- or cut inside, for those of us who overindulge in FM -- prefers the opposing side to their preferred foot. the more straight forward type prefers it the other way.

i think. :D

makes sense to me.

HA!

Here's a board confidence measure I've never seen before. Moved up to coaching Inter Milan, and thanks to some shrewd dealing in the transfermarket, I have 121 million pounds in the bank, the board's offered me a budget of over 1.88M a week, and even with the big name players I bring in, I only can spend about 950K a week.

"The club's financial situation is so healthy at the moment we are considering sacking our accountant and giving you the job."

Yeah, that is a great one. I have been getting it from my Albion Rovers board since I started my friendlies before my SD2 season I am in. I have since doubled the money we have in the bank (over $1,000,000 now). So I guess that comment comes depending on the clubs financial expectations. Of course the Wee Rovers Board still tells me to piss off when I ask for a facility upgrade. :D

Which friendlies opponents are best to schedule for a Conf N/S squad in order to make the most $$$?

I'm curious - is anyone else finding it significantly harder to buy players (which isn't neccessarily a bad thing). As Man City, I'm having a hell of a time convincing anyone to accept a bid, and prices are ridiculous. In a sense, its a good thing, but it almost feels like the difficulty levels have been turned up a notch (from 2006 - last version for me).

I am playing in Scotland, but it can't be much different. First off, when you schedule a home friendly it should tell you on the main schedule screen the "projected" income for the game.

I usually try to get SPL (since I am playing in the lower Scottish leagues, or I try to get Championship League teams to come. Basically the higher the team the more money you should get from it. I also try to grab non-UK teams to come play in Scotland.

Just watch that estimated earnings from the match and try to get what you can. It varies depending on the prestige or popularity of the team from what I see. Witht he teams I was getting I brought in either $12000-$20000 a game with a small 1500 seat stadium. 5 Games was a nice chunk of change for my team.