Alright boyz, here we go!!! FM 2006 First Impressions

[DaddyTorgo]

double dola

an interaction that I love: Now that Ronaldo has retired from Real Madrid I seem to be getting comments from him on a semi-regular basis about what he thinks of upcoming games for my side.

this is awesome. I want more more more! And I want to be able to comment on his upcoming games and stuff.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I don't know what my problem is, but I'm bringing Hammertime back to Cheltenham. He got injured way too much after his stellar first season with me, and I got a great deal for him. I sold him to some second-rate French squad, and he rotted on their reserve team for practically the whole season. They finally wanted to get rid of him, and I'm taking him back.

I guess part of the reason is that the fans and some of my players love him. Also, I think I have better midfield players who can support him. As long as he doesn't get injured over and over again, he might be the boost my team needs.

Or he could be a waste of money again. I can't believe I'm doing this.

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I don't know what my problem is, but I'm bringing Hammertime back to Cheltenham. He got injured way too much after his stellar first season with me, and I got a great deal for him. I sold him to some second-rate French squad, and he rotted on their reserve team for practically the whole season. They finally wanted to get rid of him, and I'm taking him back.

I guess part of the reason is that the fans and some of my players love him. Also, I think I have better midfield players who can support him. As long as he doesn't get injured over and over again, he might be the boost my team needs.

Or he could be a waste of money again. I can't believe I'm doing this.

The order has been restored.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

So I feel like I had one of my biggest accomplishments tonight since starting with this series with CM 96/97. I had decided to take the Canadian national team job at the end of 2010. We started off with a couple of friendlies before heading off to the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. A 5-1 thrashing of Belize was followed by a 1-1 draw with Mexico. That put us in the quarterfinals against Puerto Rico and we squeeked by 2-1 to set up a semifinal against 3 time defending World Cup champs Brazil. I only wanted to avoid a slaughter.

I set our formation relatively narrow to try to pack things tight with the defense and make Brazil cross to penetrate our 18 yard box. But After 1 minute, I figured a slaughter was precisely what we were going to face as the Brazilians zipped forward to take an immediate 1-0 lead. But we managed to stem the tide through the rest of the half to go in only behind a goal. Things remained 1-0 until the 70th when I figured it was time to try to open things up a bit by widening our 4-4-2, moving my playmaking middie to the wing and focusing passing down the flanks in hopes of taking advantage of the holes in Brazil's 3-5-2. In the 82nd, my playmaker gets the ball and sprays a 45 yard direct pass right over Brazil's defense to my streaking striker who finishes to tie the game at 1. I go back to narrowing my formation, but don't go as defensive this time around. We hold out again until regulation time is up. 1-1 after 90.

In the 110th minute, one of my substitute defensive midfielders plays a through pass to another substitute striker who scores on his first touch on the ball. 2-1 Canada. But Brazil hit us right back in the 111th as my keeper gets caught out and chipped from 25 yards away. 2-2 and all I can do is hope for penalties.

Penalties is what we get after the 120 minutes is up. My first shooter steps up and confidently scores. The Brazilian who scored both of their regulation goals takes their first penalty and my keeper saves! We then trade pk conversions in the next 3 chances to leave the score 4-3 after 4 opportunities each. My left back who gave the ball away to gift Brazil their first goal steps to the spot for a shot at the winning pk. He converts! We win the shootout 5-3 and I have my biggest FM win ever and possibly my biggest CM/FM win ever! Final shots on goal 30-10 Brazil. Final shots on target 18-5. But we somehow pull the shock victory.

Of course now we have to follow this huge upset by coming back down to earth for the Gold Cup Final. I almost don't care if we win it or not. Beating Brazil is as good as winning the Cup anyways. I love this game.

Reading stories like this on these boards is what got me to finally buy wsm\fm and am I ever glad that I did. You can jut feel the passion and excitement that guys have for their teams and players.

Congrats on the big win Ajaxab

[MrBug708]

I think we are all waiting to hear how the final went...

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Grrrrr.

*initiate frustrated rant*

Twice now, I have had the game do a forced "quit" due to some silly "WSM is out of virtual memory" error. WTF? Just suddenly, out of the blue, the game shuts down without a chance to save. Whamo, there goes x amount of gameplay and time wasted, and my immersion is shot all to hell. Damn, that's frustrating.

*end frustrated rant*

FWIW, this happens to me quite often -- but I figured it's cuz I only have 128 megs RAM.

[daedalus]

Nice! Congratulations, Ajaxab!

When I get big wins like that (generally a CL game or a game against Chelsea or Manchester United), I end up jumping up and down, screaming my head off. Thankfully, my extremely understanding girlfriend just nods and smiles when she's witness to this. Curteously, she also will add, "Did your dots do well, baby?"

I appreciate that.

[Ajaxab]

Gold Cup Update

So we draw the US in the 2011 Gold Cup final. But it seems that, like me, some of my players have jetted back to Europe for midweek games. My best middie hurts his thigh playing for Inter against Hannover one day before we're supposed to play so he'll miss the final. Why Inter had to play him is beyond me. My best defender, a 20 year old regen, named Kid Master, bruises a rib in training so he'll miss the final. To top it off, we face almost 80,000 screaming Americans at Arrowhead in KC.

So again, I'm not too hopeful. But in the 14th minute, my pk game-winning left back launches a cross into the box that caromes off the woodwork right to my best heading striker who converts the rebound to give us a 1-0 lead. The US plays a 4-3-2-1 and their lone striker manages to pop one in in the 37th to knot the game at 1. Score remains 1-1 at the half. We just aren't playing that well. Taking off Bobby Convey in the 60th minute seems to spark the Americans as Adu and Beasley begin to torment us down the wings. They set one another up for goals in the 64th and 78th minute. The 3-1 lead proves too much to overcome as we go down in the final.

I'm still proud of the way we played in the tournament though and the Canadian FA is very pleased with our effort. Now if only my Exeter squad could pull through with the same kind of guts and grit to get into the League 1 playoffs.

[Ajaxab]

dola

After I told my wife I beat Brazil with Canada, she asked me if I'd finished the game a la Super Mario. For some reason, I think she wanted me to say yes.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

Now if only my Exeter squad could pull through with the same kind of guts and grit to get into the League 1 playoffs.

First of all, congrats on your Gold Cup run. I hope to manage an international squad someday, and I would like to have similar success. With that said, I know you're up to 2011 now, but I managed Exeter from 2005-2006, and they were so inconsistent that they took me on a virtual emotional rollercoaster. If you can pull anything out of that club, I consider you a greater manager than I. Congrats.

[Karim]

After five promotions in six years, I've gotten Vauxhall Motors into the Championship. Throughout this time, I was on a $10k/yr. contract, grossly underpaid in comparison to other managers in the league and of same reputation. With about two months left on my contact and winning promotion, the Chairman offers a four year deal at $70k per year. Not only was this again the lowest contract in the league, but with a wage bill of $3 million (relatively modest), we were losing money on a monthly basis. We were financially secure because we had made some big sales but I was keeping my eyes open for a spot with a team with more resources. I asked for $140k and was countered with $85k. I rejected, much to the Chairman's disappointment, who thanked me for my time of service.

The headlines then come in: "Promotion-winning manager may leave". My best player is shocked that I may leave and urges the club to find a way to retain my services. After winning Manager of the Year and less than a month left on my contract, I decide to give the board another opportunity. They come back with $210k/yr. and the possibility to increase my wage budget to $8 million (which would kill us). I accept the contract with a wage budget of $4.5 million and $3 million in transfer funds. I immediately sell off $6.5 million in players (which will hurt) to secure us for the next couple years.

Simply put, there is no better sports management game.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

FWIW, this happens to me quite often -- but I figured it's cuz I only have 128 megs RAM.

If you haven't already can I suggest installing the latest patch - we've improved a couple of things which reduce the memory fragmentation in the game and so should help with this on low-end systems.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

If you haven't already can I suggest installing the latest patch - we've improved a couple of things which reduce the memory fragmentation in the game and so should help with this on low-end systems.

Good to know -- now I can play with less nerves and less saves!

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

If you've any pet ideas for future versions then I'd love to hear them - won't promise that I'll agree with them or even if I do when they'd get added .... but they'd definitely be listened to and considered (several ideas presently in our games have come from user suggestions).

Marc,

Found this thread on the SI boards about the different dimensions of pitches in the game as compared to real life.

http://community.sigames.com/groupee...502#1072078502

Now silly me I thought this was like American football and that the pitch had a standard size.

Could you comment on how this actually works in the game?

Does the pitch shown in the 2d mode actually change size?
I can't say that I have noticed but after reading this thread I'll be looking.

Of course to late for this year but for next could the pitch size for each team be listed on the team info screen?

Right now it lists where the team plays so to this non-programer it wouldn't seem to hard to add a line for the dimensions or add it to the line that names their pitch. Of course I could be wrong.

thanks,
Sweed

[Sweed]

dola

With regard to pitch dimensions and how strategy should change.

Keep in mind a noob to football here but I thought I'd post a couple of ideas to see how they compare to what others would do in the real world.

Narrow pitch: Incerase the pressure and close down harder since their is less ground to cover and smaller passing lanes.

Wide pitch: Pack in the middle to close off the wider passing lanes. Easy off on closing down trying to keep men between the ball and the goal. If they want to fire away from distance, let them.

Offensively I've got nothing Well maybe more through balls on the wider pitch and shorten the passes and try to play ball control on the narrower?

Or is it none of the above

[Katon]

On a narrower pitch you've got less space, so being able to play one- or two-touch football becomes more important. Also, since you've got less space on the flanks, the get-to-the-byline-and-cross type of winger has a slightly more difficult time, meaning you might want to go after players who cut inside more.

If that sounds like Arsenal then I'm not surprised - Highbury has a small pitch and they're pretty well adapted to it, which might have something to do with their away form (though it's certainly not the only problem).

No idea how/if this is implemented in FM.

[Passacaglia]

Here's another question I've been meaning to ask (thanks for bumping the thread):

I'm in season 2 right now in my career. Last season, I had no transfer budget, and sold about $60K worth of players. Toward the end of the season, I signed a new contract, and my budget went away. When the season was over, I was given a transfer budget of $20K. I'm not too torn up about losing the 60K (or 40K, whatever), but I'd at least like to know that the club took the money, and I was helping out in some way. I've got about 15 games left in the season, and I've sold players to get my transfer budget to $250K. My contract doesn't expire, so I won't need to renegotiate, but will I lose my 250K when the season ends anyway? I'd rather not lose it, but if I lose it and it helps the team be more profitable, I'd be fine with that, too. What's going to happen if I don't spend it?

[Marc Vaughan]

Displaying pitch dimensions - yeah shouldn't be a problem to do, will put it on the ever expanding list of things to do

PS> Wait until we allow you to water the pitch or simply leave it unlaid (like Chelsea this season) ....

[Marc Vaughan]

My contract doesn't expire, so I won't need to renegotiate, but will I lose my 250K when the season ends anyway? I'd rather not lose it, but if I lose it and it helps the team be more profitable, I'd be fine with that, too. What's going to happen if I don't spend it?

You normally won't 'lose' your transfer budget unless it is considered too much for the board to risk (ie. if you've got 10k bank balance and somehow have a transfer budget of £15m then expect the board to reduce it UNLESS you're a big club and have serious television money or similar incoming in the near future) ....

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Here's another question I've been meaning to ask (thanks for bumping the thread):

I'm in season 2 right now in my career. Last season, I had no transfer budget, and sold about $60K worth of players. Toward the end of the season, I signed a new contract, and my budget went away. When the season was over, I was given a transfer budget of $20K. I'm not too torn up about losing the 60K (or 40K, whatever), but I'd at least like to know that the club took the money, and I was helping out in some way. I've got about 15 games left in the season, and I've sold players to get my transfer budget to $250K. My contract doesn't expire, so I won't need to renegotiate, but will I lose my 250K when the season ends anyway? I'd rather not lose it, but if I lose it and it helps the team be more profitable, I'd be fine with that, too. What's going to happen if I don't spend it?

Any money you have in your transfer budget, including inseason increases do to selling off players, is already factored into the club's bottom line in the finances screens. (So it's not as though you have the money and they take it away for the club to have, the club always has it.) Each season the board evaluates how much money they want to make available to you for transfers based on how much money the club has and how ambitious the board is with regard to spending money. So at the end of a season (the exact date depends on the league you're in) your transfer budget can either disappear or be increased, but it is evaluated and reset at the start of each new season. If you know from previous experience with your board, or you can surmise from a fairly skimpy cash balance for the club, that you will not be getting much money for the new season, then it is sometimes a good idea to make some purchases before the season turns over and your budget disappears.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Displaying pitch dimensions - yeah shouldn't be a problem to do, will put it on the ever expanding list of things to do

PS> Wait until we allow you to water the pitch or simply leave it unlaid (like Chelsea this season) ....

Thanks Marc for the reply. Between your games and the way you run your company you are creating a very loyal customer

[Passacaglia]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I'm off to spend some coin!

[FrogMan]

okay, need help understanding something here.

I'm managing Luton Town, a fairly modest "former" Championship side that I've brought up to the Premiership for the 2009-10 season. The stadium was at 10k seats or about but the board upgraded it to 15k as soon as we saw the first flash of EPL money, without me asking for it. I thought "oh nice".

Then, while waiting for the renovation to be over, I saw us bleed money like crazy with my $350k weekly wages total on a $300k budget. We seem to have stabilized in the monthly loss now at the end of December but we only have $7M in the bank and I open the January transfer window with only about $500k left of my initial $6M transfer budget.

I'm thinking "it's okay, I don't want to spend much and can't afford any new wages anyway" and on top of it, we're sitting in 10th place while everybody had us pegged as favourites to relegate after promoting through the playoffs from the Championship.

Now comes the twist. It's January 1st and the transfer has just opened. I get the sympathetic message that my board has increased the transfer budget. I'm thinking they can't really give me much but I see they are allowing me to spend an extra $10M That's where I'm confused. We only got $7M in the bank, does that mean they're allowing me to go in the red? Do they simply figure we can't really suck enough in the second half that we'll relegate?

Anyway, if anybody got a clue, please help me...

FM

[daedalus]

I believe, yeah, they are allowing you to spend into debt with the hope of staying in the Premiership. If you do spend the lot, it will likely cut into whatever you can spend in the summer, though.

You should also have a bunch of players coming available toward the end of their contract. They won't help this season but they would be cheap (generally, for nothing). So, if you do spend all your money now and have nothing left for the summer, you may still be able to improve your squad further that way.

[Marc Vaughan]

daedalus is correct, basically the board have decided that you're doing fairly well and want to ensure you don't get relegated (basically staying in the Premiership will give the club a huge 'bonus' in terms of television money and prize money which will offset their increase in the transfer budget) plus they're also considering if you can nudge up 3-4 places then you might make it into Europe via. the EUFA or inter-toto cup (again nice money spinners).

Bear in mind however that this also shows you have an ambitious board behind you, in some ways this is great (ie. you'll get money to try things) - however it can also mean they want results from you faster ..... or else

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by daedalus

I believe, yeah, they are allowing you to spend into debt with the hope of staying in the Premiership. If you do spend the lot, it will likely cut into whatever you can spend in the summer, though.

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

daedalus is correct, basically the board have decided that you're doing fairly well and want to ensure you don't get relegated (basically staying in the Premiership will give the club a huge 'bonus' in terms of television money and prize money which will offset their increase in the transfer budget) plus they're also considering if you can nudge up 3-4 places then you might make it into Europe via. the EUFA or inter-toto cup (again nice money spinners).

Yeah, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense that they were thinking ahead to next season already. The nice $24.5M in TV money in addition to the final position money are two big incentives for them to want us to stay in the Premiership.

On top of it, something I didn't mention at first but remembered afterward. My assistant manager is now reporting to me that he thinks we have a squad that should not do too badly in the Premiership, as opposed to saying for most of last season that we'd have a hard time achieving the respectable position in the Championship that the board was expecting.

As for Europe, it never crossed my mind that the board could want me to challenge for a spot in those as early as this season. Their early expectations were for us to fight bravely against relegation but we're indeed in a spot to maybe snag a place in the Inter-toto Cup. We were in 6th or 7th at one point (after 13 or 14 games) but have dropped a bit, now in 10th after a bit of a slump and many injuries...

More in a second (and third) reply

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Bear in mind however that this also shows you have an ambitious board behind you, in some ways this is great (ie. you'll get money to try things) - however it can also mean they want results from you faster ..... or else

Wanted to reply to this separately as I find these things fascinating, kudos to you and your team Marc. I'd never experienced this "going into debt because you expect big things to happen in the near future" thing before. Yeah, my QPR board in FM2005 had asked me to get high profile players at times, allowing me to spend overbudget but never had I been told "go ahead, spend, red, no red, no big deal" but now the realization of the consequences of what they're saying are hitting me

Hopefully I'll be able to get Kenilworth Road to be expanded over the new size of 15k because if they really mean us to go higher, we'll need a bigger ground

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by daedalus

You should also have a bunch of players coming available toward the end of their contract. They won't help this season but they would be cheap (generally, for nothing). So, if you do spend all your money now and have nothing left for the summer, you may still be able to improve your squad further that way.

daed, you know me, I'm a cheap guy. How do you think I got the team to $350k weekly wage total with barely nothing for transfer budget? Yep, Bosman type signing

That's one of the main reason that I like having the choice between a few split of transfer/wage budgets. I usually end up picking a lower transfer budget with a higher wage budget because I trust that I'll be able to get players through free transfers...

FM

[Sweed]

Is it possible to sack you current assistant and promote a coach that is currently with your team? If not can I renegotiate his contract (just thought of this while posting )or would I have to go out and hire a new one?

I started in Conf North and was promoted to Conf National. With the icreased budget my coaches are much better at judging talent than my curretn assman
so I would like one of them to give me the team report instead of old Sh*t for brains I was going to buy the guy out in July but realised my new better coaches hadn't been with the club long enough to be able to render opinions on the players. Well it's now almost October and it's time to make a move if possible. If I'm going to let him go I'd like to do it now so he has some time to find a job before Christmas. I mean after all the man has kids and I want to be able to sleep nights. lol

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Sweed

Is it possible to sack you current assistant and promote a coach that is currently with your team? If not can I renegotiate his contract (just thought of this while posting )or would I have to go out and hire a new one?

I started in Conf North and was promoted to Conf National. With the icreased budget my coaches are much better at judging talent than my curretn assman
so I would like one of them to give me the team report instead of old Sh*t for brains I was going to buy the guy out in July but realised my new better coaches hadn't been with the club long enough to be able to render opinions on the players. Well it's now almost October and it's time to make a move if possible. If I'm going to let him go I'd like to do it now so he has some time to find a job before Christmas. I mean after all the man has kids and I want to be able to sleep nights. lol

you can always terminate the contract of a coach or assistant manager but you'll have to pay him a fee (kind of a buy out of his contract).

What I once did in a situation similar to yours is renegotiate the guy that was my current assistant manager to a coach contract. He accepted thus becoming a coach, not an assistant manager and freeing the assistant manager spot which I filled out with a good assistant...

FM

PS: typed my reply before I read the end of your post, good xmas story there

[WSUCougar]

Seeking input:

Do you guys find there is a better or worse time to ask for improved training facilities? Here's my situation: I started with Gravesend, did better than expected, but got tired of the diminishing budgets. When Northampton came calling from League Two, with big bucks available to utilize, I gave the Gravesend board an ultimatum, which they answered with a "clear out your desk and don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out" response. Fair enough...off to Northampton Town.

Anyway, now I'm doing well in League Two. The team has very good talent and we are just clicking. It's a great situation to be in. However, I want to see if the board will improve our training facilities so I can boost the Under 18, but I don't want to jump the gun.

Comments?

[Bee]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Seeking input:

Do you guys find there is a better or worse time to ask for improved training facilities? Here's my situation: I started with Gravesend, did better than expected, but got tired of the diminishing budgets. When Northampton came calling from League Two, with big bucks available to utilize, I gave the Gravesend board an ultimatum, which they answered with a "clear out your desk and don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out" response. Fair enough...off to Northampton Town.

Anyway, now I'm doing well in League Two. The team has very good talent and we are just clicking. It's a great situation to be in. However, I want to see if the board will improve our training facilities so I can boost the Under 18, but I don't want to jump the gun.

Comments?

I ask for stuff when there's a lot of money available, we're making money and usually immediately after I get an email from the board saying how great I am. I don't think I've ever been turned down.

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Bee

I ask for stuff when there's a lot of money available, we're making money and usually immediately after I get an email from the board saying how great I am. I don't think I've ever been turned down.

My most recent message from the board was that they are "encouraged by the start I have made" or something like that. Although I still have around $450k in transfer funds and am somewhat under budget on salaries, we are losing a little money at present due to my spending spree when I first arrived.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Bee

I ask for stuff when there's a lot of money available, we're making money and usually immediately after I get an email from the board saying how great I am. I don't think I've ever been turned down.

do you mean the kind of email you get after a big win, like "the board was delighted with the big win over rivals"?

FM

[Bee]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

do you mean the kind of email you get after a big win, like "the board was delighted with the big win over rivals"?

FM

Yep...I have no idea if it makes a difference or not, but I always wait to ask after they come out and make a statement like that.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

My most recent message from the board was that they are "encouraged by the start I have made" or something like that. Although I still have around $450k in transfer funds and am somewhat under budget on salaries, we are losing a little money at present due to my spending spree when I first arrived.

I'd guess you'd be turned down. You'll need to build up some more good will with the board, make some money and then ask...at least that's what I'd do. My last facility upgrade was at English L2 with my current team and I think I approached the board when they had about 1.2 Million Euros in the bank and we were making about 100,000 Euros a month in profit.

I think finances are very important in FM and that's something I check every month to make sure I'm making money and if not what I can do to turn things around.

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

My most recent message from the board was that they are "encouraged by the start I have made" or something like that. Although I still have around $450k in transfer funds and am somewhat under budget on salaries, we are losing a little money at present due to my spending spree when I first arrived.

I always wait at least a year to ask for anything, and even then it needs to have been a good year. Wait until the board are either pleased or delighted with you, and you've spent at least a season at the helm. For what it's worth I always ask for these things immediately after tv money is awarded as well so that the club is in its best financial shape when the board makes a decision.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by MalcPow

I always wait at least a year to ask for anything, and even then it needs to have been a good year. Wait until the board are either pleased or delighted with you, and you've spent at least a season at the helm. For what it's worth I always ask for these things immediately after tv money is awarded as well so that the club is in its best financial shape when the board makes a decision.

I agree with everything stated in here. I also ask for most things right after tv money has been given excepted once where we'd had an FC Cup replay at Manchester United and had received something like $2M for it while we were still in the Championship. At the time it felt like we were swimming in money

FM

[WSUCougar]

Good thoughts, thanks.

Is it possible I would be offered an option of applying funds to facilities/transfer/salaries in different percentages? When I was offered the job they stated the available transfer and budget amounts but also said that I would have other funding options to choose from (but I haven't seen these as yet).

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Good thoughts, thanks.

Is it possible I would be offered an option of applying funds to facilities/transfer/salaries in different percentages? When I was offered the job they stated the available transfer and budget amounts but also said that I would have other funding options to choose from (but I haven't seen these as yet).

when a new year rolls around and they announce the transfer budget, it's then that you can pick another scenario. Don't click "continue" or that option will be gone the next day. It's the only time I've had the choice of anything in that regard and it's always between transfer budget and wage budget. The higher the wage budget, the smaller the transfer one...

FM

[Karim]

Can anyone explain how to properly use a DMC? Whenever I get one on my roster, I immediately try and convert them and use them as a MC. The only time I can actually use them in their natural position is when I'm trying to protect a lead in the last 15-20 minutes, where I switch to a 4-1-4-1. But I haven't come up with a good formation which utilizes a DMC from minute 1.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Karim

Can anyone explain how to properly use a DMC? Whenever I get one on my roster, I immediately try and convert them and use them as a MC. The only time I can actually use them in their natural position is when I'm trying to protect a lead in the last 15-20 minutes, where I switch to a 4-1-4-1. But I haven't come up with a good formation which utilizes a DMC from minute 1.

I <3 DMC's. MOST of the time you can use your DMC's as regular MC's, which is what I tend to do on occasion. In my current career I tend to alternate between playing an AMC and a DMC in midfield and two DMC's in midfield. 4-1-2-1-2 is a classic formation with a DMC, two wing midfielders, an AMC and two strikers. Or a 3-5-2 with either central DMC's or wing DM's instead of playing a 5-3-2 with wingbacks.

does that help?

[Ajaxab]

How many games would you say it takes before players begin to get jaded? I played a guy in 51 games last season and it seemed like it was too many. I'm trying to figure out an optimum number for rotation purposes.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Karim

Can anyone explain how to properly use a DMC? Whenever I get one on my roster, I immediately try and convert them and use them as a MC. The only time I can actually use them in their natural position is when I'm trying to protect a lead in the last 15-20 minutes, where I switch to a 4-1-4-1. But I haven't come up with a good formation which utilizes a DMC from minute 1.

as DaddyTorgo said, the 4-1-2-1-2 (wide diamond) formation is a classic one with a DMC in it. I've found that I like my DMC to have good heading as he's almost like and extra centreback sitting in the middle of the field there. He also needs good passing and possibly good teamwork as he's like the QB in my offense. He often gets the ball from the defenders and relays it to either the wingers or the AMC who'S sitting right behind the strikers.

Often I even go to a 2 DMC formation late in games when I want to protect a lead. The AMC is usually the one I pull out, but I also sometimes go to a 4-2-2-1-1 formation.

Hope this helps.

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

How many games would you say it takes before players begin to get jaded? I played a guy in 51 games last season and it seemed like it was too many. I'm trying to figure out an optimum number for rotation purposes.

I have no clue as I don't remember it every happening to one of my players. I guess it depends a lot on the player though...

FM

[ice4277]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

I have no clue as I don't remember it every happening to one of my players. I guess it depends a lot on the player though...

FM

Yeah, a lot seems to depend on their phyiscal and mental attributes. I try to rotate players as much as possible to keep them fresh all the way through, but if you have a limited squad, it can be tough.

[DaddyTorgo]

if you can afford "elite" DMC's (ones with good passing and decision-making) you don't even need an AMC. just play 2 DMC's and take the defensive bonus of that

[Marc Vaughan]

Just to confirm - a DMC or a AMC is perfectly acceptable to play in a MC slot (ie. they'll do fine in that position, although obviously one will be lean more towards supporting the attack and the other the defense).

The alternatives is to use say a 442 Diamond formation which contains both the DMC and AMC roles themselves (very effective formation IF you have the right players present in it imho).

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Just to confirm - a DMC or a AMC is perfectly acceptable to play in a MC slot (ie. they'll do fine in that position, although obviously one will be lean more towards supporting the attack and the other the defense).

The alternatives is to use say a 442 Diamond formation which contains both the DMC and AMC roles themselves (very effective formation IF you have the right players present in it imho).

One of my favorite formations recently has been a 3-6-1 diamond. Three centre backs, two wingers, two center middies on the line, an AMC and a DMC, and one striker. It's pretty cool.

[scooter]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

How many games would you say it takes before players begin to get jaded? I played a guy in 51 games last season and it seemed like it was too many. I'm trying to figure out an optimum number for rotation purposes.

I think age comes into play here too. I think young players (16-20ish) get tired if they play that many games in a season.