A Discussion on Crossing in the Modern Game and in the FM Series: The Shambolic State of Things

[Goose Green]

Big, massive, mega, super update, and whoops, yet again, not a single attempt to fix crossing in this series. It's broken.

Clearances and far post behavior and offside and penalties and everything else addressed in this update weren't broken or non-existent, they just needed tweaking.

Everybody give them a big round of applause. Get in SI, you're murdering the competition...

Hmm, something still feels really, really off when I play a game of FM... I mean there are a variety of goals, players generally follow instructions, I mean I can tell a player in mid game to stop playing like a Mezzala and start playing like a Advanced Playmaker and he does it instantly.

There's still something off, and I mean really off...

OH! There is no actual crossing. None, zilch, nada.

Much less, highly realistic modern crossing where balls are whipped in with pace and wicked curl early and from deep and wide positions when the defense is most vulnerable.

Try it. Set all instructions to cross early, deep and often. Go ahead. If you have the editor give all your wide players the crosses early trait, tell your team to cross early, often and from deep.

You'll have better luck finding Sasquatch in the lake country than you will seeing that kind of crossing happen in an FM game.

Go ahead, have a go lads.

You know what this means? ie the reporting of this for the last 3 versions, the complete lack of acknowledgement of the issue - They can't fix crossing.

Actually, that's not the right word. I bet in testing they can make them whip them in like Trent and Robertson and well, let's be honest, even in the Sunday leagues there are a ton of crosses.

However, they are unable to get players to hit crosses into the box realistically, you know, like we see at a match or on the tele, without knock-on effects that unravel the whole game.

You, SI, have built a delicately balanced model that's overall pretty good, but now you find you have to leave out realistic crossing.

Now I will be the first to admit that the reasons may be different, you may simply not give a toss about crossing at all, but what isn't up for debate is the fact that is has never existed in a realistic way in an FM series.

1. There is no crossing when a player is wide open and no one near him.
2. There is no crossing when the defense is moving towards its own goal and is outside of or is just moving into their own box. Also known as early crossing.
3. There is no crossing from what is called a deep position.
4. There is only carrying the ball as far alongside and into the box as can be done before winning a corner.

I'm talking in the live 3D match engine, not what is shown in the screwed up match analysis.

They are running to the end of the pitch before attempting a cross for a reason, because if they actually whipped them in early the scores would skyrocket.

If not, then tell us why. Why is this all we see?

The other sad thing is that there are so many people who play this game but have never noticed this and when they see it pointed out, most bury it with their built-in suspension of belief mechanism. FFS say something if you don't like it, nothing will ever change otherwise.

There is a growing group of players who find the game unplayable without realistic crossing.

There was a massive discussion about this on an FM fan site forum in FM18. I saw it mentioned by some pretty vociferous folks on Twitter and the SI forums for FM19. I didn't bother with anything FM20 after reading reviews and watching video.

I'm not going to lie for effect and say I had big hopes for FM21 and have been let down.
I KNEW they would keep ignoring it.

And I know for a fact they will continue to ignore it. I just have to call it out, I refuse to pretend I don't notice this glaring problem.

Dear SI, every post that doesn't mention broken crossing, I bet you take that as validation for your stance. It's not. Building your game to the standards of the lowest order of high-suspension-of-belief-players is not worthy of any praise.

Come on SI, seriously, give us something after a year of Covid hell. Give, terrible choice of words on my part, we all paid very good money for a supposed realistic football simulator.

You have a lot of customers who don't work inside on computers and so they can't work from home, they're sitting at home playing FM (well not anymore tbh) because they can't work.

You make a good living off this game.

Give a hard working man a decent cross into the box will ya?

FM owners: Sound off on this thread if you're sick of players doing the idiot dribble to the byline! I have to start out unemployed to have a challenge in FM I've played it so long. I can't even be my lower table EPL club without winning everything first season, so this is not from frustration at not winning, this is frustration from having no crossing.

[SmallMidget]

I see a decent amount of crosses that are deeper or early with my Hull tactic tbh mostly from my wing backs

[SmallMidget]

2 Wing backs on attack with 2 inverted wingers and look for the overlap tends to get a decent amount from either set of them

[KyP 3a LeBcKu]

Publicado originalmente por SmallMidget:

2 Wing backs on attack with 2 inverted wingers and look for the overlap tends to get a decent amount from either set of them

Check all tactics that are "good" have inverted wingbacks nothing else works.. The game does not track them properly.. Its either Wingback inverted wingback or inverted winger . anything else is abysmal

[SmallMidget]

Publicado originalmente por KyP 3a LeBcKu:

Publicado originalmente por SmallMidget:

2 Wing backs on attack with 2 inverted wingers and look for the overlap tends to get a decent amount from either set of them

Check all tactics that are "good" have inverted wingbacks nothing else works.. The game does not track them properly.. Its either Wingback inverted wingback or inverted winger . anything else is abysmal

Sorry i dont check other peoples stuff a lot and dont tend to get involved in things like that so I didnt know plus it just fits the team well

[Shaman King]

I just have perfect cooy of mancity and bayern u cant get more precise copy i bet 10e that nobody can make more precise copy of that mancity... And im losing and losing no chance at all no matter how stronk my teams are

[KyP 3a LeBcKu]

Publicado originalmente por Zakys:

Publicado originalmente por KyP 3a LeBcKu:

Bro you missed a much bigger problem?

Have you seen crossing statistics? In my game teams are averaging 50 crossers per game while Mo Salah is his fifth season is sitting at 23 crossers per game. He has 135 in 6 games

Everybody who doesnt believe me go check in your leagues the crossing stats for team!

You can see completed crosses 60 for example and it says 16% of all crosses for the team.

In a game between Chelsea and Man City they ahd over 100 crosses.. Thats like one per minute

Nicela and yeah thats why my ass manager wants to close everyone down i now understand. I tought he is wrong but he isnt. You must prevent the number of crosses. Omg i think i go play older fms i was so angry yesterday at this game thinking its all my fault after winless streak after creating a very solid tactic...like what the hell i did like 1000+ tactics in old fms and now im mby being too readable for ai after that amount. Or whatever even if i copy burnley tactic i still lose :D but dudes without striker are rampaging.

The most absurd thing is SALAH IS cut inside AMR with a bad right foot... SO explain to me what he is doing to cross the ball 23 times per game in my save? He is rotating around so he cross on his strong foot or blasting innefective crossers with his right foot.

Real life SAlah has 20 crosses so far in PML because of that thing

[KiingAllen]

Ive played more FIFA this year than i ever have. Pretty sure im clocking in less hours on FM as each year passes. SI are making this game more and more unplayable every time

[Wolves in the Throne Room]

If the earlier, more detailed posts in this thread were read entirely, everyone would see that we are talking about the 3D match on comprehensive or full, the stats are randomly generated and do not reflect what happens in the 3D match engine unless the entire 90 minutes are played in 3D.
Yes the game is showing absurd stats for crosses, but it is not playing the match in the background, it's a rock, paper, scissors numbers game with some RNG thrown in. The 3D match doesn't create a ton of crosses, it creates a ton of corners from players dribbling to the end line and smashing it into the nearest defender. Start the thread from the top and read.

'He who won't read has no advantage over he who cannot read'