Ridiculously hard this year

[SamwelldoneFM]

Just can't buy a win, not a fun game thus far.

[IvanChe]

It's funny, my tactic now is sit deep, play from the back, work ball into box, fairly short pass, positive and lower tempo...and doing just fine. This match engine is so much improved, it looks great

[Powellinho.72]

Can you show us your team, tactics, training or anything else useful we can look at it? Losing streaks happen, it could be several different things that are not working out right now.

[s1r Abraham]

If you only play to win, you're not gonna have a good time in any of the future releases either, because it has been too easy to win past years.

[Garuda One]

I'm playing as Eastleigh in the Vanarama National and we're playing a control possession, work into box tactic and half way through the season we're sitting 3rd 5 points off first. This match engine is a lot tougher if you have bad mentals in the midfield imo but overall I LOVE this new match engine and the challenges I've faced.

[daveyfunk]

High Tempo, low block, remove playing from the back and that sorts most issues. They've done horrible things with this version and high press doesn't work as high press. It's awful

Possession has changed from being how long you hold the ball to how many passes you make and so high tempo actually works better. Makes no sense logically, but I think they did this to improve possession stats for teams like Man City while also making them an attacking threat

This versions ME is bugged to hell with the defending and overall have a lot of issues. For those that say there haven't been any changes there have been lots of subtle changes

[testmonkeyuk]

I remember way back in the Championship Manager days where you could pick a formation and tactics based on your squad and opposition and, whilst some games just seemed rigged, by and large results would even out to roughly where you'd expect them to be. FM seems to get more and more like a puzzle game where you need to crack the secret formula of tactics and formation the devs have deemed the holy grail for that version.

This year I decided to try the beta for the first time (I only buy every few years so last one was FM19) and during the beta phase I didn't lose a game. Apparently nothing changed in the ME upon full release (would be nice if SI actually said what was updated) and yet since then I've lost every game except one with the same players and tactics.

[SamwelldoneFM]

Originally posted by MS82:

Sit deep, don’t play from the back, don’t work ball into box, play slightly direct with a big mush target man on support - either cautious or balanced mentality, and pick the right support around the big man.

It’s horrible to watch but seems effective if your side is limited.

I have noticed it's alot harder than previous years. This is probably for the best, as before you could use one tactic and it would set you above the rest due to your recruitment of those position/team cohesion/tactical familiarity. Appreciate the comment

[SamwelldoneFM]

Originally posted by s1r Abraham:

If you only play to win, you're not gonna have a good time in any of the future releases either, because it has been too easy to win past years.

It has been, and I can only imagine the AI getting alot smarter in future releases too!

[SamwelldoneFM]

Originally posted by testmonkeyuk:

I remember way back in the Championship Manager days where you could pick a formation and tactics based on your squad and opposition and, whilst some games just seemed rigged, by and large results would even out to roughly where you'd expect them to be. FM seems to get more and more like a puzzle game where you need to crack the secret formula of tactics and formation the devs have deemed the holy grail for that version.

This year I decided to try the beta for the first time (I only buy every few years so last one was FM19) and during the beta phase I didn't lose a game. Apparently nothing changed in the ME upon full release (would be nice if SI actually said what was updated) and yet since then I've lost every game except one with the same players and tactics.

I did notice that in the beta i was flying, and it was like FM of old. When the full game released and i started a new save, it was almost like they turned it up a notch and it's become frustrating, but alot more fun in the sense that I am determined to overcome and beat the AI

[AdahnGorion]

Originally posted by SamwelldoneFM:

Just can't buy a win, not a fun game thus far.

I think it is the same as usual tbh. easy peasy if you know mechanics

[jack_blackburn]

Worst FM series i've played. Out source the match engine if you cant fix it - clearly keeping it in house isnt getting anywhere.

[Powellinho.72]

Originally posted by jack_blackburn:

Worst FM series i've played. Out source the match engine if you cant fix it - clearly keeping it in house isnt getting anywhere.

the match engine has never been perfect, and the series for many years now has never released a full version at first. We usually get 3 patches before they move on.

[jafthompson]

Hi Darkie
What mechanics are you referring too. I would like to know what we as managers can do to affect the match engine during play. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[AdahnGorion]

Originally posted by jafthompson:

Hi Darkie
What mechanics are you referring too. I would like to know what we as managers can do to affect the match engine during play. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

You have to make sure you use match sharp players, that they are rested enough (don´t use the same over and over again, remember to rotate just a bit atleast)

During matches, remember to set opposition instruction to suit your need and a tactic (you should have 3 different in my opinion) to suit the needs for the match ahead.
During the match, be sure to change between attacking and defending, don´t just let it be on ie. Attacking all the match long..

During the end, if you are ahead, opt for a more defenssive mentality.

It is also important to either choose to use a tactics that suit the players you have or if you can, buy players that suits what you want to develop.

[jafthompson]

Thanks for your tips