Tips for beginners?

[Karsk]

I haven't played this for a few years and at that point I was only just starting to hit rapid absorption in terms of info and game mechanics.

The issue is that I know very little about soccer beyond team names. I know it's strange I'm not a huge sports fan but I love the idea of running a club. Plus baseball seems to have even more statistics and doesn't have a lot of the niftier stuff FM has.

I would like to learn the game in the advanced rather than simplified mode.

As to which leagues it doesn't matter so much, although since America doesn't really care too much (in mens soccer that is) I'm more interested in Europe naturally. Particularly the British Isles and Germany if I had to choose.

So I not only have to learn about the game mechanics but I also need to learn about the sport and its tactics as well.

Like I said I'm not an absolute beginner, I did put in a lot of effort but that was about four or five years ago so I have forgotten most of it.

Any advice at all will be very much appreciated!

[Karsk]

Nobody?

[Spud]

Nobody is going to be able to explain the game of football, the art of managing a team, the complexities of running a club, of building a side, of conceiving an overall philosophy and implementing it, reading stats and spotting the patterns that will help to find tactical solutions to get the best out of your players and exploit any weaknesses in your opponents etc etc etc in a single post, it would require tens of thousands of words at least.

First thing I would do is watch some youtube videos about football rules, for example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up3Wvsxh6Pg

Another thing I would do would be to find a decent tutorial or playthrough series and watch that, then I would read the game manual, browse the forums and Steam guides section and play around in the game to familiarise myself with the UI etc.

Then I'd take a job at the bottom of the football pyramid and literally learn the trade of managing a football team by doing it.

[Neil Brock]

There's a lot of literature which can help with understanding football (Inventing the Pyramid for tactics, The Ball is Round for general history), but many people have said that playing a game like Football Manager can be a good learning tool in itself.

What specifically did you want to know? Also we have our own forums which have discussions on tactics - https://community.sigames.com/forum/19-tactics-training-strategies-discussion/, on players and teams - https://community.sigames.com/forum/22-good-player-team-guide/, a more general discussion on the game - https://community.sigames.com/forum/25-football-manager-general-discussion/ and a general Football discussion - https://community.sigames.com/forum/16-football-forum/

Good luck!

[Karsk]

Originally posted by Dave:

Nobody is going to be able to explain the game of football, the art of managing a team, the complexities of running a club, of building a side, of conceiving an overall philosophy and implementing it, reading stats and spotting the patterns that will help to find tactical solutions to get the best out of your players and exploit any weaknesses in your opponents etc etc etc in a single post, it would require tens of thousands of words at least.

First thing I would do is watch some youtube videos about football rules, for example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up3Wvsxh6Pg

Another thing I would do would be to find a decent tutorial or playthrough series and watch that, then I would read the game manual, browse the forums and play around in the game to familiarise myself with the UI etc.

Then I'd take a job at the bottom of the football pyramid and literally learn the trade of managing a football team by doing it.

Oh yea of course I was looking for a place to get started.

[Karsk]

Originally posted by Neil Brock:

There's a lot of literature which can help with understanding football (Inventing the Pyramid for tactics, The Ball is Round for general history), but many people have said that playing a game like Football Manager can be a good learning tool in itself.

What specifically did you want to know? Also we have our own forums which have discussions on tactics - https://community.sigames.com/forum/19-tactics-training-strategies-discussion/, on players and teams - https://community.sigames.com/forum/22-good-player-team-guide/, a more general discussion on the game - https://community.sigames.com/forum/25-football-manager-general-discussion/ and a general Football discussion - https://community.sigames.com/forum/16-football-forum/

Good luck!

I'm not really sure where to start unfortunately.

I would say Tactics and Training, and what to do with transfers.

I picked the same team I did last time, Everton FC.

I wanted to do premier league but not be ridiculously 'overpowered'. I wanted to start with a team that isn't at the bottom but still has somewhere to go.


Another question would be this:

What are the first items of business to take care of when I step into the role of a head coach (Everton FC for reference here although I am happy to switch to another club if that makes it easier to learn)

[Karsk]

I also wanted to add that I sincerely appreciate a developer responding! That's extremely rare and for a game such as this one it's thrilling

I appreciate Dave's post as well quite a lot. Any and all help is deeply appreciated.

The information is out there I realize, it's just that knowing where to start is a tough endeavor.

I really only know the basics of the game.

I'd like to know stuff like basic formations and strategy for example.

Like I mentioned I was just starting to get a grasp on the game when life got in the way. I had managed to do mostly wins and the rest draws for that first Everton season lol.

[Spud]

I really can't stress how much better it would be for you to start at or near to the bottom, I know some people would argue that having money and better quality players etc makes it easier, and yes, when you have mastered the art of management of course more resources and better facilities etc do make it easier, but when learning anything it makes more sense to start at the bottom..

Lower down the ladder there is more tactical simplicity, less pressure to produce results and fewer things to worry about in general. You can focus on building a team, learning to work within a tight budget at a level where it's much easier to identify strengths and weaknesses because you have smaller squads with lesser talent as will your opponents.

Everything you learn at the lower level will be fundamentally essential when it comes to getting good at the game, it's down there among the grassroots of the game where you'll be forced to master the basics and where you'll begin to take shape as a manager.

You wouldn't put a learner driver into a Formula One car or a trainee pilot into a fighter jet, so why place a rookie manager into the Premier league? But hey, it's up to you, have fun.

[suicunal]

The football in England is physical. Mental stats such as determination and work rate can be important in players, even for your strikers, especially in lower leagues.

You can train your players to play in new positions - effective for saving money if you need more depth. Usually the player will learn a new position that is similar to his main. For example a striker will be more willing to learn how to be an inside forward than a goalkeeper.
To teach a player a new position you should change their focus to a new position in training and play them in the new position on matchdays, works even better for younger players.

AMC are attacking midfielders, can be the playmaker or second striker depending on how you want to use them. If you have an old player with very good technical and mental stats but low physical - can use as an enganche, where he won't do much defensively but offensively the play will go through him.

Tactics.... This is up to you, a lot of tactics work but the game is more fun if you experiment and do your own imo. Set up a tactic and watch a friendly for 15-20 mins, you should see things that you can adjust. If want to play possession football, slow tempo and shorter passing, retains the ball, play out from defence and goal keeper passing to defenders means you wont rush play and lose the ball so often.
Direct, counter quick tempo and kick the ball long means you would rather score goals rather than keep the ball. Both strategies can work... Basic tips but it's a start.

If you want to play a more direct game long passes deep crosses etc, a strong striker (Target Man or Complete forward) will be very useful due to his aerial presence, if you wanna play on the ground more, a skillful striker with first touch, dribbling etc would be more beneficial.

Defence is extremely important, don't skimp on them and give instructions to help them out from even attacking positions. Players who like playing together play better. If your goalie is not good enough he makes stupid mistakes like throwing the ball in his net - invest in a better goalie if that's the case. Give your tactics some time to gel, don't be afraid to change if it's not working.

[Karsk]

Originally posted by Dave:

I really can't stress how much better it would be for you to start at or near to the bottom, I know some people would argue that having money and better quality players etc makes it easier, and yes, when you have mastered the art of management of course more resources and better facilities etc do make it easier, but when learning anything it makes more sense to start at the bottom..

Lower down the ladder there is more tactical simplicity, less pressure to produce results and fewer things to worry about in general. You can focus on building a team, learning to work within a tight budget at a level where it's much easier to identify strengths and weaknesses because you have smaller squads with lesser talent as will your opponents.

Everything you learn at the lower level will be fundamentally essential when it comes to getting good at the game, it's down there among the grassroots of the game where you'll be forced to master the basics and where you'll begin to take shape as a manager.

You wouldn't put a learner driver into a Formula One car or a trainee pilot into a fighter jet, so why place a rookie manager into the Premier league? But hey, it's up to you, have fun.

So what qualifies as the bottom then? Remember I'm not very knowledgable about the sport. I'm aware of course of promotion and relegation but would you recommend any teams for me then?

[Spud]

Originally posted by Steve Spaghetti, The Meme Thief:

Originally posted by Dave:

I really can't stress how much better it would be for you to start at or near to the bottom, I know some people would argue that having money and better quality players etc makes it easier, and yes, when you have mastered the art of management of course more resources and better facilities etc do make it easier, but when learning anything it makes more sense to start at the bottom..

Lower down the ladder there is more tactical simplicity, less pressure to produce results and fewer things to worry about in general. You can focus on building a team, learning to work within a tight budget at a level where it's much easier to identify strengths and weaknesses because you have smaller squads with lesser talent as will your opponents.

Everything you learn at the lower level will be fundamentally essential when it comes to getting good at the game, it's down there among the grassroots of the game where you'll be forced to master the basics and where you'll begin to take shape as a manager.

You wouldn't put a learner driver into a Formula One car or a trainee pilot into a fighter jet, so why place a rookie manager into the Premier league? But hey, it's up to you, have fun.

So what qualifies as the bottom then? Remember I'm not very knowledgable about the sport. I'm aware of course of promotion and relegation but would you recommend any teams for me then?

Lower division, Skybet League 2 in the english leagues for example, you could even go to the very lower leagues by enabling vanarama North and South, but to be honest that could bring a whole set of unnecessary complications such as part time and non contracts etc.

But in a lower 'professional' division you'll get basically the same game experience as you would in the top flight but with much simpler tactical problems to solve and less pressure to succeed.

When picking a team at the start of career mode select 'Pick team later' and wait until you've set the game up and selected your leagues etc, that way you can browse the different leagues you've enabled and see which clubs have higher and lower expectations etc, I'd recommend you avoid clubs that are expected to finish in the top 3, maybe go for one that is expected to finish at or near the bottom, that way you really can't fail, you are free to just focus on learning the UI, experimenting with team selection and tactics with no real pressure.

Also when choosing a team look at things like club facilities and finances, see if you can find one with relatively low expectations but is in a fairly healthy financial situation and has reasonable (for that level) training set up etc, of course this is just a suggestion but I really do feel it would benefit you for your first foray back into the series.

[Karsk]

Ok bc the only two leagues I really know aside from MLS (and who gives af about them?) are Bundesliga and Premier league and I don't even know all the teams in those!

So knowing what tier to drill down to is very good to know.

I'm not sure how many leagues I should have.

I'm starting with basically as little knowledge as possible tbh beyond the absolute basics but I really enjoy the prospect of managing a sports club.

Originally posted by suicunal:

The football in England is physical. Mental stats such as determination and work rate can be important in players, even for your strikers, especially in lower leagues.

You can train your players to play in new positions - effective for saving money if you need more depth. Usually the player will learn a new position that is similar to his main. For example a striker will be more willing to learn how to be an inside forward than a goalkeeper.
To teach a player a new position you should change their focus to a new position in training and play them in the new position on matchdays, works even better for younger players.

AMC are attacking midfielders, can be the playmaker or second striker depending on how you want to use them. If you have an old player with very good technical and mental stats but low physical - can use as an enganche, where he won't do much defensively but offensively the play will go through him.

Tactics.... This is up to you, a lot of tactics work but the game is more fun if you experiment and do your own imo. Set up a tactic and watch a friendly for 15-20 mins, you should see things that you can adjust. If want to play possession football, slow tempo and shorter passing, retains the ball, play out from defence and goal keeper passing to defenders means you wont rush play and lose the ball so often.
Direct, counter quick tempo and kick the ball long means you would rather score goals rather than keep the ball. Both strategies can work... Basic tips but it's a start.

If you want to play a more direct game long passes deep crosses etc, a strong striker (Target Man or Complete forward) will be very useful due to his aerial presence, if you wanna play on the ground more, a skillful striker with first touch, dribbling etc would be more beneficial.

Defence is extremely important, don't skimp on them and give instructions to help them out from even attacking positions. Players who like playing together play better. If your goalie is not good enough he makes stupid mistakes like throwing the ball in his net - invest in a better goalie if that's the case. Give your tactics some time to gel, don't be afraid to change if it's not working.

Very helpful! Whats the second striker then?

What about German football?

[suicunal]

A second striker is a supporting role for the striker leading the front.Second/Shadow/ Support strikers provide assists (key passes) to your main striker in a partnership and they also can score themselves.
Players like Lionel Messi, Dybala, Raul, Teddy Sherringham are famous second strikers. They can also be placed more forward in a 442 or behind the striker in the AMC role.
Look for the teamwork stat when using a supporting striker tactic, because they need to have a good partnership with each other to score goals. Teamwork becomes an important stat to both strikers, two strikers without teamwork will often ignore his partner and do a useless long shot making the need for a 2nd striker obsolete.

German football iirc is played on the wings by more teams, fast attacking football. I would expect if it's realistic that they don't get the same amount of money as the premiership clubs, and they would probably expect you to develop youth more than signing big names.

[suicunal]

Division 1 England - Sunderland or Division 2 1860 Munich - Germany. Lower league teams I'd recommend. You can check peoples wages, and if they are too high for your liking you can try to sell them to free up some money... also dont forget reserves and you might see a player you like there.
1860 munich would be cool, they are rivals to Bayern and I personally had a lot of fun managing them because of that.

[Neil Brock]

Originally posted by Enfant Terrible:

I suggests this, but also try 1st 5 tactics in workshop, you will win all and with minor teams also


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1653318969&searchtext=

Judging from the comments that's been addressed by the most recent update.

[Karsk]

Lol looks good! It seems like a 4-4-2 is popular?