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JoeyB

Football Manager 2011

By JoeyB, in Entertainment Forum

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Finnegan

Finnegan

Posted
Posted

Alright Weasel, here goes:

The Basics.

Firstly and fore-mostly, a few things to look out for in literally every single player you sign:

The Mental Stats:

Determination: All players have invisible stats. If memory serves, they are things like Injury Proneness, Big Matches (how well they perform in them,) Sportsmanship (how much of a dick they are,) Consistency and so on. You can't see these stats directly but the most important - Consistency - is hinted at by Determination. Determination is directly linked to how hard a player will work for the side and indirectly to how easy he should be to get motivated and fired up. Players with very low determination scores are usually worrying, not necessarily to be avoided, but not always the most resilient.

Team Work: Team Work is generally how likely a player is to stick to what you've told him to do and how likely he is to try and do his own thing. Lower Team Work combined with high Creativity and Flair isn't always a bad thing (C. Ronaldo for example) but if you want a well drilled side, having a first eleven largely full of people with high Team Work is a bonus.

Work Rate: Keep an eye on a player's stamina if they've got a high work rate. Players with low stamina but a high work rate will frequently be knackered come 90 minutes. Don't over-think this and fret over it too much, just keep it in mind. Besides that work rate is self-explanatory, the higher the better - nobody needs lazy players.

The Physical Stats:

Natural Fitness: In the same way that Determination can hint at the hidden "Consistency" stat, Natural Fitness can hint at Injury Proneness. Watch out for players with a low Natural Fitness as they are often the ones who are more prone to injury. Besides that, it's another self explanatory stat and - like Work Rate - the higher the better in every player.

Pace / Acceleration: The ultimate luxury stat. Where given the choice, sign the fastest players you can - HOWEVER - never, ever, ever be awed by players with 20/20 pace and acceleration and use it as an excuse to forgive their crap stats. Fast players are the one time it's worth questioning your scouts or the value of a player; the game goes absolutely bonkers for fast players and it can often end up frustrating the hell out of you when they persistently fail to dribble, tackle or score because the rest of their stats are shit.

Stamina: One of the most self explanatory and often over looked stats in the game. End of the day you want your best players out for ninety minutes and that means good stamina scores.

In regards all of the ABOVE, basic stats, 11 - 14 is "good" in the championship, 15 - 16 are good in the Premiership. Above that and you're looking at areas where players noticeably excel. All of the above are secondary stats, however, and should neither be over or under valued. You need them combined with the following which are the primary stats for different positions.

Note: Before you hit Continue for the first time, make one of the first things you do signing Scouts. Dismiss your current staff and get Scouts with the highest Judge Potential and Judge Ability possible. If you can't find any, try and get yourself an Assistant Manager with these stats instead. If they're 16+ in both then they should be pretty reliable, trust in them. Make sure you scout every single player before you buy him, however good his stats may appear, as they should help you find players who are inconsistent, injury prone, moody or lacking in potential.

Positional Requirements.

What follows will just be a brief summary of where my eye immediately goes when I look at a player sheet and what turns me off. It is largely just my opinion, however it has generally served me well playing this game. For a more comprehensive list, keep in mind that as of FM 10 (I think) and certainly in the current version the game actually recommends stats to you for each position. To find this out, go to the tactics page, select a player and look at Individual Instructions. As you select a position and a role it should highlight the stats associated with that job.

Values:

I have split stats up into Primary and Secondary. In the Championship I wouldn't pay more than 100k for a STARTING* player with less than 13 in the Primary stats, 14 is good. For the Premiership 15+. I don't typically apply these same values to secondary stats as strict rules but they can be used as a guideline.

* Obviously if it's a youngster with high potential that's a different issue.

Goalkeepers:

By far the easiest to scout for because they come with their own, unique stats. Which of these you prioritise might depend on the effectiveness of your defence. If you find yourself denying the opposition attacks down the centre but are prone to crossing then Command of the Area, Jumping, Aerial Ability and Handling are all fantastic. If the reverse is true then obviously lean towards keepers with higher One on Ones, Reflexes, Rushing Out, etc. Typically though just grab the keeper with the highest of these stats as you can.

15+ across the board would be a solid, Premiership keeper.

MENTAL and physical stats are where it's at with the keeper, and often overlooked. Look out for: Concentration - nobody needs a goalkeeper half asleep; Height & Jumping - you don't want Andy Carrol and Peter Crouch beating him to high balls; Positioning - A big one, keepers with low position are often caught horribly out of sorts and Decisions - to stop him coming out for balls he shouldn't or the other way around.

Full Backs:

Primary: Heading, Tackling, Marking, Positioning and Concentration as with all defenders.

Secondary: Acceleration, Pace (especially if you want him attacking), Crossing (if you want him attacking.) Decisions and Work Rate will all add to a solid full back as well.

Centre Backs:

Primary: Heading, Jumping, Tackling, Marking, Positioning and Concentration as with all defenders.DO NOT EVER sign a centre back with low concentration. Nobody needs a Titus Shambles in their team.

Secondary: Strength is obvious, as are Height and Balance. Besides that, Centre Backs are your real stalwarts and as such they are one of the positions most effected by mental attributes. Ideally, look out for all of Bravery, Anticipation, Determination but combined with everything else don't stress too much finding the perfect centre backs. If they've got all the primary stats and they aren't too weedy they should do a job.

DMC - Anchor Man:

Primary: Tackling, Positioning, Work Rate, Stamina, Anticipation, Concentration.

Secondary: Passing, Strength, Decisions, Determination and all. A really, really good Anchor Man is one of the hardest positions to fill. Really what you want is someone who could run for ever but reads the game well enough that he won't have to and can put in a good challenge when he gets there. Don't sign an Anchor Man that is completely shit at passing but don't stress too much if he's only got 11 or 12, either.

MC / AMC:

I like the diamond, I LOVE the diamond. I don't really like having "Jack of all Trade" midfielders in my side so as such what follows is really just for attacking central midfielders and attacking playmakers. For a good, pure, old-fashioned CM just try and strike a balance between the DMC and AMC.

Primary: Passing, Creativity, Decisions, First Touch. The first three work hand in hand to produce the perfect play-maker, high Creativity with poor Decision-making will get you a clever but often wasteful player. Similarly high Creativity with poor Passing will get you a player that's slowing the game down. First touch is vital if you're playing a fast tempo game as he'll be receiving the ball a lot and will be causing you problems if he can't even trap.

Secondary: Lots of them, depending on what you want him to do. For more advanced midfielders: Pace, Acceleration, Dribbling, Technique, Finishing and Composure. This is your AMC that's almost a second-striker, he'll be deployed in an attacking role and given the freedom to push on. For deeper lying play makers some Tackling, Positioning and Anticipation will be a boon.

Wingers:

Primary: Fairly easy one this. Crossing, Crossing and Crossing! Dribbling, Pace, Acceleration, Passing, oh.. and CROSSING!

Secondary: Creativity, Flair and Technique (these should possibly be considered Primary if you're in the Premiership and have more money at your disposal.) Finishing, Off The Ball and Composure. Oh, and Agility is very handy if they've got high Dribbling and Flair stats - it means they'll be quicker changing direction and pulling off tricks, etc.

Note: I don't believe in wingers that can't cross the ball. There are tactics out there that will use wingers as wide-forwards, playing on the opposite side to their natural foot so they can cut in and shoot. I don't like these formations, personally. If you do - go for it - but I like to be able to create goals from all around the park and wingers are integral to that.

The Little Man:

Primary: FINISHING AND COMPOSURE!! (Yes, Shane Long IS shit!!) Off the Ball, Acceleration and Pace. At this point I need to point out the vast importance of Composure, if a player has high enough Composure and Technique he can almost get away with having slightly lower Finishing. There are a few strikers in the game who you will consistently see scoring goals even though they have a poor Finishing stat and it's often because of Composure. Don't undervalue it, it's how calm your striker will stay in front of goal. Off The Ball is your player's movement, how likely he is to beat the offside trap, etc - companied with decent Anticipation and good speed it's ultimately what distinguishes your Little Man from your Big Man.

Secondary: Flair, Technique, Dribbling, Agility, Decisions and Creativity.

The Big Man / Number 9.

Primary: Finishing, Composure, Heading, Jumping, Strength, First Touch.

Secondary: Off The Ball, Technique, Passing, Creativity, Decisions.

Note: All of these are ideal-world values. The lower down the ladder you are, the less you'll be able to get all of these things in an ideal player. The less money and resources you are, the less you'll guarantee matching these requirements.

**

Right. I'm completely worn out. I was going to give you a bit of a lecture on tactics and how to put all of this in to use but that might have to come at a later date. Instead I've uploaded my Championship-winning tactics file and you can feel free to have a look at it and see how it differs from yours:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/dklyYURLZy8wVWxjR0E9PQ

PLEASE NOTE: I haven't played FM for over a year, having not bought FM10, and when I got this version I dived straight back in and I have to admit setting up my tactics wasn't top of my priorities. This tactic is a basic one and it served me well but I would NOT claim that it is perfect, I will most likely update it in the coming week once I've had time to relax and play around with my new Premiership Leicester side as to be honest I sort of bulldozed the Championship purely on the strength of my signings.

That said, this tactic did get me promoted and it gets good use out of Target Man and Poacher forwards side by side.

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ramboacdc

ramboacdc

Posted
Posted

only had time for 3 games tonight. went cinema instead and up early in the morning. beat the leaders burnley 2-0 at home, beat watford 2-0 after them going down to 10 men and beat doncaster i think it was 1-0. roman bendar is the greatest loan signing ive ever made. only 5 points off joint top now going into march. this game isnt over until jobber sings! also nearly got jimmy bullard in but im trying to get a repuation with agents that i dont mess about so they take me seriously and offer me decent players.

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Finnegan

Finnegan

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Posted

Bloody hell Finners, you make this game sound like brain surgery.

Well it is and it isn't.

On the one hand, Football Manager is the easiest game in the world. It's literally a game of Top Trumps; typically speaking if you have the team with the highest numbers you should be winning.

But with the greatest respect to SI, they have put in an increasing amount of detail in every version and understanding what it all does will help you a lot.

Would you sell the midfield maestro?!

And how do Bolton have that much dollar?!?!

Finners - you wouldn't happen to managing Bolton as well there? I think you'll find that's cheating!

lol. They key word is "reported", it won't happen it's just one of the in-game rumours. If you set the asking price for your players to the highest it can go (£100m) then it'll often ward off getting offers from other clubs. Or it used to, anyway, in previous versions. But since the rumours system came in it has confused the game into a few silly reports like that one.

I've had them in 09, as well. None that funny though. As explained elsewhere, I'd never get that lucky that it happened. Although I once had Newcastle pay £15m for a very average winger I bought for 3, only nine months later.

Oh. And I made my first Prem signing yesterday, M'Vila for 1.4m. :) Lukaka not interested. Sadface.

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The Doctor

The Doctor

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all my strikers are shit - long is my top scorer from the strikers with 2, Austin has 1, Fryatt has 1, Vantaggiato has 1, waghorn has 0 & howard has 0 - compare that with vitor has 3 and hobbs has 3 - fook knows how im top o'the league and into the 4th round of the LC (beat chelseas reserve side (who did go down to 10 men) 2-1).

However for £0 and 4k a week i think i've got a gem in the chievo striker - 18 finishing, 17 heading, 13 pace - just a fast steve howard who (in theory) should score goals

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Finnegan

Finnegan

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Well obviously. Guidetti's value is just a reflection of his age and potential, he's League 1 at best. The other two are shit and 1.4m for a striker that can't shoot is genius!

What were you expecting with those stats? lol

You can buy from outside England you know!

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Ozwin

Ozwin

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Posted

Well obviously. Guidetti's value is just a reflection of his age and potential, he's League 1 at best. The other two are shit and 1.4m for a striker that can't shoot is genius!

What were you expecting with those stats? lol

You can buy from outside England you know!

He was top scorer in my promotion season for Norwich.

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Tubes

Tubes

Posted
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Right, Chris Eagles got sent off last man and deserved it. I decided to take the chance to save the club money and fine him 2 weeks wages but now the whole team has turned against me and ive fell out of the automatic spots struggling to win. Any ideas to get my team morale back up? It was brilliant before.

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