******* Official Football Manager 2015 Thread *******

[philstanbridge]

Amazing that you can spend soooo much But quality players obviously. I got sacked lol.. I was poached from Kilmarnock after a successful season and a half and managed another season and a half in Sheffield United in the Champs before resigning. It was either that or getting booted out, so I opted for the former. I haven't been sacked in ages and I can't work out why it didn't gel. I had quality players for the most part, and plenty of money (for the champs) but things didn't go well. I managed 1 win in 9 games before the board took me aside. The players just weren't working for some reason. So back to the drawing board as the now manager of Birmingham City.

I need a formation that works for me...

 

[Tummy]

I could spend more (and have done) but this means I don't need to buy anyone (except offer contracts to young players) for the next 5-10 seasons . My squad is literally as I want it which rarely happens.

Also; while it looks a lot of money all of those deals were a few million up front (if that) and the additional money in add ons and future fees .

 

[smelly_legend]

2028 TEAM

FORMATION

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GKS

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DEF

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MID

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FW

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SUBS

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Some more youngsters. Long gone are the days where i would spend 150 mill (on neymar) and 85 mil (on pogba)

 

[philstanbridge]

OMG I have never seen so many world class players in one team. That's incredible. Those valuations too, amazing. So when you say you wouldn't spend big on individuals anymore what do you do? Develop your own youth? What about the stage in between youth and first team ready? I suppose you always have a backup.

 

[smelly_legend]

I do tend to spend big on youngsters whom I believe are worth it. Eugene krasnosomebody is my director of football (amazing scout too) - he also brings in high quality younsters. But all of that talent is bought at age 18 max. I turned very healthy profits as well. I usually promote all top youngsters to the first team to act as backups in a very tight knit 21 man squad , this insures about 10-20 games for all the brightest talents, whilst making them available for the under 21s or under 18s, getting rapid development. I always take on board their mental traits and if versatile train them in multiple positions to make the most of the small squad . almost always class full backs start off a DM. I kept an unusually large squad of 24 last season and had the depth to win everything aside from getting beat by sugar daddies Tottenham in the FA cup final 3-2.. Gutted! But I dumped them out of the champs league

 

[philstanbridge]

Ah very interesting. You play it slightly differently to me. So do you let your DOF find and buy the players automatically? Or do you scout them yourself? I always invest in under 18's when I'm playing in the top tier as like you say, these guys are backups who will likely turn into excellent first team players. Plus they are cheap in comparison to first teamers. But it becomes a struggle to find them when you are excelling at everything, especially after so many seasons.

Also, it is incredibly important to match the talent with the best training facilities, otherwise you might as well send them all out on loan. As Man U you will obviously have no issues, but I tend to build Conference teams up to the top tier, and their facilities are often terrible in comparison. It takes absolutely ages to develop a small club, but there is the challenge. One such save for me is as Sutton United. A tiny little club that I got into the Premier League, and managed to keep them there with a tiny budget. I found quality youth but a lot of them were merely good players who were supposed to be world class. Some didn't develop even if I played them a lot. So the backroom, and facilities must be as important as the players.

I love the idea of training them in multiple positions. That is an excellent idea and not one I've really considered. I tend to find players that are already natural or versatile in that position.

So back to your youth players - when you find them, are they all world class potential or not? I'm wondering if your club is able to push them a lot harder. I've never seen so many world class players in one team before.

 

[smelly_legend]

My DOF usually does contracts or offers for transfer targets on his own (maybe 10-15% on all transfers - an uneducated guess there) and can usually get players for a better price than me! Lol. But if he can't make a deal cos the other team wants say, 17 mil for a 17 y/o (in the case of my LB i posted ), if I am confident he is gonna be good (or a least make a profit) then i'll offer for the transfer and he goes back to doing the contract - but only for youth payers. I deal with all the larger contracts. I typically scout all youngsters for 3 months unless someone else is interested - then i'll bite and buy quickly. You are right tho, it's hard to find players now because not matter what youngster you find, the potential is always crapish but 2.5 - 3 stars is usually world class in my game now, so I know what to look out for. But for them world class gems, a lot of that is me being utterly boring and filtering under 19s player worldwide for certain high stats (most usually determination then filter position specific attributes - although annoying with the mask but better!) and then scouting for 3-6 months. eventually i get a gem with a lot of scouting (takes so long but after a few games it gets clear). But yeah, it's man u, all facilities are top notch and my coaching team avg about 4.5 stars (never had the all 5* coaching in 5 versions of FM - annoying!)

To note, I do send some out on loan, but rarely (1 or 2 max per season) and I have had a few very highly rated players that don't develop. Only 3 in this current save and I made money on one but this other in my squad just now is an injury magnet.

and I just got home and looked him up DOF is Eugene Krasnikov from mentalist. He signs youths, deals with their contracts and also acts as my main scout/leader as no scout on earth is better than him at this time.

here's an example of what a really, really, good player looks like when he's scouted, 1 star, and in my scouting view it's a stat freakout!! my advice, ignore the stars and check the predictions in the player view..

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BTW, for anyone starting the game with a decent club - buy Patrick Roberts from Fulham, became a club legend then i sold him to psg for 60 mil at 25ish (better player available). Rolling in cash now.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

and I just got home and looked him up DOF is Eugene Krasnikov from mentalist.

 

[smelly_legend]

Tummy, sign patrick roberts and Youri Tielemans! trust me!

 

[pingwing]

Yeah Patrick Roberts is a Saints legend on my save as well! (bought him in when I took Saints over in Jan 2017)

Josh Sims turned world class on my game as well... Then again so has almost everyone who's gone near my saints academy

 

[Martini1991]

OMG I have never seen so many world class players in one team. That's incredible. Those valuations too, amazing. So when you say you wouldn't spend big on individuals anymore what do you do? Develop your own youth? What about the stage in between youth and first team ready? I suppose you always have a backup.

My Boro team in FM 15 got silly.
2 and a half stars was world class, I deleted the save recently as I was done with it.

 

[philstanbridge]

It happens a lot and it makes the game frustrating. As you say if 2.5 stars is world class, what's the point in a star rating system. It's handy early on mind you, but as soon as you start bringing in the big names it becomes ridiculous.

Smelly, I'm surprised you only have 29% world coverage. I find it imperative to get that coverage level up as soon as you can. I often end up with 80% or thereabouts by the time I hit the premier leagues. This obviously helps enormously finding fresh talent. I've often found world class potential regens from fairly obscure places for peanuts. I found one the other day for £50k.

 

[this_is_gav]

The ratings are dependant on club reputation rather than the quality of the other players you've got. If you're the biggest team in the world you'll struggle to attract 5 star players because they won't exist, as your team's reputation eclipses that of the players.

Whereas if you're Crewe you might have a player with 5 stars for potential. It doesn't mean he's got the potential to be a top player, but he's got the potential to far exceed where Crewe currently are at.

 

[smelly_legend]

A bit like pogba! I'm only employing 11 scouts out of 17. 75% off backroom staff being english doesn't help and never managing in another country. I cleared out some scouts, some staff changed i.e assistant and also taking my time recruiting as I have no need to spend money scouting the earth, i've spent about 350 million+ on that current team..

 

[philstanbridge]

The ratings are dependant on club reputation rather than the quality of the other players you've got. If you're the biggest team in the world you'll struggle to attract 5 star players because they won't exist, as your team's reputation eclipses that of the players.

Whereas if you're Crewe you might have a player with 5 stars for potential. It doesn't mean he's got the potential to be a top player, but he's got the potential to far exceed where Crewe currently are at.

But does it actually work like that in reality? I've got some 4.5 star players at present, and having a look at their stats in an editor they are maxing out at 145 potential and current. My club (first season in BPL) is now 3.5 stars rep. My scout who is 20/20 says that the player is a 'leading' premier league player. But I know that isn't actually the case. 140 out of 200 is a good player for sure, but a leading player would be 170/180 out of 200. So is what they are actually saying is that a 'leading' BPL player would be a leading player for my club, or for the league?

 

[philstanbridge]

A bit like pogba! I'm only employing 11 scouts out of 17. 75% off backroom staff being english doesn't help and never managing in another country. I cleared out some scouts, some staff changed i.e assistant and also taking my time recruiting as I have no need to spend money scouting the earth, i've spent about 350 million+ on that current team..

Thing is, if you've only a small coverage of the world you are going to be missing out on some world class potential players. As a top team you can afford world class scouts and affiliates. That's how I see it anyway. When you list your 17 year olds in your scouting list how many do you see?

 

[this_is_gav]

But does it actually work like that in reality? I've got some 4.5 star players at present, and having a look at their stats in an editor they are maxing out at 145 potential and current. My club (first season in BPL) is now 3.5 stars rep. My scout who is 20/20 says that the player is a 'leading' premier league player. But I know that isn't actually the case. 140 out of 200 is a good player for sure, but a leading player would be 170/180 out of 200. So is what they are actually saying is that a 'leading' BPL player would be a leading player for my club, or for the league?

No, 170/180 is a world class player, not a leading Premier League player. There are hundreds of "leading" players in FM - that's just the way the it is.

Keep in mind that the star ratings are also based on how good your assistant is at identifying ability, and other coaches might have different opinions.

I've no idea if the star ratings between the club and your players are even on the same scale, as the reputation is calculated completely differently in the database (the club is out of 10000, the players are out of 200), so while the reputation of your club will determine the number of stars a player can have, they might not be on an equal - an overachieving club with a strong pool of talent would be a good example - Southampton perhaps?

Anyway, the players' stars are based on ability (or potential ability) while the club's stars are based on reputation, so it is irrelevant.

 

[spluff]

Are what you saying is if for example you are Sunderland and have John O shea which is classed as 3.5 stars to them...

If you were playing Man City he would be classed as less? e.g. 1.5 star?

 

[this_is_gav]

Are what you saying is if for example you are Sunderland and have John O shea which is classed as 3.5 stars to them...

If you were playing Man City he would be classed as less? e.g. 1.5 star?

Good way of showing it, yes. So I've just started a new game as Sunderland manager, then added another manager at Man City and transferred him across.

Here is John O'Shea at Sunderland.

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Here he is a few days later at Man City.

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Edit: I tried a scout report from Man City too and their report was the same as the Sunderland one (3 1/2 stars). Slightly odd. That might have changed the longer they scouted him though.

 

[spluff]

cool thanks for demoing that - seems right that one team would rate a player more than another - would also be useful to have a bigger game world stat which every player belongs to.... seems strange about scout report