Things I'm assuming

[ggwood]

...which may not be correct. I've never played FM before now, and I've only played Classic mode - and that only for a few weeks. I have tried to research/google the answers, but perhaps they are too basic.

1. When looking at a player, the numerical attributes are exact, meaning if it says he has 15 pace, he really does, but the star rating is a judgement.

2. There is no way for me to see the potential of a player via the numerical attributes. This I just have to trust to a star rating of my scout. (Thus the scout's ability to see potential is far more important then current ability, since that I can see for myself).

3. My young players are trained by my head of youth development, but once they loose that tag, they are handed over to my assistant manager? Actually, I'm pretty hazy here.

4. If I'm comparing two players for a position, say, FB(s), there are certain highlighted areas that are most important. If I sum the differences from one to the other, it should give me a general idea if one is better at that position then the other. I know some must be more important then others - but as a general guide. Also, I'm aware other stats can be important.

5. Long throw: can't make it happen. I read it was a known bug. Not sure if it is supposed to be resolved. I tried tinkering with the player's assignments (selecting long throw, listing the player to take throw ins, etc). I have one who is especially adept at long throw - and he does throw in, just not long (Antonio, Sheffield Wednesday).

6. If my players learn a new position, this somehow takes up points which could have gone into their abilities.

7. I cannot control when my players learn a new position - I can play them at an unfamiliar position enough and they learn it (although I have not much tried this - do you use friendlies?) - but they also seem to learn on their own. Meaning a position where they had no dot at all is now developed into green.

8. My team learns tactics via "Match Training" setting it to "Tactics Only" and preferably having many, many matches. Even friendlies. Switching my general training from, say, Balanced to Tactics will not help.

9. At the match, I can switch a team tactic to another known team tactic without penalty, but if I go to, say, attacking or defensive without having trained this in a tactic (even not the one I'm using) then there is some sort of penalty - I'd be better off if I had trained it.

10. Along that line: if I switch the depth of my defensive line, I'd assume there is a penalty but if I use a shout "Play Deeper", etc, then I'd assume not.

11. If my ML is injured, and I'm bringing in a sub, with no experience as a ML, but is competent at AML, I'm guessing I'm better off moving him up to AML (changing the formation) as my ass man grumbles about not knowing his position when I leave him at ML, but he doesn't seem to grumble about our formation - but I'm guessing here. This happens rarely, so I can't say "whenever I do this...".

12. When I set "Drill Crosses" or "Float Crosses", this doesn't seem to effect corners.

13. When I interact with my Board of Directors, I have a little drop down. Currently I have three options: Training facilities, expand stadium, build new stadium. When I examine my facilities, I find my training is already "Top", but I'm assuming they could be upgraded more - e.g. there is a range within "Top" and I can do better?

13.b. I would dearly love to upgrade my youth facilities. My current strategy is to drown my board in money, wait, and not tell them to spend it on anything else. What I'm assuming is that they'll give me different options later. Option B would be to upgrade our stadium, make a bit more money, and by removing upgrade stadium, open a spot for the choice I want.

14. I've had only two scouts: the one I started with and a new guy. The new guy has an adaptability of 20 - far higher then my last. I'm attributing this to his tendency to wander all over the world. My first scout basically went to Scotland, the Netherlands and Germany (I'm playing in England and loaded the Netherlands and Germany) and then didn't go elsewhere, saying he couldn't find anyone new for some time.

15. It is unclear to me how paying for a transfer, in installments, works. I think by selecting, let's say, 10 million and 48 months I'm going to pay a total of 10 million, in installments, over 48 months. However, I've seem some youtube videos (perhaps older ones) where they have to multiply the monthly payment by number of months. I just don't want to agree to 10 million per month for 48 months! (I've found evidence I'm pretty sure I'm right here and the older youtube video I saw was with a different version).

16. I've got two affiliated in nations I did not load: Bulgaria and Belgium. Thus, they don't really have real players. I can't tell which is a better team. I have a couple pieces of information: I can check the strength of the league in Europe, or I can get the club information and look at things like youth facilities and the total team value.

16.b. On a related point: I'm loaning my American (South and North, actually) to Westerlo in Belgium for three years to develop citizenship. I don't really get messages about their status from the loan. I do get messages from people I sent out to other clubs (mostly in England) that they are happy to return and did not learn anything. I'm hoping these lads I'm sending to Westerlo are developing. I just haven't seen the little green up arrows. Maybe not checking at the right time.

16.c. After gaining Westerlo as an affiliate, I got a Bulgarian affiliate. It will also take three years to earn citizenship. But my scout tells me my best course of action is to sign them and send to Bulgaria, not Belgium. I'm assuming this is just because that is the more recent affiliation?

17. Many of my affiliates want an annual friendly. This seems to schedule itself. Even if I schedule all friendlies right after the end of the year, I get tons of random friendlies scheduled in. I'm assuming my affiliate clubs will schedule themselves a friendly if they really want it. I don't seem to have them ask every year. I'm concerned I'm going to **** them off.

I've got more but I'll cut it off here.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Buckley0002]

1. Yes ratings are exact and the stars are your assistants opinion

2. You can't see the potential ratings - That would just defeat the point of the game (you can use third party programs which tell you the potential ratings though)

3. So your under 18 players are trained by your under 18's coaches and youth development but when they sign a professional contract they go to the main team

4. Use it as a guide - each player will have their strength and weaknesses. If you want your positional player to just be a defender you pick the one with the best defending attributes and so on.

6. Learning a new position takes up training time. They could have been doing more fitness training or learning how to be a set piece taker so yes it takes the focus off some attributes and puts it on others

7. If you play a player at a certain position for many games they will eventually learn how to play that position.

9. Of course if your team isn't familiar with the tactic they wont be a good as implementing it. Practice makes perfect

10. if you player deeper your attacking power drops and if you push up for defending power drops

11. Its up to you and your tactic. If you tactic works with an aml do it if it doesn't then don't

12. Crosses is in the field of play . Corners are controlled by the set piece editor and your tactics screen where you select your corner takers

13. If you facilites are greyed out then you talk to your board that means they have been upgraded to the highest possible.

14. adaptability means he can adapt . So he is easily trained for a new position. But with scouts im not sure. You decide where your scouts go not the the scouts them self

15. It doesnt multiply. 10 million over 48 months would mean the maximum you pay is 10 million

16. get you scout to scout the team and that will give you a better idea

16 c . It doesn't matter where you send them either one will work the same way

17. Look at the agreements in your affiliated clubs section. If they require a friendly it will schedule automatically. If they dont require one you can cancel them with hurting anyone.

sorry i couldn't answer all of them but that the best i could do

[ggwood]

Updates:

5. I have made long throws happen - only just not with Antonio (my best long thrower). I'm running into a new issue. Maybe you all know about this already. When I get a free kick from a corner-like position, my players respond as if it is a corner: thus the center backs come up, head to the near and far posts, and often knock in goals. I have my tactics set such that for neither free kicks nor corners shall they come up. However, on one of the approximately three long throws I've been able to produce, my center back got on the end of it and scored. Thus I think they are treating a long throw like a corner.

16.c. I think my young players develop more in Bulgaria over Belgium - I will have to check more into it, but it seems the club I'm loaning to is stronger.

14. I do not know how to send my scout to a particular place to scout. I can scout individual players which I select. I scout upcoming opponents. I have two general "go find my players" assignments which have him explore, uncontrolled. Can't figure out how to switch (this is classic mode - I'm sure full version is more involved).

13 and 13b. I requested an expanded stadium. We're now averaging over 99% capacity. They won't do it. Did upgrade youth facilities though.

[Ruskij1]

Just a sentence to 4.) : This always depends on whether you want to play more offensively or defensively. E.g. a WB with higher def. attributes like marking or tackling will be your man for a sit back Option, even if the total sum of WB attributes is lower.

[ggwood]

5. Realized to make what we consider a "long throw", a player needs the appropriate PPM. Their numeric skill at long throw doesn't imply they will learn the PPM. Ironically, the third best player on my team at long throw learned the PPM. In my game, this is Rhys McCabe. I'm going off memory, but I think his long throw is around 14-15 and Antonio's is 17. Antonio already learned two PPM's, so maybe that precluded his learning "long, flat throw" or whatever the long throw PPM is called. It is McCabe's only PPM.

13. I re-examined my mail on the upgrades. We had upgraded to "Top" training facilities (not at my request, by the way) previously. Then I requested to upgrade training, which they rejected as unneeded. Then I get mail they are to upgrade BOTH youth and training facilities. But upon completion of the project, the message ONLY states youth facilities have been upgraded. To give context, at that point, the club has been in the premier league six years at this point and won the league title once - so we are a pretty big team.

This year, January 2022, we're at about 96% stadium capacity - only due to a couple league cup games against small sides - selling out everything else. The board won't expand the stadium yet.

I'm continuing my "drown the board in cash" strategy. They have maybe 40 million pounds in the bank. It would be nice to see what kind of stadium expansion we're talking about. Especially if, in the end, it is preferable to just build a new stadium.

That

[ggwood]

Continuing item 13: It is October of 2025 now. We've upgraded the stadium twice, and youth facilities twice. Despite me requesting these things just 1-3 months before the board decided to do it, they always turn down my requests. I have never had a single request accepted.

First, facilities were upgraded to "Top". Then I got a message in the mail along the lines of: as technology has progressed, your youth facilities have not kept pace and are no longer up to scratch. That said, in the display, they were still listed as "Top" quality. Then the board upgraded them again. That just finished and I got a message that the facilities are upgraded. They are still listed as "Top". From this, I think there is a very good chance that there is a significant range of quality within "Top".

For the record, my two stadium expansions were undertaken in 5.2023 and 3.2025. The first added about 9k seats for about 12 million pounds cost. The second about 6k seats for significantly less cash. We have 105 million pounds in the bank.

I'd like to add to point 7. above: some of my players learn, seemingly at random, new positions. I think this occurs from either playing for my reserve team or their national team.

New point:

18. Jumping seems to generate extremely high player ratings in games. A player with good jumping will head the ball often in both offensive and defensive situations. Obviously having some heading ability will help score on the offensive end. For most of the 13 simulated seasons I've played out, I tend to have one bigger, slower center back with good jump/head and the other somewhat faster. Both set to CD(D) duty. (I use zone marking, and I've tried a cover/stopper combo and it seems not to work as well for me.) Anyhow, the larger good jumper/header has overwhelmingly higher player ratings - even though they are both equally good/important. My interpretation of this is that when the slower center back gets burned by a faster attacking player, that penalty to his rating is insufficiently large - partly because I have a smaller, faster center back to help mitigate that issue. Anyhow, I'm not saying this is a bug, just that I've observed it and I'm posting it here to see if it is unique to my playstyle, or it is a general feature of the game.