Working with the board and DOF

[stevethedog]

I haven't played FM for a few years so this is all a bit new and fun to me but still feels a little wonky.

It's such a crucial relationship for a football manager yet it seems more constructive to completely ignore it which shouldn't really be the choice of the manager but of the board.

Maybe it's better for overall gameplay if you want to be involved in everything but for realism this would all be down to the board, especially at the bigger clubs.

I'm currently managing Hibs (who have other inaccuracies at board/dof level*) and I don't really want to be in control of selling my players so I'm happy to palm that off onto the DoF, that's cool. I don't want to be involved in contract negotiations for my players either and I like how I can pass that on to my board or the DoF but I do want to be involved in the discussion about who we offer extensions to and who we're willing to let have their contract run down.

I like the way that the board approached me about my new contract early into the first season and I feel like it should be a similar thing, before the opportunity for bosmans, to meet with the board and the DoF to discuss the players' futures rather than the manager having to work the budget and think about bonuses. Do football managers at professional level really have any contact with agents beyond being offered players to trial and availability?

I like the overhaul that's happened in the game, I assume over the past few years, to reflect the inner workings of the club but it almost feels like a move away from realism which is what the game has achieved so well for so long.

That said, I'm thoroughly enjoying it thus far

*At Hibs, while Rod Petrie is chairman he is no longer involved on the footballing side and it's Leeann Dempster as Chief Executive that effectively runs the club and hires and fires the staff (she's a director in the game with no impact). Greame Mathie is the "head of player identification & recruitment" and is DoF in the game which probably makes sense but George Craig seems to have a more important role as "Head of Football Operations" yet he isn't in the game.

[GriffiN94]

If you set them to release does the DoF still make the decision?

[johnhughthom]

Totally agree, the way DOF style roles have been introduced feels pretty half baked to me, and not fully integrated with other elements of the game. I find it hugely frustrating when I put the DOF in control of contract negotiations, but agents and players come whining to me about a new deal.