Losing the games you should easily win

[Wooloomooloo]

Hi all - brand new to the forum, this is my first post. I've been playing FM in some form or another since CM'92 (or thereabouts) on the Atari ST (the one with the red box) and have loved it ever since.

The game seems to get harder and harder as the years go on, which is probably a good thing, but I've found with FM13 and FM15 on the iPad that this has reached a new level of silliness, especially when you try and manage modest teams out of the 3rd or 4th tier of some divisions.

For reasons I can't really explain, I chose to manage Sheff Utd in Division 1 (3rd tier of English football) and things started off well. I won 12 of my opening 16 games with 2 draws and 2 defeats. All of my starting 11 have average ratings above 7, my leading goal-scorer has 14 and morale is high. Suddenly out of nowhere I am losing against teams in 21st position or 24th position, giving up 2 goals in the first 10 mins (this has happened in 4 consecutive games).

I look at their teams and they typically have 3 or 4 players out of position, 2 or 3 players on less than 70% match fitness, team av ratings of 5 - 6 and things like 5-6-1 formations. I play typically 4-1-4-1 or 4-4-1-1, with all my players in the right positions, usually no less than 97% fitness and usually no less than 7.0 ratings... and I get thumped.

Is this some inbuilt game-algorithm to just make things difficult when you have a superior team, or is it really smart enough for other managers and teams to get used to your style and counter it too perfectly. I can't figure it out, and maybe I am just too old and cruddy to be good at this game anymore!

[RTHerringbone]

Is this some inbuilt game-algorithm to just make things difficult when you have a superior team, or is it really smart enough for other managers and teams to get used to your style and counter it too perfectly. I can't figure it out, and maybe I am just too old and cruddy to be good at this game anymore!

It's more the former than the latter, but they don't counter things perfectly. It's hard to comment without knowing anything specific about how you are set up, and the tactical stuff probably sits best in that sub-section of the forum.

[thesandman]

Is this some inbuilt game-algorithm to just make things difficult when you have a superior team, or is it really smart enough for other managers and teams to get used to your style and counter it too perfectly. I can't figure it out, and maybe I am just too old and cruddy to be good at this game anymore!

Hey mate, CM 93/94 was my first version, so we're of roughly the same vintage!

I know how you feel. I posted somewhere here (I can't seem to find it) that being favourite for a game, or "overwhelming favourite" something like that in the pre-match description means I'm about to get a good hiding.

In my first (now crashed - European Comps just stopped being played) game, I was Liverpool - sitting in 3rd - vs a bottom QPR. And hopeless bottom. Villa IRL this year look like Barca next to them.

I was "overwhelming favourite". I got frustrated with the game as I felt this losing unloseable games happening a bit much, and ran an experiment to see how many games I needed to play before I won this game.

I gave up after SEVENTEEN attempts. At home. Mostly losses, and few scrambled, desperate draws but I didn't win no matter what formation or lineup (First teamers, young guys, those looking for first team chances etc) I tried.

Most of the games it really was men against boys stuff too. QPR were just relentless, and battered me from start to finish. I've had a few games like that against "hopeless" opposition. I'd much rather play a game on FM as an underdog than overwhelming favourite.