[Discussion] International Management

[YKW]

I haven’t managed at international level for quite some time but I recently explored it a little on FM17 resulting in some ideas that could help improve international management. I have separated the idea into three main sections:

1. Environmental Factors: These are things outside of the manager’s control that help to define the nature of a particular nation. For example the sporting economy.

2: Team Factors: These are things that are either under the manager’s control or things that directly affect his decisions. For example FA objectives such as qualification.

3. Implications and Fallout: These are the effects of international football in the context of the Team and the Environment. For example a national hero or villain.

Despite the title I’ve tried to avoid including things that are highly political in nature (such as a political campaign being tied to the success of the international team, etc.)

 

Environmental Factors

These could be presented to us with a screen similar to the ‘Club’ overview, giving us a quick breakdown of the makeup and landscape of any particular country.

National Identity  - A simple map of the country with the capital identified. A list of native languages with the text for “hello” appearing in that language. National dish. Major Sports (dynamic). Footballing Legacy. Current Fan optimism. National Anthems before matches (skippable.)

Nation Media – I’m assuming that not every country has a media that seeks to undermine the national team at every opportunity. Doesn’t need to be a visible value but could be conveyed in relevant news items. (hint: would affect Dynamics)

Domestic football landscape – Is the top league mostly domestic players or mostly foreign players? What does this mean for youth development and opportunities? The news item that talks about the proportion of national players playing in their home country could be altered into something that is constantly visible.

Sporting Economy – Stagnant/Sluggish/Average/Growing/Booming. This would represent things like government spending on infrastructure, and the overall quality and enthusiasm for grassroots sports.  The most significant influence on the sporting economy in a country would be:

The Olympics – FM already generates hosts for the Olympics every 4 years. Countries that were due to host the Olympics would experience a great boost to their Sporting Economy. New stadiums could be built, for example, with tenant clubs moving in after the games.

These Environmental factors would create a “setting” for the international management experience and provide multiple contexts for my decisions.

 

Team Factors

FA Influence – FAs should be able to have short and long term goals. These could be to win an upcoming tournament, or to devise a tactical strategy that could be implemented through all of the youth teams. They should be able to recognise the Environmental factors and have wishes related to these. This could be by recognising that football isn’t the major sport in the country and therefore not expecting the future of the national team to be very bright. Alternatively they may wish to improve the popularity of football in the country and so may encourage you to continue picking an aging legend or maybe transition into a fresh, young team that could be inspiring. They may be concerned that fans are not very optimistic about the national team’s chances and ask you to try and focus on changing this. Or perhaps they recognise that the fans are very optimistic and warn you not to let them down. Maybe the media believe a homegrown manager should get the job, and the FA may look to appease this in order to improve the relationship between the media and the international team.  

Any and all of these things could be at the centre of the Job Interviews that should take place before being offered a job.

Tactics – The FA may have suggested that I devise a tactical style that can be implemented throughout the youth teams. In this case I could mostly do what I wanted. Alternatively they may want me to get the best out of the current top players or one player specifically.  In this case I would be looking to try and emulate a setup in which those players had been successful at club level. If I have a large core of top players all playing at one club (such as Spain/Barcelona) then this is easier. Using the Dynamics feature whereby players get the yellow links between them it should theoretically be possible to have a brilliant international team just by copying a successful domestic team that has a group of your players.

This could provide a new context to interacting with players and trying to influence their career decisions as it would be beneficial to have groups of players at one club and/or playing in certain positions or tactics.

Scouting – Giving me more reason to watch matches between club teams would be welcome. Why not make it so that you have to watch a club match to uncover the dynamic links between the players? For example you are Spain manager and suspect that Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets would be a good trio to use for yourself. So you go to a Barca match and now you have confirmation of the dynamic links between them. Watch them a few more times and perhaps you now have confirmation of the exact roles they are used to playing. Now you can try and harness their power by mimicking that at international level.

Youth Development – This would be of varying importance depending on the attitudes of the FA. In certain circumstances young players may speak to me, for example if a transfer offer has been made for them and they aren’t sure what to do. I may suggest they won’t play enough, or may suggest that it would be a good opportunity to play alongside certain national team players, etc.

Dynamics – As hinted at above, an adapted version of the dynamics feature specifically for international management. One impact I already mentioned was the opportunity for the links on the tactics screen to be emulated in the international dynamics, increasing the importance of a core of players who play together. The other impact I mentioned was that the media, and their reporting of national matters, would have an impact on the dynamics of the squad. For example the media may be focussed on my aging striker who has been performing poorly at club level and may be vocally calling for him to be dropped. If said striker is not a leader or has minimal social backing then he may become a bit ostracised and bow to the pressure. Alternatively the heavy criticism could actually galvanize the squad, bringing them closer together and improving the dynamic.

Perhaps the media is criticising the results of the national team, causing the players to start to divide based on who they believe is responsible. Or maybe the media loves the national team and they become complacent.  Or maybe they love one particular player, perhaps causing unrest within the squad, or a drastic loss of optimism if the player is ruled out injured.

 

Implications and Fallout

A combination of my actions and the overriding environment would result in a variety of different things. I think the magnitude of events such as the World Cup are much, much greater in real life than in the game, and it would be fun to feel like managing at international level was a real opportunity to have a place in the history of the country. Also, when you do something in front of a global audience there is very little opportunity to escape from it.

National Heroes/Villains – Currently the “Star Players” section shows the top players in a nation. I believe that along with this there should also be the slightly more dynamic categories of “National Heroes” and “National Villains.” The star players are the best players of that nationality. The National Heroes and National Villains are the most loved and most hated individuals by people IN that country.

For example, imagine you have just been eliminated from the World Cup by a last minute penalty. If the defender made a calamitous mistake then for a few months he may be a National Villain. If the referee made a scandalous decision then it may be him instead. If it was a shameless dive then it may be the opposition player. In a similar way, the National Hero could be somebody who got man of the match in the World Cup final, somebody who scored the first ever goal for their nation at a World Cup, or someone who scored a goal to eliminate the rivals of that nation.

Your legacy as an international manager could have a huge impact on which clubs will take you if you decide to return to club management. In the case of being a national villain you may not be suitable for a job in that country at all. Players could also come under fire in this way, such as the South Korean guy who got sacked by Perugia after eliminating them from the World Cup. At the very least you would be booed out of every stadium in the country.

Naming Conventions – Newgens whose birthdays fall during a period of love/hatred for a national hero/villain of the time can have their name affected. More chances of being named after a National hero and vice versa.

More Idols and More Relevant Favoured Clubs – More newgens should be coming through with national heroes of their childhood appearing as icons. These players could also share their idols positions and preferred moves etc. In terms of favoured clubs there should be more newgens from smaller footballing nations that have favoured clubs where their national heroes played. For example South Koreans coming through first with Man United and now perhaps Tottenham. This effect should be even more pronounced when the national team have experienced (relatively) great success.

Popularisation of Football – Feedback about the general level of interest in football in the country I am in charge of. Harder limits for countries where football is not already the major sport. Over time you could see increases/decreases to attendances and in the longer term the quality of newgens would increase. There could be increased chances of rich local businessmen taking over clubs.

National Holidays/Events – Firstly the possibility that great international success (relatively at least) could result in a new national holiday being created in that country. For the country I am managing it would be interesting if the processing calendar would also show national holidays or major events for that country, perhaps with a slight amplifier to the effects of International Matches played on those dates.

Country Specific Honours - This could be totally out of the question, but it would be awesome if the chance existed that you could receive a knighthood if you won the World Cup with England, for example. Other countries have some slightly similar things, like the Congressional Medal, or the Jewel of India. There is a big difference between bestowing a title like ‘Sir’ and giving a medal for outstanding achievement, so maybe some would be more viable than others.

If not, then how about things like being given the key to the capital city? Or perhaps hearing that there is a new recipe for [country’s national dish] that is named after me?  How about a stand in the national stadium being named after me? Or perhaps a new award for excellence is introduced in the country and it is named after me and/or I am the inaugural recipient?

 

Thanks for reading!

[Sheriff7]

Excellent...

[gavo01]

Great in depth thread with some really good ideas. 👍

Unfortunately SI seem to ignore this side of the game and no doubt this year's full version will be the same. 

[Neil Brock]

Reviewed so locked.