Is it possible to beat PSG in Ligue 1?

[Travis Bickle]

Genuine question, has anyone managed to do it? 

I've played a few seasons with Marseille, but each year it gets worse. PSG just end up buying everyone and storming the league with 104 points or more. I think I'm at the point I can get 94-96 points or so, but I can't keep up with PSG. They also end up beating me in the cup final, and even in the CL when I made the Semis. 

I love my save, and the way I've built my team, but this is a game and losing every single time gets disheartening. There's no enjoyment in never winning anything because your opponent buys everyone and is impossible to beat. So I'm considering if I just quit the save or help myself out with Genie Scout or such a tool to find the best newgens so I can compete. 

Any tips, advices or input would be most welcome. Just some encouragement that it can be done

Edited February 26, 2020 by Travis Bickle

[Etebaer]

What i feel this game is missing in regard to Clubs like PSG is a gamemechanic that playerperformance degrades if you are without challenge in your league like it is shown in real world leagues.

PSG for example  will never win the CL bcs they are so above and beyond the other Clubs ins the Legue 1 that they have become unable to deliver top notch Performance when facing stronger than usual Ligue 1 Competition.

A PSG playing at ist highest level should never lose to Dortmund and should have already won the CL 1 or 2 times...but they never will.

The saying is "good horses only jump as high as they need to" and PSG has learned so much to jump low but this game does not have a mechanic that mirrors that ingame...

Edited February 26, 2020 by Etebaer

[Travis Bickle]

2 minutes ago, Etebaer said:

What i feel this game is missing in regard to Clubs like PSG is a gamemechanic that playerperformance degrades if you are without challenge in your league like it is shown in real world leagues.

PSG for example  will never win the CL bcs they are so above and beyond the other Clubs ins the Legue 1 that they have become unable to deliver top notch Performance when facing stronger than usual Ligue 1 Competition.

A PSG playing at ist highest level should never lose to Dortmund and should have already won the CL 1 or 2 times...but they never will.

The saying is "good horses only jump as high as they need to" and PSG has learned so much to jump low but this game does not have a mechanic that mirrors that ingame...

This. 

On my save, at this point PSG beats everyone in the league anywhere from 3 to 8-0 (seriously). I usually get a 3-2 loss vs them and that's it. 

Yet somehow they've made the CL SF's and Final a few times. 

I think there should be some game mechanic to prevent this. As in real life, Neymar and Mbappe would get bored of winning 5-0 every game and end up moving to a bigger club that can actually win the CL. 

On my own level, it's just not fun to play. I've built a team that can beat any other team in Ligue 1, 9.5/10 times, but on the odd time I do get a bad away draw, and then the two games vs PSG, I end up blowing the league. PSG storm the cup because their subs bench could all walk into my first XI. There's no morale mechanic for them actually being punished for being so dominant, which would be more realistic. 

[ivosilva]

It's the same on my save with Benfica. They're so OP it's nuts.

[Jimmious7]

It's sadly realistic though to be honest.

[vara]

it is possible. @VikingDan has got them covered with his Marseille side at the minute.

But, @Etebaer point is spot on.

[likesiamesefish]

3 hours ago, Travis Bickle said:

So I'm considering if I just quit the save or help myself out with Genie Scout or such a tool to find the best newgens so I can compete. 

There's no need to do that. If you go to your player search, filter to U18s who are worth £100k or more (maybe lower if you have a large enough scouting team), get a scout report and then do this continuously for unscouted or the top rated players, then you will find out about all of the best potential players in the world just by returning to search and filtering by age and potential rating. Just add a filter for the scout's opinion on the potential fee and you're golden. I never normally do this for the whole world and you're probably better off putting some restrictions in place in terms of the type of player you want to sign.

In terms of beating PSG I think it's just the same as trying to win the league in any other division, there is nothing different about the fact that it is PSG. You definitely don't have to have anywhere near as good a team as the AI to win the league and beyond that people have different approaches to the game and how they make sure their team is successful so just stick with it. The game gets more boring the better you are at it anyway so I would really embrace the struggle.

[Travis Bickle]

1 hour ago, Jimmious7 said:

It's sadly realistic though to be honest.

It's not. PSG have never finished with 100+ points. On my save they routinely finish with 104 or more. If they stuck around the 91-98 mark and I couldn't beat them I'd say fair game, but when they routinely hit 104+ it's different imo. 

1 hour ago, vara said:

it is possible. @VikingDan has got them covered with his Marseille side at the minute.

But, @Etebaer point is spot on.

Do you know what year this was? 

4 minutes ago, likesiamesefish said:

There's no need to do that. If you go to your player search, filter to U18s who are worth £100k or more (maybe lower if you have a large enough scouting team), get a scout report and then do this continuously for unscouted or the top rated players, then you will find out about all of the best potential players in the world just by returning to search and filtering by age and potential rating. Just add a filter for the scout's opinion on the potential fee and you're golden. I never normally do this for the whole world and you're probably better off putting some restrictions in place in terms of the type of player you want to sign.

In terms of beating PSG I think it's just the same as trying to win the league in any other division, there is nothing different about the fact that it is PSG. You definitely don't have to have anywhere near as good a team as the AI to win the league and beyond that people have different approaches to the game and how they make sure their team is successful so just stick with it. The game gets more boring the better you are at it anyway so I would really embrace the struggle.

It's more that I cannot see how I will beat them. I go and sign Tonali, who I think is a great prospect, but then they go and sign Pogba, Jorginho and Fekir. I sign Gouiri, another hot prospect, and they sign Belotti, Icardi and Benzema WHILST keeping Neymar and Mbappe. It is impossible to keep up with. 

[vara]

12 minutes ago, Travis Bickle said:

Do you know what year this was? 

third season i think. i can't be certain.

[Travis Bickle]

I had a chance to go ahead against PSG, 14 games, both of us had won all our games, PSG draw to Lyon and my players sht the bed vs Strasbourg and lose. Next game we lose 2-1 to PSG. Now I know the season is pretty much over because they won't drop points again. Just pointless really. 

[99]

7 horas atrás, Etebaer disse:

What i feel this game is missing in regard to Clubs like PSG is a gamemechanic that playerperformance degrades if you are without challenge in your league like it is shown in real world leagues.

PSG for example  will never win the CL bcs they are so above and beyond the other Clubs ins the Legue 1 that they have become unable to deliver top notch Performance when facing stronger than usual Ligue 1 Competition.

A PSG playing at ist highest level should never lose to Dortmund and should have already won the CL 1 or 2 times...but they never will.

The saying is "good horses only jump as high as they need to" and PSG has learned so much to jump low but this game does not have a mechanic that mirrors that ingame...

That's a very good point, tho I would assume it hard to be coded into the game. It's one of the things were we are still far from imitating human nature at it's fullest in a machine. Not only the lack of top-notch competition, but also the "contamination" of a locker room by too many too big egos, that either have a certain leadership above them or they just fail. It happened to Real Madrid before p.ex., without a really strong manager with a certain personality and leadership path, you might have a team full of superstars that won't impress that much.

But a good point you raised there.

[JordanMilly]

6 hours ago, vara said:

third season i think. i can't be certain.

@Travis Bickle - He won in Season 3 (2021-22) I believe, and he's currently 1st in the 22-23 season as well.

[Travis Bickle]

In my save after 20 games they are W18, D2, L0. I don't think that'll change much within 18 games lol. It's just impossible. @JordanMillward_1

Edited February 26, 2020 by Travis Bickle

[Bakiano]

Was managing Lyon. First season they had just two points more than me. In the second season, this happened 

 

[JordanMilly]

12 minutes ago, Travis Bickle said:

In my save after 20 games they are W18, D2, L0. I don't think that'll change much within 18 games lol. It's just impossible. @JordanMillward_1

Well, I mean, other than it obviously not being, because @VikingDan has been streaming the entire save so far, including every match, transfer window and pre-season.

So it's entirely possible. Just really bloody hard.

[Travis Bickle]

14 minutes ago, Bakiano said:

Was managing Lyon. First season they had just two points more than me. In the second season, this happened 

It really relies on them dropping points, just seems they don't on my save lol. 

8 minutes ago, JordanMillward_1 said:

Well, I mean, other than it obviously not being, because @VikingDan has been streaming the entire save so far, including every match, transfer window and pre-season.

So it's entirely possible. Just really bloody hard.

It's not possible on my save when they don't drop more than 8 points a season. As I said above, they are W18, D2, L0 on mine. If they carry that form into the next 18 games they'll finish with 106 points. On his they finished with 92. They've never finished with that little points on my save, and they have a random no-name manager from Turkey. Maybe my save is just stuffed. 

[Tyburn]

On my journeyman save they’ve won it the last 8 seasons (since start date). Lille have come close but never quite enough. My plan is to go and manage literally anyone but them in Ligue 1 at some point and ruin their dominance.

[Miravlix]

Something is wrong with PSG's reputation, the game think of them as better clubs than Barca, Real Madrid and whatever else is the top 5 clubs, resulting in PSG if they bid being able to buy ALL the best players in the world, even when it's bidding for players at top 5 clubs.

 

I have experimented with reducing the rep, but I got it wrong and now they can't win the French League either. (Though we are many years into the future, so they have lost all the starting players long ago and with reduced rep can't buy the super stars.) I think someone confused the UNICORN situation of the Neymar signing and felt they had to make PSG able to buy ALL the Neymars from ALL clubs.

[likesiamesefish]

52 minutes ago, Miravlix said:

Something is wrong with PSG's reputation

I think there's something bugged with the French league where the teams all get too high a reputation over time. I'm in 2062 and the entirety of Ligue 1 has worldwide reputation and someone else mentioned it happening on their save as well.

PSG won all but four titles up until 2050 (all the rest went to Lyon) on my game and then this happened.

They're currently top with eight games to go and Nimes Olympique who are two points behind are the only team within ten points of them but they're not the team they once were. There's hope for OP yet!

[Freakiie]

Do you guys play only with the French league loaded or at least without other top leagues? I don't see PSG dominating the transfer market at all (If someone does that on my save it'd be City). Sure, they spend a lot of money, but they hardly seem to make really big splashes and while their team is good no doubt, it's also just good. The only major transfer they made was Sterling for 157m AFTER City grabbed Mbappé from them for 262m.

As far as reputation goes, reputation gain might be a tad off (then again, shouldn't be that noticeable short term), PSG starts with a good chunk lower rep than the actual top 5, competing with European sub toppers rather than the absolute best. (Fun fact, in the starting database PSG barely has more rep than Arsenal...)

One thing that perhaps could use a closer look are their finances, while they obviously swim in cash, they have been restraining themselves lately as FFP has been on their tails. Perhaps some of their sponsorship incomes could use a closer look, as in FM it's just straight up income, while in real life FFP is definitely an issue. Same goes for City though, some crazy spending involved there.

[majesticeternity]

Yes, simple would be to change their finances and give them like 0 bank balance and repeat each season or two. 

[Bakiano]

12 hours ago, Travis Bickle said:

It really relies on them dropping points, just seems they don't on my save lol. 

So the only solution is that you also dont drop points 

 

But must admin, after first season Tuchel left and Deschamps took the club so maybe that was the reason they have been dropping points.

 

And for the transfers, they have in club already  Icardi, Neymar, Firmino(sold Mbappe) and they are buying these players: 

Belotti, Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane and Delofeu.

 

They play 4123 formation, only three players in attack and they have 7 attacking players. Seems weird to me.

[Geordieboy52]

I think that there are several teams in France build (especially in FM) to take over from PSG, I have had success with the usual suspects against them but have also seen other teams rise from the ether and challenge really well (Rennes epecially with their youth system).

[Travis Bickle]

10 hours ago, Freakiie said:

Do you guys play only with the French league loaded or at least without other top leagues? I don't see PSG dominating the transfer market at all (If someone does that on my save it'd be City). Sure, they spend a lot of money, but they hardly seem to make really big splashes and while their team is good no doubt, it's also just good. The only major transfer they made was Sterling for 157m AFTER City grabbed Mbappé from them for 262m.

As far as reputation goes, reputation gain might be a tad off (then again, shouldn't be that noticeable short term), PSG starts with a good chunk lower rep than the actual top 5, competing with European sub toppers rather than the absolute best. (Fun fact, in the starting database PSG barely has more rep than Arsenal...)

One thing that perhaps could use a closer look are their finances, while they obviously swim in cash, they have been restraining themselves lately as FFP has been on their tails. Perhaps some of their sponsorship incomes could use a closer look, as in FM it's just straight up income, while in real life FFP is definitely an issue. Same goes for City though, some crazy spending involved there.

No, I loaded all the leagues and nations. My real issue is that if what happened in real life happened on my save, 100% at some point Neymar, Mbappe etc would get bored and leave. In my save they were just "excited at winning a trophy" every year. 

 

2 hours ago, Bakiano said:

So the only solution is that you also dont drop points 

 

But must admin, after first season Tuchel left and Deschamps took the club so maybe that was the reason they have been dropping points.

 

And for the transfers, they have in club already  Icardi, Neymar, Firmino(sold Mbappe) and they are buying these players: 

Belotti, Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane and Delofeu.

 

They play 4123 formation, only three players in attack and they have 7 attacking players. Seems weird to me.

Easier said than done. My Marseille team was very capable, but the French league aside from PSG has a fair bit of parity, it is very difficult to beat a team that can consistently beat everyone else. 

 

27 minutes ago, Geordieboy52 said:

I think that there are several teams in France build (especially in FM) to take over from PSG, I have had success with the usual suspects against them but have also seen other teams rise from the ether and challenge really well (Rennes epecially with their youth system).

I think in my issue is that in my save, PSG did exceptionally well. Maybe it is not the same for everyone else. But for me, definitely, they were finishing the league with 104+ points every year. I understand it is possible if they end up only with 91-96 points, but for me to hit 104+ points with Marseille is almost impossible. 

[AlienIR]

13 hours ago, Miravlix said:

Something is wrong with PSG's reputation, the game think of them as better clubs than Barca, Real Madrid and whatever else is the top 5 clubs, resulting in PSG if they bid being able to buy ALL the best players in the world, even when it's bidding for players at top 5 clubs.

 

I have experimented with reducing the rep, but I got it wrong and now they can't win the French League either. (Though we are many years into the future, so they have lost all the starting players long ago and with reduced rep can't buy the super stars.) I think someone confused the UNICORN situation of the Neymar signing and felt they had to make PSG able to buy ALL the Neymars from ALL clubs.

Hi @Miravlix,

Could that be posted in the Transfer issues forum please? PSG club reputation in the db is lower than the others club Reputations you mentioned there.

I'd be following the thread, as there might be some nice ideas/ points. I'd agree, in a sense we want them to be dominant, but I agree with the majority of POV presented here. 

 

Regards

[s0ni42]

PSG is certainly hard to topple. But to be fair, the real life situation in Ligue 1 is no different. They are highest French reputation team with bounds of money and talent in their back yard. They should be near impossible to overtake. Toughen up gents

[DominicForza]

I edited Career Plans - Wants to be - Player for Neymar (Barca) and Mbappe (Real Madrid).  Which i think is IRL accurate.  

 

As for PSG endlessly spending and buying too many players in certain positions...isn't that the way it's always been in FM?

I've always started the summer by checking what top class players the Super Clubs want to clear out for a fraction of what they paid for them...often one season after they bought them.    

I can't recall selling a player to Real Madrid or PSG and then buying them back for 1/2 or 1/3 of what I sold them for, but have read numerous accounts of that on these Forums.  

 

As for the issue of Ligue 1 not being of the standard as LaLiga, Premier Leauge, Bundesliga and Serie A, I dont know how the game factors that in. 

Do personality traits such as Ambition, Professionalism, Controversy interact in a way that makes one high ambition player focus more on playing for a big club, in a big league and another high ambition player (perhaps with low professionalism and/or Controversy) be more motivated by money?

 

Years ago I played a Baseball management game that Sports Interactive made for a brief time that had, if I remember right TWO Ambition type personal attributes, one was for achievement (cant recall what the attribute was called) and and the other was GREED!

 

The term GREED stuck with me.  I don't care for the negative connotations of that word, but I very much like the concept of multiple forms of Ambtions.  

 

Perhaps FM incorporates that through the players' agents?