Inconsistencies with Nationality filter in Player Search

[passenger58]

Hi, 

I've recently noticed some inconsistencies with the Nationality filter in Player Search. 

This was found in the 2020 version and I realise that the 2021 version is coming out in a couple of days, but I'm raising this in case it hasn't been picked up yet. 

Please see the details below and screenshot attached. This example should be reproducible in any save game with MLS loaded. 

Steps to reproduce:

1) Run a player search with 'American' nationality and 'Expired' contract status selected. You'll see mostly Americans in the results but also some players from other nations but with American as their second nationality. This suggests second nationality is taken into account when running a nationality search. 

2) Go back to search criteria and deselect 'American' from the Nationality field, so it searches for all nationalities. Run the search again. You should find Italy international, Giuseppe Rossi, in the results. He has a second nationality of American. 

So why did he not come up in the first search? 

By the way, I have seen other examples of this over the last year but this is the first time I've made a point to remember and document the details. 

Edited November 22, 2020 by passenger58

[Marc Vaughan]

I'll have to double check the code - but I expect its because 'nationality' is generally used when you're managing an international side and looking for players who you can call up.

This means that second nationality is only of interest before a player 'declares' - ie. plays a full international match for a team.

(as such its not a bug but by design as otherwise it'll drive you made when you filter for players you can call up - only to discover that actually a load of them aren't eligible for your team)

[passenger58]

3 hours ago, Marc Vaughan said:

I'll have to double check the code - but I expect its because 'nationality' is generally used when you're managing an international side and looking for players who you can call up.

This means that second nationality is only of interest before a player 'declares' - ie. plays a full international match for a team.

(as such its not a bug but by design as otherwise it'll drive you made when you filter for players you can call up - only to discover that actually a load of them aren't eligible for your team)

I bow to your superior FMM knowledge, Marc, but I'm not sure that is right. 

If I'm playing as Athletic Bilbao and select the 'Basque' nationality, I get international players for Spain, France, etc, listed. 

Or are they coded differently? 

Edited November 22, 2020 by passenger58

[Marc Vaughan]

3 hours ago, passenger58 said:

I bow to your superior FMM knowledge, Marc, but I'm not sure that is right. 

If I'm playing as Athletic Bilbao and select the 'Basque' nationality, I get international players for Spain, France, etc, listed. 

Or are they coded differently? 

Yeah Basque is a 'special case' which exists because there are Basque only teams in some regions, suffice to say 'it's complicated' (but there isn't a Basque national team in FIFA competitions so Basque will always be a second nationality and never have international caps).

[ElliottMS]

I have to say on my current fmm19 save I was surprised to only find one player with second nationality as Jamaican come up. I searched manually (literally searched all and checked those without caps) and there were dozens of players with second Jamaican nationality - all of whom rejected a call up. So clearly the search function is working as intended there - although I struggled to understand why some of them rejected the call up - for example, good standard English players who are never going to play for England.

The other main reason to search by nationality might be to find players who can count as domestic (therefore avoiding any work permit issues) - so it might be good if there was a search by domestic players option - ideally for UK leagues this would include all UK nations + Ireland (because the reciprocal agreement between Uk and ireland remains after brexit).

[passenger58]

Thanks, Marc.

 

I often like to play with a squad full of domestic players (as this brings up your manager 'domestic player bias' rating). so being able to search by nationality is handy to me. Not sure if second nationality contributes to this rating.

 

However I can see your argument and why it has been designed that way.

Edited November 23, 2020 by passenger58

[passenger58]

17 minutes ago, ElliottMS said:

I have to say on my current fmm19 save I was surprised to only find one player with second nationality as Jamaican come up. I searched manually (literally searched all and checked those without caps) and there were dozens of players with second Jamaican nationality - all of whom rejected a call up. So clearly the search function is working as intended there - although I struggled to understand why some of them rejected the call up - for example, good standard English players who are never going to play for England.

The other main reason to search by nationality might be to find players who can count as domestic (therefore avoiding any work permit issues) - so it might be good if there was a search by domestic players option - ideally for UK leagues this would include all UK nations + Ireland (because the reciprocal agreement between Uk and ireland remains after brexit).

FYI there were quite a few American players with Jamaican second nationality when I played a recent MLS save game. I spotted them just through clicking through their players tabs but they don't come up in the search.

[ElliottMS]

1 hour ago, passenger58 said:

FYI there were quite a few American players with Jamaican second nationality when I played a recent MLS save game. I spotted them just through clicking through their players tabs but they don't come up in the search.

Aye I'm sure I found some too - but they rejected the callups. Even rubbish ones i had no intention of actually using - I tried it on them all.