The Realism Thread

[Platinum]

3 hours ago, Junkhead said:

So I have decided to put my save in Turkey to bed and, in the spirit of Christmas being cancelled & not moving between tiers, I will be managing the club which is closest to me in the lowest playable division in England.  I'm actually pretty much smack bang in the middle of two, but Kidderminster Harriers have shaded it over AFC Telford by about three and a half miles.  Quite looking forward to having a go with them because they have a club vision to play attacking, possession football which is the complete opposite to my usual counter attacking kick & rush, so I will either have to adapt, or annoy the board by playing direct football against their wishes.

They also want me to develop players using the club's youth system which is fine by me.

Gonna give the no attributes skin a go, but I suspect I will find it too restrictive.  I have to be in the mood for it and I just want to crack on and get a decent save going to be honest.  I don't really have the time to do the extra stuff which that skin will require me to do, as much as I love it from a realism perspective.

Fully loaded up with all my favourite realism files from the usual suspects, and have added a few leagues made by Weiry, Timo & Lukafanzer which all look like they satisfy my realism requirements.  I have also used the Japan file by Dosukoi which was all good last year.  It includes Karim's excellent players database.  Currently running 75 nations & 156 divisions. I haven't added players to playable leagues so, those leagues will be a bit messy to start with, but if I ever end up there they will have sorted themselves out.  It's all about the balance of an active game world vs realism for me at this stage because my time is so precious.  If I notice anything terribly unrealistic, I will remove the leagues from the save.

Everything else will be as realistic as possible, of course, playing as myself and as per my usual rules.  Aim of the save is simply to have fun.  Hoping this is a bit of a long term one, but I do have a habit of thinking the grass is greener, so we will see!

Could you share your loaded leagues setup?

Also what do you mean by you didnt add players to playable leagues?

[Junkhead]

17 minutes ago, francis#17 said:

Could you share your loaded leagues setup?

Also what do you mean by you didnt add players to playable leagues?

I will DM you a screenshot tomorrow when I've got the game fired up and let you know who made the editor files for the leagues I've added.  

A couple of the team's in some of the African leagues I have added (DR Congo & Sudan for example) have only a few players in the database. You would normally tick the "add players to playable teams" option on the set up screen to fill those teams with fake players. The downside of that is that all clubs youth teams also get populated so my Kidderminster team would end up with youth players.

I find it tough to decide which way to go with this cos I want the leagues and the realism. In fact now I am doubting my set up lol 😳

Junkhead - Decisions - 1 

[Platinum]

7 minutes ago, Junkhead said:

I will DM you a screenshot tomorrow when I've got the game fired up and let you know who made the editor files for the leagues I've added.  

A couple of the team's in some of the African leagues I have added (DR Congo & Sudan for example) have only a few players in the database. You would normally tick the "add players to playable teams" option on the set up screen to fill those teams with fake players. The downside of that is that all clubs youth teams also get populated so my Kidderminster team would end up with youth players.

I find it tough to decide which way to go with this cos I want the leagues and the realism. In fact now I am doubting my set up lol 😳

Junkhead - Decisions - 1 

Haha, tough decision, Tbh Kidderminister will have a youth team in realife so its not that unrealistic. However there youth team probably isnt good at all.

What does the standard database have their youth team looking like?

(Btw i think its fine to go ahead with a save now based on whats happened in the bugs thread; the only real outstanding issue imo is with advanced db but im ok with that so ill be starting)

Edited December 19, 2020 by francis#17

[Junkhead]

2 minutes ago, francis#17 said:

Haha, tough decision, Tbh Kidderminister will have a youth team in realife so its not that unrealistic. However there youth team probably isnt good at all.

What does the standard database have their youth team looking like?

(Btw i think its fine to go ahead with a save now based on whats happened in the bugs thread; the only real outstanding issue imo is with advanced db but im ok with that so ill be starting)

Yeah am 100% gonna start. This is the worst part for me, actually picking my set up. Once I am up and running I'm fine. 

I wouldn't be surprised if I updated a completely different save tomorrow - seriously. So many ideas in my head.

Kidderminster start with 26 players total. Adding players to playable teams will up that to 45-50. Too much I think. 

Who are you starting as?

[Platinum]

Im going to start unemployed. Ill wait to get a job in either NI, Ireland or Wales and eventually dominate domestically and then hopefully get a English League 2 job, take them to the prem and eventually dominate. Will take many years but thats my type of save haha

It will defo take me a couple days to choose my setup, its the hardest bit.

[Junkhead]

Game started with about 20 additional leagues from creators I trust (not gonna tag them as will likely annoy them, but Timo61, Lukafanzer, Wiery & Dosukoi - @francis#17 I will DM you!).  As well as realism files from @Daveincid & @majesticeternity & Nik33's Agents pack, this leaves me with 155 leagues from 73 nations & gives me a decent spread of African, Asian & South American Leagues.  I am hoping as well as opening these leagues up, it might help minimise the newgen issue which SI have mentioned.

I have also decided to do something which I NEVER usually do & that is "add players to playable teams".  This will help populate the squads in the new leagues I am using, but also fill my u18's at Kidderminster with newgens right from the start.  I think there is an argument that this isn't realistic, however this will hopefully mitigate some potential issues with newgens as all clubs will benefit from a full youth team.

Going to be using the hidden attributes skin initially, will see how that goes.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Junkhead
Update: I can now see attributes again. Just setting training up was a nightmare without stars

[WilsonJuve]

22 hours ago, Junkhead said:

Yeah am 100% gonna start. This is the worst part for me, actually picking my set up. Once I am up and running I'm fine. 

I wouldn't be surprised if I updated a completely different save tomorrow - seriously. So many ideas in my head.

Kidderminster start with 26 players total. Adding players to playable teams will up that to 45-50. Too much I think. 

Who are you starting as?

Im gonna be starting my full long term save tonight, many options just trying to whittle it down to the right team. 

[Junkhead]

1 hour ago, WilsonJuve said:

Im gonna be starting my full long term save tonight, many options just trying to whittle it down to the right team. 

Good luck! Keep is in the loop! I did start but dunno if I will stick with it. Just doesn't feel right, who knows why!

Unlikely to play for a few days now so hope everyone updates and I can play vicariously through you guys! 

[WilsonJuve]

11 minutes ago, Junkhead said:

Good luck! Keep is in the loop! I did start but dunno if I will stick with it. Just doesn't feel right, who knows why!

Unlikely to play for a few days now so hope everyone updates and I can play vicariously through you guys! 

I have decided! 99% of all my FM saves are me managing in Europe. This year I wanted to take myself out of my comfort zone and try something new in the hope that it will keep me entertained long term. I will be managing Boca Juniors De Cali in COLOMBIA. They have no link to there Argentinian namesake apart from the fact they have used the same jerseys since its early years. With only only one trophy in there cabinet (Colombian League Cup in 1951) there is a lot of work to do to turn this team around. They finished runner up of the top flight in 1951 and 1952 but then economic struggles forced them to dissolve in 1957 the club only formed back up in 2019 and Im very excited to get stuck in. One thing I have noticed about Colombia is its going to be a very long season a 46 game season is listed in the rules section. 


Came across something strange too I will add spoiler cause it shows players in the Best XI when joining a new club and Assistants option on Ability/Potential.

 

Spoiler

When I joined the club and it shows the best XI it looked like this.......

Spoiler

This had me worried there would be no ST in the squad so I took a look and........YEAH

 

 

[Junkhead]

17 minutes ago, WilsonJuve said:

I have decided! 99% of all my FM saves are me managing in Europe. This year I wanted to take myself out of my comfort zone and try something new in the hope that it will keep me entertained long term. I will be managing Boca Juniors De Cali in COLOMBIA. They have no link to there Argentinian namesake apart from the fact they have used the same jerseys since its early years. With only only one trophy in there cabinet (Colombian League Cup in 1951) there is a lot of work to do to turn this team around. They finished runner up of the top flight in 1951 and 1952 but then economic struggles forced them to dissolve in 1957 the club only formed back up in 2019 and Im very excited to get stuck in. One thing I have noticed about Colombia is its going to be a very long season a 46 game season is listed in the rules section. 


Came across something strange too I will add spoiler cause it shows players in the Best XI when joining a new club and Assistants option on Ability/Potential.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

When I joined the club and it shows the best XI it looked like this.......

  Hide contents

This had me worried there would be no ST in the squad so I took a look and........YEAH

 

 

Never done a long save in South America - looks a good one that - surely that first libatadores win will be against Boca..... It's written in the stars.....

[Junkhead]

Lost my game to a blue screen 

Wasn't massively into it anyway, but lost progress and my brain certainly won't let me go back.

Back to the drawing board 

[WilsonJuve]

1 hour ago, Junkhead said:

Lost my game to a blue screen 

Wasn't massively into it anyway, but lost progress and my brain certainly won't let me go back.

Back to the drawing board 

Hope you get a save started soon. Join me on this side of the world! No Mexican team has ever won the Copa Libertadores. That would be something to aim for 

[joshpmilton]

As alluded to over the weekend, I've parked my Tranmere save for when I want to play as them, but want to get back into the true journeyman spirit. I've used the FMEditor85 England down to step 10 database, and supplemented it with some cosmetic changes for Kits & Logos, but otherwise running off of the base game unchanged. All leagues and nations loaded with a large database.

First thing I noticed was the sheer number of jobs available, which normally I'd not apply for as I like to get a job based on the in world sackings but there are so many it seemed silly to try and figure that out. To work around that I opted to start at the bottom and applied for jobs at clubs near me in East London. Walthamstow would have been nearest, but they're step 9, so I've at least given myself something to aim for initially.

Instead, I am pleased to announce that I am the new manager of Athletic Newham, of the Eastern Counties League Division One South. It's about as realistic as I could expect to get from a job, which is down the road and starting out working for free on a non-contract basis, signing amateur/non-contract players. The club starts with just five players in the squad and no staff, so pre-season has been entirely pre-occupied with recruitment and effectively signing any players that are available.

Fortunately, the aims of the chairman is just to finish mid-table and just be competitive in the cups, so year one is basically a case of getting up and running.

[Junkhead]

2 hours ago, WilsonJuve said:

Hope you get a save started soon. Join me on this side of the world! No Mexican team has ever won the Copa Libertadores. That would be something to aim for 

Pretty certain they don't take part anymore....

However teams from Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia do and they haven't won it either....

No Copa America for Ecuador or Venezuela national teams either....

added this to my list of things I wanna do in the game. Maybe now is the time...

[joshpmilton]

On 21/12/2020 at 10:51, Junkhead said:

Pretty certain they don't take part anymore....

However teams from Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia do and they haven't won it either....

No Copa America for Ecuador or Venezuela national teams either....

added this to my list of things I wanna do in the game. Maybe now is the time...

Winning the Copa Libertadores is definitely on my hitlist for this save, and definitely a factor in why I decided to move on from my Tranmere save. In fact, I don't think I've ever won the Champions League of any continent so that might be a little ambitious!

[WilsonJuve]

3 hours ago, joshpmilton said:

Winning the Copa Libertadores is definitely on my hitlist for this save, and definitely a factor in why I decided to move on from my Tranmere save. In fact, I don't think I've ever won the Champions League of any continent so that might be a little ambitious!

Yeah that was the reason for my Colombian save. I wanted to try something new but not from the stronger nations. Would love a Libertadores title!!! Still undecided on which direction I will be taking the save. The club has a decent youth setup which is where I want the majority of my players to come from. I want to avoid spending money wherever possible. 

[RandomGuy.]

On 19/12/2020 at 13:28, francis#17 said:

So can you only use scout reports, stats analysis, watching games yourself and the hexagon thing to judge a player?

I'm curious at what made you want to remove the colour grading for the attributes and why you think that's more realistic? Wouldnt a scout be able to tell you a player is a good dribbler, good passer, good at free kicks but poor at heading etc

Just preference really, wanted to go in completely blind in a way and have to "guess". 

Considered having just two colours, below/above 10 and might still go that way.

Just feel like its more realistic to use Scout reports for a players strengths, and their stats, rather than still being able to vaguely see their attributes.

[Junkhead]

Having been up for starting a save in Peru thanks to @WilsonJuve inspiring me, I had picked a club to use & as the game was loading.  I happened upon wikipedia which taught me that the file I was using to add in the second division was inaccurate 

I have now had a purge of additional leagues and am using only a file to add Japan as I am convinced of its accuracy having used it before.  I plan on having a bit of a different style of game later down the line where I will use fake players anyway, so will probably go for lots of additional leagues then as accuracy of the game world vs real life will be a bit moot with fake players.

I am therefore going with the tried & tested unemployed start.  I've put a bit of a twist on it by creating a quick file with recent managerial changes included and I am using a Brazilian start date which means the game begins on 21st December 2020.  Obviously this is two days ago, and is as close as today as I could get.  This will mean that when I get a job it is likely going to be with a team going badly either IRL or in game & the season will be in full swing (obviously depending on where I end up).  I have left the first transfer window on so clubs will be buying players again shortly, and it really wont be long until a youth intake for most!

Can't wait to finally get cracking, should get a bit of time over the next few months - it's not as if we can go anywhere here in the UK!

[Platinum]

47 minutes ago, Junkhead said:

Having been up for starting a save in Peru thanks to @WilsonJuve inspiring me, I had picked a club to use & as the game was loading.  I happened upon wikipedia which taught me that the file I was using to add in the second division was inaccurate 

I have now had a purge of additional leagues and am using only a file to add Japan as I am convinced of its accuracy having used it before.  I plan on having a bit of a different style of game later down the line where I will use fake players anyway, so will probably go for lots of additional leagues then as accuracy of the game world vs real life will be a bit moot with fake players.

I am therefore going with the tried & tested unemployed start.  I've put a bit of a twist on it by creating a quick file with recent managerial changes included and I am using a Brazilian start date which means the game begins on 21st December 2020.  Obviously this is two days ago, and is as close as today as I could get.  This will mean that when I get a job it is likely going to be with a team going badly either IRL or in game & the season will be in full swing (obviously depending on where I end up).  I have left the first transfer window on so clubs will be buying players again shortly, and it really wont be long until a youth intake for most!

Can't wait to finally get cracking, should get a bit of time over the next few months - it's not as if we can go anywhere here in the UK!

Interesting that your stripping back to no additional leagues now  (apart from  Japan).

I started a test save where Ive started unemployed, I finally got a job with Colwyn Bay. There manager got fired as they are last in the league with 2 points from 7 games and they were predicted to get 4th. Ive accepted the job with the board expecting me to get 4th so tis a tough job but Ive played one match and I won it 3 - 1.

   

Edited December 23, 2020 by francis#17

[Junkhead]

29 minutes ago, francis#17 said:

Interesting that your stripping back to no additional leagues now  (apart from  Japan).

I started a test save where Ive started unemployed, I finally got a job with Colwyn Bay. There manager got fired as they are last in the league with 2 points from 7 games and they were predicted to get 4th. Ive accepted the job with the board expecting me to get 4th so tis a tough job but Ive played one match and I won it 3 - 1.

   

Yeah, I've gone in too quickly with the additional leagues. I am ok using them with fake players but i don't tend to do that until much later.

You know how often I change my mind on this though 

Good luck in Wales, I wonder if that's where I might end up.

[Platinum]

1 hour ago, Junkhead said:

Yeah, I've gone in too quickly with the additional leagues. I am ok using them with fake players but i don't tend to do that until much later.

You know how often I change my mind on this though 

Good luck in Wales, I wonder if that's where I might end up.

Thanks, this is my first time managing outside of England actually.

Weve actually got a pretty good team and I can see us getting promoted this season but I did feel like the board could have lowered expectations after the terrible start to the season.

After reading around Ive decided I'll start my real save with no additional leagues, no other mods and have at least the top league from every nation playable, with all leagues playable for a lot of the nations. Doing that also means I wont have to use advanced db options so the newgen issue wont really affect me much.

 

[qazwsx]

There has been some questions in this thread about hiding attributes , maybe someone already answered how to do it, but if not... It's easy to do by changing four values in Preferences: in the advanced settings for Skin colours just change to 1 (one) in the A-column for all four levels of Attributes. Then you will not se any attributes in the game... almost. The only exception (as far as I found) is when selecting a scout for an assignment, you will see his attributes for judging current and potential. 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by qazwsx

[Platinum]

26 minutes ago, qazwsx said:

There has been some questions in this thread about hiding attributes , maybe someone already answered how to do it, but if not... It's easy to do by changing four values in Preferences: in the advanced settings for Skin colours just change to 1 (one) in the A-column for all four levels of Attributes. Then you will not se any attributes in the game... almost. The only exception (as far as I found) is when selecting a scout for an assignment, you will see his attributes for judging current and potential. 

 

 

 

Great post, thank you.

 

Just realised this is to completely hide attrovites, do you know anyway to make the number disappear but have the colour

Edited December 23, 2020 by francis#17

[qazwsx]

13 minutes ago, francis#17 said:

Great post, thank you.

 

Just realised this is to completely hide attrovites, do you know anyway to make the number disappear but have the colour

I assume you need a special skin for that. I am just happy to hide the numbers...   I have created a custom view with the attributes I think a manager should know when it comes to his own players. I then print that view to a file, import the file to Excel. do some calculations (with a random element) and get a result back in a form that is logical for that specific attribute,  VO2 max for Stamina and so on. Just for the immersion. I am crazy, I know..

[Stevo_99]

On 19/12/2020 at 06:24, Junkhead said:

Good luck, remember them being in the conference north not too long back!

What are your hopes for the save?

Keep the updates coming, they are a lovely silver lining amongst the worry over bugs 🙂

Hi, the hopes are just to make us a strong force in the Welsh Premier as nobody realistically expect to even challenge TNS with the huge financial backing they have. They actually qualified for the Europa League II season 2022-2023 which will give them even more money! It is unheard of for a Welsh club to qualify for the group stages of a European competition.

 

I am currently 3rd in the league 2/3 through the season, I will update at the end! Cheers guys.

[Conardo]

I want the old LLM Forum back!

[WilsonJuve]

Well after having a few days off to celebrate the festive period with my family I'm ready to get right back into it. My Boca Juniors (Colombia) team have just finished our pre season and are ready for our first game. Theres been no signings in the transfer window as I'm still unsure what areas need improved. The club is struggling for an AMR but I'm training players currently at the club rather than risking wasting money. As usual the typical FM problem raises its head. The club obviously have a much lower reputation than the better players in my squad so the top 5 or so players will not even talk about a new contract. Although I would love to keep them all some of them are on the wrong side of 30 and there wages are the highest of all my players so I'm accepting I will lose them for free at the end of the season. Same with the backroom staff the only recruit I have made is a new HOYD as the facilities we have require the best we can possibly get in this position. Over the next 5 years all the club wants is a top half finish in the league which is massively achievable. Time will tell how this season goes.....

[bazhsw]

Ah yes, the first job at any new LLM club is listening to half the squad tell you they are too good for you.

 

One wonders how they ever signed there in the first place 🙂

[PatrickReynolds]

Not sure if we're still doing longer save updates here, or if you want me to move this to a new thread in the career update section, but wanted to give an update on my Canadian Premier League season (someone has to stick with a save around here, right?! )

At the last update, my expected bottom table team were punching above their weight in the Spring Season, hanging around the top of the table and staying in the conversation. As the spring season wore on, I started placing more and more emphasis on going for the first half title, as the CPL is split equally into spring and fall seasons (14 games each), with the champions of each half meeting in a two leg championship. Snatching the spring title would take a lot of pressure off the second half knowing I've already qualified for the finals. Self imposed pressure, of course, as the Board still just wants me to finish last...ah the ambition.

A pretty lackluster mid-stretch in early June put me near the top, but chasing my provincial rivals Cavalry FC (projected favorites) based in Calgary. I got well acquainted with Halifax after drawing them in the first round of the Canadian Championships, ultimately crashing out  after continued mediocrity. My boys must have been mad, because they took the final two games of the Spring Season by an aggregate 10-2 scoreline. A nice way to break out of our doldrums and give me some confidence that sticking with my tactic was the right way to go!

We entered the last game of the season 3 points back of Cavalry, on better goal differential and needed a win combined with a Cavalry loss...

And boy did they deliver! A 4-1 away thrashing at the hands of my friends at Pacific FC. Champions of the Spring Season! In Canada! Well, it's a start. I will never complain about getting my first silverware after starting unemployed with no badges.

Entering the Fall Season on a high after finishing strong, I've continued my good run. with 4 wins and 1 loss in 5. Particularly happy with the 4-1 win over Cavalry after some pre-match expectations that their new big money signing wingback would be a key player. We torched him for a 5.9 rating and my winger on his side scored a brace. 

I have been playing a mid-block counter attack system designed with being the underdog in mind. I am not massively giving up posession, so I think the shorter passing encourages my team not to just look for the furthest ball forward. I don't want to play a direct counter attacking style, so have enjoyed this setup so far.

It is certainly not defensively impenetrable (or my players aren't...), but I am pleased to have success with a non gegenpressing system.

I am currently working my way through the August break (no idea why there are no games in August...), but wanted to provide a proper update. Things are going massively better than what I've expected, and my objective at this point is to win the overall title and qualify for CONCACAF League next season and get some international exposure before looking for my next job. Will be interesting to see what jobs a Canadian can get after some modest success in their domestic league.

Hopefully this is still an appropriate place to post this, wanted to keep you updated and enjoy following this thread.

[WilsonJuve]

24 minutes ago, PatrickReynolds said:

Not sure if we're still doing longer save updates here, or if you want me to move this to a new thread in the career update section, but wanted to give an update on my Canadian Premier League season (someone has to stick with a save around here, right?! )

At the last update, my expected bottom table team were punching above their weight in the Spring Season, hanging around the top of the table and staying in the conversation. As the spring season wore on, I started placing more and more emphasis on going for the first half title, as the CPL is split equally into spring and fall seasons (14 games each), with the champions of each half meeting in a two leg championship. Snatching the spring title would take a lot of pressure off the second half knowing I've already qualified for the finals. Self imposed pressure, of course, as the Board still just wants me to finish last...ah the ambition.

A pretty lackluster mid-stretch in early June put me near the top, but chasing my provincial rivals Cavalry FC (projected favorites) based in Calgary. I got well acquainted with Halifax after drawing them in the first round of the Canadian Championships, ultimately crashing out  after continued mediocrity. My boys must have been mad, because they took the final two games of the Spring Season by an aggregate 10-2 scoreline. A nice way to break out of our doldrums and give me some confidence that sticking with my tactic was the right way to go!

We entered the last game of the season 3 points back of Cavalry, on better goal differential and needed a win combined with a Cavalry loss...

And boy did they deliver! A 4-1 away thrashing at the hands of my friends at Pacific FC. Champions of the Spring Season! In Canada! Well, it's a start. I will never complain about getting my first silverware after starting unemployed with no badges.

Entering the Fall Season on a high after finishing strong, I've continued my good run. with 4 wins and 1 loss in 5. Particularly happy with the 4-1 win over Cavalry after some pre-match expectations that their new big money signing wingback would be a key player. We torched him for a 5.9 rating and my winger on his side scored a brace. 

I have been playing a mid-block counter attack system designed with being the underdog in mind. I am not massively giving up posession, so I think the shorter passing encourages my team not to just look for the furthest ball forward. I don't want to play a direct counter attacking style, so have enjoyed this setup so far.

It is certainly not defensively impenetrable (or my players aren't...), but I am pleased to have success with a non gegenpressing system.

I am currently working my way through the August break (no idea why there are no games in August...), but wanted to provide a proper update. Things are going massively better than what I've expected, and my objective at this point is to win the overall title and qualify for CONCACAF League next season and get some international exposure before looking for my next job. Will be interesting to see what jobs a Canadian can get after some modest success in their domestic league.

Hopefully this is still an appropriate place to post this, wanted to keep you updated and enjoy following this thread.

Way to go so far! Playing in one of the new leagues and performing like that is good to see. Whats your plans for the save? Are you planning on staying in Canada or looking to make it more of a journeyman save?

[PatrickReynolds]

Just now, WilsonJuve said:

Way to go so far! Playing in one of the new leagues and performing like that is good to see. Whats your plans for the save? Are you planning on staying in Canada or looking to make it more of a journeyman save?

I've got all leagues playable, so I'm looking for a worldwide journeyman. I want to move on from my native Canada, but have no real preferences beyond going to a league with real pro/rel and no salary caps! I'm really hoping to get into continental play for next season and then move on. Not sure what I'll do if I lose the CPL final!

[Junkhead]

1 hour ago, PatrickReynolds said:

Not sure if we're still doing longer save updates here, or if you want me to move this to a new thread in the career update section, but wanted to give an update on my Canadian Premier League season (someone has to stick with a save around here, right?! )

At the last update, my expected bottom table team were punching above their weight in the Spring Season, hanging around the top of the table and staying in the conversation. As the spring season wore on, I started placing more and more emphasis on going for the first half title, as the CPL is split equally into spring and fall seasons (14 games each), with the champions of each half meeting in a two leg championship. Snatching the spring title would take a lot of pressure off the second half knowing I've already qualified for the finals. Self imposed pressure, of course, as the Board still just wants me to finish last...ah the ambition.

A pretty lackluster mid-stretch in early June put me near the top, but chasing my provincial rivals Cavalry FC (projected favorites) based in Calgary. I got well acquainted with Halifax after drawing them in the first round of the Canadian Championships, ultimately crashing out  after continued mediocrity. My boys must have been mad, because they took the final two games of the Spring Season by an aggregate 10-2 scoreline. A nice way to break out of our doldrums and give me some confidence that sticking with my tactic was the right way to go!

We entered the last game of the season 3 points back of Cavalry, on better goal differential and needed a win combined with a Cavalry loss...

And boy did they deliver! A 4-1 away thrashing at the hands of my friends at Pacific FC. Champions of the Spring Season! In Canada! Well, it's a start. I will never complain about getting my first silverware after starting unemployed with no badges.

Entering the Fall Season on a high after finishing strong, I've continued my good run. with 4 wins and 1 loss in 5. Particularly happy with the 4-1 win over Cavalry after some pre-match expectations that their new big money signing wingback would be a key player. We torched him for a 5.9 rating and my winger on his side scored a brace. 

I have been playing a mid-block counter attack system designed with being the underdog in mind. I am not massively giving up posession, so I think the shorter passing encourages my team not to just look for the furthest ball forward. I don't want to play a direct counter attacking style, so have enjoyed this setup so far.

It is certainly not defensively impenetrable (or my players aren't...), but I am pleased to have success with a non gegenpressing system.

I am currently working my way through the August break (no idea why there are no games in August...), but wanted to provide a proper update. Things are going massively better than what I've expected, and my objective at this point is to win the overall title and qualify for CONCACAF League next season and get some international exposure before looking for my next job. Will be interesting to see what jobs a Canadian can get after some modest success in their domestic league.

Hopefully this is still an appropriate place to post this, wanted to keep you updated and enjoy following this thread.

You're fine posting here IMO, good to see someone still sticking to a save haha

I have hardly touched mine since starting it beginning of last week - so busy over Xmas with family.

Great detailed update, looking forward to finding out where you end up.

[Junkhead]

Right, I have today started my save, finally.  After weeks of messing about trying to decide who to be, for some reason Como in Italian Serie C just came to me this morning completely out of the blue.  I didn't question it, and have capitalised straight away and I'm up and running!

Decent squad, potential to grow and a stones throw from Milan and Genoa (who incidentally I would love to manage at some point...).  Haven't had a decent Italian save for many versions.  

Only done all the prelim stuff today, will be playing as slowly as normal, no doubt lol.

First friendly shows that the future is bright.... maybe....  

 

[Svartowiz]

On 23/12/2020 at 23:27, francis#17 said:

Great post, thank you.

 

Just realised this is to completely hide attrovites, do you know anyway to make the number disappear but have the colour

 

[gam945]

10 minutes ago, Junkhead said:

Right, I have today started my save, finally.  After weeks of messing about trying to decide who to be, for some reason Como in Italian Serie C just came to me this morning completely out of the blue.  I didn't question it, and have capitalised straight away and I'm up and running!

Decent squad, potential to grow and a stones throw from Milan and Genoa (who incidentally I would love to manage at some point...).  Haven't had a decent Italian save for many versions.  

Only done all the prelim stuff today, will be playing as slowly as normal, no doubt lol.

First friendly shows that the future is bright.... maybe....  

 

Planning on doing my save with Padova in Serie C as well, nice to see another fellow manager in that league lol

Is the issue involving youth regens solved? Think I read in previous posts that there was not much regens generated in the future?

 

[WilsonJuve]

1 hour ago, Junkhead said:

Right, I have today started my save, finally.  After weeks of messing about trying to decide who to be, for some reason Como in Italian Serie C just came to me this morning completely out of the blue.  I didn't question it, and have capitalised straight away and I'm up and running!

Decent squad, potential to grow and a stones throw from Milan and Genoa (who incidentally I would love to manage at some point...).  Haven't had a decent Italian save for many versions.  

Only done all the prelim stuff today, will be playing as slowly as normal, no doubt lol.

First friendly shows that the future is bright.... maybe....  

 

Nice to see you up and running and good luck with the save! Spent many editions of FM in Serie C Italy is my go to league. 

[afailed10]

Anyone else playing older FMs? Might sound weird but FM18 was the last FM in which i really saw poor football. Which is to say, that attributes revealed themselves pretty clearly in the Match engine. In newer editions, namely in FM21 i am scoring unbelievable first time volleys outside the area like nothing with my 3rd division side. It just ruins the immersion for me as I like to watch the games and tweak accordingly. FM18 looks so natural in comparison, i might just play it again in a league where data updates won't be relevant. 

[WilsonJuve]

15 hours ago, afailed10 said:

Anyone else playing older FMs? Might sound weird but FM18 was the last FM in which i really saw poor football. Which is to say, that attributes revealed themselves pretty clearly in the Match engine. In newer editions, namely in FM21 i am scoring unbelievable first time volleys outside the area like nothing with my 3rd division side. It just ruins the immersion for me as I like to watch the games and tweak accordingly. FM18 looks so natural in comparison, i might just play it again in a league where data updates won't be relevant. 

I kinda get what your saying but in real life absolutely unreal goals are scored in all levels of the game, if not slightly more lower down as the players decision making isn't what it would be  at a top club. As in there more than likely happy to have a crack from just about anywhere. This is reflected well in the game IMO. If you have highlights set to key your only gonna see the best the game has to offer. Trust me if you start off lower league and have it on extended or higher. You will be complaining its not realistic as your players can't seem to string 2 passes together and you have seen better football at a kids U10's game.

[Platinum]

On 30/12/2020 at 18:30, Svartowiz said:

 

Cheers, do you know how to tell the difference between low attributes and unscouted attributes? Its especially important for lower league management where most attributes are low

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

I've been away from these forums for a few months, maybe longer, and have just skimmed through the first and last pages of this thread.

Can I add my thoughts? I have always played the Llama way ever since discovering the forum after playing 01/02.

I did stick strictly with no editors, however I have dabbled with the lower league additions but did give up after a while due to instability issues. 1980s style European competitions are a great use of the editor, but I do miss the dynamic league reputation changes as that doesn't work with these files. So I am not using it in my current save on fm20. 

I do use the editor to add files for the realistic weather and the injuries. There's also a file that has added regional dialects as a communication factor to overcome. I actually live in Northern Ireland, and am from England, so I always start in N Irish lower league. And the dialect file is fantastic. I can totally relate to it. Even though everyone is speaking English, it took a season for Irish English to come up as one of the languages I can speak fluently (I wondered why my early team talks fell on deaf ears!!). When I first moved here and played football, and worked here, people couldn't understand my London accent, and I found the locals here spoke so damn fast that I couldn't understand them. To me, this is now represented by this file. For example, an English goalkeeper I signed had trouble communicating due to the language barrier. Very realistic! 

As far as scouting is concerned I try to keep as realistic as I feel I can be. I would scout a player repeatedly until 100% knowledge is attained. Then I suppose it's down to the quality of my scouts. I have always played with attribute masking on. I started this fm20 save with the attribute numbers hidden, but I could still see them in the tactics creator screen (I think) so went back to the numbers. It was fun and different doing things without the numbers. I may go back to it one day. 

I totally agree with not replaying a game by reloading a save, however I keep a number of rolling save files. This is purely because you will corrupt your one and only save file if you suffer a power cut or your pc crashes when you are physically saving the game. This has happened to me once.... Never again!

Another thing I want to share is how I create my game world. I always start in N Ireland, as it's where I live. Always unemployed with no coaching badges (as I have none in real life!). I always used to try and put as many leagues in as possible but due to pc limitations things would get so slow and eventually become unstable. Since the introduction of the 'add and remove leagues' option, I have found a happy medium. I usually start off with the home nations plus the Republic of Ireland, as they are a neighbour, and then France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Now for the fun bit. Every February/March time I look to see what teams have made the quarter finals of the Champions League and the Europa league. The countries that those teams belong to will be the countries I choose to have in my game world the following season. Obviously I keep where I am currently managing in and maybe a neighbouring country (eg I've yet to leave NI so still have the Republic as playable). In doing this I hope not to have a completely topsy turvy world that is totally dominated by the same nations. So far I've usually had England, Spain, and Germany always present but other countries drift in and out. Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Holland, Portugal, even Austria have had a season with me (sorry Austrian readers). This allows players from those countries to enter my world. My rule is that I can move to any country playable in my world providing I'm offered the job. So once I leave N Ireland I may well see NI drop off my world map unless a N Irish team makes the last 8 of the big European competitions. Doing this means I usually have between 8 and 12 nations playable each year. I find this speed on my pc setup acceptable and am pretty confident I won't end up crashing due to there being too many players in the database. 

I did enjoy the Llama forum in it's hey day but it had become horribly toxic, and frankly boring, as you were very limited to what you could post. 

 

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Wow, I didn't mean to write that much!!! 

[Junkhead]

On 02/01/2021 at 19:59, \'Appy \'Ammer said:

I've been away from these forums for a few months, maybe longer, and have just skimmed through the first and last pages of this thread.

Can I add my thoughts? I have always played the Llama way ever since discovering the forum after playing 01/02.

I did stick strictly with no editors, however I have dabbled with the lower league additions but did give up after a while due to instability issues. 1980s style European competitions are a great use of the editor, but I do miss the dynamic league reputation changes as that doesn't work with these files. So I am not using it in my current save on fm20. 

I do use the editor to add files for the realistic weather and the injuries. There's also a file that has added regional dialects as a communication factor to overcome. I actually live in Northern Ireland, and am from England, so I always start in N Irish lower league. And the dialect file is fantastic. I can totally relate to it. Even though everyone is speaking English, it took a season for Irish English to come up as one of the languages I can speak fluently (I wondered why my early team talks fell on deaf ears!!). When I first moved here and played football, and worked here, people couldn't understand my London accent, and I found the locals here spoke so damn fast that I couldn't understand them. To me, this is now represented by this file. For example, an English goalkeeper I signed had trouble communicating due to the language barrier. Very realistic! 

As far as scouting is concerned I try to keep as realistic as I feel I can be. I would scout a player repeatedly until 100% knowledge is attained. Then I suppose it's down to the quality of my scouts. I have always played with attribute masking on. I started this fm20 save with the attribute numbers hidden, but I could still see them in the tactics creator screen (I think) so went back to the numbers. It was fun and different doing things without the numbers. I may go back to it one day. 

I totally agree with not replaying a game by reloading a save, however I keep a number of rolling save files. This is purely because you will corrupt your one and only save file if you suffer a power cut or your pc crashes when you are physically saving the game. This has happened to me once.... Never again!

Another thing I want to share is how I create my game world. I always start in N Ireland, as it's where I live. Always unemployed with no coaching badges (as I have none in real life!). I always used to try and put as many leagues in as possible but due to pc limitations things would get so slow and eventually become unstable. Since the introduction of the 'add and remove leagues' option, I have found a happy medium. I usually start off with the home nations plus the Republic of Ireland, as they are a neighbour, and then France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Now for the fun bit. Every February/March time I look to see what teams have made the quarter finals of the Champions League and the Europa league. The countries that those teams belong to will be the countries I choose to have in my game world the following season. Obviously I keep where I am currently managing in and maybe a neighbouring country (eg I've yet to leave NI so still have the Republic as playable). In doing this I hope not to have a completely topsy turvy world that is totally dominated by the same nations. So far I've usually had England, Spain, and Germany always present but other countries drift in and out. Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Holland, Portugal, even Austria have had a season with me (sorry Austrian readers). This allows players from those countries to enter my world. My rule is that I can move to any country playable in my world providing I'm offered the job. So once I leave N Ireland I may well see NI drop off my world map unless a N Irish team makes the last 8 of the big European competitions. Doing this means I usually have between 8 and 12 nations playable each year. I find this speed on my pc setup acceptable and am pretty confident I won't end up crashing due to there being too many players in the database. 

I did enjoy the Llama forum in it's hey day but it had become horribly toxic, and frankly boring, as you were very limited to what you could post. 

 

Only just got around to replying, but great post. Interesting use of add/remove leagues feature too.  Who are you playing with at the moment?

[Samelders]

I am always playing FMT as realistic as possible.

Always start with one unemployed manager (me) with the lowest reputation (Sunday League Footballer). Always have the rule I can't apply for the available jobs at the start of the game. I basically end up in the Vanarama National League North or South with a team that was underperforming and the manager sacked. 

Always battle for a few years there. I always play with hidden attributes on, so I always scout local players. I'm such a nerd. I always google streetview the stadium and the neigbourhood to really feel the atmosphere of the club and get more attached to the club I'm managing. 

After a couple of years I usually make a promotion or i get offered a job in the Vanarama National League (my rule is, I have to improve my salary, or I won't go, like IRL when I'm changing jobs). Here the process starts again. I can recall some fierce battles managing at Bromley and fighting half of the season for the first spot, only to loose it in the final day. I also recall getting sacked at Wrexham after only 13 weeks on the job. Usually after 5-7 years I'm managing in the League two. Since I'm Dutch and playing with the Dutch nationality I usually end up in the Dutch First Division. I remember me winning a promotion with De Graafschap in the past. And I have been also managing MVV, FC Den Bosch, NAC and Roda JC. The highest rated club I have ever ended up managing this way was Trabzonspor in Turkey in FM 2019. 

With my other manager (I usually choose a person that's not in the game, but could become Ajax manager in the future), I always start with Ajax. unfortunately Ajax became incredibly rich the last couple of years, so it's less challenging.. Here I always try to play as realistic as possible too, playing entertaining and attacking football. I always sell my top players after a couple of years when elite clubs come in with realistic bids. I make sure I have enough talent in my youth teams to fill in the gaps. This is preferebly my own youth, but I buy some good young Dutch talents too. I also look at former Ajax players that can return to my team to get at least some experience in the team. I also scout in Denmark, Brazil, Argentina, like Ajax does in reality. I can remember buying this absolute monster CB from FC Kopenhagen a few years back, that was on its way to become the best defender in the world when I had to let him go to Bayern.

The challenge to become champions is not that hard, but I never managed to win the Champions League playing this way (altough I made one final in the past and lost 2-0  to Real Madrid). I did loose the Europa League final once too 2-1 to Man Udt. 

My final goal, although never reached is to become manager of Ajax with my unemployed manager. It's kind of hard to work your way up this high in the game! My secondary goal always is, develop enough youth players to make sure the Dutch national team performs. And my third goal always is to improve the level of the Dutch Eredivisie. So its not unusual I add another manager to manage PSV (ofcourse only when their manager is sacked and with a person that's not in the game already and is a potential new PSV manager in the future).

This game, I manage to dream about it, I can get really angry because of it (loosing a game with 15 shots on target and the opposition 1 with 0-1) or loosing a knock-out game in Europe while your up 3-0 (Ajax - Tottenham like), but I still love it since I saw CM 01-02 for the first time.

Speaking of which, I just installed CM 01-02 to kill some time while I'm waiting for some bugs to get fixed, to start on my FM 2021 adventure. 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by Samelders

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

On 04/01/2021 at 06:48, Junkhead said:

Only just got around to replying, but great post. Interesting use of add/remove leagues feature too.  Who are you playing with at the moment?

Thanks @Junkhead. I am currently playing as Newry City and am a few games in to my first season in the Premiership and fully expecting a relegation battle. I play as and when time permits so my progress can be a bit of a plod. This is the reason I am sticking with fm20 because I find I never really get a long long career going due to new versions coming out. Anyway, I have stuck with this save and I did actually begin to document it in the FMS forum, ( https://community.sigames.com/forums/topic/516837-from-mid-ulster-obscurity-to-mid-table-mediocrityprobably/ if you're interested! ). I did most of that story during the first lockdown and have since given up the writing so I can just play the game. I won the promotion playoffs to gain my first promotion of the save. I have had very very few successes in any of the FM / CM series, so this promotion felt great. Especially as they missed a penalty in the last 10 minutes of the final 2nd leg. This would have brought the game level and they would have been winning on away goals. Then 2 minutes later they had a player sent off. The drama of the whole tie, and the emotions I enjoyed from it, made playing this game so worthwhile. And I am in my late 40s for god's sake, sounding like my teenage son!!!!

[Junkhead]

1 hour ago, \'Appy \'Ammer said:

Thanks @Junkhead. I am currently playing as Newry City and am a few games in to my first season in the Premiership and fully expecting a relegation battle. I play as and when time permits so my progress can be a bit of a plod. This is the reason I am sticking with fm20 because I find I never really get a long long career going due to new versions coming out. Anyway, I have stuck with this save and I did actually begin to document it in the FMS forum, ( https://community.sigames.com/forums/topic/516837-from-mid-ulster-obscurity-to-mid-table-mediocrityprobably/ if you're interested! ). I did most of that story during the first lockdown and have since given up the writing so I can just play the game. I won the promotion playoffs to gain my first promotion of the save. I have had very very few successes in any of the FM / CM series, so this promotion felt great. Especially as they missed a penalty in the last 10 minutes of the final 2nd leg. This would have brought the game level and they would have been winning on away goals. Then 2 minutes later they had a player sent off. The drama of the whole tie, and the emotions I enjoyed from it, made playing this game so worthwhile. And I am in my late 40s for god's sake, sounding like my teenage son!!!!

Love it - most games can't do that - you finish them and get a sense of satisfaction and then start looking for something else to play. Saving and shutting down FM always leaves me with a different problem to think about for when I next play, or an exciting fixture or new challenge to look forward to!

I always think about skipping a version for the same reason, but then I see the features that are being added and can't resist.

Sounds like your save is going well, keep us in the loop!!

[PatrickReynolds]

And we've reached the end of the 2021 Canadian Premier League Season! Time for an update.

When we left off, we had just kicked off the Fall Season and things were going swimmingly:

The way the CPL is set up, I really had nothing to play for, as my Spring Season victory ensured my qualification to the season ending two legged final. If I did the double and won the fall season, I would still have to play the two legged final against the next best team over the course of the full league. North American sports, you can't make this stuff up. 

My good run of form continued through September, and despite a small slide in October due to fixture congestion and wanting to make sure my starting 11 were fit and ready to go for the final, I walked away with the Fall Season, distancing second place by 7 points (over a 14 game schedule!!)

On to the final! With as well as my team has played, I am now facing some major nerves as we reach the games that really count. Who am I facing? None other than my provincial rivals, Calvalry FC. Scum. A quick look at what my scouts know about their squad, and I'm proper scared, as they do have some serious quality, and have been in the final before. Their new wingback is starting to gel and can really cause me problems on the overlap. 

First leg away, and I'm focused on trying to grab an away goal. We've outscored the league massively, so feel good about my chances.

Alas, it was not to be. They scored in the 13th minute and while I had chances, never really looked like pulling one back. Cue the nail biting. As expected, I was overrun on my right flank and could find an answer for their wing play, as they owned the highlight reel. It left me searching for answers and my first real managerial crisis where I felt like my decisions really mattered. You gotta love it. 

After devising my tactical counter for their overlaps, I am working my way though the week, when I notice a shocking news story:

Spoiler

Star wingback injured in training and out 4 months! (spoiler tag if you don't want to know who it is, although really doubt anyone's heard of him!). Then, I notice their engine room midfielder that everything goes through picked up his 4 yellow of the competition, ruling him out for the final leg. The FM gods are smiling on me today. They still have some quality, but I'm able to focus some more resources on hopefully shutting them down. 

With away goals in play, I'll need at least a 2-0 result to pull off the comeback on home soil.

I am speechless. Canadian Premier League Champions!! This is for real the first championship I have won in FM. Granted, I just started during COVID last year, but hey..

We bossed them from start to finish and I couldn't be prouder of the job my boys did. To win the top league in my native land feels like a fairytale story to kick off my journeyman career, and quite possibly off brand for the FM realism thread/lower league management! I'll promise to write fully about my future failures that I'm sure are just around the corner, but take a moment to appreciate the accomplishment. 

With my reputation up to 30% and my National B license achieved, I am setting up for one final season with FC Edmonton before hitting the job hunt again. With my Championship win, I am into the North American League Preliminary Round, so will face some continental competition, but with a league win under my belt, I'm ready to use Canada as a launching point for my next job. Who knows what club will have me, but I may consider Wales if the opportunity arises; Morgan is a family name on my Grandmother's side, originating from Wales, so it might make a nice story. But, CPL winning beggars can't be choosers, so we'll see what opportunities arise. 

Time to evaluate the squad and make some tweaks as we set up for continental competition.

Edited January 6, 2021 by PatrickReynolds

[Hav3n_The_Hero]

I do not know if this has been discussed yet as far as rules.

I always sim one year first before playing because the free agents available at the start of the database are a little too good.

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Right, I'm getting the taste back for FM20 now Christmas is out of the way. Reading this thread has reignited the desire to play with the attributes hidden. I've gone back to using the Shrewnaldo skin. I would prefer to use the TCS v1.5 skin but I simply cannot for the life of me replicate what the shrewnaldo skin has done. 

For the record, in my Newry save, I am currently 5th in the NI Premiership after 5 games. (W2 D1 L2 GD-1 Pts 7), and in all cups (none played yet). All that with Attributes visible. So, I shall now see how I fair without visible attributes. My only guide will be scouts/ coaches/ and my own eyes! I have divided the attribute colours into 3 as follows: 1 to 10 is white, 11 to 15 is green, and 16 to 20 is yellow. Now with the skill level ramped up, I shall see where I end up at end of the season. (media still predict a rock bottom finish for me!).

Edited January 10, 2021 by \'Appy \'Ammer
crap grammar

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

And also , just had a flashback, can any old school llamas explain the term "Brody is a poof"?

[\'Appy \'Ammer]

Was it to do with shameful potboosting ?