How about a difficulty setting?

[mightypvfc]

FM must be one of the only games I play on a regular basis that doesn't allow users to alter the difficulty. This to me doesn't make sense as it would be completely impossible for a game to cater to all playing levels dynamically. Am I correct on this? 

I'm not really looking for options like "Hard", "Medium", "Easy", etc. How about one solitary option to play realistically? I'm aware that SI dilute the number of injuries in a season. A realistic option would counter this. Also, discipline is a real problem in the real game whereas in FM, it's kind of soft. Also, giving us a free GK when our other GK's are unavailable would be removed in a realistic setting. It's much more realistic to give us the option to sign an emergency keeper on loan for 3-6 games. In fact, the gifting of free players out of the thin air should be removed from this setting completely.

Also, some aspects of the gameplay are too placid. Nothing generally happens. Games roll over into the next game which roll over into the next game without any kind of unpredictability. I'd like to see managers given a real headache at the start of every week. Maybe there's an issue with players not getting along. In fact, two players despise each other to the extent where they can't be in the same team. One would have to be sold to maintain harmony or maybe digging in and letting them resolve it themselves would be your best bet? 

Where are the chairmen in this game? I don't see any statements being made about a player or manager. I don't see where the relationship with my chairman can deteriorate without me making demands. How about the guy just doesn't like me? How about he appoints a DoF and takes me away from the transfer market completely? At big clubs, this happens. Look at PSG and the Tuchel dispute with Leonardo. This forced Tuchel out of the club. Speaking from experience at my own club Port Vale, we had a rogue chairmen a few years ago who got rid of a solid League One side and signed poor foreign replacements. He then appointed a yes man who would play them. He decided the wage budget was too high and offered reliable players 50% less than their current salary. This was unpredictable for the manager and fans and, thus, made the fans more raucous and impatient in the stands. This took the club on a downward curve for years. 

In a realistic setting, I'd also like to see more player press interviews and statements. Currently, players are so easy to manage. One guy is unhappy about something but if you leave him for a while, he'll snap out of it. Oh, another guy is unhappy. Let's just leave him and, lo and behold, he's forgotten about it and he's fine. This isn't how real players work at all. Let's look at Man Utd. Individually, the team is scattered with genius but, collectively, it's not clicking. Why is this? Ego's colliding. They've been on a downward curve for years. How is this mimicked in FM? 

I want to hear my players speak in the press. I want them to defend me, attack me, throw me under a bus, etc. If I kicked a boot at half-time, I want that in the press the next morning. I want the story to develop over time and not get forgotten about the next day. Ben Foster's recent interview about his Watford teammates is everything that we need in FM. Imagine what an interview like that would do inside the dressing room. The internal whirlwind it would cause would certainly have a ripple effect on every part of the management team. 

[RealSmokePL]

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Also, giving us a free GK when our other GK's are unavailable would be removed in a realistic setting. It's much more realistic to give us the option to sign an emergency keeper on loan for 3-6 games. In fact, the gifting of free players out of the thin air should be removed from this setting completely.

This should be in the base game imo

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Where are the chairmen in this game? I don't see any statements being made about a player or manager. I don't see where the relationship with my chairman can deteriorate without me making demands. How about the guy just doesn't like me? How about he appoints a DoF and takes me away from the transfer market completely? At big clubs, this happens. Look at PSG and the Tuchel dispute with Leonardo. This forced Tuchel out of the club. Speaking from experience at my own club Port Vale, we had a rogue chairmen a few years ago who got rid of a solid League One side and signed poor foreign replacements. He then appointed a yes man who would play them. He decided the wage budget was too high and offered reliable players 50% less than their current salary. This was unpredictable for the manager and fans and, thus, made the fans more raucous and impatient in the stands. This took the club on a downward curve for years. 

This is a good thing that could be an option.

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In a realistic setting, I'd also like to see more player press interviews and statements. Currently, players are so easy to manage. One guy is unhappy about something but if you leave him for a while, he'll snap out of it. Oh, another guy is unhappy. Let's just leave him and, lo and behold, he's forgotten about it and he's fine. This isn't how real players work at all. Let's look at Man Utd. Individually, the team is scattered with genius but, collectively, it's not clicking. Why is this? Ego's colliding. They've been on a downward curve for years. How is this mimicked in FM? 

I want to hear my players speak in the press. I want them to defend me, attack me, throw me under a bus, etc. If I kicked a boot at half-time, I want that in the press the next morning. I want the story to develop over time and not get forgotten about the next day. Ben Foster's recent interview about his Watford teammates is everything that we need in FM. Imagine what an interview like that would do inside the dressing room. The internal whirlwind it would cause would certainly have a ripple effect on every part of the management team. 

I totally agree, could also be in the base game.

[Kyle Brown]

Thank you for these suggestions - difficulty is one thing we're looking to address in future editions of FM and you may see some changes at a later point.