Cloud9

It's a licensing issue, same problem with other teams like Japan in game That link should lead you through downloading the realistic files + deleting the fake ones. Some clubs/staff/players won't have their real names in game until you do this. Not sure if you need to start a new save for it to go into effect? Managers like Nico Kovac were called like Max or something lol.

That's okay! The point is simply that these other players provide you extreme physicality: which by their nature allows for pressure to be put back onto the opposition out of possession. They can trigger a press and constantly threaten a direct approach which is damaging to an opposition in possession. W/Kane all the positive things he can do require the team to have the ball. When the team is w/out the ball, it is as if they are playing with one less man on the pitch (hence the luxury player term). For a modern pressing system, that's a disaster.

Yes I agree, he still is a great player but one you have to build everything around to make it work. Can you play modern systems with him as a 9 who can't press? I think that's a genuine question worth asking at this point. To bring things back to FM, my problem is that his clear weaknesses are not represented in game. His insanely high PA has just sort of papered over all the deficiencies, which we see frequently on FM English players. To go over the key issues: On FM he provides a long ball option, this just isn't true in real life. On FM he's a pressing monster, again this is statistically not accurate of the player. The physicals and ability to run are crazy here. Given a top tier personality, this is really indicative of a player being English in the game. While a top player he is certainly inflated in FM terms, while strikers from other nations are continually undervalued.

Yes but here you are running into a limitation of FBref here. Vini JR stays high because he offers a threat on turnovers due to his pace (a tactical decision). I imagine Mbappe has a similar FBref profile in that regards. Haaland and Vlahovic are penalty area poachers who are similarly isolated but provide the threat of running in behind and stay high. Because Kane comes deep constantly he does not provide this threat out of possession (alongside the lack of a pressing, physical profile + long ball option). In this way he does not participate when you don't have the ball at all. The others do, but it's not represented in the numbers in the same way. I am not familiar with Dobyvk so I can't comment there. You can compare him to Morata (Spain's 9) a pressing, penalty area poacher who gives a lot of elements out of possesion: Stays high, focal point of the attack Provides Long ball option Leads the press Provides threat in behind Morata is a perceived much lower quality player than Kane, but in a modern system he can do key elements that Kane just can't do. To the point of the article (English players being overrated) I think this an important area to highlight. Again you can just watch the games. He was terrible. L'equipe gave him 3/10 for his Euro final appearance.

I agree with you Southgate's setup was a shambles tactically and I am very disappointed w/ what he came with(a system that provided no structure for talented players to flourish). I would be quite critical of it on the tactical forums. I personally would have played Kane alongside Gordon on the left who would do some of that direct running in behind which suits Kane's passing game. These three factors are big problems for me in the profile of the player, not just Southgate's tactic, and are compounded by the fact that he's getting on a bit now. Some of Kane coming deep is still on him at the Euros...especially when there are two 10's already operating behind him and no natural wide attackers (since we put Saka at wingback). He needed to be able to dictate to himself to stay higher than he usually would.

Here's an article from the BBC detailing just how bad at pressing England are with Kane up top: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c6ppyw9yj12o Data from Opta again from the Euros, note that worst pressing team in the Premier League this year was Nottingham Forest who averaged 17.7 PPDA. England sit at 23.1, only above Albania and Romania. Qualifiers are just glorified friendlies for England, and not a good indicator of strength. You can carry a luxury player against Malta and North Macedonia. Kane's defensive actions via FBref: He provides nothing out of possession unfortunately: Kane presents no long ball option (aerials won), no press, and no pressure on the back line with a run in behind. In a difficult match which requires the forward the press, Kane becomes an entirely luxury player that the team is forced to carry.

The trouble with Kane is that he has become a luxury player, without the ability to play in a modern pressing system. Kane has never pressed particularly well (unlike a Benzema) and the problem has gotten worse with age. In the modern game, carrying a luxury striker damages the team. A solo 9 must trigger the press and lead the line. It is a similar issue to Trent at right back. They are incredibly talented footballers but the Hollywood moment will only take you so far. The fundamentals of the game is what success is built on these days. It is difficult to draw any conclusions from the Euros for Kane, as Southgate's tactics did him no favors (no width, no runners in behind, three 10's). That being said, his movement was poor and he frequently ambled deep into his own half when he was needed in the box. He was outmatched in long ball opportunities and was generally woeful. England were markedly more dangerous whenever Watkins replaced him.

For those interested here's a link to a statistical article by Opta on the Euros, best 11 based on the stats: Source: https://theanalyst.com/2024/07/euro-2024-team-of-the-tournament-opta/

Some of that is likely down to how Arsenal play vs Atletico Bilbao...but Saka does work more for the team out of possession than Williams. Rbref is a good basic framework but has it's limitations as well. I think Williams is an extremely dangerous, direct 1v1 player with great end product. Saka is more likely to cut inside, whereas Williams has a bit more pace (I think) and is capable of playing with both feet. Certainly in terms of end product, Saka has been far more prolific over the past few season. I think the hype around Williams is that any direct player with great speed + two feet has an incredibly high ceiling in world football. If he can add more end product to his game he has the potential to be almost unplayable.

Move your lines up to control the game a bit more? Can't imagine too many sides will be bringing it to you as Arsenal. Wide strikers won't bang in goals as consistently as a central striker on FM...but it will help to get some width in there for the inside runs of an IF.

In general I think the game is usually won or lost in midfield. Even sides comfortable playing out of possession have technical players capable of taking care of possession on the ball (Kroos, Modric for Madrid) who are all important to their success. It is the player who can receive the ball in difficult moments who is so key. Saka's CA does seem a little high but surely he's one of the most promising/mature talents in world football. You mention Rashford...he is simply a different player to Saka. Seems like a bit of an unnecessary comparison. Saka is on the right and Rashford on the left. You can see Saka contributes exceptionally out of possession and even played as a wingback for England at the euros. For Martial, the answer is at Monaco. His CA is quite low in the current version of the game I believe.

Love the graphics you've put together in there per usual, I have a soft spot for the old Italian styles myself Getting the aggressive rotation between the defenders could prove challenging. I think a classical counter is likely easier to pull off! I would consider dropping the AMC back to the DM strata, I think he's likely to get bypassed in transition as is. I've liked a hard working SS in that role though...but it tends to be a bit more specialized of an approach. This is an old tifo video on the approach which might be a nice reference point: @ceefax the cat was experimenting with this style of play so I have tagged them in as well.

This is an interesting point, but I think it glosses over some key weaknesses in English players at the moment. England is producing strong youth players, but they are players who lack an edge and the ability to control games which is pivotal to success in football. Declan Rice optimizes the rating of English players in FM...sitting almost on PAR with Rodri even though Rice does not have the ability to receive the ball in tight spaces or control the game at all. While Rice is a wonderful carrier of the ball, they are unfortunately not on the same planet. We have seen this "arrogance" of perceived English quality time and time again and it's quite frustrating as a long suffering English supporter myself. This euros loss to Spain is essentially the same problem as the last one (where Verratti and Jorginho possessed qualities to control the match that English players simply do not have). The narrative that English players being the best is holding us back in international football...and this is reflected in FM. Specifically the lack of technical midfielders who can dictate/control the game in the center of the pitch is a weakness that isn't properly factored in. Spain's technical players who can do this (Fabian Ruiz and friends) are undervalued when you'd pick them over the perceivably stronger England players all day long. The willingness to scrap out wins, which both Spain and Argentina possess, is also undervalued in game (and not present in the England squad)...and has just seen Argentina complete three top tier international trophies on the bounce. Ratings need to be based on performance and statistics, not just perception.

I would disagree with this. Yes Kane is a great player coming off the back of an incredible Bayern season and a very weak Euros but he has been consistency at an extremely high CA/PA for the last few years. If you compare his ratings to Benzema (a higher quality, more impactful but similar mould striker), who was unplayable on the biggest stage...Kane has consistently received higher ratings than Benzema over his years at Madrid (except for the year that Benzema won the golden ball). There is little in FM to reflect how poor Kane is for his team out of possession in game and that he does in fact, not enjoy big matches. Non English Players see more nerfs based on form compared to English players who tend to stay at the level if they underperform. You can look at other players like Sterling, Rashford etc. for players who maintain an extremely high CA/PA (especially compared to what other nations receive) despite their performances and lack of inclusion in their national team setup. Sterling does not even start for Chelsea anymore and sits at 160+CA on top of having comparable off the ball to Oshimen. Again the rating systems need to be based more objectively on performance, international appearances, trophies and stats and not just vibes. This would create a much more balanced system between countries. We can argue over if one player is over/undervalued but it's clear by the numbers I posted above (England having 15 players of 160CA+ compared to Spain's 4) that English players are consistently rated higher than their competition despite performance.

Yes, I think the high CA/PA was due to how he scored the goals (technical/composed finishes) at such a young age + the physical profile that's quite rare on a striker (and the one that everyone is looking for). It's also quite unusual to see an 18 year old start as a striker and score goals...similar to centerbacks (see the hype around Leny Yoro). Ie. there will be more hype around an 18 year old who is starting in these positions compared to a winger. This + the Premier League is a higher level than Spain at the moment (and playing for a team that excels at identifying young talent). English clubs have more money due to foreign ownership/tv rights and are able to attract quality players and coaches. Even teams at the bottom like Bournemouth or Forest are able to sign top players from high tier Spanish clubs + take rising managers like Iraola. Here's an excellent example of why he's rated so highly (both links from Brighton themselves): A backheel flick with his weaker foot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljJQ3enHJq8 Hatrick against Newcastle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFCmXsumgVU Spain vs England TV rights split:

For what it's worth I posted this a few days ago on CA/PA imbalance by nation: It's an issue I'd like to see addressed on FM25, particularly with how minimal the Winter data update was. England's fifteen players over 160 CA to Spain's four clearly wasn't agreed upon by the bookies who gave Spain 8 to 5 odds as the favorites going into the clash. Argentina who have just completed a historic back to back to back Copa America, World Cup, Copa America victory only have three. This problem is even worse for non-EU players who can be starting for their country, their high profile club team, winning trophies and not progressing in FM. For example: Lucas Paqueta has been one of the best midfielders in the league for the past few years (while winning a European trophy with West Ham and starting for Brazil) and still sits below Connor Gallagher in terms of CA/PA Unfortunately, CA/PA is inherently not a merit based system. Paqueta's quality is clearly represented in the stats (and that Man City wanted to sign him for 85m pounds). Here's Paqueta's Fbref profile: Personality is especially important on FM24 with the new development curve pushed back...so the bias in giving European and particularly English players stronger personalities than their competition is compounded. I ran a Brazilian only save for fun one year and almost every single player in my squad was "balanced," which is not a good personality. I get that SI may not know foreign leagues as well but many of these players play either in Europe or at high profile South American clubs where there is quite a lot of info on them. For example: Joao Pedro, who I referenced above, has been in England for four or five years now and his personality is still balanced. This is despite him making a big money move back to the top flight of English football and now performing as the starting striker for Brighton where he bagged 15 goals in the Premier League + Europa League. His CA/PA is below Connor Gallagher. Joao Pedro is also a Brazilian international. You will notice other high profile South American players who have been in their national teams and playing in the Premier League continually given poor personalities. Danilo and Murillo (Danilo has been called up to the Brazil squad and Murillo was Forest's Player of the Season) both feature balanced personalities, again, this year. Danilo has been given decent PA, but since he's also been given a poor personality it's unlikely he will progress significantly in game. Paqueta is also unsurprisingly balanced. This for a player who has played in Europe since 2019 (Milan, Lyon, West Ham) and far precedes his current alleged gambling issues.

Evan Ferguson seemed like the closest thing to a guaranteed superstar two years ago in the striker department, a wonderfully technically gifted striker with inherent physical qualities to set him apart. He's put up 6 premier league goals in each of the last two seasons...the lad is only 19 still. Really he's just out of the spotlight since Brighton spent big on Joao Pedro (another precocious talent, but one who is significantly more experienced). Perhaps Ferguson has been a casualty of Brighton trying to perform now a bit more under De Zerbi. Ferguson is also Irish! Not English, so I'm not sure what people are having a go about here lol.

I would consider not running a formation with Shadow Strikers instead of Strikers (even if they are facilitating 9's...such as the F9). The AI is not really able to handle it and you won't get realistic outcomes to your possession based approach.

The data hub's way of showing numbers isn't the best (ie. it doesn't give raw statistics but percentiles). I would look at the underlying numbers of individual players instead in their profile, where you can see how they're actually performing for you. In this way it's a poor reflection of how data is actually used IRL. Just keeping things really simple should help you. It sounds like you're getting overwhelmed by what is an intentionally ambiguous UI. This is a design decision by SI. A lot of games are just "figured out" through data mining and stuff like this, the ambiguity can be nice as well. Focus on how roles work, run a fairly blank TI slate and go from there. Building an understanding of how roles move alone should be enough for you to make effective changes to how your team plays.

The key attributes will be entirely dependent on your tactic. A player will use all attributes to execute his role, not jus the highlighted ones. It does go green first, blue second for what the game recommends. For example if you're playing a progressive, high lines approach then speed will be much more important on your centerbacks then height...despite what the guide will indicate. Highlighted attributes do a poor job of indicating how pivotal some mental attributes like concentration are for defensive roles imo. It can be useful to get a general idea of what a role will do...ie. a bwm demands aggro/bravery etc. Take them with a grain of salt.

I'm not sure how you would maintain your amateur status as you gain promotions? It is usually granted automatically by the board as you step up from Semi-Professional to Professional Leagues.

Could be a skin issue that you're running...or perhaps the board does not support a HoYD or PA to your staff.

You can check your club debt. Future fees and stuff can mess up your finances as well. As @FrazT mentions...the board evaluates every year based on your situation and determines from there. This year has extra implications for financial mismanagement at a club...which is likely why you have not experienced it before. 37m pounds is still plenty to stay up with...especially if you have setup/utilized your scouting network while in the Championship. If you have not planned ahead and already established your transfer targets at the end of the season then things can be difficult.

Drop the AF and open up the width a little? You are setup to control the possession but are also kind of in a typical narrow/direct Liverpool gegenpress w/some of your TIs. I would prefer a role on Bissouma that triggers a rotation for a 3-2 buildup. A more patient approach with a Poacher will see you turn the ball over less.

There is hardcoding under the hood so roles will behave differently even with the same PIs selected. But yes...the SV also triggers a rotation via positional play (he moves from the DM strata out of possession to the AMC strata in possession). This is inherently different from a role who operates in the DM strata and has the tendency to get forward more.