Kcinnay

I've ordered mine as well. Got the key activated on Steam (you can make it show in the confirmation mail if all goes well), early access was promised, so... I hope it'll work.

And the official IGE as well.

If all other things are done 'right', in an aim to have a low PPDA (a relentless high press), does it help to use more risky in defending (positive, (very) attacking mentality) or is it better to have a less risky defending style (cautious or (very) defensive mentality)? Or isn't mentality a contributing factor in that?

Stupid question for the zillionth time, but: how does mentality affect the defensive phase of the game? I have the prejuidice that 'very defensive' makes players play closer together and more often than not swarm the opponent with the ball with multiple players (which I like), but that 'very attacking' is, well, more aggressive, but you'll see more 'one vs one'-s, a wider setup (even on narrow) - and for the replication of Red Bull like teams (again, which I like), you need both aspects. Any ideas to combine both extremities without ending up with a balanced compromise? (For me, it's less about results initially and more about playing style. I want a compact, aggressive, direct team that with and without the ball plays closely together. Furious tempo in possession, swarm of gegenpress players in transition.)

This. Would be more like in real life and could be part of board negotiations. Vincent Kompany left Anderlecht for Burnley because he wanted to be a manager, not just a head coach. In most countries, clubs appoint head coaches, not managers. Having a manager is only in the UK a habit. But sometimes, when a head coach is doing well or is working very long at the same club, he can cut the deal to be "a manager after the English model" - like media use to say. Or if his reputation is great or... I always find it weird to appoint a director of football just for the sake of having an extra scout.

Hi I'm struggling with having my hard working AM's (support duty) to get behind the ball in the defensive phase. I want my team to play a very agresssive ball-oriented press (so no man marking), want direct or very direct passing, very high tempo. High defensive line, high block. But even on support duty, they initially stay in front of the ball. (And I want to stick to the template formations, limited as they be.) So, most of the times, I play with these instructions: Very Attacking mentality - for the extremely loud heavy metal football (very) Direct passing Play through the middle Narrow width Counter Counterpress Press Much more often High Block High defensive line Force opposition outside Player roles (can switch): ---------------SK(a)---------------- AWB(a)-CV(d)-CV(d)-AWB(a) --------DM(d)----DM(d)--------- ----AM(s)-----------AM(s)------- -------PF(A)-----TF(A)------------ Any help? I know lowering the mentality could help, but marginally, even on very defensive they tend to start in front of the ball. I prefer a compact unit, horizontally & vertically, that attacks together & defends together. Playing with a flat 4-4-2 makes my team defend too wide. So: any suggestions to make my team defend more compactly, to make the AM(s) contribute more defensively, without touching the intensity and the extremities of my vision? Thanks!

Somehow I find it difficult (mentally) to play with other formations than AI managers can, so... I really like the 4-2-2-2 (narrow), want to play high press with a high defensive line, but on every mentality, there's a huge gap in defence between the DM's and the AM's, even when I play them all on support duty. Any advice to how to get them closer together? (Without moving them to the CM strata, as the AI can't do that either?) I've also toyed with 'get further forward' PI on both DM's, but it doesn't help.

I'm struggling as hell to win games in this ME, but I actually like the challenge, the chaos in midfield, the fluidity. A central defender who's suddenly pressing in midfield en dribbling towards the box? Great. Could happen in real life. It's not perfect - what is? - but as far as I'm concerned, this is a very enjoyable ME.

One real FM each five years? Would be devastating. For me, at least. I'd start to count how many editions I'd have left in my life. Horrible. Patch will drop today, because feelings.

I'm not saying he SHOULD lose his job, I'm not saying the video game doesn't provide me joy. I think I was quite nuanced, not offensive. I'm not the one who posts about how terrible FM is, because it isn't, this edition is the best ever. But... there's much room for improvement in all aspects of the game, and there's even a decrease in some aspects (the comparisons with the graphics of the older FM's for example). There'll always be people who moan, you can't do well for everyone, but having moderate critique on SI, FM, MJ, whatever, isn't a reason for not communicating as an organisation, in my opinion. I remember the honest post of Neil Brock when the game was released, which was applauded. More things like that, more transparancy, would be good for everyone. And the suggestion that fresh input is needed... What's wrong with that?

I've responded to that why I haven't been able to do that recently.

Sure, it should be club dependant. It's not a black-white-situation. There are multiple options that could be added: frowns from the fans and the bord when Ajax or Barcelona don't play in a 4-3-3-formation, for example. There is/used to be a tab in the editor where the preferred formation of a certain club/nation was stated, but nothing has ever been done with that. No, I haven't, because I didn't have the energy, that's personal. Those are my first posts in a long time. The reminder wasn't something I had forgotten about: I play FM a lot - a lot! - and even though there are flaws, I wouldn't diss it as unplayable - it's absolutely exceptional value for money. But the lack of good competition and good communication is something that denies FM the progress that's needed, and I don't know whether MJ is the one who'll be able to change things around. That doesn't deny everything he's done before, absolutely not, it's a bit like Klopp at Liverpool: exceptional manager, great match between him and the club, but his philosophy has a duration, and in football, after some time, either the manager has to go or the players. In a gaming context, the last thing would be a disaster, so I guess definite changes are primordial, because it's clear that frustration is growing year after year, even when the game is at its best. The permanent overhype of lacklustre features, the dismissal for changes about things that very much need a change for a long time (international management, anyone?) and are very well documented by multiple people, the lack of communication about the future of FM, the direction, somehow, I don't know, a token of gratitude for a very loyal fanbase, who care about this game a lot (or a tad too much)... It seems like the only numbers that are important are the sales figures, and there are a lot of people who buy this game every year, even when the only overhyped feature would be, I don't know, the option for your 3D avatar to wear branded sneakers. They can't keep on taking that for granted, because there'll be an end to that.

That's my point. You CAN decide to play the game like that, but it shouldn't be an option, but a given, if you're all about immersion. It feels weird to be able to sack people who're closer to the board than you, the manager.

It think a new gaffer will be necessary in the near future. Miles is quite stubborn and contradictory in his philosophy for the game - it's all about immersion, that's the reason why you can't scroll back during a live game - but you have a game where set pieces are stale, inflexible, where zonal marking doesn't really exist, where pressing is flawed, because it doesn't catch up with modern trends, distinctions like ball-oriented pressing, man-oriented pressing, pressing 1vs1 or creating defensive overloads. Is it immersion when a manager decides wat a DoF can do, when it's the other way around irl? It'd be fun if you'd have to manage a team where you can only suggest transfers, but it's the DoF who decides about that. That that's something that should be part of the negotiations when taking the job. Like in Anderlecht: the reason why Kompany left, was because he wanted to be a manager like in England, where he can decide about transfers etc - but Anderlecht declinded giving him the 'final cut', they wanted him to be a head coach, not a manager as well. PR-wise (and game knowledgde wise), I guess Nic Madden would be an exquisite choice. He's charming, enthousiastic, cares about the ME, has a great knowledge about it, has a friendly communicative style. Pair him with someone with real life football knowledge, an analyst type who knows about different set-ups for set-pieces, zonal marking, man marking, pressing, build up patterns, stats, a Spielverlagerung or Total Football Analysis type of person, and I think contentwise and PR-wise, FM as a game and brand would be... miles ahead. (Pun intended.)

What I've noticed while playing a 4-2-2-2 DM formation (with the 10s as AMCR and AMCL), is that in defence, my team often falls back in a flat, narrow 4-4-2 formation. If you want to achieve the box in possession and the flat banks of four out of possession, I guess the 4-2-2-2 DM formation would be the best base. Defending in a regular 4-4-2 is too wide with every mentality and setting, but that's personal preference, of course.

That's very clear! Thanks!

Hi y'all Since mentality defines risk, does it work as well like that in the defensive phase? If I want my team to defend ultra-agressive, would a 'very attacking' mentality serve my players (who have high scores in aggression, courage, stamina, teamwork and natural fitness) the best? Or would a lower mentality be better for the high octane, direct tactic I want to create, since 'very attacking' + 'minimum width' ends up in a still immensively 'wider' set-up defensively in a high mentality than in a (very) low mentality. But then, the ball-circulation is slower, which isn't what I really want. So: what does mentality do defensively, coupled with players described above, in a high pressing game, hard tackling, more urgent pressing? I want us to be a very intense team, preferably in a 4-2-2-2 narrow or a 3-4-2-1 (wingbacks, pivots in DM, pocket players in AM halfspace position, striker in CF position).

I'm sorry, but where do I need to write this command line? Can't find it.

What the title says. I can't find it, not even with help from Google.

Really glad that in the tactics interface, the two attacking midfielders are now spread out, so you don't need to have a line of three to make them operate in the half spaces. (I hope.)

After all those years, it's not unreasonable to expect something done about set pieces and international management, for example? I know FM is a complex game, but if this is it for this year, then... I don't know the English equivalent of "being happy with a dead mosquito", but that's the first thought in my head at the moment. Oh well, I'll lie back and think of England. And preorder and PAY, of course.

Well, then it isn't Miles Roulette, it's a surrogate. It's a blog with small features then. But, as you know, when there is/seems (?) so little to advertise, then putting small features in a blogpost isn't smart. A couple of loose tweets with little features: fine. A blogpost creates expectations - and they're mocked, and I can understand why. I still hope there's some sort of big announcement yet to make, but for the first time in years, I'm really unhappy with what's presented and mostly how it's presented, like I've said in my post on page 12. I'll still buy FM 23 - because FM is at its core a really good game and you get excellent return for your money - but that means - for me, that is - that FM 24 needs to have a big overhaul on a tactical (more flexibility, more focus on set pieces, concepts like half spaces, defensive overloads) and graphical level (not what the players should look like, but the stadiums, the pitch textures, feeling the distinction between Champions League and LLM - without the trick of music - the flow of matches should be waaaaay different). I hope that will be there with the implementation of women's football in FM 24, because you can't sell an overblown patch two years in a row at full price. This year they can take me for granted, next year not so much.

I love me some cynicism. And rightfully so. The fact that an omnipresent stat in football analysis like PPDA is added is cool, hoping that it implies you can really implement a hard press - with wingbacks joining the press high up the pitch as promised. But still, the scarf thing, the hairstyle... That would've been better for Miles' roulette than for a blog. Their promotional campaign is laughable like that. Set pieces and international management can't be ignored another year, can they? Especially for the latter: all the tools that would make IM way more interesting (training, designated squad numbers per match) are already in game. Why not match them? Oh well. We'll have to wait and see. David Foster Wallace would've called this edition of FM The Year of the Scarf.

The lack of meaningful information about the new FM, so close to release date, combined with the lackluster, internally overhyped headline features - much ado about not that much - is starting to bother me and feels disrespectful towards the FM community. It's like they're taking the fans and sales figures for granted. I wish there would be some honesty in the promotional content, an admission that there are no world changing features because they're working on something bigger for FM 24 or FM 25 - which takes time and resources. A new graphics enginge because of the introduction of women's football, for example. I'm Belgian, and the FM promotion machine is giving me some Robert Martínez vibes, who's always hyperbolic in his positivity when there's actually not that much to be positive about.