Do you like this post?
One of the biggest draws to Football Manager is the ability to trade your favourite players, bring in your dream team and find the next big names. But for those managers who want consistent success and a happy squads, need a team that can quickly gel and reaping the rewards of better performances on the pitch and higher morale.
This article comes from the learning and the research for Communication and Psychological Warfare 2010
There was a time when I used to play Football Manager, each season looking for the best players. If I seen a rival looking to buy a top striker, I would snap them up denying that team of them. Search for those players whose contract is about to expire, looking for a bargain. Leaving me with a collection of players that I couldn’t keep happy, not knowing my best eleven and a huge wage bill.
Established squads that have spent a reasonable time together can play much better then those who have just been thrown together. Manchester City has spent millions, revamping a the squad in the last two years, demanding silverware as a result. Yet solid players such as Toure and Lescott have shown defensive frailties not being used to playing alongside each other, it will take time before the City squad is settled and can really displace United for silverware.
This is much the same in Football Manager 2010. When you have thrown a squad together changing many personnel this can have serious affect on morale. The connections that are made in your side and the decisions that they make when playing on the pitch will also will be effecting, meaning that the happiness of the squad who aren’t playing or feeling under pressure for their position will not be too happy and also affecting the form of your side.
For any player to fit into your squad it can take nearly 15 games in the team before they do so if everything is right, having alot of players trying to fit it can be pretty hard. But the ability of a player to adapt in your side can depend on a few aspects:
Speaking the Language
Communication between your players can be important, so being able to speak the language can have a real affect on how well your players will play. Whenever bringing foreign players in, you will have give them much longer to adapt with the other players. When I find a player who doesn’t speak English, I will bring in a young player who can spend sometime learning the language in the reserve as it could take sometime for foreign players to adapt to a new country.
Teamworking
Teamworking can help many different factors in Football Manager. If your players have a high teamwork attribute they will be able to follow tactical instructions much better and work with the rest of the team. But these players will also be able to fit into a squad with new tactics much easier. But also consider the ability of all the other players around your new players, if they too have good teamworking skills, it will be much easier for new players to adapt in that squad.
Adaptability
Adaptability is a hidden attribute, this will affect players coming into new countries or playing new positions. You may find those players who low adaptability will begin to feel home sick and will struggle to gain morale in your side. The best way to deal with these player, if it is possible, ask him to suggest a new player a favoured personnel or of the same nationality. Bringing in a friend will help the player have someone to communicate with.
Other options are to send the player out on loan again and hope when he comes back that he will be much more mentally able to deal with the new culture. Although from my own experience I have never seen any of this unhappiness to last more then a season, so give your players time and he could be a long-term success.
Personality
Your scout and coach reports will give you feedback on a players personality compared to the personality of the squad. Personality of the squad can give you a good idea of how professional or ambitious they are. It is a good idea to have similar personalities in your squad, as if they differ it can affect their ability on the pitch as well as the dressing room harmony.
Consistent Eleven
Having the best eleven play as much as they can will help you develop a settled team. Settled players will play with more confidence and will be able to handle tactics that need flair and good movement off the ball. One of the reason for Arsene’s youth policy is to build up a squad that has grown up together. When one person moves, the other will know where they are going.
This will come in Football Manager from regular appearances together. You want your best players to be happy and playing games is going to make them happy. But regular starters in your teams will give you the ability to interact with them more often and praise or criticise their performance.
Although it won’t be possible to play your best eleven in all games through the season. Good rotations policies can ensure that you keep all the other players happy and developed in the squad. But regular changes from game to game will have negative effects on your side.
What is your opinion on squad consistency and how it will affect your side? What is your own rotation policy? But also what experiences have you had trying to gel players into your side and what affects their ability to fit in? Please leave your comments in the section below.
Tweet
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Good post. Keep it up!
Good article. I’ve also suffered in the past from an uncontrollable habit of buying ‘just one more’ promising youth until I’ve got 50 teenagers all jostling for first team places. Madness. Now I’m going to start a new campaign and it will all be different. I’ll assemble a squad of c.36 with a dozen old heads and 2 dozen kids, construct a clear first team squad and damn well keep them together for a good 3 years before sneaking a peak at the transfer market. Well, that’s my intention anyway!
Good luck, I have done pretty well on FM 2010 so far, but that has a lot to do with me going sides that don’t have the money to buy all these players
But that seems a good thing to do, I really do like it when I have a nice settled squad that wants to play for each other.A band of brothers, I sometimes get a little attached to my little dotty friends.
I still don’t understand the moral thing I have a couple of players that squad regulars who always seem to be “okay” how do I change that. And… why is when I interact with a player sometimes I get the “Tell the media buttons” and other time I don’t, it’s very frustrating.
Good article by the way.
@Syd Geary: Alot is contextual, so you will only be able to talk about regular players performances in the media or the backroom advice will help you in advising making comments on other players. What is it that you don’t understand about morale? The upcoming Communication and Psychological Warfare will cover morale in much more depth (80 plus pages worth). One of the most effective ways to change morale from ok to superb is to praise those players that are in form. So for anyone that is having a 7.50 upwards in the last couple of games you could say that your delighted with. But look at the feedback you get from this, if the player says he doesn’t deserve the praise, he could be a really ambitious professional so expects more from himself, with these players be a little harsher.
There is other things such as interaction with the media and team talks that will really help change morale and winning games will obviously have a massive affect.
Thanks Thomas that was really helpful. Have you worked out how to get a player back from a loan. I’ve scoured the manual and can’t find any reference. In team setting there is a tick box “Can be recalled when offering players for loan” this I have ticked but still cant work out how to recall a player.
Any ideas?
Thanks Syd
If you have sent players on loan and not had the can be recalled clause ticked when negotiating the actual contract then you won’t be able to do it. If a player also has been loaned but has had a fee paid for him, then it won’t let you recall them
Thanks Thomas thats very helpful I’ll give it a go.
On another note there’s a striker called Michael Misfud you can usually get him on a free. I’ve had him at Carlisle (don’t ask) in League 1, 32 goals, QPR Championship/Premiership 28/24 goals, the scouts always say that he would be a good League 1 player, don’t be put off, he has scored goals for me at all levels and never been injured, best played on the right as a Deep Lying Forward in a support role. Jay Simpson on loan from (spit) Arsenal is a good goal scorer as well QPR Championship 32 goals. So far with this pair I’ve beaten Sunderland 6-0, Man Utd 1-0, Liverpool 3-0 and (Spit) Chelsea 1-1. By the way has anybody ever beaten Chelsea?
Be well
Syd
{ 10 trackbacks }