Football Manager 2020

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FactualFrank
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Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:11 am

Anybody been playing this recently?

FM 21 is out next month, so not sure whether to wait or just get 2020 now.

Not played it in a few years, so have a question: Is it mandatory to run the youth, development sides etc, along with coaching, or can that all be left to your assistant, allowing you to just deal with the buying/selling and running of the first team, like in the earlier versions?

Somethingfishy
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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Somethingfishy » Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:19 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:11 am
Anybody been playing this recently?

FM 21 is out next month, so not sure whether to wait or just get 2020 now.

Not played it in a few years, so have a question: Is it mandatory to run the youth, development sides etc, along with coaching, or can that all be left to your assistant, allowing you to just deal with the buying/selling and running of the first team, like in the earlier versions?
You change the responsibilities of your staff yes. I rarely get involved with the training side except maybe in pre season in my attempt to get them Dychefit. The running of the under 23s etc can be left to your assistant or director of football if you have one. You just get reports of how they are doing and recommendations.

I started as Tottenham but it was difficult with Daniel Levy being tighter with the money than MG is. Struggled and my players led by Harry Kane started doubting me and i started arguing with them. Levy got wind of it and fired me. I was then given the Crystal Palace job late in the season but couldnt save them from the drop. Just finished leading them back up as runners up. Sold much of the squad to help the finances but kept hold of Zaha and Townsend. Bought good young players...Chirivella from Liverpool being the best. Brewster on loan from Liverpool up front. Dean Henderson on loan too. Now attempting to strengthen for my return to the prem but Steve Parrish sold the club mid season and for some reason the finances are now a nightmare. Think we have been asset stripped :D
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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by gandhisflipflop » Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:28 pm

Currently enjoying a save with Plymouth. Not had much success on this game after FM 12 (mainly because I was that into a save on that I skipped FM13 and by the time FM 14 came about it was so much different). I kept it simple 442. Nearly lost my job first season but I found that if you employ coaches that coach your formation it helps (I know it sounds too obvious but never did that before). Also coaches personalities helps too. I keep mine to professional, fairly professional, model citizen. Took them to the championship using a flat 442. Starting my 5th season and my first in the championship looking to consolidate and maybe switch to a 532 wing back system over time which is my preferred formation from years gone by but not decided yet maybe if it ain't broken don't try and fix it. Hoping to finally take a team from league 2 to the prem!

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:53 pm

Somethingfishy wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:19 pm
You change the responsibilities of your staff yes. I rarely get involved with the training side except maybe in pre season in my attempt to get them Dychefit. The running of the under 23s etc can be left to your assistant or director of football if you have one. You just get reports of how they are doing and recommendations.

I started as Tottenham but it was difficult with Daniel Levy being tighter with the money than MG is. Struggled and my players led by Harry Kane started doubting me and i started arguing with them. Levy got wind of it and fired me. I was then given the Crystal Palace job late in the season but couldnt save them from the drop. Just finished leading them back up as runners up. Sold much of the squad to help the finances but kept hold of Zaha and Townsend. Bought good young players...Chirivella from Liverpool being the best. Brewster on loan from Liverpool up front. Dean Henderson on loan too. Now attempting to strengthen for my return to the prem but Steve Parrish sold the club mid season and for some reason the finances are now a nightmare. Think we have been asset stripped :D
Thanks for that.

And I've seen online a patch/update that allows you to manage 16 levels down? I'm not even sure what division that is - must be close to playing in the park! :D

I've never been one to take straight over a top flight team, I've always preferred to start off low down and make my way up. Much more of a challenge, I've found. I was Forest Green Rovers and took them up, but they wouldn't let me out of the Conference until I increased the seating capacity, which meant selling my best player.

Have you played any network games with friends? I understand you can have a timer, giving eachother X amount of time before the week continues.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Wokingclaret » Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:57 pm

I bought the editor with mine, I gave the entire squad 20 attributes on everything, I'm now top of the league :oops:

But the big six are after all my players

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Wellsy1882 » Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:59 pm

Get 21
Always better game new one

Im currently in the prem with milwall

FactualFrank
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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:04 pm

gandhisflipflop wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:28 pm
Currently enjoying a save with Plymouth. Not had much success on this game after FM 12 (mainly because I was that into a save on that I skipped FM13 and by the time FM 14 came about it was so much different). I kept it simple 442. Nearly lost my job first season but I found that if you employ coaches that coach your formation it helps (I know it sounds too obvious but never did that before). Also coaches personalities helps too. I keep mine to professional, fairly professional, model citizen. Took them to the championship using a flat 442. Starting my 5th season and my first in the championship looking to consolidate and maybe switch to a 532 wing back system over time which is my preferred formation from years gone by but not decided yet maybe if it ain't broken don't try and fix it. Hoping to finally take a team from league 2 to the prem!
Regarding formations, I always liked 3-5-1-2. In fact the first thing I'd do is transfer list any player that could only play fullback.

3-4-1-2 allows you to sub a defender and move to anchor, midfield or upfront.
Support man subbed for an anchor, midfield or striker.
Striker subbed for a midfielder or anchor

All depending on how the game is going. So there's always plenty of options.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Wokingclaret » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:06 pm

I edit the players to play with either feet and a full back then can play across the whole back 4

FactualFrank
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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:07 pm

Wokingclaret wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:06 pm
I edit the players to play with either feet and a full back then can play across the whole back 4
That would bore me to tears. I did it once years ago and got fed up very quickly.

To me it's all about the challenge.
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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Somethingfishy » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:15 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:53 pm
Thanks for that.

And I've seen online a patch/update that allows you to manage 16 levels down? I'm not even sure what division that is - must be close to playing in the park! :D

I've never been one to take straight over a top flight team, I've always preferred to start off low down and make my way up. Much more of a challenge, I've found. I was Forest Green Rovers and took them up, but they wouldn't let me out of the Conference until I increased the seating capacity, which meant selling my best player.

Have you played any network games with friends? I understand you can have a timer, giving eachother X amount of time before the week continues.
I usually start at Conference North/South level as well because as you say it is more of a challenge. Just thought i'd start with money to see how i do. Tottenham at present probably wasn't a good choice though. Crystal Palace is interesting..decent squad albeit on silly wages and Zaha has a personality all of his own but i seem to be keeping him happy. He is very inconsistent though. The club sale and floating on the stock exchange has killed my finances though. At one point i had a transfer budget of 40m. Then i got a message saying it had been reduced to 1m due to ongoing financial problems. Now the club is in debt. Bad owners i think. Not sure of my budget yet now I am back in the prem but i'm not expecting much. I know how SD feels :D

I tried a network game a few versions ago but it seems to require the host to have a powerful PC and was just too much of a hassle.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:17 pm

Somethingfishy wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:15 pm
I usually start at Conference North/South level as well because as you say it is more of a challenge. Just thought i'd start with money to see how i do. Tottenham at present probably wasn't a good choice though. Crystal Palace is interesting..decent squad albeit on silly wages and Zaha has a personality all of his own but i seem to be keeping him happy. He is very inconsistent though. The club sale and floating on the stock exchange has killed my finances though. At one point i had a transfer budget of 40m. Then i got a message saying it had been reduced to 1m due to ongoing financial problems. Now the club is in debt. Bad owners i think. Not sure of my budget yet now I am back in the prem but i'm not expecting much. I know how SD feels :D

I tried a network game a few versions ago but it seems to require the host to have a powerful PC and was just too much of a hassle.
How does it work with Steam? Is the game still installed on your PC along with save game data, but the license is ran through Steam? Only used Steam once and it was for another game several years ago.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by gandhisflipflop » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:30 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:04 pm
Regarding formations, I always liked 3-5-1-2. In fact the first thing I'd do is transfer list any player that could only play fullback.

3-4-1-2 allows you to sub a defender and move to anchor, midfield or upfront.
Support man subbed for an anchor, midfield or striker.
Striker subbed for a midfielder or anchor

All depending on how the game is going. So there's always plenty of options.
It depends on how you refer to the formations. I call it 532 but really it's a sweeper, 2 centre backs, 2 wing backs, 2 centre mids, 1 attacking mid centre and 2 strikers. I like to perfect one tactic and never deviate from it which was successful in fm12 but ever since the sliders were removed on the tactics screen I've found it hard to replicate.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:33 pm

gandhisflipflop wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:30 pm
It depends on how you refer to the formations. I call it 532 but really it's a sweeper, 2 centre backs, 2 wing backs, 2 centre mids, 1 attacking mid centre and 2 strikers. I like to perfect one tactic and never deviate from it which was successful in fm12 but ever since the sliders were removed on the tactics screen I've found it hard to replicate.
Which sliders, are they?

I also like to play 'mixed' - that's assuming mixed/passing/direct/long ball are still the options (think it was those). I like to leave it up to the players to mix it about a bit and decide whether to go long/direct, or pass it around.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by gandhisflipflop » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:38 pm

On the tactics screen in football manager versions before FM 12, you had the options you state but it would be on a sliding bar. So for example passing would be an option, and the more the slider moves to the left the shorter the passing would be, more to the right the more direct it would be. In FM 13 which I didn't play much it was altered to just words - so as you say if you want short passing you would select short passing or very short passing. They did however include the ability to revert back to the slider bars on this version however it was removed completely for FM 14 and beyond. Now you have a tactics screen that is strictly words only. Which may seem better for yourself, but it is very much tied in with the training schedules you set up also. You can leave this to your assistant but not found much success doing it that was personally.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by superdimitri » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:44 pm

It was free to play not that long ago. I wouldn't bother with fm21 so close.

I used to love fm and bought fm20 but feel more and more like it's scripted. You can get to the point where you're the best team in the game and suddenly get some stupid results that make no sense.
Realistic you'd think? Well not really. It's not possible to dominate world football like it used to be because the match engine decides suddenly your tactic is crap and you have to change to another.

Like many games the push has been toward realism rather than fun gameplay with annoying crap happening like randomly generated hard brexits wrecking managing a premier League club.. Or players with ridiculous transfer fees whilst when selling yourself you usually get less than cost.

Might start another save though, if anything because i can sack Mike Rigg and the entire recruitment team.
Last edited by superdimitri on Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

FactualFrank
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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:46 pm

I think this must have been the download I saw regarding level 16: https://www.fmscout.com/a-fm20-database ... agues.html

Unlock England lower leagues down to level 16 with the biggest English database for Football Manager 2020

Although, I'm still not sure what division level 16 is. On the above link, it shows up to level 10: Combined Counties League Division One.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:48 pm

superdimitri wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:44 pm
It was free to play not that long ago. I wouldn't bother with fm21 so close.
November 24th though, which is still 6 weeks away.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:52 pm

Blimey, looks like Level 16 is leagues such as Lancashire Amateur League Division Three.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by buzzclarets79 » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:03 pm

Absolutely love the FM games, I'm over 1000hrs played on FM20 and still going strong. It's always worth buying the new game each year as I know I'll get my money worth from it, especially over the winter months, £40 odd quid for hours and hours of game time is well worth it IMO.
I do play it with as much detail as I can, you can download training set ups from Steam workshop or FM Scout website which always helps, along with formations.
From starting a new game it can take me a good few hours to click continue, I tend to get all the staff sorted out, set the scouting up, then the training but I enjoy doing this, I understand that not everyone does, but I have found the more you put in the more you get out. For instance buying a young player for 100k then selling him for excess of 50 mill in 4/5 seasons.

I only ever manage Burnley though, I've tried other teams but just don't enjoy it, feels like I'm cheating on my team.

Never understood anyone using the editor, it spoils the game and makes it incredibly easy.

Always feel that Burnley players are somewhat undervalued in at attributes.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by superdimitri » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:15 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:52 pm
Blimey, looks like Level 16 is leagues such as Lancashire Amateur League Division Three.
Just pirate it. 6 weeks is no time at all and if they have previously offered the game for free and you missed out that alone is reason not to spend the money.

If you pre purchase the new game you can start playing the pre release two weeks before.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:16 pm

buzzclarets79 wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:03 pm
Absolutely love the FM games, I'm over 1000hrs played on FM20 and still going strong. It's always worth buying the new game each year as I know I'll get my money worth from it, especially over the winter months, £40 odd quid for hours and hours of game time is well worth it IMO.
I do play it with as much detail as I can, you can download training set ups from Steam workshop or FM Scout website which always helps, along with formations.
From starting a new game it can take me a good few hours to click continue, I tend to get all the staff sorted out, set the scouting up, then the training but I enjoy doing this, I understand that not everyone does, but I have found the more you put in the more you get out. For instance buying a young player for 100k then selling him for excess of 50 mill in 4/5 seasons.

I only ever manage Burnley though, I've tried other teams but just don't enjoy it, feels like I'm cheating on my team.

Never understood anyone using the editor, it spoils the game and makes it incredibly easy.

Always feel that Burnley players are somewhat undervalued in at attributes.
Sounds like you may go into it at the same depth as me.

I used to have a table which I designed which showed what positions needed what attributes.

So for example, a CB needed things such as passing, heading, pace, positioning, tackling etc. So say there were 8 attributes needed, I would add those 8 up and then divide by 8 to find the average for that player. I'd have A4 pieces of paper with my entire squad listed and have everybody who could play CB under a heading, then list them all.

I'd then have the same for GK, L/RM, CM, Support Man, Striker etc.

This helped me decide who to keep and who to sell.

I think somebody with average attribute of around 12 was pretty good for the Conference. In the Prem, then it would obviously be nearer 17-18 out of 20.

Like you, it could be hours before I clicked continue for the first time.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:18 pm

superdimitri wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:15 pm
Just pirate it. 6 weeks is no time at all and if they have previously offered the game for free and you missed out that alone is reason not to spend the money.

If you pre purchase the new game you can start playing the pre release two weeks before.
FM2020 looks to be about £12-16, so don't mind paying that for 6 weeks.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by superdimitri » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:26 pm

buzzclarets79 wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:03 pm
Always feel that Burnley players are somewhat undervalued in at attributes.
I agree. I reported some mistakes to them some time ago, some of which they put into the game.

I don't think they have a Burnley researcher and some other researcher is responsible for the attributes.

Have you ever managed to actually play like Burnley in fm20? That's another reason I haven't enjoyed the game. I can never get success doing it. Always have to develop a more attacking system.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Wellsy1882 » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:29 pm

Own up to it

Who adds man city and buys a their u18 players for 15 mill each?

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Untinted Glasses » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:34 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:11 am
Anybody been playing this recently?

FM 21 is out next month, so not sure whether to wait or just get 2020 now.

Not played it in a few years, so have a question: Is it mandatory to run the youth, development sides etc, along with coaching, or can that all be left to your assistant, allowing you to just deal with the buying/selling and running of the first team, like in the earlier versions?
did you miss my post on this forum ? 2020 was free the other week

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:37 pm

Untinted Glasses wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:34 pm
did you miss my post on this forum ? 2020 was free the other week
I think I saw it, but was busy with work. Like I say, I don't mind paying £15 for 2020 until the next one is released.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by gandhisflipflop » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:51 pm

superdimitri wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:26 pm
I agree. I reported some mistakes to them some time ago, some of which they put into the game.

I don't think they have a Burnley researcher and some other researcher is responsible for the attributes.

Have you ever managed to actually play like Burnley in fm20? That's another reason I haven't enjoyed the game. I can never get success doing it. Always have to develop a more attacking system.
I once applied to be a researcher years ago but received no response. I did play like Burnley in FM 20 on another save first season but then swapped second season to preferred tactic once I got the players in. I found it incredibly hard to achieve consistency and highest I got was 6th. Breaking that top 4/6 is incredibly difficult.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by boyyanno » Thu Oct 15, 2020 2:53 pm

I love football manager but it's gotten easier as more games have come out.

Some tips:

When offering for a defender or Goalkeeper, stick an add on fee for 50m if they reach 50 goals. They will never get that many before you flog them and you can end up with some top players for much lower fees.

I always start in the lowest league, flog most of the squad and then slide the budget across so I have only wages available. You'll easily find a full squads worth of free transfers that are more than capable of getting you out of the lower leagues. I pretty much repeat this every season thereafter slowly improving until I'm in a position to start buying better players, but this is normally only when I get around league 1 level. By following this formula I normally have a strong squad when I eventually get to the prem.

The big one for me is IGNORE THE SCOUT REPORTS. If you see a player and you think statistically he looks decent but your scout doesn't rate him, sign him anyway and play him. In about a month your scout will suddenly think he's class.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Hedontplayforyou » Thu Oct 15, 2020 3:08 pm

Started fm20 with York in the national league North - won promotion in each of my first three seasons and in the third also won the leasing.com trophy.

I had kept the same squad pretty much for the national league campaign with a new striker in who fired me to promotion again, then made a few more additions for the league 2 season including a couple of decent loans from Norwich who I set a link up as an affiliate club so as to get loan deals for pretty much free. I still had a core group from my initial squad hanging around until their deals ran out as they were now pushing on 33-34 and nobody really wanted them for a fee. Being in league 1 now I needed a bit more quality so decided to let all of the ageing players go on frees, tie up my young guns and make quite a few signings . The team is taking its time currently to gel but the signs are there that it’s starting to come together - without looking I’d say I’m around 7-8th at the moment.

Still looking for a new forward to lead the line and push the two that I used last season but then that’s me done.

Mostly made up of free signings and the odd few for cheap fees. Released players from the two Manchester clubs youth teams have been popular for me this window , having already taken one young fullback on from city centre the year before who’s been a great success playing out of position at left back all last year. Enjoying this save immensely .



Lobe the game and will be buying fm21 . And I will be playing network games also. They are a lot of fun - watching your pal go about his business via social feeds and such and watching his matches keeping it interesting and amusing.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Fri Oct 16, 2020 4:34 pm

Has anybody used CDKeys? I've found Football Manager 2020 for £12, just wanting to make sure it's trustworthy.

Is the correct one the EU version? - Football Manager 2020 PC (EU)

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by claretburns » Fri Oct 16, 2020 9:27 pm

Can't spend hours on the game like I used to but nowadays I buy the Touch version, much more streamlined and easier to use and you can do 2/3 seasons on a spare weekend. The full version seems to take 4 hours just to do a pre-season.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Wellsy1882 » Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:11 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Fri Oct 16, 2020 4:34 pm
Has anybody used CDKeys? I've found Football Manager 2020 for £12, just wanting to make sure it's trustworthy.

Is the correct one the EU version? - Football Manager 2020 PC (EU)
Cd keys is legit

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by CharlieinNewMexico » Sat Oct 17, 2020 7:13 am

I’m still on Fm/champman 2010. The last one before dvdrom. I’ve been the mighty Valle de Giovenco in Italy ever since. Got promoted once, relegated once but basically in the same place I started about 15 virtual seasons ago :) (Serie C/2)

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Sat Oct 17, 2020 3:25 pm

Wellsy1882 wrote:
Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:11 pm
Cd keys is legit
They tried to add £30 to my order. It went from £11.99 to something like £43. Sacked them off and got one from Ebay for slightly more at around £18.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Sat Oct 17, 2020 5:29 pm

So I've bought the 2020 version - first thoughts - the user-friendliness is shocking!

I'm surprised you can't plan every player's daily diet, with the OTT settings available.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by buzzclarets79 » Mon Oct 19, 2020 7:12 am

FactualFrank wrote:
Sat Oct 17, 2020 5:29 pm
So I've bought the 2020 version - first thoughts - the user-friendliness is shocking!

I'm surprised you can't plan every player's daily diet, with the OTT settings available.
I love the detail, but I do agree they've made some of the stuff hard to get around. A season can take a long time to complete! It does get a little easier when you get used to it.

I'm in 2022 with my latest save, Tarks and Gibson worth 30 mill plus, just brought Keane back for 1.5m as he was listed at Everton. Taylor called up to England squad. Turned down 35m for McNeil from Liverpool. Finished 6th in league with an 4-4-2.

Given 60m to spend..................

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Mon Oct 19, 2020 10:46 am

buzzclarets79 wrote:
Mon Oct 19, 2020 7:12 am
I love the detail, but I do agree they've made some of the stuff hard to get around. A season can take a long time to complete! It does get a little easier when you get used to it.

I'm in 2022 with my latest save, Tarks and Gibson worth 30 mill plus, just brought Keane back for 1.5m as he was listed at Everton. Taylor called up to England squad. Turned down 35m for McNeil from Liverpool. Finished 6th in league with an 4-4-2.

Given 60m to spend..................
What formation are you playing? I see you can drag players around the pitch to make a custom formation - does it matter whether you do that or choose a set formation? As I want to play 3-4-1-2.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by buzzclarets79 » Mon Oct 19, 2020 12:20 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Mon Oct 19, 2020 10:46 am
What formation are you playing? I see you can drag players around the pitch to make a custom formation - does it matter whether you do that or choose a set formation? As I want to play 3-4-1-2.
FM20 they actually set up formations ansd styles of play, so when you go to the tactics you can say select Wing play, or Clean Slate, or Counter, theres a whole host of styles available, when you select one it'll suggest formations best suited for that style. So Wing Play I know 4-4-2 is a good suited formation.
You can of course just drag players and put them where you like and set up your own tactial style as you please.
I've got a 4-4-2 Attacking with inverted wing backs working well. Its always good to have at least a second or third tactic ready to go as the AI tends to figure our formation out, the days of one tactic just constantly and win everything are gone. My second formation is a 4-1-2-2-1 wide.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Brisliam » Mon Oct 19, 2020 1:11 pm

Not fm20 but I'll never forget the Real Betis team I took after being sacked from Burnley from relegation survival to consistent La Liga and Champions League winners 5 seasons running by 2020 on FM15 OR 16

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Sun Nov 01, 2020 4:58 pm

I've added an add-on for Football Manager that allows you to manage 16 (sixteen) levels down.

I'm managing a club in a district league just outside Leeds which is probably the equivalent of the local Lancashire league. Players are rated around 5/200 and I'm getting freebies who are good enough to play league football. Should be a walk in the park - quite literally with the level these clubs are at!

I've no wage budget so players are playing for free :)

The aim is of course to make the Premier League, although it'll take at least 15 seasons.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by Wellsy1882 » Sun Nov 01, 2020 5:28 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Sun Nov 01, 2020 4:58 pm
I've added an add-on for Football Manager that allows you to manage 16 (sixteen) levels down.

I'm managing a club in a district league just outside Leeds which is probably the equivalent of the local Lancashire league. Players are rated around 5/200 and I'm getting freebies who are good enough to play league football. Should be a walk in the park - quite literally with the level these clubs are at!

I've no wage budget so players are playing for free :)

The aim is of course to make the Premier League, although it'll take at least 15 seasons.
How

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Sun Nov 01, 2020 6:06 pm

Wellsy1882 wrote:
Sun Nov 01, 2020 5:28 pm
How
Download the link here: https://www.fmscout.com/c-fm20-leagues.html

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by superdimitri » Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:20 am

Started to play again and am already reminded of the things that made me stop. The worst are scripted defeats. Win a cup one year and you're bound to get a surprise exit the next. Play a team on the last day that needs a win to survive? You'll always lose.

Then there's the stupid wage/transfer slider you can only alter once. Alter it wrong and you won't have the wage to sign a new player and if you do have the wage, you won't have the funds for the agent fee, but you can't adjust it after a single change.

Then there's youth development, to get youngsters growing you need senior players to mentor them but you can't mentor them with senior players unless you promote them up the first team. I don't want 30 players in my squad screen and having to manage their play time each u23 game.

Assign assistant to do team talks with 20 motivation? Never motivates team pre game.

Send touchline shout before 15th minute? Never works.
Praise player for good training two weeks in a row? Lowers morale.

Praise player for good game after a good rating? Lowers morale.

It's still a great game but the inconsistency and inflexible tactics together with stupid bugs spoil it. FM was always such a polished game but it certainly isn't any more.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by SalouClaret » Mon Nov 02, 2020 8:53 am

superdimitri wrote:
Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:20 am
Started to play again and am already reminded of the things that made me stop. The worst are scripted defeats. Win a cup one year and you're bound to get a surprise exit the next. Play a team on the last day that needs a win to survive? You'll always lose.

Then there's the stupid wage/transfer slider you can only alter once. Alter it wrong and you won't have the wage to sign a new player and if you do have the wage, you won't have the funds for the agent fee, but you can't adjust it after a single change.

Then there's youth development, to get youngsters growing you need senior players to mentor them but you can't mentor them with senior players unless you promote them up the first team. I don't want 30 players in my squad screen and having to manage their play time each u23 game.

Assign assistant to do team talks with 20 motivation? Never motivates team pre game.

Send touchline shout before 15th minute? Never works.
Praise player for good training two weeks in a row? Lowers morale.

Praise player for good game after a good rating? Lowers morale.

It's still a great game but the inconsistency and inflexible tactics together with stupid bugs spoil it. FM was always such a polished game but it certainly isn't any more.


I agree with most of this but the game isn't scripted. FM20 is the worst in the series for a long time. Hopefully the new one actually allows you to play a tactic that suits your players, rather than forcing you to play a certain way to have a chance of winning.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by claretburns » Mon Nov 02, 2020 9:19 am

superdimitri wrote:
Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:20 am
Started to play again and am already reminded of the things that made me stop. The worst are scripted defeats. Win a cup one year and you're bound to get a surprise exit the next. Play a team on the last day that needs a win to survive? You'll always lose.

Then there's the stupid wage/transfer slider you can only alter once. Alter it wrong and you won't have the wage to sign a new player and if you do have the wage, you won't have the funds for the agent fee, but you can't adjust it after a single change.

Then there's youth development, to get youngsters growing you need senior players to mentor them but you can't mentor them with senior players unless you promote them up the first team. I don't want 30 players in my squad screen and having to manage their play time each u23 game.

Assign assistant to do team talks with 20 motivation? Never motivates team pre game.

Send touchline shout before 15th minute? Never works.
Praise player for good training two weeks in a row? Lowers morale.

Praise player for good game after a good rating? Lowers morale.

It's still a great game but the inconsistency and inflexible tactics together with stupid bugs spoil it. FM was always such a polished game but it certainly isn't any more.
I agree with what you say above, I never have the time to play the full version anymore due to the amount of time it takes, I always buy the Touch version which is more streamlined and allows you to play a lot quicker like in the old days.

One point you make regarding the wage/transfer slider, if you're in the middle of a transfer you can only change this once, but as soon as the transfer is completed or collapses you can change it as many times as you like, so any changes you make mid-transfer, make sure you check the wage and transfer cost of the transfer so you have enough available.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Mon Nov 02, 2020 3:00 pm

claretburns wrote:
Mon Nov 02, 2020 9:19 am
I agree with what you say above, I never have the time to play the full version anymore due to the amount of time it takes, I always buy the Touch version which is more streamlined and allows you to play a lot quicker like in the old days.

One point you make regarding the wage/transfer slider, if you're in the middle of a transfer you can only change this once, but as soon as the transfer is completed or collapses you can change it as many times as you like, so any changes you make mid-transfer, make sure you check the wage and transfer cost of the transfer so you have enough available.
You can ask your assistant manager to sort out most of the other stuff. I have mine running the under 18s, under 23s and a lot of the staff duties including all the training. I'm pretty much left with just the first team selection and transfers.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:07 pm

Season going well so far. Played 8, won 7, drawn 1. Scored 21 goals. The problem is that I signed a lot of quality players on a free and I now have players who are like League 2 quality, complaining that they aren't getting game time. It's like a League 2 player not getting into the Miners side on a Saturday afternoon.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by superdimitri » Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:09 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Mon Nov 02, 2020 3:00 pm
You can ask your assistant manager to sort out most of the other stuff. I have mine running the under 18s, under 23s and a lot of the staff duties including all the training. I'm pretty much left with just the first team selection and transfers.
Yeah you can, but they always make stupid decisions. The assistant responsibility was drafted in because people didn't want to do these things themself, but they didn't make sure it was actually working properly first. If they can't even fix team talks by an assistant, what hope is there leaving him in charge of your youth prospects?

With the transfer slider thing I realise you can change it after a while, but what's the point? You have to carefully calculate pre contract negotiations which point to have it on without knowing exactly how much the player will cost, or want to earn.

You get caught out because the player wants to earn more than your wage despite setting it to a transfer fee you know would be enough.Then after talks break down you can't sign that player any more because they signed for someone else, or aren't interested in negotiating. So changing it after isn't really helpful when you lost your potential signing.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by FactualFrank » Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:40 pm

superdimitri wrote:
Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:09 pm
Yeah you can, but they always make stupid decisions. The assistant responsibility was drafted in because people didn't want to do these things themself, but they didn't make sure it was actually working properly first. If they can't even fix team talks by an assistant, what hope is there leaving him in charge of your youth prospects?

With the transfer slider thing I realise you can change it after a while, but what's the point? You have to carefully calculate pre contract negotiations which point to have it on without knowing exactly how much the player will cost, or want to earn.

You get caught out because the player wants to earn more than your wage despite setting it to a transfer fee you know would be enough.Then after talks break down you can't sign that player any more because they signed for someone else, or aren't interested in negotiating. So changing it after isn't really helpful when you lost your potential signing.
Hmm. To be fair, it doesn't matter to me if they make daft decisions as the under 18s and under 23s don't really come into my thinking. That part of the game runs itself. The only thing I rely on is the training as I leave it up to them.

I'm 16 levels down and sign players on a free. I'm bringing in players who could have signed for a league one or league two team, but nobody else went in for them. Take one of my strikers - 11 goals in 8 games. The 2 forwards alongside him have 3 in 3 and 3 in 8 with 4 assists.

Maybe try leaving the under 18s and under 23s alone? They shouldn't really matter as it's very rare for quality to come through.

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Re: Football Manager 2020

Post by superdimitri » Mon Nov 02, 2020 6:23 pm

FactualFrank wrote:
Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:40 pm
Maybe try leaving the under 18s and under 23s alone? They shouldn't really matter as it's very rare for quality to come through.
It won't matter much at the bottom of the game but when you are pushing to be the best in the world you really need a good youth set up. The old system of direct one to one mentoring worked great, but they took it out in 20. They tried to make it more realistic, but again bought in a new feature that was broken. I really hope a lot of these things are ironed out in 21 but not holding my breath.
Given lots of feedback to them on their forum, but the amount of issues with the game currently they can only fix too many. Just take a look at how busy it is here:
https://community.sigames.com/forum/726 ... ugs-forum/

And that is almost a year after release, with only a few updates inbetween trying to fix stuff.

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