Gaming Football Manager 2021 (FM21)

WI_Red

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What highlights do you play on?
Extended. This might also be due to the way I play which is with IW and overlapping WB's. I have had good DM's sitting right in front of my CB's in both saves, so that may be stopping my opponents.
 

Chipper

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Didn't think they'd be that bad!

Just had a look at team ratings on Genie Scout, they're a 75.7 compared to our 71.2. That puts them just a little bit worse than Rangers (77.6) and Celtic (76.4). We've beaten Celtic and Rangers some of the time in the past couple of seasons but not by anything like that scoreline.

Lyon next up, got to beat them to make the CL group stage. Taking a step up in class, they're an 80.5.
 

Berbaclass

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Didn't think they'd be that bad!

Just had a look at team ratings on Genie Scout, they're a 75.7 compared to our 71.2. That puts them just a little bit worse than Rangers (77.6) and Celtic (76.4). We've beaten Celtic and Rangers some of the time in the past couple of seasons but not by anything like that scoreline.

Lyon next up, got to beat them to make the CL group stage. Taking a step up in class, they're an 80.5.
I always find teams who’s leagues aren’t loaded really easy to beat. Assuming you don’t have Turkey loaded obviously

I experienced the exact same things in the beginning of my Wien save and I actually thinI I played Shakhtar and Besikas too weirdly :lol:
 
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diarm

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I like parts of this skin but I think all that stuff on one page would give me a headache :lol:
I like that it lets me access almost everywhere for a player just on the one screen. Especially the progression arrows on the attributes which help me keep an eye on where the individual training is working or not.
A couple of thoughts on the new tweaks to the ME:

1. As others have mentioned, the xG has shot up. What has also shot up is GK ratings. In my Ajax save the opposing GK has been PoM 2 out of 6 games, and they lost those games 4-1 and 3-0.
2. This is more of a general observation of FM21, but it seems 60-70% of all penalty VAR reviews lead to no penalties.
3. While I am not seeing the run right up the middle issue as mentioned above, what I am seeing is just an insane number of over the top long passes leading to goals. I am playing a moderately high line and not playing an offside trap, but routinely the CB's just stand there as the forward run right by them to collect a pinpoint 50 yd pass.

I've never once had a VAR review lead to no penalties. If there is a check in the box it is a penalty 100% of the time and if a goal is checked for offside, it is offside 100% of the time.

Since this latest update I have conceded two goals which were clearly offside but not checked which I haven't seen happen before.
 

Lay

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I always find teams who’s leagues aren’t loaded really easy to beat. Assuming you don’t have Turkey loaded obviously

I experienced the exact same things in the beginning of my Wien save and I actually thinI I played Shakhtar and Besikas too weirdly :lol:
Same, I try to add Turkish and Ukrainian leagues because I feel they just get swept aside otherwise.

In other news my Zenit side got to the UCL quarters after knocking Barcelona out! Won 3-2 away and drew 1-1 at home. They played with ten men for 80 minutes and still outplayed me.

Benfica was next, easiest team left so I was delighted. Lost 5-1 at home :lol: second leg I went for it and took a 2-0 lead at half time but lost 4-2 in the end.
 

Kinky Melinky

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I gave in. I succumbed. Feckin knew I would. I was playing on the FM21 Mobile version and got the bug as I managed to get Boreham Wood up to Division One in 2 seasons. Currently downloading the full game now
 

WI_Red

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I think they broke the ME, or they at least broke my tactics. I just watch the GK punt the ball up to his forward who gathered it and strolled in for a goal. My CB's didn't leave the center line until he was shooting. I am going to need to overhaul my defensive strategy as I am getting slaughtered on the counter and on over the long balls.
 

Kinky Melinky

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Good man. Welcome.
I have a feeling I am in for a micro-management shock when I start playing which is slightly annoying about these games but maybe it has improved. I noticed another poster mention that the player interactions are a bit daft where you just cannot please players. I dunno. I'm not really interested in starting a Premier League team. I'd prefer bring a club like Boreham Wood all the way up the ranks
 

WI_Red

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I have a feeling I am in for a micro-management shock when I start playing which is slightly annoying about these games but maybe it has improved. I noticed another poster mention that the player interactions are a bit daft where you just cannot please players. I dunno. I'm not really interested in starting a Premier League team. I'd prefer bring a club like Boreham Wood all the way up the ranks
for your sanity I would recommend avoiding England. The Brexit rules make player recruitment a challenge, especially in the lower leagues.
 

Kinky Melinky

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for your sanity I would recommend avoiding England. The Brexit rules make player recruitment a challenge, especially in the lower leagues.
Nice! Thank you. I started to get pretty pissed off on the mobile version. Every single young approachable young up and coming player was blocked because of feckin visas. Brexit. The gift that keeps on giving.
 

K Stand Knut

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I’m getting seriously annoyed with the contracts now! Am I missing something?

tried to sign Marcus and agreed a deal with his club.

He was on his original contract but wanted £40k/week. I tried to barter now by offering £20k/week building to his original demand after 50 league games plus a few bonuses. He declines and I up my offer a little but he walks away straight away.

AWB then wants an extension and demands £200k/week.

do I have massively low expectations that players will barter or settle for less?

I can’t imagine there being many, if any RBs demanding £200k/week.

Is there??
 

WI_Red

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Nice! Thank you. I started to get pretty pissed off on the mobile version. Every single young approachable young up and coming player was blocked because of feckin visas. Brexit. The gift that keeps on giving.
I am loving Holland. My Feyenoord save was a blast until I fecked it up.

I’m getting seriously annoyed with the contracts now! Am I missing something?

tried to sign Marcus and agreed a deal with his club.

He was on his original contract but wanted £40k/week. I tried to barter now by offering £20k/week building to his original demand after 50 league games plus a few bonuses. He declines and I up my offer a little but he walks away straight away.

AWB then wants an extension and demands £200k/week.

do I have massively low expectations that players will barter or settle for less?

I can’t imagine there being many, if any RBs demanding £200k/week.

Is there??
I think your club's wage structure has a massive impact on players salary expectations. If you set AWB's role as star or important than he will expect wages comparable to other players set in those roles.
 

Kinky Melinky

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for your sanity I would recommend avoiding England. The Brexit rules make player recruitment a challenge, especially in the lower leagues.
Is there a way of turning Brexit off? Just as a matter of interest. I obviously would like to avoid cheating but it's a bit of a game destroyer so surely there is an option?
 

SilentWitness

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How do they keep making things worse when trying to make it better. Though I hear that's basically a programmer's life.
Yeah, I can't tell if it is better or worse so far. The match engine is a bit more fun overall when watching it and it actually looks better in terms of how a proper football game is but it's changed a bit too much.
I’m getting seriously annoyed with the contracts now! Am I missing something?

tried to sign Marcus and agreed a deal with his club.

He was on his original contract but wanted £40k/week. I tried to barter now by offering £20k/week building to his original demand after 50 league games plus a few bonuses. He declines and I up my offer a little but he walks away straight away.

AWB then wants an extension and demands £200k/week.

do I have massively low expectations that players will barter or settle for less?

I can’t imagine there being many, if any RBs demanding £200k/week.

Is there??
It's because you're a big club and you probably have a lot of money left to spend in your wage/transfer budget. When you start getting bigger reputation wise and financially you'll find that 90% of players will try to take you to the cleaners. Having that issue currently in the Championship. My wage budget has gone from about 70k to 120k per week meaning that crap players who were on £500 are now expecting 2.5k. It's daft and something they have never quite fixed.
 

Kinky Melinky

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Yeah, I can't tell if it is better or worse so far. The match engine is a bit more fun overall when watching it and it actually looks better in terms of how a proper football game is but it's changed a bit too much.


It's because you're a big club and you probably have a lot of money left to spend in your wage/transfer budget. When you start getting bigger reputation wise and financially you'll find that 90% of players will try to take you to the cleaners. Having that issue currently in the Championship. My wage budget has gone from about 70k to 120k per week meaning that crap players who were on £500 are now expecting 2.5k. It's daft and something they have never quite fixed.
And of course if you are ruthless and tell them to go feck themselves they throw a hissy fit, their morale drops and they want to leave. It's a bit of a catch 22. I realise that they want to make things as realistic as possible, but there is nothing wrong with cutting back on the realism a little for the sake of the enjoyment of the game. Unless FM21 players are all a bunch of masochists. I am sure I will find out as I begin my first game.
 

Chipper

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I like that it lets me access almost everywhere for a player just on the one screen. Especially the progression arrows on the attributes which help me keep an eye on where the individual training is working or not.



I've never once had a VAR review lead to no penalties. If there is a check in the box it is a penalty 100% of the time and if a goal is checked for offside, it is offside 100% of the time.

Since this latest update I have conceded two goals which were clearly offside but not checked which I haven't seen happen before.
Certainly been easy to beat those teams in the past, just getting used to Europe in this version I suppose. They did have a full squad which usually makes it a little harder than if they have a load of greyed out players but yeah

Just got knocked out by Lyon, (French league loaded) in a close one. Decent effort overall, "won" the xG over the 2 legs 1.30-1.24 but couldn't get anything going in the 2nd leg. Back to the Europa League again, it was good for me last season, would take more of the same.

 

Kinky Melinky

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Is it wise to hand over press conference responsibility to your backroom team? The press conferences are already doing my head in.

Also, I am playing as Cremonese in the Italian Seria B. Will any decent Assistant manager look at me? If so, any recommendations? My current Assistant Manager is trying to talk me into signing a feckin 38 year old and thinks that he's the dog's bollox. Clearly he's not up to be an assistant.
 

Berbaclass

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Thank feck! I was hoping somebody would say it is wise. I was just worried they'd end up saying the wrong thing to the media and my job would be on the line
Nah it doesn’t effect things that much. It can possibly piss players off slightly if they don’t like what you say but that’s about it. I’ve never had one problem at all from not doing press conferences. I think it’s simply an immersion thing.
 

Dan_F

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Personally I love the mobile version, admittedly not as immersive as the full game but it does its job very well and its so quick to get through a season yet maintains an element of depth.

I think its closer to how FM2008 was if you ever played that version?

If you have an Ipad though, you might want to play FM Touch - thats the full match engine but slightly scaled back in terms of how many leagues you can play. Very decent and feels more like the full game. Its a happy medium between the full game and the mobile version.
I ended up buying the full version :lol: read the reviews of the mobile and touch iPad versions, and it seemed like it would annoy me with random results.

I don’t normally bother, but what’s the best way of installing faces, logos etc? I did a quick Google earlier but the first page i came across didn’t seem to have it for the Slovenian league, which I’m playing.
 

NoLogo

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I can't remember why I joined this war.
After winning the league and CL now twice in a row I think I'll take a break from my United game but I have some really promising youngsters currently at the squad which I want to see progress to first team players in the near future so I'm not totally done with that project yet.

Next I think I'm going to manage in Spain, thinking about trying to break into the big team triangle with Sevilla and only signing u18 players.

Oh yeah Haaland was in absolute beast mode and scored 45 league goals in 30 games in his third season with us. He scored 38 last season and only 16 that season before but since last season and the switch from the 433 DM Wide to the 4231 wide he has turned into a complete monster.
 

Kinky Melinky

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So I was ready for my 2nd pre-season friendly and the game never showed. It just gave me a result. What have I done wrong? I delegated pre-match team talk to my assistant coach. Is that the reason?
 

Berbaclass

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So I was ready for my 2nd pre-season friendly and the game never showed. It just gave me a result. What have I done wrong? I delegated pre-match team talk to my assistant coach. Is that the reason?
It sounds like you may have instructed the assistant or whoever to take charge of the game by mistake. Go into Staff>Responsibilities >Match and it's the 3rd option down.
 

YAMS49

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Here's some screenshots from the OPZ Elite skin with added graphics. This is FM20 but available for 21 as well. Started a new game for these as I use fake names usually.





 

SilentWitness

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Googled it and someone else had the same issue at the exact same time so must be a random bug for some people in the Championship in that year.

Sitting 2nd at the midway stage. Might lose someone in the Jan transfer window. 10 clubs are interested in my CB, United/Liverpool interested in my CM, 8 clubs interested in my LW, 3 clubs interested in my FW. The latter two have no release clauses thankfully but my CB and CM do. The CB is around 20m but the CM is only 7.5m. I've negotiated a new contract with him with a release clause at 16.5m so hopefully he will accept before someone puts in that low bid.
 

FreakyJim

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Quick question. I can't seem to be able to figure it out. Is there a way to see, for example, the CL results when you're not participating? Every time when there's a round it just doesn't show it when I hit "next". Tuesday and Wednesday get simulated and nothing. I always have to go to the search bar and type "champions league" then click on it to bring up the results and everything else.
Happens with the World Cup and other competitions. I tried to "follow" them but it still doesn't show games and results on the screen, just inbox news and crap related to my club.

Edit: Ok, I found it, under preferences/common there's an option to add competitions to news screen. Weird that they've hidden this so.
It used to show fixtures and results from major competitions by default. These new football managers are odd.
 
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stepic

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Had the opposition keeper literally just throw the ball into his own net in like the 93rd minute when the game was 0-0. Funniest thing I’ve seen on FM. There was a player there about 2 seconds prior but the guy literally turned around stared at the empty goal and just the threw the ball in. Unbelievable. Was a kinda important game too.
 

WI_Red

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Now this is straight cheating. How am I supposed to play against a team that wears invisibility uniforms?

 

Chipper

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"Because everyone was rubbish and you're only allowed 3 subs." or similar needs to be an option.

Took off 3 other players with 6.1 or 6.2 ratings, what else am I supposed to do?
 

Chipper

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Now this is straight cheating. How am I supposed to play against a team that wears invisibility uniforms?

Ha! Had that too in one match the other week too. One of the ghosts scored against me in a highlight.

Also had a thing where all the players were running around normally except one who would teleport in a couple of the highlights. He'd be dead still then suddenly move 10 yards. Was fun to fun to watch as he was involved in play. One of the players would seemingly kick the ball into space and to nobody in particular then he'd suddenly disappear from where he was standing an reappear with the ball at his feet.
 

NoLogo

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"Because everyone was rubbish and you're only allowed 3 subs." or similar needs to be an option.

Took off 3 other players with 6.1 or 6.2 ratings, what else am I supposed to do?
Oh yes, exactly. The whole team was trash but you get pestered about not taking off one player... but I'll better not ge started about the stupid interaction module of the game, let's say it's complete trash, that's how I feel about it.
 

Kinky Melinky

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It sounds like you may have instructed the assistant or whoever to take charge of the game by mistake. Go into Staff>Responsibilities >Match and it's the 3rd option down.
Ah that's it. Thank you so much. Man there is so much to this game. I think I am going to start a fresh new save as I was just picking stuff up playing yesterday. I realise Brexit is an issue in the game but I really want to play as a lower English league team. I find the surnames easier to memorise than at the Italian club from last night's save. From what I gather, the only road to glory is to invest in time building up your youth players and pushing them through to 1st team action. It can be very frustrating when the board are so tight but I guess that's the challenge.

Mobile v Full game, injuries are another major difference. Far more injuries in the full game.
 

NoLogo

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Here's some screenshots from the OPZ Elite skin with added graphics. This is FM20 but available for 21 as well. Started a new game for these as I use fake names usually.





Looks pretty good as well. I like how they arranged the Infocard of the players. Can you deactivate the background pictures, tbh I find skins who have pictures int he background often look to cluttered because of it, there is so much visual info already in the foreground that I really don't need anymore in the background.
 

YAMS49

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Looks pretty good as well. I like how they arranged the Infocard of the players. Can you deactivate the background pictures, tbh I find skins who have pictures int he background often look to cluttered because of it, there is so much visual info already in the foreground that I really don't need anymore in the background.
Yep, backgrounds are an on/off switch in the interface options. You can then pick one of 5/6 default backgrounds for all screens.
 

vangagal

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Is there any decent and nice facepacks for this one ? Seeing so many facepacks has been disappeared after license debacle in last FM 2020.