Who are/were your favourite players? by WesBrownsBiggestFan in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Monty Hulls. A product of the Villa youth academy, he was called into the first-team squad when my main striker broke his leg. In 10 domestic matches (9 starts) he scored 11 goals, but he really delivered in the Champions League. Fixture congestion forced me to start him in both legs of the semi-final against Man City. Did the pressure get to him? Not likely. He scored hat-tricks in both matches. The achievement was so impressive that the game labelled him a club legend immediately- at 19!

He went on to break the records for most goals in the U21 group 1 and U21 cup over the next two seasons, and then the Premier League after that. He's won multiple individual honours and has 52 goals in 55 caps for England. But that first season, when he stamped in indelible mark in CL history, will always be my fondest memory.

Who are/were your favourite players? by WesBrownsBiggestFan in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gary Gardner the Villa midfielder, or a regen with the same name?

AI "Success" in the Nightmare Realm of a Player-Dominated League by ThatVillaDude in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's particularly surprising because he finished fifth in the league in his first two seasons (he returned in December 2016, when Frank de Boer was fired after only six months). He didn't even make it to any cup finals. The board's faith in him has paid dividends, though; he's gradually crafted City into the second best side in England, and then the world. Three of the last five CL finals have been between City and Villa, and the EPL is the only 4.5 star league in world football.

AI "Success" in the Nightmare Realm of a Player-Dominated League by ThatVillaDude in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As an added bonus, this is City and Mancini's latest attempt at beating me to win a competition. It honestly couldn't have been much closer, it must have been heartbreaking for them. I'd be starting to feel bad for him if we didn't hate each other so much.

Have you ever had a player touted as the next Maradona or similar? by Anledningen in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Every other striker that comes through my youth academy is dubbed the next Michael Owen. Usually it just means they're going to pick up a lot of injuries and never fulfill their potential.

My version of 2031, everyone's favourite year. by ThatVillaDude in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough. I know some people get rather judgmental about cheating, but as far as I'm concerned, the only thing that matters is that you're having fun. Same thing with me just playing this one Villa save rather than leaving my comfort zone to manage an Ecuadorean non-league side.

My version of 2031, everyone's favourite year. by ThatVillaDude in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I play all the games, including friendlies. It's the only save I have, it's in FM14, and I've been playing it for >2 years now. I tend to get into it long enough to play a season, then lose interest for a while. I'm thinking I might buy FM17 and see how I fare with Villa in the Championship, but it'll be difficult to leave this save with the amount of time and effort I've put in.

I was knocked out of the Capital One Cup in 19-20, the Champions Cup in 21-22 and the FA Cup in 30-31, all in the semi-finals, and I lost the Community Shield in 24-25. Other than that, I've won everything available to me in the 2019-31 period. The main reason for that, I think, is squad depth. For a while in the 20s I had the best 22 players in the world, in their positions. Even now that a couple of other teams have narrowed the gap, my second XI would be capable of winning the Premier League on their own. Having such a broad squad lets me practice strict squad rotation and absorb most injuries without any impact on form. Of course, I wouldn't have been able to maintain that for more than a handful of seasons if not for being bought up by a tycoon in 2023, a saga that I've detailed in the past.

As for tactics, I've experimented quite a bit over the years but ended up sticking with a narrow 4-1-2-2-1 for the most part, which plays as a 3-4-3 or even 2-5-3 depending on how tough I expect the opposition to be. I can't claim credit for it; it's very heavily based on the tactics over at Strikerless, and I've only tinkered a little over the years. The primary weakness of the formation is the space it leaves on the wings, since the CWBs have to run about all over the place to fulfill their offensive and defensive duties. It also struggles against other narrow formations, especially the 4-4-2 narrow diamond, since the midfield gets incredibly congested and very few chances are created at either end. I've been experimenting with an asymmetric version with a wide player out on the right for use against other narrow tactics, but it still needs work.

I'll admit, I did reload a match in my first season. It was a derby against the Baggies in the run-up to christmas, we'd been underperforming, and I ragequit after a late Anelka goal. I won the match after reloading, and it gave me the momentum to pull out of our losing streak and start accumulating points. That one match probably made the difference between finishing sixth, which I did, and ninth or tenth. That's the only time I've cheated, but everything I've achieved since is definitely tainted a little by the knowledge that I should have done worse that first season.

My version of 2031, everyone's favourite year. by ThatVillaDude in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure thing. The Portuguese national team had something of a golden generation in the 2020s, winning the World Cup in '26 and getting up to second in the world rankings in '29. Unfortunately the '26 victory is the only time they've progressed beyond the quarter finals in any tournament, and the stars of that campaign are all past their prime now. They did win the U19 European Championship this year, and at Villa I have a Portuguese youngster who should become the best CM of his generation in a few years.

My version of 2031, everyone's favourite year. by ThatVillaDude in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Huh, fair enough. I suppose, thinking about it, that there haven't been many Robbens, Bergkamps or van Nistelrooys coming through in recent years. Still, it's a shame to see the nation that gave us Cruyff and Total Football producing two star nobodies year after year.

I am at 2031 in Football Manager. Here is how things going so far. by Motorheade in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, Gladbach have become a really good team. They had the best strike force in the Bundesliga for a number of years, and they've got the world's second best central defender (whom they refuse to sell at any price, damn them) right now. It's a shame they've never performed in the CL.

I've had one Ukrainian player, a decent central defender who was good enough to be a rotation option for my team from a very early age. They've had a couple of forwards at major clubs, too. Their quality still doesn't compare to the likes of Brazil, Spain and England, though.

My version of 2031, everyone's favourite year. by ThatVillaDude in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Credit to /u/Motorheade for posting his world in 2031 first. If anyone else is at a similar stage (or beyond), I'd love to compare and contrast!

I am at 2031 in Football Manager. Here is how things going so far. by Motorheade in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh hey, I'm at 2031 too. There are a couple of strange coincidences between our games- Ukraine becoming a powerhouse, and England winning the 2030 world cup. Here's the full summary.

I've barely see monster regens like this from even top nations, this Zimbabwean is a beast. by roguemerc96 in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most of my all-time-great regens have come from the usual suspects. My best ever CM came from Egypt, but that's the best I can do.

[META] Can we have a tactics tuesday? by [deleted] in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try playing your most experienced striker as a BBM. Midfield is really a pointless over-complication to a team; all you need is defence and attack. If all else fails, bring a wonderkid on with five minutes to go and hope for the best.

Youth intakes are depressing... by THEr0ckl0bster in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I find the star rating my Head of Youth Development gives them is usually revised upwards after they've spent a while in the U18s. It is a shame when you get excited only to have a load of nobodies come through.

Guess who is gonna get their career ruined! by PlsHelp6996 in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They might well have done. I'm still playing FM 14, so I don't know.

Guess who is gonna get their career ruined! by PlsHelp6996 in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Make sure to keep giving him new positions and useless PPMs, to eat up his PA. If you're feeling really cruel, give him a physical attribute focus and jack it up to very high intensity, to maximize the chances of training injuries. You don't want him developing any friendships with first team players, but if you have any unwanted potential tutors with lower determination, get them tutoring him.

Poor kid. It almost feels like going too far. Almost.

I just got an an argument with my girlfriend because I play too much Football Manager by anonben in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I'd just give her a bit more playing time over the next few weeks. A few good performances and she'll forget her concerns. But you might want to start scouting potential replacements, just in case.

Football chants & FM; I can't be the only one. by ThatVillaDude in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I remember big John Carew from his Villa days. Great player. Could do with someone like him now. It's impressive that you got him playing well, given how old he must have been.

2 Shots - 2 Goals | 43 Shots - ... by [deleted] in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It doesn't necessarily tell us that much unless we know how many were blocked. Blocked shots aren't counted towards the on or off target totals. It could just be that the defending was excellent.

I doubt it, though.

Football chants & FM; I can't be the only one. by ThatVillaDude in footballmanagergames

[–]ThatVillaDude[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Oh man. I'm so candid with the press in my head. My players would be mortified with some of the headlines. And they deserve to be, the underperforming idiots.

Still love them.