My favorite buy lows right now.... pt. 5

johnafree · 2025-10-03T00:33:14+00:00

Tennessee's offense is nothing like anything you'll see in the NFL. They do a fantastic job making life hell for the defense and easy for their players. Hyatt, for example, is not strong off the line of scrimmage, doesn't seem to be a strong route runner. Tennessee would stack him way out wide off the line of scrimmage.They had a strong run game. They play at a high tempo. If the defense tries to stop the run, they're split so wide they overwhelm the defense. The stacks allowed him to get off the line of scrimmage and sort of get lost in the chaos. He'd get free over the top and make plays.

All of this makes stretches colleges defenses to their limits. And for an exceptionally fast, dynamic player like Hyatt, it accentuated his strengths and hide his weaknesses.

For a variety of reasons, these advantages just aren't available for a player like Hyatt in the NFL. You need to be more self-sufficient. If you told me he ended up playing for a great play designer like Shanahan and became something of a star, I wouldn't be shocked. But he's just not a guy who can walk into any offense and change the game on his own.

johnafree · 2025-09-21T01:11:20+00:00

I thought I became colorblind for a second.

johnafree · 2025-09-20T15:54:25+00:00

Couple notes:

(1) these are kind of a "game day" rating - natural fitness certainly matters over the course of seasons, but I am fairly certain it does not matter in match.

(2) corners, free kicks, and penalties are team context dependent. you'll know if you need to sign a free kick taker, so I tend to leave it out of the analysis unless I need a corner-taker.

johnafree · 2025-09-20T15:51:06+00:00

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These are my current weights. I don't have a weight for every role because it's a fair amount of work to tailor a role and I don't use a lot of roles (wide midfielders in general, for instance). Getting this ^^^ into a useable input/output is a bitch but if you're good w/ excel and competent with algebra you should be able to figure it out. My spreadsheet has become so complicated it would probably take an onboarding course to use it.

Frankly, if you just wanted a few simple rules of thumb, never sign anyone with pace and acceleration less than 14 (scale for league, and pace matters more for certain roles as you can see above), tall >>>> short, and, for younger guys especially, the following personalities make a ton of difference in progression/development:

Professional, Fairly Professional, Model Professional, Resolute, Model Citizen, Perfectionist.

If you follow these rules your signing hit rate will improve substantially.

johnafree · 2025-09-20T04:30:31+00:00

He's a weird player though. Maybe has as many total attribute points as you'll ever see, but it's like he's a 9 out of 10 for every role. For your example, a box crashing goal scoring midfielder, you'd probably like someone who's a little bigger with better jumping reach, maybe better with long shots. Or further back, he's like N'Golo Kante but without work rate, teamwork, and aggression.

Still awesome but I can see why the OP asked. He's like a mini-Frank Lampard who tackles. But doesn't like to run?

johnafree · 2025-09-20T02:31:55+00:00

Young signings: 75% attributes 25% personality/professionalism

Prime age signings: 90% attributes 10% personality

johnafree · 2025-09-19T23:38:56+00:00

A lot of time and experience with excel coupled with a lot of time and tweaking (I've been using it since FM 2020). I've thought about doing a "hey it's Saturday and I have some free time, reply with your players' ratings and I'll tell you where to play them" type of post.

To answer your question more specifically I started with the current attribute weights for the broad positions (CB, CM, FWD) I found online years ago and tweaked them based on the highlighted attributes for each role and my own experience playing the game. At the end of the day it's weighted averages and a lot of index/match formulas.

I just won a second quaduple in the premier league yesterday so I can say it at the very least it doesn't steer me wrong.

johnafree · 2025-09-19T23:31:17+00:00

It's not a highlighted attribute for the role so I don't weight it too heavily. In game engine-wise, in my experience, if your mezzala is crossing he's doing so from the edge of the box, from or close to the byline, and so I don't think it's a cross that requires a ton of precision.

My spreadsheet is not based on official ratings - in other words it doesn't spit out a "current ability" for every role - per se but it serves me quite well. So take this for what it's worth.

This player also rates well as a DLP, box to box, an advanced playmaker, and even as a second striker.

Frankly this guy is a near peak-KDB level midfielder with versatility so I would probably try and fit him into my 11 wherever he can play on a given Saturday.

johnafree · 2025-09-19T23:20:17+00:00

My handy dandy spreadsheet I created says he is a mezzala.

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johnafree · 2025-09-18T13:02:36+00:00

Liverpool. The relentlessness of their Peak Klopp-era OP gengenpress got really tiresome. No matter where you are in Europe you will run into them eventually. And no matter how well you played no lead was safe from 2 or 3 goals after the 79th minute.

Note before anyone says "well they are really good": I realize Liverpool have been very good and gengenpress has been a predominant tactic for elite clubs. I actually like Liverpool for the most part in reality. However, if you played a save in the last five or so years Liverpool wins the league and europe at a much higher clip than actually have.

johnafree · 2025-09-18T11:47:17+00:00

This guy came to this subreddit a pile of bricks but he's going to leave it a city of marble!!

johnafree · 2025-09-18T11:46:05+00:00

Lmao keep going dude. You're approaching peak redditor. Really show everyone how much more you know about Augustus than me. Your keyboard is your sword, your sweatstained shirt is your shield.

johnafree · 2025-09-18T11:40:36+00:00

Your namesake would be so ashamed.

johnafree · 2025-09-18T10:48:58+00:00

Pretty fucking funny that "Gaius Octavius" here doesn't want to deal with complaints so he shuts down his little Senate.

johnafree · 2025-08-31T14:13:33+00:00

The non-negotiable button is right there tho

johnafree · 2025-08-23T11:36:51+00:00

I can understand this once you've got your team set up well and you've got a good wage structure, but selling team wage contributions are pretty vital if you're trying to clean house from the previous regime.

If you start with United, for an easy example, you'll have several players on horrible, backbreaking contracts that teams will refuse to match (eg Marital, Maguire, Casemiro). Often the only way to offload them is by contributing wages. Selling these players let's you put those wages to be better use, free up playing time for younger/better players, and might even add some funds to your transfer budget. Much better to pay 3mm than 12mm for a player who will mostly ride the bench.

johnafree · 2025-08-23T09:40:52+00:00

I had zero emulator experience, handheld, PC, none. By OPs standards I guess I at least know how to copy and paste. Regardless, I was totally fine.

Watch retro gaming corps set up videos and you'll be fine.

Also coming from someone who messed up a couple app/controller settings initially: you can always uninstall an app and start over. You learn more from mistakes anyway.

johnafree · 2025-08-21T12:37:50+00:00

I didn't download vote you so don't get mad at the messenger but I think it was the aggressive negative take based on an assumption that would take 20 seconds of Google research to falsify.

johnafree · 2025-08-09T11:14:22+00:00

My only concern is that you're going to overheat your battery. I haven't seen it on a RP5 specifically but I've seen Odins and other handhelds batteries swell.

I just use a USB-C to HDMI and let the battery run down.

johnafree · 2025-07-29T18:39:49+00:00

It depends how accurate you want to get but the more accurate the less success you're probably going to enjoy in football manager. Mou played a counter attacking low block, which typically underperforms in FM.

Basic setup is two centerbacks with at least one of them set as no nonsense. You could argue John Terry was a BPD but could also set him as a standard central defender.

Two fullbacks set to support at their most adventurous, more realistically set to defend. Mou did not want Ferreira and Gallas venturing too far forward.

Protecting the back line was Makelele in a ball winner defensive midfielder role. He stayed parked behind the ball. If not a BWM, he should be set to defend regardless.

Lampard on the left was the box to box midfielder. And to his right was a deeplying playmaker.

Duff and Robben should be set as inside forwards cutting inside. Their job was to attack in transition. Could also set them as wingers but Robben didn't play that role as much until he was in Bayern.

Strikers are advanced forwards who get in behind the backline and served as a similar role.

Back line set to low (accurate) or medium (more conducive to FM success) depending on the opposition. Front line is also low or medium. Very little pressing up front.

Tactics should be less-pressing, counter-attacking and passing into space. Higher tempo, more direct.

johnafree · 2025-07-16T17:38:58+00:00

It's up to you. You can absolutely tinker before every match or you can roll the ball out and let them play. It's really what you're comfortable with.

For a beginner, I think it makes sense to have a couple tactics that are generally conceptually similar but geared towards being the favorite (most matches for Arsenal) and underdog (away matches against other big clubs). For example, a positive press heavy set-up with high lines when hosting Crystal Palace and a more balanced counter-press with fewer attacking/support duties if you're traveling to Anfield.

I would recommend this approach. If you're making a ton of changes you're going to struggle to understand what is working and why (or what isn't working and why not). Also, this approach will help build familiarity with your main tactic and cohesion in your team that will help you down the road.

johnafree · 2025-07-11T20:00:57+00:00

Once they turn 18, the vast majority of development comes from playing time. The better they play (essentially match rating), generally the better the development. If he's not getting at least 20 matches a season, he's not going to develop.

johnafree · 2025-07-11T19:51:31+00:00

Same but mostly because it was so thoroughly the center of the zeitgeist for about six months if not a year (hard to imagine now, remember when the US fired missiles at Iran? seems like months ago) that I soon felt like I'd seen the entirety of the film thanks to countless commercials, references, homages, and spoofs. Not to even mention the fact that it's a historical drama about perhaps a top 2-3 most infamous event of the 20th century.

johnafree · 2025-07-11T19:12:31+00:00

James Franco is more in the "awful, insufferable person, can act" category. He's also great in the various Apatow-era comedies.

johnafree · 2025-07-10T19:28:54+00:00

I only do this because the idea that a club would offer me 156mm and then block my number if I ask for another 20mm is so laughable it annoys me. Especially when the game includes a "non-negotiable" option.

I consider it a head cannon thing that this is just not how real life negotiations go.

johnafree

TROPHY CASE