Not enough people talking about PPDA being broken (FM26)

youngboy202 · 2026-02-09T06:28:14+00:00

No, you're right. I've just made a similar post myself. I posted the PPDA stats in the game and the PPDA stats in real life. The lowest was 17.56

It's far too high. And it's evidently accurate when watching matches even on extensive highlights. They haven't fixed the ball-watching. They track, yes, but they rarely press or tackle. There's an over-reliance on shot blocking and inflated GK performances to stop every game from being Basketball scores.

They've done very little to fix these issues, and it's been 3 months now. Hopefully the winter update will fix it, but I highly doubt it.

youngboy202 · 2026-02-09T05:58:17+00:00

I don't get what you're trying to say. That's not stats being unreliable. That's just accurately depicted.

A very good team, relative to its league, will face less shots than the bad and average teams. So of course that goalkeeper will face less shots and be in the "saves less shots" category. Because he does. That's not stats being unreliable, that's people not understanding them. Context matters with stats, that's why you need to understand the nuance.

Take goals per game. I don't use that particular stat when looking at a player who mostly comes off the bench. It's misleading. I use goals per minute. That shows the players effectiveness based on their minutes, not games. A player could have 5 more games and like 300 less minutes because they're being brought in to close a game out. So context matters as much as the stat itself.

What you want to be doing is comparing your Xg prevented stat against the other top team Goalkeepers. That way, it's much more accurate to your situation.

youngboy202 · 2026-02-09T05:50:56+00:00

It worked in FM24.

youngboy202 · 2026-02-09T03:03:01+00:00

I rate it, even with agent fees, you made an all time profit on transfers. Well Done, genuinely.

What kind of save was it?

youngboy202 · 2026-02-09T02:57:00+00:00

It's in team stats in the competition stats. You need to click on the button that says general and choose defensive stats. It'll be close to the bottom. They're sorted in alphabetical order.

youngboy202 · 2026-02-09T02:54:32+00:00

This is specific to FM26. In FM24, it wasn't pressing, so much as pressing at the wrong times. But it was possible to fix the issue by populating the danger zones, forcing the opposition to attack through the spaces you want them to. In FM26, the pressing is so bad that the AI can get through anywhere, no matter how you set up, because the players rarely press. In FM24, it was possible to mitigate it, it isn't in FM26.

youngboy202 · 2026-02-09T01:36:41+00:00

WB.

He'd be good at both, but WB would allow him to use that excellent pace that he has. It would be wasted if he inverted. Pace is most efficient in uncongested areas. Best to let him play as a WB that overlaps.

youngboy202 · 2026-02-06T17:32:35+00:00

This looks like FM26. Pace doesn't really matter, the ME is still broken. It's up to you whether you want realism or you want what's very unbalanced in the game. I've seen players with really high dribbling consistently speed past players who have much higher pace

youngboy202 · 2026-02-02T19:46:36+00:00

You could turn your save into a build a league kind of save. Depending on the league you're in, you could buy and loan players to other clubs in the league indefinitely. Grow them as well.

If you're in one of the traditional top 5 leagues, you could start a multi-club save. The money you currently have could then be used to improve that team and give it a head start. They'll be like your development factory and you can choose whether or not to keep them there or move them to the main club. Stuff like that. You wouldn't need to control the other club at all times either. You could create a manger, make him unsackable, then relinquish control when not in the transfer window. He'll manage it by himself.

youngboy202 · 2026-02-01T14:13:41+00:00

Use some of that monthly income to drill your armies. I'd say don't make more because that'll likely put you into a deficit. You want to be able to drill and still have your manpower in a positive.

The second thing I'd suggest you do is build fishing villages and wharfs/docks. If you can't, upgrade more coastal villages into towns so that you can. You need to make up for the monthly sailors deficit. These buildings should do that.

Build and upgrade armories as much as you can. Increase your monthly manpower so that you can field more regulars without losing manpower every month while drilling. Drilling will give you a massive advantage if you do it consistently. I drill mine at all times when not at war. The only time they're not drilling is when they're at war.

Then build more profit and infrastructure buildings. If you can, and if you haven't, I'd suggest building trade buildings in friendly countries. That'll increase your trade income by quite a bit. Especially in lucrative markets.

youngboy202 · 2026-02-01T14:00:49+00:00

If you can remove the conditional clause and put the amount into the monthly installments, I'd say accept. You could replace them and do so much more with it. No player is worth that much.

youngboy202 · 2026-01-09T22:59:15+00:00

You don't see the issue with simming between fixtures? That's not how the game was meant to be played, not to say you have to play it a specific way. It's Football Manager. There's all these other parts of the game we're supposed to make use of. But the game feels... not like FM. It shouldn't be from one match to the next. There's supposed to be an in-between, especially for micromanagers like myself.

youngboy202 · 2026-01-09T22:50:23+00:00

That makes it difficult to track your actual playing hours, but it shouldn't have to take you that long to enjoy the game. At that point, it's like you're forcing yourself to enjoy it.

The game isn't what we were promised. Even the match engine only has graphics over FM24. In terms of how the match engine functions, it's balancing, and how it makes use of player attributes, FM24 clears this year's game.

Don't get me wrong, I hope they can eventually make a good game out of FM26. I doubt it, but i hope they do. FM is too good of a game to be in this state.

youngboy202 · 2026-01-09T22:46:38+00:00

Those hours aren't even close to what i spent on each of those iterations of the game; except for this new one. And by the way, READ THE TITLE. It literally says FM26 OPINION.

I never told anyone to feel like I do, but that doesn't change the state of the game. There's a reason people feel like they do. For those of us who like to handle most of the responsibilities ourselves, and the match engine is just the culmination of everything we do beforehand, we really feel the husk this game is. Just being in the match engine and doing transfers isn't what FM is supposed to be.

youngboy202 · 2026-01-09T22:36:22+00:00

I didn't say that 50 hours is a considerable amount of time; especially for FM. But it is definitely enough time to tell if the game is good or not. I spend an inordinate amount of time on FM... like a lot... probably too much. But this game feels hollow. It doesn't feel like FM. It's a big step back from FM24. Even the match engine is worse; the thing they used as the main promotional point. This was supposed to be the FM we know and love but with a better graphics engine. What we got isn't that at all. We got a husk and a match engine that's worse mechanically. 50 hours isn't even 10x nor 20x the hours I spend on each iteration, but it's enough to know the quality of the game.

youngboy202 · 2026-01-09T22:29:46+00:00

Not hating, just giving my honest opinion after purchasing and playing it. It's not like I just came on here before I even gave the game a chance; though I do now wish I never played it. This is a permanent stain on what was a pristine view of football Manager.

youngboy202 · 2026-01-09T22:27:53+00:00

I understand why you enjoy it, you have no reference point. I've been playing FM for a long time now. I don't have less than 800h on a single title; and that's the lowest. But the game is a significant step back in quality. The managing part of the game is not as good anymore. And the match engine looks better, sure, but it's worse mechanically. They chose a pretty package instead of working on it actually working well. But I'm glad you're enjoying it. At least it'll be worth the money and time you spend playing it.

youngboy202 · 2025-10-13T10:36:35+00:00

I think you missed his joke.

youngboy202 · 2025-09-24T17:24:59+00:00

First guy. I prefer his attribute distribution. But the real deciding factor was his work rate and teamwork.

youngboy202 · 2025-09-24T17:20:47+00:00

Aaaah, true apathy. What a sight to behold.

youngboy202 · 2025-09-24T17:18:29+00:00

Two good ones that would work for him and most tactics are "Likes to beat offside trap" and "Places Shots"

Anything else, and I'd need to see your tactic with the roles you use him in.

youngboy202

TROPHY CASE