FM 2011 Gameplay Contrived?

I just watched my Sunderland team take a 2-goal lead, and then give away 2 absolutely cheap goals. Then, I switched to attacking mode, and watched my team decimate the opponents (Watford) in terms of attacking, going REALLY close twice, missing chances that any idiot could have put away. The odd thing is that the players who missed the chances were not nervous, and they had ratings of 7.3 or higher at that time.

I don't know...sometimes, I just feel like the game is a little contrived...like the results are pre-decided based on your previous form, what you say in your press conference, etc. Does anyone else feel like this sometimes?

Of course the press conferences and team talks and previous form matters, like in real life.

Yes, I know...but how much? Should they matter so much more than the tactics and the players selected in the playing eleven?

In FM 2010, I tested this out by saving before a match (after all the press conferences and other things were done), and I saved and replayed the match about 15-20 times, altering the tactics, the selection of players and other things for every game.

I think about 90% of the times, I got the same result. It's a bit disappointing to see in FM 2011 that despite having had a good press conference (players react positively), selecting players who are in good form (and also not tired), and also getting the tactics right (since obviously, it's plain to see that we are playing better than them and creating more chances), you still end up losing or drawing because that's what the AI wants you to do!

Of course upsets might happen with the better team losing. One thing to take in mind is that your players might be complacent after a string of good runs and you should take that in account during team talks. And of course, each match has the power of chance so you can't be exactly sure what happens every match.

I did take complacency into account, too.

I generally go check Assistant's feedback before the match. If there's anyone who appears complacent, I give an "Expect a win" or "Expect a performance" talk.

Anyway, if it ends up annoying me more, I'll just have to conduct some experiments and post them here for some scrutiny. Until then, this thread is mostly to just get an idea of others' observations.

# Gurdit : Yes, I know...but how much? Should they matter so much more than the tactics and the players selected in the playing eleven?

In FM 2010, I tested this out by saving before a match (after all the press conferences and other things were done), and I saved and replayed the match about 15-20 times, altering the tactics, the selection of players and other things for every game.

I think about 90% of the times, I got the same result. It's a bit disappointing to see in FM 2011 that despite having had a good press conference (players react positively), selecting players who are in good form (and also not tired), and also getting the tactics right (since obviously, it's plain to see that we are playing better than them and creating more chances), you still end up losing or drawing because that's what the AI wants you to do!

I have done that once in FM 2011. Only six times though. I was Randers in the Danish superliga against Ajax in the Euro Cup final. I lost 3 times, drew 2 and lost on penalties and in the end won on penalties.

But I also believe that your decisions during a match change the way it is played. It may lead to a comeback or maybe make it worse.

In previous versions I've noticed what Gurdit has said and in FM11 I've found it very difficult to notch up more than 4 or 5 straight wins. Very often when my team is in good form they will start playing badly and the sloppiness is clear to see in their play, we scrape wins and draws but as soon as I lose one match the team plays magnificently in the next few games.

Next time try saying "wish luck" as your team talk, I've noticed this seems to make the players more determined if your considered favourites ,morale is high and in good form, used this almost every game in my Sunday League Footballer story to notch up a current 20 something unbeaten run, which I hope to continue when FM11 is installed on my new pc!

the best team in the field doesnt always win, we have plenty of examples in real life football. Remember Inter Milan vs Barcelona in last year champions league?I believe your tactics and decisions do affect the outcome of the match

redalert
What you say is right. There are times when I've noticed that a particular half-time team talk, or some touchline instructions or the right substitutions have affected the game completely. If that wasn't the case, then there would be no use for the tactics or things like that at all.

Evo
Thanks for the tip! I'll try using that team-talk next time.

In fact, if you hadn't mentioned it, I was going to mention about how getting one loss out of the way galvanises your team and makes them perform really good again!

Anyhow, my 16 game unbeaten run finally came to an end despite a spirited showing at Goodison Park. Out of 22 games so far this season (second season in charge), my Sunderland team have only been beaten by Aston Villa and Everton.

figosv
Obviously, what you say is right.
But that wasn't the intention of my post.
It's ok to be occasionally outplayed by a poorer team, but you should be able to see that in the game. In the game I was originally talking about, I saw at least 3 absolutely sitters going the wrong side of the post, and hit the post probably 2 times! I can understand one or two just situations happening, but beyond that, it's more than a coincidence.

# Gurdit :
It's ok to be occasionally outplayed by a poorer team, but you should be able to see that in the game.

It's completely realistic and within the realm of possibility for a team to dominate an entire game and lose. Have you never seen games where a team completely outplays their opponents but the ball doesn't seem to want to go in? I think situations like those are more realistic than an awesome team getting outplayed by scrubs.

I think both situations are equally realistic. You occasionally see awesome teams just not having a good day, and losing to minnows. Chelsea, for example. You also do see awesome teams playing really well, but not being able to find the net, while the opposing team gets lucky with one goal.

But my point was that it seems to happen when you're on some kind of unbeaten streak or something. It's like the AI decides "Yep, it's not realistic that you would go on such a long streak...have to make you lose now, sorry!"

# Gurdit : it seems to happen when you're on some kind of unbeaten streak or something. It's like the AI decides "Yep, it's not realistic that you would go on such a long streak...have to make you lose now, sorry!"

Exactly what I think sometimes.