Chat Team losing form halfway through season!

[Thebalddad2020]

Hey guys I always seem to start the season very well the half way through my team just collapses and ends up in a relegation Battle.. I’ve seen you may need to tweak your tactics what does that involve for you guys?

[DanEnglish]

17 hours ago, Thebalddad2020 said:

Hey guys I always seem to start the season very well the half way through my team just collapses and ends up in a relegation Battle.. I’ve seen you may need to tweak your tactics what does that involve for you guys?

A couple of questions (so you can self-diagnose?!) …

… what do you think?! 🙂 

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Overachieving? In the first half of the season, is your team overachieving vs team expectations / reputation? E.g. Norwich in the top half of the EPL.

Spoiler

Yes? If your team is playing well / above expectations / in good form, then I think the opposition AI starts to play more defensively against you team, which changes the effectiveness of your tactic. 

 
Rotating? After performing really well. did you lose / draw a few games when the heavy fixture congestion hits in Dec / Jan? 

Spoiler

The opposite of the “overachieving” scenario above…

You’re winning every game / doing really well, then as heavy fixture congestion hits in Dec / Jan, you rotate your team / have a few players out, and lose/draw a few games. Suddenly the opposition AI starts to play more attacking against your team, which changes your tactic’s effectiveness in the upcoming games.

Youngsters? Is your main team full of wonder kids / young talent? E.g. you’ve sold the older guys and are playing with mostly 18-21 (or 16-23) year olds.

Spoiler

Youngsters tend to get “exhausted” / “need a prolonged rest” after significant game-time (e.g. playing 1-2 times a week for 3-6 months). 

This means the same young team & tactic which is doing great at the start of the season, can seem to drop in the mid-season as the fixtures pile up + your young players need a rest.

 
Demotivated? Are you team getting demotivated / low morale during the mid-season? E.g. some key leaders want to leave, e.g. many squad players want first team football. 

Spoiler

I’ve heard FM / FMM be called ‘morale manager’ due to the impact morale has on performances.

At the start of the season, your players have hope for first team football. Then by mid-season, especially if you have a big squad, many realize they’re not getting first team football & get demotivated.

Alternatively with weaker / non-top teams, your star players tend to want to play at a higher level by mid-season, so may want out.

Lastly, you may have senior players (influential / team leaders) who are not in your first team (as your prioritizing youngsters with potential). These senior players have more impact on squad morale, so if your senior players get unhappy, it can have a big impact on the squad + their performances. 

🙂 

Edited May 19, 2022 by DanEnglish

[Rob]

Slightly linked to @DanEnglish‘s ‘Overachievement’ comment (great post btw), I find that simply tweaking a few instructions help. Perhaps change defensive line for a few games and see how that goes, for example. That’s one that I find tends to work.

[Scratch]

I agree with both @DanEnglish and @Rob's suggestions above.

All of the things Dan outlines can happen (sometimes several at once!), while at the same time it seems (to me) the game gives you a slight punishment for using exactly the same tactic all the time - I think it is simulating teams getting used to your tactic - and trying something different for a while helps (then you can go back to it later).

[Thebalddad2020]

Thanks guys appreciate the feedback 😀 I’ll try change a few things once I’m stuck on a formation I hate to change haha so wil l try change player instructions