2011 Rafa's corner

rafa · November 14, 2011

Hi guys,

This will be my thread until FMHi 2012 comes out. I will be writing articles for the more experienced FMH players that want to squeeze a bit more out of their games - but newbie questions are welcome. Topics will initially shift around the game's database, numbers and statistics and maybe - if time allows - I'll go a bit deeper on the long term consequences of the actual regen system!

As a plus, you can PM me with questions and suggestions for articles that you would like to see here.

Interested? Keep watching this space!

01 - loaded league vs. database size

02 - Condition

03 - FMH11 Complete Database Census - Part 1

04 - FMH11 Complete Database Census - Part 2: "Age breakdown"

rafa · November 14, 2011

Football Manager Handheld 2011 allows you to play within league tiers of 11 different nations. You can choose to load one or more countries, and some of the benefits and disadvantages of these choices were covered by Dec on his One nation vs Multiple article.

But today I will be comparing the database size changes when loading different leagues. All the numbers and statistics here presented concern the FMH 11 2.5 for iOS. And in all cases only one league was loaded. I will be discussing the effects from loading different combinations of leagues in a different article.

When you choose to play in one country or another, it is not only the national and continental leagues that are different - the players present in the database also vary considerably. It is quite obvious why: if you're playing in Spain you are probably more interested in signing promising lower division Spanish youngsters than nearly-retired players from the Scottish 3rd tier. However, it is not only the available players that change significantly: the amount of players can vary drastically too, as you can see below:

Loaded country - Amount of players in database

Australia 5136
Brazil 4632
England 4452
Spain 4125
France 3776
Italy 3592
Scotland 3534
Belgium 3406
Germany 3294
Holland 3279
Portugal 3129

Quite a difference, huh? Let's discuss briefly the implication of these numbers:

Interesting facts

If you play in Australia, you will have over 2000 more players available in your game than if you were managing in Portugal!
Tough to understand why. Maybe Australia demands less processing power as it has so few clubs and only one league tier. Or maybe SI was just not careful enough when adding/trimming players in some of the leagues.
The only two non-European leagues in the game have also the biggest database sizes!
I find it quite strange, as most players would rather play in Europe than in Brazil or Australia. However, Marc Vaughan from SI was kind enough to explain why:

The 'non-european countries having largest databases' - this is actually because the bigger players are more commonly found in Europe.

Thus for non-European leagues being active we try and load up the important European players (as you'd expect them to be present) but also obviously need a fair few from the continents where the active league is (remember they have their own continental competitions etc.).

This is also one of the reasons why we restrict use of some countries as background leagues (otherwise they'll force loading of far too many players and mess things up).
From the European leagues, loading England and Spain give you the biggest databases, with more than 4000 players available to choose from.
I would assume this is due to the rather huge amount of playable clubs to fill with players in the respective countries, plus the overall importance of their top leagues in today's football.
Germany is clearly under-represented, with less available players than Scotland and Belgium.
The only reason that pops into my head is that SI does not current hold the licensing for the German national team. But I don't think they would pay less attention in populating the database because of that.
Loading Scotland generates a larger database then loading Holland or Portugal.
The game was created by the British, after all

Effects on your game

Having a larger database is not necessarily a positive thing. In the Australian case, you probably have loads of good foreign players that would never even consider moving to Australia, thus rendering their presence virtually useless. But all these great players will retire someday, and I promise you that their regens can be much kinder to an offer from down under

However, the large database of an all-English game does not share the same characteristics. Most of the players are of a very low level, just good enough to play in the lower divisions. So it is harder to find real gems that can transform your squad into a world beating one. On the bright side, the AI controlled clubs have the same database available to work with, which can give you a serious edge if you work faster and harder to spot the future football stars.

Finally, having a small database can simplify your life, as it's easier to keep track of good players when there are 2000 less of them around! But it may backfire if you are playing lower league football: the right combination of good attributes and willingness to play for less than £250 per week might just not be out there...

And that was the first article of my column. Feel free to comment, as all sorts of feedback are appreciated

Dec · November 14, 2011

That is intresting, I love your statistical breakdowns.

rafa · November 14, 2011

That is intresting, I love your statistical breakdowns.

Glad you like it

There's a bigger one on the way

Dec · November 14, 2011

Please say you are going to do multiple leagues too?

rafa · November 14, 2011

Sorry, all I can say is that it will be released before Christmas

Jens · November 14, 2011

That is intresting, I love your statistical breakdowns.

It's a widely known fact that Decie loves huge and massive numbers to overcompensate for other... smaller things in life. :blush:

Dec · November 14, 2011

It is true Jens .

Out of interest though Rafa what is the number for the default leagues - England (all), Spain, Italy and Scotland?

rafa · November 14, 2011

These are not my default leagues, but it's 5469

Dec · November 14, 2011

So default leagues get more than leagues on their own, intresting.

rafa · November 14, 2011

So default leagues get more than leagues on their own, intresting.

That sounds quite obvious to me. If you have 3 extra leagues with clubs to populate, plus extra national teams that are available to manage and need players to draw from.

Marc Vaughan · November 14, 2011

The 'non-european countries having largest databases' - this is actually because the bigger players are more commonly found in Europe.

Thus for non-European leagues being active we try and load up the important European players (as you'd expect them to be present) but also obviously need a fair few from the continents where the active league is (remember they have their own continental competitions etc.).

This is also one of the reasons why we restrict use of some countries as background leagues (otherwise they'll force loading of far too many players and mess things up).

Dec · November 14, 2011

I know but at least 300 players extra you would think they wouldn't need to remove youngsters.

rafa · November 14, 2011

The 'non-european countries having largest databases' - this is actually because the bigger players are more commonly found in Europe.

Thus for non-European leagues being active we try and load up the important European players (as you'd expect them to be present) but also obviously need a fair few from the continents where the active league is (remember they have their own continental competitions etc.).

This is also one of the reasons why we restrict use of some countries as background leagues (otherwise they'll force loading of far too many players and mess things up).

Thanks for that Marc. I will quote it in the article, I hope you don't mind.

samhardy · November 14, 2011

Great stuff here Rafa

rafa · November 15, 2011

I know but at least 300 players extra you would think they wouldn't need to remove youngsters.

It's a bit difficult to understand what you meant here, Dec

But after a night of sleep, I think I managed

I don't think youngsters are removed from the single nation game.

Great stuff here Rafa

Thanks Sam

rafa · November 23, 2011

Condition

Don't you love when you start a game and all your players boast 100% condition? Not only it looks pretty in your screen to have perfect 100s everywhere, but it also has a lot of other advantages:

Having a good condition means that:

Your players can perform to their full ability, in special the more physical demanding tasks.
Gives your team the edge when facing a tired opponent
Minimises risks of injuries

Unfortunately that's not always possible. There are many factors that will deteriorate your players' overall condition. Here is a list of the main enemies of the 100% condition, and what can you do about it:

Threats against your players' condition:

A crowded calendar
The more success you have, the more crowded the calendar will be. It's not uncommon to play 3 games in a week when your team is fighting for continental and domestic titles. And such game marathons affect your player conditions hard. Unfortunately you can't make the season any longer, nor ask for matches rescheduling. Your best option here is to have squad depth and rotate.

Rafa's checklist on managing the calendar:
1. Check your next fixtures - If there are more than 3 days between them you should be fine. If they are played 3 or less days apart, follow the checklist.
2. Prioritize important matches - If you are playing Leicester today and Man Utd in 3 days, save your best players for the match you consider most important!
3. Know your players - If your player starts a game with 100% condition, check his condition at the end of the game. If it's less than 75-70%, you should consider not playing him whenever his start condition is under 95-100%.
4. Pay attention to your bench - Be sure to have rested substitutes available for the players who are more susceptible to tiredness.

Most of us consider a player with condition above 90% to be fit enough to play. From my experience, I would not risk having more than 3 players starting a game under 95% condition. I've suffered many late second half goals because my team was too tired in the end of the game.

[*]Intensive training

We all know the wonders IT does to your players' attributes. However, it does take a toll on your players' condition. When you weigh the advantages and disadvantages, IT is still too good to consider not using it. However, some players simply can't take it. There are 3 situations in which I strongly recommend taking a player out of IT:

[*]Your player struggles to achieve >90-95% condition - Just before kick off, sort your players by condition. In normal situations, most of your players should have very high condition. If one of your players has less than 95% without having been injured or involved in a match very recently, it is very probable that he can't handle IT.

[*]Your player is constantly injured - That's a clear sign of IT crackdown. I normally take players out of IT if they have been injured 3 times in a row. Also, if he has 2 injuries in a row that last longer than 2 months each.

[*]Your player is unhappy with training - Being unhappy does not affect your players condition, but affects team morale. Having a high team morale is key for success, so don't take chances.

Rafa's alternative training schedules:

If your player can't handle IT, you should consider having him in an alternative training schedule. I normally judge if the player contributes more to attack or defence. Then, I place him in one of the following training schedules:

Attacking Schedule: Fitness Medium | Tactics Medium | Attacking Intensive | Goalkeeping None | Defensive Light | Motivational Medium
Defending Schedule: Fitness Medium | Tactics Medium | Attacking Light | Goalkeeping None | Defensive Intensive | Motivational Medium

[*]Injuries

When a player suffers an injury, he normally goes through two colour-coded periods:

Red: Unavailable for selection
Green: Still recovering, but can be selected

So, would you select a player whose condition is 90%, but still recovering from injury? Well, that's quite a gamble. In my opinion, only if the player is indispensable, the game is really important and you have no adequate backup. Using a player in this condition will increase the risk of him getting injured again, and he will probably not last the whole 90 minutes anyway.

[*]Pressing

If you go through the tactics published here at Vibe, you can see that the majority of players use the Pressing instruction. It's easily understandable why: when pressing, your opposition has less space to play, and less time to think. Your team will recover a lot of balls and keep more possession, and your opponent will tend to do more mistakes. However, pressing tires your players much more.

Marc Vaughan has mentioned somewhere that pressing should be used sparingly. The arguments were that your team tires a lot more when pressing, and breaking the game's rhythm with pressing and not-pressing periods can be the key to open an apparently impervious defence. However, he is not well known as the best player around here

I do agree with the man, though. I normally start the game pressing, for 15-20 minutes. Let it go for a while, until the clock reaches 30-35 minutes. Press again in the end of the half. Do the same during the second half. If at any moment you are winning easily, maybe 2 goals ahead, don't use pressing at all. You're going to save your players condition, so they can press harder and better when needed.

[*]Player roles/instructions

Certain player roles (iOS) or instructions (PSP) are more demanding on your players' condition then others. Here is a short iOS based list:

Wing backs > Full backs - Wing backs have to run up and down the pitch. Be sure to check your player condition when playing him as a wing back. Consider switching him to a full back if the game is already won.
Box-to-box midfielders > Central midfielders - BBMs run up and down the pitch like madmen, which makes them the most susceptible players to tiredness. Just a very select bunch of players boast the qualities and physique to perform it. Even if you consider your player a natural BBM, consider giving him a break when needed, switching his role to CM if the game is too easy or already won.
Defensive wingers > Wide midfielders - Both roles encompass attacking and defending duties, but the defensive wingers use a lot of pressing high up the pitch. Consider your players' stamina before selecting each role.
Complete forwards > Other forwards - The complete forward roams a lot more, so he will be more tired than the other types of strikers.

Final remarks

Of course your players should run and sweat blood for you and your team. But remember to keep them in good condition, so they can do more in the long run. And think a bit more on how the players instructions affect your players. Sometimes you need a marathon runner, that will keep a strong, steady pace throughout the game. Sometimes you need Usain Bolt cutting through the defence.

How about you? Do you care about your players condition? What do you do to keep them in shape? Are you going to try anything I mentioned here?

Thanks a bunch for reading

This article was inspired by a question from payrecnides via PM

This post has been promoted to an article

Ashez · November 23, 2011

great work keep it up

Chelsea8 · November 23, 2011

Magical stuff! Onto the questions, I only use a player above 95% unless they are important eg. Drogba. I would try the pressing thing but I think I'm too lazy to do that

samhardy · November 23, 2011

How often do i have to say, amazing work

Dec · November 23, 2011

I give up even commenting Rafa as you know my opinions and I am running out of verbs to use to applaud you .

rafa · November 24, 2011

great work keep it up

Thanks

Magical stuff! Onto the questions, I only use a player above 95% unless they are important eg. Drogba. I would try the pressing thing but I think I'm too lazy to do that

Hehe, I'm lazy too sometimes

How often do i have to say, amazing work

I appreciate that, Sam

I give up even commenting Rafa as you know my opinions and I am running out of verbs to use to applaud you .

Thanks a lot Dec

JoshFMH · November 24, 2011

Sweet

rafa · November 25, 2011

FMH11 Complete Database Census - Part 1

Any of you following my articles has seen my first efforts to understand the effect of loaded league on database size. This time around I went one step further, and analysed all possible loaded league combinations and it's effects on the database size!

As usual, this work was done using FMH 11 for iOS with the latest available update (v2.5)

Loaded leagues versus database size

In this section, I extended my previous work and tried all possible combinations of loaded countries! It sounds crazy huh? But when I started trying it I got the following results: