The one thing that makes FM different from all other management games is personality. From fussy chairmen to impatient fans, ambitious young strikers to reliable old warhorses, every single one of them has something to say and the effects can make or break your season. There are a raft of options for us to have our say, including the recent addition of manager mind games and previously the praise/criticise player function. But are the choices really enough and can we say what we really want to?
Well, I’m going to nail my colours to the mast right from the word go and say no. To me, FM is like one of those personality tests that puts you in a scenario, then gives you five options to choose, none of which you would ever consider doing. The test proudly announces which Muppet you are, or which 80s toy, or tells you that you are a superstar in the making, all based on the answers that were the least unlike you. And so it is with FM.
To start with the most basic example, let’s look at what happens when we loan a player out. In my experience, the most common reasons for sending our players on a 3 month vacation to Shrewsbury are 1) to get first team experience, 2) to get match fitness, 3) to get them off the wage bill and 4) because nobody will buy the useless lump of lard and we’re hoping that a few games in a lower division might convince someone that he can kick a ball in a straight line.
Of these, only the fourth is kind of covered by the very polite “The player is not in the club’s first team plans”. Most of the time I simply leave the reason as “None”. Of course, I have a reason, since I’m not prone to loaning players randomly out of the goodness of my heart, but I would rather say nothing than give a reason that is not true and may have unexpected consequences.
I have a similar problem when my squad players get stroppy about wasting away in the reserves. The probability is that they are not in the first team for a good reason. As far as FM is concerned, we can either tell them that they will get in the team some time this season, or to mind their own business. What I really want to say is “You’re twelve, come back when you reach puberty”, or “I don’t want to push you too hard after your quadruple leg break”. Even “You’ll only play if my nine first choice strikers contract the plague” would be better than merely dismissing their enquiry.
Sometimes FM doesn’t even give an option to respond. The one that has me pounding my head against the desk in frustration is when I sign a new player and one of my existing squad is afraid he is going to be replaced. I have never had this happen with a player that I am actually intending to replace. I desperately want to say “You silly boy, I’m playing him on the right and you play on the left”. But no, I have to watch as his morale plummets, his form suffers and his prophecy becomes self fulfilling when I finally give up and sell him.
It’s perhaps one of the more frustrating sides of FM, when we can’t make our voices heard. However, there is a saving grace – manager mind games. Finally I can do a Kevin Keegan and send my team tumbling to oblivion with a few ill considered words. I can wind up Harry Redknapp all season long if I want to (and believe me I want to) or suck up to Alex Ferguson to win his approval and indirectly influence my players into thinking I know what I’m doing.
Mind games in FM2005 is only meant to be a toe dipped in the water. It’s a good taste of things to come, but as yet has a lot of untapped potential. At the moment, it’s more of a playground fight than an adult argument. What do I mean by this? Well, put simply, it lacks subtlety.
Imagine a game where we can complain about the other manager influencing the ref at half time, talk about six pointers or question the team selection of our opposite number. All we can do now is to praise or criticise other managers, albeit with a good number of variations, and they can praise or criticise in return. It’s the football equivalent of “my brother is bigger than yours”, “no, mine’s bigger than yours”.
In fact the biggest problem is not what we can say about other managers, but what we can say about ourselves. If David Moyes has a go at me, I don’t want to comment on him I want to talk about me. Me, me, me. I want to ignore him and talk about my team instead and the wonderful job I am doing.
I see the future of mind games being intrinsically linked with pre and post-match interviews. This is where most of the mind games are played out in reality. I want to not see the incident, I want to love it if they lost, I want to throw a Strachan style strop or smile through everything like Ranieri. I want to tell Harry Redknapp that a squad of 43 players is not down to the bare bones!
Let’s face it, we all talk to our players, we all conduct interviews with ourselves and hold imaginary half time team talks. Like the 2D match engine has brought to life what we once had to imagine, FM really needs to bring to life the human interaction in the game and give us a voice. And not just us, but the rest of the staff at the club.
Board interaction is an area that could be greatly expanded. Remember when Martin O’Neill was at Leicester? He was openly critical about the board and the way the club was run. The board hated him, but they had to keep him because he was the best manager they had in years. All we can do currently is make requests to the board. More transfer funds, bigger wage budget, better facilities. If the answer is “no”, then as far as the board are concerned that is the end of the story. Coming back to ask the same question will only get you chastised.
But what if that star striker would be the difference between safety and relegation? Isn’t it worth the money? Don’t we have a justifiable reason for the request and wouldn’t the board give it a little more consideration if only we had the option to say something? Imagine being able to convince the board to sign a particular player and the plaudits or the fall out when the player succeeds or fails.
What I am talking about is a proper relationship with the board, where we can outline our five year plan, or argue over the Director of Football’s responsibilities. The board might criticise the lack of young players being brought through and bemoan the amount of agents fees being paid out on buying foreign stars. Maybe we would have the chance to say “look I’m just trying to stabilise the squad” or question why the stadium expansion is taking so long.
I have to say, I love playing FM. These missing options don’t really detract from the game as such. However, the game I can see in the future would benefit hugely from added interaction and would have me in awe at every twist and turn. The community has been crying out for this side of the game to be expanded and we can only hope that FM2006 and beyond sees the ideal we have all imagined, finally being delivered.