Started a new career mode - wanted to try playing in the EPL on 18...  Liverpool.  Signed Messi for something stupid.  He's a joy to play as/with.  Makes dribbling so easy and so seems almost impossible to not score when he shoots.  I'm wondering if this is just a psychological thing about playing with him - I've had certain players in past versions who just seemed so much calmer than others (Cedric as a right back for example).

Yep - if you go into the free agents after the first season there are always a few 17-18 players added to the list.  There's usually a couple of good ones hidden in there.  Takes a while to find them, but they are usually there.

you cant sign 18 year olds on a free right?

3rd, 3rd, 6th, 4th (& won the League Cup)...  All in Championship.  Ready to kill someone.  Start 5th season - 3-0, 3-0 (with reserves in cup), 3-0, 6-0...  Think I may have finally cracked how to play the AI - which could mean a quick switch to FUT and playing humans online.

Fixturing is hilarious if you qualify for Europe whilst in the Championship by the way.  I've just started two weeks of Saturday (league), Tuesday (league), Thursday (euro), Saturday (league) Tuesday (cup), Thursday (euro), Saturday (league).  Squad juggling ahoy.

If anyone is looking for a midfield machine - Olivier Kemen.  Played 90 minutes each on Saturday and Tuesday, and is still almost at full power for the Thursday game.  Worth about 30 million too.  Picked him up in my second season for about 3-4 million.

Gameplay definitely improved - financial side is still shocking.  Another patch to fix that is unlikely though.  May have to switch to FUT soon.

That Download a fortnight ago has made the play more stable. Defenders chase my runners and passing 180 degrees is less accurate. 

Free kicks seem much harder in this version - which is possibly why Mooy's not doing so well for you this time...

I've played 4 seasons now - 3rd, 3rd, 6th, and 4th in the Championship - my own fault that I've missed out on automatic promotion because I sim a few too many games in the second half of the season once I 'think' I'm in a good position.

The biggest complaint I would have about the game is the finances.  Completely unreal and way too easy.  I try not to sign Bosman players because it's too easy - but when I do it...  Picking them up when in the Championship is a joke, re-signing first team players on lower wages than they were previously on, etc, and still too easy to pick up a superstar 18 year old on a free transfer.

looks like sunderland are going to get relegated in my second season..  it seems every team i proper belt gets a losing streak afterwards.

topped the group table in the euros in the second season - even though im still in the championship. the only real threat in the group was lazio who picked up a red card in the first 30 mins of both games.  drew them away 0-0 and did them at home 3-2 - although they drew it level at 2-2 after going straight down to 2-0 immediately after the red and the penalty.

my whole first 11 is now 75 - 78 except for barkley who is now on 85.  he's a bit of a one man show. bangs them in, top scoring for the team, but passes poorly and has almost no assists.  and is a bit slow.  maclaren however - in front of barkley - is topping the assist count because he lays so many back to barkley.

im looking at martial and emre can as bosmans.  the 4.5 mill from euros and the 8 mill for fornaroli should cover that with change.

also mooy.  is better rated this year than the last 3 but is not as good. missed every free kick.  a couple years ago he came with the machine trait or whatever the stamina trait was.  this year his tackling, passing, stamina and shooting are all lacking.  he seems quicker on the ball though. it might just be that im playing legendary though now.

The real Sunderland team is piss weak - my Sunderland team has very little to do with it, especially as I'm in my 4th season now - and this one has been a reverse of previous seasons, started in disastrous form (lost 4 in a row - all high scoring games 2-3, 3-4, 2-3, 1-2) - but have turned it around now and am up to the play-offs...  Again.  Have finished 3rd, 3rd, and 6th, in last 3 seasons.  Refusing to give up or mess with sliders/skill level.  Don't mind not pissing every game - I'm getting older and the reactions aren't as quick as they used to be.

I've noticed a few funny incidents in games in FIFA18...  The previously mentioned Lamine Kone slip was the first, just fell over as the ball came to him...  Had another last night, in my favour this time...  Lovely cross to the back post, my forward wins his header but it's weak and straight down...  Keeper dives and ball bounces over him..  Then bounces again, defender trying to clear off the line can't stop fast enough so ends up trying to back heel it away, misses...  Ball bounces again, hits post and crosses line with so little power that it just stopped about a ball's width over the line.  Pandemonium.  Won 1-0.  

Loving and hating the game in equal measures.

there are still some kind of glitchy ways i think the game deals with staging who should win.  i get tackled by better teams from distance.  the players will be a few yards apart the ball just changes possession.

sorry to say but your sunderland squad must start of pretty weak.  im no flogging teams in the championship. but sunderland i beat 4-0 and 5-0 within the first month of the season. the only serious wins i have so far. they are in the relegation zone.

It's possible, but I do try to alter my style - switch to a different formation every few games and play a lot more direct and down the wings (I'm finding crossing and heading a lot easier on 18 to 17), then go back to my close-passing game through the middle (the old driven finish across the keeper isn't as easy as it was, which is good).

Had two of the strangest things happen in the last couple of days...  I started a 3rd season on the (now Cattermole-less) career mode, bad form - had 8 points from 10 games played, then won one, lost 3, and cracked the shits, turned off without saving.  Put it on again yesterday - and I was on 6 points from 5 games...  No idea what happens to the other 5 games from my previous save.  I only have one save file too.  Really baffled.  Anyway, form returned, record yesterday was something like 5 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses.  Which is acceptable with my squad.  Really confused as to how a saved game could suddenly lose about a month of in-game history.  Not complaining, but still confused.

In other news...  During that horror run that lead to the exit without saving...  I had a moment of PS4 madness - keeper rolled it out to central defender, who did a Stevie Gerrard and just fell over the ball.  No buttons pressed as I was just going to collect it then lay it off to one of the fullbacks.  Just fell over.  Naturally whilst he was on the ground the other team's striker just ran in collected the ball and scored beyond a stranded keeper.  Never had that happen before...  New feature on 18?  

Oh well, season 3 and on the way back to the top of the table...  Maybe THIS time I can make the EPL!

finish the first season with melbourne city in england div 3.  smashed it. over 100 points and about 120 goals. lost to chelsea in the FA cup final and have been given a euro slot. the team is probably on par with say huddersfield in the EPL, maybe a bit better.  2 x 77's 2x 76's 3x 75's and im expected to get to the last 16 of the euros..

anyway. i shifted the rest of the A league into the championship gave them each a couple of the top free agents.  

brisbane roar came in 2nd and got automatic promotion into the EPL!

the bottom 11 of the championship were

wsw
adelaide
bristol
perth
brentford
wellington
sydney
burton
central coast - relegated
jets - relegated
victory - wooden spoon and relegated!!!!!!!! loool.

if you have money left at the end of the season - say a few million - does it now carry over?  ive got cash this season, but no one i want to spend it on.  i want to get more money and buy someone better next season.

does the game AI adjust to your playing style?

It happened again. 

First half of season - averaging over 2 points and 2 goals per game, conceding an average of 1 per game.  On fire.  6 points clear at the top of the Championship.
Second half of season - averaged just over 1 per game in each category.  Comedy shooting. Missed automatic promotion by 5 points.

Added four new players, all better than their replacements - started next season in worse form than second half of last.  Quit after 10 games with only 1 win on the board (again).  Tried different formations, different styles, different players.

The difference between the first half of the season and the second?  Lee Cattermole (who was averaging about 7.3/game and hadn't scored all season).  I can only assume FIFA thinks he is some kind of a God, which demonstrates that they haven't seen him play.

That's three career modes in a row now where everything has fallen apart and I've had to quit to save my sanity.

FIFA17 career modes on Legendary I've won multiple Premier League titles, Euro Leagues/Cups, etc., so it's not as if I can't play the bloody game!

Yep, that only works if you are prepared to give the player away as part of another signing.

I may be saying something you already know?
So start of every season i would sign a few of the cheapest possible players I could find and purchase them with the "banked wage player" as part of the trade.

You also have to offer the cheap player you are buying want reasonable terms or he will refuse. As in if you offer him a starting role in a great team he will refuse the contract saying he doesn't believe you can offer him the role.

Besides that "cheat" I play much more like Benjamin especially as far as buying/scouting players without looking online for those videos. I know you say in real life you have access to internet etc but only one club can sign that player too in real life too as opposed to every club having their own copy to sign.

It's all personal taste though. I used to turn off important games i was losing and justify to myself it's coz i was distracted or something so it was fair to do it but have stopped now.

Will buy Fifa18 in January once it halves in price as I always do, glad some attention has been given to career mode it seems at least

or when you swap players and use the R2 or whatever to keep the close player applying pressure and then they back off the pace and let the attacker go

Suddenly I'm scoring so much and I've become more patient in defence. It's annoying that when I do a through ball,  my opponent defender never sprints to keep up. It's the same when my opponent breaks,  they sprint like crazy and I need to really keep up. 

)my formation is boss.  basically a 2 4 2 2  - an attacking box and a defensive box.  playing left and right midfielders as fullbacks for pace, stamina and shooting.

-------------------------------CB(sainsbury)--------------CB

RB-----------------------RDM(budz)-------------------LDM (mooy)--------------------LB


---------------------------RAM------------------------------------LAM

---------------------------Maclaren--------------------------Fornaroli


when a full back or cdm brings the ball up i can slide it across the field and there are 4 or 5 passing options lined up across the front of the box. their fullback comes in and i slaughter them with the extra man, training everyone on shooting. they can all bang them in.

and i get 2 stoppers in midfield doing all the defensive work. the CB's do nothing but stay central. everything has to come down the sides which is covered by the pacey FB's  and sliding DM's.  i only ship goals when i get carried away in attack, which happens once you get 3 or 4.

first full season on legendary.  just belted tottenham in the FA cup semi 5-0. with melbourne city - although only budz and fornaroli are left in the first 11.  - im not that great a player, i put it down to the formation and the personnel.  ive spent every cent on young talent and they are coming good at the end of the season.  only league one but we picked up 109 points and about 120 goals.  off tap.

i sold up every spare man and paid a fortune for ross barkley on the bosman.  we are going to kill the championship and then all my young fellas will be huge by the time we hit the EPL. im expecting a euro slot in our first EPL season.

the scouting system sucks. i dont think it reflects real life at all - where you actually do have access to the internet, websites and videos.

funnily enough there are a few stories about players being picked up after being noticed on football manager. even a managers kid who started banging on to his dad about this teenager lionel messi. dad had a look had a look into messi and then decided against it.

I try to make it a rule that I only sign players my scouts have recommended to me - that way I can't take advantage of any of the numerous websites/videos out there giving hints and tips.  I'm a sucker for making it tough.  I actually made that first season really hard by spending most of my initial budget on better scouts - so great scouting but nothing to buy the players that are recommended.  Just going through summer transfer window before second season now and it's beginning to pay off...  Half a dozen signings already, young lads (but not too young) with potential to be solid EPL players - if I can get promoted this year.

I always check the free agents but in that season I literally had nothing to spend.  My total budget at the end of the transfer window was something like GBP700 in the bank - or GBP6/week!  No-one ready to play for that!!  I thought someone would come in in January and pick off one of my better players, which would have allowed me to get a couple of freebies in, but no...  Nobody wanted any of them.

if you want a list of the best youth signings you can make in the first season this guy has them all.

you need to look at the free agents.  there's a couple times when they have saved me in that situation.  you can bring someone in on the cheap just to fill the squad and all you pay is wage - maybe they might want a signing fee in 18.

i train them hard to get them up to a level. this season it's all players i have long term plans for (which is about 7 players) up to 75 by the end of the season. once they are there i will work on training the youth in camp.

had a glitch with a youth player.  their stats show speed and acceleration at over 90 while they were in the youth camp.  i signed them and his speed was in the 60's. i redid it 3 or 4 times with the same issue.  pretty frustrating tbh.

I don't do as much training as I should, and on 18 I almost always sim.  On 17 I went flat out on youth development and trained like a machine - actually doing most of the sessions too - but it didn't seem too realistic to be producing 2-3 first team 17 yr olds each season - plus following on from your comment about getting attached to certain squads - when you've had a lad from 15, turned him into a full international, first team regular with league titles and european football, money no object when it comes to wages - and he suddenly decides he's going to leave...  I'm too invested!

I've never replayed a game due to the result - once or twice because of crashes.  Never re-done the transfer window - and don't think I will.  I could have re-done January on the season I've just finished - only needed to sell one player to make things very different, but I treated it as a simple case of reality biting...  Shit happens in real life, why not in the game.

I usually sim a couple of games in January if my league position is reasonable - just want to get into the transfer market and see what I've got for the second half of the season.  Maybe sim toward the end of the season, again only when league position won't be too badly affected by a bad result.

Forgot to mention before - this one goes in the 'most frustrating FIFA 18 quirk' category...  That Birmingham game I had to forfeit due to lack of players...  The biggest problem was that it was a re-arranged fixture due to cup ties, and the computer slapped it into an International week, so I lost my three full internationals on top of a few injuries.  Extremely frustrating.  Actually went through the FA Cup Semi-Final, last 3 league games, and my play-offs with only 16 fit players - knowing that any injury or suspension would cost me the next game 3-0.  Stressful when it's tight at the top and you tend to tackle a lot!  Got through it but players were exhausted by the time I played the 2nd leg of the play-offs.

yeah i agree.  it's empty to cheat it.  i use to replay a lot of games - mostly because i'd spend so much time on a squad and get attached to it.

i fiddle with the sliders - some of them have nothing to do with skill they are things about team with and line height etc. things i would as a manager change.  ive also used them a bit to scaffold the difficulty settings as ive gotten better.  im now playing on legendary mode. absolutely no rematching allowed. high risk fifa! 

i also reload quite a bit in the transfer because the current transfer system i find very unrealistic. i think you dont get as much opportunity to sell as would happen in real life.

do you play out each training session or sim it? atm i play each one, but it gets tedious.

Just noticed a guy on youtube giving showing all kinds of 'cheats' for career mode and thought - "why bother?" - I want the game to be as realistic as possible - tough finances, very few wunderkinds, expensive transfers, etc.

My last game on 17 I was winning the league, banking a fortune and training up half a dozen home-grown 80plus kids...  And it felt fake as f*ck.  I'm actually loving how tough the finances are on this latest game (so far).

So...  Restarted...  Made it really tough for myself to 'enjoy' the full Simon Grayson experience at Sunderland*.  Used squad editor to return all of Grayson's signings to their original clubs, left my 'star' players out on loan as in real life, didn't take the budget boost at the start of the game, played on Legendary without touching the sliders**.

This meant that I started with a pretty thin squad and not much money to build with.  I then managed to spend the lot recruiting new players to the point that at the end of the transfer window I had less than 1k left in my budget.  The only way to top your budget up is through sales - gate money, cup runs, etc., don't seem to have an effect on 'this' year's budget - and as I didn't get any offers for any of my players I ended up crawling through the second half of the season with 8 players running down their contracts and no way for me to sign them up to new deals.  Furthermore, no money for a youth scout, and no money to sign a player even if I had a scout - or to sign any more free agents.  By the end of the season I was bare bones with a few injuries and actually had to forfeit a fixture as I couldn't put a team out.  Lost 3-0.  Guess what I missed out on promotion by?  Yep - goal difference, 2 goals!

Finished league in 3rd, then lost play-off.  Lost League Cup final, lost FA Cup semi-final.  A season of near misses.

* There are a few tricks and twists to improve your transfer budget
- obviously using the budget boost bonus thing at the start
- recalling loaned star players, then whacking them on the transfer market and cashing out
- a bug allows you to trade players you only have on loan as if they belonged to you
- if I'd started with SAFC's actual squad I would have had extra players to sell/trade/use
After this career I may go with the default squad and use all the tricks to see what I can do - but for now it's 'realism' as far as possible.

** Recently saw a suggestion online that if you alter the sliders for keepers only, both teams, from 50 down to 40-45 you get a much more realistic experience without all the wonder saves on both sides...  Might have to try that.

Just one central defender, who I replaced with a slightly lesser but younger player.  I've noticed on previous versions if I offloaded 2-3 first team players things would go wobbly for a few games, so I limited it to just the one this time and still chaos.  If selling one player causes a meltdown then it's a stupid game engine.

It appeared to be carried over for me - but it didn't actually go into my transfer fund until the next window opened.