Football Manager 2012 - January Ratings for Southend

[Medway Blue]

Looks like I'll have some higher guidelines to work with when doing the ratings for January due to our position at this stage. I should be able to rate 'key players' (of which there should be five) between 85 and 100 for Current Ability. Over the summer, due to our mid-table finish last season, my guidelines stated that I had to rate our 'key players' between 71 and 90 for Current Ability. Regular first teamers (i.e. rest of first team squad) need to fall between 71 and 85 for Current Ability (this was 55-70 over the summer).

I attach the ratings as they stand at the moment after the work that I did over the summer. Note that we actually have 9 'key players' based on the guidelines that i had to work within - this is because Harris, Johnson, Dickinson and Kalala came into my staff rating file with the below CA ratings, which were given to them by the researchers at their previous clubs. I am not allowed to alter these until January, at which point I will be deemed to have had enough time to make my own sound judgements. Based on the below list, there will be a lot of moving around, not just based on basic CA ratings, but also on the order of ability throughout the squad.

1. Harris, Neil (90)
2. Johnson, Jemal (89)
3. Barker, Chris (88)
4. Grant, Anthony (84)
5. Timlin, Michael (83)
6. Hall, Ryan (81)
7. Dickinson, Liam (80)
8. Kalala, Jean-Paul (79)
9. Corr, Barry (78)
10. Sawyer, Lee (73)

11. Phillips, Mark (69)
12. Ferdinand, Kane (68)
13. Morris, Glenn (68)
14. Clohessy, Sean (67)
15. Mohsni, Bilel (65)
16. Gilbert, Peter (63)
17. Paterson, Matt (60)
18. Prosser, Luke (60)
19. Leonard, Ryan (58)
20. Coughlan, Graham (58)
21. Sturrock, Blair (56)

22. Nesbitt, Teddy (50)
23. Bentley, Daniel (50)
24. Crawford, Harry (50)
25. Asante, Kyle (50)
26. Woodyard, Alex (48)
27. Stevens, James (46)
28. James-Lewis, Merrick (46)
29. Smith, George (44)


On the point of moving around and ordering:

• I don't see Chris Barker now as being anywhere near 20 points higher in Current Ability than Mark Phillips
• I'm also not sure that Dicko and Harris are 9 CA points apart.
• I don't see any of our 4 or 5 central midfielders as being a great deal 'better' than the others. Yes, they are all different types of central midfielder and all bring different things to the table - but is there much of a difference in overall quality? With the exception perhaps of Sawyer, no, I don't think so. So should JPK, Timlin, Grant and Ferdinand all be fairly close together in terms of Current Ability?
• Mohsni will undoubtedly move up, but is he better in defence or as a striker? Which attributes to focus on?
• Glenn Morris will be improved, but should Bentley be so too? I wouldn't put him at any more than 12-15 CA points behind Morris...

What would your ratings and order of ability be? Use my January guidelines (towards the top of the post) and tell me what you think!

 

[blues_r_best]

To be honest they mostly look very fair at the moment.

I'd move Hall to probably the top with a CA of low 90's, and have Mohsni at around 85, but with this having to be split between defense and attack would probably leave him not good enough in either. Timlin should have a couple of extra points to be above Grant, Ferdinand and Phillips should each receive about a 10 point increase.

Harris should be lowered by around 5, JJ by around 15-20, Kalala by around 5

Key players
Hall 90's
Barker 88
Mohsni 85
Timlin 85
Harris 85

Grant 84
Dickinson 80
Phillips 79
Ferdinand 78
Corr 78
Kalala 74
Sawyer 73
JJ 73

Something like that.

 

[Medway Blue]

To be honest they mostly look very fair at the moment.

I'd move Hall to probably the top with a CA of low 90's, and have Mohsni at around 85, but with this having to be split between defense and attack would probably leave him not good enough in either. Timlin should have a couple of extra points to be above Grant, Ferdinand and Phillips should each receive about a 10 point increase.

Harris should be lowered by around 5, JJ by around 15-20, Kalala by around 5

Key players
Hall 90's
Barker 88
Mohsni 85
Timlin 85
Harris 85

Grant 84
Dickinson 80
Phillips 79
Ferdinand 78
Corr 78
Kalala 74
Sawyer 73
JJ 73

Something like that.

I think they're fairly OK at the moment as well, but there is scope (and perhaps reason) to up them. In the context of the division, they're on the low side. If you take an average of the best 16 players at all of the L2 clubs, we come in at 8th or 9th, which is clearly not accurate.

You hit the nail on the head with my problem with Mohsni and for those reasons, I will probably have to over-inflate his CA a little bit to make sure that he is at the very least competent at both attacking and defending. I have done some experimenting and whilst a CA of 80-85 makes him one of the best players towards the top end of the division overall, he'd end up being particularly great in either defence or attack. So a CA of 90 might need to be used to combat this.

I would bring Phillips and Barker closer too, by upping one or lowering the other. I think Phillips has outshone Barker this season.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Five key players
Hall 93
Timlin 90
Ferdinand 86
Dickinson 85
Phillips 85

First team regulars
Clohessy 84
Corr 84
Mohsni 82
Barker 82
Grant 81
Gilbert 80
Harris 78
Kalala 75
Morris 72


The rest - Sawyer, Prosser, Sturrock, Johnson aren't playing regular first team football and would be between the 55-70 bracket. Obviously Sawyer's potential is much higher than his current rating.

BBBC misses out on a 100 rating as he lacks mobility in his wheelchair.

 

[Medway Blue]

Five key players
Hall 93
Timlin 90
Ferdinand 86
Dickinson 85
Phillips 85

First team regulars
Clohessy 84
Corr 84
Mohsni 82
Barker 82
Grant 81
Gilbert 80
Harris 78
Kalala 75
Morris 72


The rest - Sawyer, Prosser, Sturrock, Johnson aren't playing regular first team football and would be between the 55-70 bracket. Obviously Sawyer's potential is much higher than his current rating.

BBBC misses out on a 100 rating as he lacks mobility in his wheelchair.

Some interesting ones there, I like the look of that list. BBBC - I cannot increase his CA as I haven't seen him play since the last time I rated him :(

 

[Grayson]

I like YB's list.

I'm not entirely sure how the game engine works, but if you gave Mohsni excellent stats in heading and jumping, with average stats technically and elsewhere, he'd still be effective both at the back and up front.

E.g. 16 jumping, 15 heading, 13 strength, 12 tackling, 12 pace, 10 marking, 8 finishing. I'm not sure how that translates CA-wise but I'd like to think it'd fit in around 85-90.

 

[Medway Blue]

I like YB's list.

I'm not entirely sure how the game engine works, but if you gave Mohsni excellent stats in heading and jumping, with average stats technically and elsewhere, he'd still be effective both at the back and up front.

E.g. 16 jumping, 15 heading, 13 strength, 12 tackling, 12 pace, 10 marking, 8 finishing. I'm not sure how that translates CA-wise but I'd like to think it'd fit in around 85-90.

Yep that sounds about right. I'm having trouble balancing Hall too, so I might just strip him and Mohsni back and start from scratch on their individual attribute ratings.

The problem half the time is having to scrimp in certain attribute areas for certain players in order to get a more important attribute right. I'll post a screenshot of my little data editor for you guys tomorrow to show you what I mean.

Depending on a player's position, attributes will have different weightings - i.e. Dickinson's finishing attribute will have a greater weighting as a striker than Barker's would, and therefore my rating of it will have a greater effect on his CA than it would for Barker. When I fiddle with individual attributes, the editor displays a Recommended Current Ability (RCA) based on the ratings I've given and the weightings for the attributes. I have to give a CA first, then tackle the individual attributes and ensure that the RCA is in line with the CA and this makes it difficult. If I have Hall's CA and RCA in line with one another, then decide to bump up his crossing attribute (which has a 7% weighting for his positional combination, second only to pace and acceleration on 17% each) by 2 points, his RCA jumps up by a point or three and is then out of sync with the CA that I gave him, so I have to put up his CA and maybe upset the balance of the squad's collective CA or scrimp on some of Hally's lower weighted attributes, which means that those attributes might be lower than they should be but at least they're less important to the way he performs in his position.

It's like an art form or a delicate science, this ratings business!

 

[Medway Blue]

OK, ratings done and about to be sent in for the January data update!

OK, so I was given the guidelines and they were as I though they would be. I was allowed to have 5 'key players' all placed along a CA range of 86-100. The rest of the first team could then be rated 71-85 for CA. SI don't release guidelines for individual clubs half way through the season and the guidelines I was given were for a League 2 club 'looking likely to win automatic promotion'. Seemed right to me. These guidelines also stated the CA average of my best 16 players should come in at 81.75......and I got it dead on that figure exactly.

Below you will find the ratings before and after I did my overhaul. Of course, the lower set of ratings is the 'before' and the higher is the 'after'.

I have put in a spoiler tag around the updated list of CAs for those who do not wish to know.

Before
1. Harris, Neil (90)
2. Johnson, Jemal (89)
3. Barker, Chris (88)
4. Grant, Anthony (84)
5. Hall, Ryan (81)
6. Dickinson, Liam (80)
7. Kalala, Jean-Paul (79)
8. Corr, Barry (78)
9. Sawyer, Lee (73)
10. Phillips, Mark (69)
11. Ferdinand, Kane (68)
12. Morris, Glenn (68)
13. Clohessy, Sean (67)
14. Mohsni, Bilel (65)
15. Gilbert, Peter (63)
16. Prosser, Luke (60)
17. Coughlan, Graham (58)
18. Leonard, Ryan (58)
19. Sturrock, Blair (56)
20. Bentley, Daniel (50)

  Spoiler:  

After
1. Hall, Ryan (98)
2. Timlin, Michael (92)
3. Clohessy, Sean (90)
4. Dickinson, Liam (88)
5. Mohsni, Bilel (87)
6. Phillips, Mark (85)
7. Barker, Chris (83)
8. Kalala, Jean-Paul (82)
9. Morris, Glenn (82)
10. Harris, Neil (81)
11. Grant, Anthony (79)
12. Corr, Barry (78)
13. Gilbert, Peter (75)
14. Ferdinand, Kane (73)
15. Sawyer, Lee (69)
16. Prosser, Luke (66)
17. Leonard, Ryan (65)
18. Sturrock, Blair (62)
19. Bentley, Daniel (60)
20. Coughlan, Graham (58)

Since we have spent some money this January, I will improve the finances of the club ever so slightly and give us a small transfer budget to play with. Won't be much above 5 figures though!

Not too sure when the update will be released. SI should make an announcement soon.

 

[Bluesmanager]

I know Slipper was talking about a patch released in November last year but I didn't notice it when I tried finding it on Steam (just said there was no DLC for it), will that be the case for the January update?

 

[Medway Blue]

If you have Steam, any updates or patches are detected and downloaded automatically, often in the background. If Steam told you there is no DLC, means it prob downloaded it for you in the background without you realising!

 

[BLUEBLOOD]

You appear to have Sawyers rating back to front James :winking:

 

[Bluesmanager]

If you have Steam, any updates or patches are detected and downloaded automatically, often in the background. If Steam told you there is no DLC, means it prob downloaded it for you in the background without you realising!

Be nice if it told me it'd downloaded it then!

 

[markw]

Be nice if it told me it'd downloaded it then!

one of the reasons people hate steam....
any chance of us being the shrimpers again?

 

[blues_r_best]

Isn't the Jan update normally released after the transfer window closes, so you can play with the Jan transfers in your team? This would be why steam hasn't downloaded it. James is just letting us know of the good (IMO) changes he's made to our players ahead of that time.

Also Steam is the best PC gaming distribution device and I love it.

 

[markw]

Isn't the Jan update normally released after the transfer window closes, so you can play with the Jan transfers in your team? This would be why steam hasn't downloaded it. James is just letting us know of the good (IMO) changes he's made to our players ahead of that time.

Also Steam is the best PC gaming distribution device and I love it.

i have no real complaints about it, as football manager is the only pc game i play. but the concept annoys me, its like me buying fifa12 for the ps3 and then having to download something onto the ps3 to play it.

 

[Medway Blue]

You appear to have Sawyers rating back to front James :winking:

Some people would have you believe so!

one of the reasons people hate steam....
any chance of us being the shrimpers again?

Yes, that has been changed. The 1st and 2nd nicknames took on a life of their own and swapped over at some stage....I didn't do it!

Isn't the Jan update normally released after the transfer window closes, so you can play with the Jan transfers in your team? This would be why steam hasn't downloaded it. James is just letting us know of the good (IMO) changes he's made to our players ahead of that time.

Also Steam is the best PC gaming distribution device and I love it.

I find Steam infuriating and useful in equal measures, but it's here to stay as far as FM is concerned. The patch wil be out a week or two after the transfer window closes, and that is when you will see the changes that I have made. I am holding off playing the game til then as I am fed up with the data as it is at the moment!

 

[Beefy]

I'm also holding off on starting a Southend FM12 game until after this update. I've gone back to FM08 and my four-in-a-row title-winning Southend side, who are new Champions of Europe. I think I'm ready to throw myself in at the bottom on FM12 though.

 

[Firestorm]

I don't getthat much chance to play te game, but a few weeks back I started a Southend game , in a season which mirrored the real one todate, I blew it after being top in January and lost the playoff final to Accrington

Otherwise it was pretty much as in real life with the exception of Bristol and Crawley swapping over , Brizzle won the league.

Didn't have enough money to renew most of the contracts so I have a complete rebuild on my hands, with board expectation at Win the league

 

[Napster]

Well I started off as Peterhead, and have just won back to back titles and the Scottish Challenge Cup. Jamil Adam is amazing, plus I picked up some Spanish players, Nacho Calvillo, Antonio Suarez, Butra, and Jimenez who are all great. Got Dudek as a player/gk coach as well.

Too addictive. Ive started 3rd season in First Division and hope to get promoted to SPL. I've turned down Brighton and St Mirren - but once I get to the SPL, I'm on the lookout for another club.

 

[Blue_Wes]

Well I started off as Peterhead, and have just won back to back titles and the Scottish Challenge Cup. Jamil Adam is amazing, plus I picked up some Spanish players, Nacho Calvillo, Antonio Suarez, Butra, and Jimenez who are all great. Got Dudek as a player/gk coach as well.

Too addictive. Ive started 3rd season in First Division and hope to get promoted to SPL. I've turned down Brighton and St Mirren - but once I get to the SPL, I'm on the lookout for another club.

I haven't been a Scottish club since Gretna had Deucher in the 4th Division. You have to play Champions league with them before you ditch them for the bright lights of the Prem though Naps.

I'm running a Southend at the moment. First season was succesful in as much as I was promoted at the first attempt (3rd), but unsuccesful in that I was top for about four months but suffered my usual March slump (I get this pretty much every game no matter who I am). Johnson, Hall & Harris were the stars for me. It was also unsuccesful in terms of cashflow, really struggled to break even and had no money to renew contracts so lost quite a few players who did ok.

A big rebuild in League 1 (mostly youngsters due to wages) saw me have a storming start and I was top until the end of September, when a run of 3 wins in about 20 games saw me drop to 14/15th. I finally steadied the ship, and with only one addition in January (the wage budget is a bitch), we made a late push for the play offs, finishing 8th and only a point off the play offs, although realistically, factoring in GD it was more like two.

Third season was much like Southend in L2 at the moment, with me Palace and Cardiff yo-yoing the top spots. Then in what the press hailed as game of the season, on loan Shaun Maloney netted a free kick for Southend away to Cardiff and we went 5 points clear around April time; and we never looked back. Suffering only 3 losses in our last 18, a run that saw us 11 points clear of third, and 5 off 2nd. Again only managed to break even; courtesy of a 5th Rd away tie to Citeh in the FA Cup (lost 4-0), and a Wembley appearance in the LDV, 3-0 win over struggling L2 Bury. Ryan Hall - I nearly didn't renew his contract this season either - and Kane Ferdinand really came to fruition this season, and as a result are the only Southend players left.

Again the wage budget is massively hindering, even in the Championship (wage increases for promotion didn't help) to the extent that if I stay up, I'll be well chuffed. I managed to spend some money for only the second time this season, 30k on Tommy Spurr for LB. Ryan Taylor signed as well, David Martin from Norwich, Mirko Babic and Dean Marney from Hull as back up for the midfield; the rest are youthies. I can't even bolster my squad with loanees this season as everyone want's wage contributions, Chelsea asking for £40k for one 19 year old they let me have for free last year. We've had an indifferent start, 1 win (2 including League Cup), and 2 defeats - so we're about 15th. 21st and a decent bank balance is my target this year.

Only player I have with real potential (by this I mean able to cut it in the Prem - if my scouts are to be believed), is a regen from Basildon, Isaac Hayden DM.