No playing time

[Hoppetoss]

I'm in my third season. The first two seasons I spent training and as a result my relationship with the team and the fans were terrible. This seems pretty strange to me, I'm a 15 year old kid and because I don't play for the club every week my teammates and the fans hate me? I decided I needed a fresh start so I transfered to Peterborough in league two, hoping to get into the team. Unfortunately I didn't make the team at the start of the season so I kept training, thinking I wasn't good enough. After a while I have the highest skills in the squad but by this time the same thing had happend, the team and the fans hate me (0%) because I don't play any games. Relationship with boss, family and friends are all 100%. Confidence is about 70-80%. My poor realationship with the team has to be the reason I'm not playing but what am I supposed to do? I'm not playing because the team doesn't like me and I can't make them like me without playing, it's a catch 22.

By the way, I did get to start one game as a midfielder in which I scored the only goal and was man of the match. That was over a month ago and I haven't even made the bench since.

[Hoppetoss]

Update

I waited for the January transfer window and got myself transfer listed. Because my skills are quite high (I'm worth 9M) only clubs from the Championship or the Premier league offered me contracts. I finally accepted Fulham in the Championship. At my new club the relationship with the team is once again 50%, unfortunately I still don't make the team or even the bench. I guess my skills are not high enough so I have to train but of course the relationship with the team and the fans go down 5% after every match I don't play. My relationship with the boss also decreases but I can easily increase it when I train. The point is that the whole cycle starts again. By the time my skills are high enough the team will hate me because I'm not playing, which is absurd since I'm desperate to play but never get the chance.

Surely I can't be the only one experiencing this problem or have I missed something that's obvious to everyone else. Is there any way, other than playing well, to increase the team's opinion of you?

[Godfather]

what position do you play ? and your skills ?

[helmut sen.]

I have the same problem like Hoppetoss. I´m now at Hucknell (my third club after Stuttgart and Eastleigh). I´m striker and have the best skills of all strikers in roster. My confidence is about 85%. Family, friends and boss relationship are all at 100%. It gets boring...

[gooneysen]

I have kind of the same problem. I guess whether you're allowed to play or not has a lot to do with your average rating. If you can't rack up a good value here, other players seem to be favored over you. Even if your skills are way better than theirs. A bit unrealistic in my opinion, this needs to be addressed in a future version.

[mindlesspain]

Average value? Hmmm...I have trouble starting with my club, Atlas in Mexico, and have started the last 3 matches because the striker that plays usually is injured. I scored 7 goals in thsoe 3 matches. So, I wonder if I'll continue being a benchwarmer at the start of the new season...

[Hoppetoss]

I have kept going at Fulham, hoping to break into the first team. By signing autographs I've managed to keep the fans pretty happy even tough I get -5% after every game the team plays, it's now at 67%. Since there is nothing I can do about the team relationship, it is now down to 2%. All the others are maxed out at 100% and confidence is at about 85%. I have still not played any games.

Here are my skills and those of the guy who started ahead of me in the last game.

Skill: Me/other guy
Tac 58/20
Sht 72/61
Pas 68/44
Drb 70/60
Hea 74/74
Cro 63/47
Set 61/62
Ctr 72/51
Pac 80/96
Acc 80/87
Str 80/68
Sta 83/68

As you can see he is faster then me but in pretty much everything else I have a higher value. I have never gotten the chance to play for Fulham, in fact I have only played two games so far in my career. In those games I have an average rating of 6, having scored two goals. This guy have a rating of 1.3. However, all of the forwards at the club seems to have similiarily low ratings so I don't think he's been unusually poor. The other strikers at the club, Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora, have 2.1 and 1.6 respectively despite Fulham being in second place. I've actually thought about making another post about these low ratings that a lot of players seem too have but... well, one problem at the time.

[Nilientes]

in my first season i dont have this problem. played 17 times, 14 as sub and 3 as starter. i was sub because my fitness always was around 50

edit: i think i now got the same problem. i got tranfered and i am now one of the best in the team. in the first game i played as sub and then i never get to bench. looking how this goes on

[helmut sen.]

Okay, i hacked my savegame and set team relation to 100%, but i´m still not in the roster. :(

[statto]

What are everyone's fitness levels?

[helmut sen.]

You mean Energy? Doesn´t make a different if 0 or 100. Just tried that.

[Hoppetoss]

I make sure to have at least 90% (often 100%) energy before a match so that's not the problem.

I was sure that team relationship was the problem and not some kind of bug but now I don't know. How do I hack my savegame?

[tizza]

I get playing time however i'm currently being played out of position.

Its weird cos for my first season (Queensland Roar) that started me ahead of the captain who was subsequently benched cos of my inclusion. And thats was going along well then about a month a go (half way through my second season) after one poor performance i copped a yellow card rated 3 i was dropped for 2 games started off the bench for the next 2 or 3, then when i did get my next start i was put at Defensive Left and my prefered position is attacking mid left. I thought this was better than playing from the bench so i tried, got annoyed cos i never got the ball and subsequently just ran to my attacking mid position as soon as i can ... am currently rating 6.5 doing so.

I think it might be to do with roster clashes, and conflicts of personality with the manager? cos despite my good performances my team relationship is only ever about 15%

[siread]

Hoppetoss, can you zip and send me your save. Sounds like I need to tweak the manager AI a little. :)

siread@newstarsoccer.com

[Hoppetoss]

Well, I think I owe someone an apology. I have actually started to make the bench and the last few games I have come on as a substitute. I think I was frustrated with the game and maybe overreacted a bit. If you think about it it's actually pretty realistic. I'm a 18 year old footballer with almost no experience, even if I have great skills I shouldn't make the team right away. Especially not when the team is doing really well without me. I'll keep playing for a while and see how things develop but for now it seems to be working pretty well.

[hockpuck344]

I'm having that problem now but it might be because im 16 in the game

[siread]

Anyone with this problem where you feel you should be getting selected, please zip and email me your save game. Thanks.

siread@newstarsoccer.com

[aragon47]

On Saturday, I would most have agreed with all of those who are reporting an issue with Reduced playing time but I've had a big change of heart today.

I started my NSS4 career and was certain that I'd have all the playing time in the world. That was certainly the case in NSS3: the manager would pretty much always play you even if you were the most talentless hack. NSS4 is much different.

I started at St Albans City at 15 and struggled to increase my skills. At the end of the year, I'd played all of 14 matches and 10 of those as a sub. From pretty much December on, I was on the bench. Very frustrating. To compound the problem, for each time I was on the bench, two key things would happen:

(1) My confidence would take a hit.
(2) My team relationship would take a hit.

So, when my confidence was at 40%, the manager would rarely play me and the team relationship was at 10% so my teammates would almost never pass to me! It was a classic vicious cycle... I couldn't possibly improve.

I asked for a transfer to Nuneaton Borough FC after 1 season with St Albans but it was the same thing all over again: my confidence tanked, team relations sucked and I bailed on Nuneaton in the Jan transfer window for Tamworth. I played zero games for Tamworth but here's the difference: I spent all my energy training, each time improving my confidence. At the end of that season, I asked for another transfer to Stevenage Borough in May. Thinking that I'd spend another season training and sitting on the bench, I found quite the opposite.

My player is 17, worth 1.3M and playing every game. NSS4 totally FORCES you to earn your way on to the field and I think its incredibly rewarding once you finally get there. Be patient and train hard. Here's what I would do if I started again.

(1) Increase Fan, Family and Friends relations on Monday - this will boost your Maximum Potential Confidence.
(2) Train in any skill on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday - try to at least train two skills during any week; this will get you nearer or to your Max Confidence.
(3) Increase Fan, Family and Friends relations on Thu, Fri or Sat - boost your Max Conf again.
(4) When Sunday arrives, replenish your free time and repeat the cycle and alternate Relations increases with Skills training.
(5) Always be sure to squeeze in the Physical traits training, too, like Stamina, Speed, etc.

Its funny when I think about it: my player is fielding all sorts of offers from League 1 and 2 clubs in England but I'm so thankful to get playing time with Stevenage that I'm not ready to leave ... yet.

Si, please don't tweak the Manager AI too much! Its great the way it is. Believe me, I would NEVER have thought this while I was literally playing NSS4 for hours doing nothing but skills training. It was tough but its paid off.

Hoppetoss, that is a tough position to be in: you can improve team, fan and family relationships but the team relationship is impossible to mend without getting some serious playing time ... unless you get that rare opportunity to speak to the media about the team. I would ask for a transfer, set about boosting your relationships and confidence and hope you get the chance to get on the pitch with a new team ... unless you like playing at Craven Cottage, of course.

[mindlesspain]

Ah, but realistically speaking, a manager wouldn't know the skills of a player. So, he wouldn't know that the striker he plays has a shooting of 56, and that your player has a shooting of 40. I was worth 4 million, and in a team whos best striker had a shooting of 36. I usually got put in as a sub, and almost always scored a goal. When I actually started for the team, I scored 5 goals. What I mean is, shouldn't you playing be based on how well you do if you do play, and not on your skills, or age? Like, if you play as a sub, and score a goal in the 15 min that remain in the match, doesn't that warrant at least a try for a start in the next game, leaving out the striker that was playing and didn't score?

[Sleek]

Realistically speaking, a manager would choose his squad based on each player's perfomances at previous games, and at training. So if your skills are much higher then everyone else, but you aren't getting a game, wouldn't it still show off in training? I haven't actually played much of NSS4, but i did start in my first game at Melbourne Victory, and started a few matches for them after that.

I would suggest just keeping at it, you have a long career ahead of you. It's not like a professional would say, "Oh my god! I'm 19 and still haven't started a match!" Just tough it out, you'll get there eventually - i think :lol:

[SJSharkz]

I think its quite realistic that you have to earn your playing time, and not just be selected straight away, not many teenagers get thrown into a first team side straight away, if at all. As a Sunderland fan I started with them and couldn't get a game at all, so I started again with Melbourne Victory, I've played a few games off the bench, but at left back, where my positions is central midfield!

Also slightly off topic, how do you request a transfer, just for future reference!

Thanks guys, and great game Si.

[mindlesspain]

A teenager is thrown in the game if he does good in the games he's tested at...
Frazier Campell...Lionel Messi...Sergio Aguero...they're all wayyyyy better then you would be..but eehhh.

[Hoppetoss]

Like I said in my previous post, I started making the bench towards the end of the season and in the last few games I came on as well. After Fulham had won promotion to the Premiership I kept getting substitution apperances and finally I got the chance to start. I have started a new career now because of the update but towards the end I was starting most games. As I said to Si, I think the manager AI is working pretty well and it is realistic that you don't make the starting lineup right away. You have to have some patience and this is a good thing, making the game more realistic and challenging. I also agree that your playing time should be affected by your performances (rating) and not just your skills. One problem is that your value and world status seems to be completely affected by your skills, I was worth 14M before I had even started a game. This made my ego pretty inflated I think, and was the main reason that I was frustrated with my lack of playing time. Next time I would actually prefer to stay in the lower divisions a bit longer and not only get offers from Championship or Premiership clubs. In my new career I will not train as much and see if I can take it a bit slower in progressing my career.

[killershrew]

Like I said in my previous post, I started making the bench towards the end of the season and in the last few games I came on as well. After Fulham had won promotion to the Premiership I kept getting substitution apperances and finally I got the chance to start. I have started a new career now because of the update but towards the end I was starting most games. As I said to Si, I think the manager AI is working pretty well and it is realistic that you don't make the starting lineup right away. You have to have some patience and this is a good thing, making the game more realistic and challenging. I also agree that your playing time should be affected by your performances (rating) and not just your skills. One problem is that your value and world status seems to be completely affected by your skills, I was worth 14M before I had even started a game. This made my ego pretty inflated I think, and was the main reason that I was frustrated with my lack of playing time. Next time I would actually prefer to stay in the lower divisions a bit longer and not only get offers from Championship or Premiership clubs. In my new career I will not train as much and see if I can take it a bit slower in progressing my career.

i agree for the most part i think that your skills shouldnt be the deciding factor as to what you are worth and if you get to play. Performances should be the guide here and ofcourse your value should be very dependent on wich level you play. Conference players should be worth much less than premiership players regardless of skills, but i think this is alreadey true for the most part in the game!

Also having manageed to get in a season in almost every beta version and in the release version i can only say it is getting better and more tweaked all the time. One thing i have noticed that is not prefect yet is the national team picking. AI only picks from active leagues wich has in some of my test careers made it overlook players like Zlatan and Elmander in the selections and also there's the games refusal to pick older players for games even if they are the best around like Henrik Larsson in Helsingborg