Unsportsmanlike conduct

Unsportsmanlike conduct in the real world is not acceptable.
This is a game and if players need to resort to unfair tactics to gain advantage then it needs to be highlighted and stopped.
Players are deliberately holding back the best eleven players to field a weakened squad. Then when it comes to cups and tournaments they put in a team that has tripled in strength.
Can the system detect the best eleven players and give the rating for that team rather than the playing eleven.
Some players are finishing below 8th in the league, again deliberate in order to get the reserve eleven even higher levels by not promoting.
I am thinking I should start a thread to name and shame the offending players, I can’t be the only one that has encountered this happening.
If you are one of these players can you please explain how this helps the game and what benefits you get from playing a game where you have to resort to other tactics rather than skill.
In the last month four of my friends have left the game.
Your thoughts please.

What you are referring to is tanking. From what I know, these are the reasons players tank.

1) To have a chance when competing in competitions above your level. I am sure you are aware strong teams have to play in cups and champions league above their level.
2) Holiday mode has been requested for many years ago. Players needing a break tank to ensure their teams do not get promoted. This prevents having to manage a poor sorely weakened team when they return.
3) Gatekeeper accounts created to destroy other record breaking clubs records so our high level main accounts remain one of the best in the game.
4) To accumulate resources to build an insane team in the future.
5) To compete effectively in associations. Top 100 without investing in special sponsor.
6) To avoid getting to high levels. No fixes to issues at the top of the server. Many players get bored and quit as they can never win and they play the same teams season after season.
7) To collect trophies

Am sure there are many more reasons why teams tank. Like I said in many posts. Fix the underlying problem which is the game. The players adapt to win no matter what.

NOT UNSPORTSMANLIKE: effective team strategy

I’ll take exception to one of the points you raise re: changing team composition (regularly). I do it all the time.

Why? Simple: each day I face two matches against different opponents. The particular group of players I believe would be best to field across those two different matches is NOT always my top eleven rated. Sometimes I want to try different formations. Sometimes the opponents I face are of widely different strengths and sometimes not (in which case I may want a more balanced line up). And I need to think about these questions both in terms of the fixtures I’m facing today, as well as those upcoming over the next several days.

In short, it’s quite naive to claim that it’s unsportsmanlike for a manager to not ALWAYS field the TOP RATED PLAYERS EVERY SINGLE MATCH. Having more than one lineup of players who the manager can swap out depending on circumstance is EXACTLY what team strategy is all about (maybe you should look into it 😉).

As for using team ratings alone as your guide to your opponent, again quite naive. Your opponent is free to field whichever players he (or she 😊) feels would be best to use against you. If you want to know which options are available to them, open their team window (click their team icon in the fixture) and take a look at the SQUAD page. That lists out all players they’ve currently got available (though not any they might purchase or trade for before the match - also a valid team strategy option).

And btw, this is a NEWBIE telling you all this, but I’ve at least got that much of the game figured out. So may I suggest you quit whining like a three year old and learn how to manage your lineup (and aim to anticipate how your ops may manage theirs)?

It is there team. They are the manager and owner. If they want to tank, so they can play different teams, that is their business. It is a game that has very few rewards even for the winners. League, Cup, CL winners who even spend lots of money do not win a token, not one. Tanking doesn’t always help because their are always a powerhouse or two coming up. Anyone tanking a level above me will run into two powerful teams so they will tank again.