Quote Originally Posted by KenoticFC View Post
Snip*
Aye Kenotic, I hear you loud and clear. Mayhap there should be fail-safes programmed in to the engine? Basically to give a passive advantage to the side that actually attends the match. Buuuut.... ugh, idk. Sometimes the team isn't abandoned nor is the Manager in a different time zone, instead the person can be busy (Me whenever I can't attend) or otherwise indisposed. It's an iffy subject and it warrants discussion for sure.

EDIT: Of I forgot about something I wanted to talk on, as well. The dreaded Assistant Manager.

I personally find the guy useful. Nah, nah, hear me out! As the engine itself, the AM obviously follows specific rules/events that trigger his comments (These are pre-written obviously). This turns the AM in to a useful tool, and additional gauge through which you can figure out what's going on during the match. Like if your opponent is employing heavy counter-play, or off-side trap, etc. I don't rely on him constantly but I always check what he has to say because at the same time I'm following what's going on the pitch via the animation and match stats (Yes I also do a quick hop-over to the Home menu and then back in to the match just to be sure that everything is up to date). Because as the example I mentioned, that of counter-play - If I see the message that informs me of my opponent's playstile, I would quickly double-check mine and the opponent's formation and try to determine how and from where is he able to gain control of the ball and even swing things around in his favor (e.g. Heavy defense + Flank-counters). Plenty of his cues are a dead giveaway as to what the opponent is doing and a hint at what's the chosen mentality. And I don't mean the fluff messages like: "Hey we're already steady in the lead, why don't you take some of our guys off the pitch for an early shower, huh?" and other such. I'm talking about specific messages like ball-possession comments, opponent players going through your defenses, and so on.

Note: And I know that the guy has been easy on the bottle sometimes ya don't need to remind me of the huge thread about his, ahem, exploits... just don't mind the fluff comments and if you keep a steady observant look on the live match using the 'ol Mark 1 eye ball,
you can get some good hints from him.