FM2008 Official PC Patch v8.0.1

Download: FM2008 Official PC Patch v8.0.1 (105MB) 97 downloads

Description: This patch updates Football Manager 2008 to v8.0.1. It fixes a slew of bugs, adds tweaks and plenty more.

General

• Supporter spokesperson’s nationalities match up to their city of birth.
• Team-mates will no longer dislike each other for seemingly no reason.
• Reduced incidents of players having “Worried by lack of discipline” unhappiness.
• Players more likely to be unhappy at being harshly fined.
• News is now sent to the human if a reserve team friendly he has arranged is rejected.
• Supporter Spokespersons don’t respond to job adverts anymore.
• ‘Reject all offers’ holiday instruction now works for draft pick transfer offers.
• Players do not gain a year of nation eligibility if they are returned from loan early.
• Players do not gain extra days of nation eligibility to their main team’s nation when returning from loan.
• Slight limits on morale of players who haven’t been at clubs very long.
• Non-EU Under 18 players can now move within EU countries if they are already in a EU country.
• Improved the code which chooses ethnicity of players with dual nationalities.
• Lowered abilities of virtual players in reserve teams.
• Stopped exploit which allowed multiple feeder clubs to be gained at once.
• Fixed “Ends with” Favourites filter on player staff search returning erroneous results.
• Stop recently retired players becoming part of consortiums in club takeovers at too young an age.
• Can now fine players for unprofessional behaviour / sending off again within the period of their last fine.
• Stopped cheat that allowed multiple feeder clubs to be gained at one time.
• For fixtures at neutral venues, sometimes the match odds would be swapped between the 2 teams.
• Made morale slightly lower for attacking players who are on a goal drought.
• Fixed the issue of too many players with just first name as common name (for example Portugal).
• Adjusted the non-playing attribute distribution for newgen non-players.
• Adjusted the starting ability and development of non-playing staff.
• Stopped players from occasionally disliking themselves.
• Tweaked Feeder Clubs selection (including reducing Irish feeders for British teams).
• Fixed expansions to stadium capacity being reverted when loading a saved game.
• Fixed seating expansions for non-professinal clubs when requested by the league.
• Stopped player status getting set to backup from not needed in Spain and other leagues with B teams.
• Stopped human being able to set the captain and vice-captain to be the same person when replacing an old vice-captain.
• Fixed bug where captain set via news item would not be used in tactics and therefore in the match, caused by going to the tactics screen before confirming the news selection.
• Fixed bug where B teams in active leagues were sometimes not giving squad numbers out to enough players.
• Fixed problem with show recent attribute changes setting not being restored properly when moving between player screens
• Adjusted the physical attributes decline for older players to start earlier

Board Confidence

• Got long-term expectations to update quicker once a team has effectively finished thier season (e.g team wins league with 10 games to go).
• Fixed long-term expectations confidence level getting set to zero if team gets to a higher division than it’s long-term expectations and stays in that same division the following season.
• Got the board to offer new contracts to managers around 2 months before the end of thier deals instead of the existing one month, if deals get to that stage.

Finances

• Adjusted transfer income percentages for financially troubled clubs.
• Adjusted building costs of new stadiums and added possible grants for smaller clubs.
• Enhanced the chances of a takeover when club is bankrupt for a long period.
• Fixed amateur team not to pay wages to managers.
• Fixed new sponsorship news item in some cases showing £0 instead of the real value.
• Fixed support for “remaining wage budget” imported from the database at the start.
• Fixed support for custom stadium rental fees set in the database at the start.
• Fixed sponsorships that had no value set in database (fixes saved games at the first monthly financial update).
• Fixed start and end dates for starting loans read from the database.
• Fixed club transfer and wage budget given to a new hired manager to match the ones in the news.
• Fixed transfer budget update with season expectation news when no multiple expectations to choose.
• Prevented human users from exploiting the budget adjustments and season expectations to boost budgets excessively.
• Tuned Argentinean ticket prices and general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Australian ticket prices and general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Brazilian ticket prices and general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Colombian ticket prices and general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Danish general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned French general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned German general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Italian general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Mexican ticket prices and general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Norwegian ticket prices and general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Peruvian ticket prices and general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Russian ticket prices and general finances for a better balance.
• Tuned Uruguayan ticket prices and general finances for a better balance.
• Tweaked feeder club payments for smaller clubs and poorer nations.

Team Selection

• Fixed issue regarding Gk’s being picked outfield.
• Given staff members greater flexibility when rating players for squad selections / teams.

Crashes

• Fixed crash if user retires whilst on the Jobs screen.
• Fixed possible crash when user accepted job offers from other teams.

Database

• Fixed a problem with Finnish weather, it doesn’t always rain now.

User Interface

• Fixed an issue with skins in the user data folder picking up the wrong skin settings in some cases.
• Make available for reserves menu item was out of line with other options.
• The “Change User” menu would disappear in hot seat mode until the game was continued.
• Fixed bug where match split view panels would sometimes both default to Pitch view.
• Fixed some continue button text issues when a human picks 2 teams for matches at the same time.
• If a team scores more than 9 goals in a match, the match overview section no longer shows “..” for the goals.
• You can now view the knowledge sub-section of the scouting panel for teams without scouts
• Fixed bug where the match screen split view could show 2 pitch panels at the same time.
• Future squad selection rules which will apply to a team are now shown (greyed) on the team screen.
• Stopped situation where monthly calendar news would appear even if there were no important dates to be shown.
• Message saying a player or players couldn’t be selected due to travelling to be with ‘their squads’ now references international squads.
• Draft allocations panel has now been moved of the Transfers panel on the team screen.
• Best Eleven screen remembers view when leaving the screen and returning.
• Fixed a bug in the squad selection rules error message. The list of invalid players was not getting displayed in full.
• Added status icon “PR” (Player Reaction) for player reacting to collective bonus decisions.
• Longest time at club record for a manager now shows correctly if the manager has been without a club for a longer time.
• Assistant manager team talk button is now hidden if a team does not have an assistant manager.
• Rows no longer disappear from the Award winners screen when players retire.
• Fixed bug where post match details would not appear properly sometimes when navigating away from the screen and returning.
• Portuguese players now get shown as being eligible to gain Brazilian nationality.
• Days to qualify for nationality do not increase for a country the player is not currently in.
• Fixed a bug where sometimes a cup draw would take place before the user had a chance to draw it themselves.
• Coach report screen remembers which coach you were using to get reports when moving between players.
• Fixed bug where user could make a sub during a penalty shootout.
• Fixed a problem where the user could attempt to create a new folder with illegal filename characters.
• When user changes the “Show Highlights In” setting in a match when a pitch is already showing, the new pitch panel will now appear properly.
• Fixed problem with continue game timeouts kicking in before the full time team talk has been given.
• Fixed problem that could cause new skins to not show up on the preferences screen.
• Fixed a problem with the injury duration description on the player profile screen for certain pre-game injuries.
• Players who gave gained a second nationality but remain in that nation no longer have an entry staying on their Days to Gain nationality panel.
• Added Tight Marking to view menu in the in-match tactics.
• Can no longer reject transfers that meet minimum fee release clauses via the transfer centre.
• Fixed a few club kit colours.
• Fixed a bug where the gk player instructions were getting replaced by an outfield players if a certain series of steps was carried out on the tactics screen.
• If no highlight is playing, the pitch section on the match screen is disabled.
• Next match button on match screen when viewing highlights now works correctly each time.
• Highlighted profile on team and player competition stats overview screen now uses stats for that competition not overall stats.
• When viewing highlights of a past match, the pitch action is now smoother.
• Changing “Closing Down” descriptions on player and team instruction panels.
• Updated horizontal scrollbars visible on Competition Tree view.
• Man of the Match and Injuries are now highlighted better on Match Overview and Match Stats sections.
• Fixed a rare problem where match screen would sometimes not allow users to go back into tactics after making a change.
• Fixed bug where coming out of tactics sometimes wasn’t returning the user back to full match highlight mode properly.
• Improved star graphics to make it easier to tell the difference between each level.
• When viewing scout reports for specific assignments it now remembers the assignment when returning back from looking at a player profile.

Media

• Golden Boot news is now sent directly to the human if one of his players is in the top three.
• Monthly player award news uses the correct stadium name if the player moved clubs at the end of the month.
• Award voting reminder news now states the correct voting deadline for Final Reminders.
• Total transfer spending record news does not repeat when monthly installment payments are made.
• Ensured correct stadium is used when news item mentions next fixture in managerial landmark news e.g 1000th game in charge.
• Can no longer appeal ban for two yellow card sendings off.
• Lowered threshold for judging cup shocks.
• Fixed scout next opposition “Comment on Dangerman” button taking you to the interaction screen with no dangerman comments just before the match.

Coach Reports

• Fixed issue where you would receive a news item stating that a player had progressed well and then the coaches wouldn’t comment on his progression in the coach report.
• Fixed issue when assistant highly rates virtually the entire team.

Contracts

• Boosted the squad status expectations and wage requests of players involved in big money transfers.
• Put in code to help dissuade staff members from moving clubs shortly after signing a new contract.
• Players signed through a waiver draft do not sometimes reject contracts now.

International Management

• Fixed news item saying player was left out of international fold when he is was injured and unable to be called up anyway.
• Fixed line saying players coaxed out of retirement were left out of previous squad.
• Fixed international manager attending the wrong game when a club had another match before the game that he elected to go and watch.
• Main, U21, U19 text on national pool now hyperlinks to the respective squads.
• National supporter spokespersons now have cities of birth.
• Ensure that, in the run-up to an international match, players for clubs who have fixtures re-arranged for the mid-week don’t travel until after that match.
• Stop human international teams organising friendlies against teams who don’t currently have a team enabled in the same age group. e.g. Bermuda U20s vs England U20s at game start date.
• Fixed message relating to player’s other nationality when user asks dual nationality player to play more first team football to gain place.
• Stopped pre-signed players (who are too young to play for a club side e.g. Alexander Pato) being prevented from playing for an international team.

Scouting

• Ensure that the min asking price is going to round greater than 0 before commenting on the likely asking price.
• Ensured scout’s with high judging potential aren’t as accurate when rating players for potential.
• Fixed issue when changing a coach’s role to scout and he couldn’t perform assignments.

Transfers

• Stopped AI teams attempting to re-new loans when the player is unable to go on-loan to them because of the teams division loan rules.
• Players who have incorrect club join dates set in the database are now allowed to go on loan from Premier League teams.
• Ensured players without work permits will join work permit feeder clubs.
• Increased the threshold before chairman will accept bids over the head of the manager in charge.

Awards

• Greek Club of the Year award is now given.
• Cypriots are no longer considered Foreign in Greek awards.
• Stripped out starting Award History’s in games started without real players.
• Fixed problem where if all your own players dominate an award shortlist you would get stuck on the voting screen.

Competitions

• Stopped games been incorrectly called off due to international call-ups.
• Fixed clash between Champions League and South American World Cup qualifiers in 2009.
• Adjusted attendances for small clubs playing in cup competitions.
• Adjusted long term effects of fan days.
• Adjusted the attendances in intra-squad friendlies down severely.

International

• Austria and Switzerland now play their group matches in their own country for Euro 2008.
• Denmark now play their home matches at NRGi Park until the 14th Oct 2007.

Argentina

• Argentine Second Division History now recorded.

Australia

• Improved teams Australian teams play in friendlies.
• Fixed conflicting squad restriction in 2014 and beyond.

Belgium

• Stopped duplicate transfer round-up news item appearing for Belgian clubs.
• Belgian Cup Final is played at the Stade Roi Baudouin.
• Correct Second Division Playoff schedule is now used (all teams play each other home and away).
• 2nd to 5th position are used instead of the Period winners in the Second Division Playoff stage.

Brazil

• Brazilian National Third Division history is now updated correctly.
• Added the Brazilian National First Division prize money.

Chile

• Added correct transfer windows.

Czech Rep

• Fixed promoted and relegated teams not matching up between the First and Second Division when a relegation position play-off is needed.

Denmark

• Added 6 points deduction for Boldklubben Frem 1886.
• Saturday Premier Division game is now shown on TV.

Holland

• Fixed some news item problems to do with the Dutch Premier Division playoffs.
• Fixed fixtures clashing with European fixtures.

England

• Better TV game selection for FA Cup games.
• Mid-week games now kick-off at 1945.
• Updated the Setanta Shield prize money.
• FA Trophy Final is now televised.
• Johnstone Paint Trophy games now have games shown on TV.

Europe

• Royal League has now been cancelled.
• The two legs of the later cup rounds do not both get played on the same day of the week.
• Champions Cup group stage draw can now be viewed.
• Changed date of Euro Cup group stage draw.
• Fixed Champions League group stage win/draw prize money.

Greece

• Fixed back to back squad registration windows around the 17th August.

Hong Kong

• Fixed user being able to sign more than 12 foreigners in Hong Kong First Division.
• Hong Kong First Division Reserve matches played in neutral stadiums of 4,000 or less.

Hungary

• Fixed Hungarian League Cup winners not appearing in competition history.

India

• Teams can now register 4 foreign players in their National Football League squad.

Indonesia

• Contract end dates are now set as 31st October.

Israel

• Squad numbers now used in all competitions.
• 5 foreign players can now start in a Israeli Cup match.

Italy

• Added this years Italian Serie C Cup teams.
• Applied -1 points deduction to 3 Serie C2 teams.
• Serie A teams that have their match postponed to Sunday should be playing at 3pm not 4pm.

Malaysia

• Fixed foreign player rules for some competitions.

Mexico

• Fixed bug where teams would sometimes get a Mexican First Division title added to their achievements for winning the playoff stage.

Norway

• Added correct squad selection rules for the Norwegian Premier and First Division.
• All clubs in Premier and First division get under-soil heating.

Peru

• Two teams are now relegated from the Peruvian First Division.

Poland

• Cancelled the 10 points deduction applied to Polish Second Division side Odra Opole.

Portugal

• First three rounds of the League Cup now use the correct seedings.
• Updated TV dates and times for the Portuguese top two divisions.

Scotland

• Trialists can no longer play in cup games.
• Football League match day squads can only contain 2 trialists.
• Fixtures are now generated for the second season in all Scottish leagues.
• Fixed a bug where the league was sometimes not sorted before the split was introduced.

Singapore

• Fixed Singaporean League Cup record not being written in competition history.
• Add Random draws for Singapore Cup and Singaporean League Cup.
• Change of transfer windows for Singaporean League.
• U18 league matches now played at neutral stadiums with 1500 or less capacity.
• Singapore U18 & U17 team cannot sign foreign players.

South America

• Teams from the same nation play against each other in the Copa Sudamericana Semi Final stage.
• Uruguayan teams now seeded correctly in the Copa Libertadores.
• South American Continental Cups now get correct referees for matches.

Spain

• Implemented Cotonou Agreement for Spanish league
• players from 79 ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific states) countries no longer considered non-EU.
• Fixed bug where some players were not getting minimum fee release clauses.

Sweden

• Pre-season no long starts on 24th December for teams involved in the Royal League.
• Changed the teams which move divisions When game is started in 2008.

United States

• Foreign developmental players do not count towards the wage cap.
• Fixed bug where squad selection rules for certain MLS teams were not showing the correct maximum values at all times.
• Correct 2007 fixtures added.
• Allowed squad numbers up to 99.
• MLS teams can no longer sign foreign players from the PDL before they reach 22 or enter a draft.
• Fixed a problem with the American player rule for Toronto. Some players were being wrongly classified as Americans.
• MLS Rising Stars team is now filled with American players only.
• Players on free transfer with MLS rights have to be traded instead of being approached directly.
• Changed stage names of MLS conference playoffs.
• Virtual players now ask for developmental contracts by default.
• Improved selection of players from a draft. Teams make fewer passes.
• Updated maximum allowed wage $325,000 p/a outside of Designated Players.
• Fixed wrong teams in CONCACAF Champions Cup.
• Toronto foreigners now gain Canadian nationality not American if they stay for enough years.
• Fixed bug which was converting future draft allocations offered in transfers to 6th pick draft allocations.
• Toronto now get Canadian nationality youth players instead of American.

England

• Fixed Marvin Elliot / Marvin Williams picture mix up.
• Added Bath City badge
• Added Solihull Moors badge

Spain

• Added Athletic Bilbao player pictures
• Added Atletico Madrid player pictures
• Added Deportivo player pictures
• Added Espanyol player pictures
• Added Levante player pictures
• Added Osasuna player pictures
• Added Racing Santander player pictures
• Added Real Betis player pictures
• Added Real Mallorca player pictures
• Added Real Murcia player pictures
• Added Real Valladolid player pictures
• Added Recreativo player pictures

Match Engine Version History

• Fixed bug where the match was treating the JTP North/South finals as the main final itself.
• When an injured player is also sent off, the game won’t force the human manager to replace him.

Match v639

• Re-worked marking and closing down to address conflict between the two
• defenders should now close down better when appropriate.
• Further improved team reactions to cleared set pieces.
• Reduced delay between foul and whistle.
• But…allowed more advantages when prudent.
• Improved set piece positioning for free kicks and some throws.
• Fixed keeper occasionally kicking off new match period.
• Fixed another example of player kicking off to no-one.
• AI teams now add “back arrow” to def mid position for one MC if needed.
• AI teams a little more reactive to opposition pace when setting D-line.
• Small tweak to ease overcautious AI use of mentality slider occasionally.
• Made players take longer to accelerate all the way to full speed.
• Made blatant offside’s get called a little quicker.
• Enhanced effect on flair of “creative freedom” slider slightly.
• Fixed bug that would stop full back overlapping run prematurely.
• Improved smoothness of dribbling slightly.
• Players now look to run into space with ball better.
• Stopped a few unrealistic examples of poor first touch.
• Allowed players to take more first time shots when appropriate eg rebounds.
• Improved attacking positioning for certain formations that use “side arrows” on attacking midfielders.
• Improved attacking position of central “in hole” player.
• Stopped certain illogical forward runs being made from deep.
• Defenders put tackles/clearances in more appropriately.
• Biased aerial challenges slightly more towards those with higher jumping.
• Slightly less fouls when jumping for the ball.
• Reduced keeper effectiveness on close in shots slightly.
• Low team blend now has more effect on mental attributes.
• Allow more quick free kicks to be taken.
• Improved ball receiver AI slightly.
• Defenders caught wrong side of ball try to get back faster.
• Fixed defenders pushing up to edge of area when should be dealing with ball player.
• Improved player ability to deflect shots/crosses.
• Fixed defenders coming across and heading ball that team mate had covered.
• Tweaked decision making for ball player.
• Improved finishing for “bread and butter” chances.
• Improved accuracy of “bread and butter” passes.
• Further tweak to keeper kicking distance.
• Headers from descending balls now more likely to be looping in nature.
• Improved kicked clearance direction from defenders.
• Improved “subdued” goal celebration where scorer used to move a bit then stop still.
• Ball shadow slightly less pronounced in FM.

Match v640

• Improved referee ability to try to “play the advantage”.
• Fixed anomaly causing further problems with kick offs.
• Fixed AI subs when keeper sent off that could cause 2 goalies to be present.
• Another tweak to AI mentality setting.
• Made AI teams try to exploit 3 at the back without wingbacks by getting ball wide more.
• Improved positions at goal kicks.
• Improved corners sent to player lurking outside area.
• Improved use of channels to pass into and move into.
• Made first touch a little more realistic.
• Made players even more willing to run with ball into space when possible.
• And more likely to shoot in good positions.
• And more likely to cross in good positions.
• And more likely to turn before hoofing ball clear when necessary.
• Power shots more likely to go too high.
• Improved player perception of potential interceptions on pass.
• Improved direction of “flick on” headers.
• Improved code that decides whether player should pass ball around and keep possession based on directness, time wasting etc.
• Made “tackle clearances” more realistic in terms of distance and direction.
• Fixed anomaly that allowed potential clearance towards own goal when very close to it.
• Reduced instances of players dribbling ball out of play.
• Keepers more likely to follow distribution instructions.
• Keepers more effective on long shots.
• Fixed rare occurrence of keeper not taking up position for penalty kick.
• Improve defender marking on ball player running at pace with ball.
• Made players less likely to leave tactical shape to mark opponents when ball and player not in danger area.

Match v641

• Fixed crash that occurs after player about to kick off gets a red card.

Match v642

• Made sure free kick isn’t called back after advantage has been played for a sensible amount of time.
• Fix to stop players continuing to swap when option removed in tactical change during match.
• Fixed bug where slight injury isn’t reported when watching match in “commentary only” ( FM only ).
• Improved variety of assistant manager team talk suggestions.
• Made sure offside always called when player shoots for goal and has team mate standing well offside in ball path.
• Slight tweak to player match ratings to give them more range.
• Improved player run with ball AI.
• Improved full backs overlapping, and made their teammates more likely to try to pass to them.
• Further change to closing down code, as initial fix wasn’t quite coded correctly.
• Made players clear ball quicker under real pressure.
• Fixed bug where defenders might pass up obvious interception opportunities.
• Stopped players moving back into onside positions at unrealistically fast speed.
• Reduced pointless off ball runs that just made it harder for team mates.
• Fixed anomaly from pass vs interceptions decision making in 640.

Match v643

• Fixed central defenders sometimes using closing down rather than marking against pace.
• Stopped AI managers playing too negatively when losing due to their sitting back attribute.
• Fixed interceptions not being recorded properly in match stats.
• Made defenders clear ball when under pressure in own area and ball bouncing at awkward height.
• Improved player decisions on when to tackle when up against player running with ball.
• Improved short throw ins slightly in terms of direction and speed.
• Made players a little more willing to shoot first time.

Match v644

• Fixed match score divergence.

Match v645

• Fixed advantage not being always played when fouled player gets clear of his assailant.
• Further tweak to closing down logic, to make it slightly more accurate vs slider descriptions.
• Made players work harder to get back to opponents who have gone beyond them.
• Fixed extremes of players not reacting for ages to ongoing play.
• Tweaked player choice of opponent to mark to include tactical position more.
• Improved direction of facing for defenders marking attackers in open play.
• Fixed bug in defensive line pushing to edge of area for team defending left end of pitch.
• Improved direction of defender who is chasing down attacker who is running with ball and has got ahead of him.
• Slight improvements to players decisions on whether to clear ball under pressure.
• Tweaked up pass accuracy a bit, especially when under no pressure.
• Made lesser players limit pace on pass to increase accuracy ( subject to decisions test ).
• Changed pass risk assessment to reflect mentality setting and flair a little more.
• Less hoofs up field to no-one when under no pressure, unless time wasting.
• Made players cross more willingly and also earlier when possible depending on instructions.
• More shots when in obvious good positions.
• Players with decent decision making less likely to dribble into trouble.
• Players more likely to get ball onto best foot.
• Improved first touch a little.
• Fixed bug where player sometimes moves really slowly with ball for ages.
• Made it harder to cut back ball dramatically when running down wing at pace.
• Improved logic of bias towards pass focus instruction when assessing passes.
• Improved off ball movement slightly.
• Stopped target men moving into channel so often when getting long balls to head.
• Players come to loose balls more aggressively, and try to intercept earlier in own danger zone.
• Attacking players also more likely to follow up on shots.
• Made keepers less likely to let ball go narrowly wide of post, unless extreme time wasting.
• Improved direction of keeper kicking.
• Less fouls when going for headers.
• Further tweak to make more early shots when under pressure or in good position.
• Made some headers on goal slightly less powerful.
• Stopped first time shots coming in from ridiculous positions.
• Made players come shorter at throws when thrower struggling for options.
• When player is selected to come to collect from keeper he comes deeper.
• Stopped one man walls on free kicks taken by keeper in deep position.
• Fixed possibility of play getting stuck when player with ball goes down injured.
• Tweaked player ratings back halfway towards pre v642 levels.

Match v646

• Reduced shot accuracy slightly.
• Stopped players dropping deep to mark opponents instead of holding defensive line for an easy offside.
• Fixed bug where player may not react to short pass from keeper.
• Reduced players dallying on ball when being closed down.
• Made keepers more likely to clear lines from back passes.
• Players get back to kick off position quicker after celebrating goal.

Match v647

• Assistant managers now always give a team talk recommendation when asked.
• AI now take comebacks from 2 or 3 down into account when deciding team talks.
• Players also take comebacks into account when reacting to team talks.
• Stopped centre halves getting dragged out of position too easily when NOT first man behind ball.
• Slight reduction on lengths of goal kicks.
• Keepers now more willing to come to collect such long balls into their own area.
• Further improved defender direction facing when marking non ball player.
• Fixed issue with defenders dithering over whether to continue marking player with ball.
• Further fix re confusion between closing down ball player and marking him from a strategic position.
• Fixed further instance of players taking ridiculous first time shots.
• Fixed rare occurrence of players controlling ball and moving a few yards with it stuck to their foot.
• Fixed bug where player who wins aerial challenge always recovers quicker than the player who lost out.
• Fixed bug where defenders would occasionally get skinned by opponent due to problem in code rather than lack of ability.
• Fixed bug where keepers occasionally miss saves for no reason.
• Tweaked number of shots going over bar.

Match v648

• Fixed bug where assistant team talk suggestions may be illogical after a win

Match v649

• Fixed rare bug where keeper may needlessly miss opportunity to save shot
• Improved decision between pass and run depending on player instruction, player tendency and situation
• Made wide players get into the box quicker when ball on opposite side
• Tweaked average ratings for attacking wide men
• Stopped distribution defender coming way too deep to pick up ball at goal kicks
• Put a harsher workrate test on tracking back to challenge player already under pressure
• Fixed bug where defenders take up identical positions when “doubling up” on attacker
• Off ball runs from behind ball now done at higher speed
• Fixed unrealistically slow kicked clearances
• Fixed advantage being played then play called back a few seconds later
• Fixed bug where one player kicks off with no team mate next to him
• Slightly toned down effect on ball physics of muddy/wet pitches
• Stopped ball that lands on top of net dropping to zero height and making it look like it should be a goal
• Stopped AI managers in FML changing mentality during match
• And reduced substitutions by AI managers in FML
• Fixed players at low levels of football occasionally playing to a stupidly poor standard
• Toned down defenders occasionally being drawn too far out from defensive line to close down players
• Stopped strikers trying unrealistic first time shots when very wide or through on goal
• Slight improvement on first touch and time taken to react after receiving ball
• Improved likelyhood of attackers “lunging” in to ball running across face of goal
• Improved positioning of players coming to offer options to throw in taker
• Tweaked marking positioning and facing direction slightly further
• Improved shooting accuracy for easier chances
• Slight reduction in number of “power shots”
• Improved near post flick ons at corners

Match v650

• Stopped kick off being taken before all players close to their starting positions
• Fixed bug from v640 that stopped keeper retrieving ball from own net after goal
• Fixed possibility of negative teamtalk reaction from player when team praised after positive result
• Reduced strikers taking up wide position and inhibiting the wide midfielder’s movement
• Stopped players taking heavy morale hit after defeat that breaks excellent result sequence
• Made composed defenders turn on ball before clearing if possible
• Pushed central midfielders slightly forward when ball wide
• Fixed “attack near/far post” at corners
• Fixed poor marking at free kicks close to corner
• Stopped receiver taking control of ball needlessly early
• And fixed new bug where receiver dallies on taking control of ball
• Made keeper offer back pass option more willingly
• More tweaks to improve goalie positioning and reactions
• Fixed bug that allows centre halves to go for same ball without failing decision test
• Made players with tackle easy set stand off more rather than make tackle
• Players more willing to make themselves available for simple pass
• Improved marking facing further
• Stopped player dallying when passed ball from kick off
• Improved keeper response to distribution instructions further
• Fixed potential for defenders to score own goal when picking up loose ball on own goal line but facing own goal
• Fixed referee penalising player for foul when not close enough to opponent who takes a dive
• Fixed very low condition players not being subbed with knock ons that can mean sent off keeper not replaced
• Upped midfielder match ratings a tad

Match v651

• Improved rating of goals for awards/FML
• Fixed half time keeper sub coming on at wrong end
• Fixed wing back being reported as playing at full back after match
• Tweaked number of fouls up as it has been dropping
• Reduced effectiveness of headers slightly
• Reduced pass completion slightly
• Fixed corner delivery instructions being ignored
• Improved penalty scoring rate
• Reduced use of tall target man for less direct style managers

Match v652

• Fixed rare crash when player heads ball at goal
• Stopped AI managers giving out run with ball instruction to unsuitable players
• Improved attacking positioning and delivery at free kicks near opp goal
• First set of optimisations to reduce recent slowdown

Match v653

• Optimised match engine code to improve speed by around 20%
• Fixed bug where strikers can play too close together in unusual formations
• Fixed some run of the mill goals being given very high award ratings
• Raised number of fouls to more in line with real world data
• Raised number of penalties and their conversion rate in line with real world data
• Fixed ball stopping unrealistically quickly on some low passes/shots
• Improved player judgement of interception possibilities
• Improved closing down AI yet again, now more aggressive but less unneccesary “doubling up”
• Made player recovery time after going to ground more realistic
• Players now clear instead of tackle if it is feasible
• Fixed some unrealistic instances of poor first touch
• Players lunge in for loose balls near opposition goal more realistically
• Defenders now more effective against attackers running at them
• Defenders now slightly more aware of their dangerman’s position when “marking space”
• Fixed some strange positioning at free kicks inside defending penalty area
• Players with long shots set to often, or with long shots PPM, now more willing to do so in good positions subject to morale

Match v654

• Fixed players ignoring passes due to bug in optimisation
• Fixed players sometimes clearing ball instead of converting simple chance
• Pushed D-line up a tiny bit to reduce defensive teams ability to pass ball around and dominate possession

Match v655

• Reduced no of dangerous challenges
• Reduced no of professional fouls
• Fixed player teleporting bug ( from v653 )
• Fixed bug where defenders stand off and allow players to run through defensive line too easily
• Improved player finishing when clean through
• Fixed play being called back after advantage played and shot taken
• Fixed obscure crash

Match v656

• Stopped players being tripped by opponents but carrying on running with the ball regardless
• Stopped defenders running towards own goal after ball has long gone out for goal kick
• AI teams slightly more careful with width and depth when using defensive mentality
• Improved home advantage slightly in FML
• Improved tracking of opposition players by their opposite number in formations
• Stopped commentary referring to easy chances being missed when they clearly arent easy
• Improved accuracy of lunges at loose ball towards goal
• Stopped ridiculously innacurate near post headers at goal from corners
• Made defensive line drop back to correct place quicker when defending
• Reduced keeper effectiveness slightly
• Made players look to get ball on best foot more often when bearing down on goal
• Improved likelyhood of player trying to round keeper when one on one with him
• Improved positioning of player marking wingers who have ball
• Improved defender reaction to rebounds
• Made players make pass back more often when under pressure facing own goal
• Tweaked number of long shots
• Stopped counter attack flag being set too easily when team wins ball
• which had impact on effects of defensive team mentality
• Fixed keepers changing ends too slowly at extra time half time
• Fixed anomalies in clip rating scores in FML

Match v657

• Fix to marking of ball player that should improve defending potential one on one situations
• Jumping influence over ariel duel winner increased

Match v658

• Stopped advantage being played in favour of player on floor
• Jumping influence over ariel duel winner tweaked
• Further improved marking of player with ball
• Tweaked marking of other players
• Made players stay with opponent for longer when set piece is taken rather than move to default tactical position and leave them free
• Made subs more or less likely for AI teams depending on team performance vs expected result
• Fixed bug where injured player sometimes wasnt replaced by AI
• Fixed bug where 10 man AI teams would stick with uneven formation
• Adjusted offside rule to follow new “interfering with play” rules more strictly
• Improved midfielder tracking of opposite opponents by taking more account of forward or back arrows
• Reduced instances of midfielders being caught in possession after dallying on ball in own half
• Stopped both fullbacks bombing forward when not set to make forward runs often
• Made defensive line drop back a bit quicker still, to desired position when team defending
• Improved interception AI a bit
• Made team mate stand with free kick taker at indirect free kick in shooting position
• Improved player reactions to loose balls in area
• Reduced number of long shots from players with it set to “never”
• Tweaked finishing further according to ease of chance
• Made type of corner delivery vary more when set to “mixed”

Match v659

• Tweaked AI manager expectation of result a bit
• Tweaked AI use of run with ball player slider
• Tweaked AI use of forward run player slider
• Improved individual player tracking of their opposite number in formation
• Made decisive players less likely to get caught in possession
• Made defensive line movement work somewhere in between versions 655 and 658
• Improved marking at corner kicks
• Made central defenders more likely to shift and cover full backs when required
• Stopped defenders backing too far off opponents who are running at defence with ball
• Stopped corners being sent to edge of area when no team mate standing there
• Reduced through balls that are too easy for covering defenders to intercept
• Made teams defend slightly wider so as to cover danger from wings better

Match v660

• Improved defender positioning when marking opponents on or off ball
• Stopped bug that saw AI teams set counter attacking option to on in FML regardless of original human tactic setting
• Tweaked effect of red cards on motivation of both teams
• Tweaked effect of scoreline on motivation of both teams
• Stopped full backs defaulting to marking strikers when up against narrow formations
• Reduced defenders getting dragged out of formation too easily against one striker formations
• Tactics that have players with arrows pointing on top of other players ( or other player’s runs ) now have those arrows nulled by the match engine

Match v661

• Activated missing tactical instructions in FML matches
• Made playing out of position affect player performance more
• Tweaked default marking player for defenders when formations arent “like for like”
• Further tweak to defender marking positioning against off ball opponents
• Made specific man marking tighter to chosen opponent when ball not near goal
• Made full backs tuck in more when defending against narrow formations
• Tweaked keepers up a tiny bit
• Fixed some legal tactic arrows being disabled in v660
• Made players less likely to prioritise holding defensive line over marking player in dangerous area

Match v662

• Fixed injury time being extended too easily
• Improved positioning for free kicks around the corner of opponents area
• Spread attacking players around a bit more at corners
• Improved marking at corners to account more for “mark tall/small player” instruction
• Improved position of player standing with taker at free kicks
• Fixed instance of match not kicking off after goal
• Fixed bug where player is fouled but carries on running and then play gets pulled back with no advantage played
• Tweaked AI mentality slider ( applies to FM 8.0.2 only )
• Tweaked assistant manager team talk suggestions ( FM 8.0.2 only )
• Improved AI use of back arrows for one defensive midfielder in 442 formation ( FM 8.0.2 only )
• Improved AI use of opposition specific instructions ( FM 8.0.2 only )
• Improved default player to mark for each player according to formations
• Fixed bug where referee can “teleport” after a goal
• Reworked effect of “creative freedom” slider on player flair attribute
• Made AI teams sub very tired players earlier
• Fixed run past opponent being counted and reported in comms when defender too far away to think about a challenge
• Fixed some instances of players running ball out of play needlessly
• Fixed some instances of player being clean through and shooting first time unneccesarily
• Improved direction of shot when player lunges in on ball close in
• Made full backs stay back more often depending on forward run slider or team mentality slider being very defensive
• Stopped marginal offsides being called when ball has been touched since original pass was made
• Fixed bug where keeper doesnt react properly to slow or still ball and lets attackers in
• Stopped too many players going for same ball when corner swung into far post
• Improved positioning of closing down player when he finds himself being caught wrong side of opponent
• When keeper way out of position defenders now close down ball player immediately
• Fixed bug where keeper picks up ball then clears wildly as if under lots of pressure
• Toned down finishing a tad when chance not clear cut
• Improved trajectory of free kicks on goal
• Toned down length of keeper kicks from hand
• Made players play more back passes when under pressure
• Improved near post flick on from corners/crosses

Match v663

• Fixed v662 bug where players stop in their tracks and let ball player go
• Tweaked AI mentality slider ( applies to FM 8.0.2 only )
• Tweaked effect of consistency attribute a little ( a few more off days )
• Fixed bug where defenders may commit foul in area when ball nowhere near
• Fixed v662 bug where player marking ball player sometimes drops off suddenly and illogically
• Tried to eradicate more instances of players stopping on ball and being caught in possession
• Reduced ability of players to change direction with ball at high speed
• Stopped team all out attack setting overriding goalie mentality and sending him forward for corners late on
• Made players move towards ball that is theirs for the taking ( broken in 661 )
• Fixed bug where player set to man mark specific player would drop way deeper than his defensive line
• Made attacking teams a little more adventurous with passing in safe areas
• Reduced instances of refs giving fouls mistakenly when player clearly gets the ball
• Tweaked keeper ratings down a little

Match v664

• Tweaked AI mentality slider ( applies to FM 8.0.2 only )
• Fixed illogical assistant teamtalk suggestions to individual players ( applies to FM 8.0.2 only )
• Reduced slightly effect of scoreline on match ratings
• Tightened up marking at both set pieces and open play
• Also improved defensive tracking of lone strikers
• Made players more likely to close down when opponents try to play keep ball
• Improved execution of short free kicks to player standing next to taker
• Stopped players taking unrealistic first time shots when ball played in to them fast and in same direction of goal
• Reduced ability of players to “stop dead” when picking up ball at pace
• Tweaked defensive line slight