Football Manager 2014

 PC
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Oct 30, 2013
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 297 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 133 out of 297
  2. Mixed: 55 out of 297
  3. Negative: 109 out of 297

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  1. kosciuszko
    Nov 22, 2013
    4
    To begin, I have been playing this series since the Championship manager days back in the 90’s, and have to admit, won’t be playing them for much longer, and have even uninstalled this one.
    The game is sleek and polished, with greater match day graphics, but unfortunately it ends there.
    Firstly, I am sick and tired of watching another game end up with me having far more shots on goal    To begin, I have been playing this series since the Championship manager days back in the 90’s, and have to admit, won’t be playing them for much longer, and have even uninstalled this one.
    The game is sleek and polished, with greater match day graphics, but unfortunately it ends there.
    Firstly, I am sick and tired of watching another game end up with me having far more shots on goal than the opposition, just to see another drawn/lost game result.
    Granted, this happens from time to time in reality, but here, the regularity of its occurrence is plain ridiculous. I clocked it happening in over 100 hours of play occurring over 40% of the time, even with the new patch installed too.
    Especially when I know that my players have greater finishing/composure than the opposition, it leaves you feeling like why bother trying to get that striker with 17 finishing and 15 composure, when the opposition player with finishing of 11 and composure of 10 scores more throughout a season anyway?

    And this leads me on to my biggest gripe with the series, and that is the unlinked stats. What I mean by that is this; Doncaster in the Championship had a player (Salvatore Foti, aged 27) valued at £275,000 at the beginning of the season, with finished rating of 10, composure of 11 (Who needs Suarez?). At the end of the season, he had scored 32 goals, with an average of 7.34. By and large then he was a roaring success, but how much did his value increase? And how many teams were queuing up to buy him? Well, his value increased to a whopping £425,000, with NO-ONE interested. Not a single club. Also, his finishing/composure rating hadn’t moved either.
    This happens time and time and time again in the FM world too. I noted another player who I had been eyeing up finish the season with a dribbles per game score of 8.48, yet his value barely moved at all, and his dribbling stat didn’t increase either. Again, no other manager thought it prudent to take a look at him either.
    This just makes the game feel devoid of any true realism.
    Added to this lack of realism is the appalling transfer system, which lets the game down terribly. There is just no sense of holding onto your best player in the face of prolonged scouting, snooping and/or newspaper speculation, neither do you feel like you have just pinched a certain player from under the noses of one of your bidding rivals either.
    The free transfer list is comical too, with yourself the one who buys up these players. Imagine you are the aforementioned Doncaster (again!), and are bottom of the championship, with a tight wage budget, and a team that cannot create chances. You find a certain 33 year old David Dunn on the free transfer list, with a creativity rating of 18, and passing of 15. Granted he’s old with poor stamina, but would you not take a gamble, and risk him on a short term contract?
    I was able to get the former Ballon d’or winner Kaka, aged 32, at Wolves in the championship on £17,500 a week for Pete’s sake, with not a single team interested. Why not, especially on that wage?
    There is just no feel of competing for players at all, players you know would have at least half a dozen teams clamouring for their signature, if not more.
    And the free list is chock a block with players like this, whether it be an aging but solid defender, a midfielder with teamwork and work rate stats above 18, or a nippy winger with impressive speed stats.

    And talking of stats, why has ‘experience’ never been included? It would make buying those aging stars more appropriate, especially if you managed to get someone who had over 10 years of champion’s league experience for instance, at your lowly Championship club.

    And I have never, in all the years of playing this game, EVER come across a transfer that made me think WOW!! And this game continues that trend.
    You know the type, Man City attempting to buy Messi or Ronaldo for £90+ million, Man U trying to bring Bale back home, or Chelsea attempting to buy Rooney. Here, in this world, this just does not happen. And in all of the years playing it, it never has.
    As I mentioned, it leaves the whole transfer system feeling sterile and cold, with no realism whatsoever attached to it.
    And to finish, the match engine is plain pathetic.
    I have lost count of the amount of times I have asked my defenders to close/man mark the opposition, only to see another lofted cross end up in the net from a striker who had been left alone in the box, with my defenders not even challenging. Or midfielders who I have asked to harry and close down the opposition, yet allow a player to waft past them like they were swans on a lake, unopposed.

    This game may be great for newbs, who will love becoming lost in the world of stats, but if you have played it for more than a few years, then the glaring inadequacies will surface very quickly here.

    Poor effort, yet maximum frustration    … Expand
  2. Hirikan
    Nov 4, 2013
    4
    Not done enough to justify the price tag.
    This game is one of the worst so far in the series! It not only adds a lot of new features, it also removes features.
  3. bwfcnut
    Nov 24, 2013
    4
    After FM13 severely disappointed last year with *very* poor AI and match engine (both worst in the series IMO), this is a marginal improvement but still fails to hit the pinnacle of FM12. The match engine is somehow still worse than 12's, with players running in a mechanical and hilarious manner, but is slightly better than 13's. There are also less stupid mistakes, for both your team andAfter FM13 severely disappointed last year with *very* poor AI and match engine (both worst in the series IMO), this is a marginal improvement but still fails to hit the pinnacle of FM12. The match engine is somehow still worse than 12's, with players running in a mechanical and hilarious manner, but is slightly better than 13's. There are also less stupid mistakes, for both your team and the opposition, but the game just does not flow as naturally as it did in 12. It's almost immersion breaking.

    Out of match day, the game is vastly improved. The opposition AI now make and accept more realistic offers for players in comparison to previous installments. Team talks and team meetings also have more of an impact than they did in 13, where every player was manic-depressive. It's also nice to see a lot of younger, more out of the limelight players (e.g. lower leagues) who are showing potential and form over the past 12 or so months actually having their attributes updated, rather than just the bigger clubs. This is specifically something I noticed with Championship players, due to my team currently being there. Training is still very uninvolved in comparison to 2012, but is better than 2013.

    Beyond a few little cosmetic changes, such as sleeker AI than 13 and some new squad roles, I am struggling to find anything to justify a full price purchase. The match engine and AI, which has always been a problem with the series, is still neglected in favour of smaller, more gimmicky things such as "classic" mode. SI really need to pull something out of the bag next year, the series has stagnated since 2011-2012 and after 2013's debacle, they've lost at least one fan in me and the demo of 2014 is doing nothing to inspire me to move on from 2012.

    Possible sale buy, but currently SI aren't doing anything significant updates, especially in problem areas, justify their yearly price. Market leadership has caused them to become complacent, possibly lazy, and the past two games have shown this. 4/10.    … Expand
  4. Gopster
    Dec 7, 2013
    4
    By far one of the worse FM I have played in a long time. They game engine is so broken it's unbelievable due to the fact your strikers aren't actually strikers since they DON'T SCORE! Your goal is coming from your CB in set pieces. For example my CB scored 12 goals (Shawcross) and Berbatov scoring a messily 6 as my lone striker. I have repeated in 2 saves (Completely shifting tactics) andBy far one of the worse FM I have played in a long time. They game engine is so broken it's unbelievable due to the fact your strikers aren't actually strikers since they DON'T SCORE! Your goal is coming from your CB in set pieces. For example my CB scored 12 goals (Shawcross) and Berbatov scoring a messily 6 as my lone striker. I have repeated in 2 saves (Completely shifting tactics) and what annoys me is the change tactics system. WHAT CHANGE! Apart from some extra match plans but NOTHING has change and by this I mean the fact that when you play the same tactic 7-10 games it becomes useless since teams will always beat you if you keep playing that formation even you change the mentality and philosophy. I do love the FM series since I've been playing FM09 but it's just getting to the point where I'm starting to not enjoy the game with too little changes. As the other reviews before me have said, if you want to play a real football managing simulator without the wanting to play as the director of football, just go play FM12 with the best overall engine.… Expand
  5. Wiebe
    Feb 26, 2020
    4
    Football manager barely changes anything and republishes their game for full price. Greedy cheap basterds. The game database is great, but if you play for long enough and understand the mechanics the game becomes easy to beat, because it requires little adaption to the opponent and the scouting system is easy to game. There is also always some game breaking problem, such as crossingsFootball manager barely changes anything and republishes their game for full price. Greedy cheap basterds. The game database is great, but if you play for long enough and understand the mechanics the game becomes easy to beat, because it requires little adaption to the opponent and the scouting system is easy to game. There is also always some game breaking problem, such as crossings working insanely well.… Expand
  6. TheGeneral
    Sep 8, 2014
    3
    I consider myself to be an expert when it comes to Football Management games. Having played almost all football management games in the history of gaming including greats like Premier Manager, Ultimate soccer manager, LMA Manager but the list could go on forever. For years my heart has been in love with Championship/Football Manager. Now I'll be honest I have never been interested much inI consider myself to be an expert when it comes to Football Management games. Having played almost all football management games in the history of gaming including greats like Premier Manager, Ultimate soccer manager, LMA Manager but the list could go on forever. For years my heart has been in love with Championship/Football Manager. Now I'll be honest I have never been interested much in 3d match engine, although I have in recent years started to use it. For me it's the remarkable detail and accuracy of there database along with their simple yet detailed interface. But Recently its exactly that interface which for the first time in 20 years has caused me to abandon FM. Just to give you an example I have clocked over 1300 hours on fm12&13, but FM14 I got as far as the beta, then sold my full key to someone else because the lack of detail to the new tactics interface has killed it. I mean I was pi**ed when they changed the training in fm13. I liked to fully customise my training schedules to the needs of the players I'm trying to develop, but it didn't kill the game. Here though, in FM14, they expect me to control my team the same way, Barry from row f in the east stand tries every saturday, by shouting! Shouts. Not tactics, SHOUTS. I have watched countless interviews in dressing rooms of top premier league clubs, and in the background you see a board that resembles that of the old champ 01/02 tactics screen with lines going up, down diagonal. I mean you know what you want your players to do, it's clear and when it's not working and you know what to do to fix it. Shouts are a guessing game with very little control.

    I am more excited than I have ever been about FM this year. Because I am a Leeds supporter. I hope that FM15 improves, and by improve, I would be happy with fm12 with fm15's database.    … Expand
  7. Shahzaky
    Dec 11, 2013
    3
    Ive changed my mind once again, this game, despite the latest patch is an absolute trainwreck. FM13 is more polished than this. The most stupidest occurs. Right now I cant give my players new contracts cause my board thinks we have spent enough, not realizing that this is not a new signing but 20 existing players which contracts ending in 3 months.... Our economy is fine and the salaryIve changed my mind once again, this game, despite the latest patch is an absolute trainwreck. FM13 is more polished than this. The most stupidest occurs. Right now I cant give my players new contracts cause my board thinks we have spent enough, not realizing that this is not a new signing but 20 existing players which contracts ending in 3 months.... Our economy is fine and the salary cap has not been reached. f***ing horror.

    Here comes my earlier (second) review.
    "Despite my earlier review, I have played FM14 for a number of hours now. I've decided to raise my score to a 5, but unfortunately, I don't think FM14 will reach any higher. Its not because its a bad game by any means, its because its the same game as 2013. Some things are better, like match engine (offensive) and the loading speeds but others are actually worse, like simple language translations, defending, removal of sliders and fancy animations that doesn't make any sense. Sadly, most things behind the scenes remain unchanged. No money for assistants, reputation doesn't scale properly with team success and of course the graphics and sounds (worse) that stays relatively unchanged year after year.

    Is it a good game? I guess it is. Is it worth the price tag? definitely not. This looks and feels more like a $15 DLC package than a full priced game. Can you imagine a team spent a whole year on this?! I cant, all I see is a handful of people pressing a few buttons every year and then laugh all the way to the bank. Its gone 2 weeks and they haven't even released an update fixing some of the obvious bugs that people are having (they are to busy sipping tequilas I guess). Don't buy this game, teach sigames a lesson. If you want updated player transfers, go to sortitoutsi and get it for FM13 instead."    … Expand
  8. doser
    Sep 11, 2014
    3
    The match engine is a disaster - more like a random score generator. Tactics and shouts are almost entirely ignored by all of your players - and the thing you just told them not to do, they will do.

    I can no longer justify purchasing a Football Manager game until I am shown evidence of TWO GAMES IN A ROW where the match engine actually works.

    SI take the money and run...
  9. SangueBlu
    Nov 3, 2013
    3
    Better interface but unplayable match engine, lots of bugs, hockey scores, million shots, just garbage. I had few crash dumps and parsing errors so we have to wait for the hotfix.
  10. Kharm
    Nov 3, 2013
    3
    After 80 hours gameplay i have to say that this has to be the biggest let down in gaming history for me. I have been a massive fan of the FM series since FM 2005 and after FM 2013 was a stinker I was hoping SI would come out with a much improved game... but no, the game is currently bugged to crap.
    The good things about FM14? The layout makes the game easy to navigate and it throws a lot    After 80 hours gameplay i have to say that this has to be the biggest let down in gaming history for me. I have been a massive fan of the FM series since FM 2005 and after FM 2013 was a stinker I was hoping SI would come out with a much improved game... but no, the game is currently bugged to crap.
    The good things about FM14? The layout makes the game easy to navigate and it throws a lot more useful statistic at you. Players in the match itself are much improved looking more realistic animation wise and the shirts look better than ever before. Conversations with players and the media is much better giving you more interesting answer options than in previous versions.
    The bad things about this game? As already said, the bugs. The player performance ratings are currently broken, players are rating on average 4.5 6.0 every game even though they are performing well and not making mistakes, SI have hot fixed this in a update but its still not working. The new tactics system is a load of rubbish now that they have removed the sliders. You can't help feel that the match engine overall is broken, using a 4-4-2 formation I won 9 out of 10 matches then I lost 4-1, 3-0, 2-1 3-0 then drew 1-1 against a team at the bottom of the table.

    When FM13 was released we all know that it was struggling with issues until updates were made further down the line, all I can do is hope that FM14 will have updates that will make the game playable and enjoyable, until then this game can gather dust on my shelf.    … Expand
  11. TSarcher
    Apr 29, 2014
    3
    Football Manager 2014 seems to have ticked the wrong boxes this year and is set to be another
    poor game from a once great franchise. Through my experiences my review will be based on the most predominant aspect within the game. This year though, I have only found many bad things about Sports Interactive's FM 2014.
    -Unrealistically tough Match Engine SI seems to have delivered us with    Football Manager 2014 seems to have ticked the wrong boxes this year and is set to be another
    poor game from a once great franchise. Through my experiences my review will be based on the most predominant aspect within the game. This year though, I have only found many bad things about Sports Interactive's FM 2014.

    -Unrealistically tough Match Engine
    SI seems to have delivered us with a Match Engine so difficult to interpret it's like trying to break in to Pandora's box. The developers have clearly not taken into account that new players will look to play this game. With my FM 2014 experience I feel like the game decides the result of matches before you even start them which makes it feel infuriating and unrewarding considering it takes so long to create a half decent tactic.

    -Poor training system:
    Training your players does not seem to make a scrap of difference on how they perform on the pitch. I still can't wrap my head around the training but it seems pathetically limited considering this is the same Sports Interactive that made Football Manager 2012.

    -Players do not seem to respond to tactics
    Even after 'training' your players to understand your philosophies it seems like they don't follow them at all and pretty much every match will see defenders and the goalkeeper passing the ball around to themselves for about 2 minutes before chucking the ball to the midfield, who then pass back to the defence thus repeating, what I call, the cycle of boredom. Often you wont even notice your strikers who seem to just drift about like idiots.

    -Updates hinder the game
    Every update so far does not progress the game to fix the crappy match engine, but instead makes common working tactics useless. Seriously try using some FM 2014 tactics made during the games release and you will notice they no longer work. I cant tell if this is SI trying to keep interest high but it comes across as annoying considering the match engine is already clearly broken. And to date (29/04/2014) SI has not done anything about the underwhelming match engine.

    That's two years worth of bad games now as FM 2013 fared no better. SI have only dumped minor and mediocre changes to football manager 2013 and dubbed this disappointment as the most addictive football management game out there.

    Graphics- 8-10
    Despite the negatives the new 3D match simulator does look nice but the poor Match Engine spoils this.

    Creativity- 1-10
    The game offers little in regards to tactics and punishes those who think outside the box.

    New user friendly - 0-10
    Horrible for beginners. enough said.

    Replayability- 4-10
    Once you realize the problems in your team do not lie with you but the broken match engine, the game becomes bleak and uninteresting.

    Overall score - 3.4/10
    A largely dull game that specializes in frustration rather than management. Poor effort.

    TSarcher.    … Expand
  12. jollysteve
    Mar 16, 2014
    2
    My score reflects the lack of substantial new things in the series for a few years now. There are obviously wrong game mechanics in use at least since 2006, but instead of fixing them, the developers waste time on media interaction, which 90% of the players ignore, because it simply can't be made interesting.
  13. FranktheTank12
    Nov 10, 2013
    2
    Seemingly focused all attention onto tactics which in turn dont work. Have started 4 seperate games and just constantly lose every game regardless of change in tactics etc, scouting reports are often wrong. Regret paying the money for a worse version of 2012
  14. gamertens
    Dec 12, 2013
    2
    Even with the latest update installed its still a broken game. The defending, decision making, finishing and goalkeeping is just plain ridiculous.
    The fullbacks just drive you mad with the way they play Can't land a good tackle and get booked for fun,even get sent off frequently.
    The central defenders don't give a f**k when a striker runs past them, his pace doesn't even matter.    Even with the latest update installed its still a broken game. The defending, decision making, finishing and goalkeeping is just plain ridiculous.
    The fullbacks just drive you mad with the way they play Can't land a good tackle and get booked for fun,even get sent off frequently.

    The central defenders don't give a f**k when a striker runs past them, his pace doesn't even matter. Playing a high defensive line with offside trap is committing suicide even against the minnows.

    In theory SI made a nice decision to turn down finishing so that it could make the conversion rates more realistic. But in the Match engine it looks laughable when your strikers continue to miss from 6 yards out. Heck even a shot from 8 yards out is considered optimistic by the ME.

    The amount of shots you might have in the match doesn't really matter because your players decide to shoot the first time they touch the ball. Its more kinda like Setpice manager because the amount of freekicks and corners you get is ridiculous too. If you take them short you have an advantage because the opposition doesn't close you down no matter what.

    This game will make you rage quit every other match as tactics are thrown out of the window with the stupid bugs. No fun in playing this game until they sort out the match engine. TERRIBLE GAME!    … Expand
  15. Vayner
    Jan 6, 2015
    2
    I can't believe that i am writing a negative review for football manager game, but i've had enough.I don't know they did it, but they did- it's completely unplayable. Some points:
    1. I have about 150 million pounds spare for transfer but for some reason can't adjust finances to increase salaries, so i can't sign almost anyone unless i sign him as a key player. Pretty stupid imo.
    2.    I can't believe that i am writing a negative review for football manager game, but i've had enough.I don't know they did it, but they did- it's completely unplayable. Some points:
    1. I have about 150 million pounds spare for transfer but for some reason can't adjust finances to increase salaries, so i can't sign almost anyone unless i sign him as a key player. Pretty stupid imo.
    2. Tactics got a little better from one side but much worse from the other. You are pretty limited in the orders you can give to your players for some reason, and it is very frustrating.
    3.The major issue: you have NO WAY to defend yourself against crosses and/or corners, and it's a deal breaker. It doesn't matter what tactics you use or how good your team is, you will always concede from crosses and corners. Even your 1.90 defenders with heading 19 and jumping reach 20 won't get the ball, but their striker with his 1.75 and heading 15 always will.. I am playing manager games since 1998 and it has never been so bad, so farewell for now.    … Expand
  16. RyanBoya
    Nov 20, 2013
    2
    Poor match engine, like in football manager 2013..
    the best match engine I had ever play, only in football manager 2012
    and tactical features..... not good enough.
  17. AnonJ
    Nov 15, 2013
    2
    As a 10-year CM/FM player, after hours of frustration I decided to uninstall the game and never ever touch FM again unless there appears some fundamental overhaul which is very unlikely. I feel FM is already fundamentally broken since very long ago. For 14, the match engine makes me sick. I definitely can't find the successive works as classic as CM 03-04 which I first encountered. All theAs a 10-year CM/FM player, after hours of frustration I decided to uninstall the game and never ever touch FM again unless there appears some fundamental overhaul which is very unlikely. I feel FM is already fundamentally broken since very long ago. For 14, the match engine makes me sick. I definitely can't find the successive works as classic as CM 03-04 which I first encountered. All the additional features seem to be doing some superficial "effort" but actually making the game experience more clumsy and bizarre because they are implemented scrappily. If SI isn't gonna make it hopefully another company can do it, though it's quite difficult. Somehow FM just feels like the Microsoft in football simulation game: Now almost everybody dislikes it but can hardly find an alternative. Sad.… Expand
  18. blade01
    Nov 5, 2013
    2
    Let me make first some things clear:I am member of the FM community since FM2008(in 2008 i dumped the EA manager in hope for fewer bugs and a more realistic approach on the pitch)!I played them all and until 2013 i was realy satisfied.2013 was realy streamlined and the first FM with many bugs.FM2014 takes this a step further.Many bugs(on and off the pitch) plus a more streamlined versionLet me make first some things clear:I am member of the FM community since FM2008(in 2008 i dumped the EA manager in hope for fewer bugs and a more realistic approach on the pitch)!I played them all and until 2013 i was realy satisfied.2013 was realy streamlined and the first FM with many bugs.FM2014 takes this a step further.Many bugs(on and off the pitch) plus a more streamlined version of a manager.Lets ignore the bugs first.They will influence the final verdict but when you read this a patch will hopefully killed this bugs.Lets concentrade on the corefeature:The matchengine!Nearly EVERYTHING is broken!The positioning is a real mess for example.You and your opponent will score many goals while a little questionmark is over your head how this goal was scored.For me it was realy rediculous when my winger starts to play like CR.Maxi Beister from HSV.Its a good player but not a great player.Scored many times because he dribbles many times while the defenense is realy passive.When there is a defender near him because the defenders will regulary lose sight of the oponent.That and the poor marking/positioning will make it possible for both teams to create an massive amount of shots.Many of them will be on target(most of the time 50% on target in my case).This is real football?REALY??Passing is broken too.Players will try to pass through 3 opponents with ZERO chance of succes.Doesnt matter what you strategy or commands for this player might be, this will ruin everything.The keepers are some kind of broken too.While they are extrem strong when it comes to saves they suffer from bad positioning and passiveness too when you opponent crosses.You and your opponent will score many goals after crosses or corners because there is no balance.All in all this game is a piece of crap.Not better than the EA ripoff.Every good review out there is a lie or from fanboys.If this is the way the FM goes than this is my exit.Not worth a buy, stick with FM2012.Its so far the best FM ever.… Expand
  19. Motcritic
    Nov 28, 2013
    2
    I played FM since the very first CM, I saw the game evolving into a complex wonderful game, getting better and better with time, then we have FM 2014, the worst by far ever made.
    While the interface and some features are very well done, like communication with players, training, press conferences, the fundamental core of the game, football, is just a train wreck.
    In FM 2013 I could see    I played FM since the very first CM, I saw the game evolving into a complex wonderful game, getting better and better with time, then we have FM 2014, the worst by far ever made.
    While the interface and some features are very well done, like communication with players, training, press conferences, the fundamental core of the game, football, is just a train wreck.
    In FM 2013 I could see the effects of shouting at my team, of changing tactics and sliders, in this game its all a huge randomness, doesn't really matter if you change anything at all.
    The football simulator is so bad that I can't stop laughing at player movement, its better to just go on holiday and not lose my time. I would say that for each 10 goals scored, 8 of them are absolutely ridiculous, and the amount of goals scored is too high, football is not hockey.

    What I find interesting is people rating this game at 7+, we can even see a lot of 9's and 10's, specially by "high reputation game raters" which pretty much define the metacritic score.
    This makes me think about the reliability of this people, when you read people saying "tactically-rich" you have to wonder how can someone fail so much at something that they should be good at.
    The only reason I can accept this scores is because this people never played another football manager, nor understand anything about football, anything at all.    … Expand
  20. scotttaylor66
    Dec 21, 2013
    2
    Im shattered, have played 2 seasons of FM14 as Man Utd and stopped. I have gone back to playing FM13, I cant believe how screwed up 14 is, I have 24 shots at goal and the other team have 5 shots and I lose the game 1-2. Most shots blast into a defender, team dosent play the selected style or shouts. Players constantly turn over the ball with poor first touch, individual training has becomeIm shattered, have played 2 seasons of FM14 as Man Utd and stopped. I have gone back to playing FM13, I cant believe how screwed up 14 is, I have 24 shots at goal and the other team have 5 shots and I lose the game 1-2. Most shots blast into a defender, team dosent play the selected style or shouts. Players constantly turn over the ball with poor first touch, individual training has become a disaster. whats this unused sub crap in the contracts? Some parts of the game are good but not many.

    FM13, the team plays the type of football you instruct and players listen to shouts, The game play is dreadfull in FM14, this is such a let down as each instalment of FM has been awesome over many years.

    Some of the player ratings are awfull, young stars have such poor ratings you have to offload them and search for other wonderkids. I Vidic and Jones to have a go and they do sweet FA, carrick and mop head cant create anything, heavens forbid i have to use anderson to show some creativity. Rooney went 12 games without a goal, have over 100 shots but no cigar....................

    So its back to FM2013 for me, im tens seasons in and loving it.    … Expand
  21. Garethw87
    Dec 26, 2013
    2
    Doesn't deserve the high rating. It is better then FM 13 but that wasn't hard to beat. SI Games and Football Manager seem to be on a cycle. Every few versions is a full, good game. So FM 12 was very good, 13 was "OK" but the match engine let it down, FM 14 is clunky, still has match engine issues and really bad bugs. Imagine not being able to offer more then £1 per week wages, despiteDoesn't deserve the high rating. It is better then FM 13 but that wasn't hard to beat. SI Games and Football Manager seem to be on a cycle. Every few versions is a full, good game. So FM 12 was very good, 13 was "OK" but the match engine let it down, FM 14 is clunky, still has match engine issues and really bad bugs. Imagine not being able to offer more then £1 per week wages, despite being £500 under your wage budget, yes it's still not been sorted. Imagine you like to play a journeyman save, starting unemployed with a low reputation but on FM 14 you can't get any job at all, still!. SI seem to care more for the match engine and fancy graphics, then the core game now. You can see the update notes "300 match engine tweaks, 30 game fixes" for example. SI need some competition, and I think that other companies shouldn't be scared to try as they could be easily competed against.… Expand
  22. jutcrathorne
    May 6, 2014
    2
    don't normally write reviews but felt compelled to after playing this game.been playing fm games since champ man and its sad to see the decline of such a great franchise. tactics are completely random and confusing, defenders cant defend, strikers cant score, I know everyones already said it but 30 shots on goal cant score, opponent has one shot on target scores, match engine is adon't normally write reviews but felt compelled to after playing this game.been playing fm games since champ man and its sad to see the decline of such a great franchise. tactics are completely random and confusing, defenders cant defend, strikers cant score, I know everyones already said it but 30 shots on goal cant score, opponent has one shot on target scores, match engine is a shambles. there are just too many things wrong with this game to list here, think anyone considering buying should reconsider.… Expand
  23. wisewombat
    Jul 9, 2014
    2
    What do you get when you polish the dust off FM13? FM14! This game is almost identical to its predecessor. The difference being sliders have been replaced with a more intuitive shout system, a few new small tweaks to contract negotiations and transfers. The match engine has also been tweaked, however this change has made this installation of Football Manager the most frustrating andWhat do you get when you polish the dust off FM13? FM14! This game is almost identical to its predecessor. The difference being sliders have been replaced with a more intuitive shout system, a few new small tweaks to contract negotiations and transfers. The match engine has also been tweaked, however this change has made this installation of Football Manager the most frustrating and unresponsive yet.

    I've been a fan of Football manager since Championship Manager, I have enjoyed each iteration and put in up to a thousand hours over the whole series. At first this version seemed really flash, polished and more accessible, the appeal of which probably attributed the high scores from the critics short playing time. Then I got into the first few matches. I thoroughly despised every moment I watched during a match, however powered through hoping to find some enjoyment from this game. I got half way through the season to realise there is no point playing a game so frustrating and unresponsive to my input.

    The matches were horrible to watch because no matter what instructionI used, relative to last FM games, it felt very unresponsive. Nothing I intended on doing in the tactics reflected in the match engine. Every change and shout had little effect on changing the game once it had begun. Goals would be scored and conceded mostly from outrageous places like free kicks from the corner flag or very acute angled shots from inside the box or wing backs crossing and "certainly not meaning" to hit it into goal. Almost every one on one situation the goalkeeper wins. So this means the only way to make a practical tactic is around the flanks and crossing. Which I did, and managed to get through half a season. It felt cheated though because I had to work around the match engine to get a decent realistic game happening. I felt like I was forced to exploiting the match engine weaknesses because it was exploiting me by not allowing goals from through balls and players in the box with the ball at their feet.

    I begun to slightly enjoy the game by being pigeonholed into flank cross play and trying to exploit the engine every way I could to get a decent result. Nevertheless hit half way through the season and all of a sudden world class players couldn't make a pass, strikers couldn't score from 6 yards with ball at their feet, which became expected anyway, and defenders just stood there while the opponent ran past. When I say couldn't make a pass, I mean I was making 70-75% of my passes and went from having 55% possession to 40%, and these are world class players. All the shouts were revolved around giving easy pass options and holding possession. Players would pass in the completely wrong dircetion, and not just one or two but the whole team. It was as if the Match Engine was determined to make me loss because I was winning too much; It was exploiting me back through rubber banding. Opponents would score at the final minute if I was in control just to add salt to the wound even if I implemented defensive tactics. It felt completely out of my control and unresponsive. It felt as if the matches had been decided before I even started them, which I have had gripes with in other FM games but this time it is a joke. Was sitting where I expected for my team in second place with something like 12-4-4 record. Then I started a losing streak of 5 games all 3-0 or 4-1 against me. Forums say its your tactics, players are tired etc. I changed everything to stop the slump, and I mean everything any forum has ever suggested. Nothing worked. I was going to lose no matter what, so I gave up. The tug of war which lasted half a season between me exploiting the match engine and it exploiting me was finally over, it had won. Previous installments the tug of war was between my team and the opponents teams but this time around the only way to get anything out of this game is by understanding the match engine and how to get around its flaws and playing the game it forces you to. I uninstalled it and looked back at a very frustrating experience. Buyers remorse has settled in that's why this game gets a 2, it is almost exactly the same as previous installments of the series but the match engine has made it almost unplayable; except for you masochists out there.    … Expand
  24. CUFCfan616
    Apr 22, 2014
    1
    New FM, same looking ME with all the previous version's bugs in it. Every since the 3d ME has come into the series you're no longer left to your imagination thinking about players acting like real life footballers. For the last several years though you've been able to see the ME in action and boy did it throw up some comical moments of players running out of play for no reason, runningNew FM, same looking ME with all the previous version's bugs in it. Every since the 3d ME has come into the series you're no longer left to your imagination thinking about players acting like real life footballers. For the last several years though you've been able to see the ME in action and boy did it throw up some comical moments of players running out of play for no reason, running away from the ball, passing the ball straight to the opposition, throw ins going to the opposition more often than not, sometimes your player won't even be aiming at one of your players just straight to the opposition from the edge of your penalty area.

    FM14 however shows that no progress has been made since that first version in making the players on the pitch behave any more human. They still bump into each other, awkwardly tackle each other and corners just turn into pinball because the bll and players simply don't act realistically. Back around FM10/11 the game was solid. It seems that since then though SI hve refused to clean up any of the bugs and just added more onto it while spending all their time on man management trough player talks and teamtalks that don't have a long lasting effect on your game as well as completely diluting the training so you're left wondering if it's actually having any effect on your players or not.

    I only got FM14 because it was on a Steam sale but for the first time in ten years of playing the series I feel ripped off.

    I'll finish comparing the 'critics' reviews who seem to've been playing a completely different game to me, to the media reports in my current save. I'm 23rdin the league without a win in what's now 12 games. "This recent poor run of form have seen the side fall to just a top half placing and whilst this is still better than many critics expected, the fans are worried that the early season promise is going to be replaced with late season disappointment." It's a fitting bug to describe the game. Critics love it for being a polished turd but the fans are seeing through it. Nothing will make me buy another FM until a new, and I mean brand new not just an updated version from the year before, Me has been designed for the game to actually make it play realistically    … Expand
  25. robers
    Dec 12, 2013
    1
    I used to love FM and CM. But playing FM 14 is like having a nightmare. Worst game from you. Waste of money. I´m gonna play some of the old manager games, much more fun
  26. Deano76
    Feb 15, 2014
    1
    The high scores this game received from so called professional reviewers shows yet again that these idiots are just on the take. They must enjoy a lot of freebies to ignore the fact that this is by far the worst, most buggy FM game ever produced. It's pathetic.
  27. 14kingsdown
    Feb 16, 2014
    1
    I've been playing the football manager games for quite a while now, and I'm afraid to say SI have really taken their eye off the ball. Football Manager 2014 is quite simply the worst Football Manager I have played.

    Why? The football. The actual games are now a complete lottery. The players ignore your instructions. They almost always allow the opposition to amble past them with the    I've been playing the football manager games for quite a while now, and I'm afraid to say SI have really taken their eye off the ball. Football Manager 2014 is quite simply the worst Football Manager I have played.

    Why? The football.

    The actual games are now a complete lottery. The players ignore your instructions. They almost always allow the opposition to amble past them with the ball, even if they are world-class defenders. Each game has a countless number of corners, which almost always result in goals due to goalkeepers not being able to catch crosses. 8 out of 10 goals are completely comical.

    It is like watching a video of a bunch of 7-year-olds playing football, and trying to influence the result by shouting at the TV. It is the lack of control that grates the most.

    The various updates don't make things any better - they seem to introduce more weird bugs (like the latest one of wingers refusing to cross, ever).

    As a test I tried filling a world-class team full of the best players in the world (Lewandowski, Thiago Silva, Pogba, etc etc). Even after 12 months of all these players bedding in, we would still lose every away game by a cricket score regardless of the tactic, opposition, or how long we established a pattern of play.

    As I said - it is a strangely unresponsive lottery of a game. I give up.    … Expand
  28. gabiciki
    Feb 25, 2014
    1
    I have played FM series since around 2008, and this year's FM is a lot worse than last years... the defenders just keep running back and staring at the opposition, and your team ends up loosing always from any team, the players keep shooting from the half of the pitch with no reason, or shooting on all the opposition players, making every game the same with the last one... it has becomeI have played FM series since around 2008, and this year's FM is a lot worse than last years... the defenders just keep running back and staring at the opposition, and your team ends up loosing always from any team, the players keep shooting from the half of the pitch with no reason, or shooting on all the opposition players, making every game the same with the last one... it has become arcade, no realism at all, and even worse than Fifa Manager.... don't spend money on this...… Expand
  29. aelgate3
    Apr 25, 2014
    1
    as a big fan of FM for years i believe FM 2012 was the best so far since i started playing. FM 2013 was really bad and i bought FM 2014 believing that they would fix some ridiculous things in the new version. they were advertising that the wages and so on are more realistic now etc. So this is my list of problems and the reasons why im not buying FM again because i feel they have no ideaas a big fan of FM for years i believe FM 2012 was the best so far since i started playing. FM 2013 was really bad and i bought FM 2014 believing that they would fix some ridiculous things in the new version. they were advertising that the wages and so on are more realistic now etc. So this is my list of problems and the reasons why im not buying FM again because i feel they have no idea how to produce games:

    1. you start the game in year 2013 and almost no team has budget to buy players or even the wages to get cheap FREE PLAYERS. how ridiculous is that? also you have to wait at least 2-3 seasons before you get free players worth signing even for teams of the 2nd-3rd division on free transfers. no players available on free transfers. ridiculous. when u play at year 2020 you can win the champions league with swansea because u can get world class players on free transfers every season and the wages of the teams become realistic.

    Ridiculous 2: I was playing with the French site valenciennes and i was 3rd!!!!! in my second season there A COUPLE of matches before the end of the season and my status was untouchable because it was the best campaign they've ever had in their history. i sold players for 10-15 million and i got no wages or transfer budget at all. WHY? finally the chairman messaged my that im gonna have to win 5 points in the next 3 games or he will fire me. WHAT? i didn't make it and i was fired. STILL DONT GET THAT.

    Rediculous 3: usually when u sign for a team mid-season you realise that there are positions that there is no one player who can play there. even a decent one. how im gonna deal with that? to get defenders to play as wingers? they want you to do the impossible with that squat though.

    rediculous 4: Scouters tell you that a player is a quality player and when you sign them the assistant manager says that he is a decent player. both scouters and assistant manager have high rating in judging player's ability. WHY?

    rediculous 5: When you are unemployed and you are looking for a team you might be unemployed for 2-3 season even if u had good results previously. it is a game and im playing to have fun SI giniuses!!!

    rediculous 6: my computer is worth 2 grand and the loading speed to move from Monday to Tuesday is redicoulous and also the drop box that comes down every time u press 'continue' makes me want to quit the game.

    rediculous 7: I want to be able to sign players from france and portugal because they are cheap but i don't want to have those leagues in my playable leagues because it will reduce the game's performance. therefore if u want to play england spain and italy for ex you will have to join a big team to be able to sign good players from these countries. look for talents in countries that are not playable. you are not gonna find too many.

    ridiculous 8: the pointless interviews when you are unemployed is the worst thing in the game i believe. usually they don't employ you or if they do they might have a rediculous squad and empty positions and they are 15th in the league 10 games before the end and they ask u to qualify for EURO cup because they are Lyon olympique or whatever. is it possible?

    Also the instructions to players individually and the way you want them to play is confusing. in FM 2012 it was much better. also most of the times the team performance becomes worse if not on the default.

    THIS GAME IS BAD. REALLY BAD. im not buying this game again and i was one of the biggest funs of this game until last year. never again    … Expand
  30. tehmask
    Jun 28, 2014
    1
    This is an awful game. If you have played the other FM games you will quite fast notice that this is the worst game they have done so far. All the good reviews from the "professional" media just show us the fact that they have never even tried out FM14.
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Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Best PC Game of 2013
81
#81 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
65
#65 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 41 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 41
  3. Negative: 0 out of 41
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    May 11, 2014
    84
    Football Manager 2014 feels more like a lifestyle than a game. I just doubt thee need of yearly iterations in the era of DLCs. [Feb 2014]
  2. SpazioGames
    Apr 13, 2014
    90
    Whether you are looking for a coaching career or a simply deep experience as a manager with no frills, the latest incarnation of the series created by Sports Interactive will meet once again to your need.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    Dec 25, 2013
    88
    It's a deep game focused on keeping kickball obsessives happy - and succeeds at doing just that. [Jan 2014, p.82]
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