CMS General Discussion Thread

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@Danimal5981 wrote:

I now have the same issue as you did a while ago, about being able to reply, except 'Quick Reply'..., any insights on how you solved the issue? I tried cleaning caches and cookies but to no avail.

Only have this weird workaround: post a quick reply, then edit that reply to arrive in the normal repl-window (where one can insert pics and vids)

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It's really annoying, but no, I don't know how to fix it. It just happens sometimes, lasts a day or two, then usually goes away again by itself. Or maybe by the hands of the people in charge of the forum. Can't take any credit myself for restoring things back to normal.

@LABoog4 I don't quite agree on your assumption about England. When you have four good attackers, it does not make a good team: those attackers still need to receive useful balls, so unless you get better ball handling from the back, the problem will remain the same. How many times do Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier, Rice, Alexander-Arnold or Gallagher really give a good, useful pass forward?

I don't think Southgate is the problem, I think Southgate is preventing worse. The current 4-2-3-1 is the only system where those front four fit in, thus making the system around them is exactly what happened and is exactly what is going wrong for England. But the way Southgate makes them play the system at least gives them stability at the back. Not losing can get you very far into a tournament.

The system is a copy from the Netherlands 2008-2012 period, where essentially six defend and a quartet of attackers up front, free to do whatever they want. The difference is that Heitinga, Van Bronckhorst, or Van Bommel had considerable more ball handling talent, than Stones, Trippier or Rice do today for England. And somehow, that ball needs to get up front for Kane to hammer it in.

My solution would be going back to that 5-3-2 wingback system they used before and brought them 3rd place in the world cup and a final in the last EURO. Because then, you actually get those players at the back in their strength: power, speed, stamina. It is less reliant on a good, quick-paced passing game. It does however mean you have to sacrifice one of those front four players: Bellingham behind Kane, who is coupled with either Saka, or either Foden, or players of that type (Sterling, Graelish etc)

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@Danimal5981 wrote:
Quarter Finals, baby! Fantastic fixtures:

Germany - Spain
Portugal - France

England - Switzerland
Netherlands - Türkiye

My dream would be a Germany v Netherlands final, but currently Spain appear mighty strong. And of course: Portugal and France with their minimalistic approach, but maximum effect. However, in the other half, Netherlands do appear the most convincing side after yesterday's game.

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Netherlands have arguably found luck with the draw here. Austria have shown great strength against stronger opposition, but struggled a bit vs Türkiye, when they were suddenly the favourites in a game. So Türkiye may be the easier draw for Netherlands than Austria would have been, having already beat you. The Turks do have massive backing from their fans though, and they shouldn't be taken lightly.

England have been poor, and I do expect Switzerland to knock them out. So Switzerland in a Euros semi final? Not a bad prospect for Oranje, IF they manage to do their own job against the Turks. And even if England surprise me, I would still say that Netherlands have a good chance against them. They've been awful.

In the tough half I'm glad to see either France or Portugal reach the end now. So much talent wasted. France scoring 3 goals in 4 games. 2 of them own goals, the last one a penalty. Portugal failing to score in their last two, vs Georgia and Slovenia. Glad to see one of them exiting at this point. The other, hopefully, in the semi final.

Germany started well, but have shown signs of vulnerability along the way. They were lucky vs Denmark IMO, and they were 'found out' by Switzerland. Spain have been the most impressing side so far, and I hope for them to beat Ze Germans and whomever they'll encounter in the semi final. And if not Spain, then I hope for Germany to make it to the final.

Germany v Spain seems like a key game. Hard to call, though I think Spain are overall the better side. A lot will depend on the two centre back pairings and how they can hold out against the most agile players in the tournament: Musiala on the German side, Yamal and Williams at Spain. In the end, I think the more direct angle of Germany (especially subs as Fullkrug and Muller) will have the edge.

France is stronger than their goal tally expresses. They control all their games well and save the 2nd Lewandowski-penalty and the canceled Xavi-goal for offside, they've had no goals against. So, I expect France to have the better over Portugal.

Netherlands - Türkiye is going Dutch. I cannot see Türkiye win that, unless they are mighty effective with set pieces. The Turks don't have the means to really press high up the pitch and that is the only way to disturb the Dutch game. On top, Austria should've won that game against Türkiye and the Dutch, for all their vulnerabilities, do score quite easily outfield goals (two against Poland, one canceled against France, two against Austria, three against Romania), so I'm gonna say: Netherlands.

England -  Switzerland. As I explained before, I think Southgate is getting the best out of these 4-2-3-1 tactics - the question is whether these are the best tactics for England. Fortunately for England, Switzerland apply similar tactics: playing a patience game, moving into the final third, hoping to find the free man to take a shot. It's the type of game I think England will find easy to defend, so any Swiss goal would have to come from clear English errors. I think this will be a single goal game, or penalties.

Germany v France, Netherlands v England in the semis;

Germany v Netherlands in the final.

Spain vs Germany was a thrilling game to watch. Germany did well to score late and force the game to extra time. Got a taste of their own medicine with a late goal then, even though Spain had subbed off most of their key players. Germany now complaining about a penalty not given. Firstly: There was offside and possibly a handball too, in the build-up to the potential penalty situation. And secondly: Germany got a debatable penalty in the Round of 16, so I think it's only fair that both aren't given to them. But still a thrilling game to watch for the neutral.

On the contrary, two defensive teams played the late game. I had predicted it to end goalless, and I was right. France in the semi finals with a 3-1 overall score from 5 games. Two scored from own goals and one from a penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo is truly a passenger in this team. Actually holding back a really talented team from making a history of their own. Somehow it just has to revolve around Ronaldo, and it doesn't do them any favours. A last minute 2-1 comeback vs Czechia. A 3-0 win vs Türkiye, but only due to two massive defensive mistakes. 2-0 defeat vs Georgia, but without many key players. 0-0 vs Slovenia, winning from pens. And 0-0 vs France, losing from pens. I don't think Portugal will be missed from this tournament.

Well, France wouldn't have been missed either. How badly I want Spain to knock them out now. Too bad the ref in the first QF was eager to hand out yellow cards, thus seeing half a team banned for the semi final. Whilst the ref in the other game only gave two yellows. Go Spain!

Spain and Netherlands score the easiest, so for the beauty of the game I would like those two to play the final.

However, three reasons I would hope for France

• Confrontations between Spain and Netherlands are usually ugly
• The defender in me can actually applaud the minimalist approach by France and England
• We (Netherlands) started this whole EURO cycle with a 4-0 humiliation in and against France, it would be nice to book-end it here, now that the momentum is with us

So, obviously I hope for Netherlands, but as the opponent I'd choose France.

It has been a busy week with the holiday and family coming to town but I was able to watch most of the endings of games still. I'm in a position now to cheer for anyone but France. 

England, I'm still only cheering for them because of Kane. With the media being so negative towards the players, especially former players, I would love to see them win it and shut everyone up. Despite the slow approach. 

Netherlands are fun to watch. They play free and attack nonstop. Much like Spain. 

I know you guys are most likely not watching the Copa but I will never complain of European refs again after this. The refs are awful and get even the basic rules wrong. One ref played the advantage WHILE stopping a defender and giving him a card. 

Argentina should easily win but they look off. I expect them to beat Canada and then face Colombia in the final. 

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@LABoog4 wrote:

It has been a busy week with the holiday and family coming to town but I was able to watch most of the endings of games still. I'm in a position now to cheer for anyone but France. 

England, I'm still only cheering for them because of Kane. With the media being so negative towards the players, especially former players, I would love to see them win it and shut everyone up. Despite the slow approach. 

Netherlands are fun to watch. They play free and attack nonstop. Much like Spain. 

I know you guys are most likely not watching the Copa but I will never complain of European refs again after this. The refs are awful and get even the basic rules wrong. One ref played the advantage WHILE stopping a defender and giving him a card. 

Argentina should easily win but they look off. I expect them to beat Canada and then face Colombia in the final. 

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@LABoog4 spot on about the refereeing, though I can imagine Türkiye has much to complain about the ref in the game against Netherlands and so might Germany against Spain.

France will try and kill the game, they'll trust on their clean sheets, maybe steal a goal or rely on penalties. Spain has also a couple of suspensions (Carvajal, Le Normand) and injuries (Pedri) to cope with. I think it'll end 0:0 or 1:1, then penalties.

But then: Netherlands v England..., I expect entertainment. Both teams get stronger towards the end of a game, so I expect a slow, patient 1st half and fireworks in the second. England are not a strong passing team, so I expect Netherlands to hold possession more. England rely on solid defense, Netherlands on relatively easy scoring. But both have players with individual class to create danger from nothing: Gakpo's distance shots, Bellingham's bicycle kick, Saka's sudden distance kick, the way Weghorst can make war in the penalty box..., I'm really, really looking forward to this one - the fixture I wanted most during this tournament.

I watched the Copa quite a lot. The organizing countries of World Cup 2026 have much work to do: US, Mexico and Canada can't hold a candle to the other Latin American countries. Especially Colombia are on fire. But Colombia traditionally are a powerhouse, but somehow always fail to show their stuff at a World Cup. It cannot go any other way than a Argentina - Colombia final.

Sorry @Danimal5981 , Netherlands had a good tournament but things went Englands way tonight. 

I agree with the penalty call just because his boot was so high with studs up. But I could easily see it not being a penalty and would have no complaints. 

Netherlands looked cautious tonight. All tournament they have scored and created chances but tonight they gave up possession to England and after the injury sub, never looked threatening on the break. 

I expect Spain to win the final but with England, who knows how they might show up?

I could go one way and be biased, but the referee in me says that it was a penalty. On top, the orange ought not to cry beecause of it, because A] it was only an equalizer and B] there were 70 minutes left to play. So to blame it all on a dodgy penalty-call is too simple for me.

Gakpo was invisible. Depay got injured and Malen (which I thought was our most dangerous man) got subbed. On the other side an actually decent Phil Foden, threatening Saka. England were better in the first half, Netherlands had them bogged down alright for large parts of the second half but there were no real clear-cut chances. And then Watkins shoots in that unlikely ball. England deserved it slightly more than we did, is my gut feeling. We were retreating too much onto our own half and while England wasn't sparkling, they clearly did put in more effort than what I saw in the last couple of England-games. So, good on them: Spain will win anyway.

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@Danimal5981 wrote:

I could go one way and be biased, but the referee in me says that it was a penalty. On top, the orange ought not to cry beecause of it, because A] it was only an equalizer and B] there were 70 minutes left to play. So to blame it all on a dodgy penalty-call is too simple for me.

Gakpo was invisible. Depay got injured and Malen (which I thought was our most dangerous man) got subbed. On the other side an actually decent Phil Foden, threatening Saka. England were better in the first half, Netherlands had them bogged down alright for large parts of the second half but there were no real clear-cut chances. And then Watkins shoots in that unlikely ball. England deserved it slightly more than we did, is my gut feeling. We were retreating too much onto our own half and while England wasn't sparkling, they clearly did put in more effort than what I saw in the last couple of England-games. So, good on them: Spain will win anyway.

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You're spot on. Both in regards to the penalty decision and in regards to England being the better team in the first half, then Oranje in the second, with England having an overall advantage over the full 90 minutes.

Foden has stepped up after being moved into a central position, and it works well for England with the two Stockport-born midfielders, Foden and Mainoo, switching places in the build-up. I think England has been good in their last two games, after being rather grey in the group stage and the Round of 16 match. I actually have them as small favourites now, peaking at the right time as a good tournament team should. Spain have been brilliant through the whole tournament (the only team to manage that), but England's peak at the right time might work against them. I hope I'm wrong though.

I am happy with either team winning today, like I mentioned before I wanted any of the four but France. I am leaning towards England being the one I really want though just so Kane can win a trophy. I know he left Spurs (and I do not blame him) but I still would like to see him win a big one. 

Spain have proven they are one of the world's best again. With their young talent, they look like a favorite for the next world cup too. 

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@LABoog4 wrote:

I am happy with either team winning today, like I mentioned before I wanted any of the four but France. I am leaning towards England being the one I really want though just so Kane can win a trophy. I know he left Spurs (and I do not blame him) but I still would like to see him win a big one. 

Spain have proven they are one of the world's best again. With their young talent, they look like a favorite for the next world cup too. 

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I suppose the Kane-curse still lives. He's been awful this tournament IMO. Scored a penalty, a tap-in and a free header from close range, but I don't think he was an asset for England apart from that. England improved, as the tournament got to the latter stages, but Kane didn't, and frankly he was a passenger being carried to the final by his team.

Spain won deservedly yesterday, I even think they should also have had a penalty in the first half, when Declan Rice pulled a Spaniard down at a corner. I know there are much pulling and stuff in the box during set-pieces, but that one was too one-sided not to be seen as a foul IMO. Anyway, doesn't matter now. Spain were the best team from start to finish in this tournament. I can't remember an international tournament with such a difference from the best team to the rest, overall speaking.

Congratulations to Spain. Well done saving us all from English noice pollution.

I agree with Kane not being great this tournament. I do not think he was fully healed from the ankle injury the kept him out the end of the season. His movement looked nothing like it usually does. 

Spain were the best team all tournament, they are deserved champions and that is enough to make me happy with the EUROs. 

Same with Copa. Argentina and Colombia were great all tournament and both deserved to reach the final. Argentina struggled to score at times but the defense was great. 

"You'll now be able to use "live start points" when beginning a save, which effectively means you can join a club at a specific point during the season, rather than always at the beginning. EA described this in a way that made it sound similar to some of the live service elements of Ultimate Team: as major events unfold in the real world of football, the plan is to then feature those as live starting moments in Career Mode."

Something I've wanted for quite some time. Looking forward to FC25 now.

https://www.eurogamer.net/the-big-ea-sports-fc-25-preview-a-proper-career-mode-update-a-football-manager-style-tactics-system-fut-tweaks-and-more

That is a nice feature to add. I am still waiting for the biggest addition that would put the game over the top for me and that is to be able to control multiple teams. 

You back do it in every other sports game, I have no idea why in FIFA they have never allowed it. Even if you only control transfers, that would be fine too. 

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@LABoog4 wrote:

That is a nice feature to add. I am still waiting for the biggest addition that would put the game over the top for me and that is to be able to control multiple teams. 

You back do it in every other sports game, I have no idea why in FIFA they have never allowed it. Even if you only control transfers, that would be fine too. 

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Interesting. From all the "Career Mode Wishlists" I've seen throughout the years, I've never seen this suggested before. I don't think I would use this feature either, always finding myself to be much invested in every save I start. So I can't really fathom how I would be able to keep two saves running at once, haha...

"Another first for Career Mode is the ability to manage and participate in training for youth players for the first time - their training sessions will mostly take form as Rush mode games between young players - and youth models have been significantly updated. In fact, there's a wider update to player faces in general in the form of something EA is calling EA Sports Cranium, which uses machine learning to give players that haven't been fully scanned a degree of genuine likeness in the game - with examples given across both men's and women's players."

This is interesting too... Participate in training for youth players? I'm not sure what to expect, but I have wished for the ability to play youth games in CM, and perhaps this is a step on the road to that. Either way I'm happy to see them try to add some new things to Career Mode, which is the only game mode I'm truly interested in.

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@LABoog4 wrote:
It would be one save, you play all the games of your team, but you have the power to change tactics for other teams, change managers and do transfers.

In other games like Madden, MLB or NBA. Teams will operate like normal but if you want to hop in and cancel a transfer or fire a manager and change a teams style you can.

I enjoy it to keep transfers more realistic (no more Saka to Juve every year) or to keep things fresh but firing Pep and bringing in someone else with a new style.

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Aaah, that makes sense. Oh, how I would love to be able to stop every transfer of a non-Basque player to Athletic Club de Bilbao. Knowing how they stick firmly to their 'only Basque origin' politics, it always hurts my eyes to see them sign Conor Gallagher or someone like that. Practically anyone really. It would be awesome to be given this kind of control somehow. Also changing squad numbers and whatnot.

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@JustinCase0110 wrote:

"You'll now be able to use "live start points" when beginning a save, which effectively means you can join a club at a specific point during the season, rather than always at the beginning. EA described this in a way that made it sound similar to some of the live service elements of Ultimate Team: as major events unfold in the real world of football, the plan is to then feature those as live starting moments in Career Mode."

Something I've wanted for quite some time. Looking forward to FC25 now.

https://www.eurogamer.net/the-big-ea-sports-fc-25-preview-a-proper-career-mode-update-a-football-manager-style-tactics-system-fut-tweaks-and-more

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Only been begging for this for like 10 years. I've left all the crazy wishlist ideas to everyone else this is what I've always wanted. The ability to start a new career without heaving to go back in time and start as things are. The opportunity to take over at a team in a real life Relegation Battle from that point without having to stimulate games etc. may seem minor to most but like yourself am very excited by this