MLS Manager Mode Guide

[SoundersFC_4Life]

I just thought I'd make one of these, based on my background:

In America, following the UEFA 2008 tournament and the rise of "next-gen" consoles, current-gen FIFA games are in higher supply at a lower price. Americans are starting to buy cheap FIFA games and try them out. The problem? Most people don't know about EPL, La Liga, Serie A, or any of the leagues referenced in guides and boards like this one. If the gamers ever use Manager Mode, they tend to pick MLS teams. The following is a guide for those people who [like myself] picked poor, old, low-ratings teams, with no time for training during the year and no international cup.

Selecting a Team

This is the easy part: look for the teams with the most money. Specifically LA Galaxy and Red Bull NY have the most money, and should be considered. If you're sufficiently well-versed in strategy and don't care about money then you could pick a really good defensive team [New England, Chicago, Columbus] or a really good attacking team like Kansas City. Personally I like to start out with the money. It's impossible in MLS to establish an advantage with personnel so you need all the help you can get.

Molding your Roster

Unlike the European clubs, the friendly-season for MLS in FIFA 08 does not allow transfers. Instead of buying a roster, you'll have to beautify one. Go to Team Management and look at your starting lineup. FIFA has a habit of misplacing players, so look and see if everything fits. If your players overall ratings suffer it means that they are out of position, and should be moved. Look at the bench, because sometimes benchwarmers in FIFA are given higher ratings than starters. Generally speaking if your players' ratings don't suffer then you should stick with the team formation. If so, skip this next step:

Choosing a Formation [optional]

If your players' ratings do not suffer based on their positions in the team's generic formation, skip this. I had a problem however when I first started a Red Bull New York file, and again when I formed a Juventus file. It really became a blessing in disguise. I realized that a standard 4-4-2 wouldn't be optimal because I had a good attacking midfielder and 3 good centerbacks. So, I switched to a 3-5-2 formation. Find where the best ratings are on your roster and get them into the starting lineup. You could have 3 good strikers, so go with a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3. You could have 5 solid midfielders, so go with a 3-5-2 or 4-5-1. You could have 5 starting defenders, so chose a 5-4-1 or 5-3-2. Really the choices are endless. If you're new to the game, stick with a 4-4-2, 3-5-2, or 4-3-3.

Spending Money

Here's where MLS truly differs from any other league in FIFA 08. If you run Juventus, Chelsea, ManU, or any of the other insanely rich european clubs, you have $100+ Million dollars at your disposal in this game and can pretty much do anything you want. MLS clubs don't have that luxury. If you started off with Red Bull NY or LA Galaxy [the richest MLS teams] you should immediately upgrade your scout and medical staff to level 7 each. If you don't have enough money, focus on your scout. The scout and medical staff are by far the most critical pieces of your staff on MLS teams. If you have any money left over, send your scout to work. Look at your player growth page [Team Management : Player Growth] and determine who is too weak, or too old to compete for your team. Note these players down on notepad or some writing form. Generally speaking anyone under 60 overall on MLS, without significant player growth within 3 or 4 seasons is someone who could be replaced. Take this an example:

Mathis - CAM
Mendes - CB
Ubiparapovic - CAM
Stammler - CDM

When you send your scout, send him to North America and look for positions that you have jotted down. Replace your old, ineffective players with young, developing prospects. If you need any more money, transfer some of these old players at mid-season and watch your ticket prices. If your fan support is above 80, make sure you are set to the highest ticket prices.

Re-signing Players

Basically, you just want to watch age. If a player is in his late thirties, you'll want to replace him with a scouted prospect. If the player is not in his late-thirties, and is good, sign him. It's as simple as that. It's much more efficient to re-sign MLS players than to sign international players because the salaries in MLS are low.

Picking Friendlies

For year 1 of Manager Mode I recommend picking friendlies from the Coca Cola Championship, Serie B, K-League, or Hyundai A-League. I guarantee that in year 1 no Premier League squad will agree to face you. Stagger the difficulty of opponents. You want to start out with a 1 or 2 star squad the first game, a 2 or 2.5 star squad the second game, a 2.5 or 3 star squad in the third game, and preferably a 3 star squad in the fourth game. This allows you to get better with your team while also increasing the difficulty week-by-week. No MLS team will be below 2.5 stars in year one, and I've never seen them get below 2.5 stars through the entire manager mode.

FAQ's

In real life, MLS has a salary cap. Does FIFA 08 have a salary cap?: No, FIFA 08 does not have a salary cap. If you have the money, you can spend it. All of it.

Other guides emphasize player training to promote growth, why is there no mention of player training?: MLS differs from other leagues. The staffs are weak and most of the season has two games per week. You simply do not have enough free-days alotted for effective training. If you played two games per week and spent days on player training, your players would tire excessively or become injured.

Is the CONCACAF Super Liga a feature in Manager Mode?: No, FIFA 08 does not include the CONCACAF Super Liga. If you want to match up against other top CONCACAF clubs, you can play them in friendlies.

How does the US Open Cup work?: To my knowledge, FIFA 08 picks the top 12 MLS teams from the previous season and throws them into the US Open Cup. That means as long as you don't finish dead last in FIFA 08, you will be in the US Open Cup. The US Open Cup is a knockout tournament. If you lose once, you're out.

I finished #1 in MLS, why do I have a road game in the playoffs of the MLS Cup?: The real-life MLS uses a playoff format known as the "two leg series". Two teams play eachother, hosting one game each, and the winner of the series is the one who scores the most goals.

[SBFC-Chris]

Mate, two things:

no. 1 - No-one will read this as it's in the 08 forum
no. 2 - No-one has an MLS MM because the time is wrong for matches.

[parraboi1]

Nice job mate, have myself done a couple of MM's in the MSL

[SoundersFC_4Life]

Originally Posted by SBFC-Chris

Mate, two things:

no. 1 - No-one will read this as it's in the 08 forum
no. 2 - No-one has an MLS MM because the time is wrong for matches.

So, no one plays FIFA 08 anymore? I lol'd. I for one am not paying fifty dollars or more for a bonafide roster update.

I already explained why some people pick MLS MM's.