Great, now I think I am near the end so let us try this again.
First, I think it is a great game. Quite a few flaws, but I like it.
It looks nice, responsive, music doesn't get old (I quite like it) and I am amazed how many animations my little men can achieve + how many things are adaptable given that I happen to quite like micromanaging. Also, localization (how believable local clubs are) is just amazing.
Now to the flaws.
The most glaring problem is pacing.
It has a slow start, grindy middle and a nice end.
You start with little of everything, no prestiege, no money, random players (and next to no knowladge). The problem is that at that point AI will probably immediately outpace you, for some reason it is just more capable to get better players stats-wise which is frustrating, because you get everything by winning, including the opportunity to adapt your team, so it can feel as a chicken and the egg game. AI is also quite smart. Not always, but it will know you are weaker and it will tend to bully you. It doesn't help that many rules are not obvious (or even explained), so at the start it will be hard to outsmart something that knows every one of them and as someone who doesn't watch football, I needed a very long long time before I understood what is "offside" or how the game handles it. Even till this day, AI always had better stats than me, so I do not know how not to be bullied, but I found my ways around it. It doesn't help that AI starts with a hendicap, you can adapt your team to its determened team, which is HUGE advantage ... once your players have proper skills to use it.
As you start to develop skills, this is where the game actually begins because this is the only thing that can get AI under control, because AI might have more of them, but they have the same range + you can adapt your team to counter AI's + look what AI is doing and steal its better tactics (except those that requite high stats to pull off). Once I figured out all that, this is where pain really started. I started getting basic resources, like fans, money, prestiege, but you get more if you win and you can lose fans that are important for revenue if you lose or simply not win enough. But if you win, you get better opponents as your rank is exploding forward. At some point I was almost crying as game evaluates you with 0-5 start and I was getting opponents with 2,5 stars more than myself. It is a pain to play, they WILL bully you. But you want that. Because higher ranks mean more resources. How much more? Well, I think that at the start of a game I was getting 75 Exp per win. Not so long ago my player got 6000 Exp, 750 Exp or so if I lose. I think this is ridicolous, but here are we. So ... most of this time is grinding vs 4,5 and 5 stars, because they cant be better than that, so if you can get closer, difference will slowly but eventually fade away.
At that time I also noticed simulations of the game are broken. I mostly dont use them, but I played some of them when the pain was at its highest and ... they feel random. Some feel plausible, but I once KNEW I would lose, no chance whatsoever, but instead I won 2:1. I would not even today be able to score even one goal with my team from that time agains what was in front of me. So, feels random.
I am now at the point where I finally feel comfortable in my chances to win, by accident I won national, premiere and european cup in the same year and ... I have no idea how. It was a close one, didn't even cheat (quite easy to cheat, but I mostly used it at the start because I was trying to guess how game rules work, which sounds fair). So, yea, game is way better now, but also somehow boring, I feel more motivated with low than great chances, but at least I dont cry in frustration anymore, so that is a plus, my main frustration now is that I get only 1.500.000 money per match as things are expensive now, which is more than ... I think it was 300 per match at the start of the game? Strange times.
Few bugs, but those are rare.
There are 2 gripes that I really miss.
Game is extremly tactical, a lot of numbers. Why do I not see numbers how likely I am to by random chance miss goal when doing headshots? And I also don't quite get how numbers work when you go for a headshot and you get 80, opponent that is trying to prevent it gets 15, but he is better than you, but not if he gets 3 ... I dont get that at all, how do I judge my chances? Sometimes I just roll with the punches, because I have no idea what is going on and hope for the best.
Game can be quickened, but then the entire game is quickened. I would want for animations to stay the same, because it feels more natural, but to only get rid of those long pauses between them that can really pull your nerve after a few hundreds of game as you know what will happen anyway.
Also, I would like to choose to play in lower league than possible at the start of the year. 2,5 start stronger opponent is just a bit too much, I want to have fun, not whatever I was doing.
How to micromanage player apearance feels ... nice, but I think it is a clear overkill. Can my manager get a gf or bf instead? I think he deserves it.
So, nice game, not for everyone, buy if you are willing to suffer and every now and then feel over the moon.
