Height Is No Longer Cosmetic

FM has for many years taken the approach that the Jumping attribute was based on HEIGHT + JUMPING. Beyond this Height had ZERO bearing on anything whatsoever. The leaden footed Peter Crouch has Jumping ~20 because of his tallness, the much springier Michael Owen has Jumping ~10 because of his shortness. Crouch wins the header of course.

The Jumping attribute was how high a player's HEAD gets. The Match Engine compared the two Jumping attributes and job done.

Hidden away in the release notes for the Match Engine upgrade it now says that the Jumping attribute is based solely on JUMPING. The leaden footed Peter Crouch would have Jumping ~5, the much springier Michael Owen would have Jumping ~15. Crouch still wins the header though because his Height is factored in by the ME.

As the stated above, and I am now quoting Marc Vaughan, jumping does NOT mean physically how many inches a player can jump - it is an indication of the height a player can reach while jumping, hence height is a large factor in this.

If you doubt this then consider the following - you're 1.60 tall, I'm 2 metres tall ... chances of you being able to jump heigher than me are pretty darn slim.

Even if I have absolutely NO jumping ability and can get barely 10 centimetres off the floor you'd still have to jump 40 centimetres in order to match my natural height advantage.

As such considering that 'jumping' is an indication of how high a player can jump in the game and as such has a factor of height in it I don't think its unreasonable to indicate what I did.

Obviously you can get short players in the game with reasonable jumping (ie. Mr. Owen - 1.80 & 9 jumping) and tall players who can't jump (ie. me in a previous game - 2 metres & 9 jumping ). But if both players are good jumpers than obviously the taller one will have a natural advantage (hence 20 jumping isn't likely to be held by a 1.60 tall player).

So in short, the Jumping attribute is now how high a player's FEET get. The ME combines the Jumping attribute with the player's Height and compares the two results, which is a significant change! As people have questionned earlier, how is this going to be reflected in the Jumping attributes of existing players? To reflect the new ME Crouch should have his Jumping adjusted down to ~5 (well, a fairly low figure - certainly not 20) and Owen should have his adjusted up.

Basically, if a ball is played to your 1.95 tall striker that is 1.90 off the ground then the striker can head the ball without jumping. The 1.85 defender will need to jump to reach this ball so his jumping skill comes into play. The player that does not need to jump will have the advantage in this case as he will not be affected by penalties to strength, agility etc.

If the ball is played higher than 1.95 off the ground then they both need to jump. In this case the player with the highest jumping would have advange (other secondary skills used in the calculation would include strength, determination, agility, positioning etc)

In short, your small DC with high jumping would generally be okay unless he comes up against a giant with good aerial and secondary skills.

Could This Be My Season?!

I have a dream... Well, I have several dreams actually and some don't include beer and naked women... Some include visions of unrivalled success and stacks of silverware... And this might just be the season in which I can make my dream come true...

Let's have a look at why I am so optimistic, which is not a natural state of mind for me... I'm still in the World Youth Cup. I am currently in the quarter finals, but I have beaten every other side still in the tournament. The current draw looks like this. (Note: I added their current position in the youth rankings)

Kampong (6th) vs The Jakswans (36th)
Griffin FC (2nd) vs Never Walk Alone FK (46th)
Fortuna Aeternitas (10th) vs Gimp Athletic (40th)
Manchester Utd (15th) vs The Leeds Knights (22nd)

I stand a very realistic chance of reaching the next round, and after that... Who knows what might happen, it's the knock-out stage of a major tournament... Anything can happen, but I am giving myself a very decent chance.

I'm also still in the U21 Game World Cup. Having beaten the #1 in the youth rankings in the previous round, I hope the team can build on this momentum. I'm currently in the quarter finals and the draw looks like this.

Fortuna Aeternitas (10th) vs Bradford City (56th)
BB City (58th) vs OutKasts (21st)
Club Atletico Boca Juniors (116th) vs Manchester Utd (15th)
Angels Advocate (20th) vs The Leeds Knights (22nd)

Even when the rankings don't mean a thing in a knock-out competition, I am the highest rank left in the tournament. Realistically, I should be able to progress here and cause some damage in the next round as well.

Finally, the Miller Game World Cup. Again, I am in the quarter finals, and this is what the draw looks like in there...

Terrible Towelies (47th) vs Fortuna Aeternitas (31st)
JK Tallinna Piraaja (1st) vs The Reds (6th)
Mumbai Town XI (10th) vs Canisius (42nd)
FC J-Ilves (4th) vs The Leeds Knights (17th)

I'm not a clear favorite in this tournament, but as I stated before, anything can happen in a knock-out...

So with a dose of uncharacteristic optimism, I think I have a pretty decent shot at two UFFA competitions and I'm an outsider for one. Maybe, just maybe, I will get lucky before Murphy's Law kicks in and prepares me for a rude awakening.