The Higher Tempo Press
Latest Posts
#FM17 | 10 players to watch in Czech league
As I’m based in Czech Republic and I think I have a very good overview of Czech players who play in the highest domestic league. I’m sure there is a lot of good players who are able or they will be able to play in foreign countries and in the bigger clubs than the Czech […]
What #FM17 Leaves Out
So far as I can see, FM17, for all its incredible verisimilitude, omits the following. Ludicrous appeals: ‘Our throw, ref’. Trying to steal 20 yards at a throw-in. Throwing the ball forward before taking a free kick, again to steal a few yards. Shepherding the ball out of play. The increasingly frequent breaks in play […]
Blades Of Glory | # 10 | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017
Sheffield United take on Phil Brown’s Southend in Episode 10 of “Blades of Glory” Enjoy the episode, like it and subscribe to the series!
#FM17 | Burnley | Change | Season 2 IV
“Change is the law of life and those looking at the past and present are certain to miss the future” The above is a sentiment I hope my board of directors would share. After the previous post I have reservations about opening this save again. You can catch up on the story so far here. […]
#FM17 | My Fitness Policy
When I read the match previews, I like to see that the club I’m managing has fewer players unavailable through injury than our upcoming opponents. And when I look at the injury table, I like to find that we’re near, or at, the bottom. I try to achieve this through implementing the following policy: Exit any player who is […]
NOW ON SALE | THE MEN WHO STARED AT GOALS | AN FM ANTHOLOGY BY ALEX STEWART
Exciting times. The book we previewed a few days ago, yes featuring a contribution from myself, is now on sale. My “fee” is being donated to the charity CALM. Please support this by grabbing your copy now. The first 50 are a mere £1.50 – £4.00 thereafter. You’ll find contributions from some of your favourite […]
#FM17 | Burnley | Dark Times | Season 2 Part III
“Hope is being able to see there is light, despite all the darkness” It’s almost Christmas, a time for happiness and joy, but the only people in Burnley enjoying themselves is the coach loads of Wolves fans leaving. The Midlands fans having just witnessed their side pull apart our fullbacks in a 3-1 victory to […]
#FM17 | The Hapoel Hope 1.38 | Sport and Exercise Science
Hapoel Ashkelon FC’s staffing allocation permits the appointment of a sports scientist. I’ve been putting off this appointment until the beginning of September. Since we’ve not exactly hit the ground running in terms of results, I wanted to be commended, in the monthly appraisal, as highly as possible for financial management – so I figured […]
#FM17 | The Islanders IX
Osu! Yep, we are back with “The Islanders!” I hope you enjoyed the last post, where we (spoiler, but you really should have read it) secured promotion to J2 via the playoffs. It was a top season and my team of children performed superbly. What better way to kick off today’s bridging post with some […]
#FM17 | Guides | Unsystematic Scouting
Most scouting is probably systematic. Such scouting breaks into two types. There’s what I call ‘hunting’, where you are seeking to fulfil a particular need — for example, you need a centre-back who’s good in the air. And there’s ‘gathering’, where you scout a nation or competition to harvest players for your database. But when […]
#FM17 | Guides | Which Hungarian to sign? | Goalkeepers
One of the most exciting aspects of Football Manager is the part when you can finally spend the money you saved up to bring in your next stars. The thrill of signing a fantastic player is something only a true football fanatic can experience! Everyone tries to exploit the market in their own way. Some […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.37 : In the air
Nissan Kapeta, Hapoel Ashkelon’s rather competent Chief Scout, has come through with some candidates for centre-back. Neither of them is Bobby Moore, but perhaps they can do a job. I try a 19 year-old first but he wants more than I’m prepared to play. Frankly, I think the young man should have been grateful for […]
Book Review | The Men Who Stare at Goals
Firstly, I should probably come clean. I have a piece in this book so you can probably guess that I am about to sing its praises. But, frankly, if it were not very good (not just my bit) then I wouldn’t be writing a review on it. So, spoiler alert, this book is bloody brilliant. […]
#FM17 | UPON THIS ROCK | Top, top, top of the league!
Hello everybody and welcome back to my FM17 career mode with the mighty Peterborough United as I hope to take us from the lows of League One to the dizzy heights of the Premier League. Can I do it? Probably not but it’s worth a crack. Last time out the journey began and it began […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.36 : Return of Dixie Deans
First Saturday in September, Hapoel Ashkelon FC have a blank Saturday, so we’ve arranged a match against Gaza. I use it to have a look at the two target men we have in on trial. During his hour on the pitch, 21 year-old Paul Gomis does little wrong, but then he does little, full stop. […]
Blades Of Glory # 9 | Battle of The Top Two | Let’s Play #FM17
Hi Guys! Here is a brand new Episode of “Blades of Glory” Today we take on Gillingham in a top of the table clash. Watch, enjoy, like and subscribe!
#FM17 | The Islanders VIII | Can we, can we?
So here we are folks. Just hours before our first leg in the Play Off against Giravanz. I’ve been pretty nervous preparing for this match as, mentioned in the last post, I have no idea what the opposition are going to be like. Yeah, I know we get one of these every week but who […]
#FM17 | Guides | Universidad de Chile
Full Name: Club Universidad de Chile Known as: Universidad de Chile Nickname: La U Universidad de Chile are based in Santiago, the capital city of Chile. Formed in 1927, the club have a rich history with 17 Primera Division titles to their name. They are fierce rivals with Colo-Colo, the most successful Chilean club, and […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.35 : Accrington all over again?
My second league match in charge of Hapoel Ashkelon FC, away to the might Maccabi Tel-Aviv, ended 1-4. Our defending was, as in the opening match, extremely was courteous: ‘You’d like to find yourself unmarked in the box? Certainly, sir, come this way. May I suggest the space between the full-back and the centre-back, especially […]
#FM17 | The Islanders VII
Hello from the Island of Okinawa. I have news my friends, I have news. The regular season is complete and I am sure you are al just dying to know how FC Ryukyu have fared in their second season under my control. No? Surely someone must be reading this wanting to know…. Despite having an […]
#FM17 | The Tempo Skin Update!
Hello folks – quite a few of you have downloaded the original Tempo skin for FM17. Well, the awesome @keysirensie has been hard at work collaborating with Emil Debski to fix the inbox screen to make it look even better. And this is what he has been able to do. And this is what it […]
#FM17 | Guides | A 101 on the Belgian Football League Structure
Everybody who has already managed a Belgian team on FM will have noticed that the football league structure is not a conventional one. I remember lots of questions on several boards about the structure whenever someone took over a Belgian club. With this piece, I try to give an overview about how the structure is […]
#FM17 plays Real Life | Who will Liverpool sign and sell in January?
Liverpool entered the January transfer window in second place, six points behind league leaders Chelsea. Jurgen Klopp spent big in the summer transfer period, but the Reds remained in profit after offloading the likes of Christian Benteke and Jordon Ibe for significant transfer fees. Liverpool have picked up the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho […]
#FM17 | Taste The Feeling Episode 15 | Part 1 20/21 Season
Before we get into the season, I noticed a flaw in the 5 year plan that I put forward in the last episode. This is the 5 year plan I suggested: Make Championship Group with Antwerp/Reach mid-table with Silkeborg – 19/20 – ACHIEVED Win the league with Antwerp/Make Europe with Silkeborg/Add a Portuguese team 20/21 […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.34 : Strikers
Rozental (my assistant manager here at Hapoel Ashkelon FC) and Kapeta (Chief Scout) are back in my office, seated once again at the round table that we use when we’re conferring. This time we’re joined by our Head of Youth Development, Avi Nimni. I respect Nimni, want to keep him involved. We’ve got one player […]
#FM17 | UPON THIS ROCK | The 3 T’s (Transfers, Tactics and The start of the season)
Hello everyone and welcome to the first episode of Upon this Rock. I am delighted to get this opportunity to write my adventures on FM17 on The HigherTempoPress and hopefully you guys enjoy what I am writing. I have decided to take the mighty Peterborough United from the lows of League One all the way […]
#FM17 | Crystal Palace | Consistently Inconsistent
Last episode was a bit of a mixed bag as we went out to Sunderland in the League Cup and got thrashed by Manchester United. However on the plus side we did beat Everton at home, despite having a man sent off. We’ve also got some injuries to contend with as well with both Wickham […]
#FM17 | The Porto Promise 2.0 | The First Prospects Report
On Football Manager 16 my blogging about the game was limited to my Ajax save where I was trying to achieve something similar to what I’m trying here with Porto. One of the more popular parts of the blog series was my regular prospect reports where I would highlight some of the most promising young […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.33 : Top Legend
Whenever a new edition of FM is published, the first thing I do is load up the Scottish 4th tier (Ladbrokes League 2). Why? Because Berwick Rangers play in that league. Why do I care about Berwick? Because our household legend plays for them and I want to check his attributes. So, ladies and […]
#FM17 : The Islanders VI
The tricky second season. Sometimes known as a syndrome. Someone should write a book on that. Considering I have self-butchered my squad following a semi-successful first season, how will I fare? I have no idea, and I doubt the bookies do either. Well, they have us at 66/1 to win it so our odds are […]
CM9798 “tackles” #FM17 : Part 5 : Whatever I said, whatever I did
Part 5! Welcome along to a series where I’m trying to learn a game I should be a lot better at than I am. So far, I’d give myself a C+. A strong pre-season and still unbeaten in the league…2 games in. Still, that 3-1 beating of Reading has got me feeling confident. Maybe I’ve […]
#FM17 : The Porto Promise Returns : 1.2 The End of Season Round Up
Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Time is limited and I had moved on to play a couple of different saves within the game before being drawn back to the Porto save. That in turn means that I’m back to updating the save on The Higher Tempo Press. There are unconfirmed reports that […]
#FM17 | Celtic | A Squad Building Exercise | Part IV
A huge part of how successful this turns out will be down to the scouting team and how I utilise them. This is due to my reluctance to use the basic player search function, except for bosman deals and to see who is transfer listed. I play to expand the scouting department in phases. […]
Blades Of Glory #8 | Box It Man! | Let’s Play #FM17
Here’s another episode of “Blades of Glory” – remember the days when English teams used to “get it in the box?”
#FM17 : The Islanders V
It’s a bit of a two-parter this one folks. As I said in the previous post, I wasn’t too disappointed that we crashed and burned on the final day of the season. Considering that I was playing with practically a youth team we did well to even be in the hunt, and I am […]
#FM17 : One Hit Wonder in Athens : Tactics
Hello everybody and welcome to my guest piece on The Higher Tempo Press. Maybe some of you know me and my blog so you know my main save in FM17 is the save with Reading FC. During recent three weeks I played this save less and I decided to try something new. UPDATED 3/1/17 […]
#FM17 : Colo-Colo Club Guide
Full Name: Club Social y Deportes Colo-Colo Known as: Colo-Colo Nickname: El Cacique Colo-Colo are a Chilean football club based in Macul, Santiago. The club were formed in 1925 and have yet to be relegated from the Chilean top tier, a quite incredible feat for a club with that large a history. The club […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.32 : Exile in Kazakhstan
As I wrote previously, I have started to loathe our strikers at Hapoel Ashkelon FC. Their profligacy. Even worse, their lack of movement, which reignites the anger that I developed watching Izale McLeod play for Notts County. Izzie, we have showers in the changing room: it’s OK to break sweat, really. I get even […]
#FM17 : Forward Asia S2-2 : The First Half
The Halfway Point When we last left our heroes from Celebest FC, they were ready to begin their first season in the top tier of Indonesian football, trepidatious after an indifferent pre-season and firm favourites to finish 18th out of 18. So, halfway through the season, how are they doing? Indonesian Cup A reasonably […]
#FM17 : Celtic | A Squad Building Exercise | Part III
Philosophy As you will know from a previous post, we will be lining up with a 4-2-3-1 similar to the way you see Celtic at the moment. Focus will be on build from the back, win the ball back quickly and dominate possession. Very Fluid: This is important for me as it better describes the […]
#FM17 : Burnley: Bouncing Back : Season Two II
“I don’t measure a man success by how high he climbs, but by how high he bounces when he his bottom.” Last season we mastered the art of bouncing back and surviving. Now we need to master the art of not needing to recover from a bad start. September begins with Chelsea’s visit, a […]
#FM17 : The Islanders IV
Greetings, or as they say in Japan, 挨拶 (Aisatsu). I’ve achieved what I wanted to achieve in and around Christmas and that was to power through FC Ryukyu’s first season under my stewardship. As I said a couple of posts ago, it probably feels a little dry and lifeless at this early stage but […]
#FM17 : Pay Homage To A Costa Rican Genius (Who Incidentally Won Two Virtual World Cups)
The word genius is brandished a lot in football and football manager alike. If you were to believe the media and various pundits, “geniuses” are now a dime-a-dozen, along with “legends” and “great” players. For me, the very essence of a genius lies in his ability to provide a creative spark, an ungraspable, incomprehensible […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.31 : Our Jack’s guide to set pieces
One of my plans for FM17 is to develop a save based on set pieces. I will source players who are good at taking corners, free-kicks, penalties, and long throws. Plus players who can exploit those situations – for example, centre-backs who are big, strong, brave, and good at heading and can finish. Lots […]
#FM17 : The Islanders III : How to Balance the Books
People who have followed me for a while now will know that I typically like to balance the books when running a club. I have my own personal way of doing it, which I shared on FM16 where I like to keep a club’s wage expenditure smaller than its income from gate receipts. I […]
#FM17 : Crystal Palace : Back to Reality
Last episode was a very good one as a tactical switch from 4-2-4 to 4-3-3 propelled us up the table as we recorded 3 straight victories which was tremendously exciting. Before we go back to the Premier League we have the EFL Cup to worry about against Sunderland. Conor Wickham will be starting up front […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.30 : Charisma?
My first league match in charge of Hapoel Ashkelon FC, at home to Hapoel Haifa, ended two-all. I decided my line in public would be that it was good to get the first point on the board. Privately my main thought was, thank goodness we’ve actually put the ball in the net, after four […]
#FM17 #SwanseaProject 1.0 : Intro
Well, here goes. My Heerenveen save has become stale so I’m moving on. I’ve found that my time to be able to play the game has been limited, I’ve recently moved house and anyone that owns a house knows that there is always something that needs doing. The festive break has given me time to […]
#FM17 : The Islanders II
Welcome back to the second part in my new series, The Islanders. You can catch part one, the introductory piece, here. So as I rocked up on the island of Okinara I found what I expected. A bit of sunshine, a nice big stadium and no players or staff. Fortunately I had a couple […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.29 : Two Bobby Moores, only two Bobby Moores
We’ve got a 33 year-old player called Buzaglo. Whenever I pick the team, even for a friendly, I can never find a reason to bring him in. Physically, he’s in decline: ‘From bad to worse’ is how Weiss, the fitness coach, puts it. Miraculously, I find a way of getting him out: in desperation […]