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Improving the World’s Worst National Team | Part 6: Tough World Cup Qualifying Group
After four years in charge of San Marino, Andy Selva had taken the minnows from 209th in the FIFA world rankings to 150th. He’d also led them to Nations League promotion and a best-ever Euro qualification performance that included a 0-0 draw at home to World Cup finalists Spain.
Trotters Talent | Part 60: Goalscoring Records Smashed
The summer of 2048 was a period of massive change as legendary (in my head anyway) club captain Lasse Hermansen and long-time Trotter Talent Jack Barlow departed the club after 13 and 14 years of service respectively.
Trotters Talent | Part 59: Lasse Hermansen: All-Time Most Bolton Wanderers League Appearances
Bolton Wanderers had another season to remember in 2046/47, winning a second treble as they became 12-times champions of England and five-time European champions.
Trotters Talent | Part 58: Onur Kocaaslan: All-Time Bolton Wanderers Top Goalscorer
A blistering start to the 2046/47 had Bolton Wanderers romping their way towards a 12th consecutive Premier League title. Halfway through the campaign, Bolton were still undefeated and only drawn once led by some scintillating performances by legendary midfielder Germán Martínez.
Soviet Surge | Part 45 | The End Of Soviet Surge
Vladimir Latunov’s 22-year journey across Eastern Europe had come to an end as his FC Ural Yekaterinburg side lifted the Russian title for the first time in their history in 2042.
Football Manager 2022: My Save Plans
I wrote one of these blogs last year so I figured, with Football Manager 22 around the corner, I’d do the same again this year. Mainly because I’m really excited about the challenge I’ve come up with for this year’s game.
Trotters Talent | Part 57: Magnificent Martínez Back To His Best
Bolton Wanderers wrapped up an 11th successive Premier League title in the summer of 2046, which meant that the save was beginning to draw to a close.
Soviet Surge | Part 44 | FC Ural #4: Russian Title Race Goes To The Wire
The long hard Yekaterinburg winter of 2042 had given Russian manager Vladimir Latunov plenty to think about as his FC Ural side led the Russian Premier League going into a mid-season break.
22 Teams I’m Eyeing Up For Football Manager 2022
Now that we know the full version of Football Manager 2022 will be released on 9 November, it’s time for all of us to start casting our minds to the future and where we want to spend the next 12 months of virtual management.
Trotters Talent | Part 56: The Emergence of Ivan Bone
An unbeaten start to the 2045/46 campaign had Bolton Wanderers surprisingly sitting second in the Premier League, only trailing a strong Liverpool side on goal difference.
Soviet Surge | Part 43 | FC Ural #3: Game-Changing Russian Wonderkid
Vladimir Latunov’s first year of management in his homeland of Russia had started poorly but ended superbly as he led FC Ural Yekaterinburg to the best league finish in its history. But the hard work began now as he looked to strengthen to challenge perennial champions Zenit St Petersburg.
Trotters Talent | Part 55: Striker Injury Crisis
The summer of 2045 saw me become the longest-serving manager in Bolton Wanderers history, surpassing the 25 years and one month of service that saw Charles Foweraker remain at the club from 1 July 1919 to 1 August 1944.
Soviet Surge | Part 42 | FC Ural #2: Surprise Record-Breaking Season
Vladimir Latunov’s first season managing in his Motherland hadn’t exactly started superbly as a stuttering campaign saw his Ural Yekaterinburg side languishing eighth in the Russian Premier League.
Trotters Talent | Part 54: 25 Years of Bolton Academy Excellence
25 years since taking the reins at Macron Stadium, Bolton academy products have played for England, been responsible for the club becoming Champions of Europe 4 times, and winning the club’s first-ever and a further 9 Premier League titles.
Trotters Talent | Part 53: Ballon d’Or and La Decima
Bolton Wanderers’ hunt for a 10th successive Premier League title – aka La Decima – had begun in near-perfect fashion, drawing just one of their first 18 games heading into 2045.
Soviet Surge | Part 41 | Ural #1: Heading Home to the Motherland
After 20 years of football management, Vladimir Latunov had successfully collected national titles in Poland, Turkey, Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Belarus and, most recently, Bulgaria. All that meant just one country remained on his Soviet Surge. The Motherland. Russia.
Trotters Talent | Part 52: Legendary Midfielder
My 25th season in charge of Bolton Wanderers saw us go into the campaign as nine-time Champions of England, Champions of Europe for the third time in five years and on the back of an outrageous quintuple.
Soviet Surge | Part 40 | CSKA-Sofia #3: Fighting to End Ludogorets Domination
Vladimir Latunov’s 20th season as a Football Manager had seen him mount a serious title challenge with CSKA-Sofia. His second season in Bulgaria saw his side lead perennial champions Ludogorets by eight points with 12 games remaining – and having beaten their biggest rivals twice.
Trotters Talent | Part 51: Chasing A Quintuple!
Most current England cricketers – with the exception of Joe Root – struggle to make a 50. But we’ve made it to our own magical half century of blogs chronicling the exciting adventure of Bolton Wanderers!
Soviet Surge | Part 39 | CSKA-Sofia #2: Completing A Massive Rebuild
Half a season in Bulgaria had seen Vladimir Latunov spark a major upturn in CSKA-Sofia’s fortunes, taking them from eighth to finishing fourth in the summer of 2039. However, plenty more work was ahead as he looked to bridge the gap to the top three and Ludogorets, who’d won the last 14 titles!
Trotters Talent | Part 50: Bolton Wanderers: Most Reputable Club in the World
The summer of 2043 saw Bolton Wanderers become the most reputable club in the world on the back of winning their second Champions League and wrapping up an 8th consecutive Premier League title.
Soviet Surge | Part 38 | CSKA-Sofia #1: Reunited With A Legend
Fresh from wrapping up an 11th national title, Russian manager Vladimir Latunov was back on the move in December 2038. He moved from Belarus to Bulgaria as he swiftly took the reins at CSKA Sofia and didn’t waste any time stamping his authority on his new club.
Trotters Talent | Part 49: First Trotter Talent Wins FIFA Best U21 Player
Another undefeated start to the season saw Bolton Wanderers sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League heading into 2023. Despite a few injury issues, the team was absolutely on fire as it looked to bag an 8th successive Premier League title.
Soviet Surge | Part 37 | Dinamo Minsk #2: Battling with Brest
Having been sacked by Torpedo and moved up in the world to Dinamo Minsk, Vladimir Latunov’s young side had enjoyed a great start to the 2038 season. They sat top of the Belarussian Highest League, just one point clear of nearest challengers Dinamo Brest with 14 games remaining.
Trotters Talent | Part 48: Cruel Injury Hampers Brilliant Left-Back Signing
The summer of 2042 began with two long-time Trotter Talents departing as Luke Johnson and Luca Godden both left when their contracts expired.
Soviet Surge | Part 36 | Dinamo Minsk #1: 16-year-old Star Striker
Russian manager Vladimir Latunov had worked wonders to steer Torpedo Zhodinov clear of relegation, only for them to promptly sack him when he began looking elsewhere! However, he soon gained an upgrade when he took the reigns at divisional rivals Dinamo Minsk.
FM Guide: How to Find the Best Wonderkids on Football Manager
My number one rule on FM21 is to never trust my scouts (unless they tell me a player is really, really bad). For that reason, I use a wide range of tactics for finding the best new players from all around the world on FM21.
Trotters Talent | Part 47: Ridiculous Goal and Assist Records
Bolton Wanderers started the 2041/42 campaign in sensational form, only dropping four points after 20 matches. And they were led by 21-year-old Turkish striker Onur Kocaaslan, who bagged 35 goals by the mid-way point of the season and was eyeing up the club’s all-time league goals in a season record!
Soviet Surge | Part 35 | Torpedo Zhodino #1: A Relegation Battle and Shock Ending
Fresh from wrapping up a 10th top tier title in Eastern Europe with Slovenian side NK Celje, Russian manager was back on the move in his Soviet Surge. His 12th club in 11 countries took him to Belarus with Torpedo Zhodino.
Trotters Talent | Part 46: Bolton Hit Whole New Levels
The big focus of this Bolton Wanderers save has been producing our own talents through the youth academy. The summer of 2041 saw the very first product of the academy hang up his boots as former captain Nigel Turner, who came through our 2021 intake, retired after 653 appearances, including 444 league games for Bolton.
Soviet Surge | Part 34 | NK Celje #2: Battling Slovenia’s Big Boys
Russian manager Vladimir Latunov had overseen an impressive turn in fortunes for his new club NK Celje. The Slovenian side finished just outside the relegation zone in the 2035/36 campaign, but sat top of the league unbeaten mid-way through the current season.
Trotters Talent | Part 45: Premier League Domination
This Bolton Wanderers side has become absolutely exceptional, which was highlighted by them remaining unbeaten and dominating the Premier League with a 19-point lead at the midway point of the 2040/41 campaign.
Soviet Surge | Part 33 | NK Celje #1: An Immediate Positive Impact
The summer of 2036 took nomadic manager Vladimir Latunov on to his 10th club in an 11th Eastern European country on his Soviet Surge adventure.
Trotters Talent | Part 44: Magnificent Germán Martínez
n ridiculous fantasies that we could feasibly take over our favourite club and work wonders. For example, even if Bolton Wanderers appointed Pep Guardiola tomorrow morning it’s unrealistic to think that in 20 years time he would have not only won the club’s first league title but also the Champions League.
Soviet Surge | Part 32 | FK Radnicki #6: Diego Maradona Joins Serbian Title Battle
After deciding to stay with a club for more than two years for the first time in his 15-year career, Russian manager Vladimir Latunov was reaping the benefits at FK Radnick 1923 Kragujevac.
Trotters Talent | Part 43: 20 Year Reflection
In 20 years, we’ve transformed Bolton into five-times winners of the Premier League and Champions of Europe with a billion pounds in the bank balance.
Trotters Talent | Part 42: A Stunning Season and the Best Regen Ever
Bolton Wanderers’ brilliant start to the season had us fighting surprise package Everton at the top of the Premier League. Both teams had strikers in ridiculous form, with our Onur Kocaaslan’s 25 league goals usurped by Mario Ricca’s 28. After 18 games!
Soviet Surge | Part 31 | FK Radnicki #5: Milosevic the Goal Machine
Vladimir Latunov was preparing for a third season at FK Radnicki 1923 Kragujevac, which represented the first occasion in his 15-year career that he’d stated with a club for longer than two years.
Trotters Talent | Part 41: The Best Debut Ever?
Embarking on a 20th season in charge of Bolton Wanderers, I’d taken the club from the fourth tier of English football and financial ruin to four-time national champions and being absolutely minted in the last 19 years.
Soviet Surge | Part 30 | FK Radnicki #4: Chasing European Qualification
A strong start to their first season in the Serbian SuperLeague saw FK Radnicki 1923 Kragujevac sitting fourth heading into 2035, despite the media expecting them to finish 12th.
FM Experiment: Who Does Football Manager Think Will Win Euro 2020?
With Euro 2020 finally kicking off today, I ran an experiment to see how Football Manager 2021 sees the tournament playing out. To warn you, there are some pretty drastic results…
Trotters Talent | Part 40: “Big Six” Side Gets Relegated in 2039!
Our third defence of Bolton Wanderers’ Premier League title had started pretty well as we sat two points clear of free-scoring Manchester United. We also had another Champions League first knockout round clash with Real Madrid to look forward to.
20 FM21 Wonderkids Who Could Shine At Euro 2020
With Euro 2020 less than a week away, I thought it’d be prudent to have a look at current in-game wonderkids who could be set to make their mark on the international game this summer
Soviet Surge | Part 29 | FK Radnicki #3: Punching Above Our Weight
After dropping to a second tier league for the second time in his career, Vladimir Latunov swiftly led his new FK Radnicki 1923 Kragujevac side back to the top of Serbian football.
Trotters Talent | Part 39: Transfer Record Smashed!
As Bolton Wanderers’ young squad flourished, the club was becoming an increasingly dominant force in the Premier League. The 2037/38 campaign saw us only lose once until the final two games of the season in wrapping up a third successive title.
Soviet Surge | Part 28 | FK Radnicki #2: Smashing all the Records
At the three-month winter break in the Serbian season, FK Radnicki 1923 remained unbeaten and top of the Serbian First League.
Improving the World’s Worst National Team | Part 5: A Surprising Euros Qualifying
Can you improve the world’s worst national team with a better youth rating and youth recruitment and a star teenage striker? The answer appeared to be yes, as Andy Selva had used those factors to lead San Marino to the 182nd best team in the world.
Trotters Talent | Part 38: Bolton Wanderers Legend
Bolton Wanderers’ second Premier League title defence was off to a superb start as they headed into 2038 unbeaten. They were also looking forward to an exciting first clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Jadon Sancho: Statistically England’s Best Attacking Option for Euro 2020?
English football has long-maligned players that ply their trade abroad. For whatever reason, we’re more than happy for leading players from other countries to come to the Premier League, but if our players do the reverse then they’re immediately treated with scepticism.
Roy Hodgson: A Journeyman Career All FM Players Would Be Proud Of
Fred Everiss became manager (well, secretary-manager) of West Bromwich Albion way back in 1902. English football’s longest-serving manager of all time was still in charge at The Hawthorns when Roy Hodgson was born on 9 August 1947.