FM Addict
Latest Posts
Aswijan Assignment | Part 19: Dream Debuts
Khaliza Unidi had a huge blowout transfer window in the summer of 2023, with the club splashing £165 million on 19 new players. If you haven’t read about our transfer activity yet, then catch up here.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 11 – Battling with Betis
After 10 games of their 2027/28 La Liga campaign, Valencia CF were sitting pretty at the top of the table and a club record unbeaten run of 13 matches in all competitions.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 18: Transfer Special: A Summer Blowout!
I don’t normally write dedicated transfer special blog posts but when you have a transfer window this mad, it absolutely deserves one. In the summer of 2023 Khaliza Unidi have spent £165 million on no less than 19 new players! And they’ve brought in £37 million by selling 7 players.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 10 – The Return of King Cohen
Our second season with Valencia CF had gone very well, securing the club’s highest finish in the save thus far by coming in 2nd behind a dominant Real Madrid. But plenty of rebuilding was going to be required during our third summer in Valencia.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 17: Season 4 Reflection
Trebor Mahtal’s first season with Khaliza Unidi was a totally unexpected success as we somehow led the club into the Champions League for the first time in its history.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 9 – Season 2 Reflection
A second season in Valencia saw us lead Los Cules to an unexpected second place finish, only behind an increasingly ridiculously good Real Madrid. We’ll take a quick look back at the season just gone and our key players throughout the campaign.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 16: Ridiculous Own Goal Winner
Our first season in charge of Khaliza Unidi had gotten off to a great start with us sitting in the Champions League places. However, all of the teams around us had huge numbers of games in hand on us.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 8 – The Toughest End to a Season
We headed into the second half of our second season with Valencia sandwiched by Spanish giants Barcelona and the increasingly untouchable Real Madrid.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 15: Super Stengs!
Life with Khaliza Unidi had gotten off to a great start as we sat second in Liga Regale after six matches, following a summer of big sales and a club record signing.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 7 – Gaya the Goalscorer!
Heading into the first international break of our second season with Valencia, we were sitting pretty at the top of the league with the evergreen Son Heung-Min in top form.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 14: Welcome to Khaliza
In yesterday’s speciak Aswijan Assignment post, we saw Zagora Athletik manager Trebor Mahtal make the step up to the next level of Aswijani football by taking the reigns at Khaliza Unidi. Interestingly, Zagora replaced me with Maarten Stekelenburg!
Aswijan Assignment | Part 13: A New Assignment!
A summer of major rebuilding was looking necessary if Zagora Athletik were to stand a fighting chance in their second season in Liga Regale. That was, if we stayed with Zagora for another year.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 6 – Signing Sancho
We came into season two in Spain in need of a fairly substantial rebuilding effort to strengthen a threadbare squad and replace several Valencia CF stalwarts and one big-name departure.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 12: Season 3 Reflection
Zagora Athletik somehow managed to survive relegation in their first ever season in Liga Regale, despite not winning in their first 8 games and a shocking second half of the campaign.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 5 – Season 1 Reflection
Our first season with Valencia after six years of glory in Sporting was an unprecedented success, wrapping up third place in La Liga and winning the Europa League.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 11: Truly Dreadful Form
At the mid-way point of Zagora Athletik’s first ever season in the Aswijan top tier, things were going much better than expected. After not winning any of our first 8 matches, we’d picked up 14 points from the next 8 games to climb out of the relegation zone.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 4 – Unexpected Success
Valencia went into the final ten games of La Liga in 2025/26 locked in a four-way battle for the final two Champions League places with Espanyol, Villarreal and Atletico Madrid.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 10: Transfer Record Smashed!
Zagora Athletik came into a first season in the big time of Aswijan’s Liga Regale knowing they faced an absolutely massive task if they were to avoid relegation.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 3 – Neymar Is On Fire
Last time out, we’d made a superb start to life in Valencia by winning eight of our first ten matches and only trailed a goal-crazy Real Madrid and Barcelona. And our form was near enough totally reliant on a free-scoring 33-year-old Son Heung-Min playing as a makeshift striker.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 9: Season 2 Reflection
Our second season in Aswijan ended with the unbelievable achievement of Zagora Athletik securing promotion from Liga Principale at the first time of asking. And that meant we would be competing in the top tier of Aswijani football, Liga Regale, in 2021/22.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 2 – Nice One Sonny, Nice One Son
In the first part of our new adventure in Valencia we picked up a big opening day win and introduced you to our brand new squad, and new signing Neymar.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 8: End Of Season Madness
With 6 games remaining in our first season in Liga Principale, Zagora Athletik sit in 4th place and in the middle of a tight battle for the final two playoff places. And things were about to get a bit crazy.
The Journeyman | Vamos Valencia: Part 1 – Old Boys and an Ageing Superstar
Last time out, I explained my decision to, with rather a heavy heart, move on from my six seasons with Sporting and explore pastures new by embarking on the start of a Journeyman save.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 24 – A New Beginning
As I mentioned in the previous post and as you may have been able to tell from the brevity of it, I was getting a little tired of life in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon. We’d had a great time of it, winning six successive titles and becoming the second most successful manager in the history of Portuguese football.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 7: Bonkers Cup Match
Zagora Athletik had made an unexpectedly strong start to their first season in Aswijan’s second tier, Liga Principale. Ten games in and we were way up in third in the league!
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 23 – Six In A Row
Sporting Lisbon came into 2024/25 on the back of five successive Primeira Liga titles and looking for an unprecedented sixth.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 6: Into Liga Principale
Zagora Athletik’s unexpected first season success took the club into the second tier of Aswijani football. A decent amount of rebuilding was required but nothing too major as I kept faith in the players that had earned us promotion.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 22 – Season 5 Reflection
With a fifth successive Primeira Liga title looking pretty in the trophy cabinet at Estadio José Alvalade Século XXI (catchy stadium name) it’s time to look back on the campaign that marked half a decade with Sporting Lisbon.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 5: Season 1 Reflection
Season one in Aswijan has been a hugely enjoyable, totally unexpected success. Despite being predicted to finish 12th and with odds of around 14/1 to win the league, Zagora Athletik secured promotion from Liga Dukh at the first opportunity!
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 21 – Daniel Braganca, Sporting Legend
Sporting Lisbon had ended 2023 in wonderful fashion, going 34 matches unbeaten in all competitions and winning their opening 14 league games in their bid for a fifth successive Primeira Liga title.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 4: All The Giant-Killing
Life in Aswijan is off to a surprisingly good start. Trebor Mahtal was even able to reward the Zagora Athletik boys with a trip into the luscious delights of the Marinna Rainforest that surrounds us in the state of Elisha.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 20 – The Best Goal I’ve Ever Seen On Football Manager
After wrapping up a fourth consecutive Primeira Liga with Sporting Lisbon a massive summer of change was coming, including selling our oldest player for the third transfer window in a row.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 3: The Birth of the Mitsetse Derby
The first two months of life in Aswijan saw us get acquainted with Zagora Athletik and, eventually, settle into a formation and style that suited our players. And the relentless schedule of playing every Wednesday and Saturday was set to continue for a considerable time to come, which would eventually take its toll.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 19 – Season 4 Reflection
Our fourth campaign as Sporting Lisbon manager had plenty of drama, including a board intervention that had me questioning my position at the club. However, it soon became our best season so far in the save.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 2: Trial and Error
Last time out, we selected the team that we will take charge of in Aswijan – Zamora Athletik. And we gave you a brief overview of the club, its league competition Liga Dukh, and introduced you to some of its better players and exciting youth prospects.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 18 – Fixture Schedule Chaos
Sporting Lisbon moved into March 2023 still unbeaten in Primeira Liga and, for the first time in this save, having progressed past the first knockout round of the Champions League.
Aswijan Assignment | Part 1: Welcome to Aswijan
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the brand new country of Aswijan for a Football Manager 2020 save that’s a little bit different. If you haven’t read the introduction to this series then go and give it a read here. If you have, then let me introduce you to our new life in Aswijan.
Aswijan Assignment | An Introduction To Aswijan
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed a subtle difference to my ongoing Saving Sporting series. That’s because I discovered the work of Laura, aka Chilled Moose, with her awesome looking regen faces and a really exciting database she’s created.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 17 – Sticking It To The Board
Last time out I was fuming with the Sporting Lisbon President’s decision to sign two players behind my back for huge money on huge wages. I was keen to put it behind me and move on, and would deal with it when the two signings arrived in January.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 16 – Fuming with the President!
I’ve built some exciting young teams during my time playing Football Manager but this new-look Sporting Lisbon side has to be one of the most inexperienced but exciting. However, all of my good work could come to a dramatic ending after a ridiculous move by the club’s incumbent President.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 15 – Season 3 Reflection
I normally like to summarise the season just gone within the last post of the season, but this time around the finale to Primeira Liga was too frantic for that!
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 14 – Bizarre Title Battle
Sporting Lisbon’s chances of a third straight Primeira Liga title looked unlikely going into the last few months of the season. Despite being only three points behind off the top of the league we faced a tough task toppling the unbeaten FC Porto.
24 Hours In FM: Part 15 – Euro 2028!
The year is 2028 and the European Championships are here! England come into the tournament on a national record of 19 consecutive wins and 20 unbeaten. But can they rule Europe for the first time?
24 Hours In FM: Part 14 – Meet England’s Euro 2028 Squad
Ahead of a big summer international tournament, which is my first on Football Manager 2020, I thought it’d be a good idea to provide a brief rundown of the squad. There’ll be some familiar names and some players I’ve probably mentioned by name and you’re thinking “who’s that guy then?”
24 Hours In FM: Part 13 – 17-0 (Seventeen)
England had made the perfect start to the Euro 2028 qualifiers, with two wins from their first two matches. But things were about to get very special indeed in what was, admittedly, a relatively weak group.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 13 – Batalha Blinder
Sporting moved into 2022 on a good run of form but trailing the even more impressive SL Benfica and unbeaten FC Porto.
24 Hours In FM: Post 12 – Enigmatic England
After securing their place in the Nations League Finals in the summer of 2027, the England staff and players had plenty of time out to prepare for future exploits.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 13 – Top of the Table Lisboa Derby
Sporting Lisbon headed into November 2021 on the back of five straight wins and with key players and young starlets hitting a real purple patch of form.
The Journeyman | Saving Sporting: Part 12 – Impressive Meneses
Two games into Primeira Liga season three and we’d started well with two wins, including an impressive 4-0 defeat of Vitória de Setubal. But that promising start was soon to hit a bit of a bump.
24 Hours In FM: Part 11 – Nations League Progression
Our first matches as England manager began with a draw in Italy and a win over the World Champions, which set us up nicely for the conclusion of the Nations League group.