The Higher Tempo Press
Latest Posts
Letou Decide: Mlog 2nd March
The press are buzzing about this weekend being André Ayew’s return to the London Stadium as he was a West Ham United player prior to his transfer over to Swansea in January for £18.5 million. Personally I’m not too worried about André, not only does he seem to be fairly level-headed, he has his brother […]
The Deep Lying Podcast #125: The Deep Lying Pirates
You see, Ed and George didn’t come up with a very original password for their Soundcloud account leaving themselves open to all kinds of piracy. So, being true to my roots I managed to get my way in, talk James Jones of footballfancast.com into coming on board and we now have complete control of your […]
FM18: 5 Things To Do When Taking Over In The Relegation Zone
Earlier this year, I was fortunate to be asked to take over from Stuart Reid in the #LetouDecide project here on The Higher Tempo in association with Swansea City and their shirt sponsor Letou Sports and become FM18’s version of Red Adair. When I parachuted in, Swansea were deep in the relegation zone in 19th […]
AFC Bournemouth: Cherry Picking Episode Four
I’ve been able to draw many conclusions from the early stages of this Bournemouth save. Firstly, that the team’s defending on a virtual platform mirrors the Cherries’ back line in reality, and secondly that my start to the Premier League campaign is something that Eddie Howe can only dream about, in the times where he’s […]
Letou Decide: World Update
Today I’m going to take the opportunity to take a look around this particular world. As we all know, things happen so quickly that not everything gets the proper coverage. It’s the age we live in, with new channels on television 24 hours and even sports news channels. Let’s look at the headlines… Following his […]
Beating Nuno – Chapter Two: Slick September
Football is a funny old game, isn’t it? Sometimes it can kick you in the bollocks when you’re already down and other times it can be the shining light you need which keeps you going. I’ll level with you, neither of those things happened in the month of September in my quest to beat Nuno, […]
Making Blackburn Rovers Great Again – Episode #3
In game week 34 of the Football League, a Danny Graham double lifted Blackburn Rovers to the top of League One, which can only mean one thing. My ‘Making Blackburn Rovers Great Again’ series has inspired the team. But instead of soaking the applauds for my virtual and now real achievements, I instead remain focused on the Championship campaign […]
Letou Decide: Youth Intake
Happy Youth Intake Day! The youths have arrived with their trousers hanging halfway down their backsides so the top of their underwear are showing, using language like ‘chillax’ and referencing their ‘rents’ (parents). I’m just delighted they’ve managed to prise themselves away from Netflix or online FIFA games. My Head of Youth Development Tom Wallis […]
Tempo10 – Squad Management
Inspired by some great listener questions, Mike and Samo shelved their original topic and instead tackle squad management. The discussion takes to Samo’s Continental successes and Mikes, well, misfire. Then the guys milk over how to integrate new players and advice on squad registrations. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and the Slack channel […]
Canary Corner – Part 13
Hello and welcome to Season 5! Part 13 might be considered unlucky for some but we’re hoping for quite the opposite, as Norwich go looking to secure a place in the Champions League group stage whilst proving that last season’s fourth-place finish was no fluke. It probably was. So how do you prepare Norwich for […]
Vive la Révolution Part XV: Une autre grande décision
Catch up on the story so far… “It’s not a decision to take lightly. It’s not as easy as just going ‘we will go pro then’. We’ve worked very hard to maintain our levels despite being amateur. Yes, we finished a disappointing 9th in the league. But we did get to the Coupe de France […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 27th February
Thank you Francesco Guidolin. Thank you Troy Deeney. Thank you Kiko Femenía. Thank you Watford. That might be a strange way to open today’s piece and my personal 100th piece on Tempo so you may need to read yesterday’s Letou Decide article to understand that Watford played Newcastle United on the Monday Night Football game […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 18: New Era Dawns For Soccer In The USA
Well, it’s finally happened. The MLS is waking up and it’s no longer a sleeping giant. We’ll start with the positives- the league actually allowed me to postpone fixtures due to international absences, which gave us a 21-day gap in the summer. Bliss! Remarkably, five of the eight players called up were part of the […]
Beating Nuno – Chapter One: New Beginnings
So here we are now, the first part of the season. For those of you that missed the prologue to this story, essentially, I am going up against Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo on a game by game basis to see if he can be matched or even beaten. Before we get down to the […]
Earning Our Stripes Teil 1: Einführung
The international adventure in charge of the USMNT didn’t go to plan but after a couple of months of soul searching and tactical self-discovery… Okay, that’s a load of crap. I was moving and working, not playing FM18. Anyway, I’m back after a spell tinkering with Hearts on a personal save to give a go […]
Letou Decide: Swansea City vs. Stoke City Match Review
Welcome to another week of the #LetouDecide project here on The Higher Tempo. This weekend our Swansea side played well to defeat Stoke City but I’m a little miffed that the press are referring to a ‘rearguard action’, which is a tad unfair considering that I thought we were Stoke’s equal. Stoke have been flying […]
Inept International Manager: Ep.6
Click here to find previous episodes of the Inept International Manager It’s time. It’s time for Louis Henrik to lead his Australia team out for the first time and judging by the four journalists that turn up whenever he has a press conference, the reaction has been mild at best. There’s been problems with Henrik’s […]
Football Manager Stories: Mo, America and Fylde
Football Manager is quite the personal story for some. A few of us write about our stories, but this is a recent phenomenon for a lot of us. We all have stories untold, that are lost in the mists of time. These stories were not. Mo Yattara I could ramble on about my time at […]
Chronicles of a Chancer Part 4: A New Dawn
Bronze-Wig Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill ‘Hi Mum, I’ve got a new job.’ ‘Thank goodness. Thank the Blessed Lord Jesus and his eternally weeping eyes and all loving heart. You’ve finally given up that ridiculous notion of being a football manager–’ ‘Erm no, Mum, no, I’ve actually moved to a new club.’ […]
Letou Decide: Swansea City vs. Stoke City Preview
Before I have a look at the expected formation for Stoke City, I’ve actually just been given some good news. Both Wayne Routledge and Renato Sanches will get through 60 minutes of action and Leroy Fer could play if required. Considering I wrote Fer off completely, that’s a comeback on the scale of Lazarus. Stoke […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 17: The Next Steps – Fourth Season
Welcome back to Atlanta. This post comes a little sooner than I would initially plan for but I decided to talk you through some things, then showing you how we’ve managed to do in the first exchanges of the season. Firstly, a little perspective. The year is 2020 and Atlanta, for the second time in […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 23rd February
It feels like I’ve spent all week in the medical bay, monitoring and checking in on injured players. Wayne Routledge came through another 45 minutes in midweek in an U23 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion but both him and Leroy Fer are only fit enough for the bench tomorrow according to what I’m told […]
FM18: 5 Things To Signal You Need A New Save
Remember when you first started your Career Save? You had your pad and pencil ready for notes, you researched the team and their history, you even named the save “Hadjuk” because you knew this was the one? How quickly the gloss can start to fade from a save even if it’s not going badly. Here […]
Vive la Révolution Part XIV: Consistently inconsistent
Catch up on the story so far… “Inconsistency is the one area in which we are consistent,” I said to the media. And it was true. We are still very much the club that could beat top of the table and then lose, like we seem to always do, to the side sitting bottom. And, […]
AFC Bournemouth: Cherry Picking Episode Three
Welcome back to the south coast, where I’m attempting to steer AFC Bournemouth away from the drop and to a respectable Premier League place this season! At the end of the last episode, I’d written that I was happy with the start of our league campaign. But, on further reflection, I have no idea why. […]
Letou Decide: A Dearth Of Right-Backs
I knew it was coming. Today I must make a decision on the right-back position for Stoke City this weekend. I can’t put it off any longer. Kyle Naughton was injured at the hands of those League One hoofers and cloggers at Portsmouth, which was particularly unfortunate as I was only giving him an hour […]
Beating Nuno – Prologue
Wolverhampton Wanderers are flying at the moment. It’s the best football that Molineux has seen in years, decades and perhaps longer. I’m a Wolves fan so it is a joy to behold at the moment, however, unlike previous seasons, it posed an interesting question, could I do better than the actual team? In any normal […]
Making Blackburn Rovers Great Again – Episode #2
It’s a Tuesday afternoon. I find myself strewn across the sofa with various crumbs and stains on my shirt, endlessly skipping through Netflix as we so often do. I decide to take my search for mild entertainment to Sky where I’m greeted by an omnibus of one of my favourite programmes – Premier League Years. […]
Letou Decide: Stoke City’s Season
This weekend we will be visited by Stoke City for a 5:30 pm kick off and we’re back on television. It seems every week the TV stations are calling us to help boost their ratings. I’ll do the usual match preview on Saturday but it seems like a good a time as any to take […]
Tempo10 – The Loan Market
We’ve got the perfect line up over at Tempo Towers so don’t often delve into the transfer market. What are your options if you have to though? This week Mike and Samo discuss the merits of playing the loan market. Does it depend on the level you’re at or can any team be improved with […]
Canary Corner – Part 12
Welcome! It’s the end of season 4 and if you’ve stuck with me through the good and bad at Carrow Road then I am very grateful. You are the Darel Russell of the operation. If you’re new to these parts, well, I guess the summary is we had no money and we got promoted. Then […]
Vive la Révolution Part XIII: Les possibilités qu’il vous manque dans la vie
Catch up on the story so far… “Let me get this right. Every single one of you in this room said we would get relegated. And now you are suggesting we bottled getting promoted? Seriously? Do you understand what we achieved this season? Can you actually comprehend what we did? Yes, we were close to […]
Letou Decide: FA Cup Draw Reaction
Those who joined us last night on @TheHigherTempo will have found that we have drawn Reading in the FA Cup Quarter Final. The draw is an interesting one because the only team I really fear is Arsenal but the Premier League leaders are chock full of fixtures. They contest the Carabao Cup final this weekend […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 16: The Club World Cup
My geography skills aren’t great so if you ask me about Atlanta, I don’t know much. What I do know is we’re the football capital of North America. The Falcons? Nope. We’re the biggest club in the city- and we’ve now got a chance to make our name known to the world. Now let’s be […]
Bringing Back Brum Episode 11
FM18 Birmingham City | Bringing Back Brum | Ep 11 Not Again!! | Football Manager 2018 Welcome to a current series on my channel where we try to return Birmingham City to the Premier League, after 4 managers in just over 12 months stability is key. In Episode 11 we travel across the city to […]
Letou Decide: Swansea City vs. Portsmouth Match Review
Turning up for training this morning feels like making a funeral march. I knew selecting Kyle Naughton was a risk in the FA Cup tie against Portsmouth, I just knew it. I had planned to only play him for a half hour before replacing him with young Mael Davies. Kyle took a big hit from […]
Inept International Manager: Ep. 5
Click here to find previous episodes of the Inept International Manager Last time on the Inept International Manager we left Louis Henrik taking a notepad, a pen, a pot of tea and a bag of mint imperials into a dark room. He has since emerged with a scrawled squad list in hand. He hands it […]
Chronicles of a Chancer Part III: Final Leg
Spanish Inquisition Barcelona B: Part 3 ‘Hi Marc, take a seat.’ Marc Cardona sits down opposite me. ‘I’ve asked you to come here because I need to discuss your recent performances.’ ‘Right,’ he said, bemused. ‘No problem boss.’ ‘I need you to improve your form if you want to stay in the first team.’ ‘Eh? […]
Letou Decide: Swansea City vs. Portsmouth Preview
Later today (kick-off at 5:30pm, live coverage on @TheHigherTempo) Swansea welcome League One side Portsmouth to the Liberty Stadium in the fifth round of this season’s FA Cup. It’s one I am desperate to win, although I’m not exactly sharing that fact with the players. In fact, if you read yesterday’s press conference then you’ll […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 15: Play-Off Promises & Potential
We’re into the play-offs yet again after a record-breaking season where we secured the most ever points (83) of a side in the MLS. It’s all very nice but I want to go all the way- particularly as we fell short at the final hurdle last season. I’m unlikely to lose my job but from […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 16th February
After last Saturday’s debacle of a press conference when I was asked just two questions, I’m assuming today’s engagement will be brief and I can go back to selecting my team to face Portsmouth. It’s an interesting consideration because Portsmouth are actually doing really well under interim boss Stuart Pearce in League One, they’re second […]
Tactics Tested: Manchester City
Barca Style of Play Pep Guardiola started to implement his playing style upon his Man City team almost as soon as he arrived last season, but with an ageing squad and after a disappointing season with Bayern, he couldn’t reach the dizzying heights of his old Barcelona side. Last summer, however, he made significant signings, […]
FM18: 5 Things To Do When Setting Up A Tactic
Welcome to a new series here on The Higher Tempo as a collection of our best Football Manager writers take a look at guiding you through ‘5 Things’ to do when undertaking a particular task on Football Manager 2018. In this guide, we’re looking at setting up a tactic, which is something we all do […]
Bringing Back Brum Episode 10
FM18 Birmingham City | Bringing Back Brum | Ep 10 Bang Bang | Football Manager 2018 Welcome to a current series on my channel where we try to return Birmingham City to the Premier League, after 4 managers in just over 12 months stability is key. In Episode 10 we welcome Sunderland to St Andrews […]
Letou Decide: Player Profile – Daniel James
I spent last night at Holmes Park to watch Leicester City U23’s vs. Swansea City U23’s. My brother, the oft-forgotten Mike Tango, tells me that the sign of a good team is a strong U23 side but I’m fairly sure he picked that up from a book I forced him to read. In the end […]
Vive la Révolution Part XII: Amateurs doing amateur things
Catch up on the story so far… “It’s been mentioned quite a lot already, but Cannes will now end the first half of the season in 6th place, just four points off automatic promotion. Considering you are still an amateur team, that is quite incredible especially when you sit two points above St Etienne who […]
AFC Bournemouth: Cherry Picking Episode Two
Welcome back to Cherry Picking for Episode Two. The last part saw me traverse pre-season, struggling to work out my best starting XI whilst also conceding the usual sloppy goals typically associated with the majority of my defenders on every save. After winning five games out of the six, I came into the start of […]
Making Blackburn Rovers Great Again – Episode #1
Once upon a time at Ewood Park, a man named Kenny Dalglish led a Blackburn Rovers team which included Alan Shearer, Tim Sherwood and Chris Sutton to their first and to date, only Premier League title. That was 23 years ago. Today the club finds itself in English football’s third tier, but with the use […]
Letou Decide: League Update
As it’s Wednesday and nothing good ever happens on a day referred by some of my players as ‘hump’ day, I’m taking that to mean the crossing of the bridge over the middle of the week and not a more Netflix & Chill version, I’ve sent the players out onto the training pitch with Nigel […]
Tempo10 – Questions and Answers
Mike and Samo bring a host of questions with them this week. Celebrating the new Tempo10Podcast twitter account reaching 100 subscribers, we asked #Tempo10Podcast on slack, and via Twitter, for questions. Mike tells a story which involves Mikael Forssell on a birthday card, and Samo gives us a sneak behind the scenes revealing he is quite similar […]