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Letou Decide: Newcastle United vs. Swansea City Preview
It’s a big game tonight against Newcastle United. It’s so tight at the bottom of the table that a win here could propel us up the table and more importantly, give us some much-needed breathing room ahead of consecutive games against Arsenal and Manchester United. Huddersfield did us a favour by beating Watford 2 – […]
Tempo10: Difficulty Levels
The team has drafted in a mystery guest to help out this week but can you guess who it is? They’re on hand to help Mike discuss ways to make the game easier trying to help him step up from Semi-Pro to World-Class. The discussion then turns to ways the game can be made more […]
Canary Corner: Part 9
Welcome back to what is now a rather tetchy Norwich. The end of season 3 is nigh, and despite my plans for Norwich to be in Europe at the end of this season, we’re actually in a spot of relegation danger. Not serious danger, but we can’t win. We lose a lot. Then I remembered […]
Vive la Révolution Part VI: La deuxième saison
Catch up on the story so far… “Oh I do like to be beside the seaside, oh I do like to be beside the sea….” It’s beautiful is Cannes. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Brescia for the ten minutes I was allowed to stay there. I loved Mumbai, full of life and a different […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 30th January
Today’s press conference is the second interaction I’ve had with the media in 24 hours as TEAMtalk.com’s Matt Smith was on the blower to ask about Leon Britton attempting to force a move away in order to play regular first team football. Apparently the dressing room is now said to be severely fractured, which is […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 10: Defending Our Crown
It’s crunch time. We stormed to glory in the regular season, winning the Supporter’s Shield with ease, and also secured the US Cup. With a double already secured, there’s plenty to be excited about but we’re not done yet as we look to defend our MLS crown. Due to our victories, we’ve skipped the Wild […]
Bringing Back Brum Episode 5
FM18 Birmingham City | Bringing Back Brum | Ep 5 Ageing Me Badly | Football Manager 2018 Welcome to the current series to 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 5 we take on Sheffield Wednesday […]
Letou Decide: Swansea City vs. Preston North End Match Review
Thank you to those who tuned onto the @TheHigherTempo press twitter feed, if you did, you’ll have seen Swansea City almost capitulate and throw away a healthy three-goal advantage to end the game 4 – 3. We’d done brilliantly to get two goals ahead, then Preston scored, but we added two more. The fourth with […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 9: Atlanta’s Revolution Is Taking Shape
Good morrow dear friends, welcome to my city. Yes, I’ve claimed Atlanta as my own. I’m the king here and the king speaks for us all when he says we’re f*cking fantastic again this season and deserve our plaudits. The MLS Supporter’s Shield was retained with five matches to go and we barely broke a […]
Inept International Manager: Ep.2
At the conclusion of last week’s instalment, we left things with Football Federation Australia CEO David Gallop making contact with Luis Enrique’s representatives to invite him over to take up the manager’s job of the Australian national team. We pick things up this week some 15,000 kilometres away from Australia in Europe in the midst […]
The ICT Crowd #7: Goodbye Caley… but what next?
Another season finishes and it’s another heartbroken mostly written post. Why? We were relegated. Yeah, my aim to stay up looked promising but was dashed by ten cruel minutes in Dumfries. I’m not going to dwell too much on the end to the season though because I’ve got a couple of options I want to […]
Letou Decide: Swansea City vs. Preston North End Preview
Later today I will lead Swansea City to take on my hometown club, Preston North End. I never liked Preston, despite the geography. My father was from Stockport and instilled in me a dislike that remains to this day. I could easily tell you the best place to park five miles from Edgeley Park in […]
Vive la Révolution Part V: Vers le haut ou vers le bas?
Catch up on the story so far… Bonjour! I guess you are here as you’d like to know what has happened down on the French Riviera? You’ve come to the right place as that is what I’m going to scribbling down over the next 1000 words or so. When we last spoke, I am pretty […]
Tempo10 Letou Special: Charlie Tango Interview
Mike is joined by current (virtual) manager of Swansea City Charlie Tango. Backed by Swansea sponsors Letou, Charlie is currently in the hot seat for our daily series which lets you vote on decision running on The Higher Tempo Press. Charlie is writing daily, in real time about his time as Swansea chief. Today he […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 8: All Change In Atlanta
Welcome back to the MLS, where my success last season has turned heads. I’ve been inundated with job offers and the attention has now turned towards my players, who are now being chased by top sides in Europe. I said I wouldn’t stand in their way and I won’t but it leaves us in a […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 26th January
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more. I’m feeling positive, but I have been feeling positive since I arrived in Wales to rescue the Swans. As a matter of fact I was the only member of staff this past Saturday who was positive as we played Manchester City and my brilliance was vindicated […]
Bringing Back Brum Episode 4
FM18 Birmingham City | Bringing Back Brum | Ep 4 6 Goal Thriller | Football Manager 2018 Welcome to a new series to 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 4 we take on Leeds at […]
Tactics Tested: Arsenal
Tactics Testing In this series, we will be looking at replicating a specific team’s tactics in Football Manager. We will do this by analysing how a side faces up to opposition in real life, then replicating that in FM. This can then act as a guide to FM, demonstrating how real-life football is represented in […]
Bringing Back Brum: Episode 3
FM18 Birmingham City | Bringing Back Brum | Ep 3 Early Pressure | Football Manager 2018 Welcome to a new series to 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 3 we take on Bolton at St […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 25th January
It’s Thursday, which means as the players put in their hard yards on the training pitch, my mind is wandering to the issue of team selection for Saturday. We’re playing Preston North End in the FA Cup fourth round, at the Liberty Stadium and with the majority of our first-choice team fit. That all sounds […]
Vive la Révolution Part IV: Les progrès
Catch up on the story so far… Bonjour! Welcome back to the Cannes Football Festival. A quick reminder of the rules, because we like rules. #1 Free signings only #2 We will always “balance the books” With that in mind, how have AS Cannes started their CFA 3 season? You know what happened in the […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 7: Superb Start To Our Second Season
The Atlanta United board expected a lot of me after our spectacular campaign last year, as they seek another MLS victory and want the Supporter’s Shield as well. I’m confident of the latter but the difficulty with football in the US is that you can be the best team for the entire campaign, then only […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 24th January
Yesterday we had a look at the transfers happening around the world of football, headlined by Jorrit Hendrix’s move from PSV to PSG for £64 million, which could rise to £70 million. That could be beaten by Nabil Fekir’s transfer, he’s gone from Lyon to Dortmund for a fee that could see the French side […]
Tempo10 E21 – 2D Vs 3D
With Matt out on a scouting mission this week, Mike is joined by Higher Tempo Press site lead and Tempo10 podcast editor Jack, OffthePitchFM. The guys discuss the ever controversial topic of 2D vs 3D. Does the graphics engine annoy you by picking the wrong animation or does your potato not quite run the fancy […]
Canary Corner – Part 8
Good day to you, welcome back to a rather cheery East Anglia. We’re into season 3 now and with Norwich establishing themselves as a Premier League club, all that can stop us now is second season syndrome. And a bonehead manager. Things are going well. We’re in the hunt for the European places I crave […]
Vive la Révolution Part III: Il est tout au sujet de l’argent, argent, argent
Catch up on the story so far… I think three games into the new season is a nice little moment for an update, non? Things are getting hot down on the French Riviera and it’s not just because the sun is shining brightly. AS Cannes are on fire in the first few CFA 3 matches […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 23rd January
I’ve been speaking to Hew Jenkins (chairman) and Jason Levien (owner) today about transfers. We have £33 million in the kitty and considering the squad has led us to the lower reaches of the Premier League, we do need to strengthen but nobody available is floating my boat. Ideally I’d like a striker but they […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 6: A Drafting Dilemma
Well, the MLS is a bizarre place. The expansion draft has just gone, which saw me select 11 players (but not really 11 as some youngsters were protected) from being snatched by the new team, LAFC. I think we came through without too much damage but, honestly, I’m completely lost. The next draft is the […]
Letou Decide: Manchester City vs. Swansea City Match Review
I did try to warn you and you didn’t believe me, in fact, some of you (and I include whoever operates the @TheHigherTempo twitter account in that) openly mocked me across the internet. I expect an apology, post haste. What I was trying to get across to you is that particularly in this world of […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 5: Play-Off Football Comes To Atlanta
Atlanta United’s first season in the MLS has proven to be an extremely successful one. The aim was to reach the play-offs and finish in the top-half of the standings in the Supporter’s Shield. In the end, we won the latter and topped our conference. It’s our first honour but, in all honesty, it’s not […]
Inept International Manager: Ep.1
The date is September 25th, 2017. In a press room moments ago Australian national football team coach Ange Postecoglou confirmed he has quit the Socceroos and will not lead them to the World Cup finals in Russia. Suddenly what had been a positive campaign up to this point has been shattered, even the achievement of […]
The ICT Crowd #6: The good, the bad and the calamitous
I thought I’d change things up this time with the ICT Crowd. You may remember last time up that I ran through transfers etc. in my set order but that’s a bit dull so this time I’m going to break things up into simpler sections. Results I’ve played a hefty amount of game time since […]
Letou Decide: Manchester City vs. Swansea City Preview
Momentum is everything in football. That’s how Leicester City won the Premier League, it’s how Blackpool nearly survived in the big time, Greece won the Euros and why you should never play a promoted side on the first weekend of the new season. That’s what I have been preaching, that the brittle egos of City’s […]
Bringing Back Brum: Episode 2
FM18 Birmingham City | Bringing Back Brum | Ep 2 Loan Loan Loan | Football Manager 2018 Welcome to a new series to 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 2 we take on Ipswich Town […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 19th January
It’s Friday and we all know what that means. It means that the carnivorous jackanapes of the press are invited to the Swansea training ground and I am forced to depart from trying to teach Martin Olsson how to show his man inside to speak about our chances in Manchester. I’m still confident. I think […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 4: Making History Bit By Bit
Oh boy, the situation has changed. As I pen this, it’s just five games after I last wrote. You may recall I mentioned how making the top-two was a stretch and that we’d blown our chance at the title. Well, I was wrong. With five games to go, we lead the way – and we […]
Vive la Révolution Part II: L’introduction
When Zinedine Zidane tells you to take over at AS Cannes, you take over at AS Cannes. That should be a rule for life I reckon. Zizou came through the Cannes youth system before playing 60 times for the first team and if he isn’t available to instigate this great club’s revival I guess I […]
Tempo10 E20 – Underused or Undervalued
Mike and Matt discuss their least favourite FM features this week. From trust issues to pointlessness, the guys don’t hold back on one of the games larger talking points – pointless features. No mention of burger vans in this one though.
Letou Decide: Mlog 18th January
At Fleetwood Town, as a fan you can rock up and have a coffee or a drink from the bar, all overlooking training from a comfortable booth. We don’t do that at Swansea, mostly because you’d get scouts from Leicester, West Brom, Watford and Burnley packing the place out. Training has been good in preparation […]
Bringing Back Brum Episode 1
FM18 Birmingham City | Bringing Back Brum | Ep 1 Season Preview | Football Manager 2018 Welcome to a new series to 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 1 we take a look at Birmingham […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 3: Pushing For The Play-Offs
Oh boy has a lot changed since we last spoke. I’m glad to say things are going well on the field, where I’ll discuss that more in the future, but we had our first major departure. As soon as the European window opened, Manchester City made a move for Miguel Almiron. The Paraguayan, admittedly, hadn’t […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 17th January
Welcome to today’s Mlog and it’s very much a good news/bad news situation. Let’s start with the bad news, which comes in the form of several player disputes. When I departed Romania with a tear in my eye and little more than a Premier League dream, everything was rosy. Suddenly, there are issues on the […]
Vive la Révolution Part I: La décision
I need to get my FM mojo back. FM18 has been a funny old stick so far. Getting sacked in Brescia was no fun, obviously but then the time in the ISL more than made up for it – despite the nagging thoughts in the back of my head that it was all a bit […]
Canary Corner – Part 7
Well hello from East Anglia. After a small break for Christmas and for me to try and play FM18 for a bit, I’m back with what I know: Retro Championship Manager. Shortly before Christmas, I signed off having guided Norwich to a midtable finish at the end of season 2. I should be considered some […]
Hopped it to Hamburg Part XXXV: A poem
I hate saying goodbye so I thought it would be better for my good FM friend @fmgrasshopper put into words what is happening to Hamburg. After all, he can explain it so much better than I. “The legend of Darwen, an FM18 story that needed to be told, From Mumbai madness to Hamburg, in a […]
Letou Decide: Mlog 16th January
This coming weekend we visit the Etihad Stadium in Manchester to face a City side in disarray. Just a few days ago with the club down in eighth place in the Premier League, the Citizens dispensed with the services of manager Pep Guardiola. After the latest round of results, in which the weekend ended with […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 2: Finding Our Stride Stateside
Atlanta has welcomed me with open arms. What I like most about this club is, like I mentioned last episode, it’s a completely blank page. All the records set are under my tenure, so it’s easy to track our progression and where we have significantly improved. The downside, unfortunately, is the constant questions about debuts […]
Letou Decide: Swansea City vs. Watford Match Review
It was not fun welcoming Watford to the Liberty Stadium. We started brilliantly, taking the lead through Jordan Ayew and racing into a two-goal head start thanks to Nathan Dyer ghosting in at the back post as Tammy Abraham challenged their central defenders. When Deeney got Watford back in the game deep into the second […]
Scars And Stripes Episode 1: Introducing Life Across The Pond
Howdy folks, welcome to our new adventure. Yeehaw! What, nobody talks like that? Yeah, I was joking. I obviously knew that. No no, that’s not a cowboy hat in my hands and I definitely didn’t arrive here in a pick-up. Welcome friends, to my new life. After my success with Arsenal, it was time for […]
The Last Tango in Bucharest: An Open Letter
Dear Reader, Thank you for tuning in this week to read the Last Tango in Bucharest, a series written by myself with support from my sibling Mike and with the encouragement of Chris Darwen, Mike Pearson, Jack, Luke and everybody else here at Tempo. Unfortunately, I have made the bold decision to put the Last […]