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AS MoneyCo: Episode Seven
It is now April. Monaco sit outside the top three, and Champions League qualification is very unlikely. Europa League qualification is plausible, but that will mean Bernardo Silva is on his way out of the club in the summer. Our form had improved, though. Sticking with my control 4-2-3-1 on a regular basis and willingness […]
The Young and the Old: Part 2
Slow Beginnings The Serie A kicked off this week for the Young and Old side, against tricky visitors Torino. These opening weeks are going to include some poor performances, as the team gels and I figure out how best to integrate youth and experience. The opening game saw my preferred 4-4-1-1 formation, which sees Dries […]
11 clubs to manage in Football Manager 2018
Another summer has come and gone, and with it the newest edition of Football Manager comes into the view. The popular opinion of Transfer Deadline Day is to baulk at the huge sums and the mercenaries touting themselves from club to club – for Football Manager fans it is an opportunity for one club or […]
Taste The Feeling: Episode 22 – Conclusion Part 1
It’s been 5 real life months since I last updated you (unless you’re in #tastethefeeling on slack!) on how my Taste The Feeling save is going. In case you missed it first time around (if you did, take a read of the series from the beginning by clicking my name and going back to the […]
AS MoneyCo – Episode Six
So here we are. We pick the series back up after my Monaco side trounced FC Metz 5-0 to keep us in the European battle. Soon followed our return to continental action with a Europa League clash against Celta Vigo. It was an away fixture first up, and my 5-2-3 worked to perfection. Radamel Falcao […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 54
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #54 Season Review | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to a Football Manager series on my channel that’s right its Tottenham Hotspur. Today we go through the season that was 2018-2019. Join me on this adventure on football manager 2017. Thanks for coming to […]
The Wandering Eagle Part 6: March ’17
Going into the month of March, I’m feeling quietly confident about our chances of survival. We’ve lost just one of our last seven games and are three points away from the relegation zone. This month we’ll mostly face mid table sides and I feel points are to be had in the coming weeks. First up […]
11 things to do before you play a match in FM18
“Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin can openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance… …but why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life: I chose […]
Memories of the Multi-Player Experience
Given the large volume of active and notoriously dedicated devotees, it might sound strange that Football Manager has never become an online multiplayer behemoth in the vein of a WarCraft or a CounterStrike. The structure of the game couldn’t lend itself more perfectly to an online platform, and as talk within the gaming industry hints […]
Rivalità Tra Fratelli, Episode 27: December ‘19
This is the story of two brothers, a modern-day Cain versus Abel if you will, based now in the Allianz Stadium. If you’d like to replicate this challenge, we’re using the updated medium database with the following leagues: England (Premier League, Championship, League One & League Two), Italy (Serie A & Serie B), Spain (La […]
Difficult January leaves Porto outside the European places
Porto’s lack of attacking threat has left them seriously lacking in the Premier League and, unless things change quickly, could miss out on European football next season. They currently lie 7th in the table and are four points away from even a Europa League spot. It is then a further three-point gap to the Champions […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 53
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #53 Talking Tactics | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to a Football Manager series on my channel thats right its Tottenham Hotspur. Today were talking tactics after a request from a viewer, you can see my tactic in the steam workshop Join me on […]
AS MoneyCo: Episode Five
We’re back for Episode Five in the depths of winter and with a firmly chilly air around my squad after a poor run of results. With the build-up to the showdown with PSG underway, interest appeared for Valere Germain. The 26-year-old had started just three Ligue 1 matches and, with his ceiling clearly limited, was […]
The young and the old: Part 1
Peak Performing Players There is an obsession in football with signing players during their peak years. Football Manager tends to remind us that these years are between the ages of 24-30 for attackers, and a little later for defensive players. While it is obvious that players do tend to enjoy their highest performing seasons during […]
Classic Championship Manager: Scotland on the Road to Euro 2004 Part VI
It’s a pivotal day in my career as Scotland manager. These boys are like family to me, we’ve been through a lot together. But now, I need us to find a way of beating Spain at Hampden Park to avoid the dreaded playoffs. Here’s a reminder of how the table looks: We got beaten 3-0 […]
11 international teams to manage on FM18
International management has always been a bit underrated in the FM series. Many see it as too boring to really offer them a challenge. However, there are a lot of fun challenges to be had in the international arena. In this post I’ll name 11 of the most exciting challenges, in my opinion, hopefully enough […]
AS MoneyCo – Episode Four
So, we’re in late November and Monaco are unbeaten since August. It’s been a drawfest unfortunately, but racking up a long run without a defeat is always satisfying. There were signs we could be getting on a roll. Having confirmed our group win with a match to spare in the Europa League, we look a […]
My Best XI of FM2017
With FM2017’s life cycle coming to a close I wanted to look back over my season playing it and pick out some of the highlights. In terms of trophies and titles, it has been slim pickings. With the teams I have written about I did not enjoy the greatest amount of success but keeping Burnley […]
The Wandering Eagle Part 5: February ’17
We start the month on a very sour note: Although he needs around 419 chances to score, Madden has been in lethal form since I took the reins at the Iron. He has scored an incredible 8 times in 9 matches and will be missed. His replacement for now will be Kevin van Veen, of […]
11 Favourite Players from FM17
Whether its Robinho in FM07, Gonzalo Higuain in FM10 or Dimitri Payet in FM14, there are always those players that you know you can turn to in Football Manager, when you need guaranteed performances, regardless of their real-life ability. Here is a list of 11 favourites from Football Manager 17. Sandro Ramirez Sandro Ramirez, now […]
Rivalità Tra Fratelli, Episode 26: November ‘19
This is the story of two brothers, a modern-day Cain versus Abel if you will, based now in the Allianz Stadium. If you’d like to replicate this challenge, we’re using the updated medium database with the following leagues: England (Premier League, Championship, League One & League Two), Italy (Serie A & Serie B), Spain (La […]
Porto fall behind early on in the title race and may ‘focus on the cups’
Porto’s poor start to the league campaign may force the manager to consider making other competitions a priority. When he first joined the club he made it his aim to get Porto back to the top of Portuguese football. After finishing second last season their fans had hoped to challenge and go one better but […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 52
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #52 Ultimate Finale | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to a Football Manager series on my channel thats right its Tottenham Hotspur. Today we take on Barcelona in the Champions League Final at Old Trafford, can we make history and win the Champions League […]
Boeren, Boeren PSV: The season that was…
A season that collapsed in the end run but had some pride spared by a KNVB Beker Final victory over title usurpers Ajax. Time to look back and summarise it all. Eredivisie – 2nd Place It was a monumental collapse at the end of the season. PSV, having led for 21 games of the season, […]
Brexit Premier League: Part 8
The Inevitable Yes, it is over. I was told of my sacking while continuing on the 1st of January, as the bar that told me my next opponent changed to tell me of available jobs. I finished my reign with a pitiful 8 points, and I have no one to blame except myself, the players, […]
6 pointer already: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 81
Ungheni are the team predicted to go down with us from the Moldovan top flight. The thought of playing them just now, on the back of a disastrous opener, made me feel sick in the stomach. As I made the short rail journey from Taraclia, where I rent an apartment, to Ceadir Lunga, where the […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 51
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #51 Off To Wembley | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to a Football Manager series on my channel thats right its Tottenham Hotspur. Today we take on Manchester United at Wembley in the FA Cup Final, can we complete a league and cup double […]
1.53 Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Title Run-In
Pre-Match Buoyed by their KNVB Beker Final exploits against Ajax, PSV are raring to go in the penultimate league game of the season. PSV know they are now relying on results elsewhere, a win for Ajax over Vitesse will spell the end of their pursuit of this season’s Eredivisie title. PSV are the bookmakers’ favourites […]
Nice problem to have: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 80
I was sitting with Iurie Priganiuc (our assistant manager) at the little bistro-style round table in my office that I use for informal meetings. I hate talking to people from behind my old Soviet-era office desk. We were discussing rather a nice problem. In our previous match (in the cup, versus a lower division side) […]
#FM18 Tempo Thoughts
Hello from Tempo Towers. Not long now, eh? It’ll be here before we know it. No, not Christmas. FM18. It seems that the “community” are doing loads of cool reveals about what they will be doing once the new game hits the laptop screen so I thought we should probably stumble along somewhat aimlessly and […]
AS MoneyCo – Episode Three
The season was not off to a great start for my young Monaco squad. Radamel Falcao had been ruled out with a hamstring injury, and poor finishing was complemented by misfortune to hold my side back. A mere three days after the Sassuolo frustration, Stade Rennais fans were treated to a trip to Monte Carlo. […]
Biggest match in town: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 79
I had mixed feelings in the run-up to our 2nd round Moldovan tie against third-tier Ceadir Lunga, with whom we share a ground. On the one hand, as a top-tier side, we should beat them: that could turn things around for us, getting out of a rut and with luck giving a chance to build […]
The Wandering Eagle Part 4.2: January ’17
We get the opportunity to break the unhelpful habit of not converting our chances when we face Northampton Town, the big surprise of the season at 6th place. They play a revolutionary strikerless formation, which is almost unheard of at this level. Manager Robert Page is either a visionary or an evil madman bent on […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 50
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #50 Going Postal | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to a Football Manager series on my channel that’s right, it’s Tottenham Hotspur. Today we take on Real Madrid at White Hart Lane in the 2nd leg of the Champions League Semi Finals, can we […]
1.52 Boeren, Boeren PSV: KNVB Final – Ajax v PSV
Pre-Match PSV will have to pick themselves up after what can only be described as a bottle job of Spurs proportions! The KNVB Beker Final between these two Goliaths of Dutch football takes place at Feyenoord’s De Kuip stadium. Ajax are favourites with odds of 6/4 but could PSV spark something of a late revival […]
Playbook again: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 78
My decision is beginning developing a playbook didn’t get off to such a good start, but I decided to persevere. One swallow does not a tragedy make — or something like that. Next up were Dinamo-Auto. Strangely enough the stats showed that they too tended to score most in the first fifteen minutes. I decided on […]
1.51 Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Match 32 – Excelsior v PSV
Pre-Match With 3 games to go and PSV still trailing Ajax by a point, nothing short of a win will do here today! The bookmakers obviously feel somewhat confident in PSV but perhaps not as much as earlier in the season, PSV are odds-on at 4/5, considering the odds a few months ago were considerably […]
Rivalità Tra Fratelli, Episode 25: October ‘19
This is the story of two brothers, a modern-day Cain versus Abel if you will, based now in the Allianz Stadium. If you’d like to replicate this challenge, we’re using the updated medium database with the following leagues: England (Premier League, Championship, League One & League Two), Italy (Serie A & Serie B), Spain (La […]
Developing a playbook – the opening chapter: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 77
I’m here at FC Saxan by way of an experiment. Our chairman has invited me to approach the business of managing the club as if it were an engineering problem. I’ve decided to do that in three ways: (1) to simplify decision-making through the development of protocols; (2) to adopt an overall systems engineering approach; […]
Porto finish second after late run of form
Going unbeaten in their final eight league games helped Porto to their highest league position in over five years. The club, who finished 5th last season finished level on points with surprise package Vitória de Guimarães but were above due to a better record. Both sides, however, were 13 points behind league champions Sporting, a […]
Under The Lens Part 13: Things Are Getting Steady
We’re in October but things are looking quite similar. We start the month with the news that Nicholas Douchez is out for a couple of weeks which means Pacheco is back in between the sticks for now. The first game with Pacheco back in goal came against EA Guimgamp, but despite them being in 6th […]
1.50 Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Match 31 – PSV v Heracles
Pre-Match The performance against Ajax was a reasonable result considering PSV were a man down from early on in the game. However, the scoreless draw means that PSV are now without a win in their last three fixtures and haven’t scored a goal in any of those games either. Despite this, PSV are still touted […]
Brexit Premier League: Part 7
Final Countdown So, this was to be the biggest December in West Ham’s history. Rock bottom and the board on my back, the requirement was simple. By the end of the month, if the board didn’t feel more confident in my management of the team, I would be sacked. It should be noted, I am […]
Talk of the town: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 76
I’ve chosen the right time to move from my accommodation in Taracliu, one stop down the railway line, into a flat in Ceadir Lunga itself. FC Saxan have drawn Ceadir Lunga, the town’s other team, in the Moldovan Cup. I don’t suppose it’s set the world of Moldovan football alight nationally, but it’s certainly created a […]
FM17 European Gigalo Challenge Episode 18: Moneyball
After shocking everybody at Borussia Monchengladbach by winning the league and the Champions League, where on earth do you go next? The answer is very obvious: Paris. I need to tick nations off my bucket list and when PSG are available you’d be stupid to turn them down. As I beat them in the final […]
1.49 Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Match 30 – PSV v Ajax
Pre-Match It’s not been a regular occurrence this season to see PSV as anything other than favourites in a domestic fixture. Today that honour is given to the visitors, Ajax, who currently hold a one point lead at the top of the table. The bookmakers have given an Ajax win odds of 6/4 in a […]
Simple things you see are all complicated: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 75
The football with which I’m familiar has mostly been English lower league stuff, in the east (or east midlands). Places like Notts County, Peterborough, Stevenage, and Cambridge. There the rules are: 7 subs; of which 3 can be used. In the Moldovan top flight, it’s different: 9 subs; of which 4 can be used. That […]
Southampton’s Black Box: Part 10
Welcome back to ‘Southampton’s Black Box’: a story focused on the organized success of the club known for their over-achievement. As the title implies, the save will be highlighting and representing the recruitment strategy by Southampton. I will be compiling a large database of players in the game to assist me in my FM17 successes, as well as […]
AS MoneyCo – Episode Two
Welcome back! So we covered a busy summer of spending in the first episode, and it’s time for the fixtures to get underway. I had set up three formations. A high-press, quick transition 4-2-3-1, a narrow 4-1-2-2-1 based on ball retention and a 5-2-3 to counter for European matches and PSG. All of which relied […]
1.48 Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Match 29 – FC Groningen v PSV
Pre-Match The bookmakers clearly see the recent loss to AZ as a minor blip in the season’s run in as they place PSV at odds of 1/3 away to Groningen today. Groningen are currently 16th in the league with relegation a very real possibility. The last match between these two teams ended in a 2-1 […]