The Higher Tempo Press
Latest Posts
Strategy for international breaks: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 74
This is the first international break since I joined FC Saxan. I’ve decided my strategy will be: Always organize at least one friendly — more if necessary — to maintain the match fitness of those players who are not away on international duty. Bring in players on trial in order to: (a) bring the squad […]
The Wandering Eagle Part 4.1: January ’17
We played well during December, but got zero points at the end. Still, we managed to make it very difficult for top of the table teams like Millwall and Bolton Wanderers and made them go all the way. This month again sees us face teams far higher up the table than we are, which fills […]
FM17 European Gigalo Challenge Episode 17: Trying for a treble
The first half of the season has been superb; we’re top of the Bundesliga by a point, through to the quarter-finals in the German Cup and have a favourable tie against Bordeaux in the Champions League Round of 16. Naturally, the game wants to ruin my fun. Piotr Zielinski has had his head turned by […]
1.47 Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Match 28 – AZ Alkmaar v PSV
Pre-Match 7th place AZ have turned their season around after an awful start of just 1 point in their opening four league matches. However, the home side are still expected to struggle today against a PSV that have only lost one league match in the last 19 outings. PSV are 4/5 favourties today. Alkmaar’s Alirea […]
Deadline day a non-event; Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 73
The last day of August was transfer deadline day. It was a non-event. I spent it in the office so as to be near the phone, but the only calls were a couple of questions from Sergei Staris, the local journo, who was really just going through the motions. he sounded as bored as I was. I wasn’t […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 49
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #49 Real Deal | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to a Football Manager series on my channel thats right its Tottenham Hotspur. Today we take on Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in the 1st leg of the Champions League Semi Finals, can we […]
1.46 Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Match 27 – PSV v FC Twente
Pre-Match PSV’s odds have shortened slightly after the labored victory over Vitesse but remain odds-on at 4/6 today. Hector Moreno remains the only casualty but will be expected to return in the coming weeks. Twente’s only forced omission today is defender Peet Bijen due to treatment for a twisted knee. The Teams First Half There […]
Rivalità Tra Fratelli, Episode 24: September ‘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 […]
Impostor’s syndrome: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 72
It’s the international break, so I give everyone the Monday off and take a holiday myself. I sit in the park in Taraclia, enjoying the late summer weather, and drink a coffee and then a beer at the Park Place, a decent little place just off Karl Marx Strada. I’m going to move from Taraclia […]
Porto move into Champions League contention as their good run continues
Porto’s current run of form has elevated them to 3rd in the league table and into contention for Champions League qualification next season. After disappointing earlier in the season they found themselves as low as 6th but just one defeat in 12 games has seen them close the gap to those above. Despite this run […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 48
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #48 Short But Sweet | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to a Football Manager series on my channel thats right its Tottenham Hotspur. Today we take on Stoke City under the arch at Wembley for a place in this seasons FA Cup final. Join […]
The Fast and The Fluid: An Arsenal Rebuild
Arsenal have well-documented woes. Problems on the pitch, in the dressing room and on the training field. In FM17, they start with an awful coaching staff and an unbalanced playing staff. In real life, they lost their coveted Champions League placement and look in disarray. Looking ahead to FM18, through the eyes of FM17 I […]
Under The Lens Part 12: Oh How The Tables Have Turned
After the first international break of the season we surprisingly went into our next game as favourites. Our first game of the month saw us welcome 13th place Angers to our place. With Douchez not fully fit yet Pacheco stayed in goal for this one as Diony kept his place up top. Well, at least […]
1.45 Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Match 26 – PSV v Vitesse
Pre-Match Ajax are creeping up on PSV in the league table but the bookmakers expecting Eindhoven to complete a professional job today with odds of 1/6 being touted for the home side. Hector Moreno remains out for PSV but Paddy McNair is an able deputy. Vitesse are without the excellently named Marvelous Nakamba due to […]
Brexit Premier League: Part 6
Conceding Goals for Fun So far, things haven’t been going well in the league for the Brexit side. I’m almost certain that the only reason I still have a job is because of our unbeaten form in Europe. Kicking off November, the first game is away at Dinamo. Resting some first team players was on […]
I don’t know what’s going off out there: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 71
Our next match saw Academia travel down from the capital. We played the narrow diamond (with a back three plus libero) again: to be honest, it’s the only idea I have at present. When Cimpoes, our advanced forward, scored a poacher’s goal in the third minute, I thought, ‘There’s a long way to go, but […]
FM17 European Gigalo Challenge Episode 16: Battling on all fronts
We had a good debut season under my guidance for Gladbach and, so far, it’s been a successful summer. The loss of Patrick Hermann through injury is undoubtably a big blow but we have the players capable of stepping-up and it may give young Gabriel Biteco his time to shine. Our first game of the […]
1.44 Boeren, Boeren PSV: KNVB Beker Semi-Final – SC Cambuur v PSV
Pre-Match That loss to NEC and the mystery of the cup have both been taken into account as the odds were calculated today. PSV remain favourites but only at 4/5. Cambuur have three players out injured, goalkeeper Leonard Nienhuis, winger Xander Houtkoop and striker Michiel Hemmen – all first choice players. Defender Robert Schilder is […]
Exploring Newgens: Africa
Welcome to Exploring Newgens: an article series on finding the best youth prospects across the globe for your FM17/FM18 team. From Scotland to Australia, Korea to Nigeria, and Peru to Canada, there are plenty of players generated in-game with the potential to make a difference in your squad. Join Alex Dieker as he guides you […]
Piece of pizza: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 70
On the road again, this time to FC Dacia Chisinau, who for some reason play in a village outside the capital. Nice stadium, very much bigger than ours – as befits a club who are second favourites for the title. The kind of match you have to play, just to fulfil your league obligations: everybody […]
AS MoneyCo: Episode One
Watching AS Monaco’s squad get decimated this summer has been a sad sight. The football club from the Principality captured imaginations last season en route to the Ligue 1 title, and their youth-first approach has been immensely successful on and off the field. Starting my Football Manager save with them was an easy decision. I […]
1.43 Boeren, Boeren PSV: N.E.C. Nijmegen v PSV
Pre-Match The pre-match talk is all about PSV yet again, 14th placed Nijmegen aren’t given much hope as PSV are odds on favourites at 1/3. NEC will go to field without Julian von Haacke and Maurice Multhaup because of injury, there’s also no Robin Buwalda after a suspension. Santiago Arias is suspended for PSV – […]
Porto’s win in final group game sets up second round tie with Kyiv
A 2-0 win at home against Zorya was enough for Porto to top their group and progress to the knockout stages. The Dragões avoided the bigger sides in the draw and will travel to Ukraine to face league champions Dynamo Kyiv before returning home for the second leg. Porto went into the game in second […]
Failing the big test: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 69
After our shock win over Sheriff, the trip up north to play Zaria Balti looked set to provide a stiff test of our a capacity to build. How would our more confident-looking defence react to the welcome experience of having kept a clean sheet? By falling apart, that’s how. Four down after 27. I think it’s […]
The Wandering Eagle Part 3: December ’16
Looking at the schedule, I don’t have an easy run toward the end of the year. We face Millwall (2nd), Bradford City (8th), and Bolton (5th). That’s a bit of a downer since I really hoped to get this team firing immediately. With our position the way it is, we need to get some points […]
FM17 European Gigalo Challenge Episode 15: Gunning with Gladbach
There’s eight games to go until the end of the Bundesliga season and I can’t fault my players, even if we’ve slipped four points behind Bayern Munich in the title race. Overall, we’re overachieving and the gap I’m looking at isn’t between us and the top, it’s between us and third-place. We’re currently 11 points […]
1.42 Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Match 24 – FC Utrecht v PSV
Pre-Match Despite sitting nicely in 3rd place, Utrecht have lost two of their last three matches. PSV’s hot run continues and they are rightly put out as evens favourites for this match. Utrecht’s top goalscorer Nacer Barazite is out injured as is defender Ramon Leeuwin. PSV see another defensive suspension as Hector Moreno misses out, […]
In which the big city slickers come undone in the deep south: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 68
I knew we were in with a chance when the Sheriff coach arrived. It had air conditioning in places that our coach doesn’t have places. They’re the 11-4 favourites for the title. Would it even occur to them that they might not win? It would not. We needed to capitalise on their complacency. They helped […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 47
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #47 Kaneing | 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 Arsenal at the White Hart Lane in the second leg of the Champions League quarter finals, with a lead […]
1.41: Boeren, Boeren PSV: Eredivisie Match 23 – PSV v Willem II
Pre-Match PSV are on a run of 14 league games since their last defeat, meanwhile their counterparts Willem II have not tasted victory in their 4 previous matches – and without a goal in any of those four fixtures. PSV’s pre-match odds of 4/6 reflect both teams’ current form. The concern for PSV is that […]
Scouting For Midget Gems
Well, I never actually thought that I would be back writing about Football Manager so soon. Not in the traditional blog post sense at least. As with so many people that play Football Manager 17 however I often find myself inspired to play the game by something that I have read, and I tend to […]
Rivalità Tra Fratelli Episode 23: August ‘19
This is the story of two brothers, a modern-day Cain versus Abel if you will, now based 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 […]
Narrow-minded tactics: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 67
I keep playing a narrow diamond: a libero; a back three, an anchor, two in the middle; an advanced playmaker; and two up front. I don’t actually like it — the formation feels very constrained, like playing in a corset — but without wide players I don’t know what else to do. We’ve also been training […]
Porto face qualifier against Rangers after impressive preseason
The new Porto boss has had a summer to adjust to his surroundings now and things look to be turning a corner. After finishing 5th last season, their lowest in a number of years, Porto were forced to qualify for the Europa League. After beating Swedish side Hammarby IF in the last round they must […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 46
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #46 Gooner Do It | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to a Football Manager series on my channel thats right its Tottenham Hotspur. Today we take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League Quarter Finals can we […]
Under The Lens Part 11: Welcome to Ligue 1
We’re finally here, it’s the opening day of the Ligue 1 season and we might not be in for the best of welcomes. We have a trip to Nantes who are obviously favourites for the game and managed to get themselves a 4th place finish last year. Going into this game we have a couple […]
Brexit Premier League: Part 5
Bouncing Back Against Tottenham Last week was a difficult one. Some decent performances, but all in all, a disappointing month. So, the plan this week was to use the international break to really prepare for the game away at Tottenham, to avoid the sort of disaster we experienced at Anfield a few weeks back. Erik […]
At least we made them work for it: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 66
In the event, our third league game of the season finished FC Saxan 0 Zimbru 1. In an uneventful first half, we matched them. But once they went ahead after the break, it was difficult to see how we were going to get back into it. My instruction to work the ball into the box is […]
FM17 European Gigalo Challenge Episode 14: Glad to be Bach in Germany
I was very pleased with my time at Marseille but it was time to move on. After being overlooked by Arsenal, who appointed Arsene Wenger back as manager after his brief stint as Director of Football, I’m back in Germany with the ultimate scrabble football team; Borussia Monchengladbach. The team I inherit is ageing, unhappy […]
Slack FC: Season 3
They say the best things come in threes, and here we are in the third season of the Slack FC save. When we left you last time, nearly all of the lads had made their first move away from the club, whilst those that remained behind helped Slack reach the Football League in their second […]
Big day for the boy Goncharov: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 65
When I brought Artem Goncharov in on a free, it was very much as a contingency measure. I wanted a third goalie in case something happened to the other two; and it needed to be a youngster so we could keep him match fit in the U19s. I hadn’t really reckoned on playing him in […]
FM Graphics: Czech Fantasy kit pack
Good graphics add-ons are essential of Football Manager for many years. It’s very important to me to have kits, faces or logos in the game correctly and during previous years I was also a member of some teams who create add-ons to the game. During the FM17 I edited these graphics add-ons just mainly for […]
Technical v Mental Attributes: An Experiment
For years playing Football Manager I have scouted and searched players, seen so many come and go through each team I create over the past editions. More often than not the players fail to live up to mine, and my scouts, expectations. Years of battling away at a lower level club, trying to build them […]
You can’t win things with kids but can they at least keep you up? Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 64
We need, absolutely need, to bring in a centre-back. But our database of players is small; most of the players on it are terrible (yes, even worse than Gulberdiyev); the ones who aren’t terrible cost too much or want too much money – so the best we can do is bring in a kid. Enter, […]
The Wandering Eagle Part 2: Introducing The Iron
Scunthorpe United are 21st in the table, but only one point from safety: A good run of results could see us climb up the table relatively fast, which would be right up the board’s alley as they want me to avoid relegation. Squad assessment Just like I did when I started my ill-fated reign at […]
FM17 European Gigalo Challenge Episode 13: Motoring with Marseille
It’s January 2020. I’m in the knock-out stages of the Champions League with Marseille and my reputation is on the rise. The target: finish the season successfully, move to a new club and continue my journey. The key there is finish the season, which makes it difficult to turn down Sevilla. Patience, I tell myself. […]
Nightmare debut: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 63
23 July 2017 brought my first competitive match as manager of FC Saxan — at home against Petrocub (who are predicted to finish mid-table). The fans will be hoping the result is not a sign of things to come. 1-4. A glance at the match stats might suggest that the scoreline flattered them. The teams […]
To Dare Is To Do Episode 45
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #45 Closing In | 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 Manchester United in the Premier League, can we get one over on Jose and United after the EFL Cup […]
Rivalità Tra Fratelli, Episode 22 (Juventus 2019/20 Pre-Season)
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 […]
The problem at centre-back: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 62
For our final friendlies of my first pre-season at FC Saxan, we hosted the July Trophy. Though a meaningless competition, it had two kinds of value for us. First, it helped us get pretty well everyone match fit. Second, it produced a learning point — if an unwelcome one. It confirmed my suspicion that Gulberdiyev, […]