The Higher Tempo Press
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A Guide to the Head of Youth Development
Youth Intake day is one of the most exciting days in football manager. We look forward to it every season, hoping for that next superstar. There is not a lot more satisfying than seeing your youngster turn into a world class player. Your youth and training facilities are obviously very important if you want to […]
Our protocol for acquiring a goalkeeping coach: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 25
Here is the protocol that I use, as manager of FC Saxan, for acquiring a goalkeeping coach. Check the personality. If unsatisfactory (e.g. ‘unsporting’), abort. Check whether the goalkeeper-coaching attribute meets the threshold for the club? If yes, shortlist, If not, abort. Rank the shortlisted coaches initially on the basis of their goalkeeper-coaching attribute. Then […]
Slack FC: Season 1 – March to May 2017
Alright guys and girls! The first season of Slack FC – a team based on some of the FM Slack community members (see @fmsamo on twitter for more details) – has come to an end. When I left you last time (and that was a long time ago, my apologies), quite a few of Heskey’s […]
1.7 Boeren, Boeren PSV – Eredivisie Match 5: Roda JC v PSV
Our first round of international call ups and 11 of our first team squad have received a call up to join their respective international squads – first team players indicated by red underline. We also were notified of our Champions League group – a tough draw for us. Pre-Match Despite being away from home PSV […]
Banished To Bromley Part 12: More of the same
So, with a week gone the squad hopefully have had enough time to adapt to the new 3-1-4-2 formation, well it’s time to see against Southport. Unfortunately though we weren’t able to turn our form around as we lost 1-0. On the ball we seemed to be in control more than we have recently but […]
Our protocol for acquiring a fitness coach: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 24
Here is the protocol that I use, as manager of FC Saxan, for acquiring a fitness coach. Check the personality. If unsatisfactory (e.g. ‘unsporting’), abort. Check whether the fitness-coaching attribute meets the threshold for the club? If yes, shortlist, If not, abort. Rank the shortlisted coaches initially on the basis of their fitness-coaching attribute. Then […]
The Land Down Under X
G’day, mate! Welcome back to the Land Down Under and Gosford, NSW. When I last left off in the series, I was going over our run during the first half of the season and promised I’d be back to talk about our first ever Champions League run, which is underway as we speak. In February […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part XV: We broke the curse, I repeat we broke the curse!
Remember those nights where we always lost the final game 1-0? Those days are gone baby, they are gone! Yes, that particular curse has been lifted so high it looks like a little balloon floating away in the sky. For last night, my friends, we….. Drew the last game of the night 0-0. Woop! And […]
1.6 Boeren, Boeren PSV – Eredivisie Match 4: PSV v SC Heerenveen
Pre-Match On the back of that fantastic victory over Feyenoord, PSV are heavy favourites for the upcoming home tie against Heerenveen. The bookies are quoting odds of 1/4 for the Eindhoven side. Van Ginkel and Locadia remain on the injured list for PSV, joined by defender Nicolas Isimat-Mirin (abdominal strain). Siem de Jong is fit […]
Rivalità Tra Fratelli, Episode 14
This is the story of two brothers, a modern-day Cain versus Abel if you will, based in the northern powerhouse Italian city of Milan. 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 […]
Six into five doesn’t go: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 23
The memo from the board on the staffing allocation specifies that we’re allowed an assistant manager and three coaches. With me that makes five. Between us, the backroom team will have to cover six coaching functions, namely fitness, goalkeeping, defending, attacking, ball control, and shooting. Six into five doesn’t go, so at least one person […]
The Tempo Goal of the Month Competition is Open and we need a Voting Panel!
Right then guys! Following the success of June’s Goal of the Week competition we have decided to move the competition to MONTHLY and offer a cool prize for the winning goal. So – what this means is you have ONE WHOLE MONTH to get your goals over to us at Tempo Towers where our Voting […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part XIV: Why do we always lose the last game of the night 1-0?
That is a genuine question. The last three nights, no matter what has gone in the previous matches, we have lost the last one of the night 1-0. It’s a tad frustrating. Especially last night. It brought to an end a superb ten match unbeaten run, including six wins and four clean sheets. That run […]
Stong start for Leiria as transfer window finally shuts
Three wins from the first four games leave Leiria in a promotion place. The side, which just missed out on promotion last season had a long break from the game over the summer to help get over last seasons disappointment but look to have returned stronger for it. Their manager, who went off the radar […]
To Dare is To Do #31
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #31 Title Decider | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to a Football Manager series on my channel, that’s right its Tottenham Hotspur. Today we take on Southampton in our final match of the season and it all comes down to this! if Manchester United […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part XIII: You can probably skip this one…
Well, this feels a little bit familiar. Last night’s session ended in the same fashion as the night before, a grotty 1-0 defeat in a game we should have won. OK, this time it was to the current league champions Coton Sports, but we still should and could have got something out of the game. […]
The Land Down Under IX
G’day, mate! Welcome back to New South Wales! We’re well sunk into our second season in charge of the Central Coast Mariners. There wasn’t much I could think of worth sharing during the first half of the season. We’re just running through the same motions as last year, so I opted to save the more […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part XII: I think we just fired out of a Canon Yaounde…
I shall tell you this for nothing. Having lost to Canon Yaounde late in the last season, a defeat that cost us (it turned out) a place in Africa, I was looking forward to facing them in the first game of the 2018 season. A few things to remember about Tonnerre KC… We are paying […]
Disciples of the Rafalution: A Cup Tie Story
The early rounds of the domestic cup competitions can often be an early season opportunity to build up additional fitness levels, match sharpness, or rotate a squad and allow fringe players the opportunity the stake a claim for themselves. In my current season in FM Touch 2017, I haven’t had such luck with a domestic […]
1.5 Boeren, Boeren PSV – Eredivisie Match 3: PSV v Feyenoord
Pre-Match The pre-match odds give us the slight edge as we’re down as evens favourite. The draw and Feyenoord are both priced at 11/5. Dirk Kuyt is the key player picked out in our scouting report, however he seems to draw a lot of fouls – we’ll mark him tightly and close him down but […]
Southampton’s Black Box: Part 5
Welcome back to ‘Southampton’s Black Box’: a story focused on the organised 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 […]
Negotiating staff contracts: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 22
My approach to negotiating staff contracts at FC Saxan is as follows. The wage demanded by the candidate is typically well above the maximum that Saxan, as a small club, permits. I therefore tend to offer the maximum allowed straightaway. In Moldova, some staff work on part-time contracts. It can be easy not to notice […]
Tempo Tactics: Recreating Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid
“We must not let ourselves get driven off course, no matter what happens we must stick to our natural game.” Zinedine Zidane Plaudits given to Zinedine Zidane focus on his personal skills – his ego management if you will – and that’s not just the players we’re talking about. This club in particular has many […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part XI: We’re ready, are you ready?
So, as soon as I have committed all this to paper I will press “match preview” on the first game of the 2018 season, Mark Monroe’s third term in charge of Roger Milla’s first love, Tonnerre KC. We are playing our city rivals and the team that ended the incredibly tiny chance of us finishing […]
Eibar: An Analytics Story Part 11 – Season Two starts
Heyho, Eibar is back again. Apologies for the recent lack in updates but I hope I can make up for this with some transfer things I’ve got prepared for you. In case you forgot or you haven’t read the latest update, we managed to finish in 4th, securing Champions League football for the first time […]
1.4 Boeren, Boeren PSV – Eredivisie Match 2: PSV v Go Ahead Eagles
Pre-Match PSV are the heavy favourties with odds of 1/6 as they host Go Ahead Eagles at the Phillips Stadion in Eindhoven. Our scouting report picks out Elvis Manu as someone to watch – the Ghanaian winger drew 5 fouls from their opponents in the last game. We’ll avoid tackling hard on this one. Marcel […]
Banished To Bromley Part 11: A Nightmare on Hayes Lane
Moving into the New Year there was some good news to report as I managed to tie down Thomas O’Connor for another 2 years after he’d picked up 4 goals and 4 assists this season. There was also a New Year’s Day fixture on the cards as we tried to redeem ourselves against Sutton United […]
Our protocol for acquiring physios: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 21
Here is the protocol that I use, as manager of FC Saxan, for acquiring physios. Check the personality. If unsatisfactory (e.g. ‘unsporting’), abort. Check whether the physiotherapy attribute meets the threshold for the club? If yes, shortlist, If not, abort. Rank the shortlisted physios initially on the basis of their physiotherapy attribute. Then consider whether […]
Tempo Experiments #008: Does Game Time Affect Player Development?
Almost every FM17 save will include an element of youth development. Most manager want to know how they can get just little bit more out of one of their youth players. Is it tutoring? Is it training? Is it luck? Well, @offthepitchfm wrote a superb article looking at whether game time actually affects player development […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part X: It feels weird being gutted at finishing 7th…
I certainly did not expect to be saying that come the final whistle of our final league game. 279 people saw us beat the already relegated champions of the previous season, Lion Blessé. We won the game 2-0, meaning we ended our first season in the MTN Elite I in an incredible 7th place. Incredible […]
1.3 Boeren, Boeren PSV – Eredivisie Match 1: Sparta Rotterdam v PSV
Pre-Match PSV travel to newly promoted side Sparta in the season opener. PSV are the odds on favourites at 4/6, as expected. Sparta’s Martin Pusic is doubtful as he continues his recovery from a broken toe. PSV’s injury tables remain occupied by Van Ginkel (strained knee ligaments), Locadia (shin splints) and Siem de Jong (pulled […]
The Spin-Off Story: Crash Dump City
We’re back in Berlin after last week’s detour into the realms of FM17 Guides. If you missed the last part of our spin-off adventure – Gwen Stefani title puns and all – then click here. Last time I left you we’d done some transfer business, smashed some semi-pro side in the Cup and had a […]
More important matters: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 20
My first decision as manager of FC Saxan has been to terminate the incoming loan of striker Artiom Puntus. That decision made, I can now proceed to more important matters. The club has no physio, but a memo in my in-tray informs me that I can appoint a Head Physio and one other. I won’t […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part IX: I see away goals count in Africa…
Yeah, how do you like them apples, eh? Since we last spoke yesterday, that unbeaten run has gone on and on and on. Relegation thoughts have been replaced with cheeky “we couldn’t sneak into the top four, could we?” Well, of course we can’t but we can dream. We can certainly dream. There is a […]
The Set Pieces: 3 rules to make the most of the hidden weapon of Football Manager
Imagine, you became a manager of the small amateur club with limited financial options, you have only one coach and part-time physio and your players train after their shifts at work. You hope they will play with your own philosophy, with your favourite formation but there is not enough time to learn them everything. Imagine, […]
1.2 Boeren, Boeren PSV – Johan Cruijff Schaal v Feyenoord
Pre-Match PSV are noted as the bookies’ favourites for the tie at 6/4. The Amsterdam ArenA is expected to be filled to capacity for this gusty Sunday evening kick off. PSV are without on-loan Marco Van Ginkel who is suffering from strained knee ligaments, Jurgen Locadia also misses out due to shin splints. Siem De […]
Banished To Bromley Part 10: A New Face In Town
Before the first game of December I decided to call a team meeting regarding our poor form of 4 losses in our last 5 games. Thankfully the entire squad reacted well to me telling them they should be performing better but whether they start to perform… we’ll see. It was then confirmed that we’d face […]
No ticket to ride: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 19
On my first morning as manager of FC Saxan, I’m trying to decide whether to proceed with the loan signing from Sheriff of striker Artiom Puntus. I have designed a protocol for the acquisition of strikers in general. Time to apply it to the case of Puntus. Here are the notes I made as I […]
The Land Down Under VIII
Welcome back to The Land Down Under. Last season we finished off in amazing form, coming back from dead last and two points after seven games to take the lead with three matches to go and ultimately win both the regular season and the playoff Finals Series. Now that the season is over and a […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part VIII: Well, Dave Bassett used to have a Christmas Party early…
When manager of Sheffield United, one of my all time favourite managers Dave “Harry” Bassett used to have the Christmas Party at the start of the season as he noticed his players used to perform better after January than at the start of the season and, frankly, he was getting a bit tired of dramatic […]
1.1 Boeren, Boeren PSV – An Introduction
In looking for a new save to see me through the end stages of FM17 I decided to take some tips from our Tempo 10 Podcast. Chris suggested that people should look toward The Netherlands and specifically at PSV Eindhoven. So, here I am… The Media and Board expectations are aligned with the suggestion that […]
Rivalità Tra Fratelli, Episode 13
This is the story of two brothers, a modern-day Cain versus Abel if you will, based in the northern powerhouse Italian city of Milan. 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 […]
Our protocol for acquiring a striker: Anglo-Saxan Chronicle 18
Here is the protocol that I use, as manager of FC Saxan, for acquiring strikers. Check the personality. If unsatisfactory (e.g. ‘low self-belief’), abort. Check whether the player possesses a threshold level of determination. If not, abort unless both of the following conditions apply: (a) the player is young (say 16-17) and (b) the club […]
Leiria boss left emotional after missing out on promotion
The Leiria players and management were lost for words after narrowly missing out on promotion to Liga NOS. A hard fought 0-0 draw with champions Maritimo in the penultimate game of the season left Leiria in fourth place in the table. As it stood they were in a promotion place as the two sides directly […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part VII: Relegated by the summer break?
This is not going well. This is not going well at all. Do you remember when I said I didn’t really want to get promoted as my young bucks could well get ruined in the top flight? Well, my young bucks are getting ruined in the top flight. I chose not to recruit experience. I […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part VI: Post-Promotion Planning
Time seems to past quite fast in Cameroon. That might be because the air is cleaner, the climate is better and the food is nicer than back in Blighty. Anyway, Mark Monroe has been hard at work over the winter break trying to ready Tonnerre KC for their first season back in the top flight, […]
The Higher Tempo Press Goals of the Week: June 26th 2017
Welcome back to your Saturday dose of goals, goals and more goals. This is the final goal of the week competition before we move in to the goal of the month prize winning situation. Watch below to see last week’s winning effort plus 7 superb goals and 1 that seems to have cut out the […]
The Land Down Under VII
G’day, mate! The atmosphere is buzzing around Gosford and I’m glad you’re able to get in to join us! As you all know, we just got through the end of the regular season and finished as the season’s premier against 1000-1 odds. The season isn’t over, however! The season doesn’t end when the points are […]
The Legend of Roger Milla Part V: Yeah, this is turning into a daily ramble…
….but that’s alright, hey? Well, it’s the way it’s going right now so I am going to run with it. Yesterday’s game time was a lot of fun for the most part and, importantly, pretty damn successful. Catch up on all of the series so far here That’s if you call getting promoted six games […]
Podcast: Tempo10 Episode 6 with Ed Wilson from that other FM podcast….
The Tempo10 podcast is back and this week Chris talks to Ed Wilson of The Deep-lying Podcast to get some tips on how to make a good Football Manager podcast. Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the Tempo10 on iTunes by searching for Falbros Media Group…