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The Kosovo Journey: Euro 2020 Matchday 3 v Spain
They don’t come much bigger than this. Spain lost 2-1 to Italy in their last match so it’s all to play for here. A single point would be enough to see Kosovo qualify from their group – what an incredible thought. It’s not that simple though. This is Spain. A country littered with footballing stars […]
To Dare Is To Do #12
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #12 Wembley Woe | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Today we take on Juventus in the first knockout round of the Champions League. Can we pick up a win at home to set us up nicely for the 2nd leg in Turin? Join me on […]
So this Ultimate Journey, where was I?
I know it has been a long time since I have updated you guys over The Ultimate Journey and I’m really sorry for keeping you waiting for this long. So what did we get into from last time out? As most of you won’t remember, last time out I came to you with a mid-season […]
FM Slack Q&A with Avery
Easter Monday was the next in our series of creator Q&A’s, this week was with Avery who is writing ‘Board in the USA’ released daily on the Higher Tempo Press. Anthony Haynes kicked us off as he was intrigued by Avery’s bio on HTP “Cerebral and unfeeling with a penchant for inappropriate wit”: what […]
Brexit Bournemouth Part 4
You can do one, Pep. In the first minute of the game, a trademark Harry Arter daisy cutter squirms loose from Claudio Bravo’s crisp packet hands and Benik Afobe pounces to bludgeon the ball off the Chilean goalkeeper’s face from inside the six-yard box. We’ve got something to cling onto. We’re genuinely superb, defending for […]
To Dare Is To Do #11
FM17 Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #11 Jose Drops In | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Today we take on Manchester United in the Premier League. It’s 3rd vs 1st as Jose comes to town. Join me on this adventure on Football Manager 2017. Thanks for coming to watch my latest […]
The Kosovo Journey: Euro 2020 Matchday 2 v Slovenia
The players tell the media that they remain upbeat and I like those positive vibes. Slovenia drew their opening match with Spain which puts me slightly on edge. Am I overestimating Spain or underestimating Slovenia? We make three changes from the side that were demolished by Italy. Ali Ferati, Herolind Shala and Erton Fezjullahu will […]
Part 15, We in the big time
Board in the USA 15: We in the big time The moment is here. The business end of the season, crunch time, whatever you want to call it: the 2018 MLS Playoffs would make or break our season. We already won the US Open Cup, could we make it a double? The hype our team […]
Road to Ramat-Gan 7.2
So how did Hapoel Ashkelon FC reach the 2023 Toto Cup final, to be played at Ramat-Gan? Well, the first step was surviving the group stage that immediately precedes the start of the league season. First we had the ‘excitement’ of the drawer. Ah! We’ve drawn Beitar Jerusalem, S.C. Ashdod, Hapoel Be’er-Sheva, and Hapoel tel-Aviv, just […]
Part 2, Tactics, transfers and preseason
In the first episode of this series I focused on judging the players at my disposal and sorting out the backroom staff. Both have been done to my utter satisfaction and so we move on to the fun part: tactics and transfers and how these hold up during preseason. The Tactics In the words of […]
Brexit Bournemouth Part 3
Oh God, that went horribly wrong. In line with our guiding principles, I set my team up using a little tactic I like to call “The UKIP”… Ok, obviously not. I can’t, in good conscience, do that to myself. I opt instead for a much more conventional 4-1-2-3 formation: Daniels and Francis as attacked-minded Complete Wing […]
The Trophy Wife #1
What would happen if you played Football Manager, but someone else signed all the players? There’d be no more 5 star newgens plucked from the Norwegian Second Division, no Lucas Romero and Geronimo Rulli on free transfers, your whole transfer policy is set and carried out by someone else. Now imagine that you have no […]
Rivalità Tra Fratelli, Episode 1
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 […]
Part 14, is this finally our year
Board in the USA 14: Is this finally our year? Things have been going swimmingly with Atlanta United. We did one better than last year in the regular season, finishing 1st in the Eastern Conference and qualifying directly into the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Greg Coyne has been an absolute revelation, with 12 goals in 27 […]
Pint that thinks it’s a quart 7.1
28 Jan 2013. Back in the the ’70s, before the the triumph of the CAMRA-led guerillas, the beer industry in the UK was an oligopoly. The conglomerates decided that what the public really wanted was glasses full of nothing but water, gas, and foam. The worst offender was Whitbread Trophy bitter, evidently invented by someone […]
Part 1, The Return of Old Big ‘Ead
Ever since I saw the movie The Damned United some eight years ago, I have been fascinated by Brian Clough. Although he is (rightly so) a legend in the UK, he receives little to no attention in The Netherlands. But since then I have read most books about him and consider myself a bit of […]
To Dare Is To Do #10
FM17 | Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #10 5 Goal Thriller | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Today we take on Newcastle United in the 2nd leg of the EFL Cup Semi Finals. After a win in first leg can we finish the job and book our place in the EFL […]
Brexit Bournemouth Part 2
(This file was started before the January transfer window update) A quick glance at my squad reveals a number of footballing and ideological conundrums straight off the bat. But first things first, let’s get the easy stuff out of the way. Nathan Aké. Son, you might be wildly talented and destined for big, big things […]
Part 13, Will the real manager please stand up?
Board in the USA 13: Will the real manager please stand up? Where we last left our heroes, things were shaping up great. We had a strong, young squad with exciting young talent. We were looking to build on our Eastern Conference Semifinals last season and mount a strong showing over the coming years. However, […]
Episode 21, The End Of The Road and Analysis of the Model
Episode 21 – End of the road – Analysis of the Model It’s with a heavy heart that I’m announcing the end of regular updates of the Taste The Feeling save, obviously the save takes up a huge amount of my time, time that I’d like to spend on other projects that I’ve been granted […]
Brexit Bournemouth Part 1
As 2016 quietly fades into memory, it leaves a trail of emotional devastation, and a discomforting sense of doom for what the next twelve months will bring, in its wake. In that annus horribilis, the perpetual loss of beloved cultural icons and a omnipresent political turmoil became the new normal. Even so, on these shores there was one […]
The Kosovo Journey, Euro 2020 Matchday 1 vs Italy
The match takes place at the famous Olimpico in Rome. 70,000 tickets have been sold to see the greats of Kosovo take to the field. The squad selection remains unchanged from our final friendly against Greece. It takes only 8 minutes for Italy to mount their first dangerous attack. A neat ball down the left […]
Part 12, One Man’s Trash
Board in the USA 12: One Man’s Trash Have you ever woken up in cold sweat, days or weeks after losing a championship? You think what might have been. So you keep going. You want that championship. You need that championship. And whatever is in your way will be torn down. With the meeting of […]
Ugly challenge, there’s no place for that 6.3
Scene: Our apartment in Ashkelon, Israel. Time: morning, 15 May 2022 (following the end of my 6th season in Ashkelon). My wife, Karen, and I are sitting at the breakfast table. There is a stony silence. Karen’s face makes Putin look warm and cuddly by comparison. Me: What’s the matter? If it’s the burnt bagels, […]
Blackpool top the league after unbeaten start
Unbeaten start to the league sees Blackpool top / September 2019 Following their promotion last season many people outside of the club may have assumed Blackpool would struggle in the division above. Instead it is them who are the early pace setters and top the league after eight games played. Following a fine preseason in […]
Rad Recalculation
Zdravo, twenty games in and we are still flying high at the top of the Serbian Premier League, four points clear of second place but with the mighty Red Star breathing down our necks. Since the last update, I have had a bit of a think about our formation and what we can do to […]
Part 11, Stopping Short
Board in the USA 11: Stopping Short Atlanted United had made the 2017 MLS Eastern Conference Playoffs. We had finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference, which meant that we had to play the MLS Wild Card Game against 6th placed finisher New England Revolution. I was fairly confident in our chances. New England Revolution was […]
November Rain
Two games to go until the winter break and we’re still very much in the hunt for the top spot. Illichivets in first place are a strong unit, they’ve splashed the cash like nobody’s business, but sooner or later their Europa League exploits are going to catch up with them. All we have to do […]
How to give your club an identity in FM
Rise Like Bournemouth, Fall Like Barca On Tuesday June 14th 2016, the European Championships featured the Icelandic national team for the first time. Cristiano Ronaldo spoke about Iceland’s performance saying “When they don’t try to play and just defend, defend, defend, this in my opinion shows a small mentality and they are not going to […]
Part 10, No one crosses me
Board in the USA 10: No one crosses me The MLS regular season is over. Long story short, Atlanta United has made it to the playoffs. As you can see, our away form was completely atrocious – we just couldn’t buy a win away from home. As Director I was slightly disappointed at the results. […]
Oliver Burke
Oliver Burke is a young winger who has taken a massive step of moving to the Bundesliga at a young age. At the start he is blessed with great pace which will make him a nightmare for full backs to deal with but will his technical stats reach the heights of the very best? Let’s find […]
Adapting Aspects of Moneyball into Football Manager
Adapting Aspects of ‘Moneyball’ into Football Manager Follow @DistanceCovered on Twitter. The Real-World Concept After gaging initial opinions on the concept of ‘Moneyball’, it was evident that it’s a very sensitive issue and people have varying perceptions on the definition of the theory and what it involves. For those wanting a historical background; Moneyball was […]
Cristian Pavon
Argentinian football has a long and storied history of producing talented young players who are forged in domestic competition before going on to star in European football. From battle-hardened defenders like Roberto Ayala and Daniel Passarella to classy midfielders like Fernando Redondo and Javier Mascherano through to two of the best players that the world […]
Part 9, On Holiday, Do Not Disturb
Board in the USA 9: On Holiday, Do Not Disturb With the number of holidays I’ve taken as the “Manager” of Atlanta United, I’m surprised I haven’t gotten the sack yet. But if the team is doing well, no harm no foul right? To compensate for my lack of man hours spent on the team, […]
Up to the top of the hill and down again 6.2
In a previous post I explained that at Hapoel Ashkelon FC we run just one squad: our few youth players train with the senior squad, removing the need for us to employ backroom staff (other than a Head of Youth Development) to develop the youngsters. But in my fifth season I signed a couple from […]
How to choose the best role for your fullbacks
Almost everyone needs them. Almost everyone wants them. They do a lot of work and their role has changed a lot in recent past. I am – of course – talking about fullbacks. Some teams obviously play with three Central Defenders, turning the fullbacks into wingbacks. However, essentially these are still full backs, dropping back […]
Season Two, October
We’re treading a familiar path. Last season we started brightly and then tailed off before the winter break. This season, I’m keen to stop that from happening. It’s been two weeks since that frustrating draw and I was looking forward to getting stuck into training, resting my tired players and catching up with my scouts […]
Easter XI
They say, “there is a fine line between genius and insanity” so with that in mind I bring you another pun-driven beauty. I’ll let you know which category this falls under. What better way to prepare for one of the best holidays of the year than by having a look at a football Easter XI […]
Part 8, Ups and Downs
Board in the USA 8: Ups and Downs I’m not going to lie – with Atlanta United’s season so far, there’s been a lot to be proud of as a new team in MLS. But there’s also been a lot to be upset about. Let’s get straight into it. First 5 games The first 5 […]
To play a diamond you need a play-maker 6.1
After 26 matches, the Israeli Premier League splits in two. The top half dozen, who can no longer be relegated, compete for continental places. Good news: we made the cut. Bad news, we fell apart, winning only one out of ten. I’ve been playing with a narrow diamond. But with a diamond you need a play-maker. […]
The Slack Q&A with FM_Adventure
Matt, otherwise known as FM_Adventure was the latest content creator in the Q&A hot seat as we put some community questions to him. If you have not already caught up with his posts do so after reading this, he has an excellent international save with Kosovo as well as some great one off experiments. FM_Samo […]
The Tempo Champions League: Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid
Champions League Quarter Final (Sponsored by The Higher Tempo Press) Slatham19 (Bayern Munich) vs CMP1985 (Real Madrid) The Tactics Slatham19’s Tactics: The starting formation I will be using is a 4-3-3, utilising two attacking wide men and a lone forward up top. The back four is my main priority, putting the two wingbacks on defensive […]
The Tempo Champions League: Atletico Madrid vs Leicester City
Champions League Quarter Final (Sponsored by The Higher Tempo Press) TheMetodoFM (Atletico Madrid) vs SpiritedKlopp (Leicester) The Tactics TheMetodoFM’s Tactics: My opponents’ screen name on Slack is “SpiritedKlopp”, taking this into consideration and the team he had, Leicester, I prepared to face counter-attacking tactics with a stress on pressing from his part. I have therefore […]
Part 7, Waivers and the Preseason
Board in the USA 7: Waivers and the Preseason As the 2017 season was about to get underway, I took a look at what the Atlanta Board expected me to deliver. I always did a spit take. “The Eastern Conference Semifinals!?” Those seemed like lofty ambitions, given how we were, I don’t know, a new […]
If only you’d listened 5.9
In a previous post I recommended that you should buy a season ticket for my fifth season in charge of Hapoel Ashkelon FC, on account of our hotshots Banin and Reynoso. Well, I concede that they were slow out of the traps – but they did then start banging them in. Especially Banin: His tally of […]
Broken and Lost, Part 1
They say bad luck comes in 3’s, quite frankly I’ve never really taken notice of superstitions like that. As we headed into the new year and left 2016 behind, I felt the need to change my job as I was getting bored and the small amount of work was starting to drive me crazy. Eventually, […]
The Tempo Champions League: Juventus vs Barcelona
Champions League Quarter Final (Sponsored by The Higher Tempo Press) ChrisHatton (Juventus) vs AccordingToFM (Barcelona) The Tactics ChrisHatton’s Tactics: Looking at the Juventus squad that I have been given, I was not very optimistic about our chances against Barcelona. Surely their front 3 would absolute tear us apart, especially if I went with my assistant […]
To Dare Is To Do #9
FM17 | Tottenham Hotspur FC To Dare Is To Do | #9 Fog On The Tyne | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Today we take on Newcastle United in the 1st leg of the EFL Cup Semi Finals! Can we put one foot in the final? Join me on this adventure on Football Manager 2017. […]
The Tempo Champions League: Dortmund vs Monaco
Champions League Quarter Final (Sponsored by The Higher Tempo Press) Reids (Dortmund) vs FM_Adventure (Monaco) The Tactics Reids’s Tactics: This was a very very tough choice and one that took a lot of deliberation on my part. I obviously wanted to play with wingers due the prowess of Dembele and Reus. Aubameyang was the next […]
Part 6, Book-Balancing and the Superdraft
Board in the USA 6: Book-Balancing and the Superdraft After the tumultous time in the Expansion Draft, our hero now faces a new trial, the Superdraft. Little does he know that he will be faced with his toughest enemy yet… accounting. After my expansion picks, I decided to check the books to see how much […]