The Higher Tempo Press
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Israeli Goulash 2.14
As I detailed in my previous post, Hapoel Ashkelon’s season has fallen apart – 8 points out of 27. I was seriously worried that, when the Israeli Premier League split into two mini-leagues after 26 matches, we wouldn’t make the cut. And then, if we went into freefall, we could even go down. But we […]
Did we get him?! 2.2
There’s no better feeling than the first day of the season, especially when your club is in the top tier. It’s the last Saturday of July and all around Dundee fans are optimistic. They’ve seen their side promoted under new manager The Back Page. They’ve seen new arrivals and old heads perform to levels they […]
An Introduction to Brexit Means Brexit
This is the first post in the brand new story of a football club trying to adapt to the changing face of Great Britain… Introduction So, where do I begin? I guess the obvious and most sensible thing to do would be to give you a little bit of information about me and my Football […]
3 Millwall players FM thinks may cause Spurs problems in the FA Cup
Millwall like to knock out Premier League teams. They beat Bournemouth, Watford and Leicester on their way to the last ever cup match to be played at White Hart Lane. Let us take a look at some players who could be vital for the League One team as they try to book a trip to Wembley: […]
A Tactical Crusade – Farewell
It is a sad time in my life, standing at the door of my hotel room after my sacking at Hull City, the cackling of my Judas like assistant still ringing in my ear and a tear streaming down my cheek. I face a conundrum of what to do next in my managerial career, do […]
End of First Season at Wellington
Last time out I discussed our progress midway through the season which was rather different to how I actually approached things. So this time out I will cover the rest of the games which were left in the league as we were already out of the FFA Cup. January Transfers This is a very peculiar […]
Gonna have some fun 2.13
I mentioned in my previous post, the Israeli Premier League splits in two after 26 matches. Because we made the cut, we’re now safe from relegation. Supposedly, because we’re now in a mini-league consisting of the top six teams, we’re now in with a chance of qualifying for Europe – the top three (or, if […]
A Guide to the Poacher
The Poacher is a peculiar role. Everyone has probably used it at some point in their FM career but apart from the good old “Little N Large” combo, there isn’t much most FM players can tell you about that role. I have used it to some success in a couple of saves and I want […]
A Financial Crunch
Last post was about the introduction to Wellington Phoenix this time I’m showing my progress through the 6months I have been incharge. I won’t lie it has been a tight scenario and one that I’m wanting to get out of ASAP. This might be a shorter update then the usual so do stick around. Finances As you […]
8 FM17 challenges you must try but may not complete
FM17 has been out for some time now, long enough for your side saves to become stale and to have tried every regular challenge there is. The Pentagon Challenge, the Alphabet Challenge, even the class of ‘92 challenge have all been attempted. But what can you do next? From talking with some of my fellow […]
Decapitation 2.12
Pedro Galván is an important player for several reasons. Attacking midfielder (central; set-piece taker (corners and free kicks); and captain. But he’s on the wane. He’ll struggle to get through this season and certainly won’t be up to the next. Time to do something. I doubted that I could find one player to replace him […]
The Kosovo Journey 2018 Pt. 2
To catch up on more of my articles on The Higher Tempo Press click on the author name (FMAdventure) above, here you can also find links to my Twitter and personal FM blog. ===== After discussions around the big round table at Tempo Towers I have developed a new strategy for Kosovo. We will follow […]
Blades of Glory 26
Sheffield United | Blades of Glory #26 | The End| Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to Episode 26 of my Sheffield United FM17 save. Today we take on the Blackburn Rovers in a another six pointer at the bottom of the Championship. Can we pick up a win today and survive in the Championship […]
Continuity HAFC 2.11
Hapoel Ashkelon FC spent the autumn in the top three. Regardless of what happens over the rest of the season, it’s evident that my worry that I’d disrupted the squad excessively by bringing in so many new players was baseless. We’d displayed none of the raggedness and tetchiness, let alone disarray, one that might have […]
A Tactical Crusade Episode 7
You know that sinking feeling you get when things just aren’t as good as they seem? Well I got that feeling twice this week, firstly when I got an e-mail from a Nigerian prince offering me untold fortunes, only for my bank account to be drained. The second was when this happened. I thought being […]
Kuki
Malaga’s Kuki is one of the hottest and cheapest strikers on FM17 this season and even at the start of the game looks decent already for such a young player. But how good will he become? What kind of striker is he? These are questions we had too! This video we will be your guide […]
Second-season things 2.10
It’s been a mixed start to my second season in charge of Hapoel Ashkelon FC. We played badly in the Toto Cup and failed to get out of the group, losing three matches. But early October finds us second in the league, unbeaten in five. We’re grinding out results, rather than playing free-flowing football, but […]
Episode 18 Part 4
Transfers: Plenty of out-going transfers give us plenty of money to mould the squad in an attempt to go up at the first time of asking (although we’ll still be in good shape if we fail to go up this season, and should certainly go up next season) Alfred N’Diaye: If you think this doesn’t look […]
Blades of Glory 25
Sheffield United | Blades of Glory #25 | Revenge Mission | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to Episode 25 of my Sheffield United FM17 save. Today we take on the MK Dons in a another six pointer at the bottom of the Championship. Can we pick up a win today and survive in the […]
As in life, so in art 2.9
I like the way that FM and football in-the-real-world (ITRW) interact. Before I go to a match, I check the FM database: it helps me to notice things about players. And sometimes watching a player fives me ideas for FM. Would, on FM15, Justin Hoyte have become sweeper at far-away FC Minsk if, ITRW, I […]
Breaking the bank but for who?! 2.1
Welcome to the 2nd season of FM Sessions – and our first in the Ladbrokes Premiership with Dundee United. Last season was a whirlwind ride through a smooth campaign, as we clinched the title and the Scottish Challenge Cup all while retaining our star names. I’m even more excited for this campaign, where we face […]
Episode 6
Well, that wasn’t a great start to the season was it? Nine defeats in a row, leaving us rock bottom of the league level on points with Middlesborough, Time for a big change to our formation. The one we started the season with was very attacking and didn’t use our talented wingers as much as […]
Moving to Australia… sort of
Last blog post we had completed the task there was in Africa of securing a league title in Kaizer Chiefs. So what was next? Umm, if you would have read the introductory post or the post about last season I mentioned that after securing a league title in Africa I will have to move to […]
Gerson
If you are fan of young wingers that have massive potential then Gerson could be the player for you. He currently plays at AS Roma has the potential to become one of the best players on the game. Gerson can play anywhere behind the striker so there is even scope to mould him into the player […]
Tale of two strategies 2.9
At Hapoel Ashkelon FC I have two strategies. One for keeping players fit and one for developing the club. After the first few matches of my second season in charge, I become aware of a tension between the two. The fitness strategy (not playing players when they’re tired, not rushing players back) requires a certain amount […]
The Kosovo Journey 2018 Pt. 1
January With the retirement of Tord Grip we were left searching for a replacement. Unfortunately we can’t really attract anyone with the same ability as Mr Grip. We agree on the hiring of Muhamet Grabovci who is simultaneously employed as Assistant Manager to Kosovan side Dukagjjni. The latest World Rankings have us dropping two places. […]
Blades of Glory 24
Sheffield United | Blades of Glory #24 | Stage Fright | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to Episode 24 of my Sheffield United FM17 save. Today we take on Birmingham City in another six pointer at the bottom of the Championship. Can we pick up a win today and give us a chance of […]
July, Season Two
I protest. I swear and cry. I try everything, but let’s be honest £240,000 is a lot of money and the board seem to have already spent it on monogrammed dressing gowns and expensive cigars, so there’s no chance of keeping Sekretov around. Spending hours looking at potential transfers is not the ideal match […]
Cutting-edge tactical thinking done the Peterborough way
I live in East Anglia. I don’t support any teams in the region, but I often go to watch Peterborough Utd, Cambridge Utd, and Stevenage. And every now and then I make the trek to Nottingham to watch either Forest (my son’s team) or County (the cross I bear). Generally speaking, supporters are pretty much the […]
Gabriel Barbosa
Long term Football Manager players will be no strangers to Gabriel Barbosa a young talented Brazilian striker with bags of potential., This year however he is now at Inter after sealing a summer move from Brazil, so will this move to the big European leagues make him develop faster and become even better? In this […]
Forward Asia S3-4
The Singapore Cup might be a strange competition for an Indonesian team to be in, but if we’re in it we might as well win it. The quarter final against Tampines, champions of Singapore, proved emphatically that Sriwijaya are better than teams from Singapore. A 5-1 aggregate win and that’s the semi-final place booked. This […]
Do I want this striker? Making sense of the numbers
On Football Manager Slack (footballmanagerslack.slack.com) there’s a channel (i.e., forum) called the Transfer Committee. FM managers post player profiles and ask for views on whether to sign the player. It’s fascinating because each commentator works from the same data yet commentators see things differently. That is, they discern different patterns. Personally, I find the sheer […]
The Islanders XIX
OSU! I bring you news, gather, gather. Our debut season in J1 has come to an end so we are probably due some kind of update, no? Well, what a bloody season. What a bloody season. I think I wanted something like 15th place in the table and a decent cup run in one of […]
A Tactical Crusade Episode 5
Well after the first two games of the season I really thought we had a shot at survival this year, even though we lost our second game we still played well and made a strong Leicester team wait until the dying moments of the game to take all three points. Let’s see how we’ve got […]
Bye Bye Africa
This might just be the final time I will be writing something about Africa.. you’ll get to know more below. Transfers Like any other season transfers to the football club were apparent. This year I really did want to get out of this mess in South Africa. Hence I did buy a whole lot of […]
Back to the drawing board 2.7
The fact that Israel’s Toto Cup, played at the beginning of the season, permits the selection of foreign triallists has given me an opportunity to assess two Argentinian left-sided centre-backs – Barrena and Palacio. I’m expecting to sign one of them, for Hapoel Ashkelon. I alternated the two, giving them two matches each. Palacio’s main […]
Episode 18 Part 3
Transfers: Massimo Bruno: Whilst not being a usual signing for us (being 28), Bruno looks an ideal fit for our team, he’s home-grown (which we’re struggling with) and is versatile, being able to play attacking midfield or on the wing. I also think he’d make a good back-up striker although we have plenty of options […]
Blades of Glory 23
Sheffield United | Blades of Glory #23 | Derby Disaster | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to Episode 23 of my Sheffield United FM17 Save. Today we take on Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship. After losing the Sheffield Derby earlier in the season can we claim back the bragging rights from our local rivals? […]
Duel in Little Argentina 2.6
This season, my second in charge of Hapoel Ashkelon FC, I don’t need my assistant, Seb Rozental, to alert me to the rule that permits you to play foreign triallists in the Premier League Toto Cup. I intend to do just that. I have two lads over from Argentina – the club is known as […]
Title run in at the Double? 1.6
Welcome back to the 6th and final instalment of our first season in charge of Dundee United. It’s only March but I’ve taken the decision to rattle through the rest of the season, I hope you enjoy the ride. Youth Candidate Day comes and goes without much to write home about, except for a young […]
The Bundesliga Tale 5.1
A Kolnoscopy Challenge The Bundesliga Tale: Season 5: 1 Extract from the Managers diary: ‘Roses are red, violets are blue, where are you Gary? I miss you.’ The beer slides down the back of my throat with ease. Wonderful this stuff, I thought. Tasty and good quality. None of that rat poison they serve back […]
I’ve messed up
There’s no easy way to post things like this, but I felt that everyone should know. THE ALPHABET CHALLENGE IS NO MORE 🙁 🙁 🙁 I haven’t quit it, no, I loved that save. I was having so much fun playing it and was hitting a FM groove that I hadn’t experienced before in my […]
Youri Tielemans
Youri Tielemans is a player that all Football Manager players will have heard of and been talking about for years. He starts off at Anderlect and has in the past become an absolute amazing player! Is that still the case or can his lack of physical stats hinder him? In this player profile we take […]
Thank you, Mourinho 2.5
On the day before Hapoel Ashkelon FC’s season’s opener, I make a signing that has me punch the air in jubilation. Given that I’ve already brought in 8 new players, you might wonder why I need to sign a 9th. But this signing isn’t a player. The board have increased the number of physios permitted. […]
Gaze into Your Crystal Ball
Gaze into Your Crystal Ball How Youth Intake Can Dictate Your Squad’s Evolution To follow me on social media, check out my profile at the end of this post and to see what else I have written click on my name. It is important that over time, a manager does not become predictable. If one […]
Transfer Special Part 13
It was Harold Wilson who said a week is a long time in politics. I’m sure, had he ever tried to reshape an entire football club in four weeks, he’d say that in football, a month goes by bloody quickly and it’s a mad slog to get anything done. Although, perhaps he’d have been a […]
A Tactical Crusade Episode 4
We’re back from pre-season and ready to roll into the glory that is the Premier League, before all that I have to take part in a pre-match press conference. I don’t get nervous very often but when there’s a spotlight on you and journalists and pundits are throwing questions at you left right and centre […]
To The Promised Land 2.4
Israel’s senior football season opens with the Premier League Toto Cup. Hapoel Ashkelon FC has drawn a tough group. I would have liked an easy opening match to give our legion of new players a chance to bed in. But the fates didn’t have that in line for us. No, instead the team we faced […]
First Trophy!
Last time out you saw me taking over at Kaizer Chiefs, here in this blog post you will see how we actually got on in our first year. Transfers There were a few transfers but they were for the sake of getting the team that I wanted and the kind of players I would have needed […]
Blades of Glory 22
Sheffield United | Blades of Glory #22 | 6 Pointer | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017 Welcome to Episode 22 of my Sheffield United FM17 save. Today we take on Brighton in the Championship and with the teams so close in the table this is certain a most win and definitely a not lose game. […]