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#FM17 : [Hot Seat] 1.4 : Trial and Error
Previous instalments: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 After running over the stats from our worryingly narrow victory over the development side, I come to one conclusion: we need more players. Better ones, ideally. I consult with John about the budgets. “You’ve got £25k to play with,” said the chairman. “A week? That should […]
#FM17 : The Wise Men of West Brom : Results so Far
Thank you for reading the follow up to the first part of my experiment. I intended this to be almost scientific more than a story, just to see how it plays out. Thanks to Anthony Haynes for his comment on the first post with questions about the physio and sports science aspects. Unfortunately I […]
#FM17 : Crystal Palace : Baptism of Fire
Last time we easily win two pre-season friendlies but this episode we have got some proper Premier League ties to sink our teeth into. We have a pretty gentle start to life in the Premier League with Stoke, West Brom and West Ham all very winnable games. Bristol City have made an offer for Appiah and […]
#FM17 : Forward Asia S1-3 : Title Chasing
Indonesian Premier League – Second Phase Eyes on the prize, it was time to regroup after letting our concentration drop just a little at the close of the first phase. Now this was it, the cream of the crop, three tough games away from the holy grail of the Indonesian Super League. First up […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.24 : Strikerless?
We used the sweeper formation, set out in a previous post for the first time in our 5th friendly, at the end of July. We were away to the Jordanian First Division team, Al-Yarmouk. It didn’t start so well. The only reason we came in 0-0 at half time was that our first-choice goalie, […]
#FM17 : Veterans : Four legends who could lead you to glory on Football Manager 2017
Football Manager 2017 was released in November and fans from all over the world will already be fully engrossed in the sixth year of their career. However, some may be looking for a big name signing or two at the beginning of the career mode as they look for some much-needed experience to bolster the […]
#FM17 : Blades Of Glory # 5 | Things are Looking Up | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017
Tune into the latest episode of “Blades of Glory” as they take on Bradford City…
#FM17 : Hapoel Hope 1.23 : Wagner in the ring
Hapoel Ashkelon FC’s third pre-season friendly (don’t worry: I won’t be commenting on every match) was against Ironi Kiryat-Gat. We won, which was to be expected since they’re only A League: on other hand, they were at home. But the result can be forgotten. Which I can’t afford to say about their goal. As […]
#FM17 : Burnley : Back to the Start : Season Two
“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, any one can start from now and make a brand new ending” So here we are, back to where I decided to start writing this blog, the eve of my second season in charge. The champagne soaked shirts of last season are […]
CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER : Kicks for Free : Part 4
Is this the final part of the CM01/02 no money challenge? Kicks for Free has certainly been an eye opener, and whilst we aren’t quite ready to have a Band Aid song in our honour, which of our two penniless fools will be singing by the end of this? Dave’s Scunthorpe go looking for […]
#FM17 : Make Feyenoord Great Again: S02E02: Rotterdam parties, whilst Amsterdam has work to Do
So, last post I talked about tentatively hanging on at the peak of the Eredivisie, whilst firing through the early rounds of the Europa League and Dutch Cup. Despite a questionable start, we were back on the straight-and-narrow. The squad had clicked, the new boys had settled in and the cohesive unit of my […]
#FM17 : Hapoel Hope 1.22 : Cabernet sauvignon
Hapoel Ashkelon FC’s first home friendly was against Beitar Tel-Aviv/Ramla. They’re in the National League, from which we’ve just escaped – so decent opposition. We won 3-2, which doesn’t really matter. What does matter is some of the performances. I put out what I thought was the second string, but some of the back-ups […]
#FM17 : Crystal Palace – If only the real season was this easy…
Welcome to Episode 2 of this new FM series. If you missed episode one you can find it here Also, my twitter is @cameroneyles Right this episode we will hopefully be signing a new left back and a new centre, getting rid of that troublesome Jason Puncheon and playing our two pre-season friendlies. Straight off […]
CM9798 tackles FM17: Part 2 : If you tolerate this…
Good day to you. I’m ready for my second day in the job on FM17 and whilst there’s a lot to learn, I feel today’s friendly with our Under 23’s will be a nice way to break myself in. Or, it’ll be a chastening experience and we’ll be humiliated by our youth team, managed […]
#FM17 : The Last King of Scotland 2.3
The Last King of Scotland A Hibernian Tale: Part 2:3 Extract from the Managers diary: ‘Take a seat, Garry.’ ‘Something up Gaffer?’ ‘I don’t know how to say this… but I’m dying.’ Stunned silence. ‘Dying to get this party started!’ He pulls out a pair of maracas. Garry shakes his head, his mouth agape. Year […]
#FM17 : Hapoel Hope 1.21 : Breaking the Law
Hapoel Ashkelon FC’s training camp in Germany bored me. I restricted my tactical coaching to letting the lads have a bit of a run around using the new formations and setting up a few set piece routines. I’ll focus more on tactics when I’ve had a chance to watch them in action. We finished […]
#FM17 : Hapoel Hope 1.20 : Going asymmetric
While Hapoel Ashkelon’s players are beginning the training camp with some fitness training – and no doubt already beginning to wish they’d looked after themselves better during the close season – I have a second cup of coffee. It’s then that I have a light bulb moment – or gestalt as I think they […]
#FM16 : Atalanta : The Rise of La Dea : 2015/2016 End of Season Awards and Round Up
As the last balls were kicked in anger, final whistles sounded across the continent and the curtain came down on Europe’s club competitions. The 2015/2016 season drew to a close and the European Championships and awards season drew near. The big questions were on everyone’s lips; who would be top dog in France? Who would the surprise […]
#FM17 : Forward Asia : Celebest’s League Adventures
These are heady days in Palu, Indonesia. The local heroes of Celebest Villa 2000 FC have chosen a no-mark, no-Bahasi speaking Englishman as their manager, in what was widely agreed as a logical and sensible choice. But what would he do with the team, the fervent local press and social media warriors wondered? Transfers […]
#FM17 : Crystal Palace : Am I a better manager than Alan Pardew?
Hello friends and welcome to the first #FM17 project here on Tempo. I must confess that I’m no expert at Football Manager but with how badly Crystal Palace have done in the calendar year 2016, I thought this would be a good starting point to see if I can do better than Alan Pardew. Before […]
#FM17: Hapoel Hope 1.19: Flair and skill, damn it
I wake up on the first full day of Hapoel Ashkelon FC’s training camp in Berlin (why Berlin? What would have been wrong with training amongst the vineyards of the Judean Hills?) in the knowledge that I’ve decided two of the formations I want to train: an asymmetric diamond, loosely based on Sir Alf’s […]
#FM17 : Blades Of Glory # 3 | Going Lion Taming | Let’s Play Football Manager 2017
Please check out Episode 3 of Blades of Glory, today we head to the Den to take on Millwall! And don’t forget to leave a like on the video if you have enjoyed the episode!
#FM17 : Make Feyenoord Great Again: S02E01: Moneyballin’
A new start on our freshly laid foundations awaits. Feyenoord are in the Champions League; back in the big time! Well, for a bit, anyway. A summer of change left the squad looking quite a bit different after, predictably, the big boys swooped in. We did, however, make sure they got the gristle whilst […]
#FM17: Hapoel Hope 1.18: Searching for a sweeper
Supposing you want to play with a sweeper in a league where few, if any, sweepers are available? This is a situation I’ve encountered often, especially in Greece (my FM home), Hungary, and England. Paradoxically, the lack of availability is a reason why you should persevere: if teams don’t play with sweepers, they won’t […]
#FM17 : Burnley and the Quest for 17th : Part 3 : Perseverance
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other” Its March, Burnley are a team on the edge of survival, their manager, myself, is a man on the edge of his sanity. After a run of 14 games without a win, February brought nervy wins over West Ham […]
#FM17 : Make Feyenoord Great Again : S01E02 : Amsterdam Parties, Whilst Rotterdam Works
So, last time I updated you all on my Feyenoord progress, we were matching Ajax blow-for-blow as we fought in a Marvel-esque fight scene with Utrecht acting as the bewildered child watching out of his window as The Hulk and Spiderman have a scrap – or something like that. This was a common theme […]
#FM17 : Taste The Feeling Episode 12
Since we’ve introduced another team it’s obviously taking me a bit longer to get through a season so from now on each episode will cover up to January. This episode will be an exception though as I’ve had a few requests to cover in detail on the tactics we’ve been using. Firstly though I’ll cover the […]
CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER : Kicks for Free – Part 3
Greetings to you. We’re into part 3 of Dave & Ross trying to make their way up the football pyramid without spending anything. So far, it’s fair to say it’s going better for Dave than Ross, as Scunthorpe have been promoted whilst Ross has been dismissed from Hull. Where do we go from here? […]
#FM16 : Atalanta : The Rise of La Dea : May 2016
Heading into May, Atalanta’s season was done and dusted. A 2nd place finish, the highest in the club’s history, had been confirmed and the club had Champions League football to look forward to next season. Two of our three May fixtures were against sides whose season was certainly not done and dusted. Genoa were […]
#FM17 : Forward Asia : Celebest
Nearly a decade ago, I briefly dallied in the realm of LLM. It’s a daunting and difficult world, starting at the bottom with a strict set of rules to keep things as realistic as possible, but it’s left a lasting impression or indelible scar on me, depending on your viewpoint. I’ve never been able […]
#FM17 : Keeping the Titanic afloat : Controlling your Finances
For the past week I have come across the same question in multiple Football Manager related Facebook groups and the question roughly goes like this: “Help me, I don’t pass the FPP with my team. What should I do?” While telling people to sell they high earners in the comment section, I still felt […]
#FM17: Hapoel Hope 1.17: Mein sweeper system
On the evening of the first day of Hapoel Ashkelon FC’s training camp in Berlin, I sneak out for a wheat beer. I need time to think about what our starting formations will be. Plus I like wheat beer. On the plane from Israel I decided we’d try a kind of 4-4-2, in effect […]
CM9798 tackles #FM17: Part 1 – I Don’t Belong Here
THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO CLICK ON. Oh, hello there. I’ve fired up FM17 and I’m desperately trying to get to grips with it. I’ve just inked a one year contract with Newcastle, earning a cool £47.5k per week, but with it being a one year deal I’m going to have my work […]
#FM17 : The Last King of Scotland 2:2
The Last King of Scotland A Hibernian Tale: Part 2:2 Extract from the Managers diary: ‘Garry, I know this is a strange question but do you have a paddle?’ My assistant Garry only has to think about it briefly. ‘No Gaffer. I don’t. Why?’ ‘Because we’re up shit creek here without a bloody paddle!’ Year […]
#FM17 : Make Feyenoord Great Again : S01E01 : Inaugural Address
After sporadically semi-blogging many a save on Twitter, I’ve decided to give actual blogging a go. Now, with me leaving the Twittersphere with my Football Manager escapades, I thought I’d pay homage to it and the political shit-fest it morphed into for a good chunk of 2016. So, I’m vowing to make a club […]
#FM17 : #1 Am I Better Than? : Guardiola
Amazingly there are still people out there who question Guardiola’s footballing philosophy. Ok, so everyone is entitled to their own opinion so here is mine. What he’s done in a relatively short period in management, especially at Barcelona was nothing short of magical. Some will say Tiki-Taka is boring, not for me, I could watch […]
#FM17 : 5 teams and 5 challenges in Hungary
So you decided to become a manager in Hungary but you don’t know which team to pick? Looking for some challenges? Maybe you want to emulate the great Puskás? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this post is for you! Here’s five interesting challenges to have in Hungary! 1. Újpest Don’t […]
#FM17 : [Hot Seat] 1.3 : Back to school
Looking around at some of the bloated, out of breath shapes occupying the dressing room cubicles, it’s fairly evident that preseason hasn’t kicked off just yet. Rhys Bennett has strained his wrist – a likely consequence of bringing his hand to his mouth once too often over the summer – and Darius’ food baby, […]
#FM17 : [Second Half] 15 : Final Whistle
Ebbsfleet stood in the way of Bishop’s Stortford making history. They have never gone beyond the Conference South leagues and winning the Final would bring them up to unchartered territories. As it stands, their 13 games unbeaten streak is already the stuff of record books. Jac had called for a team huddle in the […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.16 : 1966 re-engineered
I’m always surprised how early the pilot announces we’re beginning our descent. Feels like we’re only half way there. Hapoel Ashkelon FC’s Berlin training camp is fast approaching. My colleagues around me all look quite relaxed. They wouldn’t be feeling like that if they knew how far from deciding any tactics the gaffer was […]
#FM17 : The Wise Men of West Brom
Everyone knows you don’t win anything with kids, just ask Manchester United in 1999. The same can be said for the 2015/16 Premier league season. For the majority of the season two teams were gunning for top spot, Leicester City and Spurs. It was Leicester, with an average age of 28.5, finishing above the […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 6.2 : Titleless, literally.
“Lads, next time we take the lead against fucking Juve would you mind holding on to it just for once?” I admit, I didn’t say this to the boys after the TIM Cup Final but I was tempted. Three times this season we had scored first in the Turin derby and each time Juventus […]
#FM17: The Hapoel Hope 1.14: What makes a club unfashionable?
On asking around, I find that Hapoel Ashkelon FC have no close rivals. My first reaction is, ‘Good!’ It means there are no can’t-afford-to-lose matches. But it also suggests that we’re unfashionable. I once sat down to try to work out what an ‘unfashionable club’ was – if like me you have managed clubs […]
#FM17 : Blades Of Glory #1 : The Intro
Hi guys! Episode 1 of my BRAND New series – Blades of Glory, please check it out and don’t forget to smash that like button!! If you haven’t subscribed to the channel please do so. Please enjoy Episode 1 where I give you an introduction to the players of Sheffield United FC.
Atalanta: The Rise of La Dea – April 2016
La Dea headed into April, after an international break, hoping to have consigned their three game wobble against Samp, Milan and Joe Hart’s Torino to the history books after two successive clean sheets in a 3-0 win over Bologna and a 0-0 draw at Empoli. We held a six point lead over Fiorentina and Inter […]
CM9798 tackles #FM17: Back to the Future
I consider myself as being quite good at Championship Manager. Hopefully you have enjoyed my various series on The Higher Tempo Press as I’ve taken the Brits Abroad on CM9798, Scotland to the World Cup Final on CM 01/02 and nearly taken Newcastle to the title on the first CM. But something has been […]
#FM17 : Taste The Feeling Episode 11 : Onto 18/19
The last episode focused mainly on the acquisition of Coca Cola Silkeborg, and we’ve covered their transfers – but what about Antwerp’s? We’ve lost several key players to strengthening Silkeborg which means we need reinforcements. So welcome to the following (as usual click the link for their stats) Transfers Since a bunch of players left […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.13 : How do you scout for a left-back?
Yes, I know that’s a really basic question. If you don’t know how to do it, you shouldn’t be playing. But over the years I’ve tried to refine my approach, just to make sure no prospect slips through the net. So here’s how it goes. First, search for players who are naturally left backs. […]
#FM17 : Burnley and the Quest for 17th Part 2 : Rising
“Our greatest glory is not never falling, but rising each time we do.” Our rise has begun. We sit in 16th place, clear of the relegation zone by one point. After a difficult start our goal difference is more negative than a David Moyes post match interview. Every point will be crutial. Next we […]
#FM17 : Hapoel Hope 1.12 : Squad evaluation
Within a couple of days, all my contract offers have been signed and sealed. The new recruits start to rock up and we all have a cup of tea together so as to start getting to know each other. Placente struggles, with his lack of Hebrew, but Rozenthal can speak with him in Spanish. […]