The Higher Tempo Press
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#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 4.3 : José’s happy
We watched the footage back of Académia’s goal. It was not pleasant viewing. Although we felt secure on defending corners, a worrying habit of giving away chances from crossable free kicks was already slipping into our game. “Gringo,” I shouted over to Phil Neville. “Defending free kicks!” You could see Phil’s chest lift as […]
#FM17 | The Tempo Skin
When the full version of new Football Manager game is released, many new custom skins are produced around the FM community through various forums and sites. There are skins with size more than 100MB with plenty of custom graphics, background pictures, icons and many panels. Please note, there is an updated version of this […]
#FM17 : The Hapoel Hope 1.2 : Inside the Club
In 1970, Banner Press launched Inside Football. It was a publication with a difference. In contrast to the glitzy magazines, it was published as a red-top tabloid ─ you can find images of front pages on Google images. And in contrast to everything else about football in the media, it delved enthusiastically into the […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 4.2 : Setting up Setúbal
Ever been haunted by a ghost? I think I have just been. The ghost of Rafa Benitez. Why did we have to draw Newcastle, the club he rebuilt and got into the Europa League? Why? The only more ironic thing would have been if we had drawn Bilbao themselves in our Europa League play […]
#FM17 : The Hope of Hapoel : But where to begin?
Excitement: beginning the process of choosing a club is like watching the opening credits while settling into your cinema seat. Beginning of a new story; opening of a new world, even. But also anxiety: make a bad choice and the story will fail to take off ─ or come to an early end. The anxiety made worse […]
#FM17 : Taste The Feeling Episode 8 : First season done!
December: Our new tactic carries on paying dividends, with another win and a draw against OHL in which we were very unlucky not to win. January: A undefeated month! Our new signing up front Tychosen makes an immediate impact, with 2 goals in 3 games. We’re flying up the table now! February: Another strong […]
#FM16 : Atalanta : The Rise of La Dea : November 2015
Heading into November, there were plenty of positives on show. We sat comfortably in fourth and hadn’t conceded a goal since the middle of September (spanning just over six matches). We were also unbeaten in eight matches since the 2-0 reverse at Fiorentina in only the second game of the season. Plus we’d even started […]
#FM17 : Graphics : Last week’s winner…
Congratulations to @sebastiankolind for winning the inaugral weekly graphics competition by our good friend @fm0tter. Sebastian has created a club called Gibraltar Pirates and begged sufficiently for a club badge and some kits. This is what @fm0tter knocked up for him! And this is what they look like in game… Keep your eyes open […]
#FM17 : The Deep Lying Podcast 72 : Brammer’s Barnsley Army
Join the guys over at The Deep Lying Podcast as they talk to Chris Brammer about his Barnsley save. Give this a listen, one of their finest pods to date!
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao : Darwen and The Beast
“The Beast” put his arm around me and said in his broken English, “Mister, you must be sure you made the right move now, no?” I was, I really was. This is what I had been craving. A bigger stadium, playing in a competition that although not at the pinnacle of the game was […]
#FM17 : The Porto Promise 1.0 : @FMAnalysis
I genuinely wasn’t sure whether I would write this or not. Full disclosure, I have a full time job, three young kids and a lot of writing commitments. As such I cannot promise that this series will be regular or even semi regular. That said though I still wanted to write something on Football Manager […]
#FM17 : [Hot Seat] 1.0 : On call at the One Call
“Welcome to Mansfield Town Football Club. Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? A brandy?” “I’m okay, thanks. It’s a little early for me, but please, go ahead.” John Radford didn’t need my permission. He’s already downing two fingers of Tesco’s Finest Cognac before I’ve finished my sentence; judging by the half-empty bottle on […]
#FM16 : Atalanta : The Rise of La Dea : October 2015
An unbeaten September saw La Dea lie in 4th place heading into October. The back five was now settled and the starting midfield slots rotating nicely between Poyet, Kurtic, Timor, Besic and Susic. Further ahead of them, Gómez had returned to create a front three of him, Paloschi and D’Alessandro. During our last two games of October, goals […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 3.4 : The final whistle?
Inaki García rounded the CD Mirandes goalkeeper to score his second, the young attacker getting his second and our third meaning we were going to end the season with a win, just like last season. In fact, as I reflected, so much of this season was similar to last season. We finished tenth, once again, […]
#FM16 : Atalanta : The Rise of La Dea : September 2015
Having sealed the capture of much needed full backs, I felt increasingly confident going into September. Unfortunately, Maurizio Sarri’s perennial Champions League place chasing Napoli travelled north with the sole purpose of denting that confidence. We were targeting six points from the following games against promoted Crotone and a Palermo side who could easily be on […]
[Second half] 6. In defeat, we keep faith
Having won their previous game 2-0 with a back-3 system, Jac had a sense that he was on to something. The apprehensiveness about the system chipped away with each training session and the win did wonders. With only one striker left in the match-fit squad, Giannis Varouxakis got himself selected as the lead front man, but it was to be […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 3.3 : Benitez, the bastard.
As Joseba and I shared a coffee at the training ground I said to my assistant, “starting to feel a bit like groundhog day, hey Josey?” He nodded in agreement. Get a squad together at the start of the season, tick. Have a great start to said season, tick. Panic as the transfer window closes, […]
#FM16 : Atalanta : The Rise of La Dea – August 2015 (including Deadline Day)
A promising pre-season led Atalanta hurtling towards a first season under my tutelage in high spirits. The opening month’s fixtures were a mixed bag; very winnable games at home to Modena in the cup plus the first game of the Serie A season against the Flying Donkeys of Chievo preceded a stern test at Fiorentina. […]
#FM17 : Graphics Requests!
Folks! If you are anything like me, doing anything more than using SmartShirt Designer to create some kits makes my head hurt. God, then the song and dance with the config files. Even trying to come up with a decent graphic to represent the save hurts. So, we recruited @fm0tter to the team and we […]
#FM16 : Atalanta : The Rise of La Dea : Pre Season 2015 Part Two
During my initial meeting with chairman Antonio Percassi, we discussed the expectations and budget for the season. Feeling ballsy, I set a target of a top half finish which resulted in Percassi handing me a war-chest of £3.5m and a wage budget of £487k p/w. A war-chest big enough to buy the equivalent of a peashooter and […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 3.2 : Hugs
I hugged my assistant, Joseba Etxeberria as the final whistle went. He’d played 53 times for Spain whilst spending 14 years as a player here at Bilbao. The man had Basque blood and Bilbao was his home, meaning more to him than his family. A 1-1 draw with Alavés was a big result for us, […]
#FM17 : Competition Time : FM Touch
So everything in the world is really bad is it? Well, maybe depending on your point of view. But, to cheer you all up, I have a competition with an actual prize. What is this prize some of you scream? Well, maybe not scream. The prize is… I have a code to give away for […]
#FM17 : Taste The Feeling : Episode 7 : So it begins…
Episode 7 – The Beginning Finally FM17 is here, so after months of planning we can get our adventure off the ground! To start off I went into the editor and made a couple of changes. The first the team were renamed from Royal Antwerp into Coca Cola Antwerp (thanks to all those that voted […]
#FM16 : Atalanta : The Rise of La Dea : Pre Season 2015 Part One
It seemed harsh. After all, Edoardo Reja had done what was asked of him when he was appointed – successfully fighting fires in the midst of a relegation battle in the 2014/15 season that had led to the sacking of previous incumbent, Stefano Colantuono. However, at the end of the 2015/16 season Reja got Pulis’d – the board […]
#FM17 : Trainspotting 2017 (P1)
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a Family. Choose Edinburgh City. It is time for me to break the habit of a lifetime and not jump straight in my debut save at Liverpool. This time I’m after a challenge. One where I dive straight into the lion’s den. I find myself taking over at Edinburgh […]
#FM16 : Atalanta: The Rise of La Dea : Introduction
My first post for the blog will be my last save of FM16 before FM17 is released this autumn. For this save I have taken the reigns at Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio – more commonly known as Atalanta. Atalanta are based in the northern Italian city of Bergamo and are a solid Serie A side having held […]
[Second Half] 5. Building the back
From the moment Jac landed at Stansted airport yesterday morning, he had immediately been whisked to the stadium’s briefing room for a meeting with the bosses followed by a press conference – the one attended by a single reporter. He had headed straight back to his hotel room to digest the briefing notes with only a sandwich for lunch […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 3.1 : Sod off Rafa, I’ll do it myself
The first day of pre-season. It’s a special day at a football club no matter what level you are at. The smell of the grass, the fact it is normally a damn sight warmer than it’s going to be mid-season, new faces and if you are really, really lucky, some new balls. For this post […]
FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 2.4 : I need to lie down…
“Lads, we need to put in the kind of shift today that means the gaffer won’t leave us in the summer!” said my captain, Odei Onaindia before the final match of the season. My Basque is far from perfect, but I assume that is what I heard. To be fair to the centre back, he […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 2.3 : Rafa? Really?
The phone rang. It was one of the local journalists letting me know they had given it to Rafa. I hung up and immediately dialed the President. “First you let that idiot transfer list most of my squad, then you sack him,” I started. “Then you don’t even put me on the shortlist. And then […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 2.2 : Paco is wacko…
“The Boys of Bilbao is like a Director of Football challenge but on speed. It makes those DoF saves people do look so pony ??” -@fmgrasshopper Indeed it is Tony, indeed it is. Paco is, in fact, wacko and I believe he is on a personal crusade to ensure that I do not end nabbing […]
#FM17 : The Deep Lying Podcast 71 : Totality, Totality, Totality
@Shrewnaldo joins Ed Wilson in this week’s excellent @thedeeplyingpodcast
#FM17 : In praise of in-game team talks
Okay, so it’s hardly the most exciting element of Football Manager, but in-game or touchline team talks should not be overlooked. I am aware that many players of the game rarely use this concept, if at all, but I really must advocate it. I use the team talks in two scenarios; when I’m getting the result […]
#FM17 : Lessons from the BETA
Football Manager 2017 is just around the corner now. So close we can almost touch it. However, for those of us that have pre-ordered the game, we’ve had early access to it through the beta version. There’s a few different approaches that us content creators take to the beta. Some start their planned saves straight […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 2.1 : Plans for Survival
As I lay on a beach in Torrevieja in very early November, the warm sun tanning my skin and the iced mineral water tasting delightful my mind wandered to what the future may hold back up in the Basque region where my Athletic Club Bilbao B side was likely to look a little different to […]
[Second Half] 4. Debut
The Blues sit 14th in the Vanarama Conference League South, exactly where the pundits expected them to be. The home game against Poole is expected to be an evenly fought game but with this being their unknown manager’s first game in charge, it might be anything but straightforward. The ProKit stadium is overwhelmed with murmurs […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 1.6 : Don’t you dare take the kids…
As the celebrations of promotion quietened down, the stark reality of next season started to bite for me at Athletic Club Bilbao B. My boys had proven they could play. But had they done so well that I would lose them all? With the first team not really hitting the same heights as we had […]
[Second Half] 3. Now Arriving
“Hey Roy, heard your new gaffer is on the plane right now eh?” shouted Frank from the stands. It wasn’t difficult to spot where the voice came from. There was only one man seated in the rows of blue plastic chairs. Roy signalled to the team to move along without him and made his way up […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 1.5 : Brilliant Bilbao!
Have you ever had a season that you don’t wish to end because you know it may never be the same again? Yeah, that’s how I felt after the final whistle went at El Toralín and Athletic Club Bilbao B had won the Segunda Divisíon B title against SD Ponferradina. We had fought back from […]
[Second Half] 2. Job Search
As January dawned to its end, Jac’s spirit whittled with it. There has been nothing from any of the football clubs, not for any of the positions. During this wait, he has been trying to get himself out of a rut by getting round to doing light exercises, reading up on mindfulness, and cleaning up […]
#FM17 : The Deep Lying Podcast 70 : Further FM thoughts…
Note from Chris: It gives me great pleasure to share quality work from the FM Community. Therefore signing The Deep Lying Podcast to THTP is great news. Each week, usually on a Friday, we will share their excellent podcast on the website. If you have never listened to it, why not start with #FM17?
#FM17 : Strikerless.com BETA Tactic Download
Note from Chris: With the #ArgSt17 tearing up the Segunda Divisíon B Grupo II, I felt it would be right to pay homage to @merryguido and his excellent Strikerless website which gave me the initial inspiration for the tactic back on FM15. Guido was kind enough to share his TI’s under the hood which I […]
#FM17 : Painting the Town Red Star
There’s nothing more thrilling than taking a small club to the heights of Europe. I’ve been looking for a new challenge to get to grips with on the new FM17 and this site’s editor suggested trying to achieve European glory with one of this season’s smaller sides. The benefits of picking a team already in […]
[Second Half] 1. Pre Game
He tapped “Cancel” on his phone, and slid it back into his pocket. He wonders if there is a phone out there that does not have a phone call function; it would be perfect for someone like him who doesn’t like to talk to anyone. He then picked up his wallet and keys, and locked up […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 1.4 : Progress Report
So, do you like the new website? I hope so, and a big thanks to the guys @bbfootballuk and @ashlazy5 in particular for making it happen. Also, a big thank you to @fm0tter for creating the new logo, the tracksuit manager version for me and the artwork for the save. This is becoming like an […]
Taste The Feeling : Episode 6 : BETA Planning
Episode 6 – BETA Planning Finally the BETA is here, so it’s time to plan the exact backroom changes we’ll be making, as well as planning our tactics and development schedule. For player names, please click the link to see their stats (I’m aiming for this series to very comprehensive, and want you to feel a […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 1.3 : The Talent
Welcome back folks – I hope you are enjoying this save as much as I am. Well, that would probaly be impossible as I actually playing it and you are reading my summary, but I hope you get my point. Either way, I hope it is going down well. So far you have had the […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 1.2 : #ArgSt17
”It’s the beginning of forever, it don’t have to end” John Legend EDIT: Tactic download updated for full release All the way back in FM15 I randomly stumbled across a tactic that changed my FM life. I was at Boca Juniors and wanted to do something tactically traditional for Argentina and was reading a few […]
#FM17 : The Boys of Bilbao 1.1 : The introduction
Well folks, FM17 BETA was actually worth waiting for wasn’t it? Look, I am not going to sell you on the fact there have been loads of changes, improvements or anything like that but, for me, at this very early stage it feels like a better game and, providing things don’t change in the ME […]
Taste The Feeling: Episode 5: Potential Tactics and Q&A
Episode 5 – Tactics + Questions I originally wasn’t going to do this before the beta was released, but we’ve covered pretty much everything that we’ll be doing off the pitch, but what’s going to happen on the pitch? Rule number 2 in our philosophy was to “play attacking and entertaining football”, so obviously we’ll […]