The Higher Tempo Press
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Top five Brazilian wonderkids in FM 23
When it comes to Football Manager, there is nothing better than nurturing a wonderkid from a promising teenager to a world star. Wonderkids are vastly available in the game, and there is one country that seems to produce more than its fair share of talented young players, that country is Brazil. There are just too […]
How Many Football Managers Use FM & How Effective Is It?
There is no doubt that the Football Manager franchise is the biggest and most realistic game of its genre. Sports Interactive strives to bring even more realism to its star product every year. In fact, FM is so realistic that some professional football managers have used the game as a resource tool or even played […]
Football Manager and Champ Man wonderkids: What happened after FM fame? Part two
Last week we wrote the first article in our series on Football Manager wonderkids and what happened to them in their real-life careers. However, we have barely scratched the surface of the wonderkids that have given us so much joy over the decades. Here is the second instalment: Julius Aghahowa The Nigerian attacker is a […]
Tactics testing: The hybrid 4-1-2-3 Joepep by Joshua Nugent
When it comes to tactics, I must have used thousands in FM in the decades I have played the game in its various guises. I recently asked for unconventional formations on Twitter and tested a few, one of which I recently reviewed in the 443 Proxy. However, one of the most unconventional tactics I have […]
Football Manager and Champ Man wonderkids: What happened after FM fame? Part One
Over the years, Football Manager and its predecessor Championship Manager have introduced us to top young players who have become household names. This article will look at some of our favourite wonderkids from the two games’ history. Here is part one of our FM wonderkid journey: Freddy Adu The Ghanaian/USA forward is quite simply a […]
The Unconventional Ones: The Proxy 433 by Football Manager Addict
I recently put out a Tweet looking for unconventional FM tactics that have proven successful. On my travels, though, I stumbled across a thread by Football Manager Addict, who was doing a series entitled “African Adventure”. Shout out to him, and check him out on Twitter. Hey guys, I am looking for weird and wacky […]
Who is this new guy running the Higher Tempo Press?
The above question was asked of me on Twitter recently by two of our followers, so I wanted to let everybody know who I am and talk more about my long Football Manager journey. What’s the new guy’s experience with Football Manager? Firstly, I am David, I have played Football Manager since its predecessor Championship […]
Our favourite tactics: The PERFECT 4231 Plug n Play
In the next few weeks and months, we will look at the tactics we have enjoyed using in our FM saves. The first one we will look at is The PERFECT 4231 Plug n Play by RDF, who will feature heavily in our tactic pages, as for us, he is one of the best tactic […]
Why you should sell your 30-year-old players
As Football Manager players, we have all been there, haven’t we, one of your star players is getting older and creeping towards the dreaded 30 years of age. Do we hold on to the player and hope he can defy logic, or do we cash in? At what stage do I sell players? This is […]
Is It True That Everton Have Never Been Relegated?
For some reason there is a myth that Everton have never been relegated, that is not true, they have been relegated twice in their history, although, never in the Premier League era. Being one of the founder members and having not been relegated since the 1950’s is probably the reason the myth has propegated. Despite […]
Top 6 popular football leagues & betting markets
Football, commonly referred to as soccer in the US, is one of the most beloved sports worldwide, with millions of viewers tuning in each week to watch games. Not only does it provide entertainment for spectators, but it also presents betting fans with an opportunity to win some prizes through various football betting markets available. […]
Lionel Messi: One Last Treble – 3
First Season Failure! As we approach the end of January in the opening season of this ambitious task, Barcelona sit 5 points behind league leaders Real Sociedad. Not an impossible task, but a difficult mountain to climb. In the Champions League, the extreme challenge of Liverpool in the second round, following a double defeat to […]
Lionel Messi: One Last Treble – 2
As we continue our voyage to provide Leo Messi with his third treble, it becomes clear just how significant a task this could be, particularly in Europe. The group stage for the Champions League drew us with Slavia Prague, Ajax and Paris Saint Germain. Whilst finishing top spot would clearly be a tough ask, Barcelona […]
Lionel Messi: One Last Treble – 1
You don’t need me to tell you how good Lionel Messi is or was, what he has achieved and how brilliantly he did it. But we live in the waning world of Messi, one where he continues to exert his brilliance and magnificence, but in a Barcelona team acting as a mere shadow of what […]
Know Your Role: Segundo Volante
The Segundo Volante literally means (as per Google Translate), “Second Steering Wheel” or “Second Balance”. The idea being that a Segundo Volante is utilised as the second player in a double pivot, alongside a regista or a deep-lying midfielder – where the other midfielder controls the tempo, the Segundo Volante imposes that tempo on the […]
Know Your Role: Sweeper Keeper
Like any position on the pitch, it’s not enough to just stick a good goalkeeper between the sticks – they need to fit your tactical style. Personally, I like to play with a high line, at a high tempo, although this can leave a lot of space in behind. And that’s why I always use […]
Play Like: Benitez’s Valencia
This series takes you through how to evoke the memories of classic teams over the years, recreating their tactics in Football Manager to (hopefully) win games and (definitely) have fun in the process. Club sides, international teams, league winners, cup winners and just all-round entertainers, the series will focus on the most notable tactical styles […]
Know Your Role: Supporting Target Man
Football Manager is a game with two distinct schools of tactical setups. You either create a tactic but tweak it to fit your players, or you create a tactic and shoehorn your players in (or indeed purchase new ones to fit the system). So, to help out, here is a handy guide to what sort […]
Play Like: Guardiola’s Bayern Munich
This series takes you through how to evoke the memories of classic teams over the years, recreating their tactics in Football Manager to (hopefully) win games and (definitely) have fun in the process. Club sides, international teams, league winners, cup winners and just all-round entertainers, the series will focus on the most notable tactical styles […]
Know Your Role: Ball -Winning Midfielder
The ball-winning midfielder, particularly with the defend duty, is perhaps one of the easiest players to identify for your team. However, making sure you get the right balance of tough tackling and hyper-aggression, all within the right system, is key to advancing your midfield on Football Manager. With the defend duty, the ball-winning midfielder is […]
Play Like: Del Bosque’s Spain
This series takes you through how to evoke the memories of classic teams over the years, recreating their tactics in Football Manager to (hopefully) win games and (definitely) have fun in the process. Club sides, international teams, league winners, cup winners and just all-round entertainers, the series will focus on the most notable tactical styles […]
Know Your Role: Ball Playing Defender
In the modern game, man attacking moves are deemed to start from the back – whether in a counter attacking move or simply as part of a free-flowing attack. As a result, most possession-based teams will struggle to execute such football without the use of a ball-playing defender (BPD). This is a centre back tasked […]
Play Like: 1970 Brazil
This new series will take you through how to evoke the memories of classic teams over the years, recreating their tactics in Football Manager to (hopefully) win games and (definitely) have fun in the process. Club sides, international teams, league winners, cup winners and just all-round entertainers, the series will focus on the most notable […]
Play Like: Ancelotti’s Milan 2007
This new series will take you through how to evoke the memories of classic teams over the years, recreating their tactics in Football Manager to (hopefully) win games and (definitely) have fun in the process. Club sides, international teams, league winners, cup winners and just all round entertainers, the series will focus on the most […]
Know Your Role: The Half Back
One of the most underrated player roles in Football Manager, the Half Back provides serious stability to any midfield. The role of the half back is almost entirely defensive, designed to be a screen to the defence, preventing any attacks from coming through and being by far the most defensively minded player on the pitch. […]
Expected Goals in Football Manager 2021
Football Manager recently teased a short video outlining a few new features to look forward to in the latest edition of the game, coming late in November. The video included snapshots of new ways to interact with your players, new ways to initiate transfers and some exciting-looking additions to the match engine. But there was […]
Digging Through Data: Ep 9 – Sacked
Ok so the first thing I would like to point out is, using data analysis in Football Manager does work. It does. However, for this particular series, a fatal error was made early on in plumping for a high reputation Premier League side to use as our base for an experiment involving high-ranking championship players. […]
Know Your Role: Wide Target Man
One of the most underused but exceptionally effective roles in Football Manager is the Wide Target Man. Perhaps on of the key reasons for its lack of usage is that is hard to find the right player for the position within the game, but this brief guide should give an indication as to which player […]
Digging Through Data: Ep 8 – Kicking off the Season
So, through data analysis of the best players in the Championship, we have created an inexpensive, highly specialised team, designed to fit an incredibly specific system. This is unlikely to achieve immediate trophies or European football, but the hope is that it will provide enough of a platform for long term success. The time has […]
Digging Through Data: Ep 7 – The Target Man
Filling the final position for our Moneyball team meant getting in a striker who fits with the qualities of those players around him. As much of the game will be focused around crossing and longer passes, having a target man who can compete in the air while grabbing plenty of goals was crucial. Continuing our […]
Digging Through Data: Ep 6 – Finding our Wingers
As the Moneyball, data-driven team nears its completion, the next step is to identify who will be filling the wing roles. As laid out in the initial episode, we are looking for an inside forward on the left wing, to exploit the exposed centre halves, and a traditional winger on the right-hand side to whip […]
Digging through Data: Ep5 – Box to Box Midfielders
Continuing our exploration into how best to process data in FM, we need to fill the final two midfield slots in our side. The last episode saw the recruitment of the regista, the next step is to find the two box to box midfielders that will shuttle the ball between the central creator and wide […]
Digging Through Data: Ep 4 – The Regista
As we continue our exploration of data usage in Football Manager, the next position needed to analyse is the CDM, who will be our main creative outlet – the regista. This series examines the data available in game, and how it can be analysed to find the right players for your team. Take a look […]
Know Your Role: How to Find the Right False-Nine
Following on from the deep dive into the Advanced Playmaker (attack) and how to spot the right player for the role, we now move on to an equally exciting role within any team, the false nine. Much has been written about the false nine and how it operates within a team, of course dropping deep […]
Digging through Data – Ep 3 Filling the Defence
Filling the defence with statistically proven full backs and centre backs to take on the Premier League
Digging Through Data – Ep 2 The Maurauding Left Back
In the previous episode, we searched for a new goalkeeper using the extensive data available in Football Manager. In this piece, we will search for a new left-back, by analysing the data of a series of defenders in the Championship. First and foremost, it needs to be clear exactly what type of full backs the […]
Digging Through Data – The Moneyball Approach
Using real-life data analytic techniques to try and sign the most effective players in Football Manager.
Know your Role: Advanced Playmaker (Attack)
Analysing the role of the Advanced Plamaker in FM20, and how you can identify the next Frank Lampard for your team.
FM2020: Winning promotion with Leeds United at the first attempt
If you’re searching for a club to give you long-lasting enjoyment on Football Manager 2020 there is no better place to achieve that than with Leeds United. Relegated out of the Premier League back in 2004, the Whites have remained out of the top flight in English football since then. However, after ruthlessly pushing Marcelo […]
A Note from the Premier League: Set Pieces Are Back
Rise of the Set-Piece Any Football Manager enthusiast is well-educated in the world of football. The football management simulation video game necessitates a fan’s passion—and having broad knowledge of the global football climate doesn’t hurt considering the game offers players 53 countries from which to pull a team. Like many football fans are apt to […]
Football Manager in Real Life: The Top Footballing Achievements That Are Like Something Out of an FM Career
Sometimes in football, there are stories of managerial success that go above and beyond, and look like something more akin to Football Manager. Yet, these managers were not afforded the luxury of a digital ‘dodgy lasagne’, a virtual magic sponge or perfect-rated facilities. Rather, they used their guile, tenacity and creativity to forge a squad […]
The One That Got Away….. Until Now?
Since the formation of the Premier League on 20th February 1992, six clubs have won the title, but there is one club that is notably missing from that list, Liverpool. A multitude of transfers in and out, many managerial changes, cups galore, but why is it that Liverpool have not managed to win the Premier League […]
Pep Guardiola Says Manchester City Have Switched Their Focus To The Champions League
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists his team are preparing for the Champions League, as well as next season. The Spaniard has given up on the Premier League title chase after leading the Sky Blues to two consecutive trophy captures, conceding to Jurgen Klopp’s unbeaten Liverpool side midway through this term. The Reds would have […]
Earning Our Stripes Teil 14: Und wir sind weg!
Guten tag! Welcome back to Dirk van Oortveld’s quest to survive in the Bundesliga with MSV Duisburg and get them into the upper echelons of European football teams! If you want to catch up on what’s happened previously, check out this link here. We’re back for the annual summary of the launch of the season – […]
UEFA planning euro 2020 esports tournament
The global esports industry is in for a treat. UEFA is looking to hold an esports tournament in 2020. The tournament will be held alongside their traditional football matches. With UEFA planning esports, many fans are asking what they can expect. Don’t worry – we will take a look at all that you will love […]
Beginners Guide to Football Manager
Photo by skeeze, Public Domain Football Manager is a complex and realistic game, so good techniques and patience are important to your success. With the recent release of Football Manager 2019, many veteran players will be well into their gameplay by now, using the skills they have refined over the 14 years of annual upgrades […]
Wonderkids of football: Football Manager’s predictions for the real world
Javier Saviola, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kylian Mbappe are all household names in the world of football albeit being players of a very different make. However, one very striking similarity that the three have is that they were destined for greatness even when they were youth team players, as per the predictions of the video game […]
Old vs New. How Football Manager 2019 Compares to Previous Titles
Football fans and gamers rejoice – Football Manager 2019 will be hitting our physical and virtual shelves on the second of November. The newest title of the Football Manager Saga, a series appreciated for its realism and used as a source of scouting for fresh talents by real-life clubs, promises a lot of changes to […]
Urwin’s Unemployment Challenge | Chapter 4
Welcome back to chapter four of English manager Nichloas Urwin’s unemployment challenge. He continues his fantastic second season in Malaysia and we pick up at June 2019 in which Urwin is managing second tier side Negeri Sembilan who are currently in 1st. After a 5-2 win in his last game in charge, Urwin is looking […]
Urwin’s Unemployment Challenge | Chapter 5
Welcome back to chapter five of English manager Nicholas Urwin’s unemployment challenge. He is pursuing his third season in Malaysia and we pick up at February 2020 in which Urwin is managing newly-promoted side Negeri Sembilan in the first tier. A high intensity pre-season full of fixtures every few days saw the new members of […]