Football Manager 2007

[gunnar hendershow]

It's set for release before Christmas.

Hopefully before the 16th of December so I can get it before I go home.

[Buford Ripley]

This is set for Christmas release, right?

It better be, or I'm not going to get any of my coursework done. At all.

[King Ellis]

Play says 20th of October.

[gunnar hendershow]

Shit, there goes this term.

[Lord Nibbler]

They need to put out a demo, stat.

[Steeb]

I better get a move on with my work then

This is set for Christmas release, right?

It better be, or I'm not going to get any of my coursework done. At all.

Don't worry I'll hold on to your copy for you if it comes out earlier than expected. >_>

[Dan]

They need to put out a demo, stat.

They say they're going to put a demo out when the game is done.

Anyway..another article.

Feeder clubs make their debut in Football Manager 2007. Another one of those features that's been requested many times over the years, the time was right to add them now, particularly with them no longer being just the domain of the larger clubs in real life.

There are lots of different types of affiliate clubs, and we've tried to get as many of these relationships in the game as possible, but it's up to your board to decide what type of relationship the club needs, if you one is needed at all.

I'm not going to give everything away here and now, because the feeder club module is an area where the customer (and you!) will keep finding new things over time due to the sheer amount of combinations possible, and some of the relationships are a lot rarer than others, but the general way they work is that you request a feeder club (or to be a fed club) from the "affiliates" section of the game (or from the board interaction screen) should your board be happy with having another relationship. These relationships can range from something as simple as being able to send players to clubs on loan (although these players still have the right to say no) and play the club in a friendly once a year, through to having a relationship with a club in a far flung country that might increase your global marketing presence. You can get first options at clubs, have different types of relationships around the world, and utilise your relationships with other managers by linking up with those that you have a good relationship with via manager interaction. You can even sign players who wouldn't normally get work permits (if needed) and farm them off to countries where the laws make it easier to get dual nationality.

Having feeder clubs is very useful, particularly to try out your new youth players from the new youth revamp in the game, or if you are a smaller club, giving these players their first chance to get first team football, and the possibility of getting more people through the door wanting to see the new young talent made available through your relationship with a top manager. Let alone the financial possibilities and potential new supporters that having a commercial link might bring.

[Buford Ripley]

How hard do you reckon it'll be to get Sao Paolo, Santos or Gremio to be my feeder club?

[Dan]

No idea.

One cool thing for me is the idea that you can sign a player, then if he fails a work permit, loan him out to a country where he'll gain a permit quicker just like Mark Gonzalez.

[Guest muddatrucker]

Well in real life it seems that you sign the player, THEN you apply for the work permit, which could be a killer in this game since we all seem to try and sign people and have permits refused.

[Dan]

Yeah, Work Permits piss me off as I always thought that I should be able to sign a player from Brazil or whatever who looks promising then loan him to a club in Austria or somewhere.

[Lord Nibbler]

How hard do you reckon it'll be to get Sao Paolo, Santos or Gremio to be my feeder club?

[King Ellis]

The extra photos are up, 49 in total now.

Some of this affiliate stuff looks great like the smaller club getting an annual fee and getting all the proceeds from a friendly.

Edited September 16, 2006 by King ROOOOOOOONEY!

[King Ellis]

MEDIA IMPROVEMENTS

So, what else has improved in the media then?

Well, you can expect a lot more variation, due to the extra post match stats, player and team bio information being used in news items, and in their own panels as part of the Flexion skin.

There's news items for retiring managers and those quitting their jobs, live group draws for cup competitions, and transfer rumours, including false ones put out by agents alongside leaked news items from clubs and agents on bids that have been put in.

You can also expect more pre & post match interview questions based around player form, team form and your chances in the match ahead as well as the previously mentioned controversial refereeing decisions.

Oh, and when clubs are bidding to take your player on loan, they'll tell you what kind of role the player is likely to have in the squad.

Lots of other nice touches have been added to the media module on top to inrease the feel of being in a real football world.but this is an area where we really want people to see surprising new things whilst playing, so I'm going to shut up about it now!

Miscellaneous

There are a few changes in the finance area of the game, with an overhaul of player contracts, values, sale values, the aforementioned "unrefusable transfer offers" where your chairman will accept a bid over your head, win bonuses, a real implementation of the Bosman rule (so no more waiting until January and bidding for all the players in your own league whose contracts are running out) and a new global finance screen, a bit like a "rich list". A few changes in the international area as well with world rankings graphs and squad numbers for international competitions where appropriate.

With training, well, coaches actually. You now have separate youth team, first team and fitness coaches to go with your general coaches. Your board does limit these, but it makes it easier to tweak those training schedules to perfection, and have dedicated staff looking after fitness to model the ever increasing coaching facilities of the big clubs.

And then there's "past experience" on setup (choose whether you used to be a pro footballer or an ex international, for example), a great new "end of season round-up" screen which comes, err, at the end of the season, and acts as a useful guide to how it all ended up. And the ability to move a player to the reserve or u19 squad until they are fit when they get injured. And so much more besides that you can find out once the demo is released, and some that you won't see til the game is released.

So, there's some things to get your appetitie whet. I hope you enjoy the game as much as we've enjoyed making it!

So what are we going to do blogwise after this point? Over the coming weeks, we'll be providing info on Football Manager Handheld 2007 on PSP, info on FM2007 on Xbox 360, some of the dev team and test team at SI's "5 favourite features" which I expect will reveal info about some of the new stuff that I've avoided talking about in the blogs, some indepth guides to certain parts of the game by the people who designed them, news of a brand new SI football based game which will be released this year, and lots more besides!

Some interesting things there, more media is always nice and as usual the little things help bring together a better game.

[IAceI]

I think I should just drop out of 6th form :-\

[evertonfan]

I'm supposed to sign up for Uni tomorrow, but I'm not sure it's going to be worth it.

[Lord Nibbler]

For today's blog, I went through to the test room at SI, and asked a few of our testers what their 5 favourite new features are in Football Manager 2007. This is the first part of an irregular series, as is re-typed exactly as it was written.

Vlad

1. Scouting overhaul - Much clearer info on players - especially like the ability of scouts to predict the asking price

2. Board intervention on transfer offers - the board accepting offers they deem too good to turn down.

3. Players wanting "matching pay" with a team mate

4. Feeder clubs, particularly merchandising links

5. Clubs being able to build a new stadium

Ackter

1. Opposition instructions - being able to single out opponent's dangerman and force him into mistakes and take him out of the game..

2. Improved match engine - more realistic. More and more like watching a real match.

3. Feeder clubs - massive upgrade in youth development and encatchment. The different affiliate types all offer something every player can use.

4. Player Interaction - able to ask your players opinions, comment on opposing players. More day-to-day management

5. Improved media - fake transfer rumours, goal droughts etc all make you feel the in-game world around you.

Giedrius

1. Media - Media interaction has always been an important aspect in FM, increase of media communication has definitely made reading news more exciting and realistic.

2. Feeder clubs - Adding in the feeder club feature has also been a huge step to extending FM's knowledge as a true football game. Definitely gives the user an opportunity to develop young talents into decent players.

3. Player tutoring - young players being able to learn from senior players has definitely added more excitement to the game. Young players can improve from players such as Shevchenko - just wish it was me! Great addition!

4. GUI (Graphic User Interface) - FM2007 has managed to excel within the GUI department. Having a graphic background in the games industry, I can comfortably state that FM2007 delivers the goods. A huge improvement without a doubt.

5. Richest clubs - this feature adds a more comfortable way of viewing a clubs success. Definitely a nice little feature to look out for.

[ONO]

Wow, I am fucking getting this game alright.

It just seems too perfect.

Hopefully with the media upgraded, we'll get a better responce with winning trophies or doing something of some signifigance.

Edited September 20, 2006 by Lost Soul

[gunnar hendershow]

My real question is what do they improve upon for FM08?

[YI]

Bungs. I miss USM. Though they never got accepted...well hardly ever.

Edited September 20, 2006 by Mr. Kurt McKenna