Football Manager 2008

[Dont Fear The Reaper]

The quest to take Derby to the promised land and beyond continues.

First season I got relegated from the Prem. which was expected given the team I had. I managed to keep my job and now we are in the championship, I decided that in order to compete this season, we needed to drastically renovate the team and sort of start over and it seems to be working well, 7 games in my record is W:5 D:2 L:0.

[Guest Kou]

It's all because of Laurent Robert. He is infused with TFC hotness.

[IAceI]

With seven games to go in the season - yeah I haven't had a busy day - I'm currently sitting in 6th. One point outside the play offs after falling out from my previous match, a 4-3 loss to Pergocrema. I was 4-0 down within 16 minutes and scored my 3rd at 93:30. I reckon another 5 minutes and it would have been a draw, but oh well.

Some big games coming up. Including top of the league Ivrea, who I met earlier in the season boasting the best defence in the league. Before losing 6-0 to them away from home. This time we have them at home, so I'm hoping we can snatch something. After that I have Pizzighettone who are currently 3rd so that could be a big match, I lost 2-0 at home to them last time so will be hoping I can get something away from home. I really want to make the play offs this year.

Chiogga (Home)

Alessandria (Away)

Ivrea (Home)

Pizzighettone (Away)

Portosummaga (Home)

Lumezzane (Home)

Bellaria (Away)

Massive, massive run in for my here so heres to hoping we can make the play offs and hopefully realise our dream. The dream that is calling out for us, Serie C1 level.

[new_era]

I signed Jermaine Pennant, Julian De Guzman and Diouf for Reading, along with Leroy Lita already, i like the look of this 'thuggish' team

[Guest Kou]

That's just a nice way of saying black.

[estebanmon]

Before the last game of the season, I'm 10th, a point behind Udinese and drawn with Reggina, but I beat them on both matches so I'm ahead. So I can finish 9th to 11th, which is pretty good considering the piece of shit that is Iezzo. Without Samba and Cannavaro we'd have given away twice as many goals. It hasn't been too good on the other side of the pitch, with 32 goals we have the 5th worse scoring record.

So now I'll probably get something like a $16m budget to get a new keeper, new fullbacks, a goal-getting striker, a midfielder if Flamini doesn't renew his loan and decent backups all over the place. I managed to get Martin Palermo and Diego Alonso on frees so someone other than Cannavaro can score from a corner, along with Ciro Polito as backup keeper.

Salami's value now sits at $7.75m, almost 5 times the price I bought him for. 4 goals and 3 assists in the season, which would be more if Lavezzi didn't have to run back and forth across the goal before deciding to shoot.

[IAceI]

So with two games to play I currently occupy 5th place and the last of the play off spots. However the league is so tight that at the end of the season I could in theory still finish 11th. I can only possibly move up one place into 4th, but either of the play off spots would be great for me - as whoever I play will be a tough match.

I have a winnable home match to Lumezzane next who are consigned to a play out spot, and then I have to travel to Bellaria in the last game of the season who are currently two places behind me in 7th, but just one point back so that could be an absolutely massive match. A lot of my players are one yellow card away from a suspension so lets hope there all really good and can play out the rest of the season for me.

Ivrea and Pro Vercelli are battling it out at the top, with Ivrea holding a 2 point advantage. Torres are sat in 3rd, unable to move up or down so they will be here for the play offs. Pergocrema are just 2 points ahead of me in 4th, and hopefully catchable. They have a winnable home match to Portosummaga (Who I just beat 5-3, went 4-0 up, pegged back to 4-3 before a last minute screamer gave us a two goal cushion). Then they play Pizzighettone who are right up my ass in 6th, one point behind me.

It's all very big and tense, but I'm in a play off spot so all I have to do is get the results - easier said than done. It's all in my hands, so lets do this.

[Zaz]

Oh fuck this shit. I'm in first after the halfway mark, having only lost once and drawn twice and only conceded 9 in 20 games. Saivet is in the form of his life, having scored 24 in 25 appearances for the year with 21 in the league. And then those bloody Chelsea bastards go and break his leg in injury time and he's out for the rest of the season

[new_era]

The update you've all been waiting for .. DUN DUN DUN ..

FM continues to be it's typical win at home, lose away self but i can't speak for Ace but i'm enjoying it ^_^

Edited April 27, 2008 by new_era

[IAceI]

6 games of absolute fucking diabolical piece of shitness.

That's my thoughts.

[Fire Storm]

I understand the win at home, lose away system all too well. Whenever we play away we dominate but can't score, but at home we score for fun. I feel like running onto the pitch and beating down my strikes into a grave on the pitch everytime they miss.

[IAceI]

Spain just won the World Cup. What an unrealistic game.

Just starting the 4th season and I'm still unproven, and have no parent club still. How the hell do I get to obscure, or local, or whatevers next? >_>

I really think that this may be my season. I'm looking at the league and I think I can do well. Torres, Pizzighettone and Pergrocrema will be difficult, but I think I can make the play offs again and I've had experience of playing these teams before and I usually do well. It's not like some teams like Ivrea and Pro Vercelli where you just seem unable to do anything no matter what. Here's to a good season.. again.

Edited April 27, 2008 by IAceI

[Guest Kou]

Can managers join at any time in a network game? I wouldn't mind taking Hull over.

[Baddar]

Can managers join at any time in a network game? I wouldn't mind taking Hull over.

Yeah, you can.

[Crybaby Bunting]

How does a network game actually work? do they all have to be working at once or can someone do something while the other guys offline

[Baddar]

The Host can set someone to be on holiday, so the assistant takes charge if there's any games being played. You all browse the pages as normal, and once everybody presses continue, the game will advance.

[new_era]

Network games are good, at times i'd rather play a network game then by myself, just makes it a bit more exciting. The only problem is pre-season, they take a bit of time getting in to but when the season starts you don't really notice it but i opted against the 5-6 person network game simply because of time purposes i mean i'd start one with 2 people but i wouldn't go anymore, i suppose if anybody is interested in starting one now i'm about for 2-3 hours....

[IAceI]

5-6 people would just have to work like a work schedule. You'd all need to agree on a set day and time to play and do it, that's why I didn't want to join because I can't commit. Still, me and new_era just play 5 games or to a specific number and go from there. It can drag quite a bit, and it's worse when your losing, so it's good to limit it.

Canavese front I lost in play off semi finals 4-2 on aggregate. So I will be spending a 4th season in Serie C2/A, although if we play well I think we can go up this year.

[Zaz]

I think FM has pretty much decided that I can't win the EPL this year. After 20 games, I'd won 17, drawn 2 and lost 1 and had never conceded more than one goal in a match. But then Saivet (6 months), Huntelaar (1 month), Anderson (4 months), Vaughan (who I signed in the January transfer window due to losing all my strikers, but then he got injured in his third minute in Tottenham colours for 2 months), Fleck (1 month) and Lennon (1 month, but he just returned) all went and got injured.

That's pretty much all my good attacking players except Mota and to lesser extents Berbatov (who is now 33), Boateng, Rose and McDonald, a young regen striker. So for the next few weeks I'll have to play Berbatov and McDonald up front with, I dunno, Terry Dixon or someone on the bench. Maybe, just maybe, I'll hold onto a top 4 position (but considering my results since the injury crisis have been loss, draw, loss, loss, draw, I can't really see that happening.

Only good thing is that I had such a lead beforehand I'm two points off first now and 6 points ahead of 3rd.

[supergrass]

After a crack at making the play-offs with Crystal Palace looking likely with a handful of games to do, things took a slightly negative turn. My players all fell out, it seemed like everybody disliked somebody. Ben Watson refused to sign a new contract - had to be sold, so too Tom Soares. With the central midfield depleted and a run of draws meaning the play-offs were out of reach, I decided I'd had enough of the small club mentality and walked...

...into the Watford hotseat with a game remaining and a really good squad. The odds were against us and we didn't make the play-offs either. Then came the long summer. Aid Boothroyd did his best to make Watford into Leeds mk. 2, spending the club into major debt. Key players had to be sold over the summer, not-so-good versions coming in. Considering I left Palace for their lack of ambition, this was never going to work out. Two games in, two defeats, I again quit and established myself as an untrusted journeyman.

10 games into the Spanish season Celta had made a great start and were 4th thanks mainly to Stoichkov shelling out £9m on Lulinha. He left to take the Atletico job and I somehow got the Celta position (despite being an outsider). Lulinha in a free role (starting behind the front two) has destroyed nearly every defence, 17 goals this season. Beat Real Madrid 2-1 and came back from 3-0 to draw 3-3 with Barca in last two games. Pipped to 4th by Villarreal, but 5th and UEFA Cup football will do me for next year.

There's no money to spend, but picked up some great players for nothing after 3 clubs in La Liga went into administration and were laid off.