Football Manager 2009

[The Quasi Juice]

Dear God the regens in this game are awesome. Within about a month of sending some scouts to look at a few U18 leagues, I've found an English striker who will be as good as Robinho, a left back who will be the best in the league and three goalkeepers who will be as good as Akinfeev including one who came from Bohemians. Awesome. I love having all this money I can just spend on 15 year olds.

I know, I usually buy a lot of 16 year olds too if they have a lot of potential. I find that most of them never fulfill their potential though. Most incredible regens just suddenly appear at a club at around 19/20/21 year old, which is really strange. This is how I picked up my L and RB for Ajax, I found them when they appeared for their club and now they are wanted by the whole f'n world.

[Fire Storm]

AC Milan didn't appeal to me after all and I decided that I'd go back to how I really got into FM, by starting a game in January and taking over the team at the bottom of the Premiership. I got Bolton and it's been tough so far. Two of our three wins have been in the FA Cup over Yeovil and Barnsley, with the lone win in the league being a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough. We've not done too badly but a lack of depth has killed us in the first few weeks of me taking over. I've added 3 new signings to the midfield and its looking better as we head into the next game against Tottenham and we're 6 points off survival, it's not going to be easy.

I suppose it didn't help that we had Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd in quick succession of each other...

[METALMAN]

Bah. It is the eve of Champions League Final 2012 yet I have lost all motivation to play my Chelsea game. :/ Gonna lump it on the backburner, maybe resume it in six months or so.

[Hobo]

I have started at least four games in the last two days. I keep losing interest very quickly. I hate when this happens.

[shaneo]

I finally left Inter anyway, after getting my hands on the Champions League. Felt it was the right time to go. Took over the France job, but man are they short on quality regens. Really need to search hard to get decent players, under 33 in the squad. I would have thought they would be one country with a steady stream of good regens. The Argentina job I turned down looks so much sweeter now.

[nabeel]

I have started at least four games in the last two days. I keep losing interest very quickly. I hate when this happens.

I know how you feel ({)

I keep doing the same thing. I have all of a sudden lost any interest that I had. I am currently playing an old Arsenal game - I load the game, play a match or two and then close it only to reload it an hour later The cycle goes on.

I've started games with Hereford, Ebbsfleet, Toronto FC, Real Zaragoza and CSKA Moscow in the last two days but I haven't gone beyond the friendlies. Very strange indeed.

[Robsturgh]

My Stevenage team has fallen to shit this season. After exceeding all expectations last season with, quite frankly, a shite squad, I brought in some awesome players in the Summer, and while I know they take time to gel, we cannot score, defend or keep possession in the slightest. It is appauling. Though we are dominating the Euro Cup so far. So Hey ho.

[NobBe Nobbs]

A couple of awful penalty shouts against me and then not even giving me the option to comment on them left me no choice but to nickname Staurt Attwell "DICKHEAD" to get my fury across.

Got you beat there. Howard Webb was officially named "Cuntface" and, when he retired and a regen popped up, the regen was christened "Cuntface Jr."

[Pesci]

Half-way through the second season and I'm top of the league! Doing a lot better than I expected. I'm like 20 points clear of 8th as well, so unless there's some random FA Cup winner I'll be getting into Europe no doubt.

Abandoned the 4-1-2-2-1 formation I settled on half-way through the first game and resorted to my old tactics. They've dominated. Juan Arango has been a fucking demon.

Though just when my team were set on staying because I was doing so well, the January transfer window opens and they're all linked with every club in the world :/

The line-up is now Akinfeev, Srna, Boka/Kompany (they don't play in the same position but there's only room for one of them, depends which side Srna plays), Richards, Dunne, Michael Johnson, Lucho Gonzalez/Veloso, Wright-Phillips, Robinho, Arango, Santa Cruz. Players like Arshavin, Elano and Jo only ever play in the event part of my First XI is injured or unfit. Looking at the team, the majority of my players are 27/28 so I might just sell all the fringe guys and replace them with the youth players I've stolen, with some 30+ guys thrown in for experience.

I guess we'll see what the summer brings when this is all over.

[The Future]

I started a journeyman game and I am currently managing Royal Antwerp in the Belgian Second Division.

I am expecting to walk the league as United have allowed me to take Gibson,Possebon,Fabio Da Silva and I have signed some decent Serbian players who are better then most Belgian Premiership players.

[SilentBob2004]

OK, how the hell do you appoint an assistant manager to an international team?? I am managing Arsenal (3 league wins out of 3), and have recently taken the England job. But I haven't got an Assistant Manager for England. How the heck do I appoint one?! Cos everytime I go to the England screen and search in the Staff bit, and offer someone a contract it comes up with 'Arsenal will let you pay *amount* per week'. So how do I offer someone an assistant managers job at England and not Arsenal??

[EddieG]

Go to "National Team" -> "Offer 'International team' Job" -> "Assistant Manager"

[SilentBob2004]

OK, I've found that but for every member of staff I click on the 'National Team' option is greyed out.

Edit: Never mind sorted it now.

Any recommendations for a back-up left back for my Arsenal team? Razvan Rat has a virus and is out for 8 SMEGGING MONTHS!!!! So I'm just left with Clichy, Kieran Gibbs (who doesn't really do much), and some 17 yr old regen worth £2.1m (still in U18's). I've been bidding for Mattock but Boro want over £10m for him! I've got £39m budget but I dont really wanna spend loads of money on a 2nd choice player. Any suggestions?

By the way I'm just starting season 2011/12..

Edited June 25, 2009 by SilentBob2004

[The Future]

Take a look at Sylvan Armand, French player..I dont think he costs much. He's versatile and doesn't moan about sitting on the bench

[King Ellis]

Diego Calderón of Ecuador.

He might cost mor than you want to pay and may be a little too good for backup but he deserves to be pimped because he is awesome.

[Clawson]

Jeremy Mathieu is a good option for a LB.

Anyway, my Rushden team has been absolutely raped with injuries with 6 regulars out when I have 4 games in a 10 day span. Luckily we've managed to win the first two and guys are slowly coming back. 4th in the League with a game in hand but we're only 8 games in so it's nothing to get too excited about.

[Meacon Keaton]

As defending MLS Champions, we have won the Pan-Pacific Championship and are once again atop of the league with five wins, one loss, and five draws. I've brought in three Brazilian players and two English players. Silly Americans don't know how to stop them!

[Pesci]

Finished 2nd in the end, level on 89 points with Arsenal but their goal difference dwarfed me. That's 28 points better off last season with basically the same team and formation. Guess they just needed time to gel. Got to the FA Cup Final as well but Liverpool battered me.

Haven't made major changes to the team as there aren't many players willing to come to me who are more talented than the guys I've got, especially attacking wise. I nearly decided to sell Arshavin but then I realised he played more games than I noticed and it'd be hard to replace him.

I've signed Federico Balzaretti at LB to try to improve the position again because I'm just not sure what to do with my team. I'm thinking if I win the league this season and nobody awesome wants to come with me again, I might start searching for alternative employment. Speaking of alternative employment, Ghana approached me to manage them during the World Cup so I did - lost two and won one, something to put on the resume I guess, but resigned straight after.

Signed Benayoun and Gavin McCann for cover now that I'm in the Champions League, trying to get Van Buyten to replace Tal Ben-Haim as well. Basically just strengthening with experience. I think next year I'll favour this team:

GK: Akinfeev/Toldo

DR: Srna/Richards/Brookes (regen)

DL: Balzaretti/Boka/Srna

DC: Richards/Dunne/Kompany/Van Buyten

MC: Veloso/Lucho Gonzalez/Johnson/Fernandes/McCann

AMR: SWP/Arshavin/Benayoun/Elano

AML: Robinho/Arshavin/Arango/Benayoun

AMC: Arango/Robinho/Elano/Arshavin/Benayoun

ST: Santa Cruz/Jo/Caicedo

Nice depth there. My midfielders tend to get injured a lot and Kompany is needed more and more in defence these days so signing cover was a necessity. I'm predicted 1st and the board want a title challenge and for me to reach the CL final so hopefully I can manage it.

[The Quasi Juice]

Looking at your squad I'd say buy a world class DC. In my second season I bought Demichelis, he's a great DC obviously. I'm not a fan of Jo and Caicedo either (they never look class) so I'd buy a replacement for them too but that's just me

[Pesci]

I looked at replacements but I'd want a striker in the same mould as Santa Cruz and there's nobody who'd be happy spending almost the entire season on the bench who's actually any good. Besides, when Santa Cruz got injured in the first season, Jo scored like 7 goals in 13 matches. I've had to sell Evans and Sturridge on buy-back agreements because nobody wants them on loan and they need first team football.