Football Manager 2011

[Liam]

I'm much more into this one than the last few years games. I'm at 2015 with Fulham, just got us into the Champions League in the last season. I seem to get going fairly well in the league, but then drop stupid points. It doesn't help that I tend to ship players out when they get to about 28, so my side is generally full of players who are 25 or older, which means I sometimes possibly lack a bit of grit and guile.

As regens go, Mexico get some beauties.

[The Future]

Got this for Christmas, so downloaded all the patches and graphics, then got the metal_guitarist DB update over from the SI forums, and started a new job with about 30 leagues loaded and me unemployed, with Semi-Pro as my experience.

Applied for every available job, and thankfully the chaps at Port Vale were quite keen on me, so have begun my career there.

Culled the squad of losers who were being paid to much, then scoured the free agent pool (since I always use the "no transfer budgets in first window) option and picked up a couple of handy players - Justin Thompson, a Canadian DC who apparently used to play for Vale, Alain N'Kong, a Cameroonian Midfielder who should fit into the Trequartista role nicely, and a Trindad(ian?) called Silvio Spann!

Lining up with the 4-2-3-1 formation, and at the start of September sit atop League One with 4 wins out of 4 and a Manager of the Month award for me! Sadly Millwall spanked us 5-0 in the Carling Cup, but can't have it all!

Have a look at Angelo, you should find him even with a small database he plays right back,left back,holding mid,wings and attacking mid and he's very good/affordable for the level!.

Got promoted with Oster to the Swedish Premiership, very randomly promoted kind of like Blackpool in real life and I have stayed up as well with some good performances, looking to move on but no one wants me

Edited January 4, 2011 by The Future

[Hobo]

I'm starting to have the same problem that Benji(I think?) had in Eastern Europe. I cannot get a handle on these players names. We've made a decent start to the season though. Though I'm sort of thinking I might resign.

[Benji]

I found the best solution was to abuse the nicknaming ability. Just give them what seems like an Anglicised version of their name

[Hobo]

Screw that! I have resigned after nearly a year in charge. Unless I get a better job I may not save this.

[Hobo]

As I said above, I resigned and have found myself at World Cup QTR finalists Cameroon (after a day at Plymouth, because I changed my mind). Just had my first game as Cameroon boss and we won 4-1 against Uganda and qualified for the 2015 Cup of Nations as a result.

[jack95]

After cycling through games at pretty much every team in the entire database, I finally found a career I was interested in with Portsmouth, but a bug that stopped me from adding substitutes to the team, and then just stopped me from playing the match, forced the save game back to the beginning of the season. I set up a new career as Blackburn, and finally I've found a really fantastic game that isn't crashing or anything. The only issue is I'm veering towards the sack after a terrible run of form that's included a 3-2 defeat to Wolves when it could have been 5-0 to them, and a lifeless 2-1 defeat to Wigan.

Things were rounded off with a 2-1 defeat to Bolton. 1-0 and playing terribly, I told them that they had to win at half time and we turned it around, Kalinic popping up early in the half with a great header to level. We pushed and pushed and pushed for the rest of the game for the winner, but got undone on the counter attack by Klasnic. I felt like crying.

I'm holding onto my job by the virtue of some impressive performances in holding Man United and Chelsea to draws, and a League Cup run that's taken me to the Quarter Finals, where we'll meet...Bolton. If we don't turn things around soon, I think I'm in trouble.

[stokeriño]

So, looking to start my first proper FM11 game. Tried to do a little bit as Chelsea but quickly realised that I've had enough bad times with real-life Chelsea as of late, so I don't need my inevitable shitness making it worse. I tell you, the transition from playing CM01/02 to this is going to be a bastard - I'll probably want to kill myself just because of how long it'll take to get past pre-season.

I then realised that I've never (in all of CM and FM) managed in the Championship. I've either a) started in the Premier League, b) started in the Conference, got as far as League 1 level and either lost interest in the game or got a Premier League job, or c) been in a different country.

So I need a Championship team to play as! Preferably a decidedly mid-table one which is neither expecting play-offs nor an awful relegation fight in the first season. I do need some leeway to get used to FM11, after all.

Currently considering a shortlist that includes the likes of Norwich, Swansea, Watford, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich, Crystal Palace, and Preston. Although I haven't looked to see what any of them are like in the game yet.

Leicester City would be on that list, were it not for everyone and their mother having played as them already.

[Benji]

Actually, Leicester have 3rd place expectations, which is why it's such a bastard to manage them.

[stokeriño]

Well there you go. An excellent excuse.

I haven't actually loaded up the game to see what all these teams' expectations are. I'll do that after food...

[DavidMarrio]

Yeh Leicester and Cardiff are expected to get promoted. I can vouch for Cardiff considering I got playoffs twice and got moaned at....blew the league 2nd season went on a winless streak of about 2 months and finished 5th

[Benji]

Make you first one a Journey Man, Stok, and keep with it. I've just started a new one after realising I'd worked out the ideal path wrong. In order to get a chance at major league football I've used a list of the rankings of the top leagues of each nation found here. I'm going to make sure I'm at the top of the bottom

Nations I selected were...

Austrlia

Brazil

England (selected League 2 and upwards)

France

Germany

Holland

ireland

Italy (Selected Serie B and upwards)

N. Ireland

Scotland (selected Second Division and upwards)

Singapore

South Africa

South Korea

USA

Wales

All the ones un-noted were only the top league. Should give me a good range to go from, at least one league on all continents, a wide spread of reputation and plenty of interesting rules.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

I had a loose end for an hour tonight at started a game as Wigan.

All I can say is FUCK MANCHESTER CITY.

My plans to add to the squad keep going awry. Matthew Booth decides to go to Dinamo Moscow instead of us, Osmaune Dabo joins a random French club instead of us, Leicester could outbid me for Sean St. Ledger(!); but I'm getting Colin Kazim-Richards, £50K loan fee, with a view to an £800,000 permanent move. Yay.

Then Manchester City offer £1M at the eleventh hour and he goes there instead. Fair play from his point of view, but like MAN CITY are going to ever play him! Wankers.

So, yeah, my attempts at signing anyone for Wigan are failing dramatically. Now I can see why Roberto Martinez goes shopping in South America...

[EddieG]

Well there you go. An excellent excuse.

I haven't actually loaded up the game to see what all these teams' expectations are. I'll do that after food...

Maybe I'm bias 'cause of where I live, but Doncaster Rovers, have quite a nice team and don't think the expectations are too high.

[Lineker]

If you're still looking for a Championship side stok, allow me to through in my locality bias too. Watford is a fun task - young skilled squad, barely any money available, not a lot of initial expectation.

Sordell, Graham, Buckley. All class acts.

[Szumi]

After playing a game in the MLS, I finally was able to get into a Prem game after several tries. Started off midway through the season with Sunderland since they were in the bottom three. Somehow, the club was averaging less than a goal a game, despite the Bent/Gyan partnership. Immediately got them out of the relegation fight, thanks to some wins over big clubs like Arsenal, Man U (and in the FA Cup too), Man City, and Tottenham. They really performed well against the top clubs. Got to the Quarterfinals in the FA Cup, yet shit the bed and lost to Swansea, at home no less. Best thing about the half season though: Newcastle got relegated, and offered me Andy Carrol. Carrol had 13-15 goals on the season, I believe, and they only offered him to me, their biggest rivals. I loved it. Thankfully the board gave the funds to buy him! I can't wait for next season to try-out Carrol, Bent, and Gyan all up top with a 4-3-3.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Szumi

[Hobo]

I've moved from Shinnik (who are now top of the Pervj Division and I'd have stayed if not for the names and the fact I couldn't remember the non-Russian players names which was important because of league rules) and ended up managing Cameroon. Then I got a job at Djurgården. So far two draws with them and heading into my second game with Cameroon.

[Benji]

I've now got five games in the go:

Hometown Hero

A Leicester City game in which I've restarted more times than I can count due to the board's impatience and a regular problem with a quarter season drop in quality from my team. In the current run I'm mid-table after 16 games and I had only lost one until game 13 (a fair few being draws), where I've promptly lost three in a row. It's really getting on my nerves now, it's like the game is set to do it no matter what other players I sign or whether I treat the squad with rest or force them to work through tiredness.

The Climb

My intent on this one is "journey man" style to some degree. Using only the English leagues, I intend to take a team from Blue Square lower divisions up to the top, unless another higher team accepts a job application. In the intent of getting promoted I chose Telford (yes, I know, not very journey manesque, but I needed a team who could also cope with the stadia requirements for a few seasons). They are tasked with promotion and I started off great, eleven games and not a draw nor loss among them... then came the dreaded quarter to mid season drop. The same problem affected me as above, the team suddenly wasn't as efficient, my defence started leaking goals (which I seemed to have fixed with setting all four to ultra defensive regardless of the team style) and my attack just stopped scoring. I had signed a guy called Michael Uwezu who had scored 11 goals in his first 9 games, but he's not scored in 10 games since (but still puts in average to good performances, frustratingly). I've been marred with injuries too, which has taken away the good form of a lot of players when they returned. Currently sitting 2nd in the league after a thrashing 3-0 by 14th place Nuneaton. Thankfully I got one further round in both cup competitions than the board expected, and since they only expected promotion and not be a title contender, they've yet to appear bothered by my recent drop in form.

National Hero

Only just started, leading England to glory (hopefully). Won my first two qualifiers and not got much further.

Journey Man

The proper Journey Man game I mentioned earlier. Prestatyn Town FC in the Welsh Premier was my opening team. I started the season with them already in the bottom six (meaning they'd be in the relegation group, not the title group) but in the middle of that six. I've managed to move them up on position thanks to a series of draws and a win and it looks like I may be able to hold off relegation this year and use next year to rebuild since half my squad is either abysmal or good enough that they refuse to sign my (admittedly low) contract demands whilst I try to decide if they're worth paying the price for.

Glory Grabber

Gone with Man City, top league, expected third position and a shitload in the bank, easy pickings. Managed to start this with a ten match win streak barring a single draw against Man Utd away from home, in which we came back from 3-0 down to draw 4-4 in probably my most thrilling match of the game.

[Jimmy]

Do Ipswich, Stok. They needed a new manager after all.

[britneyspearsisgod]

Managing a piss-poor Liverpool who can't compete against Man Utd and Chelsea but also fail to motivate themselves to beat Bolton and Wolves. Thus, Liverpool lie 10th. Although this is an improvement on where I took control of them, which was 12th.

The annoying thing is my attack is getting good, but the entire team can't defend a lead for shit and just don't care. I have never managed a game where I want to punch things with such regular occurrence