Football Manager 23

[Adramelch]

What a cheat code Haaland is in this game. He just scored 40 goals for me at 37 years of age and, even though he's lost some speed, he's still a beast.

https://i.gyazo.com/05a96a3c2f2cfef775c00e11fe3ba9dd.png

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He's no Ioan Jenkins.

[Adramelch]

Well I don't think I could afford a Ioan Jenkins or any players of that quality so I just have to make do with Horseface.

[Baz]

What a way to finish my save:

https://i.imgur.com/2u9JHSl.png

:drool:

[wullie]

Haji Wright scored 25 in the first season to get us promoted first time, then the Saudi league came calling and it risked a revolt if I turned it down so he went for £53m. Just over a year later for some reason his contract was mutually terminated so I was back in for him, but with the contract he'd just had being for massive cash he was looking for £450k p/w which was about three times my upper limit. In the end he went to Marseille

https://i.imgur.com/PKXZPPd.png

Can't blame him, assume they must have stumped up the fat sacks of cash he was after

https://i.imgur.com/vwYlKrH.png

What the fuck? My guess is in reality he just didn't like Leamington Spa. His loss

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.imgur.com/yq8SIZ6.png

Yikes.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.imgur.com/XcJIdhs.png

The game REFUSES to give me a Premiership side in the FA Cup.

Oxford are in the Championship (22nd) and Bristol also in the Championship (8th)

[Adramelch]

Found myself in an interesting situation: I had a player injured in the dying minutes of a game with no subs left. It being a knockout game, it went to extra-time where I am afforded an additional sub, but I couldn't then replace said player. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't really expect FM to let me do it, but I do now wonder what the actual rule is in regard to that.

[Baz]

Speaking of bugs, I loaned a player to PSG and kept getting news reports that PSG staff had been spotted in the stands watching him play, with a view to signing him.

[Dan]

Found myself in an interesting situation: I had a player injured in the dying minutes of a game with no subs left. It being a knockout game, it went to extra-time where I am afforded an additional sub, but I couldn't then replace said player. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't really expect FM to let me do it, but I do now wonder what the actual rule is in regard to that.

I had that scenario a few days ago too. Surely in reality you’d just drag out the treatment on the side of the pitch for a few minutes & then sub them before ET, but even if you have to take them off you’d think they’d just let you count them as your ET sub rather than forcing you to play a man down

Can’t be arsed to fuck about with links on my phone so here’s an old FM thread on it where they looked at the rule & seem to think it’s correct but it seems vague to me:

https://community.sigames.com/forums/topic/431314-does-bringing-off-an-injured-player-count-as-a-substitution/

Also saw a discussion about it among refs which suggests they think the FM way would be wrong:

https://refchat.co.uk/threads/extra-sub-extra-time-player-injured.15628/

[Adramelch]

What a cheat code Haaland is in this game. He just scored 40 goals for me at 37 years of age and, even though he's lost some speed, he's still a beast.

He proceeded to score 36 the next season, including 5 in a single game plus a goal in the CL final and then retired at the age of 39 because he was "not up to the same standard".

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.imgur.com/XcJIdhs.png

The game REFUSES to give me a Premiership side in the FA Cup.

Oxford are in the Championship (22nd) and Bristol also in the Championship (8th)

https://i.imgur.com/bWZfoj8.png

Chesterfield who are bottom of the Championship now, lol.

There are only THREE Premiership sides in the Quarter finals. Tottenham, Man City (who play each other) and Brentford or Newcastle (they haven't played their match yet). The other sides are Charlton, Millwall and Wolves who are all in the Championship.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.imgur.com/NpEwLLZ.png

Damn, so fucking close.

[John Arne]

Hmm....

https://gyazo.com/45bcd061969db9d18afa59c13bcdaf28.jpeg

[Baz]

Vision 6

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.imgur.com/p8Gu61K.png

We've lost 3 of our last 4 (keeper has been wank letting in so many poor shots and our strikers went shy) which put us in a nervy spot. Annoyingly we had the better xG in all those games.

On the final day we play Crawley at home. Bradford play Southend at home who are in 12th and Crewe play 14th Morecambe away.

Edit: Game crashed a day before the final day, ffs.

https://i.imgur.com/EIVTXSM.png

We still won our game but we tried to throw it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Hitchin Town 2042/43 Season Update:

League:

https://i.imgur.com/OJVjfJF.png

https://i.imgur.com/Xz1dbFx.png
https://i.imgur.com/7HaYfY8.png

Feels a little bittersweet after Bradford got fucked by the crash as they lost a point in the re-done 45th game. However, the xG table makes me feel a touch better:

https://i.imgur.com/0tn8Hth.png

And ultimately we'd have been automatically promoted no matter what due to the win over Crawley on the final day.

Cups:

https://i.imgur.com/atu8FXR.png

https://i.imgur.com/nEGPutI.png

Absolutely bonkers across the board. It's the best/worst FA Cup run ever though and I'd have probably taken a 3rd or 4th round exit had we faced a big Premiership team away from home but I'm not complaining.

Man City facing Charlton in the final.

Ioan was the top scorer in the league btw on 29 which is light for him but you can't knock that return.

[Adramelch]

How are your finances doing?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.imgur.com/KG4XXCa.png

I believe we were -£250k at one point.

Our youth setup was manageable before we turned pro, now it's nutty. We spent £2.6m this season on it compared to £740k the season before.

FA Cup run really helped us. £571k in prize money, £120k in TV money plus a lot from gates.

[wullie]

Big fan of that font in your game, lovely and clean.

[Adramelch]

That FA Cup run was indeed clutch. Going into League 1 in the black is nothing to scoff at, especially when you're not going to be spending money in transfer fees.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Not sure we'll be in the black by the time we're a League 1 club.

No matches mean the club is bleeding money.

Edit: Scratch that. We've just been given £482k for participating in League Two.

Edit: https://i.imgur.com/8Al3jtt.png

Ioan with a slightly longer contract with no more release clause to teams in a higher division :cool:

[Adramelch]

I remember the days of yore where I would only arrange friendlies against the biggest clubs possible just to limit the bleeding. I wonder if that method still works.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I remember the days of yore where I would only arrange friendlies against the biggest clubs possible just to limit the bleeding. I wonder if that method still works.

It does. I've been doing that and I think my record was 20 in one season.

In terms of cash we've also just been given £250k for playing in the FA Cup so we're minted now with just over a mill.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.imgur.com/2MP2fJ5.png

RIP.

Also, Everton winning isn't a big thing in my save now. This is their SIXTH title in a row. They had a tycoon takeover in 2030 and even though he's scaled back funding 3 times they're still banging.

[Baz]

Big fan of that font in your game, lovely and clean.
Yeah, what skin is it?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Yeah, what skin is it?

WTCS Gold.

I use it every year.

[Adramelch]

https://i.gyazo.com/089b2fc4c47c3e8c1958c41472d53733.png

Second time this has happened to me in this save (the other one in Serie A, so not even the same league). It's funny how they haven't managed to fix the simplest stuff (games every 2 days? sure!) in decades and have instead just managed to break the basics. They're genuinely stealing a living at this point.

[Adramelch]

Guerra squared it to the player in the middle, who apparently wasn't offside according to the game:

https://i.gyazo.com/7d7df8c5fcf098461a1d490d5937f3ec.jpg

[Gray Fox]

I believe offsides are only actually exactly correct on the 2D pitch view.

[Adramelch]

Yeah 3D is off on a lot of things.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

FM being janky? Miles wouldn't allow it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Although I suppose they could market "CORRECT OFFSIDE DECISIONS IN THE 3D ENGINE" as a new feature for 25...

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.imgur.com/izBw896.png

Our first Premiership scalp in a cup competition!

Idiot CDM picked up his second red of the season to make me nervous.

[Adramelch]

Toning down a bit the "we spent a gazillion tetrallion pounds to build the strongest squad" type of updates that my save has devolved into, here's a shorter update. My City stint lasted three seasons, with me spending a measly 1.3 billion in transfers, thought we did also sell 500m worth of players to make up for some of it. This translated to three Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two League Cups. It also resulted in us making the Champions League final all three times, though we only won the first one. Ironically it was the only one we didn't dominate. We found ourselves in a very precarious position when Liverpool got the lead in the 2nd minute of injury time, but we equalised 5 minutes later and then scored twice in extra time to win my third Champions League in a row (and fourth overall). The next final was against Inter and even though we dominated the game and grabbed an early lead through a 39-year old Haaland, two defensive lapses meant we lost the game 2-1. The third one was against Real and that was the more annoying one of the lot as, in true Real fashion, their first shot on target was in the 89th minute and it just so happened to be the equaliser after we squandered chance after chance. They even got the lead in extra time, but we managed to grab an equaliser ourselves, before losing the trophy on penalties. That's 6 Champions League finals in a row for me, with a 50% success (4 won out 7 finals overall).

In terms of transfers, my strategy practically devolved into me signing players that had played for me in previous clubs, as we ended up signing a total of 5 of my former players at Real and 3 of my former players at Milan.

I could have stayed for a season or two more at City to get more shots at winning the Champions League again, but one job that would keep me on target for winning the league and champions league with a club from each of the five big leagues became available:

https://sortitoutsi.b-cdn.net/uploads/team/868.png

That said, the Champions League win won't be an easy task, as PSG have suffered from at least a decade of blatant mismanagement and find themselves with a fairly average squad, and a small one at that (22-23 first team players), as well as bad finances. I was given 55m to spend on transfers and a 6.7m p/w wage budget. For reference, my budgets at Real and City were typically at 300-400m for transfers and at 10m p/w for wages, so that's what we'll have to compete with. I do, however, fancy the challenge as those last 6-7 years have been quite easy, with me paying ridiculous money and attracting the creme de la creme. This past season we paid 325m to bring Rydlewicz to City, to give you an idea.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

https://i.imgur.com/hnUBMTK.png

My team are still fucking thugs.

[Adramelch]

Le Havre currently the frontrunners of the "Worst kit ever" race:

https://i.gyazo.com/7d4eeb8f6415d3203aa87dcf0660a49b.png

Screenshot doesn't even really do it justice. They looked like 5-year olds that had spent all day playing in the mud.

[Adramelch]

Point of discussion: My usual MO when I'm at a big club with adequate squad depth is to essentially have a First-XI and a Second-XI, playing the first in most matches and the second in matches that I think they can handle as well as matches that don't matter. At some point players from the Second-XI typically impress me, especially since it's often youngsters that are developing and get their shot at First-XI.

My question is how do you guys typically compare say one winger vs the other when the former is facing the Reals and Cities of the world, while the second one is consistently facing relegation fodder at home.

It's not a big deal, it's just a thought that has occurred to me a few times and I was wondering how other people feel about it.

[Mike]

Finished my 5th season with Spezia. We reached the cup final, which went to penalties, with Pafundi pulling this off.
https://streamable.com/io2gia

Sadly, we didn't win.
https://i.imgur.com/cM2MkYw.png

The league went right down to the last game of the season, mostly due to October being the worst month anyone has ever had, after Inter dropped points in game 37, seemingly giving us the league, we lost our fixture too, so to the last days it went.

https://i.imgur.com/W3H5gvm.png

Fixtures:
https://i.imgur.com/ctyUkSJ.png
https://i.imgur.com/gywF92c.png
https://i.imgur.com/aql6rlN.png

The Lad: (sorry for the small font, was to get them all in.
https://i.imgur.com/1TP8rRb.jpeg

Transfers:
https://i.imgur.com/X4EHuml.jpeg

[John Arne]

Made me chuckle.

https://gyazo.com/1549dac4a55a24d6413285ce78f58766.jpeg

[Mike]

New Stadium day!
https://i.imgur.com/mUB677z.jpeg

[igor_balis]

Point of discussion: My usual MO when I'm at a big club with adequate squad depth is to essentially have a First-XI and a Second-XI, playing the first in most matches and the second in matches that I think they can handle as well as matches that don't matter. At some point players from the Second-XI typically impress me, especially since it's often youngsters that are developing and get their shot at First-XI.

My question is how do you guys typically compare say one winger vs the other when the former is facing the Reals and Cities of the world, while the second one is consistently facing relegation fodder at home.

It's not a big deal, it's just a thought that has occurred to me a few times and I was wondering how other people feel about it.

Boring answer is that unless you're trying to RPG it, an impressive performance against crystal palace in the league cup is practically irrelevant, and it's entirely about the attributes.

I wish I had the imagination to play the game as a genuine simulation of being a football manager, where you could spot greatness in your u21 striker banging in 7 against ebsfleet, but the fm gods don't work that way. It's excel spreadsheet simulator bro, you compare them by their attributes.

[John Arne]

Started a new Crewe game on CM01/02 (Division 2 (tier 3)) . Needed a striker after Hulse got injured for3 months.. and for some reason Tottenham agreed a 6 month loan with just 10% wage contribution, and Iverson agreed immediately. Way above my level :D

https://gyazo.com/df9561c9cefa740de0371ba929001d28.jpeg

Paired him up front with Indonesia legend Bambang Pamungkas

https://gyazo.com/07429a98df4df695287af394ddc31538.jpeg

With a young Dean Ashton rotating in and out.

https://gyazo.com/4c3d704fd7f66b5dc4bdf3ec2e88db31.jpeg

Loving how quick this game is.

[Mike]

Set the aim of signing a 30 goal striker to help finally win the league with little Spezia.
Think I've found him
https://i.imgur.com/5IDxjEB.jpeg

[Mike]

And always love to see 01-02 screenshots.

[Dquincy]

Keep the updates coming, chaps. I enjoy reading them.

I'm still playing me FM11 save. Think I'm in the year 2091 at the mo. Smashing it with Gillingham, winning everything. But no other club will take me as I'm over 100 years old on the game. :(

[Mike]

A player that was at the club before me, and was the star in our promotion in the first season still plays most games. He's getting interest from Man United and Atletico Madrid, I don't even look at the bids, just hit reject :D
He's not even that amazing, but I bloody love him
https://i.imgur.com/eLNpxJ8.png

Aim is to get him a testimonial.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Keep the updates coming, chaps. I enjoy reading them.

I'm still playing me FM11 save. Think I'm in the year 2091 at the mo. Smashing it with Gillingham, winning everything. But no other club will take me as I'm over 100 years old on the game. :(

Would you ever get a new FM?

Or is your FM11 save the only one for you for the rest of your life?

It's an incredible feat, no idea how you haven't got bored of it.

[Bam]

Probably autism.

[Shindig]

Trying anything long term in 01-02 either stops from boredom or the game itself actively starts making it difficult. I've not played enough FM to test it out but I reckon it's less likely to buckle like that.

[Mike]

Had a very busy window!
https://i.postimg.cc/JnvxBs34/fm-qf-GEn-Jjom-N.png

https://i.postimg.cc/zvhjwqpw/20240602-204222558-i-OS.jpg

[Adramelch]

How about that for a CL run? Southampton, Lyon, Rennes and Atletico.

https://i.gyazo.com/089020bb090a3ba57ee6ed9a8cc3b68f.png

[Shindig]

My dream to see if I could get Mario Jardel to Ronaldo/Messi numbers has died on its arse in the first season. 20 goals in 15 and then he gets injured. Twice. And then goes on a goal drought. A million miles ahead of 3rd, miles off Porto. Plus nobody in the defence has any confidence.

So that was a wasted few hours. Joao Pinto was class until he got his head turned by Real Madrid. :moop:

[Baz]

My dream to see if I could get Mario Jardel to Ronaldo/Messi numbers has died on its arse in the first season. 20 goals in 15 and then he gets injured. Twice. And then goes on a goal drought. A million miles ahead of 3rd, miles off Porto. Plus nobody in the defence has any confidence.

So that was a wasted few hours. Joao Pinto was class until he got his head turned by Real Madrid. :moop:
Join this: https://x.com/fantasychampman/status/1798615363325993002?s=46&t=Eet29Crru7JL4uCfVfYvZg

10 mins til deadline tho

[Shindig]

I'll give it a miss.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

We made it to the Carabao Cup final \0/

https://i.imgur.com/lNtyG9v.png

Absolutely battered by Leeds though.

Writing was on the wall when the game gave them your typical "cross/corner comes in and there's a push" penalty.

Earned just over £1m from that game though which is MASSIVE for us.

[Ben]

My dream to see if I could get Mario Jardel to Ronaldo/Messi numbers has died on its arse in the first season. 20 goals in 15 and then he gets injured. Twice. And then goes on a goal drought. A million miles ahead of 3rd, miles off Porto. Plus nobody in the defence has any confidence.

So that was a wasted few hours. Joao Pinto was class until he got his head turned by Real Madrid. :moop:

That Sporting team is so much fun.

[Shindig]

If I try it again, I'll have to buy Taribo West or somebody to shore the backline. And a back-up wingback. I brought in Habib Beye and he was ... fine but not stellar.

[Ben]

Mike Duff :D

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Hitchin Town 2043/44 Season Update:

League:

https://i.imgur.com/50NMDfl.png

https://i.imgur.com/olj0BUH.png
https://i.imgur.com/kRa6OKa.png

Keeper sold us down the river sadly as he had a shocker against Swansea which proved our downfall. He's a really good shot stopper but seems to be thicker than pig shit and just has mental lapses of judgements every few games.

Still, promotion is amazing.

Cups:

https://i.imgur.com/iEZF4lR.png

Really annoying as we battered Coventry at our place (4.35 xG to 1.1) but the keeper had a shitter and I knew we'd flop at the Ricoh which is what happened.

https://i.imgur.com/JdyEe09.png

Crazy that we managed to beat Southampton twice and it's a shame we lost to Leeds (who made the FA Cup final too but lost to Hull) but what a ride.

[Baz]

After watching Gareth Waistcoat’s England tragically lose to Iceland, I decided to put England’s Euro 2024 fate into my own hands and took charge of them on Football Manager using this real groups mod (https://www.fmscout.com/a-uefa-euro-2024-real-groups.html) from fmscout. (Load Finland or Sweden to start after April 2024 and the group draw will be done correctly.)

After Steve Holland lost the warmup friendly against Belgium, he managed to turn it around with a 5-1 win against Georgia (Iceland and Bosnia were unavailable) before it was time for me to get dressed and the tournament began. To make it as true to life as possible, I called up the same 26 players that Southgate has called up, despite Sterling and Rashford being absolutely awesome on FM24. The game was very surprised to see Konsa, Palmer, Mainoo and Wharton included, calling them virtually unknowns.

https://i.imgur.com/jzP36wh.png

This was the lineup heading into the first game against, er, Slovenia. Not 100% accurate then, but on we go!

It took just 7 minutes for Foden to open the scoring, heading in a lovely cross from Saka. Winger to winger. Jan Oblak then went on to save 20 shots on target, winning match of the match and ensuring we only won 1-0. 3 points in the bag, at least, but second in Group C on goal difference after Denmark beat Serbia 4-2 in the other opening game.

https://i.imgur.com/pLliveB.png

Next up we faced Denmark. Shaw, Alexander-Arnold and Foden were a bit tired so in came Trippier, Gallagher and Gordon. A Walker shot was parried by Schmeichel and Bellingham smashed it home to make it 1-0. Then Kane headed in a Tripper corner in first half stoppage time to put us two goals to the good. Saka got the third after Gordon recycled another Trippier corner which was half-cleared. Kane made it four after tapping home a low cross from Walker. Walker’s 2 assists got him man of the match and the 4-0 victory sent us top of the table.

https://i.imgur.com/jZ92LCm.png

Serbia drew 2-2 with Slovenia so we were the only team who already knew our fate heading into our final group game against Serbia. Trippier retained his place ahead of Shaw but a few of the younger players were given starts, seeing as qualification was already secured. Trippier justified his inclusion early doors, assisting Foden for the opener. Dusan Tadic then had a goal disallowed for offside, as did Joe Gomez. Foden crossed to assist Gallagher and we went on to win 2-0.

https://i.imgur.com/Rln5QHR.png

Denmark beat Slovenia 4-0 and qualified in second place. Germany won Group A, with Switzerland coming second. Scotland also scraped through as a best third placed team. Spain and Italy went through from Group B, as expected. Netherlands crashed out of Group D in last place with just one point, while all of France, Austria and Poland qualified after finishing in that order. Belgium won Group E, with Ukraine qualifying in second and Slovakia getting through as a best third placed team. And finally, Portugal won group F with Turkey second and Czechia also qualifying in third. Czechia, or Czech Republic as you may know them, would set to be England’s opponents in the second round. No other team kept a clean sheet in all three group games.

A full-strength team went out and Guehi gave the ball away multiple times within the first two minutes (a common theme so far) which Antonin Barak took full advantage of, to take the lead. Kane was brought down in the Czech box a couple of minutes later, only for Matej Kovar to save the resulting penalty. Foden decided to take the game by the scruff of the neck and some individual brilliance dragged us back into it after 17 minutes, and then another winger-to-winger Saka assist saw Foden bag a second. Quickly followed by Saka tucking another in from a corner. Foden bagged his hat-trick just before half-time and put the game beyond any doubt, after the early scare. Tired legs allowed them a goal late on but a 4-2 win saw us through to the Quarter Finals with relative ease.

https://i.imgur.com/L1Vo9Si.png

Italy awaited in the Quarters. Austria faced Portugal, Spain faced Denmark (who had dispatched Germany in the Round of 16), and Poland (who put Belgium out) faced France.

Italy were easily the best team we’d faced so far, despite them losing to Spain in the group stage and requiring extra time to get past Switzerland in the second round. Trippier continued to play ahead of Shaw, while Gallagher started ahead of a tired Alexander-Arnold. Foden was also tired but his form was too hot not to start. Lo and behold, Foden threads a lovely weighted ball through to Kane to open the scoring in first half stoppage time. Kane had a goal disallowed early in the second half but we didn’t dwell on it as a penalty was awarded not long after, following a foul on Palmer. Since Kane missed last game, he’d relinquished penalty taking responsibilities to Palmer, who’d not been on the pitch very long. Of course, Donnarumma saved it! Verratti then equalised late on, pouncing on a mistake from John Stones. 1-1 after 90 minutes we headed into extra time, which Italy were now quite used to. Thankfully Trippier settled our nerves early on with a goal assisted by Gallager, but Italy hit back almost immediately with a goal from Raspadori. Rice then followed it up with a world class chipped through-ball assist for Jarrod “why is he going?” Bowen to smash home and put us 3-2 to the good. Marc Guehi then had a goal disallowed after being caught offside from a quick freekick and Toney had one chalked off for fouling during a corner but what a game!

https://i.imgur.com/HhYIyIy.png

Portugal easily dispatched Austria 4-2 and Denmark knocked Spain out in extra time to proceed to the semi finals together. Meanwhile France’s 3-0 win over Poland meant we got to face them. Everyone was cream-crackered following the dramatic win over the Italians but we managed to field a full strength team against France.

Walker took a knock early on so made way for Gallagher and Trent went to right back. Mbappe picked up a similar injury around the same time, but Deschamps opted to leave him on, understandably. 0-0 at fulltime meant more extra time. Mbappe remained on. Bellingham then picked up a knock but I’d no substitutions left. Basically, whoever won this match would likely be without their best player for the final. Alexander-Arnold then got injured and had to come off so we were down to 10 men with a whole half of stoppage time to play. Thankfully both teams were dead on the feet so a stalemate meant penalties.

Nkunku first. Goal.
Kane first for us. Amends made, goal.
Muani next, carrying an injury. Pickford saves!
Ice cold Palmer next. Never in doubt.
Thuram. Goal.
Injured Bellingham. Maignan saves!
Rabiot. Goal.
Gordon steps up confidently. Goal.
Kante with France’s 5th penalty. Saved by Pickford!
All the pressure is on John Stones. Boom! No stopping that.

https://i.imgur.com/q5ZAgbv.png



We’re in the final. Meanwhile, Portual smashed Denmark 4-2. Cristiano Ronaldo leading the top scorer charts with 9 goals. Hopefully Marc Guehi can keep him quiet. No Bellingham or Alexander-Arnold means a completely new midfield pairing, but at least Walker should be alright. A tired Phil Foden slots into the centre of midfield alongside Gallagher, and Bowen starts on the wing. Dunk and Wharton finally got to adorn the England tracksuit to sit on the bench, while Trent and Jude watch on from the stands.

Hang on, Bowen starts the Euro 2024 final? Yes he does, and pops up with a lovely goal from the edge of the area after 10 minutes, following a sneaky freekick from Trippier. Kane then made it two after a flurry of passes lead to Gallagher putting it on a plate for the England skipper. Gallager then set up another after a bit of pinball in the box results in a very tired Foden sliding it into the net to make it 3-0 just before half time. The commentary claims it’s getting embarrassing. Gallagher gets one of his own, volleying home a deflected shot to make it four. Rice then scores a thunderbolt from miles out and we are laughing. An assist from Trippier, who has been outstanding all tournament. Bruno Fernandes then picked up a red card with 20 mins to go, Portuguese heads well and truly gone.

https://i.imgur.com/odaRnWs.png

What a final!

https://i.imgur.com/DFTw8Ct.png

What a tournament!

https://i.imgur.com/dxMpW4z.png

What a team!

https://i.imgur.com/8SLuPKL.png

[Dquincy]

Would you ever get a new FM?

Or is your FM11 save the only one for you for the rest of your life?

It's an incredible feat, no idea how you haven't got bored of it.

I've tried buying the new games but I just don't enjoy them as much. I like the balance of FM11 in terms of detail and 'click ability'. Can whizz through a season fairly quickly (I use commentary only).

When I read your updates it does make me want to play the latest version, mind. But the game seems so busy and indepth; far too much for my braincell/s. The last one I bought was FM22, got a few seasons in. I still have it on my laptop and fire it up every now and then, but I always fall back to FM11.

I might delve into the new FM when it comes out later this year.

[Adramelch]

This was the lineup heading into the first game against, er, Slovenia. Not 100% accurate then, but on we go!



Game still has to simulate the last few group games plus the playoffs so I don't think there's a way to make it fully accurate.

[Baz]

Game still has to simulate the last few group games plus the playoffs so I don't think there's a way to make it fully accurate.groups are 100% accurate, just the fixture order isn’t. Doesn’t make a different in the knockouts, thankfully.

[Adramelch]

Ah, interesting. Ye getting the groups correct and failing on the fixture order is very weird then.

[Baz]

Ah, interesting. Ye getting the groups correct and failing on the fixture order is very weird then.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfxau5O9uJw

[John Arne]

Well done, he's 13.

1800135840758145490

Renaming one competition and 1 team. Well done, lads. This feels like it should have been done a long time ago - in fact, I didn't even realise that they DIDN'T have the license until I read this.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Shiny graphics and presentation too.

Play a Bundesliga match, Championship or UCL/UEL/UECL match and you'll see the difference.

[John Arne]

Ah, I'm an instant result kinda guy. Not gone into the actual matchday for some time.

[John Arne]

Thailand going to the World Cup :drool:

https://gyazo.com/cccf997b8cbeee8d052b7c5a7c0c0402.jpeg

[John Arne]

To be expected, I guess.

https://gyazo.com/5b605cef622e905be72fa85c3a42d6b3.jpeg

[Baz]

Zero goals must sting.

[John Arne]

Aye, would have been nice. I'm surprised we kept it down the 7 at the other end, mind.

[Adramelch]

Yeah honestly a -7 goal difference is quite the achievement, in a fairly tough group as well.

[John Arne]

Fixture scheduling in Brazil is madness.

7 games from 14th Jan - 31st Jan :drool:

https://gyazo.com/26ca7d408c74467290e59ef854aadbf0.jpeg

[Shindig]

Back in the day, I remember them talking about 64-game seasons. National Championships and cups, state championship and cups, etc.

[John Arne]

Ooof.

https://gyazo.com/5d4df7c989cc8d9fffa559ef5b05ea5a.jpeg

[John Arne]

Despite really enjoying my 2yrs at Santos, the Barca job came up, and I haven't managed a proper team in FM24 (save making Crewe the BEST TEAM EVA). So, I've jumped ship and I'm heading over to Lever FC.

https://gyazo.com/49c1492132c006f6dbb1c233a7e34084.jpeg

[John Arne]

Oh, look who is back on the FM24 database....

https://gyazo.com/4a45c3b05b1ea6b642f471f5a55a0796.jpeg

[Baz]

There’s been an update (https://www.footballmanager.com/news/development-update-football-manager-25?utm_campaign=FMFC_DevBlog_270624&utm_content=gb&utm_medium=email_action&utm_source=customer.io) regarding FM25, including some screenshots of the new “tile and card” UI:

https://cdn.footballmanager.com/site/inline-images/Screenshot%201_EN.jpg

https://cdn.footballmanager.com/site/inline-images/Screenshot%202_EN.jpg

https://cdn.footballmanager.com/site/inline-images/Screenshot%203_EN.jpg

https://cdn.footballmanager.com/site/inline-images/Screenshot%204_EN.jpg

Looks like FM Touch to me. :arry:

[John Arne]

The tiles system could be good, although I'm not too keen on the move away from the 'inbox', the portal screen looks like a arcade game.

All the things they have removed (shouts, fantasy draft, versus mode etc) are all features I've barely ever used, so that's good.

Also confirmed the men and women will be one universe, that as a manager you can freely move between.

[Baz]

I’ve started a new save. I’m Man Utd and USA. Alex Ferguson is a director so he’s doing everything for me at United (besides tactics) while I try and get Sergio Oregel and/or Peyton Miller to more international caps than Ronaldo. The latter is more likely cos he’s actually good.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The inbox (and number of emails that go in there per game week) makes it too much like having a job, so I'm in favour of streamlining it a bit if that's what this is, which I'm not sure about looking at that.

[Baz]

I’ve started a new save. I’m Man Utd and USA. Alex Ferguson is a director so he’s doing everything for me at United (besides tactics) while I try and get Sergio Oregel and/or Peyton Miller to more international caps than Ronaldo. The latter is more likely cos he’s actually good.
I won the CONCAF Nations League and came third in the Copa America.

Fergie finished 8th :harold:

[John Arne]

Wondered why I was always in the red...

https://gyazo.com/aa792dc229c6211af5d06a9cc60d396c.jpeg

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Hitchin Town 2044/45 Season Update:

League:

https://i.imgur.com/TUflTmw.png

https://i.imgur.com/jLSIULq.png
https://i.imgur.com/bhPcBwz.png

We started like absolute shit and I thought it was going to be tough to stay in the league. The 7-2 against Ipswich (who were 3nd or 3rd at the time) seemed to wake us up though and we ended the season on fire.

We were also unlucky not to win the league:

https://i.imgur.com/gWYhqug.png

Blackpool, Debry and Burnley were so fucking lucky.

Playoffs:

https://i.imgur.com/H4kaXn6.png
https://i.imgur.com/RlPPl2H.png

Got VERY lucky against Huddersfield but I'll take it after we got shafted throughout the league.

https://i.imgur.com/Ct2etQ6.png

Ioan saves us again, he's our hero. He is Hitchin Town.

Cups:

https://i.imgur.com/flMOQAr.png

Shame we couldn't go deeper but oh well.

https://i.imgur.com/tlzMH58.png

Some decent cash made here, although not as much as I had hoped when we drew Man City.

Squad:

https://i.imgur.com/gCIGVW0.png

Huge props to our front three. Andy Walker, Kion Gumbs and the main man Ioan Jenkins:

https://i.imgur.com/gVvXDiL.png

He was produced last year and made 4 sub appearances that season. Over the end of season break and the start of the league season though he progressed massively and ended up our clear third choice guy.

https://i.imgur.com/JggMEDI.png
https://i.imgur.com/1lCkiIt.png

And he was so fucking good.

https://i.imgur.com/Mu8cQct.png

Andy was a big part of the team last season and he progressed even further. Added a lot more goals to his game this year which was needed.

https://i.imgur.com/pDDe47k.png

I'm lost for words at how good he is. He knows how to score at every fucking level:

https://i.imgur.com/jTB5zdY.png
https://i.imgur.com/0rkLrOJ.png
https://i.imgur.com/aWXt02f.png
https://i.imgur.com/16TM9Zm.png

https://i.imgur.com/CiggK1Z.png

NINE seasons in a row now he has won the league Golden Boot that we've been in. The guy is an absolute machine.

[Baz]

Sticking with him in the big league?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Of course, there's fuck all else in the club.

Youth Academy only so I can't buy anyone.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Starmer now a fan since we got promoted:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GRZfZMBXcAAZTPf?format=jpg

[Shindig]

Does the wheelchair wifey get to many games?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Standing room only.

[John Arne]

Ooof. Only bought him a couple of months ago.

https://gyazo.com/ad01f6f19047571066847e0ca8f9119b.jpeg

[John Arne]

Champions League semi, I'm Barca, 4-1 up from the first leg.

Are you fucking kidding me?

https://gyazo.com/e0725613501d348b7938caa87ed7c816.jpeg

[Gray Fox]

Corner taken quickly?

[John Arne]

I refuse to watch the highlights.

[Bam]

My save keeps crashing at the same date, anyway around this?

[John Arne]

Have you tried holidaying past it?

[Bam]

Yeah, still crashes.

[Baz]

Are you using the default skin?

[Bam]

Are you using the default skin?

No, do you think I should change it?

[Baz]

No, do you think I should change it?

Worth a try, as strange as it sounds. Change to default and try to progress past the date.

[Adramelch]

What date is it? Random or something related to season changeover, transfer windows and whatnot?

[Bam]

What date is it? Random or something related to season changeover, transfer windows and whatnot?

First game of the season, as soon as the game is finished it crashes either playing the match or holidaying it.

[John Arne]

:dance:

https://gyazo.com/d46eec8221d03df0c4c398d19e97e3d1.jpeg

[John Arne]

Holy shit... 17 (SEVENTEEN)

https://gyazo.com/c339e04794d7d86658c1de307ff2b837.jpeg

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Fuck you.

[John Arne]

He's not mine. Inter signed him from Levante last season for $8m....

[John Arne]

Mighty TNS make the Champions League proper for the first time :drool:

https://gyazo.com/03e8bcdfdde4de7cee93a0bcf9e54c8c.jpeg

[John Arne]

We got battered. However, we enter the next pre-season with a war chest of $15m and a slightly bigger reputation, ready to sign some good players...

https://gyazo.com/bdabc15059054a9b48f94c4206340aaa.jpeg

Em-fucking-bargo. Our first CL qualifier is 2 weeks away....

[John Arne]

Was bored, so left TNS and took over at Man Utd... didn't bothering looking into the financial situation. Sold a few players and realised that my transfer budget wasn't really increasing...

https://gyazo.com/7b3aa60c48eb170cf74cc2ba313cfec2.jpeg

[Mike]

Not posted much about my save lately, but its going well
https://i.imgur.com/BBFqMCA.png

Which means
https://i.imgur.com/YDVdpAC.png

[Yevrah]

Was bored, so left TNS and took over at Man Utd... didn't bothering looking into the financial situation. Sold a few players and realised that my transfer budget wasn't really increasing...

https://gyazo.com/7b3aa60c48eb170cf74cc2ba313cfec2.jpeg

That's fine and more than manageable once you replace the ageing shite on obscene wages you'll no doubt have inherited and start cobbling a few results together.

[John Arne]

That's fine and more than manageable once you replace the ageing shite on obscene wages you'll no doubt have inherited and start cobbling a few results together.

Yeah, it's actually quiet an interesting save. Sold £288m pre-season (less £127 I spent), and looking to offload more at the end of this season.

https://gyazo.com/96111b19c77cd3f5fdd8fc2a6bb1a5b0.jpeg

[Mike]

Yeah, United always seem to have huge debts with no problems from them.

https://i.imgur.com/ZTYw7aS.png
Getting excited!

[Mike]

https://i.imgur.com/wy2DL65.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/RcrG4LE.png

[Mike]

The finished season
https://i.imgur.com/NR2Nlbq.png

The highlight was my captain being a dick during a guard of honour.
https://i.imgur.com/e9sh8K0.png

The team
https://i.imgur.com/MMSHbQa.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/FGloqns.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/OmGuUvH.png
https://i.imgur.com/dJiopQ6.png
https://i.imgur.com/F20RzEl.png

[Mike]

I could cry
https://i.imgur.com/srchEiv.png

He's so good
https://i.imgur.com/aFBLxox.png

[Baz]

That’s a lot of money though.

[Mike]

Got Madrid after my keeper and Porto after my left back.:(

[Lofty]

Is the next release the major game engine update?

[John Arne]

Aye, Unity. Shouldn't affect me thought #InstantResultScummer

[Gray Fox]

It better still have superior 2D classic.

[John Arne]

It better still have superior 2D classic.

It really should, but knowing Miles, it won't.

[John Arne]

Lol. Don't think I've seen this on FM24 before.

https://gyazo.com/5e554aef6c24b952f19aa78373de3db4.jpeg

https://gyazo.com/61cb8a8e3b39b81071ba4d581c6f44bb.jpeg

[Bam]

Lol. Don't think I've seen this on FM24 before.

How has that happened?

[Shindig]

I know FM usually finds a way to keep clubs in the game but £1bn in debt is some going.

[Gray Fox]

Their Sponsorship and TV revenue have decreased by 103% and 84% from the previous year, did they go down?

[John Arne]

They didn't play in the Champions League for the first time in donkey's years, but nothing major apart from that. My sponsorship revenue also reduced a little bit... and they haven't been spending that much compared to normal. The TV revenue will just be because it's the start of the season, so by the end of the season, it should equalise.
The £900m is made up of £300m cash at bank, and £600m bank loan debt. Looks like the mega owners have left and the club took a massive loans to either pay them back or just carry them over.

https://gyazo.com/45c274c7c4b14ec33142824aeaa6384e.jpeg

[John Arne]

Meanwhile, I'm still paying back £4.7m a month to reduce my loan... I'm basically selling £100m talent every year just to stay in the black. May quit soon.

https://gyazo.com/9ad82d2bf842cee6d0ca3230e4754d75.jpeg

[CJay]

I'm trying to remember a specific player from CM01/02 or 00/01 era. He was a go to for me to sign. This is what I remember:

AM/FC
Turkish sounding name - I thought Kaan Metin but it's not him
May have played for a team in green
Possibly played in Scandinavia

Anyone remember a talented but lesser known player that would fit the above?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Kennedy Bakircioglu

[CJay]

Kennedy Bakircioglu

No - less well known than him. Funny that every criteria applied to him. :D Thanks though.

[Giggles]

Scandinavian days Mokouko but that isn't very Turkish.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Sharbel Touma

[Baz]

Sanli Tuncay?

[John Arne]

Selakovic, Muslimovic?

[wullie]

Hersi?

[Yevrah]

Kim Kallstrom?

[Yevrah]

Not very Turkish sounding I know.

[Ben]

Hadzimehmedovic? Not Turkish but fits the criteria otherwise. He didn't play for a green team though. Bakircioglu did (Hammarby).

Struggling to think of any Swedish Turks in the AMC position.

Harbuzi? Barsom? Lunden?

Hakan Mild was banging but an older DMC.

[CJay]

Sorry, none of them. I'm hoping it wasn't a regen, but I'm almost certain I bought him on multiple occasions.

If Ben can't remember then I'm probably on a hiding to nothing.

[John Arne]

Any of these fella's?

https://gyazo.com/3cb6a0e3ff5927ec6a1edaaeb473f112.joeg

https://gyazo.com/eeae42339461889a424dc8b240caf58f.jpeg

[Manc]

Is there a simple way to get cm 01/02 running on android?

[Baz]

Is there a simple way to get cm 01/02 running on android?

Tried this? https://champman0102.net/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=3597

[Manc]

Fuck that.

[Dquincy]

Hersi?
Hersi. :drool: What a player. Remember him being at Ajax on one of the CM versions. Was a teenage star, played on the left wing or attacking midfielder from memory.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Hitchin Town FC 2045/46 Season Update:

After a break from the game I am BACK.

League:

https://i.imgur.com/Kl9GbBl.png

https://i.imgur.com/oUWOfgJ.png
https://i.imgur.com/mExAzjL.png

Never in a relegation battle, the lowest we dropped was 16th. I think it helped that 4 teams were tragic.

The three wins on the bounce against West Ham (fuck you Bam), Spurs and Newcastle were incredible.

The big question, did Ioan Jenkins grab the Golden Boot which would have made it TEN seasons in a row for him winning the league's golden boot? Sadly, he did not. He got a respectable 16 which was tied for third, 7 behind Everton's main man.

Cups:

https://i.imgur.com/Gg4QS1k.png

Could have gone deeper in both but oh well.

Squad:

https://i.imgur.com/pTIHvAW.png

Disappointed that Andy Walker had such a shit season but Ioan and Gumbs did well. Standout was probably Niall Ferguson or Josh Coleman who did well with Young Player of the Month awards.

Youth Intake:

https://i.imgur.com/QMTTEiJ.png

Deri Woan looks like he could be massive for us:

https://i.imgur.com/hkWJ7x2.png

Instantly generated as our best CDM although he was a little shaky in his games and even got sent off in his second match.

Edit: Also, someone bought the club and made us a PLC. We've now got £68m in the bank and the loans we had (stadium) got wiped.

[Bam]

Its ok, we stuffed you 5-2 earlier in the season. (fuck you Mahowry) :dc:

[CJay]

I'm trying to remember a specific player from CM01/02 or 00/01 era. He was a go to for me to sign. This is what I remember:

AM/FC
Turkish sounding name - I thought Kaan Metin but it's not him
May have played for a team in green
Possibly played in Scandinavia

Anyone remember a talented but lesser known player that would fit the above?

Just for anyone wondering, I'm starting to think this actually is Kaan Metin but it was on CM00/01. He used to play for AB, who play in green. Anyone have CM00/01 installed?

[Ben]

I've got it installed at home yeah.

You can get it yourself (and lots more) here (https://nic.hopto.org/open/) if your CD has gone missing.

[Raoul Duke]

Kennedy Bakircioglu?

[Shindig]

FM 24 is Free on Epic from 5th-12th September.

[Gray Fox]

That usually is the clock chiming for the promo tour for the new game to start. We should be seeing something on it soon, no?

[Baz]

Started a new save with OFK Grbalj in the Montenegrin second division. Expected to come 8th out of 10 but won our first game 4-0 and have filled up on loans.

[Revolution]

I wonna see what's happening with fm25. When does info usually start dropping?

[Baz]

Just beat this lads team:

https://i.imgur.com/nXofgO6.png

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Yeah but looks at him, he's the real winner.

[Baz]

Nah.

https://i.imgur.com/snOYmNP.png

:youpi:

[John Arne]

TLDR:
- Delayed a month
- Removed weight from player profiles incase some fat lasses get upset. No, seriously. I can understand removing from manager profiles because who cares... but from players too - very bizarre.
- No international management (that's not gonna go down well).



Development Update: Football Manager 25
I want to begin this latest Football Manager 25 Development Update by thanking everyone who read our previous one in June.

We’ve been following the reaction and conversation and look forward to addressing many of your comments and observations when we start our FM25 gameplay rollout period.

In June’s blog, I revealed the first-ever FIFAe World Cup of Football Manager, which wrapped up this past weekend. I was very proud to be in Liverpool for the final couple of days of a fantastic four-day competition that I thought FIFAe did a fantastic job with; from production, the players, the broadcasting and all the content across socials - everything looked incredible in person and online.

Seeing FM in the eSports domain was really exciting - and I hope those who attended the event, and those who watched and followed along online, agree.

For me, it was pretty surreal and emotional to be sat in the audience and hear the way the presenters and pundits spoke about the life's work of the entire SI team – and the way what is primarily played as a solo experience came to life as an eSport.

Alongside the FIFAe team, we will digest and evaluate the tournament in the coming weeks to see what learnings we can take and what the future entails for collaboration between us.

Congratulations to the winners, Ichsan Rahmat Taufiq and Budi Muhamad Manar from Indonesia – what an achievement.

Commiserations too to the runners-up Sven Goly and Tery Whenett from Germany, who were fantastic throughout the event. The standard of play from all 20 managers was incredibly high and underlines how truly global the FM community is.

Our last Development Update gave you a picture of our world in June, and since then we've had to review some of the things previously mentioned. I want to take this opportunity as well to update you on some further FM25 development decisions we've made, as well as some alterations to our calendar for the months ahead.

Development Update: Football Manager 25

Revising our timelines

We previously stated that we would be confirming FM25’s release date at the beginning of September (with pre-orders starting at the same time), closely followed by our gameplay rollout period.

Firstly, we've had to shift the official announcement of FM25 to the end of September. The gameplay focus period will follow soon thereafter. Our target launch date has moved accordingly and is now scheduled for late November, rather than our usual early November slot.

The FM25 development cycle has been challenging for the whole team. We knew that moving the entire game to the Unity engine was going to be a complex endeavour. As we’ve gotten deeper into the process and gained learnings, it’s fair to say it’s been trickier than we originally anticipated. The entire dev team has been challenged in a myriad of new ways and are doing an incredible job in the process. I’m excited to eventually share our hard work with you but we need a little more time before we can do that.

As I outlined in June’s blog, we’ve consistently held ourselves accountable to the same three core questions:

Would we do it in the same way if we had our time again?
Would we have done this at all?
Do we have the time required to do this to the highest possible standard, in our first cycle of a new era?
The challenges we’ve encountered in the development process over the last couple of months have led us to make another difficult decision around game content: international management will not be a playable mode in FM25, FM25 Console or FM25 Touch.

Coming off the back of a summer of tournament football and with this week even being an international break, we’ve looked really hard at international management in FM and determined that what we were planning to deliver wouldn’t reach our initial quality threshold.

We also considered the available game data. Only 5.6% of all FM24 PC saves have used the mode, which we feel validates our view that we need to do much, much better with the experience. That number is even smaller on Console.

So, rather than delay FM25 even further, we’ve paused work on that area of the game and allocated those resources to other key areas. It will continue to exist in FM25, FM25 Console and FM25 Touch as part of the wider simulation of world football, it just won’t be playable.

However, international management will remain playable in FM25 Mobile as that’s on a different development track and codebase. For all other versions, international management will return in a much more feature-rich way to FM26, FM26 Console and FM26 Touch in what will be an exciting year for international football with the World Cup expanding to 48 teams. To be clear, this will return as part of the base game and not as any form of additional downloadable content.

While difficult, these decisions are made for the good of the game and the majority of our players. We are determined to ensure that FM25, the first game in a new engine, is as good as it can be in the time we have. By pushing back FM25’s release date, we’ve given ourselves a few extra weeks of development time to try to deliver the best experience that we can for this first in the new era of Football Manager releases.

In recent weeks, I have also taken steps to free up more of my time to focus solely on development and supporting the wider team. One of our core studio values is Consider the Bigger Picture, and what’s most important right now is focusing on FM25. I mentioned in June that I’d be speaking at the Unite conference in Barcelona as part of the keynote. While we will still have an FM presence there, I will not be making the trip because I need to concentrate all my efforts on directing FM25. It’s for this reason that I will also not be attending Tokyo Game Show, an event I loved last year and really helped make our first-ever release in Japan a big success.

I’ve also cancelled a trip to America which I was really looking forward to but the game, and you as the players of our games, are the bigger picture.

An update to Player Profiles

When we begin our gameplay rollout, one of the areas I’m really looking forward to sharing is our work on Women’s Football.

As you know, it’s been a long-term project for us and one of the biggest things we've done in recent times outside of the move to Unity. Throughout the process, we’ve been laser-focused on introducing Women’s Football to FM in the most authentic way possible. We've applied that thinking to everything we've done, as we generally do with all areas of design and development. From a gameplay perspective, being able to move seamlessly between managing men’s and women’s clubs and vice-versa in one world, one ecosystem was the number one priority - but that’s forced us to consider how various game world aspects are currently portrayed.

As such, we can now share a change we’ve made to all FM25 player profiles: a player’s weight will no longer be visible.

Through the creation of our Women's Football database, we discovered that while the weight of male athletes can change a bit month to month, women’s body types are very different from men’s and their weight fluctuates a lot more, often weekly.

This perspective encouraged us to review the wider game, much like we have with all other areas, and we’ve ultimately decided to no longer show weight for any players in FM25. A very basic measurement will still be included under the hood, but it won’t be visible on the front end anymore.

Testing Update

We also announced in June that we would be welcoming FMFC members within a reasonable travel vicinity to come to our campus in London and help with playtesting the new UI/UX of FM25. We received an enormous response to that, and I want to thank everyone who has volunteered and given us their availability. The playtesting will still be going ahead but as a result of the above milestones moving, the start date is shifting slightly. FMFC members who have applied will be contacted shortly with further date options as we begin to finalise the process.

This should be my last development update until we start focusing more on what’s in FM25. We have lots of good stuff to show you that we’re excited about but I want to re-iterate that FM25 is the first instalment in a new era for the game, one that will give us a lot more possibilities than we had with the previous chapter.

FM25 is just the starting point for what is a very exciting, long-term project.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Miles

[John Arne]

I've always had an issue with the release being too late - I'm sure they would do better releasing a couple weeks after the season starts ... Now it's almost 4 months later :D

[Dark Soldier]

It's gonna be an absolute fucking disaster, cannot wait.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

There's so much fucking waffle in there from Miles, fucking hell.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

No international management :drool:

I don't have to click reject to all the nations that offer me a job after a tournament.

The whole weight thing is madness. Did it even have an impact? I can't say I ever looked at it and thought "He's 2 KG over what I'd expect, I'm selling the fat lad".

[Adramelch]

Neither weight nor height have an actual impact I don't think. The impact they would have is instead baked into the physical attributes to my understanding.

[Dark Soldier]

I used weight often. Don't want a fat cunt on my side. Even if it's a 'nothing' stat what does it matter it being there? Helps with roleplay, same way I wouldn't sign a midget keeper even if he had 20 aerial reach etc.

It's CM4 all over again.

[Yevrah]

Moving seamlessly between the Men and Women's game sounds like a woke nightmare waiting to happen, with a load of big club jobs in the men's game given to managers who've done well in the Women's game, thus utterly rust-bucketing realism.

[Dark Soldier]

Almost nailed on there will be a bug to get women players in the men's game or vice versa. And the style of football on display will be identical, as it is currently regardless of level you play. Miles is not the man to take this game forward. Hasn't been for a long while.

[Danny]

Weight will be back on the profile with a skin 45 seconds after launch.

[Baz]

I never thought they'd ruin the game more than when they inexplicably included Harchester United in the default database, but they've only gone and done it.

I genuinely don't think I'll buy this version, but looking forward to reading about DS breaking it in the most bizarre ways possible.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Removing international management is genuinely insane. 5.6% of saves using it is A LOT of saves when you consider that the signing players / managing your club side of things will always be the primary attraction of any football management game. It's always been fairly shit, too, don't understand how you can have made it worse unless you've accidentally completely broken the matrix somewhere.

[John Arne]

Yeah exactly. Surely they aren't recoding the whole game? Either someone has fucked up big time or they really are doing a complete overhaul (which isn't needed).

[Gray Fox]

Delays this close to what should be launch and starting to chop features away says to me this game is not in a good state.

The red flags should be flying high when they inevitably cancel the beta.

[Yevrah]

Yeah, this has sub CM4 release levels written all over it.

[igor_balis]

Yeah and even if there's low levels using international management, that's Shirley more because it's always been so badly implemented in game, rather than a general lack of interest.

[Gray Fox]

Key giveaway is that it's coming back in future. The excuse of no one uses it only makes sense if it's a permanent cut. They'd also have announced it way earlier.

[John Arne]

Was bored so started a new game Bayern. Towards end of the first season, Alphonso Davies, Sane and Kimmich all announce that they are gonna leave at the end of next season when their contract expires. 3 of my best player. Just sold Davies for $112m, probably gonna sell Sane and keep Kimmich and lose him for free next year.

[John Arne]

Kimmich leaves for £81m. Just Sane left, so he'll have to stick around. So far the squad haven't completely started moaning, which is a surprise.

https://gyazo.com/9d81f07e8971a94cf583c8d82fd485e7.jpeg

[Clunge]

I'm still on FM23, having a great save with Fiorentina. Came seventh in the first season, then it's been second, second, second, first, second, first. Another side always seems to emerge each season to challenge. Had a couple of great ding-dongs with Napoli, Atalanta, Inter and now AC Milan. Also inexplicably won the Champions League in one season. I seem to have had the measure of Real Madrid the entire save. Bagged Douglas Luiz on a free a few seasons back, who has been immense. Also picked up some of the just shy of top-tier Italian players who have got me through – Parisi, Fagioli, Bove, Pobega, Ruggeri, Carnesecchi, Caprile. After years of chasing, I'm adding Scalvini shortly who, after Atalanta have for 3/4 seasons held out for £200m+, I've managed to get down to £65m.

A couple of my favourite newgens of all time:

https://i.imgur.com/AQ2HKUw.png

https://i.imgur.com/PHGT679.png

https://i.imgur.com/JPeoWlZ.png

https://i.imgur.com/DRP84vm.png

[Gray Fox]

Reminder that FM24 is still free on the Epic Store until 4pm.

Might be worth picking up just in case '25 is as bad as it sounds like it might be.

[Baz]

I said that to my mate who said no point him getting it cos his laptop can’t run it. I compared it to PES now being unplayably bad, and FM24 could definitely be the last good FM ever.

[Ben]

I fell out with FM around 2013, and even then I've still gone back to CM01/02 as the years went on.

[Gray Fox]

The game has annoyed me to play for long periods since maybe FM19. Whenever they brought in squad dynamics and made it so in the 3rd game of the season, your backup right back complains to you he isn't starting over Trent. Despite him being labelled as a back up and paid as such. You then can't tell him to do one because then you have a squad revolt. So tedious.

[Baz]

Tedious sums up FM nicely. Far too much to do.

I assign the majority of it to staff, but it means I barely play the game cos I just find it boring. Whereas otherwise it would be overwhelming and take literal hours to progress a day.

Best time I’ve had was doing a network game tbh. They should scrap 25 and remake FM Live.

[Jimmy Floyd]

There are too many events I think. A player getting pissed off should happen rarely and then it would be a significant event and fun to negotiate / fail to negotiate. When there are by definition 10-15 people a season who are going to kick off, it's basically just like having a real job.

The player should be the architect of what happens, I think, not the game. Miles thinks differently.

[Clunge]

I'd love a modern iteration of FM Live. It was before its time. If they'd launched it in 2018/19 with a really strong mobile/app proposition, it would be on tens of millions of phones and probs pulling in insane subscription fees.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Tedious sums up FM nicely. Far too much to do.

I assign the majority of it to staff, but it means I barely play the game cos I just find it boring. Whereas otherwise it would be overwhelming and take literal hours to progress a day.

Best time I’ve had was doing a network game tbh. They should scrap 25 and remake FM Live.

I was an absolute DON on FM live.

I would even batter Guido the nerd.

[Baz]

When I did my network game the plan was to leave it running constantly so the managers could dip in and out whenever anyone was available to play, trying to emulate FM Live, but the game doesn’t really cater for it to be run like that. Well, not when I also wanted to be a playing manager too.

[John Arne]

In my humble opinion, SI should be spending way more time getting the online environment done, and less time on the graphics. Who plays FM for graphics? Whereas, a properly functioning online game world - fuck yeah.

[John Arne]

Edit: I appreciate that as someone over 40, SI probably don't care about me, and these changes are what "the kids" want, I suspect.

[Shindig]

Text commentary is all I need. I don’t need to see my keeper drop a clanger, just read it.

[Clunge]

I maybe played with 2D for a few months back when it launched. But I've been commentary only since CM2 basically. And I pretty much exclusively use instant result these days.

[Baz]

Also an instant resulter.

[Manc]

:sick:

[Dark Soldier]

This does absolute bits love it

https://i.imgur.com/ajttbB3.png

[Dark Soldier]

Its gonna be arse lads

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2217490/Football_Manager_25/

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It's so expensive...

[Gray Fox]

£45 with zero gameplay or feature info. Nothing beyond a "roadmap" and a teaser trailer saying "obsessed aren't you lads? Come buy it again."

That they seem to be leaving the gameplay reveal and feature stuff so late on said roadmap, combined with there seemingly being no early access are big red flags for me.

[Yevrah]

What are those WIP screenshots about?

[Dark Soldier]

New logo is lol

https://i.imgur.com/rq8GZjp.png

[Jimmy Floyd]

Once I've unlocked all my passion, any clues as to why I'm supposed to pay that much?

[Baz]

If you told me that was the logo from the movie Baseketball, I wouldn’t doubt you.

[Dark Soldier]

Nope, absolutely no gameplay whatsoever. Or any idea of a match engine they claim to have been working on for a few years now, less than two months before release. Work in progress screenshots. BUT! We do have a roadmap, with nothing unlocked yet.

https://www.footballmanager.com/roadmap

[Yevrah]

That roadmap. :D TBA everywhere...

[Baz]

Now I’m no women’s football connoisseur (I’m Yevrah) but

https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/2217490/ss_40a7065e21f629dc083216dcec2b80f38872d167.jpg?t= 1727705773

I’m pretty sure that tiny woman Fran Kirby isn’t taller than me.

[Gray Fox]

Thank the lord they haven't shown her weight though.

[John Arne]

I'm sure there is a club in Germany with a very similar logo... gonna go find it.

[Manc]

Catania vibes.

[Mike]

You know most of us will get it. £33 on cdkeys.

[Shindig]

I'm going to assume the researchers they've got in for the women's game are ... well, don't be surprised if a Jo Madeira or Maxine Tsigalko gets in.

Fuck it. Just give me a gender-swapped 01-02 database for laughs.

[Danny]

FM25 for £35.05 using discount LOLLUJO's code

https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/football-manager-25?ref=lollujo


That logo is so bad.

[Bam]

Can you remove the women's database from the game? I don't want that slowing the game down.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'd have thought their daintiness would speed it up if anything. Those decliate, feminine steps across the motherboard.

[Danny]

Can you remove the women's database from the game? I don't want that slowing the game down.

:D

I reckon you can just not load it like anything else you dont want to play.

[Giggles]

I'd probably wait and see on that one given that there'd surely be some sort of shit storm if you were able to disable it these days.

[Shindig]

There's no reason why you shouldn't, really. It's not like men and women play together. Unless they want that possibility on the table at all times. Hell, the way the database might work out, you would just stick big Beth up front instead of her more expensive male equivalent.

[Yevrah]

It'll be fully integrated into the game so even if you don't load it the players and major comps will all be there.

[Dark Soldier]

It'll be fully integrated into the game so even if you don't load it the players and major comps will all be there.

Yep been confirmed. Hoping there's a bug where you can sign female players for the men's game etc as they're gonna be about 500k and better than Messi.

[Bam]

Fucks sake, well I better be able to turn it off the news feed otherwise it'll be like watching Sky Sports News. :mad:

[Gray Fox]

They're setting themselves up for failure by talking about the womens side of it, as their first topic.

It is a good question if there will be a way to separate the two at any point, but I look back at how they handled Brexit. They didn't give an option to remove that as they said it simulated real life. I feel like this will be the same. You'll be wanting a decent PC/laptop to do any long term saves.

[Yevrah]

They're setting themselves up for failure by talking about the womens side of it, as their first topic.


In years to come Adam Curtis will be doing 8 hours on how the death of capitalism and the West was caused by businesses focusing on minorities or vast swaythes of a majority who couldn't give a shit about their product.

[Gray Fox]

The simple fix here is show your gameplay off up first. That's the thing you've said you've worked on for 2-3 years, having self admittedly tanked the features for the previous version to do so. And if it is such a great new change, you'll be wanting to shout it from the rooftops and show off how great it is, right? Then after that sure, show us the womens side of things. Much more receptive audience that way.

The target audience of the game is likely to play a womens save less than they did an international save, which they cut out due to low uptake. The same target audience already kicked up enough stink at the original announcement of women added in-game and then again over the weight thing.

It feels to me like they're setting up the Ghostbusters defence a little bit. You didn't not like our product because it was bad. Our product cannot be bad as it has women in it! You just didn't like it because you're sexist.

[Shindig]

The business logic is, "Well, the majority are catered for. We should chase as many other people as possible."

One thing I'll give 2K credit for is they've made the WNBA feel closer to that product rather than a modded NBA clone.

[Yevrah]

I get the logic in that a new customer being better than an existing one is a well trodden path, but the trick is, whatever you do while you're doing that, do not piss your existing customers off - which seems lost on a lot of businesses at the moment.

[John Arne]

I'll give Miles & Co. some credit - they seem to have bought off most of the content creators - who, to be fair, make their money from the game - so need that good relationship.

Some proper emporers new robes stuff.

[John Arne]

Also, it's October, and they've been working on the new match engine for 2 years (more, but let's get them some slack) and we haven't seen ONE clip? Should we be worried? Are they just going for the big surprise launch and it's going to be mega?

It's the former, isn't it?

[Danny]

It’s the former.

Completely skipped 24 and was planning to get a new laptop around Black Friday time for this. Maybe I’ll wait :lol:

[John Arne]

Ironically, I think 24 was pretty good... they didn't have enough time/effort to implement useless shit :D

[Clunge]

I hope that somewhere, a small dev team is quietly working on a rival just in case this tanks. It could be a real opportunity to open up the market a bit and get some competition going. Look at what happened when EA rebooted Sim City - it allowed someone else to come in (Cities Skylines) and completely dominate that genre. I’d love there to be a few genuine alternatives to FM.

[Ben]

They're setting themselves up for failure by talking about the womens side of it, as their first topic.

It is a good question if there will be a way to separate the two at any point, but I look back at how they handled Brexit. They didn't give an option to remove that as they said it simulated real life. I feel like this will be the same. You'll be wanting a decent PC/laptop to do any long term saves.

I’m long gone as one of their devoted fans, but I just can’t see how the usual fan base will in any way give a shit about the women’s game being in it.

[Luke Emia]

If they want to put the women’s game in fine do it. Doesn’t make any major difference to me and I assume it will need to be loaded in the same way as I don’t load the Welsh or Scottish leagues for example.

But, I can’t see how they are expecting many women and at that probably women in the 16-30 age bracket are going to start playing what is basically a spread-sheet and is already a pretty niche game. When 99% of their current customers are probably mildly autistic men.

As for them phoning it in. Exactly the same as EA since PES basically got written off. No need for innovation so why bother it’s still going to sell.

[Raoul Duke]

If you ignore the fact they're a game company rather than just A Tech Company, they've done the absolute classic thing of trying to do a replatform at the same time as adding a load more features - inevitably leading to a load of technical debt, missed deadlines and weird trade-offs (e.g. adding women's leagues vs. International).

It feels like this is the version to skip and next year would be an actual final version. This is gonna honk of Beta Release for a long time

[Lofty]

Maybe they will put jiggle physics in.

Mantralux will be happy, anyway.

[Shindig]

Nah, she'll probably complain about cup size.

[Yevrah]

I’m long gone as one of their devoted fans, but I just can’t see how the usual fan base will in any way give a shit about the women’s game being in it.

Depends how it's implemented and what it comes as a cost of.

[Baz]

Realistically, nobody who has played FM since the CM days, or even early FM days, is ever gonna manage in the Women's leagues, at least not for a proper multi-season save. Maybe 1% and that's a stretch. The same as they don't watch it, buy their stickers, play their fantasy football, or even know what the non-viral players look like or are even called. It's pandering to nobody for the sake of UTTER WOKE NONSENSE. There, I've done the thing.

[Ben]

Depends how it's implemented and what it comes as a cost of.

That was my point really. They've dedicated a lot of PR to it, which tells you they've dedicated a lot of development time to it (as evidence by the abundance of "TBA" all over the roadmap), so it wouldn't surprise me if they've further neglected other development areas which have been lacking for years.

[Danny]

1840859080392311043

[John Arne]

The fact there is a clear mistake on one of the 3 (THREE) screenshots they shared is worrying. Fran Kirby is not 6'2".

[Danny]

Shes 6 2 when compared to other women. Come on JA.

[John Arne]

My bad. I'm such a misogynist :/

[igor_balis]

I really doubt the implementation of women's football will have taken away that many resources from developing the other stuff, it's mostly just the new database presumably (which will be done by an entirely different team). It does give them a handy excuse, and they can pretend that the critics are just gammons (aided and abetted by actual gammons moaning about woke), rather than people correctly stating that miles and co are useless dickheads, who've been incompetently half-arsing the game for years.

It sorta reminds me of the football ramble acting like all the complaints about their change of direction was due to fash scum hating them having women presenters, rather than most complaints accurately bemoaning the fact that the heart and soul and literally everything that made the podcast good disappeared practically overnight. Vish is alright, though.

[Lofty]

Yeah that is a wider problem now, like you say the ramble, Ghostbusters 2016, hiding behind inclusivity to defend substandard output.

A bit like those pink washing awards where you can be the worst company in the world but get an award for being gay friendly if you oay enough for your table.

[igor_balis]

Yeah that is a wider problem now, like you say the ramble, Ghostbusters 2016, hiding behind inclusivity to defend substandard output.

A bit like those pink washing awards where you can be the worst company in the world but get an award for being gay friendly if you oay enough for your table.

Yeah Ghostbusters is a great example. Generally I think reactionary right wing people are more to blame for all the culture wars shit, but I probably get more annoyed when left leaning people fall for it - like I think Mark Kermode is a good egg, but him giving a great review to Ghostbusters 2016 felt like the stupidest shit ever. He barely likes any actually good comedy movies, yet gave that absolute rubbish a very positive review.

You can say it's shit while also saying fash snowflakes are idiots for hating it on principle. Like, I didn't suddenly think bud light was a delicious drink when they had some trans person advertising it, or whatever they did.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Given how well Football Manager sells, I am fairly astonished that there hasn't been any meaningful competition to it for well over a decade now (which is also why it has gone in the direction, or lack of direction, that it has). I suppose they're leaning on 25 year old practices and databases that are hard to start from scratch, but still. A stripped down, plug and play competition to FM for £25 would fly off the imaginary shelves.

[Ben]

On those lines, the CM01/02 community asked SI a few years ago if they'd be willing to release the source code for the game, so things like the Champions League format could be updated.

They refused, on the grounds that they still use a lot of the features coded in that game for the FM Touch series.

[John Arne]

157cm :D

https://gyazo.com/e48ed216315afbf17332f105e667c8e8.jpeg

[Bam]

with that jumping reach and strength he is basically a dwarf.

Aggressive little cunt though, must have small mans syndrome.

[John Arne]

:D

Unfortunately Arsenal snapped him before I could. Gutted.

[Bernanke]

Is there any DB update that has also adjusted CA/PA in some credible way?

[John Arne]

Yup. The FM Inside lot change PA/CA within realistic lines.