CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 5

Welcome back to my Championship Manager 3 story, where I will be aiming to take Napoli back to the top of Italian football.

After securing promotion in 1998/1999, the previous chapter saw us kick off the 1999/2000 season in Serie A. Results haven’t been too bad, but our supporters are perhaps getting frustrated with our pragmatic tactics. And to be honest, so am I.

Will things get any better over the next few months? Read on…

Continue reading “CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 5” →

Review: We Are Football 2024

Some people in the Football Manager community like to lament that FM “has no competition”. But while it has indeed been a long time since Sports Interactive have had a serious rival to their crown, perhaps that might be about to change?

Having recently become disillusioned with FM, I’m now hoping that this title from Germany will win me over with its slim-lined, strategic and less serious approach to football management. Three years after making a promising debut, is it now ready for the first-team?

We Are Football 2024, this will be your day.

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CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 4

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My Championship Manager 3 series with Napoli is now in full swing, as I’m about to kick off my second season at the San Paolo!

In the previous chapter, the Partenopei secured promotion from Serie B as champions. We will now kick off the 1999/2000 season back in Serie A, where this once-great club belongs.

Today’s installment will take us through the summer of 1999, as several new faces arrive in Naples before we begin our quest for top-flight consolidation. Will that be easier said than done?

Continue reading “CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 4” →

FM Mythbusting: More Common Misconceptions

Three years ago, I wrote an article that explained nine common misconceptions with Football Manager. For example, I stated the ‘wonderkid’ tag has much more to do with a youngster’s current ability than their potential, and that having a higher xG than the opposition doesn’t mean your team played better.

Of course, there are still some things about FM and football that many players – particularly new ones to the series – don’t fully understand. So I think it’s time to look at a few more of these…

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CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 3

I’m glad that you’ve joined me for the latest installment of my new Championship Manager 3 series. I’m now well into my first season at Napoli, who are flying high in Serie B after averaging nearly two goals per game!

It is now March 1999. CM3 is about to hit store shelves, and the Partenopei look like they are about to celebrate promotion back to Serie A at the first time of asking. Can they finish the job… or will this season reach a nail-biting, perhaps even a heartbreaking conclusion?

Continue reading “CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 3” →

CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 2

This is the second chapter of my new Championship Manager 3 series. The year is 1998 – and while Cher is asking us if we believe in life after love, I’m making Napoli fans believe in life after relegation.

In last week’s opener, I took over a Partenopei side who had just slid down into Serie B after years of steady decline. Our season so far is off to a strong start, thanks in no small part to a young Argentinian striker who could become the next Diego Maradona… or at least the first Ezequiel Lavezzi.

We pick up this story in November, where Napoli are looking to consolidate their position in the promotion places. And after knocking out Parma in Round 2, we are aiming to complete another Serie A scalping in the Coppa Italia…

Continue reading “CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 2” →

Retro Review: Ally McCoist’s Director of Football

I’ve been feeling in a nostalgic mood lately… so I reckon it’s time for another Retro Review of a football management game from years gone by.

Today, I’m taking you to the 2001/2002 season – a time when Liverpool were challenging Arsenal for the title, and an English midfielder was firing Real Madrid towards continental glory. It was also a time when Championship Manager still had plenty of competition to contend with, even if some of their early rivals had fallen by the wayside.

So what happened when German developers joined forces with a Scottish footballing legend to try and challenge England’s top dogs? Let’s take a closer look at Ally McCoist’s Director of Football.

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CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 1

Welcome to a brand new story on Fuller FM! This week marked the 25th anniversary of the release of Championship Manager 3, and I’ve been thinking for some time about how best to mark the occasion.

My first thought was to recreate my first ever CM save – with Shrewsbury Town, down in Division 3. Maybe I will revisit them on CM3 one day, but I’m still feeling sore about how my FM19 Shrews story ended.

Another idea was to load the Brazilian leagues, start the game in December 1998, and then take over a struggling team in a top European league midway through the season. Unfortunately, this can lead to some very strange scenarios, such as Liverpool or Chelsea fighting relegation, or Piacenza challenging for the Serie A title.

Instead, I have decided to take on a fallen giant in Serie B – at a time when Italian football was coming to the end of its 1990s heyday. Yes, folks, it’s time for some GOLLLLLLLLLAZOOOO!

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CM3 Revisited: Cult Icons

Championship Manager 3 celebrates its 25th birthday later this month. In lieu of baking a cake, I thought I’d take the opportunity to celebrate some cult players who would often develop into world-beaters.

I’ve come up with a list of 15 players in the CM3 database – young and, er, not-so-young – and have looked at where their careers went after the turn of the millennium.

I’m looking for cult icons, so I will not be including players like Pablo Aimar and Javier Saviola who enjoyed at least some real-life superstardom. I also won’t be revisiting anyone that I’ve already covered on my lists of Championship Manager 99/00 icons (Part 1 and Part 2).

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Football Manager (And Content Creation) Burnout

Hello, guys. Christopher here. This is not a post I wanted to write, but in light of recent events, there are some things I have to get off my chest.

I want to talk about feeling burnt out – both with playing Football Manager, and with creating content about Football Manager. But first, it’s time to answer a question I’m sure a few of you will be asking…

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