Author: Chris Fuller

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We’ve now come to the end of my fourth season at Arsenal.

2024/2025 started with high hopes that we could overtake Liverpool and win the Premier League, but inconsistent finishing was ultimately our downfall. Our hopes of major silverware rested on the FA Cup, which… well, you can read about that in the previous chapter.

Today, I’ll wrap up the season with a bumper season review, looking at various stats to try and figure out what went wrong. I’ll also look at our whole squad to help me decide which players to keep, sell or promote over the summer.

[Advance warning: this will be the longest chapter of the series so far, so get comfortable…]

Continue reading “Hale End Heroes: Season 4, Part 4” →

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I never said this Arsenal academy challenge would be easy! Midway through my fourth season, this is already shaping up to be my most frustrating one yet!

In case you missed the first half of this campaign, my young Gunners have been VERY inconsistent. While we’ve finally figured out how to defeat our title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, we’ve also struggled to kill off lesser teams like Brentford and Bournemouth. Too many wasted opportunities and dropped points have left us some way off the pace.

Today’s chapter takes us through the second half of the 2024/2025 season, as we attempt to resurrect our Premier League hopes, while also competing for both the Champions League and the FA Cup. There’s also a look at this season’s youth intake, which sadly does not include Ethan Nwaneri (who, alas, won’t make his Football Manager debut until FM24).

Continue reading “Hale End Heroes: Season 4, Part 3” →

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In the 2023/2024 season, Arsenal scored a record 107 Premier League goals and picked up 88 points… but still finished runners-up to Liverpool.

As we head into my fourth season as Gunners manager, there is plenty of reason for optimism. We have largely kept the same squad that pushed Liverpool so close, and after beating the Reds in the Community Shield, it feels like the 2024/2025 season might be the one where it all comes together.

Emile Smith Rowe is ready to bring the Premier League title back to North London. Can we now start the season as we mean to go on?

Continue reading “Hale End Heroes: Season 4, Part 2” →

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My Arsenal academy challenge on Football Manager 2022 has reached the halfway point. While my young Gunners have only claimed a couple of EFL Cups during my three-year tenure, I’m confident of bringing some major silverware to the Emirates Stadium over the next three seasons.

In the previous chapter, our 2023/2024 season ended in double heartbreak, as we fell short of Premier League champions Liverpool – and then lost to Barcelona in the Europa League Final.

In today’s 2024/2025 season preview, I prepare my squad for our impending return to the Champions League, and a couple of former Gunners icons return to the Emirates. We also kick off the campaign by facing Liverpool for the most prestigious trophy of them all – the Community Shield.

Continue reading “Hale End Heroes: Season 4, Part 1” →

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As the third season of my FM22 academy challenge draws to an end, my free-scoring young Arsenal team is on the hunt for yet more silverware.

The previous chapter saw us lift our second EFL Cup, after a crazy Final showdown with Leeds. We also extended our unbeaten Premier League run to 28 games and look set to take champions Liverpool all the way.

Meanwhile in the Europa League, we’ve been drawn against Manchester United – and a certain Norwegian goal machine – in the Quarter Finals. Can we find a way to stop Erling Haaland, and perhaps even make amends for last year’s Champions League heartbreak?

Is 2024 the year where Arsenal finally bring a big trophy to the Emirates? Time to find out…

Continue reading “Hale End Heroes: Season 3, Part 4” →

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We’re now halfway through my third season as Arsenal manager, and things are starting to take shape.

In the previous chapter, we made a very rocky start to the campaign by losing our first two games, including a 6-3 thrashing at Liverpool. Since then, however, we have been on an unbeaten run that has put the Gunners right in the Premier League title race! We also swept through our Europa League group and are even on course to retain the EFL Cup.

Can we keep that incredible form up, or will FM’s traditional mid-season slump come back to bite us? Let’s find out…

Continue reading “Hale End Heroes: Season 3, Part 3” →

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Third time’s the charm? Let’s hope so, as my third season as Arsenal manager kicks off in earnest.

There has been quite the rebuild over the summer, with over £200million spent on new players who will hopefully fix the defensive issues we had last term. I’ve also brought two more Hale End Boys into the fold, with centre-back Daniel Ballard and striker Folarin Balogun both joining the first-team. You can read more about our summer business in the previous chapter.

Today’s chapter takes us through the first half of the 2023/2024 Premier League season. This includes the group stage of the Europa League (cue the obnoxious theme music), while we also start our defence of the EFL Cup.

And it all starts with an away game against the league champions. Nice and easy…

Continue reading “Hale End Heroes: Season 3, Part 2” →

Passion, clarity, energy. Those are the three things Arsenal desperately need as we head into the tricky third season of my Football Manager 2022 youth challenge.

The 2022/2023 season was a real rollercoaster ride. Although a disappointing second-half collapse saw us finish 6th in the Premier League, we also made it to the Champions League Final – which you can read about in the previous chapter. You can also catch up on the entire story by visiting this page, which has links to every chapter I’ve written so far.

Today’s chapter is all about looking ahead to the 2023/2024 campaign. It’s been quite a busy transfer window, so let’s get straight to it…

Continue reading “Hale End Heroes: Season 3, Part 1” →

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The real-life 2022/2023 Premier League campaign might have just kicked off… but on my FM22 save with Arsenal, it’s almost over. And what a ride it has been!

Yes, this season has been an absolute disaster – at least where the league is concerned. It looks like Arsenal will miss out on a top-four finish, though we did reach the Final of the EFL Cup which… well, if you haven’t read the previous chapter yet, then you probably should!

There’s also the prospect of another major Final for our young Gunners, who’ve made it to the last eight of the Champions League. Could we possibly go all the way – and become champions of Europe?

Continue reading “Hale End Heroes: Season 2, Part 4” →