Chris Fuller

Improving international management on Football Manager

Published on 21 March 20225 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Let’s talk about international management in Football Manager.

Club football might be the bread and butter of our sport, but there is nothing quite like the international game. Representing your country is always a high point in a player’s career, and winning the World Cup can lift an elite player to legendary status – like Pelé, Diego Maradona, or Bernard Diomède. For a manager, becoming a World or continental champion can make them a national hero.

Why, then, does international management feel so dull in FM? Managing a national team in the game is so bare-bones and tedious that it’s difficult to stay interested in it for long – and even winning a World Cup feels much more hollow than it should.

Just before the release of FM22, Guido from Strikerless went on “a bit of a rant” about FM’s take on international football, and what he would do to improve it. As we head into another international break, I feel it’s now time to share my thoughts and ideas – using some of Guido’s suggestions, and some others from the wider FM community.

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Retro Review: FourFourTwo Touchline Passion

Published on 9 March 20227 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

“If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
“Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and – which is more – you’ll be a man, my son!
“Ladies and gentlemen, Fuller FM will be playing 4-4-f***ing-2.”

Welcome to another Retro Review here on Fuller FM. Today, I’ve decided to return to a rather obscure football management game from my childhood, and see if it still holds up two decades on.

The year is 2002. Arsenal have just won the Double, Real Madrid are the European champions, and teen wonder Wayne Rooney is about to make his Everton debut. Meanwhile, a new challenger to Championship Manager’s throne has emerged – with strong backing from a best-selling magazine, the game’s flashiest diamond geezer, and the glamorous new face of ITV!

Go grab yourselves some of Mr Kipling’s exceedingly good cakes, because we’re about to take a deep dive into Mike Bassett’s favourite video game. This is FourFourTwo Touchline Passion.

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Retro databases in Football Manager: Awesome, but impractical?

Published on 11 February 20225 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Let’s talk about retro databases in Football Manager.

When we discuss which features we most want to see added to FM in the future, one of THE most popular requests is for Sports Interactive to add official historic databases.

The ability to manage a football team at any point in history – or even just during a specific time period – is something that appeals to many FMers. I’m sure some of you would like to go back to the 1970s or 1980s, or perhaps to the start of the Premier League era in 1992. Even the 2000s hold plenty of nostalgia for those of us who grew up at the turn of the millennium.

Unfortunately, despite numerous requests over the years (and indeed decades), it seems that SI won’t allow us to manage in the distant past for the foreseeable future. There are just too many legal and technical issues that stop this feature from being a viable addition.

In this post, I will try to explain why adding historic databases to FM is an awesome idea… but also an impractical one.

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FM Mythbusting: Are English Teams Overrated?

Published on 13 January 202213 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

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It’s time to resolve a debate that has been raging across the Football Manager for years. Are English teams – and English players, for that matter – too overpowered?

Some people argue that Premier League players are rated too highly compared to their counterparts in La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga. They often see PL clubs winning more Champions Leagues than anyone else, England competing for major international trophies… and Callum Wilson becoming the best non-Norwegian striker in world football.

Sports Interactive are based in London, and a large portion of their research team is English. So is there any substance behind these claims that they overrate English teams and players? Are there some valid explanations for their success in FM? Or this simply a myth that has been blown out of proportion?

I’ll be using Football Manager 2021 to try and answer these questions. This article’s gonna be quite a long one… but if you love data and charts, you’re in for a treat.

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Review: We Are Football

Published on 29 December 20217 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

And so 2021 is coming to an end. I hope you’ve enjoyed the Christmas holidays as much as possible, and that you’ve been keeping safe with your loved ones during what has been another difficult winter period.

You may’ve noticed that there hasn’t been much Football Manager content on here lately. Yes, despite my cautiously positive review of FM22 back in November, I still haven’t bought the new game yet. I’m still concerned about some significant bugs that apparently weren’t fixed in the December update, so I’ve instead been “considering my options” and looking at alternatives.

Today, I’m reviewing a game which emerged earlier this year as the latest challenger to FM’s throne – a game which is often called WAF for short. To quote Cardi B, it’s time to bring a bucket and a mop for some Wet-A** Footy!

Oh, sorry, I mean… We Are Football.

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Developing your own coaches in Football Manager

Published on 9 December 202114 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

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One of the most exciting aspects of any Football Manager career is when you develop young prospects to reach their full potential. Bringing through an academy wonderkid into the senior team and on the road to superstardom is one thing… but what about developing your coaches?

When starting a new save, many FMers like to overhaul their backroom staff, bringing in the very best coaches, scouts and physios they can afford. But hey, what’s the fun in that when you can reap the benefits from growing your own coaches?

In this guide, I will give you some advice to help you successfully move your veteran players from the pitch to the touchline – and even educate a new crop of managers to take football by storm.

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The story of Football Manager’s newgen faces

Published on 26 November 20215 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Let’s talk about newgen faces in Football Manager.

It seems like with every passing FM, there’s a fierce debate about the 3D faces that are assigned to youth intake players. Some people in the FM community hate them; others just tolerate them.

Having played this series for over 20 years, I consider myself an FM historian who loves to look back and see how the game has progressed over the years. I’ve gone through every version from Football Manager 2015 up until the newly-released Football Manager 2022, tracking the evolution of FM’s newgen faces. I’ve also provided some thoughts on how (and where) these faces could be improved for future games…

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My thoughts on Football Manager 2022

Published on 18 November 20217 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

After a quiet few weeks, Fuller FM has returned for another season! I took some time off from blogging after finishing my journeyman series, partly to recharge my batteries, and partly because of a family crisis, but now I’m ready to get going again!

Football Manager 2022 has been officially out for just over a week now. Unlike last year, I decided to forego the beta and not pre-order the game straight away. The demo came out alongside the full game on 9 November, so I waited for that so I could try before I buy.

I’ve now spent the past week or so playing through half a season with Millwall, seeing for myself how FM22 has changed – for better or worse. These are my initial thoughts on the new game…

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Blog Update #5

Published on 18 October 20214 July 2026 by Chris Fuller2 Comments

Ladies and gentlemen… this is blog update number 5.

Yes, it’s time for my annual post where I update you on what I’ve been up to over the past 12 months. With my long-term Football Manager 2021 save now completed, I’m ready to give my final thoughts on what has perhaps been the most divisive game in the series’ history.

And at the end of a “make or break” year for Fuller FM, I’ll also discuss my long-term plans for this blog. Have we managed to outdo José Mourinho by surviving beyond the third season?

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Journey of a Deadman: #46 (Basel) – Finale

Published on 14 October 202113 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

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It’s May 2031, and everything has come down to these final five matches for Shama Deadman and his Basel team.

In case you missed the previous chapter, Basel are still leading the Swiss Super League as they check back-to-back titles. They have also made it through to the Swiss Cup Final.

Can Shama end his Swiss sojourn with a domestic double? And what does the long-term future hold for our journeyman coach? Let’s read on…

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