Author: Chris Fuller

The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 2

Published on by Chris Fuller

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“Olá” again, readers. My Football Manager 2020 series with Sporting CP is about to kick off with earnest, with our opening matches in the Primeira Liga, the Europa League, and – of course – the Taça da Liga.

In case you missed it last time, you can read the first chapter of this new story right here. In that, I looked at the various players at my disposal and played through the curtain-raising Supertaça (the Portuguese Community Shield, basically).

But now it’s time for the serious business to begin. By the way, if you’re wondering why there’s a silly image of Jenna Coleman wearing a Father Christmas hat while standing outside the Estádio de São Miguel in Ponta Delgada, all will become clear soon. Continue reading “The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 2” →

The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 1

Published on by Chris Fuller

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Hello there, readers, and welcome to the official start of my new Football Manager 2020 blog story! I have taken over the reins of Sporting CP, with the aim of returning them to the top of Portuguese football – and hopefully making them competitive in Europe again.

In case you missed my introduction to this story, in which I went through Sporting’s history and explained my goals for this story, you can read it right here.

Today’s opening chapter will begin with a squad report, where I’ll go through each first-team player and then look at my tactics. I’ll also summarise our pre-season results before finishing off with our first competitive match – the season-opening Supertaça against league champions Benfica.

Are you ready for this new adventure? If so, let’s begin… Continue reading “The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 1” →

The Sporting Life: Introduction

Published on by Chris Fuller

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Well… I probably wasn’t expecting to write this in September, but welcome to a brand new Football Manager 2020 blog story on Fuller FM!

After spending much of the past year staying clear of FM20, I finally buckled and bought the game cheap on Amazon for £13. I now have a few months spare to spend on a new mid-term challenge that will tide me over until Football Manager 2021 finally sees daylight.

For this save, I’ve decided to take over a European sleeping giant that hasn’t won its national league for close to two decades. I’m heading to Portugal to try and wake Sporting CP from their slumber, while also making use of one of the continent’s most successful youth systems.

In today’s preview post, I will recount the storied history of this great club before explaining my objectives for my first season at the Estádio José Alvalade. Continue reading “The Sporting Life: Introduction” →

FM Mythbusting: First Goal of the Season!

Published on by Chris Fuller

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If you play Football Manager, you’ve probably seen the commentator say this line countless times before: “It’s his first goal of the season!”

Imagine the scenario. It’s April, the season’s almost over, and you’re up against some bang-average mid-table defender who suddenly pops up and opens his account for the campaign. Or maybe it’s that misfiring striker who makes Rudy Gestede look like Robert Lewandowski, but who finally breaks his duck on the day he happens to be playing your team.

Some FMers might cry conspiracy. Some might say that the game buffs certain players’ attributes to boost their chances of scoring against them, or even that the developers have written some secret code to make this happen.

In today’s installment of FM Mythbusting, I’m going to use real-life English league data to show you just how regularly these “first-goals” are scored. I’ll then see how that compares to an average Football Manager save. Continue reading “FM Mythbusting: First Goal of the Season!” →

Blog Update #4

Published on by Chris Fuller
Christian Nørgaard (who is a Fuller FM legend) is denied a goal by David Stockdale (who never was).

Thanks for stopping by to read my latest blog update. It’s been a strange but eventful year on Fuller FM, and I thought I’d take some time out to keep you abreast of recent developments.

In this post, I will quickly summarise the various Football Manager and Championship Manager series I’ve written since last autumn. I’ll also discuss some troubles I’ve had away from the blog before looking ahead to the future. Continue reading “Blog Update #4” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 13

Published on by Chris Fuller

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Here we are, folks. It’s the 13th and final chapter of my Championship Manager 99/00 series with the Scotland national team. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

Today’s final chapter sees the Tartan Army co-host Euro 2008, where I hope to cap off my reign with a major trophy. Even a Semi Final would be quite nice.

You can go back to Part 12 if you want to see how we concluded our preparations for the Euros. When you’re ready, let’s jump into the action and see who I’ve brought along with me for the last leg of my international adventure… Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 13” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 12

Published on by Chris Fuller

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Welcome to the penultimate chapter of my Championship Manager 99/00 series with Scotland. Tensions are rising in the Tartan Army as the 2008 European Championship draws nearer. Today’s chapter will cover the final season of pre-tournament friendlies.

If you want to find out just why Rod Stewart looks so stressed out here, you can revisit the first year of our Euro preparations in Part 11. I don’t want to talk about it. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 12” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 11

Published on by Chris Fuller

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My Championship Manager 99/00 series with the Scotland national team is nearing its conclusion. We’ve just played through the 2006 World Cup in England, which you can revisit right here.

Our focus now switches to Euro 2008, where we’ll be attempting to make history on home soil and end my tenure in style. Today’s chapter will cover the first season of our preparations for the European Championship. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 11” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Cult Icons – Part 2

Published on by Chris Fuller

Every version of Championship Manager and Football Manager has its cult icons – those must-buy players whom you can often turn into superstars. Championship Manager 99/00 is, of course, no exception.

We all have our own favourites, whether it’s one of those Swedish wonderkids everybody knows about or that hidden gem you discovered in Indonesia. But for every Zlatan Ibrahimovic who lived up to their superstar tag in real-life, there are at least a dozen who had rather more… modest careers.

I’ve identified 36 of the brightest stars in the CM99/00 database and have tracked their careers to see where they are two decades later. Their names all appear on the title image above, and I’ll look at each of them over two separate posts.

In Part 2, I’ll be looking at players such as Kabba Samura, Stefan Selakovic, Andri Sigþórsson and Mark Tyler. You can read Part 1 in the link provided. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Cult Icons – Part 2” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 10

Published on by Chris Fuller

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My Championship Manager 99/00 story has reached a crucial stage. It’s the summer of 2006, and Scotland are about to participate in their second consecutive World Cup under my management.

Just like in 1996 (see above), the Tartan Army have descended on England for a major tournament. Hopefully they’ll get out of the group this time – and maybe match or even better their heroics at Korea/Japan 2002!

If you want to see just how Scotland got here, you can revisit Part 9 in the link attached before reading on. If I loved bad puns, I’d suggest you “Czech it out”, but I don’t, so… oh. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 10” →