CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 9

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We’ve reached the ninth chapter of my Championship Manager 99/00 adventure with Scotland. Will the Tartan Army be celebrating qualifying for a third consecutive World Cup at the end of today’s post?

In Part 8, our attempts to qualify for England 2006 got off to a… let’s say interesting start. You might want to make sure you’re up to date on that before you continue reading this.

When you’re ready, let’s get going… Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 9”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 8

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I’m now five years into my Championship Manager 99/00 series with Scotland. By now, you were probably expecting me to have been sacked after a 2-0 home defeat to Andorra, which is typically how most Scotland managers end their reigns. Either that, or they get poached by Chesterfield.

But no, it’s gone surprisingly well for us… well, kinda. The previous chapter saw us take part in the 2004 European Championship in Portugal. That’s all I want to say right now.

In today’s installment, our focus is on the first half of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. Can the Tartan Army take its first steps towards invading England in two summers’ time? Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 8”

CM99/00 Revisited: Cult Icons – Part 1

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 billing 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 1, I’ll be looking at players such as Kennedy Bakircioglü, Mads Jørgensen, Johnnier Montano and the legendary Tonton Zola Moukoko. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Cult Icons – Part 1”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 7

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Hello there, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you’re not feeling too hungover after the madness that was last night, when England were crowned European champions for the first time after a shock victory at Wembley against the mighty Finland. Who honestly expected Jordan Pickford to score a 90th-minute winner with a header from the halfway line?!

Or at least that would’ve happened but for some virus which has absolutely nothing to do with an Irish rock band.

Anyway, seeing as it’s the day after what would’ve been the Euro 2020 Final, my Championship Manager 99/00 story with Scotland has reached quite a fitting moment. The previous chapter saw us qualify for Euro 2004 – and that tournament will be the main focus in today’s installment. Enjoy!

Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 7”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 6

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My Championship Manager 99/00 story gets back underway now on Fuller FM. I’ve already rewritten history by taking Scotland to one major tournament, and now we’ve got another in our sights.

You join us midway through the Euro 2004 qualifiers, where Scotland are battling England and three other teams for a place at the upcomining continental finals. If you want to see how we got on in our earlier matches, you can read Part 5 right here.

When you’re ready, let’s get going…

Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 6”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 5

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I’m back with another chapter from my Championship Manager 99/00 adventure with the Scotland national team. I’ll admit it’s still a little strange as a Londoner to be managing our neighbours north of the border, but I’m really getting sucked into this career now.

Of course, our recent exploits at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan have played a big part in settling me in – and answering my biggest critics. I won’t spoil anything in this intro, but if you haven’t yet caught up with the story (or you just want to relive our Asian journey), you can read Part 4 right here.

In today’s post, I’ll be playing through the first half of our Euro 2004 qualifying campaign. Again, no spoilers, but excitement levels are about to kick up a notch…

Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 5”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 4

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My Championship Manager 99/00 adventure with Scotland continues right now on Fuller FM. And let me tell you – things are about to get very, very spicy!

Remember the last chapter, where we had to get out of a World Cup qualifying group with Denmark and Spain? Well… if you’ve read that, you’ll know what’s coming up in today’s post. If not, then please check that out first, because there will be obvious spoilers below…

Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 4”

The Counties Championship: THE FINALS

This is it: the final installment of my Football Manager 2017 project.

Over the last couple of months, I have simulated a full season of an English league featuring 48 county teams who can only use players and staff from their local area. Those teams have done battle in the main Counties Championship as well as the knockout County Cup – and now those trophies are about to be won.

Today’s post will have full match reports from the Counties Championship and County Cup Finals. I will then wrap things up by handing out the end-of-season awards in all four divisions.

If you haven’t read my last post yet, then please do that before reading this to avoid spoilers. Don’t forget, also, that you can find links to every chapter in this series right here.

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: THE FINALS”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 3

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Welcome back to my Championship Manager 99/00 challenge with the Scotland national team. Last time round, I began to rebuild the team after our failure to qualify for Euro 2000 – and now it’s time to find out if that work has reaped its rewards.

I’m subtitling this article “2001: A Scotland Odyssey”. I don’t like to exaggerate, but if today’s story sees the Tartan Army successfully qualify for the 2002 World Cup, it would surely rival even Arthur C Clarke’s greatest epic fiction.

More likely, though, is that it’ll end in the sort of British ultra-violence you’d expect from another classic Stanley Kubrick film.

Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 3”

The Counties Championship: Play-Offs Quarters & Semis

Hello again, ladies and gentlemen. The Counties Championship play-offs have begun, with 16 teams being whittled down to eight after the first round of matches, which you can read about right here if you haven’t yet.

Today, we’ll be going through the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals. By the end, we will know which two teams will be doing battle at Wembley for the right to take home that glittering prize (Simple Minds not included).

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: Play-Offs Quarters & Semis”