Chris Fuller

The Sporting Life: Season 2, Part 1

Published on 5 October 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

[Sigh] That was a brutal end to last season, wasn’t it?

Anyway, welcome back to “The Sporting Life” – my Football Manager 2020 blog story with Sporting CP. My second year in Lisbon is about to get underway, and there has been some much-needed reshuffling after our sudden collapse in form last spring (which you can read about right here).

In today’s chapter, I will be summarising all the ins and outs from our summer transfer window. I’ll then reintroduce you to the first-team squad and go through our pre-season results before explaining our objectives for 2020/2021.

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The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 6

Published on 2 October 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Welcome back, folks. The first season of my Football Manager 2020 career with Sporting CP is coming to an end, and there’s still some silverware on the line for us. (There will be major spoilers from the start, so if you haven’t caught up with Part 5 yet, please read that first.)

So… can Big Phil fire us to Primeira Liga glory, and maybe even help us win the Europa League as well? Or will it all come crashing down?

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The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 5

Published on 28 September 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Welcome to another chapter of my Football Manager 2020 blog story. As you can see, things have gone pretty well for me at Sporting CP lately! If you want to read about our post-Christmas surge in greater detail, you can revisit Part 4 here (just don’t ask me about the cups).

Can we carry that impressive league form over into February and March, and into the Europa League knockout rounds? We’ll find out soon, but first, there’s somebody I’d quite like you to meet…

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The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 4

Published on 25 September 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

My new Football Manager 2020 save with Sporting CP has gone pretty well so far. Mind you, there have been a few hiccups along the way, not least because the players are still getting used to the physical demands needed to regularly and effectively counter-press.

That being said, my job is very much safe… but will that still be the case as we prepare to head into 2020? Can a good run of form get us back in the title hunt and/or win us the Taça da Liga? Or will I need to delve into my transfer budget for the first time?

Don’t forget that you can catch up on Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 using the links provided if you haven’t read them yet.

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The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 3

Published on 21 September 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

My new Football Manager 2020 series with Sporting CP is now into its second week. Even at this late stage in FM20’s life cycle, this story seems to have drawn plenty of interest, which is always pretty nice to see as a blogger.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the first two chapters of “The Sporting Life”. If you’re new to this story, you can catch up on Part 1 and Part 2 on the links provided to see how we fared in the opening months.

Today, I’ll be taking you through our results in October and November. This includes a huge Primeira Liga match at Braga as well as our first game in the Taça de Portugal, but much of our focus here will be on the Europa League. First up, a daunting trip to the Czech Republic…

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The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 2

Published on 18 September 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

“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.

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The Sporting Life: Season 1, Part 1

Published on 14 September 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Embed from Getty Images

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…

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The Sporting Life: Introduction

Published on 11 September 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Embed from Getty Images

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.

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FM Mythbusting: First Goal of the Season!

Published on 31 August 202012 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

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.

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Blog Update #4

Published on 20 August 20204 July 2026 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.

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