Author: Chris Fuller

Review: Soccer Manager 2020

Published on by Chris Fuller

Last spring, I started an occasional series here on Fuller FM where I review football management computer games from outside the Sports Interactive catalogue.

The very first game I reviewed was Soccer Manager 2019. I was pretty scathing of that game, particularly singling out its ‘ice-skating’ players and its obsession with microtransactions, and gave it only 2 stars out of 5. (That review also happened to be one of my most-viewed blog posts of 2019.)

The sequel has been on Steam for a while now, so I thought I’d see for myself if things have changed for the better over the past year. Here is my honest review of Soccer Manager 2020…

Continue reading “Review: Soccer Manager 2020” →

Review: New Star Manager

Published on by Chris Fuller

Hello there, folks. This is Chris from Fuller FM, back once again with another of my occasional soccer management game reviews.

I bought a couple of Football Manager alternatives during Steam’s winter sale right at the end of last year. I reviewed Club Soccer Director PRO 2020 a few weeks ago and wasn’t exactly gushing with praise… but maybe this next title will be more to my liking? Seeing as it comes from a developer with over 15 years of developing quality football games, the signs look promising.

New Star Manager, this is your time to shine. Don’t let me down.

Continue reading “Review: New Star Manager” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 10

Published on by Chris Fuller

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And so it’s come to this. We’ve reached the finale of my Championship Manager 99/00 career with Bayer Leverkusen – football’s princes of heartbreak.

It’s April 2002, and my three-year contract at the BayArena expires in just three months. The DFB-Pokal and Champions League have eluded me, so if my reign is to end successfully, we need to turn on the style in our final seven Bundesliga matches. Anything less, and we shall remain ‘Neverkusen’ forever more.

There will be obvious spoilers from the start of this final chapter, so if you want to catch up before reading on, then please go back to Part 9 first. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 10” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 9

Published on by Chris Fuller

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It’s time for some more Championship Manager 99/00 action, folks! I’ve made it halfway through my third and final season at Bayer Leverkusen, and a new calendar year kicks off with ‘Die Werkself’ still in the hunt for all three major trophies.

If you’ve not read Part 8 yet, you can go back there and see how we fared in the final few months of 2001. Once you’re ready, we’ll move on into 2002… Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 9” →

Review: Club Soccer Director PRO 2020

Published on by Chris Fuller

It’s been a while since I did one of these reviews, isn’t it? With that in mind, I guess it’s time to have a look at one of the newest football management games available on Steam right now.

I picked this particular title up in Steam’s winter sale and played through a season in the first week of the new decade. Is it any good? Well…

Strap yourselves in, folks, because this is Club Soccer Director PRO 2020.

Continue reading “Review: Club Soccer Director PRO 2020” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 8

Published on by Chris Fuller

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I’m glad that you’ve joined me again for the latest stage of my German journey on Championship Manager 99/00. Bayer Leverkusen have made a promising start to the 2001/2002 season, but it’s too early to tell whether this will be the year that we finally win something.

In today’s chapter, Leverkusen will compete in all three major competitions as we go through the final three months of 2001. Don’t forget that you can go back to Part 7 if you want to catch up first – or even if you just want to have another look at our new signings. I wouldn’t blame you; our new Colombian striker really is a delight! Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 8” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 7

Published on by Chris Fuller

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Happy new year, dear readers! And what better way to celebrate the start of 2020 than by… erm, going back to the summer of 2001!

Yes, folks – it’s time to begin the third season of my Bayer Leverkusen project on Championship Manager 99/00. If you’ve not yet read Part 6 to see how we ended the 2000/2001 campaign, make sure you’re up to speed before stepping into 2001/2002.

Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 7” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 6

Published on by Chris Fuller

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It’s almost Christmas, which means we’re all getting some more quality time with the people we love – and perhaps also the things we love. Yes, it’s time for another installment of my Championship Manager 99/00 blog career!

This latest chapter will see us go through the second half of the 2000/2001 season with Bayer Leverkusen. If you want to catch up with the story so far, you can revisit Part 5 here. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 6” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 5

Published on by Chris Fuller

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My three-year Leverkusen project on Championship Manager 99/00 has now reached its halfway point. Though I’ve yet to lift any trophies with the men in red-and-black, my second season at the BayArena has started brightly. Just don’t ask me what happened in the DFB-Ligapokal.

You can revisit Part 4 right here if you haven’t caught up yet. In that chapter, you’ll meet our big new signings for the first time and see how we got on in the opening fixtures.

This latest post will take us all the way up to the start of 2001. If our strikers continue to underperform, though, there’s a good chance I might delve back into the transfer market before 2000 is out… Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 5” →

CM99/00 Revisited: Like Father, Like Son

Published on by Chris Fuller

If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you might know that I had some wonderful news on Wednesday night. My sister had a baby son, making me an uncle and adding some much-needed light to what has otherwise been a very dark 2019.

To celebrate the start of our family’s next generation, I’m going to play a ‘generation game’ spanning 20 years of football.

For this article, I’ve found 20 Premier League players in the Football Manager 2020 database whose fathers were on Championship Manager: Season 99/00 as players themselves. I’ve taken screenshots of all the dads on CM99/00 and written a little bit about their careers before and after the turn of the millennium.

There’s a good mixture here of dads who’ve already been upstaged by their lads, plus some very famous fathers whose offspring are taking their first steps in professional football. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Like Father, Like Son” →