Author: Chris Fuller

I’m now into the business end of my Football Manager 2017 project. The Counties Championship league season has intensified, with three teams booking their play-off berths in February.

But now, after a brief hiatus, our focus shifts back to the knockout County Cup. EIGHT of our 48 counties are still standing after an eventful Round 3 – and in this chapter, we’ll find out which TWO will be playing in the Final at the end of the season.

The Quarter Finals took place in January, with the Semi Finals following a couple of months later in March. Would the cream rise to the top, or were there still a few more surprises left in a competition which had already seen its fair share?

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: County Cup Quarters & Semis” →

Welcome back, readers. The Counties Championship play-off race intensified in January, with well over 150 matches taking place. You can revisit all the action by reading Part 1 and Part 2 on the links attached.

The action now continues into February, when a number of teams could secure their play-off places. This bumper post will be the longest of the project so far, so make sure you’re ready for it.

February will see each division play five full rounds of fixtures – except the West division, who are playing an extra round because they love to be different from the others. We’ll also see the leftover games from Round 26, which clashed with the County Cup Quarter Finals.

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: February” →

We’re now into the second half of my Counties Championship project on Football Manager 2017. If you were with me last time, you’ll remember just how hectic a month December was. You can revisit all the action in these links to Part 1 and Part 2.

If December was packed with fixtures, though, then January is even more so. Our teams will play as many as NINE matches over the course of a month that really could make or break their play-off hopes.

Be aware, though, that there are a few database quirks with January’s fixtures. Round 26 clashes with the County Cup Quarter Finals, so the eight teams involved in cup action have had their league games from that round postponed until February.

Also, Round 32 is played on Tuesday 31 January, but because the West division plays midweek games on Wednesdays, you won’t find out its results for that particular round until next month’s update.

As with December’s round-ups, I’m splitting the January updates across two posts, with this one covering the South and West divisions. You can read what happened in the North and East divisions right here.

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: January – Part 2” →

We’re now into the second half of my Counties Championship project on Football Manager 2017. If you were with me last time, you’ll remember just how hectic a month December was. You can revisit all the action in these links to Part 1 and Part 2.

If December was packed with fixtures, though, then January is even more so. Our teams will play as many as NINE matches over the course of a month that really could make or break their play-off hopes.

Be aware, though, that there are a few database quirks with January’s fixtures. Round 26 clashes with the County Cup Quarter Finals, so the eight teams involved in cup action have had their league games from that round postponed until February.

Also, Round 32 is played on Tuesday 31 January, but because the West division plays midweek games on Wednesdays, you won’t find out its results for that particular round until next month’s update.

As with December’s round-ups, I’m splitting the January updates across two posts, with this one covering the North and East divisions. I’m saving the South and West results for another post later this week.

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: January – Part 1” →

We’ve almost reached the halfway point of my Football Manager 2017 project. That means it’s time for some festive football!

December is always a busy time in the football calendar, and it’s no different where the Counties Championship is concerned. We’ve got SEVEN rounds of matches to go through in each of the four regional divisions. You’ll probably understand, then, why I’ve decided to split the December recap into two separate posts.

Today, we’ll be focussing on the South and West divisions to see how things stand going into the new year. You can read about the latest results from the North and East divisions right here.

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: December – Part 2” →

We’ve almost reached the halfway point of my Football Manager 2017 project. That means it’s time for some festive football!

December is always a busy time in the football calendar, and it’s no different where the Counties Championship is concerned. We’ve got SEVEN rounds of matches to go through in each of the four regional divisions. You’ll probably understand, then, why I’ve decided to split the December recap into two separate posts.

Today, we’ll be focussing on the North and East divisions to see how things stand going into the new year. The second post – in which we’ll be looking at the South and West divisions – will come later this week.

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: December – Part 1” →

I hope you’re enjoying my Football Manager 2017 experiment here on Fuller FM. The Counties Championship is in full flow, but that will take a back seat today, as I’ve got a hankering for some knockout action.

We’ve now seen everybody at least once in the County Cup. 16 teams have made it through to the third round, but we’ve also had some major casualties along the way. You can revisit Round 2 right here if you want to see how the carnage unfolded last time out.

When you’re ready, let’s dive into Round 3 and find out if the cup has even more magic to conjure up…

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: County Cup Round 3” →

Football Manager 2017 action resumes right here on Fuller FM now, with November’s results from my Counties Championship experiment. By the end of today’s post, we’ll be about a third of the way through the league phase, and the division tables will be taking shape.

Staffordshire were among the big winners in the last chapter, but can they continue their October form and strengthen their lead in the West division? And what will happen in the South, where only six points separate the top five?

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: November” →

We’re two months into the Counties Championship, and some early title challengers have started to emerge. While West Sussex couldn’t continue their strong start in September, other sides – like Greater Manchester and the West Midlands – have shown that they might have what it takes to go all the way.

However, only one team will head into October with an impeccable league record. Take a bow, Chris Hughton and his Essex boys, who’ve won eight matches on the spin. Can anybody stop them from running away with the East title?

We’ve got another four rounds of league matches to get through in this chapter, so let’s get cracking…

Continue reading “The Counties Championship: October” →