My Football Manager 2017 project is now in full swing, as it’s time for another month of Counties Championship fixtures!
August’s opening batches of league games saw a fair few surprises, not least in the South division. Can Gareth Southgate and West Sussex pick up where they left off, or will the London clubs start to establish themselves as favourites?
And what does September have in store for our other high-flyers? Let’s find out…
Continue reading “The Counties Championship: September” →
Welcome back to my new Football Manager 2017 project. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be finding out what would happen if English football had a county league where all the teams could only use the best players and managers to come out of their counties.
Last time out, I summarised the first month of Counties Championship league matches. August’s recaps will bring good news if you’re from Essex (like me), but probably not if you’re from North London (like… er… me). Hey, I’m from Romford, so I technically qualify for both those counties.
August also saw the start of the County Cup, which will be our main focus today. Here’s the lowdown on Round 1…
Continue reading “The Counties Championship: County Cup Round 1” →
The wait is over. My new Football Manager 2017 project is about to begin for real.
This is the Counties Championship, where I’m pitting the 48 counties of England against each other to determine which ones have produced the best footballers. Just to remind you, each team can only select players who were born or raised in their counties. Everything is explained right here.
In today’s post, I’ll take you through the opening five rounds of league fixtures in each of the four regional divisions. Will the pre-season favourites hit the front quickly, or will August see some early surprises? Let’s find out…
Continue reading “The Counties Championship: August” →
Welcome back to the Counties Championship – a new blog series on Fuller FM. I’m using Football Manager 2017 to find out what would happen if the 48 English counties took part in a national competition using only the best footballers they have produced. You can read more about it right here.
Ahead of the first matches, I’ll be previewing every team, assessing their strengths and weaknesses to predict who has the best chance of claiming silverware. In this article, I will look at the 12 teams that make up the West division.
Continue reading “The Counties Championship: West Preview” →
Welcome back to the Counties Championship – a new blog series on Fuller FM. I’m using Football Manager 2017 to find out what would happen if the 48 English counties took part in a national competition using only the best footballers they have produced. You can read more about it right here.
Ahead of the first matches, I’ll be previewing every team, assessing their strengths and weaknesses to predict who has the best chance of claiming silverware. In this article, I will look at the 12 teams that make up the South division.
Continue reading “The Counties Championship: South Preview” →
Welcome back to the Counties Championship – a new blog series on Fuller FM. I’m using Football Manager 2017 to find out what would happen if the 48 English counties took part in a national competition using only the best footballers they have produced. You can read more about it right here.
Ahead of the first matches, I’ll be previewing every team, assessing their strengths and weaknesses to predict who has the best chance of claiming silverware. In this article, I will look at the 12 teams that make up the East division.
Continue reading “The Counties Championship: East Preview” →
Welcome back to the Counties Championship – a new blog series on Fuller FM. I’m using Football Manager 2017 to find out what would happen if the 48 English counties took part in a national competition using only the best footballers they have produced. You can read more about it right here.
Ahead of the first matches, I’ll be previewing every team, assessing their strengths and weaknesses to predict who has the best chance of claiming silverware. In this article, I will look at the 12 teams that make up the North division.
Continue reading “The Counties Championship: North Preview” →
Hello there, and I’m grateful you could join me for a new Football Manager blog series on Fuller FM. This adventure is going to be… quite different from my previous ones.
Over the last few months, I’ve been working on an FM database where the best English footballers represented counties instead of clubs. It’s like cricket in a way, except that the sport is much more exciting, and matches don’t grind on for five days.
I will be using Football Manager 2017 to see what would happen if the FA replaced the money-rich, import-heavy Premier League with a 48-team English Counties Championship. Teams can only use players who were born or raised in their respective counties, and any non-English players who don’t meet the eligibility criteria have been ‘sent home’.
Just to be clear, there are no political motives behind this project. It’s just a fantasy scenario that has interested me for a while now. Perhaps it might have piqued your interest as well…
In today’s opening post, I will explain this experiment and outline how the Counties Championship – and the knockout County Cup – will work.
Continue reading “The Counties Championship: Introduction” →
Welcome back to my short-term ‘bottom at Christmas’ challenge on Football Manager 2020. As you probably know by now, this story has been all about my attempts to pull Burnley out of the Premier League’s bottom three and save them from the drop.
If you missed any or all of the previous chapters, you can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 in the links attached. Once you’re up to date, we’ll pick things up in April, when the end-of-season run-in gets underway.
Before Burnley can begin that final push, though, there’s a major announcement we’ll all have to pay attention to…
Continue reading “Saving Burnley: Part 4” →
One of the most exciting days in the Football Manager calendar is the day when your club’s youth intake arrives. This latest batch of newgens will lead to boundless optimism or incredible disappointment – or something in between.
If your latest batch of youngsters hasn’t excited you, don’t lose hope. That ‘average’ right-back you’ve written off as someone who should quit football and become a bus driver might still become a useful asset. But even if he doesn’t, there are still some things you can try to boost your team’s chances of producing a more exciting intake next time.
In today’s guide, I will give you some tips on how to properly assess your youth candidates and improve your academy. I’ll also look to bust a few myths along the way, using some real-life scenarios.
Continue reading “FM Mythbusting: Youth Intakes” →Have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
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