Chris Fuller

FM Mythbusting: Youth Intakes

Published on 10 April 202012 July 2026 by Chris Fuller1 Comment

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.

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Saving Burnley: Part 3

Published on 6 April 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

I know you’re probably getting fed up of having to stay inside with no live football on, but don’t worry: I’m here with another installment of my short-term Football Manager 2020 challenge.

In Part 1, I took over a Burnley side who were floundering at the bottom of the Premier League. Part 2 saw me go through the January transfer window and add some new faces to a struggling squad.

It’s now February, and it’s more important than ever that we hit a run of form to keep our survival hopes alive. Unfortunately, the PL’s fixture generator hasn’t been kind to us. Time to begin Part 3…

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Living with Asperger’s

Published on 2 April 20204 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Hello there. My name’s Christopher, I’m 29 years old, and I live in north-east London. I mainly use this blog to write about the “Football Manager” video game series… but not today. I want to write about something much closer to me.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day, when people of the autistic spectrum come together to raise awareness of their conditions. Today, I’m going to write about my experiences of living with Asperger syndrome.

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Saving Burnley: Part 2

Published on 30 March 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Welcome back. I hope you have been enjoying Football Manager 2020‘s free fortnight. Just remember – FM is for life, not just for (inter)national lockdowns.

Anyway, let’s get back to this story, where I’ve given my task of dragging Burnley off the bottom of the Premier League at Christmas and keeping them in the top flight. If you’ve not read the first chapter yet, I’d suggest you go back to that before carrying on.

Suffice to say, I’ve not had the best of starts at Turf Moor, but a new year has just begun – and so has a new transfer window. It’s the perfect time for me to inject some fresh blood into this struggling outfit and strengthen our push for survival.

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Saving Burnley: Part 1

Published on 23 March 202010 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Hold on. What’s this? A new Football Manager 2020 story? But Christopher, I thought you had decided to skip FM20?

Well… there’s this huge pandemic going on right now (you might have heard or read about it), and pretty much all sport has been halted. With football on hold, those lovely folks at Sports Interactive have made FM20 free to download and play until 3:00pm BST on Wednesday 1 April.

While FM20 is free-to-play, I’ve been playing a short-term challenge save, which I’m documenting right here on Fuller FM. I’ve simulated through half a season and have taken over the team that’s bottom of the Premier League, with the aim of saving them from relegation. And that team is…

…Leicester City! Nah, just kidding. It’s Burnley. The title kinda gives it away, doesn’t it?

Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy reading this little FM20 adventure. Let’s get started…

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Review: Soccer Manager 2020

Published on 4 March 20207 July 2026 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…

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Review: New Star Manager

Published on 5 February 20207 July 2026 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.

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CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 10

Published on 27 January 202015 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Embed from Getty Images

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.

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CM99/00 Revisited: Now Or Neverkusen – Part 9

Published on 20 January 202011 July 2026 by Chris Fuller

Embed from Getty Images

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…

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Review: Club Soccer Director PRO 2020

Published on 15 January 20207 July 2026 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.

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