FM13 In 2022: The Superstars That Weren’t

It’s time for another trip back in time here on Fuller FM! I will once again be revisiting my long-time Football Manager 2013 save to see how the footballing world looks in the year 2022.

Last time out, we looked at where some of today’s football superstars had ended up 10 seasons into my FM13 universe. Who’d have thought Son Heung-Min would be playing Championship football for Aston Villa?

For today’s article, I’ve found 15 players who developed into world-class talents on FM13, but who never reached those giddy heights in the real world. So where, how and why did it all go wrong for these Football Manager wonderkids? Continue reading “FM13 In 2022: The Superstars That Weren’t”

FM13 In 2022: The Best Players In The World?

And now it’s time for something a bit different on Fuller FM. Today, I’ll be revisiting probably my favourite FM game of all time – Football Manager 2013, which just so happens to be celebrating its 10th anniversary next week!

My longest and probably best ever save was on FM13. Starting at my hometown club Romford in the lower reaches of English football, I played on up until 2043, when I led Dagenham & Redbridge to domestic and European glory… but I’m not here to talk about that!

In this mini-series, I’ll be looking at the state of the FM13 game world at the end of the 2021/2022 season, and how things compare to the present day. For the opening installment, I will look at the nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or, and see what happened to them in this virtual universe… Continue reading “FM13 In 2022: The Best Players In The World?”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 13

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Here we are, folks. It’s the 13th and final chapter of my Championship Manager 99/00 series with the Scotland national team. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

Today’s final chapter sees the Tartan Army co-host Euro 2008, where I hope to cap off my reign with a major trophy. Even a Semi Final would be quite nice.

You can go back to Part 12 if you want to see how we concluded our preparations for the Euros. When you’re ready, let’s jump into the action and see who I’ve brought along with me for the last leg of my international adventure… Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 13”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 12

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Welcome to the penultimate chapter of my Championship Manager 99/00 series with Scotland. Tensions are rising in the Tartan Army as the 2008 European Championship draws nearer. Today’s chapter will cover the final season of pre-tournament friendlies.

If you want to find out just why Rod Stewart looks so stressed out here, you can revisit the first year of our Euro preparations in Part 11. I don’t want to talk about it. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 12”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 11

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My Championship Manager 99/00 series with the Scotland national team is nearing its conclusion. We’ve just played through the 2006 World Cup in England, which you can revisit right here.

Our focus now switches to Euro 2008, where we’ll be attempting to make history on home soil and end my tenure in style. Today’s chapter will cover the first season of our preparations for the European Championship. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 11”

CM99/00 Revisited: Cult Icons – Part 2

Every version of Championship Manager and Football Manager has its cult icons – those must-buy players whom you can often turn into superstars. Championship Manager 99/00 is, of course, no exception.

We all have our own favourites, whether it’s one of those Swedish wonderkids everybody knows about or that hidden gem you discovered in Indonesia. But for every Zlatan Ibrahimovic who lived up to their superstar tag in real-life, there are at least a dozen who had rather more… modest careers.

I’ve identified 36 of the brightest stars in the CM99/00 database and have tracked their careers to see where they are two decades later. Their names all appear on the title image above, and I’ll look at each of them over two separate posts.

In Part 2, I’ll be looking at players such as Kabba Samura, Stefan Selakovic, Andri Sigþórsson and Mark Tyler. You can read Part 1 in the link provided. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Cult Icons – Part 2”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 10

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My Championship Manager 99/00 story has reached a crucial stage. It’s the summer of 2006, and Scotland are about to participate in their second consecutive World Cup under my management.

Just like in 1996 (see above), the Tartan Army have descended on England for a major tournament. Hopefully they’ll get out of the group this time – and maybe match or even better their heroics at Korea/Japan 2002!

If you want to see just how Scotland got here, you can revisit Part 9 in the link attached before reading on. If I loved bad puns, I’d suggest you “Czech it out”, but I don’t, so… oh. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 10”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 9

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We’ve reached the ninth chapter of my Championship Manager 99/00 adventure with Scotland. Will the Tartan Army be celebrating qualifying for a third consecutive World Cup at the end of today’s post?

In Part 8, our attempts to qualify for England 2006 got off to a… let’s say interesting start. You might want to make sure you’re up to date on that before you continue reading this.

When you’re ready, let’s get going… Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 9”

CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 8

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I’m now five years into my Championship Manager 99/00 series with Scotland. By now, you were probably expecting me to have been sacked after a 2-0 home defeat to Andorra, which is typically how most Scotland managers end their reigns. Either that, or they get poached by Chesterfield.

But no, it’s gone surprisingly well for us… well, kinda. The previous chapter saw us take part in the 2004 European Championship in Portugal. That’s all I want to say right now.

In today’s installment, our focus is on the first half of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. Can the Tartan Army take its first steps towards invading England in two summers’ time? Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Fitba’s Coming Home – Part 8”

CM99/00 Revisited: Cult Icons – Part 1

Every version of Championship Manager and Football Manager has its cult icons – those must-buy players whom you can often turn into superstars. Championship Manager 99/00 is, of course, no exception.

We all have our own favourites, whether it’s one of those Swedish wonderkids everybody knows about, or that hidden gem you discovered in Indonesia. But for every Zlatan Ibrahimovic who lived up to their superstar billing in real-life, there are at least a dozen who had rather more… modest careers.

I’ve identified 36 of the brightest stars in the CM99/00 database and have tracked their careers to see where they are two decades later. Their names all appear on the title image above, and I’ll look at each of them over two separate posts.

In Part 1, I’ll be looking at players such as Kennedy Bakircioglü, Mads Jørgensen, Johnnier Montano and the legendary Tonton Zola Moukoko. Continue reading “CM99/00 Revisited: Cult Icons – Part 1”