Tag: FM24

Fairer World Cup: CONMEBOL Qualifying & Play-Offs

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The Fairer World Cup qualifiers are almost over. Soon, we will know all 48 teams who will battle it out in North America for the battle to be crowned champions – in a world where players compete for the lowest-ranked national teams they are eligible for.

So far, we have seen 37 teams from the OFC, the AFC, CAF, UEFA and CONCACAF book their places alongside co-hosts Canada, Mexico and the Confederate Plutocracy of Trumpland. Now just one more batch of qualifiers remains.

In today’s chapter, we will see the 10 nations from CONMEBOL battle it out for six places at the World Cup, before the final two tickets are handed out through the intercontinental play-offs. We will then have the draw for the Group Stage, as all our finalists discover what awaits them in the summer. Continue reading “Fairer World Cup: CONMEBOL Qualifying & Play-Offs” →

Fairer World Cup: CONCACAF Qualifying

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Howdy, folks! It’s Fairer World Cup time again!

We’ve already covered the qualifiers in four of the FIFA confederations – the OFC, AFC, CAF, and UEFA. If you haven’t read the last chapter yet, then please do, because you have missed a couple of HUGE shocks.

Today, we are heading across the Atlantic for the latest batch of qualifiers. Which three countries from CONCACAF will join the three co-hosts in North America? Continue reading “Fairer World Cup: CONCACAF Qualifying” →

Fairer World Cup: UEFA Qualifying

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The Fairer World Cup qualifiers have reached the halfway point, and the field at this summer’s finals is already taking shape.

Last time out, several major players fell and some new superpowers emerged in the African qualifiers. You can also check out the Oceanic and Asian qualifiers in the links provided.

16 more World Cup places will be filled today, as UEFA play host to the European qualifiers. With many leading names having switched their allegiances to other continents, get ready for some big surprises – and a couple of huge shocks! Continue reading “Fairer World Cup: UEFA Qualifying” →

Fairer World Cup: CAF Qualifying

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We’re back with the Fairer World Cup on Football Manager 2024, where we find out what would happen if players represented the weakest national teams available to them.

So far, we have gone through the qualifiers in Oceania and in Asia. Feel free to catch up if you haven’t already.

As far as this chapter is concerned, we’re now heading to Africa, where we’ll meet a load of big-name players in their new national colours. With only nine World Cup places and a play-off spot up for grabs, there will be some major casualties… but we might also come across a serious title contender or two. Continue reading “Fairer World Cup: CAF Qualifying” →

Fairer World Cup: AFC Qualifying

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Welcome to Part 2 of the Fairer World Cup – my new international project on Football Manager 2024.

In case you don’t know what this is about, I’m playing through a World Cup where players can only play for the weakest national teams they are eligible for. Instead of the top nations having first dibs on the best players, the talent pool is now more spread out, which should make the tournament more competitive.

You can find out more about how the Fairer World Cup works by going back to Part 1, where I explained the rules and went through the OFC qualifiers. I bet you’ll never guess who the best national team in Oceania is!

In today’s post, I will take you through the AFC qualifiers. Will the likes of Japan and Australia continue to dominate Asian football, or could a new force emerge? Continue reading “Fairer World Cup: AFC Qualifying” →

Fairer World Cup: Introduction & OFC Qualifying

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The 2026 World Cup is on the horizon. That means five weeks of non-stop football in the scorching North American heat, where ICE will be disappearing any spectators who look or sound foreign, while everyone else endures the ramblings of an egocentric fascist dictator… or those of his friend Donald. I’m sure you’re excited too.

And although there are 48 teams in this year’s king-sized event, there are realistically only a handful who might actually win it. Argentina are the holders after beating France in the 2022 Final, Spain are the European champions, and then you have the perennial contenders like Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands… but it’s hard to see anyone else going all the way. Maybe Scotland, at a push.

But what if the World Cup was more competitive – fairer, even?

Over the course of this series, I will use Football Manager 2024 to find out what would happen if all players could only play for the WORST nation they were eligible to play for. How would England cope without many of their biggest stars? Could Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice turn the Republic of Ireland into serious contenders? Do France and Germany have enough depth to survive their teams being decimated as well?

Maybe Raheem Sterling can lead Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz to glory? Could we even see a first African winner of the World Cup – with the likes of Nigeria, Ghana and DR Congo all benefitting from their huge diaspora in western Europe?

I will seek to answer all those questions – and more – over the coming weeks. Let the Fairer World Cup begin… Continue reading “Fairer World Cup: Introduction & OFC Qualifying” →

Alternatives to Football Manager 26

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For God’s sake, Sports Interactive…

Football Manager 26 has been out for a few weeks, and… mmm, yeah. It’s still a mess, isn’t it?

While many FMers are still wrestling with the new interface or complaining that their favourite franchise has been turned into a mobile game, some will be looking for something else to play. But I know what you’re gonna say: “FM has no competition.”

Yes, it’s true that Sports Interactive don’t have as much direct competition as they did in the 1990s and early 2000s. FIFA Manager, LMA Manager, Ultimate Soccer Manager, Premier Manager and even Ally McCoist’s Director of Football have all fallen by the wayside – emphatically beaten by FM’s superior game engine and extensive database.

These days, if you’re looking for a non-FM football management game on PC, you will likely have to scrape the bottom of the Steam barrel for low-budget indie titles that don’t have anywhere near as much depth.

But there are still some good FM26 alternatives that allow you to play through the 2025/2026 season (or 2024/2025, at least) with a reasonable amount of realism. In this post, I will look at seven of those games – each with their pros and cons – and tell you how you can update them with all the latest data. Continue reading “Alternatives to Football Manager 26” →

Blog Update #9

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Hey-ho, folks. It’s time for my annual Fuller FM blog update – my ‘state of the union’ address, if you will.

Another year of FMing has been and gone, and it’s been the weirdest one yet. With Football Manager 25 turning out to be just a few dodgy Photoshop mockups, we’ve had to carry on with Football Manager 2024 for another season.

I will now look back on everything I wrote on Fuller FM this year, including my 15-season career at Nacka FC. I will also discuss my content creation plans for Football Manager 26, which is absolutely definitely probably maybe being released in the next few months.

But first, I need to draw myself away from Civilization VI for long enough so I can actually write this damn blog update. Just one more turn, and then I’m done…

I’m sure negotiations are fairer than this on FM…

Continue reading “Blog Update #9” →

My FM Content Creator Pet Peeves

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While we have been waiting for the next Football Manager to be announced (any time now, Sports Interactive…), I’ve been trying to think of some fresh new ideas for FM content.

So… why don’t we have a little discussion about FM content?

Alongside writing my own Football Manager stories, I’ve watched hundreds of YouTube videos and streams, and read goodness knows how many blogs from other FM aficionados. While I appreciate that nobody is perfect (though MaddFM comes pretty damn close), I have developed some pet peeves that have been bugging me for a while.

And that’s what this is all about – discussing some of those little annoyances I have when it comes to FM content.

To be clear, this article isn’t supposed to be entirely serious. Think of this as some constructive but light-hearted advice from a long-time FM blogger whose website gets literally TENS of page views every day. I also won’t be critiquing how other FMers play the game – just how they present or write about it. Continue reading “My FM Content Creator Pet Peeves” →

FM Logic: Managerial Movements

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Football Manager is the most realistic sports simulation video game out there. We all know that. But it’s not perfect.

Welcome back to another edition of this Fuller FM series… wait, can I call this a series? It’s is the third part now… so yeah. I think I can call it a series.

Anyway, it’s time to take a look at some more weird ‘FM Logic’. We’ve previously discussed bizarre media interactions and press interviews that make a White House news conference look like a place of sanity… and we’ve also touched on the game’s issues with transfers and player development.

Now it’s time to focus on managers – specifically, the logic that the game uses when moving AI managers between jobs. Whether they’re swapping jobs with another coach, taking over a hated rival, or being parachuted into a Championship club without any previous coaching experience, football managers in Football Manager are definitely known to make some peculiar moves. Continue reading “FM Logic: Managerial Movements” →