crouchaldinho

I have been feeling rather nostalgic recently – the novelty of FM2008 seems to have worn off quite quickly for me and as a result I have been thinking of a re-installing and returning to a previous version of the game.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not a thread that intends to whine about the state of the game, I think FM2008 is an excellent simulation of football management. I just personally feel like it is too much hard work now though. During each game, I find myself tweaking and attempting to counter the opposition’s tactics so often that it spoils the game. Playing just feels like too much effort. Of course, it is absolutely realistic, but it is also absolutely dull at times.

Playing CM and FM has always been about imagination for me – this version of the game lacks that aspect, perhaps because it is too comprehensive, maybe because it leaves nothing to the imagination anymore.

Anyway, let me get to the crux of the point, which is that I think that it is time for me to return to the one of the old and familiar versions of the game as an experiment. But which one should I pick?

Thinking about this has made me nostalgic, lugubrious and melancholy, as I remembered some of my best campaigns in older versions of the game.

First there was CM2 96/97 and I was always Liverpool (my childhood team). Danny Murphy turned into, well, a Gerrard-esque player after a few seasons. Ibrahima Bakayoko was a legend. And the real challenge for me was to try and tempt Alan Shearer to sign for your team by offering him contracts over and over again.
I was a young lad and glory was the only way. The one time I did venture into the leagues below the Premiership was to play with Bolton Wanderers. I discovered two England strikers, Dean Clarke and Scott Rimmer, both of whom were incredible legends for the club. Oh, the Halcyon days of youth. I also remember a decent spell with Northern Ireland, although I don't think I achieved anything. I'm sure I managed England too but I didn't get anywhere near a trophy!

Next up, I was on a version of Championship Manager which could be played without the disc and that had an editable database for the first time (anyone remember which version this was? I think it was CM3).
It was still Liverpool all the way for me. I remember discovering an all-time legendary player, probably my favourite in the whole series, called Enrico Caceres. I have no idea what nationality he was now - I really can't remember - but he was an incredible forward with tons of flair.

Several versions of Championship Manager came and went, including 01/02 where I had good careers with Newcastle United, West Ham and Fulham. Then in 03/04 I began to play in the lower leagues, which has come to be the only way I play the game now, starting with Stevenage Boro'. I think I was pretty rubbish with them though and never got anywhere. I must have played this version a great deal though because I seem to have two discs of it – presumably I wore out the first!

CM4 is a game I can’t remember that well – I presume I enjoyed it and I think I continued to play with Stevenage. I think I had just started work and perhaps had other things to think about at the time.

Then came the football manager series. FM2005 – now I think this was the version with the ‘loopy runners’ from midfield. I seem to remember that you put a long arrow on your central midfielder and he would just cut up the opposition. Can anyone confirm that I am talking about the right game?
I think this was one of my favourite versions for some reason. I remember starting a game abroad for one of the first times. I played as Cremonese, at the bottom of the Italian league system, and took them to Serie A glory over many seasons. My only regret was that I never could win the European Cup.

In FM2006, I think I started a career mode and only got about as far as league one – I ended up with Yeovil I think. Phil Jevons was my legendary goalscorer and I ended up selling him to Fulham for loads of money and then buying him back after a season that he spent rotting in the reserves.

FM2007, surprisingly, gave me one of my best ever FM experiences. I took over as St. Albans City boss and took them to the Premiership. John Dawson was my legendary, towering old-fasioned centre-forward - a great discovery who I bought from Hitchin Town for 3k and who played in every division.
I got really emotionally involved in this game – in fact, I wrote an FM story about it called ‘The Saints Go Marching Up The Football League’- my first story. It took me so long to get to the top and I also had an unsuccessful spell with England (I took them to an EC semi-final and then got knocked out at the group stages of the next WC and sacked) and another unsuccessful spell with Turkey, where I failed miserably to get them to qualify for the EC.

In FM 2008, I went back to Italy, San Marino to be exact, and managed to get myself sacked after 12 games. Real Marcianise offered me a job straight afterwards, with my first task being to avoid relegation with 4 games to go. I succeeded and then quickly took them to promotion with some shrewd business in the transfer market. I then got relegated and preceded to yo-yo between the divisions.

There are, of course, many other campaigns that I have forgotten, games that have been lost in the mists of time. I have spent (wasted?) a great deal of time playing CM and FM in their various guises. My list of honours is not exactly spectacular though – these are the ones that I can remember:

Liverpool CM2 96/97 – Several Premier League titles
Bolton Wanderers CM2 96/97 – Championship winners once, Premier League Winners twice
Newcastle, West Ham, Fulham CM 01/02 – Qualified for champions league and can’t remember much else
Stevenage CM 03/04 & CM4 – definitely one conference title
FM2005 – Promoted from lower Italian league to the top division. Won Serie A once. Got to the semi-final of the European Cup and was knocked out by Arsenal.
FM2006 – Up and down like a yo-yo with Yeovil but seemed to enjoy myself anyway.
FM2007 – St. Albans, won conference, 2nd place league one, 1st place league two, eventually won the championship after 6 years of trying, highest finish about 7th in the Premier league. Got England to a EC semi-final then sacked after a crap WC campaign. Took over as Turkey manager, failed to achieve anything at all.
FM2008 – Won one promotion with Real Marcianise.

All-time favourite discovered players: Dean Clarke, Scott Rimmer, Enrico Caeceres and John Dawson.

The list above makes for sorry reading. I’ve never won the big trophies and therefore I must be rubbish at this game!

Anyway, after this long, nerdy and potentially dull post, I would like to hear some of your CM/FM memories.
What trophies have you won? What mistakes did you make? What killer tactics did you use? and, the biggie, which was the best version (or,at least, your favourite)?

And I would like to hear your views on which version of the game is the best to go back to?
I am definitely going to reinstall one of them and re-live the past - I want to start with a fairly recent version so that the database isn’t too archaic. Which version would you recommend for pure playability to reignite my CM/FM passion?

Thank you in advance for interesting responses.

Yours Faithfully,
C.

Ched

As much as i would like to post something like this, my memory struggles to record what i won on FM07...let alone CM96/97.

Good effort, but i drink too much to remember all this lol

williamshankley

Ah crouchie, Nostalgia in his own right! That St Alban's story was great

crouchaldinho

Ched - I do know exactly what you're saying. I have spent years playing this game (probably literally). In my youth, I was absolutely obsessed. Yet, I can barely remember half of the games I started!

williamshankley - Ah, I do miss the St. Albans City days. I feel like I should never have stopped playing, yet the new FM2008 came out and I decided to finish the game on a high. It was certainly the best save game I have had in the whole series of CM/FM, apart from the Cremonese game that I mentioned in the post above. My Cremonese game was very special because it was the first time that I had managed to be very successful on the game. I got very emotionally involved in managing my side and really enjoyed it! I wish I could get hooked like that on FM2008 but it just doesn't seem to be happening.

C.

williamshankley

I think it will happen eventually. I remember you going through some tricky times with St Alban's. I'm currently having a very enjoyable game with Gateshead! Infact it is the first time I have started from the BSN and carried on. Currently in the championship and about to play Arsenal in the Carling Cup. (Should be a walk in the park )

cornelius11

i had played premier manager 97 for the sega mega drive when i was like 12, went cambridge and ended up really liking the game, i got them promoted and did quite well for a 12 year old, however im sure i did use the save before a game and then reset if i got gubbed option a couple of times.

i didnt really play any other manager games for a couple of years, i tried championship manager 5 for the PS2 but thought it was pretty poo to be honest.
however i got FM07 at christmas time 2006 and was blown away by how addictive and fun the game was i spent many nights just playing the game until the sun came up the next day.

i went rangers (the team i support irl) and after a few hard seasons managed to get them to the final to the champions league, where i got gubbed off of west ham of all teams!! but still couldnt stop playing the game.

I got FM08 late last year and reluctantly uninstalled FM07 to install the new FM game and after managing rangers again for a couple of days noticed that my older tactics that i had learned from 07 were no longer working, i thought this is obviously beause they are a totally different team than what they were in 07 (a better team irl) so i would have to adjust my style.
but after loss after loss i got quite disheartened with the game and for my own sanity stopped playing it for a while.

i downloaded the 8.01 patch and started again this time with swansea city, but it didnt really make much difference. im still getting tanned left right and centre, i think maybe now im realising im actually quite rubbish at the whole manager game thing.

anyways, nostalgia is a wonderful thing!
i think its time to dig out that sega mega drive!

Cali

I've started back in the old days with Championship Manager 1 (I believe) and CM Italia.

Then I've lost the game out of sight until 1997 when I found a copy of CM 97/98 at my local store, it was hidden behind other games on the highest shelve, since then I buy the new version every season again, they're all here on my desk, but I only keep on playing the newest version and CM 97/98 from time to time.

It's a great game but you know what? With getting older and having other things do to I see that the amount of time I spend on playing FM is decreasing, I'm playing less but I enjoy it more when I'm playing, in the past a season was played in less than 24 hrs, often I played day and night, on line with a friend or just me alone.

But hey, you start working some day, you meet a woman some day, you go living together some day, you got kids some day, you have to do your share of work in the householding some day, this all makes I've now only a couple of hours a week to play, but playing in the understanding your next session could be days away makes that you're more enjoying it, how strange that my sound to you, don't ask me to start about what things I've won on older versions as it is practically impossible to remember all those games I've ever played on CM/FM.

Today however, it's the only game I still play as an adult, not much interested anymore in other games.

cornelius11

yeah, i find that i actually have less time for it due to work, my fiancee, my band, social life etc.. but it has caused a few rows where ive started playing and i dont want to quit, so i end up late for work, or not cleaning round the house or whatever.

im pretty bad that way.