Instead of simply regenerating retired players, the boffins at SI have come up with a way of creating a lot more youth players. As in real life, the vast majority will slip into obscurity, but there's always the slight chance of unearthing the next Wayne Rooney although one look at his face and you might want to re-bury him.
Elsewhere, a big step forward has been made with the addition of affiliate clubs. On paper an ideal symbiotic relationship, the feeder club gets the chance to loan theoretically superior players from its parent' club, which in turn gets to blood a few youngsters and immediately recall them should they prove to be any good. It can also prove to be a bit of a money-spinner for the feeder club if you can convince the big boys to come down to your place for a friendly once a season.
As for the rest of the 'features', the majority of them are subtle little things that become apparent over time, including numerous tweaks to the match engine and the way your players interact. Unfortunately, during the course of this review, time wasn't on my side.
Having installed the code to my laptop, I was promptly informed that it would expire after four days. By chance, this coincided with a four-day press trip to Ireland for the annual Pro Evolution Soccer European 5-a-side tournament.
Tucking straight into a season as The Mighty Chester, it was business as usual, feigning indifference at the mainly poor pre-season results before realising I had a week until the real thing.
With a budget of nought pounds, desperate attempts were made to bring in loan players as the team rapidly slumped to the bottom of League Two. Naturally, I was unconcerned by the situation at Deva Stadium, as I'm not remotely interested in the game. That said, I did briefly forego free food and beer and the attention of 20 teenage models dressed as referees in an attempt to arrest the slide, putting together a four-match unbeaten run. And I may have once woken up at 2am and played through til 8am before going for breakfast There's also a possibility that I've been ignoring the editor of this mag for a week as the deadline slips over the horizon.
And I may have just opened the laptop to discover with horror that the code has expired. But at least Im not addicted. Stuck In Mid-Table obscurity? Hated by your supporters? Unable to mastermind victories in those must-win derby games? Then fear not as help is at hand with our ultimate guide to becoming a successful manager in the latest version of Sports Interactive's supreme management series.
By the time we've finished with you, you'll have Ronaldinho, Henry and a host of other potential Chelsea targets banging on your door begging to be signed while you comb your hair in the reflection of your bursting trophy cabinet Well, that's the plan, but football's a funny old game Yes, yes, football's all about the team and not the individual, but setting your side up to play a defensive counter-attacking game will only get you so far.
If you really want to see your team reaching its full potential, you're going to have to get used to issuing individual players with specific instructions. This means researching not only their stats, but the opposing team's too.
Does an opposing forward need to be man-marked? If so, do you need your fastest or tallest defender to keep him quiet? It's decisions like these that can make the difference between a plucky loss and a heroic win. Admit it, you've sometimes selected your favourite player no matter how badly they've been playing or whether or not they fit your system.
Am I right? Course I am. Well stop it! You see, there simply isn't room for favouritism in FM If one of your heroes isn't delivering, drop them. If they don't fit into your system, then consider selling them, doubly so if they've only got a couple of years left at the top before that slow, inevitable decline.
Cash in before it's too late and bring in two promising youngsters instead. It works for Wenger and it can work for you. How often have we heard a promising youngster labelled the new Maradona? And how often do they end up warming the bench for some Conference side? Pretty often, right? So before you get caught up in any mass hysteria surrounding an up-and-coming youngster or embroiled in a bidding war for some Argentinian whizz-kid, make sure you scout them at least three times to see if they really are the real deal.
What's more, make sure you always keep your scouts busy, as you may well unearth a gem. Posted by Rob at AM No comments:. Labels: cheats , data updates , editors , facepacks , FM , football manager , gfx , Graphics , hints , patches , players , skins , staff , tactics , tips , training , transfer , Utilities.
Football Manager FAQ. As always when a new version of Football Manager is announced a lot of questions are asked. Those announcements will come later in the year. Why are there no match engine screen shots?
When it is, there will be shots of it. What are there no screen shots of non-UK teams? For licensing reasons. They will come later. Why are all the screen shots in English? Will other information be given out about the game before release? Yes — there are going to be blogs and pod casts that will give more information and more depth of information about the announced new features, and some of the smaller unannounced ones. To ensure Vista compliance, some things had to be changed that could cause problems with older operating systems.
As the makers of those systems no longer offer support for them, neither do we. Is the game being released in? If the game was released officially in your country last year, then it will be this year. You will be able to get the boxed game from amazon. Labels: buy , features , fm , football manager , news , pre order , release date , screenshots. Football Manager Screenshots. Football Manager Announced.
Remember to check out the Football Manager Screenshots and the FM FAQ Football Manager returns before Christmas packed full of new features for fans of the much-acclaimed series from Sports Interactive to feast their eyes on. Although an official release date has yet to be announced, you can find out more simply by going here and inputting your email address.
Football Manager is set to be bigger, smoother and more in-depth than ever, it's packed full of so much newness it could well take a lifetime to discover every new feature. Transfer Center - A new way of managing all current transfer and loan bids for your club, both incoming and outgoing, making it easier to compare bids and reject or accept them. Finance Revamp - Sports Interactive have updated the finance area of Football Manager to better reflect the ever-changing modern football world.
More information is available to the manager too, including, but not limited to, corporate matchday income, season ticket news, investment funds, improved sponsorships, collective win bonuses and the ability to move around funds from the wage budget and transfer budget and vice versa at any point to help you in your quest for the ideal squad.
International Management - The international management gameplay has been completely revamped for Football Manager , including, but not limited to, media improvements, international retirements, player interaction, international scouting, improved national pool selection, captain selection and a separation of international and club morale for players.
Match Flow - The largest change to matchdays in a Sports Interactive game since the introduction of the 2D match engine. Match flow brings more atmosphere to matchdays with match previews, team talks, opposition player instructions, the match itself, half time and post match now seamlessly following on from one another.
There's no more pausing to make tactical changes and you'll find a mini-radar pitch whilst making those tactical changes to keep you in touch with what's going on in the match. Confidence - You can now easily tell what your board and supporters think about your performance in the game through the new confidence section. This gives you feedback not just on your current progress in competitions, but also your financial management and signings.
Easier to Use - A much cleaner skin, a brand new advisor system to help you through various areas of the game, a new notes and notebook system, better button positioning for simpler navigation and an updated tutorial and manual. Also, coach reports to make taking over a new team easier and a new calendar system - which lists all important dates throughout the season - help to make Football Manager the easiest Sports Interactive game to use yet.
Fan Days - The board can now arrange fan days to boost ailing attendances, or for matches that are likely to attract a low crowd, with a long-term affect to attendances if all goes well.
Awards Overhaul - A full overhaul of the awards system inside the game, which is not only more accurate but also includes new awards, such as the European golden boot and a 'best eleven', which shows the all-time in-game best XI for all teams and nations. Match Engine Improvements - A greatly improved match engine, once again utilizing the footballing brain of Ray Houghton and other tools used by real-life managers, to make the most accurate simulation of football in a computer game even more like-life than ever before.
Oh, and the ability to change the pitch dimensions at the start of the season to suit your style of play better. Expanded Media - More media and feedback than ever before, plus more detail in existing media, and a new competition news section to find out what major things are going on in all league competitions. Regenerated Player Photos - All in-game regenerated players now have pictures using FaceGen technology to give each player more personality.
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