Starting my first save in beta, I certainly did not expect to be writing about it. But, let me provide some background.
The first FM I remember was before the name change. I remember ChampMan 98. I seriously doubt that I have missed a version since. I do remember that one year I thought the new version was so poor that I went back and continued a save on the previous version. But, overall, we have been very lucky with our game.
I have never been a master of tactics but rather a master of hunting down a sample from one of the masters and tweaking it to work for me. FM Blitz was always my favorite and I long for the days of over-powering the opponents with the 3 striker set that was never good for making budgets work. My most common tweak is to do everything a manager can to avoid yellow cards. I like to select when my stars are given days off and hate it when a referee decides it is time for a break. I have had some success in my travels and have played in most every league in the world but always come back to England, France, Germany or Italy. The draw of the Champions Cup always comes calling me.
I am always in beta and always start a save that I don't intend to finish there. This year is different because I found success and fun immediately.
Bristol Rovers begin the save in League Two and we won the league quite easily. 29 points ahead of Salford. 90 goals against 30 allowed. It was almost too easy.
Sky Bet League One was almost a repeat. 101 point season with a 13 point edge over Hull. 104 goals against just 49 allowed. But, the Sky Bet Championship was certainly going to eat our lunch.
In the Sky Bet Championship we got to see exactly how much difference there was in our squad and those ranked among the leaders. Our salaries were approaching 5M annually while at the top they were over 70M. But, we had a chance! In fact, we had the lead for a short period, but at the end of the season a hot finish saw us reach the third spot with 90 points. We beat Blackburn in both legs of the playoffs and finished 3-0 over Bristol City to reach the Premier for the first time in the history of the Rovers. It was too quick. I know we are in for some punishment.
The first FM I remember was before the name change. I remember ChampMan 98. I seriously doubt that I have missed a version since. I do remember that one year I thought the new version was so poor that I went back and continued a save on the previous version. But, overall, we have been very lucky with our game.
I have never been a master of tactics but rather a master of hunting down a sample from one of the masters and tweaking it to work for me. FM Blitz was always my favorite and I long for the days of over-powering the opponents with the 3 striker set that was never good for making budgets work. My most common tweak is to do everything a manager can to avoid yellow cards. I like to select when my stars are given days off and hate it when a referee decides it is time for a break. I have had some success in my travels and have played in most every league in the world but always come back to England, France, Germany or Italy. The draw of the Champions Cup always comes calling me.
I am always in beta and always start a save that I don't intend to finish there. This year is different because I found success and fun immediately.
Bristol Rovers begin the save in League Two and we won the league quite easily. 29 points ahead of Salford. 90 goals against 30 allowed. It was almost too easy.
Sky Bet League One was almost a repeat. 101 point season with a 13 point edge over Hull. 104 goals against just 49 allowed. But, the Sky Bet Championship was certainly going to eat our lunch.
In the Sky Bet Championship we got to see exactly how much difference there was in our squad and those ranked among the leaders. Our salaries were approaching 5M annually while at the top they were over 70M. But, we had a chance! In fact, we had the lead for a short period, but at the end of the season a hot finish saw us reach the third spot with 90 points. We beat Blackburn in both legs of the playoffs and finished 3-0 over Bristol City to reach the Premier for the first time in the history of the Rovers. It was too quick. I know we are in for some punishment.
