Mookham(?) A Football Manager 14 AAR

[KyzBP]

Just in case you're curious, here's how the English Premier League is shaping up:


A big surprise with Liverpool in the relegation zone.

[undercovergeek]

i dont think sunderland have won 3 games yet this season

[KyzBP]

i dont think sunderland have won 3 games yet this season

I had to look it up but your right, 3 wins and dead last in the league.

[undercovergeek]

what the series has always been famous for is predicting transfers - i hope that you find at the end of the january transfer window some real transfers have happened to match your game - its very spooky when it happens

[KyzBP]

what the series has always been famous for is predicting transfers - i hope that you find at the end of the january transfer window some real transfers have happened to match your game - its very spooky when it happens

That's what gets me so angry with the people who unjustly criticize this franchise.  There is so much going on, not just on the surface, but under the hood as well...and they get sooo much right.  But there are always those little snivelers, the ones who got a trophy for putting their shoes on over their socks, that will complain no matter what.  For whatever reason this save hasn't been as accurate with the Premiership but my save before this was eerily close to real.  I wish more American sports fans would give this game a try.  I honestly don't know the first thing about soccer but I can't express enough how good of a sports management sim this is.   

[undercovergeek]

forgive the small AAR digression - this was my exclusive PC game from 1996-2001, hours and hours lost (not in a bad way) to this game, me and my best friend would meet up on Friday nights with a crate of beer and play til Sunday evening, non stop, no sleep and just play the game

The 2 things that always amazed us were the transfer similarities as mentioned, and the other, which we actually banned when we were together - it became regularly lethal to say whilst watching a match (this was long before a match engine, it was just a highlights bar that would flash in the middle of the screen over the top of the ground you were playing at - similar to XXXXX passes down the wing to XXXXX, he shoots, XXXXX parries the ball, XXXXXX jumps first and scores!!!!! and the bar would flash on and off..... anyway) 'does errrrrrr XXXXX still play for your opponent?'

and almost as soon as you said the question, the bar would start flashing with the player you just mentioned scoring against you

or 'hey, we havent seen XXXXX do anything for a while' flash flash flash flash 'oh........... hes there'

man, sounds mundane to mention it now - good times, fond memories of this game - i hope you love it

[KyzBP]

forgive the small AAR digression - this was my exclusive PC game from 1996-2001, hours and hours lost (not in a bad way) to this game, me and my best friend would meet up on Friday nights with a crate of beer and play til Sunday evening, non stop, no sleep and just play the game

The 2 things that always amazed us were the transfer similarities as mentioned, and the other, which we actually banned when we were together - it became regularly lethal to say whilst watching a match (this was long before a match engine, it was just a highlights bar that would flash in the middle of the screen over the top of the ground you were playing at - similar to XXXXX passes down the wing to XXXXX, he shoots, XXXXX parries the ball, XXXXXX jumps first and scores!!!!! and the bar would flash on and off..... anyway) 'does errrrrrr XXXXX still play for your opponent?'

and almost as soon as you said the question, the bar would start flashing with the player you just mentioned scoring against you


or 'hey, we havent seen XXXXX do anything for a while' flash flash flash flash 'oh........... hes there'

man, sounds mundane to mention it now - good times, fond memories of this game - i hope you love it

Not at all.  I've owned almost all of these since 2000.  I remember being so superstitious that I had leave the pointer over my substitution bar or else my team wouldn't score.  This is one of the only franchises I'll buy without question.

[undercovergeek]

lmfao, i used to leave it on the colon between minutes and seconds on the timer- ha brilliant  :D

[KyzBP]

"Now what Hans?  That's 2 more losses.  The fans want my head and the Board wants my ass.  I'm done!  Thanks for the opportunity and all but I'll be in the Men's Room until I grow a beard and then I'm out of here."  I was done!
"I told you if you dropped the next two games I'd step in and help and I will."  Hans said sporting his trademark grin.
"This team is beyond help Hans"  For starters our Keeper doesn't speak English, our Forwards run like Ronald McDonald with a rock in his shoe, and do you know what the supporters call our Defenders Hans?  Do you?   They call them The Turnstyle.  It was fun, we tried, sorry you lost your money but we're done."  I had surrendered.  I would've emptied my desk right then and there but Hans had his feet up on it.
"Shake it off and get the team ready, I have a phone call to make."  I'm really beginning to hate you Hans.



One of the things that I've overlooked is the importance of your Keeper being able to communicate with his defenders.  Our Keeper happens to be Polish.  We are getting pummeled in front of the net.  We also aren't getting any production from the forwards.  Things are looking bleak so it's time to shake things up.

[KyzBP]

"Come on in Max."
"Thanks Hans, it is my office and all.  Although you wouldn't know it since both of you have your feet on my desk."
"Max this is Rob Haworth.  He's the help I promised."  Rob and I shook hands.  There must be a cocky grin school that I don't know about and the two guys in my office were obviously in the top of their class.
"Hans, you know your friends on the board won't let us have another coach.  Hell, we're barely above the red as it is.  Have you seen Gus the Groundskeeper lately?  He carries around a bottle of asprin and a box of Band-Aids and tells everyone he's our Physio.  Christ, he might as well be because the Board won't let us have one of those either."
"Relax Max.  Rob isn't here to coach, he's here to play.  We go way back to when I was a kid at Southampton and he was at Fulham.  He can help, trust me."
"Don't worry" said Rob, "Hans filled me in on everything.  I'll get these guys winning and, more importantly, believing in themselves AND you."
"This isn't one of those reality shows is it.  The ones with the hidden camera.  You guys can't be serious.  No offense Rob, or should I call you Mr. Haworth, but you're as old as we are."  I was sure I had finally figured out what this little experiment really was.
"Don't worry Mr. Saturn I got you covered.  See you tomorrow...sir."  Rob flashed that damn grin again as he exited the room.
"I have a couple more guys coming in tomorrow.  I hope you won't complain about their age."  Hans followed Rob out of the room.  At least he didn't grin this time. 



At this level experience is often more important than youth or speed.  An older, slower guy can have "Football Speed". 
It's knowing where to be and not wasting energy and effort chasing a ball around the field.  Lets hope Rob Haworth has that kind of speed.

[MetalDog]

Fantastic, KyzBP!  I have exacty zero interest in soccer, but I will be following along as you go.  Thanks for writing this up :)

[KyzBP]

Fantastic, KyzBP!  I have exacty zero interest in soccer, but I will be following along as you go.  Thanks for writing this up :)

Thanks MetalDog.  I hope to keep this going for awhile.  I'm not a big soccer fan either but I'm a big fan of well done games.  Hats off to Sports Interactive for this.

[KyzBP]

"Good morning mate.  Can I come in?"  This was completely out of character for Hans.  Not only was he not already in my office, sitting on my chair but there was no trace of his grin.
"What's going on Hansy?  You look especially somber this morning."
"I just talked to the Board.  They want you out."  Hans paused long enough to give me a chance to react.
"So that's it then?  We're done?"  I felt better when I was going to leave under my terms but being sacked impresses that overwhelming feeling of failure on you.
"Not quite yet.  I got them to give you one more game.  If we win or at least draw(tie) then we might buy ourselves some time."  Hans was still serious, no smirk or anything.  This was obviously his game face.
"I'll just pack my stuff up now. There's no chance we win tomorrow.  We're playing Tonbridge, who just happen to be at the top of the table(first place). Oh, AND we're playing away!  The last away game we won was a Friendly(exhibition).  Do you remember when I stressed out during Friendlies, Hans?  Can you imagine how I'm feeling right now?"  The tone of my voice was more angry than resignation but it was really a coin flip.
"I've already got something in the works.  Rob and I are going to work with the guys on a new formation today.  We still have 24 hours.  It's plenty of time."  And there it was.  Hans' confidence was starting to emerge and it's so damn contagious.
"Twenty four hours is a lot of time between meals not to turn around a Football Club." Contagious, yes but I seemed to have built up an immunity over the years.
"See you on the pitch Max.  Bring a lunch.  We're going to be here awhile."





















And with just two changes we saved our jobs.  The board had given me the ultimatum: win or your out.  I thought we were goners.  Signing Haworth seemed to energize the whole team.
Changing formations seemed to help as well.  I had the Assistant Coach (Hans) pick the lineup for this game and he brought on Ellis Remy as Haworth's Striker Partner and the two bonded immediately. 
The pressure's still on though.  We're going to need some good results over the next few weeks or this will be a short AAR.

[KyzBP]

The New Formation

The new formation is called a 4-4-2 Diamond.

For the uninitiated, the first number (4) tells you how many Defenders your formation will have.  The last number (2) tells you how many forwards or Strikers you'll have.
The middle number (4) represents your Midfielders.  There can be more than one middle number based on the formation i.e.: 4-2-3-1 as Dorchester have gone with here.
Personally, I grew up watching, playing, and coaching American Football and can rattle of formations and their purposes almost instinctively.  Yet even though I've been
playing this franchise for 13 years now I still have yet to really grasp the functions of each formation (and there are a ton of them) or the roles assigned to the players.



For anyone interested or sitting on the fence even, there is a demo available through Steam.  You get full access for 6 in-game months.  I can't recommend it enough...obviously.

[BanzaiCat]

Thanks for making that one screenshot larger, KyzBP. Much easier to see.  8)

Also, I think I might give the demo a try. I found the manual online also (http://www.footballmanager.com/manual/) so I'll be reading through it. While I'm interested in this game, as you've said there seems to be a butt-ton of minutiae that can each make or break an organization, and wrapping my head around all that will be the biggest challenge.