I think everyone's done it at some stage.

Football Manager is one of those games where most people that play it only enjoy when they are winning. I know I can win 28 games on the spin and I'll love the game. But when I fail to win, drawing at home to a poor side, I get really frustrated with it and end up exiting mid match to avoid a defeat.

The current FM is too easy however, success is inevitable rather than achievement based. I started my latest game as West Ham, got promoted in the second season after a play off defeat the first year, but left to join Everton instead of taking the Hammers up. I then finished 16th in my first season as the squad was simply awful. But I won the double in my second season, with a team that isn't that brilliant:

GK Courtois
DR Romario
DL Fabio
DC Abdennour
DC Mbia
ML Ljalic
MR Veiss
MC Rodwell
MC Poli
AMC Wilshere
FC Rossi

I signed Courtois, Romario, Fabio, Abdennour, Mbia, Ljalic, Viess, Poli, Wilshere, Rossi and a few more squad players in the one pre season all on £0 up front and big money over 48 months. That kind of payment structure might well happen in real life, but it wouldn't be allowed to the extent above. I'm Everton, £16m overdrawn and with £230m being paid off on transfers over 4 years. Completely unrealistic. What happened on the game is the club lost £8m a month and the balance went down until it triggered a purchase of the club. That then wiped out the debt and gave me another £230m to spend

This always happens on the game.

There should be some form of financial responsibility put into the game, based on the personality of the Chairman or owners. So some wouldn't permit such silly spending, whilst others would do a Leeds but based on you achieving something. I was allowed to spend that money based on promising mid table and there were no repercussions of the club going £200m in debt by the end of that year at all. Because I'd stayed within the salary budget the club were delighted with my financial prudence

I wonder how they will build the financial fair play system into future versions

To be honest, that sums up most video games (and most things in general really)




Easily the best signing a lower league manager can make on the game, as well as Samba Kanoute.

Took the plunge and bought FM12 for £12! Bargain!

Gets delivered tomorrow so got 24hours to decide on which skins to download, facepacks, kit packs etc.

Will probably start with Man Utd for a season just to find my feet on the game again, and then move on to lower league side - Huddersfield or Crawley I think

Poached from Fleetwood by Palace, struggling near the foot of League One. £25m transfer kitty to spend in Jan though

I got the game yesterday and downloaded it through Steam - will this be the latest patch??

I would think so. If you are playing it through Steam, it will tell you if it's not.

Cool thanks, not bought it for a couple of years so is a differnet way of installing.

Just trying to look through the sites now to find the best face packs, logos, kit packs etc.

I'm still in the championship with the Terriers, got to the playoff final with a solid run in with about 15 games to go, got in on points difference. However, lost in the final 3-1 to Blackpool after going 1-0 up. Made a few new signings this year and happy with my squad. Will update at end of season.

Managed to get into a game. Took on the role as New England Revs manager in the MLS, interesting stuff with the cap, draft, trades ect. In my first season I was runner up in the MLS final, then just finished my second, I won the US Cup and the MLS final, into the 1/4 finals of the NACL.
Want to know how unrealistic this game is? England won Euro 2012, beating Spain, Italy and Germany.

Switzerland won the 2014 world cup on my game!

Had a dreadful 2022/23 pre-season as four of my transfer targets rejected sunny Barrow-in-Furness for the likes of Lisbon and Eindhoven. I had to laugh though, as one of my strikers, unable to get a game for Germany, switched allegiances to Kazakhstan

. He had two German caps already though, so how that works out, I have no idea..

Quote ="Wilde 3" Just trying to look through the sites now to find the best face packs, logos, kit packs etc.'" I tend to use www.fm-base.co.uk. Free to sign up, which increases the amount and frequency you can download.

Quote ="Wilde 3" Just trying to look through the sites now to find the best face packs, logos, kit packs etc.'" I tend to use www.fm-base.co.uk. Free to sign up, which increases the amount and frequency you can download.

Must have been friendlies

Havent played in a bit, looking for a team to get going with...

All my games are the same on FM. I take over a team, like Everton usually but occasionally a lower league team. I have loads of fun developing the squad and turning them into a good side. But then when I win the league/cl I get really bored with it.

I lose interest primarily because you have no way of identifying with the other teams. At the start I know each team and their players, but after three or four years I couldn't name one player or the manager for most of the Premier League sides. It's worse when you go on a few seasons more and the teams are full of regenerated players.

What the game needs is a Sky Sports news set up. So when you are not in matches, you are told what's going on in the world. You would hear about the signings, who they are and where they came from etc. They would also hype up the big matches and controversial incidents etc.

One complaint that people have had with FM for years is the AI for other teams. When you are developing your own team, it is too easy to get to the top and win everything. The other sides rarely develop their squads - that is something that i think FM13 will have.

Also, you can manage your subscriptions on FM12 - i have Italy, German, French, Spanish and Dutch leagues as playable or watch only, and you can subscribe to their messaging so you hear news from each of the leagues etc. It clogs up your news feed during the season so i cancel them, but then i turn them on again for close season to keep track of latest players etc

Quote ="Andy Gilder"I tend to use www.fm-base.co.uk. Free to sign up, which increases the amount and frequency you can download.'" Yeah i go there, or to ww.sortitoutsi.net There are lots of different packs so hard to choose the best, although the Steklo skin is very good!

Quote ="Andy Gilder"I tend to use www.fm-base.co.uk. Free to sign up, which increases the amount and frequency you can download.'" Yeah i go there, or to ww.sortitoutsi.net There are lots of different packs so hard to choose the best, although the Steklo skin is very good!

I can't be doing with the skins or facepacks, within 10 seasons they are all regens anyway so the FP are pretty much redundant.

I do like the Dark Skin though.

How many wonderkids have you got/had in your squads?

Ive got 8, in my 31 man squad. Hoping to have 2 more turn into wonderkids soon too.

what does everyone think of FM13 so far?

Very very long shot but......

Just started playing fm08 again (the best one) but have no kits or logos anymore

...... Can find premiership kits and logos but having a he'll of a job finding championship, league one etc...

Anyone any ideas ???

Got it the other day. Initial impressions; very hard. Taking a while to get used to the new training layout as well as the tactics layout. Will probably keep an eye on the boards for a training regime to download as I must admit, I am stumped with what to do at the moment.

Who have you gone with? I have started 2 games; one with Everton and one with Red Star Paris. Both, I am doing pretty badly at...

Got two games going at the minute, one as Leeds United in the full mode (very tough and not much cash) and got a game as Guiseley in the Blue Square North in the classic mode which is alright

Really not impressed with the new training regime, but everything else about the new FM is better I think. I've taken Hull City to the Champions League in 3 seasons, so I'm not finding it too tricky, expectations are up this season though so we'll see how it goes.

I tried a game on that challenge mode, the skin is absolutely shocking though, and it just seemed a waste of time playing on there so when I fancy a change I'll make a new save.

Coming up to the end of my 2nd game with Everton. I started with Red Star Paris in the French National, but with a wage budget of £20kpw it is near impossible, so started my Everton game to get into it, get a tactic etc.

The training isn't as in-depth as it was in FM11 (the last one I played), so I went into the season undercooked fitness wise. Corrected that now, and have found a tactic on FM-Base that works pretty well with Everton. 4-3-1-2 with Wingbacks. Signed Jores Okore who is immense, and a bargain at £1.5m, and Wilfred Zaha for £5m. Got a German kid called Stefan Bell coming in in January. In the summer I really need another striker or 2. Zaha has done well, but is only young. Jelavic has been pretty decent, but has suffered from a few injuries and neither Miralles or Naismith have done much yet.

Currently 4th though, was top after destroying Chelsea 4-1, but defeats at City and at home to Wigan (annoying) have dampened my spirits somewhat.