Moments like this are why I can see myself playing this game for a long long time

This is the first Football Manager I've ever bought, and I'm addicted straight away. I started my first game with Paris FC, a semi-pro side in the French National (3rd tier). In my first season I hit some bad form around February (probably because I didn't rotate my squad enough) and fell out of the promotion race finishing 6th. Season two I made a lot of improvements to my team, and with 6 games left I was in the last promotion spot by 8 points, looking good.

Well, a 5 match winless skid saw me in a three way tie for the final promotion spot going into the last day of the season. The problem? I had an away date with runaway leaders AS Cannes, who had only been beaten 5 times this season, and stomped me last time we played. My fellow promotion contenders were playing the 16th and 24th places teams, respectively. To make things worse, both teams had the tie-breaker against me, my only hope was to win and have the other two teams lose or draw. Or the off chance that I win by two more goals than Besancon RC, who were playing the worst team in the league to take goal differential.

The matches start, and right off the whistle, Besancon RC score in the 2nd minute of their game and I think I have no chance. 7 minutes later, Besancon score again, so now they're 3 ahead of me on goal differential, and have the 2nd tie-breaker too, great. 23rd minute I get a goal off a free kick to take a 1-0 lead, and that's how it goes into half time. The 2nd half starts, and Besancon concede a quick goal, now they're only up 2-1. Nothing happens for about 30 minutes, until my striker gets sent in alone on goal in the 8th minute, and slots one into the net - we're up 2-0 on the powerhouse leaders, but my promotion rivals are still winning their match 2-1. The game goes back and forth the rest of the way, until the 92nd minute. AS Cannes but on a passing clinic, and send a man in on goal alone, who easily beats my Keeper, and that's it... I'm sunk. Until the assistant referees flag goes up, the goal is disallowed! Immediately from the free kick, we play a long ball in, and my struggling Winger chips the keeper for the three goal win in the 93rd minute! We took 3rd place and the last promotion spot on goal differential by beating the best team in the league 3-0 away. What a game.

I just had to share this as I've been jumping around my house for the past five minutes. What a great time I'm having with this game and next season it's on to Ligue 2!

I'd say congratz and welcome to us other addicts, I think I saw an empty spot there in the back.

This kind of feeling is wonderful. Sadly for me, it's all too rare. I'm in my third season with Panathinaikos and we won the league last season and the highlight was an astonishing 3-0 away win at Olympiakos. When the third goal went in a admit to getting a little giddy. There's no feeling quite like that big win.

i bet you change your tune if you go down next year with only winning 2 games.

Thats great to hear.

I have to say the best feeling I've had in this game was winning the champions league final with some of the youngsters that had come through my academy 6 years prior. It was such an amazing feeling because they did it without my best player and captain who got injured 3 weeks before the final. Also, I had sold Rooney to the Real Madrid (the team I beat 2-1 in this final) the season before this final. Now the 2 players, who were the 2 best to youngsters to pop up in my youth team that year, were the two who scored the goals for me to win.

I have to say that the best feeling in this game is watching the youngsters you are developing turn into superstars.