Howdy Doody - long time lover coming back to the game

Hey Folks, it’s been probably over three years since I really sat and played FM/CM and obviously things have changed with the different versions and so on. I originally cut my teeth on CM98 (I think) but over the last 4 years I really haven’t had time to sit and learn the new features and tactics and ways of playing for all the new variations.

Looking around the forum i see plenty of "I can’t win every game11!!one1!" and "I was 5-0 up at HT and lost 5-6 this game sucks" threads as well as plenty of others praising the game (while also hoping for significant changes with '09).

With the new season kicking off yesterday and the fantasy league malarkey starting up again i suddenly got the itch to play CM again just wondered if you chaps can help me avoid some of the pitfalls. I actually have '08 sitting on my shelf that I bought on a whim some time ago so I can get that on and patched but what things should I be looking out for?

Does giving out oranges at half time seem to make the players fall over a lot? Is saying "your doing well but we need to keep it up" at HT and 1-0 going to make my players switch off? I’ll credit myself with being an intelligent guy so I know that while the may be deficiencies with the tame, thousands of others get the best out of it so it can’t be all bad.

Tips on players and stuff I can find "out there" so this really is just a look into FM08 and any things that at first glance should do x but in reality do y.

Boynose nocheese

Darren

Personally, I would recommend waitinf for '09. I've been away from the game, and this forum, for a few months now but, like yourself, have found myself being drawn back into the world of FM with the coming of a new season.

As for '08, it's best not to expect too much from it. By that, i mean that certain niggling issues (for me anyway) really compromise the enjoyment of the game if you are a stickler for realism. The transfer market really needs overhauling for '09 (you still have to pay £20m to land a £10m rated player who isn't even getting a game, whilst putting up with £5m bids for your £20m man), and the scouting still isn't 100%. In-game, there are, iirc, issues such as defenders stopping for no reason, allowing the opposition attacker to go clean through, that can really affect your game (not to mention your mental state).

The game itself is, as ever, nicely laid out, and the new features really do add to the game. That said, i personally believe that FM08 is by far the weakest of the FM's (that is, since the split with Eidos), and a massive step-back after the exceptional FM07.

Give '08 a go. It will certainly get you back into the swing of things, and there's a wealth of nice features that have occurred since you last played the game. Plus, if nothing else, it should lead to you pre-ordering '09 so that (hopefully) you can play the game the way it should be played.

Brief pointers from someone who likes the game:

Make sure you're patched to 8.0.2, and just ignore the chairman's "praise sandwich" as it's mostly cosmetic. Comments like "We are very happy with you but the 1-0 league cup defeat against Man United cannot be ignored," really annoy a lot of people but I couldn't care less.

There are no real "super" tactics that mean you win every game. The AI is good at "cracking" your tactics so unless you are playing in a very poor league (Ireland, Iceland, Finland) it's very hard to go through a season unbeaten. It's one reason I like this better than 07.

Team talks, press statements, etc, can get very dull and repetitive. Hoping they fix it for 09. Unfortunately they play a big part in your team's morale. There's a great thread about this in the tactics forum if you want to read the definitive take on it. Should be locatable with a search. If you just want to find your own way, good luck.

Oh, and transfer fees are very high. If you're not a big-budget club don't expect to be signing any big-names unless they are already transfer listed.

Am sure there's more but i'm trying to be brief. Tactics forum is a good place to visit, as is the good player forum... if you don't mind being spoonfed the bargains.

well after getting home form work it transpires i have '07 and not '08 so i have it patched and am downloading the latest data update i can find (july 16th) so hopefully i can get somewhere soon!

Well, a short reply from me then, since I have fairly no experience in FM07: glad to see someone enjoying the world of Football Manager :-)

well i got the data update, put it where i think it needs to go and cant find it as an option when starting a new game. i can only assume i need to paste the new files over the 702 update to get it to work. Thinking about it this all seems a bit familiar. Cor its been a long time!

well i got the data update, put it where i think it needs to go and cant find it as an option when starting a new game. i can only assume i need to paste the new files over the 702 update to get it to work. Thinking about it this all seems a bit familiar. Cor its been a long time!

Which data update is that? This might be a silly question but are you sure that is for FM07 and not FM08?

Matey, Been in the same boat, stopped playing after school, the last CM. Didn't come back to it until this one. Had alot of probs when first installed, game crashed, blah blah blah. Thought I was going to cry, or shoot someone, But....

Downloaded latest patch for the game (not comp literate, so big step for me) and has been ****ing fantastic. It's not easy, but i promise you will eventually find the love again. The fun is still there, but on a massive scale

Which data update is that? This might be a silly question but are you sure that is for FM07 and not FM08?

it was the latest data update i could find for FM07 from sortitoutsi. i got it working last night and just got a game started before i hit the sack (in the middle 9 12hr shifts on the trot so early nights for me).

I am relaly lookingforward to finding that FM love again. i used to spend entire days playing which was part of the reason i stopped. I was wasting too much of my life on computer games but now with a very busy schedule i'll have to moderate my time more which should help there will still be all day sessions at times but it wont be EVERY day or even every week. Daylight is my friend!

Well i have played for 2 hours tonight and i still am yet to click continue. There is so much to be getting on with that am glad im a little older and wiser for this incarnation. The only peeve so far is seemingly not being able to compare staff in the same way that you can compare players.

Well an evening update is in order. Another 2 hours have passed and i have played my first match and quite possibly for the first time ever watched the whole thing unfold. I'm glad i did as i noticed that with my Tempo up and direct passing we were rushing things so after 15 mins i dropped the passing to short and kept the tempo up and saw a marked improvement.

I also managed to use the FM08 team talk guide to get the best out of the lads and they were all pleased as expected so i didnt muck that up at least. we ran out 3-0 winner over AEK in the end despite being down to 10 after 35 mins. i am now just trying to sort out my staff as some are appaling!