Coming up to January 2010 on my City game, any suggestions on who to buy, aside from Villa and Chiellini who I'm already after ?

FM2010 is a lot better than previous versions. A lot better.



Watching the 3d is pretty much essential as it gives you a good indication of where you are going wrong. I have found that the tactical advice given by the coaches is inconsistent, some will lead you to win games, other times it will ensure you lose. I have started in the lower leagues and find that as a basic rule it works well to have a high defensive line and play wide against slow strikers or those good in the air and to sit deep and play narrow against pacy but weak strikers.



I am finding playing away really easy and can read where it's going wrong and more often than not win. At home my record isn't as good, I find it particularly hard to beat less capable teams, particularly those who play really narrow and defend. I never seem to score against them and will finish with a 2-0 defeat from two headers from set pieces after having 18 shots and 7 clear cut chances. I think my current season in L2 finished with a home record of W10 D3 L10 and an away record of W20 D2 L1.



The player roles and duties are a massive step forwards in the series. They should however follow this up by removing the sliders completely in the next version. Instructions in football management are all verbal, you get Mourinho saying, "Play deeper" rather than saying "Play seven notches up from the bottom". The shouts are also really useful and can have a real impact.



And as mentioned, those people hoovering up the talent as Man City? If you don't support City, what other excuse is there to use them bar getting to know the game with it's easiest possible challenge? It reminds me of when I was a kid and I'd spend days editing Championship Manager to make Everton brilliant, then stop playing it the day after because it was boring.

Considering taking a punt on van der Vaart at around £7m. Would add another creative option in my midfield.

My Leeds team (League 1) who have just lost on pens to Burnley (prem)



GK - Steve Simonsen (Signed for £1.1m)



DR - Stephen Darby (Signed before my time)

DL - Ben Parker

DC - Paddy Kisnorbo

DC - Richard Naylor



DM - Damien Plessis (Signed for £1.8m from Liverpool)

MC - Johnny Howson

MC - Oliver Lee (On loan from West Ham)

AM - James McCarthy (20 year old from Wigan signed for £3m)



ST - Jermain Beckford (On Loan from my previous club Liverpool)

ST - Daryl Murphy/ Luciano Becchio



SUB - Casper Ankegran (GK)

SUB - Daniel Ayala (Signed from Liverpool for £300k) (Def)

SUB - Leigh Bromby (Def)

SUB - Paul Anderson (signed before my time) (Mid)

SUB - Niel Kilkenny (Mid)

SUB - Becchio/Murphy (St)

SUB - Mike Grella (St)



Also got the Uruguay job for some reason

January 2010 - Sold Bridge and Bellamy who no longer featured in my first team plans and brought in van der Vaart (£8m) and Chiellini (£54m inc. clauses). Currently 5th in the league, looking to break into the top 4.

Good player this fella, I loaned him for Luton in League 2 and he was one of my players of the season, basically my catalyst to my great run-in at the end of the season.

I signed Villa, spent a fortune on him, and biggest waste of money i've ever spent. Maybe i was using him wrong, i don't know, but he was e. I just signed Dzenko, and he's played 3 and scored 3. So far, so good.



Van der Vaart is pretty decent, does OK for me. Gives me a bit of depth in midfield, i only signed him as a back up, because Ireland has been on fire this season.

I'm considering Dzeko, as he's available for around £20-30m as opposed to Villa, Valencia want £153m for him.

Sign oscar Cardozo, plays for in the portugese league, available for between 9 - 13 million, class ratings and a goal machine no matter what club hes at.

I managed to get Villa for £72Million, majority being installments. I signed Dzeko for about £20million, and so far hes been pretty good. As i said, my game just disappeared, so i've had to start again, signed more or less the same players, although i for Modric in January to boost my chance of winning the league, along with Van der Vaart and Dzeko so i have a reasonable chance, being 4 points behind Chelsea, pretty much a two horse races. I do think though, that if i don't win the league my finances aren't going to be in good shape because i've had to use a lot of installments to get the players i have.

I ended up winning the treble in my first season. I beat Juventus 1-0 (Gerrard penalty) in the Europa cup final and beat Villa 2-0 (Torres x 2) in the FA Cup Final. The board gave me £37.5m for the new season.





I sold Cavileri (GK) for £4m and that boosted my funds to £39m. I'm trying to sell Voronin but he won't go to West Ham, because they're offering him a crap salary. I've signed Riquelme on a free transfer and I've also added Lee Catermole and Joe Hart along with a young Belgium defender who is higly rated (15 year old). I decided to bring in a couple of young English players to boost the 'home trained' option and I'm also relying on youth rather than signings. I've still got about £20m to spend should I need it, but I don't intend to use it unless I need to in January. I'm happy with my squad, I've got options all over the place and I've got a few youngsters like Spearing, Kelly and Darby in reserve. If I was to sign a new player it'd probably be a defender, but my squad is good, certainly stronger than last season where I won the treble.

Get the youths young enough and they'll become home trained for you, even if they're from Serbia or somewhere.





Had Kyriakos Papadopoulos as a home grown Everton player on my last game, was sweet.





My York squad has a phenomenal attacking force, somehow enticed Marlon Harewood & Victor Anichebe to move there, and got some monsterous french lad on a free as well. Knocking them in for fun in League 2.

As you say, it's getting to know the game. Having a side like Man City means you can buy the top players, try different formations but also spend loads on young players. Then, with the youngsters signed, you can see how best to develop them, which youngsters develop well and so on, so in future games, you're prepared. I very rarely do one as Liverpool because I find playing in England boring. Usually, I do a Valencia season and spend the best part of 20 years playing with them, can't really explain why, just a favourite club, like.





Anyway, how unstoppable is Adebayor?! I play him on his own, with Tevez, with Lopez, with Jovetic, with Albin, whoever he plays with, whatever the formation, Adebayor dominates anyone and everyone.



Lisandro is a quality player, too, thought I'd ease him in, see what's his best role, formation etc.. Scored 9 in 4 in Europe whilst he's going at a goal a game in the league.

It isn't, I needed a decent striker to partner Torres, and he was about 4/5th choice because the rest of them wanted too much money.



Granted, £12m is too much for him, but he started well, 4 goals in 6 in the premiership

You need new scouts!

I am on the latest version and in a season and a half where I've been at the top of the league I can't ever remember seeing a one on one go in. There are more than enough of them, say four per game and I've not seen any do anything bar bounce back off the keepers. Is this a common problem or something related to my tactics/players? They all seem to run perfectly straight on at the keeper and kick it off their legs.



The success of long shots also seems ridiculously high. David Prutton (Long shots score of 11) has 14 goals for me in League 1, pretty much all from distance. Lee Carsley and David Obua are also slapping them in left, right and centre from distance. I'd say my average game consisted of going into the lead with a 30 yarder, going 2-0 up with a decent move then being instantly pegged back by a goal from a corner (Typically on half time), then me going to 3 or 4 with long range efforts. It's not even set as a tactic for the players or as a shout. They are all set at 'sometimes'.

Into the early stages of the season with Fleetwood and currently yo-yoing anywhere between 1st and 6th. Only lost once (Droylsden away) and 100% at home. The problem is that I can't seen to get any result other than a 1-1 draw away from home.



One of my forwards (a loanee from Tranmere) has been out with injury so I'm sort of putting it down to failing to take chances for the time being. Not sure why my defence (who are rock solid at home), seem to get caught out so much on the road so much though.

Mysteriously my City game had vanished off the face of the earth, so I started again and have signed the same players all over again, so my 2009/10 squad is :



1. Given

12. Taylor



2. Richards

3. Chiellini

4. Onouha

5. Mexes

11. Srna

16. Sylvinho

19. Lescott

28. Toure



6. Fabregas

7. Ireland

8. Wright-Phillips

10. Robinho

18. Barry

33. Kompany

34. de Jong



9. Dzeko

14. Santa Cruz

25. Adebayor

32. Tevez



Can't get van der Vaart at the moment but I'll sign him when he is transfer listed. Annoyed about my old game as I was breaking into the top 4.

How much was Fabregas? Arsenal wanted £54m for him off me, I decided to get Lee Cattermole for £5m and Michael Johnson, he's class.



Just about to sign Zhirkov from Chelsea as competition at left back with Criscito, think I'll then sell Lescott who is pretty average IMO.

I got him for £55m over 4 years.

The exact same happened to me the other day. Mine crashed, i turned off my laptop, turned it back on and it had gone. I too started again, but i didn't do things exactly the same and as it turns out, it was for the better. This time i spent massive money on bringing Ribery to the club, and i also brought Modric in in January, using massive installments. However, that put massive pressure on me to win the league, as i needed maximum money because of the amount i've spent. Fortunately for me, i stuck with Chelsea all the way, and final day of the season, we both went into the game on 94 points. They played Liverpool away and i played Hull away. I won comfortably and Chelsea lost the game, 2-0, so i won the league, just about. I needed them to lose, because there points difference is massive compared to mine, but luck was on my side.



Not sure what i'm going to do next season, weighing up a few options. Maybe looking to bring in a left back, a world class one, because despite Lescott and Bridge doing decent there this season, i feel i need to improve that area. Richards has been sensational for me all season, winning young player of the year.

I usually start as Stevenage or Inverness but think i'll have a bash with Wigan.

ive just started a new game as Southport in the Blue Square North - and literally nobody wants to sign for me

thinking of handing my resignation in already!

Did you set yourself as a nobody in the setup? I always set myself as a former professional footballer, that way you have enough respect to get loanees in and free transfers even if the club is the dogs.

Sit rep at the half-way point.



21 games in and I've guided Fleetwood to the top of the league, two points ahead of Eastwood and five points ahead of Corby Town (with the latter having played a game more - mine and Eastwood's last games were postponed).



Out of the FA Trophy to York at the 2nd round stage whilst I put up a brave fight before losing 1-0 to Carlisle in the FA Cup R1. Managed to overcome my problem of not winning away and still 100% at home.



Tend to flip between one of two tactics with tweaks made based on the opposition. Brought in a number of players, mostly on freebies, as well as a couple of loanees - Terry Gornell, striker from Tranmere and Spencer Harris, a defender from Huddersfield. Harris has done well but I've got two more experienced defenders that keep him from playing there as often but he can slot into the midfield. Gornell isn't has struggled with injuries and in the meantime, my other striker Gareth Sneddon has been banging them in for fun. When I'm playing a one out-and-out striker system, he's the go-to guy.



Liking the fixture quirks at this level as well. It's only got to October and I'd already played Hyde twice in the league!