After 4 seasons, my Solihull Moors have finally gained promotion from Conference North. I wasn't expecting it, after finishing the regular season with a few losses and sliding to 4th place to close out the regular season - my squad certainly seemed to have lost their spark toward the end.

Then we lost the 1st leg of the semi finals (at home) to Southport, and had to then go on the road to play them as something like 7-2 underdogs. I assumed the season was over. In the 2nd leg, our team continued to look lackluster. It was still tied 0-0 at the half, and I ripped into the squad during the team talk (using a Team Talk option that isn't usually there - something along the lines of: "I expect nothing less than for us to reach the finals"). They responded, scoring 2 goals in the second half and moving us to the finals, winning on a 2-1 aggregate.

In the finals against Worksop, I played a low-tempo, short-passing control style of game (the opposite of my typical uptempo attacking style) and the game remained 0-0 through towards the end of the game. With a few minutes left, I figured what the hell and switched to a high-tempo, counter attack style (but I was already thinking ahead to the upcoming shootout). Then in the 88th minute my defensive midfielder who's scored 4 goals all season found himself with tons of open space, approached the goal, dribbled around the approaching keeper, and scored. Woo hoo!

About time, considering this was our 3rd time in the playoffs in 4 years.

oh hai. next installment of ellen road plz. k, thx.

FYI: i still look up fritz every game i'm in. he's actually quite good in this one.

Thanks for the kind words :) but I doubt it. What I remember of my dynasty writeups is how much work I put into them. I just don't have that time anymore, although it was always a great lot of fun to share it with people, since, well you know, my wife isn't all enthused by a bunch of billiard balls moing around on a big pool table with goals at both ends. :D

Did a quick search to find that first dynasty and was shocked to see it all started a almost three years ago to this day. A Frog at Kenilworth Road was a lot of fun, man did I play the heck out of FM2005!

One other thing that might keep me from starting another FM dynasty is how in depth the game has become now. In FM2005, as good as it was then, the media interaction was still a bit limited, there were no pre/post game talks, but I was reporting on just about any little that happened in my football universe. Would really have to use a different approach with how in depth FM has become since 2007.





Sweet indeed, you were my Santa this year, thanks again! :)







I've been in charge at both Kenilworth and Loftus Road, but I'm not too sure I've ever been to Ellen Road. ;)

Funny you mention this ghost of the past. I was almost set to play a fictional universe this time around cause I have found that I almost automatically go after the same players in every careers. I mean Kasper Schmeichel has ended up being my keeper in '05, then in '06, then in '07 again. That being said, I started my test game last night with a fictional universe and I found it disconcerting not to see at least some of the usual faces on my Hatters squad. The facegen looked nice and everybody had a picture, as opposed to my regular start of a career when maybe only half the team has pictures, but it was tough as all hell to not even have one player to relate to. I mean, The Hatters have changed face a lot from the start of the 2007 season to this year, what's with them relegating to League 1, but still, there are some known players in there, players I know I can rely on, and well some I know not to rely on too much... Add to that the newness of the interface, the new stuff to check out, and I think I'll probably restart with real players on.

As for the game, I looked here and there and like many little new things. Props to SI for the advisor thingie. I'm sure it will help out new players a lot by telling them what they need to do step by step and allowing them to turn it off only for things they already know. I like the calendar view too, as simple as that sounds. I simmed up to and through our first friendly. Must say I found that the game engine felt smoother than in '07. I had not seen much difference from '06 to '07, but now it felt like the difference was as important to me as the one I felt from CM0304 to FM2005. The ball bounces better, players are moving better, that sort of things. Maybe it's only perception, but isn't it all it is anyway?

I think I will like all the feedback reporting on all the little things a whole lot, despite my fears of possible overreactions by the board or the fans. Knowing how everyone perceived my last result is something I've always wanted, and knowing about how they liked the last signings is also something I've always liked, looking forward to that...

FM

This is a great point. It just looks more like actual football being played in 2d this time around.

Whew. I won the Community Shield 5-0 this year over Chelsea so I don't have to worry about listening to the baord complain about the loss all year. I need to zip through this, catch Sir Alex as best of all time.

Then I'll resign from Arsenal and pick up a Coca Cola Championship squad. It'd be like some NBAD team being coached by Phil Jackson. I will have incredible respect. :) : )

yeah, exactly what I meant. At least based on watching part of one friendly, but it was my first impression of the engine.

I also installed the steklo skin and while I really liked it, the possession/comments bar in the match screen being on top will take some getting used to. I'm just so used to looking at the bottom for that information...

Stupid question too: anybody has found a different ball to play with, or can the balls used in previous version be used in 2008? I despise the ugly black and white octogonal shapes ball that the game defaults to...

FM

Well, finals just ended so it appears as though I finally might have some time to spend with this game. I don't have time to read through all 19 pages, but could someone let me know what the most recent version of the WWSM download is in terms of patches, please. I have the 8.01 beta patch right now, I think.

Thanks.

you like pain, don't you? :)

at least save the file pre-resignation so you can come back to unburden your pain every so often. :D

found this one. now i just have to figure out how to install it:

http://www.fmglive.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3704

I am patching from this link, lcjjdnh:

http://www.thedugout.tv/community/sh...ad.php?t=41195

yeah, since posting that first one, I got to searching for balls after getting home and found that exact same thread. Instructions for installations are at the bottom of his first post:

Seems easy enough, will probably try installing one of them...

FM

First impression: The default skin is pretty bad.

Ok, where do I put user-created skins?

The skin isn't so bad once you play for about 30 minutes

My Documents\Sports Interactive\WWSM2008\skins

where WWSM2008 is probably spelt in the long way...

FM

Thanks, Froggy.

here's a pretty neat super pack of balls:
FM08_Match_Balls_Superpack.rar

FM

Ok, I need suggestions for a team from France to play. Would like a team with some history that has fallen on hard times lately.

PSG (Paris-St. Germain) is the obvious choice, but I avoid them due to their neo-Nazi skinhead diehards.

I agree that's an obnoxious quality. I'm looking at FC Sete right now, don't know much about them except they were founded in 1900.

ack. i missed the 'pitch' part. will try it again. thanks, frogger. :D

now i have to find the instruction for the kits. meh.

Are there some leagues that you can load into the game but are not playable? Germany had four leagues, but only three are playable. I think it was the same way with France. Is this right?

Anyway, I am on to managing Vauxhall Motors. I tried to manage Everton but I just can not get into anything but the lower leagues.

link to a skin I just found that I thought looked very interesting:
http://www.thedugout.tv/community/sh...ad.php?t=41800

It's called Xenon. At first, the background with the white ribbons/lines annoyed the heck out of me, but I thought the rest had some good looks so I made a different, plain blue background. Take the following file,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...08/default.jpg

and simply copy it over the same file in the following folder:
My Documents\Sports Interactive\Worldwide Soccer Manager 2008\skins\xenon\graphics\backgrounds

That should give you a plain darkish blue backround instead of the busy blue one they had...

FM

dola, for those who had not realized, that Xenon skin pretty much has the look of a Mac screen.

It's also 22Mb, which is pretty big for a skin...

FM

Thinking about Stade de Reims, now.

nice find, frogger. i will have to check that out.

i've been tinkering with black-in 2. it's pretty nice, actually.

Anyone know how to get your reserve team entered into a Reserve League? Now that I've moved up from Conf N to Conf Premier, I'd like my reserves to play a full schedule of games lke the other Conference Premier teams do.

They'll invite you into the league I believe

Yeah, they invite you right before the season starts. I made the mistake of conveniently forgetting that most of my under 18 team was no longer eligible as they were, well, over 18, and declined to join. Now I have a dozen guys twiddling their thumbs all year.

yeah, I had downloaded and installed that one too but after trying it for maybe 10 minutes, got tired of the font that felt a bit too small. Maybe it's my low quality screen though, but I just like it a bit bigger for fonts.

The Xenon skin has some issues with some labels being a bit too long to fit, but overall I liked it a lot.

FM

I think the German list is mixed up because they are changing their league structure at the end of this season. From memory the list is Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2, Bundesliga 3 and Regionalligas? At the end of this season in real life the regional leagues will be replaced by Bundesliga 3, so though 4 levels show up to select from, there really are only 3 levels.

dola...

Yeah, that's a good choice. Champions Cup finalists and multiple league winners in the 50's and 60's to lower divisions now.

The other one I was going to suggest is Racing Club de France (RCF Paris). I'm not sure if they might have fallen so far down the league that they're no longer in the game though.

And to save a double dola, I like the default skin better than any of the user made ones I've seen.

I just wish someone would do an updated version of the Aurora skin from a couple years back. Loved that one...

So I finished my 1st season in SD2 last night. My first and hopefully last. I finished second, 3 points behind first place. I go into the playoffs and take out 4th place Raith in the first round. I then have to face SD1 relegation candidate Hamilton in the final. The funny thing about that was Hamilton was I had just become their Feeder club at the begining of the year. I took them out, winning at home 1-0 and then drawing with them on the road 2-2. I was convinced it was going to PK's when my DC got a header off a corner at the 88 minute mark.

Now ready to start my SD1 season. I am hoping for a midtable finish to be honest. I knew my roster was good enough to do well in SD2, but I am real unsure about SD1. I haven't been able to sign anyone yet, and I haven't been able to get a top-notch Striker on loan yet like I have the last two seasons. Still working on it though so we'll see. I am hitting the market hard right now as I stand outside my truck (not allowed to be in my truck at this place).

Something cool I just had happen. I started a game as the England Manager and I wanted to call up this hotshot 18 year old goalie and he wouldn't let me do it. I looked at info screen and says he is hoping to be called up by Italian and won't commit yet to a team

I hadn't played in a good while. I just reloaded my first PLA game and I'm gonna have it and see what happens.

Does anybody know any way that I can play FM at 1280x800 on a Mac?

I have hope in SD1 I think. I scheduled 6 friendlies, all against Championship League teams, all at home of course for the money.

I didn't do half bad I think.

Lost to Swansea 0-1
Draw with Wolves 1-1
Lost to Leicester 0-2
Lost to Barnsley 2-4
Won against Nottingham Forrest 2-1
Lost to Norwich 2-6

That last Norwich game was rough. I was up 2-0 4 minutes into the game and excited as can be. By the 10 minute mark it was tied 2-2. Then they piled on. They must have been pissed.

I say I don't think I did bad because these teams outclass me hands down. Their talent is twice as good I would say. My team is full of 19-22 year olds still developing, and not as good as any 19-22 year olds they have. I think I can finish mid-table in SD1 now. I am hopeful anyways.

add on: My biggest problem right now is that I don't have a top notch scoring threat like I have been able to get on loan the last two seasons in SD3 and SD2. I signed a couple young guys who are decent, but just a little better or equal to what I had already. Scoring could be a problem at times. Upgrading my speed should help though.

Things I like in the new version:

- the coach reports, I always wanted to have a report like the scouting report, but for my own players, not too sure how much I'll rely on it once I really know my players, but for the start it is sure helping me get an idea of who might help and who might not even make it to the club...

- the confidence reports are very cool, can't wait to see how I rate in the different competitions and games, but also with my dealing of finances, how my signings rate with the fans and such. In versions past, I always liked seeing July 1st come around with the usual new ignings (free or not) coming to town and hoping to see a news item about how the fans liked the signing (or not). Now to see the confidence slider, I can't wait to see how it'll play out.

- longer and shorter terms expectations from the board. Like my board expecting a reasonable finish before the end of the 2nd season. No clue what they'll ask for after that, but at least I get the sense that they are looking at it more than one season at a time.

- Regarding confidence reports, I also like the link to the confidence screen on the email we get after each game. I would probably forget to check it if that link was not in every emails after each game.

- Speaking of the confidence, I like the better interaction with the team board. Simply to see that you can increase the expectations to get more money is pretty interesting.

- I'm still not used to the match day flow but I think I'll like once I get used to it. For now, I see the tactics screen show up and I invariably get out of there and go to my usual squad screen to pick players and do tactics change. I've only had three friendlies so far but as I said, I'll probably get used to it after a while.

- Pregame assessment and the fact that EVERY game (not only games that are on TV) have such a pregame and a postgame report, with reports on key players on each side.

- I love that I can ask my assman for recommended pre/haltime/post game talk without having to turn the whole thing over to him. There are times (most of the time actually) when I have an idea what to say to the team but sometimes I simply wanna get an idea from something outside of my head and hitting that "suggest" button (sometimes adjusting one or two) makes it easier on me.

Those are the few little things I like the most for now. I'm sure I'll dig more little things as I play with the game a bit more...

FM

I am in my third season and still use these. I really like to see how my coach rates a newer player compared to guys I have had around at that position. They are nice to have around for sure.

yes, very good point, I really like how those reports seem to put the player's skills in relation with others at his position. When you see that such and such player is "the 5th best striker on the squad" it sorta tells you he might not be your best bet for a long time starter spot. :)

FM

dola, while I'm still unsure about how I feel when I see the game still playing while I'm making tactics adjustments (I have for now started to reach for the pause button before making such adjustments) one thing I am absolutely grateful that they fixed is that the game does not go silent after making such adjustments anymore. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Use to drive me seriously nuts, to the point that I would never use the quick tactics button...

FM

Having these coach reports on your own players is what finally made me buy this year's version despite having last year's. I really like this addition.

one other tiny little thing I really that's finally made it in this version is the indication of how many extra minutes are to be played, you know the little +3, or whatever the time.

It annoyed me when I would miss the 4th official's announcement and the game would get to the 93rd minute with the other team mounting an attack and I'd have no idea how close it was to be over so I'm glad for that. :)

FM

I love seeing the extra minutes most of the time as well. The times when is says +3 and the game then starts to go past +4 and even +5 and I am barely holding onto the lead drives me insane though.

my first friendly of this career was with Luton, playing Deportivo at home. We had the lead 1-0 going into extra time with +4 announced. They scored to tie it at 96:15 with the game going a full 7 minutes of extra time. Good thing it was only a friendly or else I'd have be royally pissed... :)

FM

Why do young guys on my team keep getting offered new contracts? I have the box where the assman handles that stuff unchecked!

Back to last year's version I guess, which I never got. I am the world's biggest fan of the Parent/Feeder club links right now.

My big problem heading into my 1st SD1 season was I couldn't get that stud striker on loan like I had the previous two seasons. I just couldn't find a guy who wanted to come on loan, or who the team would let go on loan. I went through friendlies, first couple of SD1 games, and unfortunetly through the first rounds of the League Cup and Challenge Cup without that guy. Against teams equal or greater then my team it was a struggle to score. My team just didn't look like it had in the past on the attack, even my other key forwards from the past.

Then I remembered, I don't have a parent club since the deal with Hamilton was canceled when I got to SD1. I went to the board and asked them to consider getting me one. (I loved this whole process BTW) They came back right away of course and said they were open to it and would bring it up at the next meeting. Not too long after that they get back to me, and the answer is yes and they want my suggestion of which of three teams I would like. Uhm, one was Rangers. Me no dummy! I said I want them as my parent club, the board went a long with it, and I am a happy man now.

I asked for one of their strikers on the reserve squad, and the guy came down. He has been the difference maker so far. Having a guy up there who can score and move around like him just helps everbody raise their game. The whole team has gone up a level since he joined and we have won 2 in a row by a combined score of 6-0. I was 0-2-1 in SD1 before that and already knocked out of the League Cup and Challenge Cup. I wish I had remembered sooner to get a Parent club.

How do you "get" a parent club, anyway?

The first time my Board did it on their own, just went out and got one and then told me about it. This second time I had to request the board to go out and get one. You can also request to get a Feeder club which I may end up doing soon.