Hello dear reader. I am Gino Tizon more known as @jedifootball on Twitter. Most of you may not know me as I am very new to the scene. I had written previously on my blog and for passion4fm.com but I have been in love with football manager since I had a PSP.
Growing up, I did not have a personal computer. I also preferred to game on consoles wherein NBA Live and NBA 2K were main staples in my game library. It wasn’t until I got a PSP that I was introduced to Football Manager. It was FM07 Handheld I recall. I got the game as I found the basketball games boring on a small screen.
Entering the game and playing for the first time, I was presented with a slew of information that I was not familiar with. I did not understand the attributes and how they worked. I had no idea what positions there were in a football tactic. None of the players rang a bell. In other words, I was totally lost. That is why I got the iteration of the game year after year.
My development for taste of soccer in video games slowly translated to interest in real life. I started watching games; although I can’t play the game in real life as well as I played basketball. Still, it piqued my curiosity and interest. Real Madrid, Manchester United, AC Milan were icons apparently and I started following stories about those teams. Beckham, Kaka, Inzaghi and Van Nistelrooy were my football heroes in FM. Slowly but surely I started to slightly have an understanding of how the game works.
By now you have a picture of how I have grown up playing this game that we all love. I am not a tactical expert. I used to download tactics and think that they work instantly. When they wouldn’t work, I would just replace them. Youth development was a foreign term to me. I just bought the most expensive players Madrid or Man U can buy. Scouting and staff hiring were not happening. I just stuck to whatever the game gave me. Until probably FM13 (on the PC), that is what I have done.
Eventually I got tired of the game that it started to bore me – until I decided to start reading stuff. I love to read and I used that to my advantage. Cleon’s blog has helped me immensely. I have gained insight as to how I can better understand the game and make it more enjoyable for myself. StatApp’s Youtube channel, The Tactical Annals, Strikerless, Moneyball Articles of Alex Stewart have all given me inspiration to write and share my experiences with Football Manager.
There is no right or wrong way of playing the game. Even if you get fired numerous times, I would still consider that the game is subject to each player’s interpretation similar to how each in-game player would interpret a role. That aspect is what makes the game fun. You have your own world, even universe wherein you are able to do things a certain way.
Hopefully through my experiences, beginners like me will fall in love with the game and NOT fall out of love due to getting fired numerous times or having losing season after losing season and eventually getting fired. Believe me, I know. This will not be a tactical post, but a guide how one can simply get things to work to YOUR liking. I highlighted YOUR liking because at the end of the day, we play to satisfy ourselves and no one else.
You can follow me on Twitter @jedifootball
You can read through my musings on my current save and future ones over at https://jedifootball17.wordpress.com
The Jedi Football Manager Blog 