Championship Manager Thread

[stattosoftware]

Just to let you know for the patch 3 that is coming out, there will be major changes to how things work in MLS.

Mainly you can now purchase players.

We know that this isn't correct to MLS, but as many of you have said, it won't be that fun otherwise.

Also the draft has been fixed (oops).

You can know take a senior international player on trial, even if you have your allotment of 3 senior internationals.

Coaches now don't count to your limit of discovery players.


In US Soccer Manager I'm trying to get transfers absolutely perfect with A-League and MLS.

Was CM4 originally 'not fun' because of the realism of MLS, or the lack thereof?

From MLSNET.COM:
Discovery Players
A team may request that the league sign a U.S. or international player who is not currently under contract to MLS and assign the player to the requesting team. A team may add no more than two senior roster Discovery players by request in any calendar year, and shall have no more than four Discovery players on its senior roster at any time. Teams may trade Discovery players but may not trade Discovery player “spots.”

[KDdidit]

Originally posted by stattosoftware

Was CM4 originally 'not fun' because of the realism of MLS, or the lack thereof?


For me it was mostly because of what was supposed to be realistic didn't work (Draft, Discovery players, Green Cards). If they did work that would be "fun" just as if they weren't there at all and I didn't have to worry about them, that would be fun too. I guess basically, for me, I want it to be (A.)relatively accurate (I don't expect it to be perfect) or (B.) unrealistic but consistent like in CM 3.

[stattosoftware]

Thanks.

I'm adding Discovery Players tonight, it'll be good. I'm just focused on MLS right now.

[Elwood]

Originally posted by stattosoftware
In US Soccer Manager I'm trying to get transfers absolutely perfect with A-League and MLS.

Was CM4 originally 'not fun' because of the realism of MLS, or the lack thereof?



For me, MLS has never been 'fun' in CM anything. It's because there's no pro/rel.

I'd love for an option to be made to play MLS/A-League as a standard pro/rel setup. Doubt it will happen, but it'd encourage me to play there. As it is, I'm only toying around with Indiana (them being my home-team) to see if I can win the Open Cup and get to the Champions Cup or something.

Once EP 3 comes out, I'd not manage in MLS or A-League no matter how perfect it was, due to no pro/rel. But I always have the US leagues running, so the Nat team has more choices (and I'm always an American, with a side hope of being picked to manage the Nats).

Strange thing. Last night Arena got sacked during the Confederations Cup (or some other international tourney). Gansler got hired. Gansler took the the team to the finals of the next international cup (lost to Brazil in the finals) and immediately got sacked. A week later the US hired Gansler to be the coach...

Very odd.

[stattosoftware]

In USSM I've got an option to expand to a maximum of 16 teams. However, the A-League promotion/relegation is very hard with regards to conferences so I didn't include it.

[Elwood]

Originally posted by stattosoftware
In USSM I've got an option to expand to a maximum of 16 teams. However, the A-League promotion/relegation is very hard with regards to conferences so I didn't include it.

Expansion would be nice. We all know (barring a huge catastrophe), MLS will expand in a few seasons from it's current 10 teams to 12 (and possibly 14 shortly afterwards). I'm sure expansion isn't a possibility in CM, which is fine. It's mainly the pro/rel thing that takes the fun out of playing US leagues in CM (I'm a LLM, always, looking for promotion!).

[stattosoftware]

Expansion would be nice. We all know (barring a huge catastrophe), MLS will expand in a few seasons from it's current 10 teams to 12 (and possibly 14 shortly afterwards). I'm sure expansion isn't a possibility in CM, which is fine. It's mainly the pro/rel thing that takes the fun out of playing US leagues in CM (I'm a LLM, always, looking for promotion!).


So then are there any games where MLS is worth playing?

I can make an attempt to do promotion and relegation. The league only expands if you want it to so that would have to be the same deal, but occuring much less often. I could have it as an option at the start of the game...

[Elwood]

Originally posted by stattosoftware
So then are there any games where MLS is worth playing?

I can make an attempt to do promotion and relegation. The league only expands if you want it to so that would have to be the same deal, but occuring much less often. I could have it as an option at the start of the game...

Well, just thinking about seeing if there are a few interested in a CM network game in MLS. With the draft, I can see how a multi-player game would be fun in MLS (post EP 3, of course). Maybe meeting twice weekly for a few hours each time?

I'm sure there are plenty of others that like MLS just fine, though, so don't take anything I say too seriously. In a single player setting my favorite teams to take over in CM have always been from either Scottish Div 3, the English Conference (after running on holiday for a couple seasons to see which 'new' teams pop up, then take one of them), or Brazil's ND 3 team, Pelotas (No idea why Pelotas, though). MLS and the A-League just don't offer those types of challenges.

[stattosoftware]

Well Elwood maybe I should add some scenarios, IE get your selected team to the playoffs with only 6 games to go. I do take you seriously, since I've got an MLS (and A-League) only game coming out before you can manage teams in the English Division Three with Statto Soccer Manager.

Pelotas, doesnt that mean Ballers?

[Elwood]

Originally posted by stattosoftware
Pelotas, doesnt that mean Ballers?

I have absolutely NO idea :)

I chose that team once in CM 01/02 when I gave Brazil ND 3 a try (wanted to understand their odd league structure of divisional and state championships). Ever since then, whenever I venture outside of Europe in CM, Pelotas is where I go (for a "career" type game).

I "think" the reason I chose them was in 01/02, not all the ND3 teams are in state championships (or vice versa), but it was the first one I came across that was in both in season 1.

[Chaik]

Originally posted by rscaramelo
CM4 is available through www.chipsbits.com from Vermont. I preordered it about a month ago from them.

RC

Is it listed here as "Championship Manager 2003 CD" perchance?

Thanks alot, I want to buy the game, and if I don't have to have it shipped from overseas, that would be fantastic.

[NateP]

Originally posted by Chaik
Is it listed here as "Championship Manager 2003 CD" perchance?

Thanks alot, I want to buy the game, and if I don't have to have it shipped from overseas, that would be fantastic.

That is indeed it. I ordered it on a Saturday and had it in the mail on Wednesday afternoon.



That said, having given up on MLS until more bugs are ironed out, I played a season as Chelsea and had the game lock up at the start of season two. They announced my odds for the upcoming season and pressing "Continue Game" kept changing the background image but nothing else happened. Can anyone tell me if this is this a problem in my installation or a general CM bug that's being worked out?

[Tony Cheval]

Ah, glad to hear I'm not the only player to try the League of Wales. :D I had Cwmbran Town on a long streak of winning most domestic honors, but never being able to crack the CL qual. rounds. Finally got bored and went to an Irish club. :)

[subbuteo]

Cardiff are 6 points clear of the relegation zone half way through the Premeir League season. Highlights:
Defeating Chelsea 4-0 in league and Man Utd 4-1 in cup play during a nine-match unbeaten streak. Lows: the nine-match unbeaten streak was followed by three losses in a row in league play.

Roma are atop Serie A and their CL group and ahead after 1st phase if Italian Cup QFs. Santino Quaranta has meshed nicely with a corps of strikers that include Vieri, Montella, Olisadebe and Barijho. I usually play Vieri and Quaranta up top as my first choice. Courting Ben Olsen as a flank player since Cafu, at 35, is on his way out of the club.

Yanks abroad news: Tim Howard in second season at Tottenham as first-choice 'keeper but his manager was just sacked. Mathis is at Lille, Donovan continues to put up massive numbers with Leverkusen. Bocanegra is assisting Wolves in a fight to stay up in the Prem. Convey is putting up huge assist numbers in first season with Derby or Coventry (I can't recall off top of my head). John O'Brien is stabilizing the Cardiff midfield for me ;)

[Mario]

Originally posted by TrooperBari
Note: The only version I've used is 01/02, so it may be different for you.

If you click on the bottom button, past Continue Game, Competitions and whatnot, there'll be an option to Add Manager. Select it, give the new guy a name and nationality and you can then send him pretty much anywhere. Wherever you select, outside of the one you're already controlling, will automatically sack whoever's in charge and install the new guy as manager.

Thank you buddy!

[Mario]

I just read two pages on this thread my head hurts!

[odg78]

I recently started a new game with Hannover 96. We finished last season 3rd in the German 2nd Division and were promoted to the Bundesliga. Unfortunately, we've had our butts handed to us this season. We're slightly more than halfway through the season and only have 2 wins and 6 draws, making us the last-placed team with just 12 points and a -20 goal differential. We've finally started getting some ties against quality teams in the last few days so hopefully it's a sign of things to come. Steve Cherundolo has been one of the few bright spots, however. He already has 3 goals and 6 assists at this point in the season. I'm hoping we can stay up because this would be my first ever relegation experience.

[TrooperBari]

Originally posted by Mario
Thank you buddy!

No worries.

I downloaded Graeme Kelly's editor a couple nights ago ... it's not too bad, but the 'Enable Management' tool doesn't quite have the muscle I'd hoped. I think the problem might lie in the selected leagues, though.

[KDdidit]

Originally posted by Tony Cheval
Ah, glad to hear I'm not the only player to try the League of Wales. :D I had Cwmbran Town on a long streak of winning most domestic honors, but never being able to crack the CL qual. rounds. Finally got bored and went to an Irish club. :)

You can succeed if you're a big enough weasel. I just always check the transfer list and look for released players. A "quirk" in CM 01-02 is if you offer a big signing bonus and a month to month contract to a player you could never afford the player will sign and the about 90% of the time he'll re-sign with you at the low wage. That's how I got Hartson to come back to Wales where he put in 68 freakin' goals in his first season. I'd say my Connah's Quay team is comparable to a top English First Division club. We have 22 million $$ in the bank and can offer weekly wages of up to 2k, where when I first started we could only offer 200. Novelty is running off though since we ran the league table 34-0 and stalled in the secong CL group stage 2 seasons in a row in front of pathetic crowds of 1000 seeing us play Lazio and Celtic.

[kerpow]

Originally posted by Chaik
Is it listed here as "Championship Manager 2003 CD" perchance?

Thanks alot, I want to buy the game, and if I don't have to have it shipped from overseas, that would be fantastic.

I have CM4 and I have to say I'm thinking of selling it if there is anyone interested. I'm not saying that it isn't a great game, it is. The detail it goes into is quite remarkable it's just...how shall I say it...I don't know, just not my thing, simple as that. Not everyone likes ketchup on their fries.

I love football and follow the statistics of many football leagues with great enthusiasm. But when it's not real I kind of lost interest. Admittedly I have only played one season, managed Torquay who were relegation candidates and got to the playoffs. But when looking at the prospect of starting another season I found myself playing my other games again.

I got it shipped over to the USA by my parents so paid about $45 for it. I'm not trying to make a profit (if i was I'd sell it on e-bay) but would like to get most of my money back. Or, if anyone has UT2003 I'd be willing to swap (its quite a bit cheaper).