Surprised to cruise in here and not find any Championship Manager threads. I know all about the split and the new game (don't have it yet), but isn't anybody playing previous versions of CM like me? I've got the 03/04 version and have a great game with Hull City going on now. The game is running very well and while I can never play as much as I like, I've been able to enjoy some late-night sessions in the past couple of weeks. (and Hull won promotion in season one,and are battling for it to Division One in season 2). So does anyone play older versions of CM or is it all about having the latest, greatest edition of the game (FM)?
The best CM is 01/02. It's the final iteration of CM3 and is a gem. All the kinks are worked out. Just tons of fun. Also, you can comfortably play with all the leagues selected if you have a new computer. The last iteration of CM2 was a blast as well but I would have to say that the current version of Football Manager is probably my second favorite after 01/02. I think all of the old CM threads were moved into the Football Manager subforum.
I still have my ongoing CM00/01 save. A few weeks since I've toched it now, although I'll have to pick it up again soon.
I have Football Manager but I don't play it. 01/02 is too good. It's so much faster & cleaner than Football Manager. Yes, the Football Manager games are more fun to watch, but I don't have the patience for that game ... Lord, it would take me 3 months to complete a season.
I agree 100% with all of this. It just takes too damn long (plus the MLS players are badly screwed up in the database). My problem is that CM 01/02 is becoming more and more dated by the day. Also the US is a bit underrated (this was before the 1/4 final finish in Korea) or other countries (like Scotland) are overrated.
I was playing CM 03/04 until last week and found it really unjoyable. The thought of using MLS players has me really excited though, and I've started a season with DC United on the new Worldwide soccer manager. The player ratings are a little off, it's hard to get players to move to my team, and I'm not sure what's going on with the draft yet. Otherwise, it's just as good. By the way, Hull was one of my favorite teams to use on CM 03/04. I ended up winning the Champions League with them in 6 seasons.