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Football Manager 2006 - "A Brand New Season: Day 1" Feature

Chris Leyton

18/10/2005

TVG's FM addict goes through a season of Sports Interactive's latest - will we ever see him again...

As Chelsea sew up the Premiership before Christmas has even arrived and crowds drop to an all-time low, football in the real world may not be as exciting as it once was; but thanks to the ever-reliable team at Sports Interactive the beautiful game remains as competitive as it always used to be thanks to Football Manager.

Gearing up for the release of Football Manager 2006 and as TVGâs resident football fanatic, Iâve had the fortune to forget about the real world for the last couple of months and get stuck into the game; itâs huge assortment of enhancements, new concepts, etcâ¦ and will be bringing you a daily diary on a season in the game â“ at this stage Iâd like to point out that contrary to vicious rumours circulating around the office itâs got nothing to do with psychiatric advice on addiction!

Day 1

First an admittanceâ¦ Iâm a United supporter (Manchester not Owen loving Newcastle), so shoot me. Anyway with the rise of Chelseaâs popularity/notoriety we can safely work away in the background, despite still being the most hated team in England. Besides there are wrongs to right, so as the virtual successor to Sir Alex Ferguson itâs my lofty ambition to bring back the Premiership and perhaps lift another trophy. Naturally this ambition was laid out in a blunt message from the Board right at the beginning of the game; this isnât new for FM however thereâs extra detail in the expectations placed upon you. Somehow the season ahead has never been a daunting prospect in previous titles, but with FM2006 thereâs an added emphasis on the manager most notably from the very vocal fans and a certain group of dissident players left unimpressed by the lack of experience in their new manager.

First the good news training has undergone a complete overhaul; no not the typical âoverhaulâ that typically features, truly this is a completely different implementation that actually works and doesnât leave wannabe Steve McClarens absolutely clueless.

Coaches and players can be easily assigned to varying training schedules, which the player is free to create from scratch or modify existing ones. A star system highlights the effectiveness of the various schedules based on their âworkloadâ and the number of schedules a coach has to oversee; work them too hard and youâll find the stars dropping, whilst a balanced system will bring out the best from both your players and backroom staff. In addition individual players can be fine-tuned with certain tweaks to the training regimes, ideal for bringing out the best in your potential stars of tomorrow.

It truly is profound just how much of an impact to the overall game this makes; no longer are you instantly switching full control over to the assistant manager and forgetting completely about one crucial aspect of football management.

So with a group of slightly hesitant superstars an intensive pre-season training routine alongside a variety of friendlies should get the team up to scratch for the big kick-off and more importantly show whoâs the gaffer around here â“ well for now at least.

A 2-1 victory against Dresden during the first game got my managerial stint at Old Trafford off to winning ways; hardly a convincing victory with the typically shaky United defence, although Van Nistlerooy once again came to the rescue with a brace against the German minnows.

A trip to Hartlepool provided the team with a chance to make amends and thanks to four goals from the ginger-magician United strolled to a 5-0 victory - well on track to a confidence and fitness boosting pre-season campaign. Certainly the post-match barracking after the dismal Dresden match seemed to work a treat, but more on that later.

Perhaps proving that nothing is a certainty in football the fine result was followed by a disappointing 0-0 draw with Leicester; so dire was the game it gave Tim Howard a cold and with the physioâs advice the United No.2 was sent packing home to the States to ensure the rest of the team didnât catch it before the looming season opener at Manchester City. When a player catches such an illness the manager is provided the option to send him home for a longer recuperation period, or risk aiding him at the club for a shorter duration â“ given our love of Howard a one-way trip back to the USA seemed like a no-brainer!

On top of the unconvincing draw with Leicester a certain group of players were beginning to become even more vocal about their managerâs lack of experience, this time around led by the hot-headed Wayne Rooney. Given the fact I hadnât spent £25 million on him I had no reservations about dumping him onto the bench and provide an opportunity for United youngster, Gisueppe Rossi, to join the stage. The gamble worked; out to impress Rossi bagged a hat-trick against FC Utrecht in a morale-boosting 4-0 victory and one that left a certain Mr Rooney even more red-faced then before.

With sights firmly set on Chelsea a humbling reminder of the ups and downs of the job was served at the hands of Schalke FC; a humiliating 3-0 score line at half-time was enough grounds to throw a few teacups during the half-time speech. A new introduction to the series and one that fans have been calling out for, half-time talks provide an extra sense that your decisions ultimately affect what happens on the pitch â“ more to the point itâs ideal for letting off some steam when in such situations, particularly the ability to single-out highly paid superstars that arenât pulling their weight!

Although the half-time tantrum shored up the defence an unconvincing display up front failed to grab any back, which left only one thing, a good dressing down in the changing rooms after the match â“ not a single player was spared the embarrassment they brought to the club.

Disaster struck in what should have been a routine final friendly against Hull; firstly Rio Ferdinand twisted his knee in an aerial challenge and ruled himself out for three weeks, whilst Wayne Rooney broke his wrist (not entirely sure exactly how) putting him also out of the big kick-off. Given both playersâ vocal opinions of their new managerâs credentials during the pre-season, thereâs a little something to take away from the fact £50 million worth of talent wonât be playing during the crucial first stages of the campaign.

With odds from Totalbet.com stacked heavily in Chelseaâs favour to continue their success in the Premiership, Unitedâs odds of 5/2 seemed fair enough, a worthy bet almost if I didnât need every penny of the transfer budget to replace some high-name casualties later in the season.

With the customary but crucial friendlies out of the way one thing remained, to discover which potential banana skin United would face in the European Cup Third Round qualifiers â“ the biggest game in the season to date. A trip to Israel against M Haifa proved to be a fitting wind up to the start of the season, with a comfortable 4-0 victory in the first leg paving the way for a routine performance in the return.

Provided Chris actually gets away from the game we'll have further coverage of the season ahead tomorrow, beginning with the crucial game away to Chelsea and taking a further look at the various enhancements within the game...

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