I can still remember the first time I ever played this wonderful game, but I was somewhat late to the party. It was sometime during the 1998/99 season, because Ibrahima Bakayoko was at Everton in real life, and I was baffled when my mate Alex, who introduced me to the game, told me that the Ivorian was absolutely class on the game. Looking back, you can see why this left me scratching my head…
Our ode to the beautiful game continues ahead of the big day on Saturday. I mean, it’s not that big, it’s just the 29th anniversary. Anyway, one of the biggest influences on my spare time over the past 10 years is here to explain his love of the game. Over to you, Ross Bell.
Championship Manager 97/98 will always be the one that started it all.
There are certain games that never really leave you. You might forget the results of countless matches or the names of half the players you signed, but one familiar screenshot can transport you straight back to a different time.
For me, that means 1998, sitting in my parents’ conservatory, glued to a computer screen and convinced I’d discovered the secrets of football management.
The game was Championship Manager 97/98, and it was never just a game.
Continue readingAll week, the Blog Squad will be paying tribute to CM9798 as we approach the 29th anniversary of the game on Saturday. There’s rumours of a quiz. Here’s Matt to kick us off.
Hi, I’m Matt Wills and you might remember me from such blog saves as ‘Vinny Samways neck is missing!’ and ‘P is for Philomen Masinga’, but right now, on the anniversary of the release of this great game, I’m here to discuss what Championship Manager means to me.
Hola, bonjour, good day. We’re back again with more from this trio of clubs, where the aim is to get them to meet in the Champions League final. We have two sides in Europe’s elite competition for the first time which means we are potentially just a few updates away from the end. There’s still a lot to achieve, certainly for Nice and Go Ahead, so let’s see what this week brings.
As I write this, the UK has a weather warning for extreme winds. Stay safe out there, it is pretty wild.
Continue readingGood hello to you all! Happy Sunday and welcome back to this multi-club madness. If you’re new, I mean you’ve missed 21 weeks worth of action. You join us at the end of season 5, season 6 just one click of Done away. The aim is to get two of our Eagle based clubs to meet in the Champions League final and this will be the first season where it is a possibility. I wouldn’t say it was likely, but it’s possible. Here are the awards for season 5, featuring our captain Matthew Wicks, goal machine Ledezma, me of course and veteran striker Zamorano.
There’s lovely Ivan.
Good morning or good evening, heck even good afternoon. Whatever time of the day it is, football is back! More importantly, BEEFCO is back for another week, and boy do we have a lot to get through today. It’s the end of the season for our three much loved clubs and for once, all three are in the upper echelons of their respective leagues. The aim of having two of them meet in the Champions League final has never been closer, but it could soon be a sort of reality. Or even further away.
Here’s my three less-sung heroes of the teams. Wicks is an England regular now, Tammer is a club legend (although starting to slow down as he approaches his 33rd birthday) and Arnau will shortly depart for nothing as he won’t sign a new contract. He’s class and I will inevitably sign him for Palace out of spite.
Hello! Welcome back. Here we are, Sunday again. International football update – two weeks down, club football returns next weekend. Light at the end of the tunnel before abject misery again. Some weeks. There’s the occasional high, watch this space. Anyway, back in CM9798 it’s CHRISTMAS (not now Noddy) of 2001. All three of our sides are in the upper echelons of their league, could this be the year we get more than one team into the Champions League? Don’t bet on it. Let’s remind ourselves of the tables before we head to Selhurst Park for Boxing Day fun.
Good morning to you, I haven’t contributed to the CM community for a while so thought I’d do something before they kick me out of the group.
Top 10 Hidden Gems? Okay not so much hidden gems, more like underappreciated gems. But Hidden Gems is a catchier title. Style over substance isn’t always a bad thing. The Bjorn’s, The Twiss’, The Tomlinson’s always get a lot of mentions, but if I’m working my way up in the leagues these are some of the lads that have served me well over the last 25 years. Gaining promotions, raising funds etcetera, etcetera.
Views are my own. So, in no particular order…
Continue readingGood morning! We are one week into the International break, so congratulations on seeing that off. Just under two weeks to go…
Back in the world that matters to us, CM9798, it’s Autumn 2001. I wanted to bring to your attention three of my favourites lads. Trinita was signed because, crucially, he was willing to and since we changed the formation in 1999, he’s been absolutely class. He’s broken a leg, but he’ll be back around Christmas. Ricardinho is playing the best football of his life after I took a punt on him in exchange for the big club release clause of Chrismousse. Finally, Marc Emmers has generally got better with age but maybe it is finally catching up with him. How do you replace the irreplaceable?
Here we are back again for part 18(!) of this multi club experiment that is gathering momentum, finally. This week we tie up the loose ends of season 4 and then waltz rapidly into season 5. This time of year sees Strictly start, meaning 2 hours a week where I will zone out and play Champ. I imagine Josh Widdicombe will wish he was doing the same. Anyway, here’s the awards where Froylan is impressing the journalists again.
