You Can’t Win Anything With Kids – Part 1 – @KingOfTheRooks

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It’s back to school time. No, no photos against the front door in freshly pressed uniform. Just pure CM9798 idiocy again from me. What and why I don’t hear you ask, but I’ll tell you anyway.

After some community comments about difficult challenges and an attempt at the Schoolboy signing only challenge, I considered my last attempt a four years ago I thought I’d give it another shot.

Consideration for me has been; was the level selected right for the quality of player at the start of the game? In that sense, I’ve locked myself in more by only allowing British based Schoolboys as signings, but improved the chances by landing in Scottish Division 3.

The squad I’ve managed to pull together is okay.

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Where Eagles Dare – Part 24: Clerical Error

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Good day to you! We’ve had a great week looking back at 29 years of CM9798, thank you to all of the Blog squad for contributing this week and throughout my time running this site, and of course to you all for reading and putting up with my general nonsense.

Speaking of nonsense, we’re back with the Multi-club save today and it’s Christmas time. All three clubs are in the right area, Palace are a consistent juggernaut of the English and European game but Nice and Go Ahead are having to fight tooth and nail for every opportunity. We’ll get into the games shortly but I’d like to draw your attention to three absolute bargains who have been pillars of success across the BEEFCO group.

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Anniversary Week: My Life in CM9798 | Dave Black @CM9798

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Another year around the sun then and here we are, about to celebrate another birthday of CM9798. Every year I try to mark the release date, October 31st, and the surrounding days with content paying tribute to a game that has played a bigger part in my life than I could ever have imagined.

This year, I asked the Blog Squad if anybody fancied trying to put into words what the game has meant to them over the years. Honestly, the very fact we have a Whatsapp with 10 nerds who came together over this game a couple of decades after its release is probably enough to justify why we love this game so. As you’ll have read this week, a number of the group jumped at the opportunity, including Andrew who found time to write a poem despite being blind drunk somewhere for half term. He does have a new blog save starting next week, so we’ll let him off. Thank you to the Squad for sharing their stories.

I also wanted to try and put into words what this game has given me. It is hard to write down all that has happened to me because of this game as like most people who spend their lives behind a computer screen, I hate talking about my own achievements. Unless it’s in Champ Man of course, in which case we’ll talk about that all day and all night and I remain available for yours or any other podcast. Plus, there’s a quiz at the end, so keep reading!

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The CM9798 29th Birthday Quiz Spectacular

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Happy birthday to CM9798! I hope you’ve enjoyed the squad reminiscing this week. Round off the celebrations in style by taking our quiz – remember to let me know on X @CM9798 how you got on.

The CM9798 29th Birthday Quiz Spectacular

Here we are again, another anniversary of the release of our favourite game. Test your knowledge of the real beautiful game with our quiz. Good luck, and let me know how you get on in the comments or on X @CM9798

Anniversary Week: Championship Manager 97/98 – A Three Decade Love Affair | @FMCM_FC

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I’ve played this game for 3 Decades now and it still finds ways to surprise me and I’m still finding new players that I’ve never used before! The fact we are still talking about or writing about it or even just playing it shows it stands the test of time. Here is my ode to CM9798.

For me, it all started when i was 8 or 9 and my cousin came to live with my my family and I. He was a few years older than me and his football knowledge far outstripped mine. I was curious to find out how he knew so much. Who were these exotic players he knew from these far flung countries. He introduced me to a game on the PC, which felt so alien to me. The game had no players to control! Utter nonsense I thought. Turns out 8/9 year old me was about to embark on the greatest adventure and one of the greatest pleasures in my life.

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Anniversary Week: An Ode to Champ Man | @KingOfTheRooks

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It’s the 29th birthday of CM9798 tomorrow! What we need is a poem from Andrew…oh look he’s written one. Happy Friday, everybody

If you can keep your head when all about you

   Are losing theirs and blaming it on the match engine;

If you can trust yourself when all your singings doubt you,

   And make no allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait 30 seasons and not be tired by waiting,

   Or, being lied to by the league scouts, don’t deal in lies,

Or, being hated by the non-purists, don’t give way to those bar stewards,

   And yet don’t win too much, nor talk too much bollox;

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Anniversary Week: What CM 9798 Means to Me | @CornishZak

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Hello! It’s been a while…

No challenge, no database edits and no Neil Warnock blog… Instead, I thought I’d tell you what this little corner of the internet, and the game behind it, actually means to me.

When Championship Manager 97/98 came along, 11-year-old Zachary already had his eyes wide open thanks to CM2. But this was different… This was the first game proper that I got properly, completely, hopelessly addicted to. If Championship Manager 2 was the gateway drug, then CM 97/98 was the opening to a deep pit of longing that would last nearly 30 years…

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Anniversary Week: Championship Manager, me and Scott Lindsey | @Taitanator

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The first Championship Manager I discovered was the original CM2.  After school me and a couple of mates went round a friend’s house.  He said, “You’ve got to see this new football manager game my uncle has.” 15 minutes later, once it had finally all loaded up, that was it, I was hooked and I ran home to beg my dad to let me buy it that weekend.  I still have the original red CD in the black sleeve case with the yellow DOMARK writing on the outside.

My friend and I would spend hours playing football in the park by my house only to come back to mine and spend even longer playing CM2 together. 

He ended up being my best man and we still talk about finding 88-year-old right back Scott Lindsey in CM2.

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Anniversary Week: What CM97/98 Means to Me | @NTR9798

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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…

Champ hero, real-life disappointment – Bakayoko
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Anniversary Week – Championship Manager 97/98: More Than Just a Game | @RossBell__

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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.

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