I think everyone's done it at some stage.

Football Manager is one of those games where most people that play it only enjoy when they are winning. I know I can win 28 games on the spin and I'll love the game. But when I fail to win, drawing at home to a poor side, I get really frustrated with it and end up exiting mid match to avoid a defeat.

The current FM is too easy however, success is inevitable rather than achievement based. I started my latest game as West Ham, got promoted in the second season after a play off defeat the first year, but left to join Everton instead of taking the Hammers up. I then finished 16th in my first season as the squad was simply awful. But I won the double in my second season, with a team that isn't that brilliant:

GK Courtois
DR Romario
DL Fabio
DC Abdennour
DC Mbia
ML Ljalic
MR Veiss
MC Rodwell
MC Poli
AMC Wilshere
FC Rossi

I signed Courtois, Romario, Fabio, Abdennour, Mbia, Ljalic, Viess, Poli, Wilshere, Rossi and a few more squad players in the one pre season all on £0 up front and big money over 48 months. That kind of payment structure might well happen in real life, but it wouldn't be allowed to the extent above. I'm Everton, £16m overdrawn and with £230m being paid off on transfers over 4 years. Completely unrealistic. What happened on the game is the club lost £8m a month and the balance went down until it triggered a purchase of the club. That then wiped out the debt and gave me another £230m to spend This always happens on the game.

There should be some form of financial responsibility put into the game, based on the personality of the Chairman or owners. So some wouldn't permit such silly spending, whilst others would do a Leeds but based on you achieving something. I was allowed to spend that money based on promising mid table and there were no repercussions of the club going £200m in debt by the end of that year at all. Because I'd stayed within the salary budget the club were delighted with my financial prudence

I wonder how they will build the financial fair play system into future versions

To be honest, that sums up most video games (and most things in general really)

I got the game yesterday and downloaded it through Steam - will this be the latest patch??

I would think so. If you are playing it through Steam, it will tell you if it's not.

Cool thanks, not bought it for a couple of years so is a differnet way of installing.

Just trying to look through the sites now to find the best face packs, logos, kit packs etc.

I'm still in the championship with the Terriers, got to the playoff final with a solid run in with about 15 games to go, got in on points difference. However, lost in the final 3-1 to Blackpool after going 1-0 up. Made a few new signings this year and happy with my squad. Will update at end of season.

Managed to get into a game. Took on the role as New England Revs manager in the MLS, interesting stuff with the cap, draft, trades ect. In my first season I was runner up in the MLS final, then just finished my second, I won the US Cup and the MLS final, into the 1/4 finals of the NACL.
Want to know how unrealistic this game is? England won Euro 2012, beating Spain, Italy and Germany.

Switzerland won the 2014 world cup on my game!

Had a dreadful 2022/23 pre-season as four of my transfer targets rejected sunny Barrow-in-Furness for the likes of Lisbon and Eindhoven. I had to laugh though, as one of my strikers, unable to get a game for Germany, switched allegiances to Kazakhstan . He had two German caps already though, so how that works out, I have no idea..

Quote: Wilde 3 " Just trying to look through the sites now to find the best face packs, logos, kit packs etc.'" I tend to use www.fm-base.co.uk. Free to sign up, which increases the amount and frequency you can download.

Quote: Wilde 3 " Just trying to look through the sites now to find the best face packs, logos, kit packs etc.'" I tend to use www.fm-base.co.uk. Free to sign up, which increases the amount and frequency you can download.

All my games are the same on FM. I take over a team, like Everton usually but occasionally a lower league team. I have loads of fun developing the squad and turning them into a good side. But then when I win the league/cl I get really bored with it.

I lose interest primarily because you have no way of identifying with the other teams. At the start I know each team and their players, but after three or four years I couldn't name one player or the manager for most of the Premier League sides. It's worse when you go on a few seasons more and the teams are full of regenerated players.

What the game needs is a Sky Sports news set up. So when you are not in matches, you are told what's going on in the world. You would hear about the signings, who they are and where they came from etc. They would also hype up the big matches and controversial incidents etc.

One complaint that people have had with FM for years is the AI for other teams. When you are developing your own team, it is too easy to get to the top and win everything. The other sides rarely develop their squads - that is something that i think FM13 will have.

Also, you can manage your subscriptions on FM12 - i have Italy, German, French, Spanish and Dutch leagues as playable or watch only, and you can subscribe to their messaging so you hear news from each of the leagues etc. It clogs up your news feed during the season so i cancel them, but then i turn them on again for close season to keep track of latest players etc