Foreword: An unusual article, never before published. I received an e-mail one day asking if I was interested in writing a weekly column for the ChampMan Net site, dedicated to the Eidos 'Championship Manager' series, the site owners being impressed by one of my anecdotes I posted on their website's 'Stories' section, where players can tell others about games they have played. I wasn't really interested in producing a weekly section, as I couldn't see myself finding something new to write about each week, but I did spend an afternoon writing this piece. I never sent it off, so it never got published. But I thought it was worth someone seeing so have included it in this archive.

How I Become a Football Genius - 30/10/00

You'll have read tips sections on the web before, seen lists of recommended players, even downloaded successful formations before, and I've no doubt you'll have seen the odd story about how some budding Ferguson took Man United to 3 treble seasons in a row, but this one will hopefully be different. This is not a guaranteed success guide in CM3, instead it's a blow-by-blow account of how I go about playing the 'beautiful game'. You may follow this by the letter and still be sacked by Christmas. But I can say that generally going through like this has brought me success.

First Things First

After the obligatory press conference is over, your first day should be spent accessing your club situation. Take a quick look around your squad, see where you need to fill in the holes, who you could sell, who needs a longer contract. That's what you should do, this is what I do: I sack the entire back room staff.

It may seem extreme, but in the long run it will benefit you no end. Most clubs (even in the Prem) have a pretty poor coaching set up. By gettting rid of all your current lot, you are free to bring in a new set of staff and there are plenty of top quality coaches, scouts and pysios out there. Look on the 'staff search' screen for staff with abilities around 18+ in key areas and you'll be amazed at how many there are out of contract. It is also possible to tempt them from top clubs with a bit of cash waving under their noses. A few names worth looking at are Bob Clayton, Dean Gripton, Sven Tomnson, all of which are top draw in their respective areas. Of course you may feel you dont need to waste your time like this, but if you are hoping to bring young players through a team, then you'll need some good coaches to develop them and good scouts to find them for you.

Good Byes and Good Buys

Of course this depends very much on where your club is situated and how much money you've got, but there are a few rules that can get you good players almost all the time. I always play the original version of CM3 so my hints may be a bit out of date for some of you, but the same principles still apply. I find it best to buy young and buy younger. Players in the English leagues cost far too much at their peak so buying young gets you future England stars at a fraction of the price. Also buy low. The lower leagues are bristling with talent at the start of the game: Trevor Benjamin, Barry Hayles, Dean Crowe, Andy Cook are all playing in the bottom two leagues but can score goals in the Premiership and will cost you next to nothing. The first clubs I normally look at are Burnley, Stoke, Fulham, Cambridge, Bristol Rovers, Wigan and even some Scotish teams. All of these clubs have great buys for good value. Glen LIttle from Burnley is a top player to start of with and you can grab the teenaged Brad Maylet and Tony Shandran while your at it; Stoke have Crowe and Siguardson who can be tempted away easily if you've got the money; Fulham may be a bit of a challenge but Kevin will give you some top defenders in the form of Coleman or Symons; Bristol Rovers' Challis and Shore have both been known to make the International grade while in my teams and if it's Goalies your after then look no furthur than Wigan's Roy Carroll and Dundee United's Robert Douglas (who has just signed for Celtic). These players are the ones you should go for no matter what team you are with. It's easier to get them if you in the top flight but it is possible to pick them up as you climb the Nationwide ladder to glory.

Plan of Attack

By now you should have started to fill in the holes in your team and you will be getting ready to play your first friendly games. Everybody has their favourite formations and you need to find one that suits the way you like the game to be played and the players you have. In recent games I have been using a classic 4-4-2 formation, with one MC dropping into the middle and the other joining the attack. Pretty simple, but very effective. Previously I had dabbled with sweeper systems, 3 pronged attacks, narrow midfields, I've even gone all out continental with wing-backs etc with some success.

The key is to find your teams strengths and stick to it. If you have quality wingers then play wide. If your defense is solid in a flat 4 then don't start mucking around with them. If your forwards have strength but little pace, there's no point playing counter-attack.

Below is my current team with Leeds United and the formation I play.

As you can see, in Little and Bowyer I've got two great wingers. This means I can make use of Hasslebaink's strength in the air and his deadly strike rate. Down the middle, Kewell and Bellamy provide the pace and the chances with Kerion Dyer keeping it tidy dropping behind Kewell when he goes forward. The defense are expected to do little more than defend, but Harte and Haaland are both capable of getting up to assist the wings if needed and often do. With this team (plus a good, strong squad) I finished 7th in the Premiership in the 98/99 season with European qualification via the Inter-Toto cup.

It's a credit to the games' manufacturers that such attention to detail in picking your team can affect results and the main reason why it is so popular. Many might be tempted to ignore the detailed tactically choices, but spending 10 minutes checking each players personal tactics can be the difference between winning and losing.

Shiney Things

Despite the fact that CM offers you no fancy Trophy screens or animations, winning a League or Cup is still very satisfying. After spending hours at a time playing the game, beating your nearest rivals on the last day of the season to sneak the League Championship is what everybody plays the game for. There's no secret to winning trophies - just win as many games as you can. You can of course rest your first team in a League game in order to concentrate on your midweek cup-tie and visa-versa. Picking up competition wins can boost your rating as a manager and can get you jobs higher up the scale. It will also keep the board and the fans happy. So if you get the chance to win a trophy, make sure you do. Going all out for the Windscreen Trophy or the Scotish League Cup can keep you in a job for another season.

There May Be Trouble Ahead

Life isnt fair, and neither is CM. My favourite example of this was when I was sacked from Cambridge after taking them to the Premiership. The new board wanted results and I ended up as the scapegoat. There are many a manager who have fallen into that trap.

If you manage to survive the pressure though, you can win the fans back. In one game I left a succesful term at Fulham for Villa who were on the verge of relegation when I joined them. Fan pressure from them after the relegation which wasnt my fault forced me to leave just 8 months later. I headed up north to struggling Rangers who had become a mid-table side with Celtic winning the league for 5 years in a row. My first season saw little improvement and a had the "Supporter's Protest" message after every defeat. But 3 years later I had tided the team over with a number of Cup wins and 2 good European runs and we mounted a record Championship win, losing only one domestic game all season. The morale of this story is that sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. Fighting off relegation is the biggest challenge in the game and where the best managers will ply their trade. Trying to keep Southampton or Portsmouth up in the first season is the toughest test of any manager and I have never managed it. You will often find yourself with no money and a team devoid of talent or morale and it's an uphill struggle. The only thing I can suggest is keep plugging at it and make sure you get results against the team below you (if there are any). If all looks doom and gloom, forget it. If you've lasted that long without getting the boot the chances are you will make next season, so start building for next years promotion push.

Making the Grade

You very rarely find yourself rated well in CM3 by it's own judgements. I have managed to top the Manager Points chart in one year, but I was still rated as just "Ok" behind Terry McDermot who had been in control of Newcastle for 4 months in a First Division Promotion race. The best way to judge your success is forfilling your ambitions. I like to try and get 2nd/3rd Division teams into the Prem, then onto Europe and I have managed it a few times as well. That makes me think I'm fairly good at the game. I don't like to play as teams like Man United or Arsenal because there is very little you can do to claim the success you may have and it is essentially an easy ride. However, there is no point trying to get Torquay to Wembley in a hurry as the challenge is far too great and this may make the game more of a challenge than a fun experiance.