I know...but Champ Man again!

[jod23]

I always play my youngsters in the LC and FA Cup in the early rounds but always have insurance on the bench. Always have Owen, Gerrard and Hofland waiting on the bench in case i get in trouble. I get serious when the quarters come round.

 

[evertonfc]

CM4: 2004-5 Season.

UEFA Cup & FA Cup Champions - Everton

Wright
Yobo - Mexes - Dawson - McEveley
Milner - Tonge - Kallstrom - Mido
Cisse - Rooney

 

[Sammy D]

Originally posted by CarterS
You will fade badly late in the season as your players will be very tired. Don't over use hard tackling!

Thats probably what happened with Shrewsbury....as for this season ill wait and see.

Originally posted by CarterS
Sell players and lower your wage bill. You get barely any money from cups unless you win it so it's still not worth it. If I were you I would be resting my good players from cups, to keep them fitter for the real thing.

I have already sold a truck load [see above] without bringing too many in. The wage bill is way under budget, its a case of having no transfer funds to buy players. Speaking of which at the end of the season Wright-Phillips is coming to Villa on a free

 

[CarterS]

20 games into the season, I am 12-4-4 and sittiing third behind Chelsea (2nd) and Arsenal, who are 3 pts ahead with 1 game spare.

Going well so far, could be better but at least the other top sides aren't going as well as in jod's game!

Qualified for the 4th round of the UEFA Cup are squeezing past Man Utd in the 3rd round, who are in 14th having just got themselves out of the relegation zone.

Chopra is a godsend, he has scored a million goals for me and is the new Shearer. I am in the semi finals of the League Cup against Arsenal thanks to my youngsters (and a couple of very promising ones have come through the ranks too).

Here's hoping I can lift my form and bring home a major trophy.

 

[CarterS]

Yet again when things look promising, hopes are flushed down the toilet

I'm now 4th, 14 points off the lead after a stupid losing streak. Losing at home to the bottom teams, knocked out of the League Cup and FA Cups successively and my players are all tired for no reason.

I am so frustrated!!! I am considering retirement, before I am sacked....I am still in the UEFA Cup though so I might stick around and see how I go in that.

Damn you CM4!!

 

[jod23]

Originally posted by CarterS
Yet again when things look promising, hopes are flushed down the toilet

I'm now 4th, 14 points off the lead after a stupid losing streak. Losing at home to the bottom teams, knocked out of the League Cup and FA Cups successively and my players are all tired for no reason.

I am so frustrated!!! I am considering retirement, before I am sacked....I am still in the UEFA Cup though so I might stick around and see how I go in that.

Damn you CM4!!

Damn...you just cant take a trick. I havent played since my last update. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is intervening in my champ man game time.

 

[CarterS]

Originally posted by jod23
Damn...you just cant take a trick.

The emotional rollercoaster of CM!

I've recovered a bit of pride, I'm still fighting for 4th in the League (with Man City no less), but in the UEFA Cup I put in my best single performance in a match, out of my whole career I reckon. Semi finals of the UEFA Cup, away to Barcalona first leg, 3-0 winners infront of 96,000 If I don't get through to the final from here I will give it away.

I am close to my first major trophy, and the Toon's first European trophy for ages (they won the League in 2004). If I can qualify for the CL and win the UEFA Cup I will be delighted.

 

[CarterS]

I ended up winning the UEFA Cup against Millwall (who have turned into a top premiership side), 1-0 in a nerve racking game.

In the premiership I finished 6th, I'm not sure whether I got into the UEFA Cup because of the prem or the fact that I won it but anyway I'm in it again.

I sold Hugo Viana to Madrid for 8 million and one of my midfielders to Liverpool for 8 million, because I was short of money and a budget of 3 million.

So my squad is a little lacking in the midfield, but I am currently leading the Prem with a record of 12-8-2-2.

Here's hoping

 

[Sammy D]

Well i finished 5th in the end which has gotta be UEFA Cup doesnt it? Quite pleased for my first season with 1.9m to spend . I beat Man Utd in the second last match of the season to set up the last day possibility of CL football next year. I needed a win at Blackburn and Fulham to knock over the red devils at OT. I won 2-1 but Man Utd won also.
Arsenal are the champions. Leeds, Sunderland & Everton have been relegated. Leeds also got to the UEFA cup final before losing to Lazio. Liverpool won the FA Cup & Boro the LC. Interestingly Houllier got the sack after finishing i think 2nd or 3rd and winning the FA Cup

 

[jod23]

Still havent played since my last update. KOTOR has me hooked even though im stuck on Tatooine .... stupid sand people.

 

[CarterS]

Originally posted by Sammy D
Leeds, Sunderland & Everton have been relegated. Leeds also got to the UEFA cup final before losing to Lazio.

Well done on the 5th!

From Sunderland I'd get Matt Piper, he's a great right winger who I always buy, really young, pretty cheap and develops well.

 

[Sammy D]

Havent started the season yet. Thanks for the info on Piper but ill see. I was given 5.25m, unfortunately i sold Allback to Celtic for 3.1m like a day before the budget was given out so i reckon i was screwed a few mill. So far, McCann in on a free just for some realism, see if hes as good in the games as he was this year. Wright Phillips on a free & Morten Gamst Pederson for 1.8m. Hadji was chopped for 400k. Looking for a keeper with what i have left.

Just out of interest Carter & Jod. You two seem to fly through the seasons, what kinda systems do you two have?

 

[CarterS]

Not really, our saves has just been going for a while. I only play the game about once every week or 2, but when I do I normally go through a season in 1 or 2 big sessions

 

[CarterS]

Put in the hard yards friday, saturday and sunday for the uni assignments, now they're basically over I'm looking forward to having a hard earned beer & cm session tonight. Will update later on!

 

[Sammy D]

Had a small session. Bought Paul Robinson from Leeds for 3.8m just before the start of the season. Lost @ Blackburn first game due to new tactics . I tried half pitch press & normal tackling but it buggered me. So from now on full pitch press, but tackling can stay. I then cruised past Wolves 3-0.

Last game i played Charlton @ Villa park. I had Mark Delaney sent off and a penalty awarded in the 1st minute! Parker scored 0-1. Then on are rare break Zubov crossed the ball into Vassell. PENALTY! Barry slotted home 1-1. Then just on the stroke of half time a bad error in the charlton defence gave Vassell a chance to an opportunistic crack from 40 yards out which somehow beat the keeper . We held on to win 2-1! Probably my best win ever from a situation point of view.

 

[jod23]

I fly through the seasons probably because i cant get off once im on. It's just so addictive. I can sometimes play a whole season in one session! But just lately i havent had the time.

 

[CarterS]

I just won the Premier League with Newcastle!

Won the title from goal difference over Arsenal, with a 23-9-6 record. Thought I had lost it but I went 7-1-0 in the last 8 games. Shola Ameobi had his first 5 starts in the last 5 games of the year and scored 6 goals!

Arsenal slipped up in the 2nd last game and I needed to beat Middlesbrough away to draw level. I won it 3-0 (2 from Ameobi), and then the last day of the year I had to beat Soton to win the title (my goal diff was easily better), and I won 7-0!! I was expecting another capitulation under pressure but the boys stepped up

Also won the UEFA Cup for the 2nd year running, beat Inter in the final (Ameobi scored both, jeez he really stepped up!). I found that after I won it once I cruised through the 2nd time, even though I went through Anderlecht, Atalanta, Man Utd, Blackburn (now a prem. powerhouse) and Inter.

Final goal before I put this game to bed is to win the Champs League.

 

[Sammy D]

WELL DONE

 

[jod23]

Nice work CarterS. Im about to have a session for the first time in weeks, finally get back into my season.

 

[lamby29]

I have CM4 (downloaded it from TrustyFiles for 81mb. What a bargain!)

Midway through my first season with Liverpool... sitting second in the Premier League behind Arsenal.

Heskey and Diouf are friggin awesome - goalkicking machines. Play them + Owen up front - they combine for a lot of goals.

Trying to sell Smicer and Carragher but nobody wants them.

I also recently bought Joe Cole from West Ham (for $7.7m). He has been sensational for us to date.

 

[CarterS]

Originally posted by lamby29
I have CM4 (downloaded it from TrustyFiles for 81mb. What a bargain!)

buy the game you cheapskate.

 

[melbournemartin]

if ya gunna download it why didnt ya atleast download the latest version

 

[GoalsFrom50Out]

I've got CM4 (it's actually my friends dad's but he plays CM03/04) and I started a new season with Arsenal. I basically stripped a double winning team - Ljungberg was sold to Juventus for 15 million and in return I bought Joseba Etxeberria from Athletic Bilbao (6.5 million - BARGAIN!), Xabi Alonso from Real Sociedad (10 million), Jose Antonio Reyes from Sevilla (8 million).

Looking for a move into getting Nicholae Mitea from Ajax after selling Wiltord and Kanu, leaving me with Bergkamp and Henry up front.

Current squad first 11:

Seaman
Lauren Toure Campbell Cole
Etxeberria Alonso Vieira Pires
Bergkamp Henry

Seaman is likely to be sold after I go looking around the world for a new 'keeper. Last match I played was a 0-3 victory over Benfica in Portugal.

It pained me to sell Freddie but I figure, why not get Etxeberria and Alonso for the kind of money I got from Ljungberg? I've been tinkering with the formation a little as well, the ingame formation is a bit like this:

--------------------- Seaman ---------------------
------------ Toure --------------- Campbell ---------
--- Lauren ---------------------------------- Cole ---------
------------------------ Alonso --------------------------------
----- Etxeberria -------------------- Vieira ------------------
----------------------- Pires ------------------------------------
----------------- Bergkamp ------------------------------------
-------------------------------------- Henry ----------------------

We're basically playing a 4-1-2-1-2 formation ... if that makes sense. Hopefully all will crush before me

 

[jod23]

Well I finally concluded the promising season that I had previously posted about. Once again the Premiership eluded me. I finished 3rd, seven points behind Man U and 1 point behind Arsenal.

It was extremely frustrating though as Gerrard had hit absolutely dynamite form. He was scoring goals and goals that he wasnt getting he was assisting. He was constantly getting 9's and 10's and player of the match. He won player of the month in the premiership and we were right there!

I thought to myself, Gerrard if pretty much going to carry us to glory! But then as if on cue, he went down with and injury and missed the last month of the season. We then duly folded like a cheap pack of cards and fell to third.

We also lost in the semi finals of the FA Cup on penalties to Newcastle with an all Div 1 other semi final awaiting us! So that was disappointing. We got the furthest of any ENG teams in the CL but the quarters was as far as we could get as Roma stopped us well and truly in our tracks with a 3-0 crushing at Anfield. We only needed to win 4-0 away to get to the semi's We did win the away leg 1-0 but it wasnt enough.

So another year gone and no silverware to speak of. So back to the transfer market I went to hopefully strengthen my squad up enough to finally break through for some major trophies.

First problem was buying another striker. Owen is Owen but he still lacked a consistent and prolific partner. Robbie Keane was on fire for me early in the season and had 10 goals by half way through the season. He ended the year with 11 After those two Saha was my other main striker and I used Neil Mellor as a sub as he had an uncanny knack of scoring as a substitute, he is also dynamite in the air.

So the left Landon Donovon out in the cold and he was still valued so highly so I sold him to Porto for 10 million! So I simply went out and bought the best Thierry Henry! Got him from Barcelona for 22 million!

I also significantly strengthened my backline, mainly the RB position. I have Heitinga as my main RB but he just isnt giving me consistent effort. After him it drops off shockingly too. He was injured and my backups were Otsemobor and 2 kids from the youth squad called Dunn and Wilkinson and neither of the kids are coming along like I want them too. Otsembor also cant put it together.

So Im going to just get rid of all 3 and in turn brought in 3 RB's. The big signing is Joaquin from Lazio for 24.5 million. Hopefully he along with my other back 3, Buxton, Hofland and Arca can finally get it right. I also brought in two unknown players but they look good rating wise. Hans Cornelius from Club Brugge for 650k and Sulton Kriulin from Dinamo Kiev for 500k both for some club depth.

So my first 11 now looks like this...

Kirkland

Joaquin Buxton Hofland Arca

Pirlo

Gerrard Nedved

Diouf

Owen Henry

I play a diamond 4-4-2 with Pirlo in front of my back 4 and Diouf behind the two strikers. Others players I use in defence are Heitinga, Riise and the two new unknowns. Midfield we have Murphy, Harbuzi, D'Alessandro, Partridge and youngster Dean Stevens. Back up keeper is Dudek with young England International Simon Woods also in the picture. Back up strikers are of course Saha, Robbie Keane and Neil Mellor.

So maybe just maybe this season will finally be THE season.

 

[CarterS]

With a lineup like that you should win something mate.

Most of my top players are now around the 30 mark so I've been selling a bit and buying some younger players. Got a great young CB from Charlton called Jonathon Fortune, also a great young left winger from Man City to replace Viana (who is tearing them up at Madrid btw). Ameobi is pretty young (mid 20s) and if you read my previous update youll know that he basically stood up and single handedly won me the Premier league. So I'm starting to bring some good youngsters through for the 'next generation'.

I was also offered the position of England manager, so I took it. I'll be guiding them through the qualifications for Euro 2012. It's great to be able to finally have Gerrard and Owen in my side though I've been offered the Pool manager spot a couple of times).

Next goal is to win back to back Premier Leagues and now win the Champs League. I am pretty sure I have the side to do it though it's not as star studded as jods.

btw I've been using the same 4-4-2 tactic for about 12 seasons now Sometimes I use an AMC & DMC as well but I never know whether to change passing to through the middle or not.