View every post of the FM22 cycle here!
GOALS FROM UNUSUAL SOURCES – THE INVERTED WING-BACK
TIME TO CATCH UP… For the first time probably ever, I went months without playing Football Manager this year. After my FC Volendam save came to an abrupt halt I had a 4 or 5 season personal save with Newcastle and their millions, and then nothing. No desire, no inspiration, and quite honestly no time.…
THE BOYS OF EASTER ROAD
At the start of the Football Manager ’22 cycle I had huge plans to blog my Anderlecht save, which would allow me to only sign Belgian players. That save lasted one season, and just two and a half blogs (the half is sat eternally unfinished on this laptop). We won the league in the first…
MY FM22 EXPERIENCE, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR FM23
Way, way back at the end of FM18’s life cycle I wrote a post called ‘What I learned playing FM18’. Looking back now, it was garbage! (It does still exist on the internet, but I won’t be linking it here 🙈 brownie points if you can find it!) It was a very mundane list of…
#29 – SEASON 16 – RUSSIA & BALTIKA KALININGRAD
3rd July 2038 Off I set upon another international adventure, swapping out the mild weather in Kaliningrad for the unpredictable climate of South Africa. I learned on our flight down that the climate can vary in South Africa due to the degree angle from the equator and its location between the Atlantic and Indian oceans.…
#28 – SEASON 15 – BALTIKA KALININGRAD & RUSSIA
Daniil knew that Baltika was beginning to go places. The Russian oblast was becoming more recognisable across Europe, and domestic rivals knew they had a new competitor on the scene. After finishing 21 points behind league winners Dinamo Moscow, Daniil knew that recruitment was going to be key this summer as he looked to build…
#27 – SEASON 14 – RUSSIA & BALTIKA KALININGRAD
After signing up for international duties, Daniil had no time for himself throughout the summer. After drawing 1-1 with Dinamo Moscow on the 24th May 2036, Daniil had a couple of days to himself before addressing the national team for their EUROs warmups. It was a hectic schedule, but Daniil was determined to make his…
#26 – SEASON 13 – BALTIKA KALININGRAD
After hitting an impressive 8th-placed finish, and falling just short of Baltika’s highest ever league finish of 7th, Daniil knew that the foundations were taking shape and that he would be able to take Baltika further. In financial disarray, he knew the importance of European football, and that was the goal he was striving for.…
#25 – SEASON 12 – BALTIKA KALININGRAD
Daniil was coming into this pre-season knowing he had a job on his hands. Baltika was struggling at both ends of the park, and that was telling in their performances during the season and their final position. With both Carlos António and Denis Lipkin coming into his plans, Daniil knew that he had improved the…
#24 – SEASON 11 – BALTIKA KALININGRAD
Daniil had landed the Baltika job and had officially travelled 4,571 air miles from his home in Vladivostok to the Kaliningrad Arena. But there wasn’t time for Daniil to admire his journey as a manager. He had a job at hand, starting with CSKA Moscow 2 days into his reign as manager. Daniil was happy…
#8 – NAVIGATING NORWAY
Welcome back to Navigating Norway where we will talk through a rather epic second half of Fredrik Solskjaer’s fifth season in charge at Tromsdalen UIL Fotball. First of all, apologies for the delay in updates – I was busy finishing My FM Journal which I’d love for you to check out. Secondly, we return with…
GLORY HUNTER – #10 – MY FIRST YEAR IN SPAIN
My first year in Spain is complete and I’m going to spend this chapter reviewing how I got on. If you missed the last chapter where I revealed the second club I would be managing as part of this challenge then please click here to catch up. If you’re completely new to this series then…
#23 – A NEW CHAPTER…
In the aftermath of a treble-winning season, Kazan partied for weeks to come. Paraded around as legends, the full team took the chance to soak in the atmosphere and their accomplishments. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a historic season. Daniil was enjoying the celebrations, but he couldn’t help but overthink the situation at hand.…
GLORY HUNTER – #9 – ATLÉTICO DE MADRID
Last time out I revealed that I had moved to a different team and from the title of this chapter you will now know who that team is. I’ve moved to Spain and Atlético de Madrid, after I had resigned at Leverkusen they appointed Nagelsmann who was the Atlético manager leaving a vacancy which I…
#22 – SEASON 10 – FC RUBIN KAZAN
Interest was heating up in Russia’s newest formidable force, as Europe’s elite were chasing some of Kazan’s younger talents. With attraction growing in Gajović and Guevara, Daniil had to ensure that capable replacements were going to come in and hit the ground running. First out the door was Serbian Jakša Jevtović, who had found his…
GLORY HUNTER – #8 – THE EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL
It’s time for our first European final, if you missed how we made it here then please click here to catch up or if you’re completely new to this series here is a link to the prologue. To date we had a 100% record in finals having beaten Stuttgart last season in the DFB-Pokal last…
#21 – SEASON 10 WINTER BREAK – FC RUBIN KAZAN
With a World Cup to scout, Daniil knew that his patience was going to be tested by some of the European giants for his talented players. But this competition also gave Daniil a new opportunity. He was able to scout potential transfers to see how they would adapt away from their respective clubs and if…
GLORY HUNTER – #7 – THE BUNDESLIGA BATTLE
Thanks for coming back for another instalment of my attempt at Doctor Benjy’s Glory Hunter challenge. If you need to catch up on the last chapter then please click here to do so. If you’re completely new to this series then here is a link to introduction post. This season is all about fighting for…
#20 – SEASON 9 – FC RUBIN KAZAN
With the winter transfer window well upon Daniil, he wasn’t looking to make drastic changes to his squad. Hopeful of keeping his prized attacking talents, Daniil knew that he needed to add depth behind the front lines, depending on transfer activity. Interest was heating up in defenders Sven Botman & Alexandr Silyanov, with CSKA lodging…
GLORY HUNTER – #6 – THE DFB-POKAL FINAL
It’s time for our first cup final of the save so far, if you need to catch up on how we got here then please click here to do so or if you’re new to this save here is a link to the introduction that explains the rules of the challenge. The DFB-Pokal final was…
#7 – NAVIGATING NORWAY
Welcome back to Navigating Norway where we’ve just entered the year 2025 or as we’re calling it at Tromsdalen: The year European football came to the municipality of Tromso! Unfortunately for you — the reader — you’ll see no European action from us in this update as we’re in February and the halfway point of the season is in…
#19 – SEASON 9 WINTER BREAK – FC RUBIN KAZAN
With the previous season’s highs and lows now firmly in the past, it was time for Daniil to shift his focus to the present. Yet another summer transfer window approached, and with a Champions League debut on the cards, Daniil’s recruitment was going to be vital. Daniil was notified of the board’s intentions to reach…
GLORY HUNTER – #5 – BUENISIMO BELOTTI
We go again! If you missed chapter 4 then please click here to catch up before we dive into chapter 5. I’ll start off by updating you on what went on at the Qatar World Cup. To say it was a total disaster for England would be an understatement, the Three Lions didn’t even manage…
#18 – SEASON 8 – FC RUBIN KAZAN
A huge second half of the season awaited Daniil. The Russian media were beginning to write off the young Russian’s dreams for the season; “too inexperienced for the task at hand” many were writing. Perhaps they were right. Daniil himself knew that he was swimming with the sharks in the shape of Dinamo Moscow and…
#6 – NAVIGATING NORWAY
Welcome back to Navigating Norway where we’ll be rounding up the action of the 2024 season. It’s Fredrik Solskjaer’s fourth year at the helm of Tromsdalen UIL and his first year managing in Norway’s top-flight. Sitting in 8th place at the midway point of the season — with Molde ending the title race for everyone already — but still…
CHOOSING THE RIGHT ROLES WHEN USING A DOUBLE PIVOT IN FM22
NOTE: I wrote this piece for The Byline, the official Football Manager blog.Click HERE to read the published version, and a huge thanks to the guys at Football Manager for the opportunity! There’s arguably no position more important in football than central midfield. It’s extremely tough to win matches without controlling the middle of the…
GLORY HUNTER – #4 – SOMEONE PLEASE BUY HAALAND
Thanks for joining me for the 4th of my Glory Hunter series, if you missed the last chapter then please catch up here. Our first season had been a success, not a massive one but a success all the same. We hadn’t won any trophies but we had grown as a club, got closer to…
2.1 | MAKE THE MOST OF SET-PIECES
CLUB VISION. I don’t remember the last time I paid attention to set-pieces in Football Manager. I know I should, and I know the extra goal contributions could probably have seen me secure more titles than I have in my time of lethargy. This year, as I stated way back in 0.1 | DE HERSTART,…
#17 – MID-SEASON 8 – FC RUBIN KAZAN
After improving Kazan’s performances, Daniil knew that his first summer window was going to be massive for the future of Kazan. Bringing in a handful of more Russian players would give Daniil a bit more freedom when it comes to squad selections for the league, as he is limited to 8 foreigners in the starting…
#5 – NAVIGATING NORWAY
Welcome back to Navigating Norway where we enter Fredrik Solskjaer’s fourth season as a football manager. Last season we clinched promotion as champions of the OBOS Ligaen — on the final day no less — to see Tromsdalen reach the Elite Serien for the first time in the club’s history. However, I left you on a cliff-hanger as once…
GLORY HUNTER – #3 – HAPPY BUT NOT HAPPY
Welcome back! Its time for chapter 3 of my Glory Hunter series, if you missed chapter 2 then click here to catch up. The business I’d managed to get done during January had strengthened the overall quality of the squad, just as the business I’d done in the summer had. The changes weren’t massive but…
HEIJSMAN: “SQUAD HARMONY ISN’T A CONCERN”
FC Volendam manager Dan Heijsman denies that bringing in 9 new players has caused a rift in the squad. One new signing, goalkeeper Gabriele Marchegiani, has immediately gone out on loan due to his unhappiness at the signing of a second keeper in the window; Heijsman is understood to be angry at his conduct and…
#16.1 – SEASON 7 – RUBIN KAZAN
Taking over any side halfway through a season is difficult, never mind taking over a top-flight side competing for a European space consistently. Daniil knew that he had to come in and make an everlasting impression and pick up from where Yury Krasnozhan left off. Rubin Kazan occupied the second last European spot – a…
#4 – NAVIGATING NORWAY
Welcome back to Navigating Norway. Last time out I left you at the midway stage of the 2023 season, our second season in the OBOS Ligaen and third season overall. We currently sit 2nd in the Norwegian second-tier — unbeaten too I may add — as we aim for promotion once again. Too many draws have been our downfall…
GLORY HUNTER – #2 – HEAD KNOWS BETTER THAN HEART
After the frantic deadline day that I covered off last time (catch up here), I was left with the question of whether or not to keep with the 4-2-3-1 that I had originally determined suited the squad the best or to change to a formation with 2 up front so that I could have both…
CUSTOM CLUB: AFC RICHMOND
After hours upon hours on the Football Manager Editor we finally have the finished product. AFC Richmond has been introduced to Football Manager 2022 and sit in the Premier League – as they do in the TV Series – with the full squad that you’ll be able to see here. This website is where all…
1.3 | TACTICAL TWEAKS AND SEASON REVIEW
DOMINATION. The league was very comfortable in the end. Despite being far more shaky in the second half of the season, losing 7 of the last 18 games, we still managed to retain our 12 point advantage by season’s end. The inability of our rivals to put real pressure on our position doesn’t diminish the…
#3 – NAVIGATING NORWAY
Welcome back to Navigating Norway as we enter our third season in charge of Tromsdalen. We overachieved last time out by finishing third in the OBOS Ligaen but a lacklustre performance in the playoffs ensured that we’d be spending another season in the second division. This year we set out again in our attempts to…
GLORY HUNTER – #1 – BAYER 04 LEVERKUSEN
Last time out I revealed that Bayer 04 Leverkusen would be my first club in the glory hunter challenge. As you’d expect their facilities are excellent, they are financially sound and have a fantastic stadium. They are one of the top clubs in German football however have never won the Bundesliga and only have one…
#2 – NAVIGATING NORWAY
Welcome back to Navigating Norway! It’s a new season in a new league and boy is it exciting. We’re already only one promotion away from being in Norway’s top flight, not that I’m expecting us to make it two promotions on the bounce. That just isn’t going to happen. But we can use this season…
GLORY HUNTER – #0 – THE PROLOGUE
Glory Hunter is a challenge that was created by youtuber Doctor Benjy on FM20 and due to its huge popularity he has brought it back again for FM22. For those of you not familiar with it you have 20 years to win the following: Premier League and FA CupLa Liga and Copa Del ReySerie A…
#1 – NAVIGATING NORWAY
Picture this, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has just been sacked as the manager of Manchester United. His credentials were always questioned, “he won in Norway and was sacked at Cardiff” they always said. After last night’s events at St. James’ Park, you may just begin to question whether it was Solskjaer or just the Red Devil’s…
#14 – SEASON 5 – FC CHITA
Upon his arrival at Chita, Daniil immediately got his limited staff working on pulling through the performance data for the team from the start of the season till now. This would then give him an idea of what the team was good at, what they were lacking in and how he could make subtle changes…
CUSTOM CLUB: HARCHESTER UNITED FC
Welcome to the second custom club database available to download here at On The Break. Today I’m bringing you my latest creation: Harchester United. In fact, they are not my creation at all but a fictional club from the TV show Dream Team that aired on Sky One from 1997 to 2007. Based in the…
SEASON REVIEW 24/25
Welcome back to the sixth and final post in the series ‘Turkish Delight’ where I am managing Gençlerbirliği. If you missed the last post where I reviewed the 23/24 campaign then please click here to catch up. Before I start here is a reminder of the 10 challenges that I want to achieve throughout this save: Win…
CUSTOM CLUB: NEWCASTLE PHOENIX FC
Welcome to the first custom club database available to download here at On The Break. Today I’m bringing you my latest creation: Newcastle Phoenix FC of the Vanarama National North. We’ll get into why and who they are shortly but first of all, we need to go through a couple of things to ensure that…
1.2 | MID-SEASON ANALYSIS
HELLO DATA HUB. The winter break is here, and with half the season down, I think it’s time to properly delve into the Data Hub for the first time. After the initial buzz of seeing the Wide Centre-Back added to FM22, the Data Hub became the headline feature I was most looking forward to having…
SEASON REVIEW 23/24
Welcome back to the fifth post in the series ‘Turkish Delight’ where I am managing Gençlerbirliği. If you missed the last post where I reviewed the 22/23 campaign then please click here to catch up. Before I start here is a reminder of the 10 challenges that I want to achieve throughout this save: Win…
SEASON REVIEW 22/23
Here we go again! This is the fourth post in my series ‘Turkish Delight’ where I am managing Gençlerbirliği. I’ve now moved over to onthebreak.net which is where I will be posting my content going forward. If you missed the last post where I reviewed the 21/22 campaign then please click here to catch up. Before…
SEASON REVIEW 21/22
Thank you for joining me once more for the third post of ‘Turkish Delight’, this time its a review of my first season in charge of Gençlerbirliği. If you missed the last post where I assessed the clubs facilities, finances and players then please click here to catch up. Before I start here is a reminder of…
WHAT HAVE I GOT TO WORK WITH?
Welcome back to ‘Turkish Delight’, I’m releasing this post slightly later than I intended to thanks to a busy week at work. I really wanted to dive straight into this save following the full release on Monday night but unfortunately it had to wait. During BETA I got in a couple of seasons managing Chorley,…
INTRODUCING TURKISH DELIGHT
Turkish football is on the decline and has been for a while. At the turn of the millennium it was thriving with Galatasaray punching well above their weight by winning the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2000. The national side continued the trend of Turkish overachievement by finishing 3rd at the 2002 World…
1.1 | IT STARTS ON THE TRAINING PITCH
GRAFT. ‘Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard’TIM NOTKE With the season now underway, I’ve been putting my plan into action when it comes to training. FM21 was the first time I looked at doing my own training, inspired entirely by Fox in the Box FM’s incredible training playlist. However, I only really…
0.4 | TACTICAL SETUP
SYSTEMS. ‘The evolution of tactical systems is also something that’s being worked on right now. Three at the back is a system that’s being talked about amongst the FA coaches a lot. German football is very professional like that, very good at looking at the finer points that can give you an advantage. You’ll always…
0.3 | SQUAD ANALYSIS
TIME TO WORK. Now that the full release is here, I guess I better have a look at what I’ve got to work with. The media prediction for Volendam is third, but the bookies make us 8th favourites and the board want a mid-table finish. Since I’m new to the division and can’t rely on…
FC VOLENDAM: ROOKIE HIRED TO REPLACE WIM JONK
Wim Jonk has left his post at FC Volendam with the club citing ‘a difference in future visions’. It’s understood that he is the only casualty, and the coaching staff will remain in place under the new manager. Dan Heijsman is a former Dutch U21 international who retired through injury in 1998; after a long…
0.2 | ESTABLISHING A DNA
IDENTITY. Identity is talked about a lot in football, especially lately. Poor old Ole Gunnar Solskjær probably twitches when he hears the word, such is the heat he’s getting about his lack of it. As I mentioned in 0.1 | De Herstart, one of the first things I’ll set out to achieve at Volendam is…
R. S. C. ANDERLECHT: A BRIEF HISTORY & SQUAD ANALYSIS.
Firstly, if you are reading this post then thank you for giving me a second chance. In hindsight my opening blog was a bit of a rambling un-structured mess and I am committed to improving both the structure, and grammar in my upcoming posts. In this post I willbriefly look at the history of Anderlecht,…
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022 CUSTOM VIEWS – WIDESCREEN EDITION!
For the first time ever I’m releasing a pack of all of the views I use in Football Manager. I’ve been using a Widescreen monitor since 2019, originally because I thought the 3D Match Engine would look great on it, but then I realised how much more information I could put into each screen with…
0.1 | DE HERSTART
WELKOM. I’ve never been so ready, or so prepared(!) for a new edition of Football Manager. The 2022 iteration will soon be with us, and so I felt it’s time to talk a bit about who I plan to manage and what my plans for the save are. I revealed the side I’d be managing…
R. S. C. ANDERLECHT: A BELGIAN DREAM
First of all I guess that I should introduce myself… I did post an introduction somewhat similar to this in early 2020 so not many people will have seen it. My love affair with Football / Championship Manager started with Championship Manager 2. I can still remember to this day going around to my friends…
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN…
‘Where were you when Beckham scored from the half-way line?”Where were you when Germany beat Brazil 7-1?”Where were you when Zidane headbutted Materazzi?’ Football fans ask the question a lot, where were you when…? Iconic moments, both good and bad, not only become important enough to live long in the memory, but have such a…
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022 – WHO ARE WE EXCITED TO MANAGE?
Welcome back to On the Break! With Sports Interactive having dropped the first glimpses of Football Manager 2022, it’s safe to say hype season is fully upon us! So I’ve been thinking forward to the new game, and who I’m excited to manage. That doesn’t really make for much of an article though, so I’ve…
On the Break 