h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Those who read these irregular journals who are unfamiliar with the Football Manager game franchise will find the following quite boring. You have been warned.

Last year, I posted to the FM 2009 forums with details of the Lancaster City squad, as the squad in the game was incomplete and out of date. I was then asked by the Unibond League head researcher of I fancied keeping the Lancaster squad up to date myself. I said ok, and ahead of the January 2010 update of the game and in the summer ahead of the new season, I researched (through going to games and befriending on Facebook), the details of the squad.

My (not very) hard work means that I am now receiving a free copy of the 2010 version of the game, and have my name in the credits. All in an attempt to make it easier to manage a club that is probably only of interest to me amongst the games players (i have no idea how many of City's 200 fans play the game, but probably not THAT many).

I don't know whether to be proud or ashamed of you.

B

You can be both...

I do feel the series has lost its way a little. FM2007 and 2008 got very arduous after a while.

I've recently re-visited CM4 and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it (apart from the needlessly complicated training regimes), but much of my time is still going to CM0102.

B

I'm impressed. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to send facebook messages to footballers asking to rate their abilities from 1-20.....

Question 7: Would you describe yourself as a model professional?
Question 8: Which team does the physio support?
Question 9: Who would be most likely to be unhappy if the manager mistreated you?

I've done it with real people!

A991578

If you can scrape 22-25 people together, I'd go for a repeat.

B

I don't know whether to be proud or ashamed of you.

On a very slightly related note, why does this sort of thing always happen to us?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8314819.stm

B

Down with this sort of thing!

"I've done it with real people!"

Lancaster City players are real people as well you know. like top scorer Jordan Connerton, a student at Myerscough college, or captain Michael Stringfellow, who is Morecambe FC's football in the community officer, or defender Guy Heffernan, who works in data input for a government contractor, and manages the City ladies team, for whom his girlfriend plays.

facebook was very handy for the players' dates and places of birth, and the clubhouse after the games helps you work out squad dynamics, while I watch them often enough to get much of the stats from my own observations.

Good stuff. Just played the demo, not a bad offering!