a little essay written for me mum's SPM English Model Essays guide book. -------- Hello, let me tell you about a game called Football Manager (FM) - a simulation game for all football fans that have always dreamt to manage a football team. You can either manage an elite team like Chelsea and Real Madrid, or start low from the 7th tier of English Football and work your way up to the Premier League; we call this the Journeyman's Save.
FM at a glance
The role of a manager in modern football has changed as these days there are head coaches that focus on the tactical and training side of things, while a director of football (DoF) would focus on all things recruitment and contract renewals. Well the best part about FM is that you get to pick your responsibilities as a manager of your football team - you can take full control of everything from tactics to transfers or delegate each responsibilities to your DoF and your team of coaches. Since the inception of the game for more than 20 years ago, the game is so refined to a point where you can manage both team and individual training which will affect the way your team plays in games. For the average joe, I’d recommend handling team trainings yourself while letting your coaches takeover individual training.
A whole screen dedicated to managing staff responsibilities
If you haven’t got the gist yet, football manager isn't just all about picking your best 11 players for a Sunday league game. There are some psychological aspects built into the game too as the game proactively gets you to ensure team morale is high. It teaches one to be organised to make sure things like training and tactics are well balanced and not over-demanding. Just like in the real world of soccer, your players may be displeased or prone to injury if you constantly demand high intensity during training and game.
Example of feedback from team not being pleased with training
Alright, but what about the pitch experience? As this is a simulation game, you don’t actually control your players movements during the game, but you do so by giving him instructions on what to do with the ball as well as off-the-ball movements. Just like a real game, as a manager you can shout and give instruction changes to counter your opposition’s game plan. Each encouragement you give will affect your player’s style of play, but keep in mind your players can get confused if you keep changing your plans during a game. My favourite part here is during the half time team talk where you get your chance to motivate your team so they continue to do well or turn things around in the 2nd half of the game.
Team/Individual Shouts
Changing team instructions in-game
Team Talk Experience
Last but not least, the best part about the game is discovering new talents, having a chance to recruit them and grow into a star, or ultimately selling the player for a record transfer fee to boost the club financials. In FM, your scouts help you to find new fresh talents and you get to see their current and potential ability - from there you can continue to monitor the player’s development or do all you can to recruit the new talent.
Rising Talent: Eduardo Camavinga
This is just the tip of the iceberg, there are so much things to learn and explore about the game. If you have ever dreamt of managing a football team, I would definitely recommend the game. It teaches one to be organised, more aware about the social economics and politics of football; heck it is even one of the few games that predicts Brexit and its influence in English football.
I’ll end with this final screenshot, just experiencing the joy of achieving a comeback in the dying minutes of the game!
