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Category: Series

The Story of One-Club Man

The Story of One-Club Man

Originally, I intended this to be a simple and short FM save reveal. But as things tend to happen it grew to be far bigger than intended when I set out to type it. You include a bit of contextual backstory to add flavour to the blog and before you know it you are writing backstory to the backstory. And the simple fluff piece became an introduction to a passion project. So bear with me, I’ll just provide a bit…

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Route 23 | FM23 Story | #2

Route 23 | FM23 Story | #2

Mason Bradshaw is back! Join us at Route 23 with our Access All Areas pass to watch the rookie Englishman take charge of the New York Red Bulls. We’ll see it all from the transfer signings, the team talks to the wins and losses. We’ll hear from Mason himself, his family, his colleagues, the media and much more.

Route 23 | FM23 Story | #1

Route 23 | FM23 Story | #1

Mason Bradshaw is back! Join us at Route 23 with our Access All Areas pass to watch the rookie Englishman take charge of the New York Red Bulls. We’ll see it all from the transfer signings, the team talks to the wins and losses. We’ll hear from Mason himself, his family, his colleagues, the media and much more.

#WeAreHSV – Hamburger SV in Football Manager (pt 5)

#WeAreHSV – Hamburger SV in Football Manager (pt 5)

Settling back in to Bundesliga life I entered pre-season still in two, or even three minds about which formation to start with. Should I stick with the 5-2-1-2 which served us well last season and won us promotion? Should I stick with my head and adopt a 5-3-2 with an anchor in the DM slot to give us extra protection? Or should I go for it with a 4-2-3-1. I decided to give them all a chance in friendlies but…

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Football Manager Challenges – The Journeyman

Football Manager Challenges – The Journeyman

Once you get immersed into playing Football Manager, the mind starts to wander, or wonder perhaps. Creative people have come up with many creative ideas playing the game and shared them with the wider community via the forums and social media. I thought I should try to bring to light the many challenge ideas that players have come up with over the years and feature them in a series of articles here at Dictate the Game. What better way to…

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Football Manager tactics for Hamburger SV (Pt 2)

Football Manager tactics for Hamburger SV (Pt 2)

The story so far… In the Part 1 of this series, I created Football Manager tactics for Hamburger SV, based on the strengths and weaknesses of the players. The formation settled on was a 5-2-3 with the following strategy. Use short passing to control possession in the opponents half. Use attacking wingbacks to pin back opposition fullbacks and create room centrally. Reduce the amount of space our “not very mobile” central midfielders have to operate in. Convert Bakery Jatta to…

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Implementing a wage structure & transfer policy in Football Manager

Implementing a wage structure & transfer policy in Football Manager

Assessing the situation A wage structure is a great way to start getting a tough financial situation in order. When I first took over HSV I was aware their financial situation wasn’t great. So, when I clicked on the finances screen it wasn’t too much of a shock to read about the £42 million debt. It’s a big debt and it’s being paid back at £875k per week. However, it’s not one I’m panicking about just yet. We have one…

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Creating a tactic for Hamburg in Football Manager 22 (Part 1)

Creating a tactic for Hamburg in Football Manager 22 (Part 1)

  When it comes to tactics in Football Manager I used to take over a team (in this case Hamburg in Football Manager 22), and force the players into my favoured 4-2-3-1 formation. And why not? It’s a system I know inside-out. This approach usually ends up working eventually (after some transfer activity). However, there’s always one pretty good player that gets left out because they don’t fit in with exactly how I want to set up. That player then…

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The Lighthouse Chronicle

The Lighthouse Chronicle

Part One. I was happy living in my lighthouse, tending to my garden of vegetables and walking down by the seafront. I was happy being away from football for the first time in 52 years. On March 22, 2021, I had been out of the game for less than two years after being dismissed by Delia bloody Smith at Norwich. Not even in the kitchens. Or the canteen. In the back of her limousine. “Mr. Storm,” a voice accustomed to…

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