In previous posts, I have probably explained why I always manage Everton on my FM saves. However, I thought I would delve deeper into my thought process and why Everton is my chosen team.
I am a lifelong supporter of Everton
The main reason, of course, that I manage Everton on FM is that I am a lifelong Evertonian. I have been going to Goodison Park since I was five years old (I am now 41).
Having previously held a season ticket, I had a period when my visits to the grand old lady were few and far between. However, my son’s blossoming obsession with football a few years ago saw me and him go to virtually every home game in the last two years.
For any father and sons out there, it can be the ultimate bonding moment, especially as, in Everton’s case, you have to put up with more lows than highs. Some may say taking my son to Everton is tantamount to child abuse, considering the fortunes of our team recently.
However, we enjoy the time together, and sometimes, very rarely, we also enjoy the action on the pitch. We share the good, the bad, and often ugly aspects of what football is about. The atmosphere, the little traditions, it’s hard to beat as a father-son activity.
A new reality
For many, Everton is a sleeping giant of English football. The number of historic firsts the club has experienced is simply breath-taking. In recent years, unfortunately, my beloved football club has become one that experiences unwanted negative firsts.
The fans have been hit with blow after blow in the club’s recent history, but with the help of the fans, Everton keeps surviving in the Premier Leagues, often against all odds.
The quality of the team and squad has been diluted so severely recently that current head coach Sean Dyche has often had to put square pegs in round holes. Somewhat bafflingly, of late, he has also chosen to field some players whose days in the Premier League are far behind them.
Football Manager gives me, as an Everton fan, a chance to help my beloved team recover and return to glory, something that in the club’s current circumstances seems so far off in the distance in real life.
I suppose this is the same for all fans. It is one of the attractions of the game. You can make something special out of what might be a real-life mess, take your team to glory, and even feel slightly more optimistic about the future of the club, even if it’s only temporary and not reality.
FM, like other games, can transform your mood and take you away from the everyday trials and tribulations of what life can throw at you.
How do I do it?
We have had the why, and now here’s some of the how. As somebody who has played the game since its Championship Manager days, I have an unhealthy obsession with the game.
With a busy family schedule, I don’t really have time to play multiple games. FM has always been my game of choice, so I have sacrificed other games in order to have time to play the game.
If players concentrate on one game, most people get very good at it, usually developing a comprehensive knowledge of the game. That’s why I can turn Everton into English champions, European champions and the dominant force in the world in a short space of time.
It is, in reality, relatively easy to do, especially when you have so many excellent tactic creators finding ways to create such effective tactics. I am thankful to those creators, as although I know the game so well, I no longer have time to create tactics unless I am doing it for the Higher Tempo.
Do I use other teams on FM?
In my earlier days playing FM, I would like a challenge on the game. I would love nothing better than to get Chester City or Tranmere Rovers up from the fourth or even fifth tiers of the game and take them into Europe.
However, once I got there if the Everton job became available, I would always apply for it and usually get the job. The problem was that the smaller clubs I was managing often didn’t want to upgrade the ground or be competitive in the top flight.
Often, Everton would be in the second tier, but once you showed you could do the job, the club’s hierarchy would back you financially. The lore of Everton would always be too much not to make a return to the club.
In recent years, it again sometimes comes down to available time. I may not be a casual player, but I certainly don’t play as much of as I did in my Chester days.
Returning Everton to glory is a manageable challenge usually, despite the mess the hierarchy has made of it over the last three decades in real life. Usually, within a few seasons, my team either challenges for or wins the Premier League title. In three years, European dominance is possible.
I have had little stints with the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund in FM25. However, it just didn’t feel the same as managing Everton to glory.
So, there you have it, why I manage Everton on FM is because, by the Blues’ recent history, it’s the only way I am ever going to witness my team win a trophy or experience any glory. Quite frankly, the last 30 years have brought mainly disappointment and distress.
However, in my FM game, Everton are the kings of the world. That is why I love Football Manager so much.
Do you always manage the team that you support in FM?
