Can we improve upon Ajax’s woeful 2023/24 season using FM24?

February 13, 2025

ajax flag being passed around crowd in packed stand in amsterdam arena

When we talk about football clubs with a rich history and legendary status, Ajax, the Dutch giants, always comes to mind. Named after a Greek mythological legend, Ajax’s lore is unique, cementing its status as a legendary name in the beautiful game.

A nightmarish campaign in season 2023/24

However, despite their status as the biggest club in the Netherlands, Ajax endured a woeful campaign in season 2023/24. The club from the Dutch capital finished in fifth place in the Eredivisie table, a massive 35 points adrift of eventual champions PSV Eindhoven.

It was quite simply a season to forget. Can we do better on FM24 in season 2023/24? Here is what happened as we attempted to improve upon Ajax’s woeful campaign.

We certainly experienced an improved campaign

How I approached this experiment was similar to how I do tactics testing. I simmed a whole season without any transfers or changes whatsoever.

This means that our save played out the season with the same players that were available to the club in real life. We used a 4-3-3 tactic, in this case, Samzoid’s Elite 2341, which has proven to be a popular formation at the club in the past.

Real-life finish vs our FM24 save Ajax

As we know, Ajax finished fifth place in the Eredivisie last season. During the campaign, the Amsterdammers picked up just 56 points, one of their lowest points tallies in decades.

Ajax scored 74 goals and conceded 61 at the other end of the pitch, which, in reality, would not be bad for a midtable team. However, for a team like Ajax, it was poor.

It was easy to top those tallies on FM24, as our team scored 82 goals but crucially conceded just 32 and was crowned as Dutch champions.

Only second-place reigning champions Feyenoord enjoyed a better defensive record. The latter played a key role in the title-winning campaign, as the team kept 15 clean sheets.

We had a situation that I have very rarely seen in FM, as two goalkeepers played close to half the games each over the campaign. Argentinian stopper Geronimo Rulli made 16 Eredivisie appearances, while youngster Diant Ramaj played 18 times.

In real life, Ramaj was the first choice in the Dutch top flight, starting 20 times, while Rulli and Jay Gorter also made seven starts each. It is fair to say the Ajax keepers performed better on FM24 than in real life.

Top performers in real life vs our FM24 save

Strangely, the top two top goalscorers on FM24 and in real life were the same two players. In both, highly-rated young striker Brian Brobbey topped the goalscoring charts. He performed better in real life, scoring 18 goals and producing eight assists.

On our save, winger Steven Bergwijn was the joint top goalscorer with 15 goals, but he also produced seven assists. In season 2023/24, he scored 12 goals and produced four assists. That shows he slightly underachieved in real life last season.

Central midfielder Kenneth Taylor was another player who flourished in our save. The Netherlands international scored an impressive 11 goals and also produced 11 assists on our save. His performances, in reality, were slightly less impressive for Taylor, who scored a respectable five goals and produced five assists.

Young winger Carlos Borges/Forbs (His name seems to be different depending on where you read it) was relatively prolific in FM24, scoring nine times and producing five assists.

His numbers for Ajax in season 2023/24 were not great. However, that was probably because just eight of his 21 appearances during the campaign came from the start. He scored just two goals and produced three assists.

One of my favourite FM players, Borna Sosa, enjoyed a frustrating debut campaign in Amsterdam. He made just 16 appearances for the club from the Dutch capital, only 10 of which came from the start. He produced four assists in those appearances.

He produced far better results on FM24, scoring three goals and picking up a team-high 14 assists.

Veteran winger Steven Berghuis also produced respectable assist figures. He had ten assists and six goals in just 22 appearances. In reality, he scored five goals and made eight assists.

Midfielder Branco van den Boomen impressed on our save, scoring seven goals and producing five assists in 36 appearances, 18 of which came from the start and 18 from the substitute bench.

The midfielder played a bit-part role in real life, scoring two goals in 11 starts and ten substitute appearances.

Young defender Devyne Rensch was also another player who performed far better in our save than in real life, well, going forward, anyway. He scored five goals and picked up seven assists, compared to his real-life tally of two goals and four assists.

Former Liverpool and England midfield star Jordan Henderson enjoyed a decent campaign on our save, scoring eight and assisting eight goals.

Judging him on his real-life efforts would be harsh, as he only joined the Amsterdammers from Saudi Pro League Al-Ettifaq in the January transfer window.

The former England international produced three assists from just nine appearances, which is not a terrible return from the centre of the park. The team may have performed better if he had been at Ajax from the start of the campaign.

A player who performed better in real life than on our save was promising young midfielder Kristian Hlynsson, who scored seven goals and produced one assist.

In our save, Hlynsson made just five starts while making 17 substitute appearances, scoring two goals and producing four assists.

What is our conclusion?

I am not sure how Ajax made winning the Eredivisie such hard work in season 2023/24. It was easy!

Joking aside, the problems at Ajax were a perfect storm. The squad has been getting weaker and weaker in recent transfer windows.

Meanwhile, there has been no continuity in the coaching staff, as the team has struggled for form since Erik ten Hag’s exit to Manchester United in 2022.

The 2024/25 season will likely be much improved, as the team obviously underperformed. It’s hard to see another repeat of the woeful 2023/24 campaign.

Have you ever managed Ajax in FM24, and how did you do?

Louis Saha Backs Premier League Manager to Replace Postecoglou at Tottenham

David Nugent

February 13, 2025

Tottenham Hotspur’s season has been one of promise, frustration, and more recently, intense speculation over manager Ange Postecoglou’s job. The Australian tactician brought in to transform Spurs’ style of play is in the firing line after successive defeats in a short period of time saw Spurs bow out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Former Premier League forward Louis Saha has expressed that a managerial departure is on the horizon. And if that is to occur, says Saha, that role would be offered to Fulham’s Marco Silva.

Saha’s Vote of Confidence in Marco Silva

Louis Saha, a former Spurs and Fulham player in his own right, has publicly lavished great accolades on Marco Silva’s managerial skills. In his opinion, Silva has taken Fulham to be a team to be contended with, having brought them up from the Championship to return to the Premier League and stay in the upper half of the table.

The Portuguese tactician has been excellent in his tactics, in nurturing his players, and in his attacking style of play, qualities that make Fulham an exciting team to watch for both fans and those engaged in online betting.

Saha’s endorsement of Silva to be a potential Spurs manager is understandable based on his previous achievements. Silva has been able to get his players to deliver even when he has fewer financial resources to work with compared to their more established counterparts in the league. Such a knack of getting maximum potential out of his players is just what a team such as Spurs needs, given their continued quest for silverware and consistency.

The Challenges Facing Postecoglou

While Postecoglou’s high-tempo, possession-based approach initially delighted fans, more recent performances called his suitability to the club over time into question. Defensive weakness of Tottenham coupled with injuries to his marquee players has left his team in a vulnerable position in the standing. As much as they continue dreaming of winning the Europa League, their squad strength and current form conspire to make that more ambitious.

The inconsistency of Tottenham is a serious issue. They flash brilliance in beating high-ranked teams, but fail to deliver that in coming up against low-ranked teams. Such inconsistency raises questions regarding whether or not Postecoglou has enough tactical flexibility to adapt to the demands of English football on a constant basis. Some feel that his style is entertaining to watch, but without defensive solidity or a pragmatic sting to get his team over a season in the Premier League.

Could Marco Silva Be the Right Fit for Spurs?

If Tottenham did release Postecoglou, would Marco Silva be the perfect candidate to take over? His time at Fulham would seem to suggest that he would.

Silva has transformed Fulham into a slick, tactically adept team. His attacking style is a perfect fit for that of Spurs, though he also introduces a defensive solidity that has been sorely lacking during Postecoglou’s time in control.

One of Silva’s strong points is his knack of developing talent. Under his guidance, Fulham have scouted and developed a succession of key players, raising their game to a new level. Spurs, with their collection of youngsters and old heads, would be the perfect vehicle for Silva to apply his principles on a large scale.

Have a strong feeling Marco Silva will take over at spurs just makes too much sense

— RoadtoBilbao (@YANITEDTRUTH) February 10, 2025

Prizing Silva away from Craven Cottage would not be easy, of course. He has built something of a masterpiece there, and there is a story that he is contented with the job he has done there. The challenge of managing a team that is better funded, that has a more gigantic support, that has a place in Europe to compete for is a great one, though.

The Future of Tottenham’s Managerial Position

Tottenham’s hierarchy is coming to the defense of Postecoglou currently, though, given that it is a business of results, if their struggles continue, the club would be in a position to be compelled to take a hard decision. In that case, Marco Silva’s name would be among favorites.

For Saha, it is a matter of basic calculation: Silva is a tried and tested Premier League manager with tact, know-how, and leadership skills to take Tottenham to a different gear. Whether Spurs take that advice or not is yet to be told, though in the constantly evolving dynamic of the Premier League, managerial swaps never take time to materialize.

To conclude

Tottenham fans would want one of two scenarios to occur: that Postecoglou manages to turn it around or that, if a change is to be considered, that it is a sensible, visionary one. As for Marco Silva, his popularity just grows, and wherever he is to end up, his name is in high-profile minds in search of managerial security and glory.

FM25 has been cancelled – When will FM26 be released?

David Nugent

February 10, 2025

Like many FM players, we have been wondering what was happening with FM25. Last Thursday, I even published an article about what was going on with the game release.

In the early hours of Friday, February 7th, after what seems to have been an eternity of silence from the game developers’ SI, it was confirmed that FM25 had been cancelled. Therefore, the delayed March release of the game will now not take place. They are working on the next instalment, presumably FM26.

You know #FM25 being cancelled is big when the news reports it https://t.co/R4aWhYmuBm

— David Fleming 💙 (@Greyingbeard79) February 7, 2025

The fact that the developers had not talked about the cancellation before was down to the fact that they have other partners in the game, i.e. Sega, who, because of their obligation to shareholders, had to agree to release information on one of their biggest selling games in recent years.

A March release date was never realistic

As SI stated in their update in September, they were struggling to put out a game that was worthy of the Football Manager name and that the release had been pushed back until March. This was because of a number of issues, the main one being that the game was using a new game engine called Unity.

I have to say, I don’t really think I ever believed that FM25 would come out in March. It seemed like a strange time to release a game based on the 2024/25 season, with just a few months left of said season. It just didn’t make sense.

It almost felt like SI were attempting to buy time, as they knew that the game wasn’t anywhere near finished. SI’s recent announcement over the game’s cancellation proves that a March release wasn’t really realistic.

An incredibly difficult task for SI

There have been lots of complaints from the FM community about the initial delay and then the cancellation. However, I believe that SI has some credit in the bank for the effort they put into every game release.

The team tries to improve the game with every release, unlike some developers—EA, I am looking at you. Obviously, the improvements for FM25 were unprecedented since the game was first released.

SI was attempting to overhaul the whole game in an effort to make it better for all of us. Unfortunately, everybody underestimated the sheer scope of change that was required to finish the game.

As somebody who loves FM and also writes about the game for work, I find it slightly disappointing that we won’t have FM25.

However, when SI announced in September about the delay until March, I think that’s when they maybe should have just stated that the game wouldn’t happen, and instead, they would be putting their efforts into FM26 to ensure that it is ready.

Maybe SI should have just released a data update for season 2024/25, which I know is more work, while they worked on the latest edition of the game. Players would have still been slightly disappointed, but at least the fans would have known.

As it is, we are not getting an updated database. However, that’s not an issue when you have so many great people who give up their time for free to produce updated databases. Database updates are readily available through the Steam workshop or the many FM community sites.

When will FM26 be released?

Unfortunately, SI has not yet announced when FM26 is likely to be released. That is because they probably don’t really have a clear idea of when it will be released yet.

Like many FM players, the ideal release date for me would be just after the European transfer window shuts in September. However, that could clash with the release of some other big titles, which are traditionally released around that time of the year.

It may be the case that FM26 is released at the end of October or early November, as it is traditionally.

The whole thing has been a bit of a mess for SI. Maybe they are a victim of their our ambitions. I hope that when FM26 gets released, it will be worth the wait. Unfortunately, for some, the shine has been taken off it by the fact that we have had to wait so long for the next instalment of our favourite managerial sim.

Let us know your thoughts on the FM25 cancellation via our socials

What is going on with Football Manager 2025?

David Nugent

February 6, 2025

If you are a fan of the Football Manager series (if you are here, I assume you are), then you may well be forgiven for wondering what the hell is going on with the release of FM25.

Let’s rewind to September

As you may know, in September, the Football Manager’s developers, SI, made a big announcement about the release of FM25. The announcement stated that the game that was slated for its usual release in November would be delayed until March 2025, which was shocking for the game’s loyal fanbase.

We have made the tough decision to delay the release of Football Manager 25 until March 2025.

Statement: https://t.co/zW7dRd1Lkp pic.twitter.com/UKPnz4l0Gb

— Football Manager (@FootballManager) October 10, 2024

The fans were obviously disappointed with the delay. However, from what SI told us, the game was nowhere near ready. The developers were attempting the most significant overhaul of the game series in its history.

They underestimated the sheer scope of the project, which led to inevitable delays. The fact that the game was using a new game engine, even for the most clueless player (i.e., me), surely added to the difficulty of completing the game.

The delay suggests that the issues must have been severe for SI to delay the game for so long. The company is pretty honest with its players, and this was no different as they laid out their struggles with finishing the game.

Have there been any updates recently on the game?

With FM25 supposed to be coming out next month, some fans of the game are getting worried that we don’t have any updates on the latest edition of the game. Usually, by now, we would have lots of reveals and leaks of gameplay, features, etc.

SI even stated that the new gameplay would be revealed at the end of January. Unfortunately, there has been no such reveal, which has only added to the speculation about when or even if the game will be released.

The silence from SI has not helped the matter, as due to the lack of a statement, many are even questioning if the game will be released or what form the game will be in if released in March.

Some fans and even FM content makers are speculating that the game will now not be released until the summer after the season is finished.

Even as someone who is obsessed with FM25, I don’t think that would be the worst idea. If the game is released in March, most of the top European leagues will be over in months.

If making the game has been so arduous, maybe the SI team should instead focus their efforts on finishing it after the big European campaigns have ended. Then, they could release it with an updated database of relegation, promotions, and early summer transfers.

They could then release monthly database updates until the transfer window shuts in Europe in September. I doubt they would be short of people willing to help with database updates if they needed the extra hands.

Everything is just speculation at the moment

Everybody in the FM community, including us, is speculating about what’s happening with FM25. However, the only people who really know the game’s status are those within SI who are working on it.

The game may be released in March, and SI has just been spending their time tweaking it rather than making announcements on social media.

No doubt, from what has been revealed about the game by SI, it has been a massive task. As somebody who wouldn’t even know how to start making a game, I don’t feel like I am in a position to judge SI.

However, many doubters have criticised the game’s developers, and many fans feel they will not enjoy it as much as they would if they had not had to wait so long for SI to finally release it.

Hopefully, when it is finally released, it will be worth the long wait. Although FM24 has been enjoyable, players are more than ready for a fresh edition after playing the last version since November 2023.

Will FM25 finally be released in March as SI has previously claimed?

The Most Anticipated Updates For Football Manager 2025

David Nugent

February 5, 2025

Highly anticipated every year, by fans the world over, the Football Manager simulation game has become one of the most popular franchises in ‘video game’ history.

Each year, fans look forward to seeing what the new features and upgrades will be on the previous year’s instalment, in addition to other changes, such as transfer budgets and player statistics updates.

With the next Football Manager game release delayed by four months, this has led to many speculating about what new features that they can expect. Year after year, developer, Sports Interactive has worked tirelessly to exceed customer expectations, ensuring that there is as immersive an experience as possible.

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Over the years, we have seen many new and clever tools become available for the game, such as the bg remover for ‘background’ images, which allows users to modify the type of interface that they want. This has proven to be a handy tool for previous editions and its availability for the next one, should be greeted warmly by fans.

As such, below, we have talked about some of the key updates that you will find in the next release to further enhance your gameplay!

New Game Engine

Like every year, the game engine gets a facelift and this release is no different, however, this time around, you can look forward to something unique. As a result, FM25 has switched to a Unity engine, which means that graphical capabilities will be enhanced to improve overall performance. Consequently, you will look forward to much better animations and visuals.

Women’s Football

With this becoming more and more popular, Sports Interactive will include women’s football in the 2025 version, which could attract even more fans, while making for an intriguing addition.

Premier League Licence

Arguably one of the most anticipated updates, Sports Interactive have struck a deal with the Premier League, to finally allow the game to have official branding (such as club crests), which will lend a lot more authenticity to it.

Feature Removals

You will also find that some features from previous editions have also been removed in order to make it a more streamlined experience. These include touchline shouts and international management – however, the latter could well return in later releases.

What Updates Could We See For FM 2026?

It is likely that any updates to FM 2026 will likely build on those made to FM 2025. Essentially, for Sports Interactive, they could do anything to the game and probably have a five-year plan that gets updated all of the time. Perhaps what we might see in 12 months time, are features such as more intelligent AI player transfers, detailed club takeovers and possibly more of them, though with more realistic investment models.

Every year, fans also become intrigued about possible updates to tactics, so they can further tweak and modify their teams down to the finest detail. Also, as football continues to evolve, we could see FM adopt latest tactical trends and make these available.

Guillermo Ochoa is an FM hero who only appears at World Cups

David Nugent

January 29, 2025

Francisco Guillermo Ochoa — Photo Works / BigStock

Scrolling on Football Manager forums and other general football sites tends to lead you to some funny things. However, sometimes you see a statement that you think is daft but makes sense to you.

I recently came across one of those statements, as somebody wrote, ‘Guillermo Ochoa only seems to appear at World Cups’. Now, even as somebody who watches multiple leagues, I think that is not an entirely invalid thought!

Guillermo Ochoa is a World Cup 𝗜𝗖𝗢𝗡 🇲🇽#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/akzPmzAcG3

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 22, 2022

However, I realised the person who wrote the sentence was obviously joking. It did get me thinking about Ochoa and how, in my (much) younger years, I used to sign him on Football Manager and just how good he was on the game.

Ochoa is one of my Football Manager cult heroes

I first encountered Guillermo Ochoa in FM09 or FM10. At the time, he was a relatively young, unknown goalkeeper to most European football fans.

At that point, he had already made the Mexico squad for the 2006 World Cup, but as he wasn’t playing in a high-profile elite league, he wasn’t a household name.

I remember playing as Everton on FM, looking for a bargain goalkeeper, and Ochoa, who was still playing in his native Mexico with Club America, was always my first port of call.

Not only did he have excellent attributes, but he was also available at a bargain price, which are two excellent attributes for a player to have, especially when playing as a club without a massive transfer kitty.

Like most bargain players in FM, he would only get better and help the team win numerous trophies without having to be replaced until his mid-30s. In short, he was a Football Manager player’s dream.

How did his career pan out in real life?

Believe it or not, Guillermo Ochoa is still playing professionally in the Portuguese Primeira Liga with AVS despite being 39 years of age.

Going back to the beginning of his real-life club career, he started at Club America, making his debut in the Clausura in 2004. He went on to play for the Mexican giants until 2011, making 302 appearances.

The run was only interrupted by a loan move to San Luis, where he played just once but still picked up a Primera Division A: Apertura 2004 winner’s medal.

He also picked up a fair few pieces of silverware with Club America during his time with the club from Mexico City. He won the Primera Division A: Apertura in 2004, the Campeon de Campeones in 2005, and the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup in 2006.

Ochoa took his first furore into foreign lands in 2011 when he joined French top-flight club Ajaccio. He played all but two Ligue One games for the club over a three-season period.

He moved to Spain with Malaga in 2014 but made just six appearances for the Andalusians in his first season before appearing just 13 times in all competitions the following season.

Ochoa saw far more action on loan at Granada during the 2016/17 season. He was the team’s first-choice goalkeeper, playing all 38 games in La Liga and one in the Copa del Rey.

The following season, the Mexican international was once again on the move, but this time, he joined Belgian outfit Standard Liege on a permanent basis. He was Standard’s first choice, making 86 appearances in all competitions.

While in Belgium, Ochoa helped Standard win the Belgian Cup in 2017/18 and was named the club’s Player of the Year in 2018/19.

In 2019, Ochoa returned to his first Club America and stayed there for four years, making 127 competitive appearances for the Mexican club. Just as it looked like he would play out the rest of his career with the club, he made a somewhat surprising move to Serie A outfit Salernitana in December 2022.

Ochoa excelled in his first half-season with the club, helping Salernitana avoid relegation and, in the process, winning the club’s Player of the Year award. Unfortunately for Ochoa and his teammates, Salernitana couldn’t avoid relegation in his only full season with the club in season 2023/24.

With the Mexican out of contract in the summer of 2024, he set off on a new adventure, this time in the Portuguese top-flight with AVS, a club founded in 2023 after UD Vilafranquense moved from Vila Franca de Xira to Vila das Aves.

At the time of writing, Ochoa has made nine appearances for his new club, who are currently just above the league’s relegation zone.

A real-life Mexico and football icon

Francisco Guillermo Ochoa making save — Marcello Casal Jr/Agência Brasil, CC BY 3.0 BR, via Wikimedia Commons

Guillermo Ochoa is a Mexican football icon. He made his debut for El Tri in 2005 and has enjoyed an incredible international career that has spanned nearly two decades and 151 appearances. Only Claudio Suarez and Andres Guardado have made more international appearances for Mexico than Ochoa.

Not only did Ochoa appear in five World Cup squads for Mexico, appearing in three of them, but he also helped his national team win the CONCACAF Gold Cup on five occasions, in 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023.

As we have proven, Guillermo Ochoa definitely doesn’t just magically appear at World Cups. He has enjoyed a highly respectable playing career at club level, which is still going strong despite the fact that he will turn 40 this summer.

Not only was he an icon on Football Manager, but also in real life during his playing career, especially to the fans of the Mexico national and all the clubs he represented with pride.

What became of former wonderkid Ryan Gauld?

David Nugent

January 25, 2025

There are so many stories of young footballers being hyped up. Many of these players end up as wonderkids on Football Manager. As we all know, these players don’t always live up to their potential.

One player who fits into that category of player is Scottish international winger Ryan Gauld, who was once labelled ‘The Scottish Messi’.

Who is Ryan Gauld?

The Scotland international first appeared on FM14 as a 17-year-old playing for Dundee United, and in his first few years in the game he was a wonderkid, including having a particularly high potential in FM15.

In fact, he would start as a wonderkid and then go on to become a world-class in a few editions of the game. As he grew in age, he still remained a player with big potential until he reached his mid-20s. His FM potential was a good reflection of his immense real-life potential and ability.

A big move to Portuguese giants doesn’t really work out

His ability and potential were enough to convince Portuguese giants Sporting CP to pay Dundee United £3m for the diminutive winger. Despite the fact that Gauld was so young, he had already made 50 appearances for his first club, scoring a creditable eight goals for United.

The attacking midfielder didn’t play much for Sporting CP’s first team. He spent the majority of his early days in Portugal in the Sporting B team, playing for them for two and half seasons while making just two appearances in the first team.

From 2016 until 2019, Gauld was farmed out on loan to Vitoria Setubal, Aves, Farense and Hibs. Unfortunately for the Scottish star, it didn’t quite work out during any of the temporary spells away from the Portuguese capital.

He struggled for first-team football, with the most games he played in a season 2017/18 season with Aves when he made 23 appearances in all competitions.

It was in 2019, only when he re-joined Portuguese second-tier team, Farense, for an undisclosed fee, that he started to fulfil his early career potential.

Gauld suddenly hit a purple patch in front of goal, scoring nine goals in 24 appearances in all competitions and helping his team to secure promotion back to the Primeira Liga. The following season, his decent form continued in the Portuguese top flight. This time, he scored nine goals in 34 competitive appearances for Farense.

Thriving in the MLS

In 2021, Gauld was again on the move, this time joining the MLS outfit Vancouver Whitecaps for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £300,000.

Gauld was one of Vancouver’s Designated Players, so big things were expected of the Scot. In his first season with Vancouver, he scored six times and produced five assists in all competitions.

In 2022, Gauld scored eight times and produced nine assists as he helped the Whitecaps win the Canadian Championship. However, Vancouver missed out on the MLS play-offs.

A year later, Gauld scored the winning penalty kick against Vancouver to help his team retain the Canadian Championship. It was the best season of his professional career at the time, as Gauld scored 11 goals and also produced 13 assists in all competitions.

In November 2023, the winger won the club’s Player of the Year award for the second straight season. Gauld’s excellent run in the USA top flight continued in 2024, as he once again bettered his tally goal and assist tallies, scoring 17 goals and producing 16 assists.

It is fair to say his time in Vancouver has been highly successful. In his whole Whitecaps career, Gauld has scored 43 goals and produced 45 assists in all competitions. He has also won the Canadian Championship on three occasions while being named in the MLS All-Star team in 2024.

“Looking forward to making more memories together.”@RyanGauld commits to 2027 ✍️🤝#VWFC pic.twitter.com/U6zANOPK93

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) January 25, 2024

Ryan Gauld may not have quite reached the heights predicted of him by Football Manager or many early observers, but he has enjoyed a highly respectable career in MLS. It seems he has found a place where he can do his best work, which is a good result by anybody’s standards.

Did you ever use Ryan Gauld as a wonderkid on Football Manager?

What happened to CM 01/02 icon Mike Duff?

David Nugent

January 20, 2025

Like me, you have to be getting on in years to remember Championship Manager 2001/02. However, if you had played it, there is no doubt that, at some point, you would have come across the name of Mike Duff.

Duff was a 23-year-old defender who played for Cheltenham Town, who apparently had been in the game for a few seasons before he emerged as a must-buy player. However, it was CM 01/02 where he really caught the imagination.

Who is Mike Duff?

As previously mentioned, Duff started the game with Cheltenham Town in CM 01/02. His overall stats weren’t fantastic, but he had a few high ones. On paper, it could be argued that his stats were nothing special for a Premier League player, especially.

However, the right-back was a star in the lower leagues of the English game. His stats would grow slightly, but incredibly, it wasn’t his stats that were the most impressive thing about Duff.

The most impressive aspect of Duff’s game was that he could move straight from the lower leagues of the English game to the elite levels and was still an outstanding player at the top levels. He didn’t just impress in the Championship but also in the Champions League.

His fee was small by Premier League standards. If I remember correctly, he tended to cost around £300,000. (I might be wrong, as it’s been a while, and I am getting old!)

By the time he retired as a player, he would have won every trophy possible with a massive club and proved to be one of the most reliable players in whatever team he played in.

In short, he will genuinely go gone in the annuls of CM/FM folklore as one of the best bargains the game has ever seen.

What happened to him in real life?

mike duff when barnely fc manager — Tykes TV, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mike Duff had a long and respectable playing career, in which he made 720 appearances in all competitions. He was a club stalwart at Cheltenham, playing for the Robins on 337 occasions.

When he made his debut for the club, Town were in the old Southern Premier League. However, during his time with the club, he played in the Third Division (Now League Two) and also the Second Division (Now League One).

His solid performances earned him a £30,000 move to Championship Burnley, and his consistent form continued in the English second tier.

Despite suffering a serious injury in 2008/09, at the age of 29, he recovered and helped Burnley win promotion to the Premier League on two occasions before eventually retiring in 2016.

Duff had made even more appearances for Burnley in his playing days than he did at Cheltenham Town, as he had played a total of 385 times for the Clarets in all competitions.

The defender also made 29 appearances for Northern Ireland during a ten-year international career.

Throughout his playing days, he was a solid and relentless presence at right-back. His football career may not have involved moves to some of Europe’s giants, but he did have a highly admirable playing career.

A move into management

When he retired from playing, Duff moved into a role as an under-18 coach at Burnley. In September 2018, he took his first steps into first-team management when he returned to his former club, Cheltenham, as manager.

In season 2020/21, Duff guided Town to promotion from League One to League Two. Then, in season 2021/22, he took Cheltenham to their highest-ever finish in the club’s history as the Robins finished 15^th place in the third-tier table. At the end of the campaign, he decided that he wanted to move on to a fresh challenge.

Duff’s next job was with Barnsley, who he took the League One play-off final, only to lose 1-0 in extra-time against Sheffield Wednesday.

In September 2023, Duff joined Championship outfit Swansea City, signing a three-year deal. Things didn’t go well in South Wales, and the results led to Duff being sacked on 4^th December 2023.

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Burnley FC news(@expressclarets)がシェアした投稿

In May 2024, Duff returned to management as boss of League One, Huddersfield Town.

#Huddersfield Town – Michael Duff nominated for the #SkyBetLeagueOne December 2024 Manager of the Month Award.

The Terriers were unbeaten during the month, winning four of the six matches.

Full list: https://t.co/J7cCXIK8su #htafc | #htfc pic.twitter.com/ly20tGbRqZ

— #WeAreTown (@barmyarmyuk) January 8, 2025

At the time of writing, Huddersfield are in the play-off spots of the third-tier table.

He may be best remembered for his contribution

Unless Mike Duff becomes a head coach at an elite football club in the future, which is not entirely out of the realm of possibilities, then he may well be best remembered for his time on Championship Manager.

However, his service is unlikely to be forgotten by fans of Cheltenham Town, Burnley and Northern Ireland, as he never let anybody down on a football pitch. Everybody associated with Cheltenham will also be grateful to Duff for the job he did as the club’s manager.

Do you remember Mike Duff from Championship 01/02 or for his real-life exploits?

River Plate is a goldmine for signing players on CM and FM

David Nugent

January 16, 2025

river plate fans celebrating setting off red flares — gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Some countries and clubs have a reputation for producing top talent, and they have become go-to places to sign players on Football Manager. Argentina is a great market to shop in when it comes to signing players.

One of the South American country’s biggest clubs, River Plate, has been a goldmine for signing players in Championship Manager and Football Manager. Here are just some of our favourite River Plate players we have signed over the years:

Javier Saviola

The forward is famous for being a must-have signing in Championship Manager 99/00. At the beginning of the game, Saviola is just 17, but his stats are so ridiculously high that every club in the game is trying to sign him.

If you are lucky enough to nab the wonderkid for a relatively small fee from River Plate, he goes on to be a world-beater for you, scoring goal after goal. For most CM 99/00 players, he is a legend of the game.

Unfortunately, his real-life career didn’t quite match his Championship Manager exploits, as although he played for some of the biggest clubs in the game, such as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Benfica, he is considered to be a player who massively underachieved in his career.

Javier Mascherano

Before he was a star at West Ham, Liverpool and Barcelona, the versatile Argentinian international was a bright young prospect at River Plate. I can’t be sure if it was CM03/04 or Championship Manager 5 in which I signed a teenage Mascherano, but whichever it was, he would go on to fulfil his potential spectacularly in the game.

As with most players signed from River, he cost a bargain fee and would serve the team with distinction. In the game, he was still just a central midfielder before his conversion to a centre-back later in his real-life career.

Exequiel Palacios

The central midfielder was another one of my favourite signings from River Plate. Palacios was a wonderkid in FM18, I believe. For me, he turned out to be one of the signings of the game.

Like many of the other players on our list, Palacios’ fee belied his outstanding attributes. As he was a youngster, he tended to have a release clause in his contract, which was below £10m when I signed him.

He would sometimes take a while to settle, but once he did, he developed brilliantly and became one of the best midfielders in the world. He would either become a key player for your team or be sold on for a big profit, and you could reinvest the money in your team.

After being linked with several European clubs, Palacios finally got his move to the European game in 2020, when German outfit Bayer Leverkusen signed him for a fee in the region of £17m. In season 2023/24, he helped Die Werself complete an unbeaten campaign in the Bundesliga and claim their maiden German title.

Franco Armani

This may feel like a less glamorous choice, but Franco Armani was a highly useful signing in both FM18 and FM19. He was a solid, experienced goalkeeper who wouldn’t let you down. The Argentinian international would cost less than £5m generally, which for a reliable goalkeeper was a decent price.

In real life, he only joined River Plate in the winter January transfer window of 2018, having spent the previous eight years of his career in Colombia with Atletico Nacional. In 2018, Armani earned his maiden call-up to the national team. He went on to make 19 appearances for La Albiceleste before retiring in 2024.

Julian Alvarez

Before he became a relative household name at Manchester City, Football Manager players were already well aware of the burgeoning talents of a young forward called Julian Alvarez.

I first remember signing Alvarez in FM19. At the time, he was just 18 years old. He could play any attacking midfield role and was also a central forward.

The most incredible aspect of Alvarez in FM19 was that he could be bought at the beginning of the game for less than £3m, sometimes even less than £2m.

Alvarez is certainly nowhere near the player he would become in later editions on FM19 or, indeed, in real life. However, he is still a player who is well worth having.

In real life, Alvarez joined Manchester City in the winter transfer window of 2022 for what turned out to be a bargain fee of £14m. It was in the same year that Alvarez won the World Cup with Argentina. In the summer of 2024, he made a move to Spanish giants Atletico Madrid for a fee of around £81.8m.

Claudio Echeverri

The 18-year-old is the latest in a very long line of talented players to come from the River Plate production line. The highly-rated young attacker made his FM debut in FM23.

He became one of the potential superstars of the game and one of the best attacking players when I signed him. He wasn’t cheap to sign, but he could be bought for around £17m. The fee was worth it, as his value would be far more after just a couple of seasons.

Unfortunately, in January 2024, reigning English champions Manchester City signed the youngster for an undisclosed fee, reported in sections of the media as £25m. He starts FM24 on loan back at River Plate.

Signing him from Manchester City in a permanent deal could prove to be a tricky and expensive endeavour. However, he may well be available to sign on loan when he returns from his loan spell back in his homeland.

Who are your favourite signings from River Plate on Football Manager?

Did Vincent Enyeama’s real-life career live up to his FM one?

David Nugent

January 11, 2025

How many Football Manager players still have memories of wonderkids from decades ago? Well, most who have played the game long enough, and if they are relatively young, there will still be players that stick in their memory.

One from my Football Manager journey that resides in my brain is former Nigeria and Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who first came to my attention and the attention of millions of others on FM07.

What’s the attraction of Vincent Enyeama?

For the younger readers, Vincent Enyeama was one of the biggest bargains of FM07 and, unlike a lot of wonderkids, actually went on to have a highly respectable playing career.

In FM07, Enyeama was in his early twenties and plying his trade in Israel with Bnei Yehuda. His stats were solid for a relatively unknown player.

However, as the game progressed, his value to the team grew, and he became one of the best goalkeepers in the game. The fact that you can sign the stopper for less than £500,000 in most saves made him even more of an attractive prospect.

That fee proved to be money well spent, as his ability would grow far beyond that of many established goalkeepers in the game.

He was a great signing because you could keep him for over a decade and wouldn’t have to change your goalkeeper as your team started to win big trophies.

In fact, he would be a prominent figure in your team winning trophies. His effect on games would be in full view by the number of big saves he would make during the season. The fact that his reflexes were rated 17 at the beginning of the game was a significant factor in making all those saves.

In the game, he went from unknown quantity to world beater, and he was always one of the first players I signed in most of my FM07 saves.

What happened to Enyeama in real life?

vincent enyeama lets in penalty — Werner100359, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Although Enyeama’s career may not have been the glittering one predicted by FM, it was more than respectable.

Having moved to Bnei Yehuda from his homeland land in 2005, he spent two years with the club, making 56 appearances. He joined Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2007.

Hapoel struggled during the 2007/08 Premier League campaign. However, Enyeama played a significant role in helping them avoid the embarrassment of relegation to the second tier in his debut season with the club.

The following season, Hapoel performed far better in the Israeli Premier League, coming close to claiming the top-flight title.

It was during that campaign that Enyeama found himself in another unexpected role as a penalty taker. The stopper went on to score nine times for Hapoel from the spot in his 113 league outings for the club from Israel’s capital.

Enyeama played so well in the 2008/09 season that he won the league’s Player of the Year award. The following season, Hapoel did the League and Cup double, and Enyeama played a significant role in their success.

He scored in the cup final from the penalty spot to help his team to victory. Enyeama also missed a spot kick in the final league game of the season, but it mattered little in the end, as his team scored a 92^nd-minute penalty kick.

In season 2010/11, Enyeama helped Hapoel through the qualifying rounds of the Champions League, even scoring a goal from the penalty spot against Red Bull Salzburg.

Enyeama also produced notable performances in the group stage games against Schalke and Lyon. In the same season, Hapoel retained the Israeli Cup.

A big move to a top-league

vincent enyeama playing for lille — Владислав Федченко, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

In the summer of 2011, Enyeama made a big move to French Ligue One outfit Lille. He made his debut in a 1-0 Champions League defeat by Italian giants Inter Milan.

Things didn’t go his way in France in his first season, so he returned to Israel temporarily, joining Maccabi Tel Aviv for the 2012/13 season. He helped Maccabi win the Premier League title.

On his return to Lille, he fared far better. In season 2013/14, Enyeama was LOSC’s first goalkeeper. At one stage of the season, he kept 11 straight clean sheets in Ligue One.

The stopper went on to make 143 appearances for the French club until he was released in 2018 after failing to play any games in the 2017/18 season following a reported fallout behind the scenes with the club’s management.

He went on trial at fellow French outfit Dijon in July 2019 but wasn’t offered a deal with the club. Despite hoping to prolong his playing days, he eventually called time on his career at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

Aside from his days playing club football, Enyeama also had a stellar international career. He made his Nigerian debut in 2002 against Kenya and represented the Super Eagles on 101 occasions until his retirement in 2015.

During his international career, Enyeama played in the biggest international tournaments, such as the World Cup and the African Cup of Nations. In the 2013 African Cup of Nations, he was named in the team of the tournament after he helped his team win the competition.

Enyeama will not be forgotten

While his football career ended in a slightly sad way, Vincent Enyeama will not only be remembered by the fans of the teams he played for with distinction but also the millions who played FM07 and its predecessors.

Football Manager has made legends of players who barely made a mark on the club or international scene. However, Enyeama had a fine career in real life, and hopefully, he is proud of what he achieved in the beautiful game.

Do you remember Vincent Enyeama from FM07 or for his real-life career exploits?

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