E92: Let's burn this house down - our Football Manager 2022 adventure is finally finished

Explicit content warning

11/04/22 • 91 min

Let's burn this house down - our Football Manager 2022 adventure is finally finished

It's only taken until the week before the full release of Football Manager 2023, but our Football Manager 2022 journey has come to an end.

Some people would call that impeccable timing. Others might call it tantamount to torture as the French and South African seasons come to a close.

For Ken, it's been a tough season at Toulouse. What started with bright promise in August and September spiralled into the winter before a mixed bag of results sent some hope through the squad for a revival of fortunes. With seven games left to play, the threat of relegation still needs to be nullified. Can he turn it around in the closing weeks of the season?

And for Shane, despite all the wins in the league, he's been pushed all the way by rivals Kaizer Chiefs, to the point of having six points separate the sides. He's also got the Nedbank Cup and African Champions League to still contend with in a season that extends into June. Can he turn it into a clean sweep and leave the continent and FM 22 with some added silverware?

Plus, when we get through ALL of the games, highs and lows in this week's bumper episode, we'll take a look back at our FM22 journey in total and compare notes as to how we got on.

Let's burn this house down - our Football Manager 2022 adventure is finally finished

It's only taken until the week before the full release of Football Manager 2023, but our Football Manager 2022 journey has come to an end.

Some people would call that impeccable timing. Others might call it tantamount to torture as the French and South African seasons come to a close.

Plus, when we get through ALL of the games, highs and lows in this week's bumper episode, we'll take a look back at our FM22 journey in total and compare notes as to how we got on.

Previous Episode

E91: The penultimate round of the South Africa & France saga; dodgy Football Manager transfers

March is done and dusted as we try to shoehorn the closing games of FM22 into a bumper week (next week) to wrap up this game cycle. Before then, we've more African Champions League action to get through as Toulouse hit (another) poor run of form.

Shane's got his biggest league test to date in a top-of-the-table clash with Kaizer Chiefs while it's looking like Ken can't buy a win again this week in France as late lapses in judgement cost Toulouse dearly in the league.

On the topic of Football Manager discussion, Shane's got a few things to get off his chest as the graphics, gameplay and dodgy transfers come into question with it still apparent that AI teams are hoarding big-name players and letting them chill on the bench. Will this be remedied for FM23? And as the debate around graphics in the FM world continues, does it *really* matter how good, bad or indifferent the match-day experience looks?

Get new episodes every Friday on FMFShow.com and wherever you do your podcast listening.

Next Episode

E93: On playing Football Manager for the very first time and starting Season 9 in Europe

Season 9 is officially underway. The band is back together and we've added a third wheel, only this wheel has *never* played Football Manager before. What happens when you unleash a complete newbie to the world of FM?

With Shane's riches in South Africa secured safe and sound and Toulouse now a top-half team in Ligue 1, it's time to get the ball rolling on Football Manager 2023 as we get a three-way dance going for the first season of Sports Interactive's latest edition of our favourite football management simulation.

Experienced players will have a very set way of beginning in Football Manager with some of us having developed routines going all the way back to the early Championship Manager days. So how, in 2023, does it work for someone coming to the world of FM for the very first time, in what should be a competitive league, with European cup competitions and big board and supporter demands?

With little in terms of a transfer budget, gaps in squads and the potential for some great rival games, it's time to kick off Season 9!

And with eight seasons in the bag between Ken and Shane, we're introducing another member of the Scoreline team, Castlewarren's star striker (who doubles as a decent centre-half), Robbie Dowling. Be sure to say hello on Twitter @FMFShow.

If you're just joining us for the first time, thanks so much for the loan of your ears. Continue the journey afresh as we navigate season 9 or go all the way back to season 1 and catch up on our journey that started in South America, hitting England, Spain, Turkey, Italy, Scotland, France and South Africa along the way.

Contains strong language.