Interview with Chris Gillman, manager of Beggarwood Athletic

Our roving reporter met up with Chris Gillman, the Beggarwood Athletic manager, at the end of his first season to ask him about the tactical side to his rise through the FML rankings.

Chris, your team is rising up the world rankings. How much do you think your unusual 4231 formation is helping to improve your team’s fortunes?
CG I'd like to think it has played a fairly significant part. We had seemed to hit a bit of a wall with what we were playing before so I decided to play to what I thought would best accommodate my best players.

How did you decide upon your current formation? Did you look at the players at your disposal and build a formation around that, or did you start with a formation and recruit a team around it?
CG It was a mixture of both to be honest. I could see that I just wasn't creating enough goals with my old formation, and it was clear to be that my wingers we my weak link. I was also inspired by Liverpool's current formation, but I knew that I had to narrow it as I knew that my players weren't quite of the caliber of Torres and Gerrard and so I wouldn't score enough goals with the level of width Liverpool play with. As a Benitez style tactic, it's been a far more successful attempt to recreate his work that anything I've managed in any of the offline versions of the game. And when I saw that El-Hadji Diouf was available, it swung my decision to change my tactics as I felt he was likely to be a perfect fit!

As a Liverpool fan you must have been pleased to bag a former Anfield player. As your record signing, how is El-Hadji Diouf, is he faring at the The Warren?
CG Diouf has been a great signing for me. He's averaged over 7 for me in all games and his 6 competitive matches have resulted in an average rating of 7.36. I've not had a lot of opportunity to play him where I've wanted to yet as he filled in at AMC while my first choice was injured for a week and since he's gone up front he's suffered from injury himself. He's due back later this evening though and I'm looking forward to trying him out with my other off-season signings.

El-Hadji Diouf - stylish

Without wanting you to divulge your tactical secrets, playing two midfielders in a defensive position and three in an attacking position, how do you cope with a lack of wide players?
CG Most of the time, we cope okay. Having two defensive midfielders allows my fullbacks the freedom to get forward without leaving me too exposed at the back.

With most of the top teams playing a form of 451, how do your tactics deal with that formation? And are you confident of breaking into the higher reaches of the gameworld rankings?
CG I haven't come across a lot of teams that play 451, it has to be said, although I suspect that this is because I'm not high enough in the rankings yet. At home, I have narrowed my pitch in an attempt to stifle teams that play with a lot of width and away there are a few tweaks to be made to help us to cope. I'd like to think that we are capable to reaching the upper regions of the ranking eventually. I'm confident that the tactics are fully capable of it, but I'm well aware that with my current squad of players we are still a long way off the pace.

Before you settled on your 4231, what previous formations did you try? How successful were these attempts?
CG I've only really played with one other formation. I only had one decent forward in my initial squad so I played a 4-5-1 with a DM, an ML a MR and two AMCs. It worked well, up to a point. We were solid defensively but just couldn't score enough goals to progress beyond a certain level. I was very proud to win the mover of the week award in my first week, gaining 533 places but we levelled off after this and the lack of goals really began to hit home in the league. We ended up finishing 5th but with the second best defensive record conceding just 29 goals in my 38 matches but I was frustrated by numerous 1-0 defeats in matches that I ought to be winning! Changing to my new tactic late in the season brought me 8 wins, a draw and a defeat to the champion's CarTOON United in my last 10 matches, which was very satisfying.

Having completed a successful first season in StJohn, had you played in other FML gameworlds before, or just Football Manager before that?
CG This was my first ever look at FML and I'm still getting to grips with some of its nuances. I lost my best defender in a wage auction yesterday as I hadn't fully appreciated quite how it worked, but I'm learning from my mistakes and I'm fully enjoying the experience. I've been with Football Manager since it's reincarnation and the first football management game I owned was CM97/98.

Having joined an older gameworld in its fourth season, what tips do you have to managers considering a move to StJohn?
CG The best tip I can give is to get involved. There is far more to get gained from the game if you're friendly, chatty and sociable. From what I've heard about v1.2 this is going to become a bigger part of the game anyway and I think it's a great decision by SI. I think the blog is a great idea to keep people up to date with GW information and I've enjoyed contributing to it both now and with the AFA articles last season. Another think I can advise is to be honest. There's no substitution for a good reputation and of course, if you get a bad rep it's nigh on impossible to shake, no matter how much you might insist you've reformed.

What can we expect from Beggarwood Athletic in season five?
CG I'm hoping for a rather boring top half finish in the league this season. There are still some changes that I want to make to my squad and I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to plug these gaps. Last season we showed ourselves to be a bit of a cup team and if I get a good draw I'd like to challenge for the Non-Premiership Cup and hopefully get a couple of wins in the AEFA cup too.

Chris, thanks for the interview and best luck in season five!

Interview with Frecheville Blades' manager, Nik Reeves-McLaren

The Fiery Baptist's roving reporter met up with Nik Reeves-McLaren at the close of season four, to talk about relegation woes, the future for StJohn and the lovely Liz Phair.

It’s not been a great season for the Frecheville Blades, with only five wins in the All Evening Premiership. How has your side reacted to the relegation?
NRM It’s been a tricky season. I’ve got a long-term plan which will hopefully pay off for me – I’ve been in FML a long time, and one mistake I’ve possibly made in the past has been to make small incremental changes (i.e. sign a slightly better left back for a lot of money, and sell my old one for a pittance) or to be too reactionary (at the first sign of a dodgy season, sell sell sell! and buy buy buy!). This season, things were clearly going awry, but I decided to stick to the plan – I didn’t over-react, I didn’t make wholesale changes... Relegation should give me the time and space to blood some youth and build for a stronger future.

Season four... a bit 'meh'!

As a real-life Sheffield United fan, you will know how important it is to try and bounce back into the top flight. Are you confident of promotion from the Championship in season five?
NRM As a Sheffield United fan, I’m never confident of anything – I know my team will ultimately only bring pain and disappointment! I’m hoping for a better season than this one just finishing, but a lot will depend on the wage auctions over the next week...

Season five... a bit more 'yeah'?

With a commercial focus and the lowest wage bill in your division, half that of last year’s winners, Flanders Angels, do you think this financial prudence cost you your place in the Premiership or do you reckon that living within your means is the longer-term key to success?
NRM It has definitely cost me – I lack one or two key players that could really make a difference in a game. My squad is a lot weaker than those around me, so I needed to rely on tactics and luck. Both let me down badly this season; I could probably name 10 games I should’ve won but didn’t. That said – I’ve tried the high risk, high wage strategy in the past, and it’s not the plan for the Blades in StJohn... I’m trying ‘slow and steady wins the race’ this time round – it’s all about seasons 6 and 7...

It looks like all-change at the Beautiful Downtown New Bramall Lane Stadium, with key players like Nikola Zigic, Gary Glen and David Jarolim out and striker Raffaele Palladino and defensive midfielder Sandro Silva in. What should we expect from the Blades’ line up for their fifth season?
NRM More changes are on the way, certainly. Zigic was getting on, and I got offered a decent deal. That took £24k off my wage bill: 20% of the total at the time! Glen has had four seasons to make an impact, and hasn’t. Jarolim was a legend in his time at the Lane, but was fading badly with age. With Palladino and Silva I’ve added genuine class to the team, and I think the future recruits will only be even better. I’m looking to add some real sparkle in midfield and attack.

While the seniors may have struggled this season, your youth side has reached the knockout stages of the StJohn U19 Cup and the semi-finals of the StJohn U17 Cup. With some exciting talent on the Blades’ books, will youth development play a large part in the future of the club?
NRM Youth development was never a huge part of my plan – but it makes sense for any financially prudent manager to have an easy source of cheap talent. The youths have been steadily ranked in the top 30 in the world, which bodes well for the future, and this season I’ve been very pleased with their progress. That said, I’ve just sold two of the brightest prospects for sizeable fees. Prudence works both ways!

As a veteran of several gameworlds, for how long have you been playing FML? And did you come cold to FML, or had you honed your skills playing Football Manager before that? And when did you become a gameworld moderator?
NRM I’ve been playing FML since, I believe, the 25th of June, 2007. It’ll be two years next month! I’ve been playing SI's football management game since the very beginning, much to the bemusement of my wife! I realised fairly early on that I wanted more from FML than I was getting, and so when the opportunity to become a moderator came up, in December 2007, I asked for more information. I was off work ill at the time, so I logged off for an hour to get some rest. When I logged back on, I was in a new gameworld and had a blue stripe... It was something of a surprise!

How do you see the role of a gameworld moderator? What virtues should a successful moderator possess and what vices should they avoid?
NRM I think FML needs all different sorts of moderators, and for mods to act as a team. I’m probably more the community builder, the diplomat; we also need disciplinarians, enforcers, scouts (people who have a knack for spotting cheats) etc... To be a moderator, you need to be ‘whiter than white’, putting the gameworld’s health and the standing of the mod team above the health of your own team. You need to be committed, willing to put a lot of hours in for free. You need to be professional, helpful and confident as well. Clearly you need to be able and willing to follow the rules of the game! Lastly – you need to be a team player; there’s nothing quite so terrifying as a mod gone rogue...

StJohn is currently in close-season, allowing new and experienced managers to join. Why do you think StJohn is a great gameworld, and what tips do you have for managers new to StJohn?
NRM I really do think StJohn is a top gameworld – I’ve been in six or seven now, and it’s definitely my favourite. We have a terrific community, with lots going on and plenty of friendly banter and chat. From a mod’s perspective, there has been a lot less trouble in StJohn that I’ve been used to elsewhere. Many of those managers who have left StJohn for new worlds have been starting to return. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Tips for new managers – sign up and get involved, make use of the chatrooms. Ask for advice in game – we’ve loads of helpful members who can give you far better tips than me!

You have spoken before about FAs evolving, developing distinctive character as the gameworld matures. With the fifth season in StJohn a week away, how do you see the gameworld progressing?
NRM I think a gameworld needs to evolve to stay fresh and to keep engaging its members – we need to constantly re-evaluate what we are doing right and what we’re getting wrong. We need to not be scared to make big changes if they are right for our community. I would personally like to see a move to having some bigger FAs with structures much more like the English FA. At the moment, FML fails those teams who are weaker or new by over-exposing them to too many big sides, too soon. Everyone likes a challenge; no-one likes getting a thumping every week. We need to keep working to find the balance there – as do all gameworlds.

With moderators doing much to encourage their gameworld’s community, do you have any tips for managers wanting to get involved in the community but not sure where to start?
NRM The best and easiest place for people to start is to add character to their team and FA – use your imagination and write something about your team, your division, your rivalries... anything! Mail it to people. Any quality work can easily be hosted on the GWs own blog too – it’s this sort of character that makes StJohn special.

As an active member in the wider FML community beyond StJohn, as well as writing for the Fiery Baptist, you also run your own blog and contribute to another. Could you tell us a little about these sites?
NRM My own blog, A Mod’s Life, was the first ever blog for FML, which I’m rather proud of. It’s still going too, with regular features on the progress of the Frecheville Blades. The new site I’m contributing to is called gameworldone.com, which intends to really become a one-stop shop for everything and anything to do with FML. They’ve got some terrific writers on board, and a strong StJohn contingent, so hopefully it will do well!

Lastly, Nik, if you were visited by the FML genie and he offered you three FML-related wishes, what would be your picks?
NRM One, in the words of the beautiful and talented singer Liz Phair, in one of her songs: “it has got to be shitloads of M-O-N-E-Y, money”. Two, Sergio Aguero – he led the line for me in GW2, and I’ve never recovered from selling him! And three, an active and fun-filled future for StJohn!

Nik, many thanks for the interview and best luck with the Blades in season five!

Talking Turkiye with StJohn's Number 1 Manager, Cihangir Kirac

Our roving reporter caught up with Cihangir Kirac, the manager of perennial number 1 rated side Turkiye, who found the time to talk about life beginning at 30, Galatasaray, the Amiga 500 and his team's amazing run.

Having just won the Team of the Week Award for the tenth time in fourteen weeks, as a manager how does it feel to be in charge of the gameworld's top team?

CK Well, it is of course a big thing for me. I am really glad to be the top team for this long and the aim of the game is to be the best - so, because of that, every time I win this award I am more than happy!

When recent Team of the Week Awards have been announced, a number of your fellow managers have responded to your team's accolade either with congratulations or with criticism. Do you have anything that you'd like to say to the managers of StJohn?

CK I really work hard for this award and I don't understand some of the criticisms. This award is given to the team which has to be the best team of that week. I win more points than all the other managers in that WEEK! As a result, anybody can win that award if they win more games than me and, if you think about it this way, if you beat a higher ranked team you earn more points. So if I win 20 games and another team with a lower ranking wins 20 games he or she will be the team of the week!

A number of these managers would like to know the secret of your success! Do you have any tips that you would like to share?

CK I did play in other gameworlds, so I know some players better than the new managers and I have been playing this game since the first Championship Manager on the Amiga 500. So I can say that experience is THE factor. Also, I can't understand some other managers, when they say the players are old or something. For example, when I played Football Manager 2006 (my favourite) I had Zlatan Ibrahimovic - pictured - he scored 50 goals a season and once he was 34, he scored 45-42, so I think I credit old players more (this might be my secret).

Four other teams have won the Team of the Week Award: the now-defunct Globe Trotters United, Aussie Gus' Red Reg FC, Kuba Poznanski's AC Warsaw and Kadir Uysal's Wasted Turkish Youth. Do you consider any of these teams as your rivals for the gameworld's number 1 spot, or is there another team that you reckon as a threat?

CK Of course, anybody in the first 20 always threathens me. Look, people have David Villa, Fernando Torres, Lionel Messi, Pato, Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo etc. I don't have these players and these players make a lot of difference!

A number of other teams in StJohn's top 10 are very youth-orientated, while your squad looks instead to experience. As this is the average age of your squad, is it true that life begins at 30?

CK As I mentioned before, I believe in some players like Martin Petrov: he made more assists than the games he played in one season, while he was 33. I think in long term they will achieve more but I don't like to play this game without well known players and I have the ones I can afford. By the way I am almost 30, so I see these players as my generation!

You have invested more in your players and their wages than in stadium construction, with sixty thousand fans fighting for eighteen thousand seats. Is the team before ground approach one that you would recommend, or was that just the way that things turned out?

CK Everybody has two choices: investing in their stadium or investing in their players. You can't have both for a long time. For me, I did not want to wait to afford good players so I bought all I can and that made me top of the rankings. Now I am building my stadium slowly. I think it is not too bad for me and I can earn more than the total wages, so I am happy(maybe I got lucky!).

Coming from the Xtreme Football Association, how do you rate your FA as a community?

CK I mentioned before that I played other gameworlds and in all the gameworlds, the best FA was the XFA. I think XFA is by far the best community!

Turkiye have won the XFA Premiership twice in a row, and the XFA Cup twice as well. What targets have you set yourself for this season?

CK If I can win the XFA Premiership, it is more important than every other cup for me. So, first comes XFA Premiership, then the XFA cup. However, I really want to win every cup I can!

Your closest contender for the XFA title is probably Saeed Shah's Hadjuk Spliff FC. How did you react when you heard that Sergio Aguero had left the Gravel Pit for £5.5m?

CK Well, I think he thought two or three good players are better than one great player and he is RIGHT - he had a good offence but now has a more balanced team, which makes him more frightening. But, of course, no defence wants to see Aguero, so we will play and see how it will effect things.

Lastly, as a real-life Galatasaray fan, has life as a Cimbom supporter influenced your Turkiye team?

CK First of all, I am really really proud of Galatasaray as they are the biggest club in Turkey and always are backbone of the national team. However, Galatasaray did not influenced my FML team. Emotionally, I wanted all the Galatasaray players and to play with the real life tactics of Galatasaray but it just did not happen!

Thanks for the interview, Cihangir, and good luck with the rest of the season!

CK I want to thank you for this opportunity and good luck to all my fellow managers!

Interview with Bay Harbour Butchers manager Kylar Stern

As a manager, you had a very successful season. Despite being a self-proclaimed misanthrope, you were runner-up for the Managers’ Manager of the Season and fighting off stiff competition, you won the Community Manager of the Season title. At the end of your second season, how did it feel to pick up an award that your fellow managers picked you for?

KS Some people might think its daft as its 'only a game' but I was sincerely touched and flattered. FML is something I regard more as community where we also play football than a football game where we also talk to people. Craig, who won it last year and won Managers' Manger this season, is a top bloke and I am honoured to follow in his footsteps.

I tend to regard myself more as a 'twitchy recluse' than an out and out misanthrope but I think that's less to do with me and more to do with the vast majority of people 'in real life' acting like complete dicks most of the time - the FML community is a refreshing change as people here are, on the whole, courteous and friendly to one another.

How do you think that managers across the gameworld can help to improve the StJohn community?

KS I think the StJohn community is evolving in positive ways - the rivalries between FAs seem to be building a sense of camaraderie within the FAs and I think the best thing people can do to improve the StJohn's experience is to get involved - talk to the journalists in their leagues, have a boast, make a suggestion - use the journalists to spread the word. I get sent copies of all the reports across the XFA in my role as organiser but whether I was an org or not I think I would try to get my hands on them anyway - and from the other FAs too - they all have their own 'flavour' - like the Premiership, La Ligue, Serie A etc do in the real world.

You also won the Most Improved Manager of the Season award. What do you think propelled you to the award and what tips would you give to managers looking to radically improve their fortunes?

KS I think my decision to give up sleep and play FML 24/7 was a big help. That and the all coffee and instant noodle diet.

In terms of things that might actually be helpful to people I really have one key tip - wage auctions. I picked up nearly all of my lads in wage auctions because I have never had the financial resources to compete directly with teams in the same rankings bracket as myself- while its a shame that people leave FML or move gameworlds, a search of managers who haven't signed in for a while's squads has unearthed a collection of overlooked gems. I think basing my tactics around the players I have managed to get rather than trying to shoehorn them into a tactic has worked out well - but now I am in the worlds most elite league - the XFA Premiership - I guess I will find out what the boys are really made of.

What is your proudest moment in your FML career thus far?

KS I think that's a toss up between winning these awards and coming in as runner up in the MOCHE (The Mods Orgs and Chat Helpers Elite League). Although my boys went down 2-1 in the final to Ian's amazing team making it that far felt like a real achievement - and putting out Horatio Hornblower's outfit on the way felt great. That match was the best I have ever played in FML- it had the lot- away goals, extra time, missed penalties... someone should make a movie of it, it really had that Hollywood feel.

You bagged promotion from the Championship to the Premiership in the XFA, so will get the chance to fight against the likes of perennial 1st ranked Turkiye. How do you rate your chances for the new season?

KS To be honest I would have liked another season in the Champ to consolidate - every team in the Prem could sell one player and buy my whole squad, my sorry excuse for a stadium and the club cat - but now I am there I am aiming for a top ten finish. While Turkiye are unquestionably the best team in the gameworld and I have a great respect for them and their manager, Cihangir - who is also a really nice guy - it's been my ambition since day one of my FML career to become the top team in the world - he's keeping my seat warm - though he might be keeping it warm for a good while yet!

You’ve brought in thirty players since the start of the month, with Anton Putsilo the biggest fee at £120,000 and let fifteen players leave. Are you a Harry Redknapp –style wheeler-dealer, or is there different thinking behind your transfer strategy?

KS Most of the players who came in are part of my youth strategy. Anton Putsilo and William Chiroque have gone straight into the first team at AMC and LW respectively and I also strengthened the bench but the future of my team is definitely the youth. Jonno Pereira who just turned 17 is definitely the leading star in my youth team - and incidentally my squad's highest wage earner at 14k - but I have high hopes for a few boys coming through.

As you tend to buy low and with wages around £70k lower than the highest in your league, is the plan to amass a war-chest of cash for the next set of transfer auctions? Or will the money be invested in stadium construction?

KS They say that necessity is the mother of invention and as we have never had any money, the Bay Harbour Butchers have always been a frugal club - our record signing was 350k and I don't see that changing. What money we do have is going into stadium construction as our shack is a disgrace and the loyal fans deserve better - and, of course, the income they will bring in is vital for the future of the club.

If you’re not a Redknapp type, which manager do you think your FML philosophy most follows? Are you a professor of football like Arsene Wenger, or an old-schooler like Alex Ferguson?

KS FML is a constant learning experience for me - although the various Football Manager games have eaten years of my life FML is very different. I would say my role models as a manager are people from inside FML - Jay Derriman, Craig Legend and Steven Xu would head the list but I have learned from everyone I have played.

Having scored up managers’ awards, will this be the season that you add some FA silverware to your trophy cabinet?

KS Well, my first round XFA cup draw was a blow - away to Turkiye. My boys gave it their best but we went down 2-0 leaving us free to 'concentrate on the league' as they say. With Jonno spearheading the line up I have hopes of maybe getting my first official silverware in the XFA U18 competitions - but even with Jonno's fearsome strike rate we will need a lot of luck.

Kylar, thanks for your time and best luck with the new season!

DR Dazzlers' Interview on Playoff Win in Season 3

So Craig congratulations on your promotion and win in the play offs

Q:How did it improve after such a poor start to end up winning promotion is a real achievement?

A: Hi Jim, Its always a pleasure to spend some time talking to the national press about a positive issue rather than so many of the negatives of the past season.

A poor start was an understatement. Played 7 lost 7. Not what I, the players, the club or the fans were looking for. And then the speculation surrounding my position and the dreaded "vote of confidence" from the board made life a little tricky for a while there.
Its difficult to say how we managed to improve, i kept faith with the players and the game we were trying to play and eventually things began to click. I think special praise needs to go to Marcus Aurelio and David Wheater the Dazzlers joint payers of the season. Without them we would not be where we are today.


Q: What areas you looking to or have improved for the new campaign?

A: Well this is an interesting point. I really felt the system needed to change and we needed a few extra "quality stars".

This year we have moved from a 442 to a 451 variation, so we have beefed up the midfiled creativity with the arrivals of both Danny and Nazarenko. Also we were very exposed when Marcus was injured or away representing Brazil so we are delighted to have brought in Mexican super star Joes Luis Mendoza to provide him with some much needed competition up front.

It may not be the end of our summer spending yet with a top class CB on the radar, however I have to say that young Adam Pinter has matured very well in closed season and is forming an excellent partnership with Wheater.

Watch this space I would say to the clubs fans!


Q: The next season will be a much tougher challenge; do you think you and your players are ready??

A: I think you can never be anything other than 100% ready in football. Anything less and you will fail. Since we won the playoff finals I have gotten all of my top scouts compiling comprehensive reports of our new rivals so who knows. You may see another Flander Angels situation in the season to come, though I doubt it. Survival will be key for the club and the fans already know that.


Q: What's your hopes for next season?

A: Well I kind of answered that above. But I will add that The Dazzlers have become renowned within the GW St John as a team that play open attacking football and we wont be changing that in the season to come. If the big boys expect us to go away to them and defend then they have anther thing coming. It sure should make for some exciting encounters in the days to come.

Thanks for your time, Craig!