Christmas 2002 was a lot like all the other past Christmases, except it lacked one vital thing: Championship Manager.  In recent years my brothers have been old enough to be entirely intoxicated by the time the Turkey gets carved at 13:00; Championship Manager was therefore the one thing I could count on to prevent me getting bored from the dull conversations with family, EastEnders specials on TV or avoid my fighting brothers. But the horrendous wait for the delayed Championship Manager 4 has meant it is now my advanced birthday present in April, and I’m buzzing with excitement to get going with a new save!  A new 2D match engine (apparently), clean looking interface and all the new squads…ooofff.  I really hope this does not impact my exams which are right round the corner!

Actually, I should describe how I got the present last night.  My dad is never one for remembering birthdays, let alone taking the time to get somebody an advanced gift.  Yet, even he knew, he had secured the greatest gift of all time: a cracked copy of CM4.  Ok, I don’t get the box…but at least I get to play the game right away and not wait over a month for my 17th birthday to arrive.  Apparently, I have to thank Gary at work…but I still valued my dad’s efforts in transporting that CD all the way from Central London, ensuring Gary’s handwritten instructions on how to install the cracked copy were passed over to me to complete the mission.  I should thank Dad again about that, it’s probably the kindest thing he has done for me in this millennium so far.  Gary too, he made a virgin very happy last night and probably for the next few months.

Why AS Monaco in Championship Manager 4?

Without CM, I feel so out of the loop with all the transfers in 2002/03, because my Winter weekend nights would have usually been reserved for looking over the updated squads.  Instead I have had to make do with trying to find EVERY hidden package in Vice City (I’m stuck on 93 ffs!).

However, one European football thing I picked up on from the Internet is the change from Division 1 to Ligue 1 in France.  No idea if that name will catch on, but I can see that legend Shabani Nonda is still scoring in the league.  He’s now at Monaco, having scored a lot for Rennes previously.  If I had to predict, I would say the 25-year-old is going to start peaking soon and there will be no stopping Monaco when that happens.

Monaco are probably my favourite French league team too.  Being an Arsenal fan it’s only natural that you support the previous club of the best-ever Manager (Arsene Wenger, sorry Fergie) and World Class Player (Thierry Henry, obviously).  They also have a good kit and a cool looking stadium too.  This is where I want to start my CM4 journey…

Squad assessment + CM4 Tactic

I’m really excited about this squad and I’m going to play 4231.  I’ve got some decent young CBs in Gaël Givet and Sébastien Squillaci and two solid defensive midfielders in Akis Zikos and Pontus Farnerud. New signing Patrice Evra also looks potentially world class at left back.  In attack I am blessed with Marcelo Gallardo, who has been unlucky with injuries whenever I have seen him play for Argentina.  I’m going to give him the Free Role at No.10, and make him the set piece taker.  I’ve also got club captain Ludovic Giuly and Jérôme Rothen supporting Shabani Nonda upfront.  We look l33t!

Below you can find my Tactic and Team + Player instructions. I’ve gone for a direct and attacking style of football. The aim is to get the ball forward to our front four players as quick as possible, they are the gamechangers and where the magic happens. For that reason, my two CMs are quite conservative with only Farnerud making forward runs when possible whilst on a Normal mentality.

Signings

To complement the above I have made a few signings…

• Freddy Adu (Free) - I first heard about this guy playing at 12/13 years of age for USA U17s!  I don’t know if he has a high potential in-game, but his attributes look pretty great already…

• Philippe Christanval (Loan) returns to Monaco on loan from Barcelona. The big French bastard made the French NT squad last Summer for that disastrous World Cup, and perhaps Roger Lemerre should have played him if he wanted to keep his job. Christanval’s arrival was in preparation for Rafael Márquez’s move to Barcelona (more below).

• Fabio Rochemback (Player Exchange) arrives at Monaco via a deal that sees Rafael Márquez move to Barcelona in the opposite direction.  Pretty happy with this deal.  Monaco acquired a 20-year-old Brazilian international (touted as the next Dunga) plus a further €2.1m to reinvest further into the squad.

• Alexander Farnerud arrives for €1.6m, and he gets to play with his brother Pontus in midfield.  At 18, he’s one for the future but I think he is an able deputy to Gallardo in the AMC role (I also remember him getting ridiculously good in the previous CM).

First 10 games

I have flown through the first three months of league football and the signs are good so far: the first 10 league games are undefeated! Elsewhere, the league table is throwing up some shocks with title holders Lyon struggling and Marseille in the relegation zone. Bordeaux are the closest challengers so far, conceding only 5 goals in an attacking 424 formation (with four advanced forwards!). Shabani Nonda, unsurprisingly, tops the goal scoring charts with 12 goals from nine starts.

If we end up having an undefeated season I’ll be sure to knock on Sports Interactive’s office to let them know of a possibly game breaking bug, as no club has done that in Europe in 112 years (Preston in 1888–89); and that feat will probably never be repeated again seeing how competitive league football is nowadays. Regardless if we do, or not, this blog is the best place to keep you up-to-date with events from virtual Monaco.

For now though, I’ll leave you with a curled Gallardo freekick…

Thanks for reading,

Tony

16 (almost 17 in 1 month) | Male | London