The R Kelly Ignition remix is the sound of the Summer! It’s so good it will be played constantly on the radio for the next 20 years, and it’s certainly been on constant repeat during the CM4 Monaco save. A save I am whizzing through right now.

When I’ve not been slicing meat for £3.73 an hour, I’ve been playing CM4 with virtual Monaco. The previous post in this series can be found here: Re-rewind, Championship Manager 4, Selecta - AS Monaco (2002)

Monaco - French First Division 2002/03 WINNERS

I am unsure if blogging will catch on, but I thought I would show how the season has gone for me on the Mediterranean coast…

The 4231 is on fire, I’m so glad I went ‘continental’ by having a lone forward this year in CM.  Gallardo (20 assists, 5.91 dribbles per 90) and Nonda (49 goals with 76% shots on target) were a great AMC-ST combination to see in the new 2D match engine.  Nonda has proven to be Europe’s best marksman, nobody can touch that Games:Goals ratio.  It now appears every club in Europe will want to sign Nonda, and I think Monaco should cash in. That way the club can rebuild in the same way Arsenal did when they sold Nicolas Anelka to Real Madrid a few years ago.  I leave you with goal number 40 as a testimony to how outrageously good Nonda is…

Despite winning the title with a dull 0-0 against Strasbourg, it was only the fourth time I had blanked all season.  Most goals and with the best defence, my Monaco side were well deserved winners in 2002/03…

The domestic cups

As the sole Ligue 1 representative in the Coupe de France Semi Finals, you could forgive me for being extremely confident about winning the thing.  But little did I know that Châteauroux were going to pull off a defensive masterclass against me and grab a 2-0 win.  I’ve only ever been to France on school trips, and I can assure you I am not going near Châteauroux any time soon!  Promoted Caen are the eventual winners though.

I experienced an early exit in the league cup too (2nd round away to the city of Troyes). To me, at least, this points towards CM4 having an underdog/siege mentality system.  I’ve enjoyed the unpredictable nature of results, and see it as an extra challenge in this year’s edition.

Around The CM4 World

Do you want to take a look around the World to see what has been happening in my save universe?  It may be a good way to find the latest wonderkid or trigger some inspiration for your next CM4 save..

Europe

Spain’s big two clubs unsurprisingly top La Liga.  It’s Vincente del Bosque’s Real Madrid that won the league, and it’s Portuguese ‘Figo’ who is the league’s superstar with 24 assists.  However, new signing Deco looks an absolute bargain already at €11.5m from Porto, who is played central in a del Bosque 451; but crucially with a free licence to roam forward into the No.10 spot.

Manchester United win the title in England, but my curiosity lies with Arsenal and Liverpool who both fail to qualify for Europe with 7th and 8th respectively.  As a result, both French managers departed their clubs but it’s Arsene Wenger who, within weeks, returned to the Premier League as Liverpool’s new boss replacing Gerard Houllier.  A month later in May, Arsenal manager Louis van Gaal arrives in England to win the FA Cup Final in only his second game at the club!

The Champions League trophy returns to Munich after a one year stay in Madrid.  32-year-old Mehmet Scholl rolled back the years with a MOTM performance against Roma in the final. 2-0 to the Germans.

North America

I’ve got the US Major League as an active league in this save, and I’m delighted to see US legends Alexi Lalas and Cobi Jones become league winners once again with The Galaxy.

South America

A name you may know from the previous game is Fernando Cavenaghi.  It looks like he is even better this year too.  With 20 goals for River, he has topped the league scoring charts and becomes an Opening Stage winner again.  All at the young age of 19.  I would love to see him come to Ligue 1 one day.

In Brazil, make a note of a young striker called ‘Robinho’ in your notepads.  At 18 years old he has scored 24 goals for Santos and looks to be a special player.  Agile, fast and technically brilliant…he looks likely to become the next Pele!  I wonder if he could do it on a cold January Saturday morning away at Stoke though? 

Asia

The only Asian league I have loaded is Japan and I have no idea what’s going on.  A team called Jubilo won the league and S-Pulse (also from Japan) won the Asian Champions League.  Good for them.

Africa

I would feel bad for not mentioning the continent of Africa, so here is an update on the hottest African in World Football right now: Samuel Eto’o.  He’s helped Mallorca to an impressive 4th place in La Liga and he looks a very attractive option in this year’s game with Off the Ball 20.

Australasia

This place does not exist.

Summer is here

With my AS level exams all done, I now have the longest Summer holiday ever…around 10 weeks! I’m increasing the hours to full-time in my local co-op as a result to self-fund University, but CM4 (and Shabani Nonda) will surely be waiting for me in the evenings.

Thanks for reading / sharing and caring.

Tony

17 | Male | On the beach ☀🕶⛱