Did you ever sign any of these Football Manager and Championship Manager cult players back in the day?
Did you ever sign any of these Football Manager and Championship Manager cult players back in the day?
We all love the many iterations of Football Manager (and its predecessor, Championship Manager) here. Since its first release way back in 1993, there have been many players on the game that have just lit up our hearts and minds. Players, who if you bought them at the right time, they’d be a bargain price, and they would then help drive your chosen team into dominating the virtual football landscape. Players, who Football Manager fans still talk about in excited, hushed tones, and tearfully reminisce about them leading their lower league team to repeated European glory. They were never the most obvious players in the game, or in the real-life football world; never a Messi or a Cristiano Ronaldo. They were the unearthed gems that you had to be in the know to find, and you felt like a genuine scouting superstar for signing them. In short, these were the best cult players in the game, and here is a quick look at some of the greatest ones in Football Manager’s history.
Taribo West
This Nigerian defender was available for a free transfer at the start of Championship Manager 01/02, and anyone who knew about him always snapped him up as their first course of action when starting a new game.
West had insane stats for his aggression, bravery and strength, which meant he’d basically nullify nearly any attacking threat that the opposition team could throw at him. Yet, he also had decent stats for going forward as well, which made him a brilliant marauding left-back that could snuff out danger at one end, and then run up and knock in a brilliant cross at the other.
His real-life equivalent had a reasonable career and ended up playing for both the Milan clubs, and he even rocked up at Derby County on an unmemorable loan.
Yaya Sanogo
Back in Football Manager 2011, Yaya Sanogo was a bonafide goal machine. If you wanted a physical target man that could win everything in the air, out-muscle every defender and take the net off from all angles (and to be honest, we don’t know who wouldn’t want that) then this French player was your man. He had fantastic stats for stamina, speed and strength, making him the perfect player to lead the front line, and you could pick him up on the cheap by chucking a bit of money at then Ligue 1 team Auxerre.
Any Arsenal fans reading might recognise him as a late Arsene Wenger signing in 2013, though he only played eleven times for the club and left in 2017. Yet, we’re sure that if the Football Manager version of Sanogo was playing up top for Arsenal, they’d have much shorter odds to win the Premier League this season than the 50/1 that they’re given at most online bookmakers.
If you wanted to take a punt on the football or any other sport then head over to SBO.net. They’ve managed to compile a comprehensive list of the best online betting sites, bringing you all the top offers and sign-up deals, so you don’t have to spend ages searching for them. Their experts have cut through the noise of the internet, to make the arduous task of finding a trusted bookmaker as easy as clicking on their website.
Any Arsenal fans reading might recognise him as a late Arsene Wenger signing in 2013, though he only played eleven times for the club and left in 2017. Yet, we’re sure that if the Football Manager version of Sanogo was playing up top for Arsenal, they’d have much shorter odds to win the Premier League this season than the 50/1 that they’re given at most online bookmakers.
If you wanted to take a punt on the football or any other sport then head over to SBO.net. They’ve managed to compile a comprehensive list of the best online betting sites, bringing you all the top offers and sign-up deals, so you don’t have to spend ages searching for them. Their experts have cut through the noise of the internet, to make the arduous task of finding a trusted bookmaker as easy as clicking on their website.
Freddy Adu
Ah, Freddy Adu, the name that will bring so much joy to countless Football Manager aficionados. In real life, the American Adu had so much hype thrust upon him from such a young age, that his career was always going to be underwhelming. He was given a $1 million contract from Nike at just the age of thirteen and was constantly being touted as the saviour of the U.S.A soccer team who was going to propel them into being a true force of international football. Instead, Adu ended up spending most of his career floating from unsuccessful loan spell to unsuccessful loan spell.
There was definitely talent there, though, early on, and it was this potential that made him such an incredible signing on the Football Manager 2004 and 2005 editions. On those games, Adu had nearly perfect maxed stats for his pace, acceleration, dribbling and determination and that all-important maximum potential forecast. This meant that if you managed to lure him to your team, within a couple seasons he was like the combined force of Pele, George Best, Zidane and Mbappe all rolled into one. It’s just a shame that Adu couldn’t reflect that in reality, and that’s why he’s on our ‘Times Football Manager Got It Wrong’ list, here at FM Blog.
There was definitely talent there, though, early on, and it was this potential that made him such an incredible signing on the Football Manager 2004 and 2005 editions. On those games, Adu had nearly perfect maxed stats for his pace, acceleration, dribbling and determination and that all-important maximum potential forecast. This meant that if you managed to lure him to your team, within a couple seasons he was like the combined force of Pele, George Best, Zidane and Mbappe all rolled into one. It’s just a shame that Adu couldn’t reflect that in reality, and that’s why he’s on our ‘Times Football Manager Got It Wrong’ list, here at FM Blog.
