The Football Manager Football Show

Unbeaten streaks are there to be broken. Small teams exist to cause you to let your guard down, trip you up. Sometimes the big names fall. Sometimes, you don't always get to win.

That's what it feels a little like this week as we move into January. We arrived there in last week's episode, the new year bringing renewed hope and optimism. Shane's got himself a league cup semi-final against Leicester with the Foxes - Ken's former club - having dumped Liverpool out at the quarter-final stages. Man United are top of the Champions League table with six wins from six, Liverpool nipping at their heels. In the Premier League though, it's quite the reverse.

With time ticking on the United board's request to improve the club atmosphere, is there anything that can stop the rot? Can a win over former club Wolves save Shane's job at Old Trafford or is the writing on the wall? 

In the throws of an All-Ireland week, we're live in the studio for a 60-minute Football Manager session to figure out what's been going wrong and what's needed to turn around the Premier League save before it's dead in the water. Out of tactics, out of budget, out of time, but then again, this is Football Manager. Sure, you don't always get to win, but sometimes - just sometimes - dreams can come true...

Contains strong language. Get new episodes every Friday wherever you do your podcast listening. 

It's episode 128 and in the studio this week we've been blitzing a whopping eight games in December between the Premier League, Champions League and League Cup with more mixed results this week.

Now, Shane's not been sacked - yet - though we're playing through some live elements this episode to see if it will happen or if he can actually pull off the greatest of escapes. Augsburg just needed to reach January before going on a five-month rip, can the same happen at Old Trafford this season?

PSG and Villarreal make appearances in the Champions League group stages as we move into matchday six while trips to Everton and Leicester are on the menu for the League Cup quarter-finals. The Premier League games aren't too easy either, there are some players getting itchy feet with the transfer window looming, the injuries are racking up again and it's really getting into squeaky-bum time at the lower end of the table.

Get in touch with the podcast on Twitter @fmfshow, Ken's @tacticalmanager and Shane's @sirsok1. You can also email [email protected] with new episodes coming your way every Friday. Contains strong language.

In a break from our usual approach to playing, we've decided to take the studio for a long lunch break and bounce out the month of November in our third season in Football Manager 2023.

We floated the idea last week that with Shane's ongoing frustrations with Man United winning in Europe but performing miserably in the league, we would record 'as live' to share some of his sheer mental anguish with the game. The board are on his back, the fans are on his back, he's lost most of the dressing room, and what's worse, he's at United. It's his club, his team, and he's a far cry from his Football Manager 2022 save where he's got €700m in the bank and is cleaning up at home and abroad.

What unfolds this week is a trip or two in the Champions League, games against Chelsea, Leeds, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and more.

This episode may get a feel for how we do things when there's no transfer window involved but also shows there could be a serious task at hand at Old Trafford to get United back to winning ways. Think you know how to fix Shane's woes? Holler via email to [email protected] or tweet us @fmfshow.

You can also find Ken @tacticalmanager and Shane @sirsok1 on Twitter. Seemingly we do Instagram and Facebook now as we've no idea where Twitter is going this weather. Contains strong language. Let's get on with the show...

On this week's helping of The Football Manager Football Show, we've got some immediate reaction to the announcement from the Sports Interactive announcement on changes coming down the track for FM24 and FM25.

We'll get into it more down the line but it's safe to say that, on paper, it's a bold statement that sets out a clear path for the future of Football Manager and should go a long way towards easing some long-term fans concerns over the current iteration of the game.

As October turns into November, we've also got ourselves some Champions League action, the next round of the League Cup and two rounds of Premier League fixtures where injuries are starting to mount for Liverpool but wins are proving hard to come by for Man United.

Get new episodes of the podcast every Friday wherever you do your podcast listening and on our website, FMFShow.com. You can also follow Ken on Twitter @tacticalmanager, Shane @sirsok1 and the podcast @FMFShow. Want to drop us an email and start a separate conversation? Email us [email protected].

Contains strong language.

In a week where Luke Shaw has been showing Shane that he's got Puskas credentials, we're getting through September and into October as our return to the Premier League continues.

Not only that but we've got the first taste of two cup competitions with Liverpool and Man United in Champions League action against some familiar opposition while the League Cup gets underway on home soil, one of our intrepid duo getting a more favourable draw.

To squad rotate or not, to play wingers or not, to give youth a chance or not - there's a lot to talk about. Plus we've a Merseyside derby, a Manchester derby and one club is getting rocked by some big injury news.

It's all go this week on The Football Manager Football Show. Get in touch by tweeting @fmfshow, email [email protected] or you can find Ken on Twitter @tacticalmanager with Shane @sirsok1. Get new episodes every Friday wherever you do your podcast listening. Contains strong language.

The 2024/25 Premier League season is underway!

With pre-season wrapped and a transfer deadline day looming, the Premier League season starts properly with Liverpool at home to Arsenal on the opening day of the season while Man United make the trip to West Ham.

We'll get through the month of August and through to mid-September including our first Premier League transfer deadline day since Season 3 (Leicester/Wolves), along with the draw for the new-look Champions League and the third round of the League Cup.

More importantly, though, it's Ken's Liverpool against Shane's Man United, at Old Trafford, in the first North West derby of the season. New signings are going on show, there's a pre-game tactical change that someone's not supposed to know about but may find a way, and there are serious bragging rights at stake with the league campaign barely even warming up.

Follow the podcast on Twitter @FMFshow, Ken at @tacticalmanager or Shane at @sirsok1 and get new episodes of the podcast every Friday wherever you do your podcast listening, including FMFshow.com.

Contains strong language.

It's a very Premier League pre-season as we get through our entire calendar of pre-season games this week for Liverpool and Man United.

While Liverpool seem to be able to raise transfer funds through departures like Henderson, Thiago, Keita and more, United can't seem to sell a sinner get a bloated squad trimmed before the league kicks off.

As pre-season goes, we've got Bayern, PSG, a trip to China, Liverpool in Spain and Scotland and we're packing in games, testing out squads and trying to cement our tactics for the season ahead of our second stint in the Premier League.

This one contains swearing, frustrations and more as we get set for two new-look sides to go head to head. Oh, and with a Community Shield to kick off the season, could Liverpool claim the first piece of silverware of the season against a now Thomas Tuchel-led Spurs?

Have at it!

Follow Ken @tacticalmanager, Shane @sirsok1, the podcast @FMFShow (all on Twitter) and grab new episodes weekly online at fmfshow.com or wherever you do your podcast listening.

It's the season 11 premiere that we've been waiting for since, well, season 1.

Germany is in the rearview mirror and we're off to pastures new. We've had suggestions of Holland, ducking down to Serie C, going to the depths of the English football pyramid, heading to Australia or backpacking across Asia.

But at the end of the day, there's one footballing rivalry that we've been looking to sink our teeth into since we started the podcast and for some reason, we've danced around it but never faced up to it until now.

Despite recent honours, two aging squads need a rebuild. After all, that's what good teams do in terms of keeping it all fresh. We might also be embarking on a two-season project, but when you're playing at this level, if you're under-performing, you're out the door. We had a taste of it in the Bundesliga and almost got our marching orders.

Now, the stakes are higher. The European Championships are on through the pre-season, European club football is changing and while one club certainly had a better season than the other, all bets are off once the first ball of season 11 is kicked.

Old names are coming to join new teams, gaps need to be filled, money needs to be generated and ultimately the ribbing in the office is going to be fierce.

Let's crack on with season 11 of The Football Manager Football Show!

Get new episodes every Friday, wherever you do your podcast listening. You can also catch up on the backlog at FMFShow.com where we'll be adding some more show notes off the back of our German adventures this week. If you want to get in touch, tweet @FMFShow or email [email protected]. Contains strong language. 

So it turns out that when we put our minds to it, we can actually blaze through a whole bunch of games in Football Manager when the pressure is on and things need to get turned around quickly - namely us closing out the final six weeks of our time in Germany and the Bundesliga.

We won't spoil it entirely, but there are a few positives to take away from the whole experience - though how does it all work out?

Just when it looks like Frankfurt were cruising, the wheels started to come off thanks to heavy defeats to Dortmund and Chelsea. But wouldn't you know it, if a few results elsewhere fell into place, there could still be the possibility of securing European football.

As for Augsburg, it looks like Shane's got a little something clicking as the goals start to come good, fixtures start to look more appealing and there's something of a fire under a side that was destined for the drop for at least half the domestic season.

To be fair, how we've actually gotten this far and have been able to make an episode about the FINAL month in the league is still hard to comprehend, but here we are.

Let's bid farewell to Germany, bye-bye Bundesliga, and try to send Frankfurt and Augsburg home in style.

Contains strong language. Follow Ken @tacticalmanager, Shane @sirsok1 and the podcast in general on Twitter @FMFshow. You can also email [email protected] with any queries and you'll get new episodes every Friday wherever you do your podcast listening and on the official website here.

The end is nigh in Germany as we get through the penultimate month of the Bundlesliga where, somewhat surprisingly, results of improved a bit for both Frankfurt and Augsburg.

At least that's what the game would like you to think before it transpires that Shane's still under press while Ken's good run of form - up until the moment you hit save and close the game - looks like it's evaporated and the timing couldn't be worse with Chelsea on the horizon for the Europa League knockouts.

Leipzig and Dortmund also feature but if there's not much good news to be found in Germany, there's hope in the FM 22 universe as Shane finds himself in not one but two cup finals this week as his multiverse run continues.

We'll also get more updates from around the FM community and start looking ahead to what or where we might go for season 11. Thoughts on a postcard please to [email protected].

Let's get on with the show.

PS: Contains strong language.