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Welcome to the eagerly await Freeola Forums Cup Final between Football Manager Classic 2014 on the PS Vita and Football Manager Handheld 2014 on iOS/Android.
As the teams get final instructions from their managers, why don’t we cover a little bit of their background?
Football Manager has always given football fans a means to prove they know what they are talking about when they are being critical of their team and the manager. In my case, I get to show Ally McCoist that Rangers should not be struggling through game after game against part-time opposition.
Football Manager Handheld (FMH) has been around for a few years now. It started out on the PSP as a cut down, faster version of the full experience on the PC and has since moved onto the mobile phone platforms. I dabbled a lot on the PSP and rather enjoyed my time with it. In the 2007 edition I managed a full 30 seasons at Rangers in which I became Rangers’ most successful manager ever with 28 league titles in total, 27 of which were in a row. I also found time for some international management which included winning the World Cup and European Championships.
Football Manager Classic (FMC) started out a couple of years ago as an off shoot of the main Football Manager game. The idea behind Classic was to offer a less time consuming and less complicated version of the main game. So it is a bit like FMH then.
The players are ready to go, the fans are in full voice and the referee starts the match...
Graphics
The Football Manager games have never been graphical show pieces. When not in a match you will find yourself studying and comparing stats of players, looking at stats of your last match, stats of the opponents form and other exciting numbers. A photo of a player is as wow as it gets.
During a match things will liven up slightly. Commentary of the action is displayed on screen but key moments show an action piece. FMH shows the players as number circles with the player name beside. It all moves nice and smoothly.
But hold on, the FMC midfielder has just played a defence splitting pass, the striker has rounded the keeper and scores, GOOOOOOAL!!!
FMC comes with the 3D match engine of the PC game. This is a first for a handheld device. Whilst not quite as smooth as the 2D circle approach and far from watching Sky Sports HD, it is still impressive and gives a more realistic view of the key action.
FMC 1-0 FMH
User Interface
The user interface is vital in Football Manager games. Nothing quite matches a keyboard and mouse I’m sure (I’ve never played the PC game) but navigation on the PSP was easy enough. How do the 2 touch screen devices cope?
The main difference is the amount of detail. FMC shows a lot more detail than FMH. So much so that it is a bit of a squeeze to get it all on screen. The Vita screen isn’t quite the size of a monitor so it does come with a font size issue. I can’t say I’ve ever had issue with the font size myself but many have complained about it. The analogue sticks can be used to scroll, the left stick for the left part of the screen, the right stick for the right part of the screen. It works well but at times you will have to choose from a series of options, for instance, a response to an interview question and some care and attention is needed to ensure you don’t pick the wrong option.
The general interaction on FMH is the same albeit with less on screen which makes it clearer at a glance. The last FMH version I played was 2012 on the iPod and I made all manner of involuntary squad rotations scrolling down my squad. The latest FMH seems to have removed this and made some key improvements for quick swapping of players prior to a game. UI is a close call but in general, things are easier on FMH.
The FMH striker turns the defender and gets his shot in. The keeper gets a hand to it but can’t prevent the ball from crossing the line.
FMC 1-1 FMH
Match Speed
The aim of both versions is to offer a quicker alternative to the main game. Having never played the PC game I cannot compare but I can compare the speed of each of these versions.
The speed depends on how many leagues you have running. I have all leagues in Scotland and the English Premiership and Championship running on both versions. FMC gave me 4 out of 5 stars as a speed rating.
FMC isn’t as quick as you would expect for a quick version and a 4 start setup. Saving, in particular, seems slow. General match speed, even at the quickest setting doesn’t seem too fast although the commentary can become unreadable leaving you having to check who scored.
FMH on the other hand is quite a sprinter. You can whizz through a season in no time at all. This 30 year career will be over before you know it.
In a move similar to Gareth Bale galloping down the wing at the end of the Cope Del Rey final against Barcelona, FMH have taken the lead. That was a stunning goal all coming down to the sheer pace of FMH.
FMC 1-2 FMH
Tactical Options
The real meat of Football Manager is in the tactical options. A conscientious manager will study the form of the other team, the ability of both sets of players and plan tactics accordingly. In both games you can set team tactics such as the mentality, passing style, tackling style and offside traps. You can assign specific player roles, set training for players and pick your staff.
On the surface both are similar but FMC is much more in depth. It is alarmingly more in depth for someone who has come from FMH. It does however mean you can plan and tinker with all manner of aspects and get bombarded with all manner of information; the Rangers Board have certainly been informing me of changes to tax rules which they didn’t do in FMH. I try not to concern myself with tax rules though.
During a game there are so many more options available in FMC. You can shout instructions from the touchline and there are a lot of instructions to choose from. It allows a quick change of tactics to deal with the current situation. The Assistant Manager also gives advice and observations and you can allow him to act on them. Your Assistant Manager will also give feedback on how players are training too. It is remarkably in depth and does make you feel a lot more involved than you do on FMH. And can highlight how little you know about football tactics. The players also have more skill categories in which they are rated on in FMC. I found myself looking at a graph of the training and how the players are responding and taking over training myself and removing my Assistant Manager at the end of the season in favour of someone who is better with training. Some of the options are shared between both versions but in all areas, FMC goes to a level that FMH can only dream of.
There is however a lack of instructions in FMC for a newcomer to the series, or someone such as myself, who only has FMH experience. FMH on the other hand, has a bit of a tutorial.
Off the post! So close from FMH there. That came against the run of play.
The star player of FMC’s tactical options is the cross save functionality with the PC game meaning you can continue your game on the Vita when away from your PC.
It is a freekick to FMC. What a goal! Right in the top corner, the keeper had no chance. That was a clearly well rehearsed move from the training ground.
FMC 2-2 FMH
Extra Time
The 90 minutes is up. A quick rest before the players get set for extra time. Since extra time is usually a bit dull, the Freeola Forums Cup has brought back the golden goal rule. Next goal is the winner people, brace yourselves.
Extra time begins. Will we have a winner in the next 15 minutes?
Using their pace again, FMH leave the FMC defenders trailing and slot the ball under the keeper. The game is over. FMH is the winner of this tight match.
FMC 2-3 FMH
Post Match Conclusions
This is purely a personal preference. Both versions are highly addictive but I prefer the speed and the shallow aspect of FMH as it fits more with my level of interest in tactics. Those that really want to get stuck into the tactics and have complete control of everything can ignore FMH and head straight to FMC.
FM continues to be an addictive game regardless of what version and what format you are playing. The downside of FMH is that my phone ends up needing charged much more often now.
Comparison With Real Life
I did a comparison with Rangers’ actual performance under Ally and their FMC performance under my leadership. The comparison took place after 32 games. The league had been won by both teams by this point and neither had experience defeat at the point of winning the title.
Ally won 30; dav won 22
Ally drew 2, dav drew 9
Ally lost 0, dav lost 1
Ally goals for = 96, dav goals for = 66
Ally goals against 16, dav goals against 20
Ally points = 92, dav points = 78
So it seems I may owe Ally an apology whilst I eat a slice of humble pie. In terms of wages, I may very well be better value for money though. And wait till Ally sees my FMH results, I’m romping through the league.
As the teams get final instructions from their managers, why don’t we cover a little bit of their background?
Football Manager has always given football fans a means to prove they know what they are talking about when they are being critical of their team and the manager. In my case, I get to show Ally McCoist that Rangers should not be struggling through game after game against part-time opposition.
Football Manager Handheld (FMH) has been around for a few years now. It started out on the PSP as a cut down, faster version of the full experience on the PC and has since moved onto the mobile phone platforms. I dabbled a lot on the PSP and rather enjoyed my time with it. In the 2007 edition I managed a full 30 seasons at Rangers in which I became Rangers’ most successful manager ever with 28 league titles in total, 27 of which were in a row. I also found time for some international management which included winning the World Cup and European Championships.
Football Manager Classic (FMC) started out a couple of years ago as an off shoot of the main Football Manager game. The idea behind Classic was to offer a less time consuming and less complicated version of the main game. So it is a bit like FMH then.
The players are ready to go, the fans are in full voice and the referee starts the match...
Graphics
The Football Manager games have never been graphical show pieces. When not in a match you will find yourself studying and comparing stats of players, looking at stats of your last match, stats of the opponents form and other exciting numbers. A photo of a player is as wow as it gets.
During a match things will liven up slightly. Commentary of the action is displayed on screen but key moments show an action piece. FMH shows the players as number circles with the player name beside. It all moves nice and smoothly.
But hold on, the FMC midfielder has just played a defence splitting pass, the striker has rounded the keeper and scores, GOOOOOOAL!!!
FMC comes with the 3D match engine of the PC game. This is a first for a handheld device. Whilst not quite as smooth as the 2D circle approach and far from watching Sky Sports HD, it is still impressive and gives a more realistic view of the key action.
FMC 1-0 FMH
User Interface
The user interface is vital in Football Manager games. Nothing quite matches a keyboard and mouse I’m sure (I’ve never played the PC game) but navigation on the PSP was easy enough. How do the 2 touch screen devices cope?
The main difference is the amount of detail. FMC shows a lot more detail than FMH. So much so that it is a bit of a squeeze to get it all on screen. The Vita screen isn’t quite the size of a monitor so it does come with a font size issue. I can’t say I’ve ever had issue with the font size myself but many have complained about it. The analogue sticks can be used to scroll, the left stick for the left part of the screen, the right stick for the right part of the screen. It works well but at times you will have to choose from a series of options, for instance, a response to an interview question and some care and attention is needed to ensure you don’t pick the wrong option.
The general interaction on FMH is the same albeit with less on screen which makes it clearer at a glance. The last FMH version I played was 2012 on the iPod and I made all manner of involuntary squad rotations scrolling down my squad. The latest FMH seems to have removed this and made some key improvements for quick swapping of players prior to a game. UI is a close call but in general, things are easier on FMH.
The FMH striker turns the defender and gets his shot in. The keeper gets a hand to it but can’t prevent the ball from crossing the line.
FMC 1-1 FMH
Match Speed
The aim of both versions is to offer a quicker alternative to the main game. Having never played the PC game I cannot compare but I can compare the speed of each of these versions.
The speed depends on how many leagues you have running. I have all leagues in Scotland and the English Premiership and Championship running on both versions. FMC gave me 4 out of 5 stars as a speed rating.
FMC isn’t as quick as you would expect for a quick version and a 4 start setup. Saving, in particular, seems slow. General match speed, even at the quickest setting doesn’t seem too fast although the commentary can become unreadable leaving you having to check who scored.
FMH on the other hand is quite a sprinter. You can whizz through a season in no time at all. This 30 year career will be over before you know it.
In a move similar to Gareth Bale galloping down the wing at the end of the Cope Del Rey final against Barcelona, FMH have taken the lead. That was a stunning goal all coming down to the sheer pace of FMH.
FMC 1-2 FMH
Tactical Options
The real meat of Football Manager is in the tactical options. A conscientious manager will study the form of the other team, the ability of both sets of players and plan tactics accordingly. In both games you can set team tactics such as the mentality, passing style, tackling style and offside traps. You can assign specific player roles, set training for players and pick your staff.
On the surface both are similar but FMC is much more in depth. It is alarmingly more in depth for someone who has come from FMH. It does however mean you can plan and tinker with all manner of aspects and get bombarded with all manner of information; the Rangers Board have certainly been informing me of changes to tax rules which they didn’t do in FMH. I try not to concern myself with tax rules though.
During a game there are so many more options available in FMC. You can shout instructions from the touchline and there are a lot of instructions to choose from. It allows a quick change of tactics to deal with the current situation. The Assistant Manager also gives advice and observations and you can allow him to act on them. Your Assistant Manager will also give feedback on how players are training too. It is remarkably in depth and does make you feel a lot more involved than you do on FMH. And can highlight how little you know about football tactics. The players also have more skill categories in which they are rated on in FMC. I found myself looking at a graph of the training and how the players are responding and taking over training myself and removing my Assistant Manager at the end of the season in favour of someone who is better with training. Some of the options are shared between both versions but in all areas, FMC goes to a level that FMH can only dream of.
There is however a lack of instructions in FMC for a newcomer to the series, or someone such as myself, who only has FMH experience. FMH on the other hand, has a bit of a tutorial.
Off the post! So close from FMH there. That came against the run of play.
The star player of FMC’s tactical options is the cross save functionality with the PC game meaning you can continue your game on the Vita when away from your PC.
It is a freekick to FMC. What a goal! Right in the top corner, the keeper had no chance. That was a clearly well rehearsed move from the training ground.
FMC 2-2 FMH
Extra Time
The 90 minutes is up. A quick rest before the players get set for extra time. Since extra time is usually a bit dull, the Freeola Forums Cup has brought back the golden goal rule. Next goal is the winner people, brace yourselves.
Extra time begins. Will we have a winner in the next 15 minutes?
Using their pace again, FMH leave the FMC defenders trailing and slot the ball under the keeper. The game is over. FMH is the winner of this tight match.
FMC 2-3 FMH
Post Match Conclusions
This is purely a personal preference. Both versions are highly addictive but I prefer the speed and the shallow aspect of FMH as it fits more with my level of interest in tactics. Those that really want to get stuck into the tactics and have complete control of everything can ignore FMH and head straight to FMC.
FM continues to be an addictive game regardless of what version and what format you are playing. The downside of FMH is that my phone ends up needing charged much more often now.
Comparison With Real Life
I did a comparison with Rangers’ actual performance under Ally and their FMC performance under my leadership. The comparison took place after 32 games. The league had been won by both teams by this point and neither had experience defeat at the point of winning the title.
Ally won 30; dav won 22
Ally drew 2, dav drew 9
Ally lost 0, dav lost 1
Ally goals for = 96, dav goals for = 66
Ally goals against 16, dav goals against 20
Ally points = 92, dav points = 78
So it seems I may owe Ally an apology whilst I eat a slice of humble pie. In terms of wages, I may very well be better value for money though. And wait till Ally sees my FMH results, I’m romping through the league.
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Welcome to the eagerly await Freeola Forums Cup Final between Football Manager Classic 2014 on the PS Vita and Football Manager Handheld 2014 on iOS/Android.
As the teams get final instructions from their managers, why don’t we cover a little bit of their background?
Football Manager has always given football fans a means to prove they know what they are talking about when they are being critical of their team and the manager. In my case, I get to show Ally McCoist that Rangers should not be struggling through game after game against part-time opposition.
Football Manager Handheld (FMH) has been around for a few years now. It started out on the PSP as a cut down, faster version of the full experience on the PC and has since moved onto the mobile phone platforms. I dabbled a lot on the PSP and rather enjoyed my time with it. In the 2007 edition I managed a full 30 seasons at Rangers in which I became Rangers’ most successful manager ever with 28 league titles in total, 27 of which were in a row. I also found time for some international management which included winning the World Cup and European Championships.
Football Manager Classic (FMC) started out a couple of years ago as an off shoot of the main Football Manager game. The idea behind Classic was to offer a less time consuming and less complicated version of the main game. So it is a bit like FMH then.
The players are ready to go, the fans are in full voice and the referee starts the match...
Graphics
The Football Manager games have never been graphical show pieces. When not in a match you will find yourself studying and comparing stats of players, looking at stats of your last match, stats of the opponents form and other exciting numbers. A photo of a player is as wow as it gets.
During a match things will liven up slightly. Commentary of the action is displayed on screen but key moments show an action piece. FMH shows the players as number circles with the player name beside. It all moves nice and smoothly.
But hold on, the FMC midfielder has just played a defence splitting pass, the striker has rounded the keeper and scores, GOOOOOOAL!!!
FMC comes with the 3D match engine of the PC game. This is a first for a handheld device. Whilst not quite as smooth as the 2D circle approach and far from watching Sky Sports HD, it is still impressive and gives a more realistic view of the key action.
FMC 1-0 FMH
User Interface
The user interface is vital in Football Manager games. Nothing quite matches a keyboard and mouse I’m sure (I’ve never played the PC game) but navigation on the PSP was easy enough. How do the 2 touch screen devices cope?
The main difference is the amount of detail. FMC shows a lot more detail than FMH. So much so that it is a bit of a squeeze to get it all on screen. The Vita screen isn’t quite the size of a monitor so it does come with a font size issue. I can’t say I’ve ever had issue with the font size myself but many have complained about it. The analogue sticks can be used to scroll, the left stick for the left part of the screen, the right stick for the right part of the screen. It works well but at times you will have to choose from a series of options, for instance, a response to an interview question and some care and attention is needed to ensure you don’t pick the wrong option.
The general interaction on FMH is the same albeit with less on screen which makes it clearer at a glance. The last FMH version I played was 2012 on the iPod and I made all manner of involuntary squad rotations scrolling down my squad. The latest FMH seems to have removed this and made some key improvements for quick swapping of players prior to a game. UI is a close call but in general, things are easier on FMH.
The FMH striker turns the defender and gets his shot in. The keeper gets a hand to it but can’t prevent the ball from crossing the line.
FMC 1-1 FMH
Match Speed
The aim of both versions is to offer a quicker alternative to the main game. Having never played the PC game I cannot compare but I can compare the speed of each of these versions.
The speed depends on how many leagues you have running. I have all leagues in Scotland and the English Premiership and Championship running on both versions. FMC gave me 4 out of 5 stars as a speed rating.
FMC isn’t as quick as you would expect for a quick version and a 4 start setup. Saving, in particular, seems slow. General match speed, even at the quickest setting doesn’t seem too fast although the commentary can become unreadable leaving you having to check who scored.
FMH on the other hand is quite a sprinter. You can whizz through a season in no time at all. This 30 year career will be over before you know it.
In a move similar to Gareth Bale galloping down the wing at the end of the Cope Del Rey final against Barcelona, FMH have taken the lead. That was a stunning goal all coming down to the sheer pace of FMH.
FMC 1-2 FMH
Tactical Options
The real meat of Football Manager is in the tactical options. A conscientious manager will study the form of the other team, the ability of both sets of players and plan tactics accordingly. In both games you can set team tactics such as the mentality, passing style, tackling style and offside traps. You can assign specific player roles, set training for players and pick your staff.
On the surface both are similar but FMC is much more in depth. It is alarmingly more in depth for someone who has come from FMH. It does however mean you can plan and tinker with all manner of aspects and get bombarded with all manner of information; the Rangers Board have certainly been informing me of changes to tax rules which they didn’t do in FMH. I try not to concern myself with tax rules though.
During a game there are so many more options available in FMC. You can shout instructions from the touchline and there are a lot of instructions to choose from. It allows a quick change of tactics to deal with the current situation. The Assistant Manager also gives advice and observations and you can allow him to act on them. Your Assistant Manager will also give feedback on how players are training too. It is remarkably in depth and does make you feel a lot more involved than you do on FMH. And can highlight how little you know about football tactics. The players also have more skill categories in which they are rated on in FMC. I found myself looking at a graph of the training and how the players are responding and taking over training myself and removing my Assistant Manager at the end of the season in favour of someone who is better with training. Some of the options are shared between both versions but in all areas, FMC goes to a level that FMH can only dream of.
There is however a lack of instructions in FMC for a newcomer to the series, or someone such as myself, who only has FMH experience. FMH on the other hand, has a bit of a tutorial.
Off the post! So close from FMH there. That came against the run of play.
The star player of FMC’s tactical options is the cross save functionality with the PC game meaning you can continue your game on the Vita when away from your PC.
It is a freekick to FMC. What a goal! Right in the top corner, the keeper had no chance. That was a clearly well rehearsed move from the training ground.
FMC 2-2 FMH
Extra Time
The 90 minutes is up. A quick rest before the players get set for extra time. Since extra time is usually a bit dull, the Freeola Forums Cup has brought back the golden goal rule. Next goal is the winner people, brace yourselves.
Extra time begins. Will we have a winner in the next 15 minutes?
Using their pace again, FMH leave the FMC defenders trailing and slot the ball under the keeper. The game is over. FMH is the winner of this tight match.
FMC 2-3 FMH
Post Match Conclusions
This is purely a personal preference. Both versions are highly addictive but I prefer the speed and the shallow aspect of FMH as it fits more with my level of interest in tactics. Those that really want to get stuck into the tactics and have complete control of everything can ignore FMH and head straight to FMC.
FM continues to be an addictive game regardless of what version and what format you are playing. The downside of FMH is that my phone ends up needing charged much more often now.
Comparison With Real Life
I did a comparison with Rangers’ actual performance under Ally and their FMC performance under my leadership. The comparison took place after 32 games. The league had been won by both teams by this point and neither had experience defeat at the point of winning the title.
Ally won 30; dav won 22
Ally drew 2, dav drew 9
Ally lost 0, dav lost 1
Ally goals for = 96, dav goals for = 66
Ally goals against 16, dav goals against 20
Ally points = 92, dav points = 78
So it seems I may owe Ally an apology whilst I eat a slice of humble pie. In terms of wages, I may very well be better value for money though. And wait till Ally sees my FMH results, I’m romping through the league.
As the teams get final instructions from their managers, why don’t we cover a little bit of their background?
Football Manager has always given football fans a means to prove they know what they are talking about when they are being critical of their team and the manager. In my case, I get to show Ally McCoist that Rangers should not be struggling through game after game against part-time opposition.
Football Manager Handheld (FMH) has been around for a few years now. It started out on the PSP as a cut down, faster version of the full experience on the PC and has since moved onto the mobile phone platforms. I dabbled a lot on the PSP and rather enjoyed my time with it. In the 2007 edition I managed a full 30 seasons at Rangers in which I became Rangers’ most successful manager ever with 28 league titles in total, 27 of which were in a row. I also found time for some international management which included winning the World Cup and European Championships.
Football Manager Classic (FMC) started out a couple of years ago as an off shoot of the main Football Manager game. The idea behind Classic was to offer a less time consuming and less complicated version of the main game. So it is a bit like FMH then.
The players are ready to go, the fans are in full voice and the referee starts the match...
Graphics
The Football Manager games have never been graphical show pieces. When not in a match you will find yourself studying and comparing stats of players, looking at stats of your last match, stats of the opponents form and other exciting numbers. A photo of a player is as wow as it gets.
During a match things will liven up slightly. Commentary of the action is displayed on screen but key moments show an action piece. FMH shows the players as number circles with the player name beside. It all moves nice and smoothly.
But hold on, the FMC midfielder has just played a defence splitting pass, the striker has rounded the keeper and scores, GOOOOOOAL!!!
FMC comes with the 3D match engine of the PC game. This is a first for a handheld device. Whilst not quite as smooth as the 2D circle approach and far from watching Sky Sports HD, it is still impressive and gives a more realistic view of the key action.
FMC 1-0 FMH
User Interface
The user interface is vital in Football Manager games. Nothing quite matches a keyboard and mouse I’m sure (I’ve never played the PC game) but navigation on the PSP was easy enough. How do the 2 touch screen devices cope?
The main difference is the amount of detail. FMC shows a lot more detail than FMH. So much so that it is a bit of a squeeze to get it all on screen. The Vita screen isn’t quite the size of a monitor so it does come with a font size issue. I can’t say I’ve ever had issue with the font size myself but many have complained about it. The analogue sticks can be used to scroll, the left stick for the left part of the screen, the right stick for the right part of the screen. It works well but at times you will have to choose from a series of options, for instance, a response to an interview question and some care and attention is needed to ensure you don’t pick the wrong option.
The general interaction on FMH is the same albeit with less on screen which makes it clearer at a glance. The last FMH version I played was 2012 on the iPod and I made all manner of involuntary squad rotations scrolling down my squad. The latest FMH seems to have removed this and made some key improvements for quick swapping of players prior to a game. UI is a close call but in general, things are easier on FMH.
The FMH striker turns the defender and gets his shot in. The keeper gets a hand to it but can’t prevent the ball from crossing the line.
FMC 1-1 FMH
Match Speed
The aim of both versions is to offer a quicker alternative to the main game. Having never played the PC game I cannot compare but I can compare the speed of each of these versions.
The speed depends on how many leagues you have running. I have all leagues in Scotland and the English Premiership and Championship running on both versions. FMC gave me 4 out of 5 stars as a speed rating.
FMC isn’t as quick as you would expect for a quick version and a 4 start setup. Saving, in particular, seems slow. General match speed, even at the quickest setting doesn’t seem too fast although the commentary can become unreadable leaving you having to check who scored.
FMH on the other hand is quite a sprinter. You can whizz through a season in no time at all. This 30 year career will be over before you know it.
In a move similar to Gareth Bale galloping down the wing at the end of the Cope Del Rey final against Barcelona, FMH have taken the lead. That was a stunning goal all coming down to the sheer pace of FMH.
FMC 1-2 FMH
Tactical Options
The real meat of Football Manager is in the tactical options. A conscientious manager will study the form of the other team, the ability of both sets of players and plan tactics accordingly. In both games you can set team tactics such as the mentality, passing style, tackling style and offside traps. You can assign specific player roles, set training for players and pick your staff.
On the surface both are similar but FMC is much more in depth. It is alarmingly more in depth for someone who has come from FMH. It does however mean you can plan and tinker with all manner of aspects and get bombarded with all manner of information; the Rangers Board have certainly been informing me of changes to tax rules which they didn’t do in FMH. I try not to concern myself with tax rules though.
During a game there are so many more options available in FMC. You can shout instructions from the touchline and there are a lot of instructions to choose from. It allows a quick change of tactics to deal with the current situation. The Assistant Manager also gives advice and observations and you can allow him to act on them. Your Assistant Manager will also give feedback on how players are training too. It is remarkably in depth and does make you feel a lot more involved than you do on FMH. And can highlight how little you know about football tactics. The players also have more skill categories in which they are rated on in FMC. I found myself looking at a graph of the training and how the players are responding and taking over training myself and removing my Assistant Manager at the end of the season in favour of someone who is better with training. Some of the options are shared between both versions but in all areas, FMC goes to a level that FMH can only dream of.
There is however a lack of instructions in FMC for a newcomer to the series, or someone such as myself, who only has FMH experience. FMH on the other hand, has a bit of a tutorial.
Off the post! So close from FMH there. That came against the run of play.
The star player of FMC’s tactical options is the cross save functionality with the PC game meaning you can continue your game on the Vita when away from your PC.
It is a freekick to FMC. What a goal! Right in the top corner, the keeper had no chance. That was a clearly well rehearsed move from the training ground.
FMC 2-2 FMH
Extra Time
The 90 minutes is up. A quick rest before the players get set for extra time. Since extra time is usually a bit dull, the Freeola Forums Cup has brought back the golden goal rule. Next goal is the winner people, brace yourselves.
Extra time begins. Will we have a winner in the next 15 minutes?
Using their pace again, FMH leave the FMC defenders trailing and slot the ball under the keeper. The game is over. FMH is the winner of this tight match.
FMC 2-3 FMH
Post Match Conclusions
This is purely a personal preference. Both versions are highly addictive but I prefer the speed and the shallow aspect of FMH as it fits more with my level of interest in tactics. Those that really want to get stuck into the tactics and have complete control of everything can ignore FMH and head straight to FMC.
FM continues to be an addictive game regardless of what version and what format you are playing. The downside of FMH is that my phone ends up needing charged much more often now.
Comparison With Real Life
I did a comparison with Rangers’ actual performance under Ally and their FMC performance under my leadership. The comparison took place after 32 games. The league had been won by both teams by this point and neither had experience defeat at the point of winning the title.
Ally won 30; dav won 22
Ally drew 2, dav drew 9
Ally lost 0, dav lost 1
Ally goals for = 96, dav goals for = 66
Ally goals against 16, dav goals against 20
Ally points = 92, dav points = 78
So it seems I may owe Ally an apology whilst I eat a slice of humble pie. In terms of wages, I may very well be better value for money though. And wait till Ally sees my FMH results, I’m romping through the league.