football manager 2009

[delboy]

been playing the vanilla demo as cambridge united. first effort was appaling and when the game stopped i was 20th in the conference! however after a few tweaking of tactics i'm second in the league and took league 2 scunthorpe to a replay in the FA Cup. not noticing too many bugs as yet, i've had a lot of injuries but what team doesn't??? the press conferences are ace (i wouldnt recommend storming out of one as it seems to have an effect on the team) you have to answer the questions really carefully. the questions are a bit repetitive but as its their first effort its something that will only grow. some nice new touches like your assistant feedback and player motivation and being able to scout a club for potential loan signings. the scouting has improved with your scouts sending you an email recommending the best players they have found.

disappointed that there isnt any new team talks or commentary but just a minor gripe really, can't wait for the full version. only problem is my PC is struggling to run it and i think i might have to play it on commentary only but hey ho should get meself a new PC I guess!

[Captain America]

Urgh, the download for this was fine and quick but it's been installing direct X for like half an hour now. I just want to get going!

Argh.

[delboy]

Has anyone else found that registering this game online and deciphering the keycode is nigh-on impossible? My afternoon was meant to consist of sorting out the mess Jimmy Calderwood left behind, but instead it's been spent typing the 25 digit code a hundred times only to be told I'm not connected to the internet. Pain in arse.

got this off the cambridge united messageboard, hope it helps (dont have my copy yet hopefully be delivered tomorrow)

This is just some advise for anyone who going out to buy the game, or having problems installing the game.

As you may have heard there is a new installation process this year which requires you to register the game on-line with either Steam or Uniloc, using the key code found on the back of the manual. However there have been many problems with the key codes being rejected, and so the installation cannot be completed; this is because the codes use a mix of 'zeros' and 'O', 'ones' and 'I' which cannot be distinguished; and generally the print of these codes is not good. At first people were told to just try different combinations, and even try 'Q' and 'D' in place of 'O', and 'B' in place of '8'; but obviously if you have a code with a few of 'these' letters or numbers, there could be many combinations.

So sigames.com have created a activation code finder which should give you the correct code.

To save people searching here are the links you will need:

http://community.sigames.com/index.php

This is the sigames forum which you may need to register with.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=61131

This link is for the thread which provides the activation code finder.

Football Manager 2009 - License Key Look Up

This is the activation code finder. You simply type your key code as it appears and the code finder should give you the corrected version.

*The key code finder did not work for me, and has not worked for everybody for some reason. If you still cannot install the game you will have to send a message to one of the moderators of the sigames forum with a picture of your key code. They are normally pretty quick to respond, and will send you the correct code.

Finally, I would recommend registration through Steam rather than Uniloc simply because Steam automatically updates your Football Manager as soon as a new official patch is released. As you may have heard, there have been many problems(bugs) with the demo, and so the original release of the game(too many injuries is the most noticeable); and so there has been a patch released the same day as the game.

Here is a link for the patch if you register through Uniloc:

WorthPlaying - Xbox 360 (X360) , PlayStation 3 (PS3), Nintendo Wii, Xbox, PlayStation 2 (PS2), GameCube (NGC), PSP, Nintendo DS (NDS), GBA, Windows PC - All about games !

And a Football Manager 2009 v9.1.0 change list:

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=60956

Hope this helps.

Simon.

[delboy]

cool let us know how you get on.

[delboy]

brilliant! good news is my copy arrived this morning bad news is i'm off to watch the real cambridge united enivitably get humped at crawley this afternoon!

[delboy]

i'm being really rubbish i know but where do i find the installation code??? i cant find mine anywhere! hopefully have a reply by the time i get back from the match today!

[delboy]

cheers, sorted but gotta download something to add onto my graphics card so the ruddy game will work!

[The Milner]

aye use steam, its much easier to get everything working.

Just started a leeds game, 8 games in the league unbeaten managed to get 4 of arsenals mighty youth on loan for the season

[Adam Easy Wishes]

Which four?

[The Milner]

randall, merida, simpson and wiltshire, i have them now as an affiliate club, lucky leeds

[Adam Easy Wishes]

LOL

http://i33.tinypic.com/6dxv9s.jpg

[Johnny Mac]

Hahahaha.

And he's now worth 5M.

Brilliant.

[Richie]

Ha ha, it's images like that that make me remember how much I've loved the CM / FM series over the years (started out with the original on an Amiga!)

I'll have to download the demo of the new one now and, if my laptop likes it (and more importanly if I do!) then it'll be on me Santa list.

[The Ghost Of Fudge]

LOL

http://i33.tinypic.com/6dxv9s.jpg

"Jamie Langfield has misplaced many of his passes today straight to the opposition."

at least some elements are acurate...

[RossP]

at least some elements are acurate...

Inverness CT hammer East Fife: I hope that was in the Cup, and not due to a remarkable collapse through the divisions...

Or maybe Steve Crawford has guided East Fife to successive promotions?

[stuartmaxwell]

stevie crawford or any of their other 12 strikers that they have

[Richie]

Wow, I'm rather impressed. It's not that different from 2007 but I love the new 3d match engine.

Started the demo with Celtic and came back from 3-0 down at half time against Bayern Munich to draw 3-3. Donati got on the scoresheet so it's not that true to life.

[Murrr]

Got this for Christmas at last and I finally got to sink my teeth into things today.

I definitely dig it a lot more than I did 2008. The new 2D engine is great and it plays out a lot more like a real game of football should do. I haven't even given the 3D engine a look-in to be honest, I'm still enjoying watching little tiny dots running around all over the screen. Outside of the matches, the transfer system has been improved and it's much easier to sell players now, but the press conferences are annoying as hell with the same boring, repetitive questions over and over. Hopefully they improve on that with the next patch.

Started a game as "Unemployed" with the lowest reputation setting. I managed to get a Brazilian Third Division job (deary me, they're shite) with two games of the season remaining (their season starts in Feb, my game started in July) and I was fired for getting them relegated! Even though it was mathematically impossible for me to save them in the first place, haha. Guess that's my fault for being a neep and not doing my homework before taking the job...

Popped in a couple of applications to some clubs in the Chinese second tier. How glamorous...

[Sam 45]

I also got this for Christmas. 3 games into the season with the Dons and a 3-3 thriller with Rangers got the love for the game flowing. Not managed to tempt any players North yet though.

[delboy]

i think it is a vast improvement on 08, i'm playing in mexico and they never cancel league fixtures for international matches and you get a ridiculous fixture pile up at times (had 5 games in 11 days) but thats more to do with the vast amount of competitions you have to play in. but its so much more bug free, must go back to england sometime and load my cambridge game from the demo but enjoying life in central america for now. the scouting has improved so much, have built up a squad of (apart from 1 player) all under 23 and won the league twice, north american champions league twice (yes such a tournament exists i checked wiki!) and the copa sudamerica. i was manager of the mexican national team for a while and won the gold cup, went to the world cup and got knocked out by the germans before quitting. the press conferences can get a bit tedious but as its a first effort it can only improve, i often send my assistant to them. and its great you can offload unwanted players much easier. the feedback is very useful during games as is the motivation thing. i think on the whole its tremendous, i had so many problems with 08 but the faults i've experienced on 09 are niggly and not annoying.

[Murrr]

I'm currently living it up in the Blue Square leagues. After getting punted from my job in Brazil I got a job at Burscough... and yes, for the second time in a row, I ended up joining a team that, mathematically, had no chance of staying in the division! **slaps forehead**

So I quit before I was fired and got the job at newly promoted Ilkeston Town. Managed to squeeze the Blue Square North by a couple of points (you'll dick on everyone at this level with some pace in your team) and now I'm about to embark on my Blue Square Premier adventure. The vast majority of my squad is made up of 18 and 19 year olds too, with only a couple of players aged above 20 and former Man United and Middlesbrough midfielder Mark Wilson being the only vaguely notable name.

It's definitely a lot better than 2008. I've still hardly used the 3D though; the 2D engine is still a lot easier when it comes to reading the game/spotting tactical errors and all that jazz.

[Adam Easy Wishes]

...the 2D engine is still a lot easier when it comes to reading the game/spotting tactical errors and all that jazz.

I disagree. Try combining the TV View with the Radar widget!

[delboy]

being a cambridge united fan i usually go straight for the Blue Square but this time i'm having a ball in mexico! and i just beat man u in the club world championship, 4-2 after being 2-0 down! and they didn't like it up em one bit.

[Murrr]

I disagree. Try combining the TV View with the Radar widget!

I did, and I'm still not all that keen on it. It's a great advancement for the game, don't get me wrong, and I'm sure in a couple of versions it'll be brilliant, but at the moment I'm too stuck on 2D to even consider the 3D.

Blue Square is a blast; I want to get Ilkeston into the Football League then move abroad for a couple of seasons before making a heroic comeback to the UK to save Newcastle United (who were relegated from the Premiership despite possessing a team with Podolski, Kompany, Coloccini etc. in it, and now play an English regen called Dong Kit Man up front o_O) from the doldrums .

Who are you managing in Mexico, Del? I've heard it's a great league for promising young players.

[delboy]

i'm managing Tigres, they play in monterray and have a fierce rivalry with monterray FC, the 2nd biggest in the mexican league only behind club america v chivas. its very competitive but the league rules are a bit mad, you have an opening and closing stage. the 18 teams are split in three groups and the top 2 in each group and the 2 best 3rd place teams go into the play offs, played home and away (so 8 teams in it). there's no away goals, if the tie is level the team who finishes highest in the proper league goes through, not sure about the final though i need to check when i got the game loaded up! it takes a bit of getting the old head around (relegation is based on an average points system but thankfully i've never needed to worry about that). its the norm over there to have 2 championships and it makes for an exciting season, but its frustrating when you win it by 6 points (like i did last season in the closing stage) and get beat by your fiercest rivals in the final with an 81st min goal!!!

mexico is a good one because you get to play in the north and south american tournaments, the north american champs league is a good blooding ground for youngsters as the teams you play in the group stages are usually pretty shit, in fact the only competition you really face are fellow mexican sides! the MLS teams can be tricky but i usually beat them. i'm still not sure what i did to qualify for copa sudamerica but qualified for copa libertordes through a little tournament called interliga. its complicated but thats half the fun of playing out there.

plus in mexico you are only allowed 5 foreigners in the squad, have to register players or they cannot play in the league or play offs (a registration window opens around the time of the transfer window) and you have to have at least one under 21 player on the pitch at all times (i've no idea what happens if you only had one under 21 player in the squad and he had to go off injured or got sent off and you didnt have a replacement!). but all my squad apart from one player are under 23, i just got me scouts out and about looking for young talent. i'm the arsne wenger of mexican football!!!!