The FM Library

We, at the library want to shout from the rafters about creators that we like, so we put the word out to some of our favourites to find out a little bit more about them..

With 11 simple questions.. for the Lutterworth Fox

1.          Creator Name & what made you choose it: Lutterworth Fox, James was called Kibworth Bull and I love to copy. I’m from Lutterworth and I’m a Leicester fan (The Foxes).

2.         Real Name: Steve Robbins, or Stephen if you’re my Mum

3.         Football Team: Leicester City

4.         Talk me through your FM journey – where does it start? When was the moment that you first clicked on that little icon – and when did you realise that you couldn’t stop!

My FM journey actually started with Championship Manager way back in the Amiga days. I was 12 and I remember my Dad showing me the game for the first time. I was instantly hooked, my best mate and I would spend hours and hours after school, in the holidays, etc playing it. Since then I’ve owned every copy of CM and then FM.

5.         Ok, you’ve been playing the game, what made you jump from “player” to “creator” and how have you found the journey?

I was a long time follower of the forums, mainly FM Base and SI. I had always spoke to my friends about my saves and they enjoyed following along. One day when looking through the FM Base forum I stumbled across a guy called W4NKER doing a Pentagon Save. I decided to follow suit and start writing my save updates on there. From there I started my own blog (back in 2015) and haven’t looked back since.

The journey has been tough, I’ve had my up’s and down’s like most people. But the up’s have far outweighed the down’s. I love writing and I love knowing just a few people are following along, interacting and feeling the emotion I put into what I write.

6.         What’s your style of play? Within the library we have a couple of guys who plough through seasons letting the Assistant Manager’s do the vast majority of stuff, mainly getting into the late 2060’s trying to complete bizarre and random challenges, but we also have guys who are very much into the finite detail and will manage every aspect and would consider a save done after 5 or 6 seasons. Where do you fit within the scale? There is of course, no incorrect answer..

I am definitely a quick player, I am impatient and love to progress through the seasons. This stems back to the FM Base forum days where I’d play the pentagon challenge, you had to play multiple seasons to complete.

As much as I do leave some things to my Ass Man I feel like I’m quite hands on. I do transfers, picking the team, etc. I tend to let my Ass Man deal with training and the day to day management of players and the press.

7.         Favourite version/save? Any particular bittersweet/comic/down right depressing memories?

It has to be FM18. Just because of the save I had. I played the Hall of FM-ame save where I started with FC Sion in Switzerland. The 10 seasons I had there were the most amazing seasons I’ve had and since then I have a love for another team other than Leicester!

My darkest moment is probably in FM19, I started with Barry Town in Wales and was sacked after 3 seasons due to me demanding we turned professional. It tainted my career through the whole save!

8.         Which bloggers do you always make sure that you read?

There are quite a few but I love Mikaelinho’s saves he does whether that’s writing them on VivaLaVida’s blog or now on his own. Alex Parkin also has some great saves and is one of my favourite writers.

I’ve always followed FM Samo’s saves, he writes in a way I love and always immerses you with his storytelling.

I also have to say Kibworth Bull and FM Newby. They are good friends of mine and always think of new and original saves. (You can send me the money later boys).

9.         Who within the community, seriously impresses you – produces the type of content that you just think “Wow, I couldn’t even contemplate producing stuff to at that level – for me it’s Laura/Chilled Moose and the face packs that she produces – some serious design talent there. This can be across any format of creation.

I have to say a quick word on FMEditor, his editing skills and his dedication to every year producing a transfer update and also the lower leagues of England and other nations is amazing. There’s no way I could imagine putting that much time into something but he does it year in year out.

On YouTube LokiDoki is someone I admire massively, his editing skills are amazing and he always puts everything into his videos, even wearing a dress and make-up in some!

10.     What puts you off reading other creators blogs – what makes you click that “X” button in the top right of the page. For me it’s using the correct grammar for team names – I saw a blog about 18 months ago where the blogger named his opponent as oxford united and not Oxford United – I’m still angry about this…

Incorrect information is one for me. If you are going to tell me 10 teams to manage in FM then make sure your facts are right. I also can’t stand spelling mistakes and grammar errors. I was really bad at this when I first started and quickly found that it irritates people massively. Grammarly is a must for me.

11.      Ok, final question.. I have 5 minutes and I have a list of blogs in front of me – In 100 words, why should I click on your blog…

I put everything into my blogs, I love to show emotion and hope that comes across in the way I write. I don’t do amazing tactical blogs or guides. I write season reviews and updates, telling you exactly what you want see in an FM blog post. I make original challenges which in the main haven’t been done before. If you like a journey and you like a bumpy ride then my blog is the one for you!

And just like that the 11 questions are done.. Mr Lutterworth Fox (or Stephen to his Mum) is off to start another insane challenge and of course, to tell us all about it..