The FM Library

Welcome back to another episode where some of FM’s finest bloggers new and old take on “11 Questions” courtesy of The FM Library. Next up is someone I only found in the past month or so but has quickly taken over as one of my favourite writers, please welcome Matt aka Throwing Copper.

Creator Name & what made you choose it: 

We all know the hardest thing about the internet is choosing a cool username… I was in such a predicament whilst listening to one of my favourite albums, Throwing Copper by Live….. I wish it was a cooler story.

Real Name: 

Matt

Football Team: 

Nottingham Forest

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! I’ve been playing football manager style games since the days of the Commodore 64. In my teens I was also a avid player of the “play by mail” games – which is DEFINITELY one for the older readers but it was ground breaking at the time. I then graduated on to the FM games…. had a few years off when I fell out of love with football but came back for FM18 and played each one since.

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

I’ve always been a reader of FM and football blogs so I’ve always had it in my mind to do it, I just never made the transition other than posting save updates on The Dugout, back in the day. Since reading about the way the likes of Brentford and Midtjylland changed their operating model and embraced a different way of thinking I knew I had a story to tell in adopting those methods into FM. Being in a couple of Discords (Matty Lewis, aka Steinkelsson, and Matty Aqua) and chatting every day with some really talented bloggers and streamers gave me the inspiration to start posting not just normal save updates but going into detail about little things that most people aren’t talking about. I was then asked to start sharing my SI community forum content on asymmetric-football.com and the response has been amazing.

(Also, I’ve never done a save for more than 4 years before so figured that if its out in the public domain it gives more impetus to stick with it!).

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.. 

Whilst I do like to get into the detail of most things, there’s some elements which I don’t really bother with (setting up an intricate scouting network to unearth wonderkids etc). If you’ve read my Girona updates you’ll know I’m leaving most of the recruitment to the DoF which I’ve never done before so I’m gradually making the transition to a more realistic style of gameplay.

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

I’ve had a few saves over the years which have made me become a genuine fan of the teams in real life, Rennes in particular, but the most memorable was with St Pauli (how original, I know!) in FM18 on the iPad – I remember playing the 2. Bundesliga playoff final in the garden on a red hot day and running around with joy when Chris Butchmann came off the bench to score a 20 yard screamer to win the game in injury time.

Which bloggers do you always make sure that you read? 

I try to read as many as I can when I have the chance, but having a full time job and two kids doesn’t always allow me to get through as many as I’d like. The main bloggers I always go back to when I need some inspiration, and whose work I always read is Matty Lewis, Oliver Jensen, MaddFM, Rensie and FM Grasshopper. Ben on the SI Forums also is a great blogger and goes into massive depth. I’ve only recently discovered FM Athlete and he’s written some great stuff. There’s also a couple of guys whose videos I always watch too, Matty Aqua and Ringo8781gaming knock out some terrific content.

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. 

In terms of blogging, Matty Lewis – great blogs and, like me, he loves digging into the data and he translates it really well onto the page. Then in terms of the general community, it’s the people with the intelligence and skills to make skins, kits, facepacks (DF11) and all the little mods. My favourite is the Ad-boards mod – it’s the first thing I download and it massively enhances the immersion for me as it gives each stadium a bit of individuality and character.

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… 

Haha, I’m going to sound like a snob but if it’s just a standard save update I won’t bother reading it 9 times out of 10, unless it’s by a blogger I know or one who I know usually goes into more detail. I want to read something with new ideas or an unusual slant on doing something…. or at least see a chart of some variety. I want to be inspired.

My main gripe though….I definitely won’t read if I think the blogger is using a tactic which I think is an exploit against the AI (for instance, 3 strikers, and I even mildly frown up on asymmetrical formations – when the AI starts using them I might change my mind).

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 try to write each update so it gives the reader something to think about that they could add to their own save if they wanted; it could be something as simple as setting up a tactic so it can beat a press, or adding a wage structure. I love analysis, despite being terrible at maths, so I try to get that passion over in my blogs and hopefully entertain people in the process.

Thanks so much to Matt for his fantastic answers, make sure you go drop him a follow on Twitter and in turn check out his fantastic blog posts over on https://asymmetric-football.com/