The FM Library

It’s that time again where we welcome another FM blogger to the 11 Questions series, this time it’s FM Veteran, someone I’ve followed for quite a while now and someone you should definitely check out.

Creator Name & what made you choose it:

I started a Twitter account back in 2013 with the name FM Veteran and decided to keep that name when I started blogging. 

Real Name:
Thomas

Football Team:
Manchester United

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 started back in 1995 or 1996 when I found Championship Manager on sale at a store with my mom. It came in a big green box with a picture of the tactic screen on the backside – I was sold! My poor mom didn’t know what she started, and I’ve played ever since.
I remember it being the Norwegian version, with Rosenborg as the teaser team. 

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 played and been active on forums, from The Dugout to the community. However, during the pandemic with working from home and having more free time, I wanted to take a leap of faith after thinking about it for a while. I wish I a started sooner as I learned something with every post I write and every blog I read from the other bloggers.
With English being my second language, I thought of this as a way of keeping my skills at a decent level, although I’m still nervous that my grammar isn’t good enough. *

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 tend to play slow and are very detail-oriented. I don’t think I ever played more than ten seasons on a game before, as I get bored when newgens overtake the game. 

Favourite version/save? Any particular bittersweet/comic/down right depressing memories?
It has to be 01/02 for me. I was 14 at the time and spent more time at school drawing up formations. I remember the yellow dotted lines very well, and no version after that has created the same memories for me.
It has also helped me at times, and for around ten years ago, I had a rough breakup that brought me into a depression – FM was a great escape from everything and a good medicine at the time. FM never leaves you!

Which bloggers do you always make sure that you read?
It’s so many in this community now, but I always make sure to read Adam(On The Break), LutterworthFox, The Last Throw Of The dice and JamieUX’s blogs. All great bloggers and great lads as well. These guys helped me a lot when I started my blog. 

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.

Again there are so many out there. Laura’s face packs are fantastic, and all the things Zeeland does is excellent. 

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…
It’s always interesting to read about FM, but at the moment, I’m starting to get fed up with rebuilds and that term. When you play FM, it’s always a rebuild, isn’t it?

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…
Take a look if you like youth development, strategies and DNA implemented at a small club. I always try to find clubs with a different or unique backstory. I invest so much time in the research for teams because I want to know “everything” before I get started.  

Thanks so much to Thomas for taking this on. Make sure you drop him a follow on Twitter and go and check his blog out.