The FM Library

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Creator name & what made you choose it?

 @LumpKickersAnon or LumpKickersAnonymous.wordpress.com

Maybe it’s because I grew up in the Jack Charlton Ireland era of just giving it a go? You know you’re not as good as the Italians or the English, but you can still put it up to them!

You can lump the ball forward and win the header. Or you can kick lumps out of them. It’s not what I like from champagne football but it’s a valid tactic and it’s admirable for the underdog, which is what I suppose it is? A love of the underdog.

Real name?

All a ‘real name’ is is what you’re known by. You build up a history with people, your friends. They call you one version of your name, or nicknames. Your parents call you something else. The people in your local know you by something else. Individual people, past boyfriends or girlfriends call you something else again. Your credit card probably spells your name wrong…

They’re all real names. In a world of online connections, content creators, chatters, commentors, friend groups, old flames, school, work, in-laws, etc. every version of you you put forward is real in some way. We need to get away from the idea there’s some real version of you in one particular instance. You’re real everywhere you go.

Favourite football team?

No satellite TV for me when I was a kid and Match of the Day was too late. There’s no true loyalty for a team but Manchester United is the obvious one, who I still take an interest in (but doesn’t everyone?) Because of Irwin and Keane.

I’ve liked Leeds recently for Bielsa and Bamford, and I have a soft spot for Dallas. Also they were underdogs (losers) trying something new in the Premiership. This year I like Luton because I think there’s real ability there and some desire to play (and they’re probably also losers.)

Talk me through your FM journey – where does it start?

I got the demo of one of the Championship Managers on a cover disk of a magazine. You could play for six months or so, and I was happy with that. My brother played it as well and he eventually spent his birthday or Christmas money on a full version. We were forced to share it, thankfully for me.

Then school and university happened. Not much gaming apart from at Christmas. I tried getting back into the new FM around 2005. It didn’t happen.

A few FM versions ago I discovered there were similar idiots like me who’d actually play and talk about their saves. Which is the big difference now, I think. And I could afford to pay for my own streams of football, which got me into that wider world.

There’s a proper community around Football Manager. It’s just like me and my brother playing again on the one computer, except there’s less whinging about each other, headlocks, and complaining to my mother that one of us is playing the game wrong.

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

I’m not a “creator.” I just write what I’m doing because I feel I have something to communicate and want to share it with people, in a way best done with long form text. In the way I best feel capable. And part of that is definitely hearing back from people in return.

All you need to write is a pen and paper. Or these days a computer and Open Office, or even a phone with an internet connection. We talk to people and write our words all day, everyday. The written word is amazing!

I’ve been writing for a few years now. Some people like what I do, others don’t. Sometimes I’ve not found the reaction I wanted, other times I have. Sometimes I’ve found things I’ve thought about for years after. It’s never about creating “content” for people. It’s just a truth I share. Don’t get me wrong, I do want the audience, and I hope I never say I’ll ignore a well intentioned response, but this isn’t a career for me. This isn’t something I’ll persevere through to get a TV deal or book deal. As long as you’re having fun with it I’ll keep having fun with it, as long as I am actually having fun 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.

I want my club to build a new stadium. I want them to expand the stadium. I want the biggest stadium in the world where it’s sold out every match and we have to start building a new one again the year later.

I want every fan to be able to see their football team, and share in their success, and dwell in their pains. I want global domination.

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

Favourite save is a twofer. A Welsh Club I can’t remember the name of because I’ve stricken them from my memory, who I left for Waterford in Ireland.

With the Welsh club I managed, through the early save/lower league luck/easy draw European run, I took the Welsh team to a million pound European payout. Over £1.2m in the accounts. Despite the money the team wouldn’t go pro to beat TNS. They wouldn’t even give me my Continental Pro badge. I left them in disgust to an Irish team that would take me on, and give me my badge.

I took over Waterford in the Irish First Division. Managed to get them promoted to the Irish Premier Division, challenging for European places, qualifying for European playoffs, getting them into the European group stages. Qualifying for the Champions League group stages and Europa knockouts, and even Conference League quarters, and easily dominating the Irish leagues every year.

 I’d never heard of ‘Build a Nation’ saves, or loan farms. All I knew was I was getting regularly to Europe and I still couldn’t sell out my crappy little stadium week to week.

I think that’s still a problem, possibly for many reasons. While trying to stay within the boundaries of realism and football Sports Interactive don’t allow for the truly great things to happen; dynamic TV rights, a nation’s youth rating, footballing importance in a nation, etc. We just want to build something, don’t we? We want our wonderkids to be successes and we want actual kids in-game. (I still don’t know if female managers will have been forced to get pregnant.) Maybe a lot of people don’t want Wrexham getting to a new Super League along with Tottenham, Barcelona and Juventus, but the world is strange. Why not allow for something near to that strangeness?

Which bloggers do you always make sure that you read? 

None so far. I’ve just got into blogging FM for the actual FM community. There’s a few who’ve caught my eye but my love of it goes all the way back to the LLM forums on the official site.

I still remember (please forgive me if I get these real players’ names wrong) such iconic players as ‘Shit Stats But Good’ and ‘Fat Goalie.’ It was true wit, and people who knew how to tell a story within the limits of only being allowed to post about a save after they’d completed the first three seasons.

I do think blogging, at the bad end, is result orientated. People want to share seasons, they want to get to what’s important. But what’s important is the story along the way. Having to write up entire seasons is about being done with it. It should be about getting a love for a team. It’s coming up with a chant for a particular player. It’s desperately trying not to look at the next image so things aren’t ruined, and getting brought into every aspect of a save. It’s far from, “Then we beat three teams and won the cup.”

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? 

Both of these are guys who kept streaming regularly through the general debacle that was FM23. And I usually have a stream going while I’m playing.

Coach Zanqo (https://www.twitch.tv/coachzanqo) who has power like no other. A Slovenian handball coach who often streams early mornings GMT. I can’t keep up with his saves, the man is insatiable for Football Manager. The thing is you never feel like you’re missing out if you don’t catch up with him. He’s still doing his thing and doing it well. It’s not high octane, it’s not high drama, it’s just good and wholesome. And it’s often a new perspective of the non-typical nations in FM.

Hunkleberry Finn (https://www.twitch.tv/hunkleberryfinn) who has a youtube as well. In fact he’s an all around content creator. He seems to live for content, amongst other things on his social media. And again he was someone there right throughout FM23. With Football Manager he develops a love for his players, a love—and hate—for his tactics, and an anger at all the mistakes the engine is making. It’s rage, but it’s not undirected. He cares. He does get angry, though. For the moment he’s getting angry at players 6’2” or taller in his save. While his manager his 7’8” or something? He gets angry in the best way, because he wants the game to be good, not just because something is unfair or didn’t go his way. It just makes me tense—when I can handle it—but in a good way. I watch when I can and enjoy the highs if not the lows. But the lows make it worthwhile.

I guess with both of these streamers they’ve put the time in, built the audience (which isn’t big enough for either of them,) built me along with them, and made me feel welcome.

What puts you off reading other creators blogs – what makes you click that “X” button in the top right of the page?

The writing. How people make things interesting. How they tell you, and share with you, what they’re entranced by. I’ve read blogs where people rapidly list simple results of games, but they’ve made the pace, and ups and downs of a season apparent in ten minutes reading. And I’ve read blogs where people paraphrase a Wikipedia article about the city or country they’re managing in, just weather details and tourist hotspots, and made me feel like I actually was there. Or that I wanted to go there.

Neither is anything new but I’ve made sure to follow those authors’ social media. I won’t recognise the social media account again, or the graphic they put up, maybe not even the save. I will recognise their writing. That’s what you want. A streamer wants their voice and face recognised. A writer wants their words recognised. If your words aren’t doing anything then there’s not much point to writing.

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…

Because you like wordy bitches..?

Because you like words?

Give every blog from every author a chance. Keep reading them. Interact with the writers. There’s a love of telling stories within them. I think more stories should be told wholeheartedly. My writing is told with care and I hope the passion comes through, the joy (and annoyance) in what I’m doing. It’s why you read anything, fiction, non-fiction, Football Manager. Anything.

It’s why you play Football Manager. It’s a world you love. It’s a journey and experience. I think I give you that. And a bit more. https://lumpkickersanonymous.wordpress.com/

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I’d like to thank @LumpKickersAnon for taking the time to complete our 11 Questions and wish her well on her continued journey in the blogging world as we progress through the Football Manager yearly cycle. Here is to hoping her character doesn’t hit the bottle too hard, life in Finland is tough!!

As always, if you are a FM Blogger and would like to share your experiences of playing the game we all love with us then feel free to either send us a message on Twitter @TheFMLibrary or hit us up in Discord.