

For me, one who instantly springs to mind is the unstoppable Russell Muggeridge, an imposing midfield general who led my Southampton side to unprecedented glory on FM 15. That is what Champ does to you.Ĭhampers sometimes become worryingly attached to "re-gens" (fake players randomly generated as youngsters as the game progresses). I would sometimes find myself alone in a dark living room at 3am, celebrating wildly as glitchy text commentary told me I had won the Champions League as manager of Aston Villa. Such was the addictiveness of the game, players - or "Champers" - would routinely lose all perception of time.

As someone who first caught the Football Manager (FM) bug 20 years ago, two decades have done little to blunt my enthusiasm for the iconic game I still call "Champ".įor the benefit of younger FM addicts, sadly unaware of Champ legends like Everton flop Ibrahima Bakayoko and 16-year-old Bosnian-Norwegian goal machine Eldar Hadzimehmedovic, the term "Champ" is short-form for "Championship Manager" - the previous incarnation of the series.
