There are plenty of sports simulation games available on the market today. EA Sports’ megamoney duo of FIFA and Madden are two of the most popular franchises in existence. 2KSports has their beloved NBA 2K and WWE 2k series. But the rise of management simulations over the last decade or so has been clear for all to see. And even with games such as F1 Manager 2022 recently being released, there is one management game that stands head and shoulders above the rest. Football Manager.
The series is now on its 18th instalment under the Football Manager name but picking a team to start your managerial journey with can sometimes feel like spinning a roulette wheel. If that’s your thing, then online casinos such as JoeFortune provide both roulette and online blackjack to a wealth of avid online gamers. But rather than playing Russian Roulette with your virtual management career, we’re here to help.
Sports Interactive’s trailblazing franchise has been a staple for football fans the world over since 2005, and it finally came to PlayStation in recent years. The franchise goes back even further than that if you consider the game’s predecessor, Championship Manager.
The 2022/23 European football season is well underway at this point, and there are a number of clubs throughout the continent that is in dire need of a regime change. Here are two clubs which need your expertise right away.
Juventus
Just what is happening over in Turin? Juventus are the most successful club in the history of Italian football. Between the 2011/12 and 2019/20 seasons, the Bianconeri lifted the Scudetto nine consecutive times and even managed to reach the UEFA Champions League final twice in three seasons in 2015 and 2017. But since global events caused the 2020 and 2021 seasons to be played behind closed doors, the club has been on a downward spiral.
In the 2020/21 season, Inter Milan – managed by former Juventus boss Antonio Conte – ended the Turin club’s stranglehold on Serie A when they lifted their first title in a decade. AC Milan then ripped the title away from their city rivals last season to claim their first crown in a decade also. But this season, things have gone from bad to worse for the Old Lady.
As we tick into the second half of the campaign, Juve are a mammoth THIRTY points behind league leaders Napoli and are languishing down in 13th place in the table. In fact, they are closer to the relegation zone than they are to the top spot. Things need to change at the Allianz Stadium and fast.
To make matters worse, the club is embroiled in turmoil unseen in Italian football since the Calciopoli scandal of 2006, which Juventus were also at the centre of. The club’s entire board of directors – including club legend Pavel Nedvěd – have all resigned and left the club in a disastrous position. And on the pitch, things aren’t much better.
Juventus have an ageing squad that’s void of any real quality. They are in dire need of a clear-out and subsequent rebuild around star striker, Serbian hitman Dušan Vlahović. Are you the one to take them back to Serie A’s summit, and perhaps the first UEFA Champions League crown since 1996?
Everton
If we’re talking about clubs in turmoil, look no further than Everton. Barring four seasons – firstly in 1930/31, followed by three campaigns between 1951 and 1954 – The Blues have been an ever-present fixture in the top flight of English football. In fact, when the Premier League was founded back in 1992, they were considered one of the ‘Big Six’, a tag given to the six biggest clubs in the country.
But how their stock has fallen in recent years has been a sight to behold. Last season, they very nearly fell through the division’s trap door, surviving thanks to a come-from-behind victory on the penultimate match of the season. This year, they may not be so lucky.
After 20 games of the current Premier League campaign, the Merseysiders are rooted in the division’s relegation zone. They have picked up just three victories all season and are without a win in eight. Frank Lampard has just been dismissed as manager and replaced by Sean Dyche, but the former Burnley manager will have to rely on his current squad, as there were no new arrivals at Goodison Park throughout the January transfer window.
Just as was the case with Juventus, Everton are in dire need of a clearout, and there should be money available for you to spend. The club have just sold star winger Anthony Gordon to Newcastle for £45m, and that’s money you will need to reinvest into your squad if you wish to avoid the drop. Can you ensure that the club successfully avoids a fifth campaign in English football’s second tier?
