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PC CD ROM
Windows 95
Document1
S I E R R A®
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ULTIMATE
SOCCER
MANAGER
98
hank you for buying this product. It is the result of a great deal of hard work and careful thought,
and we hope that it will give you many hours of enjoyment.
We are proud of our games, but we know that they can never be perfect. If you have any ideas
about how we can improve, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please take the time to fill out
the enclosed registration card. We can then add you to our mailing list and keep you informed of
new products and special offers as they come out. You can also contact us on our new USM
website at :- www.ultimatesoccer.com.
Please check the file on game CD called README.TXT for information on the changes made
and additional features added to USM98 after the manuscript went to press.
T
This is a fantasy game. The use of any particular name for players, managers and clubs does not imply and should not
be taken to imply EITHER that any of the players, managers or clubs referred to have endorsed this product OR that any
of them have engaged or are liable to engage in any corrupt practice. The acceptance by a particular club or manager
of a bribe or bung offered by you in the game is entirely random.
Credits
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
PRODUCER / DESIGNER
PROGRAMMER
ADDITIONAL DESIGN
ART DIRECTOR
ADDITIONAL ART
QA MANAGER
QA and RESEARCH
SOUND EFFECTS
MUSIC
COMMENTARY
LOCALISATION
ADMINISTRATION
David Lester
Mark Howman
Andrew Prime
Andrew Prime
Neal Sumsion
Martin Povey
Daniel Shutt
Alex Scarrow
Shahid Malik
Emma Cubberley
Gary Bendalow
Neal Sumsion
Niall Callaghan
Austin Parsons
Mark Murray
Matinee Sound and Vision
Richard Parret
Andi McGinty
Steve Brennan
Antje Hink
Christophe Winkler
Izaskun Rios
Thierry Begaud
Marina Manassei
The makers of USM98 would like to thank the extensive list of Fanzines and Supporters clubs for their assistance in
helping us to supply accurate data for the game. A complete list of all fanzines together with their details can be found
on the game directory called FANZINES.TXT.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2
INSTALLATION and LOADING
4
STARTING
4
INTRODUCTION TO USM98
5
GETTING STARTED
The Interface
The Help System
Message Panels (game time)
The File Menu
7
7
7
7
8
STADIUM SCREEN
9
PLAYERS
Player Types
Player Positions
Player Skills
Player Values
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10
10
11
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THE SQUAD ROOM
12
SELECTING YOUR TEAM
Team Selection
13
13
TEAM TACTICS
Team Talk
Formation Editor
Advanced Tactics
Defend/attack Positions
Moves and Set Pieces
15
15
17
18
18
19
TRAINING
Team Training
Individual Training
Training Staff (Coaches and Scouts)
Fitness And Injuries
21
21
22
23
23
VIEW OPPOSITION
23
BUYING SELLING and LOANING PLAYERS
The Transfers Room
Player Search
Short List
Current Negotiations
Buying Players
Selling Players
Loaning In Players
Loaning Out Players
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24
25
26
27
27
29
29
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MATCH DAY SCREEN
31
THE OFFICES
The Managers Office
Filing System
Voice Mail
Email
Newspaper
Sierratext
Video
Fixture List
Mobile Phone
Printer
The Chairmans Ôffice
Evaluation
Evaluation Graphs
Trophies
33
33
33
34
35
35
35
36
36
36
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37
37
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37
BUSINESS ROOM
Advertising
Ticket Pricing
Sponsorship
Catering
Merchandising
Accounts
Finance
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GROUND IMPROVEMENT
Improve Stadium
Improve Buildings
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42
OTHER TEAMS
43
MULTI-PLAYER
43
END OF SEASON
43
THE STAT EDITOR
44
WHAT’S NEW IN USM98
45
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT
47
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INSTALLATION AND LOADING
Ultimate Soccer Manager 98 is a Windows 95 only program.
Step 1 : Place the game CD in your CD-ROM Drive
If the Windows 95 Autoplay feature is enabled, a window will appear automatically on your screen.
Select “Install” to begin installation. Follow the on screen instructions to complete the installation.
Step 2 : If your Autoplay feature is not enabled, open the “My Computer” folder on your desktop,
and select the drive letter that corresponds to your CD-ROM drive. From the window that appears,
click on the Setup icon. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
To load the game any time after you have installed it, insert the USM98 CD into your CD-ROM drive.
If your Autoplay feature is enabled, the Sierra logo will appear and you can click on ‘Play’ to start
the game. If not, click on your Start button and select USM98 from the Sierra Folder.
STARTING
PLEASE SELECT OPTION
fter loading the game and viewing the opening animations and screens, you will be presented
with the PLEASE SELECT OPTION panel. You have three options : Manager, Coach or Load
Game. If you select MANAGER you will be required to control all the financial aspects of the game
as well as all the coaching aspects available in the coach option. The financial aspects are stadium
development, ticket pricing, catering & merchandise development and accounts. If you select
COACH all financial aspects are computer controlled and you can concentrate on selecting you
team, buying and selling players, training, tactics etc.
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LOAD GAME allows you to continue with any previously saved game.
HOW MANY PLAYERS
f you have selected a new game, you will be asked how many players you wish to play. Select
between 1 and 8 managers and then click on OK. Please note that playing more than one player
will require playing alternative managers on the same PC. When all managers have completed their
turn, all matches will then be played.
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PLEASE ENTER NAME
ype in your manager name (first name followed by second name separated by a space). Any
previous names entered can be accessed by clicking on the down arrow on this panel.
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SELECT LEAGUE
ou can now choose from which league you wish to select a team. All six leagues will run
concurrently, so you can buy & sell players and view performances from any team in any division
in any league.
Y
SELECT TEAM
ow select which division and team you wish to play and click on OK. If you have selected more
than one manager, the above process will be repeated from PLEASE ENTER NAME.
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DIFFICULTY LEVEL
ow select the difficulty level (based on how much cash you would like start with).
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INTRODUCTION TO USM98
elcome to Ultimate Soccer Manager ’98 (“USM”). If you’ve played similar games before, feel free
to jump right into playing the game, although this overview might tell you about some features
you didn’t know existed. And for those of you that have never played a football management game
before, here is where we tell you what it’s all about and give you a few clues as to what to do when.
We do assume that you at least know the rudiments of football itself.
We also assume you are playing initially as coach, rather than full manager. The only difference here
relates to money and stadium management; if you are new to this style of game, you should probably
get used to being coach first, and then experiment with the financial stuff later if you want to.
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The game revolves around managing a football team, trying to achieve certain targets. At the start
of a season, your Chairman will set your objectives for you—which might be to win the League, to
gain promotion, to win a cup or even to avoid relegation. There will also be more specific targets for
each match. Whenever you enter the Chairman’s office, he will tell you his objectives for you, and
perhaps give you some feedback about how you’re doing.
The way you can achieve these objectives is primarily about squad and team selection, and
tactics. You need to be able to pick the right players for your side every match. Sometimes, that will
mean a lot more defenders (if you are playing a much better side, for example, and are hoping to get
away with a draw), while other times, you may hope to score lots of goals (perhaps you need to win a
match 3-0 because of the first match in a cup draw, say) and hence need to play with more forwards.
Your first step, then, is to consider your opponents, and compare their skills to your own side’s.
Then, you will be able to choose a formation that makes sense (standard 4-4-2 is the most
common, and is probably a good place to start; that is already selected for you when you start the
game). You choose your formation in the “Team Talk” screen, which you can access from the Squad
Room. Then, go to Team Selection, and put the best players you have in each position. You will
probably find it easiest to choose the best players by clicking on each statistic heading (KP, TA
or whatever) which will show that statistic as a graph, making it extremely obvious who is good and
who is bad at that skill. Note that all players can get injured in matches. If you are playing a match
that you expect to win easily, you may find it sensible sometimes to give your best players a rest,
giving others a chance to play, and not risking your top players getting injured. Injuries are a fact of
life in football, and they tend to separate out the men from the boys among managers—no squad
is likely to do extremely well with just 11 excellent players; it is likely that you will have at least some
injuries most of the time, so you need to have a squad with some “extra” good players.
And that’s where Transfers and Training come in. You are sure to feel “if only I had a better defence”
(or goalie, midfield, striker,….) at several times during the game. Use the transfer system to try to
pick out those players that have the skills you are seeking. Be careful, though, since your existing
squad will not like it if you bring in lots of new players with much higher wages. And be careful not
to spend all your money straight away—many football club has seen financial ruin for forgetting
about the need to pay the wages for the rest of the year!
Training can help nurture and improve players’ skills, so you won’t need to buy all the great
players you need. Training takes time—and, as in real life, younger players will learn (and therefore
improve) more easily and quickly than older players. The better your coaches, too, the better the
results you will get from training. But great coaches are expensive (often more than players!) so you’ll
need to be careful about how much you spend. It’s often a good idea to “nurture” a few quite young
players; a 16 year old is unlikely to be worth very much; when he’s 21, though, and far better at his
skill, he could be worth a lot more. Even if you have no particular use for him in your own squad,
you will still be able to sell him for quite a substantial sum of money then. This is how lots of smaller
clubs survive, in fact—by training young players, and selling them on to larger clubs for millions of
pounds after a few years. But that takes effort and patience.
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TACTICS
he Team Talk before a match is important. You should decide who you want to be Captain, and
who should take each dead-ball kick. These decisions can really make a difference, especially if
you are using some set pieces or set moves (see the chapter on advanced tactics for more details).
More important still, though, are the style of play decisions: hard or soft tackling; attacking or
defensive play; passing or long-ball. You should experiment with these options. There are no “right
answers” here—each option can be right when used in the right way. Every manager must find what
works best for his side. Note that you can change some of these decisions within a match (either
at half-time or whenever you call for a substitution, when the game will pause at the next dead-ball
situation). It is often easiest to see the difference tactics make when you change mid game.
Later on, you may want to try creating your own formations, set moves and set pieces. The game
features editors to allow you to really go to town to have your team play exactly how you want.
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THE MATCH
fter all, this is what the game is all about. This is where you see whether your decisions have
been right or wrong. The game is about as accurate as can be on a PC; it has been tested
extensively, and the results the game generates do make sense. So if you lose, you probably
shouldn’t blame the computer!
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You can watch the whole match play out in front of you; if you want to see a section again, hit R on
your keyboard for an action replay. You can set the computer to show you the names, numbers or
both for your side, and/or the other side. We often find it helpful to show the names of our own side,
so you can see who is doing what more easily. You can set this up by clicking on OPTION on the
match panel.
If there is an injury serious enough that one of your players has to be taken off the pitch, you will
automatically be taken to the Team Talk screen, where you can make substitutions. You may find it
helpful to go from there back to Team Selection, to consider carefully what substitutions you can
make. Note that as well as simply substituting one player for another, you can move other players
around on the pitch, or even change formation. This is not especially rare, and you will find it very
useful from time to time. To move a player from one position to another from the Team Talk screen,
simply click on their “counter” on the green pitch, and then click on the player whose position you
wish to swap him with. You can also speed the match up to save time if you want to. Note that this
still plays the match with the same accuracy as normal, it simply cuts out lots of frames of animation;
the result should still be the same (although you have less time to make substitutions or change tactics).
And that’s is really it, what the game is all about. In practice, you will rapidly build up personal allegiance
to particular players, and become emotionally linked to the success (or otherwise!) of your team. Good
luck.
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GETTING STARTED
The Interface
he game has been designed to allow easy access to all areas of the game. You can jump straight to
the area you want using the pull down menu or you can click on icons in each room. Both work well
and are available at all times. You will soon get the hang of them and quickly decide which one you prefer.
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MENU BAR SYSTEM
If you move your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, you will see that an icon bar appears. If you
click on any one of the menu headings, a drop down menu bar will appear. Simply click on the
function required and you will automatically go straight to that option.
ROOM ACCESS SYSTEM
Below the menu headings there is a small icon. Click on this icon and you will go directly to a room.
In this room there are a number of hot spots depicting the same options as those on the menu bar.
(Except stadium and building development which only appear on the menu). As you move the
cursor around the room any hot spot will be highlighted with text on a red bar appearing underneath
the mouse cursor. (Some of these hot spots may also animate).
The Help System
hroughout the game, help is at hand at all times. Whether you are in a room or a panel, simply
select the help option on the menu bar, press F1 or click on the question mark on the menu bar
and a help panel will appear providing a full explanation of all the functions on that screen.
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Message Panels (game time)
he game is divided into time periods. This can be a week or a few days depending on the fixture
list. After each time period a message panel will appear. This gives you details of any
communications you have received. The panel has five types of communication on it.
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EMAIL – Any messages from the Football Authorities, player agents etc
VOICE MAIL – Any messages from your assistant manager, chairman, coaches, scouts etc
NEWSPAPER – Any un-read newspaper articles
PHONE MESSAGES – Any messages on your “private” line
NEGOTIATIONS – Any responses from other clubs on outstanding player deals.
If any of the buttons on this panel are highlighted, it means that you have un-read information.
Simply click on the button to go to the corresponding area. In that area you will see a RETURN
button and an EXIT button. If after you have read your messages and you want to return to the
messages panel click on RETURN. If not, select EXIT and you will return to the normal game
screens.
If you have no messages or press cancel, you will return to the teletext screen (to view last results).
To move on through the weeks in the game, you need to click on the START icon. If you have a
match to play, this match will be shown. If you don’t have a game, you still need to click on START
MATCH to move through the time periods to the next time you have a match.
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The File Menu
This is the system part of the game. Here you can select :
HELP – If you require help on your current screen or panel.
CONFIG / STATUS – A summary panel of what options you have turned on/off. These are MUSIC,
COMMENTARY (match commentary), SFX (sound effects), MESSAGES (The messages panel at the
end of each time period), TOOLTIPS (the hot spot text) and AUTOSAVE. (You can choose to
autosave the game every match, week or month).
SAVE – Save current game. (All games are saved into the same directory that you have installed
the game to). You will be shown a panel where you will be asked to enter a saved game name – the
name of your team and the date will also be displayed on the saved game file. If you are playing
multi-player then the first manager’s team will be displayed together with the number of managers
in the game.
LOAD – Load a previously saved game. (Note that if you load a game whilst playing another, the
current game will not be saved)
PLAYER CONTROL – Suspend or resume players in multi-player mode. See section on multiplayers.
RESIGN – Resign from the game in multi-player mode.
RESTART – If you wish to cancel the game you are playing and restart from scratch with a new
team etc. then select this. (Note that if you restart a game, the current game will not be saved).
EXIT – Exit the game.
The File Room
In addition to the file menu, most of the menu options also appear in the file “room” itself. These are :
CONFIG/STATUS – the tool box
SAVE – the blue car
LOAD – the red car
RESTART – the restart sign
EXIT – the door
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STADIUM SCREEN
his is the main stadium view and gives you an indication of how successful your club is.
Throughout the game playing the Manager option you can increase the stadium size and build
more shops etc. In the Coach option the game will automatically increase the facilities if you
progress well and increase attendances.
In addition to the menu access options you can click on key buildings on the screen and go
directly to their relative rooms. (Move the mouse cursor around the screen – Hot spot text will
appear where a building can be accessed)
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Areas that can be accessed from the stadium screen are :
Click on the...
To access the...
The Managers office
The Manager room
The Chairmans office
The Chairman room
The Pitch
The Squad room
The Business office
The Business room
(Not available if you have selected to play as a coach).
Any stadium part
The Ground Improvement screen
(Not available if you have selected to play as a coach).
Any bar, café, restaurant
The Catering screen
(Not available if you have selected to play as a coach).
Any shop
The Merchandise screen
(Not available if you have selected to play as a coach).
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PLAYERS
It is very important to know exactly what types of players exist in the game.
Player Types
Players are classified as follows :
GOALKEEPERS – These are abbreviated in the game as G.
DEFENDERS – Players that remain at the back to defend the goal and assist the goalkeeper. They
are very good at tackling. They are abbreviated in the game as D.
ATTACKING DEFENDERS – These are essentially the same as defenders but will also venture
forward when attacking and may also come forward for attacking free kicks and corners. They tend
to play a little further up the field than normal defenders. They are abbreviated in the game as DA.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS – These play further forward than attacking defenders in the middle
third of the pitch. They will defend and attack where necessary but one of their main roles is to
provide additional defensive cover for the defenders. They are abbreviated in the game as MD.
MIDFIELDERS – These play a little further forward than defensive midfielders and again defend and
attack where necessary. They are abbreviated in the game as M.
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS – These play further forward than normal midfielders often providing
additional support to the attackers. They are abbreviated in the game as MA.
ATTACKING FORWARDS – These are forwards that play up the field but just off the main strikers.
They tend to be good at passing and shooting and are often involved in setting up goals as well as
scoring them. They are abbreviated in the game as AF.
ATTACKING STRIKERS – These are the real strikers. They have one aim and that is to score goals!
They are abbreviated in the game as AS.
Player Positions
In addition, players often also have a preferred playing position. These are R for Right, L for Left and
C for Centre. If there is no preferred player position, i.e. the player is happy playing anywhere, this
is left blank. E.g. A defensive midfielder who plays on the right would be abbreviated to MD R. An
attacking defender who can play anywhere would be abbreviated to DA.
Each player obviously has an ultimate preferred playing position, but it does not mean that they will
play badly out of position in all areas. A left sided midfielder can play as an attacking midfielder in
the centre of the pitch for example. He won’t be perfect in this position but will perform okay. As a
player moves away from a preferred position, his performance does go down though so don’t play
defenders as attackers for example!
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Player Skills
There are ten skills for each player.
KP – Keeping – How good the player is at goal keeping.
TA – Tackling – How good the player is at tackling and defending.
PS – Passing – How good the player is at passing and crossing the ball.
SH – Shooting – How good the player is at shooting and scoring.
PC – Pace – How quick the player is.
ST – Stamina – How long the player can maintain the above pace in a game.
HE – Heading – How good the player is at heading the ball.
SP – How good the player is at set pieces such as corners, free kicks and penalties.
BC – How good the player is at keeping the ball (not being tackled) and dribbling with the ball.
i.e. His natural ability on the ball.
FT – Fitness – How fit the player is. (This will go down when the player is injured – See the
section on Fitness and Injuries for more details.
Players Values
A player’s value in the game is calculated using a number of criteria. The team he plays for, the
accumulation of all his skills and his age being the most important. Playing for a top team will give
a player prestige and raise his value. His skills and therefore his actual ability as a player is the most
important factor for determining his value.
As a general rule the more expensive a player is, the better he is. This is a general rule only. Young
players (who may or may not have potential) will be valued at less than their older counterparts. This
is because their ability and worth has not yet been established. Older players who will probably not
have many years left in the game (particulary at a higher level) will cost far less as they get older.
Wages are loosely based on a players worth and ability. The most important factor to remember here is
that younger players who develop quickly will very likely demand higher wages as they improve. Older
players are not likely to accept high wage decreases (particulary if their overall skills remain fairly
constant), so you will find that some player’s values maybe low, their wage demands willl be high.
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THE SQUAD ROOM
This is where the real work is done! Everything you do here will affect how your team performs on
the pitch. Action hot spots are :
TEAM SELECTION – To select you team (Click on the football shirts).
TEAM TALK – To set up your team tactics (Click on the blackboard).
VIEW OPPOSITION – Take a look at your opposition (Click on the television).
TEAM TRAINING – Train your team’s overall abilities (Click on the box of footballs).
INDIVIDUAL TRAINING – Train individual players on individual abilities (Click on the cones).
TRAINING STAFF – Employ coaches and scouts (Click on the newspaper).
INJURIES – View players who are injured (Click on the first aid box).
FORMATION EDITOR – Create your own specialised formations (Click on the green board).
ADVANCED TACTICS – For the football purist, create your own specialised in-depth tactics (Click
on the files and folders)
THE TUNNEL – Click on this to play the next match or move to the next time period if you do not
have a match.
For more help on these items click on the item on the screen and then select help.
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SELECTING YOUR TEAM
his is where it really matters. Choose your team carefully, your first team choice and your
substitutes. Try to select a balanced side - your good tacklers at the back, good passing players
in midfield and good shooting players up front. The different coloured sections depict the different
playing positions of the formation selected.
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Team Selection
he first 11 players in the list will play. Position 12 down to the reserves section are your
substitutes. (The number of substitutes varies based on which competition you are in).
Clicking on any of the skill buttons along the top of the screen will remove the skill numbers and
display a bar chart of that skill. (Click on the skill button again to clear). If you move your mouse
cursor away from skill buttons when you are in bar chart view the skill heading will appear. You can
also click on a second skill once you have clicked on a first skill so that you can see more than one
skill in bar chart mode at any one time.
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Menu options are :
PRINT - Option to print your team list.
SORT PLAYERS - This brings down an option panel where you can :
Select VIEW - Sort all players by skill to quickly see who are the best players in each skill category
(this is a temporary sort)
Select SORT – This will sort all reserves by position and skills with or without injuries (This is a
permanent sort).
Select SORT MAJOR INJURIES – This will sort all reserves (that do not have major injuries) by
position and then skills. (Reserves with major injuries will be moved to the bottom of the player list).
Select SORT ALL INJURIES – This will sort all reserves (that do not have any injuries) by position
and then skills. (Reserves with any injury will be sorted to the bottom of the player list).
SWAP POSITION - To change a player’s position, simply click on the player name and then click on
SWAP POSITION button. The cursor will change to the name of the player. Then click this players
name where you want him to go. The two players will change position.
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NOTE – You can also swap players very quickly by right clicking on one player and then left clicking
where you wish to move him to.
RECORD – Clicking on record will toggle between the player’s skill details and details of their current
performance which can be useful when selecting your team.
VIEW - This allows you to view a player in detail. You can also update his contract and transfer list
him from here. (See player file in Managers office section for more details)
NOTE – You can view a player’s details very quickly by double clicking the left mouse button on his name.
INJURIES - Click on INJURIES to see details of any player injuries and estimated recovery times.
TEAM TALK - Click on TEAM TALK to enter team talk screen. (See section on team talk)
ASSISTANT MANAGER - The assistant manager will help with team selection, formation choice and
training decisions if you need it.
TRAINING – Click on TRAINING to enter Individual Training screen. (See section on individual training).
LAST MATCH – Click here to view details of the last match you played.
LAST MEETING – Click here to view details of the last time you played your next opposition.
START MATCH/NEXT MANAGER - Click to begin the match or go to next manager if in multi-player mode.
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TEAM TACTICS
here are three main types of tactics. TEAM TALK is a simple screen for choosing your captain,
style of play, your formation, free kick takers etc and is recommended for beginners. Then try the
FORMATIONS editor to create your own customised team formations. When you have played the
game for a while and have mastered these, you can move on to ADVANCED TACTICS where you
can actually tell players exactly where you want them to play on the pitch at any given time, create
specialised set pieces, moves etc.
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Team Talk
his is where you need to set up your playing style and tactics for the game. The pitch on the left
hand side shows the players in the positions you have selected in team selection. To move
players around click once on any player name and then click once on the player you wish to swap
him with.
If the text on the pitch gets congested you can turn name and player position off by clicking on
the button in the top left hand corner.
Select Captain - Click on this and then click on any player to select him as the captain.
Defensive Free Kick Taker - Click on this and then click on any player to select him as the player
to take defensive free kicks. These are free kicks which are awarded to you, in your half of the pitch.
i.e. the end you are defending.
Attacking Free Kick Taker - Click on this and then click on any player to select him as the player
to take attacking free kicks. These are free kicks which are awarded to you, in your opponents half
of the pitch. i.e. the end you are attacking.
Select Corner Taker - Click on this and then click on any player to select him as the corner taker.
Select Penalty Taker - Click on this and then click on any player to select him as the penalty taker.
If any of the above are left blank, the game will select its most likely choice during the match.
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Win Bonus - To raise your players desire to win - offer them a cash bonus to win. Be very careful
with this. Over use will mean players will expect it and play no better any way and your cash reserves
will diminish as player wages is the single largest cost you have. This is not available using the coach
only option.
Individual Tactics - Select the Individual Tactics button and then select the player you wish to
apply specific tactics too. You can choose to push him forward, push him back, move to the left or
right or a combination of these. (These additional directions will show up on the pitch as small
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arrows if you have selected them to be seen).
For defenders you can also allocate an opposition player to be man-to-man marked. Select man to
man and you will now be given a list of opposition names so that you know exactly who your man
will be marking. Please note that your defender will only closely mark the opposition player when
the other team are in possession of the ball. He will not man to man mark the player when your team
is in possession of the ball.
Offside Trap - If you wish to play the offside trap, then click on this button.
Style - Choose either Attacking, Normal or Defensive styles. Selecting the Attacking option will
make all players play further up the field and will also mean that midfielders and attackers do not
come back to defend as often. Selecting the Defensive option will make all players play further back
and players are much less likely to try and run with the ball into attacking positions, especially
defenders.
Long Ball/Passing - Choose either a passing game or a long ball game. Using the long ball option,
players (especially goalkeepers and defenders) are much more likely to try and pass the ball to
another player much further up the pitch and thereby bypassing much of the midfield area. Using
the passing option, all players are much more likely to pass the ball to a much nearer member of
the team.
Tackling - Choose either Hard, Normal or Soft tackling. Remember - hard tackling will result in more
bookings, and perhaps injuries, but you will probably win more tackles.
Select Formation - Select any team formation you wish to use in your next match. (Formations
can be created in the formations screen though there are several standard formations already
available to you in the game).
Select Move - Select pre-set moves you wish to use in your game plan. (Set moves are created in
advanced tactics though there are some stock set moves already available to you).
Select Set Piece - Select set pieces you wish to use in your game plan. (Set pieces are created in
advanced tactics though there are some stock set pieces already available to you).
Please note that set pieces and moves that you have selected in your team talk screen may not
always be seen in the game. Players must be in the right position on the pitch in order for the tactic
to be employed. Wherever possible you should only select set pieces and moves that have been
created especially for the formation you are currently using.
TEAM SELECTION - Click on this to return to the Team Selection screen.
START MATCH/NEXT MANAGER - Click to begin the match or go to next manager if in multiplayer mode.
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Formation Editor
he game contains a number of preset formations for you to choose from. In addition to these,
you can create your own specific formations. To create a new formation, select NEW. This will
load up the 442 STD formation.
Now simply click on the player’s numbers on the pitch and move them to their new locations.
(Two players cannot occupy the same position).
When you have made all the changes you require, simply save the formation by clicking on SAVE
AS. Please note that you cannot save over any preset formation supplied in the game. You must use
the SAVE AS button. SAVE can only be used when changing a formation created by yourself.
You can use LOAD to load in one of your formations to change or to load a preset formation,
make changes to it and then save out as a new formation.
UNDO will undo your last movement, whereas UNDO ALL will undo all changes you have made
before saving. NAMES will toggle names on and off the pitch.
The chart on the right hand side is used to help with your formation creation. The formation position
column shows what player position this is in the formation. The player position column shows what the
player’s actual best preferred position is. By comparing the two columns and having names turned on
you can see whether your players are playing in their absolute best positions or not.
For each player position on the pitch the computer will work out what it considers to be the best
positions for the player to occupy during the match depending on where the ball is and who is in
possession. (These default player positions can be altered in Advanced Tactics).
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Advanced Tactics
his is only for the experts! We suggest that you become very familiar with team talk and formations
before using this screen. There are three main sets of tactics that you can create from here.
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Defend/Attack Positions
This section allows you to further refine a user-created formation by actually changing player
positions on the pitch, depending on where the ball is and whether you are attacking (in possession
of the ball) or defending (trying to get the ball).
When you move a player to a new position in the formations screen, the game automatically decides
where the player will be during the match. These are pre-defined positions created by the game
designers. What this section allows you to do is to alter these pitch positions to wherever you want
them to be.
When you do this and actually change the player’s positions you will need to create a whole new
formation file (or over-write a formation you have already created).
There are 34 different places a player can be directed to, based on what is taking place on the pitch :
1) Attacking (in possession of the ball) and the ball is positioned in any one of the 12
squares seen on the pitch on the advanced tactics screen.
2) Defending (not in possession) and the ball is positioned in any one of the 12 squares
seen on the pitch on the advanced tactics screen.
3) Attacking in 5 set plays (Left corner, Right corner, Goal kick, Kick Off and Penalty).
4) Defending in 5 set plays (Left corner, Right corner, Goal kick, Kick Òff and Penalty).
3) and 4) are represented by the five boxes below the pitch itself.
Click on either the ATTACK POSN or DEFEND POSN button to decide which player positions to
update.
On the screen there is a white ball (It’s default position is in the kick-off box below the pitch on
the left). You move the white ball by clicking on it, and then moving the ball to any one of the 12
positions on the pitch or to one of the other four boxes below and then clicking again. (You can also
right click to quickly place the ball on the pitch or to quickly place the ball in one of the five squares).
As you place the ball in any of the squares you will see that the 11 players on the pitch will move
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to a new position. These are the positions that your players will attempt to be in at that particular
time in the game. To re-position the players, simply click on the player and move him to where you
want him re-positioned and click again to place him there. Remember not to move the player too
far as he may not be able to get there in time.
You can move any number of the players to anywhere on the pitch and change player positions
in as many of the set-play squares and the pitch squares as you like.
If you have moved any player position on any square, you will need to save the formation. Click
on save as (if new) or save (if changing an existing one) and type in the name of the formation.
Remember that this will save all the new player positions from all the squares for attack and defend
positions so you only have to save once after you have made all you player positioning changes.
On the right hand side we have also listed who your current team is which may help when deciding
where to place players.
TRAILS - Trails is very useful for seeing where your players will run when a ball is moving. When you
are positioning your players for the positions in open play, you can not only see where the players
are positioned when a ball is in a particular square but also what path the players will take when the
ball moves from one square to another.
To see player trails, click on the trails button. Now place the white ball on any square on the
pitch. You will see the players move to their respective position, If you now pick up the ball and move
it to another square on the pitch to depict that the ball has now been passed to this area. You will
see that not only have the players moved to their new positions but there is now a line showing what
path they took to get there. If you now move the players positions on the field, you can alter the
path they take also.
COPY / PASTE – If you are making a lot of player position changes, you can click on COPY to copy
all 11 players positions and then PASTE them in a new position.
Moves And Set Pieces
Moves and set pieces are essentially the same except that moves are initiated whilst your team is
in possession and the ball is in motion and set pieces are initiated when the play has been halted.
This can be for a corner, free kick, offside, goal kick or kick off.
Moves
When you have possession of the ball in any area of the park you can design a set move that you
want your team to perform. You can choose any of the 12 squares on the pitch (or the goal kick or
kick off boxes) in which to start your move.
Move the white ball to anywhere on the pitch (Attack Posn) or click on Attack Goal Kick or
Attack Kick Off. Then click on MOVE.
Your mouse cursor will change to SELECT FIRST MAN. Click the first man to be in possession
of the ball when the move starts. The cursor willl now change the SELECT MEN INVOLVED. Click
on all the players you wish to include in the move. All players involved will now be highlighted. Then
click on the little gold arrow to the right of the current step box to start your move (or right click).
The panel to your bottom left will now say Current Step 1/1. You can create as many steps in the
move as you wish. If you make a mistake, you can delete the whole step by clicking on delete and
you will move back to the previous step.
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You have five options available to you.
Move - To move a player to a new position, click on MOVE and then on the player you wish to
move. Move the mouse to where you wish to move the player to and click again. A line will be drawn
indicating where the player will run to. Remember not to move the player too far as he may not be
able to get there in time.
Pass - To pass the ball to another player, click on PASS and then click on the player you wish to
pass the ball to. (If you select a player to pass to who has already been selected to move, the ball
will be passed to where the player is running to).
Dribble - To select a player to dribble with the ball, click on dribble and then move the mouse to
where the ball should be dribbled to. A line will automatically be drawn from the player with the ball
to where you want the ball dribbled to.
Wait - Players can be told simply to wait whilst other players have instructions for that step. All
player instructions will default to wait unless otherwise instructed.
Shoot - Click on SHOOT - A line will automatically appear from the player with the ball to the goal.
Once you have selected what each player should do in the set-up, you can move on to the next
step in the move. Click on the right hand arrow to move to the next step (click on the left hand arrow
to move back one step).
Undo - if you make a mistake on a step, click on undo to undo the last player instruction selected.
Undo All will undo all changes you have made in a step.
Once you are happy with your move, click on Save As or Save and give your move a name. Your
move will now be available for selection in your team-talk screen.
Set Pieces
Customised set pieces can be used when you receive a free kick in any area of the pitch. Click on
SET PIECE and your mouse cursor will turn into a small box, position your new cursor anywhere on
the pitch and click. Your cursor will now change to SELECT FREEKICK TAKER. Click on the player
you wish to take the free kick. Your cursor will now change to SELECT MEN INVOLVED. Click on
all the players you wish to include in the set piece. Then click on the little gold arrow to the right to
start your set piece.
The instructions are now exactly the same as explained in the moves section.
There are included in the game a number of moves and set pieces already. These are there to give you
some idea of what you do. Though they are included you can edit them and delete them if you wish.
APPLIES TO POSITIONS, MOVES AND SET PIECES
Names Button - To see the players names from your currently selected team, on the pitch, click
this button.
Opposition - You can also place on the screen, opposition formations so that you can see how to
combat them. Click on Set Opposition Formation and choose the formation of your opponent. You
can now click on Show Opposition to place the opposing team on the pitch
New - If you want to start all over again , press the NEW button.
Load - If you want to load an existing move, formation or set piece, click on the LOAD button.
Click on FORMATION, MOVE or SET PIECE to choose the tactic type you require. Click on the one
you require. Click on LOAD to load or DELETE to delete.
Exit – If you have made some changes to player positions or half started work on a move or set
piece and have not saved it and have selected exit, the game will prompt you as to whether you
wish to save your changes first.
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TRAINING
here are two types of training in the game - Team and Individual. Team training is for training
your entire team in a number of team skills. Within the team training schedule, time should
be allocated to individual player training which is where you can decide which particular skills
you wish to train your player on.
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Team Training
o set up the training plan, simply click on any one of the training option boxes on the left of the screen
and then click on the day and time of day you wish the team to train.
The “Individual” box means the players will train with whatever has been set up in Individual Training.
The “Free Time” box means no training will take place. Be careful not to over-train the players - make
sure that they are not training every hour of every day. Any scheduled match will be placed in the team
training week and no training is permitted on match days.
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Training for half a day, each day except match days will get the most out of your players. In the team
training schedule, you should allow 4 or 5 hours a week for individual training. The purpose of team
training is to improve your overall team’s ability in a particular skill which means that during the match,
the team is much more likely to take good corners, defend, attack etc as a team unit.
Individuals - to return to the individual training screen, click here.
Assistant Manager - Instead of handling the training work yourself, let your assistant decide on
the team training plan. It may not be always be perfect, but it will save you time.
It is recommended that when first playing the game you allow the assistant manager to suggest the
schedule for you. His suggestion may not be perfect but he will suggest a fairly balanced schedule
covering most aspects of team training.
Click on the Assistant Manager button and a plan will be displayed. Click yes to confirm this plan or
adjust his plan by clicking on the boxes.
The Training Camp
For really serious training, you can decide to take your team on a training camp for a few days. Click
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on the Training Camp button to set the trip up.
Remember each of the options will affect how much the cost of sending the players will be. You can
also decide whether to take the first team only, reserves only or the entire team.
Purpose of trip - You wish to take the players for a well earned rest after a long season or instigate
some intensive training before a major game. Choose between leisure, intensive or Timetable.
(Timetable being your standard training schedule as seen on the left of the screen). Intensive training
will mean that your players will improve faster but morale will drop. Leisure training will improve
fitness and morale only.
Arrange - Click on arrange to confirm the trip.
Individual Training
ake sure you have enough coaches to fulfil your training obligations. (refer to the section on
Training Staff to find out how to employ coaches). As player skills rise, so does their value, so
it is worth employing the best coaches available to you. Skills will take time to rise as training takes
time so be patient, but also remember not to have a player doing the same training all season as
they will become bored with it and not improve. Remember that younger players (especially youth
players) will improve much faster than older players. Make sure that all injuries are treated straight
away. Apply a coach to the fitness skill which invariably reduces when a player is injured.
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Players Details – As with team selection you can click on the skills at the top to help you decide
where your player’s strengths and weaknesses are.
Be careful what you train the players on – There is no point training a striker on keeping!
Selecting skill to train - Make sure you have employed some coaches. They will be listed on the
left hand side of the screen. To get a coach to train a player, click on the coach and then click on
the number representing the skill of the player you wish to improve. The player skill you have clicked
on will change to the same colour as the coaches name. To stop the coach training the player,
simply click on the skill again.
Notes - The Notes box will give you details of how each player is doing in terms of training.
Intensity - Click on the intensity column on the far right of the screen to change the intensity of
training. Be careful not to over train your players though.
Team training– Click here to go to the Team Training screen.
Assistant – Click here to get your assistant to suggest a training plan for you.
Team selection – Click here to go to the Team Selection screen.
Injuries – Click here to go to the Injuries screen.
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Training Staff (Coaches and scouts)
o manager can run a team on his own so it is very important to have the right staff around you.
Use this screen to employ coaches and scouts.
Existing Staff shows you what staff you have currently employed. Click on the name of any of your
current staff to update their contractual details. You can now choose to change their wages, fire
them or offer them a new contract. Note that if you fire a coach you will have to pay off his contract.
Available Staff shows you what staff are currently available to you. To employ a new member of
staff, click on the name of the person you want and then click on HIRE. Remember you can only
hire up to six coaches at any one time.
Scouts are used for finding players – refer to the shortlist section for more details. Coaches are
used to individually train players. Every coach has special abilities. In brackets there is a list of what he
can train well. General coaches are experts at all training, Midfield coaches are experts at passing and
ball control, Attacking coaches are experts at shooting, Fitness coaches are experts at fitness, pace
and stamina, Defending coaches are experts at tackling and Keeping coaches are experts at keeping.
Coaches can train skills that they are not experts at but at a lower rate.
Superb coaches will train players at a faster rate (More than twice the rate of an average coach
and more than 50% the rate of a good coach). Average coaches are also much slower at training skills
over 60. Good coaches are much slower at training skills over 80. All coaches are happy to train up
to 10 players at a time.
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Fitness And Injuries
ootball is a physical sport and players often become injured. This can be during a match or even
when training. Injuries in the game fall into two categories, Major and Minor. Major injuries mean that
his fitness stat will fall dramatically and the player will be out of the game for some time. Training his
fitness stat will have no effect to start with as the player is effectively so badly injured he will not respond.
The player will need time to recover from his injury. (Each club has a permanent physiotherapist who
will help players recover). The injury panel in the squad room will tell you how he is progressing. When
the player has recovered from the injury he can then now be trained back to full fitness.
If a player has a minor injury he can be trained back to fitness immediately and a fitness coach
should be applied to his fitness skill. Remember that employing better training coaches will reduce
the amount of time it takes a player to return to full fitness.
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INJURY LIST
lick on the first aid box to access this screen or access in from the menu bar. This will show you
a list of all the players that are currently injured. It will list details on what the injury is and how
long it will take for them to return to fitness. This can be very important when deciding on whether
to bring in loan players to help a possible injury crisis.
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VIEW OPPOSITION (Squad room)
his shows you details of your next opposition. You can go forwards and backwards using the
Next and Prev buttons and look at opposition squads in forthcoming matches. This can be very
useful when setting out your team tactics for the next few games.
A list of players will appear together with the current form of the team. Click on any of the
players listed to see a more in-depth look at each player facing you in your next match.
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BUYING, SELLING and LOANING
PLAYERS
his is one of the most important aspects of the game. Clever player negotiations can make or
break managers. Before buying players it is important to be aware of the consequences. Make
sure that you can afford the player (Not only the club fee, but also the player’s signing on fee and
wages). Older players will be much less expensive to buy from a club because they do not have
many playing years left but if they are good players their wages will still be very high. Remember that
all players wages are listed as weekly wages not annual salaries.
Younger players may not appear to be very good but you need to remember their potential.
Within the game a number of youth players (not many) will turn out to be superstars. It is up to you
to find them! Every player in the game has a hidden accelerated development skill which determines
to what level the player will develop to. (Good youth training can also bring a player on). Good
scouts will be able to track these players down for you.
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The Transfers Room
This is where you can buy, sell and loan players. Action hot spots are :
PLAYER SEARCH (Binoculars) – Extensive search program to find players you may wish to buy or loan
CURRENT NEGOTIATIONS FOLDER – Review and reply to all current negotiations
SHORT LIST – Add players to a short list and apply scouts to watch them
SELL PLAYERS (Bin) – Off load unwanted squad members
LOAN PLAYERS OUT (In/out trays) - Loan out players to gain experience
For more help on these items click on the item on the screen and then select help.
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Player Search
Player search allows you to find just the right player for you. Every player across the six leagues is
listed here plus many more European and World players. There are extensive search criteria allowing
to find exactly the right player very quickly. The criteria are :
Sorting – You can sort by any number of criteria to place the players in the order you wish.
Positions – You can choose to view just one particular type of player. e.g. defenders only.
Leagues – You can choose to view players from all leagues or just one.
Divisions – If you have selected one league only to view you can also decide to look at just one
division.
Contracts – You can choose to view only transfer listed players or players with short contracts.
Squad – You can choose to look at first team players or just reserve players.
Scout Suggest – In addition to the above, click on this button and your head scout will determine
which of the players you have in the list may be useful to you. (He will remove all players who are
too good or not good enough for your team).
You can also set an age range and value range of players that you wish to look at.
Skills – You can also select ranges for each skill by clicking on skills and then setting a lower and
upper limit for each skill.
Reset – Within one time period the players you have chosen to look at will remain the same. When a
time period passes the player search screen will revert back to listing every player. You can do this
yourself at any time by clicking on the RESET button which sets all criteria back to all.
The options on this screen are :
APPROACH – Click here if you wish to approach the club to buy the player.
LOAN – Click here if you wish to approach the club to loan the player.
VIEW - To view the players in more detail. (You can also approach player from here)
SKILLS / DETAILS – You can toggle between the players skills and his contract details.
SHORTLIST – You may not be sure whether the player will be suitable or not. Click on this button
to short list the player. (Go to short list help for more details).
You can scroll through the player search list very quickly by right clicking on the arrows which will
scroll a full page at a time.
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Short List
n the short list screen you can see a list of players you have short listed at the top and a list of
players currently in your team at the bottom. If any player you have shortlisted is approached
by another club you will automatically be informed by a message on your voicemail and be able to
enter the bidding for the player.
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COMPARE
This is the default when entering this screen. You can click on the skill buttons on both player lists
in the same way that you can on team selection and compare the bar charts of both sets of players.
This will help you to decide whether the players you have shortlisted are as good as your current
players.
SORT – You can also sort both sets of players by skills. Click on Sort and then the skill to sort.
BUY – You can approach a club to buy a player by selecting the player from the list and then
selecting BUY.
LOAN – You can approach a club to loan a player by selecting the player from the list and then
selecting LOAN.
REMOVE – This will remove the player from your short list.
SCOUTS
Click on the player you wish to scout and then click on the SCOUT button. This will bring up a new
bottom panel listing all scouts available to you. Click on APPLY SCOUT to apply the scout to the
player. UNAPPLY will un-apply him. If you do not have enough scouts you can click on EMPLOY
SCOUTS and go to the Coaches/Scouts (Training staff) screen, employ a scout and then return.
Once a scout has been applied he will watch the player for you.
PROGRESS
After a number of weeks, your scout will have produced a report listing how well the player has
performed and he will also make a recommendation on whether you should buy this player.
PLEASE NOTE – Scouts do not always get it right. The better the quality scout, the greater chance
that he will be right about the player. If the player is a youth player the scout will try to establish
whether the player will develop into a player that would be useful to the team. If the player is over
20 he will try to decide whether the player would be any good in the team now. Clicking on the
COMPARE button will return to the screen listing your short listed players and your own squad.
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Current Negotiations
uring the buying and selling of players, and the loaning in and out of players, all negotiations are
listed on this screen. The top half of the screen will list all details of players you are trying to buy
and loan in , the bottom half will list all details of players other teams are trying to buy or loan from you.
On the left is listed the player concerned. Underneath this is a text description of what status the
negotiations have got to. On the right there are two buttons that can appear. The REPLY button will
appear when a response has been received from either the club or the player’s agent. Whenever
this button appears you should immediately click on it and read the reply. (Refer to the buying
players section for help on what to do with negotiation faxes).
The DROP button is a quick get out – simply click on this to end the negotiations.
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Buying Players
hen you wish to buy players you now have to go through four stages. An initial enquiry to the
club, negotiations with the club over the transfer fee, whether the player is interested or not
and finally negotiations with the player over wages etc. Each one of the stages will take some time,
so you will have to approach clubs, continue to play the game and wait for their responses which can
vary on how long they take to reply to you.
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APPROACH CLUB
When you have decided to buy a player and have approached the club, you will be presented by
an APPROACH CLUB fax. Click on send to approach the club.
CLUB REJECTS APPROACH
They may decide that the player is not for sale and will reject your offer. If you attempt to buy players
that are far too good for your team, the responses will not be polite!
CLUB REQUESTS FEE
If the club is interested, you will receive a fax with details of how much they want for the player. You
have four options :
VIEW – To view the players details in full
REJECT – Reject the fee outright and end negotiations
CONSIDER – Leave the deal outstanding while you think about it
MAKE AN OFFER – Reply to the club and make an offer
MAKE AN OFFER
You can now make an offer for the player. In addition to the initial fee, you can offer them a reduced
initial fee and extra cash when the player has made a certain number of appearances. You can also
add players into the deal from your own squad. (Note that if you choose additional cash or suggest
player swaps the overall value of what you are offering must be higher than the player’s value you
are trying to buy).
CLUB REJECTS OFFER
If the club decides they are not happy at all with your offer they will end negotiations.
CLUB REQUESTS FEE
If the club decides that your offer is not sufficient they may reply asking for better terms. They will list what
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you have offered and also list what they would be prepared to accept. Again you have four options :
VIEW – To view the player’s details in full
REJECT – Reject the fee outright and end negotiations
CONSIDER – Leave the deal outstanding while you think about it
MAKE AN OFFER – Reply to the club and make an offer
You can go back and forth and negotiate for a while but after some time they may end the
negotiations if they feel that a deal will never be reached.
CLUB ACCEPTS OFFER
If the club is happy with your offer, you will receive a message from the club that they are happy and
that the player’s agent will be in touch.
PLAYER REJECTS APPROACH
Through the club may be happy the player may not want to move and you may receive a fax from
his agent stating that he has no wish to join your club.
PLAYER REQUESTS TERMS
If the player may want to join you, you will now receive a fax from the player’s agent outlining the
deal that the player wants. You have four options :
VIEW – To view the player’s details in full
REJECT – Reject the fee outright and end negotiations
CONSIDER – Leave the deal outstanding while you think about it
MAKE AN OFFER – Reply to the agent and make an offer
MAKE AN OFFER
If you have decided that you want the player you can now make the player an offer of the following
criteria :
His weekly wages
His signing on fee
Bonus for your team coming first in your division
Bonus for winning any cup
Bonus for getting promoted or qualifying for Europe
Bonus for reaching the cup final
Bonus for every time the team wins
Bonus for every goal the player scores
His contract length
Click on VIEW to view details of the deal so far.
The player will now decide whether you are offering fair wages and signing on fee, whether the
bonuses are sufficient and if the contract is length is acceptable.
PLAYER REJECTS TERMS
If the player is very unhappy with your offer he may reject it outright.
PLAYER REQUESTS TERMS
If the player/agent decides that your offer is not sufficient they may reply asking for better terms.
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They will list what you have offered and also list what they would be prepared to accept. Again you
have four options :
VIEW – To view the players details in full
REJECT – Reject the fee outright and end negotiations
CONSIDER – Leave the deal outstanding while you think about it
MAKE AN OFFER – Reply to the agent and make an offer
You can go back and forth and negotiate for a while but after some time they may end the
negotiations is they feel that a deal will never be reached.
PLAYER ACCEPTS TERMS
If the player is happy with the deal, you will receive a player accepts terms fax and the player will
join you.
NOTES
If you do not have enough money for the player, you cannot buy him. Make sure you have enough
money or eventually you will lose the player as they will become bored with you trying to raise the cash.
There is a transfer deadline which you will be informed about. Make sure all deals are done
before this deadline arrives as the deal will be cancelled. Transfer deadlines vary from country to
country so be careful.
Selling Players
o sell a player you can access the Sell Players panel and place him on the transfer list. (You can
also unlist him if he is already transfer listed and view his details).
You can also place him on the transfer list by clicking on his player information screen and click on
the transfer list button. (If you wish you can select FASTSELL players from this screen which will sell
him immediately but at a greatly reduced amount).
Once on the transfer list, you will receive offers from clubs. You may also receive offers from
clubs even if the player is not on the transfer list. (Though you can prevent this by clicking on the
NOT FOR SALE button in the player information file).
Selling players is very similar to buying players except that everything is in reverse. You will
receive offers from clubs which you can reject, consider or set a fee for the player. The club will then
accept, reject or re-negotiate with you. If you both agree on a deal then it will be up to your player
to decide. Your player may decide that he does not want to go to the club or cannot agree terms in
which case he will remain with your club even though you had agreed a deal.
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Loaning In Players
f you wish to loan in players, the only criteria you need to consider is how long the loan period is. There
is a limit to how many loan players you can have at any one time and a limit to how many you can loan
in over an entire season (five). You should only use this option to solve a short term injury problem.
Remember that clubs are only likely to loan out their RESERVE players in most cases. Also note that
if you loan a player you will have to pay the wages that he would normally receive at his club.
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APPROACH CLUB FOR LOAN
When you have decided to loan in a player and have approached the club, you will be presented by
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an APPROACH CLUB FOR LOAN panel. Enter the number of weeks that you wish to have the
player for and the click on send. The default is 4.
CLUB REJECTS LOAN APPROACH
If the club decides that the player is not available they will send this fax to you. The main reasons
for rejecting it are if they feel the player would not get many games at your club or if they feel that
they may need his services at some time or that he is far too good for your team and would not
benefit from playing against weak opposition.
They may also reject the approach if the time you want him for is too long or too short.
CLUB ACCEPTS LOAN APPROACH
If the club is happy for the player to come on loan you will receive this fax message and the player
will join you immediately.
Loaning Out Players
ccessing the LOAN PLAYERS screen will allow you to loan list a player. You will now receive
offers from clubs wishing to take your player on loan. You may also receive loan requests even
though the player is not on your loan list.
You will receive requests from clubs and all you need to do is agree on the number of weeks
the player will go on loan for. Once this is agreed the player will go immediately.
Loaning out players is a great way of improving the morale of players who are not getting many
first team appearances as they get to play for other teams. Their wages are also paid by the club
who takes them and they will also gain valuable match experience.
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MATCH DAY SCREEN
Click on the tunnel in the squad room or select START MATCH from the menu bar to begin a match
or move on to the next time period if you do not have a match. If you have a match, you will now
enter the tunnel that leads onto the pitch. You have three options –
START MATCH (tunnel opening) – To start the match, INSTANT MATCH (Door to the right) - that
will play the match immediately if you do not wish to view it) and CANCEL (Door to the left) - to
return to the squad room.
Click on START MATCH to enter the pitch view. There are a number of options available before you
start the game.
KICK OFF – To start the game
INSTANT – If you want an instant result
CANCEL – If you want to return to the squad room
Individual instructions
TEAM TALK ON – The players will use the individual instructions that you have set up in team talk in this
game.
IND MATCH INST – This will ignore the individual instructions from team talk and allow you to enter
individual instructions for your players for this game only. Click on the button and then click on the
player number you are interested in, you can view his skills or click on the button below and give
him further instructions. You can also pause the game at any time and click on the player on the
pitch and apply instructions this way. (You can also click on an opposition player and view his skills)
There are a number of other options…
PAUSE/START – To pause and start the game.
REPLAY – To pause the game and replay the action and save to video if you wish. Click on the
standard symbols to play, pause, rewind etc. Press store to record the action to video.
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OPTIONS – Allows you to view the game in any view you wish. You can choose NORMAL or
OVERHEAD view, choose to see numbers/names or both above the players heads and choose
whether to display this information for just your team or both teams. You can also turn off the
commentary from here.
SPEED ARROWS – The game can run at Norm, x2, x4, x8 and x 16 speeds. Simply click on the
arrows either side of the speed indicated. The game contains commentary which can only be heard
at Norm and x2 speeds only. (English, French and German only).
SUBS – To make a substitution or change formations etc, click on SUBS. When the action pauses
for a free kick or the ball goes out of play, you will automatically enter the substitutions screen which
is exactly the same as TEAM TALK except you can not alter extra bonuses. You can also enter the
TEAM SELECTION screen and swap players around here (though it only displays the players
available to you in this particular match).
MATCH INFORMATION
On the left of the panel, details of goals will appear, the scorer and the time scored. On the right
hand side of the panel, any incidents in the game will be reported such as goals, free kicks, offside
etc and the time they occurred.
HALF and FULL TIME PANELS
At half time you will be presented with the half time panel. This shows details of the match, any
goals, bookings, free kicks, injuries etc. You can choose to simply continue the game or select
SUBS and make any changes to your team, formation or tactics.
The same panel also appears at full time giving you the match information for the whole match.
Click on VIEW PLAYER STATS for details on how well players performed, who won man of the
match etc.
NOTE – At half time and for the remainder of the game, the player will have a new skill which exists
only for the duration of the game, called MT. This is his performance stat for this game. It will help
you to see if your player is performing well or not. You can see this stat by viewing him in the team
selection screen via the SUBS screen or by clicking on the player in the game
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THE OFFICES
here are two main offices in the game where you should go to regularly. Your office (The
Manager’s office) and your bosses office (The Chairman’s office). Both contain very useful
information and will help you decide whether or not you are making the right decisions.
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The Managers Office
This is your office, where you will need to carry out most of your managerial duties. Action hot spots are :
FILING CABINET - Information and player contracts
PHONE (VOICEMAIL) – Internal club communications
COMPUTER (EMAIL) – External communications
NEWSPAPER – Match reports and news stories
SEIRRATEXT – Complete information service for domestic and all foreign leagues
VIDEO – View video highlights
PRINTER – Print team lists etc
FIXTURE LIST – View all teams fixtures and past results
MOBILE PHONE – For those “secret” phone calls
SCRAP BOOK – Save all those historic newspaper reports
For more help on these items click on the item on the screen and then select help.
Filing System
elect any one of the four drawers in the cabinet to access the file required. (Once in the filing system, you
can transfer to any of the other files by selecting any of the other heading buttons at the top of the screen)
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PLAYERS FILE
This lists details on the entire squad. There are four different sets of information on this screen
(default is contract).
CONTRACT – This shows the players current value, his weekly wages, his contract length (in weeks)
and his contract status. (This will say listed when he is transfer listed).
SKILLS – This lists the player’s skills, fitness and their age. (Skills are explained in more detail in the
PLAYERS help section).
APPRS – This lists the player’s appearances in all games (substitution appearances in brackets),
plus any goals, goal assists, man of the match awards, his overall performance rating (out of 100)
and his morale.
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DISCIPLINE – This lists how many disciplinary points the player has accumulated together with how
many red and yellow cards he has received. The current status column will list any details on current
bans the player is serving and in which competitions.
Clicking on any player’s name will take you to the Player Information file which will provide details on
the player in much more detail. (See help on Player Information for more details).
PLAYER INFORMATION
Clicking on any player from almost anywhere in the game will bring up this panel. This panel is
divided into two main areas :
DETAILS – This lists details of his preferred position, his skills, his contractual details with the club
plus any bonuses, and general information on his age, date of birth, nationality, morale, aspirations
and a general description of the player’s abilities.
HISTORY – This lists in detail (from when the game starts) his appearances, goals, discipline etc
divided into the various competitions. His current season will be displayed into the top right hand
corner and below this will appear all previous season’s details. The bottom right hand corner lists
the players transfer history up to joining the club. (As transfers occur within the game, this will be
updated).
If you are viewing one of your players, there are three options on this screen :
New Contract – when you wish to offer the player a new contract, click here to negotiate.
Transfer List – If you wish to place a player on the transfer list click here and then press SET to set
his transfer fee. (If you are short of cash you can fastsell your player. He will be sold immediately but
at a greatly reduced amount).
Not For Sale – Throughout the game, you maybe approached by other teams who wish to buy
your players. If you never wish to sell a particular player you can tag him here as unavailable and
you will not receive approaches for this player.
CLUB FILE
This lists all the club’s details for the current season and what they have achieved so far in all
competitions. The bottom section lists their current record since the game began.
Click on GRAPH to see how your team has progressed in the league this season.
Click on TRANSFER to see details of all your clubs transfer dealings. The top section displays the
clubs record transfers in and out.
Click on OTHER TEAMS and then on any other team to see details on that particular club.
MANAGER FILE
This is your personal record over the years of how well you have done as a manager.
HISTORY FILE
This displays historical details of your club. General details, the club’s best ever performances in all
competitions and all league, cup and European honours achieved. As the game progresses,
additional honours and any records broken will be updated here.
Voice Mail
his is where you will receive messages from internal sources. i.e. The Chairman, scouts, coaches
etc. Some are merely informative messages but be careful as many of them will require action
as they will be informing you of a problem.
If the next button appears it means that there is more than one message. Click on the next button
and read all messages until the return button appears which will return to the messages panel or to the
Sierratext screen if there are no outstanding messages. Exit will exit to the manager screen.
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Email
his is where you receive messages from external sources. i.e. Player Agents, the FA etc. If the
next button appears it means that there is more than one message. Click on the next button and
read all messages until the return button appears which will return to the messages panel or
Sierratext if there are no outstanding messages. Exit will exit to the manager screen.
Click on SAVE if you wish to save an email message for reference later. Clicking on ARCHIVES
will access all saved messages, giving you the option to re-read or delete them.
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Newspaper
THE MAIN PAGE
The newspaper will always be available to be read from the managers office. When there are unread
news stories , you will be prompted with the end of week panel.
The newspaper is divided into the following sections :
MATCH REPORTS – This will give a brief description of any match that your team has been involved
in as well as any important cup final results.
TRANSFER NEWS – This will list any transfer deals you have been involved in together with news
on any major transfers involving other teams.
SPORTS BAG – This will contain letters from your fan club/supporters club if you are playing
particularly well or badly.
OTHER NEWS – Other stories such as injuries, broken records etc involving your team and others
will appear here.
When there are unread articles in any of the above categories, a large red ring will appear on the
newspaper showing you where the article is. Click on the red ring to read the article.
RESULTS / TABLES – These are permanently available to be read and can be accessed by simply
clicking on them.
THE ARTICLE PAGE
If there is more than one article, the next button will appear, click on “Next” to see the next article. If you
wish to save an article click on the “Add to scrapbook” button. This will now save it in the scrapbook.
SCRAPBOOK
Click on the scrapbook to re-read previously saved news items and delete them if you wish.
Sierratext
he SierraText TV allows you to look at information about leagues in all six countries in the game.
Accessing Sierratext from the managers office will give you details on your current league. You can also
access the other five countries leagues by clicking on the relevant menu option on the main menu bar.
You can move through the menus by clicking on the headings printed on the page. You can also
go direct to the main menu, results, fixtures and league tables by clicking on the coloured text at the
bottom of the screen. For pages that have page numbers and arrows in the top right hand corner – you
can click on the arrows and page through several pages of information on the same subject.
Information that can be viewed in Sierratext includes :
Fixtures - All league, domestic and European matches scheduled.
Results - Shows all the last match day results
League Tables - Shows all league tables for the domestic league and European cup. (Click on the
screen to tab through all, home and away tables)
Current Form - The clubs with the best current form
Football Extra – Manager of the month/year, national team squads, transfers, average attendances
and referee skills
Player Info – Top scorers, goal assists, man of the match awards, and discipline tables.
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Video
This is where you can view any video highlights you stored when viewing the match and using the instant
replay option. All instant replays stored will be contained in one match file. Click on the video highlight file
you wish to view and press play. You can also delete the highlights if you no longer wish to keep them.
Fixture List
his lists all your team’s fixtures for the season. Click on a team (in a forthcoming match) to view the
oppostion. If a match has been played the details of that match will appear if you click on it. The number
in brackets after a team depicts its current league position. Letters in brackets depicts which nationality the
team is. Click on OTHER TEAMS to view details of other teams fixtures. Click on PRINT to print your fixture
list. Click on ARRANGE FRIENDLIES to arrange pre-season friendlies. At the start of the season, you
can arrange up to four pre-season friendly matches. Select the division and select a suitable team.
Click on the date and whether the match is home or away. Please note that you cannot play
friendlies against teams in the same division as you.
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Mobile Phone
This phone is used for the more shadier side of your business. Use it ensure victory or increase your cash.
The majority of people in the league are scrupulously honest, so be very careful about who you offer
money to. If you go too far you could not only lose your job but your liberty also! Phone options are :
1) Rig Match - If matches are not going your way and you really need a win, then as last resort you
can offer the opposing team a large cash incentive to lose. Choose the amount you wish to offer
and click on OFFER. If the club accepts the money, then your chances of winning increase. Beware
- this does not mean that you will always get the result you want.
2) Offer Bung - If you are having problems signing the player you want, it may be beneficial to
offer the player’s manager a large bung to persuade him to change his mind. Choose the club
to make the offer to and the amount of the bung. If the club accepts, the chances of him now
accepting an transfer bid will increase.
3) Place Bet - Highlight your betting option and insert the amount of money you wish to bet.
4) News on bets – These are messages from your bookmaker.
Printer
Here you have the option to print :
TEAM LIST – Click on YOUR TEAM to print your current squad with skill ratings, or click on OTHER
TEAM and then select a team to print their current squad.
FIXTURE LIST – Click on YOUR TEAM to print your fixture list, or click on OTHER TEAM and then
select a team to print their fixture list.
SHORT LIST – Click on YOUR TEAM to print details of any player that you have on your short list.
ACCOUNTS – Click on YOUR TEAM to print details of your current accounts.
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The Chairmans Office
his is where you need to go to report to your Chairman. You should pay him frequent visits as he will
almost always have something to say about each match you take part in. Action hot spots are :
THE GRAPHS – Access to manager ratings and graphs
OBJECTIVES NOTE – A note from the Chairman on what he expects in the next game.
TROPHIES – This builds into a history of who won what and when. Let’s hope your team’s name
appears here!
For more help on these items click on the item on the screen and then select help.
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Evaluation
Your performance will be constantly evaluated by many different sources.
Chairman – The Chairman and the board will be looking for good performances (and good financial
management if you are playing the Manager option).
Financial – The bank will be looking for good financial management, not many loans and overdrafts
and a healthy bank balance. (This rating does not apply when using the coach only option).
Fan Morale – Fans want to see good performances, good cup runs, a safe stadium and do not
like be overcharged for tickets and facilities.
Player/Staff Morale – Players want good wages and bonuses and top players expect to play in
the first team.
Each of these sections will have a percentage score plus a text description of how they rate your
performance. Click on the Graphs button on to see how well you have performed over the season
in a graphical format.
Evaluation Graphs
ere you can see whether or not you are improving as the season continues in graphical format.
Click on any of the buttons next to the coloured squares to toggle the graph lines on and off if
you wish to see a clearer picture of one particular area.
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Trophies
lick on any of the buttons at the bottom of the panel to see details of the winner and runners
up in any one of the competitions.
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BUSINESS ROOM
ll functions in the business room are only available when playing the Manager option. When
using the Coach option these are automatically controlled by the game.
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Business room action hot spots are :
ADVERTISING SIGN – Click here to view and accept advertising offers for stadium boards and
magazine/programmes.
TICKETS SIGN – Click here to maintain your ticket prices
SPONSORSHIP BOARD – Click here to view/accept/reject sponsorship offers.
BURGER BAR – Click here to maintain your catering prices
SHOP – Click here to maintain your merchandise prices.
ACCOUNTS – Click here to view accounts and access your finances to arrange loans, go public,
apply for grants etc.
For more help on these items click on the item on the screen and then select help.
Advertising
here are two forms of advertising open to your club – Ad boards around the stadium and pages
in your match day program / magazine. The bigger your club, the more boards and pages you
will have to sell. Click on the Stadium Boards/Magazines button to toggle between the two options.
To select an offer, click from any of the offers listed in the OFFERS list. This will now appear on the
left hand side as a CURRENT advertiser.
Ad boards can be sold on season basis for all league games and on a match by match basis
for home cup games. (In home cup games, all advertising revenue is kept by your club though 50%
of attendance revenue goes to the other club.)
Ad board advertisers will appear with real company logos in the match view stadium.
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If you do not wish to vet offers on a week by week basis, you can let your assistant take care of
business by selecting the assistant on/off button. His choices may not always be as good as yours
but at least the money will keep flowing.
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Ticket Prices
rices are crucial to the level of support your club will receive. Too high and attendance will fall.
Too low and you could be missing out on that much needed revenue. Remember to keep the
prices low for friendlies and hike the prices up for a cup tie.
For each type of stand you can enter a price for league (and friendly) games, cup games and
season tickets. Only the type of stands your stadium has will be highlighted. Free school tickets will
improve fan morale slightly but will also reduce revenue.
The graphs at the bottom of the screen display the revenues and attendance for the club. Click
on the arrows to toggle between the stadium as a whole and individual stand types. Click on any
bar on the graph to view information on that particular game.
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Sponsorship
t the beginning of the game you will receive messages from your Chairman about possible
sponsorship deals. You should go the sponsorship logo board in the business room when you
receive this message or select sponsorship from the menu bar.
You must decide whether to accept or reject the deal. The lower divisions may find it difficult to
get a good deal, whilst the higher rated clubs will often have to turn down offers. Be careful when
turning down offers. It may be a while before another comes along. Remember good cup runs and
TV coverage will also increase your revenue.
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Catering
ere you can maintain your prices for all food and drink items sold in your catering
establishments. You can decide to view all catering items from all outlets or from just one
specific outlet by selecting any one of the buttons on the bottom bar. You can also select a specific
outlet by clicking on the four pictures in the top left corner.
You can review the costs of items (which will rise with inflation) and alter the prices of any item
and view total sales and profit of each item. Note that the cost and price of a single item will apply
to all outlet types and not just the type you are currently viewing.
As a general rule, prices should be set at approximately double that of the costs. By clicking on an
item you can view sales and profit on that particular item on the graphs in the top right corner.
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Merchandising
ere you can maintain your prices for all merchandise items sold in your shops. You can decide
to view all merchandise items from all outlets or from just one specific outlet by selecting any
one of the buttons on the bottom bar.
You can review the costs of items (which will rise with inflation) and alter the prices of any item and
view total sales and profit of each item. Note that the cost and price of a single item will apply to all
outlet types and not just the type you are currently viewing.
As a general rule, prices should be set at approximately double that of the costs.
By clicking on an item in the list you can view sales and profit on that particular item on the graphs
in the top right corner.
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CHANGE MERCHANDISE ITEMS
You can alter the items you sell in the stalls, small and large shops. (Make sure you have not got the
All Outlets button selected). Click on the items in the top left corner (or on the shelf it there is no
item there). You will now be presented with a panel which lists all items available. Click through the
arrows left and right to replace or add a new merchandise item.
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Accounts
iew your weekly or yearly accounts at a glance to see how well you are doing. The first section
shows your total income, the second section shows your costs. On this screen you can see your
operating profit or loss. This is the profitability of your club without taking into account interest or
transfers. Click on Print to print accounts. Click on Finances to enter the Finance screen.
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Finance
Use this screen to raise extra finance for your club if you need to.
LOANS - If your cash flow is good enough you may be granted a loan, although you will be
assessed as to your highest possible monthly repayment and maximum loan allowable which is
calculated based on your club size and performance.
OVERDRAFTS - If you have a short term cash flow problem, try an overdraft instead.
GRANTS – If you are a small club and have terraced stands you can apply for a grant from the
football trust who may provide you with cash to improve your stadium. Depending on how strapped
for cash you are and how full your current stadium is, will determine whether or not you will receive
a grant.
Large clubs with full seater stadiums cannot apply. If your application is successful , make sure you
spend the money on your stadium – Failure to do so will result in the sack!
GO PUBLIC – Many clubs now decide to go public and be quoted on the Stock Exchange. This
option is only available to private limited clubs. Your playing performances and league positions will
affect the recommendation on whether or not you should go public.
Please note that an initial floatation will generate a lot of cash but as a public company your costs
will increase as a proportion of your profits will now be allocated on a weekly basis to shareholders.
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GROUND IMPROVEMENT
Improve Stadium
Select the stand section you wish to improve by clicking on it. You can also scroll through the other
stands using the stand selection arrows in the top right hand corner of the screen.
Select the stand capacity arrows on the top left to increase the capacity. Click on the
Seating/Terrace buttons to select stand type and click on the covered/uncovered button to add a
cover.
Note that you cannot reduce a stand size, change seating back to terracing or uncover a stand.
You can also add executive boxes by clicking on the arrows left and right of the boxes text. (Please
note that you cannot build boxes on corner stands).
Below you will see how much cash you have available to you, how much the total improvement
cost will be and how long it will take to improve.
You can toggle through as many stands as you wish to make all the changes you want
(remember not to improve too many stands at once or you will have no where for fans to go!)
Corner sections will not be available until the two adjacent stands are large enough.
Maintenance – This is a percentage of how well the stadium is being maintained. (The cost figure
below shows how much it costs to maintain your stadium on a weekly basis). This figure can be
reduced if you are short of money and need to reduce costs. Be very careful when doing this as it
will reduce your ground condition.
Ground Condition – This currently shows the current condition of your stadium. If this falls much
below 100% you could be in trouble. Parts of the stadium may fall into disrepair and possibly even
collapse. Raising the maintenance level to above 100% will improve the stadium condition back to
mint condition.
The bottom of the screen lists a summary of all changes requested. To make the improvement click
on IMPROVE.
If you make changes to a stand and then exit the screen without improving them, you will be
prompted as to whether you wish to make these improvements or exit without improving them.
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Improve Building
This screen is only accessible through the menu option. Click on the button below each building
type to select which type of building to build.
You will now return to the main stadium screen with a new cursor. Position the building wherever
you wish on the grey area to the bottom of the stadium.
Left click with the mouse to select your desired position. (If you wish to place more than one building
of the same type, move to a new position and left click again). When you are satisfied with the
quantity and locations, RIGHT CLICK the mouse. You will now have the option to confirm or cancel.
Building times will vary depending on their size.
Demolish building - To demolish a building (for redevelopment etc), click on the button and then
select the building you wish to demolish. (Certain buildings like the managers office, the chairmans
office and the business room cannot be demolished.)
Stats - Click on this button to see a summary of how many buildings you have.
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OTHER TEAMS
In several areas in the game, you can click on an opposition team or player and get details on the
player just as you can with the club and player filing cabinets. In addition to this you can access all
teams from the DATA room. Select a league, a division and then a team to view the team’s details.
You can now click on the PLAYERS button to view a squad listing of the team. Clicking on any player
from here will display full details on the player.
MULTI-PLAYER
START MATCH / NEXT MANAGER OPTIONS
Throughout the game, there are several options to start the match. This button is called Start Match.
If you are playing multi-player mode, this button will change to Next Manager to depict that all
managers have not yet had their go.
WATCHING MATCHES
Once the last manager is selected the button will return to Start Match and then all managers
matches will be played in the same order as they are selected in the main game. If two managers
are playing against each other, any time a button is selected on the playing screen e.g. subs, the
game will ask which manager is requesting a change.
RESIGNING / SUSPENDING
In multi-player mode there are two extra options that appear in the FILE menu. Any player who
wishes to quit a multi-player game can do so by clicking on RESIGN. This player will now leave the
game and the other player(s) can continue. If a player wishes to simply suspend his game, he can
select PLAYER CONTROL and suspend his team. The other player(s) can continue to play and the
suspended team will be controlled by the computer, until such time as the player wishes to return
to the game which he does by accessing player control again and selecting resume.
END OF SEASON
At the end of every season, you will be shown a number of panels outlining each divisional and cup
winner (with runners up), teams promoted and relegated, top managers and players etc. This is only
for the league your team is playing in. You also have the option to view the same details for all other
leagues in the game.
After this you have the option of continuing with your team by pressing CONTINUE or you can
apply for a new job with a new team. (There will have been a number of managerial casualties during
the year!) Select APPLY FOR JOB to apply for a new job. Depending on how well you did last year
and which division you are currently in, the game will decide whether or not you get the job.
Remember that you can apply for jobs in any one of the six leagues.
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THE STAT EDITOR
We have spent a great deal of time collecting statistical information on players, managers and clubs.
Unfortunately the very nature of football means that by the time we have shipped the game, a
number of players, managers etc have moved on. This is why we have supplied you with a stat
editor so that you can update team lists and even player skills if you want to.
To use the STAT editor run USM98 Statistics Editor from the Sierra program group in the
Windows 95 Start Menu. Once you have selected a team to edit. You will be presented with a
screen listing the team. At the top of the screen you change the team name, the manager name,
ground name etc.
If you want to make any changes to the player, click on his name. Here you can change his
name, his date of birth and any one of his individual stats.
You can repeat this as many times as you like.
Once you are happy with all your changes, click on SAVE on the button bar. From now on
whenever you start a new game, you will be asked whether you wish to play with the standard data
file that comes with the game or select you own new version of the data. This is depicted by having
(user) displayed in front of it.
Please note that editing skills will have no effect on existing saved games. The changes will only
apply from the next new game started.
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WHAT’S NEW IN USM98?
NEW FOR THE 1997/98 SEASON
•
Includes all team and player details updated for the 1997/98 season including promo
tions, relegations, player transfers, rule changes and European cup positions.
•
More background and historical information on all clubs from 6 European countries.
EXTRA LEAGUES
•
USM98 now includes the following leagues - English, Scottish, Italian, French, Spanish
and German.
•
All leagues run concurrently with each other, so managers can switch between leagues if
exciting job offers appear in Europe. The only football management game to run
concurrent leagues.
•
Any league can be played in any language.
MORE ACCURATE TEAM & PLAYER DATA
•
All teams and players details across Europe have been extensively researched for greater
player accuracy.
•
New details include optimum player positions, left/right sided, better more accurate stats,
combination positions, player values etc.
•
Hidden player stats such as accelerated development and peer development are now
used to find and train the stars of tomorrow.
•
Up to 30 players per team including reserve team players and youth team players.
•
Enhanced team training schedule for individual players and whole team.
IMPROVED GRAPHICS / INTERFACE
•
The fastest and most user friendly interface there is! Dual access system - new drop down
menu or hot spot icons to go direct to major rooms.
•
Exciting new panels designs with a real classic football feel to them.
•
New animations, real photographs, new multiple match views and more 3-d rendered
locations combine to create the ultimate footballing effect.
MORE FUN / MORE REALISM
•
Includes all the fun aspects sadly missing in other football sims
•
Cheat your way to the top with bets, bribes and bungs if you so wish, but be careful, you
may get caught
•
The only football management sim to tackle all issues head on such as crowd violence,
and stadium maintenance (or lack of it).
MORE ACCURATE TRANSFER MODEL
•
Now includes a new revolutionary new transfer model for more accurate player transfers
(both in and out) , player loans and player exchanges.
Includes transfer deadlines, full player search across all major European leagues and new
enhanced in-depth contact negotiations between players and clubs.
•
Player search criteria and scouting facilities have also been greatly improved to provide
managers will accurate and meaningful information.
•
Heavily detailed acceptance criteria and complex randomising routines are combined to
create the most accurate and detailed transfer model yet.
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NEW TACTICS SYSTEM
•
New tactics system to create your own formations, moves and set pieces - completely
redesigned for easier use.
•
Two separate difficulty modes (“Set formations” and “Enhanced tactics”).
MORE ACCURATE MATCH MODEL
•
A vastly improved match model which will really take account of all manager actions.
•
Includes better defensive and attacking headers, ball and player animations, goalkeeper
actions, man to man marking and improved player intelligence.
•
More accurate match animations which tie in to better AI in the game. More accurate
penalties and penalty decisions, fouls, bookings, sendings off etc.
•
Auto half time system with more half time options available to the manager.
•
More accurate injuries and player suspensions.
MATCH COMMENTARY - New speech model with match commentary has been added to the
game to give the match view screen more realism.
TWIN MODE OF PLAY - Coach mode for those who wish to concentrate on the team and Full
management mode which will allow full control over all club finances as well.
FINANCES - More accurate finances regarding player transfers, player wages, stadium building (all
stadiums sizes are accurate) and all other financial aspects of a modern football club. Improved
sponsorship, advertising, merchandising and catering functions.
ON-LINE – A new on-line web site is now available providing information on game updates, the
USM98 team, future enhancements etc. (WWW.ultimatesoccer.com)
ENHANCED SIERRATEXT - New enhanced Sierratext system to report even more information than
ever before including results, tables, form guide, best players, top scorers, international squads,
disciplinary tables, player awards, transfers etc
IMPROVED JOURNALISM - More match reports with more details. Other big stories involving other
clubs such as big signings, injuries etc. now also appear.
MORE ACCURATE AND EXTRA CUP COMPETITIONS - More accurate cup data regarding
European qualifying rounds and all new European rules. Auto Windscreen and Charity shield are
included.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - New video highlights system to record and replay all your favourite match
actions from any game!
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CUSTOMER SERVICES
Customer Service / Technical Support and ‘Fax-back’ service
Tel: (0118) 920 9111
Fax: (0118) 987 5603
Lines open 24 hrs, 365 days a year,
using our automated technical support
attendant. This system includes answers
to all commonly posed questions and
problems with our new and major titles. It
is set up in a friendly and easy to use
menu system that you navigate through
using a touch tone telephone. This service
will also allow you to automatically receive
by
fax
technical
troubleshooting
documents about the games you are
having trouble with, even in the middle of
the night! If the answer to your question is
not in our automated system, then you will
be transferred to a technician between the
hours of 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.
Here are some key-presses that will allow you to navigate through our automated attendant. Note that these
are the standard letter assignments that are given to UK telephones so if your phone has letters on the
keypad, please use them instead:
2:
A, B, C
3:
D, E, F
4:
G, H, I
5:
J, K, L
6:
M, N, O
7:
P, R, S
8:
T, U, V
9:
W, X, Y
0:
Q, Z
Before you call our technical support lines, please check that you have read the Readme file
included on the game disk #1. You may well find a very quick answer to the problem that you are
facing as these files contain answers to most common problems. If the answer is not here, make
sure you have precise details of any error message that you receive, and details regarding the
specifications of your computer before you call us, as this will help us in giving you a faster and
more efficient service.
If you would prefer to write to us, please send your mail to the following address:
Cendant Software International Ltd
Customer Services / Mail Order / Tech Support Department
2 Beacontree Plaza Gillete Way
Reading • Berkshire
RG2 0BS United Kingdom
Sierra UK Web site
http://www.sierra-online.co.uk
UK Website includes technical support, mail order, chat rooms, product information, game
demos and much, much more.
Hintline (UK callers only)
(0891) 660 660
24 hrs. Automated service requires a touch tone phone. Calls cost 45p/min. cheap rate and
50p/min. at other times. Max call length 7.5 minutes. Max call charge at cheap rate £3.38, £3.75
at other times.
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IMPLIED WARRANTIES LIMITED: CUC SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL MAKES NO
WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS PRODUCT. CUC SOFTWARE
INTERNATIONAL DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SOFTWARE IS FIT FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY IS
EXPRESSLY AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMED, SOME STATES OR COUNTRIES DO
NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON WARRANTY, SO THE ABOVE LIMATION MAY NOT
APPLY TO YOU.
No consequential damages: CUC SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL SHALL NOT BE LIABLE
FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES, EVEN IF CUC
SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL IS ADVISED OF OR AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGES. THIS MEANS THAT CUC SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL SHALL NOT
BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR REVENUES, OR FOR
DAMAGES OR COSTS INCURRED AS A RESULT OF LOSS OF TIME, DATA OR USE OF
THE SOFTWARE, OR FROM ANY OTHER CAUSE EXCEPT THE ACTUAL COST OF THE
PRODUCT. IN NO EVENT SHALL CUC SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL’S LIABILITY
EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THIS PRODUCT. SOME STATES OR COUNTRIES
DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT
APPLY TO YOU.
You are entitled to use this product for your own use, but may not sell or transfer
reproductions of the software manual or book to other parties in any way, nor rent
or lease the product to others. You may use one copy of the product on a single
terminal connected to a single computer. You may not network the product or
otherwise install it on more than one computer or computer terminal at the same
time.
48