Macintosh Football Manager v2.1 (January 31st, 1999)
by Malcolm McQuoid, Copyright 1999. All Rights Reserved WorldWide.
Please send any comments or suggestions to me at: football.manager@dial.pipex.com
Many thanks to everyone who helped in finding bugs and making suggestions for enhancements.
Also a special thanks to those who registered, especially on the early versions.
Distribution:
Macintosh Football Manager is freeware. It is not public domain; I retain the copyright. :)
This application may be distributed without charge as long as it is accompanied by this document. It may also be distributed as part of a Shareware/Freeware collection CD (or other similar media). I would prefer to receive a copy of the CD in that case.
CONTENTS
• Introduction
• Quick Start
• Game Play
• New Game/ Save / Load / Resign / Quit
• Squad / Team / Tactics / Match
• Opposition / Fixtures / Results
• League Tables
• Transfer / Finances / Assistant / Board
• Season Over
• Music
• Data Editor
Introduction
This manual describes how to get the best out of Macintosh Football Manager(MFM) and gives a quick start guide to playing it. If you have problems or are not sure of the computer requirements then there is help in the appendices.
MFM 2 is a major improvement over previous versions because it is written in CodeWarrior Pascal whereas earlier versions were Hypercard programs that ran quite slowly. Brief details of most improvements are are listed in the documentation on disk.
Quick Start
This section shows the quickest way to play your first match but skips most of the complexity and management procedures needed to produce a successful team. If you get stuck then try the HELP buttons for brief information.
To run MFM, simply double click the MFM football icon. In the following text capitalized words denote command buttons.
1) At the Main Screen choose NEW GAME and from the newly loaded Scenario screen simply select STANDARD GAME.
2) Fill in your personal details, select your club, and sign your contract.
3) Now that you are a new manager, a visit to the BOARD is necessary.
4) Use SQUAD to check for injured players and to direct players' duties.
5) Select the TEAM option to set the formation, players and substitutes.
6) Go to the ground via the PLAY MATCH option.
7) Selecting START MATCH initiates kick off.
8) Keep the cursor over the SUBSTITUTES button so that you can react quickly in case of an injury.
9) After the match ends, select ROUND UP to generate the other match results.
It is important to keep an eye both on the state of the players and on the financial situation. The Board take a long term view on the team's league position but are constantly monitoring the finances. If the club runs out of cash they may summon you.
Being successful in MFM entails anticipating injuries and ensuring that the best players are fit for the FA Cup matches. However, at the same time the aim should be to climb the league table because while near the bottom your fans will stay away resulting in low gate receipts. For survival, there are three factors to consider: try to stay within the top ten of your division, manage the finances carefully, and go for long FA Cup run - the Board expect nothing less.
Game Play Options
Game play in MFM is organized around a Main Screen that leads to a number of different situations. Such function separation makes it easier to focus upon the different managerial aspects of MFM.
Generally each screen has a common format. At the top of a screen, and from left to right are: the Club name, your own name, the season number, the next match, and the situation(screen) name. Additionally, at the lower right are usually both Help and Main Screen buttons.
New Game
This option is only available when no other game is in progress and allows either a standard game or custom game to be started.
• The standard game uses the default information for the teams/players, and does not allow placement of your favorite team in any division. For instance, Newcastle United always start in the Premier Division.
• The custom game allows a scenario to be played whose information has been edited either by yourself or by others. With a custom game, you could start your favorite team in the 3rd division and then fight your way to the Premier Division. However, this option is only useful if a custom game has previously been created.
Selecting a Standard or Custom game causes the manager's Contract screen to appear. From there, your name must be entered and a decision made as whether to be a player manager. After that, the division and possible team must be selected. If you elect to be a player manager, your age is automatically set to 25 years, along with a skill appropriate for age and division.
Once your contract is completed, selecting the Sign Contract button starts a new season for your team. A manager's first duty is to visit the Board and obtain their approval. After this, study your team in time for the first match.
Save/Load
Save simply prompts for a file name and saves the current game, irrespective of whether it is a standard or custom game. Each game takes approximately 80k of disk space.
Load simply loads a named saved game, irrespective of whether it was a standard or custom saved game. MFM does not allow non MFM files to be loaded.
Resign
This quits the current game so allowing a new game to be started. An option of cancelling is available if you change your mind.
Quit
This allows MFM to quit and return to the desk top(finder) but warns if the game has not recently been saved.
Squad
This screen allows the players duties to be directed, either to take part in training or to be rested. Much of the information presented here is repeated in the Team screen although there, the larger screen makes it easier to compare players' attributes.
Duties:
It is important to keep an eye on a player’s duty, and either keep them in training, or else order them to rest when injured. Rest heals injuries, reducing the injury by one point after each match. However, while rested, a player's fitness reduces by one point. Training is necessary to improves fitness, increasing it by one point. It is important to note that any injured player selected for the team will not recuperate, even if their playing duty is set to rest.
It is easy to miss an injured player but the vertical red bar helps to highlight injuries. By keeping injured players at the bottom of the squad, any new injuries can be quickly spotted. By using the ‘Squad Duty’ button, the duty of all players can be set simultaneously. Afterwards, using ‘Player`s Duty’ to set individual players.
The following squad table shows these attributes and ranges for each player:
• P - type (Goalkeeper/Defender/Midfielder/Forward).
• AG - age.
• SK - skill (30 to 95).
• FI - fitness (0 to 90).
• IN - injury.
• WAGE - the weekly salary.
• WORTH - transfer value.
• Duty - duty (either resting or training).
Fitness
This is a measure of a player’s stamina and has a large bearing upon their effectiveness on the field. During a match, a player's stamina(fitness) decreases with time resulting in poorly trained players quickly becoming exhausted and less effective. When undergoing training, an uninjured player's fitness will increase by one point between matches, but when resting their fitness decreases by one point.
Injury
This drastically reduces a player’s effectiveness, making them very weak. The injury value indicatesthe number of matches the player will be injured. For instance, if the injury is 3, the player will require resting for 3 matches in order to recuperate.
Age
This affects a player’s natural skill, and although a player’s skill improves by one point for each season until they are 30, once over 33, their skill starts to decrease by one point. For goalkeepers, the decline starts at 38 years of age.
Wage
This shows how much a particular player receives after each match. In order to have a highly skilled team, the penalty is a large wage bill.
Worth
A player’s ‘Worth’ simply denotes their transfer value.
Team
Here the team's formation and a set of players for the next match can be chosen. A team includes the first eleven and up to five substitutes. It is possible to enter a match with only fourteen players, and although not advisable, this may be a necessity when managing a smaller club with low resources.
Playing Position
No matter how skillful a player is, they are less effective when playing out of position. The following table shows their effectiveness for different positions. For instance, a defender has 100% of his normal skill level when playing in defense, but when playing in an attacking position his skill level is reduced to 40% of his normal level.
Playing Position
Player Goal Defense Midfield Attack
Goalkeeper 100 35 30 25
Defender 50 100 50 40
Midfielder 30 50 100 50
Forward 30 40 50 100
The likelihood of injuries needs to be considered because when a player is in possession of the ball they can receive an injury. For example, consider playing only one forward with the long ball game. His risk of injury is high because he will frequently be battling for the ball alone. In contrast, employing two or three forwards reduces an individual's injury risk.
Formation
It is important to carefully choose the formation because it greatly affects how the team play. By considering the match venue, and the skill/fitness of the opposing team, an optimum team can be produced.
Skill & Fitness Comparison
Shown are the three aspects of skill and fitness for both your team and opposition, in the playing areas of Defense, Midfield and Attack. You can make some rough comparisons of your three areas with your opponents.
Shown are:=
• Skill - the total skill for that playing area.
• Fitness - the total fitness for that area showing which team fades earlier.
• Combined - an area's true effectiveness,
this is computed from- effectiveness = skill + fitness/2
Field Areas
Teams try to control each area of the field's five areas. From your perspective these areas are:- your goal area, your defense, your midfield, your forwards, and lastly your opponent's goal area. Within each area players compete for its control and it is important to understand how these players interact. Each of the three central areas, defense, midfield and attack stretch across the field's width. This width is patrolled by the players in that area. For instance, if one forward is played against three defenders then two situations can arise. Firstly, when the forward has the ball, it is competing against three players. However, when one of those defenders is in possession they are only competing against the single forward.
Tactics
Here, orders about the desired match outcome can be given to a team. Some orders involve overall objectives while others are purely tactical. Any orders should be considered carefully in conjunction with the available players and the opposition squad. Many of the following options complement one another and should be considered in the light of the chosen formation. It must be noted that these are general guidelines because once the match is underway, the manager loses control and the players are in command - then statistics/luck come into play.
• Realistic Aim
This is the most important option because it has a higher priority than the others. For example, If 'low score defeat' is mistakenly chosen, the team will not attack but will play defensive, even after losing a goal.
* Low score defeat - The team will try to minimise the goals scored against them.
This is probably a good aim in a league match where the opposition are superior in every area. It is shameful ordering this in a cup match as the minimum aim should be to draw.
* Simple draw - Any draw is acceptable. The team start by trying to hold onto the 0-0 score line, but if they fall behind will attack in order to get the goal back. This is relevant when playing away and only a single point is needed.
* Simple win - The team will try to score first, and if successful will consolidate by playing defensively. This is useful when the team is up against tough opposition and the goal difference is not important.
* High score win - the sensible option when playing weak opponents, as it is better to build up a lead in case they get lucky.
• Game Balance
This affects the overall play but is subordinate to the 'Realistic Aims' given earlier.
* Defensive - a team tries to keep the ball in their own half while retaining possession.
* Balanced - the team uses the ball equally in all areas of the field by moving the ball from defense to attack whilst occasionally passing backwards.
* Attacking - a team attempts to keep the ball in the opposition half, perhaps with the aim of scoring or defending there.
• Start Game
This covers approximately the first twenty minutes of a match and sets the mindset of the team by overriding the 'Realistic Aim' .
* Defend initially - a team tries to keep possession. This is useful when playing away against a strong team because most likely they will start out by attacking. If a team keeps the ball then the opposition cannot possibly score.
* Attack initially - a team tries to score early on. This is a useful option if the team has poor fitness in attack and its forward players may later fade badly.
• Defense Play
The longer the ball is in a team's defensive area, the more likely that the opposition may gain possession and score. When defending there are two options.
* Keep possession - the team tries to pass their way out of defense, appropriate if their defense is much stronger than the opposition attack.
* Kick anywhere - simply kick the ball out of defense, relevant when the team's goalkeeper or defense is very weak and the ball must be quickly cleared.
• Front Service
This is relevant in the light of a midfield's strength and to the importance placed on scoring a large number of goals.
* Via midfield - pass the ball from defense to the midfield players - a good option if the midfield is dominant.
* Long ball - pass the ball from defense straight to the forwards. Bypassing the midfield saves time but forwards have less chance of receiving the pass.
• Midfield Play
A powerful midfield can largely dictate a game by either slowing it down or providing plenty of service to the forwards.
* Slow buildup - midfield layers do not shoot but pass to the forwards.
* Hold possession - the midfield players often pass amongst themselves which is useful when a team is playing 5-5-0 and simply requires a draw.
* Shoot on sight - when a midfield player receives the ball they will attempt a shot on goal. However, there is far less chance of scoring from long range.
• Forward Play
This determines how the ball is used in your opponent's defensive area.
* Slow buildup - useful when time wasting because while passing the ball around there is less chance of losing possession than when shooting. Once a player shoots, the opposing goal keeper always takes possession, either after a goal or a save, and can then quickly move the ball into the other team's half.
* Shoot on sight - necessary when there are few shooting chances, such as when up against a tough defense who will win most balls.
Match
Once the ‘Play Match’ button is selected, there is no return and the team is placed at the ground, ready to play. The manager has the opportunity of rearranging the players before pressing the ‘Start Game’ that triggers the kick off.
Your team is always plays in red and with your goal at the bottom. During the match an attempt at substituting a player can be made by attracting the referee’s attention. However, there is often a delay before the referee reacts, a delay during which important play can take place. Therefore, it is difficult to stop an opposition attack by simply making a substitution.
For each minute of play, a player's fitness is reduced by one point, as indicated by the fitness bars. A black fitness bar indicates an injured player, with green being normal and red showing a tired player.
1) The speed of match play can be varied but it does not affect the match result.
2) Before the match starts, your chosen 16 players can be rearranged, and their formation and tactics changed.
3) The match can be interrupted at any time to make a substitution. However, only 3 substitutions can be made and so you must use them wisely. While the substition is being made your team can be given new orders. For instance, the eleven on field players can be rearranged, their formation and tactics can be changed.
Substitutes
During a match you are allowed to make three substitutions. It is generally wise to hold one substitute back until the final few minutes in case an injury occurs. Towards the end of a match many of your players' energies will be flagging and you must choose which areas of the field to reinforce.
Injuries
Injuries can only occur to a player battling for a ball. At each instant such a player might receive an injury and once injured that player becomes largely ineffective - this especially applies to goalkeepers. Furthermore, an injured player might be injured again so potentially putting them out of action for many weeks. The likelihood and consequences of injuries should be considered carefully. For instance, a team playing the long ball game with only one forward, places that forward in a dangerous position. This particularly applies if the forward has possession for large periods of the match.
Events
An event window displays the major events as they occur. These are, goals, injuries and substitutions.
After the match has finished, the ROUND UP button causes the other results to be generated and then displayed. These results are simply those for either your division or else the FA Cup.
Opposition
This screen shows details about the next team to be played, either in the league or the FA Cup. Sometimes however, it will be blank, such as when there are FA Cup rounds not involving your team. The information can help both with team selection and financial planning.
Generally, when opponents are playing at home they are more attacking and use a 4-3-3 formation, but when playing away they become more defensive employing a 4-4-2 formation.
Additionally the following brief information is given:-
Game venue - the ground where the match takes place, either theirs or yours.
Crowd capacity -the maximum capacity of the ground with the actual crowd depending upon the position of the home team within their division. For FA Cup matches the ground is generally full.
Division - which division your opponents are in.
Position - their league position within that division.
Effectiveness - their skill/fitness details as appearing in the Team screen.
Fixtures
Here the dates of all fixtures possibly involving your team are presented. The last match of the season is the FA Cup final, and after it is played all promotions and relegations come into effect. By using the forward and backward controls it is possible to see fixtures for any date.
Within each set of fixtures, if your team is missing, it is either because their first FA Cup round has not been drawn yet or else they have been knocked out. Regarding FA Cup matches, the Premier and Division 1 teams do not enter the draw until the 3rd Round, therefore, sometimes teams still in the cup do not have a match. For later cup rounds the draw is often not made until a few days before the matches because the results of some earlier matches may not have been decided.
Results
These results are always for the last set of matches played. Sometimes your team will not be included, for instance, they may not yet be taking part in the FA Cup, or else have been knocked out. If listed, your team will be highlighted. From here a check can be made on rivals within the division and also on details regarding your earlier FA Cup results.
League Tables
Only the league table for your division is shown, with the promotion and relegation places being indicated. Also indicated for the Premier division is the championship place. At the very least the aim of every manager should be a constant place within the top ten of their division because it is only there that a club might make sufficient money from the gate receipts to cover weekly expenses.
Transfer
In the period between matches each team may only transfer a maximum of two players. That is, to buy one player and to sell one player. This period also applies with FA Cup rounds, so during an enforced break a team can effectively transfer four players and so strengthen their squad for the next league match.
In order to prevent a team knobbling their immediate opposition, the two teams involved are not allowed to transfer players between themselves.
At all times a squad must have at least 14 players, and therefore selling cannot take place if it would deplete a team further. Furthermore, it is not possible to sell an injured player.
Generally, first team players are of better quality and are essential to a side's progress, therefore they have inflated prices. However, by searching through the reserves of each club, bargains may be found.
Finances
Although at first sight the financial aspects may seem irrelevant, they must be managed well if a successful team is to emerge. A club only has limited resources, both in terms of money and the number of players it can support. Once the season is underway it is inevitable that injuries will arise, and good finances can make the difference between relegation and the championship.
All bills become due after a match is played, for instance, players' wages and bank interest. Therefore, the manager is not allowed to take their team to the next match if the club is short of cash(in the red). Either the manager must find the cash from somewhere or be summoned by the Board.
The following details need considering:-
Gate receipts - A club receives their share of the gate receipts as follows: 2/3 for the home team and 1/3 for the away team. This is not realistic but gives lower division clubs a chance.
Transfers - the cash involved in buying and selling players is handed over immediately that a player changes club.
Other income - from advertising and television. This depends upon both your division and success. The FA Cup produces good rewards here.
Wage Bill - for a large squad this can rise quickly and bankrupt the club unless success is quickly forthcoming. A large squad cannot be supported if the team is constantly in the lower reaches of a division and without a good FA Cup run.
Other expenses - bank interest and overheads. The overheads depend upon the size of your club with bank interest being 5% of your debt.
Latest news - comes by post and can be either good or bad. Usually the news is good but a pressurized manager can choose to ignore the letter in case it brings yet another TAX demand.
Loans - if the club has spare cash and owes the bank money it may be wiser to repay some of the loan and so save on interest repayments. For a Premier side the maximum loan is £900000, this decreases by £150000 for each division until a 3rd Division side is allowed only £450000.
Assistant
Your assistant tries to takes an objective view and can see likely problems ahead, especially if the Board might have grounds to sack you. It is wise to heed their warnings. An assistant gives advice in matters of field success and finances.
On the field
a) Comments are made on the team's defense and attack, as well as the goals conceded or scored. These are gathered both for home and away matches.
b) The team's league table prospects are suggested from the current form. Prospects are - promotion, top few, middle, bottom few, or relegation.
Financial Situation
a) The assistant can spot a likely impending cash shortage although sometimes they are too cautious. However, they know that the Board takes a firm line on financial matters.
b) Suggestions are also made if the club is holding spare cash or has run out of cash.
Board
Essentially the Board want a financially successful club, while at the same time hoping for some success. They won't tolerate financial failure but are patient while waiting for success on the field .
After taking over a club the new manager is given a few matches to become familiar with the situation, after which some progress is demanded.
Season Over
The season ends with the FA Cup final after which the final league table is presented. A club may then be promoted, relegated or remain in that division. The club's final finances are worked out so that the Board can make the relevant decisions. Note, during the season it is better to spend any spare cash because at the end of season, the Board give the profits to the shareholders.
After each season, all players age by one year and have their skill levels changed appropriately. For players younger than 30 years their skill increases by one point, while if older than 33 it decreases by one point. Goalkeepers however don't decline until 38. Furthermore, older players are retired, with goalkeepers retiring between 43 to 46 and outfield players retiring between 37 to 39. For each retirement, a new player of approximate equivalent skill takes their place.
Music
The background music, Puccini “Nessum Dorma”, can be increased to the maximum allowed by your sound control panel or reduced to zero. It starts at level 100, and ranges from 0 to 250. If your sound panel has the sound switched off then no music or sound can be heard.
Data Editor
The data editor allows a custom scenario to be created. It is especially useful because the standard data provided with MFM is from the start of the 1998/1999 season. Therefore many of the younger players may seem to have odd skill levels due to the fact that MFM bases a player’s skill upon the average number of matches played per season during their career.
The presentation of your favourite team in MFM is bound to disagree with your perceptions. Now however, you can put things right.
For a custom game the following can be changed, although a club's name may not be altered:-
Club details
A club may be placed in any of the four divisions, Premier, 1st, 2nd and 3rd divisions, and its ground capacity may be altered.
Player’s details
Entirely new players may be created although a team may not have more than 25 players. A player has three basic attributes, their name, age and skill. The other attributes used by MFM are created when a new season starts.
It is possible to move existing players between clubs and to swap teams between divisions. If you really make a hash of things and want to start with the original standard data then simply click the Original button, this will then reinstate the original data for you to edit. Note, the original data cannot be deleted and is always there in case you need it.
When you have created a new custom scenario you should save it. A custom game takes up about 80K of disk space. Once saved, you can then return to the MainScreen and start a New Game. From the New Game it is then possible to Start your Custom Scenario and fill in the contract.
Basically the editor is divided into two halves, left and right, so allowing two clubs to be edited simultaneously. It is possible to edit or create new players, move players to new clubs, and move clubs to another division. Before a new data file(scenario) can be created, the standard data must be placed into memory using the orange ORIGINAL button.
To edit a club use the Left Hand Side(LHS) of the editor:-
1) Select the appropriate Division button.
2) Select the appropriate club - their details should appear directly below.
3) To change the ground capacity simply change the number in the yellow field.
4) To change a player's details:-
a) Select the player and their details will automatically appear below.
b) Change their details such as name, skill etc.
c) When finished, select the UPDATE PLAYER button.
5) To add a new player:-
a) Scroll down the player list until the first empty slot appears and select it.
b) Enter the new player details in the fields underneath.
c) When finished, select the UPDATE PLAYER button.
6) When the club is complete, use the SAVE Club button to place the club into memory.
7) To move a player into another team:-
a) Select the player's club in the Editor's LHS.
b) Select the player.
c) Select the target club in the Editor's RHS.
d) Select the purple -> button to move the player across.
e) Select the SAVE button for each of the two teams.
8) To move (exchange) a club to another division:-
a) Select the appropriate LHS Division button.
b) Select the appropriate club.
c) Select the appropriate RHS Division button.
d) Select the appropriate club.
e) Select the purple <--> button to exchange the two clubs.
When the changes are completed, use the orange SAVE button to save the scenario.
Note
The editor does not check certain aspects of the data and the following guidelines should be followed:-
1) The teams in the original data are all arranged in 4-4-2 formation and when you edit a team you should ensure that it also has a 4-4-2 formation. That is, the best players are listed in order of 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 attackers.
