FOOTBALL MANAGER 2

THE NEW GAME
Football Manager 2 is not just an improvement on Football
Manager 1 - it is a complete re-write.
FM2 contains many improvements on FM1 yet still contains the
basic ingredients that made FM1 one of the biggest selling
home computer games ever.
I have completely redesigned the graphics match action and the
tactics of team selection. Your tram now plays to the style
and formation that you select and you can actually watch and
assess the performance of your individual players. There is
skillful passing, tackling, crosses, lobs into the net, diving
goalkeeper saves, close marking, close passing play,
kick-and-rsuh - in fact an infinite variety of action.
Tactical changes include man to man marking, choice of
formations and substitutions.
Other enhancements include League Cup matches, full 92 team
league, Sponsorship, Success points, Goal scorer display,
Enhanced transfer marker, training etc.
There is an endless variety of technique of playing this game
and I'm sure you will enjoy developing your own Football
Management style.
I have worked very hard over many months to provide you with a
very entertaining game. I hope you have many, many hours of
enjoyment from Footnall Manager 2.
QUICK START TO PLAYING
To get the best out of the game you will need to study the
following instructions carefully but to help you get into the
game quickly I have identified some of the instructions
between the words **NOTE** and **NOTE END**. Reading what is
enclosed by these will give you the basic guide to playing
Football Manager 2.
CONTROLS
The whole game is controlled using joystick type movement as
follows:
[UP] - Joystick Up / Q
[DOWN] - Joystick Down / S
[LEFT] - Joystick Left / I
[RIGHT] - Joystick Right / P
[FIRE] - Fire Button / Return
The use of Joystick or Keyboard is dependent on the computer
on which the game is played.
The game use UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT to select items using the
displayed pointer. FIRE is used to confirm a selection.
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TEAM SELECTION CONTROLS
Team selection is carried out over three screens depicting
defence, midfield and attack as follows:-
1. The reserve pool slot is at the top of the screen. Pressing
FIRE when pointing to this slot will produce the FIRE TO QUIT
message.
2. When FIRE TO QUIT is displayed -
a) UP/DOWN will scroll through your reserve players and
pressing FIRE again will select one.
b) LEFT/RIGHT will move to the next right or left screen if
possible, it is also used to place your goalie in position
i.e.:- move your cursor from the player selection area down
twice and depending on which end your goalie is move
left/right.
c) FIRE again will end team selection if 11 players have been
picked.
3. Moving the pointer to an empty slot and pressing FIRE will
transfer the reserve player displayed at the top of the screen
to that slot.
4. Pressing FIRE on a slot that contains a player selected
will transfer him back to the reserves.
5. When team selection ends you will be allowed to select two
substitutes by scrolling UP/DOWN through your reserves and
pressing FIRE to select.
6. At half-time you will be able to alter your team and bring
on substitutes.
7. Note that display slots are placed over the actual areas of
the pitch that each individual player will cover in your team
formation.
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PLAYING GUIDE
At the start of the game you will be able to choose your team.

Sponsorship
At the start of each season you will be offered sponsorship.
The maximum is 50.000 per division (i.e. Division 1 =
200.000). If you reject a sponsor the chances of another offer
depend on your managerial rating (MR). A MR of 100 will give
you a 75% chance of another offer whilst a MR of 50 will give
you a 50% chance. If your MR is 25% or less you will get no
more offers.
Then choose your skill level: start at 1 until you gain
experience and playing skill. The highrer levels help you to
maintain a challenge in playing the game.
Management Record
This is a record of your achievements. Success points are
earned from your final league position at the end of a season
and from Cup match success. Your Managerial rating is an
average of your success points per season and is out of 100.
Load/Save Game
Before each match you will have the chance to save or load the
game. This allows you to stop the game and continue another
time and will allow you to work your way up the league.
Save/Load instructions are given in the machine instructions.
The Match
(see Team Selection Controls for details of how to pick the
team).
1. Team Display
This is shown in three sections for your Defence, Midfield and
Attack. Each team is shown with the players in their playing
positions. The four paired slots on each screen show the
man-to-amn marking of players. That is players in slots
horizontally next to each other on a screen will mark each
other during the match action.
The slot at the top of the screen contains your reserve
players and can be rolled through to select them.
2. Playing Skill
(see Player attributes)
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The skill of individual players affects the match action
significantly. In the man-to-man marking, players with the
higher skill will tackle more effectively and dribble the ball
more successfully past opponents of lesser skill.
For each half of the match, all of the players in the twelve
marking zones are compared with their opposing players and,
with a random factor thrown in, the highest value player will
start a new playing action sequence in possession of the ball.
If the difference between the two players is close, no action
sequence will occur. Thus you can influence the whereabouts of
the start of attacks and the likely number of them by the way
you match the skill of your players up against the opponents
with the man-to-man marking.
N.B. If the marking players are close in skill they will
probably neutralise each other. If the skills are
significantly different, the highest will probably win and
start an attack with the ball at his feet. A player marking
free space will probably start an attack from there, as the
game treats him as marking a skill rating 2 player.
Players playing out of position, e.g. a Defender playing in
Midfield will play as if they have a skill rating of only 2.
****************************** NOTE END
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The goalkeeper's skill is a measure of his ability to save
shots.
3. Formation
There are twelve possible zones in which you can place your
outfield players. These are depicted by the four playing slots
for outfield players on each of the three team selection
screens. Thus you can play in many formations i.e. 4-3-3,
4-4-2, 4-2-4 etc. Since your team will play in the positions
you choose you can decide to play defensively, attacking, with
wingers, down the middle or however you wish.
****************************** NOTE
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The tem selection slots are directly over the area of the
pitch which the player in that slot will play when the action
starts. Any player in the horizontally adjacent slot will mark
him during play and will play in the same zone. Players will
also cover areas of the pitch next to their own if there is no
player covering that area. Note that this zoning of players
allows you to spot the performance of individual players
because you can identify them by their position.
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4. Opponents
The skill of your opponent's players will depend on who you
are playing against. If you progress through the cup you will
play more skillful teams as you advance. Top league teams will
also be stronger opponents than lowly teams.
5. Fitness
Playing in a match will affect each player's fitness. They
will pick up knocks during play and may be injured.
6. Full Team
You must pick eleven players before you will be allowed to end
team selection. You will then be required to pick two
substitutes. The substitutes may be brought on and the team
formation changed at half time.
7. Playing Styles
During the Extra Training part of the game, you can modify the
playing style of your team. The effect of this is visible
during the match action. Thus your team will use close or long
passing, or high passes as you have selected. Note that
different opponents will also use varying styles.
8. The Action
Each half of the match will consist of several action
sequences. (See Playing Skill for details of how each sequence
starts). Each sequence continues until either the ball is out
of play, a goal is scored or the goalkeeper saves a shot.
The match action allows you to see the result of your actions.
The skill of players you have selected and how you have
positioned them will visibly affect what happens!
9. The Home Team
The Home Team will always start the match playing from left to
right.
10. Half Time
At Half Time you can bring on substitutes and alter your team
formation. This can be very useful, I'll give you an exemple:
In one match I noticed that my team was doing badly in
midfield and I was one down at half time. I moved one
midfielder over to mark the opponent's most successful
midfield player and moved another out to the wing to give some
width to the midfield play. I also moved an attacker out onto
the wing. The extra width in midfield allowed my team to get
round their strong midfield players and my attacking winger's
crosses brought 4 goals in the second half and my team won
4-1.
MATCH RESULTS
After your match either:
a) The other league results and league table will be shown.
b) The result of your cup match shown.
INJURY REPORT
This displays a list of your injured players. Players with a
fitness value less than 50% are injured and unfit to play.
Players will accumulate knocks when playing in matches, and
possible sustain long term injuries. Players will recover
their fitness gradually when rested from match play.
FINANCE
This shows the profitability of your club. If your club has a
negative bank balance, you will be sacked.
Gate receeipts are dependent on who was playing at home. If
you are successful as a team your home receipts will rise. Cup
success also produces high gate receipts.
Player Buy/Sell is a total of your Transfer Market trading.
Player wages are dependent on the skill of your players and
the number of them. In other words a lot of highly skilled
players will cost a lot in wages.
Overheads are a record of the fixes costs that are incurred by
your club.
Profit is measured weekly.
All financial values are higher as you rise up the Divisions.
SELL PLAYERS
All of your players are listed during the sell player routine
so you can check your squad. You will be able to sell a player
if you wish and an offer up to his displayed value will be
made for him if you do.
If you reject the offer you will have to wait to the following
week to try again. Remember you are paying wages for all
players in your squad even if they are not picked to play.
Also if you have less than thirteen players you cannot make up
a team and matches will be forfeited.
BUY PLAYER
Up to three players will be for sale. You may bid for any of
them. The higher your bid, the more chance of purchase. You
may even be able to buy them for less than their value. The
SQUAD TOO BIG message means you must sell a player before any
more will be offered for sale.
EXTRA TRAINING
This feature allows you to modify the way your players pass
the ball. It is an advanced feature and is best left unaltered
until you have got used to the gameplay and watched a lot of
matches.
Passing Height allows you to increase/decrease to height of
passes. Basically high passes will produce a Kick and Rush
style which can help to, say, bypass a weak midfield. Low
passing will lead to closer play.
Passing Length allows you to increase/decrease the length of
passes. Short passing will suit a highly skilled team that
dribbles well. Long passing may suit a side with wingers.
The tips on Passing Height and Length above are just a guide
and you will be able to develop your own technique to suit
your team and style of play. You will see the effect of your
passing style on the pitch.
If you get the PERFECTED message it means that you have
reached the maximum or minimum length or height and more of
the same extra training will not have an added effect.
THE SEASON
You will play all of the other teams in your division once and
play through the Cups as far as you progress. Promotion and
Relegation at the end of season is three up three down.
SUCCESS
The aim of the game is to be as successful as possible and try
and win the Treble of League and Two Cups. However the game is
designed to be enjoyable enough for you to play as long as you
like.
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PLAYER ATTRIBUTES
Player have 5 attributes which are shown on the various
displays:
Name
The players name is shown.
Skill
In the ranges 3 to 9. This affects his play during the match.
A player out of position e.g. a defender in attack of a
midfield player playing in goal will play with a skill value
of 2.
Fitness
Out of 100. This is reduced by playing in a match as the
player receives knocks or injuries. A player who is rested in
the reserves will recover some of his fitness. A player with a
fintess value of less than 50 is too badly injured to play.
Position
G, D, M, A. As follows:
G - Goalkeeper
D - Defender
M - Midfield Player
A - Attacker
These are the players correct playing positions. Note a player
playing out of position is less effective (see Skill above).
Playing positions are easy to identify on the team selection
screen. The goalkeeper's slot is over the goal. Defender's
slots are on the same screen as your goalkeeper. Midfield
players slots are shown against the middle pitch backdrop.
Value
30.000 to 360.000. This is directly affected by the player's
skill and the division you are playing in. It will affect his
transfer market purchase and sale price.